Recognize me from Toy Story 3?

Two weeks ago, my work decided to dress up as Toy Story 3 characters. With a little (okay, a lot) of work, here's what came out of it!

And here, riding my horse Bullseye (okay, don't laugh too hard!) Kathleen's my data coordinator, and I know I ride her almost every day, but not like this!

Ever Play...

catch the flying electric toothbrush? Yeah...the start to my day. It is spinning around and I lose my grip. It drops, and I'm imaginary spittle everywhere, on me, on the mirror, and BOOM! I catch it, with nary a drop of spittle. Well, maybe one on my pj top.

If this is any indication of my day, I may be close to dropping some balls, but hopefully I'll catch them before they hit the ground. I don't know about you, but this is a frantic time of year for me, with the holiday, my son's b-day, and lots of family in town. I've never been busier, and we've never had (okay, that's not true, with the monster episodes a few months ago) more sleepless nights. Even my little guy was sick yesterday and needed a catch-up day.

Wishing you a day where you are able to catch all the balls you are juggling mid-air, or maybe even not let go in the first place! :)

WFMW: Looking Ahead

I'm a planner. You could definitely call me that.

I like to look ahead, plan ahead, and fill in my organizer.

One thing I have found that really works for me is to write those things on the side of my monthly calendar that I need to remember to do in an upcoming month, as a reminder.

For instance, as I turn the page to November, I see:
*Condition leather car seats
*Call and make dentist appt. for Feb.
*Make gift for Aunt Pat

It is really the only way I can remember some of these things, and by writing them down the month I need to do them, I can clear out my mind for more important, current events.

What works for you related to remembering dates?

For other great ideas, see We're That Family.

What I Learned this Week: Halloween Time

I think I'm in love with the holiday season (any holiday) have a child. It is loads of fun, but also loads of work too. Here are some things I've learned in the last week.

1. People dressed up in animal costumes for Halloween can be very scary and only Mommy should go near them (his perspective).

 2. Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas can be scary to Mommy, but intriguing to son (his perspective) and call for a High Five!

3. The time spent making a Mickey Mouse shoes and shorts for your son can be well worth it, and having a practice day, trying on the costume and trick-or-treating with Mommy helps.

4. Halloween time can be LOADS of fun as a parent, seeing it through your child's eyes.

5. The theme the staff choose at your work, for dressing up for Halloween, (Toy Story 3), can be exciting, and cause you to have to create yet another costume for yourself in just a few days (well, really nights as a working girl...oh, that came out wrong...working professional).

6. Working on a costume can cause you to miss your favorite shows and have to DVR them, so friends, don't tell me anything about the most recent Survivor, last or this week's and Amazing Race!

What are some things you love or learned about Halloween?

For more, see Julie's blog!

Case of the Icks

Don't you hate those days, where you go to bed feeling a bit off, slight sore throat, little headache, then wake at 4 AM realizing you really don't feel too good, and to top it off, lay there awake pondering, "Do I go to work, do I stay home, do I go to work, do I stay home?" and never go back to sleep, adding to your not-feeling-so-good day?

I think that may have been the longest sentence I have ever written, but seriously, I could have gone on.

If you're like me too, you figure you'll throw in a load or two of laundry while you're home sick, because it is so easy, only then you realize you still have to fold it, and punish yourself mentally because you'd rather be lying on the sofa or bed, sleeping.

You finally lie down on the sofa, two dogs curled around you, blanket on top and every so often think, "I'm going to sleep soon, I can feel it," and that kind of wakes you up? You lay there for oh, an hour and a half, get really hot under the blanket, feel drugged from sleep or lack of sleep, or this bug you have, and wonder if you ever really fell asleep?

Yeah, it is one of those days today, an "Ick" day, where I just feel downright icky, achy, and not worth much of anything, and I hope a good night's rest will turn all of that around. Afterall, it is Halloween season and our family has so many fun things planned!

WFMW: Lunch Break at Work

My lunchtimes at work are precious to me. I have found that sometimes this is my only quiet time in the day to think and organize things on my to-do list. Sometimes it is the only way to get "me time" too.

I close my office door and do any of the following, depending upon the day of the week, while I eat my lunch:

1. Write a blog post (doing that today)!
2. View coupons I might be able to use that week grocery shopping.
3. Send a much-needed and late email to a friend or family member.
4. Peruse other blogs I like to read.
5. Make my grocery list.
6. Write down my home to-do list.

Sometimes it is a little messy and I may get a little chip grease on my keyboard (oops), but it allows me to go back to work a little more focused and feeling like I accomplished something too.

When do you find those little snippets of time for to-do's or things you like?

What I Learned this Week

What I learned this week:
1. First of all, if you type "learned", really quickly, it turns out "learnded" and then you don't appear too learned.

2. On that same note, we went to a new park this weekend and saw these words in graffiti: "bich" and "fuch".....as an educator I think, if you're going to spray paint something, at least spell correctly! I'm glad my son didn't have to spell those out as he does many signs he runs across lately.

3. As the sun starts coming up later, my son is sleeping in more. Like now, it is 5:29 AM, and he is still sound asleep! (Remember those 3:45 and 4:30 AM mornings?)

4. Sometimes pumpkin flowers can be as fun to pick and carry around as the pumpkins you find.

5. Last, but not least, I learned something about myself last week. When I have serious time off, I take it seriously, and do too many darn things in that time. I think that's why people need getaway vacations, so they don't see all that needs to be done at home.

For more, see Julie's blog!