Just one of those days...pumpkin patch with 12 toddlers!

Staying home from errands, playdates, parks etc on non school days is great but it is also stinky at the same time. That means I am home with two yappy dogs doing chores and playing referee all day. I love not having to run errands, but at the same time it is a headache to be home with two toddlers and two dogs all day. I am trying to clean the whole house, finish the laundry and the ironing, cook dinner and lunches for tomorrow as well as maintain the house after I clean it and the kids start to tear it up again. Moms who work can come home to a clean house since the kids were not home to mess it up. I know that day will come eventually for me, but for now it is an ongoing battle to stop the hurricane and tropical storm from occurring in my house daily. Just when you think you are on top, you walk into another room and see the new mess. Devin has gotten really good at putting away everything but Riley is 2 and creates disasters like a 2 year old does best.

Thankfully today has been great weather wise and I have been able to send them outside to play while I finish cleaning the kitchen or sweeping/mopping the downstairs. The dogs are actually being pretty tame and only barking now and then when birds settle in the yard or someone walks by the house. Riley is napping now and Devin is building something with Legos. A little quiet is always nice and I am thankful for it. I am not sure about other people, but I feel like laundry and dust never goes away. I thought living in the woods in Medford Lakes was dirty and dusty until I moved to the desert. I keep a pretty clean house, but man that dust NEVER goes away. I always want to have all white furniture so I cannot see the dust as badly as I can on the cherry and mahogany finishes.

Devin and Riley played with a bunch of Devin's classmates and siblings yesterday at a "pumpkin patch" by Devin's school. There were 7 of his classmates and a few of them brought younger siblings to play too so Riley had some kids her age there. We attempted to feed them lunch before playing but of course that was not successful taking into account what they were anxiously waiting to do. These places have a few "rides" for the kids to play on but charge for each one. For example it was $17.80 for 20 tickets and "cost" 3 tickets per kid just to jump in the bounce house. Total rip but the kids had fun and thankfully the place was understaffed and didn't have enough workers for the activities and our group was large that when they spread out some kids could play for free. I have a lot of pictures, but I have other kids in them and I am not sure on their privacy rules with shares pics of their kids online so here are just a few to see with my two. They had a blow up slide, bounce house, trampoline with harness, blow up obstacle course, little train ride around some hay stacks and a double swing ride.

They had a great time playing and were starving and sweaty by the time we went through all their tickets and got in the car to head home. It is amazing how worn out they get after playing in the sun for an hour and a half. They of course want to go back today and play some more. I was able to get out of going again since we have pumpkins here at the house to carve and talked Devin into the fact that he can carve a spooky ghost or monster. I am guessing we will do those Sunday day. We have a birthday party Sat am and Frank and I are going out for dinner Saturday night so we will not have time then.

I have to run 9 miles this Saturday am and to be honest I am nervous. I ran 8 miles with a sinus infection and was fine cardio wise---but for some reason 9 seems so much further than 8.  I will use energy snacks for the first time running and will have to do it at 5:30ish again since Saturday's high is 85* so I have to start before the sun comes up that way it is only warming up for the last half hour of the run in the full morning sun.