The end is in sight!

What a great Halloween! This year we managed to hit 4 Halloween parties (and more importantly, use the costumes four times;-) We attended the annual Pearl Park Halloween party with friends Nemo (Elouise) and Duck (Braeden) along with other friends, attended a Halloween party at the Lameres' complete with bobbing for apples and pin the eye on the monster and also attended Matt and Audra's annual Pumpkin Carving Party. Unfortunately, Jeff had to work all weekend and didn't get to capitalize on nearly the amount of festivities as we did - but he had a great time taking Rosemary and Gloria trick-or-treating on Sunday evening.

We thought it would be a good idea to trick-or-treat around our new house as a way of meeting some of our new neighbors. It proved to be a fantastic idea and we met SO many future friends for Rosemary (and even a few future babysitters!) Everyone seems so nice and we are anxious to actually settle down and get to know them.

Jeff and I managed to go out on Saturday night for dinner and a movie. We saw "The Social Network" and both gave it a 10. We also tried the restaurant Cave Vin on 56th and Xerxes and really, really enjoyed it. Aside from that, he and I have managed to sneak out a few evenings after the kids are asleep (and Paul and Doris are home) to get little projects wrapped up at the house, which has been a huge help.

The painters finished on Thursday of last week and the tilers started on Monday. They are scheduled to be done by Friday, which leaves one week for us to refinish the floors before we move in (again, upper level only...the rest will be done at the time we remodel the kitchen this winter). The end is so close that Jeff and I are getting incredibly antsy. We keep wanting to jump the gun and just start moving stuff over there...clearly our memories aren't serving us in recollecting just how strong the stench of the floor stain is. Patience is a virtue...and we shall practice that for the next 10 days.

With Halloween behind us, it's time to start getting into the holiday spirit. So far on our list of holiday festivities, Jeff and I are planning our annual attendance at the Nutcracker, a trip to Stages Theater with Rosemary for their Christmas performance...and tonight, I head to Archiver's with Terry to start preparing packaging for our annual Chex Mix making. Eeeek!

In milestone news, Gloria has discovered her feet...and boy does she love them! Always grabbing them and rolling from side to side. She's still not a fan of the oatmeal or any other "solid" foods, but I'm guessing that will come in the next month or so. While we have been residing at the Schaffers', she has been sleeping in Jeff's old bassinet from when he was born. Well, now 5 months old, she is touching all four sides of the bassinet...and sometimes I even find her with her feet propped up over the side. Poor thing! Only 10 more days until she is tucked snug in her little [roomy] crib. Rosemary is still doing great with swimming and school and loves going over to visit our new house.

That's all for now:-) Jeff leaves for deer hunting opener with his brothers and dad this weekend. The girls and I have a busy weekend around here and will start making preparations for moving weekend on the 13th. Huzzah!