CJ, Sammy, Nate & the Kitties

Flat Stanley

2012-02-12T19:52:00.006-05:00

It's quarter to eight and I am very much ready for bed.
We got a lot accomplished today. Jim got to spend time at work, the boys and I got the house picked up, lunches are made and we're as ready as we're ever going to be to face this upcoming week. I didn't get to walk, but I'll get out tomorrow. Or better yet, I'll use the treadmill. It's cold outside. It amazes me how thin my blood has become in a mere 14 weeks.
We are definitely getting used to calling Maryland home. It's still not home yet, it is getting more comfortable. Don't get me wrong - there are some days that I desperately miss Worcester. Last week I had to watch Fitzy (I have to laugh hysterically when Nate burps along with Fitzy) just so I could hear someone talk normally! I wish we had more friends here and could get out more here and knew our way around here better. But we're learning. Every day it's getting a bit easier. And there is a lot to be said for that.

With all that being said, we had a house guest from Rochester this weekend. Flat Stanley came down to see Walkersville and get the lay of the land for a kindergarten project in the Greece Schools. We will take him around a bit more tomorrow and mail him home on Tues. Looks like he had some fun...
He went to the bus stop before school.

Stanley has quite the sweet tooth and we caught him red handed on a couple mornings.

He and Nate also got in some trouble with a box of Cheerios.

After recovering from the Time Out associated with the Cheerios incident, we had a good time at the Village Tavern on Friday night.

We'll update about his other travels later...G'Night.

Sunday Brunch Re-cap

2012-02-12T12:24:00.002-05:00

Sam is very interested in presidents after going to the Smithsonian yesterday. We were looking at a placemat with all of them listed and he asked very studiously, "Mama, is this George Washington?"
Yes, Sam.
"Mama, is this Thomas Jefferson?"
Yes, Sam.
"Mama, which one is Tom Brady?"
I couldn't keep it together any longer - I ran out of the room giggling and left Jim to handle that one. =-)

Super Sunday.

2012-02-05T13:23:00.003-05:00

Yes, it HAS been a Super Sunday.
We got subs from church, got a microwave, Caroline is doing her homework *by herself*, the boys are all sleeping, the snow is all melted, I'm going for a walk soon AND we have a Super Bowl Party to go to down the street.
My only D'OH moment has been earlier today when I figured out that I scheduled my sigmoidoscopy without sedation, in the afternoon, the day after the Super Bowl. How friggin' stupid can I be? So I'm getting my fun in now because come game time, I'll be chugging Gatoraide and Dulcolax. The real redeeming quality here is that it's not a full colonoscopy, so I can at least eat today. It just backs up my assertion that the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.
There were not one, but two super-duper parts of church today.
The first was when Nate announced, during a quiet part of mass, "I poop Mama. I poop." Loud enough for everyone to hear, of course.
The second was when I noticed that Sam was being very, very well behaved during communion. Not typical. So I took a quick look at him and noticed that he was trying to give everyone high fives on their way back from communion. Not to say that people didn't enjoy it, but still...
Caroline has been obsessed with The Mamas & the Papas lately. Especially the song "Creeque Alley". It's pretty funny.

Note To Self.

2012-02-03T19:56:00.003-05:00

Nate likes avocados.
Really likes avocados.
Skin, pit and all.
But what he really, really likes is smearing said avocado in my hair as I'm trying to clean green goo from up his nose, in his ears and out of his eyelashes.

No pictures because, well, because I was trying so hard to restrain myself from laughing and smearing it back all over him that I couldn't do anything else.

Lesson learned.

A Message

2012-02-02T19:30:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I get really discouraged. This being home full time thing is not all it is cracked up to be.
After all the cajoling and negotiating and time-outs and re-directing and pulling my hair out - some days I have to wonder.

Not quite sure what I wonder on those days...but I definetly wonder.

Then I wake up and see this.

And then I don't wonder anymore.

Superhero.

2012-01-28T20:34:00.003-05:00

We got some great shirts in the mail the other day for the boys (thanks, Sara!).
Sam is basically living in his superhero gear and Nate is not far behind. Only thing is that if we tell Nate that something is superhero related, he doesn't know enough to see if it's true or not (yet). Which can lead to some pretty funny outfits...And yes, it is a silicone bowl on his head and the Oreos smeared on his face give him extra superpowers. In case you were wondering.

One of Those Days...

2012-01-27T16:08:00.003-05:00

Today as the bus pulled up, I giggled to myself about the little girl sitting in the front seat wearing sunglasses. She was cute, but a bit eccentric for the school bus.
Turns out she was mine!
Caroline got to go to the prize box at school (still not quite sure why)...but is quite proud of her reward.

If You Liked It ...

2012-01-08T12:10:00.004-05:00

My children love Beyonce. Really, really love her. Ever since they were able to sneak a peak of this Justin Timberlake video. Frankly, I HAD to show them the real thing. And we listen to it. All. The. Time.
Okay - I know how annoying it is when people put up videos of their kids like this. However, being the spawn of two geekalicious people, I thought it made this particularly entertaining...

Happy Birthday, Caroline!

2012-01-07T15:20:00.013-05:00

Wow - it's January seventh and we're sitting outside without coats on. It's 65 degrees! I know this whole global warming thing is a real bummer for the polar bears and permafrost but I'm thinking I could get used to this.
Caroline has had a wonderful pre-birthday birthday celebration today. She got her ears pierced, a new balloon, a new outfit for her dolly Sarah and lunch out at Red Robin. In her own words, "My day is overfull. It's GREAT!!!"
Hard to believe it has only been six years. As challenging as having a 5 going on 25 year old can be we can't imagine life without her.
Happy Birthday, CJ! We love you very much!
Here is the chronological order or Miss Caroline getting her ears pierced today. It was pretty amusing. =-) But she did it and is SO very proud - "I look like a Princess. It's what God gave me, I just made it better."

Here's the play-by-play from the mall this morning:
Hmmm...is this what I REALLY want?

Seriously? You're putting that next to my ear? I think I have to think about this a little more...

Feeling a little better about things when sitting on Dada's lap...

Ugh...Good feeling gone.

Are you kidding me??? This s**t hurts!!! What was I thinking?!?!?!

Pain is temporary. Princesses are forever. Lollypops apparently assist in the Gate Theory of Pain Control - who knew?

Recap

2012-01-03T16:53:00.010-05:00

Well - Pops got the message (Thank you, Pops and Nina for your expertise!) from reading the last post and promptly sent out some great pictures that we (okay - HE took the really good ones) got this weekend.
So with the kids watching "Thomas the Tank Engine", I'm going to try to get as many of these up as I can.

This is what we got to wake up to in the morning (we had an unobstructed view of the water from the crow's nest on our roof)...

With the weather being so gorgeous, we got to spend a good amount of time at the beach. The kids had not been to the ocean before (I think the venture to see Plymouth Rock doesn't count - Plymouth Harbor is like a big salt lake) and they were really diggin' it. Pun intended. The official pastime was digging trenches. They became houses, pools, castles, beds - you name it. You could tell where we were on the beach - it looked like the Western Front.
It was a blast. Even if Nate did come home with two pounds of sand in his diaper...

We also went to Duck Donuts. A beautiful sight to behold. Like Krispy Kreme - only better (and more artery clogging)...you actually get to pick out your topping and glaze. Mmmmmm...
We went to Jockey Ridge (we did not see Jim Palmer). It was really amazing. Our legs were really sore for a few days from walking in the sand...

Jennette's Pier was fun, too. We got to see fisherman catch Spiny Tailed Dogfish (they looked like miniature sharks) and skates. We also got to talk to some locals who gave us the scoop on where to (and not to) go.

And here are a few random shots taken in the cottage...
We are really, really looking forward to going back. =-)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T14:12:00.006-05:00

Caroline is back to school.
Jim is back at work.
Both Sam and Nate are taking naps.
Wow.
You think that would put me in a position to do something productive. But, no. I'm blogging and listening to some Van Morrison. It won't be for long, though - the house looks like a toy bomb exploded inside it. At least dinner is in the crock pot.
Nate is still pretty grumpy. We had to take him to Urgent Care yesterday. Strep and an ear infection. I'm not sure if it's sympathy or the real thing but my throat has really been hurting today, too. Sam says, "I feel fine but Caroline hurt my feelings, Mama. I think I need to go to the doctor, too."
We have been busily trying to put the house back together again after this past week. We had Grampy and Grampa down for Christmas and then we met up with Nina and Pops in the Outer Banks.
It was an amazing week.
Santa (and everyone else) was more than generous and I'm still trying to manage the aftermath.
I think it may be tough to get back in the swing of things.

The Outer Banks were amazing. I know now why it has this sort of cult following. Hopefully my Dad will send some pictures when he gets a chance - but for now, I'll put up some that were on our camera (definitely not as good but you'll get the point).
The weather was gorgeous (mid 60s) and the kids got to spend lots of time at the beach.

We went to the dunes (one of the most amazing things I have seen).

And, of course, there is the the Wonderful Ghillie Dog...

The kids also enjoyed the hammock that was tied under our cottage...

Nate had a little too much party by dinner time on this night...

And back to reality now.
Or is it?
Would you say you lived in reality if you had Iron Man and Black Canary residing under your roof?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T17:06:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.
Santa's helpers with the Walkersville Fire Department came by our house on the fire trucks. It was very cool. This is the only town I have ever seen with blue trucks.

And I know the picture is fuzzy. BUT. Sam got caught in a barstool and couldn't get himself out. I was the helpful mother that extricated him (and didn't ask how he got there). But I had to take a picture first.

We were amazed on Christmas Eve when Sam requested to wear a tie. When he put it on he said, "Now I look like a Delivery Agent!" and then it all made sense. We have the "Operation Elephant Drop" DVD out from the library and he wanted to look like Pablo and Tyrone. I have to say that I'm not complaining - especially when he looks so cute!

Caroline looked quite gorgeous, too!

And everyone just loved spending time with Grampy and Grammy. We were very sad to see them leave.

Today we went to the Monocacy National Battlefield (only a few miles away). Caroline earned her Junior Ranger Badge (her third). Our focus today was geography (North, South and Border states as well as Maryland/Virginia/West Virginia). It was challenging, but ultimately we got the hang of it. We got the packets for the Baltimore/Washington regional badges. It's enough to keep us busy for a while. One is on the Underground Railroad and one is about the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. We also have been investigating the badge from the National Mall. One of the best things about living here is the amount of great things there are to do on any given day.

And now it's time for early bathies and bed. G'night!

Christmas Catch - Up

2011-12-25T16:12:00.007-05:00

Umm...yeah...well.
Okay. So I'm slow. I'll admit. I'm still getting used to this whole working at home thing. And I'll be honest - it's harder than working outside the home. I'm beat by the end of the day. But it's good.

So I will post some pictures from Sam's birthday. Like I said, we had eight children that were age six and under over for pasta, cupcakes and flashlight tag. It was good - Sam had a blast. He still plays with his train table just about every chance he gets. I don't see that changing any time soon.

And then came the Christmas Pageant at church.
What could be more fun, you ask? Not much, apparently.
Caroline was so excited to be an angel. But angels, according to her, cannot be photographed doing anything but dancing. So she's dancing (and not taking a dump) in this picture.

And here is Sammy as "Donkey". Pretty much self explanatory.

But what was the best part of the Christmas Pageant?
Other than the whole miracle of the Son of God born to a virgin in a stable with angels, shepherds, kings and talking stable animals?
Well, it had something to do with the animals...
Sam, who was thrilled that he was allowed to be in the Pageant at all, has recently been investigating ways so that he can truly embody the spirit of Donkey. He did a great job and will be remembered for years, I am assured by multiple people. Sam hadn't been up in front of people before and I think he was a little nervous. So every time he saw me pull out my camera, he would run from sitting in front of the manger over to the side of the altar, smile at me and then run back. Initially, I think he was looking for reassurance - but he caught on that people were chuckling at him and decided to do it up. So then he decided to run to me and smile really close to the camera (did Mama have the good sense to turn off the camera at this point? Of course not!). And then he RAN back to the altar and slid across on his belly. This then evolved into licking the altar while pretending he was eating hay ("I AM Donkey, Mama - I HAVE to eat hay."), making sure his tail still worked and spinning in circles while lying on his stomach in the middle of the altar (almost taking out the shepherds).
Good times. Good times.

After the pageant, they announced all the names of the children to recognize them. Well, there were a lot of chuckles after "Sam Watson" was said. To the point where Caroline was sure they were laughing at Sam and not with him. She wanted to take on the whole place for making fun of her little brother (even though she was whispering very loudly to him during the pageant while the angels were busy hovering over the stable to STOP spinning). This made us a little proud - after we talked her down. =-)

Christmas Pageant

2011-12-19T09:07:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday, Sammy!

2011-12-16T20:42:00.005-05:00

It's his big day. The little man is 4 years old.
From this:

To this:

And this from today (Sam's big gift was a train table in his room)...

We're putting everything back together after having 5 extra kids and 3 extra adults over for pasta, cupcakes and flashlight tag.

Happy Birthday, Sam! We love you more than we can say. Thank you for all you bring into our lives.

Ummm. Well...

2011-12-13T20:15:00.006-05:00

I have no excuse for not blogging lately.
We're here. We're all together. We're more or less settled in a routine. My house is not spectacularly clean. Christmas shopping is not done. We own only one home now. We haven't been setting any land speed records getting much of anything done.
We HAVE been going to library a lot lately. We got the kids in their jammies and went to story time tonight at 6:30. It was pretty cool. There were probably 10 or so kids there with their parents. Whenever we have gone to any events at the library, there always is an ASL interpreter working with the kids. This struck me as a bit funny. Until I realized that the Maryland School for the Deaf is in Frederick. And looking around at the kids at the library, I realized that many of the kids that were signing were hearing (probably 50/50). Maybe we can pick up some ASL so we can use it if we need it.
Sam, Caroline and I are busy reading the Rose books before bed every night. I have been busy trying to keep up with Caroline's other reading (mostly American Girl Books) and learning about Maryland History. We have also been doing some crafts. Jim and I have both been making a concerted effort to exercise more. I'm wearing my pedometer again - though struggling to get to 10,000 steps a day. Working at home, I have more time in general -but less time for me. Exactly the opposite of when I was working. Who would have thought? We do go to the mall to walk (in Sam's words, "Remember, Mama - malls are for exercise NOT for buying.") - but it has been a lot tougher with all the Christmas shoppers. It IS nice to get up early and walk around the neighborhood (18 degrees somehow feels so much warmer in Maryland than it did in Worcester) - that can be tough, though - especially on days when Jim leaves for work at 6.
But we're figuring it out. We're meeting people. Fr Jim talked to me at church about starting a Mom's Club to meet once a week. I'm not sure I'm up to that yet - but would really, really like to get more involved.
Sam is getting super-psyched for his birthday. He is still whiny and having some behavior issues, especially when things don't happen in the sequence that he THINKS they should. I don't think it's quite as bad as it was, though. He loves to do his "homework" as Caroline does hers. Today he wrote his name (Samuel W. - using both capital and small letters) and numbers (up to 12)! He also drew a picture of himself as a dinosaur. I was impressed. I think he may be starting to read - however he won't do it when you ask him to. But he can pick up a DVD or a book that he hasn't seen before and pick out a word or two. When we're trying to do some rest time during the day, I got in the habit of reading "Anne of Green Gables" out loud to him (it would put him to sleep quickly). But now he's into it - so I will have to switch to a more boring book.
We went to Wegmans today and Sam picked out the design for his birthday cupcakes. We are having over two neighbor families ( with five extra kids under the age of 7) for spaghetti and cupcakes on Friday. Looking at my house right now, I think I must have been nuts - because I am going to have to scrub this place like a mad woman to get ready. But, I don't think it can be as bad as staging our old house - so I'm just going to try to roll with the punches.

Nate is talking more and more. Much of his communication is still signing and grunting / pointing and growling "Mine!". He is now saying "banana" (not just nana), "poop", "butt paste", "diaper" (sense a theme?), "Uh-oh", "toot"and "up". Not exactly a huge vocabulary - but it's getting there. He is fascinated with the toilet. He can flush it himself now (if anything is missing, I check the toilet first). He asks to sit on the toilet and will occasionally pee when sitting (though he sooo wants to stand to go like this brother - he just can't get those mechanics yet).

My photography skills have been put to little use recently. The kids take my camera and then I can't find it. I can always tell when Nate has it because he runs around yelling "Teese! Teese! Teese!" (cheese). The other two are a bit more clandestine about it - the only evidence they leave is pictures of their faces or feet or cat - evidenced here:

Occasionally, we will get the kids to take some good pictures.

We went to Weggies today and hung out with the train (and the graham cracker displays) - we were also surprised by finding a fire truck in the parking lot. It's the little things, I tell you. Sure does keep it interesting...

See how big my little man is getting? Isn't it crazy?

And now it's time for bed. G'night.

December Already?

2011-12-05T21:08:00.003-05:00

Seriously?

As slow as this summer went, the past month as flown by. It seems like we haven't been in Frederick very long, but somehow we have been here forever.
Adjustments continue. The boys and I are finding lots of stuff to do during the day. We're actually getting on some sort of schedule, which is something I don't think we've ever had (and I'll admit - I kind of like).
Caroline is enjoying school more. Her homework tonight was about Park Rangers - so it's nice to see that her teacher is able to tailor the program around her interests. She and I just read four chapters of "Little House on Rocky Ridge" tonight before bed and she asked me if we could borrow a horse from the farmer down the street so we could travel in a covered wagon like Rose. CJ continues to amaze me - she can read three books at the same time and keep all the details straight! She is digging historical fiction (maybe the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree?). I'm trying to read as much as I can before I let her read a book - but I can see by the time Sam gets to read, it may be too much to screen all the books that go in and out of their hands...
Behavior is still an issue (with all the kids) but I think as we're getting settled, it is getting easier to manage. I think because our setting changed, the kids thought all our behavior boundaries would change (and that is SO not the case). But they had to find out for themselves.
We don't have our Christmas tree yet. I'm not particularly in the spirit of things this year. I hope that changes very soon (because I still have some shopping to do). =-) Kids are busy rehearsing for the Christmas Pageant at church. Sam decided he no longer wanted to be a donkey in the pageant, but rather a "Christmas Pirate". We'll see how Fr Jim takes that one tomorrow night. I'm trying to get Caroline into a dance class, but it seems like it may be too late for this year. So we'll have to see what we do.
Auntie Melanie came over on Saturday for our Fifth Annual (but second in reality) Baking Day. Remember the last one? Caroline is a little bigger now...

Junior Rangers

2011-11-26T16:23:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and instead of doing Christmas-y things (which can be disclosed at a later date), we decided to explore the Antietam National Battlefield. Yes, we're geeks and reveling in having so much Civil War history at our fingertips. The kids are really digging the Junior Ranger programs that are at the National Parks. Caroline is already a Ranger in Harpers Ferry and we could barely contain her when she got her packet in Antietam. Sam was even able to complete the workbook (with help) and get his Ranger Badge. Of course, they didn't get the significance of what happened there - but we have through their teenage years to torture them by dragging them to all these places. =-)

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with some Leahy cousins that live near Annapolis. So nice to see family. So nice to only have to make peanut butter pie (AND take home turkey leftovers).

Sam has been perfecting his pouty/mad face once again...

Nate is focusing his energy on physical tasks rather than speaking. He likes to grunt and point a lot. But he can pull himself up at the counter and still on the stool to play with his laptop now. He has got to be just like the big kids.

From School Today...

2011-11-23T11:57:00.002-05:00

Jim was able to go into CJ's school and volunteer for an hour this morning. From what he says, the experience was most equivocal to cat herding.
But here is our little Thanksgiving Princess.

National Zoo!!

2011-11-16T19:26:00.003-05:00

Ummm. Okay. I think it was a week and a half ago I said I would post pictures from the Zoo.
Well. Things got away from me.
Honestly, I am so busy right now I do not know how I found time to work.
And I STILL can't get all the things done that I want to around the house. It seems like by the time I'm done cleaning up from breakfast that it's time for lunch and then it's the same for dinner. I have given up getting a room a day organized. If I get part of a room a day set, it's a big victory. And yes, I do realize there will always be stuff to do. I just don't want to fall back into the cluttered lifestyle that we led before. So I'm making a big effort to prevent that. I have been thinking that doing the home staging in Worcester was a particularly excellent thing (though it sucked at the time) because it was the first time I got called out on my organizational skills and pushed to be better at them (at least when it comes to housekeeping). And while I'm not getting calls everyday here asking for showings (that's a load off), I am trying to remember how nice it was to feel proud to have people come into my home and know it looked as nice as it could. Now I just get to keep things in better perspective. =-)
Caroline is doing better at school this week. She is still not sleeping, but I blame that more on the Kanani book from the library than her anxiety level. Her attitude is improved at home and she interacted well the the other children at Christmas Pageant rehearsal.
Sam is in the Christmas Pageant, too. He did okay tonight, as well. There was one little girl that was making him laugh and goof off (which, I'll admit, was nice to see - so I let it slide a little). He seemed pretty comfortable in his skin. Getting him in his donkey suit (yes, my son volunteered to be an ass) wasn't bad, either. All it took was the promise of one gummy dinosaur (which he forgot about later). He looked hysterical with the donkey hood on and wore it most of the rehearsal. He was the only stable animal that brought a Matchbox car to the stable. =-) Too funny. He still only wants to eat Cheerios and yogurt, but at this point, I'm thinking it's all about the small victories.
Nate really, really wanted to be in the pageant, too. In fact - he did manage to weasel himself up on the altar a couple times. He was banished after walking up to and sitting right between Mary and Joseph while they were busy adoring Baby Jesus. This kid is busy. He is everywhere and into everything. Kinda reminds me of this. All. Day. Long. But I digress.
Oh - right - I set out to post pictures.
So here they are...

Yeah, he's crazy...

Looking for the tiger...

Closest we could get to a group shot with everyone looking...

The tiger finally came out to lounge around for us.

Nate - the day he wore a train engineer's hat and carried around an empty bottle of Pepto Bismol. He keeps it interesting, i tell you.

They DO get along!

Sam was so tired the other night he fell asleep sitting at the ocunter...poor kid.

Histort of Rap - Part 3

2011-11-14T19:12:00.002-05:00

Just after I posted the other two...lookie what I found!
I'll admit, it's not as good as the others - but I do thoroughly enjoy it.
I will put the hyperlink because I think this video is why the blog is loading so slowly now...

New Normal

2011-11-14T10:53:00.003-05:00

Well, it's Monday morning. Caroline started school today, so it's pretty quiet here with just the boys. Nate is sleeping, so it's very quiet, actually. Sam is busy playing with his trains. He asks me to play with him and we have fun, but then I do something stupid (like making Gordon go to Knapford Station instead of Tidmouth Sheds) and I get banished from our Island of Sodor. Usually my banishment lasts for about five minutes - long enough for me to check to Worcester obituaries (I'm sick like that) and upload some pictures.
The house is slowly coming together. The tough part is that I can't make furniture fit where I think it should go. And it's totally frustrating me.
Take the dining room. The drop light is in the middle of the ceiling. Where it should be, right? WRONG.
Because the main return for the heat / air conditioning goes through one side of the room and the ceiling is lower in that area, the middle of the ceiling is NOT the middle of the room. Which makes our dining room table thoroughly silly when it's in the middle of the room and the light is up at one end of the table. I think I will request a little reconstruction be done at some point. Not now, though. But I am starting to compile my To Do/Wish List. =-)
Caroline got on the bus without incident today. I'm wondering if she is attempting to run her classroom yet. It will be interesting to hear how the day goes. Sometimes she is so not of this world that I worry about how she relates with other children her age.
Here are the kids ready for the bus to come...

I'll post some pictures from the National Zoo from yesterday later. My diplomatic status with the Island of Sodor has been reinstated and I must report for duty...

11.11.11

2011-11-11T19:46:00.005-05:00

Now that we're getting settled, I hope to be blogging on a more regular basis.
The past summer was so stressful and anxiety provoking that when I did have time to blog, I didn't feel like it. Looking back at recent blog posts, I miss reading about the day to day details of living with three extremely bright and active children. We are still playing a game of catch-up of sorts, but we are all living in one state now (in addition to chaos) and I have a little more wiggle room to do some things I enjoy.
Caroline will start school on Monday. She is looking forward to it, but I know she is a little anxious. She was tested for reading, writing and other things and we were told she was way ahead of the game (as we thought). Schools in Maryland, by law, have to treat children that are gifted as exceptional and accommodate them like Special Ed kids. Here she will get to meet with a reading specialist once a week and her teacher will be able to work with the G&T Office and let her set her pace and keep us better in the loop so we can work on things, too. I am grateful for this. I was pretty sure it wasn't "normal" for a five year old to read "The BFG" on her own - but it's good to have more support coming from school now.
Sam has really been taking all this change on the chin. He is a boy that needs routine. He has a very specific vision of how things "should" be and has difficulty diverging from that. So this summer has been *ahem* a challenge. He and Caroline have been best buddies and worst enemies this past week (and able to move between the two in less than 60 seconds). I think he'll settle down a bit when Caroline starts school and he can get some extra attention. We need to look for pre-school for him down here - but I'll be honest - I hate to loose him at home, even if it is for only a few hours a couple days a week. It will be good for him, he was a new (and much improved) man once he started at OLA. Since we've moved here, his Worcester accent has gotten stronger - it's hysterical to hear him say "I live in Walkersville, Maryland." It sounds more like "I luv on Wulkasville, Murraylind".
Nate is everywhere and into everything. When the movers "unpacked" us, they took everything out of boxes and left it on the floor for us to put away. With a whole house to put together and three children under the age of 6 - you can imagine how slowly this process is going. To top it off, our tot locks for the cabinets in Worcester don't fit the cabinets here. Nate's favorite new pastime is to empty the contents of whatever cabinet or basket I have most recently arranged. He also has been feeling a bit punky (new teeth / croupy cough) and has been an utter K/cling-on. I say K / cling-on because at times he has the disposition of Worf when he attaches himself like a ball and chain to my leg (especially when I'm cooking dinner).
We went to Gettysburg today for Veteran's Day. The kids didn't really get why we were there, only that it was a day to say "Thank you". When I asked them what we saw when we were adventuring, the reply was "Statues!!" Oh, well. It's not like we won't be back there. Caroline got her packet to start working for her Junior Ranger badge there, so we'll have to go back. That girl simply won't rest until she finishes it. =-)

Sam got hold of my camera. Apparently he sees no need to hold it right-side-up.
Caroline thought this lady was a princess and I didn't have the heart to correct her. There are worse things, I suppose.
On our adventure to the Battlefield Hospital.
Posing with Abe.
At least they're kind of looking in the same direction...

We Made It.

2011-11-06T18:58:00.005-05:00

We're here in Walkersville.
I have to say, I never thought I would live in another "ville" after Middleville. And in a lot of ways, Middleville and Walkersville are very, very similar. Walkersville has two more stoplights, a McDonalds and a couple more churches. There are plenty of cows and sheep. The railroad tracks don't have a crossing gate because everyone knows when the trains come. And there are the requisite three old men sitting in chairs on the front porch of the feedstore keeping track of everything and everyone that goes on and by. But it's cute. And now it's home.
Caroline made a wish today that she, Sam and Nate could live here until "we grow up". Guess the move was hard on them, too. It is nice to be all together. We're getting used to functioning as a cohesive unit again. It will take some practice. But we'll figure it out.
We are waiting for our stuff to be delivered, so we've been camping in our house. The only chairs are the toilets - so we eat dinner sitting on the kitchen floor and the kids have spent a lot of time on the can reading. =-) We've spent a bit of time on Skype this weekend.
I think we're all missing people up North.
We like the new house. It isn't perfect, but it's very nice. The kitchen isn't set up intuitively - so finding places for our stuff has been a challenge. There also isn't a lot of closet space downstairs. The kids are loving the new play yard and the sun room that has been acting as the defacto toy area (because we can shut the glass door and keep them contained - Shhhh - don't tell). I'm really enjoying the soaking tub (and so is Caroline - as you'll see later) and having two extra bathrooms.
We went into Frederick City today to explore - it reminds us a lot of Portsmouth, NH - only with Carroll Creek instead of the ocean. It's adorable. We are reminded that we ARE south of the Mason Dixon line. Lots a drawls and y'alls and just a slower pace in general. The weather is more mid-September than early November (but we're not complaining about that).
Leaving Worcester this week, I had flashbacks to my favorite Anne book. Knowing the move was the right thing to do doesn't make it any easier. But I know it will be just fine in the end. It always is. I just have to believe it.
Here are the kids playing in the backyard:

With Carroll Creek in the background, we finally got everyone to look in the same direction...
THIS is downtown Frederick. Nice, huh?
Being a ham, as usual...

See? I TOLD you she liked the soaking tub.

New Adventures

2011-10-23T18:22:00.007-04:00

We started some of our new adventures in Maryland recently. We"camped" in our new hosue and were busy exploring the area, meeting our neighbors and getting acquainted with the lay of the land. So far it hasn't been too bad being the New Kids. It seems like many people here are transplants and eager to help make us feel at home. I won't lie - it's nice to be back in Worcester. It's a lot of work trying to navigate the unknown...

I have lots of ideas as to how to "improve" our new house and make it ours - but for right now, it will work. It will MORE than work. Jim did a great job finding it. The more we learn about the house and the neighborhood, the more we're realizing how fortunate we are to have got it.

We were out and about when we cam upon Lock Farm in Woodsboro.
I think when we get settled we will partake in the CSA. Sounds great. Farmer John said not many people around here did it - CSA is much more popular in the Northeast and Midwest. With these prices, I don't know what the Marylanders are waiting for! Plus, he picked us a beautiful bunch of wildflowers and I got the scoop on which perennials are best in our area (though here they're called "volunteer flowers"). Jim got a slab of meat, too (we can't replace Harvey, but we can't go without meat, either).
We also ventured to West Virginia (only 30 minutes away). The scenery is simply breathtaking. At Harper's Ferry we learned a lot about pre-Civil War history and Caroline completed her Apprentice Park Ranger badge. I know I'm biased, but I'm super impressed with what she did to get it. She is so proud of herself. That's nice to see.
Somewhere in there, Nate developed a fever of 103.8 - so we had our fair share of nerves that we would have to find the nearest urgent care center. Thankfully, we didn't have to.
So, without rhyme or reason - here are some new pictures from our soon-to-be permanent new adventures in Maryland...

Long Day

2011-10-16T19:19:00.003-04:00

Today, for a variety of reasons, was one of the longest days ever. And it ain't over yet.

Kids have been winy, I've been ornery and vastly under-appreciative of the help I get from my neighbors and parents to keep me on this side of sane.

This about sums it up - Caroline was being particularly annoying and pushing my buttons in ways only she can...
I said, "Caroline - let's just put it this way. If there was a contest to see who could annoy me the most - YOU would win, hands down."
Caroline then walked away and Sam walked up to me very solemnly and said (with more than a twinge of whine in his voice), "But Mom, I want to be the winner. I never get to win."

What can I say?

AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!

2011-10-14T19:14:00.002-04:00

I have to say, I'm not a big fan of Justin Timberlake in general.
But I LOVE it when he and Jimmy Fallon get together.
I don't know what it is. When I see the Barry Gibb Talk Show and The History of Rap, I am enthralled. It just makes me smile and want to dance (which recently I've haven't been doing much of either) - so when I was looking on YouTube today and I found this, I was sooo excited.

The good news is that Sam has since forgotten the words to "Gold digger". The (maybe) not so good news is that when Caroline saw it she said, "I'm going to be on that stage someday."
Oy vey.

Ladies, Please Step Back.

2011-10-12T20:31:00.004-04:00

First of all, let me say that I have NO idea who took these pictures of Nate. I found them on the camera tonight.
They're not too bad.
I thought it was funny that he looked like he was flexing for the camera.
And let me just say - you can't get a body like this from starving yourself!

Yup...

2011-10-12T20:01:00.004-04:00

...I'm procrastinating.
I really, really don't want to sweep and mop the kitchen floor again. We did have a lot of fun, so I suppose it is worth it. I broke the almost 3 month moratorium on doing anything remotely fun in the house (for fear it would mess things up) and we baked cupcakes and played trains and tried on costumes. And I DO have more things to sweep and mop and clean (Nate insists on licking EVERYTHING - ugh). Who cares (that's a statement, not a question).
So I"ll post some pictures from the past few weeks. That should take at least a few minutes.
Here is Caroline in her new hat from Mrs Marshall...She wore it most of the weekend. =-) Even though it was 80 degrees.
Caroline and I stayed up way too late one night re-arranging furniture after some feedback from a showing. She was so tired she fell asleep like this.
After going to the park with Taylor, Brandon & Hailey. Sam took the picture - not bad, huh?
This was as close as we could get with a group shot for the kids, though...
Ugh - he's such a big boy now.

And so is he...

A Little Victory

2011-10-12T14:33:00.001-04:00

Got Sam in the costume we bought today. It took some bribing - but he looks really cute.
Unfortunately, he is still insisting he will be a ghost for Halloween.
Sigh.
So I bought a white sheet, too - just in case.

Retail Therapy

2011-10-12T14:03:00.002-04:00

I am not like many women that find comfort in spending money. I'm the type of girl that "splurges" by spending $2 at a garage sale.
Usually, I just feel guilty and return anything that I have bought impulsively.
Today is an exception.
It has been a tough week. But I decided to take the boys to a secondhand store this morning to get some Halloween costumes. We even found a costume of Sam's favorite race car driver (if he'll ever put it on)
I don't particularly like Halloween. I don't like to be scared. I don't really like to dress up. Since we've had kids, I've had to do a little - like it or not.
But today, as I was looking at the fancy dresses at the store, I decided that I wanted to be a princess this Halloween. If I can pull off an entire costume for under $15 (and I CAN at this place), why not have a little fun?
So I tried it on.
And it was so totally not anything I have ever worn before, I BOUGHT it. And I'm NOT taking it back. =-)
And I may get some funny looks from other parents, but I have every intention of wearing it (and pretending I'm a princess) when I chaperone Sam's school dress-up party.

Okay.

2011-09-25T21:52:00.008-04:00

So maybe I over-reacted a bit by blocking EVERYONE from seeing the blog.

I have to say, I didn't realize that people really read it.

I will just have to be nicer when describing the people that look at my house. Or maybe I will just blog those things and save the posts to put up AFTER this house is closed. =-) Because, believe me, I have lots to say.

It occurred to me today that I don't say enough good things about my children on this blog. My kids are great. They're smart, loving, want to do the right thing (most of the time) and spunky. To say that I love them is a gross understatement.
Today I am just so darn proud of them.
It has been a transition to get used to Daddy's new job. Actually, the past month or so has been one transition after another - the house being renovated and going on the market, school starting, Junior passing away, Daddy starting in Walkersville and my new work schedule. They have been shuffled here and there during showings and while we were getting the house ready to sell. The kids have done an amazing job with rolling with the punches - they just go with it. I can't count the times where I have been on the verge of tears or just obviously overwhelmed and either Sam or Caroline has come up to me and hugged me or given me a stuffed animal to hug or told me, "It's alright, Mama - you have us to help you." That's pretty powerful coming from a 3 and 5 year old. It's enough to make me think that we might be doing okay at this parenting thing. There are other times when I just shake my head and say "What the f**k were we thinking?!?!?" - don't get me wrong - there are PLENTY of those moments - but that's a different story for a different day.
Today was just a great day for the kids. We all got up (after CJ and I stayed up and re-arranged furniture last night) and got ready for church without any yelling (or even much cajoling). We enjoyed mass. The kids participated well. I had total strangers come up to us after mass and comment on how well behaved the children were and ask what my secret was to managing all these kids by myself and could I bring their grandchildren to mass and teach them to behave?
Apparently they weren't at the mass on Friday morning when Nate's bottle ended up three pews ahead of us when he chucked it, his shoe ended up two pews ahead of us because he chucked it and his toy dinosaur was under the kneeler, where he chucked it (sense a pattern??). Nate then thought it would be fun to test the acoustics of the church during Monsignor's homily by howling and thought it would be even more fun to try to pull all the hair out of my head. I ended up with him screaming in the back of church while Sam sat through mass.
But I wasn't about to break it to them! I'm okay with them thinking that the Three Amigos behave like that every week!

So...

2011-09-24T14:27:00.003-04:00

Makes for some slow blogging since Daddy went back to Maryland.
Reasons why?
-Everyone seems to have caught a chest cold.
-Sleeping is *oh so* fun with said cold and somehow everyone ends up in bed with me.
-They seem to sleep just fine once they're in my bed. I, on the other hand, do not. You will see why later.
-I've had a two day migraine, which again, is *oh so* fun.
-We have had a goodly amount of traffic in the house looking to buy. Makes for lots and lots and lots of cleaning.
Oh - and here is photographic proof that Sam sleeps every night as though he just got off a three day bender. I put him on the floor so I could get some sleep and then woke up with Caroline in the bed instead. =-)

Let's See if I Can Sneak These In...

2011-09-17T19:21:00.004-04:00

...before Jim gets the kids out of the tub.
That's right - Daddy is home! Hooray!
After the kids are in bed we have to clean this house. Did the outside today (I kind of feel like this is Groundhog's Day - I keep doing the same stuff over and over again...
Here are some pics from today:

And So It Begins.

2011-09-05T21:21:00.005-04:00

The kids and I are adjusting to our new normal now that Jim has started his job.
They helped out by going to sleep early so I could clean the house and now I think I'm about to pass out (provided that Nate doesn't wake up screaming. Again.).
All three kids are fighting a cold (thank you Abby Kelley Foster Charter School) and now I think I'm coming down with it. Nate is pretty snotty and pulling on his ears consistently. We'll have to see how he does later on in the week.
Nina and Pops came out this weekend. It was really nice to see them. We had a nice BBQ with Nina, Pops, Grampy and Grampa on Saturday.
The morning comes awful quick - so good night!
Pictures are courtesy of Pops. And yes, one of these things is not like the other.
Yoooooouuuuk!

Sammy's First Day of School

2011-09-01T17:27:00.006-04:00

Sammy finally had the day he has been waiting for for at least the past two years. After hearing, "Why don't I get to go to school?", "Caroline always does everything," and "I really, really, really want to play with the train table," constantly over the past week, Sam was THRILLED when today was his first day of school.
His teachers said he did just fine ("He reminds us so much of Caroline" - huh?) and interacted with the other children and did more than play with the train table. He got new shoes yesterday (he insisted that they be the exact same ones that Caroline has for school) and has been on pins and needles ever since, hoping that it's "time to go to school yet?".

The house has never been so clean. I am channeling my inner Virginia and washing floors, windows, bathrooms and walls constantly. The more I clean the more I see that needs to be cleaned. My Grandmother was so right when she told me, "You should never be bored. There are always windows to wash." I see now that this is true. The kids are doing better about putting stuff away, but I would be lying if I told you if I said I didn't trail them and have to nag (a lot) to keep things under control. I am learning to live without stuff (like I really needed it anyway) and am finding I am actually liking having less things around. Less clutter makes it easier to think. We're getting used to the idea of the big changes coming up in the next few weeks. =-( It will be an adjustment. Just one of many adjustments recently. We need to keep on keepin' on.

And this was the aftermath of the day. Passed out on the green room floor. We have one tired kid on our hands. Let's hope he sleeps tonight.

Ummm...

2011-08-26T03:59:00.007-04:00

Remember when I said that a good night of sleep would be a wonderful thing?
Yeah?
Well it's not going to happen tonight.
I think my body is just so used to getting 5-6 hours of sleep recently that now when I go to bed at nine, I wake up at three.
Rip roarin' and ready to go.
Doesn't mean I'm not tired - only that I'm done sleeping.
I just keep remembering that I am forbidden to worry.
About anything.
Make that everything.

Caroline's first day of school went well. She was exhausted when she got off the bus this afternoon (it was a half day) and fell asleep in the car on the way home. She enjoyed herself, though.
She got on the bus and didn't even look back.
And yes, I did follow the bus.
I am that mother.
If there was a kid that was born for school, it's her. Let's hope today goes as smoothly.

And can't forget this one...

Here we are going to the bus stop:

And here is videographic proof that Nate is walking. It's still a bit Frankenstein-ish. But it's still cute. Very cute. Now if he would only stop trying to scale the stairs...

What a Week.

2011-08-25T19:41:00.004-04:00

Wow. It's only Thursday? This week has seemed to drag on forever.
Let's see...we had our home staging, put the house on the market, one of our kitties passed away, there was an earthquake, Caroline had her first day of school and we're expecting a hurricane. You think that's enough to deal with at one time? Because when I put with that we lost the bid on the house we liked in Maryland, my Grandfather remains in very fragile health, I worked two days in Leominster and we had an article in the paper about what we found in our house as we were renovating and have had people knocking on our door about it...frankly, I'm overwhelmed. And so tired I'm about to cry. Oh - I forgot I'm a guest blogger this week on another blog and have to write my post tonight.
Too much.
I know it could be so much worse. And I think I've done a pretty good job at keeping things in perspective. A good night of sleep would be a wonderful thing.

The worst part of the week was Junior being put down. He had developed some behaviors that had worsened as he got older that made him un-adoptable. We wracked our brains and our hearts trying to figure out what we needed to do. Ultimately, it wasn't okay for him to be around with the kids. While we know we did the right thing, it didn't make it any easier. In fact, I think that trip to the vet might of been the hardest thing I've ever done. We were with him when he died, which haunts me. I'm glad we were there, though.
As much as the Stinker made me crazy, I miss him. A lot.
I can't tell you how strange it is to not have him brush up against my legs looking for a handout as I'm cooking dinner. Or to sit on the couch and not have him put a paw on my shoulder. Or to lay down in bed and not have him try to knead my armpit and stick his wet nose in the crook of my neck while he was purring like a motorboat. Heck, I can even sit down on the toilet without a cat sitting on my lap. It's weird. I cry when I'm sweeping because I see clumps of Junior hair on the floor (I think there will be Junior hair in this house years from now). I cry when I pet Smokey because it's obvious she's lonely.
Explaining what happened to the kids was tough. They rolled with it. I think they were more concerned because I was so sad. Caroline had a lot of questions about the actual death process and if Junior rose to heaven after he died. She inquired today if he was already buried.
We'll get used to not having him around, I know.
I hope he's rolling in the catnip and eating all the cat treats he can possibly stomach in the great kitty Beyond.
Rest in Peace, Junior. I love you.

I'll get the pictures of Caroline's first day of school up later on.
Oh - and I forgot that Nate is walking.
Everywhere.
And climbing.
Everything.
That adds yet another dimension to the craziness.
But in a good way.

This article in today's Telegram was the object of much discussion. Like I said before, I even had people in the neighborhood knock on the door and ask to see the house because they hung out at the house as kids. =-)
A few weeks ago, while jackhammering our front steps, we (our contractor) found a time capsule put there by the neighborhood kids in 1977 when the original steps to the house were being re-done. The article in the paper explains a lot of what was found. The best part has been how this has brought us closer to people in the neighborhood that we didn't know before. It makes me even more sad to leave. This is a wonderful place to raise a family. I am hoping the article in the paper will make people aware of our home and help us get a good family in the house. =-)

From today's Telegram Towns section:

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Time in a bottle

Memories of 1977 unearthed at house

By Melissa McKeon CORRESPONDENT

From left, landscapers Eric Stolberg, Bob Murphy and Barbara Mitchell, and homeowners Karen and Jim Watson. The home, where the time capsule was found under the front steps, was owned by the McKeon family. (T&G Staff Photos/CHRISTINE PETERSON)

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Baseball cards found inside the time capsule include a card for Butch Hobson. Enlarge photo

A coupon for Whalom Park was included among the items buried in the time capsule. Enlarge photo

WORCESTER — David Markowitz doesn’t remember April 18, 1977, a spring day he spent with a gang of neighborhood children in the Paradox Drive area where they all grew up.

“It was pre-Xbox,” Markowitz recalls with amusement. “Kids found things to do.”

In good weather, that amusement was outdoors, riding bicycles or playing at neighbors’ homes. Mr. Markowitz does remember cracking his skull in a childhood accident and needing stitches and spending a lot of time in the McKeon family’s driveway at 63 Paradox Drive, which had a basketball hoop.

The memory of those spring days when a gang of children could roam the neighborhood in what was arguably a safer time may be a blur. But a recent find at the former McKeon family home is bringing some of it back into focus, as new owners Jim and Karen Watson renovated their steps and uncovered a piece of memorabilia from that time, put there by Mr. Markowitz and his friends.

The Watsons most likely viewed the renovation of their front steps as routine as they prepared the home they’ve owned for six years for sale. The concrete required a jackhammer and sledgehammer to remove, and in the process, the contractor uncovered a glass milk jug (remember those?) full of bits and pieces that the Paradox Drive children believed represented their world.

Ellen McKeon, whose name appears in the time capsule along with Dohertys, Elkinds and Edenbergs, says Shay Taylor, who was rebuilding the steps, came up with the idea. The time capsule’s contents reflect the influence of the sports-minded: several Sports Illustrated and Sports Digest covers, and baseball and football cards bearing the names that will bring back memories for many: Johnny Bench, Butch Hobson, Freddy Patek, Luis Gomez, Pat Toomay, Joe Morgan, Bobby Clark and Rick Barry.

The capsule also contained a lottery scratch ticket (bingo, not a winner); several sheets of homework; a bottle of Excedrin; Markowitz’s junior membership card to Trout Unlimited; a parking ticket from Harvard Street (not a surprise to those who have tried to park there); coupons to Whalom Park; a postcard, with postage (6 cents); and a magazine story about hand-held portable televisions.

The names of all the children and young people present that day were recorded on a piece of paper with their names and ages.

Two young men signed a letter found along with the cache, Markowitz and neighbor John Knowlton, were young teens when the time capsule was buried.

Their letter is short and to the point:

To whom it may concern,

Why did you break the steps?

This time capsule was buried April 18, 1977.

Make sure you notify the authorities and the newspaper.

David Markowitz (Power)

John Knowlton (Bean)

P.S. Shaw Taylor constructed the McKeon steps which you just broke.

Hope you like future.

The children included a cutting from the Telegram & Gazette with the editorial office numbers, and Karen Watson was happy to oblige. She called the T&G and also some neighbors, whose names were familiar from the names of the children in the time capsule.

That set phones ringing all over the neighborhood and conjured memories. Many of the parents of those children still live in the homes where they raised them, and remember a little about it.

“I remember when John came home and told me that the McKeons were replacing the steps and they’d buried a time capsule there,” Eileen Knowlton said.

While Mr. Markowitz doesn’t remember the time capsule incident, he admits it’s characteristic.

“It sounds like something I would do,” he said. “I love history, so I probably thought it would be kind of cool.”

The capsule’s finders, the Watsons, did indeed find it cool, for many reasons: Karen Watson was born the year the time capsule was created and finds this snapshot of that time fascinating.

The Watsons have loved the neighborhood, she says, and find this evidence of past residents a link to the history of a place where they’ve been happy. It’s also provided a link to folks still in the neighborhood they didn’t know very well before.

John Knowlton lives nearby but isn’t interested in talking about the find. David Markowitz lives in Manhattan, where he admits he’s passing on his love of the Red Sox to his own children.

The Watsons are interested, though, in making sure their time capsule has a life beyond 34 years. They scanned the items found in the bottle to preserve them, and can email or make a disk of the items for anyone who wants to see them.

They also reburied the items (this time in a plastic bottle) in the new steps that have replaced the 1977 version.

In the bottle is also their own snapshot of the world that their children, Nathanael, Caroline and Samuel, are growing up in: a cutting from the newspaper about the stock market plunge; one about a Red Sox-Twins game; a Sports Illustrated cover about Derek Jeter’s 3,000th home run; a lottery ticket (unscratched); a copy of a Best Buy ad for hand-held computers; a drawing by their 5-year-old; a photograph of their family; and instructions to look them up in the future at the new home they’ll have in Frederick, Md., this fall.

Perhaps someday, their phone may ring with someone asking, “Did you bury a time capsule in 2011?”

Week Before School Starts Party!

2011-08-18T10:40:00.004-04:00

Ria is having a "Going to Kindergarten" party today.
The kids wanted to pre-game by wearing their school uniforms.
wow - they look so big.
Sniff, sniff.

More Rest.

2011-08-17T21:52:00.005-04:00

It's 9:52pm.
I'm fried. It has been a long day. I didn't get everything done on my To Do list that I wanted to, but I got some things done that weren't even on the list - so I'm calling it an all-in-all successful day.
So I'm winding down by watching some Star Trek and by doing some blogging. It's not that I haven't wanted to blog - it's just been the sitting in one place long enough to be able to type something up without falling asleep thing that has been the issue. There has been plenty of blog-worthy stuff happening, it's just staying up late enough to get it on the blog that has been the problem.

But, first of all...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NATE!!!
It has only been a year?
Seems like he has been around forever. =-) He has started walking in the past few days. Doing that ridiculously cute Frankenstein-ish, locked-knee walk with his hands out in front of him. Soon there is going to be no stopping him.
Every day I thank God for my favorite little chunky monkey!

Our plan is to put the house on the market next week. We have been working day and night to do the majority of the recommendations that our home stager put out there. So far (with the much appreciated help of Grammy and Grampy) we have painted four rooms, replaced light fixtures, done a ba-zillion trips to the Salvation Army and storage site and organized our basement. Our house is well on the way to looking amazing. Hopefully we got our pricing right and this house moves lickety-split. Because this hurry up and wait thing is (already) annoying.
Even if it hasn't really started yet.
I know this could be a really, really long roller coaster. And I know I really, really don't like roller coasters.
This could get interesting.

Jim and I found a house we would like to buy down in Maryland. We're hoping things go well with our house so we can buy the house we found. After spending months looking for our house in Worcester, we were expecting the worst when house hunting this time. We saw some real winners, believe me. Like the...
-...house with the bunks all in a row in the basement that looked a lot like the bunks from Auschwitz we saw at the Holocaust Museum a few weeks ago. Creepy. Definitely creepy.
-...or the house with the gorgeous view of the Appalachian Mountains, driveway built at a 45 degree incline, lawn you would need a thousand dollar lawn mower to keep up with, the first floor that smelled horribly musty and the pile of dead stink bugs in the living room.
-or the beautiful house with a great yard. Too bad it backed up to a major highway.
-or the house with the re-mediated water problem in the basement. They tried to cover up the soggy smell with air freshener. The scent was so thick you could taste it. Ewwww.
-or the house with the ceilings so low that the ceiling fans threatened to decapitate Jim. But it had a full kegilator in the basement - so that made up for it (at least a little). It didn't make up for the deck that was so poorly constructed that it sagged and shook under my weight. Oh - it had a red bathroom, too. Ceiling and all.
-but best was the house that looked like it had real promise from the outside. When you entered, you were hit with the stench of Airwick and dog poo. The kitchen was something out of 1963 with the same exact Frigidaire oven that we pulled out of our house prior to our oven debauchle. Then there were the clowns. If you've been around me long enough, you will know I hate clowns. There were clowns everywhere in this house. It was so unsettling I felt like I couldn't look in closets or peek around a door because I would see a dead body. Or another one of those awful clowns looking at me. I actually had nightmares about them. Took me a while to shake that one off.
But we did find two houses that are definite possibilities. In two different school districts, but they were the districts we had listed numbers one and two on our lists. And if one of them works out, I'll be okay with it. And if they don't work out, I'll be okay with that, too. I'm trying to enter this with as open of a mind (and with as few expectations) as I possibly can.
We'll see how that works out.

One of the cool things that has happened was that the people re-doing our front steps found a time capsule from 1977 in a glass milk bottle as they were sledge-hammering the steps away. The bottle shattered with the blow from the hammer, but we were able to salvage the contents of the capsule. We found baseball cards (Johnny Bench and Butch Hobson), an old parking ticket, some Sports Illustrated covers, some articles from the old Worcester Gazette, some of the kid's homework, signatures and addresses of the kids that put together the capsule and a letter from two of the kids asking us why we broke the steps and to alert the Telegram that we found the capsule.
So we did.
Much to our surprise, the Telegram sent someone out to take some pictures as we re-buried the capsule (we made an additional capsule of our own stuff as well) and were interviewed by a reporter. We were also able to contact some of the families of the kids that signed the letter from 1977 that still live in the area.
This has been a wonderful way to meet more of our neighbors and to learn about (and contribute to) the history of our neighborhood.
The story will be either in tomorrow's paper or next Thursday's paper. We'll be sure to link to it. As my friend Sue pointed out, what a great way for God to provide some free advertising for the house!
And here are some pictures of our recent craziness...

A Day of Rest...

2011-08-07T11:34:00.003-04:00

...Even God got one, right?
So I should get one, too. And since an episode of the Backyardigans just got put in, I have exactly 22 minutes of rest. I know resting is important and is MOST important to do just when I feel I don't have TIME to rest. Still working on trying to find a balance there. =-)
Wow - what a week. We've made some progress, but still have a long way to go to get this house market-ready.
I worked my last day as a part-timer. Now I'm just a per diem PT. Which I'm sad about. I really, really love my job. But right now the things I'm doing here are more important (just not as fun). Blogging has been lax because I am writing our home stager a nightly report of the progress we've made that day towards getting the house ready and outlining my priorities for the next day. It adds a few minutes at the end of the day, but her input has been invaluable to us. By the time all that is done, I'm a bit fried.
Grammy and Grandpa have been down the past two weekends to help us with our work and watching the kids so we can get more work done. This has been invaluable, as well. THANK YOU! Yesterday, with their help with painting and corralling the Three Amigos we were able to get two layers of paint up in the dining room and the (former) brown room. Hopefully trim work and doors done today (after the kids go to bed).
Progress has been slow and steady. We hope (read HAVE) to get much more done this week.
The kids have been remarkably chill with all the changes around the house. I don't know that they really get what's going on, but when you ask them what we're doing, the reply is "Getting ready to move to Maryland."
In an attempt to put up some pictures from this week, I just looked at my camera. I took one picture of the kids. Everything else is the before/after progress to e-mail the home stager every night. And since I know you're not interested in seeing the pictures of almost every closet in the house, the dining room, the former brown room and Caroline's room, I'll spare you the torture.
Here is the one picture from the week...

And So It Begins...

2011-07-31T23:12:00.004-04:00

This weekend we began in earnest getting the house ready for the market.
Grampy and Grampa were so nice and watched the Three Amigos on Saturday so we could devote our full attention to interviewing realtors and the home stager. We got some good information - though I have to say it was overwhelming and I broke down and cried on more than one occasion.
After laying in bed until well after midnight discussing (since I am forbidden to worry) about how we're going to get all this stuff done and the house on the market (and hopefully sold) in a very short amount of time, it felt really good to take some steps in the right direction today.
The problem is that the more I do, the more I see there is to do. Which is good and terrible, I suppose, because now it's more nit-picky stuff.
But still. It's more stuff to do.
It's a good think I'm transitioning to per diem at my job because I don't think there is a way we could get all these things done if I was working my regular schedule.
Here's the sum of what we did today:

1-We cleaned out and culled the hall coat closet.

2- Took the rug with the shoes on it out of the hall.

3-Culled the closet in the brown room.

4- Packed up all the CDs and put them away to go to storage

5-Took down the CD case thing to go away

6-Threw out the VCR tapes and took the Canada Dry crates to go away to storage

7-Took one of the wood end tables to the basement

8-All the clothes and boxes are out of the brown room (many bags to go to the Salvation Army)

9-The ugly, threadbare rug is GONE. Thrown out the window (literally).

10-I took the vast majority of cookbooks out of the kitchen and packed them up.

11-The magnets are gone off the visible sides of the fridge

12-The majority of kitchen utensils are hidden away now.

Put all this stuff with errands, church and "Jesus Friendship Club" and it makes for a very full and very satisfying day. I can only hope we get more sleep than last night. =-)

Our friends from down the street were over for "Kids Friendship Club" on Thursday. We had a lot of fun painting and decorating old boxes and making boats. I know we will make new friends in Maryland, but that doesn't make it any easier to leave here. Especially now that I have found some kindred spirits. Caroline has found a kindred spirit as well in Michael. They're so cute - both of them are simply not of this world (thankfully, they seem to reside on the same planet). After watching them together, I think I'm becoming a believer in arranged marriages.

And now it's time for rest. G'night.

Following Advice...

2011-07-26T21:47:00.004-04:00

I am following the advice of a very smart friend by sitting here and blogging.
Sitting is actually the key word. I haven't done very much of that today. I only had about 7000 steps, but I worked very hard for those steps. I hoed out Caroline's room. My plan is to go room by room and giving each area at least a day to de-clutter and get things in order. Then I can start the painting and all the other staging we need to sell this joint...
But lest I get too far ahead of myself.
We will be adding The Frederick News-Post to our side bar soon. Gotta keep up with the news...

Pops was nice enough to send some pictures that they took last week...
Sammy hanging out with a new friend at Uncle Matt's baseball game:
The kids got to go to the airshow with Nina and Pops. I think Caroline might have enjoyed the i-pad more than the airplanes...
And the sound might have been a bit overwhelming for Sam.
They said the Blue Angels were awesome, though.
The kids got to spend some time in Uncle Tom and Aunt Vicky's pool.
Nate wasn't in the cage for the whole week, don't worry.
It took Sam all week to decide to get in the pool. By Sunday he was enjoying it - as long as his face didn't get wet.

Here is one of the best pictures of Sam I have ever seen. Just act surprised if you see it on a Christmas card, okay?
Caroline really, really wants a dog. Mama and Dada really, really don't. Even after a whole week with dogs, Sam still screamed every time Fritzie came within five feet of him. Funny how he's petrified of the small, blind & deaf dachshund. So Caroline walking Ghillie in Rochester will have to suffice for now.
And now it's time for bed. There will always be work to do. Thank God I have wonderful friends that keep me reminded of my real priorities.

Grumpy.

2011-07-24T22:17:00.008-04:00

I think that this July may go down as the worst month for blogging ever.
I can assure you that the reason is NOT what my usual reason for not blogging is. I have my hands full enough as it is. Shame on you for even THINKING that!!!
And it's not for lack of wanting to blog or trying to blog. The pace of life seems a bit more frenetic than usual. Even for here.
We got back from our vacation tonight. This is probably why I'm a bit grumpy. I just want to go to bed - but the cats are sooo happy to see us, Caroline won't sleep ("I don't like it at home. It's boring. Can I go live with Nina & Pops?"), I'm a bit anxious about work tomorrow and (as hard as I'm trying not to) I'm worried about my Grandfather who feel and broke his hip this past week.
My parents were super troopers (not to be confused with these), keeping Sam and Caroline while helping to manage Sugar Bear (who fell Monday) and graciously maintaining an open door policy for any family that needed/wanted a place to stay/eat while Sugar Bear was in the hospital/rehab.
As tired and grumpy as I may be, I really think it's them that deserve a vacation to recover from their vacation.
Jim, Nathanael and I did have a good time in Washington & Baltimore. It was so hot down there that 80 degrees felt downright chilly when we got back to Worcester tonight!
I hope to put up more pictures later, but I'm not sure when that will happen. I want to put together a scrap book from this past week for the kids. This is a major undertaking for someone as un-creative (really? Is this a word) as me. We'll see how it goes...
Here are some pictures...
Look at these sheisters...it's a wonder anything gets done around here!

Here's how we kept cool before leaving for vacation. And yes, this does prove that Caroline regularly does have "jazz hands", that Sam will NOT get wet in the sprinkler and that Nate is one chunky monkey!

We went to the Natural History Museum in DC JUST to see the Herkimer Diamond display. And yes, again, I grabbed a group of total strangers and game them a five minute dissertation on Herkimers. They tolerated me very nicely. I think I saw Jim like this, though. =-)

We also did a quick trip to the Air & Space as well. I was having fun with satellites until I saw this:

Seriously? Slighted by even the Smithsonian?!? No wonder we have a complex here in Worcester.

And because Nate was an "only child" for a few days, we were able to get some really, really cute pictures of him. Nina & Pops got some great shots of CJ and Sammy as well, but I'll post the ones of Nate tonight...

And that will be all...I'm toast.

From This Weekend...

2011-07-05T21:29:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures that were just too good not to post (courtesy of Caroline, Sam & Nate's Grampy and Grammy). I would love to blog more, but I'm fried. Just utterly overwhelmed. And very, very tired.
G'night.

Oy Vey.

2011-06-30T14:06:00.003-04:00

There won't be any cute pictures with this post. I only have about 10 minutes before I have to get back to work.
You see, all the work I was SUPPOSED to get done while Jim and the kids were away today (planting the flowers, mulching, painting Sam's room, finishing up the basement, cleaning the house, weed wacking, cleaning up the driveway, finishing the laundry) didn't get done (duh)...and now they're coming home so I'm running around like a mad woman to get everything completed. I don't try to over-achieve or anything...it's just that all this stuff needs to get done. And it's sooooo much easier to do it when the kids aren't underfoot.
But I have one story to share.
Caroline has, shall we say, the gift of gab. She is downright verbose and never at a loss for words (I'm thinking the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree with this). This is fine - most of the time. I always get a bit worried when I take her to the doctors or to meet her new principal or people I work with. She has a tendency to blab. A LOT. There are no secrets with Caroline. Be this as it may, we had an interesting experience a the pediatrician's office last week.
We thought Caroline might have a UTI. No fun. She was having a really tough go of it (no pun intended). Dr Harding and I were trying to discern if she was having trouble with constipation as well. Apparently poop is a topic that Caroline feels quite comfortable discussing (if you remember this lovely anecdote). Before I could even try to stop her, THIS came out of her mouth. Full of italics used in the way only Caroline can use them. All without her pausing to take a breath...
"Well, sometimes I have really big poops. Yeah, like this big (holding up her arms). And you know, one time I pooped and it was really big and it was sooooo cool. I looked in the potty and it was in the shape of a four! That used to be my age! I pooped my age! Isn't that awesome?!?!"

Yes, dear. It's awesome. Thank you for sharing (said while planting my face firmly in my palm).

Beardsley Zoo

2011-06-25T21:37:00.010-04:00

Yesterday we got to meet old friends (and their cute offspring) at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport.
We had such a nice time. It always amazes me how you can go years without seeing some people and catch up when you see eachother like no time has passed.
Thanks for making the trip up on the ferry Sara, Howard, Brayden and Jordyn! We hope to make it down to Florida soon(er rather than later - you know how I am with airplanes...).
Here is the Worcester crew ready and waiting for some Zoo action...

And it took four of them to make up the wing span of a Condor!

I got the question about Buffalo Wings today. She just doesn't understand why we call chicken wings that if they don't come from Buffalo. At least she's smarter than Jessica Simpson...

Hanging out with the Tiger...

I think he's really saying, "Feed me, Woman! Don't take my picture!"

Do you know how long it took to get them all to sit in one place for the amount of time it took to take one picture? I am in total awe of anyone that photographs children on a regular basis...

There were peacocks everywhere. This one put on quite a show for the kids.

And just for old times sake...it's not like hanging out at the Bus Stop after football, but it's still a great time!

Love you guys! We had a great time and can't wait to see you again! =-)

Annie!

2011-06-23T22:51:00.003-04:00

Just got done pulling about a year's worth of old pics off the camera, and flipped thru a couple of the videos - I had forgotten that Karen was able to snap these vids of Caroline doing her level best to sing with vibrato several selections from the musical Annie, which Karen had just finished with at church. Enjoy!

annie0

annie1

annie2

Tuesday Morning

2011-06-21T12:15:00.003-04:00

Whew!
Only 12:15 and what a day already. I have about ten minutes before going to my next project for the day. Just long enough to feel like I should be doing something, but not long enough to really accomplish anything. So I figured I would blog as I munch on my pb&j.
It started at 4AM when Nathanael decided that it was time to wake up (and for everyone else to wake up). After we watched some Star Trek we went for a walk. Not that I don't love watching TNG (it was a really good episode where Geordi got brainwashed by the Romulans) or walking with my son (4000 steps!) - it's just that I don't enjoy these things as much when they happen before six in the morning.
And when we got home, we saw this:

Now Sam is usually a decently cute kid. The picture doesn't do him justice. Not only could he not open both eyes all the way, he also could not move the left side of his face to smile.
Not pretty. He looked like he got beat up or was dressing up in some really bad face mask for a Trekker convention.
So...hi-ho-hi-ho, it's off the the ER we go.
*Just* an allergic reaction. We have to keep watching to see if it develops into a cellulitis (I pray he doesn't have that tendency like someone else I know).
And when that was all done we got to go to BJs to do a h-u-g-e shopping run. But all the stuff is unpackaged and put away in the basement (the only opportunity I have in my life to let my true anal retentive tenancies shine through).
And my ten minutes are up. Time to get moving.
I hope the rest of the day is much less eventful.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:48:00.004-04:00

Happy Father's Day to my father, father-in-law and my husband. You all do so much to enrich the lives of those around you. I am so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you could never be sufficient. =-)
We had a lovely day today. We laid low and went to Old Sturbridge Village for the day. It's only 7:50, but we're all so very ready for bed right now. Sleep has been difficult to come by lately. Caroline hasn't been sleeping because of the excitement from her recital and some nasty bladder spasms (Ditropan seems to be helping, thank goodness). Nate hasn't been sleeping because of ...well...I don't have a reason...teething?...ear infection?...a really sadistic sense of humor?...sometimes I think he just likes to see us bleary eyed and dependent on coffee (I didn't even LIKE coffee until I became pregnant with Nate - go figure ). Sam is our best sleeper. Never thought I would have those words come out of my mouth. Never Ever. How times have changed.
With the netbook, pictures are very time consuming to post (I will catch up with the baptism pictures, I promise) and I know Jim needs the computer for Diamond Mind, so I'll get up as many pictures from today as I can.
And then we'll snuggle up to the radio for the Yankees/Cubs game. Still feels a bit weird to listen to the Cubbies and not have Ron Santos involved...
From OSV today:

We were fortunate enough for Darth Vader to join us. "Don't worry, Caroline, I will save you. I am DARTH VADER the SUPERHERO!!" We can't break it to him that Darth isn't exactly hero material yet...
Here is some of the damage at OSV from the tornadoes a few weeks ago. If the storm had come 50 yards farther north, the Village would have taken a direct hit.

Captain Chaos also decided to join Darth this afternoon. Or should it be Captain Snaggletooth?
More later...must sleep. G'night.

The Aftermath...

2011-06-17T23:36:00.003-04:00

Caroline is sooooo very tired, but can't sleep after her first dance recital.
And because she can't sleep, we can't either.
Sigh.
Here are some pictures from the first installment of "Raindrops are Falling on my Head."
PS - Thanks for your help tonight, Auntie Melanie. =-)

On our way to the recital:

Ready to go:

And the ride home.
She looks like she has had a good time, huh?

Bath Time

2011-06-16T19:15:00.003-04:00

I have about three minutes to post since Jim is giving the kids their baths tonight...
Busy day today - we walked over two miles (Sam and Caroline took turns riding in the double stroller), went to CVS, went to the Post Office, hung out at Mommy's work a bit, did some crafts (just be surprised on Father's Day, okay?) and got to Caroline's dress rehearsal for her dance recital.
An added bonus was that I have the biggest fat lip I've had since the days of Blessed Sacrament. Sam was trying to show me how fast Lightening McQueen could go. He was going really fast until he ended up in my teeth. I'm going to look great at work. =-)

Here is a picture I got of Caroline today waiting to go on. She is such a big girl now.

Okay - time to go. Bathies are over and I plan on being Don Zimmer to Jim's Joe Torre when he is playing Diamond Mind Baseball tonight.
PS - Happy, Happy Birthday to Pops! We love you. =-)

Preschool End of the Year Ceremony

2011-06-13T12:41:00.003-04:00

Today was Caroline's last day at OLA.
As usual, she brings her own perspective to things and seems very insightful, especially for a five year old, "I know I will make new friends next year at Abby Kelley, but I will still have my buddies here. I'll just have more buddies, right?"
We were a bit annoyed when we got to school. The notice we got says the doors to the school opened for people going to the ceremony at 9:45. We arrived at 9:30, anticipating a line at the door. They had been admitting people the whole time - so even though we were half an hour early, we were six rows from the back because all the rest of the seats were taken. And people weren't exactly polite about staying out of the way to let us get some pictures. Grrrr. So the best pictures we have are from after the ceremony.
But the ceremony was lovely. The kids had fun. And so did we. =-)
And now we have / need the rest of the day to recover.

Nate's baptism was yesterday. I need some time to sift through and organize some pictures to post. You can totally tell that Nate is the third child because you know how many pictures Jim and I took of the day?
NONE.
Good thing we have family members who are excellent photographers. =-)

Like I said, we're recovering the rest of today. We have enough leftovers that I won't have to cook tonight (or tomorrow) - so I'm just putting lunches and such together. It's a welcome reprieve after the craziness of the past few days. Now all we have to do is plan for a dance recital, my Dad's birthday, Father's day, a day trip to CT, a meet and greet for kindergarten and work. You know, easy stuff. =-) Never a dull moment.

Thursday Night

2011-06-09T19:42:00.003-04:00

It is bedtime and I think the strawberries we had at dinner had some obnoxious juice in them. These kids are nuts!
But they're cute...
And absolutely and totally crazy.

Thursday Morning

2011-06-09T07:41:00.006-04:00

It has been a tough week for Nate.
Not only does he have a sinus infection, he has two ear infections.
Poor kid.
He has been a total trooper, but sleeping has been, shall we say, limited.
So Nate and I got up this morning at 5:30 and went for a walk. Only to get caught in a thunderstorm.
That about sums up our week.
At least we got some steps in. =-)
And just when I get so frustrated at the lack of sleep and making my way through the day feeling like an utter zombie, I see this and it's all okay.
Okay, I'll be honest - coffee helps too.

I had a flashback to this picture as I was watching Nate sleep last night. THAT'S my problem - I'm watching him sleep instead of sleeping myself. Seems like this kid has a sense and every time I get into REM sleep, he wakes up screaming. Makes for some crazy dreams.
Even though he's getting to be a big boy, he is still very much a baby. =-) And a cute one at that.
That makes it easier to take, too.

Rest

2011-06-05T20:18:00.010-04:00

Sunday night.
Lunches are packed. Kids are asleep. Ballgame is on the radio.
Finally some time to sit.
We had a really busy weekend. Not frenetic (could any day in this house be described as not frenetic?), but we were on-the-go constantly.
We got our basement and our garage cleaned out. Two truckloads of furniture went to a couple that is getting married soon (a big thank you to Grampy and Grandpa who came all the way to Worcester so we could use the truck) and we have a Bagster full of stuff waiting to be taken away. There is definitely much more to do be done. But it feels good to make some progress in crossing things off our to-do list.
And, as if cleaning wasn't enough, Caroline had dance class, we went to a garage sale, got to the Albanian Festival (baklava....mmmm....), went to church, planted some flowers, mowed the lawn and grilled up some super tuna steak for dinner tonight.
No wonder I'm tired, stiff and sore. And very, very ready for bed.
G'night.
Sam fell down and hurt his bottom on Saturday. He was more than happy to walk with BooBoo Bunny stuffed down his pants. Too funny!
Sam and Caroline had a great time on painting the barn that Nina and Pops sent. We'll probably finish it up next week.
You know we let Caroline dress herself. Why on earth do people keep asking us that? (This is how she was dressed to go to the Albanian Festival. It was very Roma of her - she actually wasn't that conspicuous).

Wednesday Night Date Night.

2011-06-01T19:28:00.005-04:00

Not that we've been able to go on too many dates for the past six or so years...but tonight our date night was spent "picnicking" in the basement during our two tornado warnings.
Yikes. Seriously scary stuff. We kept the kids subdued with some fruit snacks and workbooks while Jim and were trying to listen to the AM radio and make sense of what we were hearing. The radio was so static-y from the lightening it was hard to make heads or tails of things for a while. We saw the reports of tornadic activity in Springfield about five o'clock, so we knew we may have to take some cover, but didn't think much of it. We had the television on (not our normal practice, we were keeping our eyes on the weather) when eating dinner and all of the sudden, it was so dark outside it was almost like it was the middle of the night. We knew it was time to head downstairs. We didn't sustain any damage, thank goodness. A funnel cloud was spotted downtown, though. There are still tornado warnings north and south of us. We have the kids in their jammies and are just hanging. Sam and Caroline are seriously starting to grate eachother's nerves. We just might get some tornadic activity inside, too. =-) They just showed another cell re-firing over Springfield, so it looks like we need to be preparing for round three. We just saw that the National Guard was activated.
Wow. Just wow. This is craziness.
But don't worry. Channel 7 just announced that they will, in no way, interrupt broadcast of the Stanley Cup Finals. Good to know that we still have priorities. Gotta love New England Yankees. Oy vey.
Lots doing here lately. School is winding down. Caroline is getting very, very excited to go to kindergarten next year. We've been in touch with the school principal (yes, already) so they have an idea of the "challenges" that they may have on their hands with her/us. Caroline did have some reading testing and she, with reading, is at a fourth grade instructional level. Math is certainly not at that level - but she does okay there, too. We are currently doing "homework" assignments on our own, but it would be great to get a little more direction from people with education backgrounds. We're trying to keep our learning experiences literature based, that seems to work well with her because she is so strong with reading. Science has been really, really fun - science is everywhere and everything - so it's easy to find things to do with that. Our real challenge has been math. Bleh. Always my nemesis.
Sam is officially potty trained, so it looks like he will go to pre-school next year. He is so excited, "I get to go to school and play with the trains. I will play with Rusty. I will play with Bill and Ben." I'm thinking it's going to be at least a few weeks at school before the novelty of the train table at OLA wears off. But all the teachers have been warned and know what to expect. They have witnessed some serious freak-outs when I have tried to extricate him from the table at different times. Sammy is showing some of the same traits that Caroline did at the same age - like sitting down and, without prompting, writing his name (we knew we gave him a short name for a reason! Nathanael is going to be in for it when he has to learn his name). Sam, right now, is "reading" books out loud that he has memorized (and is so proud of himself). It's cute to listen to. I love it.
Sam, not to perseverate on the whole potty thing, learned how to pee in the Lake this weekend. He is such a concrete thinker, it was a real stretch for him not to pee in the potty. But now that he's over that, I think the proverbial cat is out of the bag. This kid will drop trou anywhere now. I caught him trying to pee in the front yard yesterday (gotta love it when your son is buck naked standing on the front steps, facing the road and trying to pee for distance onto the front walk). Today I intercepted him before he peed in the bathtub (luckily his brother was not in it yet).
Nothing but class in this establishment, I say. The neighbors must love us. =-)
Nate is Nate. He's so funny with his cackling laugh and his "kisses" that are more licks than anything else. And although he started out sporting a mullet, his hair is slowly transitioning into "hockey hair". Maybe he's a Bruins fan already? Who knows...

I apologize for the rambling. I feel I need to do something "productive" as I'm sitting here trying to track the weather.

The Latest Installment...

2011-05-24T08:56:00.003-04:00

...of the Caroline quote of the day!
We had a few doozies over the weekend. We went out to Middleville/Newport to see Nina and Pops (it was Nina's birthday) and to do some sprucing up at the cemeteries.
-When Sam told Ria where he went this past weekend, his reply was, "I went to the stones!" He wasn't too far off. =-)
-We were getting out of the car at the Middleville cemetery when Uncle Pat and Aunt Erica pulled up behind us. We told the kids that they were there, too and Caroline sounded a bit confused when she said, "Are the dead, too?"
-Last night the kids were playing hospital. Practicing bandaging, taking blood pressures, giving shots. Sam was the patient when he pronounced he was feeling better and all healed. Caroline replied, "I think you better stay in bed, Sam. You have mastitis."
Seriously, what did we do for entertainment before the kids?

While I Have 5 Minutes...

2011-05-24T08:05:00.005-04:00

Sid the Science Kid is on. So I have about five minutes to catch up on blogging before things get too crazy around here. I know it's not great to let the kids watch TV (they watch only a few shows) but sometimes Mama needs a few minutes of peace. They're discussing weather and running out in the rain...I can't be a totally bad mother if I let Sam and Caroline play in the rain yesterday if they do it on PBS, right? =-)
Caroline had her kindergarten screening last week. We'll see how it works out. There will be some major adjusting on everyone's part. I only hope she can be challenged. Doesn't she look like a big girl? She insisted on wearing her new uniform to the screening.

And Nathanael fell asleep last night at dinner. This boy is just delicious.

Okay - time to go. Sam is doing some sort of Tai-Chi combined with being Superman, Nate is so hungry I think he just might gnaw off his hand (you don't get a physique like he has from starving yourself, let me tell you) and the house looks like a small tornado has touched down in it.
Lots doing here.
Have a wonderful day.

Back in the Swing

2011-05-17T20:02:00.004-04:00

For the first time since Nate was born, I actually feel like life is "normal" again.
Whatever that may be.
I'm not sure if life has calmed down or my perception of normalcy is changed - but either way, it works for me.
I'm trying to get some blogging done before I hunker down to my work computer and get up close and personal with the new Medicare documentation. Bleh. I understand what they're trying to do with the new format, but if you did the documentation correctly before, the information you're providing really hasn't changed. Just the order it is presented in. AND the people who did it incorrectly before are going to continue to under-achieve. So all it really does is overburden those of us who were doing the right thing before by making us do even more.
Ask me how I really feel.

The weather lately has been sort of a downer. We got desperate enough to send the kids outside to play in the rain on Sunday. They had fun and the hour of peace and quiet in the house was well worth the mud tracks I had to clean from the back door to the warm bathies we provided when they came back inside.
Nate has yet another ear infection. His sixth, I think. Poor kid. His hearing seems to be okay, which is amazing considering how full of fluid his eustachian tubes must be. He's doing well copying sounds like "T", "S", "D" and "M". Nate has also continued to carry on the tradition of first words being, "Dada, Mama and Cat". I think the inclusion of the cats is less than thrilling for them (Nate tried to bite a chunk out of Smokey's tail the other day), but the rest of us are psyched to be included. =-) He had his first Oreo cookie last night. I think he enjoyed it.

Sam is in the throes of potty training. He was so resistant before, we decided we weren't going to push it. In typical Sam fashion, he transitioned only when he was ready. We've been in big boy pants for a week and have only had one accident in the past four days. HOORAY! Our biggest snag so far has been that Sam will only wear boxer shorts. He will have nothing to do with briefs. Even briefs with Thomas and Buzz Lightyear failed to sway him. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find boxers in size 3T? NOT EASY! We had only three pairs, so I was doing laundry constantly for the first few days of potty-ing. We had no problem washing, it was the drying time that was causing the problem. I was trying everything. Initially, I was drying a pair with the hair dryer (which is 16 years old and overheats after about five minutes, making me wait until it became cool enough to re-start) on most mornings. But then I got smart and hung the damp ones out the window of the car as I was driving to daycare. Yes, we got some strange looks with micro-size Superman undies hanging out the driver's side window - but it served the purpose. I finally found some toddler size boxers and got some on Friday (Sam picked them - four of the same pairs of green plaid and one pair with dinos...surprised?!?!). He's too funny. He continues to find new and surprising ways to perpetuate "Sammy being Sammy".

I don't have any new pictures of Caroline. She continues to amaze us. Last week she drew a picture of the circulatory system and then told me what the different types of blood cells did (the white cells KILL all the germs, Mama!). When we asked her where she learned that she said, "Mama, I read it in your books. I taught myself it." She basically covered enough biology and anatomy for freshman year biology. Where does this girl get it from? She just came in our room saying her pajamas were too big, so she "had" to change into one of her nicer summer dresses and wear it to bed. You know what? I might have protested last year, but now? Eh, what's the big deal?
Okay - so maybe it is my perception of normalcy that has changed...

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:36:00.004-04:00

Mother's Day should totally be more than one day a year.
We had a lovely day. We went to Old Sturbridge Village. We ran into some friends from church and one of my old friends from college (okay - so Jim is right - he can't take me anywhere without me knowing someone).
It was nice to just let the kids run around (and get really tired and go to bed early).
I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't ready for bed, too.
That crap-ton of ironing is still staring me in the face. But I've been successful in ignoring it, so far. One more day isn't going to make a difference. =-)
I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about motherhood recently. I've been pondering about Our Blessed Mother and her "style" of mothering. A lot of it is romanticized, I know. She must have been at her wit's end at times. I'm thinking that Jesus must have been a handful - I don't know how I would react if I lost my kid at the Temple and the water into wine thing would probably freak me out a bit, too. =-) I always imagine her as so calm, serene, gentle and wise. Somehow, in all of this, I also assume that she got out of bed looking put together, had a spotlessly clean house and gourmet dinners for Joseph and Jesus every night (in a kosher kitchen, none-the-less. Even more impressive). And then it hit me. She only (tongue-in-cheek, believe me) had Jesus! I've got no chance of sanity being outnumbered! =-) So I just need to keep on-keepin' on doing the best I can.
Here are some pictures from today:

Here are some shots of our SuperBoys:

Good night!

Saturday Night.

2011-05-07T21:51:00.004-04:00

Here's a cute picture of Pops and his grand-boys...

Saturday night at 10pm and I'm still awake?
I figured this one was worth writing down, it happens so rarely.
I may be awake, but this is what the rest of the family looks like (Nate is asleep upstairs):
Jim and Caroline both passed out at about 8. Sam and I were up watching "criss-cross-CRASH" (NASCAR at Darlington) until he fell asleep at nine thirty.
I have to admit, even though I've been to some NASCAR races, since I've moved to New England, I'm more much more likely to be listening to Public Radio than to watch a stock car race. Sam, being fascinated with all things motorized, has turned me on a bit to racing again. It's more family friendly than watching football on Fox (where we have to change channels during the commercials because they're so violent) and more engaging than watching baseball games (less damage can be done playing with a matchbox car than with a baseball). I was disappointed in the pre-race coverage when they played the relays between the drivers and the pit crews. If you have to bleep out words, chances are you shouldn't be broadcasting those words. I'm getting the impression that Kyle Bush can act like a real jerk, anyways - so it shouldn't be a big surprise that his communication is profanity laced. We DON'T have to hear it to believe it. So far, that's my biggest complaint. Well, that and "boogity boogity boogity". Bleh.
The best part of my day was snuggling with Sam on the couch, talking about what different flags mean, doing running commentaries during the pit stops and giggling at the sound all the cars make when they zoom by the cameras. I love that boy.

I also had some follow up from the royal wedding. At about 10am, Caroline was just about all wedding-ed out. It was pretty cute. She had to do homework to take to school on the wedding. I asked her what her favorite part of the wedding was. The two answers she wrote?
1-the kiss
2-the kiss
Guess it made an impression.
I also asked her to imagine what her wedding dress would look like and to write down five words to describe it. The words were:
1-flores (flowered in spanish, I guess)
2-pink
3-green dots
4-big
5-no veil
I'll have to save it and show it to her when she gets married. =-)

And We're Back

2011-05-02T20:47:00.003-04:00

It seems like it has been a long time since I've been able to blog freely like this.
Sam is soooo over-tired. He's tantum-ing in his room. It has been a goodly amount of time since we've had a tantrum like this. It's not of epic proportions. It's somewhere near a 6 or so on the Samuel-Scale-of-Destruction (furthermore known as the SSD). His tantrums when he's over-tired are kind of like earthquakes, though. You know you can't avoid them, so you do what you can to minimize the damage. And when they do occur, you just have to wait them out. He has got so much better since we've moved up his bedtime - it has really made a world of difference. It has been such a busy past few weeks that we knew an "eruption" was inevitable. Hopefully the aftershocks will be minimal. Caroline keeps coming in our room holding her head saying, "I can't sleep. Sammy is giving me such a headache." I have to try so hard to redirect her, otherwise I would hold my head and complain, too. =-)
I'm also trying to actively ignore the pile of ironing so big it could choke a horse that is sitting on the cedar chest directly in front of me. Not much ironing (or much of anything else) has been done in the past few weeks.
I just got done helping out with our church's CYC production of "Annie". Jim and I had been discussing ways to share our "talents" (if shopping at garage sales and Goodwill is considered a talent) when the CYC appealed for some help with their show. After discussing it, we figured that all those years in winterguard were probably good for something - so I volunteered to help with costumes. It was a lot of work and even more fun. It's a really good group of kids. Working with teenagers was a stretch at times - overall, though I was really impressed with the kids. The biggest challenge was having a cast of 46 each with multiple costume changes. My role was to be there as a "hooch-wench" mostly - just taking direction and helping where I could. Fortunately, the ladies I was working with are amazingly capable and we were able to scrape together some good stuff for the kids to wear. Caroline went to a lot of rehearsals with me and was dubbed "Assistant Director" (a title she relishes). It seems like her Annie doll (which she pulled out of my old toys) hasn't left her hands in weeks. Jim really, really, really, really took one for the team by covering for me at home. I am so grateful. This was the first big thing I've done outside the house since the kids were born. And I'm already looking forward to the musical next year (but don't tell Jim just yet - he's still recovering from this year - and I think he will be for a while)...
My Mom and Dad were nice enough to drive out for the show. It was funny when I was in the back room during the show on Friday night helping the kids with their costumes. We had a speaker piping in the show so we could hear the cues for the kids to go onstage. I heard Nate crying over the speaker and commented, "That's my baby." I was quite relieved when he simmered down. When Mom and CJ came back stage I commented on how good Nate had behaved during the show when I found out that I didn't hear him anymore because Dad had been sitting in the car with him since 7:30! Thank goodness for grandparents!
I've commandeered the computer for long enough (we need to get to bed)...so here are some pics from the weekend.
It's nice to be back!

Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T06:35:00.003-04:00

Yes, we are among the crazy throngs that got up early to watch the wedding this morning.
So, before the crack of dawn, we woke up and dressed in our finest (or our prom dress from 1994) and set up for our tea party to watch the pre-game and the wedding.
We're having fun. Caroline is thoroughly confused as to why there are trees inside the church. She is also a bit mystified by the hats - especially Eugenie and Beatrice's (it does look a bit like something died on their heads). When Sammy saw the boy's choir he said, "There are all my buddies!" He also thought that the cars going to the Abbey were racing. I didn't think that was a bad idea. Puts a nice new twist on things. =-) The kids are also laughing at the accents, "Cheeses Christ? Who is that?"
We don't have much planned for the rest of day - which is good considering we got up about 4am. We declared today a holiday - Caroline gets out of school. We're going to do some "homework" on the wedding later to hand into her teacher. So, other than that - all we have to do is get the house cleaned and the laundry done and finish up some paperwork. No big deal, right?!?!

Tim Lincecum - Windup

2011-04-17T14:30:00.001-04:00

Too cool *not* to post...

Pictures

2011-04-14T19:49:00.002-04:00

Since I wrote earlier in the day, I figured I would post pictures now. We're listening to the Rays / Twins game. Hearing the Sox recently was making my ears bleed. Bleh. All I can say is that Joe Mauer looks cute even over the radio. =-)
And, yes. That is a diaper on my son's head. It's clean. I promise.

Teachable Moments

2011-04-14T11:04:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about this lately.
What exactly is a teachable moment? And, if you're with a child - doesn't every moment qualify?
Or are they moments when I am expecting too much out of my children?
I think we had a moment like this the other day.
We (me, Caroline, Sam and Nate) were at church. The reading was from Daniel - about Shadrach, Mishad and Obendigo (or ToBedWeGo, however you prefer to pronounce it). Caroline was really excited because we had just read that story and we were talking about how God sends angels to help us everyday. The kids were really engaged and the conversation was going great (or so I thought). We were leaving church and Fr Thurb asked Sam about what he thought.
His reply?
"Lightning McQueen is the fastest race car EVER!!!!!"

Annnnnnddddd....the teachable moment is over.
It was nice while it lasted.

Saturday Morning

2011-04-09T07:57:00.004-04:00

It's relatively quiet, so before the chaos of Saturday begins, I figured I would blog.
It has been a good week. Everyone is healthy.
Nate's ear infection is getting better - he is still having trouble sleeping - but I'm not sure how much of that is really ear related and how much is Nate's desire to get up and play in the middle of the night.
Sam and I went for a walk this morning. Nothing like getting 4000 steps in before 7AM and finding some "dinosaur eggs" to start your day off right!
Caroline and Daddy were working on a "train" while Sam and I were walking. They took an old diaper box and put wheels, a funnel and some other decorations on it.
CJ also got some of her school uniforms for next year this week. I couldn't believe it when she tried them on. Sniff, sniff. My little baby girl was not looking so much like a little baby girl. She also amazed me by giving me a blow by blow account of the book of Exodus (she is really into it). And this is not something we've read together. Her reading comprehension amazes me.

Work was a little challenging this week for me. Not because of the work part, but because I often have to say good-bye to people that I work with. Most of the time, I don't know that it's going to be the last time I see someone in this world - which in some ways makes it easier (and in some ways tougher). But I knew it was the last time I would see a very special lady when I kissed her and bid her good journey on Monday. I was so thankful because her family was there and I got to tell them some stories about her and relay how grateful I am that our paths crossed and what a blessing their mother was to the people around her. While I get to help some really wonderful people in my job, sometimes the best part is how much they help me (without even knowing it).

Here are some pictures from the past week:

And Rest

2011-03-31T20:14:00.006-04:00

8:14pm.
All three kids are down.
A million things to do, but I just sat and rocked my baby boy.
As I sat there smelling Johnson's baby shampoo and feeling Nate snoring rhythmically in my arms, while listening to Scully start his 62nd season with the Dodgers, I couldn't help but think that there weren't many other places I would rather be than right here right now.
It's a nice feeling. =-)
Stuff will get done.
Eventually.

But I know that after I'm done blogging I'll need to pump, finish my paperwork, put in laundry, fold the laundry coming out, make lunches for tomorrow and put on the coffee for the morning.

Soooo....the moment is over - but it was sure nice while it lasted!

All of the sudden, Nate is everywhere. The boy can motor. He is waving Hi and Bye, can give "five", can clap, shakes his head "No" (amazingly enough - almost always in an appropriate context - like when I'm trying to give him his antibiotics) and says "Mama" (but only when he's hungry). He also weighs 20lbs and 1 oz. HOLY SCHNIKES.
This is what I saw when I went into the bathroom today. I love this little man (even if he has constant contrails of drool and snot). It's hard to believe he has only been around seven months!

Mobile. Agile. Hostile.

2011-03-30T19:07:00.003-04:00

I know.
It has been a while.
Remember that whole work-life balance thing?
Yeah, well. It's a little out of kilter right now.
We're working on it.

Nate has a nasty ear infection. Augmentin is the second antibiotic he has been on in the past four days. Even after one dose, we're starting to see some of the "real Nate" coming out - smiling, talking, eating catfood. You know, the basic stuff. Remember how Sam went for the high end electronics when he first started to crawl (and yes, the VCR - even broken - is high end)? Well - Nathanael prefers the kitchen trash can (it's stainless, so he can see his reflection), Sam's trains (this goes over like a fart in church) and the cat food (he prefers Friskies prime fillets - salmon flavor). The fun is just beginning. He can pull to stand, too.

Sam continues to crack us up. Today when we dropped Caroline off at school, as we were leaving he said good-bye to Caroline's teacher. "Bye Miss Murphry - I'll see you next year when I go poopy on the potty!" Yup - we'll see how long that one takes. He'll do it when he's ready. I think I'm just ready for him to be ready before he's really ready. You know? =-)

Caroline and I have been working on our "homework" for the "Wizard of Oz" recently and really enjoying it. She has really taken to the book, even correcting me when I was trying to tell her that Glinda was the witch of the North (in the book it's the South) and looking at me incredulously when I asked who the Quadlings were. We did some research and learned about tornadoes the other day. We'll do some more vocabulary work tomorrow, I think. I don't think I'll show her the movie yet, though. Honestly - the flying monkeys still freak me out. The girl is a voracious reader. We have to ask her to stop reading as she is going down the stairs. Seriously.

But with the poor sleep we've been getting lately (thanks to the aforementioned ear infection), it's early to bed tonight.

Sunday Morning

2011-03-20T10:57:00.001-04:00

We are having a lovely relaxing day.
As evidenced by this picture. Don't they looked relaxed and well rested?
I only wish WE were...

Happy St Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T09:42:00.004-04:00

For our sixth annual installation of St Patty's Day pictures...let just say it was an eventful photo shoot. Never a dull moment here, I say.
PS - Caroline has strep throat. Our healthfulness lasted about a week. Oh, well.

At Last

2011-03-13T19:46:00.009-04:00

Everyone is healthy and has been so for at least a week.
I think this is some sort of new record for us. Nate has been a bit snotty recently and is drinking only half breastmilk, so I don't want to jinx it - but frankly, it has been nice. I feel like we've finally recovered from the flu.

Lots has been going on here.
At the same time, nothing in particular has been going on.
You know the deal.

I'm trying to make an effort to keep up better with the blog. I've considered giving it up all together. It's something that I would like to do well - there's no point in doing it any other way. With the addition of a third urchin, I'm still in the process of finding my land legs, so to speak. The balance has been a bit better the past week (could some sunshine and good health be contributing? I think so). But it's still definitely a work in progress.
So please bear with me.

Yesterday was a tough day. I don't know if the moon was full or Mercury was in retrograde, but everyone was grumpy. Sam especially. From the minute (and I mean the minute) he got up at 5:30. Pretty soon, all of us were in less than stellar moods.
It culminated at church. The kids were okay during mass, but in the five minutes when we were getting Nate in the carseat and everyone's jackets on - all hell broke loose. So much so that the kids lost TV, radio, dessert and stories last night. Yup. It was that bad.
I'm thinking they must have felt pretty bad about it because when we got up this morning, they asked to go to church again. How could we say no?
Almost as if to make up for yesterday, their behavior was exemplary. So, after church we packed up and went to Old Sturbridge Village. It was a lovely day. We just ran about. We listened to "Annie" on the way home. Sam is hysterical when he sings "Tomorrow."
It was just a really nice day all around.

But first things first.
What are the first two things you notice about this picture?
1-Nathanael is asleep lying down. In a crib.
2-His head is turned the to the left! His torticollis is resolving! Hooray for small (Okay - not so small) miracles!

Nate is also officially mobile. Not crawling, exactly. Sort of a modified commando-style. But he's mobile. Oh - did I mention he's trying to pull to stand on everything?
I am afraid.
Very.
Very.
Afraid.

Here's something we saw on the way to OSV today.
Hysterical.
I was thinking of submitting it to one of my favorite websites.
I'm thinking I wouldn't want to be Al.

But here are (finally) some pictures from the Village.

And, last but not least, he's my Tiger Boy:

There is Reason to Hope.

2011-03-08T21:06:00.004-05:00

Look what Pops sent me!
Winter, it seems, is not going to last forever.
Before long, we can spend the nights listening to our buddy Joe.
I'm really looking forward to it.
PS - look at Timmy's fingers! Is that not the coolest?

March

2011-03-06T19:58:00.003-05:00

Already?
February just flew by.
Kind of a miserable month, actually. Bleh.

But some good things did happen:
-Nate is sleeping and eating better after his tongue tie surgery. And since he's sleeping laying down, his torticollis seems to be resolving.
-I got a clean bill from the breast surgeon. There is nothing like sitting in a room with ten other women, waiting for mammograms/ultrasounds and *knowing* that we would rather all be anywhere else. Nate and I are still toiling to clear up what they think is a horribly stubborn case of thrush. Not fun. At all. But, like I said, at least we go the all clear from the surgeon.
-We got news that Caroline was selected in the Abby Kelley Charter School lottery. HOORAY!!!
-Spring training started.
So I guess February really wasn't that bad, after all. =-) But I'm praying for a less eventful March.

After watching this video, there is no doubt in my mind why Jim and I are so tired every night.
Do you think you could keep up?

Couldn't Resist

2011-02-27T15:24:00.001-05:00

The kids are quiet, watching "Criss Cross CRASH" (NASCAR), so I'll put this up before I toil over the ironing...
Is it bad that I have to laugh at Sam when he gets angry?
How could I NOT smile at this face?

Catch Up

2011-02-21T14:22:00.004-05:00

As I've said before, I'm bad at playing catch up. Laundry, blogging, school-work, whatever - don't let me get behind because it's just so hard to get back to where I should be.
We've had a rough go of it the past few weeks. Hopefully now, things are on the mend and we're taking solid steps towards keeping things that way.
Nathanael is going this week to get his tongue-tie evaluated. I'm praying we can come up with some answers in a timely manner. Because after the tongue tie is addressed, it's time to deal with his torticollis.
We're recovered from last week's bout with influenza. So much for getting a flu shot. We were attacked from some rogue, mutated flu virus not included in the immunization. Bleh. Flu is no fun. At least Nate was spared, Thank God. He would have been hospitalized if he got as sick as the rest of us did. At least I'm smiling now thinking back on how utterly romantic it was for Jim and me to be in bed on Valentine's Day weekend, watching The Civil War while passing ice packs and advil back and forth to keep our fevers down.
Grampy and Grampa even risked infection to come down and help us out on Saturday. We would have been relegated to eating all our emergency stash of Chef Boy-R-Dee if they hadn't brought down such good things to eat!
Four weekends ago (WOW - I really am behind), we went to Coco Key. We got a great deal and spent the night up in Fitchburg (exotic and mysterious, I know). It was nice to have a little mini-vacation.
Right before our Flu infestation, Nina and Pops came out and took the kids to a traveling zoo. We pregamed the night before by listening to this. We must be geeks if we're rocking out to Simon and Garfunkel on a Friday night...
Sigh.
Today we went to church (there were two best parts to this. The first was when Sam stood up on the kneeler and yelled "Jesus is the King!" right when we got there. The second best part was when Sam was acting up, so I chose not to go up for Communion. Sam stood up and waved at Father Thirb, who waved back right in the middle of mass). I have to laugh. What else can I do? =-)
I just went in to check on Caroline. She had been reading a book on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Seriously.
I couldn't make this stuff up.
I know the post is discombobulated, but I'll have at it with the pictures and try to make a better effort to keep up. February has been a notoriously poor blogging month for us. I promise I'm not blogging for a different reason that I was last year. =-)

And YES, they ARE Jeter gloves!!!

More from Fluland.

2011-02-10T19:36:00.002-05:00

As I have said before, the family that stays together shares infectious diseases together.
Awesome.
Sam was our first casualty of the night.
I'm fading fast.
No fair Mama can't have Tamiflu.
Gonna be a long weekend.

Long Time No Post.

2011-02-10T19:26:00.001-05:00

Three of the five of us have confirmed influenza.
Four of us are on Tamiflu.
Nate and I are the only ones left standing (or sitting unsupported, whichever the case may be).
This is going to be fun.

Quickly...

2011-01-29T12:29:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to get some pictures up.
I know I haven't been really good about posting lately...there has been lots going on. I am very hopeful things will calm down soon.
As Melanie says, "Take a deep breath, re-center yourself. You're FINE."
I may be a wee bit crazy, though...

Calm

2011-01-25T20:25:00.003-05:00

Before another storm?
Seriously? This will be five feet of snow in the past five weeks.
I feel like I'm in Rochester.
And I thought I lived somewhere nice...

We had a really productive day today. The kids behaved wonderfully. Nate took two 90 plus minute naps, Caroline put herself down for an hourlong nap and Sam and I had a great time playing trains. We also got caught up on all the laundry, finished the school assignment on whales for next week (I think a trip to New Bedford may be in order), wrote more Thank You notes, took down the Christmas tree (when the neighbor asked me if we planned on putting red lights on it for Valentine's Day I knew it was time) and shoveled the driveway in preparation for tomorrow. Add all that to making meals and just being with three kids around and it makes for a very, very full (though not frenetic) day.
It was lovely, actually.
We took some time to play outside before the next storm. The snow is up to Caroline's waist in some areas and Sam is pretty much confined to the pre-shoveled areas. Nate was quite content just plopped in a snowbank and watching while we were shoveling. Thank goodness. Our neighbors are wonderful and will watch him so I can get some outdoor work done, but I definitely don't want to take advantage of their hospitality. Now if it would just stop snowing I wouldn't have to worry about that! My next house will NOT have a driveway with a retaining wall that I have to throw snow over, let me tell you!
At least there's only three more weeks until Spring Training!

A Day of Rest

2011-01-23T10:17:00.004-05:00

Even God got one, right?
So it's only fair that we get (at least) one...
Sabbath is such a wonderful concept. I wish we could go off the grid more. We're trying to figure out ways we can do this. My idea of moving to Montana, homeschooling the kids, residing in a green house and living off the land has already been vetoed. Anyone have any other ideas?

On a different note...have you seen the new pictures of my really cute kids? They like to play with trains, if you haven't noticed...

Really?

2011-01-19T19:44:00.003-05:00

25,000 hits?
Really? People have checked here that many times to read about us?
So what if 24,900 of the hits are from people related to us!
Here's to the next 25,000!

I know posting has been sparse. I feel like we're still recovering from Christmas, New Years, Birthdays, Blizzards, illnesses. I've taken the brunt of the illnesses in the past couple weeks with another visit from the Noro-virus and a super-fun case of mastitis. But everyone is more or less healthy now and I'm praying we stay that way.
I'm committing to do a better job with eating more nutritious foods and exercising more. Things like that have really fallen to the wayside recently in my (seemingly never-ending quest) to catch up. For the first time since Nate has been here, I've been feeling really, really overwhelmed with everything that needs (I know that word is so subjective - but trust me on this one) to be done. I'm trying to handle it with a lot of re-centering myself, lots of deep breaths and lots of prayer. Because I know when I get overwhelmed, my anxiety gets out of control and I become not-so-nice to be around (imagine that). I think the biggest thing I have to get used to is life being a work in progress.
I am looking forward to enjoying the projected snow day for Friday, though! =-)

Here is a picture of Jim and Caroline before going to the Father / Daughter Dance this weekend...

Snow Day!

2011-01-12T18:56:00.006-05:00

Our first snow day in a looong time.

I figured I would put these up while I had the chance. Jim is putting the kids in the tub and I'm hearing Sam say, "I don't go peepee in the potty. I stand up to pee in the tubby." Ugh. It's going to be awhile before this kid is potty trained. Not because he can't - but because he chooses not to. Just another instance of Sammy-being-Sammy.

We think we got about two feet of snow. The worst storm we've had in a while, even with the blizzard we had to race from Rochester at Christmas.
I was up at three this morning thinking of everything I could get done with everyone home for the extra day. I had big plans. However, I neglected to think out the fact that the plan had everybody at home. Three children age five and under can limit forward progress with projects at times. =-)
But we did get ourselves and the neighbors shoveled out. We worked on "Thank you" notes. We hoed out Caroline's room. We caught up on laundry. Caroline and I sat and she read a chapter of "Muggie Maggie" to me. I found some lesson plans to go with the book and I think we may start tackling those tomorrow. If you add meals, playing out in the snow, playing with Thomas and just general being - I think it was a pretty full day. =-)

The boys hanging out in the green room...

Here's Caroline with her "snowblower"
Jim had icicles hanging from his eyebrows when he got done shoveling!
We had to put them to work somehow!

And other than the drool that perpetually hangs from his chin, he's pretty cute, huh?

Pre-Gamin'

2011-01-09T21:28:00.004-05:00

I finished this tonight for Caroline's birthday tomorrow.
It's supposed to be a ladybug.
I realize it looks like a deranged pink turtle with black starbursts on it.
and the back view...

Seriously, I think that cake decorating should be up there with the Lamaze, general infant care and breastfeeding classes that the hospital offers to expectant mothers.
This is hard work!
I hope she likes it.

And in other news...
Jim got a picture of the kids having a tea party this afternoon. It was nice to see all three of them having a good time with eachother.

Here we are making Caroline's cake:

And here are the kids trying to stuff as much batter into their gullets as they possibly can before I can pour it into the cupcake pans...

Nate had his first rice cereal today. He was less than thrilled. Frustrated is the best word, I think. He kept trying to grab the spoon from Jim and shove it in his mouth.

But he did sleep well afterwards...

Quotes...

2011-01-08T18:03:00.005-05:00

Not of the Day, but they're recent...

Sam is developing a very dry sense of humor. Somewhere between the Three Stooges and Monty Python, I think. And he delivers all his lines with a straight face, which makes it even funnier.
For instance - Sometimes when we're eating dinner, I'll nurse Nate - just so he doesn't get fussy. Jim was asking the kids, "Caroline, how is your sandwich?" and "Sam, how is your banana?" Before we even got an answer, we hear this piped in from across the table, "Nate, how's your milk?"
Too funny, I say.

Caroline continues to drop lines that make me either want to laugh out loud or run and hide. Caroline and I were at the home of someone we were interviewing about their homeschooling experiences when she told me she had to go to the bathroom. No problem, right? I just gently reminded her to go ask Miss Amy where her bathroom is and to use her manners in the bathroom. The next thing I hear is, "Please, Miss Amy, where is your bathroom? I'll be right back. I just need to take a little dump."
At least she was polite.

PS

2011-01-08T09:17:00.004-05:00

Guess who is sitting up now?
He's even getting cocky and lifting up his arms.
We're so in for it...

Recovery

2011-01-08T06:44:00.006-05:00

Ugh.
It's six thirty in the morning and Sam is hopping (read STOMPING with both feet) throughout the downstairs. When asked to tone it down a bit, we get the reply, "But I'm just a kangaroo."
How can I argue with that?

Remember when I said I had gotten through the recent illnesses relatively unscathed?
WRONG.
I had a fight with a Noro-virus yesterday.
I lost.
So now, I'm feeling a little more human - but certainly not 100%. I have to walk the fine line of what foods to eat knowing that my body still is not entirely thrilled with me yet. At least I'm hungry - that's a good sign.
We canceled Caroline's birthday get together with two of her friends today - just in case. No sense in making anyone else sick, right? She took the news okay. The fact that there wasn't crying makes me suspicious as to how she might be feeling, though.

One of the nurses at the pediatrician's said the other day, "Your house must be crazy." And it got me thinking. She has got to see families of kids all day...and we're the ones she calls crazy? Yikes. Yes - I'm sure it would be crazy to someone that doesn't live here. But I just don't notice it anymore. Insanity is our baseline.
Maybe "Controlled Chaos" sounds better.
Insanity is probably a more apt description, though.
Don't you think?!?!

2011

2011-01-02T19:41:00.014-05:00

Wow.
We've been blogging since 2005.
And now it's 2011? When did that happen?
So 5 years and 25,000 hits later...

We did do some traveling over the holidays, but other than trips to Rochester and the Lake, we really tried to keep things to a minimum.
Unfortunately, the family that stays together also transmits infectious disease to each other - so over the past few weeks we've had two cases of the stomach flu, two cases of strep throat, two ear infections and one lower respiratory infection between the five of us. I seem to have escaped with the least damage (thus far). At the pediatrician's office on Thursday, Nate's ears were clear - but he still can't spend any extended period of time supine - so I'm not sold that we're totally okay there yet. Sam and Caroline have bounced back from their strep. Jim is recovering slowly.
I can hardly wait until Caroline goes back to school and shares germies with all the other utensil sharing, nose picking, doorknob-licking preschoolers and brings them all back this way.
Good times.
I'm beginning to feel like we carry the plague (some awful variation of a noro-virus) and take it everywhere we go. First Rochester, then the Lake. So if you see us and then try to run and hide, I totally understand.

It will be nice to try to get back into some sort of routine. But when I think about all there is to do in January, I get overwhelmed.
We're applying for charter schools and school choice with an adjacent school district and the paperwork for all of that is due at the end of the month. We're also contemplating homeschooling the kids for a few years, so we're also trying to get our ducks in a row there. Put that with the aftermath from the holidays, work (that we get paid for), work (around the house that we don't get paid for), Caroline's birthday, dance class and the craziness of everyday being - just thinking about it all makes me anxious.

Yikes.

But it's all good.
And how do I know that?
Well, I look at these pictures and how can it not be?

Here is Caroline reading "Madeline" to Sam:

Here is Nathanael (yet again) freaking out at the camera.
Nope. Still don't have a decent picture of him...

Here are the kids in their new towels for the Lake this summer...

And here they are doing what they do best...making us laugh...

We went to the Discovery Museum in Acton (thank you Pat & Erica)!
Even Nate got in at the action on the train table (and no, Sam did not move farther than 20 feet from the train table the whole time we were there. But thanks for asking)...

We were even able to get a picture of all three kids together. They look like they're related, don't they?

And here is everyone making cookies right before Auntie Chrissy came down with the stomach bug. So much for my theory that 8 minutes at 325 will kill just about anything...

And that will be it for tonight -we have lots more pictures to put up- my contacts are sticking to my eyeballs and I can barely see a thing. Makes typing just a tad difficult.

We wish you a New Year of much happiness and many blessings!

Wednesday Night

2010-12-29T19:58:00.005-05:00

It's Wednesday night.
Date night.
So we're waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the kids to go down so we can continue watching The War. Maybe even with a glass of wine.
Yup - we are PBS party animals.
But, even though the kids have been in bed for forty five minutes, they're not asleep yet. Caroline is lamenting, "I'm going to have this chunky cough forever. Dada, I have sniffles and a bad cough. You forgot to take my temperature."
Sam is on the toilet. With his sister's Cinderella cell phone that plays Ode to Joy as a ringtone. Saying, in a sing-songy sort of voice, "I'm all done pooping. I got lots of poop in there now."
Seriously.
I can't make this stuff up.
See?
And this is what Nate looked like in the bathtub tonight.
I'm still not quite sure how he got in this position.
Why can't the kids just look like this now?

I'm bad at playing catch-up, but will try later in the week to post some things from Christmas and this past week. If I ever get to bed tonight. At this rate, it's not looking good.

Merrry Christmas!

2010-12-27T16:30:00.003-05:00

As I sort through the past week of pictures, I can't help but think of what a wonderful time we have had.
We're all just relaxing after the blizzard yesterday and trying to gear up for the days ahead.
PS - Can you believe everyone is smiling here? Well, except for Sam, who was able to sleep through the party...

Christmas Pageant

2010-12-17T20:56:00.006-05:00

I just love the Christmas Pageant at OLA.
Even if the material is recycled every year, pageant is still a great time. The kid's (and teacher's) hard work really shows.
We learned our lesson last year and got there super early for decent seats...
Here is CJ getting ready for the big event (and yes, I am incapable of getting her to actually smile and pose normally for a picture):
And here is Sam keeping himself entertained during the event. We don't travel without trains:

During the finale of the pageant, I noticed Caroline was holding hands with the little girl next to her. Too cute, I say (sorry for the poor picture quality).
Here is the Pre-school class and their song, "Happy Birthday, Jesus."

More Birthday

2010-12-17T20:35:00.003-05:00

Sam and Nate both know how to party.
In honor of Sam's birthday, Sammy came down with a case of strep throat and Nate's pesky ear infection re-surfaced.
After managing sick boys all day, I was in no condition to make a cake...
RIA TO THE RESCUE!!!!
And, despite having a big case of the yuckies, Sam had a wonderful time blowing out his candles.

A Day Late...Again

2010-12-17T20:11:00.006-05:00

Ever since he mooned us at his 20 week ultrasound we've known we have a one-of-a-kind little man.
From this:

To this:

To this:
To now:

Here's to many, many more years of Sammy-being-Sammy.
We love you very, very much.

So.

2010-12-13T20:18:00.007-05:00

It's the middle of December and here we are.
I so totally don't have my act together.
The house? A mess.
Christmas cards? Going out a few at a time.
Presents? Don't even go there.
And let's not mention that Caroline is asking for a baby elephant again this year.
But it will all get done. And if it doesn't? I suppose it just doesn't. And I'm okay with that (for now - don't remind me of what I just said next week. I will probably try to stab you. Don't say I didn't warn you).

But we did get some of our presents done this weekend. So act like you're surprised if you get a jar, okay? Methinks we will be picking rice crispies out of the rug for months...
It was fun. Perfect for a rainy, windy December Sunday.

Here we are at work.
And is that a glass of water sitting next to the mason jars?
Sure. Water in the form of ice cubes with a little gin & tonic for taste. It made the mess a wee bit easier for Mama to deal with.
Caroline's job was chopping pecans.
Sam was supposed to be helping me measure the rice crispies. And he was, in his own Sammy way. Good thing we bought a huge bag of cereal. There was, in our estimation, almost a pound on the floor, spilled in the box and (oh, yeah), in his belly.

But he was helping, and that's what matters, right? And who wouldn't want help like this?
Can you see now how the gin & tonic kinda helped things go a bit more smoothly?

Now that Sam is talking more and more, he is starting to rival his sister in phrases where you just have to sit here and either:
a-want to die because you're so mortified he said JUST the exact thing he has heard you say at EXACTLY the wrong place and time
b-want to laugh because you're so mortified he said JUST the exact thing he has heard you say at EXACTLY the wrong place and time

But we'll start with Caroline with this one. We decided to not purchase her school pictures this year. They're a bit pricey and they weren't great pictures. So I sent them back with her. I was standing with Caroline, a line of parents behind me, dropping her off in the morning when I heard her say to her teacher, "Here are my pictures. My Mommy says that we have better pictures of me that we don't have to pay for."
I couldn't get out of there fast enough. And I heard more than one chuckle behind me.

After meeting with Caroline's teacher and principal, we're doing a little more at home to try to challenge her (because when this girl gets bored, she gets in trouble - FAST). So she and I are reading Ramona the Brave. We're enjoying it and sometimes Sam likes to listen to us read, too. He was sitting with us during the part when the big boys were teasing Beezus by saying, "Jesus, Beezus," over and over.
Well, guess who remembered that part in the middle of Sunday mass and decided to repeat it (again and again and again) at one of his louder decibel settings?
No WONDER the lady that sits behind us give the kids origami made out of the bulletin! She's just trying to shut them up so she can hear mass!
Good times, I tell you.
Good times.

Thursday Night

2010-12-09T18:27:00.011-05:00

I know that blogging has been sorely lacking recently.
The whole *working*and*being*a*wife*and*mother*thing*while*trying*to*stay*sane thing kind of gets in the way sometimes.
Lots of thoughts have been meandering their way through my brain recently.
But nothing coherent enough to hold an actual conversation about. I'm sure I'll expound more about most of them lately, anyways.
This is when living with people who are toddlers can take a toll on the brain.

I'm chuckling because of the running commentary coming from the bathtub right now. Jim has Sam in the tub. Jim is singing, "My Sammy lies over the ocean. My Sammy lies over the sea. My Sammy lies over the ocean. Bring back my Sammy to me." Sam is interjecting throughout it all, "I don't want to be over the ocean. I don't like the sea. DON'T make me lie in the ocean. I DON'T want to bring back to me." Gotta love that I'm so tired I can't do anything but contradict you time of night. During this all, Caroline is wrapping up Sam's p-jaffe's neck with an ACE bandage ("He hurt it, you know,") and Nate is doing his best to weasel out of the bouncy chair. Just your typical night in paradise, I tell you. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Christmas tree is up. This picture just about sums up the process of putting it up. It looks like she's about to gouge his eyes out, doesn't it? But if I have learned anything from motherhood, it's that reading a book out loud and making microwave popcorn can do much to diffuse a situation - so between those two strategies we were able to get everything up without anything breaking (people and ornaments).
Caroline is still very partial to her reindeer ornament:
Here are Sammy and CJ playing "hot air balloon"...
Nate is able to maintain circle sitting using his arms for about 30 seconds (the picture was taken last week - he now is able to extend his elbows to sit upright). It's hysterical to watch. He gets so excited he tips himself over. I can only imagine the additional chaos that will be bestown upon us when this kid becomes mobile.

And no. We still don't have a good picture Nate smiling. The light on the camera flash freaks him out, so this is the best we can do.

But, if shell shocked was the look we were going for, we would have a definite winner here:
We'll get a good picture, I'm sure.
Eventually.

Ooooooh. Carl Crawford is a member of the Sox? AND Adrian Gonzalez?
Did I mention there's only 12 more weeks until Spring Training?

Friday Night

2010-12-03T23:17:00.004-05:00

I was struggling as to whether or not to put this up.
I still may take it down.
I'm not sure yet.

Like I’ve mentioned before, I love my job. I really can’t imagine doing anything else (though, I have decided that I want to be a backup singer for Neil Diamond when I grow up – but that’s a different story for a different day).

This being said, going back to work after this maternity leave has been challenging. On top of having another urchin around the house, I’m in a new building, owned by a company I’m not familiar with, with new staff, new rules and new clients. The most difficult aspect of this has been transitioning to a caseload with advanced dementia.

Before I was used to working with people with no impairments to moderate dementia. Nothing crazy, but occasionally just enough to know that things weren’t quite right. Now I am working with a population that has severe to end-stage dementia.

BIG DIFFERENCE.

There is no new learning. I have about 30-60 seconds of retention to work with. The rest of what we do needs to stem from previously learned, rote activities.

No easy task, I assure you.

I see people raw. With dementia you can’t cover things up. There aren’t niceties. There is no seven second delay. People say what they think and feel. It’s all out there.

Some days this can be exhausting. It makes me want to bang my head on the wall and sit in the corner sucking my binkie.

But some days it can be beautiful. So beautiful I can do nothing but cry.

I was standing the other day with a very lovely woman who has severe dementia. She knows her name. But other than that, she struggles to recall basic things. She needs assistance to perform most tasks.

We were looking at a long line of family photos. I knew she couldn’t remember who was in the pictures, so I commented on how the people were dressed or their smiles or the backdrops. Her speech is limited and our conversation consisted mostly of short, one to two word phrases.

Then, clear as day, when looking at a picture of her mother, she said to me, “I see spirits. They’re not here, but I know they’re okay. They know I’m okay. They love me. They help you take care of me.”

WOW.

As I stood there, arm in arm with this beautiful lady, all I could think of was her mother. I prayed that her mother knew she was okay. That she knew there were people here taking care of her baby girl until she could be with her again. And I prayed that if my children were ever in a similar situation that there would be someone to take care of them. Someone to let me know they were loved. Someone to hug them for me, until I could hug them again.

At the end of the day I went home and cried. And I hugged my babies.

And I thanked God.

For everything.

Sunday Night

2010-11-28T21:08:00.003-05:00

Lunches are made. Clothes are out. Bags are ready to go. Kids (and Jim) are in bed. Caroline is still awake, but three out of four ain't bad, as far as I'm concerned.
I was trying to upload some pictures to Snapfish to make Christmas cards. We had an excuse last year to not send them out (though nobody besides us knew it at the time), so I feel that somehow I really need to get my act together this year. We have some wonderful family pictures and some great pics of Sam and Caroline, but none of Nate smiling. This is hard to believe considering how much this kid smiles. So I've been combing all of our pictures trying to find some that coordinate angle, color, facial expressions while all at the same time matching the design of the card. TOO MUCH STUFF TO THINK ABOUT! And suddenly, instead of being fun, making a card became a chore. Just one more thing to do.
I'll have to re approach it when I'm in a better frame of mind. I want stuff like this that go with Christmas to be fun.
Too bad I'll think about it all day tomorrow.
Ugh - why can't I just let things be good enough? It doesn't have to be perfect. I'm certainly not.
And how.

Here's what has been happening here lately:
Sam continues to amaze us with "Sammy being Sammy". Has taken to nursing his stuffed animals when I'm nursing Nate. And while I almost dropped over the first time I figured out what he was doing, after I thought about it I decided there are much worse things that my son could be doing. Plus, it's cute. I'll just hope he outgrows it before he goes to school.
Nathanael continues to become more and more interactive. He is constantly gooing or gaa-ing or fake coughing to get someone's attention. His newest trick is that if he notices that my mind is somewhere else when I'm nursing him, he'll whack me with his arm until I talk to him. Good thing he's cute! Our Little Man is getting bigger every day. Fifteen pounds, eleven ounces and twenty five and a half inches long at last check. HOLY SCHIKES! He's a big kid. Somewhere around the ninetieth percentiles for height and weight. No wonder my arms get tired lugging him around!
Yes, Caroline is reading from the "Baby Be of Use" series. Gotta start them young!

Nate's 1st Christmas Tree

2010-11-27T19:49:00.006-05:00

Today, we decided to go and cut down our own tree for Christmas...typically, we have gotten christmas trees as a present in the recent past, but this year we decided to explore our own environs and see what was out there...Karen asked around Caroline's dance studio and was told of one in Princeton off Route 31. We let google do the walking (so to speak) and found the one-and-only tree farm in Princeton called Marsh's Tree Farm. Of course, in Caroline-talk, the place was called "Martians Tree Farm". Caroline asked to see the Martians of course :)

"Is this the one you want?"

Me & Things One and Two

CJ and Sam Surveying the landscape

Caroline and Sammy watching for bears or something...

Aahhhh, free candycanes!