Happy Halloween, folks

Simon caught on to the trick or treat game and thought it was the best thing ever. Claire carried a small box of Smarties from house to house and was content just shaking it.
The kids are asleep. The trick or treaters are done (I'm guessing close to 35 this year).
Trevor and I are nursing head colds.
Oh yeah - I raked up bags 21-26 of our leaves today. I think I may have 8 bags to go and then our yard will be done.

Little Nugget

Today, Trevor brought me this little nugget home.
I'm still stunned and I'm still squealing my excitement.
With work around the corner, I want easy access to my kiddos. My baby-sitter is very into texting so, I'll be able to check on them at recess and before I go home so that I know how they're doing. This will ease my anxiety quite a bit. Also, it'll be great to have a phone in case of any commuting emergencies.

I've never had a cell phone with a plan before. We have my Mom's old phone and we do "pay as you go" for trips and I used to have a sweet Nokia (bought at the turn of this century) that I also did "pay as you go" until I was told my phone was obsolete. This is my first "real", grown up cell phone. (I'm 32.) I have no idea what to do with it. I'll be a grandma texter for a while.

I'm excited to be a part of technology of the 21st century.
My husband ROCKS!!!

Teeth + Tantrums = Tylanol + Time Outs

Yep - I have two little people in my house. Claire is a teething fiend. Normally, she's a ray of sunshine but lately, she's a clingy little mess. Simon is testing boundaries and pushing limits like a normal 2 year old. This has lead to consequences and the introduction of the time-out mat.
Yesterday was Simon's day to not shine. Today is Claire's. Can I call dibs on tomorrow, kids? I just want to be held, read to and have my favorite food prepared.

With going back to work just around the corner, I'm going to spoil them a little more and snuggle them a lot closer.

My Austrian Connection

I went to Bible School in Austria when I was 19 and when I was 23. I was young, naive and in love with adventuring. My first time there was for Fall School... a semester of Bible teaching during the fall semester. I learned what love isn't (I had a disastrous long-distance relationship with... eek... a wrestler and I had a crush on the tall Albertan boy that sat next to me in the Lecture Hall), I redefined what my home and Canada meant to me, I deepened my relationship with Christ, I drank alcohol for the first time and my world opened up to new ideas, people and possibilities. Every fall, I think back to that time of blissful innocence when the I was standing on the cusp of adulthood.

I went back later, with Tim, for the Summer adventure program and I hiked my heart out. Once again, I learned what love is not (the cute Southerner on my team), how to rely on Christ in the midst of chaos and that I could really push myself above and beyond my what I thought. It was a perfect place to prepare me for my first year of teaching.

Every year, I order myself a pair of Austrian slippers, or "cottage shoes". Yesterday, I got them in the mail and slipped them on my feet. I remembered my adventures, the Alps and the friends I made and I smiled. (My feet also sighed with pleasure - Austrian slippers are AMAZING!)

(I bought Simon a pair when I was pregnant with him - because of his casts and then his feet, he never could wear them. Claire, however, wears them well. The above picture is of my ratty last year's slippers and her adorable baby ones.)

(If you ever want to wear the most amazing slippers ever, check out the Austrian Online Shop. Order me a Milka too!)

A important link

I'm not sure how to write about the heartbreak my family is experiencing right now. We're preparing to lose a beautiful and amazing friend. I can barely process that this is really happening.

I keep reading and rereading a post she wrote in 2008. Here's the link. I'm taking some comfort from her words.

Caped

I finally got around to making Simon's Halloween cape. He's going to be Captain Canada (this was almost as easy as letting him be Tigger last year). I also made Tigger a cape and a little play cape for Claire. (If you want an easy sewing project - check out this free cape tutorial.)

The kids and I got the flu shot on Thursday and we haven't been the same since. Simon must have caught something from his sweet cousin and I think the flu shot triggered it. Now, we all have it. Blech! I spent the day feeling yucky as well as feeling like I was being held hostage by my very emotional toddler who cries at the drop of a hat. Fortunately, Claire's reaction is to cuddle... that's so much more bearable then yelling.
Simon's on the mend and I think Claire and I will be fine as of tomorrow. I'm thankful to be feeling this way on a weekend when Trevor's around to pick up the pieces!

Bagged

One of my 2011 goals was to do a create practical gifts to reuse. I succeeded. I made 100 cloth bags for my sister-in-laws and me. That's a pile of sewing, a pile of cloth and now, a pile of bags. I happily gave them away during our Thanksgiving feasts. I'm delighted with the thought of not having to wrap much of anything FOR THE REST OF MY CHRISTMASES!!!! (except for stockings). I'm also excited that I was able to do something for three lovely ladies whom I love a lot.
(Special thanks to my mother-in-law who helped me cut and serge those bags and to my Momma who helped me with fabric selection.)

Now, I need to hunker down and sew Simon's Halloween costume and a pile of taggie blankies to get me through another year of babies.

What kinds of projects are you up to? (And, how much has Pinterest made you feel like there is soooo much more you should/could be doing?)

Where's my Maid?

"My housekeeping tasks fall on the same day for every job I take: on Monday, I oil up the furniture. Tuesday, I wash and iron the sheets... Wednesday is for scrubbing the bathtub real good even though I wipe it down really good every morning. Thursday is for polishing floors and sucking rugs.... Friday is heavy cooking for the weekend and what-have-you. And every day is mopping, washing clothes and ironing shirts... and generally keeping things clean. Silver and windows, they're as needed." (p. 47 The Help by Kathryn Stockett)

I read those lines last night and I wiped my brow because I was tuckered out just thinking of all that housework. Yeesh - I'm happy if I get the floors cleaned twice a week, the bathroom cleaned once a week and the laundry done every 3 days. Of course, we do a general tidy every night but, that's just so we can walk through our house without kid debris.

Today, I finally washed the windows (inside). Trevor's going to do the outside sometime this weekend. Those maids of the 60s would be so ashamed of me...

(PS - Just started The Help and it's as fabulous as everyone says. I may even watch the movie if the reviews are good.)

Fall

I'm luxuriating in my free days of playing, sushi eating and park going. Claire's hit a sweet spot where she naps (sans me) for a while in the afternoon. I can leave Simon to his own devices (sans paper books) in Quiet Time and I can do little projects and clean the house (hahahahaha!).
When I turned the page of the calendar the other day, my anxiety about going back to work ramped up a bit more. Eeek... just 1 1/2 months left of sweet Momma bliss.