As much as I go on and on about how much I despise fall, I have to admit something. The weather we’ve been having is amazing and can carry on this way forever as far as I’m concerned. To celebrate the official first day of fall today, I may have bought three wreaths, 6 sparkly pine cones, and a lighted pumpkin sign. We got our mantle right before Christmas last year and I was bummed to have missed the fall decorating season. Not this year, my friends! Look for a picture of the new decor in the next couple of weeks. The appeal of autumn’s not lost on the boys – it’s probably their favorite time of year because it’s comfortable to play outside and oh, did someone say Halloween?

260/365: Thursday, September 17th. We thought Dex was just tired after a long school day but he ended up sleeping most of the evening and even threw up once. He had a little tiny fever but luckily this bug was short-lived and he felt a lot better the next day. 

261/365: Friday, September 18th. My wonderful friend threw a slumber party for her son’s fifth birthday and was kind enough to invite my kids. It was my kids’ first ever sleepover with friends. First time they’ve stayed anywhere without mom and dad or nana and pop pop. I was much more nervous than they were. Although Dexter felt really good, I thought about him relapsing. Or missing us at bedtime. I worried that him and Theo would fight or that they would forget to use their manners. They’d never fall asleep, or worse- they’d wake up at 5am. I was relieved to hear that they did great! Ryan and I weren’t sure what to do with ourselves. We wandered downtown and had a quiet dinner then walked around since it was such beautiful warm night.

262/365: Saturday, September 19th. After picking up the boys, we went home to lounge for a bit and eat lunch before meeting some other friends at the Children’s Museum. We ate dinner on the way home and meant to get straight inside for baths, but we just couldn’t. It was too nice out. The neighbor’s dog wanted to play. Theo and Dexter wanted to pretend they were sleeping in this dip in our yard where a tree used to stand. P.S. Dexter’s not very good at playing dead. 

263/365: Sunday, September 20th. Finally! The wait was over. I got to meet sweet little 8 day old Charlotte. She’s perfect in every way!

264/365: Monday, September 21st. Dex and Batman and I made a quick trip to Target before school to pick out the snack he would bring to share with his class that day. Halloween Danimals yogurt smoothies in case you were wondering.

265/365: Tuesday, September 22nd. Whoa-only 100 days left in the year! We stopped at Lowe’s after school to get some paint samples for the hall bathroom and the boys spotted these skeleton window clings. They love decorating their bathroom mirror with different ones throughout the year.

266/365: Wednesday, September 23rd. Daddy doesn’t like it when they sit on the counter. Mommy doesn’t care. Mommy wins. 

Happy first day of Fall. I guess.

xo,

~C~

What an exciting week full of new beginnings it has been.

253/365: Thursday, September 10th. Baby Ryan is not a fan of the paparazzi. I got to spend some time with my friend’s 1 month old precious tiny baby boy. I so loved soaking in those newborn smells and snuggles and the way it feels to have a little bundle sleeping on my shoulder.

254/365: Friday, September 11th. When a friend cancels her dinner party due to going into labor, you make do. You have your own mini dinner party, complete with shirtlessness and sprinkle-covered candy apples.

255/365: Saturday, September 12th. The day a sweet baby named Charlotte came into the world. We had a busy day with haircuts and some forest exploration before cleaning up and going to a wedding a couple of hours away. A cousin of Ryan’s started his new life as a husband and it was a lot of fun to see relatives from near and far.

256/365: Sunday, September 13th. A couple of years ago I had a series of hashtags on Instagram: #bitesizedsunday. I would create a meal out of appetizers every Sunday during football season. Or every Sunday that we were home anyway. This football season I thought I would try this new challenge: make and share a different soup every week with the hashtag #souperbowlsundays. The first week was Cheeseburger Soup by the Recipe Critic. It was delicious, but it was basically just a homemade potato soup with some ground beef added to it. I ate it leftover for lunch on Monday and Tuesday. It was a hit with Dexter and Ryan-Theo wasn’t as crazy about it but he’s kind of a lazy eater and soup is a lot of work. Might be a long football season full of Sundays for him. 

257/365: Monday, September 14th. It’s a blessing and a curse. A blessing for them and a curse for us – Ryan and I just can’t hardly pass up a good deal and we took a family trip to Barnes & Noble only to discover their huge 50% off toy and game sale. Not lame toys and games – playmobil, Melissa&Doug, good toy sale. Ryan and I couldn’t resist buying a couple of playmobil sets at half price. If they hadn’t been with me, I probably could have done half of their Christmas shopping there between all the books, toys, games, and puzzles that were marked down. 

258/365: Tuesday, September 15th. My kids have little to no interest in doing just about anything physical that requires practice and determination. They will run around and play games created from their imaginations, hunt for bugs, go for walks, and race across the yard 10 times over, but if it requires determination, they bail. Ryan and I struggle with this and don’t know how to solve it. Sometimes we think maybe if we had more neighbor kids their age, the peer pressure would get to them. Regardless-I’m not above bribery. I got Dexter to practice and sort of halfway try to ride the bike for about 10 minutes with the promise of a Starburst candy. He might have cavities in all of his teeth, but he will ride that bike, darn it. 

259/365: Wednesday, September 16th. I had some time to waste before meeting friends for the Taylor Swift concert on this day so I stopped by my new favorite coffee house – Coffeehouse Five –  for an iced mint tea. My favorite drink ever, at my new favorite place. I love supporting local businesses!

I’m just salivating over that picture of tea-too bad they aren’t open late at night! Hopefully this weekend will include more starburst bribes and sunshine.

xo,

~C~