Fall snuck up on me. We prolonged the feeling of summer with our very belated summer vacation to the beach a last week. Despite the previews for the coming fall lineup on TV and Back to School sales, fall was the last thing on my mind. Confession time? It didn’t hit me that fall’s almost upon us until I saw a flier for Hallmark’s October ornament premier.

Time to start planning for the new season!

Nicki’s Halloween Costume – I bought Nicki’s Halloween costume on August 15th last year for under $10. We weren’t planning on it being her costume at the time, or even having a Halloween costume, since she would be 3 months old. At the time she had just outgrown her newborn sized clothes and needed new pajamas. I saw the skeleton sleep and play and was hooked. I figured she’d probably wear it up until Halloween. Ha! She outgrew it by mid October. When she started to outgrow it, we decided to take some photos and send out a Halloween card to our families, since there would be no wearing it on Halloween. Cheap, comfortable custom for a baby that looks great in photos? Yup, I’m sold.

This afternoon we were at the store looking for clothes and found several dress up play outfits in the same vain. Nicki gravitated to one of the blue ones (it’s her favorite color) so we decided to purchase it.

Maybe next year we’ll do an authentic custom, but this is good enough for our pre trick or treat days.

Black Friday Prep – I like to get started thinking about Black Friday long before the actual day. I like to build a list of what we’re seeking before I see any fliers to avoid being enticed by a good deal for a product we don’t want or need.

So far I can think of just one thing: A play kitchen. They’re usually geared for toddlers age 18 months and up. Nicki will be 17 months at Christmas, right on the cusp. We figured it would be a good “santa” present. Looks like these are a Black Friday staple, so I might as well save a few dollars if I can, right?

Everything else – The whole finish the thesis, graduate, find a new day care and move thing. Why was I in such a hurry to finish up again?!

Posted in Family Life | Tags: Fall