November....where did you go??

I missed a whole month! Well, it's been crazy lots of adjusting around here. We have decided to devote more time to just family activities. We have lots of things going on....just not together. That wasn't really working for me. Maybe because I don't have a hobby, maybe because I am tired of not spending unstructured time with my kids. (probably that one) I made the executive decision to pull Paul and Houghton from choir for many reasons. For Paul, time, time and more time. I know he enjoys it a lot but to be honest, 2-3 times a week, not including concert times was a little much since we didn't see each other much anyway. I would see him for a total of 15 minutes. Those 15 minutes consisted of the update/discussion for the day as well as him inhaling dinner. I wouldn't see him again for 24 hours (unless you count sleeping---I would already be asleep when he got home and leave for work before he woke up) As for Houghton, it was logistics, money and he really didn't seem that excited. For the boys, they have "sweepstakes" every year as a fundraiser, It's a really short but busy time and it's right after the holidays. I didn't really have the motivation to get going on it and Paul really didn't seem excited either. The participation is expected and we were not able to give it 100% It wasn't fair to them as well as Houghton. It is a great organization and we get a lot back for our work on sweepstakes but it just wasn't working. We moved Mary to the Tuesday afternoon dance class so that now we have Saturday's free (unless a swim meet is going on but usually only about 1 per month) We so far have had a few lazy Saturday's....it's nice, not to have to rush out anywhere. It really is the only day we have where we could free up some time. Well worth the sacrifice if you ask me!!!

We are gearing up for the holidays and are trying to do more around our faith. "The reason for the season" We have our Advent wreath up and light our candles and do our prayers. The kids are really behaving in church a lot better these days and it's very exciting. This is Paul's first Christmas as a Catholic :) I never thought I'd see the day. I just wish I could find a class to learn more. We have also moved to a new parish closer to home. It's smaller and the choir could use some help but it's a nice mix of young families and older "grandparents" I have come to really enjoy the mass. We sit up front....with all 3 kids too!!! It's nice because due to scheduling, we went to different services and when we returned to our usual spot, we were missed!! That is a totally new experience for me. The mass time is also most convenient, not too early, not too late as to not have most of the day go by. We still have a nice Sunday around the house.

I am on the fence about putting Mary in pre-school. She is definitely ready, and we'd like to see if she could possibly handle Kindergarten in the fall (she misses the Sept.1st cut off by 14 days) So, we're not sure if we should wait an entire year. She is in her dance class and the children's class on Sunday's at school but that's nowhere near the scope of a large class. She's one in 10 or so and at school she'd be one of thirty!!! I have some thinking and discussing to do on that.....

Well, I have forgone my nap and now it's time to make dinner. I am also freezing, I need to go put sweats on....since I'm trying not to turn up the thermostat!!!