From Fall

I'm dying to start decorating for Christmas, but it's happening after Thanksgiving for the most part. (I've snuck a few things out here and there.) It might sound goofy, but it finally occurred to me this year that my excitement to decorate inside for the holidays coincides exactly with when the last of the fall colors disappear.  As son as it's just about barren outside, I want to decorate inside and make it cozy and add reds and greens for more color.

Also, Instagram has sort of become a mini blog for me and I'm trying to decide if I like that or not.  I want to write more now that I have the mental space, just can't decide where that needs to be.  I've been finally picking up my real camera again and that feels really good.  The only problem is that the big kids are so set against being in photos. So if it seems like I'm favoring the little one in photos, you are correct. He can't protest yet and we spend 24/7 together:)

Too Much (Halloween)

On Halloween:

3 Harvest Parties at school. 

A Fun Run (PTO fundraiser) and coordinating grade colors to remember to wear. 

Hat Day for spirit week. 

A friend coming to trick-or-treat and sleepover. 

Cousins coming to trick-or-treat, too. 

Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents coming to see kids in costumes. 

Mummy Dogs for dinner. 

It's all a little too much and she completely lost it that morning. I have a hard time explaining how I completely understand the overwhelm when it's all too much, but I totally got it and felt awful for her. I knew she'd be fine once she got to school and it all started, but there's no reasoning with panic and overwhelm.  And it was all fine.  They declared it the best Halloween ever and it definitely took us the rest of the weekend to recover!

Right Now: Late October

I know I'm jumping the gun, but I'm writing this while I listen to the Peaceful Holidays station on Pandora and I sip Peppermint Bark tea.  Because it feels relaxing and October has been anything but relaxing.  And I sort of consider, for better or for worse, October-December "The Holiday Season."

Right now is:
-school Harvest Party planning
-food poisoning
-Parent-Teacher Conferences
-not enough time with friends
-the earlier darkness making me want to go to bed at 7pm.
-pumpkins everywhere.
-my birthday, soon.
-prep for a month of thankfulness.
-Christmas shopping already to avoid the stress in December. And card-making.
-pumpkin carving
-last tomato picking
-lots of kale picking
-Reading It's Halloween daily
-Getting the Charlie Brown Holiday Trio of Movies ready to start next week
-Also watching Hotel Transylvania, Scooby Doo, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Annie a little too much.  But, ANNIE! I might be the one watching the most:)
-prepping costumes for a Vampire girl and a Fireman (his same choice for the third year running)
-a pumpkin carving party with friends that was so nice and normal and kids-being-kids-running-around-having-fun-together that I could just cry thinking about the awesomeness.  I love where I live and the community we have.

*Amazon links are affiliate links.  I have to legally tell you that.

Early Morning

4am: I'm unexpectedly awake and I can't figure out what came first, the chicken or the egg.  Am I awake because I'm coughing or did I wake up and then start coughing?  Is it anxiety about money and kids and life?  All of the holiday planning I've been trying to do? Is it thinking about the conversation with a friend at dinner? Is it just that I went to bed early?  One way or another, it's 4am and I'm awake and I'll take it, I like early mornings but never seem to drag myself out of bed early enough to enjoy them without kids.  I carefully walk downstairs and try to avoid the squeaky spots on the stairs, then set a pot of water on the stove to boil  to make tea because it won't make noise.  
4:15 and I swear I hear someone stirring. I cross my fingers that it isn't a kid and freeze for a minute.  It's not, or if it is, they're not waking up.  I remember hearing a quote or story yesterday about insomnia and the different kinds and I remember thinking, "Thank goodness I only ever have trouble just getting to sleep, that would be so hard to just wake up in the middle of the night." And here I am.  But I went to bed by 9:30, so it's not like I haven't gotten any sleep, so I might as well embrace the quiet time I enjoy so much.  I find a pin on Pinterest and fall down the rabbit hole of AWESOME kid gift ideas.  
4:23: I squeeze honey into the bottom of a mug, then add a tea bag and pour in the boiling water.  I wonder why I put the honey in first, it's usually last.  I stir and stir and it's the sound of sickness and winter from childhood, I hadn't thought about that in forever but it reminds me because when I saw my mom 2 days ago and told her I had a cold and sore through and cough, the first thing she asked me was if I wanted a cup of tea.  
4:32: I definitely just heard a kid yawn and it occurs to me how hard it is to tell apart my kids voices and noises and it won't be like that forever.  PLEASE let them stay asleep. I hear footsteps. Calculate in my head how much ipad time would be reasonable to let them have this early in the morning if it means more quiet time for myself. It gets quiet again.  I wonder how loud my typing is as I hear my husband stir, too.  I need to stop typing, I want them to stay asleep. Now is as good of a time as any to share Halloween pics, right? 

Day 30: What We're Making

My birthday was this past weekend and I've never really sorted out if I love the fall because my birthday is in the fall or if I love fall anyway and having a birthday makes it even more special.  32 feels older.  Well, duh, because it IS older. But you know what I mean.  Officially into adulthood and middle age.  I looked at photos of my kids and they both look like kids now, the traces of baby are almost completely gone.  

Halloween is almost here and the holidays are so sweet right now with their still-low expectations and hearts full of joy and excitement.  I spent Saturday morning with Mia just being slow and wandering together.  We went to a coffee shop and she had hot chocolate and a cupcake while I had tea.  She brought along the Magic Cabin catalog that arrived last week (along with at least 7 other catalogs, holy wow!) and sat and looked together and dreamed of being able to buy whatever we wanted.  She devised a complicated system of circling everything they might want, they starring the things she's really love, giving a circle to the things she liked but didn't need and an asterisk to the things she still needed to think about.  It was funny to watch her seriousness. We went to AC Moore to get more bands for her rainbow loom bracelets while they're on sale and some other supplies for making fun crafts in the upcoming months. We wandered for what felt like forever, a good forever.  It's so fun to listen to her commentary and watch her peruse, getting excited about little things, showing me different things, picking things she thinks I'll like.  It was just a nice time without any pressure to be anywhere or do anything and I think we both needed it.  A sweet spot indeed. 

Right now, we're making: 

Messes.  A lot of messes. 

Acorn Jewels

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

A Squirrel and Chipmunk house

HUGE inexpensive prints for the wall

Rainbow Loom Bracelets and Necklaces and Keychains
Christmas Cards 
Fun Halloween Food

I'm spending 31 days writing and sharing a series about Documenting Your Everyday this month.

 Click here to see all of the posts as they're added and follow along.