November is gone too!

For starters, it has been a while.
Hurricane/Superstorm/Frankenstorm Sandy-we prepared as though it was going to hit us, and we got nothing but rain.  Luckily this time our area was spared.  Not even power loss!  They did cancel school/work because of the day after cleanup efforts around but we dealt with the storm just fine.  Rufus never likes it when the rain blows into his ears.
Halloween-Colin went dressed as a lion again, he was super cute.  We went to 9 houses and his bag was brimming.  Rufus was dressed as a Race Horse, Eric carved a pumpkin, I dressed as Gretel.  We had sooo many trick-or-treaters, or as CJ calls them "tricky-truckers", we ran out of candy and had to hand out Chewy Bars.
Visit to Harmons-had some quality time with Millie and Matt.  Looking forward to our next visit in December.  Love these people!
Visit to Strzyzs-We seem to be unable to avoid an extremely long road trip to and from Long Island.  It was awesome getting to spend time with Joe, Cyndi, and Gabby.  The two kiddos are so fun to watch playing when they are getting along. ;)  We were able to visit to two vineyards while up there, I the first one was-Martha Clara Vineyard the second was Bedell Cellars.  Ending our tour afternoon with some pizza.  Cyndi and I snuck away both mornings for a jog Sat. and Zumba Sun. What fun!
 Grad School-Kinda getting over loaded with the work both depth and volume.  I am super excited that this is my last class.  This expense is killing me, especially since there is no reimbursement and the district won't allow me to shift over to the next certification level.  BOGUS!  Can't wait until my course work load is gone.
Work-paperwork, test data, attempting to meet with students in small groups :(, field trips :)
Shows we like-Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Vegas, Nashville, New Girl, Happy Endings, NBC Thursday Nights, Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Movies we suggest-Safety Not Guaranteed, Attack the Block
Eric-finally his Germany trip has materialized.  He will be going for almost 2 weeks so if anyone wants to come over and help me keep my sanity I would appreciate it! 
 Potty Training-Drum Roll Please!  At 34 months, just because everyone keeps asking hold old he is and I always say 'He'll be 3 in Feb.' and they want the month timeline, CJ is doing his own thing (just number 1, in the POTTY!!!!!  CJ wears undies, keeps them dry, and pees sitting or standing.  I am sooooo elated I just want to shout it to the world.  Eric and I are super proud, and now we will continue to support him and encourage going number 2 in the potty as well.  I am 100% sure that CJ determined he was okay with keeping his cool undies dry and going in the potty and it wasn't any one thing or routine that we created.  All of you out there working on this, it will come when they want it to.
Thanksgiving plans-Making the long trek out to the mid-west again.  Flying and then driving.  Making sure CJ gets all modes of transportation in on this big trip.  Hope that our packing skills have improved.  Toting the carseat too.  Wish us luck on the potty front!
We hope that everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving by spending some serious quality time with their loved ones.
Cheers,
Amanda, Eric, Colin, and Rufus!
Hopefully I'll get some pics up later too, but don't hold your breath and get a facebook account! ;)
I stayed after work a little bit to add this...
Not sure if I had this one already, sorry if it is a repeat.

October is almost over...

This really stinks! I can't beleive that this month is almost over. Of course our family has been busy hosting the Meyer Family. We went to a pumpkin patch together and had a fantastic meal by the water in St. Mary's County at Morris Point Restaurant, we all agreed that the food was amazing!  This past weekend we took CJ to the railtrail to ride bikes with Connor and Vivienne, the rents just walked along trying to keep up or push them along!  They had a blast!  This Friday I have a Gifted Education conference up in Baltimore, hoping traffic won't slow me down coming home.  Saturday we had plans to go to King's Dominion but don't have a sitter, BLURG!  I have to help my school with proctoring the PSAT for my 8th graders, so there goes my morning.  Hope these ramblings haven't put you off! 
Colin-potty training is not moving forward, he likes all the pomp and circumstance with the potty but just won't use the toilet, recently he has been channeling his 2.5 yr old MONSTER that lives inside him-got a bad report from daycare about not listening.  Working towards figuring out how to get him to go in the potty and discouraging the power struggles the MONSTER likes to engage in with adults.
Eric-working on setting up a fall charter, possibly creating a costume for Halloween, fishing when the weather is nice.
Amanda-grad work and got some positive feedback from my teacher, work is a challenge in its' own way, trying to fit it all in.
Entertainment: Eric and I have been fans of The Walking Dead and the new season has started.  We also LOVE Breaking Bad and are trying to get caught up for the new season.  I personally have begun watching Sherlock, the British show that they based Elementary on, and I can't get enough of the British show SHERLOCK!  When waiting for new episodes of Sherlock I have started watching Being Human, another British show.  I think that the show Vegas has a lot of potential and I am enjoying Go On.  If you want to talk about these shows I would love to! 
I will try to get some new photos up soon.

Slideshow Frenzy!

Things are hectic here, so I have taken a little time to post the photos via slideshow. CJ is growing like a weed and is making conversations with his toys-super cute. Eric is busy traveling-camping trip and Ryder Cup. I am working on grad work.