Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  It's hard to believe that a weekend long of celebrating was just the prologue for today.  If you are a teacher today, best of luck.  If you are a teacher tomorrow, best of luck times two.

To spite all of my complaining about the extreme celebrating for this holiday, we had a great weekend.  We got to catch up with friends while the children got wild in someone else's house.  And, I didn't have to make dinner for two nights in a row!  Not bad at all.

Today leaves us with one more round of costuming.  I think that Amelia's quickly thrown together red fox will make it one more night.  Jack's bat wings came off a few times on Saturday, but a few quick stitches quickly put them back in place.  Liam is yet to wear his full monkey costume (grrr), that I spent an afternoon hunting down on request (double grrr.), so it is still in fine condition for this evenings festivities.  

We will head out early in our house at 6 PM to leave plenty of time for treating, assessing and over sugaring.  Halloween is the only day of the year that I loosen my very tight (and overbearing) grip of my children's treat consumption.  After getting home tonight, they get to feast on as much candy as they like before brushing their teeth (EXTREMELY well) and going to bed.  I am always surprised that they don't actually eat until they vomit or finish their stash.  This year, my money is on Liam eating the most of them all.  I also predict that tomorrow's sugar withdrawal is going to be a challenge for all.

For our teachers:  May the angels be with you today and tomorrow!

When did Halloween get so big?

Yesterday while passing by the bulk bins at the Tacoma Food Co-op my children innocently asked:  "Can we buy yogurt covered pretzels?"  My response:  "Hmmm, Friday you have a school harvest party,  we are going to 2 halloween parties on Saturday, there is a harvest party after church on Sunday and Halloween is on Monday.  Sorry, there is NO WAY I am bringing anything with sugar home with us today".  They didn't even begin to counter.


Growing up, I don't remember having a Halloween party at school.  Maybe, I just wasn't invited, but I don't think I ever went to Halloween parties outside of school either.  I certainly wasn't parading around local business districts soliciting candy.  I don't think I even wore my costume outside of the house until Halloween night.  I have nothing against Halloween.  I love that my children get to wear their well planned costumes a few times before they outgrow them next year.  Still, it just feels like over kill.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas waiting as we round the corner back from trick-or-treating, I could do without the week long festival of candy and gluttony we celebrate every October.  How do you say "bah humbug" in halloween?  


Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I can give mention to all of the sweet things that haven't seemed to change much over the years.  It is funny how the important parts of life seem to carry on.  Those things that we treasure most stand the test of time.  Forget about the candy, these are the sweet things:


Watching my Children admiring their costumed selves in the mirror for the first time.


Getting together with friends that I don't get to see often enough.


Watching the Charlie Brown, Great Pumpkin, with the kids.


Toasting pumpkin seeds.


Family night walks to check out the best decorations in the neighborhood.


Illuminating our well planned jack-o-lanterns on Halloween night.


Saying hello to neighbors that we rarely see.


The palpable excitement in the air as we head down set off trick-or-treating.


The sheer delight on my children's faces as they dump out the mountain of candy they have collected on the living room floor.


What are your thoughts on Halloween?  The bigger the better or simple is sweet?

Step and Rest

My 24 hrs. plus to share with my husband was perfect!  Saturday brought rain instead of a hike.  But, the rain brought a little more time to poke around in Olympia and linger over lunch.  The rain made our cozy cabin and with a fire a happy retreat.  A dry Sunday sent us heading for The Olympic National Park.  No kids or dogs to guide our hike this time!  So, we went big.  To set out for the wagon wheel lake climb just inside the staircase entrance.

View from the (almost) top

Six miles round trip doesn't seem like a lot for a day hike.  It seems like a lot more when the elevation gain of those 3 miles in is 3200 ft.  Wow, it was tough.   One of the most difficult in the entire park.  But, so rewarding.


Like any physically challenging endeavor  requiring a good amount of endurance, the first 20 minutes or so always seem to be the hardest.  It isn't the physicality so much as the mentality at this point.  Such was the case yesterday.  "What did I get myself into?  If it is this hard now, how much worse might it get? Why am I even doing this?  I hate hiking!  When can I rest?"  ....and on and on. 


During my monkey brain circus, my wise husband mentioned that he was using a technique that he learned years ago in a class with the Mountaineers, "rest with each step".  So simple and so transformative.  Very yogic too.  I was amazed how instantly I realized that through the challenge, there was calm.  My body was working, but it wasn't screaming after all.  That was just my mind.  As I start a new week, certain to be filled with both peace and challenge, I plan to take that with me.  Whether struggling with an unhappy child, feeling overwhelmed with to do's, or dealing with the unexpected, I don't need shut down, hide or panic. There is always time to rest with each step.

Happy Notes

It's Friday!  I was excited about Tuesday, but that doesn't come close to my super charged Friday excitement.  There are so many things that I love about the weekend.  Who doesn't have a long list of weekend happy notes?  They most likely include many of mine:

Sleeping in
Family Time
Spending time with my husband
Stealing lazy moments of quiet
Leaving the house without a child.....

I could go on.  This weekend is especially exciting for me.  John and I get 24 hrs + without the kids.  Since dollars aren't burning a whole in my hand at the moment, we are going to keep it simple and affordable.  Were are packing up the dogs and heading to the cabin.  A stop in Olympia, a little hiking, puppy play, and a day to actually finish a conversation, uninterrupted.  It may not sound luxe, but it is to me!  We haven't been without the kids for a night since May.  I don't feel even the slightest twinge of sadness to leave them.  Don't feel bad for them.  They are just excited to be rid of us and have Grandma and Grandpa to shower them with attention.

What are your weekend plans?  When is the last time (if ever) you have been away from your child over night?

Vices

What are your Vices?

When times get tough do you find yourself running to the same vices?  Or, maybe you overuse vices in hard times because they are now habit?  Perhaps you are you a model of happiness who turns to healthy vices?

This has been on my mind lately as I have been trying to rid myself of the all of my backfiring vices.   I have good productive vices too.   I often use exercise, mediation and prayer, yoga, walks and hmmm…I expected my healthy vice list to be longer   Well, here they are, my poor choice vices:

Coffee

Food

Cuticle biting

Wine (maybe that one should move to second place below coffee)

Wasting time on the internet

Complaining

Before I go on, I should clarify about the wine.  I am not pulling up to school drop off with a thermous full or topping myself off after lunch.  But,  the glass on wine on the weekend after the kids are put to bed slowly stretches from Saturday to Friday and Sunday.  Next it creeps to Monday and Thursday.  And now you have a habit, and not a healthy one.

The same is true for me with coffee.  I never actually see the bottom of a coffee cup.  I pour and dump from about 6 AM until 8:30 AM.  My coffee is the little bit of happiness in the chaos of the morning.   It is warmth in the cold and dark morning.  Sometimes I try to bring that happiness to the afternoon too.  It often backfires and makes me feel horrible. 

For the past few weeks, I have taken coffee and wine out of my weekday routine.  Ditching wine during the week has been pretty easy.  But the coffee….a little harder.  I am fortunate that I never get caffeine headaches .  Tea (especially when it’s caffeinated ) does a fine job as a replacement for the most part.  I still miss coffee.  The sad truth is that it is a little bit of a security blanket for me.  A self -medicating happy blanket.  And, a hard habit to break.

Here is my dilemma:  while some of these vices should be, pretty much eliminated: cuticle biting, internet, and complaining.  I can’t quite pull the plug on the others completely.  I don’t care to live my remaining days with out coffee, wine, and certainly not without food.  Being an all or nothing person is a challenge.  It is great when you need to finish a task list at full speed or plow through a workout.  It stinks when you have no idea how to live in moderation.  I’d like to blame society for push until you drop (or have a nervous breakdown) mentality.  I will also tip my hat to genetics on my paternal side (sorry Dad, you Northen’s are intense).

So, for now I will continue on my weekend only plan to keep balance.  It isn’t perfect.  I’ve had coffee mid week and I try not to guilt myself.  The down side is that my cuticle biting and complaining have hit a new all time high.  One thing at a time.

Do struggle with any unhealthy vices?  What are they?

Oops, grrr...ehh

That lovely run that I had planned for yesterday didn't go so well.  Well, the running part was okay.  But the "long" run did not happen.  Silly me.  Beautiful day, shinning sun, cool Fall air and I giant sign that says "Five Mile Loop".  I noticed the air and the sun, it's just the sign that escaped me.  Thankfully, having my head in the clouds did not lead to me getting lost and the eaten by wild dogs or zombies.  It just meant that I had circled back to my car after 2.4 miles.  Right when my hands were beginning to thaw.  Bleh. 

On the bright side, I was here....

So, instead of working off my stress with a good exhausting run, I went home frustrated.  Since I had a quick run, I now had time for a long shower and a little more time to spend with my delicious soy latte at Bluebeard.

So, I have lot's of pent up energy to spend at step class this morning.  Especially since I slept 9 hours last night after taking an hour nap in the afternoon.  


I believe that I was meant to hibernate in the winter.


How about you. Are you effected by seasonal sleepiness?

What can I cram into 2 hours?

Today is Tuesday!  I know that doesn't sound very exciting to you.  But, it is for me.  Why?  Tuesday is my free morning.  Okay, that is an overstatement.  Taking away the time spent in the car, I have 2 hours between dropping Liam off at preschool and scooping him back up again.  This year, Liam attends preschool two mornings a week.  Since I teach the other morning, that leaves me with one wonderful 2-hour block to do as I please.  A sweet, sweet rarity.  Liam has been in school for almost a month now.  Yet, every Tuesday that comes and goes, I panic with how to spend my time.  I am so excited to do all of the things that I can't do normally, that I am paralyzed and chose something totally random or otherwise lame.  Last week I took Dixie to Point Defiance (not lame), took a shower, sang a little, cleaned a little (getting duller), and finished dinner (yawn). Instead of enjoying it, I was rushing around trying to cram in as much as possible.  Totally unsatisfying.


Today is different.  I am going for a long and lovely fall run on at Point Defiance, taking a quick shower, and parking it at Bluebeard Coffee for 20 minutes of quite to prepare for my classes for the week.  I am going to fight the urge to do a quick load of laundry, walk the dog (sorry Dixie, I need to run too), or mop the floors.  

Sometimes being inefficient is the best way to be efficient.

What do you do with your time when you have a free hour or two to yourself?