Sharing Fall Photos

Michael with Dad in our backyard

Robbie with Mom at Herrick's Farm 

Robbie in part of his teddy bear costume

Halloween costumes--used what we had around the house (mostly) and kids got to be just what they wanted. Mike's a cat wearing his favorite shirt, and Em's a my little pony unicorn.

FuzziBunz

My sister loaned me all of her cloth diaper supplies.  Along with some simple cloth diapers with covers, she also gave me a few deluxe covers called FuzziBunz, which are very nice but a little bulky!

I'm trying them out for one month to see how things go.  So far so good.  I actually wish I had started earlier.

Biggest dislike -- They take more time to change (for me anyway).
Biggest plus -- The soft, cloth material.
Biggest concern -- making sure they're washed really well.

Anything for a drink of water

We had some friends over for dinner Sunday evening, and while our kids were busy playing, the adults were busy chatting away. Somehow, we started talking about how our kids always need a drink of water before bed, and that the kids would be happy to use anything for a cup, be it a bathtub toy, the cup the toothbrushes sit in, or anything that will hold water. 

Well, after we had this conversation, I looked in the kitchen and saw Emily opening the fridge to get a drink of water. In her hand was a giant empty Quaker Oats container. She poured some water into it, then took a big drink before setting in on the counter. We couldn't stop laughing. Yup, anything for a drink of water. 

Absolutley, Definitely Yucky Dinner

Wednesday afternoon, Mike and Emily made me some of what they called "yucky dinner". 

Here's their recipe in a nutshell:  just mix a bunch of leaves, sticks, pine needles, and moss together in a flower pot, then serve. 

After cooking it on the stove, Emily called me away from my yard work for some of their grub. While I was "eating", she kept dishing up more and more yard debris into my pot until it was overflowing. I told her that it tasted yucky (seemed only appropriate), but she reminded me that it was not gross; it's supposed to be yummy.

~

One afternoon, Emily and I thought we heard Michael waking up from his nap, so I sent Emily to peek in on him.  She quickly ran back downstairs to tell me,  "Mom, Michael is absolutely, definitely not in his crib!" There was no doubting the shock in her voice. I was just as surprised, until I remembered that instead of putting him down for a nap in his crib, I had put him down in my room. He was absolutely, definitely still sound asleep.

They're back!

After raking up all those leaves, they are just slowly returning . . . 

So, despite all my efforts, I have leaves covering my lawn again plus some sore muscles. 

Ah well. 

Goodbye Leaves!

The leaves from our oak and maple trees are leaving the branches to cover our lawn. A friend and I filled 30 bags with them today. I enjoy raking leaves, and fortunately raking leaves outside is usually fun for kids, too. It's supposed to start raining tomorrow, and it may not stop for a few months, so today was the day to rake.

Ivan y Martina

I just love this picture of Marta dancing with Ivan. Ivan es de La Ciudad de Mexico. 

She is visiting him in his hometown for two weeks. 

He's a great guy; they're a vibrant couple; and he just happens to be a lawyer.