Is it really almost November???

I can't believe that it is almost November. Tomorrow is Halloween and then it's drab, dreary, old November. I hate winter. I hate the cold. I hate the dark evenings. I hate the dreary mornings where I have to scrape my windshield and shiver all the way into school. And I hate that I know I am going to start feeling really hassled and behind on my Christmas planning and work.
Well, this year, it's not going to happen! I am on a mission to be ahead of the game this year. I am following the Christmas Countdown plan at OrganizedChristmas.com. So far, I have made it through week 1 without getting behind. In fact, I am a little bit ahead. I have been on a shopping mission. I have a lot of gifts purchased already with the goal to be doen before Thanksgiving except for a few things for my immediate household. So, this year, expect my cards to arrive early, my house to be beautifully decorated, and my cookies to taste gourmet! Yeah right! And then say hi to Santa for me when he shows up in your chimney!

The Birthday Bash

On Sunday night we threw a surprise party for Matt's 16th birthday. I can't believe that he is this old already. We had 50 kids throughout the night and they were actually a lot of fun. They were polite, well-behaved, and a great group of kids. As you can see from this picture, Matt enjoyed himself a lot. We learned a few things about our boys at this party. First, they have acquired a sense of rhythm from some unknown ancestor. Even though Patrick was mostly being silly, he danced up a storm all night. Matt is actually a good dancer, although I don't like seeing the type of dancing he was doing with all of the girls. Second, my kids are both outrageous flirts. I know they learned that from their dad!