You Be The Mom: Bits and Pieces: September and October

These have been a whirlwind two months. I have fallen off the monthly posting, but still want to try to post an update every two months, at least. I like being able to go back and look at old posts. I have been feeling especially nostalgic with Christopher starting Kindergarten, and I think I will appreciate having these posts.

I try to keep these mostly positive, but right after school started Ben was given a scary health diagnosis. He has had treatment, but we are still waiting to hear if it was successful. The prognosis is good, but this is a chronic condition that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. Luckily, he is expected to have a normal life span. It has been extremely stressful. Ben feels fine, though, and is taking it all in his usual laid-back fashion. I am the one who has been a wreck.

Other than that, we have kept ourselves busy with our usual fall things, including, oh, let's see - the first day of school? Is it possible I am just now writing about that? So yes, we had the first day of school. The year is off to a good start for both kiddos. We have conferences next week, so we'll see what the teachers have to say. I don't expect any surprises.

We went camping with our usual camping crew at William O'Brien State Park. What a nice place! If you want to camp close to the Cities, I highly recommend it. And not having to drive 2-plus hours on Sunday afternoon was an added bonus. (Also: nearby shopping in the super cute Marine-on-St. Croix.) We had a fun time, and were only yelled at once by the park ranger. (According to Ben, this was my fault. I was allegedly laughing too loudly. Imagine that.)

We celebrated Christopher's 6th birthday in early October, complete with a Ghost in the Graveyard-themed birthday party. He had a ball. We also made the trip to the Snuffy's in Bloomington for his birthday dinner. (They still love that place, even though it is no longer right down the street.) His local grandparents came over for cake on the Sunday following his birthday. It was a good celebration.

No fall would be complete without a visit to the apple orchard, which we did in mid-October. It rained a bit, but that didn't stop us. (I complained about it the most, if I am being honest.)

Clare finished her first soccer season. Her team only won one game, but she enjoyed it. As long as she is having fun, I am happy to let her keep playing. She didn't seem to care all that much if they won or lost. She may not have much competitive fire. All well.

Christopher started playing basketball at the Y. He loves it, but oh boy. He is not good. Maybe his skills will develop as he practices more. Again, he is having fun, which is all that matters.

I was busy with the school's annual fundraiser. It was another successful year for the PTO! I also chaperoned a class field trip to the apple orchard with Clare's class. I always enjoying seeing her class and meeting her friends.

And of course, Halloween. We had lots of Halloween fun, including trick or treating at nearby businesses, my friend Heather's annual Halloween party, trick or treating in our neighborhood, and trick or treating at the amazing Sargent Avenue block party. Clare went as a butterfly and Christopher was Batman for the party and a Storm Trooper on Halloween.

Last thing: why can't we wait for a few weeks after Halloween to start thinking about Christmas? Seeing all of the stuff in the stores makes me start planning for that holiday, and I am just not ready! If I start thinking about it now, I will be so sick of it by the actual day. I am going to resist society and not think about it for at least two more weeks! End of speech.