I'm back! And I have photos to prove it!

I looked at the calendar and realized that tomorrow it will have been a full month since I last posted.

I can't let a whole month go by. That's ridic.

But I still don't have time to post! Too much going on at work since I took on as the lead for that client in Maine, and another of my bigger clients has a big event this month that needed lots of promotion and communications help. So much work!!

So instead of really posting, I'll just post photos. I promise to get back into the swing of things when things at work slow-up just a bit.

We went to Scarlet and Gray Day at the boys' school...

Matty came with us! Hiii, Matt-Pat!

... and Clair had her first taste of a Baltimore favorite: a lemon stick.

Cutest little peppermint stick EVER.

Now she's a true Bawlmer girl!

She loved it! But Dean loved it more. He loves all things minty -- peppermints, "candy cans," even toothpaste. Yes. My boy likes the taste of toothpaste.

We went to the creek at Herring Run Park and explored! We threw sticks in the creek and pretended to fish, saved a caterpillar from drowning, saw two baby deer peeking at us and learned what a "clearing" is.

I love living so close to a park with a creek -- even if it is polluted. Clair calls the woods behind us "the wild." As in, "Mommy, we can't go in there. It's the wild!"

We celebrated my Mommy's 60th birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary by having brunch and visiting wineries in the Shenandoah Valley! It was a perfect October Sunday afternoon - and one of the best memories I think we'll have of our shared milestones.

Happy anniversary to my very best friend! Ain't life grand?

 

 It's hard to see that picture of my handsome husband in that montage, so let me zoom in for ya:

Hello handsome!

He's so GQ! See why I've kept him around for 7 years?

We went to a pumpkin farm, went on a hayride and picked apples -- oh so many apples. I still have a bag of apples sitting in the dining room. My co-worker sent me a recipe for an apple crisp that requires two sticks of butter! Ding-ding-ding! Sounds like the right answer to all those apples to me!

Clair's first time apple-picking. She loved it!

Dean, of course, turned the picking into a competition. He might be the reason why I have 1 million apples in my house.

How cute is this happy face?

 

 And the boys had a day off from school, so Lester helped them carve a pumpkin!

Cary: "Dude, where is the CANDY?"

What else? Hmmmm.

Oh -- I went to my girlfriend Shreya's Girls' Dinner -- the one where her husband cooks a four-course meal for 45 women??

That's my gorgeous, brilliant, hilarious, stylish, generous-to-a-fault, kick-ass friend Shreya!

It was awesome. As usual.

I am so honored that I get a seat at this table every year!

 And I looked pretty damn good.

Not as good as my husband, who has lost 46 lbs!!! since May (damn him!) But pretty darn good, thanks to some Spanx and high boots.

And I had my second column run in the Sun, which prompted someone to comment:

I feel we have lived parallel lives! I could completely relate to and empathize with everything. I too am Type-A. I never planned on twins and that totally threw off my Excel spreadsheet of "baby finances." And I certainly didn't plan on numero 3. I have 4 year old twin girls and a 2 year old son. I felt so guilty the day I went to the hospital to give birth to him - I felt I was taking something away from the girls. But I learned I have so much love to give. The only thing I regret is constantly viewing the twins as "older," that I've forgotten to appreciate how young they still are. And as my son is now at the age his sisters were when he was born, I realize that they were still "babies" at that time and I took it for granted. Hang in there mama, you are not alone in this journey!

Positive comments on newspaper stories? This almost never happens!
This woman, whoever she is, seems like someone I'd be friends with -- kinda like many of the women I've met through this blog! See how writing brings people together?

Life is good!

P.S. I have other news to share, but I can't share it just yet. A few more weeks, tops! But I'm JUST BURSTING TO TELL IT!! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!