Today's To-Do List

1. No school today! Should I expect the kids to sleep in?
2. Pick up my car at the body shop
3. Drop Puddy off at the groomers
4. Bake an apple crisp
5. Pick up my jacket at my friend's house & pay her for it
6. Pack for Branson/Arkansas
7. Go to the library with the kids
8. Eat the rest of our huge tub of Greek yogurt

W's Stocking Stuffers, Because I'm That Much Of An Early Bird

1. 5 pairs of earrings (Christmas marks the two-month mark when she can take her starters out)
2. BrainQuest cards
3. Domino set
4. Old Maid card game (my kids are bonkers for card games lately)
5. Annie
6. Minnie Mouse cereal bowl
7. Bunch of Squinkies

This Weekend's Purchases

1. Arpilleras tapestry from John Burrough's "Unique Boutique"
2. Small ceramic bowl from a local potter from Unique Boutique
3. Sweet M's cookies- our favorites!
4. Ornament set from the Disney Store that are vintage-inspired from some of our favorite Disney films- The Aristocats, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, etc. for the kid's tree
5. Gift card from Anthropologie for a friend
6. Jellycat stuffed owl for part of a baby shower gift
7. Groceries at Schnucks

Things I Am Loving...

1. Necklaces like this and this.
2. White potatoes. I've just been craving them like mad lately. I guess it could be worse.
3. Christmas shopping!
4. Speaking of, this article. I cannot quit laughing. Forgive the profanities. They do make it funnier.
5. The jewelry at Geranium in St. Louis
6. Dry Lavender Soda 
7. Quilt patterns. I'm going to have one made soon, and can't stop looking for beautiful patterns.
8. These boots
9. I stumbled upon W just singing this song so sweetly a couple days ago. Who can blame her? It's beautiful, Annie Lennox is intoxicating, and she was named after David Gray, for goodness sakes.
10. Reading to my children chapter books that I treasured as a child...The Boxcar Children, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web...
11. Nashville on ABC Wednesday nights
12. Chai tea soy lattes from Kaldi's Coffee or more conveniently drive-thru-able, Starbucks
13. Kale
14. The latest Avett Brothers album

What My Children Ate Today

1. Breakfast: Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal in milk

2. Lunch: Hard-boiled egg, greek yogurt, Clif kids bar, walnuts, and almond milk

3. Snack: Grapes and mandarin oranges

4. Supper: THIS beautiful farfalline pasta that I bought at the olive oil store in Clayton, sweet potatoes, carrots, and buttered toast

4. Water throughout the day and a few Cat Cookies to snack on 

What I Just Picked Up At Target And Trader Joe's

1. Kodiak Cake waffle and pancake mix (2 boxes)
2. Toothbrushes for the children- a Batman and a Hello Kitty
3. Oregon Chai tea concentrate
4. 3M picture hanging tabs for my long mirror on the bathroom door
5. Trader Joe's Cats Cookies
6. 2 pizza dough balls
7. Jar of pizza sauce
8. 2 bags of shredded cheese mix
9. 2 dark chocolate bars- one coconut caramel and one caramel black sea salt
10. Bag of prewashed, precut kale

What It Takes For Me To Find The Perfect Swimsuit

1. Prayer/the hand of God
2. Contortionism
3. Liquid dieting
4. The ability to stealthily maneuver past the "juniors section" that produces swim bottoms that offer enough coverage for the bottom of my heel
5. Black magic
6. Strategically placed ruffles
7. Mental questions that sound a lot like, "What waterproof material could I stuff here that would not disintegrate or float away when submerged?"
8. Countless dressing room hours
9. Countless internet orders
10. Optical illusions

What We Purchased From The School Book Fair

1. A birthday gift for one of W's friends who invited her to his birthday party this weekend- a paper airplane kit
2. Mr. Popper's Penguins
3. The Mouse and the Motorcycle
4. The Cricket in Times Square
5. The Boxcar Children
6. Little House on the Prairie
7. The Phantom Tollbooth
8. A flash card game for R's 3K classroom that was on his teacher's wish list
9. A book about animals from the 3K teacher's wish list
10. An art book from W's class wish list
11. The kids each got a Leap Pad 2 Explorer for Christmas- pink for W and green for R
12. A set of phonics BrainQuest cards for W
13. An encyclopedia book about horses for R
14. Two early reader books for W- Biscuit and Mittens. My little baby girl is starting to read!

Yesterday

1. I woke up at 6:30 so that I could be showered and ready by the time I woke the kids up at 7:15.
2. Drove the kids to school and stayed there with R for a room parent captain meeting.
3. After the meeting, I drove back downtown to vote. Luckily, one of my neighbors walked in with me, so he and I (and R) were able to visit the whole time I waited in line.
4. Then, we went to the mall so that I could buy a new case for my iPhone 5.
5. I had a lunch packed for R, but I pulled through Burger King to get a veggie burger, sweet potato curly fries (so gross), and a Dr. Pepper.
6. We went to pick up W from school.
7. Drove back downtown so that I could get my hair cut and colored.
8. Back home to clean house, play with kids, make supper
9. Watched election coverage until I fell asleep

W's Favorite Places, As Dictated By Her

1. School
2. Story Time at the bookstore
3. Swimming lessons
4. The pool
5. Church (she especially likes getting a gold star every week for the memory verse)
6. Restaurants (her favorite restaurants are Crushed Red, Bread Company, and Zaza's)

Today's Menu For Me

1. Peanut butter and banana toast, almond milk
2. Grilled vegetable wrap, carrot sticks, water
3. Veggie chili topped with avocado chunks and greek yogurt, water
4. Various bits of Halloween candy throughout the day, I'm sure. My favorites- Almond Joy, Twix, and  Peanut M&Ms.

Three-Year-Old R's Christmas List

1. Gymnastics classes
2. Tegu wheels to accompany his Tegu blocks
3. Toy trucks
4. Cowboy boots
5. Cozy pajamas
6. Batman sheets from Pottery Barn
7. Superhero costumes
8. Backpack carrier for his Baby Max doll

Halloween: The Morning After

1. Tried to comb out/salvage the Rapunzel wig, but I gave up and threw the gross thing away
2. Sorted candy into three piles: take to A's office, pack up for road trips, and can eat now
3. Spot-cleaned, Febreezed, and hung up the Batman costume we borrowed
4. Spot-cleaned, Febreezed, and hung up the Rapunzel costume that will join the dress-up drawer
5. Washed all coats, mittens, and hats
6. Washed trick-or-treating buckets and stored
7. Planned some healthy meals to combat the candy and meals-on-the-go we've allowed to happen this past week