You ever had one of those days when life seemed set against you? Yeah, that was this morning.

Today was the annual trip to the pumpkin patch with Leina’s preschool class. The girls were so excited to pick pumpkins. Here in the burbs, there are alot of working farms around so a trip to the pumpkin patch involves petting every type of farm animal plus one, fresh pressed apple cidar, hay mazes and tractor rides. It’s really rather incredible. Especially coming from SoCal where the pumpkin patch was a corner lot next to the gas station that the local boyscouts manned with some old hay strewn about. Here, pumpkins are a big deal.

I think you can see why the girls were so excited. We had talked about it all week and I’ll admit I was a bit twittery too. I love holding baby chicks and petting fresh puppies as much as the next kid. I imagined myself sipping hot cidar, chatting with the other moms, while our adorable children ran amoungst fields of bright orange pumpkins squealing with delight. Ok, maybe a bit optomistic. Ok, maybe alot. But imagine my distress when Leina woke in a black funk claiming her tooth hurt her. Closer inspecting revealed that the side of her face was slightly swollen. She just had her dentist xrays 3 weeks ago so I knew it was nothing major. She has very very sensitve jaws and the slightest movement of her teeth causes her extreme pain. Trust me, I’ve seen this girl teething and it is hell on earth. Really. I had thought I was done once her 2 yr molars popped through but I guess not. Luck me.

Because her teeth hurt, she refused to eat. You think Leina with sore teeth is bad, try making her hungry as well. Like her father, Leina quickly turns grumpy when hungry. The idea of dragging her around a pumpkin patch with a swollen face and a grumbling stomach was not my idea of fun. However, I did survive teething and had learned a few trick of the mom trade. I am not about medicating my children so out came the tylenol. Add to that, thinly sliced banana wedges and lots of milk and I had her semi-human and we headed for the door with 2 minutes to spar. Of course, that’s when Kulia stopped, squatted, and announced “poopie mommmie!”

Oh my. But we made it. The animals and pumpkins were enough to keep Leina mildly entertained but she didn’t have a very good time. There was lots of whining, irrational tears because the pumpkins were too dirty, and mommy cursing artfully whispered under my breath. I’ve decided we will go again with Kevin once the tooth ache is passed for a second try. But I’me very disappointed that the stars were so misaligned this morning. Oh yes, and did I mention that Kevin has a 5:30pm conference call tonight and won’t be home ’til very very late?

But here are the best shots of my pumpkin girls. Enjoy.

The girls love playing superhero. Kevin gets the role of Batman and Leina is his side kick Robin. Funnily enough, in their version of Batman, Robin runs around making the rules and bossing poor old Batman around who is often found sprawled upon the bed perusing a woodworker magazine. Who knew Batman was a woodsmith? Kulia, not to be left out, has developed her own character named “Superbaby!” (Yes, the exclaimation mark is meant to be inside the quotes. That’s how she says it.) Super baby runs around after Robin and can only be stopped for a drink of milk or when patches is lost/misplaced. The other night Leina asked for a mask and I whipped this up for her.

I give you, Robin….

And Superbaby!

Kevin has grumbled that he wants a mask too. Now that picture would be worth some bucks.

Aside from costuming superheros, I’ve also begin working on Christmas presents. Yes, I know it is only early October but I’ve learned my lesson. One minute the leaves are falling and the next the light up reindeer have migrated to our front yard and the tree is lit and decorated. So I’m starting early this year. Very, very early. So early, in fact, that I have penciled in time for the flu, a few colds, and a couple of dark procrastination periods. HA! Take that Christmas! Here are a few of the on-going projects scattered across my desk.

First, a Thanksgiving banner for sweet Anna…

Then, a very cute crow quilt for Auntie Bev that I found the pattern for at the quilt show with Kat. (Here’s hoping she isn’t a veiwer of my website…)

I am currently taking orders for other Christmas presents. If you have been nice this year, please leave a comment with your request and I’ll put you in the cue. But now, I must return to my needle and threads. Only 78 days till Christmas!

(Oh yes, did I mention that Kevin finally left me directions for how to post pictures to this site. Are you excited or what?!?!)

I love it when the seasons change. I think it may be because I spent so many years in Southern CA where the difference between summer and fall is a mere 5 degrees. Lets face it, palm trees in the fall look pretty much the same as palm trees in the summer. And winter. And spring.

So when I moved here to Oregon, that first fall was magical. I vividly remember walking the back path to campus with my mouth open and my eyes like saucers. I still have the leaves I picked up and marveled over. I loved pulling out my sweaters and boots and winding a scarf around my neck. Coffee tastes life-sustaining on a blustery fall morning and the casserole section of all my cookbooks become dog eared and dirty.

New seasons always feel like new starts for me. A chance to shake off last seasons failures and start fresh. New wardrobe – new beginnings! So I find myself embarking on new plans. A plan to whip this house into shape. A plan to finish my crazy projects that have stagnated. A plan to whip my lazy butt in shape. Of course, all this planning exhausts me but a nice cup of coffee yanks me back on my feet and I’m off again. So this fall, I plan to shed a few pounds, clean out some dirt, and put the finishing stitches on a few projects. Of course, somewhere along the line I’ll burn out but that’s ok. Winter is right around the corner and another fresh start will be here before you know it.

Now all I need to do now is dig out my black kick-butt boots and I’ll be mentally prepared to tackle fall head on.

Kevin just called me from San Francisco. Yes, he is back on US soil and I am so very happy. If all goes smoothly, he’ll be walking through the front door sometime this afternoon and it won’t be a moment too soon. Of course, he’s been up for 14 hours straight and has another 10 to go before bedtime so I’m guessing he’ll be a bit punchy but I don’t think the kids will care. I know I won’t.

We had a minor breakthrough at preschool this morning. For the first time, Leina ran into the classroom and then turned to me and said, “shoo shoo mommy.” No crying or fussing. No hand-holding and anxious eyes. Just excitement and eagerness to get started fingerpainting. That’s what I’ve been waiting for!

After drop off, Kulia and I headed home for some tv and snuggle time. Leina normally dominates the remote so for sister to get to pick her favorite shows is a real treat. Her current favorite is Yo Gabba Gabba which totally freaks me out. Why do kids love such strange shows?? Thankfully, the little laptop works on the sofa so I’m not forced to watch it. I do love the snuggles though. I have to sneak in as many as I can because once Kevin is home, I’m going to be playing second fiddle. I can hardly wait!

They say you shouldn’t drink and blog but I just wanted to recorde the 1st time in recent memory (ie. at least 8 years and probably more) I’ve actually staggered home in less than “pretty sober” condition.

In fact, it probably hasn’t been since grad school when I have actually flown this many sheets to the wind. But I digress.

My Japanese co-workers took me out to a delicious dinner tonight highlighting the many tastes of Japan. Fortunately they took pitty and didn’t go too nutty on me. The craziest thing – aside from the fully tempura’d jumbo shrimp, complete with little beedy eyes and antanae – they gave me was some sashima that was either raw beef or ‘fatty’ tuna. It was delictable so I’ll decide it was ‘fatty’ tuna.

Still it was the second bottle – really a small dewar – of Saki that put me over the top. Luckily for me when your walking in the middle of a group it’s pretty easy to end up where you’re supposed to. Also lucky for me I didn’t fully understand the question about Japanese bars. It’s only now – several hours later – that I picked up on the fact that a “japanese” bar has dancing girls that aren’t necessarily single japanese women (if you know what I mean). Let’s hear it for being clueless.

While it was a wonderful meal to end my time in Japan, it’s only more sweet ’cause I fly out tomorrow.

Sayonara Japan.

Kevin has a return date! Yes! He has promised me that he will be home sometime on Thursday. No more delays, no more push backs – he’s coming home. Phew. I don’t know how much longer I can keep up this song and dance routine.

I tried explaining to Kev that it’s kind of like running a race. They tell you it’s a 2 mile race so you pace yourself and it’s tough and you’re hurting but you see the finish line up ahead. But then, right before you reach it, they take it down and tell you, “sorry, our bad”. And so there you stand, exhausted, no longer at the end of the race but somewhere in the middle. When you ask how much farther you have to go, they just shrug and say, “we’re not sure, just keep running and we’ll let you know.” The last few days, I’ve been running along with no idea when the course will end. Kevin knew he had to stay longer but he had no idea how long. Now that they’ve re-strung the finish line, I feel a little pep in my step again. I now have something to shoot for. Of course, there’s always the possibility that they’ll move the line again but I prefer to take the optimistic route. The end is in sight. I just have to hobble a little further and then, relief!

The girls are doing much better than I am. Every now and then they’ll moan for their daddy but for the most part, they seem to be pretty unfazed. Of course, once they see him, I’m sure they will just melt into his arms and forget all about me. Sigh. It ain’t easy being mom. The up side is, I’m betting I can leave Kevin and the girls home this weekend to re-bond while I get to actually go somewhere without kids. Can I just tell you how excited I am about the idea of using a public bathroom without two small children watching and questioning my every move? Just the idea of peeing in privacy sounds wonderful.

Probably too much information, huh?

Thursday, you can’t get here soon enough!