Monday Mile

"Monday Mile" was the objective for this morning's boot camp workout. It doesn't sound too bad when you think..."it's only a mile, how bad can it be?"

Let me begin by saying, I've always felt sorry for the last person to finish a run; whether it be a race or just a group of runners. My heart has always ached a little for them. Poor things.... they're trying so hard.

Unfortunately, that was me today. Well, almost, I was next to last.

I ran the timed mile in 9:20. When did that become slow?

Our little garden

Recently, mom and dad came to Dallas. They were coming to hang out and play with Charlotte, but I had other plans for the weekend....

Plans to build a small garden

About a month ago, Charlotte and I had planted pumpkin seeds and have really enjoyed watching them grow. Charlotte loves to water them each day and check on them. I thought it would be a great idea to expand our little pumpkin patch to a small vegetable garden. I was worried that we didn't have enough sun in the backyard, so I hired a "profession" to come over to evaluate and give me the green light.

Once I knew it would work, our sweet, handy neighbor assisted me with getting the lumber and putting it together for me. Many thanks to Jon!

After that, it was all manual labor! I'm so glad my parents work for free. It took us ALL DAY to complete the garden. Thanks again mom and dad!!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Our completed garden

We planted: broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, swiss chard, lettuce, carrots, basil, thyme, and garlic

my cute helper

basil

I had to put a fence up to keep the dogs out ~ now, just need something to keep the squirrels out. For some reason they keep digging up the garlic.

DANG SQUIRRELS!

You know it's Fall when...

The State Fair of Texas opens (aka - Fried Food Capital of Texas)

The fair is a big deal here. Even Oprah visited last year and sampled some of the yummy treats. I believe her favorite was the fried butter; which sounds gross to me, but everyone says it tastes like a donut hole or beignet.

Every year, there is a contest where participants enter a new, creative, and unique item to be fried. The contest winners this year are:

Most Creative: Fried Beer

Best Taste: Texas Fried Fritos Pie

Since, I don't eat meat, I'll skip the Fritos pie, but the Fried Beer sounds intriguing!

Last night, Justin and I were reminiscing about our favorite things at the fair:

#1 - (without a doubt) Fried Smores

Last year on our way out of the fair, we still had a few more tickets left and wanted to use them. So, by faith, we stopped at the last concession stand and decided to order a fried smore. As we were walking to the car, we shared this heavenly treat. It was so wonderful that, one year later, we're still talking about it and can't wait to taste it again. This year, we'll each get one so that we're not fighting over who's taking bigger bites.

#2 - Fried Guacamole

We all LOVE guacamole in this household and having it fried is just an added bonus. So yummy! It's like having the chips already wrapped up in it.

#3 - Flying Dog Show

Having 2 cow dogs, we're partial to them and the talent that their breeds have. It is amazing to watch these talented dogs. They jump so high, run so fast, and catch the trickiest frisbees. Callie and Reagan could learn a thing or two.

#4 - Livestock

We had a fun time last year looking at all of the livestock. One year, Justin had a cousin who entered a pig in the show. She, unfortunately, didn't win, but had a great time.

I also like seeing all of the different breeds of chickens. I'm interested in raising a few chickens in our backyard, but that's a whole other story....

#5 - Car Show

It's almost a "must do" when you go to the fair. Even if you're not into cars, just walking into the pavilion and seeing all of the newest models is exciting.

Below is my favorite picture of last year's trip

We can't wait to go!

We look forward to watching Charlotte experience so much more things this year.

School

Charlotte's first day of school pictures were delayed because it had rained all that week and I could not get a good picture. So, I won't call these 1st day of school pics, but just - school pictures.

sorry for the poor quality, it's from my phone

She is going back to the same school she went to last year, but also, she's alternating her days with Spanish School (4 days total).

Let me just start by saying the first week was a breeze. I wish that I could just end there, but as every parent knows, that's not the whole story.

It began to change during the 2nd week......

At first, she would say, "I don't want to go to Spanish School, I want to go to ____ School". And she would continue saying that the "whole" 1 mile drive it takes to get there. As expected, she'd cry when I dropped her off but the crying was more of a wimper, at first. By having experienced this behavior in the past, I knew that she would quickly adapt to the classroom and begin playing with her friends as soon as I left.

She was not upset on the days she went to ______ School. She would walk into the room proudly and begin playing, hardly looking back to say bye. I knew she was familiar with that school and the friends she had met the previous year. But again, my story doesn't stop there. Last week, she began crying at drop off there too.

Two words can sum up my feelings: Guilt and Doubt

I began feeling guilty every morning preparing for drop off. I would think, "why am I doing this to my 2 1/2 year old?" Wanting to cover my eyes as I walk away from the classroom with screams that echo down the hall. And doubting the decision of 2 different schools, one of which is very new and different, Spanish.

This week when we went to Spanish, as I was signing her in, she ran into the bathroom and hid. AAAHHHHH! This situation had now just escalated to new heights. As I was trying to comfort her in the bathroom, assuring her that "mommy will be back soon" and "you'll have lots of fun playing with your friends", she grabbed on to me so tightly and cried, "mommy, don't leave!"

Talk about pulling out her ace card. I left there in tears and quickly called Justin. We decided that afternoon, no more Spanish School for now. And wrote an email to the director to state why we thought 4 days of school for our 2 1/2 year old was too much. But......yet again, there's more to the story.

After witnessing a similar behavior at _____ School yesterday and also last night when getting her ready for bath time, we've decided that this is a developmental phase and not to change anything at this time. We're going to continue to evaluate the situation and, of course, continue to shower her with love and affirmation that "mommy will be back soon" AND PRAY that this situation resolves quickly.

Also, I do need to say, that at both places, the teachers did confirm that soon after I left she was playing with friends and participating in the activities. Both places, also said what a joy Charlotte is to the classroom and very sweet, energetic, and smart. And at pick up time, she is happy and very proud to show me what she created each day.

Oh my sweet Charlotte!

p.s. parenting is tough; where o'where is the crystal ball?

Ears of Corn

Ears of corn.... such funny words to a 2 1/2 year old.

Charlotte is quite the helper in the kitchen these days. She LOVES helping prep food, mixing, and adding ingredients. It is fun for me to have her help too. We both love to make messes! I like to think that the bigger the mess, the better the meal.

Here's my little helper in action:

Oh how BLESSED I am