catching up

1) I had to have another procedure (lower GI series) on Friday. I shouldn't have to have this done again for five years, which is a big relief. It was not fun. The prep is terrible and the procedure is (far) less than enjoyable. I also didn't feel well for about 24 hours afterward.

One good thing is that I didn't lose any weight this time. And now it's done with, and I can enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas without any medical stuff (hopefully) to deal with.

2) These two...

3) Yesterday Celia was playing with our Little People toys (without Henry around to ruin everything) and she really got into it. She built different buildings for them with blocks, and was so busy talking and pretending with them.

4) A big box that came with a delivery provided a lot of entertainment this week. They have spent hours playing with it. It has been a house, a truck, a car, a restaurant, and an art studio.

5) Pita girl. She's just so sweet. I love looking at her little profile. She was holding twisty ties in her hand. We were at the grocery store and she kept asking for twisty ties in the produce area.

Later that day, I found this:

She made it into a plant for a caterpillar.

6) I set up the best activity for the kids yesterday. It kept them busy for at least a half hour while I was making dinner. Stick pieces of dry spaghetti into a play dough base. Have the kids stack Cheerios on the spaghetti sticks. Celia and Henry loved this, and it was so easy!

7) I'm kind of wanting to start decorating for Christmas, but I held off this weekend. I did get out a couple of little Christmas houses that light up, and Celia likes to turn them on. Maybe next weekend I'll do a little more.

8) I'm trying to make the most of my time when I have an hour or so at home alone some days. Sometimes I have a block of time to go home in the middle of a work day, or I get done early and have time before picking up the kids. I'm trying to keep some space in my schedule. But what to do during that time? The first thing I usually do is prep dinner or clean the house- things that aren't easy to do with the kids around. But I really need to use some of that time for exercise/doing something for myself. Somehow I need to balance getting the dinner prep done (which significantly decreases my stress) and getting exercise in too. Today I'm taking a walk when I stop at home during lunch, and prepping dinner before I pick up the kids.