Hey! You! Back to Work!

In case you have been under a rock for the last few weeks (in which case the free world envies you), the government opened up yesterday. And with the government opening, Chris went back to work. While he won't get back pay (since he isn't a federal employee), he had enough vacation leave to get him through, for which we are grateful. 

While I don't like to talk about politics, I think the behavior in Congress this month has been disgraceful on both sides of the aisle... not to mention the behavior of the man who is supposed to be the leader of the free world. And I also believe that the ends do not justify the means, especially when the ends turn out to be nonexistent. 

That having been said, the shutdown wasn't all bad. During his furlough, Chris was able to spend more time with the kids. I think he and the kids will always look back on this time as well spent time together. He did a great job keeping them busy and happy. His most recent search in our Google history is "hairstyles dads can do". Sorry, Chris, but I think that is really sweet. 

It's also sweet that every day, he and Jane drove across town to spend lunchtime with me. And when I came home, it was always to a clean house and folded laundry. 

So... because I'm such a "cup half full" kind of gal (heavy sarcasm intended here), I will take away from this that sometimes it's nice to have your plate completely cleared of everything that doesn't matter and just be left with the things that really do matter. While the last couple weeks have been full of concern over paychecks, bills and insurance, they have also been full of family time. Chris' furlough was a great opportunity... yet one that I hope never comes around again. 

Children of the Corn

Yesterday we spent they day on a farm. The whole day I was wondering what the "real" farm workers were thinking... that people were willing to spend money to pretend to be them for a day. Nonetheless, we had fun and did very little actual labor.

We started out with a corn maze.

About 10 minutes in, Chris climbed this thing (I think it's called a combine. I've never done actual manual labor so I wouldn't know.) and spotted a way out. That was convenient because small children have very little patience for a lengthy maze experience.

Then we took a hayride during which we were allowed to harvest all the produce we wished as part of the price of admission. 

The harvesting part was a lot of fun.

Unquestionably, the favorite of the day was the pumpkins. We harvested 11 smallish pumpkins and 3 of the miniature variety. 

As we harvested, it slowly dawned on me that someone was going to have to do something with all this produce when we got home. 

I spent the evening cooking with my faithful sous chef Chris. In our near future are some stuffed acorn squash and enough chicken pot pies to last the winter. 

 Oh... and just so you know, sweet corn isn't all that sweet in October. But who would deny the kids the delights of sprinting through a corn field, searching for an ear that hadn't seen frost?

In other news, the furlough continues. We are becoming increasingly frustrated and a little nervous. Chris wasn't able to take his sick leave, as he had originally been told and the vacation stores are running pretty lean. He has enough hours to keep our insurance this month, though. Next month is still in question. I find it ironic that this fight started over insurance and yet many workers are losing their insurance as a result of the fight itself. Still, Congress won't be rushed. Why would they? They are getting paid.

We are trying to keep our spirits up and stay hopeful and really, yesterday was wonderful. It served a dual purpose: It took our mind off our troubles and, as a bonus, it prepared the kids for the life of manual labor they will be consigned to after Congress brings our country back to its primitive state.

Snow Off

 We had our first snowfall this past weekend. It wasn't anything epic, but it was enough to have a bit of a snowball fight with Daddy. Because Daddy's fun like that. Mommy, on the other hand is not a huge fan of being pummeled with frozen water when it's already cold and windy outside. If that makes me not fun, then so be it. I will always be the one who bakes cookies and knows where the band-aids are. That's enough to get a mention in the valedictory speech.

It always sucks when it snows when the leaves are still green. Instead of a cascade of multicolored leaves, we just get shriveled up, faded leaves that are eventually blown off the tree sometime around Thanksgiving by one of our signature 50 mph breezes. I'm not a fan of winter.

Chris also got furloughed on Friday. While he won't be eligible for back pay, he is allowed to take his annual leave so he still gets a paycheck. Right now, we are hoping it will only last a couple days, but we will be just fine as long as it doesn't last longer than a few weeks. And even then, I guess we will still be fine. I mean, we have our health... and a good portion of our looks...

In the meantime, Chris gets to spend some extra time with the kids, which will give him plenty of time to learn all the latest fart jokes. His friends will be thrilled.