Bleah! Spider!

Look at the amazingly big spider I found in the basement yesterday!


It was quite icky. I was kneeling down to check on the furnace, and almost put my knee on it. While I think I would have won, it wouldn't have been pleasant. The kids were proud of the fact I caught it, and even found a place in the backyard to put it. Bleah! Glad it's gone!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Summer has gone on for what feels like forever around here, but the forecast is saying fall might really be here to stay this week. The leaves are turning and the hillsides are taking on a golden hue. In taking advantage of the warm weather, we decided to brave the Colorado pumpkin patches last weekend. It was a breeze! Unlike last year, the pumpkin crop was a good one. The evenings have been above freezing so far (just barely last night), we've had no snow yet, and almost no rain all summer. Really, there weren't any reasons that the pumpkin patch should be a muddy, yucky mess this time around!

We headed out right after soccer (which explains Caitlin's shirt). It was warm and dry, and not cold. Last year we looked at several hundred pumpkins (no exaggeration there) in order to find a few that weren't rotten. This year the good ones outnumbered the rotten ones by a wide margin. What a nice difference. We still got a little dirty. That one seems hard not do around these parts. But we came home with two nice pumpkins, and two happy children. I'm hoping that now Caitlin will stop asking to get a pumpkin every time she sees one at the store.

Last Day of Soccer (!!!)

Oh yes, it's the last day of soccer, and we are happy! The kids aren't thrilled, but mom and dad are looking forward to having our Saturday's back for a while. Mom is also looking forward to not hanging out at the park every Thursday night from 5:30-6:30, sweating while the sun's up and then freezing for 15-20 minutes because the sun has gone behind the Flatirons and, once again, she forgot a sweater.

Today was payback for last weekend, when we only had one game. At 11:00 am. It was a leisurely morning. Today was not the same story. Both kids had games at 9:00 am. It was cold, and the fields were very wet. Fall has arrived, and we could feel it today. On the bright side, we had the whole day available to us after 10:00! It was a very.long.day.

The kids have had a great soccer season. Both want to do it again in the spring. I'm all for signing them up again. But I'm reclaiming Saturdays for a while!

Above - Caitlin demonstrating the pack mentality of playing soccer that is so prevalent in the Little Kickers division.

Over Analysing the Doctor

I read The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Suess to Caitlin this afternoon. Her choice, not mine. It's not my favorite book. At least it's an easy read. But now, as a parent, I find it a little odder than I did as a kid. I know it's just a book, but I find it strange that in the book there are two little kids left at home all afternoon. Now I'm also worried that the fish is the voice of reason. Maybe I should just read, and not analyse.

Tired

I knew I was tired yesterday. MOPS mornings always wear me out. Maybe it's the early hours, or helping clear things up after the meeting, but I felt drained. Brian was in Seattle most of last week, meaning I was more tired than usual. Our neighbor was gone to California for 5 days, meaning I needed to take and pick up Brandon from school (which, although not exhausting, takes up some extra time in the morning). Caitlin's school was closed for three days last week due to a Lutheran teachers conference, taking away 8 hours that I usually have to myself to do things. I spend a good chunk of the weekend working on the MOPS newsletter because of that. Last night I went to a women's event at church. But it was early this morning, when I put on my glasses and realized the world had gone from clear to blurry, I really knew I was tired.

I don't even know the last time I didn't take my contacts out at night because I forgot. Maybe I never have. I use to have the kind you wore at night, but they bothered my eyes so much when I wore them overnight that I eventually started taking them out in the evenings. In Colorado it's so amazingly dry, especially in the winter, that there are days I can't wear them past 4:00 or 5:00 in the evening. I was so confused this morning when I put on my glasses and everything went blurry. I hadn't been awake long enough to register how clear I was seeing. I didn't want to wake up, so I hadn't turned a light on at all. So much for finally being use to my 6:00 am mornings.

It's funny how it's the little things that wear you down. There was no big event going on. Nothing major happened to me last week. Brian was gone most of the week, and single parenting is always tiring. I wonder if single parents ever get use to it? Our neighbor was gone for 5 days, so I took Brandon to school. Not only does that mean getting Caitlin up early, but then there's the exhaustion of pulling her away from the swings after the bell rings for class. With Caitlin's school closed for several days and no available play dates (trust me, I tried!), I spent more time than usual entertaining her when I needed to get other things done. The weekend included soccer, dinner at a friend's house, finishing the MOPS newsletter, our small group, and a newcomers lunch. You'd think I would have gotten enough sleep due to oversleeping by an hour on Sunday! Saturday morning wasn't so bad, either. But a bunch of little things combined are enough to wear a person down. I'm still feeling tired, and it's 9:00 am! Obviously I should get off the computer and get my rear in gear.

I'm grateful for the cold, rainy weather today. Fall is here. Playing outside after school is limited, which means homework and AWANA memorization is done earlier. The kids bedtimes come earlier. And from how this post sounds, I should make mine a little earlier, too.

Punk

Caitlin got her hair spray painted at Brandon's school's fundraiser event last week. Doesn't she look a little punk?