Score!

After four months of checking Craigslist almost daily for a used, wooden kitchen for Arden, I finally found one to buy! It's a bit bigger than what I was originally looking for, but I figured a way to move around things in her room to make the space. It is so cute!

It has some scratches on the "burner" area of the stove from kids pushing around pots and pans, but it doesn't bother me. I was able to negotiate the owner down to less than 1/2 price of the exact model new, and this one was already assembled.

I love having a van because I have loaded many Craigslist finds into the back cargo area since the seats fold down! I survived another appointment to pick up a Craigslist item from a stranger without being murdered, and now this kitchen is in my garage under two blankets, just awaiting Christmas Day when we move it into Arden's bedroom for her! (Seriously, do take precautions and let someone know where you are going, take a phone, and never enter a stranger's house alone when buying from a stranger).

I love buying used! It's a thrill to save money; it relieves me of stress because I don't worry about my kids damaging items as much, and it is better for the environment.

iHope

Today was a service day at our church which was named iHope. There were various projects that had been set up for groups to do including yard help in neighborhoods, helping with a satellite church's facilities, working at Saving Grace ministry, and moving items for the local women's shelter. Our new body life group that we are leading includes five families, and four families got together today to work side-by-side to participate (the fifth family was sick, or they would have been there too).

The morning began rather rough, as Arden was crying after being woken up early, and I was debating about the benefit of putting her back into a half day of childcare after being away from her during the work week already. I was running late, so Stuart left separately to get there on time. Then, Arden had a dirty diaper, so we had yet another delay. As soon as I started the van, I realized that the gas light was on, so we had another stop to make to fill up the tank. Quickly, I pulled out onto the interstate and started cruising quickly down the road to make up for lost time. However, as Owen quickly pointed out, "Mom, this isn't the way to church!" In my hurry, I had turned down the opposite direction on the interstate and was "automatically" driving towards my favorite mall instead of north towards church! So, after a quick u-turn at the next exit, we were on our (right) way. Upon checking the kids in at church, the printer failed to print Arden's nametag, so I had to go back to the end of the line and wait all over again to get her security tag. Finally, we were all there, and kids were distributed. Only twenty minutes late!

This was the first time that our small group had worked together, and though it started with a lot of setbacks, it was a very good day. We loaded boxes from the other women's shelter and unloaded and organized materials at the new facility. The younger kids had childcare provided by volunteers at the church, but Owen was too old for the childcare and worked along with the adults this year. This was the first service project like this that Owen had ever done, and he absolutely loved it! I was so proud to see him jump in and lift all the boxes and take the work so seriously. He enjoyed talking to all the adults, and I had a couple of offers from people who said they "wanted to take him home with them." He has such a servant's heart and loves helping! Owen begged to be able to do this project again next year, and Stuart explained that we would do a service project again sometime soon, but it might not be at the same location. Owen replied, "But I really want to organize stuff!" Ha. He is definitely my child!

We picked up the kids at lunchtime, so Arden could come home for her nap. It was a good day, and we are looking forward to more times of service in our local community . . . and maybe someone else will need Owen's organizational services!

Halloween

I can't believe we are already into November! October was a strange month that seemed at times to be endless while also flying by. I don't know if that makes any sense. In early October, Stuart was gone for 8 days out of the first two weeks. That. Was. Rough. I had never done the "single working parent" thing before, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for those moms that work every day and have to do all the childcare at night and weekends alone. Stuart went to Atlanta to the Catalyst conference that he attends yearly with friends, and they had a great worship experience. Then, he had to travel to Little Rock for his annual prosecutor's conference the next week!

After Stuart returned, Hudson got the flu and missed a couple of days of school, and then I got it. Yes, it was the flu, and I'm still not 100% (2 weeks later). I was in bed for close to three days, but then I had to return to work and dragged myself there for the rest of the week. I definitely hurt my recovery by talking and teaching all day, but I didn't have enough sick days to use in order to recover slowly. I stayed home until I had been fever-free for 24 hours, but I still felt like a truck had run over me for about another week. All I could do was work and then come home to bed. I am still coughing a lot, but my energy level is back to around 85% normal now, so it's much better. Arden has had a clear runny nose, but she hasn't had flu or fever symptoms.

I was still dragging last weekend for Halloween, but I did manage to go around with the kids to two different church festivals in town. Then, Stuart took them to a few neighbors' houses in our neighborhood before we called it a night. Owen was Obi Wan, Hudson was a cowboy, and Arden was a ladybug. The boys had a huge fall festival at school on Friday, and they had gotten to wear their costumes to school too! That was a huge hit! I enjoyed seeing them dressed up, but it drained my limited energy to be out and walking around for two hours outdoors, so I was back in bed again last Sunday.

I'm already thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas and counting down the days until I get vacation time! Only two more weeks until I am out for the entire week of Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to spending most of that time at home with my kids, just hanging out and playing with them. I do have to go to the dentist to get a couple fillings on that Monday, and I hope to get some Christmas shopping done that day too (when I will have childcare). I have done very little shopping yet since I didn't plan to return to full-time work until August. So, this next year I will definitely be shopping throughout the year instead and spreading it out.

We'll probably put up our big Christmas tree and the smaller kids' tree after Thanksgiving, and that is always fun. I haven't opened the ornament boxes since we we moved last December, so I hope we don't have many broken items in there. I did find a wooden kitchen used on Craigslist this past week that I plan to give Arden for Christmas. I got it for 1/2 off the regular price, and it is in good condition with just some surface scratches from normal play. I know she'll love it, and I'm glad I could find a used set that I won't worry about since it wasn't too expensive. Right now, it's in our garage under two large blankets. She hasn't seemed to notice it yet!

Stuart and Owen are going to their first Razorback game today in Fayetteville. We sure love living in this area. There is so much to do for families. I'm looking forward to some quieter time with the younger kids today and maybe a short trip to Walmart.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Flu-ish

On Saturday afternoon, my throat began to get sore. I started feeling achy by dinner, and by bedtime I was miserable. I was up every hour all night long with a raging sore throat that wouldn't allow me to sleep. No medication seemed to help. Luckily, by this morning, the sore throat turned into more of a swollen feeling, but I got really woozy and ran fever.

I don't know if it's the flu or not, but it is flu-like symptoms. I have stayed in bed most of the day except to help with Arden when needed. She doesn't like Daddy as much as Mommy these days! My head has been pounding every time I stand up, but I think I feel a bit better now that I did this morning.

I am supposed to have parent/teacher conferences tomorrow and Tuesday nights from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., and I knew that I wasn't in any condition to do two, twelve hour work days after this weekend. I put in for a half day sub for tomorrow, so I only have to go and teach one class tomorrow from 10-11:30 a.m. I think I can manage that, and it will save me from having to use a whole sick day. I will see how I feel at 4:30 if I return for parent/teacher conferences or not. My principal has said I could miss if I still feel too bad tomorrow afternoon.

I am hoping to be almost all better by Tuesday, but please pray! It seems like someone in our family has been sick with flu symptoms for almost every week since early September. First, Arden got sick for 4 days right around Labor Day. Then Stuart got the H1N1 flu very badly the next week, and he missed 8 days of work with it! He was much, much more seriously ill than I am. Then Owen got sick a couple of weeks ago for 24 hours, but he didn't miss school. Last week Hudson missed two days of school due to fever and flu symptoms. Now me. Ugh. Hopefully, this will pass soon!

We're still here!

I think the honeymoon period is over, and I've hit the wall of exhaustion. I need a vacation! Mornings have become the hardest time. When my alarm goes off way too early, and the bed is so warm and cozy, I think to myself how much I would love to just be able to stay home instead of getting up and rushing everyone out of the house in the next 75 minutes. I love my job and my students, but it is really hard to be a working mom. Thankfully, I have a job I enjoy and am paid well, so I try not to complain when I'm exhausted because I think about the people that have hard, manual labor jobs and make minimum wage, and I'm thankful for what I get to do.

I know that I was the one who made the choice to go back to work this year, but I made the choice based on impending financial need since we had all but exhausted our savings after our move and many large repairs that came up unexpectedly with the car, house, and medical bills. I don't think I would have considered applying for a job if we hadn't been dealing with financial stress because I really enjoyed staying home. With the unemployment rate hovering nationally close to 10%, I know there are many, many people who would be grateful to get a great job this year or who have a spouse who has been laid off, so I am counting my blessings and am thankful that I can work in this great profession in a top school district!

However, it's an almost impossible job to work full-time and do all the stay-at-home things, too! I just know that my life before with two kids at home and 1 in regular school was a piece of cake compared with working from 8-4 every day and still doing all the "mom stuff" like cooking, cleaning, errands, laundry, etc. in the evenings and weekends. I used to have time to attend a Bible study, turn on the television, call friends, or scrapbook (sort of). I don't know how long I can keep up this pace, but I'm thankful that we're paying off big things each month and will be making some headway back to having an solid emergency fund again. You have to do what you have to do, and God will direct us in the future!

Hudson had the swine flu or something like it this week, so he missed 2 days of school. He ran high fever, but after two days was well enough to return to school. My junior high has had a 15% absentee rate this week with sick kiddos. I have had around 17 students absent every day with flu symptoms! It's just crazy. I got the kids the regular flu shot, but we are still debating if the H1N1 vaccine is safe enough for us to feel comfortable using it on the kids.

Owen had a third grade school performance on Thursday and did a great job singing patriotic songs. He also performed in his afterschool program and danced with a group to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Ah, that brought back many high school memories for me with the single glove and the moon walk!

Arden is doing really well at her daycare. It has been such a blessing to have a small setting with an absolutely wonderful teacher. Arden has friends that she plays with and talks about, and she hasn't been sick or missed a school day since I moved her. She runs in the room in the morning, and I can barely get her to leave with me at 4:00! She is waking up happy for the most part, and I think she is adjusting to the different hours. Sometimes Arden is still clingy and needs "mama time" a lot more in the evenings. If she has a cold or is more tired, I can tell a big difference in her separation anxiety, but it is getting much better than it was when I first went back to work. She is talking in sentences now, and she has pretty much given up the high chair to sit in a booster seat at the big table. She wants to walk in the parking lot holding hands now, and she is becoming such a big girl! I can't believe she'll be two soon!

People around here are already decorating for Christmas, and all the stores have decorations in them already. We are waiting until Thanksgiving week to tackle the Christmas decor and tree, but I'm excited to have my decorations out this year. It's been TWO YEARS since we put up our real Christmas tree and all the decorations! Two years ago, I was about to give birth to Arden any day, so we opted for a small tree and minimal decor, so we wouldn't have to put it all up right after we came home from the hospital. It was a good choice as she arrived on December 27, and I was thankful for the ease of putting away Christmas items. Last year, we moved from Cabot to Bentonville on December 29. We had packers at our house on December 27, so we didn't put up a lot of decor since we were in the middle of packing. It will be nice to have a "normal" holiday season this year.

We're looking forward to Halloween this week, as the boys' schools have a costume parade and fall parties on Friday. Our church has a big festival planned for Saturday too. Owen is going to be Obi Wan Kanobi, Hudson will be a cowboy, and Arden will be a ladybug. It should be fun!

Fall is in the Air

It's been difficult for me to find time to blog since going back to work. Somehow, like so many other things, it gets pushed back to the bottom of my "to do" list since the basic necessities of eating, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. take priority.

School is going really well. I am almost finished with my first novel The Outsiders, and I have really enjoyed teaching it. I missed literature so much during the past six years when I was teaching at the community college. I only taught composition, and we discussed brief essays, but I haven't taught a novel in six years! At first, I almost forgot how to approach it, but it slowly started coming back to me, and now I feel comfortable again. I think that it will even be a better unit next year once I can change a few things and improve what worked and didn't work. School is flying by, and I can't believe that the first quarter ends in 1 1/2 weeks with the first report card already.

Fall is already here, and the leaves are starting to turn colors very slightly. The air is very cool in the mornings, and you almost have to wear a jacket before 10 a.m. I love this time of year, and it's been fun to pull out my long sleeved clothing and sweaters. Stuart is enjoying football season and is watching the Razorbacks play right now! I have enjoyed doing some garage sale shopping this month, and I got a few good deals today at some nearby neighborhood sales. I found Arden several Gymboree items and a pair of Lelli Kelly shoes and a pair of Primigi shoes for .75 cents each! If you know these boutique brands for girls, then you know what a deal I scored! I also got 3 infant Cabbage Patch dolls for Arden that were .50 cents each, and they still had tags attached. She has really gotten into baby dolls lately, and we didn't have any of those types of toys from the boys. She has carried them around all day and rocked them, fed them, and acted very much like a little mama.

Arden is still doing great at her daycare, and we've now finished four full weeks at the new school! She hasn't been sick one day since we moved here there, so I am thankful for that. I know that illness will strike at some point, but I am glad to know that it isn't a constant thing for her so far. I am planning on taking a sick day next week in order to take all three kids to the pediatrician to get flu shots during the first week they are giving them, plus I will be taking both boys to the dentist for cleanings. It is more of a challenge to fit all these necessary appointments into a routine with a job, and I will have to start getting our appointments coordinated for the next round with summer and Christmas breaks.

Stuart and I will be starting to lead a new body life (ie: community group) with our church every other Sunday night, and we kick that off next Sunday. We have three other families whom we know that all wanted to do a Sunday night group, and we live near each other. I am excited to be in a group with these families since it will give us a natural opportunity to build deeper friendships here in Bentonville.

Stuart's birthday is this week on October 9, so give him a hard time if you see him or talk to him!