Wow, we've been busy! October is gone, November is here!

We've been carving pumpkins...


We discovered that Able loves rainbows nearly as much as apples...


No surprise, but Charlie loves firetrucks...

We trick-0r-treated...Seb went somewhere else, so no pics of him!





We've been crafting a lot, but now it's time to focus on the Christmas gifts.

Some of us have found the need to sleep...

Super Charie has come into existence!

Somebody had a birthday.

Tony is very antsy for snowmobiling season.

Oh, yeah, we carved some pumpkins! :)


And Charlie got a new bed. Every night it's like a Where's Waldo cartoon, he has this need to bring everyone to bed.


I hope November is half as much fun!

Tired...I'm so tired...

I've spent the better part of today either in bed or my chair! Luckily my darling husband and children have gotten together on the housework. Its not perfect, and not all of it is done. But-the bathrooms are clean, we have clean clothes (even if they aren't all where they are supposed to be), a relatively clean kitchen.

And some days, us preggo ladies on the go, just need to rest. During the week there is no time for naps or resting. Its all about get from here to there to everywhere. Beyond that, this is the last time I'll be pregnant (if I have anything to say about it) and I'm trying to appreciate each little miraculous day. I never thought I'd be pregnant again, this munchkin is such a surprise and a gift (and maybe a little bit of a hassle, too, but thats life) I really want to appreciate it.

After looking at Donna's blog...I have to say I'm so appreciative of her organization! I need to start with a list of things that need to be done. Each term I get lost again and about halfway through the term I find myself and realize household chores haven't been done in a month! So thats my goal for the week, figure out what needs to be done!

Considering the Playroom

In our home we are blessed to have a "den". It was previously the garage to the former owners, and has dark paneled walls and dark green carpet. Maybe they had a billiard table in there before? It is the perfect type of room for a game room. It has my dining room hutch, the kids comfy chairs, their TV, their toys, our filing cabinet, and my sewing machine.

Because our house is the old "ranch style" instead of the "great room style" we are able to have people come in the front door, instead of the side door, and so this room is always the pit. Over the last few months since we almost moved I've been working hard to clean it up. I've been decluttering the house like mad, throwing crap away, and generally working towards a tidier happier home. In fact, in some ways, I'm getting a bit obsessive, since I hate to see the fruits of my labors get disturbed.

Anywho, this room tends to be the staging area for boxes to be unpacked, backpacks and coats (my children DON'T seem to know how to use a hanger, no matter how many times I instruct them!), Goodwill junk, and other misc. The toys are a mess, it is pretty hard to figure out what to do with the Hotwheels track.I need to sort again, and then I need to figure out some sort of organization system.

In our house we don't have toys in our rooms, except special ones and stuffies. The rooms stay tidy, a nice calm place to sleep, relax, read, etc. The bulk of the playing is done in the playroom.So does anyone have any specific organization system they use for their kids toys and stuff? Any suggestions?

Miss Maggie's New Site

Frugal Abundance

That Miss Maggie sure has started a winner-again! Her clarity of thought and ability to put things into words really impress me with each of her articles.


Humble Pie: Putting Organics Into Perspective

Making Work Easier

Feast & Famine the Pescatarian Pantry

These are all issues that I deal with on a daily basis! The organic thing, I'm working on dealing with it by purchasing from local growers, rather than buying organic. In some cases, veggies are organic, but aren't certified due to the high costs in doing so. I think at some point the real issue will be finding ways to save petroleum costs (not shipping food 3000 miles) rather than organic.

A friend recommended this book "Coming Home to Eat" On this site you can listen to an interview with the author. And an excerpt can be found here. Find out more about Gary.

Also, on my book list is Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal Vegetable Miracle". You can find some yummy recipes on that site!

Really, what the main thing I'm trying to accomplish is the best food, from the local community if possible, for the least price. And don't forget the love put into the food, it adds nourishment as well!

How Much are You Worth?

Moms work hard, there is no doubt about it, but "does anyone appreciate it" is the big question. Maybe in some households, but in mine, as in some of my friends, then men just don't see clutter and dirt. And it doesn't seem to matter to them. The dirt can be there, or not, the clutter can be there or not. It's no big deal. But it is, and it might be to you, too.

So after a difficult discussion with my husband tonight, I thought I'd see if I could figure it out. If we had to pay someone to come into the home and do what I do every day, how much would we have to pay her? Well, according to this site, my work is worth $91,977. They break it down by job, by hour, and by zip code. So it seems the work that I do around the house is worth it after all.

Now, if only I can convince my husband,

Busy Day

Today has been busy! I've done 5 loads of laundry, cooked dinner (simple broccoli and ham in mac'n'cheese), unloaded some boxes, moved some boxes to the shed, dishes, cleaned my bedroom, and tidied here and there.

Tomorrow my job is to bring rolls. My favorite are Miss Maggie's "Fred's Favorite Rolls". It looks like if I start them in the morning there will be plenty of time for them to rise!

My back hurts now, so in a bit I'll be off to the bathtub. First I need to change the sheets (I found the flannel-whoo hoo!) and fold another load of laundry!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Redecorating After Undecorating

As you may know, we almost moved. Most of the house is in the POD still (I need to jump in there and find the flannel sheets today....brrrr it's cold!). We took everything down off the walls and most of the nick-nacks were packed. The house seems almost empty, even though we have furniture in it, and the china cabinet IS empty. The Christmas dishes are coming into the house, that will refill the china cabinet, but what do I do about the walls?

Honestly, I love Christmas decorations, but really don't like taking them down. There lies my dilemma. Do I really go to town on Christmas decorations and redecorate the normal stuff later? Or do I put some normal stuff up and some holiday stuff up?

It may well be a moot point, as I don't have much free time anyway. I'll let you know what I decide!