I’m not entirely sure where the last week has gone, but it has included a lot of falling asleep early and/or staying up too late reading or watching DVR shows and then getting creeped out by the quiet house and having spooky dreams.

I’m hoping to get some real work done this morning and then get out to start my holiday weekend, but it’s also end of month so we’ll see how that goes. I’m having lunch with my best friend from high school today, as he’s in town from Switzerland, where he now lives. I’m feeling very non-jet setter about this, although I know it will be fine. I probably shouldn’t tell him I still don’t have a passport, right?

I did some major toy-thinning this weekend while watching Christmas movies. I was feeling anxious and bad about it, but today is now Wednesday and they haven’t noticed that more than half their bins are empty so I’m done worrying about it. I was having some anxiety about All of this went to Goodwill. How do you note that on the blank receipt they give you?

Sunday we had our last hurrah of summer and I blew up the pool for the kids and the neighbor boy. It’s a good thing I did it then because it’s rainy and super gross and then I assume after that it will be cold. You know, Florida cold, but cold.

 

Spencer found a fleur de lis pendant somewhere, God knows where, but he decided to make me a necklace with it. I gave him a length of ribbon, but that was not good enough for him – he wanted to make a paper chain for it. He had vision. It …. Well, I’m surprised it held the pendant. He was super excited and wanted me to wear it to the grocery store this weekend, and then wanted me to wear it to work. I made it to the car, but did you know that paper necklaces are itchy? Yeah, me either.

Once I get through this workday, I will have Thanksgiving sides to make: cranberry sauce (Henry’s insistence, he’s currently obsessed w/ cranberries), sausage stuffing (C’s insistence, his favorite part of thanksgiving dinner), and green beans (my assigned side to make). We’re having pizza for dinner, and there will be wine and a fire and happy holidays, folks. This is my happy place.

At least it's not snow.

Dude, I know I’m going to hear it from the rest of the country but IT’S COLD. No, it’s not snowing. But 39 degrees when I get up and we have old windows and C closed the vent in the bathroom when it was still AC weather means never getting out of the shower ever.

I’m going to the opening night showing of Mockingjay (part 1, don’t get me started) with some girlfriends and I’m so nervous I’m going to fall asleep. Tuesday night I was asleep by 8:30! I plan on having a coffee before I go, but even that is a little weird because the group is exclusively LDS friends (apparently I now know nearly the entire local ward) and I am not LDS. I feel weird drinking coffee or wine around them even though they don’t care. I WILL have coffee so I don’t feel like sleeping, but I’ll feel weird about it. (Specifically, I’ll be having a nonfat dirty chai latte with a pump of gingerbread, thank you Starbucks.)

Today is feeling exhausting all bright and early today, because there is SO. MUCH. To do after work today. It’s Family Reading night at the school, which we always go to so that’s exciting. I’m hoping to only have my two kids, but we’ll see. Remember that third boy I was always taking with us last year? Yeah, that’s the friend that just moved in next door.

So home, dinner (TJ’s chile lime chickenburgers and tater tots and grapes, I’m not looking fancy), Family reading night, home, bedtime things for the boys, coffee, movie. No one’s expecting me to be worth anything tomorrow morning, right? Ha. 

And I will call this post Prosecco and the Christmas tree.

I did it! I got the tree out of the attic. This was my number one goal yesterday, and I did it.

 (I’m sorry, it was in my head and now it’s in yours.)

The problem with getting the tree out of the attic is that the attic door is a standard size, and my nine-foot prelit Christmas tree, even in the bag all wrapped up and tied tight, does not FIT through said door. My husband hates to deal with getting anything in or out of the attic so I mostly try to handle it myself unless I absolutely can’t (I absolutely could not get the tree up there last year). So I wriggled and yanked and got it down.

Then came the part where I addressed the reason for getting the tree down at this particular time, which is that last year there was a portion of the tree that got blinky/sometimes was lit and sometimes not and I could not be bothered to figure it out. I was afraid if I waited until I was ready to do all the decorating I would get irritated again and not do it. So. I armed myself with a glass of wine and two child sized chairs (one for my butt and one for my wine) and I sat down and worked on the tree. I thought maybe a bulb was burned out, but that didn't account for why it was sometimes lit and sometimes not. Also, if it was on the ground and I leaned on it, the lights came one. Obviously it was a loose bulb rather than a burned out one. 

It took me awhile. There was a point in time where I tried to decide if I really cared that much, and another point in time where I was just going to go buy a short string of lights to put in that spot. Half a string of lights.

I persevered and finally, when all hope was lost, I found the offending bulb (well, maybe bulbs. It was one branch that was an issue. I couldn't narrow it down further than that) and fixed it (I hope, at least for now it is). And woohoo! I have a working Christmas tree again! It's very fulfilling.

Things always happen on Monday mornings.

Mondays are always a rush for us because H goes to Grandma’s house and everyone leaves 30 minutes earlier than usual. There is waking of children and shoving things in the car and OHMYGODCHILDJUSTGETDRESSED. In the middle of the getting the older child dressed, I realized he had streaks of red up both arms. Nosebleed. I cleaned him up, and since this is only his second ever, I tried to explain to him what happened to his nose while he got dressed.

It was a Monday. I’m pretty sure he didn’t get any of what I said.

But it feels strange, seeing the afflictions of your youth carried down in your children. Henry has my crazy allergies. Spencer has my nosebleeds. Spencer has my toe walking. Henry has my social anxiety. Poor kids.

We found this weekend that Spencer is tall enough for the big rides at Disney. He will now relate it to his spiked hair and the shoes he was wearing and will duplicate those every time thereafter that we go, just like when Henry hit the 40” mark he wore the same shoes every time for six months so that he’d have exactly the same amount of lift. He rode Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom and designed his own roller coaster at Sum of All Thrills in Epcot and had a grand old time.

(Christmas in Epcot, Henry didn't make it to dinner at Chuy's)

And I got one step closer to my Christmas table setting. I took the kids for a long walk (they rode their bikes, I walked) to the Target plaza and bought gold chargers at Michael’s. I’ve now realized I am in need of two folding chairs because I only have 10 dinner chairs, and there is a green glass tree I want from HomeGoods/TJ Maxx but otherwise DONE. And I’m not buying any other Christmas decorations this year so I should be happy and good and Happy Holidays, folks!

Way more words than I expected to write on a Friday

I have been in *a mood* the past couple of days, so I’m going to work on posting this without as much crankiness as I’m feeling because that’s just no fun for anyone. Work on – I’m probably gonna fail a little. Sorry in advance.

Good thing! I got my dishes! They are wonderful and I’m so excited. I went out and bought most of my Christmas linens not even on sale because I was so excited. I need a little bit more but things are so coming together, it’s marvelous. Three of the salad plates were broken, but my local store has 11 according to the website so I’m hoping to stop in and exchange them today. I found a place to store all the loveliness and everything. It’s fabulous, really. I need half my napkins still and gold chargers and runners (which I think I’d like neutral with green, maybe? Still up in the air there) and I also think I’m ordering these (I say might, but I just hit checkout so THEY ARE MINE).

 

So. Things are coming along in my quest for the perfect Christmas morning table. I will be serving bacon, biscuits and sausage gravy, almond and chocolate croissants, and fresh fruit, and my MIL will bring her egg casserole that we have every year. Coffee, egg nog, tea and orange juice. Is there anything missing? We do this every year, and every year I’m afraid I’m forgetting something.

I’ve gotten two Christmas gifts so far – This for my mom, and these for my MIL. Obviously it’s a small start but it made me feel good.

I’m having some trouble the past couple days. Anxiety trouble, cranky trouble, I-don’t-know-what’s-wrong trouble, everything-is-overwhelming trouble. It will pass, I know it will, but that doesn’t stop me from laying on the bed sobbing when I step on a tack because it’s just the absolute end of my rope. My mom is in the hospital right now, which sounds dire but it’s only mildly terrible – she’s dehydrated from a crazy terrible virus and she’s been twice for IV fluids and the second time they admitted her so she could rest and get fluids and be observed. She should hopefully go home today. She was a little offended because I said I was disinfecting the passenger seat of my car after Wednesday’s ER trip, but DUDE SHE’S BEEN HORRENDOUSLY ILL FOR FIVE DAYS. Do any of us want that? Of course, I’m terribly lazy so I got disinfectant wipes but they’re still just sitting on my passenger seat not actually being used.

Have you had Panera’s squash soup? You need it in your life before it seasonals-out of the menu. It is just delicious.

This is something that I posted to facebook and twitter, but seriously – I think I need it for posterity. Yesterday I made quiche for dinner – doesn’t that look fabulous? It has all the things both kids love.

They didn’t love it. To the point of crying. So fine, don’t eat it – whatever. But they still have a couple pieces of Halloween candy left, and they only get candy if they finish their food. Henry was hysterical about the prospect of not getting to eat his candy (I assured him it would be there tomorrow but inconsolable). Spencer had already taken his plate into the kitchen, so he went to retrieve it to finish so he could have his candy. About 10 seconds later he comes into the dining room with an empty plate. “I ate it all in there,” he says (empty mouth, this has been 10 seconds let me reiterate).

So I go to the kitchen and open the garbage and his quiche is sitting on top.

Spencer went to bed early.

Henry freaked out about the bite in his mouth that he didn’t want to the point of cough/choking/almost vomiting while he cried. I made him spit it out.

There was no candy last night. There was, however, mass hysteria. And it was after that that I stepped on the tack.

Soo …. C and I ate the quiche (seriously, it was delicious). I’m thinking that won’t make it to another meal plan anytime soon.

Shake It Off

 The other day I was alone in the car with Henry, and Taylor Swift came on the radio. I wasn’t really paying attention, we were talking about Christmas lists and all of a sudden he pauses and said, “I like this.”

“Like what, honey?” I thought he was talking about something he was looking at.

“This song. Can you turn it up?”

Later, he was playing with his Imaginext castle and I heard a whisper: Shake it off, shake it, shake it off.

Christmas comes early.

School was closed yesterday. I don’t remember being off in the middle of the week for Veteran’s Day when I was in school – was that a thing and I’m blocking it out? I feel like they gave us a Monday off or something.

Spencer got in trouble at school on Friday because he gave another kid an answer to a math test (not big trouble, just a check on his calendar so we knew about it). Now, on the surface of this – cheating on a math test? How dare! But then I remember he’s in first grade and does he actually understand the rules of testing yet? Perhaps we need to address that. He was sharing! Helping out his fellow student! Bah.

So what are you getting your kids for Christmas? We (I) are thinking of getting the boys a Wii U as a big gift for both of them, and then getting one additional game for each of them. S wants an alarm clock and legos otherwise, and I have zero ideas for H. What does a four year old want? He has so much. I took him to Toys R Us yesterday to pick up toy catalogs so he could peruse the options and I could see where his interests lie. We also wandered around TRU to get a birthday present for a party this weekend. The wandering doesn’t help because he wants EVERYTHING. Giant dragon? Check. Toys related to all the tv shows possible? Check. 48’ ninja turtle? Check.

I haven’t started my decorating other than putting out Christmassy kitchen towels and unearthing my Santa throw pillow from the linen closet and putting it on the couch. However, H and I decided to buy a small Christmas tree and accoutrements and decorate it over the weekend, and so now the boys have a Christmas tree in their room. They use it as a nightlight.

I think I might ask for the Wii U Zelda game for myself. 

Oops and weekend shenanigans

Well I was on a roll there, but then real life showed up and I totally forgot about blogging yesterday. Meh.

This weekend though, was the best. We bought tickets to a Greek festival at the local Orthodox Church for this weekend, so we went on Saturday. There were FIVE bounce houses that the kids spent an inordinate amount of time on, and a bake sale with all sorts of confections and a ridiculous amount of food and Greek-themed items to buy from vendors (my favorite: a shirt/mug that says “I’m not yelling, I’m Greek – that’s how we talk”). We got fried dough (like doughnut holes, covered in honey and cinnamon and nuts) and a sampler plate to share and desserts and let the kids jump more on the bouncy stuff. Spencer really wanted to do ring toss so I gave him a dollar to do the wine toss – and he made it! And guess what the prize was? A BOTTLE OF WINE. My six year old made me proud by winning me a bottle of wine. Hallelujah.

(I bought this lovely almond loaf for Sunday breakfast, and it was a sound and delicious investment)

The whining (heh) was a strong with the kiddos, but we powered through the day and decided to go to Big Hero 6. I’m not going to lie, we entertained the idea of going out to Disney but it was scheduled to be chilly and rainy and blech. So the movie! Was sweet and good and not a comedy. Henry stood up after the movie and declared “That was NOT funny.” He liked it (a lot!), but like the rest of the world we were expecting a comedy and not a touching why-we-became-superheroes story. What is it with Disney releasing trailers that don’t give you any idea of the storyline? First Frozen wasn’t all about the snowman and now this.

We also had dinner with our neighbor friends at a local California taco place, and it was delicious and fun. We really need to spend more time with friends. And I had macaroni and cheese with spinach, bacon and goat cheese so that was a winner.

**

Sunday was more of a lay around day. We’ve gotten used to staying home on Sundays and watching football, cleaning, and generally being lazy. We did that through the afternoon but then new-neighbor boy showed up and we went over to play basketball with other neighbors (well, it started out that the kids all wanted to play basketball but really they wanted to play on the wooden tree swing and me and my neighbor played basketball for a couple hours)

We had a fire going most of the day even though it was in the upper 60s (it was lovely) and I had a pork roast in the crock pot. I made brownies with peanut butter cups in the bottom and guacamole. I watched a lot of Gilmore Girls and didn’t read as much as I expected to. Nice, lazy day. For dinner I made pork nachos which we ate by candlelight and football-on-tv light. 

TV Talk

These questions were from a few days ago from Miss Zoot, and I liked them so I’m doing them now. That’s in the rules, right? Rules, heh. Anyhow, I  saw them on Mama Bub and thought I’d play along.

Did you watch TV growing up? What is an obscure TV show you loved that was maybe short lived or that NO ONE has ever heard of?

I did not watch much tv. I don’t know why, except that my nose was usually in a book (I know, not much changes, right?). I remember watching Reading Rainbow and Jem (I almost burnt the house down when my parents left the house with me in charge of the sausage cooking on the stove while I was watching Jem. They came home, the house was full of smoke and I was still perched slack-jawed watching Jem.) Do you remember Picture Pages? I loved Picture Pages. And Dinosaurs. Not the Mama!

What is one TV show you loved that everyone HAS heard of?

Blossom, Clarissa Explains it All, Are you Afraid of the Dark?

What TV are you watching now that you would recommend to EVERYONE?

The tv I watch is the same shows I’ve been watching for 10 years, and I wouldn’t recommend new episodes to anyone. I’m just watching until my shows are canceled, but I’m not good at picking up new shows so I figure eventually I’ll be watching nothing.

What is a TV show – past or present – that cracks you up consistently?

Friends, Big Bang Theory, New Girl.

Do your kids watch TV? Are there shows you love too and sometimes watch when they’re not around? Are there shows you hate and you REALLY wish they didn’t love them so much? 

I don’t really like the kids’ shows. They love Tumbleleaf and Peep and the Big Wide World, and last night they decided to watch an episode of Caillou (gag me). Kids movies: yes. Kids tv: no.

Do you limit your TV or your kid’s TV at all? How do you make sure your entire family isn’t sitting around binge watching Gilmore Girls all weekend?

The boys watch tv at aftercare, but we don’t really turn on the tv when we get home until after the kids go to bed (unless they are playing a Wii game), during the week. Monday through Thursday, they watch one show before bed (Mon/Wed Spencer gets to pick, Tues/Thurs Henry gets to pick) and on Fridays we do movie night with popcorn and I usually pick the movie. When we drive to Disney on most Saturdays, they watch a movie, and on Sundays we have football on and sometimes I let them watch movies in my bedroom. Mornings that one of the grownups gets to sleep in, the other grownup usually lets them watch a movie on the portable DVD player in their room.

Apparently I’m raising my children to be as out of touch with pop culture as I am. Sorry, boys.

Friday ... five? ish?

1)      I realized this morning that Henry has been playing us on the pull-up issue. I had suspected that he was replacing his pull-up in the mornings, but I couldn’t really prove it. I put the new ones out of reach, but didn’t really pay too much attention. This morning he left his old one in the hallway but still had one on his bottom so I knew without a doubt that he had switched out for a dry one so he could drag my hand to his diaper and say “look! It’s dry! Can I get a sticker on my sticker chart?”

2)      I’m trying to decide when I want to get my Christmas tree down from the attic and start slowly decorating for the holidays. I don’t separately decorate for Thanksgiving because I just love all one holiday season. My husband is an “after Thanksgiving” tree person, but last year we compromised by putting up the tree before T-day but not decorating until afterward.

3)      I’m taking a timeout from a project that is testing my nerves right now. And I think I’m going to have to take it home this weekend which I REALLY didn’t want to do but I just don’t see any way around it.

4)      We have tickets/Groupons to a local Greek festival at an orthodox church here. I have no idea how it will be, but we thought it would be a little something fun. Maybe it will be a lot o ffun, maybe it will be a little fun. We shall see.

5)      I’m low on topics today. Have a good weekend, play a little basketball.

Answers to questions

Let's not let me kid myself, I totally stole today's meme from Kristabella. But I liked the questions, and I like Kristabella.

1. What did you do 10 years ago

It saddens me that 10 years ago was a drop in the bucket. I’m feeling so very old. 10 years ago was 2004, which means I was working middle management in retail and coming home to my now-husband (then still boyfriend) to cry almost every night. It was bad. Otherwise I don’t think anything noteworthy was happening 10 years ago. It seems to me that that was around the same time I met my best friend (via the internets and a dire need for a pair of shoes!) and she’s one of the best things to ever happen to me, so there’s that.

2. Five items on my to-do list today

Nearly the exact same things on yesterday’s to-do list, because I left it at work and didn’t do jack (that’s a lie, I made milkshakes, dinner, went to Target and got Lego storage, helped Spencer sort his Legos and gave the kids baths. But the only thing I did from my to-do list was go to Target.)

1)    go through the kindergarten stuff (I have this enormous box of kindergarten stuff because every piece of paper that ever came home went in the box. I need to pick a couple things to save for Spencer and chuck the rest – this task will need wine.

2)    Get mail done: I have a couple packages and cards that have been in my car waiting patiently to be mailed and I really need to get that taken care of.
3)    Make dinner. Tonight is shrimp and grits.
4)    Clean my dresser. Guys, I cannot for the life of me put my own clothes away. I pile them on my dresser until I can’t see over the top of them, and then I buck up and clean up the mess. I need to break the cycle but I just can’t seem to do it.

5)    Do any work that I bring home. Because I didn’t yesterday and I’m hopelessly behind. I need to catch myself up by Friday. Friday! It can be done.

3. Snacks I enjoy

I am not really a snacker. I like sweet treats, so I’ll often take something to bed with me like a mini candy bar or a cookie, but during the day I just don’t snack very often. I’d rather have real food. I did find those mozzarella Cheez-its – those are marvelous crunchy pats of butter, basically.

4. What would I do if I were a billionaire?

I’d move, and I’d have a pool and a housekeeper. I’d probably still work, but probably in a less-paying, less-stressful job. I’d spend more time with my kids (ideally, not sure in practice). I’d travel and take my kids fun and interesting places.

5. Places I would live

Probably still here, as all our family is here and I can’t take my kids from their grandparents. If I could uproot the entire extended family? South Carolina, Pacific Northwest, San Diego. What I’d really like is to live in one of those communities where you can walk to the grocery or to Starbucks or the playground or bookstore or bar. I want to live in a walking community with lower humidity and moderate temperatures (or at least pool). That. Is what I want.

Looking forward to breakfast

Ever since we’ve had children, we’ve had a tradition of having Christmas breakfast at our house with all the grandparents and immediate family – my in-laws, my mom, my dad and his girlfriend, my brother (and his girlfriend), and my sister when she deigns to come. It’s lovely to have all the family over for a nice sit-down breakfast and then opening of the presents all together. What we usually do is let the kids open their stockings before everyone gets there, and we open all the rest of the presents after breakfast (yes, they “allow this”. They’ve never known anything different)

So for the past couple years, I’ve been wanting a full 12-place set of dishes specifically for special occasions such as this. I didn’t want them “Christmassy” because I’d like to use them other times as well, but we don’t have any nice dishes. We didn’t register for anything when we were getting married because seriously – who uses their wedding china? Besides my MIL, anyhow. It turns out some china would have been nice.

I have finally picked out a set, and it’s on clearance so hopefully I can get it (I’m trying not to get my hopes up until it’s actually ordered. It’s simple and pretty, and I think with Christmas chargers and linens it can dress up very pretty.

(crate & barrel)

Okay, I’m excited.

Time change issues and Halloween documentation

My only problem with the time change, really, is how it messes up my internal food clock. I’m trying to get back on the healthy eating/maybe some random exercise wagon, which I know if somewhat of a lost cause when we’re hitting the home stretch of holidays that require stretchy pants. I got to work this morning and realized someone had eaten my breakfast yogurt (a coworker owned up to it, we have a dorm fridge in our department and there are three of us who bring in the same kinds of yogurt, it was an honest mistake). However since I was out a yogurt, I had no choice but to eat a cookie that I brought in, right?

I made Halloween candy cookies this weekend and brought some in for coworkers – they are just oatmeal cookies, and where you would add nuts or chocolate chips or raisins I added two cups of chopped chocolate bars. It worked out marvelously and I’ll have to make a second batch before I rid the house of Halloween candy. I promised my husband when I whisked half the cookies out of the house to bring to work.

But back to the internal clock – I ate my cookie, and it’s 9:48am and I’m starving for lunch. Or more breakfast, or something. I wasn’t that hungry this weekend and didn’t eat much at mealtimes, but now I feel like I could eat everything I had this weekend in one sitting. Probably not looking good for lunchtime, right? I’m thinking of digging into my lunch for a few bites of something to tide me over.

And because I didn’t share it on here previously, here are the boys at Halloween:

I made most of Henry’s costume (except the front part of his mask) and Spencer borrowed the Gryffindor robe and tie from a friend so it was a pretty easy (and cheap) Halloween. I worked out the school theme Halloween (nursery rhymes, if you remember) and S went as Yankee Doodle. I ordered him a tricorn hat and added a feather that we glued macaroni to. He wore it with a plain white polo and jeans, and was happy enough with the outcome.

I’m glad I didn’t say screw it and send him with his regular costume – last year for “book character” theme everyone was allowed to wear whatever, but this year the one boy who brought his Ironman costume wasn’t allowed to wear it. Poor kiddo.

Books I read: October

Holy crap, I read a lot this month. It was wonderful too - I didn't really feel like I was not doing things because I was reading, but there was just a lot of great things to read and I tore through them. I did get annoyed that I can only have 15 items out at a time on Overdrive and yet there is no way to return them when you're done. I maxed out, it was sad.

reread:
49. Into the Woods - Tana French
50. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
The Likeness - Tana French (I didn't put a number to this because it's on September's list; I got halfway through before the ebook timed out and I had to wait to get it again.)
51. Faithful Place - Tana French
52. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin

New:
65. Magic Burns - Ilona Andrews I really got into this series and read all of it - I'm not going to comment on my thoughts for each book/novella in the series, but I really liked it. Very kick-ass female lead/supernatural romance without all the orgies and crazy sex of Laurell K Hamilton.
66. Silver Shadows - Richelle Mead LOVED this new book.
67. The Girl with All the Gifts - M. R. Carey This was twisted and I really didn't see the ending coming and the character development was top notch. Quite excellent
68. Blood Charged - Lindsay Buroker I'm liking this series better as it keeps going.
69. Destiny Unchosen - Lindsay Buroker (novella) Eh, I'm still not sold on this series. But I love LB, so I'm in.
70. To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han This was a sweet teen romance, good stuff.
71. The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson Oh my, I think this was my favorite of the month. It was so wonderful, and even though I rarely cry I actually did for this one. So perfect.
72. If I Stay - Gayle Forman Meh, it was okay - overrated? melodramatic, but sweet.
73. Thorn Fall - Lindsay Buroker
74. Anatomy of a Misfit - Andrea Portes I read this because it was being PUSHED on Overdrive. It was okay. Dragomir should not have been used - it's not common enough a last name for me to ever not associate it with Vampire Academy.
75. Magic Strikes - Ilona Andrews
76. Magic Bleeds - Ilona Andrews
77. Magic Slays - Ilona Andrews
78. Magic Mourns - Ilona Andrews (novella)
79. Gunmetal Magic - Ilona Andrews
80. Magic Gifts - Ilona Andrews (novella)
80. Magic Rises - Ilona Andrews
81. Magic Breaks - Ilona Andrews
82. A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness This. Save this for when you need a cathartic ugly cry. I knew where it was going, I thought I was not going to get involved with the characters, but even though I knew where it was going, I was seriously choked up in the "don't wake your sleeping husband with your sobs" sort of way.

Starting late seems to be a thing for me

I forgot about NaNoBloMo, or whatever it is, until tonight when I thought about reading my blog feed before it backs up again and Lo! People are blogging! Every. Day. :)

Last year I didn't commit to blogging every day, but I did commit to commenting on all those blogs. It was exhausting but I felt like hey, I love comments - these people like comments too! I might try again this month, if I can.

Today we found out that Spencer was not telling us crazy stories. What story, you may ask? A couple times a week he told us that his friend from school/aftercare was moving to our neighborhood. Then he said that friend was moving next door. Mind you, he actually told me this before I even knew my neighbors were leaving.

So you can imagine our surprise when the boys were playing out back and Spencer said "It's so-and-so!" and C said "no it's not, you just think so because they're speaking Spanish" and I stuck my head out the back door and wouldn't you know it, SO-AND-SO WAS IN THE NEXT DOOR BACKYARD. THEY BOUGHT THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR.

So. On one hand, it's very exciting for my six year old to have one of his best friends is now going to be living next door. We don't know many people on our block so he's never had a lot of friends to play with, and now he'll basically have a built-in friend. On the other, having an extra child over is EXHAUSTING, and now it will happen so much more! After F left (they are in the process of moving, over this month), a new neighbor girl came over to play (or mostly to yap at me for an hour about her entire slightly-scary life story and holy crap that girl talks) and we invited the girl from down the street out, so I basically had five kids today and how do you guys with more than two children do it?