Welcome, November?

Hello, November. 

I'm normally a fan of November. I adore fall weather, pumpkin desserts, autumn scented candles, and Thanksgiving food. November is usually a relief; Halloween is over, the weather is cooler, and I can finally wear pants. 

Pants make me happy - enough so that I was once inspired to write a poetic tribute entitled, "Ode to Pants."

(Okay, that's not true. But I'll do it someday because I really love pants).

This year November is a bit sketchy. This will be one of the busiest months of my entire life. Could 2021 ruin November for me? Time will tell. It's only November 1st, and I already feel like I'm suffering from the worst Brain Fart of all time! 

November... what are you doing to me?

Blogging is probably the last thing I should be doing right now, but I'm giving myself a bit of relaxation time in between tasks today. I'll probably have to sneak in a nap, too, because I've been up since 4:00 this morning, and I can feel myself slipping into dysfunction. 

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Well, the napping happened sooner than I thought (i.e. as soon as I finished the sentence about probably needing a nap). I passed out on my bed and was rudely awoken by the chime of Alexa who suddenly decided she needed to give me book recommendations via Amazon. 

And of all things... Alexa recommended a book by Charlie Holmberg. Really, Alexa? You have direct access to my Audible and Kindle accounts which contain exactly zero YA fantasy, but you find it necessary to wake me up from my beautiful mid-morning nap while I'm in recovery from Halloween to suggest a book from one of my least favorite genres?

(It's nothing personal, Miss Holmberg. You have to understand Halloween was 176 days long, and I really needed that nap). 

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Here's how our 176 days of Halloween went...

Nicky wanted to be Caillou, so I had to make him a Caillou shirt and find him a hat. Everyone thought he was a Hot Dog on a Stick worker. Daisy wanted to be a golfer because she’s going through a visor phase. Zoe wanted to be a vampire princess. Eva picked a Bat Girl costume from Costco and actually followed through with wearing it (though she wore fewer and fewer pieces of the costume with each event). 

My mom's party was while we were in Disney World, so Scotty and I missed it, but our kids were there. They also went to a trunk or treat that weekend, and Nicky went to a Halloween dance and danced with a record breaking two girls. Then he informed me that he'd lost his deodorant at my mom's house and probably had terrible BO at the dance. Live and learn, son. Live and learn. 

We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening on Monday. 

Each of my girls had a Halloween party in their dance classes last week. 

The elementary kids had a virtual parade and class parties on Friday. I volunteered in Eva's classroom. 

That morning before I went to the school, I hurried and put up our Halloween decorations, which I'd forgotten about. 

After school the girls went trick or treating at the assisted living center where my grandma is currently living. 

We had a trunk or treat with Zoe's cheer team and a trunk or treat for our ward on Friday night. At the last minute, I decided to make a "quick" painting of the hitchhiking ghosts from Haunted Mansion to hang on my trunk. My spontaneous ideas are never "quick."  

Zoe had a Halloween performance at a senior living center on Saturday with her cheer team. 

In the evening we went to two grandmas' houses and then trick or treating around the neighborhood. 

On Sunday, we went to two more grandmas' houses where we were fed lots of delicious food.

And then it was finally over, resulting in a high need for naps and an incredibly messy house. 

Welcome, November. Let the chaos continue, but let it no longer be Halloween.

How we all feel right now