Fall Weekend

We really could have used Mike in this shot...

The cutest Mummy ever... or, as I like to title this one, "Mummy's Boy" -
yes, go ahead and groan now.

Homemade cider donuts AND potato pancakes. Oh my GOD.

The ill-humored vampire.

Beautiful colors of Fall!

Fall, Fall, Fall...

I LOVE Fall. The crispness in the air, the colors, the fact that I can finally pull my favorite clothes out of storage, being able to cook and bake without feeling like I'm dying in my mini-kitchen - it's all good with me.

To kick off the Fall in proper fashion (yes, I know it started a month ago, but the weather is finally here), we had our second annual pumpkin picking trip to Demarest Farms where the boys got to run around, go to a pumpkin patch, and we all got to enjoy copious baked goods. Pictures are coming after this post. We got there earlier, calendar- and clock-wise, than we did last year so the crowd wasn't nearly as bad this time around and we had a better choice of pumpkins, bringing home two very nice, plump ones that will add to our Halloween-y home.

On our way back from the Farm, I discovered Yarn Diva, which now rivals Skein Attraction for my favorite LYS (local yarn store) in Jersey. The staff were so friendly; I never once felt like I was intruding (believe me, a lot of yarn stores make you feel like you're a potential perp just for walking in the door) and was allowed to just wander freely. I ended up getting two balls of soy silk sock yarn and some DK weight yarn, plus a set of double-pointed needles for my latest sock project. I'll be going back there often.

Last night, I attempted to figure out some more of Second Life. After 20 minutes, my brain hurt and I logged off. Sure enough, though, there is a Second Life forum on Ravelry, so I've joined it and friended one of the knitters there - so maybe she'll take me on a tour. That, and I've bookmarked a Wiki on Second Life.

Less than a month to go before registration at SJSU!! I'm in excited countdown mode.

Friday, Friday

So happy it's Friday. I can't shake the sleepies this week! I think there's something about the onset of Fall that's so comforting to me that I just want to curl up in bed with some yarn and the DVR remote.

And speaking of Fall, when will the weather actually accompany the season? I'm sitting here in capris and a short-sleeved shirt. Someone get Al Gore on the phone so we can strategize this.

Just found out that a Forest Hills pizzeria that I've always meant to go to is either part of the Grimaldi family or reminiscent of Grimaldi's, depending on whose website one reads. Anyway, Nick's Pizza may have to be on my places to visit list this weekend, especially since Stacey and Claire managed to undertake the amazing feat of getting me to wait on a line to get into Grimaldi's last week. And it was all worth it (and I knitted the entire time, to offset line rage).

Weekend - tomorrow we've got a birthday party for Will's buddy Randy, and hopefully some living room gutting and cleaning. Sunday, we're hoping to get to either Queens Farm for pumpkin picking and animal feeding or the Bronx Zoo for Halloween tomfoolery and animal feeding. Either way, there will be pictures. And lots of handi-wipes.

School Starts Tomorrow? Holy Crap!

So it's Labor Day today (Happy Birthday, Mom!) and I find myself embracing the fact that Will goes back to school tomorrow, and that Alex starts Pre-K the following day. And yes, I will cry like a 2-year old with a skinned knee when he does.

After being home all summer with the boys, I'm grateful to have had the time with them, but as I've said before and will say again until the day I die, being an at-home mom (or a part-time at-home mom, as I've been for the past few months) ain't pretty. I think I've said the word "Guys" in a threatening voice approximately every 2.5 seconds every day since June 28th, when Will got out of school. "Please!" follows, clocking in at about 3.2 second intervals. I've almost had sunstroke from being out in the park, while my children play blissfully on, I've watched a lot of DIY Network (new obsession show: Greetings from DIY - Lauren and Linda, I'm talking to you), I've knit a lot and even got to know my sewing machine a little better. I've baked a lot of muffins, I've explored some new recipes, and I've had a lot of fun.

That said, I'm thrilled to say I've accepted a full-time job! Starting on September 17, you can find me at Working Mother Magazine, where I'll be a Consumer Marketing Manager. I'm so excited; I've been reading the mag on and off for about 8 years, and to have the opportunity to be a part of the magazine is so exciting. I love the location (42nd right off of Vanderbilt), which will leave me the opportunity to meet with Stacey for some mac & cheese at Burger Heaven (mmmm...); I really hit it off with the people I interviewed with, and I'm thrilled and hopeful, which I haven't really been much of in a while.

The boys are excited to be in afterschool - yes, after I started my little experiment, figuring I'd give them the home-time and security and freedom I thought they were lacking, they turn around and tell me they miss their friends. Who knew?

So it's Fall, the kids are going back to school, and I kind of feel like they do, as I get ready to go back to work. I'm psyched that I'll have their first two weeks of school off for them (especially since I don't feel like scrambling so early on to find out where to put them on Rosh Hoshanah).

And to be mercenary for just a moment, it'll sure be nice to have two full-time paychecks again... a girl's gotta have yarn, ya know...