Catching up- October

So I was determined to make October fun!  We waited out the first couple of weeks, because we knew there was a possibility John would be laid off, and if we could do things with Daddy then we would wait for him.  Bless John's heart, that first weekend he was off I think I filled up!


At the beginning of the month it was beautiful out.

At a new playground we found when out one Saturday.

More birthday fun!

                                    

                                      We celebrated our cousin's birthday.

With my Papa

We carved some pumpkins.

I love this picture!

Making the same face as his pumpkin!

We did hit up a local pumpkin farm.  On recommendation from my sister, we went to Ballenger's in a neighboring county and it was FABULOUS!

About to pick our pumpkins!

We loved the slides.

We had to stay warm, it seemed it was chilly the weekend we were out and about.

It was also chilly for Boo at the Zoo!

My ninja and pumpkin

We also did some resting this month!

And this pic just because.  She is her brother's mini-me.

Like I said on the last post, I feel like I was just going through the motions.  I know Wheeler had a great time and we made wonderful memories, but I felt like I was getting farther and farther behind with work.  If I'm at home my mind is on work, if I'm working on schoolwork my mind is on my family and the time I should be spending with them.

Catching Up-September

Ok, so I have been absolutely horrible at keeping this blog updated.  After being so tired and sick throughout the pregnancy last year I wanted so badly to make it up to Wheeler by doing those fun family fall outings we usually do.  We did quite a bit, however I just felt like I was going through the motions.  Don't get me wrong, I loved being with my family, but I just didn't feel it this year, like I have in the past.  This feeling has continued through the Christmas holidays.  I have had to really do some self reflection and praying over the past couple of weeks.  More about that later, though (maybe!  If I make it back to the blog for that post!)

Anyway, I am rewinding the year, and playing catch up.  September wasn't that eventful.  John was still working weekends and I was working from home most weekends until at the end of the month I had a breakdown and decided that weekends were family time, I put in enough hours during the week!

We get a four day weekend for Labor Day, so Kelli and I took the boys to the zoo.

Aren't they precious!

Do you see them?

They had been begging to ride the camel!

We also celebrated my uncles' birthday.  Yes they were born on the same day a couple years apart.

The Birthday Boys

With Grammy

I added this one just because I like it!  My aunt and cousin bought Miss C this outfit and it is the cutest! I'm sad it won't fit her next summer.  Well, actually, if she keeps growing as slow as she is it might fit!

Wheeler had career day at school and on that particular day he decided he wanted to be a doctor.  I think he's changed his mind about 50 times since then.  Thank goodness he has a little bit of time to decide!

While he was trying to decide what he wanted to be, he dressed as a cowboy!

Like I said earlier, I came to the realization at the end of September that I was starting to neglect my own kids and work was consuming me!  It's still a struggle to find the balance, especially now that I've got a child of my own at school and he can't stay late with me in the afternoons without getting rambunctious!  I love teaching, but it can't consume me to the point it was, and yet there is not enough time to do everything I HAVE to do, much less everything I need to do.  I think this has been a huge cause of the slump I've been in the last quarter of this year.  Like I said, I've been praying about this.

Hopefully I will be back with October within the next couple of days!  I spent about 3 hours watermarking all the pics over the las couple of days, I need to use them!!! HAHA

Random Thoughts

Listening to Wheeler on Monday as he played by himself (which is a rarity, the boy DOES NOT like to play by himself,)  I REALLY listened.  He is so peculiar.  Having never been an almost 5 year old boy myself, I wondered, do all little boys play like this, talk to themselves like this?  He was playing with a mixture of army men, aliens, space ships, astronauts, and dinosaurs (gotta love his imagination!)  They were all in space, somewhere.  Everything seemed fine and cheerful, and then came the "your head is blasted off!"  "Take that, you bad guys!" "Off with your heads!"  "Ohh, here you are my pretty."  He had engrossed himself into a little story line with them, and I loved it, but I wondered why all the violence.  We try to keep him away from violent things on TV and in movies, but man, it's hard! Violence is everywhere.

We have let him watch the original Star Wars, and while I'm not a Star Wars fan, at all!, they aren't as violent as a lot of cartoons these days.  I really miss the days of Smurfs (well, Gargamel was trying to get all the Smurfs, would that have been considered bad in our day) Tom and Jerry (although if you really watch, Tom is forever trying to get Jerry, was that bad?) and Bugs Bunny (oh, wait, Elmer Fudd was after that "wascally wabbitt! with his gun.)  Why is it that what was actually violence back then, is considered classic now and we think it wasn't so bad?  Sure, the gore factor wasn't there.  Is it that since I watched those cartoons as kids I don't think it's bad?  (Actually, we've pulled Tom and Jerry from the cartoon list for now.)

I don't have any answers to my questions necessarily.  Just thinking through the keyboard.

I guess what it boils down to is that it is MY JOB to expose my children and explain things to them the way I want.  I can't let mainstream society teach them that violence is the norm, but I can't shield them from it, either (that bubble isn't big enough for the four of us! LOL)

Ok, so I know this isn't my normal type of post full of pictures, but it's just what's been running through this jumbled brain of mine.

God is Good, God is Grape

God is good, God is grape......this is how Wheeler begins all of his prayers.  I love hearing him pray.  Lately he asks to pray.  One day earlier this month, we were driving down the road, he said "let's pray for daddy's test."  John's stat final was that morning.  So I pulled to Sequoia over, and we prayed.

When we pray at dinner, we usually say the old  God is good God is great, let us thank him for our food......., but at night we all three sit together and each of us prays.  It's one of my favorite times of day.  Sometimes Wheeler goes on, and on, and on......and on, thanking God for jelly toast, ranch dressing, peanut butter and jelly, milk, juice (a lot of food!) and then he goes on to thank God for daddy and mommy, grammy and Poppa Allen.  He thanks God for all his cousins, his aunt Kelli and Uncle Scott and Aunt Kay and Uncle Randy.  And lately he ends his prayers with "I love you, Jesus.  Amen."  My favorite time of day.

Reading

My boy loves to rea!.  We read all the time and many different books.  He's even sat and listened to John read from The Visual History of the Modern World.  So we went to McKay's Books yesterday to get some new books.  It was the first time I had let him roam around and not stay confined to the stroller.  He had a ball picking out books.  He thought he was such a big boy because he could reach books up high.

In the end he picked out some Curious George and Clifford books.  (Mommy also brought home some Dr. Seuss books that we didn't have.)

He thought the glass elevator was so cool and we had to ride it.

And this was on the way home when we were stopped in traffic because he wanted me to take it.

What a stinker!  We had fun reading our books once we got home.  I pray this love of reading he has continues forever!

Some of Our Summer Activities

So as I posted before, we've been busy.  I didn't even mention (as my friend Nancy pointed out! LOL) that I am finishing my Ed.S. and I'm in school this summer.  I have done homework, promise!!

Our summer began with the sweet wedding of my cousin.

We have done our fair share of time at Dollywood.

We've been to the playground.

We played in the fountains at The World's Fair Park and had a picnic afterward.

We've had fun in the backyard.

I've been trying my hand at canning and growing a small container garden.

 Mmmmm.  Strawberry jam!!  We even went and picked the strawberries!

 A bird got to our first red tomato, but I think another one is ready to pick!

 Blueberries....for the fun of it!

Peppers!  Yum!

And then there's game night!!!

 That leads us up to the Fourth of July!!

We made red, white, and blue chocolate covered popcorn!

And to think....we're not even going on vacation this year!!!

I hope you've had a fabulous summer, too!!!