I was just thinking earlier that our living room now looks like a kid's playroom. It's dimensions are 12' x 22' and 1/2 of it looks like a living room; the other half is so full of Dante's toys, bouncy chairs, rockers, swings, etc. that I can hardly reach the chains on our door wall blinds to close them. We need a bigger house! No, wait. We need our house back to ourselves. Yeah...that's the ticket. We need to go back to being empty nesters! I can't see that happening before next summer, but I DO know that if/when the kids move out, we will miss baby Dante to pieces. That kid just lights up our lives. :-)
Speaking of the little squirt...he turned 6 months old yesterday. I can hardly believe it. And that kid is ROCK SOLID too. Not fat, but just plain solid. He can already stand up with us just keeping our hands at his sides (so he doesn't lose his balance and topple over...lol). And he still smiles ALL THE TIME. It's amazing. You just talk to him and he lights right up. He even laughs when either of our dogs walk by him. He just LOVES those puppies! We can see he is going to be an animal lover just like his mamma (and grandma and grandpa).
And speaking of animals...Angela has been at her new job for 7 weeks now, and still loves it there (and they love her too). FINALLY! Yay! Her bosses have met with the vet/owner a few times and told him how she's doing a wonderful job, and pretty much has everything down pat already. We have yet to hear her say a bad word about the job or any of her co-workers, and that is HUGE. They are all so nice to her. And her anxiety isn't an issue at this place either as she is so much calmer now. Woo hoo!
Nothing is new with Tom's job. He still has almost no work to do, so we're waiting for the hammer to fall. It would stink if they laid him, and others, off right at Christmas, wouldn't it? Still, in this economy, it wouldn't surprise us.
So what have we been up to lately? Lots of family time (as usual)--my side, Tom's side, the river family and our church family. There's always something going on.
The third weekend in October Tom, Dante & I met my brother and his wife and kids at a cider mill that was almost an hour away from our house. (There are closer ones. I have no idea why my brother wanted to go to this particular one.) We enjoyed the usual donuts and cider, and inside one pole barn there was a pretty good band playing. The best part was watching Dante interact with all the animals. My fav pic is the one below as he reaches out to the baby calf, and the calf stretches her neck out to reach him. (I told ya he loves animals!) Of course, he was so shocked to see such a big "DOG" walk up to him that he instantly dropped his pacifier in the grass, and then the calf put her tongue under the fence and tried to eat it. LOLOL
I've also posted a pic of Tom & me (below) taken at the cider mill. All I can say in my defense is, the wind was blowing quite strongly; hence my bangs are standing straight on end. Enough said. :-)
The last Saturday in October my family got together for a pizza dinner/potluck to discuss Thanksgiving plans and draw names for the Christmas gift exchange. My family has gotten into the habit of celebrating Thanksgiving on the Saturday after Thanksgiving so that none of us have to try to eat 2 dinners on Thanksgiving Day (since we are all married and have in-laws' houses to visit on Thanksgiving Day).
I worked as a cashier for kitchen concessions during our church's Craft Show/Bake Sale the weekend before last. That's always a good time. Tom & I also worked before and after the Show to set up tables, then take down and clean up. The Show seemed to be a success.
Tom & I got together with our river family last night just to hang out and catch up with each other. Each couple attending usually brings something "hors 'deouvres-y" which results in some yummy after-dinner munchies. The conversation was great, and we all laughed so hard that at times my face was starting to hurt. Those people are crazy!!! LOL The nice thing is they're all about our age (50's and 60's), so we can relate to quite an array of topics.
This afternoon, Tom's family got together at a local Catholic church as the newest member of his family--baby Anthony Michael--was baptized. Seven children in total were baptized, and they all looked so adorable in their baptismal and "Sunday best" outfits. Baby Anthony didn't cry at all when the water was poured over his head 3 times. Afterward, we all went back to Mike & Sarah's (the parents') house for a meal. Mike & Sarah are the niece and nephew who purchased that 100-year-old white farmhouse I wrote about last year. Anyway, there was a nice mix of family members from both Sarah & Mike's side and the food was really good too! Sarah's family had come in from places like Connecticut (her home state) and Florida to be with them on this special day, and to see Anthony for the first time.
My hubby and his brothers and nephews all leave for deer hunting this Tuesday. He won't be back home until Saturday or Sunday. They hunt in the same area each year (about 4 hours northeast of our house) and stay in the same rental mobile home while there. They don't often get any deer, which makes me think they just go up there to sleep, drink, scratch, fart and whatever else they do in the name of male bonding. LOLOL In any event, it's a good way for them to blow off some steam and relax. In the meantime, my sister-in-laws usually get together for a "hunters' widows" dinner at a nice restaurant the Friday night that the guys are gone, and they are doing that this Friday. Angela usually gets off work at 5 on Friday nights, so I'll see if she wants to go with me to the dinner since the gals don't meet at the restaurant until 6:30 or 7.
Alrighty then! I think that brings my blog up to date! Hope you all have a wonderful week, and since the temps are supposed to drop quite a bit, try to stay warm too!
