Four days!

Well, I didn't make it back to post my pic for the first two days, but here are the pics for the first four days of October.

I had to get Mallory a new fall jacket because she didn't have one for cool but not cold weather. I found this one and while I was there found this shirt. I couldn't pass it up. A corduroy owl with button eyes is just impossible to pass up.

Here are Aubrey and Mallory with our sweet friend (and babysitter) Kaitlin. She was on the Homecoming Court as a Senior Representative. We have known Kaitlin since before Aubrey was born, and she is a beautiful girl inside and out.

Here's Aubrey at the Big Red Apple Festival. He had a blast holding all of the snakes at a certain vendor. I would never have believed he would like this if I hadn't seen it myself. I have a bunch more pics of the Festival, but this one was so funny to me.

Here is Aubrey today after lunch. He got this mustache in the gumball machine at lunch today. Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?

I've been crafty this weekend, scrapping and knitting. I'll post pics when the album is finished and the hat I'm knitting is done also. I just love when it's cool outside because it makes me want to be crafty and bake a lot. It's been a fun weekend.

October!

I know many of you probably saw the December Daily album I did last year of our happenings during the month of December. I took a picture each day and made an album with each day being a layout. My sweet friend Jill gave me the album decorated for a present and I did the layouts. Well I have decided to do an October Daily album this year. This is my absolute, hands-down favorite time of the year. We always have so much going on in October and so many fun happenings, plus the great weather, beautiful foliage, etc. I could go on and on. So, I will be posting my October pics on my blog. Then I will show you my album when it is finished. I got recycled binders really cheap at Office Depot a couple of months ago. They are made with Kraft paper, so I think it will be great with all the fall colors in it. I meant to take a picture this morning at 5:45 AM! when I went to Jazzercise, but of course forgot. (who could blame me that early in the morning though) I'll try to post daily, but I'm pretty sure I won't make it so we may have posts with several pics in one post. You know, that's just how I roll. I'll be back tomorrow though. at least that's the plan ;)

A month

It has been a month since I've posted on my blog. I don't really know why. I'd like to say it's because I've been so incredible busy, which would be partially true, but not really any more than normal. I really have just taken a break. I have been wondering if anyone reads it, and what I say that's really important. So, I just took a break. I've had so many prayers and praises in this past month. God is so good and gives us what we need when we need it. I read it on another blog today and it made me shake my head that "What we think we want is not always what we need." Isn't it amazing that we can put our hearts and lives in God's hands and let Him give us what we need. That's the hard part for me - putting it in His hands. He's teaching me and molding me though every day, and this season of my life it seems to be more so than usual, or maybe I'm just more aware of it.

Anyway, there are a few things I have been loving lately, so I thought I would share them with you. One is I'm an Organizing Junkie I have been using the Menu Plan and I have never enjoyed cooking or making dinner so much. I now have all of my ingredients ahead of time and we have been eating at home a ton! (even on a Friday night!!! That is huuuuuuge for us.) So check it out. There are all kinds of organization tips and downloads on there.

I have also been loving the beginning of fall. It's my favorite season of all. (That rhymes!) Anyway, I'm getting into my crafts more, baking more and loving the weather and of course, football. You know the Gators have been getting my blood pumping!

One last thing - I have learned how to knit! Now I'm not an expert by any stretch, after all I'm only working on my first two hats, but I went to a class with my sweet friend Erin last week and I am hooked (yes, hooked, I crack myself up). Anyway, I am loving, loving it, and might even go to Open Knitting by myself next week! So don't be surprised if you start getting scarves or hats as presents from me! :)

Have a wonderful week. I have some funny kid stories and pics, so I'll share them soon. Well, within a month at least. Hugs to you!

by the numbers

I'm not a big numbers person, but so much has happened this week I thought numbering them would be the easiest way to post about them.

0 - The number of stitches Aubrey had to have after splitting his head open at school (in the library!) I got a call from the school while I was in the Eddie Bauer dressing room saying that Aubrey was leaning backwards in his chair in the library and fell, hitting his head on the bottom shelf. Misty said he was bleeding pretty bad and she thought I should come get him. I told her I would get right on the road, but it would be at least 30 minutes. I then called D. He was at the office and got to the school in about 5 minutes. All afternoon we debated taking him to the dr., but after his bath when his head was still bleeding we called our friends the Garretts. Josh was on call in the ER, and Laura told him what was going on. He said we should come in, so we did. Dr. Josh was able to use glue for Aubrey's head instead of having to stitch or staple it. Something we were very thankful for. I might add that zero is also the amount of normal people (besides us) in the ER late at night.

1 - Day this week I was able to spend in Aubrey's class helping his teacher and being with Aubrey. It was so much fun. It was almost fun enough to make me miss teaching. I so love those sweet kinder kids. They are so funny, and it was great to be able to put faces with the names Aubrey talks about.


2- Days a week my sweet girl is going to pre-school now. I have felt guilt about sending her, but in order to work in Aubrey's class, I needed to. Mallory is also a big mama's girl, so it is good for her to be away from me also. I love our church pre-school, and she has the same teacher Aubrey did last year, so everything is good.



3 - Days I worked at the Jazzercise center and did a class. I love it, and am seriously considering trying to be an instructor. We'll see what happens. Three is the number of deer Mallory and I spent time watching on Thursday - a mama and two babies. She loves "baby deer" and calls for them every time we drive down our driveway. Three is also the number of times Aubrey has cut his own hair in the past year. We discovered the third time in the ER while examining his head. Happened at school when some girls told him too. Yeah, great.


4 - Number of kids consistently at our house yesterday. My sister Leah and her 2 came over and played, which is such a neat treat. We are all loving them being so close now. I got to see her 3 times this week. After they left, our neighbor kids came over and played till 8:30pm. Lots of outside fun.


5 - Number of days I think it has rained this week. This is not good for D.'s job site. While we love the rain, we are looking forward to some drier days next week.


6 - Number of loaves of banana bread I baked this morning. I love my mom's recipe. I will give some away, but first I had to try it, and it is still good.


As you can tell, it has been a busy week for us. This is only part of our crazy week, but you get the idea. I also want to ask you to pray for our sweet cousin Baby Les (Leah's baby). He is having surgery on Monday to repair his cleft lip and give him a nose. Be in prayer for Leah and Chris and baby Les. The day will be hard for all of them. We are so thankful for the lessons we are all learning through baby Les' journey. He is a blessing.


Oh, I almost forgot -
2 weeks from today - The Gators begin their run at their next BCS Championship title! Woo Hoo! Can you tell I can't wait?

Kindergarten musings

So the first full week of kindergarten is over and we have had a great week. Aubrey has loved school, but frequently tells me the funnest part of his day is "coming home". You know I love this, but I know he is having a blast at school too.

He has had some funny things this week starting on Tuesday on our way to school. He said, "I don't like going to school every day. Being five is hard." And as much as I wanted to empathize, I bit my tongue because I think being 34 is pretty tough at times. That afternoon when I picked him up from school, the principal put him in the car and said, "You know you have a talker here." I laughed and told her I did know that. (though I have no idea where he gets it from!)

The next morning on Wednesday, Aubrey looked out the window and it was raining. He came into the kitchen and said, "I guess we don't have school today." I said, "Why?" He said, "Because it's raining!" I explained to him that we don't usually go to school if it snows or is icy, but we do go if it's just raining. I stopped the principal that morning and asked her if her remark the previous afternoon was a polite way of telling me that my son needed to stop talking so much. She said, "No, he's hilarious! We talked to the kindergarten classes about expectations, and Aubrey had a remark for everything we said. But, they were all relevant, and very funny. I love talking to him!" That made me feel better. Of course, it didn't last for long when he came home and told me he had to move his clip for playing in the bathroom. I knew he would move his clip eventually - he is a 5 year old boy, but I thought we would make it past the first week!!! Anyway, his teacher told me not to worry about it - that he wasn't being bad, just a boy. He had already told me, "Mom, it's just yellow!" (which is just a warning on their new behavior system and was word for word what his teacher told him) So, I'm learning not to freak out, and he didn't move it again - yet. He has already forgotten his backpack, only eaten Cheetos for lunch and gotten spit on by a little boy waiting for me to pick him up. You know - all the normal kindergarten travails.

Mallory starts 2 day a week pre-school on Tuesday. I almost backed out of it last week when I really thought about leaving her. But she needs some time away from me. She's a momma's girl, and clings to me way too much. This will be good for both of us, as I'm going to help out in Aubrey's class each Tuesday, and she will learn to be on her own a little. We're all learning this year.

adjusting

I am sure many of you are wondering how the first day of school went in the Higgins house. Well, I am very pleased to say that it went way better than I had anticipated. I truly believed I was going to dissolve into a puddle outside of Aubrey's classroom, but amazingly enough I didn't. I was in and out of his class in about 3 minutes. I didn't even look at any of the other children there. D. asked me questions about the other children and I couldn't answer him because I was so worried about getting out of there without crying. I quickly told him I loved him, hoped he had a great day and I was out of there. I got choked up in the car, but I prayed and told God that I knew He loves Aubrey even more than I do, so please take care of him today. God always comes through. I also wanted to keep it together because my friend Nancy and I hosted a brunch for kindergarten mommas at my house that morning. We thought it would be a fun way to keep our minds off of our missing children, and it was. There were a few tears, but much more laughter. It was a good thing for all of us I think. Aubrey told me his day was "Great!". The assistant principal told me at the end of the day that Aubrey was the most enthusiastic student she and the principal encountered when visiting the classrooms. That made me feel better. You know I thought I was going to be in agony all day long, but my mantra was, "Be thankful, not sad." and it really worked. I am so thankful I have a happy little boy who is healthy and smart enough to start kindergarten. That isn't to say I haven't had any tears, but they are much fewer and far between than anticipated. Thanks for all of your prayers. Now our family is adjusting to earlier bedtimes and waking times, a new schedule for me and the kiddos, and having an elementary student. Mallory will start 2 days of pre-school next week so that will be another adjustment. But, life is still good, and so is God.

new stuff

Just a quick post to put some new layouts on here. I am being featured on the Scrap Whispers blog this week, so I wanted to have some things for those friends to look at. I had hoped to have Aubrey's teacher gifts on here, but they aren't quite finished yet. I'm also working on a clipboard for Aubrey's chore chart. As soon as I finish them I will post them. Here are a few layouts I got done at the lake a couple of weeks ago.

This is the one I did for the challenge at Scrap Whispers to use different fonts in my title.

Mallory and her crazy bed hair.

Mallory as our sweet owl last Halloween.

How I feel about Aubrey.

On another note, I have been having some health issues and after bloodwork and other exams, the dr. feels that it is fibromyalgia. I am praying that it is not, but right now we are treating it as such. Please pray for me that God's will is done with this and I listen to Him for all the answers. Thanks, friends. Oh, also pray for me on Friday when Aubrey starts kindergarten. My heart is aching over this even though I know it is a very good thing and the way things should be. Being a mom is tough. Sigh.