Dropping Off the Planet + Life Lately

Hi there!  Wow, fall is super busy for me!  I know some people just love this season, but it is always just too much of EVERYTHING for me after the relaxed pace of summer.  Hence…no posts since late September!  It’s like I just fall off the planet until about holiday time.  I bet other teachers would agree with me.  Things don’t seem to smooth out until Halloween.  Well, what is all this busy-ness we’ve been up to you may ask???

Helen’s been chilling at daycare…

Holden’s been playing soccer…1 practice and 1 game a week except for our rainy spells.  I get to hang out with Miss Lovely on the sidelines.  Thankfully, we’ve had mostly warm weather which is good considering the 5 o’clock practice time.

He built a fire truck and saw lots of firemen with their fire truck at the Home Depot Kids’ Workshop on one rainy Saturday.  We were glad to have C-Pa and Meme join us for this Saturday fun which also included PIZZA!

We all went to the Neptune Festival at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.  Although no purchases were made (lots of art and artisans there), Holden score lots of free loot.

He only tortured his sister slightly with it…

I got a bang trim to prepare for my sis-in-law’s wedding which is THIS WEEKEND!  Can’t believe it’s almost here!

I’ve still been doing running/working out when I can.   I signed up for a 5K the Saturday after Thanksgiving to keep me motivated.  I’m looking forward to a fast, short race.

I got to do a trail run recently, and it was wonderful.  I just ran for enjoyment – not time or distance.  Saw lots of pretty scenery and just basically soothed my soul!

until this happened…

I tried to jump up on a fallen tree blocking the trail.  I was coming from downhill and didn’t have enough forward momentum.  Took a tumble!  Don’t worry…I eventually made it over after a couple of similar attempts.  It is still a quite lovely scabby mess.

We experienced some of Hurricane Matthew and lost power for a little over 24 hours.

Lots of dog cuddling…

I baked the above “chocolate cake” in the toaster oven on our one cord coming from the generator.

Hunting season has started for the Mr., so we are doing our best to tough it out without him.  I think we did pretty OK.  I had my right-hand-boy with me while grocery shopping last Saturday.

Aren’t those kid-sized carts adorable?!?!  He is such a big helper!

 

Back to School Decor & More!

The final countdown is definitely on!  Today is our last official full day of the three of us.  Tomorrow is Holden’s last day of summer camp.  His camp had an Olympic theme, so tomorrow is “closing ceremony” day.  Isn’t that the cutest!  We also visited the home daycare that Helen will be off to on Monday morning to drop off a crazy amount of supplies.  With all the forms and things to buy, I felt like we were sending her off to college or something!  I know I will be a hot mess on Monday morning for several reasons…1)  I will have to be up and out the door WAY earlier than my normal for the last 4.5 months (hoping to be in the car on the way no later than 6:45 each day!).  2)  I’ll be thinking/worrying about how the loading and dispersing of children will go for the Mr.  3)  I feel way attached to Helen (sorry Holden!  Mommy loves you!) at this point in her life versus how I felt about Holden and going back to work.  4)  I have to figure out how/when/where to pump for this continued breastfeeding project.  5)  I’m going to have OODLES to do when I get to work!

Let’s defer that hot mess-ness for a few more days!

On this last full day, we are planning to do a few simple summer favorites.  A trip to the playground and the library is on the agenda.  Holden also made a special request for a visit to our local frozen yogurt place.  I’m totally in agreement!  We plan on heading there after lunch.

In an effort to be a little more excited about back-to-school, I purchased some inexpensive decorations at Target back in July.  I really love how the few items look on our mantle.

I always feel unsure how to decorate for this time of year.  Summer’s over, but fall stuff seems silly!  I am excited about lots of events this fall.  Let’s list a few and focus on some fun!

• CHKD Make-a-Scarecrow – This is a great local event that benefits the children’s hospital.  All proceeds go to the hospital!  We’ve done it for the past three years.  My mom has always been a main participant, but we’ve had Aunt Dee Dee, my dad, and the Mr. join us for some years.  Register here!
• Aunt Brooke & Uncle Michael’s Wedding – We’re looking forward to that in October!  Holden is the ring bearer.  We’ve already got him measured for his dapper outfit.
• Pumpkin Carving – I can’t wait to do all these little things with Helen.
• Halloween! – Our Granny is coming to visit for the big day.  Holden is dictating an Indian theme for everyone, and he is insistent that he needs a spear, tomahawk, bow & arrow, plus any other possible projectile weapon his brain can think up!
• Hunting Season – Not my most favorite time of the year, but I am happy for the Mr.  He works hard all the time wether he’s at actual work or at home.  Plus, he’s a pretty good at the leisurely “family” stuff aka schlepping our stuff to the beach this summer and just generally packing the car (and unpacking!) for all of our trips.  Not to mention all the other things he does to make “us” work!  I hope he has a great hunting season!
• Opera – My sister wants to go to the opera for her birthday.  I am not an opera person, but I’m always up for spending time with my mom and sister.  We’re hoping to go to The Barber of Seville when it’s in town in November.  If you’re local, buy tickets here!
• Soccer Season – Holden (and we are too!) is so excited about soccer starting up again!  I was on the fence about signing him up for the fall season, but I think it will be great.  We got him some cleats this time which he is in love with (gently used cleats for $9 – great for feet that grow fast!  We got them at Play It Again Sports.).  He even played outside on Wednesday morning for about 40 minutes.  I got quite the view while I finished my coffee and breakfast!

Isn’t that a good nail polish color?!  It’s Sonic Bloom from Sally Hansen Insta-Dry.  Get it here!  I have absolutely no time for nail polish that takes forever to dry!  

• Thanksgiving – I just love Thanksgiving.  We visit family on the Eastern Shore for this holiday.  I confess that my most favorite part of Thanksgiving is that it is the official start of the CHRISTMAS SEASON.  After all, my name does mean “Christmas gift!”  😉

 

What are you looking forward to in the fall?

Any favorite fall traditions?

How do you feel about the opera?  I’m thinking my mom will either hate it or have a Julia Roberts’ experience in Pretty Woman and love it.  Can’t wait to see!

Have a great Thursday!

Natalie

P.S.  I linked up with Annie and Natalie today!  Go over and check them out!

What’s Up?!?!? (Wednesday)

Can you believe that we are at the half-way point for October?!?!  Wow, this month is flying by!  I’ve had lots of changes in my work life in the past week, so I’m kind of thrilled they are behind me.  My school lost one special education teacher due to “numbers” not being high enough to keep the position.  There is a system in which school officials calculate the “need” of each student based on daily minutes provided.  All the teachers that I know go above and beyond those minutes, and I know that I certainly help all students who are struggling…not just those with official “minutes.”  You may guess that no one asked a teacher’s opinion at my school.  They have their budget and reality of how they have to do things, BUT it certainly made for a stressful mess for my school and teachers.

The short version is that I will not be working with my kindergarten students (They were so sweet about me leaving!  They made a card, and we had donuts on my last day!).  I will be working with both third grade and fourth grade this year.  English all day.  Yippee.  I really don’t mind teaching English, but it is nice to have some variety in life.  Two SOL TESTING grades is also a challenge.  In conclusion, it sort-of feels like the first day of school again for half the day.  I so don’t like the first day of school!  Getting to know the kids, revamping/doing lesson plans, and just adjusting to working with a new teacher can make one stressed!  In fact, I was so stressed this past weekend (although I don’t think I admitted how bad it was getting on my nerves!) that I broke out with a nice case of hives for my Saturday night fun!  Not to worry!  Those lovelies have faded, and hopefully things will start smoothing out at school as well.

We did get out of town this weekend to visit H’s Granny and for the Mr. to do his first fall hunting.  He’s slightly excited about hunting season.  🙂  (<-that may be the largest understatement of the year).  Although it sprinkled a bit on Saturday, Granny, H, and I did get a little outdoor play in plus a trip to the farmers’ market.  Granny treated H to TWO light sabers (one for his opponent who is typically Daddy).

I got to take two nice walks with Roscoe the doggie while we were there.  Aren’t these flowers growing in a soybean field pretty!

Sunday was a baby shower for an old friend.  The food was delicious, and I was so glad that I could make it there.  It’s funny how you can go from seeing someone so much to seeing them hardly at all.  As life has gotten busier for both of us plus a couple moves for her, it was nice just to catch up and do baby/kid talk for a little bit.  After the shower, it was back to reality for us!  Groceries, laundry, and prepping for my first day as a third and fourth grade teacher!  Another mountain to climb this week was to figure out why I’m sneezing and itching my face off!  I’ve never been one to have allergies, but I have been getting super sneezy and just miserable every night.  This has resulted in a lot of lack of sleep!  Not good!  Well, this week we went on the attack.  The Mr. had our home inspected for mold.  None present!  Yay!  We thoroughly cleaned our bedroom from top to bottom including under the bed and closet.  We even washed curtains and every single bit of our bedding.  After continued sneezing, we decided to throw money at the situation.  On Monday, I was feeling way tired from the lack of sleep, so I left work ASAP to buy an air purifier.  I know…it kind of seems like a hoax.  I can happily report that I’ve been sleeping much better since purchasing it!

I’ve also been using my Neti pot every night!  It’s basically a pretty snotty, gross event.  Whatever it takes to sleep through the night!  I’ve been feeling like a fussy infant or the princess and the pea!  Here’s a link if you want to buy…  I’ve always heard great recommendations about these things.  Seem to gross to try?  Here’s an article from WebMD about the benefits and who should give it a whirl.  Another recommendation is to wash your hair every night.  I know this stinks especially if you’re more stylish than me and like to do your hair in the morning.  I’m not at all hair-motivated in the morning.  My hair is fine, so I can easily curl, straighten, or put up my washed-last-night-hair.

So I’m happy to report I made it from 10PM to 4:40AM last night!  Victory!  Unfortunately, my nose got a little stuffy around that time.  This is a HUGE improvement!  I’ll keep doing what I’m doing!

Any allergies tips that have worked for you?

It’s beginning to feel like fall around these parts.  Do you have any favorite fall traditions or a fall bucket list?

Scarecrows in September

Happy Sunday morning!  Gosh, aren’t weekends the best?!?!  I especially love weekends at home in September as my work week is super busy this time of year.  We had an especially fun Friday and Saturday as my mom/H’s Moochie paid us a visit.  My dad even joined in and made the trip over on Saturday.  Although there was plenty of wind and rain, we managed to check off lots of “to-dos” and have some fun too.  We started off Saturday with the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters event – Make-a-Scarecrow.  This is a great event that we’ve participated in for the past three years.  There is a $25 fee, but all the proceeds go to CHKD.  Typically, it’s outside, but it was moved inside due to the weather.

Here is a picture of H last year among the pumpkins…

Time is passing so quickly!  I can’t believe it!

After Larry {our construction work scarecrow} was assembled, we did a quick trip to Burlington Coat Factory before ditching the guys for some serious shopping.  I think they made out just fine with lunch, arcade games, and an aviation museum.

My mom and I did a little wedding dress shopping…

Mommy is NOT an accomplished photographer, but we laughed A LOT while she tried to take a few.  I’m holding the dress since it’s a size too big.  I plan to order it online form Nordstroms.  I think it may end up being one of the most comfortable dresses I own!

Mommy’s first selfie {and her idea}!

We did more shopping at a few mall stores followed by Target and Old Navy.  H was the primary reason for our shopping, but I did pick up a baby shower gift and a couple small Christmas gifts.  We took a break and had a delicious lunch at Grilled Cheese Bistro.  We both had a the Gouda, caramelized onion, olive tapenade, and sautéed mushroom grilled cheese.  I had tomatoes added to mine, and Mommy had roasted red peppers.  Way delicious comfort food!

I hope you are having a great weekend so far!  All this wet, windy weather does make it seem more fall-like.  Here are a few “fally” pictures from earlier in the week when H and I were playing in the backyard.

Happy Sunday!

Seasonal Selections

There are so many thankful lists going on plus my very own thankful garland (ideas seen on this post) filling in with leaves of blessings that I’m going to jump on the November/Thanksgiving bandwagon with a quick list of my own.  

I am thankful for so many things!  Today I am definitely thankful for coffee, peanut butter plus nut butters in general!, forgiveness, my partner in life, children’s smiles, and public libraries.  Always giving a shout-out to those fine establishments.  🙂  Can’t forget this sweet boy too!

And these sweet hands collecting acorns…

I’m also so thankful to be getting a little nippy weather headed our way.  We were in the 70s today which is just crazy!  Cheers to the weather headed our way!  Other fun things I’ve been up to include finally baking my pumpkin bars seen here.  These turned out less bar-like and more delicious cake.  All is good though since they came out so yummy.  I also whipped up some pumpkin loaves with left-over canned pumpkin.  Here are the bars looking scrumptious with the cream cheese frosting.  P.S.  Homemade cream cheese frosting is ridiculously simple and so much better than the canned stuff at Wally World.  

These were dangerously good, so I enjoyed a couple and shipped out the others with the Mr. to work and then to family.  I do like baking, but my complaint is that for two people some of the recipes are humongous!    What do you do with all your baked treats?  Perhaps I should have tried freezing some?  Happy Baking!

 

Simple Pleasures

I was reading something the other day that said we rarely have time to talk and complain if we talk and name all of the wonderful things we have in our life.  I would have to say one of the most wonderful things that can happen to a working mom is to hear the following statement when you finally get back to your little one after a long day…”H had a great day!  He was such a good listener!  He played outside so nicely and followed directions all day!”  Wow!  What a powerful few sentences to make a mom feel so happy!  Although I would love to have some hybrid working situation where I could work part time and then be home with H the rest of the time, it is not my reality.  When I hear wonderful words like these, it really warms my heart and makes me so thankful that he’s having good days while I’m away.  Definitely a simple pleasure of my day.  Here are a few others…

Homemade Desserts – This one was an apple pie.  

Who am I kidding!?!?!  Any dessert!  Especially one that’s pretty and enjoyed all alone with peace and quiet on a fall afternoon.

Seeing another change of seasons and all the excitement it brings as we decorate with pumpkins, plan family fun, and coordinate our fall outfits!

The Mr.’s sidewalk chalk art left over from a weekend filled with time together  (NHJR For-Eva Yo!)

Other simple pleasures are a clean house, winds open and a breeze blowing in, a new haircut, seasonal produce, that instant when you finish a great run, open mouth kisses from a little one who hasn’t yet mastered the pucker, time with the Mr. where we don’t discuss any to-dos or logistically situations (even though we both secretly love logistics), a Friday afternoon the moment I pull out of the school parking lot, hugs from students, and oatmeal/almond butter/raspberry jelly desserts that double as health food!  I’m going to enjoy one right now.  What are your simple pleasures?

 

 

Rainy Conditions…

I like things to be meaningful.  Gifts, meals, cards, events…you name it!  Sometimes…despite my planning and scheduling, things don’t work out exactly as I dream.  Weather, it’s unpredictable to a degree.  People, they are unpredictable too.  Me as well!  First, things are fine and dandy!  Next few minutes, I’m having a meltdown about something silly.  Sound familiar?  Storms could pop up despite the best of intentions and planning to a T.  What can we do?  Grab an umbrella and look for the bright spots each time an overcast day appears on your horizon.

Here we are at Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach…

Just a little comparison from last year’s “Sword in the Stone” picture!

I carried my umbrella to ward off the storm clouds, but we ended up being rained out and having to skip the hayride.  We didn’t do this last year, so it was a little of a bummer that we missed out on it again (and that we paid for it!).  We finished out this day with lunch at Back Bay Gourmet which was amazing!  Here is their website.  I would completely recommend going there for lunch.  They were kid-friendly while also still being a nice place to have lunch.  Not a ton of options for kids’ meals, but H enjoyed his grilled cheese which came with chips and apple slices.  I had the Turkey and Cranberry Panini which was so yummy with the bistro spinach salad.   The Mr. had the Working Man’s Roast Beef.  Here we are carving up some jack-o’-lanterns!  This year went much better as we had WWIII at our house last year when the Mr. would not “share” the pumpkin carving with me.  So…one pumpkin for each of this year with Grandma Jewels helping out/playing keep H away from the sharp objects.

These sweet moments are ours to treasure despite our rainy day.  Happy fall festivities!

Meal Plans for the Week and a Whirlwind Family Visit

How is it Sunday already?  I feel like it was just Friday when I was rushing around trying to get everything ready for our quick weekend trip to visit family on the Shore.  The week ended on a bit of a sour note since I wasn’t able to wrap up things at work quick enough to be able to do the driving on Friday afternoon versus Saturday morning.  Alas, we did make it and enjoyed our time, even though it was short, to see family.  A little time is better than none at all, right?!  I enjoyed conversation and lots of JIF’s version of Nutella and the Mr. and the rest of the fam enjoyed roasted oysters and clams.  I’m not a seafood person in the least, but I can certainly make do with chocolatey goodness plus some other treats like veggies and excellent flax seed tortilla chips.  Here are some pics from our trip…

Pretty fall landscaping done by my dad aka the guy version of Martha Stewart these days (meant in the most manly way possible!)

Aren’t mums just the prettiest this time of year!

Roscoe, the late night party animal, was feeling pretty tired at this point in the evening!

Gossiping Catching up with each other 😉

My cutie sis-in-law with Karen the sassy scarecrow!  

I do have to admit that I’m a little bummed our trip was quick, and I am more than slightly jealous of those folks who have off for Chris Columbus Day tomorrow!  All this fall decor and rainy weather has me longing for the holidays and longer breaks from work to really relax and spend time with our families.  As usual, I’m working on my plan for the week and thinking of ways to *try* and incorporate some fun into the weekdays.  The key will be if the little man can stay well for more than a couple days!  It’s certainly hard to have much fun when you’re feeling under the weather.  This is my meal/workout plan for the week as well as a few things I’m excited about!

Sunday

Baked Sweet Potato with Almond and Honey Butter Topping & Sweet Lima Bean with Edamame 

Monday

Black Bean Burrito (lettuce, green onion, shredded mexican cheese, avocado, black beans)

          ->H will be eating his quesadilla-style with steamed carrots

Tuesday

Tropical Flank Steak Salad with Baguette

          ->H will be having the steak and pineapple.  He will be having zucchini too!

Wednesday

Chicken Brocoli Alfredo (I’m totally following the Campbell Soup recipe here minus the linguini noodles.  I’ll be using rotini instead to make it easier for H to eat.  Can’t wait to see how it is.  See the recipe here.)

Thursday

Grilled Turkey and Cheese with Tomato Soup 

          ->H isn’t a fan of deli meat, so I’ll probably make him just cheese toast and roast some butternut squash that I 

            buy prechopped at Wal-Mart.

Friday

Oven Baked (& Breaded) Flounder with Barley and Peas

 

Fitness Plan is…

Sunday – Gym (30 min of weights and cardio)  I’m going to focus on back and shoulders.

Monday – Walk R., 15 min yoga

Tuesday – Early AM gym session with a focus on arms and legs

Wednesday – Walk R

Thursday – Early AM gym session – leaving it wide open for what I feel like doing

Friday – Long Walk with R, 15 min. yoga

Saturday – Early 5 mile run

 

Well, there you have it!  Unless, of course, there is another illness headed our way with the little one.  It seems like we’ve had something come up in that department every week since I went back to work.  For such a hardy looking kid, he certainly seems to pick up whatever is floating around.  Take care and remember to eat the citrus!  Couldn’t hurt right????

 

 

 

Mapping out this Week

Monday is here yet again, and I have to say I avoided thinking about it all day yesterday.  That seems to have done the trick to help me with my sleeping issues.  What may or may not have also helped is beer before bed (just 1) and about an hour, yes 1 HOUR, of reading before bed.  I like to read, but I always seem to not have the time or feel guilty taking the time.  Last night, I pulled out a pumpkin porter beer that was decent from my Trader Joe’s mixed 6 pack (which by the way I had no idea was such a thing until yesterday when I was there with a little boy who was getting a lot of joy from throwing lovely TJ items out of the cart) and cozied up with the book below.  Link to Amazon here.

 I have seriously had this book for YEARS and never read it all the way through.  Several false starts but no follow through.  I really enjoyed the section on women in the colonies, and it did the trick to relax me and get me ready for bed.  Duh!  Why wasn’t I doing this already!??!

In other news, my mommy brought over a fun magazine to me this past weekend, Real Simple.  It is exactly what I needed ideas and info that are real simple!  I planned our meals for the week totally from this magazine.  See below for what we’ll be enjoying.

Sunday – Cheddar Tuna Melts (my own recipe) and Broccoli and Leek Soup (This was pretty good.  It felt very nourishing and hydrating.  However, the Mr. and I agreed that it was missing something.  Maybe garlic powder?  Maybe parmesan cheese melted in?  Not sure, but I was thrilled to get to see my immersion blender – which was a wedding gift – used for the first time.  It’s been over three years, lol!

Monday – BBQ chicken (my own recipe but inspiration from the magazine)

Tuesday – Chicken Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash (again mine but magazine inspiriation)

Wednesday – H and I are left to our own simplistic devices since the Mr. has an after-work engagement.  Bummer for us, but cooking-wise I’ll make something super easy that’s sure to please my low-key H.

Thursday – Fried Egg with Canadian Bacon and Avocado with Butternut Squash (Sounds crazy I know!  I thought it would be an interesting meat-free night.)

Friday – Wedding Time!  The Mr. and I are off to a wedding in Richmond, and I’ll definitely be missed H.  On the bright side, I’ll be enjoying seeing the Mr.’s family and eating delicious food that was prepared FOR me instead of BY me.  Yay!  

Here is a little linky to the Real Simple Recipe Search website.  I’ve used their recipes before, and for the most part, they are very simple and delish.  

I’ll leave you with a few fun pics from September.  It’s hard to believe today is the last day already!

H’s shoes in his secret hiding place, under the dining room table.

H modeling his cute Stellybelly outfit that I actually won via Instagram. He says, “Duck!”

This is the link to Stellybelly’s facebook site.  Cute stuff.  

Smoothie made with left-over salad greens. Totally creeped out the Mr.

Love weekend breakfasts at home!

Favorite Toy = SHOES!

Have a happy Monday!

Tommy & Karen, our newest family members!

We participated in a fun event to raise money for the local children’s hospital on Saturday.  My mom and sister made the trek over to take part in the fun too!  It was a lot more hands-on than we first though, lol, but we had lots of fun.  We went to the local MacDonald’s Garden Center in Virginia Beach and made life-sized scarecrows!  They had all of the supplies plus lots of fun clothing and accessories to look through to really dress up your newly made folks.  Although H was a little young for this event, he seemed to enjoy running all around and playing a little game of “chase” with my mom while sister and I took on the building process.  My scarecrow was named Tommy, and my sister’s was named Karen.  Tommy might need to make some better food/activity level choices in the near future as he was stuffed to the point of bursting with straw.  Karen, however, was quite modelesque with her stylish duds.  Here are a few pictures from the morning…

What a fun day!  We dropped off H with the Mr., so I could enjoy a nice lunch with grown-ups at a kid-unfriendly location.  We picked Mermaid Winery in the Ghent area of Norfolk.  It was yummy and so pleasant to sit outside on a fall day.  I had the Mermaid sandwich with roast beef and horseradish.  Delish!  I also had the Mermaid wine flight, and it was so cool to be able to sample the different wines without commitment to one!

After a delicious and relaxing lunch, we headed up to MacArthur for some family photo session shopping.  I got this top for the session.  I’m going to pair it with some dove-colored suede ankle boots and dark wash straight leg jeans.

Today is going to be filled with grocery shopping and meal planning and although that might sound boring, I’m kind of excited to get some variety in my life!  I feel like I’ve been in a food rut particularly for breakfast and treat/dessert time.  I’m looking forward to a Trader Joe’s trip after church for some more inspiring finds.  Have a great Sunday!