Back to School

I can't believe it is already that time again!
The weather here has been perfect. Sunny and warm but the humidity that was strangling us the past two months is gone. The crowds are thinning, the evenings are cooling off and it feels grand to be walking the city streets and enjoying our favorite haunts. And as always discovering new ones. Like tonight, for example. We ate dinner at Tom's Restaurant and once we figured out what it was it made the evening feel all festive. Oh come on, don't act like you don't know what I am talking about. Check out this link right now and then come back:
Tom's
See! How fun is that? It is only a few blocks away from where we live.
We had Jim here for the weekend from Seattle and it was so nice having a visitor. Brett got to play tourist a lot more than he has pretty much since he has been here. They did lots of walking and talking and we all did lots of eating and drinking. We went to a BBQ at a friend's house on Sunday night--they have pretty much the same kids as us, so it is a great family match--the kind of evening where the kids disappear (well as much as the kids CAN disappear when you live in Manhattan) and you can visit and chat all evening. Maya lost another tooth, that makes 5, and she now has no teeth in the top middle. Most charming!
We got rid of our couches, finally, so that opened up a whole corner and all of a sudden the place feels downright roomy.
The kids and I went to the beach again on Friday. The beach these days is magnificent. We love it. Makes for a very full all-day outing, what with the 2 hour train ride on either end, but the kids have such a great time. As long as the weather holds this might be our plan for the rest of the month. Apparently this week we hit it on the right day--our friends went two days later and there had been a garbage spill and they closed the beach to swimmers!
We all had a touch of a cold the past week, but I think we are back to health now. And I am noticing that everyone in NY seems to be coughing and spewing germs on public surfaces (the better to spread it my dear), so maybe this just means our germs for the season are already taken care of?
Tomorrow is our first school day, although it must be something in the air because both kids are gravitating toward school books in down times, and we have already sort of started some things last week. We started History off with The Fall of Rome including a meal we cooked like a Roman soldier would have (hamburgers, potatoes and veggies in foil pouches in the oven) including eating without utensils, and making sugar cookies so we could design Roman columns.
We recently started Harry Potter #5 too. I know, I keep saying I will stop, but we just can't seem to do it. The kids are also taking sign language, choir, soccer and recess this fall, and we have signed up for about 20 theater and music performances with homeschool groups. There are also some field trips to the fire museum, a nearby cathedral and the Federal Reserve Bank and some short classes on birds, insects and geology in Central Park. Yes, I realize this is too much, but after the winter/spring we just had, we are planning a lot of activities and classes. I am sure some of them will drop off our schedule at some point. I hear that about the middle of the winter here everyone just holes up and stays inside for a while.
Brett has a potential 5 week project in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida coming up. But we aren't really thinking about that until he puts in the hours needed to finish his current project this week and next.
Happy Fall to you all!