Working From Home

Now that it is official that Chris is working from home, our lives have changed a little. Chris has actually been working from home since late March, unofficially. His boss is now located outside of the state and his job site is in Florida, making things more semi permanent (I know nothing at his work is ever permanent).

Anyway, Chris and the whole family is adjusting to Chris' somewhat new role. First...Chris.

While he is at home, he is working a lot from his office. He does find it difficult to get away from the office since he is constantly looking at it. He wakes in the morning and boots up his computer even before putting his contacts in. He breaks for lunch, but eats it at his desk (like he did when he worked in his actual office). I am trying to get him out of the house to either walk with me to take the girls to school in the morning or pick them up after school, so that he leaves the house and gets his blood moving a bit. He is still unable to work out since he injured his knee about 7 weeks ago, so he really does need to get his blood moving even more. He tries to finish up his "day" around 5, taking off until the kids are in bed at 8. At night, I read or busy myself doing whatever while he is back at work until whenever we go to bed (or until he goes to bed). He has gone from business casual to casual casual clothing while at home. I mean, I have to convince him to shave once a week! Thank goodness he goes to Florida so he has to look nice for at least 2 weeks of the month, right?! :)

Meanwhile, the kids really do not get Chris' schedule (really, neither do I). When is he not working? When can we talk to him without him being on a call? Addison really complains about his Florida trips. I try to tell her how lucky we are that he is able to be at home at all since he was supposed to move there. She does not care, she does not like it at all. But again, I have not figured out anything that Addison is completely happy with.

We are all on the learning curve. Maybe in the next 6 months we will be used to it, just as things will probably change. Thank goodness we are used to change.

LOL!! I saw this and for some reason thought of Chris. :)

Kids Day Off

The girls had the day off of school today. So, I asked them yesterday what they wanted to do, the forest? The Omaha Children's Museum? The zoo? The Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City (my choice)? They all said the Omaha Children's Museum followed up by the slides at the Gene Leahy Mall.

This morning the plan changed, at least a little. Alivia, who is now 8 going on 15, did not want to go. She wanted to stay home (with Chris in his home office), read and catch up on her drawing. I caved with Chris' permission and allowed her to stay in. The girl deserves a little peace and quiet, too, if that is what she wishes.

Addison excitedly remembered going to places with Asher alone when she was smaller while Alivia was in school. They were both excited.

We arrived to a somewhat quiet Children's Museum, but it quickly changed to its loud and normal place of fun. The upstairs exhibit was closed until the next one, so there were limited things to do that were new. The kids had fun running around exerting all their wound up kiddo energy. I looked around and watched as parents played on their smart phones and read books. Funny, if I stuck my head in a book or in a smart phone (something I do not have...yet) I would have lost Addi and Asher for sure!

After a morning of loud noise and play, we went to the Gene Leahy Mall for a picnic followed up by going down the big slides. The air was crisp and somewhat cool, the geese and swans were actively fighting, and it was the perfect spot for a picnic. There were kiddos on the slide with their wax paper, making the slides speedier than normal. Addison and Asher had a blast.

It was a fun morning. Asher even thanked me for taking them to the Children's Museum and to the slides (such a sweet boy!).  Alivia enjoyed her morning alone.

Now, I must plan something for the next day off that does not include working that night!

2012 Visit to Vala's Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday was a fabulous day. It was a Sunday, Chris and I were both at home (either he is gone or I am working on weekends, it seems) and I had a Living Social Pass to Vala's Pumpkin Patch!

We arrived about 9:45 in the morning. A fair amount of people were there already (they open at 9), but we were able to park pretty close to the front. We checked in and the fun began!

Vala's is such a wonderful fall tradition. We no longer visit the other pumpkin patches in the area as none of them really compare (and they are all expensive!). Last year we made several trips to Vala's, but this year we plan on only going this once.

After the annual, "How tall this fall?" picture, the kids led the way to their favorite attractions. At first, it was cold, then it warmed up. At one point, the kids and I were stripping off our clothes. I ended the day with a sunburn on my forehead (my sunscreen clearly did not make it through the day). It was a perfect day for the pumpkin patch.

Kids' Favorites:
Asher: Jumping Pillows, big slides, pig races, and playing in the corn.
Addison: Jumping pillows, trikes, big slides, playing in the giant corn box (like a sand box but with corn) and the school house.
Alivia: Jumping pillows, kettle corn, pedal car ride with Mommy (Where we ate Daddy's dust! That was harder than it looked!).
Chris: Kettle Corn
Me: I love it all, but I liked the dog show and the jumping pillow best. Fun time!

Grandma Bet and Grandpa Bill made their very first visit to Vala's meeting up with us in the afternoon. We have wanted them to join us for years, so we were glad they were able to make it. Going to Vala's is definitely a fall experience you will never forget. Vala's has so much to do and see, from seeing the goats and the big ox, riding slides coming out of barns, pig races, watching a dragon eat pumpkins, tractor wagon rides, storybook village, the jumping pillows, playing in the corn box and then there is the endless supply of expensive food! Hotdogs are almost $7 each!! That is completely nuts! The only thing I wished is that we brought more to drink. I brought the kids each their own drink cups that they refilled with water. But, I only brought one tea for me and I forgot to bring Chris ANYTHING (oops! I really felt bad! But, he survived with the help of $2.50 soda). There food is seriously overpriced. Their entry fee is enough as it is that they should not be pricing their food at the level of Disney. It is not Disney afterall.

Anyway, we had a fabulous time and made memories to last a lifetime. We see how the kids grow up more from our annual visits to the pumpkin patch. Alivia was about 18 months old when we first started visiting Vala's. Crazy how time flies.

Going to Vala's?
Bring
*water bottle filled, but can be refilled
* wet wipes
* lunch at least
* snacks
* dress in layers of clothes
* comfortable shoes that you do not mind getting dirty. It is a farm after all.
* socks, so that you can jump on the jumping pillows with socks on.
* Your camera, to capture all the fun and memories
* Money. Believe me, you will need a lot to buy anything.
Have fun!


Until next year...we will enjoy the pictures and the memories...

 Jumping on the jumping pillows! These things are awesome!

Duck races

Gangnam Style!

Tic Tac Toe with Toilet seats as O's anyone? Asher won, he was toilet seats. :)

Vala's ROCKS!

Such a sweet little face!

Lens Envy? This one is for Courtney! :)

White and Black Dogs can Jump! This dog show was amazing!

Dog Kisses