Elmo visits Learning Express

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Elmo made a appearance at Learning Express in Huntersville on Saturday.  Small had a blast building up the courage to get close, then finally going in for 100 hugs and giggles.  It was really the cutest thing ever.  :)

While we were there we used the $5 off bonus card in the 2012 Entertainment book and grabbed some math flash cards for Medium.

Mama loves a coupon!

To stay in the know, you can Like the Huntersville Learning Express on Facebook.

We heart apples…

For the third year in a row, we headed to Morganton to Apple Hill Orchard & Cider Mill on Saturday.

Of all the pick-your-own experiences out there, apples are my favorite.  Climbing on each others shoulders, kids in wagons, filling baskets, deliciousness of a fresh picked apple covered with morning dew…and possibly best of all, the apple cider slushies at the end.

We got our wagons, baskets and because I gave them no choice, we stopped for these pictures:

      

They groan about them every year, but I love them.  Mostly because I now have the ability to do this:

    

and this:

    

Crazy, right?  The changes in three years are astounding.  Sorry…trips down memory lane are inevitable once I start playing around in iPhoto.

ANYway, back on track.  We took off into the orchard toward our favorite apple trees, the Jonagolds.

And got to work….

   

Some worked harder than others…

Working together, it didn’t take long to fill our baskets and head back to the cider mill.

  

We went back to the store where we weighed and paid for our apples. (58 cents/pound!!)  Plus, I can’t leave without a few gallons of their award winning cider and some apple treats for the ride back.  This is Medium’s favorite part….

As CLT Dad & I loaded up the car, the kids took a seat to rest and I quickly abandoned CLT Dad to snap more pictures….

As if it couldn’t get any better.  On Sunday, we turned this:

into this….

That’s 80 pints of apple butter….which the CLT kids eat daily all year long.  They take apple butter and peanut butter sandwiches to school for lunch.  :)

If you’re in need of a a fun outing and some delicious apples, check out the apple picking calendar or see what’s up on facebook.

A new start…

Have you ever felt like thing were so off track, that it would be best to just burn down the proverbial house and start over?

I’ve felt that way for a couple of months now.  But I couldn’t figure out what I needed.  Then it hit me like a baby food jar smashing on the tile floor…

A desk.

If I had a proper desk with drawers and space to spread out, then AND ONLY THEN, could I realize my full potential. I would return to my glory days of organization.  ”I already did that” and “taken care of” would flow from my mouth daily.

As opposed to “Oh crap!  When was that due?”

So. Um.  Got a new desk today.  We found it at a tag sale and got a FABULOUS deal on a GORGEOUS set up.  Poor CLT Dad spent all day disassembling, loading his truck, bringing it home, helping me clean out the office, steam cleaning the carpets, and eventually reassembling said desk.

I’ve already ordered prescription refills, completed affidavits, organized binders, etc.  Then it hit me.  I’ve used my lack of desk as a scapegoat for a LOT of deficiencies lately.  It’s possible that I’ve oversold the ability of a desk to “fix” things.  I’m feeling the pressure to deliver here.  But 2 hours in, I’m doing ok.

Drinking and blogging totally count as “organizing.”

Thankfully, CLT Dad is used to the madness.  And even when the newness wears off and I’m back to my normal shenanigans, I’ll still have a place to spread out and work.  And the first room people see when they walk into our house won’t be an embarrassment.  So let’s hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner on this boat and call it a day.