- I'm so glad I live in a world where there are... -

 ...OCTOBERS!!!!! 

Crunchy leaves and sweater weather and pumpkin patches and bonfires and cozy blankets and beautiful colors and hot chocolate and ALL 'DA GOOD THANGS.

Weeeeeeeeee!  

The month started off with a bang with our parish's annual dinner auction. Although -- of courseeeee, thanks to COVID-19 -- the event was virtual this year. I helped out a bit with the in-person auction last year, but this year was my first year as an official committee member!  I learned a ton and made some great new pals; despite planning a virtual event for the first time ever annnnnd all the road bumps/blocks along the way, the members of this committee banned together and pulled off an amazing event!  I volunteered to make us all a bluejay blue shirt to wear for the night of the event, because even a global pandemic can't get in the way of a team of #GIRLBOSS[es]!

^^ This coffee mug and tea towel were part of the swag bag given to families who bought meal tickets to the food trucks, and I adore seeing both of them in my kitchen on the daily!

The day after the dinner auction, we went to get flu shots for the kids.  Due to COVID, the pediatrician's office did a drive-thru clinic in the parking lot. It actually worked out great! We pulled in, unbuckled the kids, pulled their pants down, got the shots, and rooooolled out! ...And the best part?  NO TEARS THIS YEAR!  They scored Wendy's frosties [and a new set of antibodies] in celebration.  Cheers!

 

Next we headed down to Uncle Brant's backyard pumpkin patch, and Harper helped Brian pluck a couple out to take home! :)  Naturally, she has large dreams of planting a patch of pumpkins in our backyard next year.

The second weekend of October brought a random bout of warm weather, and it was a TEE-rific day for the Mackenzie Moreland Golf Outing.  For the first time in 5+ years, I decided not to decline my dad's invitation... Thanks to a few mulligans, I opened a real extraaaa large can of whoop @$$ on my old man! ;) :)  After 8 holes [or maybe 5?], Mom and I put away our clubs and hit the cart to find the most direct route to the margarita fountain! 

 

^^ Thanks for inviting us, Dad! Lord knows I won't be giving up my nursing career to go pro with golfing, but we certainly were a great FORE-some for the day!

The next day was a family trip to the local pumpkin patch! Rinkel's upgraded their backyard patch this year to include a new straw bale maze AND corn maze, and it was so fun! The kids were having such a great time inside the mazes that they didn't even realize we still had the chance to feed goats and pigs at the petting zoo and also pick out pumpkins.  Of course, anything is a fun time when cousins are involved! I love these sweet kiddos and the incredible love they share.

What else, what else?!  Oh yes... FINALLY, after months of searching, I found some wall art suitable for the guest bathroom!  It didn't really dawn on me until we were walking out of Kirkland's that the canvas miiiiight not fit in the trunk.  [Indeed, it did not.]  With driver and passenger seats sprung way forward, Scarlett sitting criss-cross-applesauce, and Harper leaning forward to hold the canvas up straight so the kids' feet didn't bust through it, we slowly wedged it in into the car and somehow made it home with everyone in one piece [including the canvas, praise be to God!].

^^ Scarlett was very proud to call Daddy up from working in the basement to show him our newest purchase!  ...We also put him to work hanging it up right away.

 

Halfway through the month, we decided it would be a good time to decorate the house for Halloween...

...and also plan out Halloween costumes!  Whether it was shopping at Goodwill for all the perfect outfit pieces or watching my mom sew our costumes from scratch, one of my favorite memories as a kid was throwing together a unique Halloween costume!  Scarlett found this little puppy outfit at Goodwill that she couldn't leave without; Harper didn't see anything there that could contribute to her unicorn costume, so we decided to start from scratch.  Both of the costumes turned out really cute, and both of the kids were so excited for trick or treating this year! Win, win, winning!

October 16 was the last day to wear shorts [AKA skorts] to school, and it's looking like the school timed that perfectly because colder weather is on the horizon!  Harper enjoyed a spirit day to cheer on the baseball and softball teams who had a killer season.

Later in the month, we "boo"ed a few neighbors as soon as the sun went down...

...had a girls only shopping day with Grammy...

...and spent a few days spreading a truckload of organic compost all through the yard to help revive the grass.  Scarlett loved to help her daddy rake the dirt all around! 

One of the items up for grabs at the parish dinner auction [first thing I jabbered about at the top of this post] was an art class with STB's very own art teacher, and my parents bought that item so they could take Harper!  She loved the event so much and came home with some really impressive artwork... [!!!]  We bought a frame and immediately hung it up in the hallway, and I'm not sure who is more proud of it!  Thanks, Mom, for helping Harper make such wonderful memories with this awesome gift. 

FINALLY! On the last day of the month [AKA October 31, AKA Halloween!], we finally got around to carving a jack-o-lantern!  Saint Dana did the dirty work with the girls while I was inside our house party prepping...

...and then after lunch we got to work carving out the face! 

 

Oooh, ahhh...oooooooh la la!  More Halloween posting to come! 

 

So long, October 2020!  You've been real great.

- Family Fun Foreva -

I knew I was marrying into a pretty cool family the day I said, "I DO!"  But now that my kids are getting a little bit older and really able to play and "do stuff" with the older cousins, I'm LOVING watching them have the time of their lives at all the fun events that Brian's family plans and pulls together!  

From a hamburger cook-off in July...

...to having cousins over on a random evening in August...

...to a bonfire and drive-in movie at Brian's sister's house in September...

...to a DIY pizza grilling party in October...

...this family really knows how to have some fun!!!  Some of my fondest memories as a child involved being at my grandparents' houses with all my cousins, and I am so thrilled that my kids get to have a similar family experience!  Nothing beats it, that's for sure.  Before the last get-together, Harper asked me to help her make bracelets for her cousins; she was so excited to hand them out and for everyone to have matching beaded jewelry.

To top off a fall full of fun, we celebrated a very special birthday a couple weekends ago!  HBD, Grammy Ann.  Cheers to many more!  

Looking forward for all the family FUN that is to come! :)))

 

 

- Falling Into Fall -

I was going to title this post "WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS," but then I realized we're already nearing the end of October, so...

 ...hey...

...hiiiii...

...HELLO! 

Here we are, "officially" falling [or maybe already fallen] into 'da smack dab middle of FALL!  I'm loving it.  Life with COVID-19 rages on, though we're learning how to tiptoe around it cautiously since we've realized it isn't going away anytime soon.  We've been able to grow more confidently optimistic through it all and finally mustered up the motivation last month to go out to eat for the first time since March!!! Outdoor patio dining, of course... ;)  It was wonderful!

Also! Scarlett had a mini-series of firsts recently in the realm of FIRST visit to the dentist [for which Harper prepared her really well for many weeks prior!]...

 ...^^ no cavities, might I add...

...and FIRST visit to the hospital. [Well, kinda/sorta.] 

NOT FUNNY BACKSTORY ^^:  Harper had her cousin over to play one Saturday afternoon, and the two older girls were dividing up a bag of marbles into bowls pretending they were blueberries.  Rumor had it that Scarlett put one of said "blueberries" in her mouth and swallowed it, and Scarlett didn't deny the accusation!  Let it be known that I usually only seek out medical attention for my offspring if they're near death; so, in my mind, this was no big deal and certainly not worth an Urgent Care/E.R. trip over the weekend.  [Edited to add before the mom-shaming commences:  Scarlett was breathing normally, eating normally, peeing/pooping normally, AND sleeping normally, and I carefully and continually assessed all of those factors!  ...If the marble went down ok, it should slip back out ok!]  So anyway, we laughed it off, resurrected the toddler potty from the basement storage, and committed ourselves to mushing through every single one of Scarlett's #2's with a disposable fork until the glass prize [re]appeared.  On day 5 sans marble, I decided it would be prudent to call the pediatrician's office [mostly just for a little reassurance/pat on the back that we were doing everything right!].  Long story short, they ordered STAT X-rays, and we were checked into the Imaging Center attached to the local hospital 45 minutes later.

 

Thanks to COVID, the door screeners only allowed one lucky parent inside the hospital.  Brian waited in the car while Scarlett and I waited...and waited...and WAITED in the radiology waiting room.  She was so good and wore her mask like a champ the entire time; all the receptionists and other patients loved watching her and interacting with her as able! :)  Finally we got called back, and she was so brave to lay on the exam table for the X-ray [topless, might I add, since the radiology tech thought the pom-poms on her shirt might be confused with nothing other than ...A MARBLE! lolololol].  They told her to take a breath in and hold it + not move a muscle -- which I thought were ridiculous instructions for a 2-year-old -- but she did it perfectly!  Immediately afterwards, she was dismissed from the Imaging Center with a handful of souvenirs, including but not limited to: Mickey Mouse disposable mask, hospital bracelet that was just her size, and an arm's-length roll of princess stickers! 

 

During dinner, we got a phone call from the pediatrician with the results, and...

 

...

 

...

...

 

...

 

...NO MARBLE PRESENT.

 

"So either it passed before you started examining her stools [not possible], or more likely she just never swallowed a marble in the first place.  Either way, good news!  Have a great evening!" the pediatrician said.  

 

"Real cool $300 story!" Brian said.

 

But all joking aside, we are happy to know that Scarlett is healthy and all is [slash was always] well!  No sweat off this sweet girl's back! :) 

Keeping on the Scarlett train:  aside from dental exams and X-rays, she has been 100% LOVING her 1:1 time with Mommy while Harper is at school 5 days/week!  After accompanying me to my annual well woman exam one morning where she was full of recurring questions like, "Mommy, what 'dis?" and, "Mommy! WHHHHHAT 'DAT?" for the entiretyyyyy of the appointment, she easily talked me into celebrating with donuts and shopping afterwards! ;) :)

She and I also pulled out alllllll the summer annuals last month and planted a bunch of beautiful new mums! MUMS THE WORD! 

After we shipped Scarlett off to spend the night at Grammy and Papa's one evening, we enjoyed a pizza and movie night home alone with juuuuust Harper...

 ...and vice versa the next weekend!  The kids are totally different when they're by themselves, and both nights provided much needed quality time for all parties involved!!!

When Harper gets home from school every day, there's still plenty of [socially distanced] "school" going on inside our home...

...and gosh, Harper's creativity is soaring these days!  She is soooo artistic; she thinks of something she wants to make and goes to town cutting paper towels or construction paper -- and voila!  Disposable masks and family flip flops and mermaid tails and rainbow monsters be hers! 

Next!  The kids recently found a tub of Beanie Babies hidden away at my parents' house, and they have been LOVING them!  Ahhhhhh, the good ole' days... Are you even a kid if you don't experience a little magic from the 90's?!  Between dressing the animals, taking them for stroller rides, and making a zoo to separate all of them into categories, these old Ty dolls have provided many hours of entertainment!  [See, Dad...........it was all worth it!]

 

Lastly! ^^ National Daughter's Day was a few weeks ago, and we definitely celebrated how blessed we are to be able to call these beauties ours!  Admittedly, at times, life's a "zoo" with these two......but I assure you we wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy fall, y'all!  ...Hopefully it's still fall by the time I put you to sleep with another humble-jumbled super long and ultra boring mom-post again.

Until then.............. :-*