The First October Weekend

Some weekends are just simply more productive than others.  This one, I'd have to say was less productive.  Not less enjoyable, but we just had fewer tasks to accomplish, so we took it easy.  Because this first weekend in October brought some beautiful weather, and some really memorable times with friends and family.

Molly is finally able to be trusted (at least for a few moments) with crayons.  I'm not sure if this is the norm for a toddler, but for the past year, she ate crayons.  I'm serious.  I would give a single crayon and paper, turn my head for a few seconds, and back to a mouthful of colored wax.  That girl.  I kept holding them from her, which I really hated, but even though they're labeled "non-toxic", I'm not sure that stuff is good for the bowels, you know?!  Either way, over the last few weeks, she has discovered the real potential of a crayon.  And she's loving it.  So coloring is one of our new favorite hobbies.  It's still very much a full-attention-from-Mom project, though, after the line of green I found in the hallway the other day...

It was back to the apple orchard Saturday!  We can't resist.  Not only does Molly love apple picking (and eating), but I'm really starting to enjoy it too.  We got some beauties, and couldn't have been prouder.  I've got 4 total pies under my belt thus far this Fall, and plenty more in the future.  The farm is always thankful for a warm pie, and we shared with Grandparents this weekend, too!  I'm working on a pie tutorial post, because I really want to share this recipe ;)

We got a few hours of dog-sitting in this weekend, too.  Molly's showing her amazing big sister/mothering/bossy capabilities with that little dog.  His name is Skippy, he's my sister's multipoo--which means he's an 11 pound, hypoallergenic, yipper.  He's amazingly gentle and doesn't bite or nip at Molly despite her constant drive to make him obey her.  She loved having him around.  As for Skippy, I'm not sure how he felt about the date...

I pulled the rest of the acorn squash out of the garden and gathered some fallen and silk leaves to decorate around the house, outside.  Molly and I really enjoyed collected acorns and leaves.  Plus, it was mostly a free collection, so that's always a win in my book.  Every time we walk out the door, she looks at the cart and says "so pretty, Mommy"!  I love the pride that fills inside her when she really helps with a project around here.

And we had a well overdue dinner with some great friends, sans kids.  This is not a regular happening for us, because we rarely do things without Molly.  But it was a great night.  I haven't laughed that hard in a while, and I do think laughing is good for the soul.  Good friends are really a gift, we all agreed to do this more often.  And Molly had fun playing for a few hours at my sister's house with her cousins.  It was truly a good night.

I've got a full week planned with my new position starting soon.  It's so bittersweet, but I know we've got God's support, and we're going to need it.  I am just not a fan of change.  But here we go.

Happy October,
it's going to be a month of great transition!


Lisa