Everyday Matters

We're going to the SuperBowl baby!!!!

2012-01-23T14:38:00.003-05:00

Well, we personally are not, but our hometown team is and that makes for lots of Patriots pride around here. SuperBowl party planning is in high gear...the flyer that Sam has made up is hysterical. I need to post it. I couldn't believe they actually watched the entire game yesterday. Another generation of football fans is here. Although I think the girls are mostly in it for the snacks.

And just for fun, lets rewind six years...

look!

2012-01-18T14:47:00.001-05:00

reminding me always to look around this great big marvelous world with wonder and excitement. Life is full of surprises...you never know what you might see, if you just look around you.

jump for joy!

2012-01-17T13:36:00.003-05:00

bubble wrap...a most wonderful toy

♥ love notes ♥

2012-01-13T22:44:00.003-05:00

Teresa loves to give and receive little love notes and she is always trying to think of ways to say "I love you" without saying "I love you" This one I found on my pillow and it is now my current favorite. Her spelling of irreplaceable is hysterical. I think I will spell it like this from now on .

a new tradition

2012-01-13T22:02:00.004-05:00

Every Christmas it's the same story. There is just so much we want to see and do and make and we rush from one thing to another and then there's the things we have to do and when all is said and done, we're all cranky and tired and still feeling like we've forgotten something. This year I wanted to take some of that stress away. I had seen online the "advent" calendar idea where families do one special activity a day. I loved the idea but dreaded the thought of having something else to fit into our days.

We already have a true advent calendar. I made it years and years ago out of felt. Each little pocket holds a small figure from the Nativity. I didn't want to have another advent type calendar. I finally hit upon cutting scrap paper into strips and then writing an activity on each one and I tucked the strips into the pockets of our Nativity calendar along with the little figure. When the strip was pulled from it's little nest we'd read the activity and then staple it into a ring to make a paper chain which we hung in the living room above the tree. I deliberately kept most of the activities simple, low cost, and family oriented. I also worked in a few things that were bigger ventures that I knew we'd be doing. It took some strategic planning on my part to make sure I had the time and materials for each activity. I had a master list so I knew what was happening when. Many of the activities were so much fun and so simple we did them over and over and over.

This was probably the best thing I've done to keep the focus of Christmas on family and giving. I know that many of our special activities are things we would have done anyways but doing it like this made our preparations really sing with meaning. Kind of shined it all up some and made us appreciate just how special all the little things really are. And to take time, really take time, to enjoy them and each other.

Some of our activities...
cut out paper snowflakes

have hot cocoa
dance to Christmas music (this one had Katie declaring this the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!)
drive around and look at holiday displays

visit Santa

donate food to the food pantry
donate toys to Toys for Tots
buy gift for the Angel tree at church
pick out a Christmas tree

decorate tree

watch A Christmas Carol
family game night
bake cookies and deliver some to friends
go to Edaville

dress up fancy for dinner and have dinner by candlelight

go to a Christmas concert
write down five things you are thankful for...keep the list up and add to it throughout the month
decorate gingerbread houses

go for a walk at night with flashlights
visit Heritage Gardens for the Holidays Aglow

wrap Christmas presents
do something nice for someone secretly (they loved this)
buy mittens and gloves and donate to a homeless shelter

I will be incorporating this new tradition of ours into every Christmas from here on out.

signs of Santa

2011-12-04T21:15:00.007-05:00

We mosied on down the road to one of the local cranberry farms the other day in search of our Christmas tree. This particular cranberry grower made the decision to grow Christmas trees on the uplands. It's a wonderful place to go choose your Christmas tree. We always forget to go early in the season and tag one so the trees we end up with have...how shall I put it?...character. The kids wander around the bog roads and in and among the rows of trees until the perfect one is finally found. Apparently Santa himself also comes to this very farm to choose his Christmas tree too. My kids know this for a fact.

While walking down the bog road, what to our wondering eyes should appear? But the imprint of one of Santa's reindeer!

The kids spied this deer print and quickly came to the conclusion that it was not just any ordinary deer print but it was a reindeer print. And it was not just any ordinary reindeer print but it was one of Santa's reindeer's prints. The magic of the season infuses everything and it makes this Mumma's heart so happy that the magic is still there for all three of my kiddos. Makes it all the more magic for me.

look what was on sale in aisle five

2011-11-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

Charlotte is still in her feisty kitten stage. I keep telling myself that but I'm beginning to suspect feisty may just be her temperament. God help me. There is not anything she won't climb on top of, into, or underneath. She even manages to wriggle under the living room rug. Which I swear she does to egg the dogs on. They are utterly perplexed as to what is moving beneath the rug and go bananas trying to get at her.

Speaking of the dogs....I swear, not one word of a lie, as soon as I started taking pictures of Charlotte in the shopping, Mudge came over and plopped right down behind the bags and looked straight at my camera. Heaven forbid, Charlotte gets all the limelight. geeeze! They are worse than the kids.

all must obey the whims of the Princess

2011-11-15T21:14:00.002-05:00

Princess Charlote has her own little snug stuffed kitty cat bed. But our little Princess does not want snug and little. Oh no...she wants grand and plush. What's a petit kitty to do?

Why, it's not a problem at all for this delicate flower. Just pester the dogs right out of their padded and polar fleeced crate. They can have the kitty bed if they want.

Mudge wants you all to know that he was NOT bossed around by a two pound cat, he CHOSE to leave the spacious crate and curl up in? on? her bed. Really, he did. Really.

now that's plum tuckered out

2011-11-09T13:40:00.000-05:00

The poor wee munchkin barely has enough in her after a very long day of school to have a snack before literally falling asleep on the spot.

Not to worry, as soon as I finished snapping this Kodak moment, I moved her to a much more comfortable spot to nap in.

routine check up

2011-10-19T05:19:00.000-04:00

The other day I took Teresa and Katie in for their annual check ups. My kids love going to see their doctor. He always takes time to talk with them and he appreciates them as individuals. While we were waiting in the exam room Katie was drawing and coloring a picture for her doctor. Now that she's in school, EVERYTHING is about writing. She kills more trees than a lumberjack with all the writing she's been doing. Anyways, she drew a sweet picture of herself in one of those paper dresses for the doctor and then she wanted to write "thank you." She starts sounding out the words. However, what with all those missing teeth, Katie's "thank" sounds more like "fank" and of course SHE knows best and won't listen to any guidance from me so she makes a great big "F" at the top of her paper. Then, because she is only in kindergarten, she skips over the whole rest of the word and moves on to the next word. You. So right next to her great big "F" she makes a great big "U." Of course I couldn't help but chuckle. "F-U" Bwahahahahahaha!!!
The doctor finally came in and both girls went through their exams. They chatted about school and activities. Then the doctor told them they'd both be getting flu shots and Katie also needed her chicken pox booster. Cue the frowns. And when Kate got her shots, the screaming commenced. It was not pretty. And she was furious. However she calmed down quickly and they got dressed so we could leave. That was when Katie discovered she had forgotten to give the doctor the picture she made him. Luckily he was not with another patient, and Katie proudly handed him the picture. I've got to give him credit. He laughed and thanked her for the picture. To me he added, "She really wasn't happy about those shots, huh?" I'm so glad he has a sense of humor.

sports nut

2011-10-11T13:20:00.005-04:00

Sam has become a sports fanatic in the last several months. It was like someone flicked a switch and the kid cannot get enough sports. He hated that the baseball playoff games went on past his bedtime and he made Joe promise to leave him a note letting him know who won their respective games. Every night Sam asks Joe, "who's on tonight?" He doesn't care if it's baseball, football, hockey, or basketball. Any game is fair game. He even sets the dvr to record games he is unable to watch due to unfair bedtimes and school. And he will pester Joe ad nauseam with sports related questions. "Who played in the Superbowl in 1993?" "Who won the most World Series?" "Which team is the oldest of all the sports?" "What is this team's or that team's win/loss record? and what was it last year?" The questions go on and on and on and on. I know Joe always hoped his kids would share his love of sports. Sam surpasses even Joe in his desire to know everything about sports. I look forward to taking him to Cooperstown someday soon.

Sam has his favorite teams. The Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and the Bruins are, of course number one, but he does have others that rank pretty high on the list. Wins and losses mean nothing to Sam in terms of determining who his favorites are. Nope, it's all about the mascot. Any team with an animal is a winner in Sam's book. The Rays, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Cardinals are all on the list. And then anything a little bit quirky also peaks his interest. If you know Sam at all then his favorite of favorites should be easy to figure out. None other than the Buffalo Bills!

not a good napping spot

2011-10-07T21:21:00.002-04:00

hmmmmmm....breakfast is tasting a little...furry, this morning.

bliss

2011-10-06T22:16:00.000-04:00

My favorite little rocking couch, a cup of tea, some magazines, and a purring kitty curled up with me equals a beautiful zen moment for me.

hurricane Charlotte

2011-10-01T20:39:00.000-04:00

You wouldn't think a tiny little kitten could make all that much of a mess. Really, she barely weighs a solid pound soaking wet, how much havoc could she wreck?

I'll tell you how much...this much.

Just look. The mess starts at the floor with the blocks, shoes, and doll accessories. Then it's strewn all over the stairs until you get to the landing with blankets, stuffed animals and more shoes in piles. You'd think this was the work of the kids or even our resident dogs/Tasmanian devils. But nope, the culprit can be found perched atop the chaos all worn out from her frenzied sweep up the stairs.

And don't let that sweet face fool you. She's a master of looking sweet and innocent having learned it from Mudge, for whom the phrase "puppy dog eyes" was invented.

waiting for Tia

2011-09-25T20:35:00.001-04:00

Teresa does this every morning. She sets her Sweetie Pig, Pepper, and Coconut up on the windowsill so they'll be the first thing she sees when she gets off the bus in the afternoon. She may be getting all pre-teen on me, what with the attitude and the eye rolling, but things like this remind me she's still just a little girl. Which makes me very happy.

such a trooper

2011-09-23T12:18:00.007-04:00

This blog is turning into an "all about Katie fest" lately, but she has had some big deal things going on what with starting school and all. Today Joe and I took her up to the nearby Children's Hospital for some tests. She is fine, these are tests she gets yearly to monitor the kidney reflux she has. What floors me is how matter of fact she is about the tests. She gets an ultrasound and goes straight from that to nuclear medicine for an RNC. This is a procedure that involves catheterizing her and filling her bladder with water and xraying her as she pees. It's not something most adults would go through without some complaining and maybe a few tears.

Not my girl. Katie took a deep breath and blew it out when they inserted the catheter and made one little grimace. That was it. I know I was much more of a baby about getting catheterized when I had my c-sections. The two techs doing the procedure were amazed with her composure. What bothered Kate the most was that they wanted her to pee while lying there in the xray bed. Her little bladder was so full her belly was popping out. But she kept looking at me and shaking her head no. She refused to go pee on that bed. Thankfully, they were able to move out the table and change it out to accommodate a little chair and she could sit on a potty seat and go. Throughout the entire process, Katie chatted with the techs about her American Girl dolls, the tooth fairy, her pets, and her sister and brother.

Afterwards, we walked through the halls of the hospital, Katie chattering and giggling and bouncing her balloon. I thought back to walking down those same halls with my very sick little one year old Katieboo who was so weak from fever (over 104 degrees for nearly a week) she could barely nurse. In one of our stops someone tied a balloon to her wrist and it was like a switch had been flicked. Katie was so delighted she smiled. I hadn't seen a real smile from her in days and days. She was entranced and waved her arm to make the balloon bob around her. We lived with that red sparkly star balloon for many weeks.

Balloons are almost as magical as Mommy kisses at making things all better. Just ask Katie.

sweet and sassy

2011-09-19T20:20:00.002-04:00

She's sweet and sassy and all of six years old. How the heck did that happen??? I swear all I did was blink. But there you have it....she's six!!!

Charlotte Ginger Buttercup

2011-09-14T06:01:00.000-04:00

My whole life long I've lived with cats. I love cats. So I knew it was only a matter of time after losing Benjamin that another feline would find it's way into our home. I didn't expect it to happen quite as quickly as it did though. About a week and a half after he disappeared, I received a freecycle posting advertising kittens. I figured it had to be fate. The kids and I went to the woman's house and came home with this little bundle of craziness. She was christened Charlotte Ginger Buttercup by the kids. They can never agree on just one name so we tend to use each of their favorite's...Katie suggested Charlotte, Teresa came up with Ginger, and Sam wanted Buttercup.

I was very worried about how to teach the dogs that this small little critter was not prey and should not be eaten. It took several days of working with the dogs before I let both dogs and kitten out together but from the looks of things, I guess I really didn't need to worry. She torments the two 100 pound behemoths. Daisy puts up with her shenanigans with less patience than Mudge. Charlotte will be wrapped around Mudge's tail, her little claws and teeth digging in, and he will just look over at me with a "please do something about this annoyance" look on his face.

The kids, the dogs, Joe, and I are all loving on this sweetie. She has helped heal the ache in our hearts from missing our Baadaabooty which endears her to us even more. ♥

the king has left the building

2011-09-12T07:47:00.000-04:00

Sadly, His Royal Highness Sir Benjamin Baadaabooty Ben 10 is with us no more. We didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. He slipped out of the house one night, without anyone noticing and just never returned. To say our hearts are broken would be pretty darn accurate. When I finally gave up hope that he might turn up on the doorstep, I told the kids. Kate sobbed and sobbed and I cried right along with her. We loved that furry benign little despot and will miss him forever and ever.

say what?

2011-09-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else love the show "The Middle"? I love that show. It is ridiculous but oh my god it makes me laugh. Every character is hysterical and together they make me laugh so hard I have to use my inhaler. Yes, the show is that funny and if you don't think so then you are way too serious.
I have a problem though. The teenage boy character prefers to lounge about the house in his underwear. No, that's not my problem. My problem is that Sam thinks this is hysterical and worthy of imitation. I'm not a prude and honestly don't care if Sam wants to lay on the couch in his boxers, however I cannot have him wandering around the house in his skivvies when I have a houseful of daycare kiddos. EEC would look down on that sort of thing. Which is why I found myself saying the other day, "Sam, you are not allowed to walk around in just underwear when we have people over." Just another one of those things I could never have imagined I would need to say when I became a parent.

mean girls

2011-09-09T15:30:00.000-04:00

My girls adore each other. They play together for hours and hours and leave a mess stretching from here to California to prove just how much fun they have had.

But sometimes, sometimes, they are absolutely horrid to each other. Teresa will make some snarky nasty comment about Katie's singing, drawing, dancing for no reason whatsoever. Katie will make irritating noises she knows bugs the hell out of Teresa until Teresa loses it and shoves her. They go back and forth in endless meaningless arguments until I am screaming for them to shut up. (I don't say shut up, it's not allowed, but while I may use more acceptable wording, believe you me, my tone is saying SHUT THE FUCK UP!) While this is happening I think to myself, "why? why do they do this?" "Will they always be so horrible to each other and miss out on having that sister bond?" "Will they end up scarring each other forever with the things they are saying/doing to each other?"

Once I finally take some deep breaths, I realize something. My sisters were the ones who tormented me by calling me "Dia-ree-ah" when I was small. I can't count the number of times I pulled my younger sister's hair or pinched her (sorry Carol). We made up less than flattering nicknames for each other (Carol and I) based on the shape of our heads. I got into verbal fights with my sisters that scared our friends with the nastiness. We excluded each other from clubs and games.

And yet, we still love each other beyond reason. Probably because, they are also the ones who made up gymnastics or dance routines for me so we could put on a show. They are the ones I stayed up late studying and laughing with. They are the ones who lent me their clothes. They are the ones who played animals with me until they wanted to die of boredom. They are the ones I visited at college and included me in all the cool college goings on. They are the ones I invited up to visit me when I was in college and I could share my cool college goings on.

When we get to reminiscing, we don't gloss over the times that are less than pretty. We drag those memories out and laugh over them. It is the sum of the good, the bad, and the ugly that make our bonds so strong. We learned how to get along in an imperfect world while we were learning how to get along with each other.

So, my girls may not have this sweet rainbow and unicorns existence with each other every single moment. But I'm guessing that there may be hope for them after all.

with open arms

2011-09-07T20:18:00.000-04:00

Katie came home from her first day of school and handed this picture to me. I asked her to tell me about it. Katie looked at me as if I was just plain dumb and said, "Mumma, it's you. (duh! of course it is) I drew a picture of you waiting for me to come home so you can give me a BIG hug!" I think I melted into a literal puddle of mush on the floor after hearing that. My girl knows her Mumma, that's for sure, because as soon as I heard that bus coming down the road, I was waiting with my arms wide open so I could wrap her up and soak her in.

award worthy

2011-09-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

So, as much as I tried to ignore it, the FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN, just refused to not happen. My girl was giddy with excitement. I have to admit, even though I would love it if she could be my baby forever, I am so proud of this kiddo. She has grown in leaps and bounds the past year. Situations that she shied away from in the past, she is jumping into with both feet.

I crept up to her room this morning and stroked her arm to gently wake her up. When I whispered "Good Morning Kindergartner", she shrieked in excitement and literally sprang out of bed. I think she must have dressed on her way down the stairs because she arrived in the kitchen dressed and declared she was ready to go. I suggested we brush that wild mop of hair first.

Hair brushed, shoes on, backpack shouldered and she was ready to go.

I was so busy taking pictures that I held it together while she was waving goodbye. But it was a different story as I walked back to the house. In years past when we'd put the kids on the bus, Katie and I would walk back up to the house together, her little hand in mine. This morning I walked back alone. I'd be a damn liar if I told you I didn't cry. The tears weren't all sad ones though. While I am sad about not getting to spend all day with her, mostly I was brimming with pride with how she was embracing every part of this whole adventure.

She came home this afternoon, talking non-stop about a brand new friend (she's unsure of her friend's name...and that just cracks me up), playing with playdough and in housekeeping, reading stories ("kindergarten has the same books we do!!!"), learning to walk in a line, and many many more wonders. Then she very proudly pulled this out of her backpack and announced, "Mumma, I did such a good job at kindergarten, I won an award!!!"

And guess what my little Katieladyboo...you deserve an award. You are Mommy's Kindergarten Rockstar.

Can you figure out what's missing?

2011-09-04T21:43:00.000-04:00

Look closely at the box.

If you guessed the pieces of Katie's quilt you would be 100% correct! Today I sewed the last row onto the rest of the top. I pressed all the seams and then spread it out on the floor of Sam's room. It looks amazing! I am beyond excited how beautiful it turned out. I have to admit, I was skeptical of using blacks in a child's quilt but that Katie sure knows her stuff. It is stunning.

I do still need to add the borders before the top is officially finished but the tricky stuff is done. We will make a trip to the fabric store to pick out border fabrics and backing fabric so stay tuned for the last couple steps!

Irene's the talk of the town

2011-09-03T20:51:00.000-04:00

We got side-swiped by Irene last weekend. We were some of the lucky ones who only lost power for just about 24 hours. Some of our friends and neighbors went four or more days without power. We did not get off completely unscathed. After Irene swept through we were short two very tall pine trees in our backyard, a couple sections of our fence and one of our small playstructures.

Here's a view from the deck of the mess the storm left behind.

Why, hello there, big humongous pine tree that doesn't belong in our yard, let alone through our fence.

Goodbye little green slide.

The kids were surprisingly good about the loss of power and the absence of television, video games, computer games and movies. Not to mention microwave popcorn. They entertained themselves completely the entire day we were stuck at home. So much so, I was able to read three entire books.

At one point I found all three of them in the dog crate, which they had draped with quilts to make a little cave. When asked what they were doing, I was told they were playing poor people. The crate was their cardboard box that they lived in. Sounds like a fun game. Kooky little kids. They also sat and colored for a bit. I call what they created "art therapy."

Sam drew a picture of the storm being defeated by his and the girls' stuffed animals.

Katie's picture shows the downed trees with the storm still raging overhead.

Teresa's picture depicts another dog crate activity of the kids. They crawled into their cave with flashlights and books (Sam's very extensive library of books about hurricanes) to read together.

We are slowly cutting up the trees and raking up the billions of small pine boughs and leaves. I hope we are able to get rid of this tree more quickly than the one that fell down this past winter. It was in our yard so long the kids actually named it. Bob. Bob the tree. Joe had just finished cutting it all up about a week before Irene. Mother Nature has a twisted sense of humor.

what are the odds?

2011-09-01T20:13:00.006-04:00

Hello. I don't believe I've ever introduced you to Sam's pet frog or toad or whatever it is. He got this little guy for his birthday a couple years ago. Lava is one of those indifferent pets. He doesn't snuggle or do anything cute and endearing. He's just there. It is pretty cool when he eats his worms. That's always a good party trick. For the most part though, Lava just hangs out in his little habitat, waiting for worms to drop out of the sky.

I am the one who cleans out his habitat and to do this I scoop him out and deposit him in the tub while I dump the old water and wipe out the tank. Mudge walked into the bathroom once when I was doing this and noticed the small critter cautiously hopping around the bathtub. All at once, Mudge's ears went up and he cocked his head to the side. I could practically hear him thinking, "WHAT THE HELL???" I shooed Mudge out of there ASAP but the damage was done. He knew there was another animal in that habitat and made every effort possible from that moment on to find out what it was and if it was edible.

I sometimes bring Lava's tank out of Sam's room to show off the aforementioned party trick to the childcare kids. Usually it sits on the kitchen table for the day and I return him to Sam's room at night. I did this just yesterday. Unfortunately, I forgot to make the return trip. We were in a hurry to get out of the house and run some errands and Lava, being the non-presence that he is, just got overlooked.

We came home and laden down with bags and boxes made our way into the playroom. Sam instantly let out a shriek of horror. I dropped every box and bag I had, scared out of my wits and terrified at what could possibly be making Sam sob in that way. And I saw it. The plastic habitat, that had so recently held Lava, laying on it's side in the middle of the playroom. The dogs had the good sense to look ashamed of themselves. Daisy huddled under the kitchen table and Mudge peered out from behind the chair in the living room. Teresa and Katie started to cry as they realized what had actually gone down while we were out and Sam continued to sob.

I grabbed the dogs' collars and unceremoniously dragged them through the house and out the back door. Then I sent the kids into my room so I could clean up the mess and possibly spare them the sight of poor Lava's mangled remains. I doubted I'd find a trace of him anyways but you just never know. I picked up the parts of the habitat and put it together and then used towels to clean up the nasty water on the floor and table. I concluded they must have swallowed Lava whole since I found not a sign of him.

Sam came out of my room, tears streaming down his face, to ask me if Lava made it. I wrapped my arms around my sad little boy and delivered the bad news. Sam cried for his lost little friend, his whole body shaking with his sobs. But then, wonder of wonders, Sam screams "LAVA!!!!" and I turn to see the miraculously lucky amphibian hop from beneath a bookshelf in the kitchen. He was covered in dust and cat hair but he was alive. I don't know how he did it, and Lava is not offering any details, but somehow he managed to elude the dynamic duo and survive. I really think Lava should play the lottery.

it's that time of year again

2011-08-31T20:57:00.000-04:00

Fifth grade...last year in Elementary school...looking like he's all grown up all of a sudden

Fourth grade...first year in the big school...nervous, excited and ready to get this show on the road already!

And off they go...me a little teary and missing them before the bus has pulled away from the house.

journey to the end of the earth

2011-08-18T20:26:00.000-04:00

gone fishing

2011-08-17T14:18:00.000-04:00

A net, plus a bucket, plus some bread crusts or nilla wafers or cheetos or even goldfish crackers, plus several eager fisherfolk, equals an afternoon of fun at the pond (at least it was fun for the eager fisherfolk).

she's nine

2011-08-15T20:54:00.001-04:00

I've watched her grow...

from exquisite newborn...

to delightful baby...

to challenging toddler...

to exuberant preschooler...

to precocious little girl...

to sassy big girl...

to sweet winsome child...

And now, here she is, all of nine years old, caught in that in-between stage of a funny prickly tween.

I remember holding that exquisite newborn and trying to imagine what she'd be like in a year, or two, or ten. I'd do the same quiet nights when I'd rock her to sleep as a toddler or stroke her back as a restless preschooler. Despite having come to know that newborn and all her moods and reactions, I would always come up blank. I couldn't look into her future and see the person she'd one day be. I still can't. But I can say this. At nine she is exquisite, delightful, challenging, exuberant, precocious, sweet, sassy, prickly, and funny. She is all of these and more. Unfolding the secrets of who she is and who she will be one birthday at a time.

hidden hollow

2011-08-12T13:48:00.000-04:00

One of our very favorite places to go. There is always something new to see and experience. It's a place that highlights the kind of fun kids have enjoyed for generations. Building forts, creating art, puzzling things out, and just getting outside to play.

she's got pizazz!

2011-08-07T17:55:00.000-04:00

Katie picked up a dress at the thrift store the other day. I think it may actually be a skirt but there is no arguing with this kid. She insists it is an "altar dress" (halter dress in non-Katie speak) and she also insists on wearing it everywhere. Regardless of what the heck it is, I think she looks adorable in it. These were the shoes and socks she put it together with too...stunning, no?

girls night!

2011-08-05T17:34:00.000-04:00

Joe took Sam to his first ever Red Sox game at Fenway Park the other night. The girls and I were left to our own devices. We decided to wander into Plymouth for some window shopping, dinner and decadent dessert.

I have a feeling the girls will be requesting another girls night very soon.

bad habit

2011-08-01T07:46:00.001-04:00

When Katie was born I had a 4 year old, a three year old and an infant. When you have three very young children, you end up doing everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, with some little one in tow. My solution to doing laundry with an infant, just toss her in the laundry basket and work around her. Don't worry, she never found her way into the spin cycle. Kate found the task somewhat relaxing (wish I could say the same) and would plunk her thumb in her mouth amidst the piles of dirty or clean clothes, depending on where we were in the laundry cycle, and just chill.

Is it any wonder then, that today, my child is found clutching a dirty sock as she sucks away on her thumb?

I take full responsibility.

sand between our toes

2011-07-24T19:45:00.000-04:00

vacation at the beach house means...

2011-07-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

there is plenty of time for...

challenging the waves to a duel...

bobbing with the tides...

treasure hunting...

digging to the center of the earth...

constructing castles that rival Cinderella's...

watching the waves caress the shore...

sitting together and sharing a laugh...

falling in love with the ocean all over again.

the best of neighbors

2011-07-17T07:53:00.007-04:00

Living next door to the cranberry bogs is close to one of the reasons I love living in my home. Not only do we not have to deal with crazy neighbors (unless coyotes and geese can be classified as crazy), we watch firsthand some of nature's great marvels. Discovery of the tracks of our wild neighbors in the soft sand of the uplands is like finding treasure. Witnessing the wonder that is the cranberry harvest and learning how a bog is made and farmed are incredibly eye-opening. Every single walk on "our" bogs is a joy for all of us. The kids ask to go for a walk on the bogs daily and most days we are happily able to indulge. Today we had a few of the kids friends over and late in the afternoon strolled over to see what was going on with our neighbors. After coming within a couple feet of a blue heron, catching miniature toads, getting up close and personal with our resident swans and making wishes on dandelions one of Katie's friends declared this to be her best day ever. I heartily agreed.

Living this close to nature also teaches us about life in the wild. It isn't always beautiful and sweet. It can be harsh. I posted a picture a while back of Romeo and Juliet and their brood of seven babies. Sadly, over the course of a couple weeks we noticed the number of babies dropping steadily. One day there were only five. A couple days later, just four. Then two. And now they have only the one little cygnet left. The kids have asked what happened and I answer them honestly. Life isn't always fair and happy. And even though we are sad all the babies didn't make it, we celebrate the one that has. This little guy seems to be holding his own as it's been just him for about two weeks now. Momma and Papa are very protective of their last little one and keep him close at hand but we were able to get close enough to get some pictures as they rested on the banks of the bog pond.

Momma Juliet standing close to baby and Papa on guard in the water.

I think they were getting a little nervous with our proximity because Papa hauled himself up and out of the water and began to march towards us.

He came slowly and steadily closer, stopping every few feet and stretching out his neck, it seems in warning. The bog workers had told us he can be vicious so we heeded Papa's warning and backed away.

Momma watched the drama never leaving baby's side. We are all rooting for Baby Swany and look forward to watching him grow. The kids have asked me when he will turn white and if he will stay here like his parents and how long the parents will take care of him if he doesn't. We are finding out the answers to these questions together.
These neighbors of ours may not welcome our company but we love them just the same.

those summer nights

2011-07-15T14:29:00.001-04:00

Summer days are for swimming, exploring, and adventure. But summer nights are something else altogether. They are all about kicking back around the firepit...telling stories, sitting quiet watching the pictures in the flames and being together. Marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers are a bonus. As are the sticky kids that land in your lap.

from the mouths of dogs

2011-07-12T22:42:00.006-04:00

Daisy and Mudge love to chew things to shreds. I know, I know, what dog doesn't? But seriously...how long does this chewing stage last anyways??? I am getting a little tired of coming home and finding something chewed up and spat out all over the house or chasing one or the other or both when I catch them in the act. It's really quite comical too, to watch me grab at one of the dogs and give pursuit only to nab him or her and then miss out on fishing out of the coveted object because they pass it back and forth to each other. I look like a damn fool.

I can never predict what it is they will chew up either. They are random and ruthless in their selection of chewable material. I do my best to make sure anything precious is out of reach but with these two fruitcakes, out of reach would mean over state lines. Thankfully they haven't chewed anything too irreplaceable but I just don't get why they'd want to chew some of the things they chew up. Here's just a sampling of some of the things I've wrangled out of their mouths or picked the leftover bits and pieces up from the floor.

several hairbows
numerous small roll of tums
mint life savers (wrappers and all)
the kid's fluoride pills (Daisy is the culprit here, she's figured out I put the pills on the counter in the morning and when I realized that and began hiding them under my notebook, she figured that out too...smart ass little pup!)
dirty tissues from the bathroom trash
actually, anything from the bathroom trash
box of floss (which was twisted and tangled from one end of the house to the other)
two balls of yarn (see above note)
a couple of webkinz stuffed animals
little monkey made from pom poms and pipe cleaners
more beer cans than I can count
a bouquet of flowers
a bottle of sand (one of the kid's projects)
lots and lots of crayons
paper
a mouse (still alive mind you but that's a story for another day)
the remains of three rolls of red, white and blue crepe paper
red, white and blue garland
two red, white and blue fake floral bouquets
a couple of small American flags (they worked on these items on the 4th of July...we came home from a cookout and it looked like a parade exploded in my playroom)
an entire roll of paper towels
the little vials Teresa's nebulizer meds come in
plastic play food
the cat (Benjamin is so passive. He just lets them nibble on him and he lays there with a look of suffering on his fluffy little face)
a baseball glove
white board markers
a number of specimens from Sam's stick collection
periwinkle shells
beach buckets
sippy cups
swim goggles
juice boxes

And the list could go on and on and on. Keep in mind this list only encompasses the last couple weeks. I really and truly think they are part billy goat.

she keeps on giving

2011-07-11T19:49:00.000-04:00

Less than two years ago, Teresa sat in a chair at the salon and chopped off more than twelve inches of hair to donate to Locks of Love. She was nervous and unsure of how she'd like shorter hair. Not to worry though, she liked it just fine.

A couple of months ago she was looking through a scrapbook and came across some pictures of her just after that haircut and surprised me by declaring she wanted to do it again. She said she was proud that she could do something to help others all on her own. I looked at her little face and wanted to squeeze her to pieces for being such a generous girl. That probably would have resulted in much eye rolling and "Mo-uuuhhhmm!" on her part so I resisted the urge. We weren't able to get her hair cut right away as she had her dance recital coming up (and her long hair made pulling it up and out of the way much easier) and were so busy all the time.

So finally, at the start of July I took her in and she climbed into the salon chair and told the stylist she'd like to cut off enough to donate to Locks of Love. The woman cut off more than fourteen inches of beautiful curly chestnut hued locks. Teresa watched her do it with a huge smile on her face and swung her newly shorn head with glee. I'm so proud of this girl. She has realized at such a young age how good it feels to help others. I hope this spirit of generosity stays with her her whole life long.

perfect for measuring out ingredients for tea cake or scones or biscotti or shortbread or...you get the idea

2011-07-07T14:05:00.000-04:00

Are these measuring "cups" not the most adorable measuring cups ever??? Honestly, I nearly swooned over their preciousness. I've blogged before about my love for kitchen gadgets. And my love for tea. And my love for any baked goods one might have with tea. These measuring cups and me were a match made in heaven. My wonderful friend thought so too and gifted them to me...just because. I love presents "just because." Now I need to decide what baked goodie to make first.

inked

2011-07-05T19:46:00.000-04:00

joyful abandon

2011-06-30T20:13:00.000-04:00

for the love of the game

2011-06-29T22:32:00.002-04:00

Sam: Mom, Do you know who invented baseball?

Me: No, I have no idea. Why?

Sam: I just really want to meet that person and say thank you.

a roll of paper, colored pencils and some markers

2011-06-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

That's all it takes to keep a few kids thoroughly occupied on a sunny summer afternoon. Well, that and a little imagination too.

sweet sweet summer

2011-06-28T22:37:00.004-04:00

school's out for summer!

2011-06-28T07:35:00.001-04:00

rites of passage

2011-06-28T07:26:00.003-04:00

preview of what's to come in September. Oh, dear Lord, I don't think I'll be able to stand it. Remember the post of Katie back in September when her little friend A boarded the big yellow bus for kindergarten and Katie was all bereft and left by her lonesome. That will be me in September.

And this...oh my goodness. I don't even have words to encompass all this picture means to me. He's getting all grown up and yet still with one look I see that baby boy who was all enormous brown eyes and black curly hair. Pride and Joy doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about this kid.

spelling sentences

2011-06-17T05:18:00.001-04:00

It's the last full week of school. All week long the kids have been bringing home various folders, nametags and odd bits of paper that have resided in the dark recesses of their desks all year long. One item carted home in Teresa's backpack was her spelling journal. Every week she would write sentences in the notebook. One for each of her spelling words that week. Teresa loves to write and as tedious as spelling sentences sounds, it was probably her favorite homework. I started flipping through the notebook, just reading idly and began to chuckle. She is so funny. Whether she means to be or not. Some of the sentences give insight into Teresa's personality. Some are just a little goofy. Some are heartwarming. And a lot are about food...go figure.

Sometimes school annoys and bothers me. (ha!)
A tulip has a good phregress. (fragrance...why use a boring word like scent or smell when you can use a fancy word?)
I love salad so much.
I wish I did not speak English. (huh?)
No one is a know it all in our class. (tee! hee!)
I love popcorn.
My house is not spotless. Is yours? (She got that right!)
Sometimes I wrinkle my nose. (she does! I didn't know she was aware she was even doing it.)
I will never disagree. Only if something is wrong.
I love blueberry pie.
Everyone's throat is in their mouth.
I have a great inspirational thought. (okay, the word "thought" was the spelling word not "inspirational"...seriously, it is typical for this kid to toss around five syllable words when conversing)
I have two feet on my legs.
Don't get on my last nerve!
I want to avoid rice and qubsia.
I am beautiful everyday. ♥
I want a banana split.
Sometimes mice are in my house. My Mom freaks out. (she ain't kidding)
Katie should be herself everyday. (because normally she is......?)
I once on axedent overflowed the sink.
I might have to rewrite this sentences. (you think?)
I will not shrink into my cereal bowl. ( huh???)
everyone should have a doorknob. (yes they are handy devices)
I sometimes gnaw on my food.
You'd smell if you did not take a bath. (she's brilliant...no?)
I am afraid of a mythical creature. (there she goes with the fancy words...mythical has much more punch than pretend or made up)
I like to open things like drawrs.
I have a nice and loving family. ♥
I have to chew my food before I swallow.
I just adore the soft cushion on the chair. (what eight year old thinks things like this?)
I am still in my childhood.
My Mom is in her parenthood. (bwahahahahah!)
I will take a walk on the bog today.
I will talk on the walk on the bog. (must have been Dr. Suess week.)
I have seen a cartoony trought. (what the??? I can't even begin to figure this out)
I dislike rice and cubasy. (just in case she didn't make it clear the first time she wrote of her distaste for rice and kielbasi)
I am full of kindness in my heart. ♥
I have fairness. I'm not full of it though. (the honesty kills me! ha!)
I'm not full of illness as you can see.
I don't like the song "banjos on my knee."
Sometimes I am a hostess and I don't even know it. (something tells me she wasn't too sure what the word hostess means)
I don't have a daughter yet but I will. ♥

When you do Teresa, I hope she is as beautiful and funny and quirky and sweet as you are

no joke but I'm laughing anyways

2011-06-16T14:28:00.008-04:00

a conversation with Kate while driving past a site that sells landscaping materials

Kate: I can't even believe they are still working on that. They've been working there for like...forever!...longer than I can remember.

Me: (glancing over at the excavators and sifters and mounds of dirt and gravel and rocks on the site) that there? That's not something being built sweetie. That's a landscaping supply site. They dig the dirt and sift it into good dirt and rocks and then they sell it.

Kate: They sell...dirt?

Me: yes, but it's good dirt.

Kate: Are you kidding me with this?

one shining moment

2011-06-16T12:57:00.005-04:00

It finally happened. In his third playoff game, the fourteenth game he's played this season, Sam finally hit the damn ball. A short line drive up the first base line pretty much guaranteed he'd be tagged out at first and he was. But that didn't matter. The boys in the dugout practically erupted when Sam's bat made contact and his coach at third base raised both fists in the air in salute. Sam raced to first, was tagged out and was then promptly grabbed in a bear hug by his coach at first. There was cheering and horn honking from all the spectators. Sam's hit enabled a runner to come in and score and you could hear the boys chanting "RBI!RBI!" as Sam trotted into the dugout where he was mobbed by his teammates who all slapped him on the back and high-fived him. The smile on his face was literally from ear to ear. After the game, Sam was given the game ball by his coach. One of his teammates also bestowed his own gameball to Sam. Sam went to sleep with them clutched in his hands and his cap perched on his head. Oh, this team. These coaches. They truly are a dream team.

I had my camera with me. I even had it out and was all prepped to capture photos as Sam stepped up to the plate. I took a couple as he stood ready to hit but lowered my camera and just watched when the fateful hit took place. And then I was frozen with joy, just taking it all in. The scrapbooker in me regrets I didn't take a single photo of the celebrating and the smile on his face. But even without photos, I will never forget. Oh, yes, the images will fade...but my memory of the joy, the pure unbridled happiness and the pride I felt for my son, his team and his coaches... that I will remember forever.

not quite the season she was hoping for

2011-06-14T22:11:00.000-04:00

This girl. This girl is so hard on herself. She's just finishing up her first season in the slightly more competitive older girls softball league. It was not the best year for her. Teresa is a bursting at the seams with enthusiasm kind of girl...at home. At home, she concocts plays, shows, games and adventures ad infinitum. Outside of our home she is a much more subdued version of herself. She hesitates to ask for what she wants and is not aggressive in going after things. It takes a special kind of coach to draw her out and push her to take risks.

Unfortunately she did not have that kind of coach this year. Without the right kind of guidance, she was left to her own devices. About half way through the season and being stuck out in the outfield for every game, she told me she was bored and wanted to play in the infield. I told her she needed to tell her coach that. Teresa shook her head and asked me to ask her. I really wanted to but I knew she had to do it so I told her no. Throughout the rest of that game she'd look beseechingly over at me and I kept shaking my head. Finally after one last begging look and one last shake of my head, she got up and stood next to one of the coaches and quietly said something to her. The next inning my girl played second base. I couldn't have been more proud if she had hit a home run. Because in a way, she had. It is hard for her to stand up for herself and put herself at risk of being shot down. But she did it. She worked up the nerve and did it.

I'd love to say the season then took a turn for the best and she started hitting and fielding and her softball skills improved by leaps and bounds but alas...that was not the case. She plugged away game after game and I give her a lot of credit for not asking to give up entirely. She is saying she does not want to play next year. I'm trying to convince her to give it another shot. I'd hate for her to miss out on a sport she can play (with her asthma there aren't many she can play without inducing an asthma attack) just because she had a lackluster coach her first season in.

I tell her I'm so proud and she looks up through her lashes with a woebegone look on her face and asks "why? I'm not good." How do I convince her that the most valuable player isn't always the one with the most hits? How do I make sure I'm not pushing her into something she doesn't enjoy as opposed to encouraging her to give something another shot? Is there a difference?

sigh...once again I am reminded just how difficult parenting is.

nap interrupted

2011-06-14T21:07:00.002-04:00

What? What is it you want? Just leave me alone to get my beauty sleep.

She's still there isn't she? The plague of the gorgeous and fluffy...the paparazzi never leave us alone.

lean on me

2011-06-14T09:56:00.001-04:00

play ball!

2011-06-05T22:37:00.000-04:00

I was all set to write a post about Sam's baseball experience this year and how wonderful it has been and how he has learned so much but most importantly how his coaches have reinforced the importance of sportsmanship and being a good teammate. And then I caught the tail end of the other night's game. The last one of such an awesome season. Where, at Sam's last up at bat, he struck out (AGAIN! ), and in a very good John McEnroe imitation, he stalked over to the batting cage and threw, heaved!, the bat and it sailed over the cage and into the pitching pen where some boys were playing catch. Thank God none of the kids were hurt.

I was stunned. Not only is this just not like Sam at all, it was not typical of how the kids on this team behave during a game. Sam's coach ran into the dugout and spoke to Sam and I was comfortable knowing he would address the behaviour appropriately. Joe also leaned into the dugout to add a disapproving frown to punctuate the coaches' words. But as I watched the last few minutes of the game I struggled internally with how I should address what just happened. In between the "oh my God!!!"s and the "my poor poor little guy"s, the questions flashed through my mind. "What was he thinking?" "Is he that big of a sore loser?" "Did I somehow forget to teach him that this was not okay?" "Is this my fault?" "What must the other parents be thinking?" I took a couple of deep breathes, told the voices in my head to "shut it up!" and calmed myself down.

Sam has been paralyzed all season with this fear of getting hit by the ball when batting and would rarely swing at the ball because he was busy stepping out of the batters box to avoid getting hit. In practice and at home this was not an issue. He would swing away and hit more often than he missed. But in the games, he was frozen with nerves and indecision. We all kept encouraging him to swing away and in this last game he did start swinging. Unfortunately, no hits resulted from those few swings. He was frustrated with himself, upset they were losing, utterly disappointed the season ended without him contributing much hitting and it all just came to a boil. He knew immediately he had made a very bad choice which compounded his anger and disappointment. I knew he realized his mistake but I could not just let it go at that. I had to speak to him about it and add my disappointment to his own, his coaches', his teammates' and his father's all without harming his precious developing sense of self. Now that isn't a tall order, is it?

To start, I decided I would have him apologize to his coaches. These men give baseball their all and do not deserve to have a player throwing a tantrum, especially one that could have caused injury to an innocent bystander. I headed for the dug out as soon as the game ended and listened to the coaches pep talk to the team. The boys were all very upset they lost so badly. Coach addressed where they let things slide and praised boys individually for plays done well. He also added a reminder that the ultimate aim here is to have fun and exhibiting poor sportsmanship was not acceptable behaviour. He managed to do this without shining a spotlight on Sam's stand out heave ho of the bat and for that I was grateful. The boys trickled out of the dugout but typical Sam, he was still busy packing his bag with his belongings that were strewn all around the dugout. I approached the coaches and apologized for Sam's outburst and both coaches assured me it was understandable, not alright but they understood, and told me Sam had already apologized to them on his own. I was thankful to hear that. Once we were in the van, I gave Sam a talking to. Explaining as gently as I could that I would not tolerate that kind of behaviour and if I saw it again, I would ask to have him sit down on the bench. He sat there, silently, nodding his head and looking at me with big brown eyes shining with tears. It broke my heart to say it, knowing Sam was already punishing himself pretty hard.

These are the hardest of lessons, for him and us. I'm so glad he has the coaches he does. They will not make him feel bad about this as the team moves into the playoffs. They will work with him and continue to let him know he is a valued member of the team.

As this season has played out, I've gotten a chance to see some of the other teams coaches coaching styles and let me tell you, it can be appalling. Coaches berating the boys. Coaches yelling. Coaches commenting disparagingly and loudly on an opposing players abilities. Sam has had none of that this season. His coaches infuse their practices and the games with excitement and fun. They notice every single contribution and effort and make sure to praise the kids. When criticism is due, it is given with a hand on the shoulder and with respect. I think respect and fun are the hallmarks of his coaches approach and it makes such a difference. This team has the best sportsmanship (the other night's incident aside) of all the teams. I witnessed boys on other teams yelling at their own teammates when one flubbed a play or struck out. I was disgusted with the excessive gloating of some of the teams when they won a game. Our boys slap each other on the back after a good play and call out a "good try" when one didn't go as hoped. They high five each other and cheer each other on. I believe our boys exhibit the conduct they do because of the fine example and teaching of their coaches. I can only hope that Sam continues to have such positive role models in subsequent sports seasons.

So you know what, Sam's outburst may have been a huge mistake. But that one mistake doesn't make a season. I'm proud of my boy's hard work this year. I'm proud of him for getting out there and giving it his all every single game and practice. I've watched him learn the finer points of the game and work out where the ball should go in a variety of plays. I see him being a good teammate and having fun. And yes, I share his agony as he learns to deal with frustration, disappointment and an ump who makes bad calls.

Last night his coach held a practice and they happened to have enough Dads there that they held an impromptu game. The men and boys were all laughing and joking and there was plenty of good natured ribbing. Every single one of them left the field smiling. Sam was all enthusiasm when I returned home and he narrated the entire "game" for me, play by play. That is what he'll take away from this season. The memory of the frustration he felt over his lack of big hits will fade. But the memories of fun and camaraderie will stick with him forever.

someone's gotta bring home the bacon

2011-06-01T21:15:00.000-04:00

Teresa came home from school the other day with this very cute rendition of our house. She quite excitedly demonstrated that the windows and door all opened to reveal a member of our family. Herself in the topmost window, doncha ya know, her brother and sister in the other two windows and myself sporting a fashionable dress emblazoned with ♥ cats (while I do indeed ♥ cats, just to set the record straight, I do NOT actually own such a dress).

One member of our family was conspicuously absent, Joe. I asked Teresa where Daddy was. "He's at work." was her matter of fact reply.

it's officially summer!

2011-05-31T05:49:00.000-04:00

We heard the tinkling song of the ice cream truck as it wound it's way through a couple neighborhoods near us and my kids were moping about because the ice cream truck has never ever in their lives come down our street. And then, the unimaginable happened. The music got louder and louder and closer and closer. The joyful screaming commenced and the kids bolted from the backyard, through the house and out the front door in a blur of motion as if their very lives depended on getting that ice cream truck to stop.

Mission accomplished, they sat on the front steps and ate their treats. A delicious sneak peek at the wonders summer has in store for them.

inch by inch, row by row

2011-05-27T05:26:00.000-04:00

I bet you are all astounded and aghast at the leaps and bounds of progress I've made on this here quilt. Well, don't be sending me a congratuations card quite yet. This looks more finished than it actually is. But, doesn't it look FANTABULOUS!!!??? I am loving loving loving it!

Real quilters have design boards which are felt boards on the wall they can stick the quilt blocks to until they find a pleasing design. I have a dusty cat and dog hair littered floor. What I am doing right now is laying out all my block halves into rows so I don't have the same colors next to each other in any of the stars. I don't want to put them together willy nilly and then at the end discover I have only red left. Because you know that would happen. So during naptime the past couple days I have laid out the entire quilt block half by block half. It is not sewn together so I can still rearrange blocks if I need to. But the next step will be to sew the block halves together and then the rows and finally sew each row to the other to form the quilt top. This is my favorite part of the whole process. Finally getting to see what the finished quilt will look like. And have I mentioned, I LOVE IT!!!

Maybe, just maybe, Katie will get to sleep beneath her quilt this winter!

Resolutions

2011-05-26T22:43:00.001-04:00

Want less, cherish more.
Eat less, savor more.
Talk less, listen more.
Toil less, praise more.
Worry less, pray more.
Bonnie J. Manion

This poem hangs on my fridge. I think it's a good reminder to love life as it is. We're never quite happy with ourselves or what's going on in our lives. So many of us make resolutions to do more, accomplish more, change ourselves. Not that that is a bad thing, often change is a very good thing, but sometimes we just need to remember to embrace ourselves for who we are and our life for what it is, right at that very moment...the good, the bad, the challenging and the joyful. It's all in there. Every single day. Rise to challenges and revel in the joys and resolve to love your life.

dogs can be so gross sometimes

2011-05-25T21:37:00.005-04:00

You would think the damn rabbit would have learned it's lesson the first time the dogs chased it and it got stuck in my chain link fence. Which required several people and wire cutters to free him. But no, we have the bunny with short term memory loss and it wanders back into the yard where two big dogs live. Two big very fast dogs, it would seem.

Because tonight, when I should have been relaxing on my couch watching Modern Family, I was outside swatting away mosquitoes while cajoling Mudge to drop the bunny. Yes, I did say bunny. They caught it. And they ate it. Well they ate half of it anyways. I am throwing up a little in my mouth just to write that.

Mudge decided to show off his hunting prowess and arrived at the back door with the head and front half of poor Peter Rabbit. I was at a loss as to what to do. I could not let him in so I went out. He sat and stayed but "drop it" was out of the question. No dog treats or cheese or even bacon could convince him to drop his prize. What was sickly comical about the whole ordeal was my attempting to get Mudge to drop the bunny while avoiding looking directly at him or the bloody bunny. Because every time I did, the bunny was looking right at me and I'd scream. Truly gruesomely horrific.

I came in to get some more bacon and the kids asked me if what I was trying to do. Since they could see Mudge at the slider with a bunny in his mouth there was no point trying to sugar coat it so I said "I am trying to convince Mudge to drop half a dead bunny." Teresa gagged and choked out "It's only half dead? Will it be okay if you can get Mudge to drop it?"

Ummm, yeah, I don't think so sweetie.

swan lake

2011-05-21T21:27:00.005-04:00

After over a month spent sitting on her nest, Juliet, accompanied by proud Papa Romeo, takes her little brood out for a swim. Is this not the cutest thing ever???

what we've been up to

2011-05-16T20:39:00.000-04:00

multiple dance rehearsals and recitals

curler installation times five so she'd look like Shirley Temple for each and every rehearsal and recital

the joy of being a backstage (aka SuperMom) for one each of the above mentioned recitals and rehearsals
softball practices with the newest little leaguer on the block

baseball, baseball, baseball...cheering on the current #1 team in town! (#12 is our MVP)

visits from the tooth fairy

a night enjoying the arts...first the art show and then the third grade recorder concert (which was quite enjoyable despite what you may think 3rd grade recorder concerts sound like)

chaperoning a field trip to Boston with said musically talented third grade

Sometimes it is exhausting when I look at my daybook and see how full every single day is. Between school activities, sports, other extracurricular activities and the usual household obligations, it seems there isn't any time left to even breath. But I cherish all these moments, the big and the little. And quite honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

That doesn't mean I won't complain about my crazy busy days, because I certainly do plenty of that. ; )

a face only a mother can love

2011-05-12T12:39:00.000-04:00

beauties and the beast

2011-05-11T16:04:00.000-04:00

I was in the car with my three kids and a friend of Katie's. Sam had the book River Monsters (his current favorite) with him and he was holding up the book so the three girls could see the photos in an attempt to gross them out and maybe even scare them. Much to his dismay, photos of critters such as these beauties, caused the girls to ooohh! and aaawwwww!

As in "awwww...look at his teeny tiny little teeth"

and, "wow! That little guys mouth can open so big!"

This seemingly eyeless giant salamander even got a few "he's so cute!"

and this one..."aaaawww, he's smiling at us!"

this one was declared, "as beautiful as a seashell"

Sam finally closed the book in defeat and the girls saw the picture on the front cover and it was then they all shrieked in fear, disgust, and disbelief.
"oh my god!" Teresa spit out, while hiding her eyes. "That man is creeping me out!"

from her mouth to God's ear

2011-05-03T21:27:00.001-04:00

Every night my kids say their prayers. They say the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory be. Then we have some free style praying. I ask them if they have any intentions and then give them the floor. Sometimes they pray for help on a test, sometimes they ask for nice weather so they can play outside, they may ask God to help a sick, sad or worried friend and they always keep family, friends and pets on their list of people they want to ask God to keep an eye out for.

The other day we had a very late bedtime due to after school activities that kept us out till after seven. I decided bedtime was going to happen without our usual round of books and we'd skip prayers too. Katie was having none of it. She was okay, not happy but okay, with the no books but no way, no how were we not going to say our prayers. It touches my heart the way she said it, "Mumma, we HAVE to do our PRESENTATIONS to God so he knows what's in our hearts."

the other royal wedding

2011-05-03T06:43:00.001-04:00

Katie got a bit caught up in the wedding frenzy the other day and decided we needed a wedding of our own to celebrate.

Mudge is looking quite dapper in his bow tie and the Bride Daisy dazzled everyone with her one of a kind designer gown.

always kiss me goodnight

2011-04-28T13:06:00.006-04:00

My breath caught in my throat when I saw this note lying on the kitchen counter last night. Joe has been working many more nights than usual and we've all missed him so much. And not just because it means I have to do the dishes all by myself every night.

She got her goodnight kiss...heck, he'd probably buy her a pony after reading that note.

key to her heart

2011-04-27T19:59:00.006-04:00

Teresa has been lusting after a key necklace like this for quite some time. She pores over the Sunday circulars looking through the jewelery in Sears, JC Penny and Kohls hoping to see one on sale. We have to stop at the jewelery counters in all the department stores as she peruses their wares and compares prices. I think she is hoping we will buy it for her but I told her if she wants it, she can buy it. So for the moment, she is just window shopping and hoping we'll relent and surprise her with one.

Tonight Sam opened one of the junk drawers (yes, we have multiple junk drawers...doesn't everyone?) and discovered my cache of old keys. Car keys, house keys, apartment keys and even some that go to God knows what, they're all in there. He asked if he could have them.

M: All of them? What are you planning on doing with all those keys?

S: I want to make them into a key necklace for Teresa.

M: (heart melting into a puddle all over the floor) awwww....Bookie, that's so sweet! But that's an awful lot of keys. I'm not sure you need that many.

S: Yes, I do. I want it to be the best key necklace she'll ever love.

While his idea of a key necklace and her idea of a key necklace are light years apart, she would know he poured his heart and soul into her necklace, and it really would be the best key necklace she ever loved.

just because

2011-04-23T07:58:00.000-04:00

because Daisy doesn't get enough blog time. Her showy brother hogs all the glory.

because Teresa is so darn cute with her hair parted on the side

because my little girl cuddling with her dog makes me smile and speaks to something deep inside me.

because it's my blog and I want to.

seeing the world through fake glasses and a tutu bedecked headdress

2011-04-22T10:51:00.000-04:00

They may be coloring in coloring books but that doesn't mean they don't know how to think outside the box.

love you forever

2011-04-16T11:35:00.004-04:00

I came home from a PTO meeting the other night and found this message from Teresa on the front steps. It says "Mom and Dad I love you. Love Teresa and Katie"
I couldn't help but smile when I saw it.

And it's a good thing I like it. I thought she used chalk to scribe her message but apparently she was going for something a little more permanent and she etched it in with a rock.

on laces and teeth

2011-04-12T13:15:00.005-04:00

Someone has learned how to tie her shoelaces.

She spends about twenty minutes tying the laces on each shoe making sure to double knot them even! Of course I have to bite my tongue and curb my impatience at how looooooonnnnnggg it takes when I could do it in less than a minute. And since it's such a huge deal to her at the moment, she only picks out shoes that have laces, don't you know. [Note to self...ask Kate to put her shoes on at least a half an hour earlier than normal.]

Even more exciting...her very first wiggly tooth finally, finally fell out. It has been dangling in her mouth for nearly a month and she refused to let me give it a tug. She told me she wanted "it to fall out all by it's own self." I guess having multiple teeth pulled out due to trauma had more of an impact than I realized. If you can't tell where the for real first lost tooth came from it's down on the bottom. Her adult tooth is nearly in so it's hard to tell. And when you factor in she's a toothless wonder on top of things, it makes it next to impossible to tell where the culprit came from.

I swear to God this child is growing up at warp speed. For Pity's sake slow down!!!

fashionista

2011-04-05T21:46:00.000-04:00

Katie is in a "I'm going to pick out my own outfit" phase. I am past the point of interfering with the kids' clothing choices anymore. I used to be much more controlling about the whole thing but now, as long as it's weather appropriate and we're not going to a function, I let them exercise their budding fashion sense. Maybe I'm wrong in calling it fashion sense because clearly the above outfit makes very little sense whatsoever.

The black tunic is actually an outgrown jumper and if you look carefully, she's paired it with a polka dotted shirt. Hey, who says you can't pull off stripes and polka dots in one outfit? The clincher for me though is the multitude of bows. I suppose if one bow is pretty than a dozen must be spectacular.

I told her I wanted to take a picture of her amazing outfit because I wanted to show everyone how beautiful she looked. But really I want to torture her with this picture down the road when she's a teenager.

Don't you love the pose too? Oh, this kid kills me. :)

the difference a year makes

2011-04-04T21:46:00.006-04:00

A year ago, this cute little puppy could only dream about dining on pizza. A year ago, I could place pizzas on the counter and feel confident they'd still be there for our dining enjoyment, even if I turned my back. Ah...those were the good old days. Well, for me anyways.

What??!! I haven't done anything wrong...just checking to see what's up here. Geeez...you eat several lousy pizzas and they never let you forget it.

finally...an easy question to answer

2011-04-04T21:39:00.002-04:00

"Mumma, aren't you so happy to have such a unique boy like me?"

Yes, yes a billion times yes.

remember I was making Katie a quilt?

2011-03-30T19:13:00.001-04:00

I did warn you this was a slllllloooooooowwwwww process.

I am finally getting to the exciting part of making a quilt. Well, it's the exciting part for me anyways. I can begin to see a glimpse of what the finished design will look like. You create the brights/blacks star design by creating the black stars first. The bright stars will come together as I sew the black star blocks into rows. I hope those rows will be coming together soon...with soon being relative in my quilting time continuum. Squeeeeeeeee! So excited!

funnies

2011-03-27T21:24:00.006-04:00

Sam came home from his chess club award ceremony with a bright green ribbon waving in his hand. The girls and I gathered around him to admire his ribbon and hear his take on the award ceremony. Teresa took the ribbon and studied it for a minute as she deciphered what was written on it. Her eyes widened into shocked circles and an incredulous look flitted across her face. She looked up at me with her eyebrows scrunched together and glanced over her shoulder to make sure Sam was not within earshot. Then she whispered indignantly, "How mean! They shouldn't bother giving out ribbons if they're going give him one that says "HORRIBLE"." (Honorable...it said honorable mention.)

I was running the Spring book fair at my kid's elementary school and had been to the bank to get money to have in the registers at the start of the fair. The money was in small bills and rolls upon rolls of change. I dumped it all out onto the kitchen table and began rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets for a container to put it all in. Katie wandered in and stared at the big pile of wrapped coins on the table. She turned to me and asked in a matter of fact little voice, "Mumma, Why are there so many tampons on the kitchen table?"

The other morning, bookfair morning, I needed the kids to get up super early so I could get to the school and put last minute details in place, like put all those tampons into the registers. Under normal circumstances Sam is not an easy person to wake up in the morning. He groans and stretches and hides under the covers. I knew it wasn't going to be easy and was prepared for the worst. I crept into his room and sat down on his bed. I rufflled his hair and gently called, "Sam...Sam...it's time to get up." A smile spread across his face and he opened his eyes. Before I had time to faint in shock he looked at me and said, "Alright, But I've got to get back to the pineapple fish." And he closed his eyes and rolled over. I chuckled and shook his shoulder again and without opening his eyes Sam murmured, "tell Yoshi I said Hi." I giggled a little bit more and decided I'd give him a little bit more time to finish dreaming.

just because I don't want to forget

2011-03-21T06:18:00.000-04:00

Katie has always called her sneezes "aah choos." She still does. As in, "Mumma, I have been aah chooing all morning!" and "I wish these aah choos would go away." And I'm in no hurry to correct her. I will actually go so far as to hush Teresa up when she goes to correct her. I make no secret of the fact that I still consider her my baby and I will cling on to every remnant of babyhood for as long as I possibly can.

the luck of the Irish to you!

2011-03-17T13:47:00.004-04:00

May your blessings outnumber
the shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you
where ever you go.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I'm a dog and I'm in a lap...end of story.

2011-03-14T14:02:00.001-04:00

Despite much evidence to the contrary, Mudge refuses to admit he is not a lapdog.

basta ya!

2011-03-11T09:13:00.005-05:00

I had been congratulating myself on a winter notable for it's lack of major sickness here in our house. All the while making sure I was knocking on wood. Must have been faux wood I was knocking on, because the sick made itself known a couple weeks ago and has yet to leave our home. Nothing too debilitating, but enough to make us all cranky and blah. Poor Katie is having a hard time kicking this thing to the curb. She thinks being sick is not so bad. Most of the time our tv is turned off all day, but since she's been confined to bed or couch, I've indulged her and allowed mucho Dora and Diego. I know she's been sick far too long because she's watched so much Dora and Diego she is practically fluent in Spanish. But really, I'm ready for her to be back to her usual giggling, dancing, singing, gabbing, opinionated, adorable self.

back in the day

2011-03-08T14:40:00.004-05:00

When "going to school" was still considered the best thing ever and they longed for the day when they too could partake in such fun.

My how things have changed.

(Sam 3 years, Teresa 1 year)

providing comfort

2011-03-04T06:42:00.000-05:00

girlfriends

2011-03-03T05:51:00.000-05:00

I used to feel like I missed something. Sometimes after reading books like The Ya Ya Sisterhood or The traveling pants or some other girlfriend centric chick lit like that, I felt like the bus pulled out of the garage without me. I'd start to thinking how awesome it would be to have this large circle of women who have known me forever and accept me for who I am and who will always be there for me.

Don't get me wrong. I have wonderful friends that I love beyond words. But I became friendly with most, if not all, after my twenties. There are only a couple that I can trace back to my teens. Few of my friends know that I once thought I could talk to animals or that I had a crush on Sean Cassidy. It kind of starts to annoy me when I read those books. The women bond instantly as toddlers and are still the bosomest of buddies five decades later.

Quite recently however, I realized something. I had completely overlooked something every time I started my little pity party over poor friendless me. Or, I should say, I overlooked someones. I actually do have a big circle of girlfriends, who date back to my infancy even, who rally around me when needed and who know me better than I know myself. My sisters. Duh! I am lucky enough to have five incredible sisters. These women have seen me through every awkward stage and loved me in spite of myself. We called each other names, pulled each other's hair, and borrowed each other's clothes without asking. And yet, through it all, they have been there for me.

We tease each other over disastrous prom do's and bad haircuts. We help each other get through tough times with small gestures that mean more than we know. One of my sisters sent me postcards throughout my college freshman year because she knew getting mail was a daymaker. One of my sisters showed up at my door with bags and bags of groceries when she heard through the grapevine that we were all down with the swine flu. When Sam was hospitalized with pneumonia one of my sisters arrived at the hospital, scooped up my baby for the weekend so that I could focus on my sick little guy. I missed my baby but never gave a second thought to her well being. I knew she was in the best of hands. We don't always get along and may bicker amongst each other at times but when one of us is down and out, the others come through with love, support, humor, food and yes, when appropriate, wine. They boost me up when I'm feeling down, take my kids when I need a break, commiserate with me when I need to vent, and always always leave me laughing.

We've discussed love, kids, husbands, tv shows, politics and every other topic in between, around someone's kitchen table...first my Mother's and over the years everyone's. They've taught me all I needed to know about parenthood and marriage while sitting around a kitchen table.

They've pushed me to embark on adventures I was reluctant to begin. They've taught me about sewing, knitting, running, cooking, basketball, travel and teaching. Some of these have been successful ventures and others, well let's just say they are best left alone. We've collaborated on projects and poked and prodded each other into making sure we see them all through to completion. We've celebrated each other's achievements and accomplishments together.

My sisters quietly give me space when I need it and let me know they are there if I need them.

I am blessed beyond words. I belong to a circle of women who are funny, loving, generous and who love me as fiercely as I love each of them. My sisters. My girlfriends.

I am lucky indeed.

all you need for a snowfriend

2011-03-01T06:46:00.000-05:00

Are these not adorable?

All you need are either non-dairy creamer bottles (for the big ones) or smoothie bottles (for the little guys) and odds and bits from around the house. They are gaurenteed not to melt too.

a lover of words

2011-02-27T21:06:00.006-05:00

I have a budding logophile. Katie absorbs words. She revels in them. She loves the way certain words feel in her mouth and roll off her tongue. She will say unfamiliar words she hears in songs, on tv and in people's conversations under her breath...testing it out, to see if it makes the cut. The words don't have to be long, pretentious or unusual. They just have to feel right when she says them. When she finds a new word to add to her list of favorite words she likes to announce it to me and then she can't resist saying all the words that she loves as well. She draws each word out and pauses between them making sure to give each it's due. "Mumma, I like the word stuff...and bake...and carousel...and pinochle...and cake...and pickle...and fudgsicle...and Angelica...and brickle...and emperor." After which she sighs in delight.

it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye...the canine version

2011-02-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

Daisy has spied her prey and is in position, ready to pounce.

Mudge feels uneasy and looks around, but doesn't catch a glimpse of the super stealthy Daisy.

Suddenly, Daisy makes her move and the chase is fast and furious

She catches up but Mudge evades her with a rare, but effective, backwards kangaroo leap.

With ferocious growls, they finally clash and they grapple to each get the other into a pin.

Using his ten pound weight advantage, Mudge manages to force Daisy down but she wrestles in the deep snow to avoid being completely down and out.

With a lunge, she is free and she goes for the jugular!

Tune in next time to see the dramatic conclusion ; )

Just in case anyone was worried, they aren't really fighting at all. That is just how they play and they never bite down or hurt each other in any way. I mean, really, look at them. These pups are two big marshmallows when you get right down to it.

batteries not included

2011-02-15T06:05:00.001-05:00

One of my daycare friends brought in a spiral shell to show her friends. She excitedly told them that if you held it up to your ear, you can hear the ocean. Katie expectantly held it up to her ear and listened hard. She took it away and shook it a bit and then placed it against her ear again. After a minute she passed it to the next child remarking, "It isn't working. I think it needs new batteries."

do I have to make a Valentine?

2011-02-14T06:47:00.001-05:00

I received this Valentine from Sam. The analytical scientist side of him couldn't resist putting a scientific tweak to the Valentine heart. I know he's a romantic though because as he handed it to me he said, "Mumma, you are in the inner core of my heart." ♥ swoon ♥

snowed in

2011-02-09T14:12:00.006-05:00

Remember this picture? It showed up in the post about our recent snow day. I blithely stated that our jeep was completely covered with snow. HA! Little did I know...

Exactly one week later we got another snow day. Doesn't look like we have much snow though, does it? I mean, it doesn't even come up to the kids' knees. Take another look. See that black bar on the ground by Sam's feet? That there is the roll bar of our little jeep. The kids are walking on top of about two feet of ice solid snow. A few days after this we got even more snow and the jeep was then, officially, completely covered in snow. In that there was no sign that it existed under all that snow.

Thankfully things are starting to thaw out around here. The roll bar is once again visible. I am afraid however that we won't see the tires of that there jeep for quite some time.

so I'm sappy, sue me

2011-02-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

Moments like these bring tears to my eyes. Teresa is singing "Never grow up" by Taylor Swift to Katie. Honestly, it cannot possibly get any sweeter.

a two hour delay means I can sleep in...right?

2011-02-02T08:10:00.005-05:00

4:55 dogs jump up barking when Joe locks the door behind him
5:05 phone rings...it's connectEd letting me know there will be a two hour delay due to snow
5:11 the two girls come downstairs to tell me they brought their water bottles downstairs and put them on the counter
5:18 Sam comes in to ask if he can watch tv
5:20 dogs begin to whine incessantly until I let them out at 5:27
5:27 stand at the door and wait for the dogs to come back to the door
5:34 back to bed
5:38 dogs bark at a loud noise from the kitchen which winds up being the cat knocking his bowl to the floor
5:39 girls come downstairs to see what the loud noise was and start complaining it's not fair Sam is watching tv
5:40 tv goes on in my room so the girls can watch something too
5:45 I finally decide to give up and get the hell out of bed

Happy freaking snowday....grrrrrrr!

picture of innocence

2011-02-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

Don't believe a word she writes about me. I am innocent of all wrongdoing. Banana bread crumbs on my muzzle? Oh those...well, is it my fault she put the loaves of banana bread easily within my reach to cool? The top of the refrigerator is not "easily within reach?" I beg to differ. However, let's not quibble over details. I'm innocent, I tell you, innocent.

don't fence me in

2011-01-21T08:52:00.008-05:00

I love my dogs. They make me laugh, cry, yell and pull my hair out in frustration but most of all they make me happy. They are big, though not as big as we thought they would get (and for that I am counting my blessings). They are loud. And despite going to remedial dog classes, they don't listen all that well. But they're ours' and I love them.

Now, while they are not all that big, they can jump like freaking kangaroos. They will sit at the back door when they want to come in and if we don't move fast enough they will start leaping up at the door. I do not kid you in the least that I am wiping paw prints off the door at over five feet high. My adorably mischievous pups put this talent to good use. The end of the summer Mudge discovered that the gate to our stockade fence, which runs across the sides of the yard (the rest of the yard is fenced in with chain link), was lower than the rest of the fence. In no time at all, he had figured out how to jump up onto the gate and then over he'd go. Daisy, while no slouch, is not quite as agile but she'd scramble and claw her way up and over too so as not to be left behind. At first they only employed this tactic when they heard something going on in the front yard but it didn't take long before the wonders of the wide world beckoned and they would leap out every chance they could. So I came up with a brilliant deterrent. I bought a piece of lattice about three feet wide and six or seven feet long. I pounded a couple nails into the gate posts and hung the lattice up over the gate. Presto! The gate was instantly taller and it was removable so we could still easily get in and out. This worked...for a little while.

Mudge realized anything and everything would work as a ladder...a cooler, a trash can, a bike trailer, a box, even the plywood window inserts for the screenhouse. All became tools in his campaign to get up and over the fence. And Daisy, ever loyal, would always follow him up and over. It got so that I couldn't let them out without standing out in the yard with them. I tried tying Mudge up but he broke three collars in his successful attempts to break loose and I was terrified he would hurt himself doing that. So I'd stand out in my yard with them, in the wee hours of the morning, under the moon and all the hours in between...ready to grab one or both by the tails if they made so much as a move to jump to freedom.

If they did manage to get out, I had to round up the kids and immediately head up or down the street calling their names, hoping and praying they didn't wander out to the main road. Usually they went straight to the marshes in the woods and emerged twenty minutes later muddy, smelly and looking so pleased with themselves. Once the daycare kids came back in the fall, I realized something had to give. There was one week where I had to pack all the kids, my own and a couple others into the van, in the pouring rain, to look for the dogs...not once, not twice but three or four times in the course of the day. Something needed to change.

I happened to mention our doggie dilemma at Teresa's friend birthday party and hence came our salvation. One of the Moms said her husband installed electric dog fences and he'd be happy to come over and give us a quote. I think I hugged her while weeping my thank yous.

About a week later our fence was installed and it truly has changed my life. I no longer worry about the dogs getting out, getting hit if they escaped or hurting someone while running loose. It took some training with both dogs to teach them their boundaries and I'm still not confident they wouldn't bolt through the invisible fence in the front yard if the temptation was strong enough. However, I can let them out the back door and into the back yard with nary a care in the world. The training required some flags planted all around the back and front yard to mark the boundaries visibly until the dogs learned them. We were told not to move the flags until the dogs were fully trained. I had to explain to my children and the daycare children that the flags marked a special invisible fence for the dogs and they were not to touch them at all. The kids all nodded solemnly and said they understood.

Later on that day, I took the kids out into the yard and watched as Katie, M, C and A wandered over to one of the flags. They put their arms out and their hands were outstretched in front of them and they were slowly moving them up and down. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what they were up to. So I went over and asked them what they were doing. Katie said, "We're trying to find the invisible fence but we can't feel it at all."

what's for dinner?

2011-01-20T13:09:00.004-05:00

I have an immense collection of cookbooks. Especially for someone who really doesn't stray too far off the beaten path when it comes to cooking. I'm an adventurous eater but the rest of the family...not so much. I will often sit on the kitchen floor in front of the bookshelf and see if anything will inspire me. Sometimes yes...sometimes no, but I enjoy sitting and looking no matter the outcome. The other day I sat and was looking for recipes featuring ingredients I had on hand and this was one of those times when I was not having much success. I gave a big sigh and said aloud, "I need some new recipes."

Sam looked up from his homework and told me, "Mumma, when we went Christmas shopping I wanted to buy you a cookbook. But then I looked at the pictures of the recipes inside it and I really didn't want you to be making us any of that food. So I didn't."

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2011-01-19T13:11:00.000-05:00

We went out to dinner the other night and as a special treat let the kids order dessert. I should clarify, it's really the girls and I who order dessert. Sam doesn't care for most restaurant desserts and Joe will eat whatever we order (generally we all share one dessert).

I always think our server must think we're the meanest parents ever for excluding our son from the dessert and feel like I should explain, "He doesn't like your desserts. Really...he usually gets a treat at home instead." But then the dessert comes and I forget all about my shame as we dive in.

Oh well, back to my story. The server brought out our turtle cheesecake that had been topped off with a virtual mountain of whipped cream and drizzled with fudge sauce and she placed it on the table in front of us. Teresa gave a gasp of delight and exclaimed "IT. IS. BEAUTIFUL!!!!" That girl of mine, she knows all about appreciating the little things in life.

what do you mean my baby should register for kindergarten?

2011-01-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

Katie came home from preschool with this notice in her backpack. To say I'm in denial that my youngest, my baby, will be heading off to Elementary school in a few short months is an understatement. It took all my strength of will not to tear this notice up into itty bitty shreds and pretend I never saw it. Honestly, she does not need any screenings to see if she is ready. She's totally ready. How can that be? How can she be more than ready and I'm not even remotely close to ready? How can she possibly be old enough for kindergarten? Just yesterday, I brought this little pink bundle home from the hospital.

Five years just is not enough time to have her all to myself.

with expectations that high, she'll be living with me forever

2011-01-13T05:59:00.000-05:00

One day as we were driving, Katie was musing about what she wanted to be when she grew up. Like most kids, she has a wide variety of careers she is looking forward to. She wants to be a rock star, an artist, a store worker, a doctor, a baker, a waitress, and a librarian. Teresa, ever the realist, informed Katie that it would be practically impossible to be all those things at the same time. Teresa noticed Kate looked a bit downcast about that and quickly added, "Katie, there is a way you can be all those things! If you do a really really bad job at each job, you can be fired. And then you can do the next job, be really really bad at it and get fired. You can keep doing this until you've been fired from all those jobs!" This cheered Katie up immensely.

snow day

2011-01-12T23:30:00.000-05:00

Let me just say, that a snow day is not kind to my waistline. I baked two dozen cranberry orange muffins, three dozen peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, and three mini chocolate chip banana breads. What is it about forced hibernation that makes one feel the need to bake?

The girls gave the muffins two thumbs up approval.

I finally convinced the kids to go out in the snow. We still had quite a bit on the ground from the last storm and this one added another ten inches or so. Crawling around was the preferred mode of transportation. Which the dogs took to mean, "Jump all over me and steal my hat!"

Good thing dogs can be easily distracted. The game of steal the hats was quickly abandoned in favor of attempting to tear each other's face off.

We have a tree down in our yard and some of the branches make ideal seats for pretty little snowbunnies.

This is one of our battery operated jeeps. It is completely buried.

Timeless...catching snowflakes on your tongue.

And making snow angels

When you've had enough of playing in the snow, head inside and dance, dance, dance! Unless you're a dog. And then you would continue with the attempting to tear your face off game.

December unwrapped

2011-01-12T14:17:00.013-05:00

Twas the start of December and all through the region
we were enjoying the sights and the sounds of the season
We kicked off the season to see the Gardens Aglow
with nutcrackers, lights by the thousands and marshmallows

Off to the farm to pick out a tree that's just right
so we could take it home and bedeck it with lights.

Three little elves placed each ornament with care
because they wanted a tree that had oodles of flare.

Off to the little ones' classroom, where I sat in teeny seats
to play playdough, games and munch on Christmassy treats.

Our shining star sang and shone like the sun
in a Christmas perfomance proclaiming "Jesus is the One!"

When what to our wondering eyes should appear?
But the little one on stage looking so dear!

It wouldn't be Christmas without cookies to munch
and our annual cookie swap ensures we have a bunch

A Christmas tradition off to Edaville we go
riding rides and a quick visit to Santa to say hello
And of course no visit to Edaville would be complete
without a ride on the train to see the lights...such a treat.

Just before bed, on that most famous of Eves
to sprinkle food for the reindeer in just their pj shirtsleeves

At two a.m., before I crawl into bed
I take a moment to engrave this scene in my head.
The quiet, the beauty, the expectation...all wrapped
Though I know in the morning I'll be wanting to nap

The shrieks of delight as the tore into the pile
make all the shopping and running around so worthwhile

But the best moment of all came unexpected this year
Teresa crafted a gift to her Daddy with care.
She held her breath as he opened his gift
And smiled in delight when he thanked her with a kiss

On Santa's list of good girls, I surely must be
because every year what I wish for I find under my tree

Three little cousins are all smiles that they match
A photo of all three smiling together though, is not easy to catch

As Christmas draws to a close and the kids get in pajamas
they realize the best gift of all is just being together.

Hope everyone had a Christmas as merry and bright
And wishing you all a new year that's out of sight!