November Update

Around the House: Not a whole lot going on here lately. It is birthday party season, apparently. Embry has been invited to 3 in the last couple of weeks. I still haven't decided how many she will go to. I like for her to socialize with her classmates outside of school, but there are only so many weekend afternoons I am willing to give up. I have so few weekend days off as it is.

In the Kitchen: On my way home from work last night I decided that our home has been lacking in baked goods lately. I had to resort to toast for my late night snack. So today, I was determined to make cookies. However, Matthew is napping and I am blogging rather than baking. After putting together the dough for a double batch of chocolate-chip cookies, I realized that I only had half a bag of chocolate chips. Note to self...check to see that you have all the ingredients before you put everything into the mixer. In my defense, I did check to see if we had enough butter and brown sugar, the two things we are usually out of. So, in my fridge sits a large bowl of plain cookie dough, sans chips. I was tempted to bake a few without, just to see how they turned out. But, I decided that the dough can wait until tomorrow, and I'll bring home a 5 lb bag of chocolate chips from work tonight.

New with Embry: Embry is making huge strides in her reading. She wants to read everything that she sees. Road signs, t-shirts, mail, everything. She's really starting to get it. She's also starting something new with her penmanship. I came home the other day to find a page of cursive words on the desk. She has just started to learn it, but it is coming very easy to her. She seems to like it much more than printing. She did not get that from me, I hated writing cursive in school. It was my worst subject. Go figure.

New with Matthew: Matthew is saying new words everyday. He seems to focus on one sound at a time. He favorites this week are "cool," "goose," and "soup." It is so much nicer to hear his little speaking voice than the usual screaming that we have become too familiar with.

I am Grateful For: The next 2 Saturdays off, and spending as much time with J and the kids as possible.

The Weather Outside: It has been ridiculously nice outside, especially for November. There are lilies blooming in my front yard! I can't remember it being so warm this late in the year, even when we lived in Alabama. We did have our first frost last night, but it is 65 out right now. I love it!

I am Obsessed With: Making plans for the holidays. Unfortunately, I may not know my schedule until the last few days before Thanksgiving and Christmas. So far we have several contingencies, but I know we will make it work...somehow.