Random thoughts

I found a great recipe for Buckeye bars- Capriel and Talia had fun making them with me.

Capriel is growing up in front of my eyes. I had a few moments of awareness where I looked at her and saw a girl-one who is going to school next year, and is getting taller and wiser.

We went on a bike ride as a family one afternoon when the kids were off school for UEA. I absolutely love bikes rides as a family and feel a real sense of accomplishment and pleasure being on them. We hit the pumpkin walk (a north logan tradition where groups create scenery and scenes using pumpkins, paint, costumes, props) , went to the library to check out a movie (look how frugal we are becoming) and biked to a small farm to pick out our pumpkins.

We have had gorgeous afternoons, picture perfect. The falls here are incredible, heady with contrasting colors, the greens intense, and the air perfect. We've substituted a bunch of planned dinners, substituting simpler ones because we just don't want to come inside and fix them.

An acre plus of yard is a lot! We love it, but it can become overwhelming. I'm going to ask for Round-up for Christmas.

Landen played in state cup last week and this. Five games and an incredible amount of driving. But it was worth it to watch him play with those boys who are so like him. He did great and fit right in with his team. That has really been a blessing for him. They made it to the semi's and then got out.

I don't feel the need for a nap in the afternoon if I get 8 hours of sleep.

I sometimes think that cooking healthy food and trying to get my kids to eat it is ruining my evenings. Is it worth it?

I feel like I'm getting sorer easier, feeling tired and hurt more often. Am I already aging?

My new calling as the ward chorister is absolutely not something I'd choose to do. I was so nervous for the first day, but after that I've decided I'll be fine. It is hard to not look down too often. I feel like when I do and I'm nervous I can only remember about 2 words before I need to look down again. The organist happens to have graduated in choral conducting. She was watching me like a hawk and I kept thinking I should do some fancy wrist flick to get her to change keys or something, but I wasn't clever enough to think of that at the same time as I was keeping my 4/4 straight.

I'm finding too many rationalizations to not run in the pitch black mornings. I now run with my phone, a flashlight, and pepper spray. It is quite a collection.

I started Talia with a violin teacher. It felt really good to just make a decision and live with it for a while.

I've decided I want to be a handyman someday.

My mind spins with home improv projects I want to do: paint my kitchen cabinets, refinish my hardwoods and continue the wood into the music room, add a shelf in my laundry room, put a shoe rack in the garage, change a closet into a mini mini mud room, and paint paint paint.

I'm reading the "How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci book" in extremely small segments, but certainly loving it. Today I was taking a sensory evaluation and was surprised by the question under smell that said, "could you identify your friends by their smell?" It seems a little odd and more intimate than I'd want to get.

I bought Lani his first scary costume at DI this week, a cape and a mask that looks like a skull. I'm trying to be a more fun mother. I hate anything scary and have never bought anything at all scary.

I took Talia shopping for a witch costume. Everything was just "wrong" or "itchy" I think she would pass the sensory assessments for touch in my book with flying colors. I think she is just going to be the mouse that she was a couple of years ago. She likes familiarity.

Capriel is a monkey and Rhyse hopefully a chicken-though she loves all the ballet costumes.

Is it ok to just not decorate for fall? I'm just sick of boxes and thinking about where things should go.

I have a good, kind husband. He is so supportive, and helpful with the children. He has endless patience when it comes to math homework.

Who knew jr. high math would take sooo long.

I finished my curtains for my dining nook. Way too much time was involved, but I love them. Just need to buy some washers at Lowes to weight them down.

I mowed a lot of the lawn yesterday. It was an exciting experience with our mower that has lots and lots of play on the steering wheel and not much of a turning radius. We only broke three sprinklers yesterday!

Sometimes I think I am OCD in that I want a place for everything and I want things squared away and looking good I want everyone to care as much as I do.

I'm going to try to make apple chips this week.

I love having my sewing machine always set up-even it it is in a closet.

Is it really important to have your boys do scouts?

How do you help children deal with their fears?

Will there ever be enough time?

I love how my huge burning bushes seems to be igniting outside my window and the redbud is turning golden.