Outside my Window:
Sunny, clear blue sky, 81 degrees with a slight cool breeze. Apparently the weather didn’t get the memo that Fall began, I’m still waiting for the beautiful 70 degree days.
Wearing
I’ve been getting my Fall Capsule Wardrobe ready for whenever the weather finally does get into the right season.I need to do the same for the kids’ clothes too.
I’ve been wearing the same clothes for too long and I’m ready to put the shorts and t-shirts away and get out my jeans and cozy long-sleeved t’s instead. I even put on my ankle-boots the other morning to just try and force the weather to cooperate with me.
Until then, I’m using a transitional wardrobe that’s a mix of my past Spring/Summer clothes with a few Fall-ish clothes ready and waiting for those cooler days to blow in. Once I have the new capsule ready I’ll share that on a separate post.
Kids:
School is going well still for the most part. I’d say this has been our least stressful year – so far. It’s still stressful but in comparison I think I’m handling it better. Probably because I’m realizing more and more that there is only so much I can control, the rest is up to the teachers and the school and each unique and independent child.
I can remind them and guide them and offer help as needed but when it’s time to get things done, only they (each kid) can be the one to actually do it. Or maybe I’m just getting older and lazier.
In the Kitchen:
I’ve honestly been just kind of winging it. Sometimes this means we have frozen food from the freezer or something plain like sandwiches.
Last week I made a few “real” meals like some carnitas tacos with chuck roast meat and corn tortillas, some chili soup for the first day of Fall, and then I came up with these home-made pizza bagel bites!
House:
Whewie, we’ve been doing a lot of work on the house lately. And when I say we I actually mean my awesome husband. It started with redoing some siding, then the painting of the new siding, and then he decided to some some touch-up work on a window, and then another window…heck we might as well re-caulk and re-paint the trim around all the windows (that need it). And while he’s at it, better fix the shed and clubhouse doors and windows…and repaint it…
I’m trying to talk him into letting me put new shutters up like these. What do you think?
Yesterday I spent all day trimming the bushes. With an electric trimmer. I don’t think my hands and arms will ever stop shaking.
Today seems like a good day to trade out the Summer deco in the house for the cozy Autumn ones I have…if I can find them.
Thinking About:
Many things. The Pope, his visit, all the politicizing of it, what his real message is, why people are simultaneously obsessed with the Pope and despise the Church, Catholic Social Doctrine, what real evangelization is
Reading:
The last few weeks I’ve been preparing for my re-certification as an instructor with the Family of Americas Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning. So I’ve spent most all my reading time studying about cervical mucus, hormones, and when and where to use brown, yellow, red, white, or baby stickers. 🙂
Aside from that I’m slowly getting through:
Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday
Walk Softly and Carry a Great Bag: On-the-Go Devotions
and
What a Girl Needs From Her Mom
and I’ve had this on one of my reading tables for a while too –
By Thomas Merton New Seeds of Contemplation
I think between all those and my continuing NFP training I’ll be good on books for a while.
Watching
I kind of fell away from keeping good track of what we’ve been watching. Here are a few I remember we’ve watched in the last few months.
This was a daughter movie night with our 11-year old daughter. I think it was a little older for her on some parts but it was fun re-watching it with her. I think we’ll hold off on the second one for a little bit though. 
We also watched this recently with our daughter – it was so fun! It’s definitely as good – if not even better – than the first time I watched years ago. She really enjoyed it and it was fun to share that with her. I think we’ll definitely re-watch it together as a family some day.
My husband has been wanting to watch Hook
Ok this one was a bit odd and definitely not great for as far as solid morality goes but…at the same time it really did end up showcasing some real-life lessons that ended up surprising us.
My husband and I picked this just to see if it was any good and I think we both can say we “liked it”. It wasn’t wonderful but it wasn’t terrible either. I think I’m more fascinated with the fact that it was made over 12 years following the same characters over that time. Because of this, we were able to stay connected with each character as they grew and developed.
Again, not great morality, but it wasn’t really supposed to teach anything about what’s good/bad. It was more like being a silent observer of a boy and how his life changed over 12 years and how this affected him and some of the people around him. I’d recommend it.
Well that’s all for now folks. Hopefully I’ll be back here soon.
