Catch-up Post

Why is it that I have less time with 2 kids in school?  I'm completely baffled.  And still REALLY not liking the fact that we all have to get out of here in the morning.  Then I drop the big boys off and either (1) rush home to try to get a little frantic cleaning and/or cooking done or (2) tackle the grocery store with only one kid.  (Okay, okay, we've fit a few little play-dates for Archer in there too...the kid is feeling deprived!) 
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The other day I made up 10 crock-pot vegetarian freezer meals, which was a HUGE accomplishment for me to get done in 3 hrs, with Archer around.  He was not thrilled with the whole process, and by the time I had to leave to pick up the big boys I was COMPLETELY exhausted.  By 11:30 am. 
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And speaking of Archer...we've had complete potty-training regression.  Not that he had progressed that far in the first place, but towards the beginning & middle of August he was showing a lot of interest and taking the initiative to use the toilet.  Now he's gone back to diapers 100%. 
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Preston has his first field trip today, to the fire station.  Last night I completely panicked when I realized that I was either going to have to (1) entrust someone else to install his car seat in their vehicle or (2) buy him a big kid high back booster seat.  I think this is something I blogged about on my past blog, but I am kind of "particular" about car seats.  Preston is still in a 5-point harness and will be for the foreseeable future.  Normally, I had planned to drive on field trips, but Bryton & Archer have been sick this week so I decided it probably wasn't a good idea.  (Which is good because now I think I'm coming down with it!)  ANYWAY...we went with the booster, since I decided it was probably the safer option than having an improperly installed car seat.  I'm nervous about it, but Preston is a bit of a safety nut so I think it will be okay.  He took his test ride in it pretty seriously, so hopefully that continues today!  (And yes, I totally obsess about these things!  I was driving John crazy last night.)
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Bryton is still loving school.  He did have to miss a day of school this week, but he's going back today.  His teacher always has such good things to say about him..."he's such a helper" "he's so sweet" "I just love him!" etc.  I'm glad that his personality is really coming out at school.  He tends to get pretty shy when he gets overwhelmed, but he's really starting to get over that and has even stopped being clingy when I drop him off.  It is so nice that he only has 10 kids in his class.  It makes me so much more comfortable leaving him somewhere that I know he won't get lost in the shuffle.
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And my other baby, the garden.  :)  The weather is starting to get a little cooler here, and I still have gobs of green tomatoes on my plants!  Yikes.  We are still getting a few green beans but they are definitely dying down.  I really, REALLY need the tomatoes to ripen up so I have enough to can some tomato sauce!  Just a little more warm weather...PLEASE!  We also have some apples on our trees and 1 lonely Asian Pear.  My pomegranate is still flowering like crazy, but they aren't turning into fruit.  Sad, but it's young so I didn't really expect any fruit yet.