The Beauty of the Earth

Today I am very thankful for beautiful November weather and a backyard big enough to run around and enjoy it.

Do the Write Thing

Last Thursday night I was up late working on house stuff. At 11:49 I looked at my clock and realized I hadn't done my blog post yet. Bryan happened to be nearby and I asked if he would grab my laptop so I could throw on a quick post. He brought my laptop and I could hear him narrating what he was doing.

"Turning on the computer, logging in, opening Blogger."

Then I heard typing, which prompted me to ask, "Are you writing my blog post?"

He said he was. Well, that meant I could carry on with my task, so I didn't stop him.

At 11:59 he handed me my laptop and said I had less than a minute to read through it. I thought it was hilarious. When he offered to do the same thing on Friday night, I was all for it.

It's nice having an editor to fill in for me when needed.

The ghostwriter strikes again!

So funny thing - Phoebe was talking to me about types of jobs authors might have on their resumes, so I suggested ghostwriter as one of the possibilities. Here's how the conversation went:

Phoebe: "What's a ghostwriter?"

Editor: "It's a person whose job it is to write under another author's name, as if that author was writing the material."

Phoebe: "What, so you don't get any credit? Why would someone do that?"

Editor: "..."

Phoebe: "I mean, how are people going to get to know you as an author if they don't know who you are? It sounds silly to me." (You forgot a question mark, just over there. Good thing you ran it by the boss first. -ed.)

Editor: "It's a way to get experience as a writer."

Phoebe: "Oh. Why can't I just write for me?"

I thought that was wise. We should write for ourselves. This is the second day in a row I've 'ghostwritten' for Margot, and it's kind of nice. (Not a very good ghostwriter if you're outing yourself -ed.)

Don't worry, though. Margot is aaaaallllllmmmooossstt finished with the project. I know you want to guess what it is, but you won't. No - it's not related to the 5th Indiana Jones movie (it didn't work with her schedule -ed.)

She'll be back soon.

Sorry, Margot can't come to the blog right now...

This is Margot's Editor (Not a very good one, eh? - ed.). She's working on a super secret project that she's not quite ready to reveal just yet, but suffice it to say, it's been a lot of long hours and hard work over many days. (Which raises the question, where have you been, Mr. 'Editor'. - ed)

No, she's not getting scuba certified, and no it doesn't involve ostriches in any way, which means you're out of guesses and will just have to wait and see what it is. No, artesian cheeses aren't relevant at all.

No really, you'll find out shortly. (Can't wait. -ed.)

Patience is a virtue!

(It's also not holiday related. -ed.)

Margot only had 30 seconds to approve this message.

Going Back In Time

My brother Jordan and his wife Leah have an adorable baby boy named Maverick. I haven't met him in person yet, but every picture I've seen tells me he's sweet and snuggly. Leah asked me if I had any pictures of Jordan from about the same age. This is the picture I found, it's from the day of his baby blessing. Also pictured are our mom and the chubby-cheeked oldest child.

As I've looked at this picture, I've realized a few things about myself.

• My face has always been full. I understand why women would pinch my baby face in grocery stores.
• My hair was never meant for bangs. I wish I'd had this picture handy the last time I decided bangs were a good idea. For the record, they were not.
• I had dark eyelashes once! I wonder where they vanished to.
• I have never had visible eyebrows. There's more of an idea of eyebrows in this picture than actual brows. And that's still how they are.
• I've always loved my brother (and all my siblings), see how I'm holding his hand?
• My girls look like me.
• Topher looks a little like me too, maybe it's the expression on my face?

We were both pretty cute kids.

Hair Today

Sophie's curls for Halloween were amazing. They were amazing because they were full of gel to hold their shape. Today we learned that all that gel shouldn't stay in for too long because then it turns your hair into one giant, ratty tangle. I had Sophie wash her hair with conditioner, not shampoo, to get the gel out. Then I sat and slowly brushed out the mess while she read to me at bedtime. When I finished she was shocked at how smooth and straight her hair was. Yup, hair brushes can work magic.

You can see the beginning of the tangle in the first picture and the end result of brushing in the second. Oh, and Cooper totally knew we were taking the picture and chose this pose intentionally.

A Breath of Fresh Air

This is what it looks like when you want to do your PE class outside, but it's windy and 53 degrees. Thankfully, the class wasn't too long.

I'm thankful that the kids can attend cyber school again this year and for the flexibility that provides.

Here Comes Halloween

Last week we got fancy and crossed state lines to attend Bryan's work's drive-thru Halloween event. Here's a peek at the kids' costumes.

Artist's Eye

Cooper grabbed my phone yesterday and ran outside to take some pictures. These are my favorites.

Tea for Two

Cooper walked into the playroom where Topher was playing a few minutes ago. I heard the following exchange take place.

Topher: Cooper! Are you almost ready for my tea party?

Cooper: Maybe. Will you get some Sleepytime Vanilla tea ready for me?

Topher: (in a disappointed tone) Oh, I can't. I already got pepperoni tea.