Jackson’s Orchard: Pumpkin Patch 2010

On the docket

I didn’t know that being a mommy-t0-two would be so time consuming.

Seriously, I didn’t anticipate how few minutes in the day I have to indulge in “me time.”  (And that isn’t a complaint; I love putting my children’s needs first.)

One of the things that has fallen by the wayside as I learn the steps to this dance that is my mother-life right now, sadly, is my blog.  And as much as I miss interacting with you, dear reader, I also am missing the posts for selfish reasons.  I use this blog so much as a family journal, and a year from now, I’m going to see that 2010 – such a big year for us – is sadly lacking in the documentation category.

So, in an attempt to hold myself accountable (though, yeah, me and goal-meeting?  Not so much of that going on around here lately), here are some of the posts I hope to knock out before the holidays:

• 30 x 30 recap/closing
• Halloween decorations
• Halloween party
• Seth’s first “report card”
• My recent love affair with a new online shopping site
• The bump that will not go away on Seth’s head
• our getaway to Vegas
• Nonna’s fall trip to TN
• Seth’s birthday party 
• Family pictures
• Balsmeyer trip to TN
• Erin’s nursery – with new wall art additions
• Girls’ Night Out adventures
• Erin’s milestones thus far (they are coming fast and furious!)

Honestly, there are dozens more that, embarrassingly, go all the way back to the county fair in July, salmon fishing in August, and Labor Day festivities.  And maybe they’ll get posts, and maybe they won’t.

But everybody keeps telling me to make time for myself, and what I love, and this blog is one of those things I love, so….

Here’s to carving out some time for this momma to put her Writer Chic hat back on.

Boo!

I put this picture up on Facebook, and some girlfriends said it makes Erin look too scary.

But I think it looks cool.  All I did was apply the “painting” app from my camera to a picture I snapped of Erin looking out the door the other day.

Her eyes really are that big!  And it was just a coincidence that she had on her Old Navy ghost onesie.

What’s your vote?  Spooky or not?

Technology

I’d rather live with it – with all its hassles and drawbacks and frustrations – than without it.

But the fact that I’ve been sitting on hold to speak with a live person for over 18 minutes, just to have someone try to tell me why I can’t connect to Internet Explorer is about to send me through the roof.

I realize it’d probably be healthy for me to “unplug” for a while.  But, man, I’d have rather made that choice on my own, rather than my computer just getting all I-don't-want-to-do-your-bidding-anymore on me.

No Facebook conversations with my mother-in-law about where to get the final pieces of Seth’s Halloween costume.

No more Skype conversations with my mom, so she can witness, first-hand, Erin’s newfound skills of crawling backwards.

No more mass emails regarding a much-anticipated girls’ night out to The Melting Pot.

I mean, I’ll get this up and running eventually, but as for the moment….it’s just me and the elevator music.

Grr.

The best bad day

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I can count on one hand the number of times Jim has sent me flowers – like, someone from the florist shows up on the doorstep because he thought to brighten my day with some posies.

I had the worst day ever recently.

Though I suppose I’d have to admit that since, in hindsight, I can’t hardly remember what made it so bad, I guess you could say “worst day ever” is a little dramatic.

Anyway.  It was a bad day.  I was feeling inadequate, overwhelmed, misunderstood.  And (again, I can’t remember) I either (a) took it out on Jim, or (b) he picked up on it.   If I had to guess, I’d say (a).  Not because it’d be unusual for him to pick up on it; it’s just more likely that I was dumping on him.

Either way, he went out of his way to call our local florist and walk them, step by step, through the arrangement he wanted them to fashion for me.  He was specific: lilies were okay, but no stargazers (I’m allergic); fall colors (my favorite); and confetti roses (like the ones in my wedding bouquet).

I even got a heavenly-scented candle along with the buds – a chocolate raspberry one.   (Hello!  I want to eat the wax, it smells SO good!)

If I’d been doing better with blogging, this would have been the post to go up last week on our fifth wedding anniversary.  But I haven’t been, so it didn’t.  But the important thing is that I’m bragging on him now.

Thank you, Jim, for making my bad days a whole lot better, flowers or no.  I love you.

Brotherly Suds

I’m sorry.

Maybe you’re rolling your eyes on the other side of the screen.

But I love it.  The look on her face.  The memory of his sweet voice, “I wash your hair, Er-bear.”  The water on the floor and the load of towels ready to be washed.  I love it all.

4 months/5 months…where are the days going?

They say that the older you get, the faster time moves.

Yep.

Erin “just” turned 3 months old.  Then I blinked, and blinked again, and now she is four five months old.

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Somewhere, with the turning of the leaves, my bean has grown.  She is a totally different baby – still tiny, but strong.  Loud.  Opinionated.  Charming.  Starting to sit up (on her own), trying to crawl (but only going backwards).  Her personality is bursting forth in dazzling fashion.  She loves no one more than her big brother.  She does not hold still; her hands are always reaching out to touch, feel, discover (or, grab and chew, as evidenced below).  Her feet are always kicking, twitching, swinging upward to her open mouth (as evidenced above).

 
I was so afraid to have a daughter, and yet, here I sit, staring across the room at the brightest light in my life.

The only thing, sweet girl, that makes the rapid passage of time bearable, is knowing that each day will bring new and wonderful adventures in discovery; knowing that if I love you this much today, I’ll only love you this much more tomorrow.

PS, for administrative purposes: Happy 5th anniversary, Jim.  I love you, as I do Seth and Erin, so much more today than I did yesterday, and eons more than the day we said “I do.”  Thank you for partnering with me, daily, in this crazy, wonderful life of ours.

What fall break has taught me so far

Around these parts, schools are letting out for fall break.

It is creeping up on noon, and it hasn’t broken 60 degrees yet today.  I’ve finally had to break down and turn on the furnace, since Erin’s feet weren’t staying warm, no matter my efforts.

I enjoyed a toasty bagel and a strong cup of coffee with a splash of amaretto creamer this morning, and thought to myself, I’m going to color my hair.

I had a box of at-home color – a nice, no-bells-or-whistles shade of darker brown (Clairol #30, for anyone wondering) just to cover up the remnants of my summer highlights.

So, with Erin snoozing, and Seth enthralled (again) with Up, I set to do my ‘do.

And here is the lesson I’ve learned.

No matter how safe the color, no matter how perfect your technique, no matter how carefully you follow the application directions, IF your timing were to get “off” (say, due to a horrendous diaper malfunction) and you were unable to wash out your color at the recommended 25-minute mark, THEN you just might end up with color a little darker than planned.

Ahem.

It’s not bad.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a botched job.  But, whoa.  It is for sure brown. DARK brown.  Like everybody-is-going-to-think-I-hit-30-last-week-and-went-off-to-the-dark-side brown.

But the important thing is that Erin’s diaper got changed before the poop went up her sleeves (which, by the way, happened Saturday.  That was fun.).

So, happy baby = happy momma.

Even if I am a little fearful Jim is going to come home and call me Elvira. ;)

Happy October!!!

I have to admit, I’m not 100% happy with how our porch turned out this year.  As I arranged things earlier this week, I kept thinking, “it was better last year.”  But then I pulled up the pictures from last year; other than the fact that last year, we had three small mums (as opposed to this years’ two gargantuan ones) and a handful more little pumpkins, it really isn’t as “better” as I thought.

Anyway, all that to say, I definitely see myself tweaking and fluffing some more in the coming weeks.  But for now, here is how we are welcoming fall this year.

Pumpkins, and a peanut. ;)

Froofed up wreath.
(I’d forgotten where our usual one had been stored, so I made a new one (see photo above).  When I found the original (smaller) wreath, I just layered them up.  You can’t quite see all the “WELCOME” letters, but I think you still get the gist.)

If you’re wondering why my pumpkins are so shiny, it’s because I spray them with Krylon acrylic indoor/outdoor clear coat.  Last year, it kept the pumpkins from rotting or being eaten for the full 2 months we had them out in the elements.

 

Bejeweled spider candlestick (Pottery Barn).

The perfect perch for the palest of pumpkins.

   

Just imagine that the mums have already bloomed…



I think the green pumpkin on the table is my favorite this year.

Still needs a little something….but what?

There, that’s better. ;)

 
And forgive the quality of these next pics….stupid flash/no flash rule…. but here are the few fall touches I’ve set out inside:

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A woven basket ($1 garage sale find) filled with cinnamon hazelnut potpourri; a pair of grapevine pumpkins set on the mantel among the regular decor (‘08 Target clearance!!!); and a new tradition of a framed picture of my trick-or-treater in his past Halloween costumes.  This picture will be more of a challenge now that I have two little monsters to wrangle for a photo shoot. ;)

And last but certainly not least….

Homemade beef stew bubbling in the dutch oven.  Mmmmmm!
  
Seeing as how I’ve yet to make my inaugural loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread, I’ll have to take my carbs in garlic bread form.  (Cry me a river, I know!)

Now that the temperatures have finally settled well below the 95-degrees we’ve been having, I think it’s safe to say, FALL IS HERE!!!

Sending her back

… to 1983, that is.

I’m getting ready to post pictures of how we’re falling it up around here, but as sneak peek:

 
I was playing around with my editing software, and aged this one a bit.  It seems that all of my baby pictures have this orangey tint to them…it was kind of neat to “transport” Erin back to the past, too.

Stay tuned.  More fall cuteness of Erin and Seth, plus the great porch reveal coming later this week!

Moderated

My inbox is overflowing with spammy blog comments.

I know your time, reader friend, is precious, which is why I HATE HATE HATE that you now have another step to complete to leave a post comment.  (Kasey, never fear; you’re now completely exempt from commenting – since I’ve made it even harder!)

But my time is precious, too, and so is my blog content, at least to me.  I hate logging into my email to see a dozen new “comments” in my Writer Chic folder, only to discover than eleven of them are spam that I have to unpublish and delete.

So….there you have it.

Faithful readers, I hope you don’t mind, and I hope you’ll still comment.

Robot spammers…..sayonara.

I found one!

Recent picture of Seth, that is.

But it makes my heart hurt.  Because he looks SO much older than two, I think.

 
I know the day is coming all too soon that he won’t be able to fit in my laundry baskets to watch Cars.  So, today, I gladly schlep the clean clothes to the couch sans tote, and cherish his littleness for just a bit longer.

Hello, gorgeous girl

(Is anyone else getting the feeling like I have WAY more pictures of Erin than of Seth recently?  Yeah, me, too.  I’m working on that.  But the little bugger won’t hold still or look at the camera anymore….)

Anyway, until Seth starts cooperating, here’s what you get:

Send in the…

teaser pictures of Miss E’s Halloween get-up.  I can’t WAIT to put some big red circles on her already-rosy cheeks!

 
I had so many suggestions of adorable things she could be for trick-or-treating….but I figure I have YEARS to dress her up, and, well, I’m CHEAP!  So this adorable felt one-piece (plus the jesters hat) for only $4 at my beloved Once Upon A Child was right up my alley.

Seth is going to be a fireman (another score at OUAC -- $6 for a two piece Gymboree costume!), and he is already enjoying the heck out of his costume for daily dress up fun.

I didn’t trick or treat for the majority of my growing up years, and I have every intention of keeping Halloween very non-goblins and ghouls for my littles as they grown, but I have to admit – taking part in the whole dress-up-and-go-searching-the-subdivision-for-chocolate ritual is pretty fun for this mommy.

Wordless Wednesday September 22

The girl who gave me the boy who gave me the girl.  Love them both to the moon and back.

Never, ever forgotten

Monday morning started way too early for me.

Seth decided that he needed company – mainly, mine – in bed at 1:45 AM.  Erin decided that 3:30 AM was prime party time in her room (Daddy’s been a bad influence the last few weekends, methinks).  I had just gotten back into my own bed after settling her for an hour and a half, when Seth was tugging at me:  “Mommy, wake up.  It’s morning.”  (Well, technically, yes, but, oh, how I was enjoying my pillow.

So, I’m up, I’m tired, I’m shamelessly using OnDemand Sprout TV to babysit so I can pry my eyes open, and I’m not a little dubious about how the day would unfold around me, seeing as how I couldn’t seem to lift my head.

But after a banana and a bowl of Cheerios and half-gallon of ice water, I was starting to perk up.

And then.

And then I got an email from the children’s ministry director at our church.  I’ve mentioned before how much the people at our church have just welcomed us and pulled us in and made us family.  They’ve watched our kiddos and fed out family and just done a fantastic job of living life with us since the day we got to this little Tennessee town.

By far one of the greatest displays of love we’ve seen from our church family was the planting of a sunset maple in Duncan’s honor last August.  You can read all about that day and view the slideshow of pictures here.

I have wanted to have some family pictures taken at Duncan’s tree, but timing and weather have worked against us.  But the great thing is – the tree isn’t going anywhere! =)

But I digress.  I was talking about my bad Monday morning, and the redeeming email from Lisa:

I have to tell you what happened last night at Praise Kids!

We had taken the Kindergarten - 5th graders outside on the playground for a few minutes after rehearsal (they were wound UP!) and kids being kids, they were running all over the place. A group of boys discovered Duncan's little tree and started to shake it.  After being told to stop a couple of times with no results, I marched over and gathered the kids around the tree.  I showed them the ornament hanging in it's branches and explained to them why it was there and what it represented.

I told them that "before he was born, Baby Duncan went to Heaven to be with Jesus.  But this tree helps us remember him."

Kaylen, with her eyes full of tears said, "Oh, I bet his Mom was really sad..."

I told them, "Yes, his Mom & Dad both were very sad, and so were a lot of other people.  Even though Duncan is very happy and in Heaven with Jesus, they're still sad sometimes because Duncan never experienced life here on earth with their family.  They're not seeing him grow up, go to school, play baseball...."

Jack, one of our 3rd graders, then interrupted with..."Well, now that just SUCKS!"

I couldn't help but laugh...it was such an honest and accurate statement!  I told him, "Yeah, it does, Jack.  But we have this tree to remind us that even if Duncan's life was short, he was still part of our family.  And as his little tree grows tall, it points straight to Heaven to remind us everyday of Duncan's life and where he is."

Jack reached out gently, wrapped his hands around the tree, looked straight up the branches and said, "Hey, Duncan, miss you, buddy! Say hi to Jesus for me!"  Then ran off to go play.

So now I've created a bunch of tree huggers.  LOL  The rest of the time on the playground, as the kids raced past the tree, they would stop, give it a hug, look up into its branches and say, "Hey, Duncan!," then wave good-bye as they darted off to play.

Later on, one of the younger kids ran over and started to shake the tree again, but this time a couple dozen other children pounced on him like vultures, screaming, "Stop shaking Duncan's tree! Leave it alone!!!"

Duncan made a ton of new friends last night...friends who are gonna do a great job looking out for his tree, making sure it grows straight & tall, so they can always remember him. : )

Do I even need to say anything in closing?  Talk about making my day.  Not only was my son remembered, but I get the pleasure and blessing of knowing this wonderful woman will be influencing my children for as long as we are blessed to worship together here in Tennessee.

I just had to share this with my readers; I hope it brought a smile to your day, too.

30 x 30 Week 11

Short and sweet.

• Weight lost: 3 lbs.
• Total lost since July 6th: 4 lbs.
• Pounds to go in Phase Two: 12 lbs.

On track with the realistic goal I posted last week, I think, which would have me down 4 more lbs. in the next 10 days.  We’ll see.  If it happens, whoo-hoo!  If not, I can smile at the fact that I still am adding to the donation pile of “these are too big” clothes.  The scale is only a number, after all.  I need to stay focused on how I look and most importantly, how I feel.

The only roadblock in my (known) future this week is a birthday party on Friday afternoon, but I’m telling my friends right now (that’s you, Kasey and Andrea) – don’t let me eat cake.  I’d rather enjoy my naked burrito at Qdoba.  So, hold me to it! =)  Other than that…I think it’ll be a good week.

Hope y’all have one, too.

The post where I prove her wrong

My sweet friend Kristin recently awarded me with a blogging “award,” which I think is hilarious (though appreciated) because, hello?  Really?  When was the last time you read anything of substance on The Writer Chic?

Seriously, the only thing I could think of when I opened this post draft was the following:

Do y’all know what I learned this week?  (And this is embarrassing to admit because you guys probably already knew this.)  When you’re cooking or baking, and the recipe calls for an egg, you should (a) crack and beat the egg in a separate bowl or (b) put the egg in the bowl before adding the other ingredients (like water, oil, etc.).

Because if you, say, measure and pour your water, oil, seasoning, and the like into a mixing bowl, and then crack your egg into the bowl, you just might end up wasting a LOT of ingredients when you realize that your egg was, um, more chicken than egg.

Ew.

See?  THAT is the post I had in mind for today.  Hardly substantial….though I do feel it was a valuable lesson to learn.

But regardless, thank you, Kristin, for the award, and in the spirit of sending my readers to a blog where they may actually read something of substance, I’ll leave y’all with a list of some of the blogs that I read daily.  These have all been slotted to have their own “Meet My Peeps” post, but let’s face it….my time: precious, and blogging is taking a back seat.

So, here ya go:

• Emily’s Chatting at the Sky
• Edie’s Life in Grace
• Denise’s Victory Road
• Kate’s Centsational Girl
• Sophie’s Boomama (but I’d bet you a Steinmart gift card that you’re already reading her!)

Hope y’all have a great weekend!

Stand down ladies, he’s taken

30 x 30 Weeks 9 & 10

I didn’t mean to take Labor Day off from McFatty Monday.  But, somehow, it happened.  Oops.

Week 9 was better than Week 8, for sure.  See?

• Weight lost: 3 lbs.
• Total lost since July 6th: 5 lbs.
• Pounds to go in Phase Two: 11 lbs.

Yea, me!  I was focused again, after the weeks of yo-yoing and disappointment.  I rocked Week 9.

And then.

Week 10.  Which can be summed up in a phrase that I think epitomizes my struggles:

“And because it was there, …”

I read a book over the course of Week 10 – a just-for-fun book, not a diet and nutrition book – but I did pick up on something the author was using, and it was that phrase.  She was using it as non-dialogue filler, just to help develop a scene, but three times that I can recall off the top of my head, she used the phrase:

• “Because it was there, Jack reached for a beer…”
• “Laurel mulled over what Mac had said, and because it was there, reached for another chip.”
• “Del stopped to think about Parker’s argument, and just because it was there, picked out a slice of the sausage and pepper pie.”

Oh, my goodness.

Where do I sign up for a cameo appearance in that novel, because I’d fit right in!

Seriously, that is me.  Mindless snacking, just because it’s there.  One more trip to the pantry, just because I know something yummy is in there.  It’s horrible, and I want it to STOP!

So, seeing as how I’m not going to get even remotely close to my 30 x0 30 goal (heck, I’m not even going to see the flip side of Phase Two), I’m just recommitting, again, to be more mindful, and to nix the snacking in the bud.  Because I’m finding that just because the snack is under 100 calories, or even if it’s healthy, if it’s CONSTANT, I’m still not going to lose.

Week 10?

• Weight lost: none, not even maintaining. I’m back up 4 lbs. in 1 week.  And as much as I’d like to blame two end-of-summer BBQs on the gain, I need to admit it was the parties PLUS some bad habits I let creep back in.
• Total lost since July 6th: 1 lbs.
• Pounds to go in Phase Two: 15 lbs.

New oh-how-happy-I’d-be goal is 12 lbs  by the 30th.  I know that is neither practical nor healthy, but hey, I’m being honest.  New realistic goal? 7 lbs. by the 30th. And, after that, we’ll reevaluate.

Jim and I will be heading to Las Vegas for a conference in a couple months, and I’m kind of using that as a new motivator.  That, and this picture:

 
I love these people, and I love the happiness in this shot.

But it’s fuzzy because it is so cropped, and it’s so cropped because I look AWFUL in it.  It makes me really, really sad to see my chubby face, and flabby arms (which, whew, is it least somewhat hidden thanks to Doug and Sara’s arms), and I hate that Sara and I have been trying ALL STINKIN’ SUMMER to get this picture of the four of us….and now that we have it, I’m ashamed of it.

Maybe that’s just my vanity speaking, but I need a good kick in the pants.  Because 6 weeks ago, I weighed 10 lbs less than I do right now.  So, no more “I just had a baby excuses.”  I did this to myself, and – this’ll make Jim laugh – in the words of Carrie Underwood….

I wanna UNDO IT.

Here we go.

Again.

A Day out with Thomas

Overpriced event tickets?  Check!

Scores of excited preschoolers and tolerant parents? Check!

Beautiful weather, a happier-than-I’ve-ever-seen-him Seth, and wonderful family memories?  Check, check, and check!

What I learned from my Day Out with Thomas:

• I seriously underestimated the scale on which this event takes place.  Holy cow.  Parking alone was nuts, and seeing the line of parents, toddlers, and strollers headed from the lot to the train station gave me chills (and not the good kind).
• Whomever puts on these events needs to rethink the concept of having three-year-olds wait for 1+ hours to have their picture taken solo with Thomas.  (Frankly, I’m glad we skipped the line and got our own candid shot with no fuss.)
• If there is ever a shortage of blue and red plastic, I know exactly where it went.  Heavens, the gift shop!  Unbelievable amount of Thomas paraphernalia.  Jim and I each toured Seth through the shop, and both came to the conclusion that we really didn’t enjoy hearing “but I NEED him” repeated ad nauseum, so, yes, we left the railway with no new additions to our collection.
• And lastly, despite my “criticisms,” I learned that there is nothing that makes a parent’s heart swell faster than being able to make a dream come true for his child.  I am so glad we took the time and expense to give Seth this memory.  It will last a lifetime.

What 365 days can do

In the words of Martina McBride, this one’s for the girls.

Namely, our girls.  Our being my and Beth’s girls.

In a mere 365 days, we have gone from this and this:

To this and this:

It’s a wonderful, miraculous thing to think that a year ago, on September 9th, we were at Vanderbilt sending Presley into open heart surgery, and Erin was just a mere suspicion.

And here we are now…enjoying Labor Day cookouts with two healthy daughters between us.

Beth, we are blessed mommas indeed.

The lip says it all

Three dozen shots of the bean in her sticker-coordinated sundress, and not a one is worthy to post with her four month blog report.

Stay tuned; we’ll attempt to capture Miss E in a better mood later this weekend!

So few things in life are “ideal”

Where I blog is no exception.

Kate, aka the Centsational Girl, is hosting a “where do you blog?” link-up party, and of course, I wanted to get it on the fun.

Last summer, I did a lot of blogging from here:

Wow.  Post-Duncan bedrest, and before Brooke gave my blog layout her beautiful overhaul.  Seth was in the care of family and friends, and I did a TON of blogging from the comfort of my bed.

Now, however, with both Seth and Erin underfoot, this is most often the blogging set up:

It’s a miracle I haven’t sent the laptop careening over the edge of the stairwell ledge, but….it’s what works.  It’s high enough off the ground that Seth can’t reach it; it had good outlet access (since I have killed my battery, and my laptop stays plugged in at all times); and it provides a decent vantage point of both the family room and Erin’s nursery.
  
Now, “ideally,” I would have time to myself to blog at my desk:

But let’s face it.  I’m a mommy.  And right now, we just go with what works.  And what needs to work right now is hitting “publish,” and racing off to Erin’s room, where she has woken – for the FOURTH TIME THIS AFTERNOON – from her nap.

Where do you carve out a corner of space to blog?  We’d love to see you link up over at Kate’s.