On we march to the end of October. This will be one of those chaotic weeks. We are beginning the week with Ashley showing signs of getting sick. Cough, drippy nose, but no fever. We’ll see how this plays out…

Tomorrow is pretty normal. On Tuesday, I have a doctor check-up and Ashley has piano lessons. On Wednesday, I have a staff meeting (which means I get home around 6PM), Ashley has karate at 6PM, and Kayla has a band concert at 7PM (she has to be there at 6:30PM). On Thursday, I have conferences at school which means I get home at 9PM. Friday is a half-day for me, but I will be dropping off some donated books at Kayla’s school , helping get her ready for her Halloween dance, then dropping her off at the dance before going to my dance class. That careful precision is kicking in!

Gizmo is here and doing fine. He never even acted weird on the first day. He remembers being here last time, and he is even behaving with breakfast and not standing on our faces at 5AM. He’s so comfortable, he is reverting to his “dat” ways…

He wants to go in his carrier, but it is closed.

His little ear is healing just fine too.

Today, we had another guest. Caleb came and played with Kayla (Ashley kept her distance) while Erin and I worked on a Halloween costume for Caleb. This costume needs no explanation….too cute!

How is that “bottle” keeping its form around his shoulders, you ask? We cut strips from a pool noodle and sewed them in! I did the same thing on Kayla’s costume. She is going as a dragon with wings, and the noodle acts as the top support for the wings. Those noodles are amazing things. They provide support, but are totally flexible. Caleb was playing cars with that costume on, and he could bend and flex all he liked.  I have also learned that nail polish works great to keep delicate fabrics from unravelling. Kayla painted the edge of her wings with nail polish to keep the metallic fabric from shredding (it was too delicate to hem properly). Erin painted the edge of Caleb’s label with clear polish.  I will post pix of the girls’ Halloween costumes after our trick-or-treating on Sunday.

I will close with a picture of Ashley’s tree in the back yard. It is an Autumn Purple Ash, hence the reason it is her tree. It colored out really nice this year, with different layers.