Fall Yellow

We had a pretty good week around here, there's a hint in the air that fall is on its way (the way Arizona oh so subtly hints that cooler weather is coming).  On Monday, Felicity came home with "Mom, do you know seven people?"  To which I replied "Yeah."  "Do you have the addresses of these seven people?"  At which time I realized it must be time for school fund raising.  I hate school fundraising.  I understand that the public schools have needs outside of what they normally have, but there is something fundamentally wrong about making a six year old feel as though she absolutely must sell 200 over priced items from a catelog or hock magazine subscriptions.  Last year it was "Mr. Money said..." This year she explained that if she turned in seven names and address tomorrow she would get a lanyard with two rubber penguins.  I did come up with seven names (I just went down my address book, so I'm sorry to the first seven people in my book).  Low and below she came off the bus on Tuesday with her penguins and she was so happy.  I told her we may order one bucket of cookie dough as a gift but we would not be going door to door.

Arlo got his first haircut this week.   My before picture was blurring, but you've seen a lot of pictures of him and know his hair has been getting a little unruly (and curly).  I took him over to Megan's and she trimmed it right up.  He's such a handsome boy.

On Wednesday Jeff and I went on a date.  The babysitter wasn't available until 8 PM so we left around 8:15 and headed for the bowling alley.  It was absolutely packed so our plans were thrown out.  We didn't want to leave Sahuarita so we went shopping and had a blast.  Jeff bought me a cute pair of shoes and we got an ice cream cone.  We had A LOT of fun.  Just being out and chatting about things other than work and school and the kids.

The running continued this week, but because I caught whatever virus the kids had the last couple weeks it was a little slower.  As of this morning's weigh-in I've lost Arlo's baby weight and it's only another 17 pounds until I have Helen and Felicity's baby weight off.  Then I will have to work on all the weight I put on myself.  I'm happy and feeling much more healthy.  I'm definiatly a little crabby at the end of the day if I haven't gotten my work out in.  I'm so grateful for all the love and support I've had from the people around me.

After my run on Saturday morning, the babysitter came back and Jeff and I headed to the temple.  We had a marvelous time together.  We stopped for lunch before heading home.  We had the best time!

I can't believe October is upon us already, but I'm excited for the upcoming holiday season.  I need to get Halloween costumes going and I'm planning on doing Thanksgiving at my house again this year.  I'm working on doing the Christmas gifts a little at a time so they're not all at once, and am starting to come up with ideas for Arlo's first birthday bash (did I just say my baby was going to be turning 1 already?!).  I am also excited about planning our 5th annual Davidson Family Gingerbread House FHE and Caroling. For those family member's who will be close it will probably be Monday, December 17th so mark your calendar's! *subject to change* I hope everyone else is loving life as much as we are.

Primary Colors

It seemed like a really long week.  Arlo was sick most of the week and kept us up since he was having a hard time breathing and sleeping.  I also had to take him to the pediatrician's for a follow up exam.  I ended up staying home Monday and Tuesday; working from home in the evening.  I'm so glad I have the opportunity to do that.  He was feeling better by Thursday, which I'm grateful for.

This week I hit 100 miles and 16, 317 calories burned.  Since I was home with Arlo and Jeff doesn't leave for school until mid morning, I got up and ran in the morning which was really nice.  I went to run on Thursday night to find that my treadmill had given up the ghost.  I'm so bummed!  I run on the treadmill when I can't get out of the house to run in the neighborhood.  I think Jeff's going to see if he can fix it, otherwise I know what I'll be asking Santa for!

The indignity of sharing sisters' things.

Felicity and I finished The Secret Garden and she really liked it.  I was amazed at how much she remembered and understood.  We started The Witches by Roald Dahl, it was so hard to pick a new book.  She's doing wonderfully in school so far and loves going.  Jeff seems to be finding enough time to get homework done and is enjoying his classes this semester.

I helped a friend with a cake on Friday afternoon after Visiting Teaching, it was a lot of fun.  On Saturday morning we all worked together out in the backyard.  We trimmed, harvested, pulled weeds, raked, and Jeff mowed the lawn.  It's looking presentable again.  I planted some fall crops a few weeks ago and everything is coming along nicely, I love my garden!  We went shopping in the afternoon and to a birthday party in the evening.  Jeff and I watched a movie together Saturday night, it was quiet and relaxing.

The girls' participated in the Primary Program today and really enjoyed speaking and singing in front of the congregation.  Jeff is playing guitar in a musical number for a missionary fireside tonight, but other than that, I'm hoping for a quiet, peaceful Sabbath.

Burnt Umber

It was just a pretty ordinary week.  We did school, work, homework, all that normal stuff. 

Felicity brought a cold home and ended up staying out of school on Friday as she had completely lost her voice.  Helen has really enjoyed going to the babysitter and playing.  Arlo continues to climb on everything and tried to stand on his own a few times.  His two top teeth came in a few weeks ago and now that they are almost visible when he smiles it is oh so obvious that he has a gap between them as bad as Felicity’s.  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the gap closes on its own when their adult teeth come in like Jeff’s did, or if they’ll need braces like I did.  For now, he’s adorable and I love toothy baby grins.

This week did bring the arrival of some new ground in my recent love affair with running.  Wait, wasn’t it only a few posts ago that I called my treadmill the enemy?  Well I’ve changed my tune as I’m able to go farther, longer, and faster.  I did almost all of my running outside this week and on Saturday morning I left the house at 6 AM with the goal of running from our house to the end of Camino de las Quintas and back.  When I got to the end, I looked at how close I was to a 10K if I went a little further before I turned around.  So I headed down El Toro and then past the tracks on Twin Buttes.  I finished 6.45 miles and felt so amazing.

Later, on Saturday morning, I met up with some gals from church and made a personalized framed picture of the Mesa temple.  Made is a loose term.  I glued a print to a pre-cut board, added hardware to a frame, painted said frame, added some vinyl lettering to the image, and added some texture to it.  It did turn out beautifully, and in the frame, it’s huge.  I’m not sure where I’m going to put it; I wish we had higher ceilings!

I worked on a birthday cake in the afternoon for a client and it turned out pretty well.  I had some trouble with the smoothing as it was an all butter cream cake, but I’m really digging the butter cream transfer technique that I’ve used a couple times now.  It really gives some great results and is relatively low-stress.

In the evening we went to dinner with Jeff’s brother Vance and his fiancé.  It was a nice time of visiting, although I was really tired!  Sunday was pleasant.  We had church in the morning and then had dinner with some more of Jeff’s family.  The girls enjoyed playing with cousins.  Arlo had a bit of a rasp in his voice and by the time we got home was coughing quite a bit.  Jeff went to a practice with a group of men that he’s performing with at a fireside next week and then to a priesthood meeting.  While he was gone I became increasingly concerned about Arlo as he sounded terrible and was gasping to breathe after a coughing spell.  He had a rattle in his chest as he breathed when he was not coughing.  I called the pediatrician and she said to take him to the emergency room.  I took him in the steamy bathroom and that helped a little so I decided not to take him.  When he couldn’t sleep and woke up at 12AM with a terrible coughing episode I decided to take him to University Medical Center.  They have a very nice children’s emergency department and they got us in right away with no waiting.  After a quick evaluation it was determined he had croup and they gave him some oral steroid to help reduce the swelling in his airways.  They watched him for about an hour and then we were able to come home.  I’ve never taken any of the kids to the ER; I tend not to be too much of a worrier, so it was a little scary.  He’ll have a follow up appointment with the pediatrician in the coming week and he has a prescription for an additional steroid.  It’s a viral infection, so we just have to wait for it to clear on its own.

We are hoping for a healthier week next week; hope it’s the same for everyone else too!

Fuzzy Caterpillar Black

 

We were all home on Monday for Labor Day, or as it is known around our house, "tamale day".  It’s a tradition from Jeff’s family and one I’m very grateful he wanted to perpetuate.  We made seven dozen green corn tamales to split with the Bryson’s.  I was so proud that almost all of the chilies came straight from our garden.  They are pretty darn tasty!

I found some time after homework, reading to Felicity, piano practice, and getting dinner ready to make five skirts for one of the sister missionaries serving in our ward.  Jan helped me come up with a pattern and they turned out pretty well.  I also made some ties and bow ties (I have to get creative since he’s a boy) for little Arlo and I sewed old onesies to the bottom of his dress shirts so they’ll stay tucked in and neat looking.

On Friday, Mom and I had a manicure and pedicure, which was wonderful.  We also got to go have lunch; it was a nice afternoon out.  I’ve continued running this week.  I ran outside exclusively this week and am trying to improve such that my statistics for running outside more closely match what I can do on the treadmill inside.  Since beginning on this journey a few weeks ago, I’ve run 70.38 miles and burned more than 11,300 calories.  I ran out in the neighborhood early on Friday morning and it sprinkled on me the whole time. I’m glad I didn’t let the excuse of a little rain deter me from getting out, because it was a great run.  I lost 4.5 pounds this week, I’m pleased with my progress.  Change feels great, and I know I’m doing the sort of things that are lifestyle changes.

Speaking of lifestyle changes, I suggested we go for a hike on Saturday morning, and it was a glorious day for it.  We drove into Madera Canyon and went on a 3 mile nature hike that had the most stunning views.  It took us almost two hours as we took lots of pictures and stopped to look at things and let the kids rest and have snacks.  We all had a great time and the weather was perfect.  It was 71 degrees and overcast with the most gentle breeze.  I couldn’t have picked a better way to spend a few hours with my family.

 Jeff went to another baby blessing on Sunday and enjoyed seeing his family.  He took Arlo with him which made for a very quiet and peaceful morning for me and the girls at church.  He is just the most loving, happy, wiggly baby.  He still insists on pulling himself up onto everything and even tried to push one of his toys from a walking position at Nana’s this week.  He’s simply growing up too fast!

Back to the grind of work and school next week.  We hope everyone is doing well and is happily enjoying life.

Celeste

We had an action packed week!  Felicity continues to enjoy school.  She and I have been reading The Secret Garden together on the porch swing every afternoon.  We also decided this week that she would do most of her homework on Monday so that she could do her reading, and spelling practice and then have time for practicing piano the rest of the week.  It worked out pretty well.

Arlo is cruising around the house destroying things and trying to get into everything.  The other day I went to get him up from a nap and he was standing in his crib which wasn’t ideal seeing as we hadn’t lowered his mattress yet.  He’s saying Mama, Dada, OK, and yeah and it’s pretty cute.  Where did the time go?  He'll be 9 months old next week.

I’ve continued my running this week and ran outside for the first time.  On Friday night and Saturday morning I did 3.2 miles out in the neighborhood.  It was much harder than running on the cushioned treadmill in my air conditioned family room, but it was a great experience.  I loved all the smiles and waves from friends and neighbors driving by and the cheers from other runners.  We also went on a family bike ride on Wednesday.  Jeff pulled Helen and Arlo in the trailer, Felicity and I rode behind him.  Felicity did great and managed to only fall and scrape her knee riding from the street onto our driveway when we were done!  We rode to the park and the kids played for a few minutes and then we headed back.  It was a lot of fun.

We got some chores done around the house on Saturday and took the kids out for lunch and then shopping.  We played the new Monopoly Jr. that the girls got on Saturday evening and Felicity very handily beat us all.  Jeff went to a baby blessing on Sunday and since its pretty hard to find two subs for primary, the kids and I went to our meetings.  I don’t remember if I mentioned it, but since the young woman I was interpreting for has gone to college, I was called back into teach primary.  I’m teaching a class of nine year olds which is great (I do much better with older kids).

 We went to lunch with my mom this weekend and Arlo thoroughly enjoyed himself.  He ate rice, beans, peas, tomatoes, and avocado.  He was a huge mess when he was done.  I’m so glad to be off for Labor Day on Monday, we’re going to be making tamales and spending time together as a family and just loving life.

 So here are a couple more pictures I wanted to include this week (I think I felt guilty about having taken so few pictures the last couple weeks).