October Recap

October was a crazy month in our family. We happen to have lots of our big dates fall in October like our Anniversary, my birthday, Halloween and some other big stuff. Athena's birthday is pretty close too since it falls on November 4th but that's worth a post of its own.

One of the biggest things that happened was that we bought our first brand new family car! We went with a 2018 Subaru Outback and I must say, as a girl who could care less about cars I'm loving it...or maybe I just love the seat warmers. 

Anyway, here's a wrap-up of the busy month that feels like it just passed before another one gets away from me.  It was filled with all the fun fall activities we could possibly jam in as well as several colds for all in the family.

In efforts to get the most bang for our Halloween costume buck, we took Athena to the aviary's costume day were she got to test out her unicorn costume the weekend before the big day.

We are just a few days away from Halloween and we realized we never took Athena to a pumpkin patch. Mostly because she had a cold pretty much every weekend prior (thanks daycare) so we had to pass until last minute but I'm glad we squeezed it in. Here she is sampling her tiny pumpkin she picked out. 

Pretty spectacular view from the pumpkin patch.

I started" jumpsuit Wednesday" as my school attire because it's the only day I have a bunch of prep periods which means enough time get myself out of them to use the restroom. Seriously, It requires being strategic and you need some time.

Athena chilling in the Subaru showroom.

Little nugget got a double ear infection and actually snuggled with me for a whole day and it was delightful for me, not so great for her.

Athena has been sampling leaves at all the various parks in our neighborhood. 

While staying at the Washington Schoolhouse Hotel for my birthday, we discovered Athena really likes tiny hotel toiletry bottles. She had to have one in each hand and one in her mouth at all times. She also threw all the slippers in the bathtub.

This is the rooftop lounge area at the Washington Schoolhouse Hotel. The whole place is really stunning and worth a visit.

This is the lobby lounge where breakfast is made to order every morning. It was such a great place to relax since Andrew took the baby so I could eat brunch in peace!

We drove up Guardsman's Pass and took a few pictures with the beautiful mountains in the background.

I found the perfect pink velvet skirt for only $23 at Target when I was rushing to find something to wear to the Ballet with my class for a field trip the next day of school. The length makes it perfect for the colder months too. 

Athena Trick-or-Treated for the first time and even shared candy with this other cutie we passed on the candy trail.

We attempted to take Athena to a petting zoo but it was closed so we just hung out outside and took pictures with their well-placed pumpkin to make a very literal "Athena-Boo."

We decided to test out the new car and drove to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Every time we have gone it's been so magical. Athena clomped around on the salt and we didn't have to worry about her running away from us or falling. She just roamed free and was loving life.

Where I've Been

Skirt // Hat (old Forever 21 but similar here) // Tank // Bag: Rebecca Minkoff clutch // Shoes: Cole Haan // Jean Jacket: Target (similar here)

I'm shocked and a little confused as to how a whole month has passed since I posted last. I swear I've been wearing outfits, cute ones even to work. Sadly life has gotten in the way. So much life.

Going back to work has actually been great, it's just when that gets amplified, that the stress levels go through the roof. In this last month Andrew fractured his foot so it's meant a lot more of jobs that he used to be able to do are now on me. Athena pretty much has been a different kind of sick (thanks daycare) every weekend for a month. And I've had a monster load of parent teacher conferences both before and after school every day for two weeks straight. I scheduled all these before Andrew broke his foot so the mornings have been chaotic and then staying after has been hard. I hate leaving Athena at daycare too long, even though she loves it. I miss her and miss getting in our time together. 

As you know I love squeezing in my 6am workout at Core Body Pilates on weekdays before work but some of those I had to cancel last minute due to an early rising Athena or just sheer exhaustion on my part, or the general need to take a shower and wash/dry my hair before going to work. It's funny how getting up at 5 can be the busiest time of my day. I love that time before work when I can do some things just for myself, but every now and then a girl has to sleep and recover from all the craziness.

Another recent development was that we bought our very first new car. We have been surviving on one car since we moved to Salt Lake but now with me back at work and Andrew having a broken foot, he is no longer able to bike to work or take Athena to school in the jogging stroller. We needed a solution, and quick. We planned on waiting till the snow came and forced him off his bike but this injury expedited the process. Andrew put in tons of research to find the best Mountain car for us and we finally landed on the Subaru Outback. Now that we have it, It feels so weird to drive a new car. I feel like I'm driving a rental car. I've never had my own car, let alone a new car, nor have I ever cared what car I had or what it looked like. Chicago traffic consequences have a way of training you to not want a nice car in the city and I was totally ok with that. We kept our banged-up city Prius and now that is our backup car. We went from a zero-car family to a two-car family in just a few years. 

Hopefully with parent-teacher conferences over and the new car here, life will slow down a little bit so thanks for being patient with me while we made it through this rough patch.