Ahhh...

I love routine. While our week off was fantastic, it is also heavenly to send the little darlings off in the morning. Their tummies are full, their clothes are warm and their lunches are healthy. And then it's quiet. Ahhh...
I've been unusually productive this week, as a result of such peace. With Indigo Girls in the background, I've found a rhythm again. The house is staying tidy, dinners are being churned out and our routines in the evening are taking hold. I honestly think we got so entrenched in keeping the house in perfect order that we joyfully tossed all routines to the wind once we moved in. It's nice to live in a clean, organized home again. Bedtime routines are cementing again too; lunches packed while Paul reads to the boys, kitchen cleaned up right after dinner (rather than collapsing on the couch with a glass of wine, also good! but not as pleasant to deal with the next morning!) I think the chiropractor business is helping my headaches and perhaps even my energy. Or it could be the red meat. In any case, going to bed around 10:30 and waking up to the alarm at 6:30 seems to work. I love my crock pot oatmeal and little coffee maker (tho Paul's French Press is sooo much yummier and makes the weekend that much more special!). Everything is humming along. I even baked cookies for the kids' lunches this afternoon!
I found (stole?) this pic from the Boulder Marathon. I did the half again this year and was much slower than last year but felt great the whole time. It appears that I am still a heel striker, even with these fancy Newtons, so I may go back to my trusty Sauconys. I'm running Tuesday and Thursday mornings, with a run on the weekend when it works. Yoga on Mon/Wed if I get to it and lots of mellow hikes with Old Ole. He is doing so well for an old dog. He loves his walks, his snuggles and his treats. Fuffles is learning to use the litter box (hooray!) and purring up a storm. She is a very contented kitty.
This Saturday the boys start a rock climbing class - finally, something physical that Sam ASKED to do! Mae has 2 more weeks of soccer and she doesn't want to do it next semester. She's doing TKD, so I'm ok with that. We are probably going to take a little break from piano til after the holidays as well. I always try to pare things down from November til February - to give us more space just to BE. Just being - sometimes that's all I can handle! :-)

Conference Week (& Update)

This week the kids had no school for conference week at Horizons. And we are dog-sitting, so Paul worked from home, since Goldie adores Paul and without him is very upset.
Monday we had the kids' conferences. All 3 are doing great. I am so impressed, as always, with the AMOUNT of work these kids get done! Ted's printing has gotten really nice and his cursive is coming along nicely. They did start typing in computer lab, so I'm not sure how much longer either of those will matter in the long run, but still. Sam is a writing machine, churning out book after book. He is also great at math, like his brother and father. And sweet Mae is doing great - she started the year pretty behind but has caught up to everyone and, as we expected, is starting to show signs of being a very sharp little girl .
Tuesday we went to the allergist for Sam. They did the scratch test on him and yes, he is allergic to cats and dogs and also mold. They want to give him weekly allergy shots; I want to him see my chiropractor. We'll see. We also went to Cottonwood Farms to select our pumpkins, do the corn and hay bale mazes, and pet sweet animals. The sheep in particular seemed awfully sweet and friendly. Cute kittens too.
Wednesday we went to the Denver Museum of Science of Nature. We went to see the new IMAX 3D Hubble Satellite movie (which was RAD!) but also took in Space, Gems & Minerals, Evolution, Mummies and some Dinosaurs. Whew! We saw lots of other Horizons families there which was fun.
Today, Thursday, was our big adventure day. We went to Dinosaur Ridge, which boasts some of the most impressive dino tracks in the US. We chose to walk up the 1 mile steep road to see and read the signs and points of interest. We also accidentally got onto a bike trail which really made Sam mad, but we did see a cool turtle rock that the kids loved. We caught a little tour bus back down and visited the sweet little museum and gift shop (commemorative smashed pennies seemed appropriate). On the way there the kids wanted to drive up to the M in Golden, so I promised them we'd go on the way home. We wound our way up, stopping off to admire para-gliders, amazing vistas, and irresistible boulders. All in all, a fabulous outdoor kind of day!
Tomorrow we'll take it easy and hang out at home. Tomorrow night our new rabbi will be officially installed, so baths may be in order too! Happy weekend!

Blogging Fall Style!

It's 7:30pm and all 3 kids are down for the night. A roaring fire is heating the room. A purring kitty is on Paul's lap while Ole dozes next to me. It is Fall! I love Fall. I am not a fan of winter AT ALL. Since we don't ski, the only saving grace of winter for us is our love of sweaters and hot coffee. But oh how I love Fall. Jeans, sweaters, Pumpkin Spice Lattees and crockpots of soup... Mmm.

Our updates in the last few weeks seem small, yet they have been significant to the family. A stray kitty followed us home one night. We fed and snuggled her and a week later, after confirming that she did not have a microchip, welcomed Fuffles into our home. She's about a year old and a very sweet, easy-going kitty.

There has been a lot of work to do, both at the kids' school and at the temple. While I enjoy the work, it can seem overwhelming at times. I was grateful for an easy weekend to recover from what felt like weeks of meetings and emails. Last week was my half marathon. I was ridiculously slow (2:30ish) but felt great the whole time, so I'm not complaining! I recently started seeing a chiropractor and I'm pretty freaked out by it still, but am trying to stick with it.

Mae is in another ornery phase, which is a bummer because just recently I was thinking that she was really easy. She fell off the monkey bars at school, which scared everyone, but she only had a mild concussion and, besides a headache for a few days, recovered quickly. Sam had some blood work done to test for gluten intolerance and while we were there we had them test for cats too. He is allergic to cats but apparently is allergic to a bunch of things in the environment too, so we got the green light for Fuzzles. He goes in to an allergist in a few weeks to see what else he's allergic to and hopefully we can find find him some relief.

I saw the documentary "Race to Nowhere" which I highly recommend googling for the info and watching the movie. I would say more but the iPad is not really meant for this much typing and I'm getting frustrated!

Can't wait for Thanksgiving when Nancy comes out and the winter holidays when I visit Rosa to meet her new baby (due in early November) and then train home with my mom for her visit! Happy Fall!