Sorry about that game...

It's probably partly due to us.  We all got settled in the basement to watch the first pitch and the tv wouldn't turn on.  It's broken.  Less than two years old (and rarely used!) and some sort of power connector is blown. Lucky us Samsung will cover the cost of the part....$1.  We get to cover the cost of repair...$240.  No thanks.  We've two other working tvs (that seems excessive, I know).  Anyway, we should've called it a night at that point because clearly that was a sign.  Forget the nachos tonight, I'll just cut up some broccoli or something and we'll turn the game on in my bedroom while we read, kind of on in the background.  If that doesn't work maybe we won't watch Game 3....it worked for the division series!

I've posted this one before but it never gets old to me!  Baby Emma enjoying her first World Series.  Actually, this might have been a division series game because it seems to me this was in the afternoon....before Kevin got home from work and I wanted him to see the baby cheering on the Cards!

The World Series!

We're all pretty excited about tonight's game.  This is the first post season game for us this year since the other games were on cable.  The nachos are made and we'll all be staking out our spots in just a few minutes!

The very special color purple

I'm committing to blogging daily in November, a daily thankful post.  I love doing that, whether in November or during Lent, it's the same outcome for me, a constant reminder of all the good I have in my life.  I've no idea where that time will come from, since this is only the fourth blog I've done in October and I'm only allowing myself 5 minutes to write it.  I suppose those November posts might be brief, succinct little snippets!

A  quick update on our crew-

-First quarter parent teacher conferences for both Emma and Eleanor were great and we left feeling very proud of their hard work.   Though Kevin and I are fairly certain Emma somehow landed herself in high school and not fourth grade this year.   We actually heard the SAT mentioned and "I'm a really hard grader" and "no more hand holding".  Gulp.  It's true though fourth grade is a huge step up, Emma studies about as much as I did in high school....I'm not exactly sure who that says more about.

-Eleanor's soccer season winds up in a couple of weeks.  She is so much fun to watch!  She'll be starting basketball next.

-The girls' piano teacher is going on maternity leave next week.  A sub teacher will continue to teach Eleanor, who is catching on so quickly.  Emma has decided to take a break, to see if she wants to continue piano or to focus more attention on violin.

-Another month for Girls on the Run for Emma and then she'll run a 5K!  After that she won't have anything after school on Tuesday or Thursday---yay!!

-Emma continues to love ballet above all other activities (excluding reading of course).

-And Lucy, oh Lucy!  So much fun.  Here's a little glimpse into her sweet, sweet mind.....

Last night at dinner Lucy was telling us a very animated story about a stuffed animal....
Lucy- "it might be blue, it might be red, it might be yellow, OR it might be (and here she whispers) the very special color purple!"
All of us giggled!  Emma asked "so Lucy what makes purple so special?
Lucy's response "well, it's blue mixed with red, that's what".

That's it!  I've got to get back into a habit of taking pictures!  This photo is from August!  At the rate these girls grow and change that just won't do.

It's a no school Friday!

We had the quickest zoo trip ever this morning.  2/3 of the girls did not want to visit, so a compromise was made, just one ride on the train and that was it .  No walking around, no carousel, nothing.   I'll take the 1/3 back for a little visit next week.  After the zoo, we drove to the new outlet mall hoping to find some clothes for the girls.  No luck.  I mean none, not a single item.  We're officially online shoppers.  We spent way more time driving out there than we did shopping.  Everybody was awesome though and we were there around lunch time which meant we got to meet Kevin for lunch!

Special Delivery

October 8th has been circled on our calendar for months!  Yesterday the next book in a series Emma loves arrived on our doorstep, preordered in May to arrive as soon it was released.  In preparation for what was sure to be a marathon of reading Emma doubled up on piano and violin practicing over the weekend, and did her online math and typing programs so she could skip them yesterday. As soon as she walked into the house from Girls on the Run, and gasped and screamed and hugged the book,  she started homework (yay! for a very light night) showered, changed into her pajamas, settled into her bed and dove right in.  I even served her dinner in bed because life just doesn't get any better for a book worm like Emma and I'm happy to indulge her as she's whisked away to Camp Halfblood with The Heroes of Olympus.

and still she reads.  It's one thick book...583 pages.

Wondering what I let Emma eat in bed? A French Dip sandwich....she doesn't eat the sauce and will devour a whole one-gotta keep her stamina up!  One little change I make is to put a slice of provolone in the sandwich, wrap it in foil and put in the oven at 350 for a couple of minutes.

Storybook Picnic and Cheers for the Weekend!

At our school the first Friday in October is the storybook picnic for kindergarten through second grade.  So that's where I've been, with varying combinations of my girls, for the past five first Fridays in October.  I'm a little bummed but today was my last storybook picnic....for a few years!

I am almost giddy in my anticipation of our weekend.  It's pretty empty, for the first time in a long time none of my children are sleeping over with friends and no extra children will be sleeping at our house.  No play dates are planned, no birthday parties or other get togethers.  I love all of those things but this weekend, with it's handful or activities is such a nice little breather.  And the weather!  Oh, it looks like it's going to be perfect!  Plus I just brought up all of the Halloween decorations from the basement this morning.  It's going to be a good weekend for sure.

October 1

October is here!  I think it's my favorite month, if not my favorite at least in the top three.  I love the weather, the activity, the trees and the anticipation of the months to come.

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of losing our Gussy boy.  I still miss him and I still don't want another dog.  In a little nod to our favorite dog, this morning Lucy and I were in South City so we decided to go by Gus' and pick up some pretzels.  It made for a very happy morning. Even though she never met him here on Earth I'm fairly certain that Lucy and Gus had a few great months up in Heaven together before he sent her down to us.

I can't imagine the work of taking care of an animal right now, I feel like I'm at a good spot in my whole taking care of things act.  But honestly, the real reason I don't want another dog (and I'm not at all sure I ever do again) is this..........

If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.

Marjorie Garber