Money Monday-- so many broken things!

 GAH YOU GUYS.

Since September, we have had to fix our dishwasher (about $300), our freezer and ice maker (another $300), our above-the-stove-microwave (right around-- you guessed it-- $300-- and we ended up replacing it because the last time it was serviced was 5 years ago, and our favorite handyman recommended replacing it then), and our garage door (more about that tomorrow). That's like $1500 in random home repairs, if anyone is playing along at home. Also, I shattered THE BACK of my iPhone. 

Plus, also, you know, THE DOG, who is not super cheap. $150 every time she goes to the vet, plus she cost money to buy, plus we had some dog stuff start up costs.

And then! We got a 5-figure dance bill. Plus diving is a monthly expense with meets on top, and there's preschool tuition. At least we don't pay college tuition again until January and there's only one kid in college for the rest of this year and next? 

LIFE IS EXPENSIVE, is what I am saying.

I stopped tracking for a second there at the end of the month because I didn't even want to write the numbers down (somewhere between garage door and microwave), but! I also did not buy a darn thing. And before I started tracking things, I would have been like FUCK IT and headed to Ulta to assuage my feelings with more spending. So, I think we are still heading in the right direction.

Not a costume, just a regular school day:

Her desk **heart eyes**

Pic of the Week

 Surprising no one, Annabel Squishmallow Jedd is not a huge fan of going outside to pee in the rain.

Halloween Wrap Up

 Dance Halloween:

Middle school Halloween (baby day and then celebrity day)

Preschool Halloween:

ACTUAL HALLOWEEN!!

We started with the traditional monster bagel face and a kid old enough to assemble her own:

Then we had normal work and school days, with Dorothy and Cooper planning to have friends ride the bus home with them and use our house as a trick or treat home base (with pizza!) and Jack planning to have friends over after rehearsal for movie-watching and candy eating (plus some doggy-sitting and door answering).

SUCCESS!

This is the only picture I got of Cooper, and you can't even see him

Minnie and Annabel were SUPER HELPFUL with the candy

I really don't have pics of the kid without their friends **whomp whomp** but I did take a bunch of Minnie as Ben and I followed her through our windy, freezing neighborhood and drank fireball to stay warm

We ABSOLUTELY carved our pumpkins too early

The Care Bears came home mid-evening to use the bathroom and get some water, and I got one picture:

Annabel was a Beanie Baby

Minnie almost didn't go ToTing because she left her wand at school (she also left her wings, and I stopped on my way home from campus to retrieve those, but I didn't notice the wand).

No one went to bed until AFTER 10 pm, so this was Minnie the next morning:

October: What I Read

 As always, I will share a Halloween wrap up tomorrow (I am SO GLAD I still have a little kid on Halloween, you guys!) and will kick NaBloPoMo off today with October's reading round up.

Nothing spooky about how awesome my October reads were-- some BOTY contenders here, and even the backlist was pretty great. As always, they are organized from least favorite to most :)

Big Nope Energy:

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: Nope. Not a good read. I got it from Book of the Month, so I felt duty-bound to keep slogging. **2024

The Silent Woman by Minka Kent: Not a bad thriller, but not a good one, either. **Audio

Only if You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham: Solid meh on this thriller. I think I am not a fan of this author and will not read her again (unless everyone else is reading her and then I will because baaaaaaah). **2024

Oldies but not baddies:

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune: I like this author. I like her characters. I like her harmless little romances. **Audio

Meet me at the Lake by Carley Fortune: Ditto **Audio

I Know What You Did by Cayce Osborne: I must have put this thriller on hold because it is set on the west side of madison-- and it's true, the setting delighted me the whole time. **Audio

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas: Loved it. Not my fave series by her, but she's great, and I dig romantasy-- WHO KNEW?? **Audio

Now we're getting somewhere:

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston: Darling! And such a good discussion of gender in there.  **2024

Dearest by Jacquie Walters: SO CREEPY and weird-- liked this one and was tense THE WHOLE TIME. **2024

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich: I liked but did not love this book,even though the plot is quick and the characters are engaging. Too many perspectives herhaps? *2024

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty: LOVED IT. **20024

YES YES YES

Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell: I absolutely liked a ton this 28th Scarpetta novel. I was going to say LOVED, but I didn't, quite. **2024 **Audio

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson: I love his books, but this is the first time I have read one that is about a time period I am familiar with--I was a little worried about this-- would his POV match up with what I know about the rhetoric? IT DID, of course. Loved this book. **2024

Hum by Helen Phillips: This book is a brilliant masterpiece but also YIKES. I really loved it-- BOTY material. But also! Is not the time for dystopian fiction?? **2024

THE STATS

This month: 14 books

Audio books: 5

Real books: 9

2024 books: 9

This year: 139

Audio: 61

With my eyes: 78

Books published in 2024: 81

I set a goal of 124 books, and I am technically past it, but I think I would really like to break 100 actual books (not audio). Which means I need to read 11 real book in November and 11 more in December. This seems... not likely?

I am done with my BOTM extras. Just in time for November reads to come out...