The One Where I Let My Kid Eat Leaves

Last weekend, Hubs used his man toys to get all the leaves out of our yard.  We only have two trees on our property but they are pretty big and we have a lot of leaves.

I obviously took this as an opportunity for a photo shoot and was no help whatsoever with the actual cleaning up of the leaves.

 Ooo this must be like the other food they have been giving me.

 Uh guys, this s gross.

 Maybe this one tastes better...

 Nope.  Still gross.

This kid cracks me up.  He thought it was pretty fun until Hubs completely surrounded him with the leaves and he could barely see.  That caused a minor meltdown of sorts and Mommy had to rescue him.

Another fall event to cross off the bucket list.

(Sorry-not-sorry there are so many pictures in this post.  I couldn't narrow them down.)

The One with the Fall Cara Box

I participated in another Cara Box exchange.  Things have changed a little bit with the way Cara Box is organized.  The exchanges are now seasonal instead of monthly and we have more time to get to know our partners.  The swap started in September and boxes were mailed out at the end of October.

Cara Box was started by Kaitlyn at Wifessionals in an effort to get to know other bloggers and receive super fun mail!  Each exchange has a theme and you can read more about how Cara Box works here.  This box's theme was all about autumn.  The smells, the sights, the sounds, and everything in between.

I was paired up with Kari at The Pink Cow Mootique and Jessica from Nutshell Farms.  Kari is a teacher and has twin girls who are so adorable.  Jessica is a SAHM who amazed me with all of her awesome homemade food and canning skills.  It was so fun getting to know both ladies and I enjoyed picking out items for Jessica's Cara Box.  Head over to her blog to see what I sent her in the Cara Box.

My box from Kari arrived two weeks ago and I was so excited when it came in the mail.  I love getting mail and this time was no exception!  She is so thoughtful and really sweet.

In the box from Kari there were such great fall themed things.  There was a something for everyone in this box.  She sent me a yummy apple smelling candle, hot chocolate and a chocolate bar (which is surprisingly still in my fridge!), very pretty pink nail polishes, a chevron scarf (which I wore last week and got so many compliments on), an adorable shirt and bib for L, and some treats for Max.  She was so thoughtful when putting my box together.

Thanks so much Kari!

If you aren't already participating in the Cara Box exchange, I definitely recommend signing up in December for the next exchange.

The One Where I Put My Kid in a Pumpkin

It's no secret that I pretty much loathe Halloween.  Other than the candy (which let's face it, I can buy anytime I want because I'm a grown up), there is really nothing I like about the holiday.  It makes for a really long week at school - the kids are nuts before, during and after - and I don't really get the whole dressing up and scaring people. 

However I will say, since having L, I have embraced the holiday a little more.  He had lots of Halloween clothes (some of the first things I bought after I found out I was pregnant last year) and I enjoyed dressing him up. 

And I absolutely could not resist carving out a pumpkin and putting him in it for pictures.  This kid is gonna hate me someday for this but they came out so damn cute. 

Cue picture and adorableness overload...

 First taste of solid food?

The best part is this kid smiled and laughed the entire time.  Despite being put in cold pumpkin on a chilly night in only a diaper, he was a happy camper.  He really is a great baby and we are some lucky parents.

Another Halloween posts with costumes coming tomorrow...

Enjoy your Sunday!

The One with the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, Hubs and I took L to a local farm to go pumpkin picking.

While I am not a big fan of Halloween, I do love me some fall activities so this was right up my alley.

I did have to block out the memories of the last time I went to this particular farms to pick pumpkins.  Way back during my second year of teaching, I ended up with a horrendous week-long migraine after a spinal tap (looong story) and during a field trip to pick pumpkins with my class I had to jump off the moving hayride to throw up in a corn field.  Wasn't my proudest moment, but Hubs loved bringing it up the whole time we were on the hayride this time.

Despite the flashbacks, we had a great time with Liam.  He's obviously too little to understand what was going on, but Hubs and I had a lot of fun in the corn maze and picking out pumpkins to carve.  This farm also makes the most amazing handcut red potato fries that are soooo good.

We came home with some fall goodies, several pumpkins, and a lot of pictures.

He doesn't look too miserable here.

Seriously cannot stand the cuteness.

Definitely looking forward to this being another fall tradition that we do with the little guy every year.

The One with the Thursday Thoughts (on a Friday)

I got a little behind this week.

First full week of school.
Open House.
Being a full time teacher and a full time mom.
Having quite the class of little hellions.

Life is a little hectic to say the least.

• I'm exhausted.  L is definitely experiencing the 4-5 month sleep regression issues.  They are minor compared to other stories I have heard, but he is definitely having some weird sleep situations going on.  Like wide awake at 1 am and ready to play.  Or making tons of noises at 4 am and causing Max to keep getting up from his sleep and going over to check on him.  Or really ready to start his day at 5:15 on a day when Mommy was going to sleep in just a little.  The pacifier will lull him back to sleep in the real middle of the night.  But those times at 4 or 5, he's pretty much awake and therefore so is Mama.  Hopefully, he goes back to his blissful 11-12 hours soon.

• I'm kinda over school already.  Is that bad?

• I cannot get on the pumpkin train.  I think it's gross

• I can, however, get on the other fall tastes, smells, and activities train.  I am looking forward to a weekend at the apple orchard with Hubs and the little man very soon. 

• The cost of formula sucks.  I really wished my boobs worked correctly.

• I have had a few meltdowns this week once I got home from school.  I feel like I can barely keep my head above water right now with school and the pressures to be the perfect teacher (I know I never will be, but I still want to try my absolute hardest to be awesome at my job) while dealing with a challenging class and being "present" once I'm home with my family.  I really think this whole working out of the house thing blows.

•  I put L in his highchair the other day just for fun.  Holy hell he looks like a stinkin toddler in it!  And I must say he loves it.  I was wheeling him from room to room and he thought that was just so much fun.

Boon highchair

• I'm quite excited for the new fall shows and my old shows coming back.  I don't have a chance in hell of being able to find the time to watch any of them, but I'm excited nonetheless.

Okay, I'm off to indulge in pizza and beer.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!
 

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

School is officially back in session as of today.  I truly don't know where the summer (plus the 7 weeks I had off before that) went.  I feel like it has all flown by and I cannot believe I am starting a new school year with new kids with a kid of my own at home.

Onto the Thursday thoughts...

• Fall is upon us and I must say I'm excited.  While I would have loved more time off with the munchkin, if I have to go back to work, I want the weather to cool off a little.  Just enough for sweaters and warm drinks...not enough for snow and arctic temperatures.

• Speaking of fall, I am enjoying my last few lightings of my summer candles and scent bulbs before I switch everything over.  

• And more fall things, I cannot wait to go apple and pumpkin picking with Liam this year.  Obviously he won't be able to participate, but the whole process is just so exciting to me.  And after fall comes CHRISTMAS!  Don't even get me started on how ecstatic I am about the holiday season now that I have a child.  It's like normal excitement times a jillion!

• Am I the only one who finds immense satisfaction out of using the booger sucker on my kid?  It feels like a great accomplishment when we get a good one out.  ::crickets::  Yeah, I was pretty sure it was just me.

• I have a slight obsession with bibs for Liam right now.  I try to match them to his outfit every morning.  Any recommendations for good ones from a store or an Etsy shop?  We have the teething ones from Carter's and I like those.  Normal velcro irritates Liam's neck so it needs to have that soft, flat velcro or a snap.  I picked up these ones from Carter's the other day.

• The beginning of the school year makes me feel like a CD set to repeat.  There are so many routines to teach them at the beginning.  It's all worth it in the end once they learn them, but boy is it tedious in the beginning.

• We borrowed a Bumbo seat from a friend this week and L seems to really like it.  I didn't originally register for it because I felt like we really didn't need another piece of baby junk, but this is nice for my always curious and nosy little boy.  He can do some more sitting up in it, although he isn't loving that he can't move his legs as much.  I also need to pick up or have a cover made for it because his chubby thighs get stuck to the seat!

And yes, I know the risks of putting him up on the counter on the seat.  He is never unsupervised in it.  Ever.

• I am a self-diagnosed hater of Halloween, but I must admit I am a little more excited about it this year.  I have already started looking at costumes for Liam.  I know he's only going to wear it for like a split second but I am already imagining the cute pictures.  I am thinking an elephant or a lobster.

• Going back to work has been really tough, but I already appreciate every single second I do get with L even more than before.  But damn it would be really nice to be a SAH mom.

Off to enlighten more minds...or at least teach them how to stand in a line quietly!

The One with the Wednesday Ramblings

So I think I'm going to start a new weekly post that will just be random thoughts/ideas/ramblings about things that are going on with us and may or may not have anything to do with IF.  We'll see how it goes and hopefully it will become a regular post.

• I started reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  I'm only a few chapters in and I'm definitely already hooked.  It's got suspense, wit, and some really interesting psychological observations.  I definitely recommend checking it out.

Original image from here.

• We had some people over this past weekend and I tried out some new recipes from Pinterest I had been looking forward to experimenting with.  Want to know what I made?  Okay, good, because I'm sharing anyway.
• I made this Loaded Baked Potato Salad.  Let me start out by saying that I loathe potato salad.  I find it completely disgusting.  That being said, this particular form of potato salad intrigued me and it's now my new go-to cookout recipe.  I ended up changing a few things.  I used a little more sour cream and mayo because it was too dry after it sat for a while.  I also added a little celery salt instead of regular salt.  It was a big hit!
• I decided we needed a second salad and did this Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad.  I pretty much followed the recipe, but would change a few things for next time.  It made a ton of salad, so I would definitely cut the recipe in half next time.  I refused to "roast" garlic in the microwave, so I spent the extra time doing it in the oven.  I think it could have used a little more ricotta.  I did put it some garlic powder because the garlic taste wasn't strong enough for me (but I put garlic in everything, so if that's not your thing, leave it out).

This was the only thing I remembered to snap a quick picture of before it got gobbled up!


• One last one.  I whipped up this Sun-Dried Tomato Spread.  OMG...it was fabulous!  Horrible for you, but fabulous!  Learned a few things on this one too.  Do not buy the sun-dried tomatoes in oil.  It made this yummy dip way too greasy, even for greasy-loving Hubs.  There is a ton of cheese in this dip, so you can definitely cut some out.  Also doesn't need as much cream cheese and mayo.  Next time, I'll probably use less of both.

• Can we talk about my obsession with Pinterest?  I mean, I know this is not news for anyone, but I could spend hours finding new recipes, projects, and clothes.  There's a pretty good chance I won't make, do, or buy most of the things I pin, but a girl can dream right?  Although I really am going to do this iPhone cuteness because it appears to just include printing and cutting which even I can handle at this point.

• I have managed to drag myself out of my funk from a few days ago.  I'm not being Negative Nancy or Positive Patsy.  I'm somewhere in between the two...we'll call her Realistic Reba.  This could really go either way and I have realized there's not a damn thing I can do about it.  I'm (im)patiently waiting for beta day and praying like crazy that we get good news.  If not, we will be okay and figure out what the next step is.  It is beyond my control at this point and even my type-A personality has realized it.

• This is what a full IVF calendar looks like.  And this only goes through last Saturday and doesn't even include this past week.

Remember when it looked like this?  Feels like ages ago.

• School starts next week.  Where the hell did summer go?!  My classroom is pretty much ready to go, but I'm going to head there for a little bit later this morning to sharpen some pencils and check my class list again...there will inevitably be a new kid or two that will cause me to have to re-alphabatize everything.  Grrrr!

• While I am mourning the loss of summer, my fall freak flag is just about ready to fly.  
• There's a good chance my next nail color will be this...

Original image from here.

• I am craving candy corn like crazy (despite my hatred for Halloween...more on that at some point in the future).  This Candy Corn Bark will be making an appearance in our house very soon.
• Oh and how could I forget about my favorite Starbucks winter drink?! But I refuse to pay their exorbitant prices for what amounts to a lot of water with some flavor thrown in, so I was ecstatic when I found this recipe on Pinterest (again with the Pinterest addiction).  It's for Caramel Apple Cider in the crock pot.  Sign me up!
• And we all know that fall is followed immediately by the start of the Christmas obsession.  I skip right over Halloween and Thanksgiving (aka the disgusting stuffing holiday) and move right to the ornaments and pine tree smell.  Can.not.wait.

• I leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from my Pinterest Board.

Original image from here.

Original image from here.

And one last one that is way too true...

Original image from here.

Off to sweat in my classroom for a bit.  

Happy Wednesday!