To Do Lists and Other Stuff

I am the queen of to do lists--I always, always have one going.  I LOVE the satisfaction of checking things off and just making the list helps to "empty my brain."  Today I made 5 pages of to-do lists.  I decided to compartmentalize--I have sooo much to think about and do right now.  I'm planning a big baby shower, stuff for church, school, and then there's just the household stuff.  My brain was spinning with all the details but I think I've successfully emptied it all on to paper.  Now to start working and crossing things off.  I am on Day 4 of my 40 Days of Change and things are going well.  I have definitely curbed all the time wasted on the computer and I haven't cheated on my "diet" by eating dairy or meat.  I will call that a success.  

Right now I'm procrastinating...I have to make a Hershey's Kiss hat for Grace out of aluminum foil.  She has decided to be chocolate for Halloween.  She has a Hershey's chocolate shirt and brown pants and the Hershey's Kiss hat will top it off.  We decided not to purchase costumes this year and let the kids get creative.  I think Joe is going to be a Jedi--he has a costume from two years ago.  I think it will fit him well enough for one night.  Hannah is going to be "Halloween Girl"--she has a black dress with orange ribbons, orange and black striped tights, and lots of orange and black accessories.  I'll have pictures to post after the weekend.  My kids have gotten started on the candy...they got candy in Wal-mart and at the library today.  Let the sugar fest begin!!

Did you know that you have to be 18 to buy rubber cement?  I was buying 4 jars of it today and they had to push a button acknowledging that I was over 18.  I guess teenagers like to buy it and sniff it.  Maybe I should try that.  I only use rubber cement when we are making lapbooks and sometimes that process although fun can be a little stressful.  I could do a swipe of it on the back of a mini book and do a sniff and a swipe and a sniff.  Not a bad idea.

About once a week I get an e-mail saying that some random person is following me on Twitter.  I never Twitter anything but I guess I have an account.  I think I joined a long time ago because my brother-in-law told me I should or something but I don't even know how to Twit.  Why do these random people sign up to follow me???

Well, I'm off to make a foil hat--wish me luck!

Peace out peeps!

Day 2 out of 40

I've made it two days and I would say that I am making good progress. I am more conscious of when I'm choosing to get on the computer and using a timer to record my time. I think I have only about 5 minutes left for today. I will probably be going over just a bit. We started back to school today and had a very productive school day. I'm hoping for very productive days the rest of this week and Monday and Tuesday of next week. We have field trips scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday so we need to make the most of our time at home. I have done pretty well on the eating side of things. I've had no dairy or meat at all. I have had some sugar but not a lot. I'm not cutting that out completely, just limiting. Unless of course I stop being able to control the "limiting" and start over indulging and then I will cut that out too. I am also going to try to eat more fish again. We were eating a ton of fish last spring and this summer but we've taken a break because I got sick of it. I don't really love fish and so having it every other day go to be just too much. Maybe I'll shoot for a few times a week. You really can't beat those Omega-3's to combat inflammation. Well, my timer just went off so I will be signing off...I think I'll see if Hannah wants to play Skip-Bo. I haven't played a card game with her in months. My priorities have been really out of whack. She is ten and changing so much every day. I am going to make a conscious effort to do things with her that she enjoys and work on building that relationship. If the last few weeks are any indication of how rocky the teen years might be with her then we are all in trouble. :0)

40 Days of Change

As of tomorrow I am embarking on something I'm calling "40 Days of Change."  After hearing and thinking on a message this past Sunday I know that God is calling me to let go of some "idols" in my life and make some changes.  Firstly, with my priorities.  I am spending entirely too much time on the computer doing meaningless things.  The other night I spent 45 minutes looking at Youtube videos of deformed children.  Seriously.  What a waste of time!  I can't count how many times I've decided to get my computer time under control and failed.  This time will be different though.  I am setting specific goals and taking action to make this easier.  My goal is to spend no more than one hour total of time on the computer.  I'll be using my handy dandy Pampered Chef timer to track this.  I am also going to be relocating my laptop to a more uncomfortable, out of the way location.  Occasionally I will have to spend more than an hour like when I am making a photo book but it will be the exception rather than the rule.  The other area that I will be getting total control over is my diet.  I have discovered that if I don't eat meat, dairy, or a lot of sugar my inflammation is significantly reduced.  However, I regularly cheat and seldom go more than two or three days without having just a little of something or a lot.  For the next 40 days (with the exception of turkey on Thanksgiving) I will be sticking to a vegetarian diet.   You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all of this--mostly because I know that if I go public with my resolutions I am more likely to stick with them.  That's just how I am.  I am looking forward to getting a better handle on my life with God's help of course.  Self discipline is something I really struggle with and there is no way I can do this without God giving me the strength and resolve.  If you are a praying person, pray for me!!

Pumpkin Carving

Corn Maze and a Bus Ride!!

Saturday night we went with my mom and dad's Bible Study group to a corn maze about an hour away. The big thrill of this was the bus ride! Only Hannah has ever been on a school bus that I remember and they were all pretty excited about getting to ride in a real school bus.

Here's Joe with his new friend, Aslan. On the way there they got to sit in the back of the bus. They were a little rambuctious but not too bad.
There was a lot to do and see at this corn maze. First thing we all did was go to the bathroom and stock up on boiled peanuts, fried pies, apples, and homemade ice cream. Then we played around the area a bit before sitting down for our picnic dinner and then the corn maze.






We did the corn maze in the dark with a flashlight and made it through a lot faster than I would have thought we would. Aslan led the way and I think the only one not too happy with that was Grace. She would have liked to have really "done" the maze and not just played follow the leader. All in all we had a great night, the weather was perfect and the company fun!

LOTS of Pictures

This is what happens when I go so long without posting pictures while on a trip--you have to look at a whole bunch at once. Because I am not a perfectionist, these are all mixed up and in no particular order. In a nutshell here's what we've done and what these pictures record--

• We went up to North GA and had a picnic at Amicalola State Park at the top of the falls. with Pop and Brayden. Then Joe and Grace and I took the "Difficult and Strenuous" way down to the bottom of the falls and Pop, Brayden, and Hannah drove down and met us at the bottom. It was a wonderful "hike"--mostly stairs--that went along the path of the falls. My knees were quivery by the time we made it to the bottom but it was so worth it! We saw beautiful leaves and the weather was just perfect. We were able to complete our nature scavenger hunt for our lapbook by finding an oak leaf, a maple leaf, a beetle, a spider web, a fern, moss, and much more.
  
• We went to a pumpkin patch that had some HUGE pumpkins!! We bought a nice round pumpkin and I think we are going to carve it today.
  
• Yesterday we went to a local ballfield where Pop ran a baseball/softball clinic and worked on some skills with Grace and Joe. They got some throwing, catching, and hitting practice and training.
  Hannah and Brayden played on the playground and collected acorns and threw them over the fence.
  
• We also visited with my cousin-in-law and her sweet baby, Colin. He's such a cute little smiley baby!
• We took a walk down the street with Okley the dog and Brayden and collected some leaves and took a picture in front of a beautiful dogwood tree.
  
• We hung out on Grammy's big front porch and took some pictures while Pop ate his cereal. :0)

I think that about covers it. Tonight we are going to a corn maze so I'll have a lot more pictures to share once I get home. BTW--everyone is finally feeling better--no fevers at least just a lot of snot and hacking. You can see in one of the pumpkin pictures that Joe has his ever present Kleenex in hand. When he has a runny nose he obsessively wipes it. Thankfully, Aunt Cici (my sister) bought him some soft Puffs. He has even been sleeping with his box of tissues. Enjoy the pictures!