December

 Another catchy blog post title, I know. 

So I'm not even going to tell you how we are so busy time flies by....it's a given at this point.

Here's some of the highlights -

First, this is my current situation as I'm writing this. I wish y'all could smell that Vanilla Bean and Bourbon candle!

 Above and below - Myles and Sam watching the Survivor finale, and Myles bringing home some excellent school work!

 Mama got bangs! It's been many years since I had bangs, but I wanted to change up the hair and I'm not ready to go shorter, so bangs was a compromise.

 Duke crashes hard. We've decided his back feet look a lot like his mama's size 11's.

 I've been sick for a while, and this was as dressed as I was going to get to drop the kids off at school.

 Bananagrams with these two. Emma and Sophie are sick too, thus Emma's cranky face, and Sophie is laying on the sofa behind Emma.

 Things to notice here...hutch is now in this room (we tried desperately to get it into Sophie's room but it wouldn't fit through her door), ottomans are covered in fur throws (I'll get back to this in a minute), and the green and white chair is covered in blankets (the dogs have taken to chewing holes in it).

 No explanation needed....

  Sam, the white dog, eats anything.  Razors are his favorite thing lately.  He went through a soda can phase, too. I have no idea how is mouth survives everything he chews up.

 Ok....so I hand sewed new covers for our 2 ottomans.  This isn't leather, but a nice, thick, fabric that looks like leather and was on sale for a whopping $21 per yard. (super expensive for me).

So, when, after 2 days, I came home to find this.....I was livid. I mean, why? What made them decide to chew this?? I know it's Sam, and he's a shelter dog. He has really bad anxiety when we all leave the house at once....but why did this look like something to chew to him?

 So I was able to fix it, only to have it get rechewed and reopened.  So now, back to that earlier picture, they are both just covered with fake fur throws from Ross.

 Everybody looking good on assembly day.

 Sick sisters sleeping in Sophie's room, with Sam.

 My sweet baby Kona trying to get some dinner.

 My mountain has been cold, but beautiful as always.

 Bobcat left of the bush.

 Sometimes I get so much love it's hard to breath.

 Hanging out with Super Myles.

 We eat here multiple times a week. It's almost embarrassing, but also nice to have a close to home, cheap place, where it's starting to be a second family.

 Grandpa gets a lot of love, too.

 Brian and I hit up a new spot in Walnut Creek, Bourbon Highway, for fried pickles and ribs.

 This kiddo registered for high school and applied for the digital arts academy.  It's a new academy focused on graphic design,  animation, and game design.  You pick your focus, or can do a combined focus. Sounds like a fun way to get through 4 years.

And that's it, you are caught up.  Myles winter break started today, the girls go today and then Sophie and Myles have 2 weeks off, while Emma has over 3 weeks off....which man has she earned!! High School finals are a whole different thing from when I was in high school. She's pulled a few all nighters working on projects...which they assign the week of. So you get it Monday and it's due Friday, but has multiple components, like a 2 hour test, then an essay, and then an artistic representation of the novel they've read....or a 30 plus page body systems encyclopedia...major big projects, all assigned and due the same 1 week.
Brian and I have a fun, short, get away next month.  The last time we went away just us was for his cousins wedding a few years back down in Malibu.  This time its a quick Fri - Sunday down in San Luis Obispo at the Madonna Inn!! I've wanted to stay there for years. We are in the Yahoo Room....our bed is a horse buggy!! I'm so excited!!

November Went Fast

 Sam, our white dog, has pretty bad anxiety when his humans leave, especially when we all leave at once. I'm always amazed at the damage he can do in the 10 minutes I'm gone dropping off the kids in the morning. That was the remote to the new TV.

 This kid, on the other hand, has no concept of "stress".

 Just a few from my insta black and white challenge.

 The new TV is seriously like going to the movies at home. It's pretty cool.

 Just 2 boys tanning together, nothing to see here.

 Brian is still loving having a bigger dog, especially when I let him drive my truck and Duke wants to snuggle with him.

 So Melissa, Brian's sis, visited.  You don't realize how bad some things are until company is coming. This tub's caulking was so gross.  I dug out 4 different layers/kinds, accidentally popped off 6 tiles, pulled up the rubber base board along the front which was disgusting underneath, and finally painted a shower stall.  We rent, or I would tile it like it should be.

 We got a few games over Thanksgiving Break.

 This was my view at one point while I was working in the bathroom...like I said, Duke has no concept of stress in his life.

 Above, after pulling up the rubber/vinyl baseboard and realizing it wasn't going to go back down and I needed to make yet another run to the hardware store for another vinyl baseboard....I took this on during a day Brian was in an all day training session, so he had no idea I was doing it. Those little blue caulking tools on the counter are pretty amazing.

 Last football game of the season, we got stomped by De La Salle. They scored withing the first 13 seconds, and just kept on scoring.

 Brian and his sis, they are pretty hilarious together. We had a fun dinner out.

 When we first got Sam he was terrified of Brian, he would always shy away from him and was super timid....but now he loves to cuddle in and watch tv with him at night.

 The past few weeks we've had a yard full of turkeys. They pass through almost daily.

And finally, Myles had a camp out with his friends and their dads or older buddies. He's wanted to do this for so long and it kept getting put off....and now it's winter and Brian finally agreed to do it. They had a blast.

Fall!

 I used to dread this time of year! The dark, cold, damp days really got to me. However, the past 2 years I have embraced the season and cozied on into it.  In full disclosure, the anxiety med I started on 2 years ago also helps with seasonal depression, so that has been a huge factor. I'll take it either way. I love a cozy home, which is different for everybody.  For us, we have extra baskets of blankets everywhere, candles, music playing, food cooking, laundry going (all day, everyday)....other than our heater not working, it's been great! Even with no heat, we just all dress a little more cozy and wrap up in more blankets. It's not like it gets cold here, but we do wake up to a house that's in the low 50's, so getting out of bed is a little hard.

 This kid is such a handsome boy! He's a handful, but so smart and such a big cuddler. We've taken to calling him Moose, but his name is actually Duke. He'll answer to both, though. He's starting to talk more, and sounds more and more like Brian's husky he had years ago.

 This happened at KMart a few weeks back, but I'm still smiling.

 I tend to nest, decorate, and make things in the Fall, and finally decided to do something with our wedding flowers that have hung over our bed in all 7 bedrooms we've had since being married. They always look lonely, and just thrown up on the wall.

 I cut the arrangement in half so it was long and skinny when put from end to end, and added whatever I had extra of in the garage. Then I stuck in some peacock feathers to add some turquoise.

 One of the reasons I love Hobby Lobby so much is not for the new stuff, but the old reproductions. It's about the only craft store around that carries stuff like this. It's a measuring thing.

 This pulley and buckets was too good to pass up. I couldn't resist throwing in a few cotton blossoms as a nod to all the family stories of my dad, grands and great grands picking cotton in the south.

 And when you can get a big, metal "Welcome to the Farm" sign for $10, you can't not.

 This happened while shopping with Myles at Cost Plus.  My nail matched this lampshade perfectly.

 Duke, between Brian and I at night on the sofa. He's such a big baby.

 I got a package in the mail from my mom.  These silver measuring cups belonged to a friend from my childhood. She's still a friend today, I just don't ever seen her. Anyway, super cute with chickens on them, make me smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

 Just a bright shot of the family room which I think looks warm and cozy, but was probably super cold.

 So...growing up we had a urinal in our living room. Full size, standing up like it would be in a bathroom. Mom used it as a planter.  Keeping with the tradition of bathroom objects used in home decor....I bought an antler toilet paper holder, but it didn't work in our bathroom for various reasons. So, I took out the cross bar and hung it in the living room. : )

  We got Sophie's application in to attend Clayton Valley Charter High School. Just like with Emma, we now wait till January and hope she gets in. They've added a new academy that starts next year, Digital Arts, so coding, gaming, animation....that sort of stuff. She has her eye on it.

 I was wanting to warm my feet up in this sun spot, but Duke was letting me know it was taken.

 This kid got reading glasses.

 Can you see that CD? It's Blake's Texoma Shore. It's been playing for a few days, over and over. On purpose, it's not stuck or anything. Love it.

 Grabbed a stick from the back yard and glued some random stuff I had laying around to it. Not bad.

 Friday night lights! Ugly Eagles won their division for the 6th year in a row. Playoffs start Nov. 17th. Unfortunately our first match up is against De La Salle.....so, yeah. Playoffs will probably be short this year.

That about catches you up.  Myles, Brian, and a few of Myles friends and dads are coming over tomorrow for a camp out in the back yard. Should be fun, and cold, but fun! Hope you all are doing well!