Happy Halloween!!

We get it easy this year since she is too young for candy.  We had a cozy night at home with Grampy and Grammy.  She wore her costume ALL DAY though! 

Halloween Camping Trip

We spent a fun weekend camping at Millersylvania for Halloween this weekend.  Our main goal was to visit Lattin's County Cider Mill.  We had a blast playing games, petting animals, feeding animals, eating a ton of really good food, face painting, and picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. 

After dark Mark, Bob, Justina and I hit the haunted corn maze down the road.  First time I have ever done that and it scared the crap out of me!

Some picks from the weekend...there are many more on our photo site.  

Not sure what she saw but it totally looks like she is waving at someone.

The kids weren't the only ones that got their face painted...Bob looks like a crazy pumpkin head.  

Kiera and Grace.  

I love this little girl so much!!!

Kiera, Grace and Abbey with their carved pumpkins.  

I was so excited that Uncle Randy, Aunt Nancy and Cousin Magnus were able to join us at the pumpkin patch!

Sky's first Halloween costume!  Our cute little Ladybug!

Oh Balls...

...Cake Balls that is.  We have a Halloween camping trip planned this weekend.  Taking the kiddos to a pumpkin patch in their costumes and maybe some after dark tag or hide and seek. 

I made spice cake with butter cream frosting cake balls and gluten free chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting.  Dipped in orange candy melts and decorated with black sparkle gel. 

I LOVE to cook, I really don't like to bake.  Have you ever tried to make perfect cake balls?  I don't think it can be done.  I will not be making cake balls again.  They are really good but really too much of a pain in the butt.  I will leave the baking to those that enjoy it!

Now off to make the chili for tomorrow nights dinner around the camp fire. 

BTW - the ball in the third row down, second from the right DOES NOT say "screw"...it says scream.  :)

Such A Big Girl

Sky is cool to hang out pretty much all day as long as she can be in the same room/see what's going on.  I usually put her in her bouncy chair that is very low to the ground, but as of late she wants to be up where Mark and I are.  So I got the highchair out today to give it a go.  She LOVED it!  She could see me no matter what I was doing in the kitchen, dinning room, and living room.  I can't get into my bathroom because the perfect spot for her to see the most is right in front of the bathroom door, but I don't mind. 

doing dishes and cooking dinner is so much more fun when I can talk to her and make her laugh.  Plus she is learning about gravity and how it works with her toys.  :)

Corner Turned

I've been waiting for it, and it finally happened!  I have found that when I start a new physical activity/work out program it kind of sucks for the first few weeks.  But, I know if I stick with it long enough eventually it won't suck.  I will still be sore, and some days will still feel like I would rather take a break, but it will eventually get to the point that I will feel strong and able to get through it. 

I will be honest I have doubted the wisdom of Stroller Fitness and running and only taking a day off on Sunday.  It has been tough, I have hated it some days, but today I finally felt like my body is strong enough to handle whatever I throw at it. 

Don't get me wrong...I'm still really sore, and some days I hate (in a good way) stroller fitness/'running, but I have turned the corner from being miserably sore to being good sore.  The kind of sore that means I'm getting good workouts in, the kind of sore that means I know I can take on any physical challenge I decide to take on, the kind of sore that means yep I'm sore...but I'm strong too and my body is a fine tuned machine that will not fail me!

Ok, so maybe there is still some fine tuning to do, but I really feel pretty great!!!

And, while I hate scales and fight becoming obsessed with weighing myself 5 times a day, I have decided that weighing once a week is ok and so far have lost 3 pounds since starting the 6 week challenge. 

I want to be clear though, this is not about numbers for me.  I don't care how much I weigh and I don't care what size I am.  I care that my husband enjoys how I look and that I'm able to keep up with my babe as she grows, able to keep up with Mark on hikes/activities, and really care about being able to be active into my 90's.  That is what this is about for me, but I also need some way to track if I'm making any progress, so the weekly weigh in.  

No I'm NOT Worried

I get that question a lot, in relation to am I worried about finding a job when it's time to go back to work. 

First of all I have a job.  It's called being a Mom and it's 24/7, 365 days a year. 

Second, there are jobs out there to be had.  I may not land my dream job (because I already have my dream job being Sky's Mom and Mark's Wife) but, if we need the money and I really need to get out there working there are jobs I can and will do if I have to. 

I can always keep looking for that dream job while working at a less than dreamy job. 

Third, I have a lot of great skills from working in HR/Recruiting and all my volunteer work with the ACS. 

Fourth, Mark has a great job that pays well.  We can totally make it work on a single income if we want to.  We may not be able to travel like we would like, or move into the next "bigger/better" house as soon as we would like, but that's ok if that's how it goes. 

So, no I'm not worried finding work when it's time to do so. 

What I am worried about is that one of these days I'm going to punch someone in the face for asking me crazy questions/suggesting being a stay at home Mom is the equivalent of watching TV and eating  bon-bons all day. 

I find it interesting that most of these conversations/comments take place with perfect strangers.  I think people who know me know the truth and/or know better than to make anger inducing comments to me.  :)