I think Fall may be here to stay this time. Yesterday, we were sweating with temps in the 80s, today it is a cool 57 with clouds and some drizzle. Add to that the fact that my visit to the chiropractor this morning left me more than a little sore (I will be better tomorrow, right?!), it seems like a good time to play "catch up on a month's worth of blogging"!
Fall baseball has kept us running for the last few weeks. Katherine was having trouble with her arm so she hasn't pitched yet. She does have the highest "on base percentage" for the team. An amazing feat considering her 0 batting average. She'll be the starting pitcher tomorrow if the fields are open. Timmy pitched the other night and did well. He had at least one strike out (bad mommy for not knowing for sure!) and a couple of walks. They did hit off of him and his fielders didn't back him up very well, but he was pleased with his performance which is what counts. My goal for the season is to see one of my kids get a hit. LOL!
The big news of October is the long-awaited birth of cousin Baby Patrick, the first baby of my oldest brother. Now, I have seen countless babies in addition to my own eight, and I tell you that this little guy is one cute baby! We haven't met him in person yet.
We managed to make it Apple Picking, despite our baseball schedule. The trees were pretty bare, but that just meant more climbing! Grandmommy and Granddaddy came which made it even more fun. We were missing Charlie as he had to work. I will post some pictures later, although I didn't get many good ones like last year.
I am still "tweaking" our curriculum. It's often trial and error before we settle in to what works for each person. We are settling into a nice balance of hitting the basics and everyone having time to pursue what like most. Elizabeth loves reading and math. Regina loves to write and draw. Katherine splits her free time between the piano and reading. Timmy still needs to be "forced" to do "schoolwork". He will read all day, but just don't ask him to write! Clare is learning to read, slowly. And Teresa and Augustine do their jobs of keeping the rest of us busy very well! Charlie is still Charlie.
Charlie is working at the party store, so he is trying to get us to go and shop for costumes. We probably won't, though. We still have costumes that fit from last year. The big conflict will be if we have tournament games on Halloween. I am not sure how that will play out.
And of course, we have all been mesmerized by the presidential race. We have been watching the debates on the internet, reading blogs and whenever possible, listening to Rush. My kids have forbidden me to blog about politics, saying this blog is about our family. But I will say that we are praying hard for the future of our country! And I just have to say, how cool would it be to have a baby-wearing mama in the White House!
So, I think that gets us up to date. There are so many little things I just never get to the computer to write about. It is hard to find the balance between living in the moment and recording the moment for tomorrow.