It’s finally starting to feel like fall here in Florida. Friends and relatives are already dealing with snow and sleet, but we’re just getting into jacket weather (and not even that yet!). It’s put me in the spirit to be outside doing fall things. Here’s a list of things you can do to get into the spirit of the season:

• Make some pumpkin bread. Here’s All Recipes’ highest ranked pumpkin bread recipe.
• Pick apples and drink apple cider.
• Take a hay ride.
• Pick out a new book for Thanksgiving. Review this list of the best children’s books about Thanksgiving.

From the Balancing Motherhood archives:

• Preserving Fall in Wax Paper.
• Get an awesome apple pie recipe, learn about the turkey phone hot line for all your turkey problems.
• Fill a shoebox with toys for kids who don’t get Christmas presents. Operation Christmas Child delivers gifts to children around the world. National collection week is coming up, November 16-23, but it doesn’t take long, or take much to fill a box.

Photo courtesy Memotions via flickr.

Let’s just say I’d rather be sleeping right now. It doesn’t matter what time of day you are reading this — if you are, and I’m awake, I’d rather be sleeping.

I’m a sleep-deprived mom of two younguns (one is still a baby at a wee 7 months) who keep me busy these days. I realized the other day how much I love sleeping. It is the best feeling in the world to me these days. I’d take it over a box of Godiva chocolates, over front row U2 tickets, pretty much anything right now. I have to work every day so I don’t get a chance for naps. “Getting lucky,” these days means my husband is going to stay up with the kids while I take a nap on the weekend.

People who don’t have kids have no idea what I’m talking about. Long gone are the days of the keg parties (I got invited to one last week and had to laugh), happy hours that turn into happy nights, taking in a 10:00 p.m. movie — heck, even staying up to watch a movie on TV. I’d rather sleep.

I’d better stop writing this … it’s infringing on my sleep time.

Photo courtesy stock.xchng.