Stuff and Things

This catch-up post gets more daunting as time goes on! Time to get down to business. Isn't there always time to blog about how cute my darn kids are? (Or is that how darn cute my kids are?)

We've had a busy month! Here's a little overview of what we've been up to:

I had my first midterm early this month for my Econ class. I was so nervous, and didn't think it went all that well, but I ended up getting one of the highest marks in the class! The class average for the midterm was 58%, and I walked away with an 88%, which is 25% of my final mark! My next midterm is early next month, so I'm hoping to do just as well on that one.

For Thanksgiving weekend, I took my annual "Mommy - get - away" weekend. This year I stepped it up a bit and hitched a ride to Winnipeg with my mom and sisters. We had a true "girly" road trip - meaning the 6 hour drive was full of about 5 hours of singing. Which is slightly surprising because we only had 2 CD's. Taylor Swift and the cast of Wicked should be very proud of us.

While in Winnipeg, I visited with family, did some mandatory shopping with my non-evil stepmother : ) and got not enough sleep. All in all, a successful kid free getaway! Although I'm still not sure why I can't seem to convince myself to take advantage of those kid free times to get MORE sleep. Doesn't seem to work out.

I came home to my 2 beautiful kiddies and a husband who was starting in on the next module of his CA course. Really, life is going to suck until Christmas, but we'll make it through!

Eli's head is on the mend still. The bruise is mostly gone, although I think there's some sort of scar tissue up there (even though the skin never broke). When he raises his eyebrows he's got this cute (permanent?) little wrinkle of skin where he bashed his head in.

Right now, Eli's favorite things are Mega Bloks and money. He's a piggy bank fiend. Already rolling in the dough, that one.

He is also so loving. Even though most time he refuses to snuggle, he appreciates a good hug when he falls down, and he is very empathetic! (Can you be empathetic at 20 months? I think so) Last week I was untangling the vacuum cord and as I stood up, I whacked my head on the counter - it hurt SO bad, I screamed and collapsed on the floor like a baby, crying. Eli and Ella were upstairs when it happened, but as soon as Eli saw me down on the floor, he raced down the stairs, grabbed his blankie, and lay it over top of me. Made me cry even more. (When Eli gets hurt, he likes to lie down on the floor with a blankie on top of him) What a sweetie.

Ella is definitely THREE. There's a certain lack of blind admiration for her mother (when did that melt away?) and a more generous helping of attitude and talking back. Despite her occasional defiance, she really is a great kid. She plays really well on her own, and it's very fun to see her imagination at work.

She has finally named her dolls. She never really had much interest in naming things before, even when other people would ask her "What's your baby's name?" Now, however, she readily volunteers this information. First, there is Dan. Dan is little, bald, and wears no clothes. Next comes Joe. Joe has puffy blonde hair, wears a ball gown and smells like vanilla. Then comes "Smay-smay-mia" (who is in actual fact Dora's little sister) and "Smay-smay-mia's cousin" (her twin brother).

Welcome to the family guys. (You'll have to excuse Dan from the photo, he was gone camping in the living room)

Last Saturday we took a trip to the pumpkin patch! (And just in time, because 3 days later, it's snowing.) It's crazy to think that last year at this time, Eli was learning to walk! I remember him toddling around the pumpkin display, grabbing on to the pumpkins for support when he got wobbly. What a difference this year!

I can't believe how fast time is flying! Here we are at the end of October, with snow on the ground, and Christmas is less than 2 months away! These last few months of the year will be busy for us, with work, school, church callings, choir, and as usual - parenthood. We're excited to escape to Arizona for the holidays and spend some quality time together as a family.