October

Oh how I love October. We ushered it in with a quiet birthday dinner where Greg slipped away from work to join me and Ty. The house was slowly decluttered as Lauren moved out; the reduction of dog hair alone refreshing. 

After Greg's daily workout, he and Diesel take a walk. Diesel, who somehow can apparently tell time, takes up his position in the kitchen and stares Greg down until he finally makes his way to gather the leash. Greg laughs as he attempts to negotiate with the stern dog, "just ten more minutes."

And then one day Greg thought he would skip the walk to get some things done around the house. He was wrong.

October weather makes adulting challenging because I just want to hold down my porch swing with a book and a cup of tea rather than be at work. I compromise with lunch breaks outside. Greg is still bewildered to find me wrapped in a blanket under the stars on early Saturday mornings. I simply can't get enough of the crisp, clean air. 

We got to hang out for a few hours with his mom while they did laundry. We crafted, had dinner and dessert before choosing a show. 

Austin has been lamenting his first loose tooth could result in the tooth fairy visiting while his dad lives in Hawaii. Trying to find a way for his dad's feelings to not be hurt when he missed the milestone, asked Taylor if his fiancee still loses teeth. Whereas she is quite young, she isn't that young. This child cracks me up with his insight and ability to throw shade so innocently. His father, by the way, was not nearly as amused as the rest of us. 🤷

After months of campaigning, the boy finally scored his coveted ebike. I had so many reservations about this purchase but he has fully embraced the cold air to take himself to school and hopes to secure his first real job now that he has transportation. I'm waiting on the reality of January to hit but he insists he is tougher than the elements. That being said, one of the arguments I had against the ebike was storage. I made it clear I was not losing my parking place in the garage.......

Clearly, I wasn't specific enough. We ultimately created space in the garage around Greg's workout equipment. Ty is so thrilled with the purchase, he invited me to take his picture. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I jumped at the opportunity. He was shocked I insisted on shots sans the helmet.  

Makenna had a sweet little cat that in so many ways, was like her child. Kiwi was taken abruptly and it crushed her. A few weeks later, they learned of two tiny guys in need of a home. They waited until they were fully weaned to add them to their family. Meet Freddie and Frankie......

Everyone is delighted. I mean, how sweet are these faces?

Erin treated me to dinner at a local Venezuelan restaurant for my birthday and I loved the entire experience. First, hanging out with Erin is always special and secondly, the food was fantastic. All the things you hear about oldest daughters being the organized ones who step in to help and problem solve? It's all so true. 

My job requires an annual flu shot and because I am currently on two immune suppressing medications, I was concerned about this one. I scheduled it for a Friday morning to give myself a weekend to recover. It not only robbed me of my weekend but cost me my first sick days. I slept on average 18 hours a day and only Diesel didn't mind. He is such a perfect cuddle buddy/weighted blanket.

Giving me life this month:

Crisp, cool mornings; fall leaves both on the trees or gently falling from the bright blue sky; the Curious George soundtrack; daily yoga challenge (even if in some moments, I am sure it is trying to kill me), puppy snuggles and sweet kittens, Ty asking to volunteer at school because a teacher invited him to work alongside her, reading on the porch swing and hot tea on the deck. 

Read this month: 

I abandoned one particularly dark novel halfway through the month because I was not in a headspace to appreciate it and googled, "light reading suggestions." I should have specified that it need not be mindless or lacking plot. So one book was bust but the second? Delightful. The Rosie Project was the only book I read this month I'd recommend to others. The Girl Who Was Taken was decent and unfortunately, You Only Live Once could have been written by a middle schooler.

 

A friend gifted me these shirts after I photographed her extended family. I am so touched by the gesture and adorable designs. I mean, how sweet are these?

This moment prompted a conversation about where on the autism spectrum we all land...

Our county postponed trick-or-treating due to a rainy forecast until Friday, November 1. The result landed all of my kiddos and most of their significant others to join us for chili and hot dogs. It was a beautiful night sitting on the lawn enjoying the company and neighbors. Diesel was certain the entire event was designed to get him lots of attention. Of course he was. The evening was so perfect, we ran out of candy. This is not a bad problem to have but I was surprised we managed to unload over six pounds of chocolate one piece at a time.