We Took a Break

I slept last night for the first time in weeks I really slept! I was so happy to lay down at 9:30PM & not open my eyes until 7:15AM!! So rare for me & I felt rested! I was still completely mentally tired from just going & going for the past few weeks. That I told the boys today we stay close to home & we relax we regroup we CHILL!! When Paul is gone I often forget how to just be still at home & enjoy my family. I like to stay super over busy so the days go quickly . But not today!  I woke up laid around for an hour while the banana bread baked. Then I put on some workout clothes & met up with two lovely Army wives to walk/run the trail around our lake. Almost two hours later I came home sweaty & relaxed.

After a quick check-in on Facebook with my man we cleared the kitchen table to get pumpkins ready to carve. The boys are so big they did most of the work themselves this year- it was AWESOME!! For the first time in forever I had no slimy gooey mess on my hands!! I did help Jeremy carve his face after he cleaned his pumpkin out. They did a good job & thus got inspired to make a pumpkin patch in our back yard. Matthew & Jacob spent two hours clearing out the space that use to be our garden to plant some pumpkin seeds. I hope it works & they get some pumpkins next year. They even made a scarecrow-LOL It was great to see those two actually working together & not fighting like the normally do all day everyday.

While the boys did that I started on laundry & the great bed switch. We needed Jeremy to move down to the bottom bunk & Jacob to go up top. Since Jeremy has been seizure free for awhile we allowed him to be on the top bunk for quite awhile. But now that we are not sure what is going on at night he needed to be moved down to the bottom for his safety. I really anticipated a great big fight with Jacob over this but he surprised me. He said as long as all his blankets could go with him & pillows he would move! So I went about stripping sheets, washing them, pulling stuffed animals from the top to the bottom & remaking the beds. They ran in & where so excited for the new adventure- I thought "where are my boys? Did someone switch them out to easy children?". Sounds nuts to some, but Jacob hates change so this was HUGE battle for me that I didn't have to have!

Now we are watching Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black & just chilling out taking a break in the living room with popcorn. I know I should have gotten up early & taken the kids to church- but I honestly needed to sleep & just chill. I was on the verge of tears by bedtime last night & realized I needed a break for myself or I was going to loose it big time. That was how we have spent our Sunday & I am so glad we did. The laughter & calm is my house right now is so worth it! Some days you just have to say no more & lay around.

 

If you wondering why there are only three pumpkins it's because Hunter is waiting to carve his for me. I need a pumpkin to take to our Halloween party for a "special effect" so he is patiently waiting just for dear old mom!

Pumpkin Lattes,Pumpkin Bread, I Love Pumpkins!!

 I love Fall, it's my favorite of all the seasons! I love watching all the trees here in the Pacific Northwest change & burst into beautiful shades of oranges,reds...so lovely. It literally clams me as I drive to look at all of God's beauty in all it's glory. My favorite thing is all the fun Pumpkin recipes that I put away after the Holidays get to come back out! Even Starbucks brings back their yummy Pumpkin Spice latte. I have already indulged in a few of those even though the cost makes me cringe every-time I pay the cashier. I did find some Pumpkin Spice Coffee from Dunkin Dounuts & bought 2llbs. For the past two days I have brewed my own pumpkin coffee & added Skinny Carmel  flavoring. So GOOD!! Plus it cost's less & has fewer calories I am sure.

Now for today's yumminess I decided to bake two different versions of pumpkin spice bread. I have my Ladies Bible Study group over to the house tomorrow & wanted to offer something good to snack on.I am also hosting the Military Spouses coffee group in my home on Wednesday morning so that too required yummy fall food. I made a plain regular pumpkin spice loaf. Then I made an Pumpkin Apple Walnut Spiced Bundt- it smells heavenly in my house! We all sampled a small piece of the regular loaf, so good! I am making everyone stay away from the bundt until Wednesday rolls around. I am afraid if we cut into it , there will be none left! Plus it will ruin my good eating habits. I did substitute apple sauce for for the oil to help a little.But I have little will power when it comes to great tasting pumpkin spice breads.....YUM! I hope everyone else is also enjoying this wonderful month of October. I can't wait to hit up our local Pumpkin Patch soon with the boys!

Last years Pumpkin Patch Day- I can't wait for this years!