- Jack is back at school today (praise be) though after I posted yesterday I myself had quite an adverse intestinal episode so I ended up laying on the couch for the rest of the afternoon, bribing Jack to watch cartoons and movies so I could rest. Children are such good sharers when they don’t need to be. Then last night Jack kept waking himself up crying and babbling incoherent things from 9 until midnight. He was mainly very mad at his own face because his nose was running and I suspect he had a bit of snot that was tickling him and causing him issues, at one point he pitifully moaned, “Why does God do this to me? I hate my face!” He remembers done of this. Which is good because he was pretty displeased when I laughed at him after his outburst.
- I have used our backpack blower multiple times this autumn season to blow our leaves back into the woods. And still there are more leaves. On Sunday I spent close to three hours getting the lawn completely cleaned off. Two days later you can hardly tell I did anything. Fall is pretty but it is kind of a pain. [I feel the same way about winter and pretty much all times of year. Spring = rain and mud; Summer = hotness and humidity. I am basically never satisfied.]
- After reading blog posts and seeing Instagram raves about it, I have started taking a “shot” of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar (with the ‘Mother’) almost every day to ward off sore throats and strep. I think it is working… while I have gotten sick and had a bit of a head cold, it did not travel any further south to my throat, which is almost always the case. But even after weeks of taking it I cannot swallow it without making a terrible face and audibly gasping. That stuff is no joke. Strangely I cannot convince my children to join me in this endeavor… they’ll be sorry when they get strep throat.
- I cannot say enough times how much I love our “new” house and neighborhood. The fact that the boys have friends to play with and that will show up or call them to come over, it just makes me so very happy. There are tons of positives to where we live but my favorite is that my kids will have the kind of childhood where they will be out riding around the neighborhood with friends (if ever Liam decides he will learn to ride his bike sans training wheels) and have plenty of playmates at the ready. One of the other moms apologized for her son calling us up a couple times (he had found the school directory) and I honestly could say it didn’t bother me because both my extroverted kids and I love having people over and going to see other people. Cannot get enough of socializing… that is me in a nutshell (“No… this is me in a nutshell” – name that movie.)
- Speaking of extroversion – I took one of those quick Facebook surveys that is going around an it determined I am ENFP – The Inspirer. In chatting with a friend about the results, we agreed that Simon is likely ISTJ, my opposite. Which is not to say that he is fully introverted, just that he could happily stay home and not socialize whereas that fills me right up. He can happily chat up a stranger (and often does) whereas I’d much rather just talk to people I already know or will see again. It makes us a fine balance but one could see where it can also lead to friction (just sayin’).
- The boys are competing in a tae kwon do tournament in a couple weekends and while I am excited for them to have the experience. The schedule keeps creeping longer and longer and it looks like we’ll be there from morning until mid-afternoon. Do you recall yesterday how I said my kids only like to do things for 10 minutes at a time? Yeah – I’m sure they will suddenly develop attention spans that last for inordinate amounts of time – that happens, right? [I joke and I’m sure it will be “fine” but still – that’s a long time, especially since Simon will be coaching Calvin’s rugby team near Cleveland for the weekend. Perfect timing, that.]
- But the following weekend after the tournament is my annual girl’s weekend get away with my college friends and so at least I have the thought of that to carry me through.
- One of Liam’s great joys in life is when Jack falls asleep pretty soon after they go to bed and then he can come back out to the living room with the premise of “needing a little cuddle.” I admit, while I like my down time, I love these times with him. It’s then that he will finally open up about what has happened in his day, things he’s enjoying at school and what things are bugging him (which is usually nothing – the thing that appears to bother him the most in life is his little brother which is both understandable and unfortunate).
- I keep making my friend Kate’s “Garbage Bowl Salad” – it lasts for days and is pretty healthy (not to mention delicious): chop up one each: granny smith apple, gala apple, English cucumber, red pepper, orange pepper, yellow pepper – toss all together in large bowl. Serve individual bowls with cubed Monterrey Jack cheese, Craisins and dry roasted peanuts, dressed with Ken’s Light Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing. Enjoy.
- Another favorite, feed-yourself-for-many-meals AND easy recipe: Taco Chili: brown ground turkey with packet of taco seasoning – throw in slow cooker with 2 cans corn, 2 cans black beans (drained), 1 jar salsa verde, 1 bottle V8 – cook on low all day. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and/or avocado.
- My granny square quilt is coming along – 4 rows in with 8 to go + the border so I’m almost a third of the way there! Which is good because crocheting (or CROTCH-et-ing, as Liam first pronounced it) really cuts into my texting because two things you can’t successfully do together is crochet and text – unless you have at least three hands or more advanced technology that I do.
- I also relearned how to finger knit and have made a handful of scarves since Melissa taught me last week. You can never have too many scarves (despite what my husband might think). Other things you cannot have too many of: shoes, purses (or handbags, as Simon likes to call them), earrings and good friends.
- I was pleasantly surprised by my sweet friend, Sandy, on her birthday when she brought me lunch as part of her desire to do 38 random acts of kindness on her 38th birthday – she is good people, may you all have a friend like her in your life! Inspires me to think of what I can do for my birthday next year – thanks, friend!
- We got pumpkins a while back with the intention of carving them for Halloween – we have put it off long enough but I really HATE carving pumpkins and then dealing with rotten, half-eaten Jack-o-lanterns until we pitch them. But carve them we shall because I am not a scrooge – or whatever not festivizing Halloween is.
ememby 
Hehe. “Handbags” makes me giggle.
Horay for birthday lunch! Really, it was I who won there! Lunch with my 2 best girls!