Phew

I haven't been on here for awhile. I've had a few things going on, most of which are over now. Phew.

Phew, Hazel's fall break is over. It was fun while it lasted. Two weeks of kindergartner energy was put to use - a visit from the England cousins, a trip to the zoo, a day at Grandma's, park runs, dentist appointments, and many TV shows, art projects, and baking sessions at home filled our time.

It was good for her to see what the rest of us do while she's at school; dropping Ginger off at preschool was especially hard for her, being the one that drops off and then runs Mom's errands, which is what Ginger did for two years. But we also got her one of those big kindergarten workbooks so she could keep up her reading and writing progress. I also taught her alphabetical order and two-digit subtraction so she stayed busy. But we're all glad she's back in school.

Phew, Ed's hunting trip is over. He was gone for eight days, which I think is the longest he's been gone since before we left Colorado, since before we had kids. It was extremely difficult for me to be supportive of the trip this year, with Poppy not sleeping well, three kids on my own day and night for over a week seemed trying. I feel a little lame saying that, knowing some readers do more kids on their own for more days on a regular basis, but for me this was hard. Poppy continued to not sleep well, and we all go our first taste of good old-fashioned hard-core crying-it-out so I could get some sleep and function the next day. Single parents have no back-up. That said, by the end of the week I really had my game on, probably adrenaline-fueled, and plus I need to shout out a thank-you to those who invited us over to play, eat and visit (and those to whom I invited myself.)

Ed kept his beard, my one non-negotiable condition of the trip, and while the girls and I loved kissing and rubbing it, Poppy was not a fan. It took her awhile to warm back up to him. Oh, and for those who care, the hunt was all he hoped for - great weather, major hiking, several dead animals, blood stained clothes, blistered feet, etc.

Phew, the church Halloween party is over. My friend Shanna and I are the activities committee co-chairs and Halloween is definitely our biggest party, followed closely by Christmas. Halloween just has a lot of little parts, all of which need their own supplies and staff. But it pulled together fabulously: trick-or-treating, cupcake walk, 2-and-under room (with balloons and fly swatters, love it), doughnuts and cider, pumpkin carving contest, ring toss, beanbag toss, pumpkin bowling, disk drop (plinko), story time, and new this year a photo booth set up in the foyer. People's costumes were fabulous and now is as good a time as any to show you ours: Ed and I were in togas, and there is Queen Hazel, Mary Poppins and of course our Poppy the Poppy. So glad that's over. But no time to rest - we are already working on the Christmas party.

Phew, our family photos are in and they turned out well. Thank you Alia! I will do another post soon to show you a few more, but here is a sneak peek:Cute, right?

Phew. Now on to November!