Weeks of November 7-14

 Sunday and Monday were so unseasonably warm that I broke out the sandals and shorts again.  

We had dentist appointments on Monday - all but Regina - and afterwards we headed to the mall to do some secret Santa shopping.  

Tuesday was election day, and Philip finally pulled out that janky tooth that's been stuck for m o n t h s.  Clare, Tess & Noelle had work, Gina was gone, and Philip was playing at Jase's, so Natalie and I got subs at Subway and drove over the mountain to get milk.  We heard geese flying south when we were unloading the milk.

Regina didn't make it to the dentist because Jeremy had to go out of town on Monday, so Sarah asked if Gina could come and stay to help absorb some of Layla's energy.  Good thing she did, too, because Monday Sarah came down with something and spent most of the day on the couch, weak and feverish.  

Wednesday Sarah brought Gina back and we had ninja in the afternoon. 

The second week gave us our first snowfall of the season.  Monday night the stores were mobbed because snow was in the forecast for the following afternoon.  I didn't expect it to amount to anything, but was I ever surprised on Tuesday afternoon, when small flurries turned into huge onion snowflakes that lasted for hours.  We ultimately got about 3 inches; it was enough for the kids to sled and build huge snowballs.

We did go ahead and reserve a spot at the campground for next summer, starting on May 1.  Andy is super excited about having a place to unplug and disconnect from everything and just relax by a campfire.  It's considerably closer to where he does a lot of his work, anyway.  The RV is finally running again.  Let's hope it stays that way!

Week of October 30

 Saturday and Sunday night, Layla stayed at our house.  Clare took her back home on Monday for trick-or-treating in their neighborhood, while we suited up for our own trick-or-treat night.  Natalie and Noelle went as Greg and Wert from Over the Garden Wall again.  Regina was the Plague Doctor, and Philip was a SWAT team member.  Mary Stans. went with us again, this time with a real hollow pumpkin on her head. 

 

Andy and the kids left the house and collected candy all the way over to Mam's, where I was waiting and giving out candy with Mam.  Mary and Regina were so blind in their costumes that Natalie and Noelle had to guide them every step of the way.  Kirsten and Joe brought the kids to Mam's, and trick-or-treated in her neighborhood.  Then everybody trooped inside for the traditional Candy Sort and Trade.

Tuesday was All Saints' Day, and we went to Mass at 7:00  at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and got Domino's on the way home.

Wednesday was ninja class, but we left early to head up to the swim shop in Lewisburg to get Regina and Philip practice suits.  Stingrays starts at the end of the month.  She's extremely excited; he's dreading it.  After ninja, we hit the mall to get Natalie some work clothes and shoes.  Scott asked her to start hostessing this week.  She's working Thurs, Fri, Sat.  

Not only is she doing the Spiderman hang, 

she's also doing the web-slinging thing

Wednesday and Thursday were unseasonably warm and sunny, house windows open and car windows down.  I even went to ninja with capris and sandals.  I'm not sure if I'm correct, but I always think of this warm spell as Saint Martin's Little Summer.  Apparently Saint Martin's Day is Nov 11, and a warm spell on or around then could be the Little Summer, or it could be Indian Summer, which is also kind of ambiguous.  The definition of Indian Summer is a few warm days after the first hard frost, which we have experienced.  So both?  Either?  Neither?  At any rate, I'm soaking in the warmth and sunshine.

I ordered a new set of firebricks for the wood stove, but they won't arrive until DECEMBER.  I was hoping to get them replaced while the stove wasn't in constant use.

Andy's second week of work has been interesting.  He's the guy from the water company now, the one who, among other things, reads the meters, bleeds fire hydrants, and shuts off your water.  There's a lot more to the job than I expected, and he's been enjoying it.

Thursday morning I sent Philip outside for some reason, and he came back in saying NOPE NOPE NOPE.  Our mighty hunter cat left two dead baby rats on the sidewalk.  One of them had its head caught in somebody else's mousetrap, and the other one was a mangled mess.  Nobody could be prouder of her than Andy.  According to him, this is her raison d'être for existing in our house.

Philip wiggled out a loose bottom tooth first thing this morning.

It's been about a month since Regina started using Miacademy and wearing the Fitbit.  The Fitbit has lost its efficacy, and she's back to sleeping late.  As for Miacademy, on the downside, the entire daily coursework takes her under 45 minutes, which I think is unreasonably short.  She has also been pushing it to later and later in the day, saying it doesn't matter when she gets it done as long as she gets it done.  I disagree.    On the plus side, she is spouting facts about the moon from her Astronomy course and learning new techniques in drawing, as well as bringing up new sign language vocabulary every day.

Friday is First Friday Holy Hour.  Saturday I know there's something I have to do but I can't remember what, and Sunday I have to drive Regina to Sarah's to spend a few days while Jam Bam is out of town.