Texas Andersons

It has been a fun few days celebrating Halloween…

On Wednesday we had a playdate with our good friends Madison, Morgan, and Landon. We all headed to a park and let the kids enjoy the beautiful afternoon- playing in the sand, sliding, swinging, and scooting down the hill on their bottoms (yay, grass stains!).

Yesterday we took the boys’ and Sophie’s Halloween portraits and then cut into our big pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern.

Today I spent the day photographing clients’ kids and pets in their Halloween costumes. Then we had a creepy dinner of fish burgers with slimy green tartar sauce, goulish green mac and cheese, and eyeballs (grapes). Then after trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, Ben had a blast handing out candy!

Aren’t those just the cutest skeletons you’ve ever seen? —>

While Nathan was in Colorado for his yearly conference…

On Sunday we spent a wonderful afternoon at the Love Creek Orchard with our best friends, Morgan and Madison. The kids built a scarecrow, raced through the hay maze, loved on the chicks at the petting zoo, rode the ponies, enjoyed the hay ride, and painted pumpkins. It was so much fun! And it was so special to do that with the same friends we’ve gone with the last few years.

On Monday Evan and I attended the MOPS meeting.

On Tuesday I took “Chunk” to his doctor’s appointment. At just over four months old, he is 21 pounds, 12 ounces and 27.5 inces long. Big boy! He was great for the appointment, even for the three shots. Then it was off to a soccer practice after school.

Wednesday, Granmom Debbie and Aunt Jenny came into town to help me with the boys so I could finally get some work done. And Ben and I voted (one of us voted for Obama, the other for Duck- www.DuckforPresident.com)

I spent Thursday at the Montessori finishing up their school portraits, at Annie’s Apothecary hanging a new gallery, and at the computer trying so hard to catch up. Then Jenny and I were off to a Dream Dinners session.

On Friday Jenny and I took Evan to music class, Debbie had lunch with Ben at school, we spent the afternoon baking chocolate chip cookies and playing in the backyard. And then Nathan made it back home!

And today Ben had another soccer game. While they lost again, it didn’t matter. They had a great time and they actually did really well, not losing by that much. And then we were off to the Corgi Celebration in Buda. We enjoyed a great bar-b-q with LOTS of food; Ben and Sophie entered the scariest Halloween costume contest and cutest smile contest; and we all kicked back and relaxed on a blanket under the shade trees, enjoying the company of dozens of other corgis. Great day!

THANKS SO MUCH to Debbie and Jenny for your help this week!!!!!! You rock!

Evan rolled over! He did so from his back to his tummy as Granny Dorothy and I sat on the floor visiting. Then he proceeded to whine about being on his tummy, so we flipped him back over to back. And then he immediately rolled himself to tummy again. Ha! And he enjoyed his first trip to the beach. He loved the squish of the sand under his feet and between his toes. And he was tickled as the waves rushed over his legs. Looks like we might have ourselves another water-lover in the family! And we started feeding him rice cereal this week. His faces were hilarious as he went from “yuck, what is this stuff?” to “cool, new texture!” Lots of neat firsts- fun!

As for Ben, there aren’t many first that he can come up with any more, but he did. The not-so-exciting-one: he learned how to lose a soccer game graciously. They played the Cherry Bombs today and lost by quite a bit. After winning all of the four games so far, it was just a little different reaction after the game was over. But it was still fun! And the oh-so-exciting-one: he’s reading his first words! He’s fired up about reading and is doing a great job. Brought me to tears… he’s so big!

And would you believe Nathan and I had a first? We attended our first parent/teacher conference. Ms. Bowen gave Ben a huge thumbs-up, showed us his first report card with excellent marks, and said he’ll be up to a first grade level in many subjects way before the end of the school year. And the one thing she said she really loves about him? She can always count on him to get her jokes or laugh when she needs some comedy relief. Ha!

Saturday started with a soccer game. Their fourth game, their fourth win. Go Crushers! Still no idea what the score was, but we’re sure the team led by quite a bit.

Then we packed up and headed to Orange Grove. We got to spend the afternoon visiting with my grandparents, Ben driving their golf cart non-stop, and enjoying Granny’s wonderful cooking (and baking!).

Sunday morning we headed to Port A to meet up with Mark, Erica, and Madison at the beach. The weather was perfect, the waves were great, and the beach was clean (although there was a bit of seaweed). We spent the day letting Evan wiggle his toes in the sand and splash in the water. The boys built a great sandcastle. And Ben jumped waves, as usual. He says he went so far out and jumped so many, he got up to level 14. Impressive, right?

This morning we got up and were surprised by the wet stuff falling from the sky. While it makes no difference to Evan, Ben was a little bummed that it’s raining on his day off. Me? I seizd the perfect opportunity to plant my wildflowers. I headed out in the drizzle with the hoe and seeds and got to work. As for the rest of the day, we just may decide not to make the trip into SA for Costco and make it a “Nothing Day.” That will be a nice way to end the weekend since I know I’ll be working all day tomorrow (my actual b-day).

We had something going on almost every single day these past two weeks!

Evan and I attended Curington’s Walk-a-Thon pep rally with Ben, Nathan and Ben had soccer practices, Ben had a great playdate with Madison here at the house, and we took the boys to the local pumpkin patch for portraits and to shop. Evan had another music class, Ben had another game, we all made it to our neighborhood’s National Night Out get-together. Then Evan and I went with Ben’s class on their field trip to the firehouse, went to the HCWIB luncheon, and then joined Ben at his Walk-a-Thon.

Ben’s game was awesome! It was exciting, with the points going back-and-forth between the two teams. But we won again, with Ben scoring a few of the goals. And I got one of his goals on video- yay!

The field trip to the firehouse was a blast! The kids got to check out all the clothing the firemen use, were quizzed on fire safety, and they got to put out a house “fire” with hoses.

And the Walk-a-Thon was fun. Thanks to the grandmas, Mark and Erica, and a few neighbors, Ben raised over $150 for his school. He was able to walk ten laps (2.5 miles), got a free t-shirt, and got to snack all morning while he walked- popcorn, hot dog, popsicle, etc. Ben thought it was all very cool (so did I!).

Does every mom feel that they have it the hardest? I sure did this week.

I felt envious of the stay-at-home mom that has no job. At least she’s not pulled in two completely different directions every day. And I felt so envious of the mom who works. At least she has a set time to do her job and can get away from the kids. And I even wished I was the mom who owned her own business out of the home. At least she doesn’t constantly have work beckoning to her and kiddos screaming for her simultaneously.

No, this week I definitely felt the stay-at-home mom with her own business in her home had to be the most exhausted person on the planet. How does she do it? How did I get through the week?

The kids came first, that’s a given. Their needs were met. They were fed, dressed, played with, loved, and cared for. And since Nathan was feeling under the weather, I helped with the kids a little more during the evenings than I wanted to.

And the house was a priority. Dishes were a constant to keep up with dirty bottles. But still the sink never seemed empty enough. Laundry was done over a few days. But I never seemed to reach the bottom of mine and Nathan’s hamper. Carpets were vacuumed. Floors were mopped. Toys were picked up every night. But everything dusty stayed so. And the yard and garden remain an embarassment. Couldn’t get to everything.

And work? Orders, phone calls, and e-mails beckoned to me every time I neared the studio door. I was able to dedicate a couple of hours each night to work (up until midnight almost every night), but it still wasn’t enough. Although I got through every clients’ orders, I still haven’t gotten to the Montessori’s school photos. And there are still phone calls and e-mails to return, an ad for the Hill Country Family magazine to create, bills to pay, and prints to package.

When will it all be over? Who knows? The overwhelming fear of not being able to get to everything done by the weekend drove me to tears earlier in the week. But now I’m just dealing with the fact that I feel I’ve got the hardest job of any mom. I know I’m a trooper and can get through this tough time (besides, I have to realize how blessed I am to be this busy during a recession). And I’m looking forward to a weekend visiting my grandparents and spending time on the beach. Ah… wind, waves, and sand between my toes. My reward!