Refreshed and Relaxed

Maine was a blast! We had so much fun and it was so relaxing. We almost didn't come home. The spa we stayed at was overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We kept the window cracked and night and listened to the waves crashing on the rocks below. The weather was perfect. The food was wonderful. And the people were super friendly. We ate. We hiked. We talked. We ate some more. We walked on the beach. We got massages and pedicures. We ate some more. We explored. We laughed. We facebooked. We called our kids. We drank. We wandered. We held hands in the rain. We took pictures. We had a fantastic time and are eternally grateful for the friends and family who took our kids in for the 5 days we were gone.

Oh the Irony

Our first weekend alone in the almost 8 years since our oldest daughter was born and who should come knocking on the door a week early? WTF did I do to deserve this? Come on karma, didn't I let the people with less stuff go in line in front of me at Target last week? Sure, you rewarded me with finding 20 bucks, but this? This is just unfair.

I once told my husband I wanted a voluntary hysterectomy. It's not like I need any of my parts anymore, our baby making days are over. He doesn't think our doctor will by that as a valid reason to perform an invasive surgery. So yeah, I lose.

Whatever, I guess we're off to enjoy the spa without the added benefit of being alone. Guess we'll have to actually venture outside the walls of our room to view the glorious seascape of southern Maine.

If you ever ask me this, I'll probably deny it

but I miss my kids.

There are no cartoons blaring in the background. No bickering over toys. No demands for food even though we just ate. No fighting. No messes. My house is clean, I;ve been working room by room since school started and amazingly, it's not destroyed 5 seconds later. The floor is not longer sticky. The toilets are flushed.

The silence is deafening. More so then any of the above could be.

My job here is done. I know I cannot do this anymore every day. I need to get out.

Today....

Today I woke up early and refreshed.

Today I had to drag my four year old out of bed.

Today she missed breakfast because she was dawdling.

Today she threw her backpack on the ground, stomped her feet and crossed her arms, like only a teenager should do.

Today she declared "I don't want to go to school today. School is bor-ring. All we do is play".

Today I had to carry her bag to the car.

Today I had to take her by the hand up to the play yard.

Today she clung to my leg.

Today I had to hand her to her teacher.

Today she cried. "Mommy, mommy, I want mommy".

Today my heart broke.

And so starts day 4 of kindergarten.

Kindergarten

Here's a letter I sent as a cover to some friends.

"Many of us moms sent our kids back to school this week. For some of us, the summer went by way to quick, and we weren't ready to make that transition back to school - especially with all the rain we had. For some, school got out late last June and started this week - not nearly as long as we'd like. For others of us, we couldn't wait to see our kids back to school. Either school got out early last June or our kids were getting bored. For many of us, we'll be giving up that freedom of the summer schedule - no schedule no worries. We'll be trading in our bathing suits and sunblock for soccer, dance and scouts. For football and cheerleading. Schedules will be dictated by the ringing of the school bell. Mornings which for the last 8 weeks were a leisurely wake up, with a cup of coffee and cartoons, will be a blur of breakfast and getting dressed and packing bags, to make sure we hit that bus or make it to school on time. Some of us moms have just kissed our youngest child on the forehead as they head off for kindergarten. Bittersweet, our days are now filled with silence and not in the best way. For us, it's time to turn a new page in our roles as stay at home mothers."

Wednesday, I sent Moe off to kindergarten. last week, she was going 1/2 days, this week she'll be going for full days. I have been a stay at home mom for the past 7 1/2 years, minus the first 7 months for Einey's life. For me, this is my first time without kids. Way back in time, after I started staying home, I thought I would be going back to school when my kids were in school. The goal was for me to get a degree in nursing. And it's still something I'd like to do. However, Husband is in school right now. He'll be in school for the next two years. And there is no way we can afford to send five of us to school (although technically, we're not paying for Husband to go to school, however, he's not working overtime right now). So for now, I'm going o continue subbing in the local public school district and keep my eye on any jobs that come around.

Sending Moe off to school was easier then I thought. I was a wreck when I sent my oldest. I thought for sure that I would be a little weepy as I sent Moe through the door, in her little line of friends. Instead, it was Moe who clung to me at the last moment, not quite sure that she wanted to go it. With a few extra hugs, she released her grip on me and headed on her way. She's growing fast, it's hard to believe that in a few short weeks, she'll turn five.

I'm excited for her. For me. For us. There are so many things going on and so many paths we are walking on. But they will all come together soon. Until then, we keep on walking, where ever the paths lead us.

Edit 8/31: Day 4 was not a good start.

Back to school

The girls went back to school Wednesday.

But Friday, I was sick of making lunches and laying out clothes the night before. And waking up early. Yeah, it's gonna be a long year :P

Here's what we learned this week.

Moe: She's done with kindergarten. After the first day. It's bor-ring (said complete with rolled eyes and the exasperation of an 8 year old). They didn't learn anything, all they did was play.

Meenie: School is fun, we play with playdough alot and I talk to my friends.

Einey: I love third grade. I talk to my friends, we have snack outside (and can play too) and recess is fun. Oh and we watched a movie.

Me: Wonders what the heck I'm paying for.....

Of course, with back to school comes the not so good. Three days in and Einey is already all congested, drippy and running a low temperature. Accourding to the 16 million papers I've gotten in the last three days, she's got the swine flu and needs to stay home for a long, long time. That or she caught a small cold and/or her allergies are acting up. Judging how miserable her father has been with allergies the last two weeks, I'll go with the latter.

Wordless Wednesday - Back to School

The ABC's of Summer - 2009 edition

You can read our 2008 edition here.

A is for ants. OMG the freaking ants.

B is for bee stings, ouch!

C is for colored hair. The girls really rocked their extensions this summer. It was well worth it!

D is for digging. I dug and installed a pond in the yard. Even before the landscaping was finished, it attracted frogs. Fun!

E is for exhausted girls. Hiking and swimming really wear you out!


F is for friends. Friends for picking blueberries, hiking and playing games, having water gun fights with and eating ice cream. For sleeping over at and watching concerts with. For swimming and going on rides with.

G is for giggly girls. No sound is sweeter.

H is for hiking, we logged in over 25 miles this summer! The girls did great and can now regularly endure 3-4 mile hikes.

I is for ice cream! We love ice cream. The girls figured out that the local place will give them a scoop of any flavor they want to try first. So each ice cream cone follows a spoonful. The good thing, they've tried (and lied) a bunch of new flavors!

J is for jumping rope and hula hoops. Little girls playing on the deck, rain or shine. It's also for jumping off docks! Einey was so proud to pass the swim test and to be allowed in the deep end, where she could happily jump off the docks all summer long.

K is for kicking soccer balls. We spent one week watching Meenie at soccer camps, kicking away.

L is for letterboxing. We found over 65 letterboxes, planted 18 and attended one event this summer.

M is for mulching the garden. Barefoot. See "x" below. Note to self - wear shoes when gardening!

N is for painted nails. Pink, green, blue. Sometimes alone or all at once.

O is for opening gifts at their un-birthday party.

P is for parties. We ended the summer this weekend with our third annual back to school bash.

Q is for quiet afternoons swimming at the lake. We spent many, many days up at the lake. The kids had a blast playing with the lifeguards and Einey LOVED being one of the few people allowed to swim in the deep end and jump off the docks (you need to pass a swim test first).

R is for rain. We had way more then normal this summer in New England!

S is for studying, studying, studying. Husband went back to school at work and while he's actually on a 7-3, 40 hour work week, so theoretically, should have more time at home, he doesn't. He may physically be home more, but his head is buried so far into the textbooks, a bomb could go off around him and he not notice.

T is for turtle. We enjoyed our summer with the school turtle - even if he tried to bogart my lattes - he swam in our pond while we cleaned out his cage. He's welcome back anytime he wants to visit!

U is for new umbrella's on the deck. A way to sit and relax without the rays of the sun beating down on you.

V is for veggies - fresh from the farm. There is nothing better. It's going to be a long winter!

W is for water in the basement. So. not. cool.

X is for x-rays. Four of them on my right foot. Diagnosis - Phalanx Toe (Proximal) Fracture, right foot. I also got a tetanus shot thrown in for good measure! It should be interesting, soccer starts up again this week and I am coaching my little guys again!

Y is for big yellow sunflowers, waving in the breeze.


Z is for zzzz which we'll need tonight. Tomorrow is our first day back to school, we'll need to be refreshed!

The Lists

School starts in one week. Our summer has been great - nice and relaxing, but it's time to go back. The kids are getting antsy. And while we've enjoyed limited sunshine and warmth this summer, the heat is finally here - I actually hope it cools down before the kids start school.

All over Twitter and Facebook are posts about back to school shopping. It used to make me sad, thinking about all the clothes I wouldn't be buying my kids. But then I actually think about how much I save on not buying clothes for back to school, about not battling the kids in the morning about outfits to wear and I think I've actually made out better in this deal. When Einey started kindergarten - we took her out on a big shopping spree. We brought her all kinds of new clothes for school. That she never wore. With Meenie, we brought her a few outfits and then just replaced as needed. For Moe, I picked up a few things on Etsy. But again, my kids have Moe clothes then they need. I look at the piles needed to be folded, the full hampers and wonder how they could possibly have any more clean. We don't buy them many clothes - they get them as gifts, as hand-me-downs. They don't grow fast.

For school clothes, I needed to pick up more uniforms. This will be the first year with two in uniforms - next year, all three will be in them. For girls, they actually have a lot of options - to mix and match. Einey is going on year three of wearing most of the same uniform we got her in first grade. We've had to replace shoes each year, some shirts and get longer pants. For Meenie, I was given some hand-me-downs, so I only had to buy a few items.

• Plaid jumper
• Short sleeve Peter Pan collared, button up shirt
• Red tie
• Blue knee hi's
• Brown or back Dress shoes
• Long sleeve button up shirt
• Blue uniform shorts
• Blue pants
• White crew cut socks
• Sneakers
• Short sleeve polo
• Long Sleeve Polo
• Red Gym Shorts
• Red Gym Pants
• Red Sweater
• Red or Blue Cardigan

Now onto the individual classroom lists.

Third Grade:
1 backpack (still using the one we got for kindergarten)
6 wooden pencils, sharpened
3 Lg. erasers
1 handheld pencil sharpener (with collection well)
1 pair Fiskars metal scissors
12 inch ruler (standard and metric)
2 ruled marbled composition notebook
2 lg. glue sticks
8 oz. bottle Elmer's school glue
2 pocket folders
2 red pens
crayons
colored pencils
1 set watercolor paints w/ brush
2 white board markers
1 old sock to use on white board
multiplication flash cards
1 plastic storage box for supplies
1 box of gallon sized Ziploc bags
3 containers of antibacterial wipes
3 boxes of tissues

First Grade:
5 pencils, sharpened
1 lg. eraser
1 pair Fiskar metal scissors
12 inch ruler (standard and metric)
2 wide ruled marbled composition notebook
2 lg. glue sticks
1 bottle Elmer's school glue
1 back pack, no wheels (still using the one we got for pre-k)
1 handheld pencil sharpener (with collection well)
1 pocket folders
crayons
markers
colored pencils
1 set watercolor paints w/ brush
1 set fine point white board markers
1 standard blank cassette tape (Still haven't located one yet)
1 plastic storage box for supplies
1 containers of antibacterial wipes
1 boxes of tissues

and Kindergarten:
backpack (still using the one we got for pre-k)
1 plastic view two pocket folder
1 pair blunt fiskar scissors
1 pair paper edger scissors
art shirt
box of 16 crayons
box of tissues
1 set wide washable markers
1 set watercolor paints and brush
$15 for other supplies
1 pencil
1 sponge
1 elmer's glue
1 container of disinfecting wipes
4 glue sticks
1 12x12 top loading scrapbook
3 boxes of clear 300+ count glue dots
$15 of scrapbooking supplies

And then whatever else gets requested as the year rolls on. I think we're ready for school as far as clothes and supplies go.

Knock, Knock

Picture and adorable 4 almost 5 year old - you know, the type that repeatedly asks "why, why, WHY" so many times you'd like to break them in two...

Knock Knock
Who's there
Knock Knock
Who's there
Knock Knock
Who's there
Knock Knock
WHO'S THERE
Could you please stop yelling at me.

I survived

After vowing never again to take my girls shoe shopping alone, I in fact did just that, and survived! I had to run to Target this morning for a few things and then my plan was to head over to Olympia for cleats (never made it) and then Famous Footwear.

Instead, we found ourselves browsing the shoe aisle at Target and the girls not only found things they liked, but things that fit. So instead of paying $30-$40 per pair of shoes, I spent $15 -$20. Each girl got a pair of sneakers and dress shoes for school. Which I hope pass the requirements because while black or brown, they have purple and pink in them. And Einey picked out skate shoes for sneakers. I may have to go get her another pair of sneakers for gym, but we'll see what they say first.

More Moe-isms

During dinner conversation, Moe asked me the other day "Mom, are you going to be dead when I'm a teenager?" When I replied that I hoped not, she said "oh, no, your just going to be really, really old. I forgot". Please keep in mind that Moe is almost 5 and I am 29. So in 8 years, I'm pretty sure I won't be that old.

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We went to Mass the other night before heading over the the annual church bazaar. We arrived early and were waiting for the Mass to start. Moe turned and asks me "Where is that guy that is supposed to be up there?" Um, you mean the priest? "yeah" We're early, he'll come out in a few minutes. A few minutes later, the priest comes out. Moe turn to me and asks "Who is that guy? Where is Father L or Father J?" That's Father J., just not your Father J. "There are Two Father J's?" Yup, There is Father L, Father J and the other Father J, Father Jo and Father T.

Now this was not the first time we've been to Mass with a different priest, so I'm not sure why she thought there were only two of them. the only conclusion I can come to is she is used to Father L fro our old church and Father J because he visits school and always talks to her.

Trained bears to he rescue!

I remember when my kids were small, dreaming of the days they would be potty trained. When Moe was born, all three were in diapers. It didn't take long for that to change, but then I wished they were still in diapers. No one ever tells you that when you have a child who is potty trained, they become potty obsessed. They will demand to use EVERY. DAMN. POTTY. at EVERY. DAMN. PLACE you go. It doesn't matter if you go from Target to Lowes to Micheals to the grocery store and your 10 minutes out from home. They will have to go. Baaaaaad. I'm gonna go right now if you don't take me. So tasks that normally take 45 minutes with diaper clad wee ones now take twice as long.

And then there are the places that don't have flush toilets. You know what I'm talking about, the dreaded port-a-potties. Most people cringe at the thought of using one. Not toddlers. They love them. They're fascinated by them. And while most adults worry about the cleanliness, the germs and the smell, I have a different fear. A slight fear that one of my wee one will lock themselves in, because you know, they need their priiiiiivacyyyy. (As they get older I am less fearful of this). My biggest fear was that they'd fall in (and of course, the door would be locked). I know, you can go ahead and laugh at me now.

Last night, the kiddos school had their annual bazaar - you know, church fair in the school parking lot with carny rides and plenty of games. Husband was gracious enough to walk us to the car after dark to which he beat a hasty goodbye. Nature was calling and he hoped that he could sneak inside the school and use the bathroom. Alas, all that was available was the pitch dark port-a-potty - seriously, they need a light in there! As I drove us, I told him not to drink so much soda later. This prompted the following conversation.

Einey: Why can't daddy drink alot of soda?
Me: Because then he'll need to use the bathroom.
Meenie: And he doesn't want to use the port-a-potty?
Me: Nope, he doesn't like them.
Meenie: Just like me, I don't like them.
Me: I know sweetie, I know.
Meenie: I'm afraid that the port a potty people will come to clean them and start sucking it up while I'm in there.
Me: Is that what your afraid of? That can't happen bub, they need to open the door to suck it out, and if your in there the door will be locked. Plus I won't let them in.
Meenie: So, they have to wait.
Me: Yup.
Meenie: What if someone gets locked in?
Me: You know, I've always wondered the same thing. I guess you'd call the fire department or the police department and they'd come cut the door off.
Moe: No, that's no what happens. They use bears.
Me: Bears?
Moe: yes, bears. The bears scratch a hole in the door.
Me: So the port-a-potty people have trained bears that they bring to the potties when people are stuck so the bears can scratch a hole in them to get out?
Moe: Yup!
Me: Um...
Meenie: Phew, cause the fire department always causes problems.
Einey: Meee-nieeeeeee, the fire department doesn't make problems, they help.
Meenie: You don't like port-a-potties mom either, right?
Me: Um, if I have to go, I have to go, I don't care.
Moe: Then they tape the doors on and it's fixed.

Me recounting the story to Husband later on.
Husband: You have to blog that you know.
Me: Uh, yeah.

So have no fear, if you suddenly find yourself trapped in a port-a-potty, trained bears will come to your rescue!

The squealing tires. The screech of breaks. The silence. No crash.

Memories of the same sound from two weeks ago flashed before my eyes. Same scenario, different end. The clock on the bedside read 4:55 am.Then, the squealing tires were accompanied by the unmistakable sound of metal on metal. As Husband dashed to the window, I flew down the stairs, dialing 9-1-1 before I even saw what happened.

Me: There's been an accident, it woke us up.
9-1-1 operator: Where are you.
Me: xx some street, our town (running outside)
9-1-1 operator: How many cars?
Me: I don't know, I don't see anything.
Me: It looks like one - it's near my neighbors house.
9-1-1 operator: Hold on I'll transfer you to the State Police.

Pause - shit, I need to go put pants on.

State Police: Hello?
Me: There's been an accident in front of my neighbors house.
S.P: How many cars.
Me: Looks like one.
S.P: Is anybody hurt?
Me: I don't know, I'm putting pants on.
S.P: Is anybody hurt?
Me: I don't think so.
S.P: how many people?
Me: One and he's walking away.
S.P: He's walking away?
Me: Yes.
S.P: What away?
Me: Towards xyz.
S.P: What's he wearing.
Me: A black shirt and tan short.
S.P: Is he intoxicated?
Me: I don't know.
S.P: Is he intoxicated?
Me: Yeah, I think so.

The guy lost control coming around the corner, came across my neighbors lawn, narrowly missing their SUV. It took out their metal garbage can and pushed it into the driveway next door. The car hit a stone wall and bounced off. The driver, got out and said to neighbors "you think the cops will notice?" Neighbors replied, "um yeah, they on their way already". The guy then just walked off saying "I don't care, they'll find me". Two neighbors followed them, one returned a few minutes later with a 1/2 bottle of booze in his hand the guy tried to ditch. The other followed him and signaled to police where he went. The vehicle, was unscathed except for a broken tail light.


Last night...

The bedside clock read 3:21 am. We were out of bed before the squealing stopped, Husband at the window, me running for the window in the girls room. I saw nothing. He was the car swerving down the road, out of control. It stopped in front of our home. It stayed on the road. Stopping short of our giant oak tree.

Meenie: Mom what are you doing in here.
Me: Just looking out your window, go back to sleep honey.
Meenie: DO the neighbors ever turn off their lights? It bothers me (I wonder if this is the cause of her insomnia and crankiness during the day).
Moe: I heard the car. Did it crash again?
Me: I don't think so. Go back to sleep.

After that, I crawled back into bed. But my stomach was clenched and my heart was pounding. Sleep eluded me as I imagined the car hitting the oak tree. The oak tree that stands 10 feet from my daughters bedroom. 12 feet from her window where her bed lies. So close.

I'm thinking our art project this week should involved large pieces of plywood and reflective paint. We can stencil the words "Slow Down Assholes" and nail them to our tree. Maybe we'll pick up some cement and install some speed bumps as well.

Unbirthdays and kids quotes

Last week, we celebrated the girls (and a friend's) un-birthdays with some friends who will not be around for their birthdays this year. We had a cookout and there were many, many games and prizes for the kids.

A few days later, I was talking to Moe about her upcoming birthday and trying to get some ideas for a theme from her.

Moe: You mean my six birthday?
Me: No, your fifth birthday. Your going to be five this year.
Moe: I'm already five.
Me: no, your only four. Your birthday is in September, remember?
Moe: But I had my birthday the other day with Auntie.
Me: You celebrated your un-birthday, it wasn't your actual birthday. You didn't turn five.
Moe: But I got pre-sents!
Me: Still not your birthday, your only four.
Moe: No I'm not.
Me: yes you are and I'm not arguing with you.

Then last night.

Moe: I am whee. I'm going to be four soon.
Me: No, you are four, your going to be five.
Moe: But I had an un-birthday, remember? I was four, not I'm whee.
Me: Ughh, not again.

**********************************************

Quote of the week - Einey.

"I know I can play PBSkids.org, it doesn't have any bad words, you know, not like the words dad says".

Bwahahahaha

**********************************************

Quote of the week - Meenie.

"I don't know what the he's saying, I don't speak turtle"

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Quote of the week - Moe.

"Momma, you should try that"

By that, it was a super trim your belly in 20 days and lose a ton of weight informerial. Gee thanks kid... It may also have been Meenie that uttered those words, am trying to erase it :)

**********************************************

And my moment of the day came last week when the girls were at VBS. I had stopped and gotten myself a nice large Latte and was happily sipping it while playing FaceBook getting work done. I heard behind me, the unmistakable sound of the turtle bumping the glass. This happens when he gets excited. So I found myself giving the turtle the stink eye because he wanted my coffee.

If...

If girls are made from sugar and spice and everything nice...

And boys are made of snakes and scales and puppy dog tails....

They why are my girls coming home with toads and frogs and other slimy stuff?

What's the buzz?

The afternoon was perfect, warm with a slight breeze. They asked if we could have lunch outside. I said sure, why not and proceeded to put up the new sun umbrella at the table. Without it, we would sure bake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. The nerve of him, flying right by me and up into the loose piece of siding. Every summer I have to deal with them. Slowly moving the siding to check for damage, it happened.


The fucker stung me. Right on the back of my hand. Now, 24 hours later, it's still slightly swollen and it still hurts when I try to bend my fingers. When I'm just sitting there, it throbs a little and itches like all hell.

I've sprayed it twice and there is still one persistent little fucker in there, building away, oblivious to the poison that surrounds it. Tonight, I spray again.


I will be vindicated!

At Dusk

We enter through the visitor's foyer. We no longer need to stop at the front desk, we head straight back and ride the carpeted elevator to the main floor. The girls take turns pressing the M button. Meenie no longer hesitates before steeping into the elevator, no longer holds my hand. We step off at our floor and walk through the doors that say Rehab. In front of us is a nursing station, to the right a hallway of patient rooms, to the left a sitting area. It's all carpeted, to keep the patients from falling, prolonging their stay. As we turn, we see her sitting there. Always on the right side of the sitting area, all alone in her wheeled chair, baby doll wrapped in her arms. There she sits not really watching the fish, not the TV. Just sitting. On the left, they sit, side by side, as close as their wheeled chairs allow. His hand always cupping hers. Watching the news together.

We turn left and head down the hall towards the next nursing station. We see people as we pass by, nurses, CNA's, PT's and patients and residents. Some in wheel chairs, propelled by their arms, their legs, however they can get along. Other require help. Some are up in walkers. They stop and say hi. Not really to me, but to the three little one's with me. At first, they stepped closer to me, clutching their treats (a snack, a picture, a plucked flower). Now they smile and say hi. They offer a hand. No longer are they afraid. They've become accustomed to being stopped and asked questions. Even the nurses slow down as we make our way down the hall.

We now turn left, third door on the right.

They walk in, handing over their gifts. "Hi Mema*, how are you today?". And then we visit. They sit on the bed, talking about their day. They walk down the hall, carefully matching her slow and steady steps, holding onto the walker as if to help. We visit the birds and if it's nice, step out onto the patio. They play with the bunny. Watch the birds. Run and sing and dance. And of course, they visit.

We walk her back to her room, and then it's time to say good-bye. "we'll come back tomorrow they tell her. We'll bring you something nice". And with that, we walk back down the hall, retracing our steps back.

"I love this place" they tell me, as the stop to admire the water fountain on the way back to the car.

*My mother-in-law had her knee replaced last week. She's doing great and we expect her to come home this week.

Summer vacation by the numbers (so far)

We've been busy lately, so here's a quick by the numbers post.

4- # of bottle of antibiotics (3x a day for 3 weeks) to treat Lyme Disease
15 - # of hours spent at soccer camp for 1 child
15 - # of hours Einey complained she was bored (while Meenie was at soccer camp)
1 - skinned knee from falling off a scooter
2 - # of blueberries on our bush this year
1 - gallon of raspberries picked from the yard
5- # of times a day the girls have been changing clothes - 1 in the am, 1 into a bathing suit, 1 in pm clothes, 1 into bed clothes and then occasionally once for other reason still unknown to me
40 - # of hours Husband works a week (no this is actually a good thing - way down from normal)
3 - # of birthday parties attended
18 - # of miles hiked
8 - # of letterboxes planted
320 - # of slug counted on one outing
51 - # of letterboxes found
17 - # of stamps carved waiting to be planted
7 - # of days gone by where a child hasn't picked up a DS OR Wii remote
4 - # of times a week we go swimming
6 - Time I've been getting up in the morning. With Husband going into work later, I've been unable to fall back asleep
2 - # of kids also usually up at 6
7 - times my basement has flooded due to rain (and I wouldn't be surprised if it does again today)
623,520 - # of bug bites we are all sporting, damn mosquitoes
10 - # of times we've watched the Neverending Story
2 - # of times we've watched the Secret Garden
2- # of times we went to a movie this summer
5 - minutes spent out of the water in a time out for wrestling (administered by the lifeguards)
120 - # of times Meenie can hula hoop

That about sums up our summer so far. Nice and relaxing for the most part.

Keepsake Moments

A week ago, Super Mega Dad awarded me the Keepsake Blog Award. I haven't forgotten, I've just been busy. The sun has finally decided to shine on the East, for a few days at least, now if we can just hit temps above 80 degrees, we'll be all set. Anyway, the day he posted it, we went out for a hike and, you guessed it, played with bugs. Not just any type of bug, but slugs in particular. The girls loved terrorizing them getting real close to them until they pulled their eye stalks in. We didn't bring any home in jars. We actually don't bring any bugs in, they can be jarred, played with and studied, they just have to stay outside. That's not so say we don't get them in the house from the door that's always left wide open.... And then we've been going to the lake to swim. Which is nice because no one ever goes to the lake. It is so peaceful, usually just us and a few friends. And as long as we leave the snake alone, we're all set :)

So, anyway, the rules of this award state, that I need to tell a "keepsake moment" in my life, as well as to pass on the love to some of my fellow bloggers who will probably never see this post because most of them are heading to BlogHer and will just delete the gazillion posts in their blog readers when they return. I'm supposed to come up with ten of them, so here goes.

My keepsake moment goes back to when Moe was born. She was, a complete surprise baby. I found out I was pregnant when Einey turned two and Meenie was 6 months old. I was in shock. And denial. And shock. Even as my belly grew bigger, I still couldn't fathom that I was going to have another baby. To top it off, Moe was breech my whole pregnancy. There was a huge probability that I would not only be bringing a baby home to two very young toddlers, but also be recovering from a c-section. Thankfully the stars aligned and I had a great doctor and no c-section. I remember telling my Husband the day before I went into labor that I couldn't do this. That I wasn't ready. That we couldn't have another baby. But when I met my beautiful daughter three days later (yes, I was in labor for THAT long), it made me forget all my apprehensions. Moe just fit into our family and before long, I couldn't remember what it was like not to have three little one's (that's not to say it was all rainbows and cotton candy, because there were numerous rough patches there).

So that's my keepsake moment, when I realized that everything would be fine. We have three kids and we will survive. And I wouldn't change it for anything!

So now onto the tagging, although really, it's hard to pick just ten.

Clink is just an awesome person - as a photographer, writer, mother and friend. She doesn't post often, but really, with a toddler and new puppy who could blame her. You should check her out, her posts always make me laugh.

Mrs. Chicky is also another great woman. I don't know how she finds time to blog (in multiple places too! And I swear she had a dog blog somewhere but I must have been mistaken) and have so much fun with her beautiful daughters, but she does. I'm sure your already reading her work, because seriously, who isn't?

Mrs. Chicken is also another great writer and mother. She captures life in ways that you can just see and feel. She's also not afraid to say just how tough this motherhood gig is. Hopefully she's getting some much needed R&R this week with the sun and the salt air surrounding her family.

Fairly Odd Mother is an inspiration to me. She's got three kids close in age to my girls. And while many of us New Englanders were going bat-shit crazy with the rain and cool temps, she didn't complain as much. Many of us were counting down the days until school starts again, but not FOM, her kids are home year round. She has to be a saint..... She makes this all just seem so easy!

Letters to Catherine is just an amazing blog. How could it not get a keepsake award? I hope they turn this into a book for sweet baby Catherine. I started reading last June (sorry I don't comment) and was captivated by how strong Katie and Donnie are. Catherine was so very sick, even before she was born. They didn't know how long they would have to spend with her once she was born. Soon Catherine will be one year old! It's been a rough road, but Catherine is so very strong.

Stimey is my next honoree. She writes about Life. Autism. and Gerbils. Her three boys remind me so much of my girls and many of her outings I can picture happening to us. From chasing birds to falling off statues, we've been there before. Funny story semi-relating to Stimey. I was out with friends last week and we were playing an ice breaker type game. One questions was "has a blog". A friend looked at me and says "you have a blog". She is an avid reader of Stimey's and found my blog when Stimey linked about letterboxing. Totally random and just well, unexpected.

Audrey makes up one of the three parts of Mom generations. She has four boys under the age of four, but still seems to have so much energy. Plus, her family rocks. She's writing daily fashion advice for moms right now, so go check her out.

Only three more to go....

Karen is another great read. She is mom to three boys and a birth doula. Seriously, what's cooler then that?

Kate is also another blog I read often. She's in the processes of moving, and even if she states otherwise, seems to have things under control. I remember how much of a pain in the ass it was to move when it was just the two of us, going from apartment to house, I can't ever imagine moving with kids (although hopefully we will in the next 2-5 years). Not only that, it was short notice for Kate.

And last, but not least is......

Suburban dwelling-Sierra. She writes about living in the suburbs with her kids balancing work and home.

Okay, so I just noticed that everyone I chose lives on he East Coast (with the exception of Mrs. Chicken, but she is staying on the EC while this was written, so that should count, right?)

Snippets

We've been absent lately. The sun has finally decided to shine here in New England. Not consistently, but there is sun, so we'll take what we get.

• I can't remember the last time (if ever) that we watched the Fourth of July fireworks in jeans and long sleeve shirts. And could have used a blanket to curl up with.

• I LOVE spending my afternoons at the lake. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! We have a beach pass for the local swimming hole and most of the times, there are just one or two other families. And five life guards. Sooooo relaxing! Yesterday there were 31 people, but most came as we were packing up to leave.

• Having fruit in the backyard rocks. Last night, the girls and I went out side and picked a bowl full of raspberries. Yum!

• Having farm fresh veggies rock! We joined a farm share (not CSA because we don't have to volunteer). We get an email once a week with the weeks offering and prices and then place our order and pick it up on Saturdays. My kids have been asking all week to snack on turnips and beets.

• Thunderstorms, while cool, suck. Don't get me wrong, I love thunderstorms. But lightning sucks. We were sitting in our living room the other night with the screen door to out back open. And all of a sudden, BAM. lightning hit about 10 feet from out back deck. It scared the crap out of everyone.

Where we think the lightning struck. The plants in theis area are all laying down and scorched.

• Hiking is great. We've done a ton of hiking lately. Our last trip was about 3 miles. It took us awhile, but we stopped to enjoy the sights (Israel Putnam's Wolf Den, and Indian Chair and creatures - snakes, frogs, toads, ect.). We stopped for lunch, we letter boxed. We enjoyed ourselves. But it was tough terrain. up and down, up and down. At one point, about 3/4 of a mile in (and in a valley) Einey took off running. And tripped over a rock. And fell. She banged her hip and her shoulder on a rock. She had a hard time standing. We were at a loss of which would be the easiest way out. We ended up chopping an adult Tylenol in half and carrying her a bit. She rested and within a 1/2 hour was walking on her own again. So we continued on. Whew!

After the fall...

• If Moe uttered these words outside of our car, I'm sure DCF would have been called. "Dad, why do you always hit so hard". Apparently when dad had her last week while I was at GS camp with Meenie and Einey was at a party, they were playing punch-out. Apparently, he hits harder then her.

• Einey is almost finished with her three week course of antibiotics for Lyme. She is back to her normal self and hasn't run a fever since she started the meds.

• I pulled a tick off of Moe's eye yesterday. It was stuck right on her under eyelash. Yuck!

My favorite garden. Last year I pulled out my veggies here and put in some cheap plants I found. Please ignore the weeds, it's been a tad rainy.

• I haven't had much time to garden. I need to weed, order mulch and finish digging my pond. I have most of it dug out, but need to do a tad more. It's been a bit rainy to work outside. The last time I was working, I had to push the wheelbarrow full of dirt six times up and down a hill to dump it in the back corner of our yard where I needed to fill in a bit. After I had just lugged the lawnmower up and down. I was tired!

After a 5 hour hike.

• School is starting the end of August. The other day I got our tuition bill and then promptly lost it. Somehow, this is the only bill I ever lose, but I do so every year. I realized I lost it when I went to make an inquiry about a minor discrepancy. I also haven't made a doctotr's appointment for Moe's pre-kindergarten physical. I need to call the nurse. She had a physical last October, which should cover her start - since it's within a year. She doesn't need any shots (even at her five year physical). but she needs bloodwork (why they need to know her white blood count baffles me). But if we do it before October, the insurance won't cover it as a well visit. And I'd have to bring her back in October for her five year phsical. So yeah, need to see if they drew blood last October. And the nurse is only at school two days a week. I have yet to order uniforms for Meenie. I need to do so soon.

That's about it, if you need me, I'll be in the woods or at the beach.

Off on adventure...

And the rain came tumbling down

It has now effectively rained for 948 years, since the dawn of time 32 days in a row (minus one or two days thrown in to try and keep us sane). So by my calculations, I should have built an ark and the rain will stop in about 8 days. Right? RIGHT? I mean, it has to stop sometime.



Because that's how I feel!

I want more of this:

And less thunder and rain. It's not fun hiking in the rain!

Heck, I'm embedding the Wiggles into my posts now (we haven't listened or watched the Wiggles in almost four years!). I must be losing it!

Speedy

I'd like you to meet Speedy (or Hannah Montana, but I prefer Speedy). Speedy is the kindergarten class pet. And since I had one child leaving kindergarten, one child entering kindergarten and a slightly reptile-obsessed child, we get to keep Speedy for the summer.

So pets in the Whirl-wind house include three kids, a husband a dog and a turtle. Clink, you'll be happy to know the tank with the dead lizard has finally been removed. However, the three dead lizard carcasses are still inside the basement, awaiting proper burial. Lets hope when the dog passes, Husband doesn't decided to get him stuffed!

Happy Birthday, Meenie!

On Saturday, Meenie turned six. SIX! Can you believe it? We spent the day at our annual girl scout camporee. She had a blast - what more can you ask for - spending the day with friends, having fun, plenty of activities and cupcakes! When we got home, we had a party with family. The thunder and rain held off until just after everyone left. The day before, we celebrated with friends with a luau. Again, we were dodging rain and thunder, but it was nice while the party was happening.

It's hard to believe that six short years ago, she flew out of my womb (literally). That she started life as a miserable infant who hated to be held and wanted to watch what was going on around her. Now she still likes to watch before jumping into an new activity. But some of the fear and "I can't do it is gone". She's so close to riding a two-wheeler (and much closer to than her older sister), jumps of the side of walls into lakes and swimming pools (where just last year we had to drag her kicking and screaming into a pool), climbs to the top of the jungle gym outside, reads and finally has a sense of humor. She's grown so much and is so much fun!

Happy Birthday, Meenie!

From the bottom of the bottle

I'll confess, some evenings I like to grab a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. Husband and I tend to be beer snobs, so we usually have a well stock variety of brews in the fridge. This does not, however make us alcoholics. On the contrary, I come from a long line of family members with alcohol issues so I tend to steer clear of those problems. I've seen first hand the damage it does. I've experienced the feelings of hurt and pain. We don't want our girls to experience that.

That being said, alot of my facebook blurbs have had to do with alcohol in one form or the other. here are a few recent comments that have made me chuckle.

Setting: The liquor store stocking up because we had some friends over and we were stocking up. Just Moe in tow.
Moe: Are you going to get the wine. You don't have anymore.
Me: maybe
Moe: You need to by wine mommy. The one with the baby one it.
Me: Okay.
Moe: Upon finding the wine, insisted that I needed two bottles.

Setting: Liquor store once again, three kids in tow.
Husband to employee: Hi, I had some specialty order, I checked on the shelf where they're kept, I can't find it.
Employee: Let me check - nope can't find it. Let me call the other store, the owner's there today.
Einey: I see the Voodoo, it's waaaaaaaay up there.
Me looking up: Hey hon, she found it.

And today, the grocery store. it's Sunday.
Meenie: What's that thing right there.
Me: It's a tarp, they don't sell alcohol on Sundays in the state.
Meenie: What, that is so not fair. That's just insane!

So yeah, we drink around the kids, we don't get drunk, but we will have a drink. Kids parties usually have a container of drinks. When you come here, you never know what you'll find.

Feeling Blue

If things had gone according to the package, I would have two little girls walking around with Turquoise hair. Over winter break, my kids wanted to dye their hair. We used some spray on stuff from Halloween, but it flaked off in minutes. Yeah total crap it was, but we didn't have high hopes.

I promised them that over the summer, we'd do it right. We'd get the good stuff and they'd have colored hair all summer. So summer vacation is hair. I did my research and picked up some Manic Panic Semi-Permanent Hair dye - Turquoise (which came highly recommended everywhere, it was supposed to be THE hair dye to use). I read the package, I followed the directions and nothing. Totally freaking flop and a waste of money. Meenie and Moe both have a slight greenish tinge to their hair, but you have to look REAL close. I've talked to a few people who have used their products in the past and they are also quite surprised. Epic FAIL.

So for now, the girls still have normal hair. I guess my next step is to visit the local hair salon and get a colored strip glued into their hair. Not what we were going for, but it's going to have to work :(

Just Say No

There comes a time in your life when you have to say "no". The topic came up today because Einey's getting older, she'll be a teenager before we know it. We want to make sure she can talk to us about anything and that she knows it's okay to say no.

Meenie was with us, she was the only one out of school at the time. And in her class, there has been alot of attempted lip-locking going on. Between girls and between one particular boy and any girl he can. The mom of the boy is aware of it and kind of laugh's it off "he's gonna be a handful". Meenie has mentioned that he's tried to kiss her before. We talked and we told her that she needs to say no. And if he doesn't listen, to punch him (husband also continued in the nose). Of course, we also told her that she'd probably get in trouble a bit at school, but that we'd rather she'd defend herself if she wasn't comfortable in a situation and we'd take care of it after.

Of course, this afternoon, Moe was making this insanely annoying noise and Meenie told her no twice then got up and punched her. "But mom, you said that if I said no and hey didn't stop, to punch them". Oy vey.

Plugged in

Two of my kids now own DS's. The third has an ancient Gameboy Advance. Husband has a DS. Usually all four of them are plugged in.

Today, we brought Meenie a game since she's been doing a tremendous job cleaning up around the house (while her sister's add to the mess and make excuses for not cleaning). We're hoping that it teaches them to help clean up. The downfall to buying games that we've never played* (i.e. Pampered Pets) is that I can't answer every whine "how do I do this?" and "I can't do it". And of course, since it's not an insanely popular gamesuch as Super Paper Mario, I can't look up a walkthrough for the game.

*Or in the case of Pokemon which I haven't played in a bazillion year.... "Sorry Einey, but I don't remember something that happened in a game I played millions of years ago. Stop asking me those questions every 5 seconds!"

No time to call....

My friend and I coach a micro soccer team. Our team, the Dolphins, consist of 10 three to five year olds. They're a great bunch and we really enjoy doing what we do. But... You knew there was going to be a but.

However, some things tick us off. It's not the tantrums. It's not the kids running off the field at random times. It's not tying shoes and dusting off knees. Nor is it stopping battles over specific balls (how they can tell the difference baffles me). It's the parents. Now don't get me wrong, they are great. And they do what any sport parents should do - they cheer their kid on and they cheer the team on. The sit on the sideline and gossip. That's great.

However, when they fail to show up for practice and or games, that irks us. Last night I hurried to the field for practice. The other coach stayed home with her sick son. I get to the field a few minutes early and they're no one there. Fine I'm early. I wait. And I wait. And one parent shows up. One parent out of a team of 10. You do the math (other coaches kid - who we knew wouldn't be there + Moe + kid who showed up does not equal 10). Of those other 7, we knew two were iffy, but probably would not make it. SO that leaves FIVE parents, who couldn't bother to call or email to say they couldn't make it. Five parents who showed up to the game today. Five parents who did not say anything about missing practice. Sadly, we had this happen three weeks ago. Both of us coaches were there, with popsicles, and the same child who showed up last night was there. And SEVEN kids didn't show up. It's not like we're hard to get ahold of. All the parents have both of our phone numbers, our cell phone numbers AND our email addresses. It takes all of 5 seconds to call and say "hey, we can't make it to practice".

We don't get paid for this. We take time out of our week to teach their kids about soccer. And that's the thanks we get (we didn't get any coaches gifts or thank you's last season either - not that we're bitter). And it's not like the parents don't like us - they're always telling us how much they like what we do and how much they're kids love coming to practice. And all the kids who played soccer in the spring from our old team in the fall came back (they had the option to request another coach).

So yeah. Apparently our time isn't worth much.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Seriously, I haz kids done with school. Home for the summer. Go away.

If I wanted this much rain, I'd move to Seattle where I'd at least have the benefit of good coffee on every corner as well.

Kinderbration

Meenie completed kindergarten today and we attended her kinderbration. This years theme was the Rodeo. It was great! At the conclusion, the teacher gave each child their kindergarten scrapbook (each child makes their own - they are awesome, I have one from Einey as well) to give their parents. I an so amazed at how much she's grown this year, both physically and intellectually! The pictures from the beginning of the year make her look so little!

Moe's preschool graduation is tomorrow, but she goes back Monday for 1/2 the day for kindergarten move up day (so since her normal schedule is Mon.-Wed., Monday is her last day). Einey finishes on Wednesday the 17th. But the 16th and 17th are 1/2 days and include family cookout, Mass and awards ceremony. She's so ready to be done (she didn't want to go back this week after missing Friday being sick). I'll have 2 mornings free with just Meenie. I'm looking forward to it, we don't get alot of time alone together!

So a week from tomorrow, we are officially on summer break. Woo Hoo. Maybe I should stock up on wine now?

It's my birthday and

oh hey, look at that, it's not my birthday, that was yesterday. I was too busy relaxing and having fun to bother to visit. Sorry guys.

My morning started with my husband bringing me a HUGE caramel Latte and was followed by dropping all three girls off at school. Followed by 3 1/2 hours of peace and quiet. Then pick up one kid followed 2 hours later by picking up the other two. And then we hit the woods in search of fairies. We found a bunch and spent a long time taking a 2 mile hike. It was great. It was this super serene section of the Natchaug (aka Blue Blazed Trail) which ran along side vernal pools and rocky waterfalls. We hiked a mile in, the girls sat on a plank bridge and had a snack and we hiked back out. We found frogs, toads and more frogs. And then, of course, since we felt great after our hike, we stopped for Chinese on the way home. The day ended with a nice big glass of wine.

And cake - it's in the oven now (a day late but who can complain?). Super chocolate cake with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting and espresso ice cream.

Growing Old

Moe: How old will you be tomorrow?
Me: 29
Moe: How old are you today?
Me: 28
Moe: Your really old!
Me: thanks....
Moe: Your welcome.

If I get that singing birthday card "I love you cuz your old" that she likes so much, I may have to skin her....

Summer is upon us, what to do now?

From the archives, originally posted last year- June 26, 2008.

Living in the state of "were going to keep raising gas prices and you can't do anything about it and oh you blinked, here's another $0.15cents - hahaha- fools" means more people are staying closer to home this summer and looking for low cost summer activities. Husband on the other hand, has finally gotten bitten by the travel bug (go figure!). So here are a few low cost ideas to get you through the summer.

Local Library - Our local library has a variety of summer programs, in addition to the summer reading programs. There are preschool story times (which I may take advantage of), craft days (which I've signed Eieny and Meenie up for. Hello Mommy and Moe morning coffee time! We've missed you!) and girl scout craft days - which you neither have to be a girl or a scout to attend. Only Einey meets the age limit though.

Swimming - We have several local lakes to swim at during the summer. Many are free, and aren't to far of a drive. We've brought the beach pass for the closest one though. not only is it real close, but it's also less crowded and is the only one which employs life guards.

Playground - When you have a brand new super cool fun for hours playground in town, what's not to like? The kids spend hours running around playing, can make themselves go on swings themselves now and love seeing which friends will be there that day. Call a friend to meet you there and it's an added bonus. The kids can play, the moms can sit in the shade of a tree and talk, all the while keeping an eye on the kids of course! Pack a lunch or a snack and water bottles to prolong the visit and get the most out of it. An extra special treat is after playing hard all morning - kids who don't nap may actually fall asleep in the afternoon!

Hiking - We've combined hiking with letterboxing (click the link below the post for more information) for endless summer fun! You can find our stamps all the way out to the Cape! The kids enjoy it, we enjoy hiking and it's easy to do. You can choose how long you want to be out in the woods. It's fun, cheap and educational! Just make sure you bring proper equipment - letterboxing stuff if your letterboxing, water bottles, insect repellent, sunscreen, and snacks like granola bars. Our hiking bag (always packed and ready for a moments notice) also has helmet lights (for looking into hard to see places and or course, if you get lost, a compass, and a whistle. We also always carry a cell phone at all times. You just never know!

Pick your own - This morning ,we took the girls to pick strawberries. We got just over 3 pounds for under $4.00! The kids had fun (unlike the last time we went to the crazy lady's farm). We definitely plan on going back - for more strawberries as well as Blueberries (which are ready from mid July through September!). I even plan on freezing some so that the girls can have fresh blueberries in the dead of winter.

Summer Rec. offerings - Each year, our rec. department has a theme day. Two years ago - it was pirate day. Last year (and this year as well - due to part of the day being rained out last year) is cowboy day. They encourage the kids to dress up, send them on a scavenger hunt and give out prizes. Plus there are skits to watch, food to eat and games to play. All in all, it's a fun, cheap day!

Summer music series - Another activity we like is the evening summer music nights. Some nights are kids themed, others are not - but it's still fun to take them to Jazz night, or Celtic night. And nearby, they do river fire (not as big as Providence, but close by and the kids loved it)!. So I'm writing down dates now for local concert nights. It's always fun to pack a lunch and a blanket and let the kids enjoy themselves!

Throw a party! - Last year I threw a water party. I set up the sprinkler, put out trays of bubbles and huge buckets of water. There were relay races, there were water fights. We even dug for treasure from ice cubes! This years plans include a color party - tye-dying fun! - and an afternoon kids tea party. Eieny is planning her own pizza party. Unfortunately the date she picked, her best friends are both out of the state on vacation. Luckily, summer has just began!

Above all, relax and have fun. Summer is a time to get away from schedules, to be barefoot and carefree. We're planning on flying by the seat of our pants and heading in no particular direction. Above all else, we plan on HAVING FUN!

Sixteen

I stole this idea from Mrs. Chicken who you should check out if you haven't read her already. She's headed East soon, so maybe she'll honk on her way by.


Sixteen things I can't live without this summer

1. Lazy days at the lake. If it's like the last two years, it will be us and 2-3 other local families at the town beach. Nice and relaxing!

2. No schedule. No time constraints. Just us and summer vacation. Free!

3. Husband working only days. No nights, no weekends. For the first time in FOREVER! Seriously, I can't imagine having him home like normal (and this will be for 2 years! Of course, since he's in school, it also means loads of studying).

4. The ocean. Hopefully we'll make it to the Cape, even if it's just for one day.

5. Berries! Our strawberries are up, and in another month or so, we'll be enjoying fresh raspberries in the backyard.

6. Hiking. We've been doing ALOT of hiking this spring and I can't wait to take the girls on longer hikes.

7. Ice cream. There is nothing like fresh ice cream from the summer stands.

8. My parent's pool.

9. Fresh veggies from the farm share we joined.

10. Having my Husband home at night (yes this needs to be on the list TWICE :) )

11. Iced Latte's.

12. My garden's. I added alot of late summer/fall flowers to my perennial beds last year and I can't wait to see which one's will come back.

13. Spending time with friends.

14. Picnics and parties.

15. Sandals. I'm getting new one's for my birthday on Monday. Currently they are sitting in a box in my kitchen waiting for me. Just waiting.....

16. Fall- which comes after summer. Husband and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary in October and are stealing away to Maine for the first time without kids. For a few days!

What are you looking forward to this summer? Tell me in the comments or write your own post, and link back here.

Future Home

My girls are very into religion. We don't talk about it much at home, but going to Catholic School really puts things into perspective for them.

My oldest (who made her First Communion last month) really likes to delve into the topic of religion. She already has her home in Heaven picked out (and has stated "I hope I don't go to H-E-double hockey sticks - no she won't say hell).

Apparently, her room is going to have a purple canopy bed, on clouds with a dolphin fountain in it. She's going to party everyday! Her next door neighbors (apparently in a block) are going to be (insert best friends and her siblings names here). Oh and we can live next to her as well. She's going to swim and dance and pick berries everyday. She can't wait to get to Heaven. (Although hopefully it's not for a long, long time, because even though she cant wait, I can). It's going to be beautiful and fun!

At first, when they started speaking of death, it freaked me out. Death was always something I'm afraid of. As a child, I would freak out over who would get my toys and it would cause me to lie awake many nights. It still freaks me out. But now instead of trivial things like toys, I worry about who will provide for my kids and how they will be.

But my kids? They love talking about death. They accept when pets die. They love nothing more then to frolic in the graveyard (although now, they mention "I can't believe there are dead people in here - not in a bad way, just matter of factly). And while I can't say it doesn't freak me out a bit, I can respect that they heave a healthy understanding of death and accept it.

All I can do is smile and nod (even though I'm cringing inside) when the topic comes up.

Little Rhody

My Husband has officially quit Rhode Island. (we'll see how long that lasts).

Over the weekend, we took, what should have been a 15 - 20 minute trip away to search for letterboxes. Only, an hour + later and we never reached our destination. We headed out down Route 6 from our home. Easy as pie. Took a left onto Cucumber Hill Road and then it went downhill from there. We turned left onto Moosup Valley Road (as instructed) and was on the lookout for Rt. 14 to take to Waterman Road. Only Moosup Valley Road turned into Rt. 14 with no signs. From there, we were searching for 102. We ended up driving across Rt. 102 as it wasn't marked as 102 from our direction. We turned around and from the East we see a BIG sign - junction 14 and 102 (would have been nice driving from the West). Okay, back on track. Let's look for Flat River Road. Oh hey, see 117 there, that's Flat River Road, let's turn around again. Okay, getting close, we just need to find Philips Hill Road, it's right off Rt. 117. Drive down the road, nothing. Turn around and drive back. Nothing. Lots of little roads that are marked on the opposite sides of the roads with the tiniest road signs ever. And driveways with road signs on them. Yeah for the smallest state, there are plenty of signs. Just not where they should be. We finally, after driving back and forth, give up and head back to CT to letterbox. We looked at google again when we got home. Turns out they omitted that Philips Hill road doesn't go all the way to 117. About 1/10 of a mile is actually Hill Farm Road. Would have been nice to know that before we drove around for so long.

Sadly, that's not the first time we've come across that in Rhode Island. The roads are usually poorly marked (in spots, the signs are after the turn off). SO yeah, not a productive day.

Sadly, we didn't find and letterboxes we looked for that day. And to top it off, we walked right by where one should have been (the clue was in our backpack - it wasn't one we set out to find). Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Of the next day. Only not in Rhode Island.

It's tick season

It's June and in New England, it can other wise be known as tick season. We've done a ton of hiking this spring and I can't tell you how many times I've pulled ticks off of all of us. One's crawling around and one's imbeded. Big one's small ones. makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. Almost everyday lately, someone has one. I've taken to spraying with DEET (yeah I know) when we've hit the woods lately (which, you know, is almost every day).

So instead of giving up hiking, we're trudging on ticks and all. Let's just hope we can make it through without Lyme Disease this summer.

So many posts, so little time

So many posts are running through my head. But the weather has been wonderful, and I haven't wanted to waste it by sitting here writing.

I had a Memorial Day post all written in my head complete with pictures, but I'm having problems with synching my camera to my computer. yes, my brand new Canon. Which I love. I can take pictures, but no longer synch to the computer. Which puts a damper on things. And also offers a conundrum. do I send it out for repairs and end up taking pictures over the summer with my PandS? Or do I continue taking pictures and send it out later. I have no clue how long it will be in the shop, or even how much, but I guess I should look into sending it out. But the birthday parties over the summer, baseball games, the beaches, the hiking and our anniversary trip to Maine in October. See my problem? I can not live without my camera for very long :(

I wonder if Cannon offers loaners?