the kiddos are busy working on math, so i'll take a little break from teaching to blog about our weekend.

Brian's office had a Halloween party on thursday. this is the 3rd year they've done this for the kids and it's a lot of fun. only Margaret and William wanted to dress up. i wore my pumpkin get up. and feasted on pizza for the third time that day. mmm.

we drove to Marble Falls friday morning to go to the pumpkin patch at Sweet Berry Farms. mama met us there and we had such a good time. the kids did the corn maze. we all rode on a hayride. and then we picked zinnias in there big zinnia field.





we came home and all worked together to clean the house. the kids are really getting good at carrying their weight around here as far as cleaning and chores.

Margaret and Samuel worked on carving some of our pumpkins.





Brian's parents got here around 7:30. they hadn't been down here since August, so we showed off our latest home projects, then settled down to watch the World Series together.

the kids had their last soccer games of the season on saturday. after that we all went to lunch at El Arroyo to celebrate Brian's mom's birthday. i had made a cookie cake for her, so after lunch we came home and had that with ice cream. yum. i was so tired that i went to bed and slept most of the afternoon away. i even slept through their goodbye. i was kind of hoping i'd go into labor while they were in town to keep them from having to make another trip down, but it didn't happen.

yesterday after church we went hiking at Commons Ford Ranch. it was our first time there, and what a lovely place it is!



    

i lifted these pics from the park's site since the pictures we took yesterday are on Brian's phone.

we hiked the rugged terrain for three hours, but i still didn't go into labor. i guess she'll come when she's good and ready.

last night we had a cozy evening at home. we ate chili and baked potatoes and watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. i went to bed early again thanks to a wonderful husband who takes over whenever he's home.

it was back to the old routine again this morning: up at 5 and out to exercise at 6. this is one area i've been very consistent in this year. i think i've only skipped my 4+ mile walk a handful of times this pregnancy, and that is only when we were on vacation. hopefully it will make labor and recovery all the more smoother.

we're excited about dressing and and going trick or treating with friends tonight. we didn't participate in such things when i was a kid, but Brian and i let the kids have fun with it. i know there are folks who think us evil and compromised because of it, but our conscience doesn't condemn us in it, so we continue. we also heartily celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st. =)

well, the kids need my help with school, so i'd better get back to it.

last night i worked on my pumpkin shirt. don't laugh. it kind of looks like i've poured myself into one of Margaret's shirts. also, being makeup-less doesn't help.

i didn't get the pumpkin's face parts on straight, but i think it makes it even funnier. i'll get a better picture tomorrow when i wear it for Brian's office party. John suggested i be a whole pumpkin patch, with my belly, my boobies, and my face being individual pumpkins. LOL.

i had a dr. appointment this morning. still nothing to report, though Dr. Love and i had a good chat about scripture and biblical Christianity. he's such a great guy and i'm just so blessed to have had him for my doc all these years. he and his wife are a really cute pair. now that their kids are older, she works in the office with him, kind of managing things. they both treat me like an old friend. i guess i kind of am now as he's been doing my business for 13 years now.

we have a busy weekend coming up, so i kind of hope Hazel stays put. tomorrow evening Brian's office is having their annual halloween party. then friday we're going out to the pumpkin patch with my mom. Brian's parents are coming in to town friday evening for a short visit. saturday morning we have soccer games, and then i'm sure we'll do something to celebrate Brian's mom's birthday which is coming up next week. of course we'll have church on sunday, and then halloween on monday. i would really hate to spoil the kids fun by having to up and go to the hospital in the midst of one of their fun acitvities. but they're also very much looking forward to Hazel coming. they keep asking when it will be.

thankfully i've been getting more sleep lately. last week was rough, but this week i've been in bed before 9 and even though i've been getting up at 5 or a little earlier, i usually climb back in bed with Brian for another half hour after i get the coffee going and have my breakfast. i'm just feeling really good right now. Dr. Love even complimented me, saying pregnancy looks good on me. LOL. i guess there is something to beauty sleep.

school is going well. we're about a third of the way through in most subjects. some days are harder than others, and i sometimes spend a lot of time on the phone with the principal, but overall, i can't complain. the kids are learning to apply themselves and work hard.

the kids each planted a garden a couple of weeks ago and have had a lot of fun tending it. it makes me happy to see them so excited about gardening.

well, that's all the non-news i have to report. happy wednesday, folks.

i had a bare wall above Hazel's bed, so i made a little something for her to look at. got the inspiration from my oh-so-creative friend, Mollie, who just published this book -



i used the pages out of an old copy of Katie and the Big Snow.

it has butterflies and ducks and circles. nothing special, but it adds a little to the room. the ceiling in that room is so high that i couldn't hang a mobile from it as i wanted, so this is the next best thing.

another fun little thing i did was dress up a lamp i bought on clearance at Target for $4. i wanted it to fit better with the flea market look in Hazel's room, so i cut some pictures from magazines and glued them to cardstock and then strung them on there. =)

wow. this has not been the best homeschooling day ever. i am just so tired and dealing with unmotivated boys has proved to be very taxing. and my methods don't work (threatening through clenched teeth, etc.). Brian came home for lunch and i wasn't even nice to him. i guess i saw him as another male needing my evil eye. ha.

we had a busy weekend. friday night was movie night with the kids. saturday morning we had two soccer games. immediately after that we went out to the old family farm house in Manor and helped my grandfather and uncle with some work out there. the Farm, as it is known in the Sparks family (my mom's side), is really old, like close to 150 years old, i think, and needs a lot of work. Brian and i worked on cutting mesquite bushes along the drive way, cleaning the porches, and some other odd jobs around the place while the kids ran around and played. we came home tired and dirty, and i made chicken and rice soup for dinner. we relaxed and watched the baseball game. this time Hazel didn't get wound up. maybe because the Rangers lost.

we worshipped with Redeemer on Sunday, then Brian and i subbed as teachers for William's sunday school class. we got together with my mom and my sister and her kids at the Austin Zoo after church. i was really tired, but it was nice to see Leah and the kids. we had the cousins over to play for a bit until it was time for them to go back to their dad's.

thankfully i was able to get in bed early last night, though i did stay up and watch game 4 of the world series. that was pretty exciting. our family loves watching sports, but we've never been much on baseball...until now.

about 2 weeks left until my due date. i'm kind of wearing down. i keep trying to stay on top of all the laundry and cleaning and all just in case she comes "today", and, well, it's pretty exhausting. i washed all the bedding today and get it all put back on. trying to put sheets on a top bunk bed while 9 months pregnant is a challenge. LOL.

well, i promised the kids i'd go check out the thrift store for some additions to their halloween costumes (they all want to be pirates), so i had better get moving.

well, we had a trial run to the hospital last night. while watching the world series last night i started cramping pretty bad. the contractions were long and painful and made me feel nauseous. after the game ended and we were turning out the light, my legs started shaking uncontrollably, just as they do when i'm in labor. i couldn't stop them for anything. since John was born so quick, we thought it best to go in to the hospital to get checked out. we were there from about 10:30 until 1:30. i had regular contractions between 2 and 5 minutes apart for most of the time we were there, but they eventually got weaker and further apart. i was only dilated at the most a cm. frustrating, but now the kids have an idea of what to expect. Mama came in to town to help and stayed the night with us. this morning we went shopping and out to lunch before she headed back home. i'm so glad the weekend is here because i sure have a lot of sleep to catch up on.

i've been having trouble sleeping the past several nights. i just toss and turn as if i've had too much caffeine, when in reality, i keep forgetting to drink my morning cup o' joe, or can't finish it when i do remember. maybe it's God preparing me for being up with Hazel. i decided to get on up and make some bagels. i'm sure the rest of the occupants of this house wish i'd just stay in bed. i'm a rather noisy baker.

monday night Brian had the monthly deacon's meeting. i took the kids to the Lake Park to play after dinner. we'd been in the house or school room or yard all day, and they were itching to stretch their legs. we ran into the Zamora family - Ricky's family. remember the kiddo we raised money for with the Run for Ricky? i visited with the mom, Gracie, awhile. Ricky is up and down. he was in the hospital for 8 days recently and will be heading back down to San Antonio for more treatment this week. he looks pretty good, but then he always has been pretty happy and energetic even when he's felt bad. i'm not sure if i mentioned this, but Ricky is in the cub scout den that Samuel and William are in, the one Brian leads. the kids played sharks and minnows with Ricky and his brother, Jose, John's old bf from Maplewood, until it was getting late. after getting everyone showered and read to, i got my unwieldy self to bed. Brian didn't get home until after 11. those meetings always last so long!

yesterday was a fairly uneventful school day. i was pleased that we wrapped things up before 2:30. i know the rest of the homeschool world probably finishes at lunch time, but i'm just not that good yet. i worked on painting the old high chair. it was a stained maple color, but i'm painting it red. a cold front had come in early yesterday morning and brought fall with it. the kids reveled in it and played outside for hours. Brian and the boys went to cub scouts in the evening, and Margaret and i went walking at Mueller. we then went shopping for a new car seat and jogging stroller. they didn't have what we wanted in stock at the Babies R Us closest to us, so i'll have to drive down south today and get it. while there, i picked up a diaper bag for H. -


i've been kicking myself for not buying the one i saw at the boutique in Natchez, MS, while we were on vacation, and have been looking for another ever since. i couldn't bring myself to spend $80 on one when there are other things that baby and others in the house need more than a cool diaper bag. Margaret i and both liked this one for the colors and that it wasn't too "cute".

i go in to see Dr.Love this morning. i might have him take a peek at my cervix and see if i've made any progress. not that that means much, but sometimes it's encouraging. i'm a little bit worried about going into labor to fast. John came so quick. i went from feeling nothing to having him in a matter of three hours. i woke up in the wee hours of the morning feeling a bit sore, and within an hour was having regular contractions. we got to the hospital at 4:15 or 4:30 and he was born at 5:30. thankfully we are just 5 minutes from the hospital i'll deliver at, and 2 minutes from Dell Children's if there was an emergency, so my fears are probably unfounded.

well, i had better get back to my bagels. happy wednesday, y'all!