Lately, things have been pretty rough around here. I haven’t mentioned it, but my mom recently had quadruple bypass surgery and a whole host of other things worked on over the last few weeks. She is home now and doing much better, and it feels like I am tentatively letting out the longest breath. The last four weeks have been tough, but we seem to be heading towards better things.

So, in this month’s round-up, you’ll see little details from our life. It won’t look much different, but it has felt completely different.

This is the beautiful, white stray cat, who Ellie refers to as “White Kitty.” It is becoming clear the cat thinks she belongs to us….Ellie has offered to teach her to go down the slide. Trying to get in our house without our new pet following is becoming increasingly difficult.

A few weeks ago, there were so many Monarch butterflies in town. I saw them everywhere.

One of the things that is strangest about having a kid is you find yourself doing things like going apple picking or visiting the zoo even when things are completely out of balance. Basically, Ellie has forced me to begrudgingly put one foot in front of the other. A few weeks ago, some sweet friends invited us on a spontaneous zoo trip. It was a much needed break for all of us. As you can see, Bellie is a big fan of the carousel.

A few years ago, I asked Keegan if I should start decorating the house for each season, since we were now parents. I thought he would say no, and I would be saved from the process. But, he said we should, so this year, I bought Halloween decorations. I actually think they look pretty cute. Do not mention this to 20-year-old me. She might roll her eyes.

Also, for the first week the spiderweb was up, Ellie would see it, yell “Eek,” and say, “Let’s get out of here,” as she ran away.

In Sonoma, we ate outside at one of the wineries. I’m obsessed with the blue checkered table cloth. It’s so fresh and crisp.

A week or two ago, we went on a rare date for dinner and a movie. We saw Gone Girl, which was fantastic. They really captured the book well. We also ate at The Jacobson. It was delicious. This jumbo shrimp and crab dip was the bomb.com. (Yep, I’m thinking of bringing that back.)