The Week in Review

Yep, that's me. I've had lofty intentions of numerous blogs. Remeber me mentioning the Battleship NJ and my Roxie Hart costume? The busy-ness of my weeks ebbs and flows. Just when I think I'm getting the hang of this whole working-outside-the-home thing something happens to keep me on my toes. Much has happened. Here is the week in brief review:

This week I met a woman knitting on my train who, as it turns out, works 6 floors above me in the same building and is part of a weekly lunchtime knitting group in her office, which I have now joined. More on this to come.

Yesterday I went on my first client meeting and it looks like I may be going on my first business trip for my new company the week after Thanksgiving.

Lunchtime nursing sessions are a thing of the past. We finally found the winning combination. A cup without a lid and formula. This has eased everyone's schedule up a good bit.

Davis is now using the phrase "Bye, bye Miss American Pie" as a term of derision, like Lucy of Peanuts fame would say "You blockhead." Yes, Trey has exposed the children to music far beyond their years. They know nothing of Barney or Blues Clues jingles, but are well acquainted with artists ranging from Michael Jackson and U2 to Cindy Lauper and Jim Croce. Back to Davis. Somehow he's taken the repeating theme from Don McLean's famous song "American Pie" and turned it into an insult. Again, can someone please explain the mind of a two-year old?

Evie is now standing up without holding onto anything??? Seriously???

A week from today we will be honoring Trey's recent accomplishment at the graduation ceremony for the University of Aberdeen. I will be posting more about this. We have a week of great fun ahead of us.

Posts to look forward to -- raking leaves, the Battleship NJ, Halloween karaoke party, our upcoming trip, and my new knitting circle.

My Own Questions

Admittedly, I have an inquisitive mind. I collect random pieces of trivia, particularly of the medical variety. I wonder strange things and then I often look them up online to satisfy my niggling curiosity.

Today one of my musings was satisfied. My building has about 18 elevators for the tower that I'm in. My series of floors has 5 devoted to it. Not too long ago I began to wonder how interiors of the elevator were vacuumed. I mean, I don't see any electrical outlets in the elevators themselves. And from experience I've learned that the elevators get decidedly angry and loudly protest when you try to keep the door open longer than deemed acceptable. Plus, wouldn't that require two people? One to prevent the doors from closing on the cord and being called to another floor and another to clean the carpet? My imagination was going a little wild.

As I disembarked its confines this morning I was greeted by a gentleman with a nifty contraption which instantly answered my query. A battery operated vacuum. And now I know. Brilliant!

Naked Fighting

Naked fighting? What is that? I asked the same question the other day while I was putting the boys to bed. Bedtime has taken on new meaning since I now spend most of the day away from my boys. Before I used to rush through it. Now it's become a time to read multiple books, talk, laugh, tickle, and just be together. I feel like being away from them has given me a renewed appreciation for them, their off-the-wall questions, their boundless energy, their simple affection.

Back to naked fighting. I was undressing Davis to put him in his JJs (pajamas), when he said, "No, Mom. Don't put them on. I want to naked fight." Huh? "What are you talking about, Davis?" He repeated himself, so I do what I always do in such situations and turned to my translator. "Addison, what is he talking about?" Addison gave me a "there, there" look. "Boxing, Mom. He calls boxing naked fighting."

And so right there in next to nothing but their birthday suits, I shamelessly allowed my boys to pretend "box". Like I said, bedtime has become a lot more fun. No pictures this time. Just good memories.

And for a little preview, today or tomorrow I'll be posting the pictures from our recent trip to the Battleship New Jersey as well as a little post-Halloween karaoke soiree I attended dressed as Roxie Hart from Chicago. Stay tuned.

The Miracle Worker

Pictures with smiling small children actually making eye contact are a rarity, like four-leaf clovers or white Christmases. Every small child you add to the mix doesn't double the challenge. He or she multiplies it...exponentially. With three total, forget about it. I'd lost all hope of ever managing a photo with all of them looking at the camera AND smiling.

And then Trey stopped by today at lunch for the daily feeding and he brought with him some of the most precious photos I've ever seen. Seriously. He's a miracle worker. OK, I'm slightly biased, but c'mon. They're cute, aren't they?

Slight resemblance?

My two babies.

And this one just cracks me up while making me feel like the richest woman alive. Their personalities bubble through, each with their own sweet traits and such evident love for one another.

Questions

Sunday Evie was still not well enough from her recent virus to go to church, so Trey stayed home with her and I spontaneously decided to travel into the city to church with them via train instead of car. And although it took a lot longer than I anticipated, the weather was glorious and we had the rare opportunity to sit in the front row of the front car for a fabulous view the entire way. Boys and trains are like milk and cookies.

As we dropped Davis off at his Sunday School class, I had to put a moratorium on the questions. They were flowing like a torrent from Addison. I couldn't keep up, so I said, "No more questions, Addison." He paused for a moment and then bowled me over with this one: "What are questions?"

Serenity now!

Hayrides and Halloween

An autumn still life -- apple cider, pumpkin, and cider doughnut.

Last Saturday, Halloween, dawned misty and moisty. Typically Scottish -- sunny one moment, driech the next. And I wasn't complaining because it fit. We decided to take a trip to Mood's Farm for apples and pumpkins and cider doughnuts and a hayride before Trick or Treating later. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

A good day ends with flushed cheeks.

Red Time

Photo courtesy of Socceraholic at flickr.

I am an unabashed seasonal drinker. Three of my siblings have been or are currently Starbucks baristas and they tease me for fitting the seasonal stereotype to a T. What, you ask, is a seasonal drinker? It's a person whose coffe du jour is always a seasonal drink or a non-fat vanilla latte as a fall back, no whip of course. You see, the good baristas can apparently prognosticate what drink a customer will likely order just by looking at them. Busy male executive? Plain coffee or espresso. Hipster? Chai tea with soy. Stylish, young females? Seasonal drinks.

And so with great delight I spotted a red cup today on the train platform, and I knew that I had to make a celebratory trip to Starbucks to kick off the beginning of the holiday season. It's that time again. Eggnog lattes. You either love them or hate them. Me? I'm a lover. And with a Starbucks in the lobby of my building I am going to have to set up some serious latte limits. Because eggnog doesn't come in non-fat.

Infimity and Beyond

Lest the previous post fool you, two is not all terrible. Quite the contrary. In fact, there is an innocence and joy inherent to it that warms my heart and is fully evident in this video. The wings from Addison's Buzz costume have become a new favorite toy and here Davis does a little demonstration.

To infimity and beyond!