Today the kids found a brown and a chocolate colored egg in the preferred nest box, two white eggs in one of the other nest boxes they hadn't previously used, and one duck egg on the ground.
Today we went out to do some of our regular shopping. Refresh the cupboards, buy some wrapping paper, and look for a sweater for me. I don't shop for clothing for myself very often. I'm the kind of person who will wear the same dozen shirts until they're literally full of holes and stains and falling apart. I also take other people's hand-me-downs... I have a couple of my brother's shirts in the rotation as well. As it got cold out, I've realized I only own two sweaters and both are nice fancy ones that look more like formal attire, and both have been washed enough times that they're pretty short now. I like my husband's sweatshirt, it is a nice warm one, but I don't care for the design and he's rather fond of his shirt... So I've been trying to find a nice sweatshirt that is heavy-duty enough to get me through winter and barn chores, but also isn't completely plain. I may end up with a plain one just to have one. If anyone has a nice quality sweatshirt with their logo on it, I'm willing to advertise family-friendly businesses by wearing it when I go shopping or in photos when I'm holding stuff in the blog... Send one my way!
On our way home we stopped at a local ice-cream shop. I hate being lactose intolerant. No ice cream for dessert, no sour cream or cheese on my baked potatoes, no butter for my toast, no cheese on my home-grown squash, and no butter on my popcorn. I use almond milk for cereal, and vegan butter if I need to use butter in a recipe (or on toast). If anyone knows of a good dairy-free cheese, I'm interested in hearing from you! I've heard of a few, but none seem to be available locally. I wish restaurants had some lactose-free options to replace milk, cheese, and butter. We don't eat out a lot, but when we do it's always difficult for me to find food I can safely eat. I'm sure I can't be alone in this struggle. There are plenty of people with food allergies much more severe than mine. I wonder why restaurants haven't jumped at the opportunity to provide for this section of the public.
Anyway, I got a consolation prize. They all got ice cream and I got this adorable little sloth plush (for about the same price as an ice cream cone).
Here's to October! The first full month of school, the changing colors of autumn in the trees, needing a sweater to go outside, and trick-or-treating with kids in over-priced costumes.
Every year a few of the kids make their own costumes, which is awesome, but a couple of the kids still really want to be store-bought characters. In the past the kids have come up with costumes to be Abby from NCIS, a vampire-zombie (bought the fake blood), the Ood (from Doctor Who - just needed the masks), a nerd (just needed a pair of glasses), and a couple of others with little to no store-bought additions. When they were really little my mother-in-law would make them costumes... A princess, a queen, Tigger, a devil. I do miss her creativity and ability to make beautiful things.
Bring on the pumpkins, just leave the jump-scares and blood and gore. And for those who like Green Day - It's time to wake up.