Thanksgiving day is coming Mr. Turkey said!

Fall is here! And how do I know it? Because last week I did this:

Oh yeah. Four bags packed full-o-leaves. And not just oh, this bag's full, on to the next. I had both kids in the trash can, hoppin around to really crunch them down. I'm good.

I had some help

I did leave one giant pile in the backyard so the kids could do this

Yup, nothing better than sliding into a leaf pile.

Strip has also been learning some fun Thanksgiving facts. Today, they learned songs about Pilgrims and Indians. I asked her what a Pilgrim was and she said,

"It's an Indian without a leaf on his head."

Awe. She's so wise. Digging deep to look past the divides of two different cultures and recognize that under all of our leaves, we are all the same.

On another fall note, I went shopping Saturday. Woo hoo. I was really excited, I was ready. I have not been shopping for me since maternity clothes when pregnant with Strip. Other than that, it's been a few things here and there, but moving to a colder climate made me realize that I have 3 sweaters and that's not going to cut it.

I was psyched. Kids were having and all day fun-a-thon with husband, and I had the whole day to spend some cash. I was shopping online, scoping out sales and stores, and seeing what's hot and what's not. I got up early and had our Saturday pancake breakfast, then was at the mall 30 mins before they opened. I walked into Nords so ready to hit their sale racks. Whoa. Big mistake. Here I am in a 10 year-old pea coat with 8 year-old uggs in desperate need of a haircut and eyebrow wax completely overwhelmed. Instead of my three shots of espresso to start the day, I think I should have had three shots of tequila. I left, and looked for my happy place. Ahhhh, the Banana. In and out in no time. I got a hot new bag which I desperately needed because, oh yeah, I was using Strip's small diaper bag as a purse that day, and a purple sweater (because purple seems to be "the" color).

Yay! I'm doing well! I left and had a little lunch before hitting the Loft. I grabbed some cute stuff and was feeling pretty good about how my day was going, when chick next door pipes up. It never fails that I end up in the dressing room next to her.

"Excuse me, miss? These pants are just soooo baggy on me. Do you have anything smaller than a 2?"

UGH. If that weren't bad enough, 17 comments later, she's asking for a shirt and says, "Well I like these tops to fit a little more baggy, so maybe I should try the 4 petite."

Great. The only thing that made that trip better was going to pay with my 2 gift cards and only having one. DANG!

Jewelry store! Score! I can get my rings cleaned. Making small talk with the two bored sales clerks, the guy was waaaaaay too chatty. Ring cleaner girl hands back my rings and was asking how long Husband and I had been married, then she asked if we had kids.

"Yup, 2."

man -- "One of each?"

me -- "Yup."

man -- "oh good for you!"

me -- .......

girl -- "How old? Are they little?"

me -- "3 1/2 and 18 months."

man -- "Wow, so they are young. You still look pretty good!"

me -- "Ok, you have a great weekend."

Wow.

And to further torture myself (and because it was just too darn cold for a bikini) I went bra shopping. Joy. I even allowed the chick to measure me. Unfortunately, underwear store doesn't sell mom boob bras.

I'm trying to leave the dressing room and tape measure girl comes back. I notice there are three young girls standing behind her waiting for my room. They all want to go in together to compare how skinny they are.

Girl "How did those work?"

me "They didn't"

girl "Shoot! Why not?"

me "They just didn't fit me correctly."

girl "Well why not?! They are the size I measured you for! Why specifically didn't work???"

me "Well, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I went from a barely there b to a 34 F. Things just don't always bounce back to where they were, and although those bras are the size that I am now, there's saggy mom boob hanging out all sides of it, so I just don't think I'm going to get those today, but thanks!"

I just hope I scared those teeny bopper girlies next in line into putting back the thongs and reaching for the granny panties.