A little something in between

The end of year slate of blog posts stretches ahead...pumpkin patch, Halloween pictures, Thanksgiving, something in the beginning of December (please, not another wind storm/power outage combo!), then Christmas trip report and photos. This blog will be writing itself. So in the meantime, I will attempt to update the general status of things in our house. It is this. We are all sick and tired and overworked. Even Muriel is overworked. Ok, not really.

So, I don't know, bulleted list, maybe?

• Naomi and I have been going back and forth on Halloween costumes. I assumed, because she endlessly impersonates a cat, that she might want to be a cat for Halloween. Wrong! She wants to be something scary. I have been attacked by more than one cat, but why argue the point? She voted for ghost, witch, or monster. Witch it is. We made her a fancy skirt over the weekend, mail ordered a hat (ok, electronically mail ordered), and are scouring around for appropriately witchy striped tights.
  
• Related: We went out to dinner the other night with our friends, including Naomi's friend C. Naomi was quiet for a minute, then asked C., "What will you be for the Halloween?" This doesn't sound like a big deal, maybe, but it is. Because putting all these parts together, knowing Halloween is coming, we're all preparing for it, it's interesting what someone else will be, we make friendly chat at dinner, this is something that has not happened in such a neatly qualifiable way before. Synapses! Zap!
• Muriel had her fifteen month appointment, and is Still Not Heavy Enough to turn around in her carseat. Gaaaah. On the other hand, she did beat an ear infection all on her own when her hippie mother said no thanks to antibiotics. Small but mighty, baby.
  
• Oh, and Muriel is trying out new words. She has always had a little bit of parakeet in her, repeating sounds that sound like what you're saying, but really aren't. But lately she is making the connections between words and things, and can suddenly tell us what a range of animals say (specifically, cats, dogs, birds, cows, and elephants). She is also finally breaking out some Mamas, about damn time. Just kidding sweetie! Seriously, though, she's been Dada-ing it up for six months now.
• I am still taking a beating at work, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Just before that light, though, is a trip to California (going back to Cali!), which results in me missing...Halloween. Are you kidding me, people? Oh well. I'll bring back some vitamin D.
  
• Jim is the sickest of all, as his lot seems to be, but is still working from home like a dog. Sick as a dog? Yes. Working like a dog? Yes. Though Luna is an actual dog, and she is neither sick nor working, unless stalking table scraps and licking the rug under the table count as work. Which I guess they might.
• Oh- one more Naomi one. We had our parent teacher conferences at her preschool, and she is doing just great. Of course she could improve on letter sound recognition and cutting with scissors and fifty other things, but you know, she is three. The best news of all is that she never pitches fits at school as she sometimes does at home. Whew! That was my hopeful takeaway, and I got what I wanted.

That's all the news that's fit to post on this sad, neglected blog. We miss you, friends.