A few things I was reminded of this weekend 

as we celebrated my baby boy's 2nd birthday:

• I am so very blessed with a
  loving, devoted, faithful and gorgeous husband.
  
  
• We are so very blessed with two beautiful, smart, fun and loving children.
  
  
• My heart can feel so full of love, pride and happiness
  that it literally feels like it might explode out of my chest. 
  (and I love it)
  
  
• I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am and loved I am.
  (and so often dismiss it from worry of what is not right or not how I wish it were)
  
  
• I have the two best girlfriends in the whole wide world. 
  (they have been by my side for better than 20 years -
  and they don't have to be)
  
  
• We have the greatest friends and family. 
  
  
• Celebrating the day my children were born are the most satisfying, most emotional, most fun days I have each year.
  
  
• I actually can make a cake and shape it into a Dinosaur.
  
  
• Life is full of joy.
  
  
• No matter how organized I am, I am still a last-minute-Lucy. 
  (I was up until nearly 2am finishing favors
  that could have been done a week ahead of time)
  
  
• We take a lot of pictures. 
  (and I haven't even seen them all yet)

All of these pictures are courtesy of my "Tio".  
You can see his awesomeness here:  
http://picasaweb.google.com/roadking1989/Wyatt2ndBirthday101709#

Is it too early for Christmas Music?
It's September 27th.
So, most of you will probably say "yes".  And I agree.  Sort of.
This morning while I made pancakes and looked out at the cold, Autumn rain...  I played one song.
Non-traditional.  Sheryl Crow.  It was good.  Bluesy Soul Rock, as I have come to expect from one of the greatest female rockers of, at least, my generation.  It was just right.
It's not like I busted out Johnny or Nat...  just a little sampling of what's to come.


I have said it before and it is oh-so-true.  God blessed me with babies in October and January for a reason.  (ok, several reasons, but here's the one I am talking about -)
By celebrating Wyatt in October, it puts my yearning for Christmas at bay.
By celebrating Abby in January, it puts my sadness that Christmas is over at bay.
Perfect!


I think I will start "tagging" my blogs with keywords.
I never understood why people did that.  Now, though, I see myself discussing many of the same things over and over again.  (I am officially into my second year of Blogging now, and come on - how many topics can one woman cover?)
Like, for example - pancakes.
I know we've discussed them before.
It will be interesting to see how many tags Abby & Wyatt get!
Also - I'm not sure how to do that, so I don't know when I will start.


Is it too early to change my header over to Green & Red?
Ok.  Yes, I know it is.


And finally, I just want to send a little happy message to my friend, Kimmie.  She's having a Christmas Baby this year and I am so excited for her.
This morning her Facebook status was something about cold Autumn rain and warm Beef stew - and it made me so happy.
I might have to go on-line shop for "Baby's First Christmas" crap right now.
XO

A sure sign, as if we needed another one, that summer is over?
We closed the pool today.  So sad.  But also - so liberating.  It's like that final piece of the season, that final, lingering "is it really Fall, can I buy my pumpkins?" feeling is complete.
Summer is over.  Done.
I can look forward to Christmas now.  Officially.

But first - I am looking forward to Fall TV!!
I thought I would share with you, while listing and organizing for myself, what I am looking forward to for my Fall television lineup.

On Mondays, I love CBS.  But, from what I can see - they have once again eff'd with the schedule so I am not sure if I will still love CBS.  I love "How I Met Your Mother", "New Adventures of Old Christine" (I know, it hasn't been on Mondays in forever - whatever), and "Big Bang Theory".
I may DVR the shows I like since I hate "Two and a Half Men" and I don't really feel like being stuck watching some new, crappy show in between the shows I already love.
That leaves my Monday nights open for "House", who I love.  Yes, "who", because, really - if he were real, and not the doctor on tv played by Hugh Laurie, I would leave my husband and stalk him for the rest of my life.  I love Dr. House!!

Tuesday brings me the new Melrose.  "Melrose Place" pretty much sucked in the 90's, but I watched it because I was a die-hard 90210 fan.  But, I fell out of love with both shows long before they fell off the air.  I watched the new Melrose, though, because it intrigued me.
I liked it, I'll DVR it, but no promises...  I will really be surprised if I still like it after another episode where they let Ashlee Simpson talk.
Likely I will watch whatever I DVR'd Monday night on Tuesday.

Wednesday is all about "Glee".  I have not been so excited about a tv show since...  I don't know, I'll compare it to American Idol, I think since it really doesn't compare to Grey's or 90210 - my two most favoritest tv shows ever (20 years apart but equally obsessive).

Glee starts at 9 so should I find myself sitting before that, I might watch "New Adventures of Old Christine" followed by "Gary Unmarried" - both very funny but neither worth rushing to get my butt on the couch for.  (I dvr Christine - it's always funny and fills a gap if you have nothing else to do.)

Nothing compares to Thursday night.  I don't go out, I don't do housework, not even folding laundry.  I sit, with nothing but a drink of water, curled up on the couch and ready to completely lose myself in Grey's Anatomy.  I love that show so much, it's ridiculous.  I get angry if Jay makes noise in the background that might distract me from my program.

I watched the Season Finale on the couch in our house in Florida this past May.  It's on again this week and I cannot wait to watch it at home!  Then, next week is the Season Premier.  YAHOOOOOO!!!  I love it, I love the characters, I love the show and 9:00 is the perfect start time.  (Ok, the premier starts at 8, I think, but it's usually 9.)
My obsession is so deep that I actually DVR it, start to watch it about 15 minutes into the episode so that I can fast forward commercials and usually end with the show running live.
I have sort of-kind-of started to watch Private Practice.  The season finale was pretty exciting so I'll give it another shot this year.  But, really, I haven't liked any characters aside from Addison, so I don't know - that show might go away with Melrose.
Also, maybe worth noting, is ABC's new show "Flash Forward".  I plan on dvr'ing that because it starts at 8, which is not a good time, I wouldn't make it every week, but it looks interesting.  And ABC brought us "Desperate Housewives", "Grey's" and "Lost" along with numerous other runaway hits, so it might be worth getting into early on.

Friday nights are not big tv nights but the USA Network present "Monk" and "Psych" and Jay loves them.  I don't have a regular Friday night line-up so one of two things can happen - I might go out.
I can go out because Jay is so happy that it's Friday, he has the weekend ahead of him and his favorite 2 shows on tv, I have no guilt or worry leaving him home alone with the babies.  Or, I snuggle up with my man and watch his shows with him.  I do like both shows, but mostly I just love how much he likes them.

As a side note - on HBO I watch "Big Love" - I love that show a lot, I'm really into the Henricksons.  I also like "Hung" - I dvr it and watch it an hour or 2 at a time, it's 30 minutes - not a very good show but I just keep watching it.

Saturday and Sunday are not (were they ever?) big tv nights.
I never got into "Desperate Housewives".  "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" makes me cry - or gag, depending on Ty's crew.  I do like "Iron Chef America" and "Big Love" is on, when it's on - who knows with HBO, right?  But mostly, the weekends are up for grabs.

This all may make me sound like a total couch potato, but I can assure you - this is more of a wish list than an actual schedule.  Aside from Grey's Anatomy, none of these shows get watched with any regularity.  I forget.  Or I get annoyed.  Or, I'm just too busy or tired.
But I do love tv.  And I love Fall and new seasons, new series and early darkness...  they go together.

What are you watching this year?

Is it strange to anyone else that I bought a whole new package of napkins for our party on Sunday, filled the caddy with the already-open package and - even though we fed about 40 people - never needed to re-fill and even had left-over napkins in that caddy?

***

Chilly out today.  Almost...  c.o.l.d. right now.  I love this weather, and I love Autumn - I've said it a thousand times.  But I feel like it really happened overnight.  The leaves are still green but the nights are practically frosty!

I plan ontaking pictures of one certain spot each week to sort of document Autumn this year.  I think of this every year.  We'll see if it works out this year.

***

Not a lot of action in the Blog world lately.  And as much as I bitch about my blog regulars not adding content, I haven't had much time or energy to say much lately, either.  So - peace.

Weening myself off of Facebook.
Sort of.
I don't intend to "quit it" but I have become a bit too addicted to it.
I am no longer "searching" now I am just straight up "stalking".  I mean, really.  250+ friends on FB.  Do I have nothing else to do but check and see if they're eating, going out or too tired but can't sleep?

Scored a gorgeous, handmade, solid and practically scratch-free bookshelf at a flea market yesterday.  
 $25.
Pledged it, threw our books on it and called it our Hallway Piece.
I love flea markets and tag sales but I rarely go because a) they're early in the day and I hate that and b) it's hard to bring kids along.
This bookshelf made my year.
The bookshelf that was in our hallway was $70 from Staples.  Much bigger but particle board and plastic - nothing compared to what we have now.
We put the Staples thing in our living room for lack of a better place, thinking it would stick out like a sore thumb but it really looks good.
The "wood" color matches the rocking chair which is right next to it and it really blends right in.
Love it.

Summer is fading into Fall.
I still need to sleep with the fan on in my window, but I wake up chilly.  Not quite "need a sweatshirt until my coffee warms me up" chilly but still - I'm not sweating.
I love the hum of the fan.  I hate when that season ends and I have to find a new way to fall asleep.  I like the white noise hum of my kids' monitors on my night stand - so I guess that will fall back into place as my standard sleep inducer.

I have mums in my yard.  But my impatiens are still colorful.  That is a sure sign of the end of summer.  I love mums so much, I start to buy them as soon as the stores put them out and I really don't stop...  really.  I think I had about 22 of them - all sizes and colors one year.  That was the year we had Abby's baptism - ironically the same date that Wyatt would be born a year later - so the mums and 50 million pumpkins and corn stalks became my obsession.  We're always hosting a lot this time of year - so why not, right?


Jaybor Day is next weekend and the 10-Day forecast is calling for a sunny, mid-low 70's sort of week.  Great weather for Fall but not very "pool friendly".  These cold nights and yesterday's rain storm have dropped the pool temp back to the low 70's.  Combined with 70 degree days, that makes for one COLD pool!  Even for us Northerners!
It's really down to only a matter of days before we close her up and look down a the black cover instead of the crystal blue water.  That makes me a little sad.

But it also revs me up.  I have been so sad about the end of this summer.  It was a great one.  Now my kid goes to school, I have Q&K 5 days a week after school, Debbie (my BGF) is back to work and the routine has returned.
Today, after mourning the imminent pool closure, I had an epiphany.
This is my favorite season.  My best time of year.  Why am I not enjoying it?!
I love mums, pumpkins, chilly mornings and hosting parties.  This is my season!
So - bring it on!  And after this we have Thanksgiving and Christmas, then Abby's birthday in January and then lovely nothing-ness.
Then, it all starts over again!  Spring clean up and planting, Summer beach days and pool nights and Fall!!

God!  I love New England and how beautifully You have blessed us with four fabulous seasons!

I am a little bummed that my amazing tan is fading, though.  Today I noticed my coffee stain birthmark on my leg for the first time in months...  it blends into my tan.  Now it's back.  Darn it.


So, with Fall on the verge of full display I have to find a new Lawn Guy.  Our previous "landscaper", if you will, missed us completely one fall and again this past Spring so I kindly requested he remove our name from his list.
Now, I have to find someone else.
I could do it myself.  Sure.  But having it done ensures it gets done, all in one swoop, for one price.  Gardens are clear, borders are respected, piles are carried deep into the woods.  And it takes a professional a few hours.  It would take me, and my rake, several days.  And it still wouldn't look as good.
So - let the hunt begin...