Getting ready for Halloween!!!

So I have some photos to show you, just a few decorations I put up.  I didn't put up anything big outside like we did previous years, not just because the kids are bigger now and not much into that, but we're also out in the country, and really, aside from the field mice and the owls, who is going to see it???

I did want to make it a little more Halloweeny in here but keep it simple and quick to remove since we're literally on top of the day.

Hung this little sign on our front door, not that anyone will see it, but we will and that counts too right?



Have had these 3 for such a long time, they usually go up in my kitchen but I have zero space in this new one, so I hung them up in the family room.


Family room window, strung some orange lights around the big window, added some black fabric and sat this skeleton on the bench.

He's not too thrilled to be there and has taken quite a few tumbles already, currently he is laying on the ground face up and I'm too tired to go mess with him again, so I'll leave it for tomorrow.



Here's the window in the living room, also strung lights, added the same kind of black meshy fabric and then added those two skeletons facing the window, and a black mouse.  *shiver*



This ghostie has survived a lot, he has been with us since Arizona and has been in dust storms, then through snow and rain storms in Idaho and now here he is, still going, looking a little ratty but I can't bear to part with him.

I didn't know how to hang him up because somewhere along the line, he lost his string, so I kind of propped him on my lamp.  Ha!!!



These were literally thrown into the corner of my entry way, for lack of an idea on where to place them.  Oh well, there he lays.....



And that is is, not much but enough to give the house a cute little holiday feeling.

Nick does not want to dress up this year, I'm not even sure if he wants to trick or treat at all.  Jasmine on the other hand picked out a costume and still wants to trick or treat hahaha

I'm not sure if she will be in the mood for it as things have kind of come up since yesterday.   She has been dating a very sweet boy for the past year and almost a half, but things are a little rough right now and they've decided to take a small break.  She is heartbroken of course, and oh my word, I am not prepared for this stuff at all.

Friends, I've been through it, obviously, we all know how it feels at 16, everything you go through is felt so much more deeper and stronger.  As a woman I understand what she's feeling, and it's not even a real break up, it's a little break, but still......as a mom though, Lord help me.

It's so hard not to get involved and you want to find out how they're feeling and want to know what's going exactly, and for them to talk to you and tell you, but she's not ready, and I'm stepping back and allowing her to just deal with it on her own, knowing full well that dad and I are here if she needs us.

It's not a fun thing to go through or to watch your child go through.  I have a very good relationship with her boyfriend, he calls me mom and comes to me for advice on a lot of things or if he needs to vent about something and needs a shoulder.  I've come to think of him as a son and love him as one, which makes all of this so much harder.

Ultimately my daughter is my priority, but I do care about him through this too, so I'm trying to be there for both, giving them space, listening when they want to talk without judging or telling them what to do or not to do.

This is one of the parts of being a parent that is so hard.  I kind of want to run to my own parents and be like "what do I do?  you take over I don't want to do this".  Seriously!!!

I'm sorry friends, this is turning into a pretty long post, very reminiscent of my old blog posts where I would babble about everything and anything, but the truth is that I think of you all as close friends and I know that many of you have gone through this with your own kids, or are going through it now and sometimes it helps to just let it out.

I kind of feel like I haven't caught a break the past few months, it really is one thing after another and it's getting to the point where I'm starting to laugh through this because it's that ridiculous.  Good grief, life needs to back off our family for a bit.

Anyway, yeah, so they're taking a break, they both love each other very much but it's a long distance relationship and it's rough and they're young and all of that and a bag of chips, and here we are.

One thing I want to make very clear though, I do NOT agree with people saying that just because someone is young they don't know what they're doing, their relationship shouldn't be taken seriously, or their feelings are not valid.  Just DON'T!!!!  I don't care how young someone is, to them their feelings are real, the love they feel is real, the heartache is real and the hurt is very much real.

All this to say that......I'M NOT READY TO DO THIS!!!  Can't we just go back to those days where she was 6 and crying over a lost shoe???

One thing I've learned though, is to never take a single moment as parents for granted.  Those times we complained about them being toddlers and needing us for everything and how we couldn't wait until they did things on their own????  Blink of an eye and they're teenagers.

Now I could sit and complain about this all, and as much as I don't want to deal with it and don't feel ready for any of this, I am gladly going to embrace it and ride it out, because I know I'm going to blink and they'll be in college and then getting married and having kids and I'll miss all of it, including these rough teenage years.



Alright, after that, I need a cookie, and I have a huge batch of these delicious chunky Andes Mint Chocolate Chip cookies in my kitchen.  Yeah, I'm putting away 1 or 2 before bed, which is right about now.

I'm tired, life has been draining lately, both hubby and I were saying this morning how we feel like we just can't catch up on sleep.  We wake up every morning just as tired as the night before.  It sucks!!!

Ok, cookies, then bed.  Goodnight all, oh and if you have any expert advice on how to make it through these teenage years, broken hearts, feeling like the world is ending etc etc.....feel free to leave them below, I would very much appreciate them :)