Naps

Kinda lost it this afternoon.  Fridays are early out for the kids...they get out at 1:30 which makes it a bit tricky when it comes to Rory's nap schedule.  I normally lay her down at 12:30, but on Friday's I have to keep her awake so I can walk to pick the kids up at 1:30.  By the time I get home around  2:00 I can lay her down then.  But as you can imagine, she's hanging on by a thread as soon as 1:00 rolls around.  Today she fell asleep as soon as I put her in the stroller...this is NOT good...transferring a sleeping kid from the stroller into the crib is risky and I may lose her nap altogether!  

So already I was grumpy by the time I got the kids.  And of course Piper wanted to ride her two wheel which makes things a little cumbersome when crossing the streets and I have to help her on and off all the while I'm trying to rush so I can get Rory back home ASAP!  Well, I wasn't fast enough and Rory perked up, wide awake by the time I pulled the stroller into the driveway....NOOOOOOO!  I laid her down in her crib anyway and just hoped she would decide to go back to sleep.  I really wanted my break!  She cried out for about 10 minutes...but thankfully, she fell asleep.  

I got lucky today.  

Isn't in funny how us moms live for nap time?  Our whole world revolves around that one break in the middle of the day...and we do anything we can to make sure we get it!  Like driving with the windows open even it's 40 degrees outside...I may or may not have done this one a few times.  Aaaahhh, aren't kids so fun?

Piper playing in the leaves last week.

Tomorrow I have another meeting for ski school.  Perhaps there will be more people in my age group this time??  Then we're packing up on Sunday for our trek to Sedona on Monday!

Happy weekend ya'll!

Trying to fit in.

Yesterday I had to attend an ALL day meeting for this new job of mine.  There were about 70 people who attended, everyone from different departments of the resort.  I kid you not, there were maybe 5 people over the age of 30 in the room...I bet the average age was 20.  Really.

So anyway, I tried to fit in as best I could...perhaps people will think I'm in my late 20's???  We were all filling out the massive amount of paperwork for the job.  But after I filled out a bunch of it, I realized I might have done it wrong.  You see, I still have my maiden name on my social security card...but I go by my married name.  Should I scribble it out?  Should I hyphenate?  Should I just put my maiden name??  The lady from HR comes over to help me...but instead of quick answer she immediately thinks I'm a newlywed who hasn't changed my social yet.  "Awww, how long have you been married?!"

I mumble...."Um....14 years."

I see all four people at my table look up from their paperwork.

Busted...my cover was blown.

So much for being a 20 something.

I should have lied.

The big news.

Well, after 9 years I'm now officially employed again.  Shocked?   I know, me too kinda.  

I'm joining my brother at the Sundance Ski School...yes, I'll be a ski instructor.  It's now become a family affair.  I've been keeping it under wraps because I wouldn't be able to bare telling people that I didn't get the job if that were to happen.  But this morning I got the official word that I indeed got the job...so I guess I can share the news now.  

The interview process was interesting.  The first step was to interview at a massive job fair...this was quite nerve wracking for me!  The last time I was interviewed was 13 years ago!  I'm a little out of practice!  Plus, the average age of all the applicants surrounding me was about 20...I was feeling a little old.  But never the less, it went well and then it was on to the next step...the on mountain interview held at Brighton.  Unfortunately, it DUMPING snow...blizzard conditions really!  And cold!  A shock to the system as we had been enjoying weather in the 70's that very week!  Anyway, we were divided up into groups and they basically watched us ski, stopping often to give us instruction.  I was pretty nervous going into it...I just didn't want to be the worst skier and I really didn't want to fall!  Luckily neither was a problem.  Anyway, it went well, and here I am!  Employed!

This year as been such a growing year for me in so many ways!  For so many years I didn't really stray far from my safe haven home and the whole mom thing.  Especially when Ryan had a desk job for all those years...he had nearly 12 hour days including 2 + hours of commuting everyday.  I had two small children (Haley and Morgan) at the time, and my days were long.  I loved that I was a mom...don't get me wrong...but I never did anything outside of that.  Guilt, fear, shyness were just some of the reasons I didn't want to either.  I was comfortable at home.  Yeah, I would go on the occasional bike ride, or take walks on the path near our house...but my kids were always with me.  

This is the first year that I started getting more involved with things outside of motherhood.  Ryan now has a job that is flexible...he is home more and can work with my schedule.  It has been such a blessing for the family and my sanity!  I'm realizing that it's okay to do things for myself...it's okay to take breaks from the kids.  I know this may seem silly to some, but I had such guilt leaving my kids and husband behind while I did something fun.  

However, Ryan has been so supportive and pushes to get to involved in things.  My ski pass was the first that got me going.  Getting in the car and going up the mountain by myself to ski was a pretty big hurdle for this homebody to get over!  And then yoga (which Ryan totally got me involved in)...it's been nearly a year now that I've been doing it.  And it's something I look forward to...every mom could use a little zen!  And of course we can't forget the mountain bike series I did this summer.  

I never knew how important it is to do things outside of motherhood until this year!  It helps me feel young and alive!  And I think it's a great example to my kids.  I want them to see me outside of motherhood...I want them to know I can kiss their scrapes, read with them, and cook up a darn good dinner, but also, that I can shred the gnar, or rip some brown pow!  

So being a ski instructor is just part of the adventure!  It's getting me out the door, getting involved, and meeting new people.  And getting some ski deals for our family doesn't hurt either!  And I'm so blessed that Ryan has a schedule that allows me to do something like this.  And that he supports me with these crazy ideas!  We make a pretty good team, him and I.  

Jeff and I

Sundance Ski School, Veteran and Rookie.

Happy Monday!

Yard Work

Piper playing with one of her besties.

My blogging form hasn't been too good lately...but I'll tell you why.  Yard work....oh, so much yard work.  

This picture really doesn't do it justice.  But really, I have been in the yard working more this past week than I have all summer.  That's pretty sad really...sad, but true.  I'm covered with little microscopic prickers that I don't think I'll ever get out, and I think I've ruined a pair of pants.  But the highlight was when I was tilling the garden and came across a mouse den complete with live mouse!  Yeah, it scurried out from beneath the tiller blades (how it survived, I have no idea) and went straight onto my foot.  The scream that came out of me one might think the rototiller ran over my leg!  I screamed and ran (yes, leaving the tiller running by itself in the middle of the garden).  The mouse got away, and I eventually went back to tilling...very carefully!

So yeah, yard work...I still have the entire backyard to do and a small portion of the front yard.  It's endless!!  But the weather has been so lovely, it's been nice to soak up the sun!  I love this time of year!

Few more from Halloween.

Found these on my phone from last week.

Piper had a little Halloween party at her preschool...they dressed up in their costumes and did a little song for the parents.  I love how all the girls are doing the hand motions and the boys are just like, "whatever".

 My good friend had my family over for dinner the night before Halloween.  We had the kids decorate cookies and they also played the "Donut on the string game" (I'm not sure what it's called, but it's pretty darn funny watching the kids try to eat donuts without using their hands!)  Needless to say they were covered in icing after.

I love how confused Rory looks...I'm sure she's wondering why they aren't using their hands.

Tonight I'm solo with the kids...Ryan has an event he needed to work at.  I totally took the girls to Del Taco for dinner.  I only went there because I had four free kid meal coupons compliments of our dentist office.  I bought four extra tacos along with the kid meals and so our dinner was a whopping $2.50 (or something like that).  And let me say...there is a reason their tacos are only 59 cents...they taste like crap.

And speaking of the dentist...I had to take Morgan in this morning to get two cavities filled.  She handled it just fine, but the poor thing had numb mouth for a while.  She said she didn't mind going back to school...she really wanted to be there for lunch because Haley was working in the cafeteria today.  But oh my, I felt so bad dropping her off...her little numb mouth and all.  Luckily it was an early out today so she only had a couple of hours left at school.  But I still felt guilty.  She's a trooper.  She was all smiles when I picked her up so I guess everything was okay.

Haley is next week to get one cavity filled...we'll see if she feels the same about going back to school after.  Somehow I don't think she'll be so cool with it.

Halloween wrap-up.

Our Halloween was a lot of fun...the kids had a ball and we now have candy up to our eyeballs in this house.  And no, we are not one of those families who get rid of it all the day after Halloween.  It's all about moderation people.  I remember my candy lasting FOREVER when I was a kid and my kids do the same...well, except for Piper.  She would eat her entire bucket of candy in one sitting if she could!  I gotta watch that girl!  So it's not uncommon for my girls to have Halloween candy lasting until after Thanksgiving.

So yeah, back to Halloween.  I walked to pick up the girls from school wearing a little red wig...just wanted to see what kind of reaction I would get from them.  Morgan didn't even notice me standing about 10 feet from her.  When I called out her name she did a double take at me and then said "Mom??  What happened?!"  I pretty much had her believing that it was my real hair....that girl is so gullible!  

Side story:  The night we carved our pumpkins, Morgan asked if she could eat one of the seeds raw.  I said sure but she may start growing a pumpkin in her belly!  She decided not to eat it, but was terrified because she ate one earlier.  I told her I was kidding and not to worry.  Later when we were getting the kids to bed Ryan found a pumpkin seed in her hair.  I said, "Oh, wow Morgan!  You are starting to grow pumpkins out of your head!!"  I DID NOT get the "ha ha" reaction I thought I would.  She went into absolute freak out mode!  She truly thought she was growing pumpkins out of her head.  Poor thing.  Bad mommy moment for me.  

I should have known, as Morgan has always been that way.  Like the time she was terrified that trees would fall over at the slightest breeze.  Or the time she was convinced that every time she flushed the toilet it was going to clog.  Or the time I told her if she left her mouth wide open a fly would land on her tongue...I think she still believes that one will happen.  Oh my Morgan...how we love that girl!

Okay, seriously, back to Halloween.

My lovely, red wig.

Jeffy, excuse me Richie Tenenbaum hung out with me while I passed out candy...which turned out to be all of 10 kids (it seemed anyway).  It's tradition that Ryan takes the kids out trick or treating...and they always cover some serious ground!

I pretty much failed at getting pictures of the girls.  But they looked exactly the way they did on the night of our trunk or treat...cute!  And Rory even wore her cheese outfit (minus the hat) willingly!  It think she discovered that if she put that thing on she would be given candy...smart girl.

Piper's turn with the wig...what a doll!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!