fall has arrived

It's been a tough week around here.  Mila has been working on her sixth tooth, Cruz has been working on how to not sleep in his bed for the umpteenth night in a row, and Beau and I have been trying to keep life normal here at home with two full time jobs, another full time job of making decisions for our house, all with a 'for sale' sign stuck in our front yard.  To think that in five months time, we will have celebrated two birthdays, trick-or-treated for Halloween, ate Turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas shopped, wrapped, and conquered our many family Christmases, traveled to D.C. for a work conference, finished my first doctorate class, AND sold our house, and potentially moved twice, well, the very thought sounds utterly impossible.  But, I'm channeling Lewis Carroll and his Alice and Wonderland logic, because, well, sometimes the illogical makes the most sense.  And if he can believe six impossible things before breakfast, I should be able to do it in a semester.

I can say that for the most part, we are doing quite well amidst our controlled chaos.  It's all really exciting chaos when you look at it, and we've been working together and infusing humor wherever we can.  The busier life gets, the more fulfilled and accomplished I feel at the end of the night, to have conquered what we set out to accomplish that day and roll with the punches when it didn't go as planned.  I choose excitement over fear when I think about next spring, settling in our new digs and looking at this past semester with a sense of amazing triumph.  And most of all, these moments of unrest make me realize how grateful I am to be in this thing together with these three souls who fill me up more than any house ever will.

Last night, I made a little list.  Not a list of what needs to be cleaned before our first showing, but a list of ways to be intentional as we enter this new fall season.  It's Mila's first fall, and I am so ready to dress her in tights and sweaters and show her the pretty leaves.  Cruz has already been talking about pumpkins and Halloween costumes, and I am looking forward to one last year of trick-or-treating in our storybook neighborhood.  It's my favorite kind of list, a list of ways to celebrate.  There's always time for a good celebration.

a fall bucket list...

1.  visit the New Bo City Market and buy squash

2.  go on a fall scavenger hunt with Cruz

3.  take Cruz to a football game

4.  sip apple cider and read a book outside

5.  fill up a thermos of soup, grab a couple flannel blankets, and eat picnic food out of paper sacks by the water

6.  date night with Beau - a yummy dinner, a Moscow mule at Harry's, and a good movie tucked away in a little theater

7.  make breakfast for dinner – pancakes and bacon and sausage, drink orange juice out of fancy glassware

8.  make some tissue paper apples to hang on our window

9.  road trip to Northeast Iowa to go leaf-hunting

10.  make frosted pumpkin cookies 

11.  and beef stew 

12.  and of course, butternut squash soup

13.  paint acorns with Cruz

14.  spend an afternoon in Barnes and Noble – sip and eat warm treats and curl up in a corner with the kids on my lap and a new book in our hand

15.  go to the pumpkin patch

16.  light candles and play music at night

17.  rake leaves and dance in them

18.  start a chapter book with Cruz

19.  spend an afternoon at the library - check out some Halloween books

20.  make a fall snack mix and share with friends

21.  marshmallow popcorn and a new season of Parenthood

22.  go to Oktoberfest in Cedar Falls

23.  collect pine cones and make a fun garland for our mantle

24.  pick wildflowers 
25.  make yummy finger foods on a Sunday and veg...all day long  

Some of my favorite pictures of our fall, last year...