I have a lot of catching up to do.

Things have been busy - life is just getting in the way of time to jot things down.

Last Friday (10/10) was Reed's fourth birthday. How we managed to let four years fly by is beyond me, but they certainly have been the best four of my life. My parents were here for a visit, and we had a birthday party for his friends last Saturday. The weather was perfect, and we really couldn't have asked for a better day for a party.

Upcoming - Reed and I leave this Friday (the 24th) to make a quick trip to Austin. I have been looking for tickets for a long time, and finally found some that wouldn't break the bank. I'm looking forward to some girl-time with a very dear friend of mine who is in the midst of a divorce. She has two boys who will keep Reed busy while she and I visit and catch up. We're also planning on stopping to visit Miss Sharon for a bit on Saturday morning - Miss Sharon kept Reed from the time he was about eight weeks old until the time we left to move to Minnesota. We keep talking to Reed about Miss Sharon, but I'm not sure how he will react to her. Will he remember anything about her? I'm doubtful, but I know she's dying to see him.

The weekend after we return is Halloween, and Reed is dressing up as an elephant, which will be a hoot. Then Election Day (it will FINALLY be over!), and the following day we all leave to go to Kentucky for a week. As usual, we'll have just a fraction of the time we need to do everything we want to do - we're going to Murray for a few days for a sorority reunion, and we'll also have some quality time with my sister and her girls. All of the extended family members want to see Reed, so we'll work that in somewhere, too. And then we'll come back to Minnesota, where we're planning on staying put for a while. No travel for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. I have really mixed feelings about that, but that's another topic for another post.

In the shorter term, I have to find Reed some ice skates this weekend, because he starts skating lessons on Wednesday. Monday afternoon is a preschool parent-teacher conference. Tuesday afternoon is a daycare parent-teacher conference. Wednesday is ice skating lessons, and Thursday is a Happy Hour with the folks that were in my class for the HLI. How I'll manage to survive (and get packed!) until the end of this week is beyond me. Wish me luck.