Soooo. It's been awhile. School started, for Jay and for Nan, and things have not slowed down since. I didn't make my goal of finishing my classes before Jay started back-- in fact, I've only accomplished 1 3/4 of a class since the beginning of August. I need to step it up, but I find myself exhausted by the basic maintenance the family requires. I'm hoping that I can sort of re-commit myself to my goal of finishing in the next two or three months-- I need to quit making breakfast and lunch dates on Natalie's school days, and sequester myself with my book and my Ipod. There. Resolution established on a semi-public forum... perhaps that can keep me honest. Halloween engulfed most of the month of October. We're fans, apparently, of the whole dress-up thing. Natalie wore two different costumes to the various parties and outings we attended in October-- she was a Barbie Princess (very different from the run-of-the-mill princess, she will have you know) and then she decided on her old standby, the Supergirl costume, for the actual night of trick-or-treating.

The costume came with fancy booties that cover her shoes, lending the appearance of those awesome knee-high red and gold boots, but she refused to consider wearing them, even when Jay and I begged, wheedled, and pleaded with her. Three is stubborn. And Three doesn't want your stinking booties. But I love her pose-- she would stop periodically and do these hilarious contortions, usually with one arm out in front of her and her feet planted far apart, as if she were going to stop any evildoers with one hand. Silly girl. She's been wearing the Supergirl costume nearly every day for the last three or four weeks. However, last night we stopped to browse the post-Halloween clearance at Target, and found a contender to replace Supergirl in her affections-- Wonder Woman. This costume is fantastic. It comes with the dress, the crown, the MAGIC BRACELETS, and, of course, the damned booties that she'll refuse to wear even though they make the outfit look so. much. cooler. She's having a ball dressing up, and I like to indulge her in this, as it won't be long before she'll be too self-conscious to dress like a nutball in public. And, as a dear friend once reminded me, it's not as if people think I dressed her in these outlandish getups before heading to the grocery store-- they know it's allllll her, and if they've had a three-year-old, they know there wasn't much I could do about it.