Hi, friends.  No fun weekend report for you today.  Steve was under the weather all weekend, so it was just me and the kids from sun up to sun down, and we were in survival mode in a big way.  On Friday afternoon, I took them to the library, both to get them out of Dad’s hair and also so I could return a book that was due back and get more that were on hold – and that was the best thing that we did all weekend.  They played in the children’s section for awhile, and we read a bunch of books and then picked a few for them to check out.  And then it was all downhill from there.  I spent the rest of the weekend arbitrating disputes over toys, pulling them off each other, putting them in time-out, and running errands.  Seriously, running errands seemed like a really relaxing thing to do because any time they spent strapped into their car seats was time that Nugget wasn’t pulling out fistfuls of Peanut’s hair, and Peanut wasn’t trying to gouge out Nugget’s eyes.  You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.  The best thing we did all weekend was drop off a donation to the D.C. Diaper Bank, which made me disproportionately excited because it had been sitting in my dining room for way too long.  They were pretty decent on Sunday (see above: car seats), so I took them to the playground and it was a total disaster – tackling, hair-pulling, face-grabbing, the works.  So, yeah.  That was my weekend.

Reading.  One good thing I can tell you is – I did a lot of reading this weekend.  This week, too, but mostly this weekend.  Since the kids had to be separated a lot of the time (or it would mean the start of another round of the Hunger Games) Peanut spent a good amount of time playing in her room while Nugget played in his room and I sat in his chair and read as best I could while Nugget drove his trucks over my face.  It was for my sanity, really, but I justified  it by reminding myself that it is important for me to model reading for enjoyment so that the kids can see that.  (I do think that’s true.)  Anyway, over the week I burned through Little Fires Everywhere (which was incredible), Coronation Summer (really, really funny!) and The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (powerful and breathtaking).  Late in the week I started The Flight of the Maidens, which wasn’t long but sort of felt like a slog to me.  (It is beautifully written, so I suspect that the reason it felt like a slog was that I had a pending library deadline, so read it over other things I wanted to read more, and that always makes a book feel like work a little more than it otherwise would.)  I put it aside to read the very slim and absolutely stunning The Origin of Others, which I finished in just a couple of hours on Saturday morning (I just couldn’t wait), then went back to The Flight of the Maidens.  Finally finished that on Sunday evening, and I’m now about a quarter of the way through We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, the new collection of essays about the Obama presidency by Ta-Nehisi Coates.  I’ve actually read a few of the essays already, because I read The Atlantic, where they were published, but I am re-reading them in the book and Coates’ writing is, as always, uncomfortable, thought-provoking and necessary.  (It was a very Coates weekend for me.  He also contributed the introduction to The Origin of Others.)  Anyway, I’ll continue with the new Coates over the next couple of days, and then I plan to pick up The Blue Castle for Naomi and Sarah’s readalong – I’ll have thoughts about it coming soon!  (Sorry no links to their blogs – something is going on with my WordPress and my link function is not working.)

Watching.  We had a family movie date on Saturday afternoon – starring Darth Vader, of course.  Nugget is starting to realize that Darth Vader is a “bad guy,” and I think he’s having some questions as a result.  He still asks to skip to the “Darth Vader parts,” but he also seems to be contemplating switching his allegiance to his new buddy, Yoda.  We’ll see!  Other than Star Wars, we have been watching a lot of Doc McStuffins lately, which I tolerate because Peanut says she wants to be a doctor and I think Doc McStuffins is the reason.  (Doc herself seems like a cool kid, but her toys set my teeth on edge – especially Lambie and Stuffie, both of whom make me want to bang my head against the wall.)  The kids have been alternating Doc with Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, because I’ve decided that it’s not too early for Christmas shows.  Especially George, who I can actually stand to watch on repeat.

Listening.  All podcasts, all the time this week.  Of particular note were the one-year birthday episode of Tea and Tattle, which had me searching for Chalet School books on Abebooks, and the latest episode of Sorta Awesome, all about boundary-setting for the holidays (always a good topic to revisit around this time of year, and something I’ve struggled with in the past – although I’m getting better at it).  I have to complain about my podcatcher, though.  I listen to podcasts on iTunes, and it got swept up in the latest iPhone iOS update, and – I HATE the changes.  It is so much less user-friendly now and I’m having a really hard time figuring out a new system for listening.  I might have to switch to a new podcast app – any suggestions?

Moving.  Pretty slow week and very slow weekend, although keeping Peanut and Nugget from killing each other is quite a workout.  I made it to power yoga on Tuesday and Friday, and that’s it – no Barre3 and no Saturday vinyasa.  With Steve being under the weather, it was just all I could do.  Hoping for a more active week next week.  Definitely need to get some more runs in as the Turkey Trot approaches.

Blogging.  I have a recap of the Marine Corps Marathon 10K coming up for you on Wednesday (belated, but there it is) and a day-in-the-life post, inspired/facilitated by #OneDayHH, on Friday.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  I know I have complained a lot about them in this post, but I have to tell you about one cute thing – Nugget has started calling Peanut “sweetie.”  It’s the cutest, funniest, darlingest thing.  I’m sure he’s heard us call her that, but it’s sooooooo much more adorable coming from him.  In the mornings, he’s usually the first one up, and she will come looking for people once she wakes up – and when she joins us, either in the kitchen or in Nugget’s room, he greets her in his squeaky little toddler voice: “Hiiiiiiiiii, sweetie!”  IT IS SO ADORABLE.  I die, you guys, I actually die.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

As my friends may recall, I’ve committed to Simon’s Project 24 for the year – meaning that I’m restricting myself to only buying twenty-four books All. Year.  Long.  This may seem easy, but I assure you it is not.  Anyway, it’s been awhile, so I owe y’all a quick update.  I’m pretty sure I’m still on track with Project 24, although I have gotten slightly disorganized about it and there’s a chance I might have forgotten a book purchase or four.  Here’s what I’ve purchased through today:

January

• The Red House Mystery, by A.A. Milne (Folio Society)
• The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge (Folio Society)
• Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery (Folio Society)
• Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery (Folio Society)

February

No books!

March

• Envelope Poems, by Emily Dickinson (The Gorgeous Nothings)
• Mary Barton, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Folio Society) – out of print; purchased from Abebooks

April

• Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Folio Society) – out of print; purchased from Abebooks
• North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Folio Society) – out of print; purchased from Abebooks

May

• Anderby Wold, by Winifred Holtby (Virago)
• The Land of Green Ginger, by Winifred Holtby (Virago)

June

• Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome (Folio Society)

July

• Before Lunch, by Angela Thirkell (Virago)
• A Memoir of Jane Austen, by Edward Austen-Leigh (Folio Society)
• The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien (Folio Society)

August

• Father Brown Stories, Vols. I and II, by G.K. Chesterton (Folio Society) – out of print; purchased from Abebooks

September

• After Many Years: Twenty-One Long Lost Stories, by L.M. Montgomery (Nimbus)
• Sylvia’s Lovers, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Folio Society) – out of print, purchased from Abebooks
• Ruth, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Folio Society) – out of print, purchased from Abebooks
• 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Washington, D.C., by Renee Sklarew and Rachel Cooper (Menasha Ridge Press)

October

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Illustrated Edition, by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine)

November

• The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery (Sourcebooks)

By that count, I’m at twenty-two books for the year.  (The Chesterton stories are in two volumes, so even though they’re together in one slipcase, I’m counting them as two books.  And I’m counting the hiking guide, even though I really purchased it for the family.  I’m trying hard to be upstanding here!)  That leaves me with two books left for the year – I’ll probably purchase one more this month and one in December, since I don’t usually spend money on myself in December anyway and often find books under the Christmas tree.  It’s been an interesting exercise, and I’ll reflect more on it after the conclusion of the project, in a few months.  In the meantime, I’m off to peruse my wish lists and try to decide what to order next…

Have you ever done Project 24?  Did you survive?

Fall-back weekend before children: hmmmmm.  How should I spend this extra time?  I think I’ll sleep in and then go have a leisurely brunch.

Fall-back weekend with children: Please sleep past 4:00 a.m.  Please sleep past 4:00 a.m.  Please sleep past – dammit.

Happy Monday, friends.  How were your weekends?  We had a lazy weekend around the neighborhood, which was exactly what I wanted.  With all the excitement of Halloween happening last weekend and into the week, and with the busiest season of the year directly ahead of us, I really, really needed a weekend or two in a row with no plans and no commitments – and that’s exactly what we got this weekend.  On Saturday, we walked out to the library and farmers’ market, then stopped by the playground – the leaves are finally out! – and the fire station on the way home.  So – our usual circuit.  The furthest afield I ventured was a fifteen minute walk to yoga while the kids napped in the afternoon.  Added in a family movie night with pizza and Star Wars (Nugget’s first viewing! he shouted “THERE’S MY BUDDY!” every time Darth Vader was onscreen), and it was a pretty perfect day.  Sunday was even lazier – I don’t think I got out of my pajamas all day.  We did lots of playing, made paper plate turkeys with feathers listing what we are grateful for, some reading, and a bit of laundry and work so we felt like we’d been at least a little bit productive.  I felt a little under the weather on Saturday and worse on Sunday – I have a vicious cold in my throat and head, and I basically sound like Sexy Phoebe singing “Smelly Cat” all the time.  So a lazy Sunday at home was just what the doctor ordered.

Reading.  It was a good, productive reading week.  I finished Poems Bewitched and Haunted on Halloween – perfect timing!  It was loads of fun, a perfect Fright Night read, and made me want to read more poetry soon.  Then I turned back to Dark Money, which I had been plodding through slowly.  It’s one of those incredibly interesting and informative nonfiction reads that I think are very important – but it was also sort of dense and I don’t seem to have the wherewithal to keep track of all these shadowy foundations that are one step away from money laundering… in thinking about it, though, perhaps that’s exactly the point.  Yeah, food for thought.  Anyway, Dark Money was due back to the library on Saturday, and I was still fifty pages from the end, so I flew through the final couple of chapters while the kids played, and then dropped it in the overnight return box.  On Saturday evening, I turned to Little Fires Everywhere, the new Celeste Ng.  I’m about a third of the way through it and really enjoying it, so more next week, I’m sure.

Watching.  It seems we are straight-up re-watching Parks and Recreation, which is fine with me.  Duke Silver just made his first appearance!  On Friday evening, we ate takeout Indian food while watching Ann break Leslie of her fear of first dates through “bad date immersion therapy.”  Parks and Rec is definitely helping us hold it together as we wait for the next season of The Crown to drop on Netflix – not too long now!

Listening.  I’m back to podcasts as I take a little break from audiobooks.  At the moment, the “Read Aloud Revival” episode on the Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report is in my earbuds, and it’s very interesting and informative.  (Further down, I’ll share the best thing I listened to all week – it’s my “loving” for this week, so read on.)  In addition to podcasts, I’m still playing the Book of Mormon soundtrack on repeat.  Less than two weeks to go until we will be saying “Hello!” to Elder Price and Elder Cunningham at the Kennedy Center!

Moving.  Sort of a slow week.  Sleeping has been really bad lately – it seems like the whole house is conspiring to keep me awake some nights, and this lousy cold hasn’t helped matters.  That’s making it hard to get up and out of the house for early morning workouts.  I made it to power yoga on Tuesday, but missed Friday, because Nugget was clinging to my neck from 4:30 onwards.  That made me sad, because the Friday classes are taught by my favorite instructor, who is moving to Africa in two weeks, and I’m trying to soak up as many of her fabulous vinyasa classes as I can before she leaves.  She also teaches on Saturday afternoon, though, so I made a point of going to that class, at least, and – I got into crow pose for the first time in years!  This is a big deal!  Jaimie – the instructor – came over to my mat and gave me Muppet arms.  Wahooooo!

Blogging.  I have a Project 24 update coming to you on Wednesday (spoiler – I’m on track, I think?) and on Friday, a fun photography post about a surprising thing I learned while doing the black and white challenge on Facebook last week.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  Best thing this week was a podcast episode!  As I’ve been working my way through my ever-neglected podcatcher, I listened to a pretty recent episode of The Mom Hour, all about things you can do to get ready for the holidays NOW, instead of waiting until December and making yourself miserable.  There were a ton of great tips – lots of common sense, but sometimes you need that, right ladies?  The Moms suggested writing thank-you notes and putting together your kids’ teachers’ gifts in October (this is revolutionary, and I will definitely be getting that task done early); scheduling out as much of your holiday calendar as you can in advance, down to the last trash pick-up day before Christmas so you will know when you need the garbage guys’ bonus checks ready; and making your Shutterfly projects ahead of time so you’ll be able to take advantage of Cyber Monday sales without spending that whole day making photo books (which I try to do anyway, but the reminder is good).  I was so inspired that I jumped right onto Shutterfly and started making Nana’s Brag Book 2017 – hi, Mom!  (Don’t worry; this is a gift she gets every year, so I’m not ruining a surprise – she knows it’s coming.)  The Mom Hour is my favorite parenting podcast, and I think this was one of their best episodes yet.  No one else can get me more inspired to be on top of my parenting game while simultaneously reassuring me that everyone feels like a flake at the end of the school semester.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Happy Mischief Night, my little ghouls and goblins!  How were your Hallo-weekends?  Ours was – as usual – packed full of activity.  On Friday afternoon/evening, Steve and I took the kids trick-or-treating at Mount Vernon.  If you follow me on Instagram, or we’re friends on Facebook, you already know their Halloween costumes – but for the blog, I’m going to keep them under my hat for a few more days.  (Sorry… I promise they’re amazing.)  But I will say that their costumes made quite the splash at Mount Vernon.  And that’s all I’ll say.  On Saturday, I squeezed in a Barre3 class in the morning and then was home in time to shove the kids back into their costumes for a children’s pumpkin hunt and Halloween party at the Lee-Fendall House, one of the historic homes that is now a museum; our neighborhood is lousy with historic house-museums.  We met up with Peanut’s BFF from school and her mom, and none of the kids seemed to be that into the festivities this year.  Nugget just wanted to run away; Peanut spent half the party “camouflaged” in the bushes, and her BFF was very upset that she didn’t win the costume contest.  BFF’s mom and I agreed that we like doing a Halloween activity together, but next year we might look for a different option.  Lee-Fendall House throws a great party, but our kids were all attitude.  Anyway, after the party we had a quick lunch and then headed out to Loudoun County to pick pumpkins at Wegmeyer Farms.  We came home with a trunkload ranging in size from small decorative gourds to big jack-o-lanterns-to-be.  We had to get all the outdoor fun in on Saturday, because the weather on Sunday was gross – chilly and rainy.  A good day for football, chili, and baking – which is exactly what we did.  Our dear friends the Dumanskys came over, and the guys watched their beloved Buffalo Bills while the ladies chatted and cooked up a storm in the kitchen.  Zan brought red lentil chili and I provided toppings and pumpkin cornbread, and then together we made Thai-inspired vegetable soup (my lunches for the week!) and delicious pumpkin muffins with Peanut.  The only thing we didn’t get around to doing was carving our pumpkins and roasting the seeds, so that’ll be this evening’s activity.

Reading.  It’s been a good week.  On Monday, I finished up the latest Lady Georgianna mystery, On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service.  It was a blast, as usual, and I have the same complaint as I always do – it went too fast!  These books keep getting better and better and I would like to spend much more time with Georgie.  Still wanting fun, I read the (unpictured) Collected Plays 2010-2015 by Portland Preschoolers, which I have decided is the greatest book ever written.  I bought it to fulfill a Book Riot Challenge task – read a book that is published by a micropress – and it was the best thing EVER.  (I can’t decide what play was my favorite.  I’m torn between “The Hamster’s Adventure With the Baby Show” and “Paris When it Sizzles,” honorable mention to “The 3 Little Deer, the 3 Little Ponies, and the Big Bad Volcano.”)  Clearly, I was having too much fun, so next I picked up Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, on the recommendation of a co-worker.  It’s very interesting, but I’m reading slowly; I want to pay attention.  I also finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe on Friday, and really enjoyed it – helpful that Lin-Manuel Miranda read the audiobook.  Finally, for the Book Riot Challenge – and also Halloween! – I started reading Poems Bewitched and Haunted, which I’m hoping to finish my tomorrow.

Watching.  We’ve been sprinkling episodes of Parks and Recreation – my favorite show – into our evenings here and there, and it’s been so much fun.  I forgot what a delight the first season is.  (Mouserat playing “The Pit” for the first time!  Police Officer Dave describing Leslie as belligerent!  April entering the Miss Pawnee beauty pageant!  Wendy Haverford!)  No movie night this week, but next week, hopefully – it will be my turn to pick.

Listening.  I did a lot of listening this week, because I was getting tantalizingly close to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and I wanted to get through it.  It took pretty much the whole book, but I was invested – and misty – by the end.  Dammit, Lin, stop making me cry.

Moving.  Y’all, I am DEVASTATED.  My favorite yoga instructor joined the Peace Corps!  I finally find a studio I like and she’s leeeeeeeeeaving!  (And clearly, it’s all about ME.  /sarcasm).  Anyway, I have another month until she leaves, so I am going to try to squeeze in as many of her awesome flow classes as I can.  Only one last week, because I found out this terrible news on Friday.  But I also fit in two Barre3 classes on Wednesday and Saturday.  I like the instructor a lot, and the class is very challenging – in a great way – but the music and atmosphere are a bit overwhelming for this introverted HSP.  Challenging myself to go, because it’s good to get outside of my comfort zone, and Barre3 definitely does that on multiple levels.

Blogging.  Fun week coming up!  I have my October reads for you on Wednesday, and on Friday I’ll be recapping Halloween.  As always, we have been doing a lot – and the holiday itself hasn’t even happened yet, so I’m sure I will have even more fun to share with you.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  There are certain fall treats that I look forward to all year, and cider donuts are one of them.  (Others include apple cider, both hot and cold, and roasted pumpkin seeds.)  Over the weekend, while the kids were running wild at the pumpkin patch, Steve bought a dozen cider donuts and – yummmmm.  Totally worth waiting 51 weeks for them.  Do you have a favorite fall food?

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Haaaaaaaaappy Monday, y’all!  I’m heading back to the office after a long weekend away.  Last year, when I was depressed after the election (a state that has lasted some time, I’m afraid) I scored Hamilton tickets and they were one of the only things to put a smile on my face in those dark days.  Of course, the tickets weren’t for another year, almost, but that just meant I’ve had eleven months of looking forward to seeing what was easily the most spectacular Broadway experience of my life.  Steve and I took the train up to NYC on Thursday morning.  We checked into our hotel (the Library Hotel, and it was perfection) and spent the afternoon meandering around the neighborhood, visiting the New York Public Library and the Morgan Library, before it was time to get fancied up and head out for a delicious French dinner and then a Revolutionary – literally – night at the theatre.  I’ll tell you all about it later this week, but for now I’ll just say that it was an absolutely magical night and we loved every second.  We headed home on Friday, where my mom was watching the kids.  The rest of the weekend was devoted to family time and to my big race of the year – the MCM 10K – little brother of the Marine Corps Marathon.  The expo on Saturday was a total circus (as expected) but the race itself was glorious.  I had an awesome time and left inspired and looking forward to my next run.

Reading.  It’s been a really great reading week.  On Monday, I finished Beartown, which was good – very well-written, engaging, and timely – but didn’t really grab my heart in any way.  It’s funny, because I LOVE hockey, and I liked the descriptions of the hockey games best, which I don’t think was the universally-held opinion.  Anyway, after Beartown I picked up Dawn, which I wanted to read because (1) Octavia Butler, and (2) I hear it is becoming a movie (or TV series?).  After reading it – it was excellent, but I don’t think I will watch the show (movie?).  I will, however, read the rest of the trilogy, eventually.  Once I finished Dawn, the reading got really fun.  I tore through Ready Player One while we were in NYC – it had been on my list for awhile and I loved it once I finally got around to it.  And I’m not a gamer or an eighties pop culture geek, so I can only imagine how much MORE I would have loved it had I got more than 10% of the references.  Finally, looking for something light and frothy, I picked up the latest Lady Georgie mystery, On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service.  These books just keep getting more and more delightful.  I am about halfway through it and expect to be done shortly – too soon, because a visit with Georgie never lasts long enough.

Watching.  The only thing I watched this week was one of the best things I’ve watched all year – Hamilton, live on Broadway!  I absolutely loved, loved, LOVED the show.  We laughed, we cried, we sang along (quietly, so as not to disturb the people next to us), we danced in our seats.  I’ve seen a few shows on Broadway – Les Miserables (twice), Spamalot, Wicked, and The Phantom of the Opera (twice on Broadway, three times with the touring cast – it’s my favorite show) – but nothing that approached Hamilton.  I suspect nothing ever will.

Listening.  Now that our trip to see Hamilton is behind us, I’ve turned my attention to another Broadway show.  We have tickets to see The Book of Mormon when it comes to the Kennedy Center next month, and I am brushing up on the soundtrack.  I’ve done a lot of laughing, and a lot of cringing and gasping in horror.  It’s completely offensive, of course, and also sort of hilarious.  (Orlandooooooooo…)  I can’t wait to see it performed!

Moving.  Great week!  It was sort of slow on the classes front – only Barre3 this week.  I had a rotten night of sleep on Monday and missed Tuesday power yoga as a result, and I was in New York when my regular Friday morning yoga class met.  But I made it to Barre3 on Wednesday morning, and spent the rest of the week resting my legs for the big fitness event of my fall season – the MCM10K!  I had a great run, enjoyed myself immensely and felt amazing after the race.  I thanked approximately 500 Marines for their service and only cried once.  OORAH.

Blogging.  I have a fun week coming up for you!  October hike on Wednesday, and a lovely long, chatty recap of our NYC trip and Hamilton on Friday.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  Obviously, I am loving Hamilton this week!  We had so much fun and the Broadway cast put on an incredible show.  I’ll tell you all about it on Friday, but I wish we could see it all the time.  There were so many little moments that don’t come through in the soundtrack, and seeing it performed onstage was even more incredible than I expected (and I expected it to be earth-shattering).  We’ve been making Hamilton references and jokes all week, and trying to scheme up a way to get back to Broadway and see it again (and again, and again, and again) soon.  I don’t think that’s happening, but it’s fun to dream about.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Oof.  Is it really Monday?  Say it ain’t so.  We had another one of our hectic weekends, running around from sunup on Saturday to sundown on Sunday.  I am wiped.  Friday was my birthday, so this weekend was “Mommy weekend” – woohoo!  Of course, weeks ago, I had unthinkingly agreed to a playdate on Saturday, so I only ended up choosing the agenda on Sunday.  Saturday was fun, though – we went to a bounce house gym with one of Peanut’s friends from school.  I am lucky in that Peanut seems to gravitate toward the kids with the most down-to-earth moms, so playdates for the kids are turning into friend time for me, too – no complaints here!  The friend we met up with on Saturday just recently returned from being flower girl in a wedding, too, so her mom and I debriefed on all things wedding while the kids ran around and bounced.  The rest of Saturday, we palled around closer to home – visiting Nugget’s favorite playground and stopping by the fire station open house to play cornhole, honk the horn in the truck, and collect some coloring books.  On Sunday, I got to choose the activity and I was craving one thing – a hike.  Since the kids aren’t great at napping at home on the weekends anymore (it’s fine that Peanut is dropping naps, but Nugget shouldn’t be) we decided to venture further afield.  It doesn’t make sense to cut off the fun and rush home for lunch and naps, only to listen to Nugget bouncing in his crib for two hours – we might as well be out and about enjoying our beautiful area.  So we drove an hour to Sky Meadows State Park, a beautiful spot Steve and I remembered from the long-ago days before children.  It happened to be “fall farm festival” day, so we got our hike in (recap coming next week) and then let the kids explore and enjoy a little bit, had a picnic lunch, and drove home to the blessed silence of car naps.  All in all – a perfect birthday activity.

Reading.  Interesting week.  After finishing See America (which was good, but there were a few editing mistakes that bugged me), I picked up Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng.  I had been avoiding it, because people seemed to love it so much that I figured it would be a huge disappointment.  Totally wrong.  I blew through it in a day, cried through the ending, and generally loved every second of the book.  After that, I needed something a bit sillier, so I finally got around to Nimona, the stand-alone graphic novel from Lumberjanes creator Noelle Stevenson.  As expected, I adored it.  Finally, for the past several days I’ve been reading Beartown, by Frederik Backman.  I’ve been wanting to read something by Backman, and Beartown seemed to be right up my alley – it’s about a hockey-obsessed town, after all – but I’m finding it a bit of a slog.  I know what is going to happen and am just not as captivated as I’d expected to be.  But it’ll qualify for a Book Riot Challenge task (book about sports) and I’ve passed my point of no return, where I have read far enough into a book that I refuse to abandon it, so I’m plugging away.

Watching.  Steve and I have been re-watching Parks and Recreation, one of our favorite dear departed sitcoms.  (I like it better than The Office, and that is saying something.)  We also enjoyed the first episode of Rock the Park season four, and are now mulling over a visit to the New River Gorge (which is in West Virginia, so not too far from us).

Listening.  Still on a podcast kick.  The best episode I listened to this week was the Annotated episode “The Seventeen-Year-Old Who Invented Science Fiction.”  I’d been saving the episode – all about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, if you hadn’t guessed – for Halloween season and it was perfect October listening material, complete with howling winds and creaking gate sound effects.

Moving.  This was an up and down week on the fitness front.  I made it to power yoga on Tuesday morning, and my very first barre3 class on Wednesday.  (Loved, and will certainly be back for more.)  But then on Friday – my birthday – I was two minutes late to power yoga and the instructor had already locked the door, so I missed class, which was a total bummer.  And I didn’t feel like doing anything on Saturday after chasing the kids around a play gym for an hour, so my only weekend fitness was Sunday’s hike.  (Which was an “easy” trail but still felt strenuous.  I swear Nugget gains a few ounces every time I hike with him.)

Blogging.  Still playing catch-up on all the family fun.  I’m talking about our apple picking excursion on Wednesday, and sharing some pictures and stories from our flying trip to Florida on Friday.  Check back with me!

Loving.  As fall is settling in around here – the weather is still pretty warm, and we’re having the occasional HOT day, but leaves are dropping and so are the temperatures, little by little – I am loving my L.L. Bean flannel shirts.  They’re pretty much my weekend uniform all through the cold months, whether with jeans or with hiking pants.  I wore my favorite orange, green and blue one this past weekend and spent some time marveling over the fact that it is still so soft, and doesn’t seem at all pilled despite multiple trips through the washing machine.  (I do air-dry them.)  I am eyeing another pattern to add to the arsenal, and might have to jump on it.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Happy Monday, and happy long weekend to those who are lucky enough to get Columbus Day off work!  (That is a group which does not include me, or Steve – c’est la vie.)  We had a nice regular-length weekend, though!  Saturday was full of a lot of errands and running around.  Steve had to work on Saturday morning, so I took both kids to the market with me, which is a circus – let me tell you.  I usually take just Nugget and everything really is twice as hard with two of them in the cart.  It’s not just that the double carts are always surprisingly wide (they are) but grocery shopping takes more than twice as long.  I have to factor in time to break up fights (Nugget is a hair-puller, and Peanut is an eye-poker – please kill me), intervene in exuberant roughhousing before it becomes a fight, put back the stuff they grab off the shelves, and who knows what else.  By the end of that grocery run I was so stressed out that the only cure was a run, so I loaded Nugget back into the car (much to his chagrin) and we drove to the Mount Vernon Trail for a few miles.  On Saturday evening my parents and their friends arrived after a week in the Outer Banks.  They seemed way too relaxed and happy, so we set about stressing them out with loud children.  We’re the worst hosts ever!  Sunday found us driving west – first out to the Udvar-Hazy Center (the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum outpost in Dulles) and then onward to the Loudoun County wineries.  Steve and I had been wanting to take our parents’ friends out to the wine country for years; we knew they would love it, and they did.  We packed a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the wineries, and had a lovely afternoon sipping and swirling our way around Loudoun County – made even better by the fact that my lovely friend Zan joined us as well!  Such a fun day with some of my favorite people in the world.

Reading.  Bit of a slower reading week around here.  I finished Something True on Monday, which was good, but I’m just not a romance reader.  (Nothing against it; it’s just not my genre.)  Most of the remainder of the week was devoted to The Golden House, Salman Rushdie’s newest novel (and a reflection on the 2016 election).  It was good, but for some reason I seem to struggle with Rushdie.  I know he is an outstanding writer, so clearly the problem is with me, but I get bogged down in his books and they take me a long time to read, and then I get frustrated and don’t have fun.  I am glad I read it, though.  I finished it up on Saturday evening after the crew left for their hotel, and then picked up See America, a collection of new graphic illustrations of the national parks, monuments and other places within the NPS, inspired by the original WPA posters.  It was an impulse grab off an endcap at the library, and I am really enjoying it.  I don’t love all of the posters – but I love most of them.

Watching.  Instead of a movie night this week, we watched the first Sabres game of the season.  It was a good game, and I was determined to stay up for the whole thing.  I told Steve that I had the idea in my head that if I fell asleep, that would be it for the season.  Of course they managed to lose in a shootout while I was brushing my teeth.  So that was not the best.

Listening.  I decided to take an audiobook break this week and listen to a few podcasts – especially some back podcasts I had languishing in my feed.  All were fun, but I particularly enjoyed a back episode of Sorta Awesome – Meg and Kelly discussing their favorite meals.  They had me inspired to cook up some different dinners this fall (even if their meals are very meat-heavy).

Moving.  So, a pretty good week!  I squeezed in two power yoga classes and two runs over the course of the week.  I’d have liked to get to vinyasa on Saturday too, but I only had time for one workout and I decided to run.  (A necessary decision.  I won’t be well-trained for the Marine Corps Marathon 10K in a couple of weeks, but at least I won’t be running on completely dead legs.)

Blogging.  I have a good week coming up!  A recap of our September hike alllllllll the way back at the beginning on the month on Wednesday, and the last day of our California vacation recaps (which is also the most epic) on Friday.  Check back!

Loving.  While shopping for our picnic this Saturday, I got the idea to make a pesto goat cheese spread.  It took form in my head as I was standing at the cold case looking at the options, and it came out – if I do say so myself – amazing.  Recipe (loosely) as follows: take one log of goat cheese, one tub of crème fraiche, one squeeze pouch of pesto (I used sun-dried tomato, but you could do any flavor you liked, or olive tapenade) and about a teaspoon of chopped herbs (I did equal parts rosemary and thyme from my mom’s friend’s garden).  Stir it all together until it is smooth and combined.  And that’s it!  It was super-easy and everyone loved it.  It made a ton of spread, and I had none left after the picnic – the sign of a popular recipe.  I’ll definitely be making this again as soon as I have an excuse.  (Who wants to come over for a party?)

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Happy Monday, y’all – yup, it’s here again.  We had an up and down sort of weekend.  It was actually a long weekend – we left at the end of last week for a short but sweet trip to Florida to see my best friend, Rebecca, marry her longtime love.  Rebecca and Eric planned a fun and casual beach wedding and every detail was so them – from the sandy setting to the signature drink (hurricanes) in mason jars and the lights twinkling in the trees.  Peanut and I were in the wedding, and she made the most of her moment in the spotlight, taking an inordinately long amount of time to get down the aisle and stopping frequently to strike poses and blow kisses.  Pretty hilarious!  And of course, the ceremony and reception were such a wonderful celebration of Rebecca and Eric’s love and their blended family.  As for the rest of the weekend – there was great stuff, like kayaking in a beautiful park near Tampa and swimming and collecting shells with Rebecca and her friends and family.  And there was stressful stuff, like oversleeping on Sunday morning and having to make a mad dash for the airport so as not to miss our flight (we made it, but it was close), flying with a kiddo with a double ear infection (poor Peanut) and an urgent work email that ate up naptime on Sunday (it happens).  But we got through it all, and the good memories from the weekend far outweigh the little stressors.  And now we’re looking ahead to another busy week.  Life is very full, and very good.

Reading.  Lots of bouncing around this past weekend.  During the workweek, I finished up Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark House series – at least, those that are out so far (there are five; I think nine total are planned?) and loved them.  So complex, yet so joyful – these are really excellent middle grade books, and I can’t wait to introduce Peanut and Nugget to them in a few years (when they have the patience for chapter books).  After I finished Makoons, the latest in the series, I picked up Salman Rushdie’s newest, The Golden House.  I’m only three chapters in; I didn’t want to take a big hardcover with me to Florida, so I left it on my nightstand and picked it back up on Sunday.  While traveling, I bounced between Coronation Summer, which I had started reading on my kindle in California, and Something True (for the Book Riot Challenge) on the kindle app.  My Goodreads currently-reading shelf is completely out of control and I will be spending my free time this week getting a handle on it.

Watching.  The best thing I watched this week was not on TV – it was my best friend, Rebecca, exchanging wedding vows with her soulmate, Eric, on the beach in Florida.  All the feels!  As for TV, I didn’t watch anything – unless you count little snippets of the kids’ shows, which I don’t.  We’re entering the busy season of the year and what little free time I have is just not going to TV.

Listening.  I am almost three hours into the audiobook version of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (read by Lin-Manuel Miranda!!!), which I am reading for the Book Riot Challenge.  (Can you tell that we’re in the home stretch of the year? I am frantically trying to cram in all of the challenge tasks I haven’t done all year.)  I can’t say I’ve fallen in love with the book yet, but so many people did that I feel there must be something to it, and in any event I’m on board with anything Lin-Manuel does.

Moving.  It has been sort of a quiet week on that front.  I made it to 5:30 a.m. power yoga on Tuesday – my two early morning power yoga classes are some of my favorite hours of the week – and it was a particularly tough class.  I was actually sore!  Didn’t make it to the Friday morning class, because we were off on our long weekend Florida adventure.  But I did squeeze in kayaking over the weekend – I will always kayak if I can – and there was the usual circus of chasing two kids around.  Not to mention the lung workout I get whenever I have to yell at them for running off.

Loving.  Loving LOVE this week!  What else?  There is nothing in the world as heartwarming as standing with toes buried in the warm sand watching your best friend marry the love of her life while your little flower girl holds your hand.  Best ever.

Blogging.  September books coming to you on Wednesday – it was a great month of diverse reading! – and Part II of my Channel Islands National Park recap on Friday.  I’m going to try to share with you one of the videos I took, but no promises – I’m a Luddite, as you know.

Asking.  What are you reading?  And how was your weekend?

Whew – what a weekend.  I’m actually kind of glad to be headed back to my desk – I need a break from running around!  On Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn to drive out to Dulles for a 5K race on the runway.  I ran with Nugget in the stroller, a decision which I almost regretted (pushing 45+ combined pounds of stroller plus toddler is no joke) but he had so much fun seeing the planes from a different angle and being part of a race that I couldn’t be sorry I decided to bring him along for the ride.  Peanut was breaking it down at the finish line dance party with Steve and my BFF, Rebecca, who came into town on a flying visit (a week before her wedding, no less!) to help me put Peanut’s fifth birthday party together.  (She actually turned five in August, but we waited until September to throw her party, so that she could have her friends from her new class at school join in the fun.)  As soon as the race was over, Rebecca and I snapped into party-mode, and the rest of Saturday, and Sunday morning, was devoted to trips to Michaels, Party Depot and Wegmans, and cooking, crafting and planning for the party.  I spent almost two hours on chalkboard decorations for the party, and am now the official chalkboard lettering artiste for the wedding next weekend.  (Saw that coming.)  It was totally worth it, because Peanut and her friends had a blast, and everyone loved the mermaid theme.  Once the party was over, I really wanted to collapse on the couch, but instead I had to fire up the old computer and get some work-work done.  And now I’m looking at another busy week ahead – but good stuff, all around.

Reading.  I have spent my entire week with Omakayas and her family in Louise Erdrich’s beautiful Birchbark House books, and I regret nothing.  Early in the week, I finished up the first in the series, The Birchbark House, and then sped through the second and third, The Game of Silence and The Porcupine Year, respectively.  Reading speed slowed down a little bit when Rebecca came into town, because we spent Friday and Saturday evenings chatting over cups of herbal tea instead of reading.  But I ended Sunday curled up on the couch with Chickadee, and I am loving every moment I spend with these books – yes, even the heartbreaking ones (and there are heartbreaking moments aplenty).

Listening.  I am sooooooo close to finishing up The Great Courses’ Classics of British Literature on Audible!  Twenty-four hours total; I’m seventeen minutes from the end of the last lecture (which is about contemporary British theatre).  I’ve really enjoyed it, although I’m quite put out that Anthony Trollope didn’t merit more than a brief mention during the Jane Austen lecture.  Excuse me, but if Dickens gets two lectures, Trollope deserves at least one.  Anyway – Trollope snub aside, I’ve loved spending time with this course and my reading list has grown exponentially.  Next week, I think, I’m going to listen to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.  It’ll fulfill one of my Book Riot Challenge categories (YA or middle grade by an author who identifies as LGBTQIA+), and Lin-Manuel Miranda reads the audiobook.  What’s not to like?

Watching.  Nothing – oops!  Our usual Saturday movie night was replaced by Rebecca time (while Steve watched a show on his tablet, upstairs).  But I’m really excited that Season 4 of Rock the Park is due to start airing soon!  I’ve missed Jack and Colton, and while I love following them on social media, it’s just not quite the same.  From what I have seen on Instagram, they’ve been having some epic adventures, so I expect Season 4 will be lots of fun.

Moving.  Good week!  In addition to running around after children and setting up a mermaid themed birthday party, I got in my regular two power yoga classes and ran a 5K with the stroller.  I’m pretty pleased with that, and now that it’s getting easier and easier to get up early as I am more in the habit, I’m hoping to squeeze in a few more runs so I can work up to the Marine Corps Marathon 10K in October – ooooo-rah!

Blogging.  Fall list coming to you on Wednesday (and it’s too ambitious, as usual) and the first of two posts about Channel Islands National Park on Friday.  Yes, you read that right!  Our adventure there was so epic that it demands a two-part recap; look for pictures of a gorgeous hike this week, and a truly awesome adventure on the water next week.

Loving.  My friends!  Old and new friends came together and helped me throw Peanut a fabulous party.  My BFF drove up from Virginia Beach and devoted the weekend before her wedding to important tasks like filling baggies with blue jelly beans and Swedish Fish; and every. single. mom. at the party – moms of kids from Peanut’s old class and moms from her new class, some of whom I’d barely even spoken to before today, jumped right in to help me set out food, distribute favors, haul extra boxes, wrangle kids, and do anything else that needed to be done to make the party a success.  You know you’ve happened upon a truly special bunch when women you’ve only just met take one look at your stressed out face and start rolling up their sleeves.  Warm fuzzies all around.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Well, here it is Monday – somehow.  This weekend went insanely fast.  Anyone else?  They’re all fast, but this one seemed faster than most.  On Friday, Peanut was complaining of a sore throat, so Steve took her to the doctor – she’s usually pretty reliable when she mentions a sore throat, so we thought better safe than sorry.  It turned out just a cold, not the strep we’d feared, but we still decided to give her a cozy day at home on Saturday.  Since both Nugget and I go stir-crazy if we have to stay at home too long, we left Daddy and Peanut on the couch and headed off on an adventure to the Andrews Air Show.  It was amazing – great recommendation by our nanny.  We got to check out lots of military aircraft, saw the Golden Knights parachute from the sky, and watched a B2 stealth bomber fly overhead.  Pretty awesome day!  On Sunday, Peanut was still running a little bit of a temp, but she felt fine, so we headed up to Maryland to pick apples.  We had a great time, saw a tractor, and came home with half a bushel of delicious apples.  (At least some are destined to be pie.)  And now it’s Monday again, and I’m zonked.

Reading.  Pretty crazy reading week.  I spent most of the week in Sinclair Lewis’s nightmare America.  It’s pretty crazy disconcerting stuff – some of the paragraphs could have been lifted right out of today’s headlines.  After I finished It Can’t Happen Here, I checked another one off my list – Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home.  I polished Fun Home off in a day and now I’m in the early pages of The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich’s Native American Little House.  I have the whole series out from the library, so you’ll be seeing it again next week.

Watching.  Movie night this week was Steve’s choice, and he picked Guardians of the Galaxy.  I’m not sure what we will do when we run out of Chris Pratt movies.  (Movie night just won’t be as fun when I don’t sing “I fell into the pit… you fell into the pit…” over and over again.)

Listening.  I am happy to report that I’m almost done with The Great Courses’ Classics of British Literature.  Less than four hours left!  Since it was a twenty-four hour course, I’m pretty pleased with that.

Moving.  Kind of a slow week – just two yoga classes and some riding on my DeskCycle.  That’s not counting the usual circus of chasing after two insane munchkins, of course.  Next weekend I have a 5K, so a couple of weekday runs are in order this week.

Loving.  It must officially be fall, because seasonal Larabar flavors are out!  (At least, I think they’re seasonal.  I’m basing this entirely on the fact that they were on an endcap at Wegmans, though, so I may not be completely reliable.  You should trust me anyway.)  Anywho, I got snickerdoodle and gingerbread flavors, and they’re a fun way to mix things up from my usual coconut cream pie – cherry pie – apple spice rotation.  Dates, nuts, dried fruit and vanilla – yum.

Blogging.  Summer scenes coming to you on Wednesday, and the next installment in the California fun recaps on Friday.  Check back!

Asking.  What are you reading this week?