Weird Is Good, Until It's Time For Bed

The minute I saw the fresh blanket of snow on the ground this morning, I knew today was going to be one of those days. A day that would merge the last of Halloween's hooray, with the giddy energy that can only be brought with the year's first fallen snow. The kind of day that mixed fall's apple crisp, with winter's snow men, pumpkin orange pancakes, with the aroma of sage candles, face paint, and hot chocolate. Throw a Mumma who's decided to give her time management skills an overhaul, and you've got yourself a day that can be marked in the books as ….. weird.



A good weird, but one that can be improved upon nonetheless. By the time we got the kids to bed, I can't say I was at my peak of the 'best mom' mountain. I wanted them to go to bed,  I needed them to go to bed, and I didn't beat around any bushes displaying my "This Mumma needs her kids in bed, and wine in hand" tactics.

I have that Mom's guilt about it now, wanting to creep in each of their rooms, kiss there sleeping cheeks, breath in their rested breath, and promise I'll do better tomorrow night, but this isn't my first rodeo and I know better than that. So to ease my conscious, I'll promise to myself that tomorrow I'll just wake up early and have fresh muffins for them when they wake… depending on how many times I hit snooze.



I'm trying to 'do' better. I know it's the all time battle as a Mother, and I also know there is no achieving the "doing it all" badge, but I'm not convinced that their isn't something I can shift, focus, set in place, that wont make each day ending with that 'today was not wasted' feel, with a motivation that gets carried to the next morning, in turn making the moments of snowmen building, face painting, or random dance parties more rewarding. Leaving out the last minutes rush of desperately wanting to get any of it all, under control, before another hour is eaten into the already too little lotted sleep time.  {As you can see, this being posted at 11:00, I've yet to figure that part out}



Right now, my mind is more in that mess of overhauling state right now, like when you redo a room in your house, every other room suffers the mess, before each area of clutter is given it's time to organize and then, somehow it all falls into place… or you forgot that whole point of the project, loose interest, and throw everything back to where it was before… I'm hoping the latter is the least likely to be settled in this time around.



Tomorrow we'll be hitting the Trick or Treat circuit, and in the case that it's too cold, and Nate and I decided to ditch the kids out early after all the important houses have been hit, I've stocked up on plenty of candy I've hidden in the cupboards, to distract them from the feeling of "Mom and Dad are depriving us of an experience". I've failed across the board with Halloween meals, where ghost shaped cheese has melted to look like anything but a ghost, and the only thing that made my pancakes look like pumpkins were that they were orange. I've got something up my sleeve for tomorrow night though, and I feel that I just might jinx the outcome if I mention it now.



I'm planning on kicking off November with another giveaway, which isn't anything fancy, over the top, or brag worthy, but it's just something that I think fits nicely with my own philosophies as a Mother and a month that's dedicated to the awareness of one's surrounding, and the people in it.

Until then… Happy Boo Day!

Postponing Thoughts

I intended to write this post last night, but some how a fever bug seeped into our house and caused a little boy to require close Mumma time, that involved much time with my lips pressed against a slightly hotter forehead, breathing that new stale smell fevers bring with them, in deep, hoping that somehow I could pull it out of him, and into me. Our night was long and drawn out, with a few moments spent rubbing the burning back of the same little boys who remained face down in a blue bowl, clearly stating he 'didn't like this anymore', between stomach convolutions.  When he slept,  I couldn't, and when I did, it was restless with weird dreams.



Today, I've spent a majority of my time, bustling around the house pretending Joey's eyes don't have 'that look' to them, which only mean she's following in her brother's footsteps and that my stomach isn't turning it's own knots, with a head ache to match, of what I'm afraid are strong signs of an unavoidable fate.



We catapulted into this week with play dates, seasonal crafts, and experimenting with new dinners each night. Though I have a feeling tonight's Honey Mustard Chicken Pasta, might be replaced with Lighting McQueen chicken nuggets, all recipes have been a hit and because I'm a big supporter of sharing all things great, here are our successes.

(and because I'm an even bigger supporter of giving credit where credit is due, I've linked up where the recipes came from)

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

*Control the heat of the hot sauce by adding more butter for a milder flavor.*


Deluxe Grilled Cheese & Loaded Potato Soup
Now I don't know where we got the recipe for the Grilled Cheese, or even if that was the original name… all I know is it was intended to be a grilled cheese, with russian dressing, and bacon, but I threw in some tomatoes to try and add some element of health, and substituted pork bacon, for turkey bacon. This sandwich is seriously delicious, a must try, and not something to over look. I know I don't have a picture of the soup, because it just looked like a bowl of hot milk, not giving it any visual justice to the way it tasted… plus it's an awesome new way to use left over potatoes in the fridge!



Beef & Snow Peas
I doubled the sauce recipe, because I like things saucy, and of course, I strayed a little with this recipe, throwing in carrots, yellow onions, and garlic, but it's just what I do.



In between it all, I've been organizing the kid's play room and tightening the reigns on my follow through of the expectations of maintaining it to be kept that way. I've always struggled with wanting the kids to remain kids, but am starting to realize that a certain amount of appreciation for things, comes from the act of being responsible for them, and I've been more than lax when it comes to the day to day of their responsibilities of anything more than manners, feeding the dog when requested, and paying attention when using the bathroom. My approach of reorganizing their toys, picking up their video games, and straightening up their rooms, all the while lecturing about it being my last time (until the next) isn't providing stellar result. We're changing tactics ….


{The kids most favorite craft of all season… So easy and fun}


As of now, that is where we stand. The littles are waking up from very long naps, and we're heading into the kitchen to bake halloween cookies, in an attempt to prolong our acceptance of anything ill related, by distract our thoughts from the less then healthy feelings circulating within the family.


Happy Thrusday