Things to Do - Grateful List (October 2013)

ARTS
* Reading Tolstoy's The Cossacks
* The New Yorker September 30, 2013 articles on "The Perfect Wife" and "Now Serving" (on Somalian Chef Ahmed Jama)
* Attending the Second City's show at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse
* Listening to Kishi Bashi's 7" singles
* Watching Despicable Me II at the Drafthouse
* Reading David Sedaris's article on his sister's suicide (The October 29, 2013 New Yorker)
* Watching Before Midnight
* Watching old episodes of Cheers at night
* Reading The Hired Man

FOOD
* Quinoa and Sourdough Salad (from Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi)

STUFF
* My new fuzzy, striped cardigan from 1919 Vintage
* F and her new laser maze
* Chewy.com for dogfood delivered to your door
* Stitchfix.com (because I'm lazy)

PLACES
* A rainy day at the Big Apple Circus, Luminosity
* The kids' excitement at Medieval Times
* Warm fall days at Colonial Williamsburg with Allie, her mom, and the kids
* Homewood Suites Williamsburg (wonderful customer service and they found T's lost pink sheet)
* Trick or treating at the White House
* Lunch at Union Market (Washington DC)

ETC
* T to his friend Jules after she kissed him on the cheek "Jules! Kisses are yucky!!"
* Great teacher conferences (P's good citizenship awards; F's writing)
* A rainy day dinner with the Ruizes and Vinings
* Halloween decorating with T
* T and his How to Build an A kit
* Julia and Tracie hosting the kids for a sleepover and then making us all a wonderful brunch (thank you!)
* "Let's put on some Taylor Swift, you just can't beat the classics" - P
* The girls loving cartooning class
* me - "I just wish my kids were grateful for what they have"; P - "well you're not grateful for what you have, otherwise you wouldn't wish for us to be grateful for what we have." (well played, P, well played)
* Yelling Huzzah!!
* Drinking with Allison until 3 am (so hard to have one of my best friends live so far away)

THE KIDS' LISTS:

F - Natalia's birthday party, books, a great day, my family, that we have everything we need actually a little more than we need, our new puppy, art, aidan visiting, trick or treating

P - gymnastics, going to an ice skating party, going to Medieval Times, soccer practice, going out to dinner with N, reading on the Banks of Plum Creek at night, cartooning, ice skating, seeing my friends (at Silver Diner night), cuddles, the ipad, the White House

T - watching the knights fight, Q &S coming over, that we go to William Jeffreys, that we go to the playground, reading books, making cookies for F's birthday, that we go to get new Halloween decorations, farts, seeing my friends [at Silver Diner night], grandma visiting, Aidan