It's October! I really grew out of Halloween the older I got, mainly because I just hate scary, gruesome things, so I've been a little surprised at how much Sophie loves Halloween, since I've never really pushed it or anything, but then I remembered kids just love holidays! She also hates the scary gore of it all, but we both love the cute black kitties, friendly monsters and ghosts and innocuous witches we see around, and I'm excited for those kind of fun Halloween activities with her.
And kinda on that note (but not really), you probably know/remember how much we love the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in LA. I truly am obsessed with that place and I just love the tradition we've created around it with Jessica (and now her baby boy!) and the playground and the cafés down the street. So we're on their mailing lists and they were having an open house/celebration yesterday so we signed up to go. Since it was a bit more street-fair vibes, I left Summer with AJ (which was for the best - poor baby is really struggling with teefs right now) and we went up to enjoy it and oh Lawdy it was hot!
Lucky for Sophie, they kept up their usual tradition of ice cream after every show, so Sophie's day was pretty complete - bubbles, a few puppets (she's scared of them, won't say hi or meet them or take pictures with them, but she enjoys admiring them from afar), ice cream, running around the playground, lunch with Auntie Sasha, playing with Sebastian, and a lemonade for the drive home before a great long nap almost the whole way home (I was enjoying the peace so I drove slow).
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I found this on their
social media that night
look at the DJ's name! |
Sophie has been loving her school, and we have been loving getting involved in this fun community, and on Friday we bought our first Friday baguette which they sell for a fundraiser and that thing was gone in less than 24 hours!
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Her two emotions at school (see
below for the second) |
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The struggle to get her into this outfit
for picture day was REAL - but we
did it!! |
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Not a school picture, but AJ is the
primary parent who picks her up and
drops her off and last Friday he took
her for funtivities before coming home |
We had what felt like the busiest month in my recorded history in September - every single weekend were birthday parties and funtivities galore! We celebrated Ethan turning 2 (I love whenever Sophie and Scarlett get to get together!) and Lily turning 6, where chaos truly reigned!
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| Scarlett and Sophie at Ethan's party |
AJ and I got to enjoy a suite at the Chargers Chiefs game as a work perk, and our other friends happened to be at the same game. It was a shame that T. Swift didn't make an appearance but we still had so much fun! It was the first Parents Night (Day) Out that I could really remember since before we had Summer, so we took advantage of that - we also stopped at Del Taco TWICE on the way home - new record for us.
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I can't seem to make these baby bolts
catch on as Chargers symbol no matter
what I do! |
You know what else is spooky? The housing market and opportunities for my generation in general. I can't stress how frustrating it is that AJ and I are both college educated, gainfully employed, student debt-free who make above-average money and owning a home is still not a reality for us. I recognize Orange County is a desirable location, but am I really at fault that this is my husband's home, that we had children while we were here, all our families and support are here? I mean it's not just Irvine, or even Orange County that has exploded. I'm not looking for a mansion, I'm just trying to find a home that has space for my children in a safe-ish neighborhood (but isn't everyone I guess?)
I'm not the biggest fan of Orange County, I'm not hellbent on staying here (although AJ and I both enjoy our jobs and we are loving Summer's daycare and Sophie's school) so if we have to leave I guess it is what it is, but this is all so frustrating. I'm here racking my brain on creative solutions or trying to find out what we can do but honestly as long as we have two kids in daycare (that is the price of two mortgages as it is) our hands are a bit tied.
This is all coming up because we have to move. Probably this winter. But I guess this is all a story for another time.
Happy fall and spooky season!
