Happy Halloween!

Well, we made it through our first "real" Halloween, and luckily Kyle didn't ask for a divorce after all the festivities I forced on the family! We had a blast though, attending 2 parties, playing on the Lawn, and trick or treating with friends. Here is a collage of the highlights :)

I'm sure you can all clearly see that A is a train conductor. My and Kyle's are a bit more cryptic (it was a Monster Mash-up theme...) so I was from Soul Train (together...Soul Train conductor) and Kyle was Apathe-tick-tock). I know, we're funny :) 

Lucky for us, the train conductor is really darn cute :)

Fall Eats

I love fall and everything about it...especially food. Since my days of food blogging gave way to family and lifestyle, I kind of miss the outlet to discuss food. So, here's a little change of pace with a few awesome recipes we've eaten just in the last week. And all come with 2year old taste bud approval :)

Butternut squash, ham and apple hash No picture, but it was delicious!

Butternut squash and mushroom risotto with fresh puppy drum

Pork chops with salty sweet fall salad

The Things We Learned on Vacation

Ocean

Lighthouse

Kite

A learned other words this week too, like "almost" (the waves almost touched our feet) and "dominoes". And he counted to 14. 

So, as A would say (as he learned this week)...How about that?

A Real Vacation

We're in vacation down in Hatteras. And let's just say this is the first real week of relaxation in almost 2 years. We've been on trips, and we've come down here before. But never like this...

There is a ratio of 4 grandparents to one very spoiled grandson. A is eatin' up all this attention. Meanwhile, I've gone shopping, on 2 runs, 2 bike rides, and Kyle and I got to celebrate our 7 year anniversary with a nice dinner and no babysitting bills (or texts from incompetent sitters). 

So yes, this is vacation.

Road trip - Annapolis!

We took a little trip up to Annapolis this past weekend for a long overdue trip to visit Kyle's longest friend and her family. 

We had a great time at a local fall festival that included me riding in a barrel pulled by a tractor. (Now I know why my parents were always anxious to go to the local carnivals in town...)

And in true MD fashion we went to a crab shack on the water where A and friend enjoyed chicken nuggets of course :)

But what would a trip to Annapolis be without lots of boats? Between all the boats and the planes flying over, you can imagine it was not a quiet trip as A yelled "BOAT!" Or "AIRMAIN!" Non. Stop. 

Here's hoping the drive to Hatteras this weekend goes as well...and that we get as good of weather as last weekend!

The F Word

Well I bet the title grabbed your attention...but actually I was referring to furlough. I have been blessed by the current Congress to find myself without somewhere to go (and earn money) all week. This has resulted in a clean basement, lots of baked goods, and a chance to get into a new show on Netflix. 

But even better is that I have picked up A early every day, helped get him ready in the morning, and today I got to join him for a special train ride! Since he is OB-sessed with trains right now, this was pretty much the best thing ever. 

So yeah, I hate the fact that we're furloughed and I know it's affecting many people's lives in very real ways, but for now I'll just relish in the fact that I got to hang out with my son more :)

Flavors of Autumn

This weekend we checked out the fall festival at one of the local orchards. A isn't much for sitting at a table and doing a craft yet, but we played in the apple orchards and the pumpkin patch. 

Now to make some pie together :)

Little Chef

A is finally getting to the age where I feel like I can let him help me in the kitchen. He pours the flour, helps me hold the mixer, and of course licks the spoon. I recall my early years in training with fond memories of these same tasks, so I'm glad my little chef can follow in my footsteps :)

Don't worry...we're also starting him on setting the table too.