My October

October is always a super busy month for me.  Like, really busy.  So busy, in fact, that I've had a heck of a time trying to get to the gym this month and most likely won't go more than a handful of times the entire calendar month!  I really want to... but it's just not gonna happen.  Blogging?  I haven't even averaged once a week this month. Here's why:

October 1:  I ran errands all morning (my week was super busy and my nanny was sick, so I lost my errand time and gym the day before and this day), and went to work for the afternoon.  I returned home after 11 pm.

October 2-3:  The weekend.  Yes, I could have gone and left the kids under hubby's watch, but we had the only relaxing weekend we were going to have this month.  Fail on my part.

October 4:  Took the Twincesses to school in the AM, then hit the gym and the mall that afternoon.  (Score!)

October 5:  Took all 4 kiddos to my MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) class in the morning.  I lost my keys and spent 75 minutes, dragging 4 hungry, tired kids all over the church campus trying to find out who found them and where they got turned into.  Cranky kids all got Burger King for lunch then we ALL took a nap.  We woke up and went to Disneyland when Daddy got home from work.  (yeah, tough life, I know.)

October 6:  Took Purple Twincess to school and the other 3 shopping in the morning, then worked all afternoon.  Got home at 9 pm.

October 7:  Well, my errand/gym day got shot to hell and I ended up spending the entire day in the E.R. with Purple Twinado.  She had a high fever, vomiting and screaming in pain every 20 minutes or so.  After 7 hours, she pooped and all was fine in the world.  (T.M.I.?)

October 8:  Morning Dentist appt for yet another crown.  Except, halfway through, I got sick and had to go home.  Napped for 3 hours and suffered for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  Took the Twincesses to a movie at the local elementary school that a church was hosting.  (I hope we didn't spread "flu" everywhere!)

October 9-10:  I was supposed to go to the Go Fest concert (featuring Rascal Flatts) and share the oBand Center's lapband services to the attendees by hanging out at a booth at the Festival.  But, the show was postponed due to band illness.  It was a good thing, I guess because my three other kids all had fevers all weekend.  Turns out, I got another relaxing weekend out of it, huh?  But can one really relax when all the kids are cranky, feverish, and stuck indoors?  Oh yeah, and it turns out that hubby decided to pull all the boxes (like 60+!!!) we had stored in our garage and brought them all into the house for me to sort through.  Really, hubby?  All I asked for was my 4 Halloween Deco boxes and any boxes marked "skinny clothes."  Did I mention I was having a party next week?

October 11: I took the Twincesses to school, then went to work all day while hubby stayed home and watched the kiddos.  County workers get all the cool non-holidays off work!  But as I was coming home at 5, I got a text that said Pink Twincess was throwing up all afternoon and to hurry please.  Oh great... There went my night.

October 12: Hubby took the day off to take the family to Disneyland.  Well, except Pink Twincess, still very feverish, couldn't go.  We left her home for "special time" with the nanny and we went anyway.  We got home with plenty of time left, but my feet hurt so dang bad that there was just no way I could work out.  (D'oh!)

October 13:  Took Purple Twincess to school, left the other 3 with the nanny and went party shopping in the morning, then worked all afternoon. Got home at 9 pm.

October 14:  Cleaned my house, decorated all Halloweeny, then headed to Tustin to visit with Dr. Evil Dr. Naim at the oBand Center.  He gave me a quick check and told me we could get the lapband tightened again..., or not.  I wanted to get it tightened again to speed up my weight loss... I really did... but I was still having trouble processing some of the foods I was eating, so I opted not to.  I really just needed to chew my food much more before swallowing, but I think my problem is that I wolf down the first bite, then chew well for the rest of the meal.  Therefore, I feel terrible even though I ate a good portion of protein and chewed the food well.  That first bite will get stuck and everything else gets clogged in the system.  It's a processing issue with my BRAIN, not my stomach.  I will get used to this!!

October 15:  Spent the ENTIRE day prepping treats and cleaning the house.  I made "graveyard" cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes, crumbled Oreo cookie crumbs, and a tombstone made out of half a Milano cookie, with "RIP" icing), "witch hats" (a chocolate striped shortbread circular flat cookie with fudge on the bottom, flipped over, with a Hershey's kiss on top), and all sorts of other goodies, like candy apple dip, artichoke dip, french onion dip, ranch dip and more.  I put out the fog machine, black lights, arranged the tables, and just had a great time.  I did find the time to step out and get a facial AT THE GYM.  So nice.  I did 10 minutes on the tread mill just to get the heart pumping, but the relaxing facial was what I needed to survive the weekend I had planned.

October 16:  Party day!  I decorated, cleaned and cooked all morning.  I took special care setting up the bar and putting up the "Over The Hill" decorations I got for my hubby's 40th. Then I got a genius idea and took my nanny and the kids and dropped them off at the McDonald's play area at 11 AM, and picked them up at 1.  It was the best $12 I ever spent and the kids had a GREAT day.  And they all passed out cold when we got home!  After their nap, I realized that having the family around while I was trying to get ready was hampering my ability to rock it, so at 5pm, I again loaded everyone up in the minivan and dumped my brood off at the cheap theatre down the road.  Another $12 got 5 people in to see an animated flick, and I got 2 more hours of peace.  When I returned, the DJ showed up, I put out the cold food, heated up the warm foods, and got more excited every time the doorbell rang!  I got to party and dance all night - good times!  Well, for us, not necessarily for the neighbors.

October 17:  Recovery Day... for a few hours.  Then I headed to the rescheduled Go Fest at 1pm.  Even though my partner in crime Joe was sick, and the booth we were to promote got sidelined, I stayed for the show and got home at midnight.  Kinda didn't make it to the gym.  Oops.

October 18:  My mom's birthday, and the day she finally returned from another 3+ week trip abroad in the Caribbean and Central America.  Third this year, I might mention.  (Jealous much?  Nahhh.)  I took the Twincesses to school, then headed the hour to mom's house for a Birthday lunch.  It was nice to catch up with her - I really missed her!  Then, I got a root canal.  (Pure joy!)  While I arrived home by 5, I wasn't necessarily in the mood for working out... so no go.

October 19: Today I went to MOPS again, then the Twincesses were scheduled for their 4 yr old check up and shots.  Poor little ones... they cried for 30 minutes after their inoculations.  I had free tix to see a kiddie movie and met up with friends for an afternoon matinee.  During the show, Pink Twincess had to use the bathroom, so we left for a bit.  While there, I felt a nerve in my shoulder get pinched and that's it... I'm down for the next 3 days. 

Not that I have the time anyway...  here's a forecast of the rest of my month:

October 20:  Hubby's 40th!  I'll take the Purple Twincess to school, and go grocery shopping with the other 3 and bake a cake.  I have a client meeting in the afternoon, and will rush home to take the family out to dinner for hubby's special day.  Then hopefully, he and I can escape for the evening to see an adult movie... like one that isn't animated or star 4 legged creatures.

October 21:  You guessed it... Disneyland again.  This time to celebrate Daddy's big day.  After walking MILES at that place, I don't need to go to the gym.  Nor will I be able to walk without pain for the next 4 days anyway.

October 22:  I'll head to work all day, then go to my old high school for their Homecoming Game and a mini-gathering of my Class of '90 friends.  It's an hour from home, so I'll return after midnight.  It's also my sis-in-law's birthday that day.

October 23: Heading BACK to my old hometown for a party for one of my friend's kids for the morning/afternoon, and taking the Twincesses.  Racing home as fast as I can, then heading to the airport to pick up my Nanny's friend from Holland, who will be staying with us for the week.  That night, hubby and I will hang out with his best friend and do a "Zombie Pub Crawl".  I don't know what that's all about, other than we'll look n act like Zombies and go bar hopping.  Yay, another fun thing we can't afford to do.

October 24:  Heading back again to my old hometown for not one kid party, but two kid parties.  One from 11-1 for a 7 yr old at Chuck E. Cheese's, and one for a 1 yr old girl, from 1-4.  This time I am only taking one of the Twinados (Purple girl, because she's a snuggler and easiest to physically control at the pizza place, as well as being the quietest, easiest one to keep subdued at a toddler's party).  Hopefully she'll nap in the car both way, so that she won't be super cranky that night.  It's also my nephew's birthday that day! 

October 25:  Taking the Twincesses to school, then spending all day at home with the kids, since the nanny is off work this week.  If hubby is OK watching them over dinner, I'll run out for some exercise.  Maybe.

October 26:  Taking my mom and all the kids to a Pumpkin Patch with my MOPS group in the morning, then taking Pink Twincess (she who got to stay home from Disneyland on the 12th) to the Happiest Place on Earth for the rest of the day, with another mom and girl from her school, while my mom stays home with the rest of my girls.  That should get me out of gym duty PLUS my feet will be complaining a lot.  Thankfully, new mom friend is pregnant and probably won't be up for walking super fast!

October 27:  Taking the Twincesses to school for their Halloween party, then heading to work for the rest of the day - I'll be home between 9 -10.

October 28:  Taking all the girls back to Disneyland with my Far Away Friend Who Just Moved Back Home, and her family.  My hubby will most likely meet up with us after work.  My dogs will be barking, big time.

October 29:  Sans nanny; staying home with the kids all day.  Maybe I'll take them all to the gym in the morning and take advantage of the $10 onsite babysitting!   Of course, if my feet are so sore that I can't walk, I'll take a pass.

October 30:  Sans nanny, so I need to sweeten up Daddy so I can escape without kids and hit the gym.  We'll see.  Got a sitter for the night, so we're headed back up to the old barrio for a good ole Halloween party with the gang.

October 31: Maybe gym in the AM? We're dropping off Nanny's friend at the airport in the afternoon during nap time.  Then, its Trick or Treat time!  Fun fun fun!

I will post a TON of pictures later this month.  Probably next week sometime during nap time on a nanny-less day. 

I also just took a look at November's calendar.  Other than 6 days of Twincess classes, 2 MOPS classes, 7 days that I go to work and 3 Turkey Days in a row with the families... there is NOTHING on my calendar.  No plans.  Lots of nanny time.  I will have NO EXCUSE to NOT hit the gym at least 4 times a week next month.  That should put me in a great place, with a rev'ed up metabolism so I can indulge just a tad on my Turkey Days without a blip on my weight loss plan.  I'm down a total of 35 pounds since August 13th, the day that the oBand Center turned my steady weight increase to a steady weight decrease!  I'm kinda good with that, but I know if I had exercise, it may have been 45 pounds!  That will be my goal for the end of November -- 45 pounds down. 

Someone hold me to that promise, OK?