Today..

It was 34 degrees when I went to the bus stop this morning.

Some parts of New England even got snow!

I'm so glad I picked up this scarf and these gloves.

You know how much I love teal right now!

Griffy loves his play dough

I love it when he doesn't mix all the colors together :)

You should RUN to your nearest Target.

And buy the new Mrs. Meyers candles.

They're 6.99 and the new scents are so good!

This is Spice Cake.

It inspired me to make...

this pumpkin bread.

I love the name of it.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread.

Mine only made 2 loaves and I'm sure

that 1 will be gone before school gets out.

I added chocolate chips to mine.

Man it's good with a cup of tea.

(oh...and instead of a cup of vegetable oil..eww...I used a cup of coconut oil)

I'm starting my Christmas list.

I'd love a new pair of Ugg slippers..

oh wait.

I didn't mean my list..

I meant the kids.

:)

I'm loving everything in 

The Land of Nod catalog.

I can't believe there are 8 weeks until Christmas.

And today..

I'm happy it's Friday.

It was a 

L

O

N

G 

week with the 

D.O.G

The Cranberry Bog

This is the time of year

that the cranberries are harvested.

There is a bog across the street and

I pass it every day.

A million times a day.

And it's been so beautiful to watch.

Every day

rain or shine

warm or cool temperatures

he is out there.

I think his name is Chuck.

And I think he's in his 70's.

He has no idea

but every time I drive by him

he inspires me.

Thanks Chuck.

And seeing all those beautiful red cranberries 

makes me want to make my Nana's

cranberry nut bread.

I'll post the recipe on 

my cooking blog.

One of these days.

:)

Weekending

Ballet

Booing

Homecoming games and dances

More ballet

House work

Yard work

Caramel apples

Head of the Charles

Picking ticks off Ziggy

More ballet

More ticks

Homemade Chinese food

Done with driving school

You know what that means 

Halloween cupcakes

and decorations 

and costumes

It was 36 degrees this morning when I drove Stephen to rowing.

I put the heat on.

First time this season.

And.. I have 2 kids home sick today.

We'll be drinking lots of tea with honey.

Right Now I'm Loving...

..These striped bags in this months Living magazine.

I thought the bags would be so cute for our advent tree this year.

And I just loved the straws.

This etsy shop is so cute!

...Being Boo'd..

With Monster Mash Jelly Belly beans. 

Our turn!

...Mrs. Meyers Apple!

...This soup.

Tabatchnick Lentil..

Sometimes it's just not in the cards for homemade soup. 

This one is yummy, healthy and only 160 calories.

...Glitter!

Will had a project due this week.

And of course I break out the glitter.

He would have none of it.

How can you not love glitter??

...This conversation between Hannah and I.

It took place on Sunday when I was at Stephen's regatta.

I guess she's bored with the dog and Griffy already.

...This Latte nailpolish from the Gap!

Sunday in NH

Rowing season is almost over.

This weekend is the Head of the Charles in Boston

and then the following weekend is the finals in Worcester.

This past Sunday's regatta was held in New Hampshire.

Steve had flown home Saturday night at midnight

and I woke up at 4:30 with Stephen to get him to his bus for NH.

Steve stayed home all day Sunday with the 3 kids 

and the puppy

and I was able to drive up to the regatta..alone.

I don't even think I put the radio on in the car.

I LOVED the silence.

Don't get me wrong..

I love the happy chaos in our house on a daily basis

but sometimes you just need a little peace.

I left the house at 6:30 a.m and drove the hour and a half to NH.

The sun was coming up as I drove through Boston.

And when I drove home..with Stephen..

Sunday night at the same time

just 12 hours later..

the sun was going down.

It was a beautiful day.

Typical fall day in New England.

One minute I'm bundling up my coat

then next I'm ripping it off.

Crossing the finish line.

They finished 14th out of 36 boats.

Really good for our little club!

We race against big time prep and private schools!

And look at the foliage!!

These regattas are all day events.

The kids are usually on the bus by 5:30am to travel to the venue.

The bring pillows, sleeping bags, homework

and they all pig pile together on the ground.

The parents do the food.

There is a lot of food to prepare/bring/set up/cook.

And a lot of kids and parents to feed.

Somehow it all gets done.

Sunday I helped out.

And it's funny..

we'll whisper to each other..

"look at so and so schools set up

They've really got it going on!"

It was a fabulous day!

It was so great to spend time alone with Stephen.

He's such a great kid.

We're so proud of you!

My Week in Pictures

Saturday 5:00

Monday 10:00 a.m

Wednesday 8:30 a.m

Friday 5:45 p.m 

Tuesday 7:00 pm

Thursday 9:00 am

Wednesday 2:00 pm

Saturday 5:30 pm

Friday 5:01 pm

* It was a LONG week.

Steve flying home now from another week overseas.

Happy.

What's the Deal With Dog Poop

Someone shared this with me yesterday.

Do you remember this from Jerry's stand up days?

"On my block a lot of people walk their dogs 

and I always see them walking along with their little poop bags.

This, to me, is the lowest activity in human life.

Following a dog with a little scooper.

Waiting for him to go so you can walk down the street

with it in your bag.

If aliens are watching this through telescopes,

they're going to think that the dogs

are the leaders of the planet.

If you see two life forms,

one of them's making a poop,

the other one's carrying it for them,

who would you assume is in charge?"

Jerry Seinfeld.

It's pouring here today.

Griff, Zigg and I just came in from a walk.

And I did NOT pick up poop.

I don't even bring a bag.

He pooped on my neighbors lawn the other day.

I went back a few hours later 

with the pooper scooper and picked it up.

I felt awesome walking down the street

with a pooper scooper 

filled with dog poop.

Ok.

Seriously, no more talking about the dog poop

right?

Enough already.

In The Face of Adversity

Ok so I knew that getting a puppy was going to be work.

I guess I forgot how much work.

I know.

I seem to be complaining about the dog lately.

My neighbor told me a funny story when I was complaining to her

about the dog the other day.

She knew someone that was always saying

"damn dog" to their dog.

Soon the kids were saying

"where's damn dog?"

"time to feed damn dog" 

"c'mere damn dog".

That'll be me.

Really..he's cute.

And not a BAD dog.

But, he's a DOG.

And I'm just not used to this.

I have to say that I truly 

HATE

picking up dog poop.

I really hate that I walk around my yard now

like it's a minefield.

I just haven't mastered the art of 

picking up dog POOP with a plastic bag.

Seriously.

You are like

TOUCHING IT!

This is what I'm facing now

and it's building my character.

In a good way

I hope.

You can still build your character

at 43 right?

Life is crazy busy right now.

Kids schedules

Steve's travel

did I mention we have a new puppy?

I have zero time to sit at this computer.

But, this past weekend

we were able to...

get to the beach

do some yard work

fix my car :)

drive to Stephen's regatta out in western Mass.

visit Grandparents

host Grandparents for dinner

ballet in Cambridge

and have some quality family time!

I love that Stephen rows.

It is a way cool sport.

He says all that time how hard it is.

The blisters on his hands prove it.

The 5 a.m practices prove it.

The building of his character

proves it.

I see it and 

someday he'll thank us.

:)

*If you don't like something, change it;

if you can't change it

change the way you think about it.

...Mary Engelbreit

A Few Things I Just LOVE About My New Puppy

1. That he just puked all over my car

2. The chewing

3. The biting

4. My pooper-scooper

5. That my days are spent entirely around waiting for him to pee/poop

6. Vet bills

7. Every time I load the dishwasher, he is RIGHT there to lick the dirty dishes

8. That instead of  drinking the water I just put in his bowl, he has to carry the bowl somewhere else..and by the time he gets there..the water has spilled all over the floor. Every.Time.

9. Did I mention watching him EVERY second of the day to make sure he's not

peeing/pooping in the house?

10. When I walk into my house, it smells like a dog lives here.

He's really lucky he's cute.

Weekend Away

Steve and I went to NYC for the weekend.

It's been too long since we've gone away...alone.

I was totally stressed about going

and leaving my mom here with 4 kids and a puppy.

Right before we left

I told Steve we should just forget it.

It just seemed like it was not worth all the stress.

I was wrong.

I needed to get away from 

my house

my dog

and yes

even my kids.

The month of September was the busiest

I've ever had.

And this past weekend

was just what we both needed.

Thanks Mom

for making this weekend happen for us!