Happy Halloween

The rain held off for juuuuuuuuuuust long enough for us to make our usual rounds with our usual group and- as usual- get back home late to devour our loot and get to bed waaaay past bedtime.

It was a happy Halloween.

Wishing all the same!

Better Late Than Never

Before October is officially finished, I wanted to pop in here and share a few pics from Audrey's actual birthday party day. I realize I'm half a month late, but better late than never, right?

This one felt like a marathon, y'all, but she is fully celebrated and living her best 10-year-old life. Happy birthday, Audrey Grace!

Lanterns

With a break in the rain, a warm breeze blowing, and that golden autumnal light I love so well, we took our pumpkins out to the picnic table for their transformation today. This year was a big deal for us- my Littles carved their own 'lanterns, using real knives, all by themselves. (They also scooped out the seedy goo on their own, another first.)

I must say I was a bit worried- turning over sharp pointy knives to my kiddos, who are still so little in my mind. They were very responsible, though, and followed every direction to the letter. No one was even scratched, and they are so proud of their creations this year.

I must say, I love them... especially the eyebrows. Great job, my big Littles. Excellent job.

See our past Lanterns: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

Before & After :: Audrey's Room

This is NOT going to be a tradition.

I repeat, this is not a tradition.

However it does look like a trend... (like here and here and here).

But it's not. In fact, this should be the last time in a loooooooooooooong time.

We redid Audrey's room. Again. But this time it's for keeps, it's upgraded and mature and NOT changing again. It's what she wanted for her birthday, so we did it one last time.

Did I mention we're not doing this again? Because we're not.

Before:

I wasn't actually able to get a very good 'before' shot because painting commenced before I thought to grab my camera.

During:

After:

Once again, our kiddos were able to visit their grandparents while we worked almost around-the-clock to pull this top-to-bottom redo off. I think on some level she was expecting something to be changed about her room (she had specifically asked for a loft bed), but she had no idea it would be a complete transformation. My goal was to make her room reminiscent of a library. As fast as my girl collects and reads books, I feel like it won't be long before her room is wall-to-wall books, just like I envisioned. 

She seemed quite pleased.

It was a big job again. 

It's a good thing this was our last go of the kid room redos! 

A Good Cold Front

The current temperature right now is 40* and it "feels like" 31*, according to my weather app. Our temps dropped from the low 80's into the 40's with a sharp crack of thunder and two Littles piling into our bed at about 2:30am. Exhausted as I was, laying in bed with cold feet pressed up against my thigh and the sounds of whispered giggles keeping me awake, I wasn't really bothered this time. Instead of the minutes dragging by (like they usually do when I'm wishing I could go back to sleep), they felt so fleeting... like maybe this would be one of the last times they'd seek comfort during a storm by my side, under my covers, hogging my pillow. 

And so we all laid in bed wide awake, listening to the rain, pulling covers back and forth, not sleeping... and it was actually a good time. Until someone started tooting and making another someone upset. Then it was time for everyone to go back to their own beds and actually go to sleep. 

But it was a good time. I always love a good cold front.

Fall Flowers

We're in those days of golden light- my personal fav- and with this awesome cold front that came through and made it finally feel like fall, we just can't resist it.

While out walking Suka yesterday, we found a big patch of yellow flowers that our neighbor used to pull (to keep the hay field 'clean'), so we never really got to appreciate them in all their glory. Now, about two years later, they have fully recovered and are quite showing off, much to the delight of the pollinators...

...and the kiddos.

Thanks to their tenacity, we now have an extra little bit of fall color on our windowsill (though not much, because as Audrey said, "We need to leave most of it for the butterflies"), and plenty to enjoy when we drive by every day. I hope I don't regret not following suit and pulling them up... right now, I'm feeling like leaving them to do their thing is the right choice!

Anyone happen to know what kind of flowers they are?

Right Now

Per our new normal, things have been going top-speed and wall-to-wall, and each evening when I could be sitting down to write about something amazing or beautiful all I want to do is go to bed. So I do. That's not to say that we're all work, no play, of course.

Right now, we're...

...finding little thoughts all over the house, scribbled out on newly-favored yellow lined notepads, including this little flashback to my middle-school days and that undying 'S' thing we all did without understanding why (and now I know... sorta).

...polishing off the last of the leftovers from our first little test-run with Kyle's new tabletop hibachi grill. It was awesome (despite the ongoing work on the chimney), but it melted the tablecloth underneath. Mental note: no tablecloth next time.

...encountering lots of reptiles and amphibians in our rock wall, including this toad (safely relocated), a copperhead snake (now dead), and a green rainforest-esque tree frog clinging to a mossy spot. It's been very exciting.

...suffering through another round with the Conehead, because this Sukagirl won't stop bothering her foot wound, and it's just not healing (it's been almost a month). The vet has recommended she have her cone back on "until at least Monday, maybe longer, depending on how it looks." Gosh, I hope it looks swell come Monday, because uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

...worrying over my Ror, who has started showing trouble jumping up on things (bed, bathroom counter top, laps, window sills...). Methinks he'll be visiting said vet in the near future for some hip x-rays. He still looks handsome, though... not bad for a 13-year-old!

...appreciating a newly rebuilt, repainted, and watertight chimney. I can now relax during the next cold front-bearing thunderstorm.

...pretty much just feeling exhausted all the time. Life cares not that we work all day and do chores all evening, weekend, and in our dreams. Stuff is still lining up like it always had, and we're still rolling up our sleeves and trying to stay on top of things. Sometimes, though, that adds up to a few more days between posts. I make it by, though. I'm hanging in there.