"pwoject"

My Peach loves a good project.  So, I'm always hunting for creative things that are good for her age.  I stumbled upon this cute idea while browsing a magazine in the waiting room at the clinic the other day, so we had to give it a try.

The supplies:  canning jars, orange paint, masking tape, brushes and  tea light candles

cut the masking tape and apply to jars in the shape of a jack-o-lantern face

...the first strokes....

paint over the masking tape and let dry

We ran out of orange, so had to mix red and yellow.  Peach was AMAZED that I could do that.  

LOVE those moments when something so small makes me look like super woman.  

remove the tape and insert candle

Voila!  

Peach said the supper table that night looked "yomantic".

Crisp autumn air and a silly jack-o-lantern smiling at you while you eat supper...doesn't get much more "yomantic" than that!

something's missing

Hubby is gone tonight.  He's at a conference for school.  Left early this morning and won't be back until tomorrow night.  Its nights like these that really make me appreciate him.

The girls were troopers and we had no major incidences (thank you, Lord!) but even though they were pretty angelic today, it still feels like something's missing.

I don't often stop to think about all that he does for me...for us.

This morning I planned to get up an hour earlier than usual.  I also planned to get the girls up a half hour earlier than usual, thinking that everything would take twice as long as it usually does....

I still ended up ten minutes late to work....

...because everything took twice as long as I planned it would.

It wasn't that anything went wrong...it was just that he wasn't here.  It is amazing what one extra set of hands can help accomplish.

When I picked the girls up, I had so many thoughts swimming through my head (get home, feed the dog, throw the diapers in the wash, play, supper, baths, bedtime, day care bag for tomorrow...) that I left the day care bag sitting in the street.  Didn't realize it until we got home and I had already gotten Peach out of the carseat.  Luckily, Tulip was still in hers, so I strapped Peach back in and back to day care we went...thank goodness the bag was still intact!

We had a fun night, just playing in the yard and enjoying our first pot of chili...but we kept listening for the phone to ring, hoping that Hubby was calling to see how the day was going.

Tonight, after the sweeties were tucked in, I...

took out the recycling...yuck.

emptied the compost bucket...puke.

loaded the dishwasher...blah.

All things that Hubby usually does.  And with each check off the to-do list, I loved him a little more.

Its not what he does that makes me love him...its the fact that he's my partner in all this.  Without him, I would surely go insane on this parenting journey.  He's there to steady my world when it feels like everything could just come crumbling down at any second.

I am so fortunate to have him.  While I sit here and take time to be grateful for him, I'm feeling a little guilty about the little things.  The little things we sometimes argue about.  It seems like since the school year has started up, there have been more and more of those little things.  And when I have a chance to sit and think about them...remove myself from the situation, it seems almost comical.  The things we get frustrated about are just that...little things.

Anyway, although I am missing him, I must admit that there is something a little indulgent about having time to myself.  Although the house seems too big without him here, I'm taking advantage of this night to just do my own thing.  The quiet is nice...for tonight...I've been in First Peter a lot lately.  I don't know why, but I just keep re-reading it and finding new stuff each time.  Anyway, that's where I'm going next...to bed with my Bible and a fresh appreciation for the guy that is in this with me through thick and thin.  

1 Peter 3:8 says, "...live in harmony with one another..."

Tonight I'm vowing to let the little things go....

...to tell Hubby that I love him and to say it often...

...to take time to be thankful for all that he does and all that he is...

While I'm enjoying the stillness of the house tonight, I know that I couldn't do this every night.  

And while our romance looks a lot different today than it did 6 years ago, he's still the one....

apple patch

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day.  It was one of those days that you don't get very often in Minnesota.  Not too cold...not too hot...no bugs...just a little breeze.  Sweatshirts and jeans.  Ooooh....it was more than exquisite.

Slept in just a bit....enjoyed a lazy morning of peanut butter and jelly, coffee, playing in the sunshine streaming through the deck window and walking the dog.  

Then, the big question was, do we go to the pumpkin patch or the apple orchard?  Peach decided we should check out the apple patch.......made sense to us!

So we took a drive to our favorite orchard which just happens to have a small patch of pumpkins as well.

(Disclaimer...I went a little nuts on the pictures.  There were just sooo many good photo ops!)

This place has it all.

Tractors....

Punkin's.........

Room to run, skip, prance, whatever.....

A bell that is just irresistible for 2-year olds....

Beautiful gazebo...

Rose gardens...

Peaceful pond...

and LOTS of juicy apples.

Check out this little tree...I loved that although he was just a little guy, he was still bearing a lot of fruit.

I want my life to look like that.

Small, simple, but exploding with goodness.

We crunched our way through the orchard paths

and then headed into the store for our favorite:  

apple cider donuts

my kind of cooking!

I have to believe that heaven smells something like this.

We made our purchases and then headed back outside for some lip smackin' good treats.

Faces and fingers covered in sugar....bellies full and warm.

One last ride on a tractor and then we headed back home.

Read some of our favorite new library books on the way...

Made it home in time for the Vikings game....

Took a family nap....

Supper at a friends' house (we brought dessert - donuts, of course!)

Took the long way home just to see the beautiful sunset.

Yep...it was the perfect day.

homecoming

I have always loved being a teacher.  Usually, when I tell people that I choose to spend my days with middler schoolers, they give me a terrified look.  I don't know why, but I really enjoy that age and for the most part, I'm grateful to get to spend my days teaching and learning with 11-14 year olds.  But, if I'm being really honest, I have to admit that this fall has been a struggle for me.  Back to school has always been one of my favorite times of year, however, this year I'm really searching for a balance....wondering where that joy in teaching has gone.  It's left me a little bewildered.  I didn't see this coming.

After Peach was born, I was excited to go back.  She was a fussy baby and I really needed that creative outlet at school.  I felt revitalized after a day of challenging work.  I was excited to see her at the end of the day and I felt like that was a gift.  Because I was at work all day, I had the joy of looking forward to seeing her.

Plus, I got to spend the majority of my afternoons, evenings and weekends with just her, so it didn't seem like such a sacrifice.

Enter Tulip....and everything has changed.  Now I'm trying to figure out how I can be the enthusiastic teacher I've always been and then come home to split my time between these girls.  It's been hard.  When I'm at school, I'm thinking of home.  When I'm at home, I'm thinking of school.  And I'm feeling guilty that I'm not giving either one my best.

Well, this week was homecoming.  I remember it being such an exciting time when I was in school.  The weather this week was perfect and the kids were excited.  So, I decided to put aside my whiny attitude and join in.  I can't say that my heart was fully in it, but we did have fun.

Each year at the homecoming pep fest, we have pig races.  Each advisory group decorates their pig.  Here's how ours turned out.

We named her Penelope....

...and although she didn't win the race, she was for sure the cutest one!

The students enjoyed the parade and the pep fest.  

I smiled as I remembered my days of sports and friendships and big nights like this one.

But the best part of homecoming was coming home.....

We got the girls bundled up, ate a quick supper and headed off to the game.  It was a perfect autumn evening.  Peach found some friends and enjoyed shaking her pom pom while watching the cheerleaders.  The football team won and we made a sweet memory as we cheered them on.

Snuggled my girls a little closer that night thinking about those guys out there on the field.  Big seniors....but weren't they just in 7th grade yesterday?  Soon these girls won't be sitting on my lap in the stands.  I'll be the one cheering them on.  But today they still fit in my arms and no matter where life takes us, the best part of it will always be coming home to them.

applesauce

Hubby's parents have a few apple trees at their farm...lucky us!  Each fall, we get bags of apples to enjoy.  Last year, we made a few batches of applesauce.  We loved it so much that this year we went a little crazy.

But before we actually got to peeling the apples, Peach dug in and tasted them fresh off the tree.

After some delicious crispiness, we decided to get crackin'. 

This little guy is worth his weight in gold for projects like this.

A mountain of juicy goodness

The compost bucket was overflowing

ready to simmer....

Several hours later, we had 3 crock pots full of warm, delicious applesauce.

We gave some away, froze some and gobbled the rest up.

The best part?  Our house smelled like an orchard for days.  Oh, how I love fall for this very reason....and at least a dozen others.

My only complaint is that this blessed season just doesn't last long enough.