october 31

i love halloween.  but this year it's been hard for me to get into the spirit with all we have going on.  i wasn't even up for making or buying costumes this year.  brooke and gavin both had cute michigan uniforms, and i talked them into wearing them for halloween.  they were pretty darn cute if you ask me!!  the weather couldn't have been worse for trick-or-treating though.  it was very cold and rainy and windy.  we braved the elements with coats and umbrellas, but we were all ready to call it a night after a quick round of treats in our neighborhood.  come next year, i don't think we'll have to worry about cold or rain on halloween!

october 30

it snowed today.  for real.  a dusting of snow before halloween!  crazy, crazy.  we spent the day gathered inside in front of the fireplace, and i prepared for my last "official" day as an employee of P&G.  due to the terms of my voluntary separation package, i have to turn in all of my work equipment and my badge tomorrow.  i pulled out my work bag that i haven't touched in 3.5 years and booted up my computer to clean up some files and save some documents before handing it over.  i was surprised how the simple act of opening up that computer took me right back to my working days in an instant.  i'm so far removed from those days, yet it all came flooding back.  tomorrow will be bittersweet, but definitely more sweet than bitter.  there is no job better in the world than being a full-time, stay at home mother to my two children.

october 29

i looked outside tonight, and the sky was on fire!  i grabbed my camera and ran out the door to capture this...

october 28

thankfully kevin is working from cincinnati this coming week so he can take part in all of the halloween festivities, starting with a cousins' halloween party this afternoon.  all of the kids were so adorable in their costumes, and stella's hand-made dragon costume was unbelievable!  my sister is amazingly talented!!  the kids had the best time together, and aunt heather had some hilarious halloween surprises in store.  the kids had a mummy contest where we wrapped them in toilet paper from head-to-toe, and then they tore it all off.  it was crazy, out-of-control, messy and hilarious!  we could not stop laughing.

october 27

this morning we had stella over while heather and danny went to the doctor for their implantation appointment.  praying that is works and all goes perfectly this time around.  the kids had a fun day together.  this evening we carved big pumpkins to get ready for halloween!  as usual, kevin and i did all the work while the kids supervised!  happy kids, happy pumpkins, happy parents :)

october 26

fridays have taken on a whole new level of fun because kevin typically flies in on the red-eye and arrives home first thing in the morning while we are still in bed.  it is a tough schedule for kevin, but it allows us to be together as a family for 2-3 days, and that's important to both of us.  this morning we made cinnamon rolls for daddy and walked brooke to the bus stop.  kevin and gavin put on their matching batman shirts and had a fun morning goofing around.  super hero powers unite!

october 25

today i got out my "real" camera and practiced with different sources and direction of light.  the kids cooperated for about 2 minutes, but it was just long enough to get some good shots of them.

october 24

i had the pleasure of spending the morning with chase - just the two of us!  we ran a couple errands, and i was so tickled to hear him yelling out the letters he saw in different signs/stores along the way.  such a smart little cutie pie!  we came home and chase played on the little roller coaster in the driveway until it was time to pick-up gavin and joey from preschool and get brooke off the bus.  then chase had lots of fun playing with his cousins :)

october 23

today i got to volunteer in brooke's classroom for the first time, and i enjoyed every second of it.  one of the biggest differences between kindergarten and preschool is that i am never at the school.  with bus service, i very rarely have to step foot on school grounds.  i miss the day-to-day interactions and closeness that i felt with brooke's preschool(s).  so today i got a peek into a day in the life of a kindergartener.  it touched me to see the kids saying the pledge of allegiance, and i marveled over the way the kids fought to sit next to brooke and i during circle time.  i had to administer a benchmark-type test and saw a wide range of abilities.  i also offered to help mrs. nowak by taking home a project, which made brooke extremely happy.  brooke was so excited that she did the entire project (collating ABC books for each student) by herself after school today.  finally, we ended the day with brooke READING a Bob book all by herself for the very first time!!!  it was such an exciting moment for me.  what a great day!

october 22

we enjoyed a warm, indian summer-like day at the zoo today with heather & stella.  we saw snakes and tigers and rhinos and much more, then we topped it all off with some ice cream.  i treasure these days.

october 21

brooke attended her first birthday party of the school year today.  lila had her party at build-a-bear, and brooke could not have been happier!  it was cute to see her huddled on the floor with a big group of girls.  it was hard for gavin to be there with me and not get to take part in the party, so i let him make a black teddy bear and bought a batman suit for the bear.  gavin named him "bruce."

october 20

we started our day with a drive to milford for saturday morning donuts and ended it at an over-the-top neighborhood birthday party with pony rides!  that's a pretty good day if you're a kid :)

october 19

gavin is such a little ham.  he makes me laugh every single day.

october 18

those beautiful eyes - one more green than brown, the other more brown than green.  the pair of them so unique.  my beautiful brooke.

october 17

right now there is nothing prettier than that bright red tree in our yard.  it makes me so happy just to look at it.  tonight we rode bikes through the neighborhood and enjoyed the nice weather.  i also agreed to let the kids have a sleepover in my bed tonight.  it's one of their favorite things to do when daddy is away.

october 16

today was gavin's preschool's fall festival.  since i attended this last year with brooke, i knew what to expect and was ready for some fun with my boy!  we played lots of games and sang songs together in music class, enjoyed some treats and picked out a special little pumpkin.  gavin loves preschool so much this year, and i loved sharing special time with him today.

october 15

gavin and i spend a lot of time playing together outdoors.  we've enjoyed having a really big driveway on the side of the house, which provides shade and gives us tons of room to play.  often gavin's super hero friends join us for some fun :)

october 14

the view from my office window right now... i sure am going to miss these fall colors!  it has always been my favorite season, and i think i appreciate this fall season more than any other.

october 13

when we moved back to cincinnati i signed up for organic fruit/vegetable delivery through green bean delivery.  today they threw a big fall festival for their customers, so we went out to a farm in westchester with heather, danny & stella to enjoy a beautiful fall day.  they had lunch, music, face painting, games, a hay ride, an apple press and a pumpkin patch, which added up to a really fun, fall day!

october 12

the house showings have started!  this afternoon we had to be out of the house so we headed to the mall and had dinner out and made the best of the day.

october 11

the sign went up today.  the house is officially for sale.  we've known this was coming for some time now, but it doesn't make it any easier.  i'm praying we sell the house at a good price, but hoping we don't sell it too soon since our house in california won't be ready until march or april.  it will be a challenge to keep this big house show-ready with 2 young children and a husband who is out of town every week, but i think i'm up to the task!

october 10

i have gone many years without eating or craving bagels, but then i moved down the street from big apple bagels and that streak came to an end.  their bagels are soooo good, and i almost can't go a week without craving their everything bagel with chive cream cheese.  it was my special treat after i dropped gavin off at preschool this morning, and it was perfect.

october 9

heather and i decided to spend this beautiful day at the cincinnati nature center with the kids.  the nature center is one of the best, least-known places in cincinnati, and i absolutely love it there.  we took a hike through the woods and spent a lot of time exploring.  it could not have been a more beautiful day, and i was so happy to spend it outdoors with my family.

october 8

a fun little q-tip painting project to start our week.

october 7

we had some shopping and errand running to do today, and this is how the kids felt about it...  lol!

october 6

kevin's home, and we had a fantastic day at UC's football homecoming game.  we spent the entire day on campus starting with the parade, lunch at the sigma chi house, fun in the family tailgating area and finally at the game.  the kids had a ball running all over campus and playing around.  it was a beautiful day spent together as a family.

october 5

one of the things i'm going to miss the most about our current house is my home office tucked away off the kitchen.  it's such a great space, and the color of the office makes me happy every time i look at it.  drawing on my chalkboard makes the kids happy, too.

october 4

i left california very early this morning and made it home in time to put the kids to bed!  i had a great time with kevin in california as well as a very productive few days getting everything selected for the house, but it sure does feel good to be home with my babies.  they had lots of stories to tell me about their special time with gigi and bar bar, and, thankfully, everyone survived :)

october 3

it has been so exciting to be out here focusing on our new home and everything that awaits us here!  the foundation on the house has been poured, and it's easier to imagine it now.  it's a bit hard to believe that i'm going to leave tomorrow, and i won't be back to california until the house is complete!

october 2

i've been driving all over carlsbad running errands for the past 2 days - checking out preschools, grocery stores/prices, tile/granite/cabinets/carpet/wood floors - but i managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the beach in encinitas this afternoon.  couldn't come to california without putting my toes in the sand :)

october 1

keeping up my workouts while on "vacation" makes me feel good, and is a great way to start the day!  the mornings here in california are beautiful.  kevin and i awakened early to workout together and have breakfast before i drove him to work and started the process of making selections for the new house.  it's going to be an exciting day :)

september 30

on this particular sunday, i get to fly with kevin to california!  lucky me!  dad and jennie were nice enough and brave enough to watch the kids for us for several days so i can make selections for the new house and get everything squared away.  san diego here we come!

september 29

one thing is for sure - we are all very happy when daddy is home!

september 28

i love his little feet :)

september 27

bath time these days is less of a chore and more something i look forward to.  brooke and gavin have lots of fun together in the bathtub, and i enjoy watching them wind down together at the end of the day.  brooke likes to pretend gavin is her little baby, and she makes him lean back so she can wash his hair.  gavin loves the attention, and brooke loves taking care of her brother :)

september 26

brooke is loving kindergarten, and today she started a 6-week after school art enrichment program that i signed her up for since they don't teach art in kindergarten.  since brooke is in 1/2 day kindergarten, i have to drive her to school at the end of the regular school day for her to attend this class, but i'm happy to do it.  thankfully the class is on wednesdays, and mom is often around to help me out in case gavin is still napping.  today we had to find the art room.  then i got brooke settled in and made sure she was comfortable.  the program is for K-6 so brooke is in class with some older kids, but she has a friend and neighbor in the class so i think she will do just fine.  i love to fuel brooke's natural passion for art, and i hope this class helps her grow as an artist.

september 25

a date on the playground before school with my favorite boy :)

september 24

there are still moments when brooke crawls into my lap.  and i look down at my beautiful daughter and marvel at how much she has grown.  yet she is still my little girl.

september 23

chase's 2nd birthday!  for some reason i always think chase is older than he is, so he has been 2 in my mind for at least half of the past year :)  we had a great celebration with chase today with lots of outdoor activity - bike racing, buggy riding, kickball and more!

september 22

our 2nd annual grand oaks neighborhood party.  and our last.  we haven't told our neighbors that we are moving yet, but soon enough they will all know.  tonight we gathered with everyone for a bit and let the kids play with their neighborhood friends.  gavin loves owen :)  he follows owen and ty around, and they are usually pretty good at playing with him.  i loved this picture the instant i took it.  you can see gavin's affection for owen in the way he's touching owen's hand.  melts my heart!  brooke was too busy running around with all the girls for me to catch a picture of her!