A Breather

Whew! It has just been a whirlwind of a fall around here. Between Prince Charming starting classes, and S finishing soccer, and Wednesday night activities continuing, and a few trips out of town for me, and a sister-in-law getting married... and more! This has just been a crazy time of year. I found out I need to have a (very very minor) surgery on a dislocated vocal cord soon and I couldn't even find a weekend in October or November to do it! It has been go go go and I for one am ready for someone to stop the world so I can get off. My goodness.

S's soccer season ended well. She only played the one game I could go to because the last one (that I would have had to miss) was canceled due to all but 4 of her team being out sick, plus rain. She was bummed but it was kind of a relief for me... I hate missing those sorts of things.

My sister-in-law got married this weekend, so a BIG congratulations to them that neither of them will ever see because they don't read this blog! :) But I did say congrats TO THEM, of course, so it doesn't really matter. All I know is, I'm so glad they are happy, but I am also REALLY REALLY glad that day is over. It's not easy being the mommy of the flower girls! I know it's less stressful than being, say, the bride (voice of experience), but it's pretty stressful anyways. One torn dress, some tears, too many pictures, a mommy-daughter co-tantrum (in which C threw a fit and I carried her none-too-gently from the room), some life-changing vows, and some fun dancing later, it's over. *whew!!*

I've had a couple chances for some cool-off time over the last couple weeks, so that's been nice. I took a day trip to Chicago with my mom a while ago to help her teach a class at a librarian's conference, and two day from now (yay!) I'm going with a bunch of ladies on my mom's side to Chicago again for a shopping overnight. THAT is going to be fun. And loud.

Fair warning: I'm going to pat myself on the back for a few minutes. But I have to say I'm excited about this and it IS fairly life-impacting. I have been watching my calories and trying to add more exercise into my life since June, in an effort to look better by the wedding. This is the first family wedding (including my own) where I had not either just had a baby, been in the middle of a pregnancy, or been in the middle of chemo treatments for cancer. So I finally had a chance to try to look my best. Well, success! I am now 15 pounds lighter and have lost 12 inches from all over. I fit into single-digit jeans again!! Fantastic. That's going to make it more fun to try on clothes this weekend, too. I know there's still some pounds to come off, but outside of trying to keep exercising (which will be good for me anyway) and keeping track of my calories, I'm not going to stress over it. Just casually pay attention, and let my body get itself to where it needs to be.

I threw my second clothing swap Tuesday. These things are so much fun. I get a bunch of women together, and we all bring out our clothes that we're sick of or don't fit anymore. We lay/hang it all out in my living room, and then 'shop' through it. The rule is, first come, first served, and if it fits and you like it, you get to keep it! I think that everyone went home with something new-to-them. (I had a hard time paying attention to what everyone got...I was trying on a LOT of stuff.) It works out so well! And then we made a big donation to His Harvest Stand too. I also had a friend set up a table for her Discovery Toys business, and I know she made one sale and hopefully will make at least one more. So that was nice.

I've been reading a book called 'In Praise of the Stay at Home Mom,' by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. This book has been fantastic for me! I love that it articulates for me that SAHMs really do have a place in and a contribution to society. It's wonderful. And it has been encouraging me in the attitude I want to have toward caring for my children and my household, and loving my husband. Running the household so that my husband can de-stress after work, my kids can come home to a loving place after school, and we all can relax with each other every day is important to me. And I am praying for the patience to not only watch my kids grow up, but to delight in the fact that God has blessed us in such a way that I am the one who teaches them to walk in His ways. I am the one who sees their each new milestone, who can teach them right from wrong, to share, to care. It's a beautiful thing, and I'm so honored that I get to do it.

I just had a PET scan and will hopefully get results soon.

Well, the fall whirlwind is dying down a bit, but the holiday one is brewing on the horizon. Hopefully I can keep up with this in all the craziness. How many blogs do we read that say things like that? "I don't update enough!" Ah well, it's nice for me to be able to come back and re-read things I've written. It's encouraging to be able to see what has changed in our lives for the better. So I really do hope to keep keeping a record of what happens to us.