Back to Life Where the Weekend Matters

I started back to work on Monday - from home of course! I was blessed enough that while I took the time off from consulting while I had Hudson, my company decided to make me a permanent salaried employee. After 4.5 years out of the corporate world (and being broke!) it was time to get back in the game. For a multitude of reasons, I couldn't pass up the opportunity - not just the money, but the chance to give myself an answer to the question that has been at the back of my mind since I stopped working - "what are you going to do when the kids are all in school and you have an almost 10 year gap in your resume?!?". I am part time, but salaried, and can set my own hours - not to mention that I get benefits so we can drop our sucky ones through Jay's company - so it was a no brainer! What could've used some more consideration was my crazy idea that the best way to get in a solid routine was just to do it. I am now realizing the 12 and 10 weeks I took off from work with Marlie and Sam was way more feasible in the lack of sleep department - they were older and more set - Hudson is not. Let's just say that my brain will take a month to probably get up to full capacity!!

Anyway - this was my first "weekend" in a long time. So we kicked it off by going to the county Fitness Festival the girls' school was participating in.

I will lay it out there - not the most fun ever. Getting 4 kids out the door by 7:15am to go walk a mile in 45 degree weather with one of said children strapped to the front of me?! Not my idea of an awesome morning - but the kids had fun :) Afterwards we met up with Jay because we saw a festival going on downtown. We only spent a short time there, but we will absolutely go next year and spend the day!

While at the festival I saw a booth about an event that was taking place that night - candlelight cemetery tours. The Gallatin Cemetery downtown is HUGE! And apparently every year they do this tour on the first Saturday of October. Not by any means my thing, but I have this brother . . . So Jayson went to work and Mom came to stay with the kids, and Eric and I headed out! 

It was pretty neat - we walked around with a guide and stopped at 9 gravesites where a person dressed in period attire would tell their story in front of their character's grave. We got a pretty great history lesson on the coldest night so far!! The things I do for that guy :)

Sunday was a day planned to be at home and dig myself out from the mass that is our laundry situation after adding a member to the family! Well, Hudson started it out by being awake and pissed off from 2am-8am! His issues turned out to be poop related of course! Jay and I traded him off at 8am only to wake up at 10;30am to find out that Freddy the Fish had exited this world! 

When you have 4 children, enemas and dying fish by noon on Sunday are how you measure excitement! WTF!

Samantha shed some tears for Freddy and then did what only our little sunny spirit can do - she came to me and said "we should take the wall out of the fish tank now (they are male beta fish and had to be separated) - Freddy isn't in there and it will give Gilbert more room - he will think it's the ocean"! Seriously?!? This chic could teach lessons to people ten times her age . . . 

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up and hanging out at home. I don't have to prep for a school week because we are officially on fall break now - so just work this week - and Grandpa will be here from MN to help us celebrate the break and someone turning 36 (I will be married to someone that is closer to 40 than 30 . . . I am getting old!!!). 

I am excited for fall and this weather - it's going to be an awesome start into the non stop craziness that is the holidays! Speaking of - first one up is Halloween - here is the rundown:

Marlie - undecided

Samantha - a ninja (she got her sword and mask this weekend and won't put them down!!)

Evan - monkey or a pumpkin - we have one costume from a consignment sale and Sam's pumpkin she wore - though he keeps trying to convince me to buy a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one!

Hudson - a puppy 

That is all for now - 4:30am comes earlier than I remembered :)