Happy Thanksgiving!

So, of course, I forgot to bring the camera to Thanksgiving. You'll just have to trust me when I say we had a wonderful time with probably THE best Thanksgivin' fixins ever. The turkey was moist, the gravy was decadent -- everything was just delicious.

And while the following two photos don't in any way relate to our wonderful Thanksgiving meal (OK, I guess you could find a connection, if your mind wanted to go there), they are the only two photos I took this weekend, and I've vowed to try to blog more than I have been lately.

Nora, happily "reading" a book to Owen,
so long as she doesn't have to partake in this business of No. 2.

P.S.: Owen is not genetically freakish. I used the "smudge" tool so he won't kill me when he's a teenager.

Happy Fall!

Despite the still quite balmy weather for November, we got into the autumn spirit this weekend by raking leaves. Josh wanted to wait until every single leaf fell off the tree, but I couldn't stand looking like the hillbillies of the block (any more than we already do), so I managed to rake a few times over the past few weeks. Sunday, however, was the big haul, and despite having TWO (yes, TWO) leaf blowers at the cottage, we had to rent one since we forgot to bring them home. Sigh.

Nora and Owen got in on the fun -- as did Nesta and Pepper (our houseguest for the week). We're all ready to gorge ourselves with turkey and the like tomorrow (Nesta and Pepper have requested a Turducken). Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Puzzling Times

Here's a snapshot of a typical evening after dinner. Dancing, puzzles -- all that's missing is Owen's monotone voice singing along to the "Pink Bear" CD. I think all he gives us in this one is a quick "Choo Choo." Enjoy!

Boo!

Happy Halloween! We've all come down from our sugar high, and a couple of us are a bit crabby today from the late-night festivities. But as Halloweens go, this one was a hit.

The weather was great for October 31, and the Nora and Owen were more than happy to put on their costumes and all the accoutrements (save a crown that lasted about 10 minutes -- sorry, Sharon!).

We started by hitting a few houses on the block with Daddy, then we all (Annie included) headed to Steve and Dana's neighborhood to trick-or-treat with Tattoo and Mr. Roarke. The temperature started to drop, and our pumpkins a bit heavy, so we made a pitstop at a neighbor's open house for "real" food and lots of room to run around.

At home, we had to take stock of our goodies, oh about a dozen or so times, before calling it a night. The loaded pumpkin was the first thing on our minds this morning, too. Like the good mom that I am, I'll try not to eat ALL the candy before the kids get home from Jan's. They won't miss a few though, will they?

Hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween!

Bunch o' Pics

Colortime gone wild!

Meemah's necklace

Baby nuks -- and no, Owen didn't relapse.

Halloween preview

When I'm not looking...

Go Bears!

Bad Blogger

I'm a bad, bad blogger. That much is obvious. But we've been busy, I swear. To prove it, here are a few photos from a couple major events of August/September: a visit from the Scovils and hard evidence of the new basement!

Beating the Heat

We enjoyed a lovely day at a park on the north side of the city with our friends Kelly, Sophie, and Evie and Kerri and Libby. They had an enormous wooden play structure plus a huge water "tree" that helped us all stay cool.

I had trouble editing down these pictures because they all seemed cute to me at the time, so bear with me!

Evie, Sophie, Owen & Nora hog the swings.

Now that's a smile!

Miss Libby cools off.

Random jogger ruins my perfect shot!

Jogger has left the area.

Nice pose, Owen. Nora, too fast for pictures.

Libby getting worldly advice from Sophia.

Nora loves the water!

Libby, looking understandably suspicious of N & O. (Owen looking downright frightened.)

The whole gang!

The Joys of Mr. Potato Head Parts

Nesta admires glasses.

Nesta wishes she had minded her own business.

Bathing Beauties

Nora and Owen are finally getting a hang of this swimming thing. Ok...not quite "swimming," but they've graduated past wading by the shore. I was inside cleaning the cottage with Meemah while Josh was working miracles. We're all looking forward to more fun at the lake this weekend!

Nora jumping off the pier (with much guidance). I can't quite believe
I just put a picture of myself in a bikini on the blog. Thank god for swim skirts.

Kick, kick, kick!

He may just be wading, but past his bellybutton!

Miscellany

Storytime with Helena

This past week or so has been loaded with fun. We spent a morning at the Morton Arboretum, where we proceeded to get sopping wet from chasing corks down the stream. It made the threat of Nora wetting her pants a non-issue! Speaking of that, Nora is doing a great job going to the bathroom on the potty, and Owen is taking a turn for the better as well. He peed in the toilet all day for Jan yesterday; alas, at home, he's less interested.

Helena and Auntie Dana dropped of Tinker and Trixie earlier in the week for an extended play date for Nesta. They may have ingested a few extra dog hairs this week, but for the most part, the visit went without a hitch.

Ancient Chinese Water Torture

Aunt Annie came Friday night for a weekend of fun, fun, fun! She helped keep an eye on the kids while Josh and I attempted more work on the basement. We can actually say we're in the final stretch -- patch, paint, carpet...move in!

Sunday we went to a Kane County Cougar game with Steve, Dana, and Violet as well as Josh, Nicky, Abe, and Abbie. The kids had fun running around; the adults enjoyed the Miller products and lots of fried stadium food. I also had the pleasure of visiting the women's room, oh, about seven times thanks to potty training. It's quite clean for a baseball stadium, in case you were wondering.

Potty Time!

We officially started potty training this morning. Sigh. I think we went through 9 pairs of underwear by 10 AM. Nora seems to be getting the hang of it (thanks to the promise of jellybeans), but Owen just isn't havin' it. The experts say once you start, don't go back. Yet they also say don't force it. What? Can an expert please swing by and just do this for me? Wish us luck!

Vacation Part II: MN

From the beach to wild air mattress rides courtesy of the cousins, our Minnesota leg couldn't have been more fun. Nora and Owen keep saying "Going to Grandma's house again...soon?"

Vacation Part I: Cottage

Our family had a wonderful vacation together that started with 5 beautiful days at the lake with Meemah and Annie followed by 5 funfilled days with the family in Minnesota. These pictures don't really capture all the fun we had (blame the photographer, not the subjects), but you get the idea.

Nora and Baby taking a break from outside.

Off to the Mangan's cottage for a much-needed bath.

Storytime with Meemah.

Cruisin' on the boat with Annie.

Our little waterbug.

He's having fun--I swear!