This was a weekend of visiting people - we saw my parents every day, went to my aunt/uncle's for my grandmother's 82nd birthday, Jim's cousins came in on Sunday and we saw greenhouse workers in nurseries all around town.

We bought $200 worth of plants, trees, and shrubs at Lowes and a nearby nursery. I got a major headache after all the running around so I didn't have the energy to actually plant them. Jim might take a half day off work tomorrow to make progress on this front. We might need to rent the sod-cutter again.....

Nicole is often the epitome of "sweet little girl" but when something frustrates her watch out, you're approaching Tantrum City at 80MPH. She's unfortunately in a screaming phase when something doesn't go her way. There are a few things that really drive me crazy - throwing food, high-pitched whining, and drooling. All of the above get 1 warning and then a time out. Yesterday I was hitting the limit of my patience. This cartoon about sums it up:

Last week and this weekend I spent some time doing clothes transitioning which, while time consuming, is never a chore. I pulled out one of my under-the-bed storage bins full of autumn clothes and tried on things for fit before I hung them. I separated the outgrown clothes Chris is borrowing from the ones he owns and pulled out his 6-9 month clothes for winter. Nicole is short on winter clothes so I didn't take the time to set hers out yet. I'll be buying new-to-her stuff at the mother's sale this weekend. Jim wears about the same clothes all year so he doesn't get the joy of re-discovering his wardrobe 2X/year.

Still no deck furniture but the grill is looking spiffy though unused.