October in a "Pumpkin" Shell

Too cheesy? Oh well. It's all I got. This whole blogging thing has been the bane of my existence. I know I should blog. Shoot, my super-non-existent-blogger sister has been blogging like crazy and still no blogs from me. I got good excuses, people. Just none you want to hear. So, maybe not too creative, but here's a few events from our past October...

**I tried desperately for two weeks to do a "A Week in My Life" scrapbooking challenge by this talented gal and failed miserably both times. I got to Tuesday and then quit. Taking that many pictures of my sorry, sad life and then trying to write down what I did was actually a little depressing. I know, I know...it won't be for my descendants years down the road who are digging up great, great, great grandma's family history gems, but it was sad to me. My list often went a little like this:

::checked email
::checked blogs
::tried to do a load of laundry
::got sidetracked by an email
::tried to play with children
::got sidetracked by the couch and a needed nap
::took kids to school
::picked kids up from school
::cleaned the kitchen AGAIN
::did ANOTHER load of laundry
::checked email again
::no email
::no one loves me
::really should blog
::climbed back onto the couch after thinking about everything I SHOULD be doing

You know, all that good stuff I don't ever want ANYone to know about how completely productive and amazing and "super" mommish I am. I didn't want to make you all think I was bragging.

**Signed up for this class and am anxiously awaiting it's start next week. Have you all signed up, too? Have you logged in and read the introduction? Have you gotten your supplies yet? Maybe we should have a get together at the end of the week and compare notes and finish up projects together? If you're all thinking this is a digital scrapbooking class and "I'm not really interested" or "I don't have the right equipment" or whatever...think again. This class isn't about digital scrapbooking, it's about telling our stories. Anyone can take it and you don't need Photoshop to do so. Just an interest in learning some new things, seeing how great Jessica's classes are and maybe telling a story or two of your own. She has a little FAQ on her blog if you still have questions. Can't. wait.

**I also pre-paid for tickets to THIS movie that is coming in only 18 more days. Really, really, really can't wait.

**I got to go on Natalie's preschool pumpkin patch trip a couple weeks ago. Last year I had a cold and opted to stay home. It was so fun and such an amazingly beautiful day. Here's a few pictures of our day:



**We found out that Nate doesn't have to take Calculus II to finish his Bachelor's degree. He was able to swap out a Masters level course with Calculus since it wasn't offered this term so he could finish in December. Yes, you heard that right. Nate is finishing his degree December 21st!! After over 8 years of working and dragging and complaining and pushing, we are going to finish this thing we started. He just finished Linear Algebra, with an A-, I might brag. Now he's working on his last class. The bad news...? Well, depending on who you ask, that is. He's already signed up for the Masters Degree program and is starting in January. Sigh.

**We made our annual family trip out to the Country Mercantile to pick out pumpkins and go bankrupt for a little child happiness. Kenzie wouldn't stop bugging us until we went. It just wasn't FAIR that Natalie got to go with her class, but the 2nd graders don't get to go this year. So, we picked a Saturday morning and spent all our hard-earned cash for the week. No, really, what is the DEAL with these places?! We even got conned into the pony rides. We just couldn't turn down their excited pleas to try it. And really, what little girl shouldn't have one pony ride before she's too big to enjoy it?! Unfortunately, less than five minutes on a pony costed us $5 a ride. Somehow that $2 to jump on the bounce house six times was looking a lot more appealing, even after our emphatic NO's. You've got to see the pure JOY on Kenzie's face during the pony ride, though. So worth $5. :-) Or, at least that's what we keep telling ourselves. Even after she whined the entire way home because we wouldn't let her buy the Webkinz she wanted inside the Country store.





















**I've been working lots this past month on a couple websites. One new one and a few maintenance jobs here and there. When I get a chance, I've been tweaking my own. Usually I tweak and tweak and tweak until I finally decide I can't stand it and start over again. All the while, never actually uploading the code to blogger for all to see. After about four failed attempts at actually changing my blog template and looking plain-jane for months now, I finally decided to upload this one even if it wasn't complete. So, it's still a work in progress, but I like it...for now. Thanks for all the comments, it makes me so happy. I think my next project will be for a generic one that anyone can download and use for free. I love all the people out there that provide free templates, but I HATE those silly, obnoxious banners they put on them. I'm not sure anyone would actually want to use something I created, but at least I'd make something without a weird banner on top. Any requests for something specific?

**I've been planning Halloween costumes since early September. I'm like that, a planner. I actually start watching the sales at the online Disney store in early August for costumes. The past two years I've gotten both girls costumes from there for $30..that's $15 each!! That's including shipping. The key is to watch the sales and WAIT for the perfect moment. Nate informed me this year that we needed to be frugal and not spend a TON of money on costumes. Oh, yes he did say that to me. As if my crazy-amazing bargain shopping SKILZ at snagging super-high-quality DISNEY store costumes for BOTH girls for under $30 wasn't frugal enough?!? Seriously. I get no appreciation around here. Lucky for me, Kenzie actually wanted to be a witch and Natalie was conned into being her little black kitty. I got all their costume stuff at the Goodwill, some accessories at Walmart and some accessories at Joann's on sale. And yes, I spent less than $30...significantly less. Sigh. Next year he'll be asking me to sew something. Like anyone could be as amazing as this girl!? Love ya, Brenda!

Halloween couldn't come early enough for my two girls. Natalie thinks candy is literally the best thing EVER and, therefore, worships Halloween. Kenzie just loves dressing up and going to parties. They both came down with colds the week of, but we still managed to hit all the prime candy spots. Kenzie was invited to a friend's Halloween party (or so we thought) and demanded that she get to go. I was feeling sorry for her after she missed another friend's party and her field trip because of her cold, so I relented and we got all dressed up and ready to go. Turns out her friend's mom was just advertising for the City's Parks and Rec public party (where she worked) and we ended up at the Senior Center for two hours playing games, making crafts and loading up on candy and cake. The kids thought I was amazing for taking them, so I guess that's all that matters, right? :-)

Natalie had a super-fun time at her preschool Halloween party and we got to hear about it for days. It was "the best party EVER!" Her words. Between school parties and the community party, the kids had FULL Halloween pails before Halloween actually ever started. It was a lost cause for me and Natalie before it ever began. It's not even worth the fight. She just ate and ate and is still eating. Thanks Jenni. She's totally a mini-you.

On the actual Halloween day, we took turns taking the kids around trick-or-treating with their bestest friends ever and then we hit the ward Trunk-or-Treat. By the time it was over, the loot was ginormous. No human being should ever attempt to eat that much candy in their lifetime. My kids will probably finish it off within the week. Again with the sigh. Here's a few pics for you Grandma's and Grandpa's out there...






**So, now the plan is to make it through November without seriously injuring myself or throwing up. I know, that makes a whole lot of sense. The past six weeks or so have been pretty torturous for me and my hormones. I'm just not recovering from my "little" weeks of hormone surges. After much worry, stress, prayer and sleepless nights, we decided to try another round of birth control pills. It's been a couple years since we braved these hormonal-crazed, estrogen-murky waters, but we're feeling that weight of needing to DO something about my roller coaster weeks of craziness. The last time I was only able to make it three weeks before I gave up. It sends me into full-blown pregnancy-like nausea and that's the easy part. It also sends me into (for lack of a better term) crazy town. The doctors predict that it could take anywhere from 4 to 8 (maybe even 12) weeks until the side effects will decrease and we will see if the hormones have stabilized enough to give me some relief from the PMDD. Nate is extremely hopeful (as any husband dealing with a two-headed wife would be), while I tend to just try to get through the next five minutes without hurling. It's been 8 days so far. Wish me luck. If you see me start crying or looking a little lost or glossy-eyed, just chalk it up to the hormones. They do that to me sometimes.

**So, was that pumpkin shell full enough for ya? Am I off the hook for being a total blog failure lately? Jen...Heath...Mom...Mama...anyone want to come live with me for a few weeks until I come back to "normal"? Anyone?