This is how we do Hurricane Sandy!

So thankful we didn't get hit as badly as predicted last night.  The most excitement we had was a trashcan being knocked over and rolling down the street.  We were sure a tree had fallen on our Tahoe.  As a precaution, J and I had the boys sleep downstairs in a big pile of blankets, pillows, puppies and kiddos. 

It was fun until about 11pm when the boys were still awake and my body needed sleep.  That's way past my bedtime!  Mama gets grouchy!  Plus the dogs felt they needed to smother me with protection all night long.  Whew, I'm needing some caffeine today!

The people living north and east of us are in my prayers today.  Some were not so lucky.

My Mom is a saint for keeping the boys again.  School is closed for the second day in a row.  B and Ty are in this fussing and arguing phase.  I know its just learning how to live together, but it will wear on a Mama!

J and I have almost decided to bunk them in the same room for a while and see what happens.  Either they will learn to get a long and play together, or one of them won't make it.  Could be a stick horse accident, a Nerf gun shooting or a plastic sword fight gone violent.  One can never tell.

Knocking down dead trees and eating grass

This weekend was just beautiful!  The air was crisp, but not cold, and we were outside most of the day.  Mama said, no more TV, we are going outside!  J and I ran a little race Saturday morning and the one thing good about getting older and continuing to run, I get a better chance in placing!  I got 2nd in my age group this time around.  Yes, the race was very small, but who cares, I will take it! 

After the race we went out back and the boys knocked down this dead tree that they have been dying to get a kick at for weeks.  It was not a lot of work.  Completely dead on the inside.  They loved it though.  He-Man stuff. 

We played football, played on the swingset and rode scooters until naptime.

 

Mama learned a lesson.  Those Pampas Grasses?  Yeah, don't cut it, pile it up and have the kids jump in it.  Apparently the blades are very sharp.  Minor tragedy, but we recovered.  Toy Story Band-Aids helped.

Braden took his scooter through a puddle once or twice before Ty decided his day would not be complete until he ran his scooter through it.  That resulted in a very wet little boy.  We had a great day enjoying this weather before it starts getting cold and nasty.

Tubby decided to go rooting around in the grass and ended up with a big clump of clover stuck on his tooth.  The boys chased him around the yard to get it off, but Tubs thought they were playing so no way you are catching that dude.

And its Bus Driver Appreciation Week!  I made this little bag of goodies based on this BLOG.

Easy and super cute.  And have I mentioned my new found love for Glue Dots?  If you have never seen these wonderful wonders, you can get them at Hobby Lobby or another craft store.  They are so much easier than glue for small projects like this!

Have a great week!

Pumpkins, sling shots and corn pits, oh my!

I really don't know why I force fun on my boys.  I try to plan things that I think are fun to do, but I'm pretty sure they would rather be smacking a tree (or each other) with some sticks.  But a Mom's got to try to enrich her children's lives!  Plus, I wanted to go pick pumpkins and carve them at the park!

On the way to the pumpkin patch, Ty was panicking a little since he forgot, since last year, what a pumpkin was.

Ty, "Is it going to get me, mommy?"

Me, "Is what going to get you, honey?"

Ty, "The pun-kin?"

Me, "No, silly, it can't get you.  Its just a vegetable."

Ty, "Are you going to make me eat it?"

Me, "No, crazy!"

So the whole hayride poor Ty looked so concerned thinking he was either going to be "gotten" or have to eat some yucky veggie. 

Once we got in the patch, the kids let loose and found some great pumpkins.

The farm we went to also had some pretty cool things to do.  They had some sand-box type pits filled with corn which the kids loved.  They also had giant sling shots that you could launch tennis balls with.  And yes, when J went out to collect them, we did try to hit him.

This little hand just melts my heart.

We took off to the park to carve our "pun-kins."  The boys were interested for about 2 minutes.  Then off to battle with sticks they went while J and I battled the yellow jackets and finished up.  I even tried to start a pumpkin seed fight with B to keep his attention.  He had no interest in the "guts."

The boys had a great time on the playground at the park even if they didn't love carving the pumpkins.  The weather was pretty and I was outside so Mama was happy.

Next weekend I may even not force fun on people and just let them "play toys" all day long.  Unless I think of something more fun... outdoors... involving a rake.  We'll see.

New job busyness and hummus addiction

Why, oh why, does hummus have so many calories and fat!  That stuff used as dip for pretzel chips... I mean it doesn't get much better than that.  But limiting portions???  TOUGH!  Please, someone find a way to make hummus 100 calories a cup with less than 5 grams of fat, but still taste heavenly.

Hummus rant aside, I have been BUSY!  My plan was to go in and talk to my boss about a reduced hour schedule so I could have more time at home with the kiddos.  End result?  An additional VP to support and learning an entirely different area of the company.  This does not equal reduced hours.  Quite the contrary.

On the positive side, I like it.  I like being busy all day and my new boss is comically manic.  I'm finding we have some of the same quirks, so it works out.

I went to a women's conference this past weekend and learned so much about myself.  God really revealed some things I have to face and process and its not easy, but oh... the growth.

One of the metaphors I really related to (in light of my most recent camping endeavor) was walking our own path passionately.  I have been flailing a bit in this area.  I see my path.  I take a few steps.  Then I run back to the big wooden board with the map at the beginning and check it to be sure its correct. 

"You sure God?  THIS is my path?  I really think her path over there suits me better.  Or what about her path?  Or hers?" 

But he has marked my path before me.  And he doesn't call me to walk it miserably, with every single step trudging up the hills and frowning and looking longingly at that wooden board.  We are to spring onto our path and walk with a Jesus loving bounce in our step, regardless of how many rocks and roots and leaves there are.

Certainly I have been trudging lately.  I asked God to show me my path and he did.  Then I didn't want to be on it.  I was waiting for circumstances or people to change and make me happy.  That's not quite how this works.  God told me this past weekend that he wants me to passionately take MY path that he has marked out for me.  Yeesh.  Ok, ok.  So I have been praying for an attitude adjustment regardless of what my path looks like.  And then trust that God will take care of the rest.  And quit looking at everyone else's paths since they have nothing to do with me!

And just because my boys are so precious and creative, here are some random pics of the weekend.  It was rainy on Sunday so we stayed in and watched football and played Legos.  It was so nice.

A little ghost writing lesson from school.

Lazy puppies.

B built a Lego football field with goalposts and spectator stands.

It really was cool.  Until I broke it trying to slide dinner on the same table.

My boys playing at the playtable.  I sure missed them while I was at the conference.

Camping and toeing the line

The last weekend in September is made for camping!  The leaves are starting to change and the Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful!  My favorite place to camp is Sherando Lake.  I have to talk my guys into driving an hour and half into wilderness while convincing them that taking precautions against bears, eating food off a stick and relocating a ton of Grandaddy Long Legs from our jeans legs is FUN!
 

 

 

 

But once we get up there into the crisp mountain air and the fire is lit, we really have a good time. 

 

 

B wanted to know why it was so nice to just sit side by side in a semi circle and stare at the fire.  Cause it just is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any fishing was short lived. 

 

 

We got some lines caught in a tree so the kids were off playing hide and seek while we tried to get the lines free.

 

 

 

 

Ty's favorite thing we did was playing on the little beach.  He took off his shoes and socks and waded around forever. He probably could have done that all day. B found some people looking for "treasure" with a metal detector and followed them around with a little shovel he found digging where it beeped. It was 65 degrees and beautiful. The kids had a blast.

 

 

 

It really wasn't swimming weather, but Ty was determined to get in as much as I would let him.  He toed that line most of the weekend.  That's where he is right now in his little 3 year old world.  I usually tell him once that he will fall, he will get wet and be mad, he will trip if he runs on rocks, and then I have to sit back and let him figure it out himself.  So hard!  He just has to try everything and see for himself.  He has at least 4 new bruises on his forehead and fell too many times to count.  Very few tears, though. Little Ty is tough.  He would stand up from a fall and say, "that wasn't a bad one, Mom."

 

 

Yep, that's a wet bottom.

 

B was completely on board with roasting marshmallows this year.  Ty had a love/hate relationship with that gooey goodness.  He liked it until it squished and then, not so much. 

 

 

 

B especially liked helping with the fire.  He actually kept it going by himself the entire morning while J and packed up camp.

 

We all "slept" in the same tent which means the boys slept and J and I napped all night. 

 

 

On our last day, we decided to hike the lake trail.  I couldn't believe it, but Ty made it the whole way!  It took and hour and a half.  The boys had fun following some rabbit trails and rock climbing.  The views were incredible.  I love the mountains! 

 

I'm hoping to try to go camping a couple of times a year.  I love getting away from the TV, the phones, the video games and lets face it, the laundry, the house cleaning, and any other responsibilities.  Just for a little bit.  And I always feel so much appreciation for God's creation when I can point out so much to the boys.  The red leaves, the rock formations from past water falls, the way the sun casts shadows from the clouds onto the mountain sides.  And once in the while, the boys get it too and ooo and ahhh as they should.  It was a really good trip.  Bruises and line toeing and all.

 

Potential for a really cute picture, and then... my Ty.  This picture captures my boys personalities very well.