Fall days

Sweet picture taken by a friend during Queen of Apostles' 50th Anniversary Mass.

Parading around the yard with pumpkins on a warm, autumn night...doesn't get much better than that.

"I got your nose!" We love visits from Dr. Steele (aka Auntie Tasha). 

Getting ready for the game on a make-shift couch. Who knew an AC grill could make a nice pillow?

Who needs jack-o-lanterns when Teresa's around with her smile?

Enter coat-weather (sigh), as well as some new yard friends.

First stab at raking.



We seem to have moved into fall, officially. Notre Dame lost to Florida State, a new season of Top Chef has begun, the air has taken a serious turn to chilly, the days are getting shorter, my sleep quality is getting poorer (I'm noticing a seasonal pattern here), and the formidable annual task is upon us of raking leaves from our tree-lined yards. Aunt Natalie is in Colorado for a month for the last push in her boss's run for Senate. School is in full swing, with a spate of holidays on the horizon. I've found this season to be particularly challenging the past couple years, what with my sleep problem and the extra responsibilities of mothering through several big holidays. But it's a time of year rich with opportunities for growth in many virtues (patience, hope, perseverance, joy, self-giving...), and above all for faith. Perhaps it's appropriate that the months entering into the Christmas season are marked with a little suffering, providing a more authentic experience of the Holy Family's plight (which surely wasn't carols, cookies, and presents), and the awareness that these feasts are but tiny foretastes of the real Feast that awaits us after a life of running the race. Happy fall everyone!

Week in review

Practicing being scary for Halloween. Thanks for the teeth Aunt Natalie!

Dave asked David to do an impression of a snail. This isn't half bad...

"Daddy, I'm sick."

The sick ward.

Watching Notre Dame beat Stanford.

We decided to bring in Autumn with a week of sickness and a little trauma, just to get it out of our systems for the rest of the year (please God...). Bright spots have included Notre Dame beating Stanford, Dave taking part in a Catholic stewardship conference in Orlando right next to Disneyworld, many fun spend-the-nights with Grandmommy (who is caring for us as I finish recovering and Dave travels), and Aunt Natalie visiting with lots of fresh vegetables from her farm-share and some Halloween goodies. David will have a cool finger scar to show to his friends; the aforementioned trauma was a finger slammed in a door. Memories have to be made out of something, right? Grateful to have the help and encouragement family so close by, as always, when life gets overwhelming. 

Waiting for the doctor. From his face, it doesn't look that serious, does it?

Game night with the cousins

The beginning of Notre Dame Game Night revelries. Sundaes Uncle Dave-style means ice cream in a pot, bowl, tupperware, or anything unconventional around the kitchen.

Pre-game Yahtzee.

This proves you can be a hipster in truck pjs. Go Irish!

Skerls and such

What better way to welcome a new day than with an early morning story from Grandmommy.

Lady and the Tramp (and Baby Dumbo, who is never more than five feet from his Mommy).

This afternoon around naptime, I heard Rose from the back yard calling me. It wasn't a cry of distress, so I took my time, finishing my lunch over my latest good read.  It must have been ten minutes before she came inside, still saying the same words: "Mommy! Skerl!" It didn't register until I put her down for her nap (and changed her damp shirt) that maybe I should go check the backyard. My stomach turned as I witnessed Rose's source of angst: in our little kiddie pool floated... a dead chipmunk (or "skerl" as Rose put it). Ewwww. Poor little guy. It took quelling everything in my nature to bury the dead little creature (Dave, you're off the hook- I know you're shocked). Rose watched as I buried him asking, "Where is it? He can't get out." Indeed. A word of warning to green-thumb Grandmommy: the grave is behind the azalea near the shed.

We're so enjoying this breezy autumnal weather. The girls continue to be enthusiastic about school (especially ice cream Wednesdays and pizza Fridays), and Frankie will go to her first birthday party of a classmate this weekend.  Dave will conduct an important townhall-style meeting (the first of its kind) at our parish this Friday night- so please keep that in your prayers. We're hoping it doesn't turn out like this. Dave, Hilary and I are excited to attend the diocesan Risk Jesus conference this Saturday where a wonderful blogger we follow will be speaking, along with a holy priest who's a family friend. Thanks, Grandmommy and Pop Pop, for watching the nine grandchildren while we're there. Happy Wednesday!

This month's recap

We could spot Rose a mile away walking around with this bubble umbrella at a little friend's birthday party.

David and Dave bond over a nap.

It's that time of year again. 3-0, baby. Go Irish!

Remember the Elmo incident last year? It is a thing of the past. David finds this costume and dons it on his own now. He just needed a year to mature into Elmo.

Our hopes for homegrown jack-o-lanterns were dashed after getting many, many stalks and flowers, but no pumpkins. Then one day late this summer... pop! This sweet little guy appears. He's such a character.

She's sweet, sharp, and she's not afraid to tell you what you should be doing. You're not a close friend or family member? Doesn't matter. Rose is rife with commands for all of humanity. She recently told a little boy at the park to stop being so loud, and she frequently approaches strangers with "What's your name?" or "Hi!".  She's our first choleric child....parenting advice welcome :)

School days

Mornings now start earlier for some... 

So excited to be a second grader!

Today is the second full day of school for the girls, and from what I observe, they're enjoying themselves. I expected them to come home yesterday and drop, given their inexperience with a full day of school away from home. To my surprise, they were full of energy and enthusiasm- no collapsing in a heap of existential tiredness for these girls. Frankie was singled out and rewarded on the first day for being an example of what it means to listen obediently to the teacher (no surprise there), and Teresa got a sticker for being a good listener (perhaps a little to my surprise :) ). We're already getting the daily dish of classroom drama (boys who won't behave, mainly), along with excited descriptions of Spanish and art classes, trips to the library, who they sat next to at lunch and who they played with at recess. I'm vicariously enjoying these early school days. Kindergarten and second grade do, after all, evoke happy memories for me, as hopefully they do for most of us? Here on the home-front, things are quiet and relaxed. When Rose takes a nap, David becomes my little buddy to rest, read and play. It seems we all couldn't be happier.

Birthday boy

Little guy turned 4 yesterday. We went to a fun park with a carousel, received delicious Georgetown cupcakes in the mail from Lolo and Lola, and capped off the day with some more yummy homemade confections. You only turn 4 once, right?

You'll notice someone lost another tooth, too. It was an exciting day all around.