Thanksgiving is when??!??!

Having no power for 8 days was a challenge
A challenge we survived and came away from very Thankful for all the goodness God had shown us during very trying times.
However once the power came back on we were exhausted.  8 days of planning, timing everything as best we could, 8 days of trying to not to make a mess.  Two nights after the power came back on I slept for close to 11 hours!  I am so grateful to have power back on and that life is sort of back to normal.  Yet there is a lingering twinge of disarray left in the air.  Those 2 weeks of not normal are going to have lasting impact.  It threw everything off.  We have seen pictures of our beloved Ocean Grove, NJ ~ while the damage there was minimal compared to other shore towns there was definate losses that are evident. So just how does this all relate to Thanksgiving?  I promise there is a link.  See "loosing" two weeks to Sandy has made everything happen sooner than I realized it would.  And with Thanksgiving being very early this year it just snuck up on us.  I am not ready for all this.  I feel so behind in my Christmas shopping.  I didn't spend hours looking for fun new recipes to make.  I am trying to be organized about it all but it is just not working.  Christmas cards are almost finalized!   But my brain feels scattered.  Ben's birthday is also right around the corner and after his b-day the Christmas celebrations begin!  One day at a time.  I am trying to enjoy the moments I can and to keep it simple.  I don't always do simple well.  I like a big splash!  For now I will do somethings I love, (going out to eat with friends, seeing a movie w. my hubby, making Thanksgiving Baskets with youth group) and somethings I don't ~ washing dishes, dusting, cleaning up after 3 kids and trying to decide what to give as Christmas gifts this year).

And Just How Did It Get to Be November 7th

YIKES!!!! October came and went with a blur.
Hurricane Sandy certainly played a big part in making the transition from October and November very complicated.  A week off of school for both kids in school.  An extra 2 days off for Ben since the power outages in Wyckoff were/are so bad.
To top it all off I am typing as it is snowing outside.  Did I mention that there was 2.0 earthquake the other day only about 15 miles from here????
So to summarize October I'll make an outline....no pictures this time, they are still on my camera.
October 3:  MOPS, Cross Country, GEMS
October 7:  Youth Group & Amplified
October 9:  Cross Country
10th:  New Hope
11th:  Cross Country....leave for Pittsburgh
In Pittsburgh ~ go to the playground, celebrate Cora's Birthday, Wii Just Dance, Fall Festival
14th:  Return from Pittsburgh
16th:  Cross Country, pick up Cliff from airport, Steel Magnolias
17th:  MOPS, GEMS
20th:  Wyckoff 5k, Corn Maze
21st:  Youth Group & Amplified
22nd:  Sierra Hull Concert
25nd:  Harvest Festivals
26th:  Foodie Club Thailand Night!!!  Delicious & Fun!
27th:  Trunk or Treat, Halloween Party @ Denekamps
28th:  Family Pictures and Dinner with the Wilsons
29th:  Hurricane Sandy arrive
30th:  no school
31th:  no school

And There goes September...

Besides the normal 1st day of school stuff that happens in September ~ as seen by the previous post ~ we had an extra few adventures.

We went to San Diego for a wedding.  All five of us got on a plane to fly across the country to what we thought would be amazing Southern California weather.  Not so.  It was a heatwave...highs of 104, 106...the highest temperatures they have seen in 15 - 20 years!!!  yikes...it was HOT!!!
The wedding was beautiful and we enjoyed every moment we spent in Cali.  Our kids were very well behaved pretty much everywhere we went.  I giggled a few times because I was taking my Cali to Cali LOL  :-)  We went to the beach, the zoo, tried surfing, ate fish tacos & enjoyed In & Out Burgers.  It was a quick trip but we had so much fun...just don't ask why I slept in 4 different beds in 4 days.

We also went to Hershey Park with our dearest friends the Millers.  We had such a fun time and once again we closed down the park.

Cassie joined the Cross Country Team so we've been to a few meets at Goffle Brook Park.

I hosted my friends from Steel Magnolias for a party of the patio...we had so much fun then too.

Foodie Club continues to be such a great time.  I laugh so hard when I am with these ladies.  Italian Night was a success but I am tickled pink to have talked them into an Asian night....Thailand here we come!!!!!!!!!!!

Ben is having a great year so far at Coolidge.  I am class mom and have gotten involved there with a few things.  Cassie is doing good in 6th grade too.  I signed up to be her class mom too.

October is a week old already and has proven to be exciting as well.  Never enough time though.  Still never enough time to everything.

1st day of Kindergarten

First Day of 6th Grade

Peach Picking (a few apples & tomatoes too)

going for just pictures tonight....

And 2 Months Later a recap

Hello Summer where did you go???  I think 10 weeks of vacation is a LONG time...especially with kids.  But yikes this summer FLEW by at a speed unknown before to me.  What made this summer so different???  Camps??  Life??? Three active, crazy, demanding, busy kids???  Church?? I don't know but in this last week before school starts I am trying to fit stuff in.  I am going to miss my Ben so much.  He is off to Kindergarten for 3 full days and 2 days till 1pm.  I'll be able to get stuff done a little easier but boy it's going to be an adjustment getting not having him with me that much.  I cried when I put Cassie on the school bus for Kindergarten....she was so excited.  She could not wait for that yellow bus to drive up our street to pick her up.  This year as I take Ben to school, there will be no yellow bus.  One of the hardest decisions of my life has been made in the past 6 months.  The choice to send Ben to public school here in Wyckoff and to ECES.  It has been an agonizing, long-drawn out, gut-wrenching process.  I'm sure there will tears for me....Ben is super excited and has the best outlook on life.  He is so compassionate and caring.  He has a heart like Jesus most of the time.
So this week we'll go to the movies, have lunches out, play with friends, and try to squeeze as much of summer as possible.  We'll eat ice cream and go to the beach.
Ice cream for lunch today???  I think it is a plan.

So in review of my summer goals...
1. sewing - - no progress
2. hosting- -  about 50% some weeks none, some weeks multiple
3. 1x of scrapbooking
4. Not always once a week to the pool but lots of weeks with multiple trips...also kids swimming with just Nana & Pop a few times
5. 4 day trips to the beach, hopefully peaches this week & fried green tomatoes.
6. I think 2x we have used our free tickets, including tonight.
We saw Brave (not free ~but at the "fancy" theater for $36 for all 5 of us), ParaNorman ($10 for 4 people), Timmy & Ben saw the Spiderman movie, We also saw Ice Age had planned for it to be 2 free tickets but i had managed to lose my card.  Now I have a new one.
7...Dates... we went out to dinner together in Ocean Grove.  It was awesome.  Tonight we head out to see our free movie...The Bourne Legacy.  We'll have a drink or dessert before hand.