- October Odds & Ends -

Aside from all the Halloween-ing that went down last month, there were still plenty of free days on the calendar to have some fall fun!  The weather is chilling off, autumn vibes are in the air, and I'm HERE FOR IT!  Would it even be approps to kick off October without a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks and a trip to the pet store to discuss which type of 2-4 legged creature would make the best family pet?!? I think NOT!

 

 

Just days after Scarlett nonstop whine/begged Brian to call the number on the business card of this woman standing outside Petsmart selling pup pups ^^,  our girl contracted some sort of viral thing that had her feverish and fatigued for several days.  But!  Nothing a day off school, a few naps, and a loving little sister couldn't fix! 

She was back on the mend in no time... 

 

...and back to school for fire safety week, where her class got a visit from the local firemen and also got to "tour" the inside of some big red firetrucks! 

 

October also brought her preschool class's field trip to Liberty Apple Orchard! It was one of the first SUPER chilly mornings of the year, but we busted open the winter gear tote and bundled up from head to toe before heading out to pick apples! 

Meanwhile, on the homefront, Juliette continued her life motto of "while the cats are away, the mouse must play" and enjoyed many days of destroying the older girls' Barbie Dream House while they were at school. She also improved her climbing tricks; can't ever turn a head on this one! :-O 

The rest of the month was filled with random goodness LIKEEEEE:

-- knocking out homework on a beautiful evening outside...

  -- popcorn and movie night inside with ALL THE BABIES...

-- Harper having her artwork chosen by the art teacher to be featured at the local Art Museum... 

 -- roasting marshmallows on the firepit and making s'mores at Grammy and Papa's...

 

-- Harper and Scarlett being asked to be flower girls at their babysitter's wedding next summer...

 

 -- Juliette learning how to fold laundry....................

-- Papa finishing his Ironman race...

-- and finally, the culmination of Harper and Scarlett's first soccer seasons through the YMCA!  We LOVED watching them play! 

 

 

October, WE LOVED YOU and all the fun days and beautiful weather and sweet memories you brought for our fam! 

Onward to November! ;) :) 

 

 

Settling into September...

^^ IDKKKK, it seemed more appropriate than my usual, "Wake me up when September ends!" lament post title!  September started with a bang [and ended with even more of a bang.bang.boom-boom.BANGGGG, so stay tuned to the very very end to catch all the month's drama AND MORE!]!

But, beginning with September 1: 

Gymnastics here!   

Soccer there!  

Cabinet installation EVERYWHERE!

Living through organized chaos (AKA a beautiful mess) is the way we roll, and I'm starting to think we're not half bad at it! :)

Amidst getting into the full swing of school + the scheduled weekly events, we also attended Brian's annual family reunion/carnival/town homecoming...

...^^ where Juliette rode her first ever carnival ride [hello, jerky carousel!] and watched her first parade nestled in her stroller parked right between Papa and Grammy.

The kids spent an embarrassing amount of time the following morning sorting candy of all shapes and sizes, because zomg #TREASURES!

We also got countertops for the new buffet cabinets in the dining room...

...celebrated being BACK TO SCHOOL with all of Harper's 2nd grade pals at Joe's Pizza...

...and went to a drive-in move at the kids' school [in the church parking lot], which suchhhhh a super fun night! 

Harper started piano lessons after Labor Day, and I am SO SUPER PROUD of her for wanting to do this and literally can hardly wait for the day that she's able to play duets with me (and/or Grammy). I absolutely loved duet-ing with my mom as a kid [and we still enjoy playing together today!].  I know learning piano is a skill that Harper can use all the way through life, and I pray that she always has heavenly music in her heart just like her patron saint. St. Cecilia, pray for us! 

For some Friday night funsies, we took the kids to a high school football game to cheer on our cousin! Go, Tigers! 

As evidenced by winter coats and hats here ^^ and short and short sleeves there, the weather was all over the place this month [but no surprise for a typical midwestern autumn!]. Mid-way through the month, Brian spent a week in Orlando at Universal Studios [he said he was on a "work trip," but after seeing all the photos of beers and desserts and day-long tours of Harry Potter Land and more beers, I'm really not quite sure how much work was done, hehe].  When he came home, we took the kids to a Cardinals game, which just so happened to be Juliette's first time at Busch Stadium! She loved cheering for the Redbirds and hanging with her fam for a special night out!

Meanwhile, Scarlett was 3 days deep into an ear infection, and me -- being my total dumb-mom self -- did not even put 2+2 together that the loud cheering [especially when #5 came up to the plate.....!!!] would really bother her ears!  Needless to say, after just a few roars from the crowd, Brian and I ended up trading off with pushing the double stroller [with Scarlett and Juliette in tow!] all around the perimeter of Busch Stadium until finally we threw in the towel and made a dash for it.  We watched the end of the game from home in our pajamas, and [now my memory fails me, but] I think they lost and I also think Pujols hit a homerun that we missed en route from the stadium to the house. #lifewithlittles #letsgocards #698

On the ear infection front, Scarlett made it through 8 [of 10] days of amoxicillin before waking up on the last Saturday morning of September covered head to TOE in hives of every shape and size!!! I immediately gave her Benadryl and did NOT give that morning's dose of antibiotics. I talked to the pediatrician later on in the morning, and she instructed me to administer Benadryl every 6 hours as needed for itching and to watch for other more serious reactions/symptoms throughout the day [including joint swelling, which would be "more rare but very serious" reaction.......................]

...And so, if you've followed me for long, you know that this is about to turn into the saga of all sagas...

...and SINCE the baby is up from her nap and this isn't anywhere near finished...

...I'm cutting it off here and starting a brand new post lata on!

STAY TUNSIES, 'cause I'll be backkkk with all the detailed drama you're waiting on. ;) :)