Sunday, October 16, 2011

12 of 12 - October


1 - This might not look like much, but it's the best crock pot steel-cut oats with cranberries and REAL maple syrup all the way from New Hampshire. I could eat this every day (and I did too!).

2 - Sewing up Lydia's Halloween costume.

3 - I made a potty chart for Lydia, and until now it's been hit and miss. But the day I took these photos, the light bulb went off, and she's been going potty regularly and has a dry pull-up. Oh, and it may have something to do with me getting out the candy corns as reward.

4 - Seth picked a little pumpkin from the garden to take to preschool. It was show and tell, and the letter of the week was "p."

5 - Just a few more ripe tomatoes out there. I think they're about done, as is the majority of the sunshine for the year. Better late than never!

6 - Hopefully this is the last time for a long time that I'll be caulking the tub. A few months ago, I tried the caulk tape, which was a waste. It peeled right off and looked bad. Then I tried a composite caulk adhesive. It looked good, but it ended up coming off too. Here I am smoothing a bead of pure silicone caulk. Crossing my fingers that 3rd time's a charm!

7 - This month's photo collage was nearly all going to be a collage of fall color. It's everywhere and so gorgeous!

8 - Lydia talking on her play phone to Grandma to tell her about her new Halloween costume. I love seeing her play pretend, and she had a whole conversation that was cute to hear.

9 - Baked chicken-bacon alfredo and spaghetti squash for dinner. I made the casserole healthier by using turkey bacon, less cheese, and whole wheat pasta. I also used only 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese in the guiltless alfredo sauce because that's all I had, but I honestly didn't miss it. A thumbs up from everyone!

10 - My hydrangeas are fading from bright periwinkle to a beautiful shade of antique blue.

11 - I'm doing some contract work for my former employer, so once the kids were in bed, I had some quiet time to get into AutoCad and get some work done. I thought I'd forgotten some things, but 2 years later and I've still got it!

12 - Matt's bead pre-shave. While he was gone for 10 days to New England, he decided not to shave the whole time. It was quite a shocker when we picked him up from the airport. Lydia just stared at him, pointed and said "A mess!" I actually kinda liked it, but it was bothering him, so he shaved it off to a goatee for a couple of days and then got rid of it all. Oh well. Lydia seems happier with the "non-messy" Dad.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Final Farewell to Summer

Amid the pouring rain and cloudy skies, it seems summer was ages ago. I was looking through some photos and wanted to bid a fond farewell to blue skies and pleasant temperatures.

Newcastle Beach Park in August. One of the last, if not THE last, beach-friendly-weather day of the year.

A perfectly un-crowded, sunny day at Woodland Park Zoo with friends.