Happy Halloween

Guess I have to eat, I mean sort through all this candy!

Halloween through Easter, the candy season has begun!

Good Lord Willing And The Creek Don't Rise

Well, the creek didn't rise!

We are alive and well.

Sandy was thankfully spinning "the right way" when she reached us and pushed all the water out of the bay! Hooray! Minimal flooding! Even with a full moon and high tide, the flooding was nearly non-existent. Evacuations were only voluntary for storm surge and only applied to the people directly on the water.

I won't say it was wall peaches and cream. The wind was pretty wicked. It's never nice to hear your house moan and whistle. I decided to lay down for a minute and noticed spots on the ceiling. Hooray for roof leaks! I hurried to the attic because I remembered that the attic windows were OPEN to vent the house. Tons of water had been blowing in for hours before I noticed! I think we can get by with some flashing and sealing around the chimney. Thankfully the roof is relatively new. All night I waited for the power to go out, but we were very fortunate. I gladly took the flickers!

I did a little experiment with the ladies. Instead of trying to put them down with screaming wind and pounding rain, I let them stay up. We had a hurricane party with cookies and ghetto s'mores. We let the ladies stay up till they started to completely crash. DH had a little sleepover with them but they were out in no time and didn't wake for the rest of the night! I'm pretty sure DH took a nap with them!!

One unfortunate side effect of the storm, aside from the roof, is the guest Sandy ushered into our house. He is gray, about the size of a fun size candy bar, and is currently being stalked by the gato! Granted Bailey has never caught a mouse, and I don't think he will catch this one, but I am hopefully he will chase him out of the house. I'm not looking forward to a circle of life moment with the ladies so hopefully Mickey skadattles!!

DH goes back to school tomorrow! Bwhahahaha!

Happy Moving Night!

P.S.
I'm kinda hoping some teenagers come and try to smash our pumpkin. The inside is now covered in mold and the bottom is mush. That would be a wonderful lesson for them!

Bring It, Sandy!

This is my idea of storm prep, a vanilla scented rave!!

Wish us luck!

Jack- lo- Mantern & The Snor'eastercane

 We finally carved a pumpkin!

This is the first time we've ever carved a pumpkin as a couple, as a family, and my first time since maybe elementary school. I think the ladies were mostly confused as to what we were doing, but once the process was under way they were overly excited.

The only one brave enough to dig in with me. 

Hands like a surgeon, or serial killer. 

Eagerly watching.

Our jack-lo-mantern.

I know I should correct, but that is irresistibly cute!

After a fun, family evening we continued enjoy fall today. The girls have been enamored with leaf fights. I even laid down the other day and let them cover me with leaves. I'm still itching from that! However, since there is a Snor'eastercane on the way I wanted to soak up that last bit of fall before all the leaves are blown from the trees and float away in the flood. 

Don't you love it!

But back to this snor'eastercane, people need to get a grip! It's going to rain, the wind will blow, the world will however not be ending and no amount of batteries, water, and toilet paper will save you if it does! Stocking up on perishables is also not a fantastic idea because the power will probably be going out and you can only eat and cook sooo much before you fall into a food coma. I will comp to buying three gallons of milk, but I can guarantee you that nearly all of that will be gone when dear Sandy makes landfall! 

So work will be hell this weekend. I will probably lose power at some point. But everyone cross your fingers that the storm surge isn't horrible! Enjoy the weekend for me!!

The Shower

The shower that I missed.

And apparently so did everyone else.

Out of the 30 people invited **via facebook** only 9 showed. Apparently if you move away and don't keep in touch for two years people move on! WHO KNEW!? While I agree that it is rude for people to RSVP and not show, did you really expect people to come shower you with gifts if you haven't seen them since high school? Really?? Ludicrous! I was shocked to her Mother say she should have gotten more. Maybe she should have been a better friend? Maybe she should make friends where she lives? More importantly, maybe expecting people to shower you with gifts is a crazy idea!

Am I the only person that started piecing things together for my children before they arrived?

I also love all the hoopla over her one child, but I'm just a bitter person when it comes to her.

Want some pictures??

Not exactly lion king, and I'm not big on naming kids after characters in vampire books.

Er, I mean, representing the Irish culture he doesn't have. 

Oh these tables, she picked it all out herself. She set it up too. It was a DIY baby shower. That is horribly awkward to me. Who plans and prepares their own shower? Etiquette people!

Where was the best friend who convinced her to leave home for the life of rich and plenty, only to leave her behind when she returned? Hmmm?? BFF(When Convenient).

She was excited to show me how she set up the cake table too, with all the favors. I was excited to see the leftover favors sitting at Mother's house. 

Yes, I am that bitter. 

While I'm sad that this baby is still in need, I'm laughing on the inside that both her and Mother seemed to expect some shower of epic proportions. That magically everyone was going to come out of the woodwork and she would tuddle back to base with a truck full of baby goods. I'm curious to see how things are when my parents go down in December. She has two months to pull everything together! Tick Tock!

Am I wrong in thinking it's poor etiquette to handle your own baby shower?

I know it's horribly inappropriate not to address the family matriarch at your shower. 632 points went right down the drain there!

*Update*

It's now been 3 hours since the pictures appeared on FB, 5 hours since I sent the pictures of the shower to the Devil, 7 hours since Mother harassed me about sending them, and 12 hours since I was originally asked if they had been sent. Not yet have I received a word of thanks for uploading pictures that no one else knew how to. To conclude; I still hate her and probably a little more!

Digging Out

This 127% my craft table. Post basement finishing, everything was redistributed to its rightful area but clearly not put away. Clearly.

So today I'm digging out. Maybe I will stop digging for what I need from the table, and boxes, and actually have space to sit and craft. I could even bring my sewing machine back down! What a wonderful idea!!

Must hurry back, two little people just absconded with my Baoding Balls and I don't think they're meditating!!

Beach Time

The worst things to have in life are expectations. They lead to nothing but disappointment.

Needless to say, I had expectations going to the beach. I expected everything to be hunky-dory and for the most part it was. We had wonderful weather. The ladies were well behaved, not too whiney when their schedule was broken, and bedtime wasn't too much of a hassle. I didn't expected to get much shopping done, I am a very indecisive person. I did decide, that if I am truly going to stop work, that I should spring into action with regards to my christmas shopping! The mound slowly growing in my closet is exciting me!

One of my only expectations, aside from too much food, was to take pictures. Lots of glorious pictures of the ladies, of us, and as a family. That didn't happen. Not at all. In the expectation of taking pictures is the hidden expectation of help from DH. Not even so much help, but compliance. I feel that as the other adult in the group, he could and should help. That's not to say he wasn't a help, he very much was.

He sent the girls on their first quarter ride. 

But I expected my requests to be honored, whether direct stated or implied, and they weren't. I should mention that neither DH or I enjoy having our pictures taken and unlike some people we won't make the effort for better shots. (Sorry, I had to Marcia!) I do feel that family pictures are important. Neither of us have many and I would like for our girls to have more than random snapshots. I clearly have the snapshots covered.

What hurt me most of all is what perceived as his lack of support. He didn't support me in my desire to take pictures. He didn't support family pictures in general. In fact he out right ignored two photo shoots, I used the term loosely, and ushered us along to our next destination. 

Does the elephant ride need to be shackled?

The ladies dined on fruit and cheese.

Best cheese and I have yet to ask them what exactly it is!

I snapped him leaving after a photo shoot was thwarted by the photomiser. 

I assumed taking pictures near crowds might have been putting him off so I pushed for a nice family walk at the state park. Early on a Sunday morning at a beach park would leave us virtually secluded. I let the girls have snack and mentally marked spots on our way through for the walk back. However as we walked back, he first huffed, then didn't hear me, and I lost it. I gave up. 

I was hurt. 

I was crushed.

I cried.

I literally walked ahead and cried. Then I cried some more because I felt like a baby crying over pictures. What I was crying over was the lack of support, but I guess I shouldn't export support for my hobbies. It's like it's my profession...

I did get a picture of a heron?

Apparently I was "cold" for the rest of the day. Then again, I decided to take action. 

I offered to meet up with family for a family picture. We loosely coordinated in black/white/gray and I made the best of it. I only did one shot, and hoped for the best. If you keep it small, you don't notice it's not focused. For some reason I went with my broken lens. 10 point there. So all the "editing" to make it look sharper get leads to rigid pixelation. But it's a shot none the less, and one I can use for a christmas present since my mother is legal blind!

Yes, I made DH get on the ground and he is probably still rumbling about it. 

While I hope to get out and try again with my better lens, I'm not sure that will actually happen. I had to pull teeth for this one so trying for one with my in-laws may push DH over the edge. I'm sad he doesn't seem to support me in this, so maybe I'll just focus on the ladies and myself from now on. 

I won't let this totally color my weekend blah though. 

We did enjoy some lovely time together as a family. We stuffed our faces full of yummy food! We ate local and I found a delicious, AND THICK, winter sweater in my favorite color-gray! I'm thrilled to be crossing things off my Christmas shopping list. I really need to get on this job quitting thing because if every weekend could be so family oriented, I would be a much happier person. 

So how was your weekend??

Tomorrow-the shower recap!

I'm alive!

...and going on a mini vacation!

I had a terrible cough this week, but I survived. And no Cat, no need for worries but thanks for your concern. :)

Needless to say I'm behind on posts and emails, but none of that matters. We're going away today after lunch for the weekend and I'm excited. I'm missing the dreaded shower, stuffing my face full of delicious food, working on some Christmas shopping, and some regular retail therapy, and stuffing my face some more! I'm most looking forward to pictures so prepare to be inundated!!

I'm not looking forward to the "family dinner" that awaits when we return. Think I could pull off "car troubles" or "the kids are sick"??

As for my week, I'm counting this as my accomplishment. Have a great weekend!!!

Red

I've been a little under the weather, so here are three reds. Enjoy! I don't think I could muster any more without repeating gems from past posts. 

Thanks Marcia, for hosting!

This has been called "the pretty tree" which is now mostly the barren tree. 

Playing in the leaves of the pretty tree.

Riding laps around the living room. 

I am that mom!

Outsourcing

I've outsourced. I've handed over my work to someone else and I'm thrilled with the results!


This is a snippet of my savings. I have handed over part of my grocery shopping to my FIL and he is tickled to do it. He has a special money saving gene, but he's not quite an extreme couponer. He loves to shop, we both love to save, and I love not having to hoof it to the grocery store. It's been an all around win! The best part of that list, he didn't write down the free stuff! I love it!

If only I had the patience to shop around and coupon, I could have been saving for years.

Softie?

So here it is. Terrible phone pictures, I know.

Not bad for the finished product, but I'm partial to my own work! 

Now I just need to finish these...

However, the more I think about this shower the more upset I get with myself. Not that I feel compelled to go, or that I care with how she makes out, but I'm concerned she won't have all she needs. Rather, I'm concerned that this child may go without. 

It has left me conflicted. While I strongly believe people need to learn from the actions, suffering including, no one asks to be born. I get the impression that the Devil is going to be blindsided when this baby arrives, woefully unprepared in terms of not only things but support as well. So should I up my gifting or and call it a day?

Do you overcompensate for situations? Or is your gift-giving the same across the board?

This adult stuff is not all it's cracked up to be. Thankfully it's her life that is the made for tv drama!

Job Prospects?

I could open an etsy shop for my various endeavors and become the next Martha Stewart!! Who am I kidding? I'll settle for being a super procrastinator and cross my fingers that this is finished before the baby shower!!

Pumpkin Time!

We loaded up the car and headed to the farm for some fall festivities. It was time, because it was the only time I could find, to find the great pumpkin! I had a great time taking pictures, the ladies loved the animals (and the kettle corn), and DH wasn't too grumbly! I consider that a successful trip!!

I was missing my Saturday Snaps **sniff, sniff** so I had to remedy that with tons of pictures!

The first one is never acceptable!

Looking closely, with a flower of course.

Searching.

Jeeze guys, can't you find one?

Do you ever have an moment when something suddenly makes perfect sense?! I've often wonder why it is so hard for my ladies to smile... not so much anymore. Ha!

We'll just call it 23 lbs. 

PHOTO-BOMB! I told him he made it into the family album. I may have lied. 

Barn cats will do anything for a belly rub.

And they'll accept it from anyone!

Favorite pictures, go!

Aside from our perfect pumpkin, which DH searched high and low for, we also picked up pies for the grandparents and some smaller pumpkins. I was sad to find my cinderella pumpkin had a mold spot when I got to the register and I put it back. Now I have to find another before halloween!

Tomorrow I plan to decorate the house a bit for fall before I go to work, and before this town is sucked into a sports-induced coma.

How do you keep your pumpkins?

I am going to try the bleach spray for after we carve the pumpkin, but I'm also considering clear coating the uncarved ones. Last year our pumpkins rotted before halloween and I'd like to keep some of them through thanksgiving. Am I asking too much?!

Shoo Crows!

Thanks Mandy!

Today was scarecrow day, despite it being 80 degrees and humid. What happened to my fall weather? It is October, right?

The ladies are quite pleased with their creations, so much so we had to walk through the lawn to show our friend the scarecrows hanging on the door. I'm pleased they could follow directions, and wait nicely as I took turns helping. 

Now if I could only get some fall weather, rich colors, and dry leaves...

What did you do today?!

Did I Succeed During Nap?

I will say that I kinda-sorta succeeded in the goals I set for myself. I'm still learning this mothering game right?!

I've decided I focused too little on the ladies on Wednesday, so today I strived to focus more on them and less on making the house presentable. I tried harder to alternate play time and chore time. By 9 o'clock I threw in the chore towel in favor of haircuts and dog walks! Chores can wait till nap time. We got to talk to the in-laws while we were at the park and all was right with the world!

Oh how wrong I was!

I am slowly learning that I am taking nap time for granted. I'd gleefully run to my bed if someone told me it was nap time. No questions asked! Apparently our outing wasn't as tiring as I had hoped, and the lunch I threw together was all they needed to PAR-TAY! While there wasn't total chaos, I did give up on the sleep and accepted quiet time. Quiet isn't always good.

It was nice to tidy the house while everything was quiet. I chose to ignore the pitter patter of little feet, running back and forth to the bookcase, because reading during quiet time is harmless, right?! I'm indirectly encouraging them to be voracious readers by allowing them to sleep with hoards of books, right?? They surely wouldn't be quietly trashing their room, ripping decals from the walls, or defecating, right?!?!?!

WRONG!

I was crushed. I was furious! I was glad I indulged my history interests before hand. Who are these kids?! Perhaps they were just encouraging the room re-decoration process? Testing my self control?? UGH! Poop?! Really? What are you, 3?! To make this poop issue better, she who will remain nameless, tried to play off this "accident" that clearly had not been recent. She made a bee-line for the bathroom announcing she had to go potty and dropped lovely little nuggets all over the floor as she dropped trou. "Accidents happen, right Mommy? It's okay." Her tone was trying to comfort and convince me. Really kid?!

So no, my porch is still dirty and no crafts were accomplished. The rain held off so we did get out and we spoke with the in-laws. I did pick up the house. I also did not neglect the children, which I think might have been the cause of all this chaos!

Is it the weather? The water? Am I alone here??

Today I Will

Not neglect my children!
Clean the porch.
Tidy the house.
Work on a craft.
Call the in-laws.
And not go crazy for the second rainy day in a row!

That's A Wrap!

The final "pop" and I am now D-O-N-E with apples, apple sauce, and apple butter! Happy dance!!

Now is it worth a pressure canner for veggies and stews? Christmas is just around the corner...

October Goals

Septembers goals were terrible. TERRIBLE! So horrible that I'm just moving on and hoping for better month this go around. There's no sense in making excuses, it just saddens me that many of the things I list are things I need to get done! Blah!!

So anywho...

Family

• Mini Vacation!
• A nice family dinner
• Pictures?
• Winter coats for the family

House

• Some painting, somewhere
• Living room decor
• Dryer repair
• Sort my canned goods and store

Crafts

• Must. Make. Coat.
• Shower gifts (Yes, the one I'm not attending! You didn't think I'd actually spend money on her did you?!)

Personal

• New shoes?
• Christmas listing and planning
• Pictures, pictures, pictures!

So what are you planning for this month?