The November 2014 edition of "At home in NYC"

I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't believe it's December already. But I'm ready for it! We had a busy November, filled with the usual hi-jinks plus a little bit of move prep (mostly collecting boxes and sorting through clothing and books to donate). And this month we plan to start filling those boxes and doing a little clearing our of the nooks and crannies in our apartment that we've managed to cram full of knick knacks and memories.

All is well in our little corner of Brooklyn and we are eagerly and anxiously waiting for the New Year, when we'll see how the kids really handle the move.

In November we ...

Hung around Brooklyn:

Took pictures of ghost buildings (you'll know when you see it)

Went to the NY Botanical Garden's Train Show

Met up with Baba in Manhattan

And celebrated Thanksgiving and early Yuletide celebrations with family in Maryland and Virginia

Elizabeth took the bottom-half of her cupcake and put it on top, effectively making a cupcake sandwich

That's all for now, folks. Until next time!

Cookie of the Month: October - Leftover Halloween Candy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Halloween has come and gone and left us with some fond memories and a big pumpkin-shaped bucket of candy. What to do ... what to do. Well, because the kids are very generous and worth their weight in sugar (they're mostly sugar as of Nov. 1), they decided to share their calorific haul with their grandparents.

So this month we brought the kids' grandparents Leftover Halloween Candy Chocolate Chip Cookies: Featuring Three Musketeers, M&Ms, Snickers, Kit-Kats, Peanut Butter Cups, Twix, a Peppermint Patty or two, and a bag of pretzels. I think there's an Almond Joy in there too.

I, personally, like the bits of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They’re worth every empty calorie. The first cookie I bit into had a pretzel part on top of a peanut butter cup and it was still warm. After I bit into it I felt a sense of love throughout my body. A sense of relaxation. And magic. It was a cookie from heaven. I may have heard angels. It may have started to glow. Can’t remember. Too much sugar.

The October 2014 edition of "At home in NYC"

In no particular order, here are some of our goings-on from October:

Celebrating E's birthday ... Native American style:

Me leading a rhythmic dance game 

Kate's Native American tableau (the bear and fox are both hidden from view)

No idea what Henry's doing, but I thought it looked cool.

Celebrating on the morning of E's actual birthday

I was a bit surprised at how good E was at Legos

I think everyone is quite familiar with this already...no further explanation needed.

E's class's Halloween Party

Going to see Matilda with GiGi

Waiting for Godot ... to high-five her

Henry wanted to dress up like a dad ... we're at the NY Botanical Gardens

Boo at the Zoo

Guess which design was Henry's idea

I tried to artificially lighten these dark images (I used the wrong setting on the camera). They didn't turn out very bright, but at least you can see how cute Robin Hood and Maid Marion were on Halloween in Bay Ridge.