October 2014 Update

Glory, Hallelujah! Conference season is over. This past year has been one of the more stressful planning sessions but I’m pleased to report that the event was a huge success! I spent 6 days in Las Vegas with my trusty Dr. Enuf to get me through 14-hour days of hard work in high heels.

The day before I left, I was able to squeeze in a sweet visit with my Nashville-now-Dallas bestie. She came over and helped me pick my outfits and pack for my trip. It felt just like old times. I also got to snuggle her sweet baby. I hated to have to leave but was so thankful for the afternoon we got to spend together.

After the conference, as usual, I came home and slept for several days before diving back into real life. Then, I started to clean.all.the.things. Making it through conference season is pretty much survival mode. My waking hours are fully devoted to getting the job done and occasionally making sure myself and my people are fed. Outside of that, I basically have blinders on. After I wake up from my conference coma, I take a look around and panic at all that has fallen to the wayside. Cleaning and organizing is my coping mechanism. It gives me a sense of order when everything else seems out of control. Hey – the first step is admitting it, right?

After tackling the house, then I tackled detoxing my kid from the iPad / TV and worked on getting us back into the homeschool routine. Not gonna lie, those electronic devices were my best friends when I was trying to pack 12 hours of work into 8 every day. We eased back into our learning routine rather gently and I gave myself a big pat on the back after we completed our first full day. And then we promptly took a field trip the next day. Ha! We are back on track now and things are going well! I’m learning quite a bit about Pilgrims right now. Skylar is too, by the way. 😉

We also went to the Pumpkin Patch with Aunt Laura & Aunt Shannon. We haven’t all been together in a few years so it was fun to see that our kiddos still enjoyed it even though they are older now. However, any outing with “the cousins” is always a good day in Skylar’s world. Cousins really are the best.

This year I also go to go to the Alabama vs. Tennessee game in Knoxville. I had never been to Neyland Stadium before so I was super excited! Granted, I had to ride in an orange and white car all the way there but it was a fun trip. Plus, my team won. Go Bama!

tLG really likes decorating for Halloween so we have done quite a few crafts & activities to get ready for the holiday. The costume of choice for this year was….. drum roll, please….. MINECRAFT! Yes, I know you are shocked. Ha! Minecraft has been all the rage around here for a long time. So, I forked out some money to Etsy and let someone design a costume that looks just like the skin for her gamer tag, mosskid7. And because I like to dress up in a coordinating costume each year, I was an Enderman. This Halloween will forever be known as the year I wore a box on my head for the sake of my child. 😉

This Halloween was also the first year that I learned about and participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project. As the mama of a kiddo with food sensitivities, Halloween is usually not on my favorites list. High fructose corn syrup, red dye and preservatives bring out the worst in kids. So, this year I opted to hand out trinkets and toys instead. So much fun!