Home Again.

We've been home for almost a week actually. Just have not had the inclination to write about the vacation. I think I've been enjoying the lingering feelings and not really ready to share them just yet. We had a wonderful and relaxing time. I promise I will post some choice pictures soon. As soon as the mood strikes.

I had dinner with a good friend last night. It was a lovely dinner and I enjoyed getting back in touch. We haven't had time to get together in many months. She shared with me some stuff she is going through right now and my heart aches for her. If you want to say a prayer for "Jeanne's friend" I'm sure she would appreciate it. I know God is keeping her close right now and will know she is the one who needs the extra prayers.

We are getting yet another insane thunderstorm this evening. The sky has been rumbling on and off all day and the skies are randomly letting loose in torrents of rain. This has been the Summer of the Thunderstorms. Somehow we lucked out last week and had fair skies for most of our vacation and very little rain. But, now that we are home again, the rain seems to be making up for lost time. And if you believe the weathermen there is plenty more rain in our future.
Geesh - enough!

This morning I went to work for an organizational meeting to get ready for the upcoming school year. I can't say we got incredibly more organized but it was fun catching up with everyone and getting a slightly clearer picture of what my schedule is going to look like for the new year. I will be starting the year off doing two days a week, but the understanding is that I will increase to three days once the schedule begins to fill in. I also found out that I will be getting (hopefully sooner rather than later) my very own brand-new laptop. Talk about feeling officially official! I nearly bought myself a laptop last spring but really couldn't justify the expense since most of my hours were on-site in our office where I had access to a desktop. Any other computer needs were easily met here at home on my desktop. But, starting next month I will be out in the field most of my work days and a laptop is going to be a necessity, not a luxury. Thankfully, I did not have to plead my case too strongly. The SPED director does have to justify the purchase but I didn't have to go into much detail because she realizes that a traveling "assistive technology specialist" needs to have a portable computer. Apparently, the organization is in general trying to move away from laptop purchases because they don't last very long and many of the other specialists do not have laptops. But, in our area of expertise the technology really needs to travel with us wherever we go. Period.

We have a few more weeks left before school begins. My brother-in-law and nephew are arriving on Saturday from Virginia for a week's visit and at the tail end of that visit I have plans to drive to the Cape with the girls for a mid-week visit with my parents. I am sorely missing the water and the smell of the ocean so I'm trying to fit one last beach visit in this month. Rick has to work so he's going to be staying home (and probably enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty house...I think I may have to figure out a way to work out a deal like that for myself some day!! I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be alone in the house for a few days...and how I would make use of all that free time!).

My birthday is coming up at the end of the month and although Rick has asked what I would like to do I have no really great ideas. In fact, at today's staff meeting I found out that orientation is three days before my birthday and we ended up scheduling a planning day ON my birthday. It just so happens that my birthday is also Eldest girl's first day of school (which seems way too early for me because school always started the Tuesday after Labor Day when I was growing up). So, I'll be busy getting her on the bus, getting the other two off to some kind of yet-to-be-arranged childcare situation (Middle girl's first day of Kindergarten is not until the following Tuesday!!), and spending the day getting prepped for our first full week of work. I also made plans to out for a quick drink with my coworkers to celebrate my birthday!

Life is flying by. Summer has been great so far and I can't believe that the need to go shopping for school supplies and clothing is essentially upon us. But, as much as I'm enjoying summer I have to say that autumn is my favorite season and I am looking forward to it. I love crisp blue skies in the morning, apple-picking followed by warm apple pies, walks in the woods with leaves crunching underfoot, and all the goodness that is autumn in New England.

We can paddle...canoe?

We did, indeed, get out in the canoe yesterday afternoon. Our initial plan was to leave Youngest girl with the grandparents but they were not home when we called over to set up a time to drop her off. We decided to be brave and took her along with us. She actually did a great job of sitting nicely and had a good time watching the world go by.

The pond we chose for our first canoe adventure was small and a bit mucky but it was a good first run and now we are anxious to get out again and find some bigger and better places to canoe.

And being completely brainless yesterday, I forgot to bring along my camera. Otherwise I'd post a few pics of us in our dorky (but safe!) life vests and of the murky waters through which we paddled.

Yeah, it was probably for the best that I left the camera at home...

Summer sweetness

This morning I took the girls out for a quick trip to a local 'u-pick' farm to get some fresh strawberries. Nothing like fresh, sweet strawberries in the summertime.

I was blog-surfing the other day and happened upon a blog in which there was mention of making delicious ice cream (complete with a cute picture of her little girl in a pink straw hat enjoying said ice cream). It served as a reminder that we need to use the handy-dandy ice cream maker we have tucked away in the basement more often. The strawberries we picked will add just the right touch to a foray into creamy culinary goodness. More on that later.

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In other news: I. am. pathetic.

Not like that is even blog-worthy news. But, I just had to state it for the record. Because it is so true.

I feel like an 80-year-old woman when I try to walk up and down stairs. One at a time. I creak when I stand up from a sitting position and I wince in pain when I try to sit back down. Stationary is good right now. Being still is painless. Movement, however, is not.

And it's all Jillian Michael's fault.

Well, sort of.

Ok, so it's also sort of my fault for thinking I could halt all exercise (aside from my occasional morning walks) for a loooong period of time and then just jump (literally!) right back in.

I tried the Level 1 workout on the above linked workout DVD and it KICKED MY ASS. Seriously.

It was only 20 minutes, so I figured - how hard can it be?

As it turns out...very hard. Ass-kicking, sweat-fest, heavy-breathing kind of hard.

And I'm paying the price of my own stupidity today (and Jillian's ruthlessness, let us not forget her role in all of this! Bitch. Meanie.)

Oh. And the jumping jacks served as a very potent reminder to do my kegels more frequently.

I'm just saying... (three pumpkin-headed babies will do that to a girl, ya know...)

Exhibits 1-3

I rest my case.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Yesterday was a great day all around. The skies were blue with white puffy clouds and the forecast did not include rain. That alone would have made it a red-letter day around here because we have been hit with our fair share of downpours and lightning storms of late...and there are more to come if you listen to the weathermen. Rain and thunderstorms every afternoon straight through until next Tuesday - if you want believe those liars professionals . I certainly don't. I enjoyed the mildly warm weather and lack of moisture falling from the sky yesterday. And I want more. I'm sure the plants have been enjoying the soaking rains and we will hopefully be rewarded with a decent crop of tomatoes, beans, and basil, among other things, but if I had to guess the crop would be even better with a little sun in the mix somewhere. I'm no green-thumb so I leave the gardening stuff mostly in Rick's capable hands, but I think I recall learning in elementary school that plants need soil, water and sun to grow.

Not to mention the fact that if I want to see my children grow to adulthood with my sanity mostly intact, we would also benefit from a little sunshine and fresh air! "Go out and play, kids!"

Seeing as our opportunity to get to the park this week look limited, I decided to load the girls in the car for a trip to a park a couple of towns over. This part boasts not only a sprinkler park, mini train rides, a small zoo, a river, decent bathrooms and a snack bar but also a great playground with ample shade. You might be wondering why, after all the talk of sunshine, would I be looking for lots of shade? If you took one look at my pale, freckled Irish skin you would wonder no more. Add to that the fact that for some reason our town decided to place their playgrounds in the middle of big open spaces with no trees to give shade to the climbing structures. Granted they are mostly wooden but they have a fair share of metal and plastic and there are also older slides and monkey bars that are all metal. No shade means that on very hot, sunny days the kids can't even use the playground equipment!

By 10am we were on the road headed for the park. The train was already running when we got there so the girls first agenda item was to hitch a ride on the train and then take a tour through the adjacent zoo.

Eldest and Middle girls cozy on the train. Nice to know that at 8 this little train is still exciting for Eldest Girl.


Mom and Youngest wearing our cool shades and enjoying the ride.


The girls in the zoo checking out the sheep.


...and the chickens. Somehow this was still fun for them even though we have chickens living right next door who used to frequently roam into our yard. (The neighbors now have cats who like to roam into our yard and I think they fixed the chickens' fencing so they are more contained.)


After the train ride and quick tour of the zoo we headed off to the snack bar for lunch and then a short run through the sprinkler park. It was about 80 degrees out by that point so it was warm but not hot. They lasted about 20 minutes before they decided they were cold enough!



The youngest was acting tired by this point and had decided not to get wet. So, she hung out with me on the bench and just watched the action. (She later fell asleep in the car on our way to the girls dentist appointment and I was able to carry her in and place her on the waiting room couch where she slept for a solid 45 minutes. I am constantly amazed at her ability to sleep just about anywhere. I think she takes after me in the sleep department.)

Next stop was the playground which is next to the river. The Eldest is fascinated by nature and by any kind of body of water so she chose to explore the riverbank while Middle and Youngest were on the swings. We never even made it to the rest of the playground because the girls all decided to explore the river a bit more closely.

Youngest girl and I stayed on the embankment while the older two got close enough to find river rocks and splash a bit in the water.

I find it strange that in all the times I've been to this park I have never explored the river before. In fact, I never ventured close enough to realize that the little stream running through the park led to a much larger river. The park is large enough and the drop down to the river steep enough that you can stand at the playground and not even know it is there. And it's far enough away that you can't hear it over the sounds of the children playing. So, if it were not for the fact that Eldest girl is old enough to explore a bit farther afield (and can now swim) I still would not have known the joys of this river. A prime example of how children can lead you to experience wonderful things that you might never have found on your own.



Our time was short on this visit to the park because the older girls had afternoon dentist appointments (they both received a clean bill of dental health, thankfully). I'm thinking that the next outing to this park will include a more thorough exploration of what the river has to offer!

With the park and dental appointments finished the girls and I headed to a local soft-serve ice cream stand and enjoyed a mid-afternoon treat (shhh...don't tell the dentist that I fed my girls sugar so soon after they got their teeth all nice and clean). Then it was off to the grocery store for a quick-trip-turned-major-shopping-excursion. I think I had about 5-8 things I needed to get. But once I got there I remembered about 4 bags worth of stuff we were low on or out of - plus an additional bag worth of 'extras' that were on sale or that I bought because I had three children in tow who were being extremely good and so I was more inclined to say "yes" to a few snack foods.

Last night we took advantage of the weather and Rick cooked burgers out on the grill. If the weather forecast turns out to be true we may not have another chance to easily grill food outside for a while (although Rick has been known to grill even on rainy days - and once he even grilled steaks for Christmas while it was snowing, but it's never quite as enjoyable).

So, that was our day yesterday - a full day and a great one all around. Today we have gray skies and raindrops and the girls have been mostly good about finding a way to keep themselves entertained. It gives me hope that the transition to summer won't take as long as I had feared.

Summer is here...

...and with it come the three H's.

Hostility. Horrific boredom*. Hours of togetherness.

The girls are trying to get used to the idea of being home all day long...together. It's not an easy process, but I try to remember that it is a process. One of adjustment and change - not something that has come easy to eldest girl in the past, but which this year is proving to be even harder on middle girl. Maybe it's an age thing - those preschool years can be rough. You hear about two being a terrible time. And you foolishly think that once you get past those terrible twos that you are going to be on easy street. But, then you hit the trying threes and the mumble-fours (I don't dare use that word on such a family-friendly site). Middle girl seemed to sail through the two's and three's and the attitude and the boundary-pushing didn't rear its ugly head fully until four. She is nearing six and we don't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. Except in our own little minds where the mantra that continues to hold is: this too shall pass...eventually.

Middle girl is usually, well....in the middle of the fights that have been popping up like a plague of weeds in a well-tended garden. The general chorus of the day is middle girl arguing that her little sister is taking toys away from her, following her around too much or making annoying noises
or that her big sister refuses to play with her and thus she has 'nothing to doooooo.' (Can you just feel the whine in the last part of that sentence?) The eldest and youngest have had their squabbles too, but those seem to be far fewer in number.

This weekend we tried to keep them busy - on Saturday, an afternoon trip to the site of their summer camp experience where we explored the grounds and went swimming, and on Sunday a trip to the movie theater to see Kung Fu Panda (very cute movie, btw) and a game of Monopoly (our latest family craze). There were times they were asked to 'find something to do' because I am not the parent who tries to fill her children's every waking hour with non-stop entertainment. I'm one of those mean moms who actually makes them go play with a room full of toys or enjoy a bit of fresh air and sunshine in our big grassy backyard complete with kiddie pool and wooden play structure - along with the toads, interesting bugs and butterflies. Personally, I want need some time now and again to get stuff done and have a bit of a break. But lately those "breaks" are frequently punctuated by repeated shrieks of "OW! stop it!" and "leave me alone!" and a variety of tattletale phrases.

I do realize this is the transition time between school and summer. A time that I have increasingly dreaded ever since eldest girl started going to school. Once they get into a rhythm things do go a lot smoother, but right now they need a constant referee to their insanity and I'm just ready to throw my striped shirt and whistle in the trash and head for the hills... Or maybe I should just follow Susan's advice and start my day with one of these (she emailed and let me know that they are great for brunch...how early can I realistically start my day and still call it brunch?) and a say a prayer that I can survive this latest transition.

After all, summer doesn't last forever...right?

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*The phrase "Horrific boredom" is a relative term which is defined in different ways by the author and her offspring.