where does the time go?

October and November seemingly flew by this year. I have been drooling over all the new dessert recipes I have found throughout the year that include pumpkin (I LOVE pumpkin) and now, all of the sudden, the time for pumpkin baking is almost over. I may have to switch over the thanksgiving breakfast menu from cinnamon rolls to pumpkin bread. I doubt that Laney and Alie will mind.

I was thinking of making a pumpkin based dessert for thanksgiving dinner, but since my mom is allergic to cinnamon and my dad doesn't love pumpkin (or dessert in general, there is definitely something wrong with him) I thought I would go with chocolate instead. I can't wait to bake tonight with the girls. We are making our chocolate-peppermint pie bars and hopefully, our pumpkin bread for breakfast during the parade tomorrow am!

Next weekend, I'm baking birthday cake! Thoughts on whether Laney and Alie need separate cakes this year? They have chosen two different themes: Mickey Mouse clubhouse and Tinkerbell. I have themed candles for each, so I was thinking of making one larger cake, icing it with polka dots matching the two color schemes and then putting the girls candles on top. I'm not sure I'm up for making two. I guess we'll see.

rushing the season

With lots of things coming up in the next couple of weeks (including the girls birthday party, the Jingle Bell run, and hopefully a trip to NY) Carl and I wanted to be sure that we were able to squeeze in everything we love about the holidays. Today, during my work from home day, we took a break and headed to the mall to meet with Santa. After last years crying pic, we weren't quite sure what to expect, but the girls loved sitting on his lap. We were able to buy the cutest pic. The girls let him know that they were hoping for some new baby dolls under the tree this year (they will definitely be getting their wish).

We are looking forward to the next couple of days, spending some time relaxing with our family. On our way to visit Santa, we stopped to see if the trains were open at Kennilworth yet. They aren't, but we will definitely be heading there Sunday. The girls LOVED the trains last year and have been waiting to visit them again.

I am anxious to complete my two big papers of my semester so that I can continue my "recreational" reading without feeling guilty. My mom gave me some $ to use at Barnes and Noble for my bday, so I was able to pick up some new books then, plus a few that I grabbed at the library last weekend. Now, if I could just feel motivated!

Is this a test?

The last few months have been trying, to say the least. Work has been busy and school has been challenging. Bank of America incorrectly repossessed our car, made us pay for it while they "looked into their records", and have led us to sue them for our money back. We are still waiting for Carl's commission which was due in June, and we are waiting for money taken from his paycheck for advances that he never took. Then, on Friday, Carl was laid off. I think that life is testing our sanity and our strength. Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm doing. This is rough. We are a hardworking family, an average family. Hopefully things turn around for us soon.

halloween and skinny jeans

All in all I had a pretty great weekend. Carl and I spent most of Halloween trying to work out our bad luck situations. Sometimes it seems like we're being picked on. I was really upset afterwards, and mentally exhausted so we decided to lay low instead of going to the party I had been really excited to attend. We did still go trick or treating wtih the girls, and that was really wonderful! They were definitely old enough to understand and had a great time gathering candy. They loved saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" and especially using their glow sticks. We weren't out very late at all, and Carl and I wrapped up the night watching "Tower of Terror" snuggled on the living room couch drinking hot chocolate.

Saturday, we headed to the Towson football game. We had another set of free tickets (we are lucky when it comes to those) and we had a nice time. The girls were tired from the night before, so we only stayed until half-time, but the day was so beautiful, and the game was pretty exciting. Saturday night, Carl and I headed out to Babalu to celebrate Cirucci's 27th bday. As I was getting dressed, I decided to try on my skinny jeans. My skinny jeans from when I lived in FL. My skinny jeans I haven't worn since I was in college. To my suprise, they fit! I felt like Miranda in the episode of Sex in the City when they go to "Bed" and Carrie gets "arrested for smoking a doobie (sp?)". Perhaps the funniest part of dinner was when Carl ordered a drink called the Scorpion, which came being a bright pink girly drink with fruit! After dinner we headed to Howl at the Moon, which was a lot of fun! We were able to get in for free, which was nice. I was still really tired from the day before, so we didn't stay too late.

We went to Cirucci's again in the morning for some yummy breakfast bake and cinnamon rolls to celebrate her actual birthday. I spent the rest of the day working on homework and reading the third book from the Twilight series. I'm totally obsessed.