Obsessing over: the final stages of Christmas shopping which will be followed shortly by Christmas present wrapping and stocking stuffing… Also working on Christmas crafts with the kids and a couple of Advent activities.

Feeling: overwhelmed a bit by a busy couple of weeks ahead of me not even just including the holidays but some more worky / important type stuff, too. Nothing terribly interesting just lots to do.

Working on: cleaning and then recleaning when my clean places get messy again. The never ending cycle that is motherhood.

Thinking about: how repetitive and bland these posts are starting to feel. Might be time for something new…

Currently Reading: The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman which is fascinating and awful and beautifully written and depressing and … you get the idea, it’s one of those books. I’m still waiting for the upswing where maybe things start to get better but worried that there is no upswing.

Listening to: the hum of my space heater. Momma is cold but trying to save on the old gas bill.

Pinning (The Just One Pin Edition):

how to make a candy cane wreath @ really, are you serious? (we did this!)

Obsessing over: my very, very full refrigerator and all of the leftovers we have to get through. After all of my worry over us not being healthy enough to get through Thanksgiving, we ended up being fully recovered by Turkey Day and spent Thursday and most of the weekend cooking away. In addition to our Thanksgiving feast we also made spoonbread, turkey soup, French Toast and bread pudding this weekend.

Feeling: excited about the upcoming holiday season and even somewhat on top of things.I’ve already finished shopping for Dan and the kids for the most part (still need to fill stockings, always the last straggling item) and ordered photo calendars for the grandparents and great-grandparents.

This weekend we are planning to put up our Christmas tree and I’ve got an advent book box all set to go (I’ve seen a lot of variations on this idea, mine is just a cardboard box filled with 24 Christmas stories of varying kinds – some old classics, some picture books with favorite characters and a few chapter books for MM). I was going to individually wrap them all but that sounded like a lot of unnecessary work.

So apart from stocking stuffers that pretty much leaves Christmas cards, some craft projects and holiday baking – and maybe a gift for MM’s teacher and some friends and neighbors. And again, I really am trying to keep it small this year. Remind me of that over the coming month when I turn into a holiday crazed mommy!

Working on: cleaning out my office and the basement, trying to organize some things that have gone ignored for awhile now and rethinking how we organize some areas that aren’t really working. Basically, my in-laws are coming to visit next month and I’d really like to have a home I’m semi-proud of before they get here.

Thinking about: bluray players – we picked up a rather inexpensive one several months ago and for the most part we’re happy with it, but it does seem a bit on the clunky side. The remote has never worked well and it makes odd clunking sounds when it is loading videos. Dan tried to tinker with the player to get the remote to work better and for the first time in at least 6 1/2 years he actually made it worse. This is unprecedented and frankly I blame the player. He has a few more tricks up his sleeve to try out but I’m seriously considering saving up for a better bluray player or perhaps getting him the PS3 that he has wanted for years now which also plays blurays. Anyone have a bluray recommendation or experience with the PS3?

Currently Reading: Our November book club pick, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. I am nearly finished and stand a chance of finishing before our meeting on Wednesday but I’ll need to leave myself plenty of reading time for the next two nights if I want to finish and sleep at night. I really like the author’s sense of humor and writing style and found the concept of the book fascinating. I think it should make for an interesting book club discussion.

Listening to: Pocahontas in the background, one of BB’s new favorite movies (in addition to Tinker Bell, Snow White and Sofia the First – have you seen this on Disney yet? It is absolutely adorable and apparently it will be a new series in 2013 – very much looking forward to that, I recommend it for all your little princess lovers).

Pinning (The Holidays Edition): 

peppermint snow pie * how to tie a necktie * hot cocoa bar for Xmas morning * easy paper wreath

The MM Edition

Typically my posts are just a smorgasboard of BB pictures since I’m home with her all week while the boys are at work and school, so I thought I’d mix things up and make the extra effort to take more pictures of MM and share them with you in this here “Currently” post – since, you know, these are the only things I seem to write these days.

Obsessing over: how behind I am on NaNoWriMo. I started out strong the first week and then completely dropped the ball. I literally haven’t written at all in like a week and barely even felt guilty about it. The thing is, it’s not like I lost interest in the story, I just sort of rebelliously was like, “shut up, I don’t want to write every day and you can’t make me.” And then nobody made me. I wrote a couple hundred words today but it was hard to focus with my children yelping like wild animals in the next room and when they are not making noise, writing is like the last thing I want to do ironically. I think I need to divorce my DVR and Facebook if I intend to meet my word count. But then I thought? Imagine if I decided to be a rebel and write during OTHER months of the year, too, instead of stock piling all of my creative energies for one month of the year?

Feeling: the desire to start getting a little more active. No grand proclamations here, but it sure would be nice to make it to a yoga class this week and maybe get in some walking – though with the temperature drop this week, it’ll likely be an indoor walk. Baby, it’s cold outside!

Working on: my resume and dipping a toe into the job hunting world. I have been toying with the idea of looking for a part time writing / editing job or something similar, if I can find something in the telecommuting arena that uses my English Major Type Skills while allowing me to stay home with Small Child. I know that’s a pretty long shot, but since we aren’t hard up for money and I’m unwilling to put the Little Miss in daycare, I don’t mind being a bit picky. But cross your fingers and toes for me that I might actually find something that fits the bill.

Thinking about: the upcoming holidays and trying to keep it simple. I picked up “the big present” for each kid at Costco this weekend because they actually had the two things I had in mind. Dan and I are planning one similarly sized gift for each of us and then I’m thinking I’ll focus on stocking stuffers and some nice PJs / maybe robes and slippers to open on Christmas Eve. In previous years I’ve made the mistake of starting my shopping too soon and then continuing to shop all season whenever there were good deals. So I’m really going to focus on knowing when we’re done and not going overboard. I’m also not going to buy anything else until the kids write their letters to Santa sometime after Thanksgiving – we wouldn’t want to steal Santa’s thunder now, would we?

Currently Reading: Our November book club pick, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. I’m a couple chapters in and really enjoying the author’s sense of humor and writing. He may be a self proclaimed “grump” but I find him very funny and clever – I’m enjoying the book a lot and I love getting to read about all these different countries he’s visiting – vicariously vacationing through other people is much cheaper than going to all those places myself.

Listening to: the kids building towers and being ridiculously noisy in the process. Is it bedtime yet?

Pinning (The Delicious Edition): 

almond cloud cookies by Joy the Baker * peppermint snow pie * salted whiskey caramels

Obsessing over: how maybe in a couple of days my Facebook feed will not be flooded with political posts. I have a lot of passionately political friends, but for the past couple of days it’s been verging on ridiculous. Hopefully maybe tomorrow we will all find something else to talk about.

That said, Congratulations Mr. President on another 4 years. My daughter stood outside in the cold for an hour in line with mommy and daddy to vote for you. Make her cold fingers worth it, please, and make us all proud!

Feeling: the holiday season start to swing into action. Halloween has come and gone, and now Turkey Day and Christmas feel right around the corner. I’ve been slowly planning both for awhile now but pretty soon I’ll have to actually decide which presents to buy and start wrapping. Not for awhile longer though, right?

Last weekend the kids went to Home Depot with daddy and grandpa who was in town visiting and made these adorable Turkey napkin holders at the Kids Workshop. This was BB’s first time at the workshop and apparently she LOVED it. We now have two orange aproned cuties eager to pick up the hammer and scare me half to death.

Working on: the photo book and calendar still. I am now up to July in the calendar and getting ready to start June in the photo book. I keep going back and forth about Christmas cards this year. I am thinking about going really old school and using regular old greeting cards and maybe printing out a cute picture of the kids, cause I did get some really cute ones with the Doctor Who costumes last month.

Thinking about: how low my word count is so far in NaNoWriMo. I’m at 7,230 right now, but should have hit 10,000 last night. It’s pretty hard fitting in writing time, keeping up with a 3 year old and 6 year old, keeping the house clean and family fed and finding some down time with my DVR. And I really really need to get rid of some of the clutter in the toy room aka Too Many Toys before Christmas comes and cripples me. Time for a purge! And oh yes, writing. Must write more. The good news is, I like how the story is going much better this year. I might actually finish it, it just might take me longer than 30 days.

Just Finished Reading: How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, who is like the snarky, pervy UK version of Tina Fey. I really enjoyed a lot of her book and mostly enjoyed the rest. It’s a lot like the Bloggess’s book in that she holds NOTHING back, period, for better or worse. So read with caution, but by all means, read it. Tonight I’ll start our November book club pick, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.

Listening to: the hum of the heater keeping my home blessedly warm on another brisk November morning, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse keeping my daughter blessedly entertained so I can update my blog for once. I know, I’ve been a bad Bloggy Mommy. Did I mention I’m trying to write a novel and keep my children alive?

Pinning (The Turkey Day Edition): 

pumpkin bread * 20 things to do with the kids this month * pumpkin cream pie * Thankful Placemat

Obsessing over: how adorable and amazing the kids’ Halloween costumes came out. In spite of the fact that I’m not sure anyone is going to understand what they are dressed up as, we’re all pretty excited. We’ve been prepping MM on how to respond to inquiries about his costume.

“Who are you dressed up as?”

“I’m the Doctor.”

“Doctor who?”

“Exactly. Bow ties are cool.”

Feeling: very tired lately. I haven’t been sleeping well, possibly due to a lack of exercise lately or perhaps my pillow needs to be replaced? I love my pillow but I’m tired of waking up stiff and sore every morning and then more stiff and sore the next morning. I need to figure out what’s going on.

Working on: putting together this year’s Photo book and calendar. I’ve just finished the month of April, including a few of my better blog entries from the past year along with all my favorite pictures from each month. Like this one:

Thinking about: how proud I am of my first real attempt at pumpkin carving! I used this idea that I found at Family Fun last year. My permanent markers died on me while putting on the finishing touches, so I need to go back and make that look a little better, but I think overall it came out really well.

I let the kids decorate some cute little mini pumpkins with washable markers which I then covered with permanent marker afterwards. Before my markers died completely. Here’s one of MM’s:

Just Finished Reading: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I’ve got to admit, while I enjoyed the story and found it quite funny, I had a hard time settling into it, maybe because of all of the strange names or possibly the somewhat choppy writing style. But I can definitely see what people love about it and will continue with the series at some point.

Listening to: BB watching tv in the next room. She’s not going to be happy when I tell her we have to leave once I’ve finished typing this, but we have plans to go shopping with a friend this morning and I am running late!

Wishing: good luck to my friends and family on the East Coast as they deal with this hurricane business. Stay safe everyone!

Pinning (The Creative Edition): 

chocolate truffle tart * 6 ideas for the costume averse * how to make a fairy door * 8 secrets to the perfect chocolate chip cookie

Outside my window: there is a glorious assortment of colors with all of the leaves in full autumn attire. It’s been pretty chilly lately for my likings, but with a few days tripping up into the 60′s just to keep me placated I imagine. It will be much colder before long, I’m sure…

Obsessing over: figuring out the logistics for our upcoming sabbatical vacation in a couple of years. We’ve changed our minds several times about what we’d like to do and we’ve been toying with the idea of a family vacation to the UK. Not sure if it’s feasible yet but it’s been fun daydreaming about it and looking up ideas.

Feeling: really proud of my son who is apparently a natural born salesman. He participated in his first popcorn sale outside of the local grocery store with his cub scouts pack and apparently was amazing according to my husband – going up to everyone and charming the pants off of them all. It sounds like he raked in a lot of sales and a lot of laughs and got a good lesson in retail and sales pitches, including getting over a long line of people not buying and maintaining a positive attitude. He has been surprising me this year a lot with his bouts of maturity, intelligence and over all awesomeness.

Working on: novel brainstorming. I am planning to give this whole NaNoWriMo thing another try this year, working with basically the same story that I abandoned last year but a new and improved storyline and a few added bursts of inspiration that I am hoping will be enough to get it out onto paper this year – sometimes abandoning a story just means that it sits there lingering in your mind for a year reminding you that you’ve left something unfinished and unsaid and this story doesn’t seem likely to leave me alone anytime soon, so I think it’s time to try again. Anyone else planning to try to write a novel next month? You can follow my journey here. I’d love to follow yours!

Thinking about: exciting things coming up like Halloween – costumes are all set, candy has been purchased, kids are excited and I’m starting to bring out fall decorations around the house. I want to get some semi-spooky fun yard decorations but I’m not sure if it will happen this year.

Reading: The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang, the October pick for my book club. The story is very well written and fascinating in a haunting, awful kind of way. I admit to knowing next to nothing about the struggles of the Hmong people, and reading about it has been heartbreaking and definitely puts my own middle class existence in perspective. I’ve also been flitting through The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams after finding a copy at the local used bookstore for less than $3! I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time and was too impatient to wait until I finished my current book, but I have been trying to devote most of my reading time to the “required reading” so that I can finish it in time for the meeting next week.

Listening to: a few new good albums lately – I bought John Mayer’s newish album Born & Raised a couple of weeks ago on a whim, finding it on Amazon for only $5 for the digital album. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the semi-country vibe to the new music but it has grown on me quickly like all of his songs. John Mayer is one of those musicians who could sing the phone book and I’d probably buy it. I’ve also been listening to Rebecca Loebe’s Circus Heart a lot – I’ve been a fan of hers since she performed at my college almost 8 years ago and her music still blows me away. If you didn’t see her on The Voice a couple years ago (was it last year?) and don’t know who I’m talking about, do yourself a favor and check out her website. She is one of the most talented singer / songwriters that I know.

Wishing: that I was irresponsible or independently wealthy so that I could get a macro lens and maybe a Subaru. I’m not looking forward to another winter trying to get my Buick up the hill of my street and then up the hill into my driveway. Like I’m considering hibernating to avoid the whole thing. Being able to take gorgeous Macro shots of snowflakes & other tiny pretties would certainly ease that pain! (hint, hint, cough, hint)

Pinning (The Crafty Edition): 

DIY lego pencil holder * how to make a fairy door * the easiest way to hang a picture (totally used this method a couple of weeks ago in my office and it was SO easy)

Obsessing over: my new favorite pair of jeans! I just got these Westport jeans at Dressbarn on Friday and I’m loving them. Their short size fits me perfectly, the waist band is snug and doesn’t stretch out over the course of the day so the perfect fit stays a perfect fit all day!! No gaps, no weird sagging. Just cute jeans for a price I can live with. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a good pair of jeans for my body type so I was pretty thrilled to find them!

Feeling: a little sluggish still. I need to run some errands before going to volunteer in MM’s classroom today but I’d much rather veg out and do nothing. Please send coffee.

Working on: pulling some ideas together for Nanowrimo this year. I wasn’t going to participate this year, but (do I say this every year?) all of a sudden last night on my way home from BB’s Little Gym class I was listening to a song and a lyric struck a chord with me and it was all “here we go again…” I’m not sure if the story will end up having anything to do with the lyrics, it was more of a feeling than a plot and it might tie back to what I was working on last year, but I’m not sure yet. Wanna see the lyrics that did me in? Of course you do!

I love a quiet mighty Pharaoh, Reads my heart like holy tarot. Hold on baby, please don’t let me be swallowed by the sea, beckoned from the shore, tempted by the sweet roar. I don’t wanna be a pawn in any war but I can’t fight alone no more. Baby, don’t let me be swallowed by the sea. Swallowed by the Sea by Rebecca Loebe

Thinking about: the kids’ Halloween costumes – they are actually finally starting to come together. I think the only pieces that remain are a wool coat for BB and some loafers for MM. Are we buying the dorkiest costumes or what? I know. I’m kind of giddy and I love that so many of the pieces of these costumes will fit into their wardrobe afterwards.

Reading: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I just finished Divergent so now I am focusing my attention on one book again. I think I maybe preferred Dovekeepers to this book but I am still really enjoying it. It’s just good rather than amazing, you know?

Listening to: BB watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and feeling a sense of Déjà vu about it. You now know all my tricks,

Wishing: I had a cup of coffee in my hands right now. Also, I’m cold. Some warmth would be nice, too. Of course the one might cause the other…

Pinning (The DIY Edition): 

roll up play kitchen tutorial * Euro Smores * Homemade electrolyte drink (move over pedialyte!) * free printable activities from Jumpstart

Obsessing over: finding all the components for the kids’ Halloween costumes. Rather than going for something that comes easily in one package, the kids (with the tiniest bit of goading from their parents) have decided to be the 11th Doctor Who (Bowties are cool!) and a young Amelia Pond. Which means for MM I need to track down suspenders and a bowtie (which I think I can get for a great price at H&M) and a tweed jacket and maybe some loafers. We already have plenty of dress shirts, a good pair of pants and a sonic screwdriver he can use. (Yes we’re nerds, shut up).

For BB we have the red cardigan and a pair of old rainboots  that we’re planning to spray paint red as a last resort before shelling out a lot of money for another pair just to get them in red, though I’ve been checking thrift stores just in case. So what’s left is an old fashioned looking nightgown and a red knit hat and maybe an old fashioned suitcase if we can find one small enough for her to carry easily.

Feeling: almost healthy!! I feel like I should knock on wood and do a happy dance at the same time (without injuring myself of course). The World’s Longest Cold seems to have finally worked its way mostly out of my system. Time to start exercising again now that I can mostly breathe okay!

Working on: nothing huge to be honest, just trying to keep up with the daily grind of chores that are like the song that doesn’t end. Finish the first verse and then start all over – rinse and repeat. Oh, the exciting lives of mothers.

Thinking about: a million things – stuff for MM’s cub scouts pack, Christmas lists (yes already, shut up), an upcoming weekend trip we have planned and cleaning that needs to be done. And cookies.

Reading: two books at the same time which is so unlike me, but I honestly could not choose between reading Divergent by Veronica Roth and Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman so I am now reading them both and enjoying them both a lot. I’ve found Practical Magic a bit more slow going (and very different from the movie btw) and Divergent’s main character occasionally seems very naive and dense to me – but on the whole I’m still really loving both.

Listening to: BB watching Minnie Mouse while I type this up – then we’re both heading out to the coffee shop with friends. Yay!

Wishing: that I could have a Tardis to help me get stuff done a little more efficiently / skip ahead to the fun stuff.

Pinning (The Autumn Edition): 

pumpkin ravioli * Cardboard Tube Ghouls * fall leaf craft * pacman Halloween garland

Obsessing over: a new latte flavor I discovered at my local coffee shop this week, called a latte miel which is just a latte with cinnamon and honey. Simple enough but it has quickly become my new favorite.

Feeling: a much needed relief from what has been one of my most challenging allergy seasons. I am finally down to just taking my Flonase and feeling pretty good. The symptoms all left so subtly that I almost didn’t notice how much better I was doing until I went to a follow up appointment with my Ears Nose & Throat specialist and realized… I feel pretty great. We agreed I should try eliminating one of my allergy medications to see if they were both necessary and so far so good.

Working on: keeping up with the world of laundry, dishes and cleaning house. Determined to not let the house fall to shambles this weekend!

Thinking about: all sorts of things, ideas for things to do with the Little Miss this fall, Halloween ideas, planning camping trips for next summer (yes, already, don’t judge lol) and the long running debate of where we want our kids to receive an education. We’re planning to try our luck with the open enrollment process for next year.

Reading: Fool by Christopher Moore and nearly finished. When I last blogged about this book I was severely on the fence about finishing it after only a few chapters due to the extremely vulgar first few chapters. While the book continues to occasionally dip into that, the plot of the story picked up quickly and has kept me interested enough to keep reading and the level of vulgarity has been just low key enough that it hasn’t been nearly as off putting as it was at the beginning. Dare I say, I might even be enjoying it. Which I’m glad for, frankly, because I have so loved some of his previous books.

Listening to: the sound of Little Miss playing a very elaborate game. It’s fun to sometimes let her just delve into her imagination and see what comes out.

Wishing: the exercise fairy would show up and get me motivated again. I was doing really well but I’ve been having a hard time committing myself to that whole healthy eating & exercising thing. I keep dipping a toe into the water and then walking away when I find the truth too cold to deal with. I know I’ll get there again and I’m just trying to be kind to myself while I linger in the shallow end.

Pinning (The Dinner Edition): 

spaghetti tacos (a la iCarly) * summer spaghetti * baked coconut shrimp with pineapple dipping sauce * creamy artichoke lasagna * slow cooker beef & broccoli

Obsessing over: the state of education and the school quality in the area. After learning what “grade” the school MM attends currently has, I was a little taken aback at how LOW the score was. I knew it wasn’t one of the better schools in the area, but it’s even lower than I would have guessed. Which has me looking more avidly at the private school options in the area and open enrollment into another school in the coming years. I’m not super worried about first grade – he’s a smart kid and the material shouldn’t be too difficult, but I want to make sure he’s getting the best education we can give him.

Feeling: beyond excited to see one of my favorite musicians performing in concert Thursday night. I’ve been a huge fan of Rebecca Loebe since the early 2000′s and it’s been far too long since I’ve last heard her perform – so excited she brought her tour all the way to Wisconsin – really looking forward to the show!

Working on: finding a new dresser for MM. We got both kids these terrifically inexpensive RAST dressers from IKEA a couple of years ago but they were much smaller than I’d realized when I ordered them and MM has already outgrown his and will need more room once the cooler weather / bulkier clothing season hits this fall. We’ll likely look at IKEA again but we want to go to the store so we can inspect the dressers carefully and get the right ones.

Proud of: my little entrepreneurial kiddos for having their first lemonade stand last week. They prepped some cans of organic frozen lemonade, made cookies, figured out pricing and a table to set everything up on. We didn’t pick the best time & day and didn’t see any walkers while we were out but two of my very good friends came by, one with her kiddos, so we still made almost $2 which in the eyes of a six year old is a lot of money, especially when it’s all in quarters! We may try again on a Friday or Saturday when the yard sales are out.

Reading: Fool by Christopher Moore – I just finished The Night Circus and needed a light funny book to fill the gap before I start our next book club pick. This should be perfect.

Excited about: the newest season of Doctor Who starting on Saturday. We should have just enough time to finish the 6 episodes from last season on Netflix Instant. Am I a little obsessed? Clearly. And I’m loving every minute.

Wishing: the laundry could fold itself. And you know, put itself away and maybe wash itself in the first place, too!

Pinning (The Delicious Edition): 

raspberry sour cream coffee cake * watermelon raspberry sangria * banana walnut chocolate cookie cake