trick or treat!

We started out with a nice homemade veggie soup made by Megs.

And some bread and salad provided by moi.

We tricked.

We treated.

We ran out of candy an hour into the evening.

And we bought 15 big bags and only gave out one at a time.

Our neighborhood is insane at Halloween.

We get hundreds of people.

We all confessed to the "phantom drop" at some point in the evening.

"What is the phantom drop?" you ask.

The phantom drop is when you put a piece of candy in the bag, tap the side of the bag, and then pull the candy back out.  You don't really drop it in.

Sneaky I know.

But I am not sorry. 

If you are full grown and not in costume, I am not giving you candy. 

Go buy your own damn candy.

Seriously.

We sipped beers while handing out candy

and lit a fire in the fire pit.

It was chilly out.

We were nice and toasty.

We sorted candy.

We liked what we saw.

Lots of chocolate and not a lot of the wussy candy.

Like tootsie rolls and smarties.

Nope, hardly any of those.

We had a fantastic night!

morning light

One of my very favorite things about my house is the way it looks in the morning light.

It is beautiful.

And this time of year it is breathtaking.

At least to me.

As Anne Shirley would say:

"I want to take the colors and drink them in."

Every morning when I come down the stairs, I am just..

happy.

So, this morning, I thought I would try and capture some of my happiness and share it here with you.

Can you see it?

My pretty morning light?

I love it so.

mama got her party on!

When the guys are away...

the wives go out.

And go CRAZY!

(ok, not really, but we had a good time!)

First off, we went to a restaurant I have been wanting to go to forever.

(For the local yokels, that would be Greenhouse Tavern)

Where I feasted on crunchy hominy, curried spagehetti squash, artichoke rositto, etc.

Yum-o!

Then we went to a really cool basement bar for more spirits.

Then we went to a comedy show.

Where Jersey Shore wannabe's sat behind us.

Then we went into the Wonder Bar for a cuppa coffee before heading home.

Coffee-Schomffee.

Instead, we had some kind of alcoholic espresso shot thingy

and got our groove on!

Now, I hate to dance.  I totally suck at it.  Think Elaine from Seinfeld.

Really.

But apparently, the older you get, the less you care how stupid you look.

And just have fun.

So we danced!

And did a little flirting.

Which I suck at as well.

I am terribly out of practice.

Dudes look at me and know I am so married.

Which is a good thing.

Then we realized it was near 2 am.

Whoopsie.

Time to go home.

What a night!  Thanks to Megs and Jen for such an adventure!

just stuff

Ellie has been tired lately.  Like, really tired.  Asks to go to bed at 6:30 tired. 

You want to know the important lesson I have learned from this?

Under no circumstances, and I mean NO CIRCIMSTANCES

google "tired 4 year old."

It's not a good idea.

I am convinced she has some hideous disease manifesting itself as tired.

Yeah. 

We have a doctors appt. this afternoon

where I know I am going to hear:

"she's just growing."

or

"she's just adjusting to the new routine."

But until then I am freaking out a little.

In other news:

I am currently addicted to gummy grapefruits and kettle corn.

They are doing a real number on my derriere.

I tried to run this week and my body just guffawed.

Chris is gone, again, and I am enjoying the center of the bed.

Greys was slightly dissappointing last night.

I have a girls night out tonight and need to find out if we are going

"sleek and sophisticated"

or

"beer and bowling"

A girl needs to plan her outfit.

Just read books 1 and 2 of The Hunger Games.

OHMYGOSH!

Teen fiction has come a long way since I was a kid.

Read it!  Good stuff!

Anxiously awaiting the third to become available at the good ol' library.

In the meantime, reading a book about a girl who finds out she is a faerie.

And a book about a man who is looking for his wife that everyone thinks he murdered.

I like variety.

I am very excited for the upcoming holidays and have already bought a present or 12.

Chris and I toured a charter school for Ellie last week and were very impressed. 

Young teachers.  Grading on student character.  Small classes. 

Now, if we can get her in, I can relax on the whole school thing.

I am sicktodeath of worrying about it.

Then when all that school stuff is settled, we can decide what we are going to do to fix up this house.

Cause, if you can't sell it,

love it!

I am currently on my 4th cup of coffee.

4th!

While I love the center of the bed, I don't sleep well when Topher is gone.

Topher is a nickname for Chris.

Given to him from the Palladinos.

I had a dream that I totally wrecked a smart car in NYC last night.

What the hell is that all about?

Are you still reading?

Just curious.

I just realized today is Ellie's half birthday.

4 and a half!

Must have a cupcake later to celebrate.

Chris is on a guys weekend.

In the past, things have gotten a titch crazy on this guys weekend.

I think I heard whispers of "rigging a zip line" before they left.

Great.

He also left with a full bottle of Petron Silver and 6 cigars.

Hm.

I love the word "titch."

I am very curious to how this teeny tiny family of mine can gererate so much laundry.

We are out of cat food.

You have seen my cat.  She is enormous.

You don't want her mad at you.

Being out of cat food is a "cat"astrophe.

Pun intended.

I cracked myself up last week at the grocery.

I was buying Ellie's school snack for the class

and I decided on crackers and cheese and tiny pepperoni's.

I got muenster cheese for Halloween.

I seriously stood in the cheese section laughing.

I think people thought I was weird.

Are you still here?

Cause even I am getting a little bored now.

I was home all alone last night and they kept showing previews of

Paranormal Activity 2.

I didn't like that.

That stuff  is scary!

I suggested a game to play with Ellie last week and she told me that it was "lame."

Ah.  The joys of preschool peers.

I have totally given up on the wardobe war of 2010.

The monstrous fights we had were just not worth it.

I would rather put that effort into the food she eats.

Or how she treats people.

I mean really.  What does it matter what Ellie wears?

Even if it looks totally stupid.

Or how many times she changes clothes?

The only rule now is that she has to fold up what she takes off and put it away.

Yesterday she changed clothes 12 times.

That is not an exaggeration.

12 times.

She ended up in blue polkadotted pants, a black long sleeved tshirt, her colts jersey, brown shoes, a dora bow in her hair, and a blueberry hat worn haphazardly.

It looked....great. 

Ok.  I think that is enough randomness. 

I have 47 loads of laundry to fold.

And dishes to do.

And beds to make.

And one more cup of coffee to drink.

And teeth to brush.

And cheeks to kiss.

And cupcakes and catfood to buy.

And a doctors appointment to get to.

Jeminy Christmas!

Happy Weekend!

ballet

Oh the excitement this girl has had waiting for her first class.

Oh the excitement this mama had waiting to watch.

We get there.

You could cut the excitement with a knife.

The teacher

(some principle from some company)

kicks the moms out!

What?

I don't get to watch?

Are you freaking kidding me?

There isn't even a window.

Nothing.

Now only one of us is excited.

And it isn't me.

I hadn't even brought my book.

So the above picture was as good as it got.

She loved it though and that is all that matters.

I suppose.



pumpkin patch day

If you have been here long, you know of my love for pumpkin patch day.

It's like, my 4th favorite day of the year.

So today, I won't mention, again, all I love about it.

Nope.

Won't talk about the donuts.

Or the pumpkins.

Or the ponies.

Or the colors.

Or the cute hats.

Or any of that stuff.

Really.  I won't.

I will just post an obscene amount of pictures.

Favorite pic of the day!!

saturday hike

We have been doing a ton of hiking lately.  My friend Jen has been trying to get me to this particular spot for ages and we finally made it on Sat.

(For those of you paying attention, that is the day before I ran my half.  About 15% of me was hoping I would twist an ankle or something, and gosh darn it, I wouldn't be able to run.  Alas, that did not happen.  And I ran.)

Anyhoodle, this place was totally worth the wait.  The kids climbed and ran and fought over sticks and laughed.  We will definitely be going back.

Very soon!

Good lord.  She looks gorgeous here.  IfIdosaysomyself.