Today Mirthe had an "expected unexpected" day off from school (they told us about it last week :-) -- they're moving the furnaces in the school and would be without heat on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday is always a half day, but a whole Thursday without heat was considered cruel and unusual punishment. I'm guessing this is the closest we'll ever get to something like a snow day. I got all nostalgic this morning when I realized my kids would probably never know the joy of waking up in the early morning hours, fresh blanket of snow outside, to flip on the tv and wait breathlessly for their school's name to show up in the closings list. Oh Michigan, how I miss thee!


Yesterday none of us had any Halloween mojo so we saved the pumpkin carving for today. We were also supposed to bake brownies (that was the mojo we were missing yesterday) but... time got away from us. Keeping with the snow day idea we stayed in pjs until noon and Mirthe's ultimate dream came true: she got to watch "all" the shows Anna watches while she's stuck at school learning how to read. So pjs and The Triplets and Strawberry Shortcake it was. Then we got dressed and ate lunch, and carved pumpkins, and created an enormous Barbie ranch in the living room and dining room. It took a lot of coffee on my part to get that far in the expected unexpected day off.

And then grocery shopping, and Anna's gymnastics.

And dinner and bed. The brownies will have to wait until tomorrow :-)


I'm 39 and I still get so excited looking into a pumpkin that's been hollowed out. Maybe because we only get to do it once a year?


I carried the pumpkin theme further -- maybe a little too far -- and made pumpkin soup. Here it is at the bouillon stage. There were sausages and roasted shallots as garnish, depending on whether you eat meat, or not.

And I just had a flashback to high school, and Sarah saying "snausages" like only she can -- Sarah, if you ever read this, will you call me up one day and just say "snausages" and then hang up? So that I remember how it really sounds.


Just this once, 'cause mama was somewhere else with her thoughts and didn't have enough time to insist on proper attire at the dinner table -- they were allowed to eat wearing their leotards. Mirthe and Anna, that is.

That's making me smile, thinking of Eric in a leotard. Hee!