October 2008 Round Up

Blinkie by: Jo's Blinkie Obsession (no longer active)

Monthly Round Up idea borrowed from Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Well, I started a book: The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber. I'm a fair way into it. Quite enjoyable. I like how the point of view shifts around (I know, I'm weird like that.) Read Parenting magazine for the first time in a while. It is becoming less and less useful as he gets older.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
What didn't we watch?! Good grief, we watch *way* too much television. We average 2-3 one-hour shows (or longer, in the case of DWTS) each night during the week, there are a couple that I watch by myself during the day at some point during the week (CSI Miami and NCIS), and we can still barely keep up. In October, two of our "regular shows" finally started back: CSI and NUMB3RS. Tried a couple of new things as well. Star Wars Clone Wars is now showing on Cartoon Network. It's interesting. We like it (don't love it, but like it). Luke *loves* it. Now, some of the episodes can be a little dark and/or violent for him, so we do pre-screen them. I think he's seen 3 of them so far, but he sits there completely mesmerized the whole time. We also tried Crusoe. It's okay. Pretty to look at, that's for sure! Don't love it, though, and it conflicts with Clone Wars (which isn't replayed nearly as much as you'd think it would be). I think Crusoe will be one of those that we watch if we "need" something to watch, but we don't really watch it consistently. (Bones is like that for us as well.)

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Luke's birthday! We had a great time, we had a house full of family from both my side and DH's, and we got to meet our niece for the first time. It was fabulous! And Halloween, of course, with his first "masked" costume.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Well, birthday gifts, obviously, and a small something for our niece N. Purchased a few other things, but they're still here instead of in the mail where they belong.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
We did so well this month! DH got a very deep bruise on his thigh, right above his knee. He hobbled on that for several days, and it cost him a week on the basketball court (where he received the injury). Besides that, we're all good!

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Just the birthday party, really, but we crammed so many people in that one weekend that I think it was okay to "slack off" the rest of the month.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Tried a "Five Minute Chocolate Cake" recipe made in a coffee mug in the microwave. Not impressed. Thought I was going to get to try a new BBQ place, but we had to cancel our meeting, twice! Tentatively set up for November now. I also tried the Premium M&M's, which were good (and extremely pretty), but not worth the price, IMO.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Luke's first costume with a mask. He's been asking for it almost daily since we bought it, but we've been keeping it safe in the closet until Halloween. Now that trick-or-treating is over, he can have it to play with as much as he wants, but we wanted to keep it in good shape (and in one piece!) until Halloween.

Good grief, how could I forget!! We bought a Playstation 3 to use as a Blu-ray player, and we picked up two Blu-ray movies while we were at it: Iron Man and Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

What were this month's disappointments?
Our Sonny's closed! That was hugely disappointing. We've been going there for about 7 years or so. Most of the waitresses remember when Luke was a baby. The next closest one is about 20 miles away. We do drive that far to eat on occasion (can you say Olive Garden?). I'm not sure Sonny's warrants it, though. We'll see. And I had a project that was going so well fall down on its face; that wasn't fun.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I figured out how to make a "truly red" red icing for Luke's cake, and it didn't have a bad aftertaste like some deep red icing does. Mom and I were thrilled! I also celebrated 5 years of blogging this month. I am still amazed that it has been that long.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?
He has officially grown 3 inches and gained 7 pounds since last year. His doctor pronounced him perfectly healthy. His imagination has just exploded. Legos/Megabloks and Tinker Toys are the best things ever! They become all sorts of space ships and robots. He now calls us "Mom" and "Dad" instead of Mommy and Daddy. I don't care much for it, but it's not worth correcting, I don't think. He is also now in a booster seat instead of a car seat (which means he can't kick my elbow when it sits on the front seat arm rest anymore, yay!).

He's also been doing a lot better about trying foods. Mostly because we make him. We pull out the "you're 4 now, and a big boy, and big boy 4 year olds try new things." It's working pretty well so far. Haven't found anything new that he likes well enough to fully incorporate into his repertoire yet, but we have discovered a couple of things that he truly does *not* like (like grapes; weird kid!).

Anything else noteworthy to record?
We froze our rears off for a couple of days near the end of the month. Lows in the low 30s, highs around 50. That's like January weather, not October weather! I love gas heat, LOL. I have also started trying to record those hilarious little conversations that you can only have with a little kid. You know, to save them for posterity. Or his first girlfriend!

Currently feeling: frightful