A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

is how I feel, only very recently. Warm candle light, chilly air, leaves swirling on sidewalks, and I am all smiles. The shadows are long and the light has shifted. This makes me want to curl up with any one of the books stacked on my nightstand.

.

I found some affordable (talking twenty dollars, yeah!) shoes for this season. It’s California, where I can wear shoes without socks most seasons of the year.

These days I am looking for a rhythm to our days, rather than a balance.

The baby that made me a momma will be turning SEVEN tomorrow. He is a full grown kid who has started washing the dishes without supervision and reading a Babe Ruth biography independently. Most days he is wearing sports gear, unless he is in his school uniform. Like me, his face reddens when a fuss is being made over him (see below: he covered his face as we were singing). Often he can be heard make up songs or singing some radio tune like me, who learned it from my mom. This morning he told me he is looking forward to Christmas because he likes to watch “Home Alone” and “Elf” (this boy likes to laugh).

We celebrated this weekend
with a double feature dvd rental last night
and donuts this morning.
When I tried to sneak out, he was already up listening to music.
 So he and I went out early.
Grammy came over for lunch and cake
 with legos.
A late afternoon walk over to the park.We burn some energy chasing and hitting balls.Ending the evening with a wrapped book for his class (first grade tradition at his school).And we all start counting down. We have one more week of school, then a whole week off.

Henry celebrated his birthday early. His choice: soccer party. I went for the green, black, and white. We embraced the theme

with handmade signs by Papa

a cupcake cake

a pinata

and a ladybug mascot.

He chewed his first piece of gum.

There was lots of soccer playing (thanks to the friends who brought gear)

while toddlers chased extra balls.

A gathering of friends and family to wish him his very best as he blew out his candles.

A celebration to honor our little boy who loves to run and play and laugh.

A pile of gifts that he loves. He immediately loved the idea of a “fart gun.”

By the end of the party this girl was ready to pass out because she had skipped her nap.

I know we don’t have the energy to throw parties like this all the time. But I really like all the planning. So yeah, my next party is in two years. I hope you will come.

This is our third day in a row wearing our costumes

and we are still in the spirit.

Aunt Kathy went all out with pumpkin decorating

a pinata

tons of fun in her backyard.

For Joe, the highlight was holding this pumpkin.

We swung by a friend’s house on Saturday night.

Of course we wore our costumes.

Tina gave the kids these glow glasses

and we headed out before the real party was getting started.

We walked the neighborhood
 and said “howdy”
 with a bit of boot stomping before the sun went down.
We avoided the rain, and were out at just the dry time.
 Grammy came over, she fixed us dinner and strolled along.
 I wore my wig to help with the part. I actually never took it off, since I wore my costume to school all day.
A full day that had us in bed early.

is how I feel when I find my kids like this:

They camped out on the floor of their bedroom and they fell asleep whispering and giggling.

Or when Olivine insists on trying on my Halloween wig:

And there is the love of washi tape around here. I love the patterns. The kids love that it peels off and doesn’t require scissors. Their latest invention is turning clothes into jerseys.

Always with self portraits. This one is from a class collage posted at the school carnival. I think he drew himself winking.

I never realized how funny they can be, on a continuing basis. I crack up and laugh aloud. It’s so good for my soul.