A job other than the mom job that I have had for the past 6 years.
Well, I don;t know if you would say that I have been full time stay at home mom for 6 years but I've been a mom that long.
I've only been a full time, no other job but the mom job, for 3 1/2 years.
It's been wonderful, crazy, exhausting and a BLAST but I have GOT TO GET A PAYING JOB.
Although I feel that being a Parent is the most important job in the whole entire world, i also feel like being able to have money to feed your family is pretty darn important too.
I found an AWESOME job (or so it seems) at a local mental health facility.
It requires a BA in psychology (CHECK!!) and the hours are from noon - midnight on Saturday and Sunday (CHECK!!)
The BIGGEST obstacle for me getting a job is the kids. Who's going to pick Paul up from school and take care of Anna all day. Daycare is CRAZY expensive so that is not an option and Roger works really bizarre hours (late nights, random calls out, class). So when I saw this job posting I jumped on it. I mean seriously I JUMPED on it. I saw it last night and I have sent in my resume' just now, after hours and hours of updating the darn thing and writing a cover letter and getting new references.......
Applying for a job is a LOT of work.
Roger is nervous about our marital relationship if he works during the week and I work the weekends but I have assured him that if I get the job we will still have plenty of time to see one another throughout the week and in the mornings on Saturday and the fact that we will no longer have the stress of living paycheck to paycheck is well worth it.
Honestly I am REALLY excited about the possibility of getting this job!
I have been itching to go back to work in the mental health field. I really love working with that population of people. I get so much joy out of it.
The most wonderful thing of all is that I'll still be able to be a full time mom throughout the week and on Saturday mornings.
That would be such a HUGE answer to prayer.
Pray. Pray. Pray. that I at least get a call back.
I know that in this economy it is super hard to get a job. Everyone is applying EVERYWHERE for anything. This job sounds like absolute heaven to me. The hours are wonderful for me and my little family and the job description is right up my ally. It would also be such a wonderful opportunity for me to gain even more experience in mental health field.
I'm giddy with excitement even though I know applying for this job is like throwing a needle in a corn field. But what if I do get a call back!!!! what if I do get the job!!!!
This morning after getting Paul fed, dressed, teeth brushed and backpack on, he made a gasp,
"oh no, my book is due back and I haven't read it yet."
I immediately thought he was talking about a library book but then he explained to me that he had reading homework that was suppose to be done.
I was confused.
Every day as soon as he gets home I check his backpack and folder for papers and homework. Yesterday I didn't see anything in his backpack or folder.
"Mom my teacher sent home a book that I was suppose to read to you and I didn't and it is due today."
He was in a panic.
He can't stand getting in trouble and ALWAYS does what ever he is asked.
"Ok ok he have like 7 min before we have to leave for school. go get the book."
We dug around through the backpack, found the homework and began.
We made it through the reading sheet ( a list of vocab words for the week) and made it a little ways through the book before having to leave for school.
As the door shut I couldn't help saying to myself,
"Man, I swear this parenting gig is getting harder"
I said the same thing last night while Anna was running through the Kroger with her very own little shopping cart, running into the backs of my heels and grabbing random items off of the shelf, screaming when I made her put them back. (she was a mighty adorable angry Kroger shopper though)
"I swear I think this parenting thing keeps getting harder."
Right after I said it this morning I sat down to think about how often over the past 6 1/2 years I have said "man alive this parenting thing keeps getting harder."
When they started solids.
"this is getting harder."
When they started crawling.
"this is getting harder."
When they started teething.
"this is getting harder."
When they started walking.
"this is getting harder."
When they started talking nonstop.
"this is getting harder."
When they turned 2 1/2 and formed a will of their own.
"wow this is SERIOUSLY getting harder
When Paul started kindergarten.
"wow boy this is getting harder."
I also said the same thing when I woke up one day and had to chase a toddler through the house while holding a baby in my arms..
"ummmm this is getting to be pretty hard."
Just think about all the other stages I have yet to reach. My goodness how hard does it get?
My parents have reached the stage in which all of their children are married and moved away. However we still manage to drop in unexpectedly, eat all of their food and mess up their weekend by havin them watch our children and dogs. Some of us STILL don't clean up the bathroom floor after taking a shower and some us STILL sneak into their house late at night accidentally scaring them to death. And yes, we STILL fight over who gets to sleep in which room when we are all at the house at the same time.
As I watch my parents deal with all 3 of their grown children I start to panic about this whole parenting thing. IT NEVER ENDS. It really NEVER EVER ENDS.
I am always going to have Paul and Anna running up to me arguing about something. I'm always going to have to remind them to pick up after themselves. I am always going to have to fight to keep them from getting into the refrigerator and eating up all of our food. And I am always going to have to be there to pick them up when they fall or cheer them on when things get rough.
But you know what?
The more I think about it the more I am ok with that.
Well, as long as they grow out of the whole "barging into the bathroom while I am trying to take a shower in peace" thing. I'm telling ya, if they are STILL doing that as adults I am going to run away.
A note to my Dad:
sorry Dad for banging on the bathroom door the last time I was home, having you get out of the shower to hand me some tooth paste through the crack. I guess I could have waited to brush my teeth.
Just remember that parenting is a life long commitment to love unconditionally.
We are coming up on our 12 year (dating) anniversary and I wanted to make him something VERY special for the occasion. Something that he has been asking me to make him for years.
I just love that man so much and feel so incredibly blessed to have him in my life.
He makes me laugh, holds me when I cry and humors me with intriguing late night discussions over the meaning of life.
I know it is a cliche' thing to say, but he is my best friend!
Roger left the house around 7am this morning. I got up when he got up to take a shower so I could have a little bit of alone time this morning before the kids got up. I am always such a better mom when I get that alone time in the morning to read, eat and pray.
Roger's first book signing is this morning in FRankfort, Ky at the Kentucky Book Fair.
copy and past this link below to see the book being talked about on the news
http://wkyt.videogenesis.net/watch?v=17378
And click the word book above to order your very own copy!
I was hoping to go with him this morning but it is rather unrealistic to try and drag two children along to a book signing that is a couple of hours away. I instead stayed back to take care of the home front!
I'm a bit bummed that I didn't get to go with him but I am still super excited for him and Amanda and the photographers. The book is really pretty awesome if I do say so myself!
Oh boy, here it comes. Here comes the I am tired blog.
That dreaded blog that readers role their eyes and say "if only she knew how blessed she is."
Yep.
This is THAT kind of blog, so if you don't want to read a blog like that then I would advise you to stop reading.
Like seriously, I would stop reading right now because I am getting ready to start the rant.
I am sooooooo tired.
Not tired in a physical sense, I get plenty of sleep at night, but tired in an emotional sense.
These kids are NONSTOP.
WHew Boy!
I miss the days that they would sit on the floor chewing on some teething rings.
The days that I wasn't constantly having to deal with this:
It is rather exhausting to be in a constant inquisition.
Why mom?
Can I help?
What is that?
Guess What?
Watch me do this?
Can you help me with something?
Why are you cooking that for dinner?
Do I really have to take a bath?
I'm good to go until about 6pm in the evening. By that time I am super tired and ready for someone else to step in to parent but Roger has been super busy with work and school.
I have found that saying the Jesus prayer CONSTANTLY in my mind throughout the evenings (Lord Jesus Christ, Have mercy on me a sinner) has helped give me the strength and patience to push through until bed time.
Like for example, right now at this very second Anna is looking over my shoulder and Paul is sitting on my legs giggling because he finds something that I am doing absolutely hillarious. I can barely see the screen to type because Anna keeps trying to push buttons on the key board.
I was vacuuming the floor upstairs and ran into the ceiling. I love these old houses but that upstairs ceiling gets me all the time. It about knocked me out.
Did I tell you about the time I was putting some stuff away in the little closet upstairs and forgot I was in the little closet? You have to bend down to get into the closet but it is big enough inside to stand in. I was standing in it putting things away. I heard one of the kids scream "MOMMY" and turned around real fast to take off running. I ran smack dab into the wall, forgetting that I had to bend back down to get out of the closet.
That really hurt.
Have I mentioned that I have done that several times?
I have moved several different places in the house to sit for a second and type out this blog.
It is hilarious but a tad bit frustrating that the kids keep finding me and crawling all over me.
I now understand why my Dad would hide in the bathroom when I was little.
But then again, I tried the hiding in the bathroom thing. The kids found me and started pushing stuff under the door and banging on it while saying "Mommy why are you in there? What are you doing?"
Most hours of the day I so enjoy these two blessings in my life, they crack me up! But the nonstop talking, question asking and occasional sibling rivalry on top off all the house work and food prep is EXHAUSTING.
Not to mention trying my hardest to make sure that Roger gets enough quite time to prepare sermons and work on homework when he isn't in class. I honestly think that the day he graduates I am going to have a hard time not crying. It is going to be such a relief. I am THAT excited about his graduation. I bet he is even more excited than I am. It has been 5 years of FULL TIME grad work on top of his full time job. Plus all the driving to and from Georgetown (4 hours round trip) I don't even want to think about how tired he must be.
Anyway, I want to have a whole weekend of bubble bathes and sitcoms on HULU.
That's what I feel like.
Can I tell ya a secret?
I have been pouring me a bubble bath, sitting the laptop on the stool in the bathroom and watching the news on HULU while I soak away the day in the tub.
I don't know what in the world is going on but my children are actually helping me!
Ever since they could "help" I have let them.
They are always following me around "helping" with the house chores but tonight I actually sat back and watched as they completed a chore. I wanted to cry that Roger wasn't here to see it but hopefully they will keep it up and he will be here to see our children growing up in the near future.
After dinner was over Paul and Anna cleaned their dishes off, loaded the dish washer and wiped off the table. I just sat there in awe at how willing and excited they were to help out.
They even put away the cooking stuff.
I am being totally serious when I say that the only thing that I did was sweep the floor.
Get this, when they were finished cleaning the kitchen Paul said to me "mom, can I do my homework now?" and anna went into the living room to read books to herself.
MY GOODNESS THESE KIDS ROCK!!!
Oh and have a mentioned before that Paul bathes himself now? He gets the bath ready, gets in, scrubs his body and even washes his hair. Anna has gotten the body washing down but I still have to get the bath ready and wash her hair. They are growing up SO DARN FAST.
I am so thankful that I decided to do the seminary and work thing once they reach an older more self sufficient age. I am really enjoying watching and guiding these two spunky kids into become self sufficient little people!!
Like I mentioned in a previous post, the kids went to the grandparents house this past weekend.
I usually help out with the nursery sunday school that Anna is a part of (often times she is the only child in there) and this week Mrs. Karen B was teaching the lesson.
Although Anna wasn't there we did have one child show up!!
For the craft Mrs. Karen, who is a former kindergarten teacher and principle (she KNOWS her children's crafts) brought in supplies to make little sheep. It was such a cool little project that I asked to take home supplies for Anna and Paul to make a sheep sometime this week.
I saved the stuff for such a day as today.
Paul has a double ear infection and strep throat so the Doc told me to keep him home from school.
Plus, it was all rainy and cold outside.
After lunch I set out all the materials and pretended to be a kindergarten teacher.
Paul did EVERYTHING himself. I just sat there in amazement at how self sufficient the little dude has become in the past year.
I even made a little sheep for myself out of the left overs.
I decided to place the sheep in an odd place in hopes that Roger would find it and declare "what in the world is THAT?"
Anna got a little crazy with her sheep design. She, like Paul, did not want ANY help from me. But unlike Paul's sheep, her sheep looked like some sort of creature from the book of Revelation.
Maybe Anna is in fact the artist of the family!
I throughly enjoyed chasing the children around with my hand monster!
Oh and by the way, yesterday while I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner I had to run in the back room for something. When I returned to the kitchen THIS is what I found. Paul and Anna had gotten the broom and dust pan and were helping me clean. Watch the video! The helping mom thing was short lived but super sweet and hilarious.
The kids stayed the weekend with my mom and dad so that Roger and I could have a bit of a break from being parents and spend a whole weekend just being a couple.
I am always suprised by how freeing it is to drop my kids off at the grandparents.
This MASSIVE weight lifts off of my chest and I can't help but think "man, raising kids takes so much energy."
When I am in the midst of raising them, tending to them, playing with them, I am completely consumed with them and although I have set times throughout the day and week for ME TIME it is not the same as having a whole weekend of FREENESS.
Paul and Anna are at a very interesting age right now.
They don't need me as much as when they were super little yet they need me MORE than when they were super little. If that makes any sense.
Rog and I met my parents at the halfway point between Etown and Somerset which is about an hour drive for both of us and an hour drive back. Making the round trip 2 hours instead of 4 hours.
When we arrived back home, childless, we crashed on the couch and did the lame married thing of catching up on the sitcom that we both LOVe, Modern Family.
We went to bed early.
The next morning, although it was saturday and the kids were not there, I got up at 6am.
I am an early bird!! I love, LOVE, those early morning hours before the sun has risen or my family is up. I take that time to eat my breakfast in the quiet, read my Bible and some sort of classic Christian writing. I love sitting by myself, sipping tea, reading and watching the sun move through our house as it rises.
That is MY happy time!
At about 9am, after 3 hours of HAPPY TIME, I took a shower and got dressed for the day.
Roger has been going to this local coffee shop since before we moved to Etown. The owner, Julie, her husband, the main barista and a few locals who frequent the place have become good friends of his. Julie has decided to close the shop for personal reasons so Saturday was her last day open. Roger and I went into the coffee shop to share a bagel, some coffee and good conversation with everyone. It was so nice to meet all the people that Roger has been chilling with in the wee morning hours while he studies for seminary and/or prepares a sermon.
After saying goodbye to Julie and her husband, Roger and I decided to head on over to Freeman Lake for a hike. We have this BEAUITFUL man made lake beside our house that has wonderful hiking trails through out the woods and around the lake. We take the kids out on nice days for a hike but you can only hike so far with a 3year old and a 6 year old before having to turn back for the car. I have wanted SO bad to hike the whole thing. So that is what we did. It took us about 2 solid hours of fast pace hiking to get around. We spent about 30min sitting out of the dock area taking in the beautiful day and watching the ducks.
And you are never going to believe this but while we were walking I happened to look up and see a massive bald eagle perched in a tree. I have NEVER before seen an eagle outside of the zoo. It was seriously the highlight of my weekend!
Once we hiked back to our car we were COVERED in mud. It had been raining the day before and that combined with the construction that is going on around the lake, our shoes were caked in the yuck. We really wanted to go have lunch together somewhere so we opted on Cracker Barrel. "yeah, you're suppose to go in there in your farm clothes and muddy shoes, right?" We cleaned our shoes off as much as possible and headed for lunch at cracker barrel.
We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling at the house. We took naps and did the old person thing and watched 20/20 while I knitted on his cardigan that I am determined to have done by the end of this month.
Then we packed up and headed to our friend Tyler's house for a barn dance/potluck.
Tyler bought a little farm outside of Etown a while back and has been fixing the place up. He had everyone (old friends from college, new friends, family members) over for an open house sort of thing. It was so nice to get together with old college friends that we hadn't seen in FOREVER. We spent the night eating, singing karaoke and catching up with each another near the bonfire.
Yesterday (Sunday) after church, lunch and a quick walk, Roger and I headed down to Somerset to get the kids and see his family. We all met at Roger's grandmother's (gran) house for chicken and pie before retiring back to my parent's house to sleep. We decided that since Rog can work from anywhere and since Paul is out of school on Monday and Tuesday, that we would just spend the night and head back home Monday afternoon.
Last night, in the middle of the night, I heard a small cry. I went in to check on the kids in my brother's old room and didn't find anything. I went back to bed. I heard another little cry. I went back to check and found Paul in miserable pain, screaming out "MY EAR HURTS!! AAAAHHH"
The first night back to being full time parents Roger and I were frantically running around my parents house trying to find some ear drops, pain medicine for Paul and a heat pad. We sat by Paul's side, each rubbing his back, as he screamed out in agony while we waited for the pain medicine to kick in. I felt so incredibly awful for the little guy. I guess we are headed to the doctor today when we get back into town.
Roger is at the local library working on some stuff and I am sitting here at my Dad's computer typing this blog while the kids play throughout mom and dad's house. They are so incredibly loud and have drug tons of stuff out into my parent's livign room that we are going to have to clean up before we go.
I am so thankful that Roger and I got to spend so much time resting and catching up with each other this weekend. Having a quiet weekend was just what we needed. I'm telling ya, raising children is a LOT of work.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend:
barn food
Becca and Bethany
Adam playing and Roger singing
showing some love
can you believe that Tyler painted this?
Later in the evening a bunch of us gathered in a circle and sang together.
When we got home this afternoon (monday) Roger and I had a lot of fun (not joking) working in the yard. I started up the leaf blower then could not for the life of me figure out how to get the leaves where I wanted them to go. They were blowing all over the place, Roger was laughing hysterically. He took the leaf blower from me, I grabbed the old fashion rake and the rest of the time Roger chased me with the leaf blower. I got leaf all OVER me. Roger claims that next time it might be a lot more fun if I wore a skirt. HA HA HA.
He ended up climbing up on the roof and blowing the leaves out of the gutters. I was standing underneath it when he got to the ends, where all the water was piled up, and I got soaked with old leaf/rain junk. And of course we laughed pretty hard at the yuck stuff all over my white shirt.
We seriously have too much fun playing in the yard.
Roger and I decided to clean up some leaves when we got home.
Paul was loving all the leaves blowing everywhere. Rog and I are a big source of entertainment for our children.
flying
look at the difference. It is CRAZY. We have leaves raining from the sky constantly.
Often times when I am having a rough time with my heart.
(no seriously, my heart. The actual muscle within my chest that pumps blood through my body)
I get so incredibly frustrated and ANGRY.
Here I am trying my best to stay healthy.
I eat healthy things.
I exercise.
I take all my medicine.
But sometimes none of that works.
I still get REALLY tired very easily. I still have trouble breathing at certain points during the day. And the BIGGEST thing that makes me SOOOO MAD is that it is hard for me to sleep on my side with this stupid pacemaker* in my arm. I am a side sleeper. The darn thing rubs against my collar bone if I am snuggled up on the left side and makes my heart beat funny if I snuggle up on the right side. I just can't win with the thing. I end up having to do this weird prop up on a pillow thing to actually go to sleep. Makes me mad.
I get so annoyed that I have to send in all of these electronic checks over the phone every 3 months to make sure the pacer is working. It make me mad that my regular heart beat is SO LOW that I have to have a battery hooked up to my heart to keep me alive.
It freaks me out when the doctor has trouble in the office finding MY heart beat without the pacemaker.
I just know one of these days I'm no longer going to have my own heart beat and I am going to be paced 100 percent by this battery in my shoulder. Did I mention that I hate it when I have negative thoughts like the sentence that was right before this one?
IT MAKES ME SOOOOOOOOOOO MAD that I have all of these cardiologist bills.
It makes me mad to think of my mortality. That people with this same condition have already passed away from heart failure.
These things and other pity party thoughts make me so incredibly angry.
But ya know what? I just don't think about them that often.
seriously, I really don't.
I live my life like any other person and when obstacles come my way I fight through them.
When I was 15 years old I had a VERY scary moment. I fell on the living room floor with a plus of 40. My heart was beating so slowly that I could barely get a breath. I thought I was near death. My parents quickly drove me to the ER in Somerset and I was taken from there by ambulance to the ICU at the University of Kentucky Hospital. From there I was taken to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital and had my first pacemaker put in.
Was I scared? You bet ya.
Did I cry like a baby when no one was around?
you bet ya.
In fact I begged my boyfriend at the time (who happens to be my husband now) to marry me before the surgery. I was convinced I was going to die.
I have always been a bit of a drama queen.
But I didn't die.
All was well.
Actually all was even BETTER then well.
I could BREATHE!!!!
I could walk up a flight of stairs without having to sit down to rest halfway through.
And you know what I did as soon as the doctor gave me the OK? (wasn't allowed to use my left arm for a while) I went back to playing the sport that I loved, Volleyball. I played before the surgery (at times turning VERY purple on the court and having to sit out) and after the surgery. I had a ton more energy after getting the pacemaker and was AMAZED that I had been playing volleyball before having it. I even got a special motion sensitive pacemaker so the thing would notice that I was playing a sport and would speed my heart up like a natural pacer does on a heart when you are physically active.
Pretty awesome!
I have NEVER let this heart condition define WHO I am as a person.
And I have never lived my life in a constant state of poor ol' me.
Yes there are limits to what I can do.
But every single person in the whole wide world has limits.
I am not defined as Jessica, the girl with a congenital heart defect.
I am Jessica, the girl who is obsessed with reading and writing.
I am Jessica, the girl who is super crazy about knitting sweaters for all of her friends.
I am Jessica, the mother of two healthy children and wife to one smokin' hot preacher man.
I am Jessica, the chick who doesn't think its healthy to take yourself too seriously.
I am Jessica, the crazy lady obsessed with farm animals that doesn't care much for dogs or cats.
If anything, I am blessed to have this heart condition.
It has put my own mortality right in my face.
From a very young age I was well aware of the fact that this day, this hour, this second, could be my last.
I don't know that I would be cherishing the days as much as I do without it.
I don't know that I would be so welcoming to new experiences and challenges in my life without it.
I don't know that I would be able to patiently enjoy each stage of my life, my children's lives or my husband's life, if I wasn't born with this condition.
And I am pretty sure I would not be as capable of finding humor within the gloomy days.
Laughter really does help me through so many things in life!
But there are days when I am down and out because of this darn heart condition.
On those days I have found that listening to Christina Aguilera's song Fighter puts a smile on my face and helps me to realize how ridiculous my small little pity party is.
It cracks me up that I am listening to a song by Christina Aguilera and the giggles just keep on coming.
It is mainly the first verse: After all that you put me through, You think I'd despise you, But in the end I wanna thank you, 'Cause you've made me that much stronger
And the chorus that helps me: Makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter Made me learn a little bit faster Made my skin a little bit thicker Makes me that much smarter So thanks for making me a fighter
The song is actually about a man treating a woman awful. My husband treats me VERY WELL. Let me tell ya, that man is the butter on my toast!
But I really like the chorus and first verse in that it makes me think of my heart condition and how I have never really let this condition get in my way of living this life to the fullest that I have so graciously been given.
It's a wonderful song to listen to while running at the fitness center!
I smile and say to myself "you go girl!!!" and the mere fact that I am talking to myself while running on a treadmill CRACKS ME UP even more.
But ya know what? I go to the fitness at the same time as all the old men go in the late mornings and let me tell ya, they talk to themselves walking on the treadmill just like I do.
Those old men crack me up!
Who in the world sips coffee while they walk on a treadmill?
There is one little old man that likes to treadmill hop. Any time a new friend comes in he hops on over to the treadmill right beside them for a quick chit chat before hopping onto another treadmill to catch up with another friend. The man talks REALLY loud and is VERYopinionated and thinks he is the funnest person in the world. He laughs REALLY LOUD at his own jokes. HA HA HA
It is quite entertaining to watch him!
He makes my mornings better!
*I actually love my pacemaker! He is my best little buddy!
First of all I want to start out by saying that I just made the best cup of coffee in the whole world!
Roger left for class early this morning so I made the coffee how I like it instead of how HE likes it.
The man drinks a cup of motor oil every morning.
YUCK
One morning my Mawmaw happened to be over REALLY early (I was taking her to see the monks) and Roger made her a cup of coffee. She took one sip and declared "son, do you not know how to make coffee? That is WAY too strong." Makes me giggle just thinking about that.
Anyway, on to the business at hand. To tell you about our Halloween of 2011.
We started the day like any other by getting Paul fed, dressed, teeth brushed and to school on time while trying to deal with our little tornado, Anna.
She has been in this crazy mood of destruction lately.
She takes random things throughout the house, puts them in a BIG pile and starts hiding the stuff throughout the house.
She's gotten REALLY fast at this.
It is about to drive me plumb crazy.
At 11am I headed out to the pumpkin patch to meet Paul's kindergarten class.
I decided to volunteer to be his classroom mom. I am basically in charge of helping with school parties and field trips. I wanted to do this to be more involved in his school life; to get to know the teachers better and the little kids that are his friends. I'm honestly still a bit uneasy with him being in the public school system so I thought being a lot more involved would help ease my tension. It is just weird for me to have my child in the care of someone else besides ME for a big chunk of his day.
When I got to the farm I was given a list of 12 students, that included Paul, that me and another teacher were responsible for.
We took them to see the animals.
They each took turns sliding down the slide.
While we were going through the corn maze Paul got so frustrated.
We had actually been there with him 2 days before this field trip and he knew his way around the maze. The teacher leading us kept taking wrong turns. Paul would yell out "you're heading for a dead end." But she wouldn't listen. The teacher finally gave up and lead the kids back to the beginning of the maze. Paul was SOOO mad. "this is NOT the way out." I was giggling to myself on the inside because the maze was honestly super easy. Paul had done it all by himself, in the dark, with a small flash light. But I guess when you have 12 little kindergarteners following you it might be a bit frustrating.
We took a nature walk as well. Paul kept saying "we do this kind of stuff all the time mom." I had to remind him that not all the kids get to go hiking as much as he does. He kind of seemed annoyed that all the kids thought hiking through the woods was such a novel thing.
The child acts like an old man at 6 years of age.
But I understand what he means. I too think it is funny that people pay to go out on a farm to do farm things during harvest time. It's like, I do this kind of stuff for free all year long.
Paul was also annoyed by the way the pumpkins were out in this field.
"mom, that's not a pumpkin patch. They just took all the pumpkins and threw them in that field. Look, all the vines are way over in the field across the street. this isn't picking pumpkins. This is picking up pumpkins"
He was however excited about the hay ride.
I sat in the back to help keep an eye on everyone and man oh man was it bumpy.
I looked over at Mrs. Edwards and said "gotta have a good bra on to enjoy this ride."
With every little bump I thought my breasts were going to fall off.
My poor pacemaker, that is motion sensitive, was making my heart beat super fast so it was hard for me to breathe.
I was so ready to get off that wagon.
Paul talks EVERYDAY about this little girl. He claims she said yes when he asked her to marry him. The child is obsessed with finding a good wife. I have no clue where this comes from. Maybe it's genetic. I was obsessed with finding a good husband starting at this age and I finally found one in the 4th grade.
Paul introduced me to his little friend and I snapt their little picture.
Before loading up on the bus the kids played a small little game.
I took a video too!
The thing that brought the biggest smile on my face was when a bunch of little kids from the class came running up to me yelling "are you Paul's mom?" When I said yes they all gave me a group hug and said "you are so cool! Paul is cool so that means you are cool!"
That evening Roger took the kids trick or treating on our street while I went to the gym (I needed some ME time) and when I got back we took them around the rest of the neighborhood.
Roger and I of course giggled the whole time at all the "kids" dressed up.
Halloween sure does bring out some interesting people doesn't it?
I had no clue our street was like, THE STREET, for trick or treating.
When I got back from the gym at 6pm I was surprised by how many people were walking through the road. I could barely get into my drive way.
All of our neighbors went WAY OUT to decorate for the special occasion which made it so much fun!
I had to call my dad to tell him about it because when I was younger Dad and I would decorate our house like crazy for halloween. We would dress up all spooky and have spooky music playing. Our house was known around town as THE HOUSE to go to on halloween night!
After walking around our neighborhood we headed over to our friend Ruthie's house for dinner.
She was kind enough to invite everyone over to her place for a special halloween dinner after trick or treating.
It was so nice to hang out with the adults upstairs while the kids played together with their friends down stairs!
And of course Roger and I ended the evening by putting the kids to bed and stuffing our faces with some of their candy before falling asleep in the middle of a movie.
I can't manage to stay awake through a movie anymore.
