And the Angels Sang...

This post is only exciting if you saw our playroom (also known as the music room before children and the dining room on blueprints) before yesterday. Ready....BAM:
The lighting is terrible, but look at that clean window seat...and those organized toys...BAM:

Look at those babies in a basket and easily accessible toys...BAM:

Look at those found barn animals and neatly stacked games. The angels are rejoicing with me.

I casually mentioned to Issa yesterday that we really needed to clean out the playroom. I spent a ton of time just putting toys back yesterday morning, and I realized they had been moved to get to other toys and that a lot of toys hadn't been played with in a while. We still had "baby toys" lurking on those shelves. As soon as I mentioned it, Issa said, "Let's do it now."

I had to strike while the iron was hot! I would have loved to take before pictures, but I didn't want to lose momentum or have Evan wake up. She was very thoughtful about what they still played with and what we could donate. When Evan came downstairs, he was elated. He ran around yelling, "My blocks! My saurs!" He could actually see everything.

Issa asked if we could move on to her hutch sometime this week. Yes, please! I love looking at the organization in the playroom, but I also love that Issa and Evan appreciate the organization. I hope they remember that feeling when they are teenagers and their rooms start to get a bit scary for Mom. Here's hoping!

Heaven on Earth

Yesterday, we set off on another adventure. This time, we ventured into Duke Gardens.
The fall color was in full bloom, and the fountain at the entrance drew the kids in immediately:

Our first stop, though, was a picnic lunch. I'd say this was a perfect spot:

We even had a few lunch friends:

Needless to say Evan was in heaven:

He could have watched the ducks all day! But, there were paths to explore and sights to see:

It was like our own little secret garden:

Eventually, Evan's little legs started to get tired:

But, Issa was a real trooper:

She made the necklace Friday at school.

But the highlight of the day was the Great Lawn:

Look at that girl run! And Evan wasn't far behind:

When it was time to head for home, Daddy literally rounded up the troops:

It was a perfect fall day, and I'm quite certain we will be headed back soon!

Spider Spotter

You may remember we had a little spider friend on our front porch. When the weather turned colder, he disappeared, much to every one's dismay. Enter our resident spider spotter:

Evan found him last night above our lilac bush. I swear he can spot a spider from six miles away. There was much rejoicing! We're off to the gardens today, and I'm sure he will be on high alert.

Issa-isms

Yesterday, Issa and I had a little quality girl time. We had some plans fall through, so we substituted a trip to a coffee shop after school. I could hardly wait all day! You see, sometimes Issa wakes up in rare form--which translates to really funny. Yesterday was one of those days. Here are her top one-liners for the day:

On the way to school, we had this conversation about what she was learning:
"Mom, did you know there is air all around us?"
"As a matter of fact I did!"
"Well, way to bust my bubble."

She also had school pictures yesterday. They take the pictures outside in the morning, and it was pretty chilly. She chose to wear her first day of school outfit, but she had her jacket and scarf on when we left. After I "busted her bubble," we talked about her wearing her jacket:
"Hey, Iss, if you're chilly you could wear your jacket in the picture. It would still be super cute."
"I know, Mom. I'm rockin' it."

When I picked her up, she informed me she wore her scarf but not the jacket and one of her friends "fixed" her hair. I can't wait to see that picture!

When I picked her up, she had her first field trip permission slip. We are headed to a pumpkin patch in a couple of weeks. While we were sipping a latte and hot chocolate, I asked if she wanted me to be one of the drivers and this was her response:
"Of course you should drive. It would be a really long walk!"
"Well, I meant do you want me to chaperone and go with you or do you want to ride with someone else's mommy."
"You always go."
"I know. But I wanted to be sure you wanted me to go."
"Mom, why are we having this conversation? It makes no sense."
I am going.

On the way to ballet, we saw a wild turkey, which Issa was not enthused about:
"Mom, what is that?"
"It's a turkey, honey."
"That is not a turkey. Turkeys soak in magic water and then go in a roaster."
"Well...you know turkeys were once alive with feathers."
"I know, Mom, but you can't tell me that is what we eat at Thanksgiving."
"Well, no, but we could."
"There is not enough magic water in the world for that bird to be yummy."
(In case you are wondering, magic water is brine.)

See what I mean...rare form.

Decorating Season

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that decorating season has officially begun around here and promised pictures. Well...we've been very busy and those pictures haven't happened. But...I taught last night, and the rest of my day was spent working on a revise and resubmit. Neither of those make for very good pictures or interesting stories, unless you really want to see me pulling my hair out and saying not nice things to editors who can't make up their minds (one person loves what the next guy hates). So...I thought I would deliver on my promise today.

Fall starts what I like to call decorating season and what Brad calls hauling junk in and out of the attic season. I love decorating for all the holidays, and while Halloween is not my favorite, it is the first one we can decorate for, which makes it fun. My favorite part of the decorating is remembering where each item came from and the story behind it, and Issa was very excited to help tell Evan the stories this year. That's why I do it.

Our decorating starts at the front door:
Sleepy the Scarecrow is actually Sleepy II. The first one came from our very first trip to the pumpkin patch with Issa when she was barely a month old. The replacement came from the pumpkin patch again when Sleepy I started to look scary--and not in a good way.

Just inside the door, we continue the decorating:

Grandma and Becca sent this basket to me my first Halloween in college. It was a candy dish then; now it catches keys in its web.

This little lovely I wouldn't mind "losing," but Issa loves it. Every year, our neighborhood does a "You've Been Booed" game. A neighbor drops a basket of Halloween goodies on your porch, rings the doorbell, and runs! You then hang an "I've Been Booed!" sign on your door and make a basket for two other neighbors. It is so fun to see the signs spread up and down the street! This was one of the treasures from last year.

This little guy scares away gremlins from our phone:

And I just love the mantle; I smile every time I see it:

These pumpkins are a collection from college, Boo Baskets, school crafts, my mother-in-law, and Gram. The little pumpkins that Gram made are my favorite, and I love seeing a whole collection of memories every time I look up.

These are a new addition:

Issa did this all by herself this week.

Even Bow gets in the spirit:

We have Halloween coffee mugs, and Evan made this little haunted house last year at school:

It makes me smile every morning when I reach for my coffee.

Spider Friend always lives here:

He is the one decoration I can't remember the story behind! It's so annoying, but Evan laughs every day after school when he sees him up there.

We have Halloween art supplies:

And my very, very favorite decoration:

Gram made this witch, and I remember it coming out and sitting on this very table every year when I was growing up. I think I'm the only one (on the planet) who loves this witch, but she's my favorite. (And yes, Issa's stereo is now on the landing. She discovered we can hear her music throughout the house if it's there. Yes...we could just play it in the stereo downstairs, but where is the fun in that? Some battles are just not worth fighting.)

Evan has his trick-or-treat bag on his door:

The little bear is from Issa's first Halloween. I had a moment of weakness at Starbucks. It happens.

This giant pumpkin migrates around Issa's room:

Gram won him as a bridge prize, and he used to sit at the foot of her banister. Squish is very well-loved at our house.

And further proof I have the sweetest daughter on earth:

She realized our bedroom was the only room without a decoration--voila! She solved that problem. It will be packed away just as carefully as all of the other decorations.

And this concludes the tour. Some might say we have a few too many decorations (and one of those some lives here), but I think there is no such thing...and perhaps I just figured out where Issa's sense of "there's no such thing as too much sparkle" comes from. Hmmm....

Time Capsule

Issa received a belated birthday gift yesterday. There was a mosaic kit, but there was also a time capsule kit. And although I had other plans for our afternoon, Issa would hear none of it:
We did the whole time capsule--to be opened on her high school graduation day. There were lots of little sheets for her to decorate and record her current favorites as well as her predictions for the future. It was so hard not to laugh as I wrote her answers before she decorated the papers. In case you are wondering what the world will look like in the future: "Lots of leaves. Especially in fall." And her best trip: "NYC, because I get to see my Shanny and sleep with her bear." She also enclosed some beads, some silk flowers, and a rock. I don't know why. By that point, I was afraid to ask any more questions. I am quite certain we will get a good laugh out of that capsule in a few years.

Real Help

Yesterday, Issa and I decided to take a little adventure. It wasn't much of an adventure. We just walked to pick Evan up. I learned from the last walk-to-school debacle and took the wagon. This trip was only .8 miles, but we live at the bottom of two hills, so it felt much longer. It also took much longer than I had planned. We did enjoy looking at the fall sky and talking about our days, but by the time we got home I was really behind on getting dinner started.

I started cooking our chorizo hominy chili and cornbread, and the kids asked to help. They help with dinner almost every night, but "help" often slows me down. I wanted so badly to say no thank you, but I took a big deep breath and said yes. If dinner wasn't on the table exactly as six the world wouldn't come to an end. Then...this happened:
At some point, these two really learned how to cook. Their help really was help!

Issa did all of the sauteing and stirring:

That freed me up just to prep and add to the pot.

Evan did any rinsing:

He loved rinsing the hominy, especially.

Dinner was on the table by six, and we even had time to read a couple of stories while the chili simmered. I normally would have used that time to clean up the kitchen, but the kids felt so big to me that I needed to take advantage of the time to snuggle while they were feeling little.

A Second Cup of Fall

We spent this weekend drinking in a second big cup of fall. Friday night, we ventured downtown to enjoy some Mexican food at our favorite place, and we were surprised with a little live music in the form of a father/son duet. They played a mix of classic Mexican ballads, pop hits, and a few children's songs. It was great fun to do a little seat dancing and watch the kids' faces light up as they played near our table. Issa loved watching the guitar, especially.

We came home to tuck the kids into a "camp out" in Issa's room. They snuggled right in to sleeping bags, and we heard them giggling and whispering for just a few minutes before exhaustion took over.

Saturday morning, we headed out to Montrose Gardens' open house:
These gardens were featured by Southern Living, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the fall color right here in our home town.

Poor Evan spent the first bit of the tour in Daddy's arms:

Huge open fields were just meant for running, and he didn't appreciate the carefully created lines with the mower. He was much happier when we got into the gardens and he could do a bit more exploring.

The flowers were beautiful, and Issa loved capturing the blooms:

There were plenty of places to explore:

And even more flowers to sniff:

(Please notice Issa wore her flower barrette for the occasion.) The kids loved exploring all of the hidden paths, and they really were stunning gardens.

When we got home, we spent some time in our own backyard. The swing set got a serious workout:

And Issa perfected her flip:

She's been working on it since she saw Uncle Jeff do one this May.

We also had our first fire of the season in our fire bowl!

There were hot dogs to roast:

And more importantly Smores to be had! Check out these monster pumpkin marshmallows:

They make perfect Smores:

Yesterday, we spent the day doing some yard work. It's time to pack up the summer, which meant deflating the jump-o-line:

Yes...they took turns jumping on it to deflate it. It was the most fun when Daddy jumped and the kids got launched. We also closed up the pond, packed up the pool, and raked some leaves:

The yard looks a bit empty. The kids are loving dancing on the big platform, though, and I have a feeling a tent will soon appear out there.

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, too! We made hummus, granola bars, and chicken stock for the week.

It really was a perfect weekend. The air is beyond crisp, and the leaves are starting to turn. Now that it's cooler, we spent extra time snuggling and sipping warm things. My idea of heaven...