Catching My Breath

Aaaaahhh. Isn't that a peaceful looking picture? Don't you totally want to just get in that boat and row into the middle of the pond and sit there for a while?

The past few days have been completely exhausting, but in a very good way. I feel like this is the first time I have stopped moving since early Thursday morning, when Halloween officially started with the preschool parade. Friday was all about cleaning and making pie. Late Friday night, Kev's parents arrived to spend the weekend with us. Saturday we got breakfast from Deli South (great place!), went to the Farmer's Market, and then all spent an awesome sunny and beautiful afternoon having a picnic lunch at Corcoran Vinyards, which is where that picture was taken (more on Flickr). I highly recommend this winery...it wasn't crowded at all when we went, and there were picnic tables and plenty of wide open spaces for three-year-olds who need to run free.

Saturday night, my mom and dad came over and we all enjoyed pizza on the porch while we waited for the Big Halloween Parade to begin. It was so nice to have all of Daphne's grandparents here at the same time. At a little past 6:00, the first fire truck went by. An hour and a half later, it was over, and Daphne's pumpkin bucket was practically over-flowing with candy. My favorite part was the marching bands. If I could do it all over again, I think I'd like to be on a drum line. Those guys really seem to know how to have fun. (Sadly, the camel did NOT make an appearance, but I expect he'll be back in the Christmas parade.) There was no real need to Trick-or-Treat after all that, but we did go to a few neighbor's houses. In all, it was a great night, and the octopus costume was a big hit. I am pretty proud of it, but glad it's time to put it into retirement. I have already found the directions for making next year's costume on the internet and bookmarked the site. Someone in this family is going to be an owl whether they want to or not.

Sunday was rainy, so we spent the morning hanging around the house with Kev's parents and the dogs. After they left, I went to the library while Daphne napped and Kev cooked a chicken. Then I hung out with the Peanut while Kev cleaned up the ginko berries that have fallen so far. Ugh. It's awful. Something has to be done. After the parade, I heard people walking past our house complaining about the horrible smell ("puke-fest" I think was the actual word that was used). So embarrassing. I swear it's not our fault!

After dinner, it took just about everything we had left to make it through that extra hour until Daphne's bedtime (curse you, Daylight Saving's Time), and finally, bed.

This morning we were up early again, and off to a Parent/Teacher conference at the preschool (we got a good report!) , then Kev went to work and Daphne and I took a nice long walk to take advantage of some beautiful weather and to wear someone out for a nice long nap. She is asleep now, and it is very very quiet. I am going to make myself some kind of delicious warm beverage and sit on the porch with a neglected pile of magazines.

But first, a couple of quick notes: Daphne and I have gotten our fifteen minutes of "fame" here and here.

And finally, please check this out: Awesome Video Here -I Promise. Thanks to G.G. for the head's up on this. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

To the porch!