November is Upon Us

I can't believe it is already November! Today was so pretty, we had shorts on the kids, and all the windows were open in our house. Absolutely beautiful! I love this weather -- I can smell the leaves, I can hear them falling and rustling in the wind, I can feel the breeze, and I can hear the twinkling of our wind-chimes on the porch. Very peaceful to me.

Today was rather ordinary -- we cleaned house some, put away lots of laundry (thanks to Allen), and the kids played outside. We went out for dinner, then rushed home so Allen could catch "THE BIG GAME!" I rolled my eyes when I heard why we were rushing home, but I understood. Texas Tech, undefeated #7 team, was playing rival University of Texas, undefeated and #1 in the country. Allen and I are Red Raiders -- Allen like Tech so much, he graduated twice. I played on the computer while he watched the game. It wasn't long before our dog was howling at Allen because he was yelling and jumping all over the living room. When I finally went down to hush him, I ended up staying for the last three quarters. That says a lot about how exciting the game was -- I don't watch football. It was an awesome, sit on the edge of the seat kind of game. Allen yelled a lot and we had discussions about it later. I said thinkgs like "Stop yelling at the TV! They can't hear you!" and "Seriously, Babe, the guys KNOW they are supposed to run. I think they practice it daily." His response, and I am quoting him:

It is by will of the fans alone that the players set in motion; it is by the juice of adrenals that the players acquire speed, the helmets acquire stains, the stain becomes a warning. It is by will of the fans alone that sets the players in motion.

That was our evening. I enjoyed spending it with Allen, but I really could've done without the shouting -- I rolled my eyes so much they ached the next day.

On another note, Ben has been creative lately with his clothing. Last week when we were at the pumpkin patch, I put three or four goldfish crackers in the bib-pocket of his overalls. He was thrilled to have a snack handy and used it throughout the day and he has tried to do that more often. Tonight at dinner, Allen asked Ben to hand him the wipe he had used to clean his hands. Ben quickly said no and stashed it down his shirt. Earlier this week, I kept him in footed pjs for the morning. After breakfast, when I changed him and got him dressed I found, in ONE foot of the pjs: 2 blocks, 1 hot-wheels car, 1 plastic lion, and 4 pieces of cereal. The other foot had a lot more cereal that I think he was saving for later, like with the goldfish. This is just one of those cute quirky things about Ben right now and I wanted to remember it. Now if you see him in pjs and limping, you can bet he has a treasure he's hiding from the rest of us.