Status

So...are you done with your holiday shopping? Or are you one of the many still racing around trying to get that last-minute gift?

I still have loads of wrapping to do, but, as I reported earlier, things are calmly coming together here. I am pretty proud of myself - holiday cards were out on time, shopping has been done for a couple of weeks now, and my stress level is comfortably low.

Of course, part of that is because we really are keeping it pretty low-key this year. In past years, I have gone nuts, buying gifts and spending more than I should, simply because I love to give. This year, I really had to be disciplined about it, because we just can't afford to be otherwise. So, as much as I would have liked to have been one of those parents snapping up iPods, Wii and xbox 360 systems and butterscotch the pony 'pets', I wasn't. Each child is getting (from us) three gifts that I hope they will enjoy. Others that we give to are getting thought out, yet not terribly extravagant gifts. And, if they don't like them, then I say 'bah humbug' to them.

iPod Batteries.

Evan noticed recently that my iPod sounds kind of crappy. It isn't noticeable when you're just listening to it with the earbuds, but when it is hooked into our stereo system, it can't quite handle the base output too well. My brother in law thinks that possibly the battery is going. I've only had the thing for a year, but I have no idea how long the battery life is. Anyone? Anyone? Also, are there different 'levels' as far as quality that I should be considering when I buy a new one? Are some better (read: longer-lasting) than others? Can you use rechargeable batteries? And, aside from Apple, does anyone know the best place to buy them? All recommendations and suggestions for finding excellent ipod batteries wanted...!

five more days...

and then I'm off of work until January 2nd. I can't wait! I need a change of scenery. In general, this is a very non-stressful job, but come the end of the semester and things get a little crazy. I found myself logging in and answering questions over the weekend because it was easier than waiting until Monday and dealing with panicked faculty members. For that matter, I actually had someone call me at home on Saturday! Oy. I really can't complain about my job, and it is certainly the most laid-back one I've ever really had, but I'll be glad to get a couple of weeks of a break from explaining the intricacies of the popup blocker and ftp protocols and other such thrilling topics to thoroughly confused people.

So far, I don't have too much planned for the break, but I'm sure that will change. Sadie and I are meeting friends for lunch and 'Enchanted' (our second time seeing it!) one day, I'm taking Sadie for her eye exam one day, and I'm going to get my mom to watch Sadie one day so Eden and I can have a little one-on-one time, as well. And, of course, our brunch looms near! So far, almost everyone has said they're coming.

It will definitely be nice to not have to rush around to get out of the house each morning, and to have time to catch up with some of my SAHM friends that I don't get to see except for in the summer.

there are basically three reasons

that make me feel blessed, every single day, to have moved back to Jersey.

The first, obviously, is proximity to family. Every time my mom stops by in the afternoon just to see the girls, or one of our parents helps us out with watching the kids, or any time we can effortlessly get together with our families for major and minor gatherings and celebrations, I am thankful that we live here.

The second, as I have blogged probably more than I should have about a singular topic, is the proximity to the beach. Having the beach practically at our doorstep is a gift we enjoy year-round. Having a daily destination in the summers is priceless.

So, the third reason? Check out this photo from yesterday's 'weather event' in Boston (I should note that we got rain here):



The second photo is of the Fenway on-ramp to Storrow Drive...the most arduous part of my daily commute home from Simmons even on the best of days. The Globe account is talking about 3-4 hour commutes, and traffic at an absolute stand-still everywhere from the Pike to city streets.

What do you think this says about me?

my holiday wish list consists almost entirely of appliances.

I need a new dustbuster, I suppose I should ask for an iron, being that we seemed to have left ours in Massachusetts (and what does it say about me and my domestic skills that we've gone two years without one?), and I'm dying for one of those household-grade espresso machines.

Clothes? Perfume? Jewelry? Fancy cosmetics? Nah...I buy enough of that stuff for myself all year long. Nope, this year, if it doesn't come with a powercord and an on switch, I'll be disappointed.

Can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet!!!

Considering it has been on my mind all week...

Evan and I have a milestone anniversary coming up in June...our tenth!!! First of all, I have a hard time believing we've been married for that long, but that's a topic for another post. The big news is that we're actually going to do something special to commemorate it . Brace yourself...

We're going away.


Without the kids.


For four whole days.

I know most people do something more monumental for these types of anniversaries...upgrade their diamond rings for bigger, flashier models, or take two week jaunts to exciting places in Europe, but hey...for us, this is big.

We haven't ironed out all of the details yet, but we are definitely going to the Dominican Republic with Evan's sister and brother-in-law. We are definitely going to sit our butts on the beach and drink umbrella drinks and just relax for a few days. I really can't wait.

This and That

• The big snow storm we were supposed to get seems to have fizzled into a big rainstorm. I'm perfectly ok with that, but I know the girls will be disappointed. They were hoping to get to play in it this afternoon. Oh well, I'm sure they'll be consoled by a cup of hot coco (a rare afternoon treat for them).
• We are supposed to get snow over the weekend - Saturday night into Sunday afternoon. I hope it doesn't interfere with the birthday party Sadie has scheduled for Sunday. She is so looking forward to going and seeing her CPS friends.
• Eden seems to have fallen into another weird sleep patter over the last few days. She is continuing the weeks-long trend of not falling asleep until at least 9pm every night, but she has stopped crying/complaining/calling us back to her room countless times. Now, she just talks and sings and, I guess, "winds down" for a very long time. This would be ok except that falling asleep so late now means that she doesn't want to wake up when I need her to get up in the morning. So, we've had some cranky mornings and lots of undirected temper tantrums each morning. Not so much fun.
• I made it to the gym yesterday for the first time in almost 10 days. With having to get Sadie at lunchtime most days, it has just been very difficult to find the time to squeeze it in. I'm going to try to be more diligent about getting there at least three times a week. I feel so much better when I go...sometimes it is just getting there that is the issue.
• Tomorrow is the holiday party here at work. Evan and the girls are coming (they have a whole kids' program of events). It should be a good time.
  

Trying to keep a positive outlook.

it could be worse. much, much worse. the washing machine or dryer could be the appliance that kicked. or the refrigerator. or, my god, the toilet! I know that in the scheme of things, having to live without a dishwasher for a little bit (speaking of which, that part is due in today. it better be on time!) is really not one of life's hardships. But, man! I really don't like washing dishes. It is just so...tedious. and wet. and, at least in our house, where someone is always snacking or drinking...neverending. I have to admit that knowing that the dishes can't just be secreted away into the the confines of the dishwasher -- out of sight, out of mind until the thing gets run in the evening has definitely influenced my food prep decisions! One-dish meals, served on paper towels (gotta love the sandwich) loom high up on my list of current favorites.

Anyway, it is only temporary, and obviously, it could be so much worse, but I will be so glad when the thing is fixed.

Sadie's new favorite outfit

I can't decide if she looks like JonBenet Ramsey, or just a run of the mill streetwalker...what do you think? Actually, since this picture was taken, she has found more creative ways to, as she says 'asexorize' her look. This involves silk scarves, gold chains, and stickers. That child is 100% girly girl - I have no idea where that facet to her personality came from!

I should have listened to my mother.

When we were shopping around for dishwashers, she told me not to get one with a computerized control panel. She claimed that they always broke, that it was better to get one with a manual dial and buttons.

So, did I listen to her? Of course not. Am I regretting that decision? You bet I am. Our new (under two years old) dishwasher is on the fritz...a little search on the Web (can you believe there is actually a blog and forum devoted to maytag dishwasher repairs?) has led us to conclude that the control panel is shot and needs to be replaced. Apparently, this is a very common problem -who knew? Ok, ok, I know...my mom knew, and had I paid attention, I would have known, too. Anyway, so we ordered the part and Evan is going to replace it, but what a pain. I'm only grateful that this happened now, instead of right before our party next month. That would have been a disaster.

As it is, washing dishes by hand is a pain - I had forgotten how much I dislike it.

Two Quick Updates

First - I am done with all my holiday shopping. I even have all the wrapping supplies purchased. **bowing**. I am a domestic goddess. That is all.

Second, we got the official word that Sadie was deemed ineligible for speech therapy services. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. Happy, on the one hand, that her issues are considered developmental and within the norm at this point. But, also, a little disappointed, because in preparing a case for her to get help, her teacher noted that the other children in the class are becoming aware of Sadie's speech difficulties. So, that makes me feel like I want to do everything possible to 'fix' them asap. Anyway, that's where we stand on that topic, for now.

Holy Crap

I just mailed out invitations for the New Year's Brunch I was thinking about throwing. Including kids, I invited 44 people. Other than tossing around the idea of doing it, and browsing recipes, I haven't really done any planning. Where the heck am I going to fit all those people in our small house?!? Sometimes I think I need someone to talk me down from my big ideas before I get myself into these kinds of things...

Wherein I brag about Evan again...

When people ask me what Evan does for a living, I say 'he makes furniture.' Then, the responses usually fall into one of three categories.

There's the 'oh, my grandpa/dad/old boyfriend/former neighbor makes furniture for fun, too', which usually implies some sort of hobbying that involves plywood, lots of glue and a nail gun. I never know how to reply to that response without coming across as rude, so I usually just say something along the lines of 'that's great!' and leave it at that.

There's the 'wow! could he make me a sectional couch?' or the 'could he make me a dining room set? I can pay as much as $300 for it' responses. Those usually require me to find a polite way of telling them that a) if they really want a wooden couch, I'm sure he could make them one ;) and b) sometimes the paltry amount of money they want to spend wouldn't even cover the material.

But, every now and then, someone just gets it. They get what he does, and they appreciate the time and skill it requires. We are very lucky to have a neighbor--who runs an art gallery in town--who appreciate what he does. He has talked about possibly showing some of Evan's pieces in an exhibit, which would be very cool.

It really seems like things are coming together on so many fronts for him these days. I couldn't be happier for him, or prouder of him.

So you can share my awe ;), I leave you with a photo of one of the bathroom vanities he has made. Isn't he talented?!?!

Lydia's Shower

Lydia's baby shower was on Saturday. Normally, I'm not much of a baby shower type person. I usually find them sort of boring and cloying. This one, though, was a lot of fun. First of all, the restaurant was phenomenal. The food was so good and the atmosphere was great. I love, love, love the town where she lives (we had seriously considered relocating to that area before the opportunity to move here came up), and the downtown was all done up for the holidays, so everything had a very festive air.

It was great to see Lyd in all her enormously pregnant glory, and also to see some of my friends from college. I love that we have stayed close, even though we all live aways away from eachother, and are all kind of in the midst of our simultaneous "we have small kids and so our lives are very hectic and insular at the moment" phases of life. Even though we don't see eachother too often (though, with Kristin's bachelorette party, wedding, Lyd's pregnancy, and a spontaneous get together this summer, I would say this year has been a bumper year!), when we do, it is like we just pick up right where we left off. So, it was a good time. And, really nice to have pretty much a whole Saturday to myself.

Odds and Ends

• Lots of good news on Evan's business front - he delivered that table last week, and the customer has already ordered the next piece (and is making noise about the piece after that). Given that he's got three other things in line ahead of those, I think it is safe to say he has a pipeline!
• A gallery owner down in Pt. Pleasant asked him for a few pieces . On the one hand, it is flattering, and cool, and who knows? maybe he'll get a sale or another commission out of it. But on the other hand, given that the pieces he had to give her were being USED in our house...our bedside lamps, books and alarm clock are now sitting on the floor, and we've got to come up with a makeshift computer desk asap.
• I'm going to Lydia's baby shower tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. Not only to see all the college girls, but just to celebrate this pretty wonderful, and somewhat miraculous time in Lyd's life. The latest forecast is for snow, though, and so I'm not looking forward to driving to and from Philly in crappy weather.
  
• Sunday, we're dumping the girls at my parents' house for a bit and hopefully, finally, picking out the fabric for the Roman shade I'm making for the dining room.
• I'm campaigning to have a couples getaway to the tropics in the spring. I really, really want (need!) this. Evan isn't quite on board yet. I need to work on him a bit more!

Finally, how cute is this picture?!?!? Its of the girls (Kayleigh, Sadie, Eden, and Sophia) taken at Kayleigh's first birthday celebration. Too cute!!!

I say ffppppptttt!!! to winter!

Cause I just bought a ton of bulbs and, if all goes well, will be enjoying the spring-like fragrance of paperwhites throughout the house by the new year.

I will banish all thoughts of wool socks, hot soup, volcom clothing, and snow tires from my head, the moment I walk in and smell those beauties.

Can't wait!

and, while I'm on a roll...

Holiday card order placed? check.
Invitations for New Year's brunch written out? check.

I'm on a roll!

more shopping done

I made another trip to Target last night and am excited to say that I am really pretty close to being done! I couldn't resist picking up a few more things for the girls, even though I thought they were good to go already. It is kind of cool that as Sadie gets older, the things I am buying for her are more interesting to me (Hungry Hippo, Light Bright, e.g.). So far, I have resisted buying her anymore Barbie crap. Not sure if I will hold to it, but it's a goal.

Can't wait for the gift-giving to begin! Of course, I still have to wrap everything - doh! One thing that I also realized is that this is the first year that none of the girls' gifts are coming packaged with those oh so annoying and impossible to remove without a pair of pliers or box cutters plastic-coated wire ties. There is no bigger buzzkill than having to wrestle the damn toy out of the box for 20 minutes, while your kid is jumping up and down and going crazy wanting to play with it.

This weekend (coming up)

will be December already - I can't believe how fast this year is flying by!!!!

I suppose I really need to get my act together and come up with a list of indoor activities for those cold, rainy weekends that are sure to come.

I have my usual stash of things, starting with the mundane (and free), but effective at keeping the kids interested and entertained. These include:

--The library
--PetSmart (they love to not only look at the cats, birds, reptiles and rodents, but for some reason, they are really into looking through the cat and dog supplies -- especially the bedding and leases. weird, I know, but it is a good way to pass an hour or so)
--the mall. they really enjoy walking around and looking in the store windows.

the more exciting options include:

--McDonald's (love those indoor playgrounds)
--Chuck E. Cheese's (I can only suck it up and tolerate this maybe 2x a year, so I hold it out as a last resort)
--FunTime America. We haven't actually been there yet, but I hear it is good (though, expensive).

then, if we're willing to venture further away then the immediate area, there are a couple of children's museums and an aquarium we could hit.

If anyone (local) has any other suggestions, please, let me know! As far as I'm concerned, you can never have too many options for a dreary winter day.

This is so not like me, but...

We got a card/note in the mail the other day from a real estate agent, saying that a house around the corner had sold and we had new neighbors. Normally, I would just ignore the note, but I think I'm actually going to go over and introduce myself. When we moved into this house, our neighbors were SO welcoming...coming over to introduce themselves, and one set even brought us a cake with a 'welcome to the neighborhood' card. It was really nice, and quite a departure from what we were used to in our 'urban suburban' neighborhood in Boston, where people were too busy to be so friendly.

So anyway, I'm going to give it a try. Who knows? Maybe they have kids and we can score some new playmates for the girls, or, even better, maybe I'll hit it off with them and score a new friend for myself.

What a great weekend

Great weather, lots of family, and too much good food were the recurring themes of the long weekend.

We woke up to an unseasonably warm day on Thursday, so we were able to get in a good bike ride down to our favorite playground on the beach before the foodfest began. The good weather continued through the weekend (though, it did turn colder), and we were able to get out to various playgrounds each day. The girls are finally getting really good at playing together, so it was extra pleasant to be out.

Sadie and Eden got a kick out of the various cousins they encountered over the weekend - and much running, shrieking and laughing ensued. Kids really do make the holidays that much more special, I think.

I ate way too much over the entire weekend, and so today, without delay, I'm getting back to the gym to try to do some damage control. Between the actual Turkey Day meal, the dinner we had at Evan's dad's house the next night, the dinner party we hosted on Saturday evening, and the Syrian food fest we made last night, I think I consumed enough calories and fat to sustain me for weeks. Almost makes a colon cleanse sound appealing. Almost ;)

Here's a few pictures from the weekend:

Patch Jobs and Jerry-Rigging

I'm wondering how long our method of ignoring our sadly-in-need of renovations bathrooms will last. As it is, we don't have full functional use of our 'master bath' (I have to laugh at that term, as this bathroom is like the size of the 'head' on a small boat...what in the world was the builder thinking?), and the main bathroom, which is shouldering the burden of servicing the four of us, is showing more and more obvious signs of distress.

Deep-cleaning the grout and putting in shiny new Kohler faucets can only take you so far when you have fundamental, structural 'issues', you know? I keep telling myself that if only it can last--and by last, I mean not having the bathtub fall through the floor--a few more years, we'll be ok. Financially, there are some big obligations (daycare and student loans) that will be off of our plate in the next 3-4 years, thereby freeing up a significant chunk of cash each month to deal with the many things we have been putting off. Problem is, I don't know that the bathroom can actually wait that long. I guess time will tell.

That's My Girl

So, Evan and I have pretty different tastes in music. Oh sure, there are plenty of songs and artists that we agree on, but for the most part, he leans toward old school rock and roll and I like more alternative stuff. Given how much of this stuff he ends up playing around the kids, you would think that they would go for his style of music, right? Well, I'm proud to say that Sadie asked for her first ever, non kid-oriented download from iTunes...

Girls by the Beastie Boys.

So, is it bad that I indulged her? And that she is dancing around the house singing "Girls! to do the dishes...Girls! to clean up my room...Girls! to do the laundry...Girls! and in the bathroom..."? The feminist in me thinks it probably isn't the best message for her to be hearing, but the music lover in me is secretly proud, and just oh-so-glad that she won't be asking for for Rush or Van Halen tickets any time soon...

Relaxed

Tomorrow will mark the third Thanksgiving we've celebrated since relocating back to the motherland. I wonder when or if the novelty of not having to travel on this holiday will ever wear off? Thanksgiving really snuck up on me this year. This is due in no small part to the fact that I didn't have to spend weeks rearranging my work schedule to clear out Tuesday and Wednesday as possible travel days, didn't have to obsess for days about traffic patterns and strategize about how to find the optimal day and time to travel the miserable Boston to NY corridor. I didn't have to start masterminding the kids' eating, sleeping, and pooping schedule days in advance to try to maximize peaceful, crying-free travel and minimize rest-stop visits.

No, instead, I've given it almost no thought until just yesterday, when my mom asked me what time we thought we'd come by. This morning when I woke up, I looked out the window at our quiet street, and gave thanks that I didn't have to be out on a busy highway today. Tomorrow, sometime after Eden wakes from her afternoon nap, we'll load up the car with the platters of food my mother has stored in our extra fridge and make the 20 minute drive up to her house. And perhaps best of all, tomorrow night, with our bellies full of the Thanksgiving feast and our hearts full from the visit with extended family, we will simply make that 20 minute drive back home and enjoy the delicious sensation of settling in for the night in our own home. Bliss.

what I accomplished over the weekend

On Sunday, I took two hours and significantly lightened the load of holiday shopping with a very productive trip to Target. The girls are almost entirely taken care of, as are my nieces, and my parents. I was like a woman on a mission, tearing through the aisles, list and coupons in hand. I would say at this point, I'm about halfway done with shopping, which is halfway more than I had done just a week ago. Looks like I may stick to my goal of having a less stressful, last-minute shopping fueled December, after all. I know my checking account is certainly going to be less taxed, by spreading the spending out over a longer period.

I still need to figure out what to get the girls' sitter, as well as my brother and a couple of cousins, but for the most part, I think I'm in good shape.

I just love that little girl!

Today, Sadie spent the afternoon with her Grammy and Grampy, so Evan and I had the rare treat of an afternoon alone with Eden. I think that has happened maybe twice since I returned to work when she was 7 weeks old. It was delicious!

First, we went out to lunch - for sushi! I wish I'd taken a picture of my adorable child, sitting on a booster seat at the sushi bar, using her chopsticks (rubberbanded together) to eat her edamame. She seemed to realize that this was a special occaision, Sadie's absence. She was so...good, and quiet, and oh so different than she is when the four of us are out to eat. No clamoring for our attention or trying to get a word in edgewise while Sadie "motormouth" C. is chattering continuously. It was such a peaceful meal that it was kind of reminiscent of our childless days. I joked to Evan that before we had kids, when I thought about having one, this is what I thought it would be like - that the child would just seamlessly (and quietly) fit into the life we already had. We had a good laugh about that one!

Then, we came back to the house so she could nap. I took that opportunity to head out and do some holiday shopping (got a ton done, btw, and I'm feeling a bit less edgy about it now). After she woke up, she helped me create this funny on the computer and she was hysterical over it. Full on belly laughing. It was adorable.

We ended the afternoon by heading out to Evan's parents' house to have dinner with them and retrieve Sadie. As soon as they opened the door, Eden ran right over to Sadie and gave her the biggest, most heartfelt hug ever. There is nothing better than seeing my kids love on eachother. What a great day.

Progress

Remember how I posted about six weeks ago about how organized I was for Christmas and Chanukkah this year? How this year was going to be different? Huh. I'm not sure what happened, but all of a sudden, it is just about Thanksgiving, and I still have a ton of shopping to do.

I have gotten a few things out of the way - gifts for the girls and for my parents. I'm really excited because I got them a great gift - a digital camera. They have borrowed mine a few times and commented on how much they like it, so I know they're going to really like and use this gift. I use mine all the time - especially for capturing pictures of the kids. I can't really even imagine life without it anymore.

Of course, once I started browsing for a good price on digital cameras I realized how out of date mine is already. For about a third of what the camera I use (5.1 mp, 3x zoom) cost back when I got it (2004), I was able to buy my parents one with 7.x mp and 5x zoom. I would really like to upgrade mine, but ‘tis the season for giving, not for treating oneself, so it will have to wait. And, speaking of outdated equipment, don’t even get me started on our digital video camera. At five years of age, this thing is a huge, clunky relic already. And, I shudder when I think about how much it cost at the time…

Anyway, I’m really excited to give them this gift. So far, aside from the Sit N’ Spin (remember those?!?!) that I got for the girls, it is my bright spot in holiday shopping this year.

Friday, finally!

This has been a very long week - can't wait for it to be over. Sadie has been on a half day schedule for school all week, due to parent-teacher conferences. Half day for pm kindergarten means she attends from 11:10 - 1:05. Could they possibly find a more inconvenient schedule for working parents? I don't think so. And, the irony is that we don't even have Sadie's conference until Monday, when they resume full days. Apparently, they get a substitute teacher to cover classes that day. So ridiculous. How hard would it be to offer evening conferences? Really.

Anyway, I'm a little nervous about her conference because, well...I guess because I'm a worrier. Mostly, I'm just wondering what the teacher will have to say about her social skills, and how she interacts with the other kids. She's such a shy kid and I worry about that.

Other than that, just looking forward to the weekend. We're supposed to get together with friends, MB and Scott and their kids on Saturday. Should be fun. And on Sunday, Grammy is taking Sadie to a play, so we'll have some alone time with Eden, which is a rare treat.

This Looks Good

There's a new Stephen King movie coming out, just in time for the long, Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Do you like Stephen King? For a long time, he really ranked up there as one of my favorite authors, and The Stand and The Green Mile are two movies that routinely make my favorites list.

I really like his suspense stuff, especially. I remember reading Carrie when I was young, and that being my first experience of having the written word actually terrify me.

I haven’t kept up with his stuff lately, but I took a look at the trailer, and this one looks pretty good. Check it out:

The Mist by Stephen King

I’m not sure if I mentioned it here, but Evan and I have started trying to get out for ‘dates’ every other weekend. On the nights when we can’t rope a willing grandparent into babysitting duty, we call upon our paid sitter. Since we’re shelling out $8/hour for her (and, she’s worth every penny, for the record), that means that our evening’s activity needs to meet the following criteria – somewhat abbreviated and somewhat affordable. So, even though, in this age of NetFlix, it kind of pains me to pay $10 for a movie ticket (I know - $10! I about fell over when we hit the theatre two weeks ago and I saw that the price had gone up yet again), I have to say that going out to a movie definitely fills the bill as an approved activity for a night out. So, I may have to add The Mist to the list of things to do next time we have Erica come watch the kids.

Sadie's Reading!

In the last few days, Sadie has gone from recognizing/memorizing sight words to full on, sounding out and reading. I am so excited/happy/proud, as is she. It is all she wants to do now, from the moment she wakes up. And, she's noticing that words are everywhere, and loves trying to decode them. Such an exciting milestone...!!!

Of course, Eden wants in on some of the attention that is being given to Sadie now. So, she's making a big deal out of pretending to sound out words and read them. It is very adorable. I actually captured some of it on video last night, and if I can find my usb cord for the camera, I could actually upload it for posterity.

I need a flower fix.

I mentioned in passing that we did a bunch of yard cleanup this past weekend. It was time, and it was needed, as we finally got a hard frost the other night and the alyssum and nasturtium, which had been holdouts all fall, continuing to bring a bit of brightness to the bed, finally kicked.

So, it looks nice and tidy now, but also pretty dreary. The mums are just about done (they bloomed so early this year, it seems), and the hydrangea are holding on to a few dried out, faded blooms, but other than that, it is pretty stark.

In the mornings, I like to sit in the front window while I drink my coffee and look out and enjoy the view of the front (if you saw our backyard, you'd understand why I don't look out that way too often ;) ). This morning, I realized it was probably time to start buying some fresh flowers for the house, as the outside 'canvas' is no longer alluring. Fresh flowers are a luxury I usually only allow myself in one of two scenarios: company is coming and I need to freshen up the house, or else I'm just suffering from a bout of seasonal depression and need a whif of spring (albeit, false spring) to pick me up. I wish I could buy them more often, but they are just too expensive. I suppose if I looked hard enough, I could find a local place that sells wholesale flowers to individuals, and then I could justify buying them more often. Then again, maybe the 'specialness' would wear off then, so who knows? Anyway, I do think my mood today qualifies for an emergency purchase under the 2nd clause of my rule (it is a gray, dreary day, and I'm feeling it), so I may have to make a stop at Wegmans on the way home for a pick me up.

Seattle Artifacts

The trip to Seattle reignited my love for two things - good coffee and microbrews. When we lived in Euguene, it was all.about.the.coffee.and.beer. Those are two definining attributes of the Pacific NW. Well, that and rampant vegetarianism.

Somehow, our years in Boston slowly eroded those remnants from us...as we became all about red wine (the better to pair with filet, of course!) and crappo Dunkin' Donuts coffee (cause it was just everywhere). Anyway, it might have taken the better part of 10 years to erase it, but it only took four days to reignite the passion. I am back on a latte kick, to the extent that I'm asking for one of those home espresso machines for my big holiday gift. And beer...I had forgotten how much I love a fuity hefeweizen. In fact, I had completely forgotten entirely about the existence of Hefeweizen, until we sat down for our first dinner and I browsed the beverage menu. It only took a sip or two for me to remember how much I liked it, and that is pretty much all I drank for the rest of the trip (aside from my morning lattes, of course!).

It's funny how a visit back to someplace once familiar can bring back forgotten memories. I wonder how long we'll have to have been away from Boston to have the same experience?

Whew!

It's Sunday night, and sitting here, sipping a glass of wine and catching up on a bit of blogging is pretty much the first bit of 'down time' (aside from sleeping) I've had all weekend. The weekend was supposed to be very different than how it turned out. We were scheduled to head down to Maryland on Friday for my niece's first birthday party. We were totally looking forward to it, and worst of all, had yet again made the mistake of psyching Sadie up for a trip.

Wednesday evening, Eden seemed to be coming down with a cold. I was worried that it wouldn't be a good idea to expose my niece and the entire party to my snot-nosed kiddo, so I checked with my sister-in-law to get a read on it. Turns out, the guest of honor (Kayeigh) was sick, too. :( She had a fever, diagnosed as a viral infection by the doctor. So, Alyssa and I each reassured eachother that we were fine with getting the kids together, and we still planned to go, as of Thursday afternoon. So, Thursday evening, we have dinner with my mom, and in the course of that meal, the two of them (Evan and my mom) pretty quickly convinced me that it wasn't a good idea to go. The following terms made their way into the conversation "always sick", "usually turns into an ear infection", "Maryland has a new set of germs for her to be exposed to" and "Remember last Thanksgiving?!?!?". Anyway, we made the decision not to go.

As I understand it, Kayleigh rallied and recovered enough to be the belle of the ball on Saturday. So, I did have some regrets about not going. But, and maybe this was said simply to make me feel better (it worked, BTW), my MIL told me this evening that she thinks K still isn't herself and that it was probably better for all involved (meaning K, S, and E) that we didn't go.

So, anyway we found ourselves in an unusual situation -- with an entire weekend stretched out in front of us without a single obligation or plan. Pretty rare for us, and admittedlly, a little daunting (I have this thing where I really hate to just be hanging around the house endlessly on the weekend...the kids just end up fighting and driving me crazy). All in all, I think we did pretty good as far as figuring out some last minute things to do (a trip to PetSmart to buy and set up a fish tank for the girls*, a beautiful four mile hike at Hartshorne Woods, lunch out at the Windmill, an impromptu pitcher of Sangria and resulting intoxication during dinner Saturday night**, a whole bunch of yardwork - pruning, fall cleanup of beds, and raking leaves, and a "midnight" walk*** around our neighborhood so the kids could finally use the neon lightsticks someone gave them to use for ToTing--with DST being extended a week and OT enforcing an early curfew, we were long done before dark).

Now, finally, the kids are in bed, the husband is watching something incredibly boring on TV, and I'm just enjoying the quiet, and getting mentally prepared for the workweek. Work has been...interesting...recently, and I'm gearing myself up for a stressful week. I don't like to blog about work, for fear of being dooced (BTW, I'm so addicted to her blog - check it out!), so ask me in person about what's going on, and I'll gladly talk your ear off about office politics, personality disorders, and potential promotions. But for now, I'll leave you wondering, and bid you goodnight.

*I totally dodged a bullet on this one. Sadie was nagging for a dog, and Evan has been itching for one. I have been the solitary holdout on this one, for years now. I do love dogs, and I know if we had one, I'd love it, but I have to say, I've been loving my dog-free house for quite some time now, too. Anyway, this weekend, they both started in again, and so, privately, to Evan (for once, I had the sense not to open my yap in front of Sadie), I relented and said we should go take a look at the SPCA. He got all excited, and began looking at the profiles of dogs on their site. After about 20 minutes, though, he came into the den and announced we were going to PetSmart to get...FISH! Sadie, of course, was all excited, and as soon as I got him alone, I asked what about the dog? And, he said that he started thinking about having to constantly take a dog out, and clean up 'accidents' and vacuum endlessly, and treat for fleas, and clean up steaming piles in the backyard, and suddenly, a fish seemed like a better idea. To which I replied, "Are you sure? Because I'm agreeing right now to getting a dog...". So, how cool is that? I totally look like the cool wife, and WE'RE NOT GETTING A DOG ANYTIME SOON.

**Just felt the need to clarify that no, we did not serve a family style pitcher of Sangria. The girls drank water with dinner, and Evan at least stayed sober enough to get them to bed. I, on the other hand...

***Ok, so it wasn't really midnight...in fact, it was about 6:30 pm, but man! This end of DST is really throwing things off. It felt like the middle of the night, and since the girls can't tell time yet, how cool to hang that over their heads all day "if you're really good, if you clean up the den, if you eat all of your brocolli...we'll let you stay up extra late tonight and take a midnight walk around the neighborhood with your glow sticks. Worked like a charm ;)

proud

Evan just finished up a dining table for a client. He has been working on it for a loooooonnng time (the table is made from wood from the woman's tree, so he oversaw the milling and had to let it age for about 18 months before he could work with it). I have to say, everytime he makes something, it reminds me of how proud I am of him, and how awed I am by his abilities. This table is so beautiful (and, as it is currently sitting in my dining room awaiting it sendoff), I told Evan I want one just like it. If he wasn't getting a buttload of money for it, I would almost be happy to see the sale fall through, so that we could keep it. ;)

Anyway, having the table in there has made me want to start using our dining area as such even more. On the one hand, I want Evan to make us a set (or , at least a table), because he can make something better and more beautiful than anything we could afford to buy. But on the other hand, I'm impatient, and I just want something in there already. I mentioned before that we are going to host a New Year's Day brunch, and it would be great to not have to use a folding table for the buffet. Anyway, I doubt that will happen, but I have sort of extracted a vague promise from Evan to build us a table this winter. The compromise is that he gets to build the table and then we just go and buy chairs (because I don't feel like waiting five years for a complete set to be made). Of course, I've already been looking online. I found this at the Bush furniture site, what do you think?

I'm sure Evan will think they are crap/poorly made/etc but I like the look.

It is weird

to see O.J. Simpson in the news so much again, due to the whole Las Vegas armed robbery incident. The whole Simpson/Goldman drama of 1994 is such a generational milestone for me. I remember it like it was yesterday, sitting and watching that slow-speed chase in the Ford Bronco. It was really my first taste of 'reality TV', in a way. And, I remember being at work and everyone gathering in the breakroom to watch the televised aquittal, and just being in total shock that he just got away with murder.

I have to be honest and say that I haven't followed the latest story very closely, and though it totally goes against all the safeqaurds and protections offered by our justice system, I really hope he goes to prison due to this latest trouble, as karma for walking free all those years ago.

3rd Honeymoon

When Evan and I were married, we had absolutely no money. I was finishing up my gig as a full-time grad student, and we were living pretty much hand-to-mouth. We had enough sense not to blow our wedding gift money on an elaborate honeymoon (instead, we blew it on the hefty tuition at BU and NBSS ;) ), and took a pretty modest five day trip to Martha's Vineyard. We had a great time, and I have nothing but great memories of that trip. But, we did feel as though we had missed out on the big honeymoon experience. So, about a year later, once I had a job and we had some money to burn, we took our '2nd honeymoon' trip to Spain. Now that trip was amazing and we still talk about 'when we go back to Spain...'. Anyway, that was in '99. We've really only taken two splurge vacations since then. I think we're due for another!

Our tenth anniversary is coming up next June, and I'd like to plan something -- a third honeymoon of sorts. Probably nothing too elaborate, given our time and finance restrictions, but something special nonetheless. While I'd really like for us to jet away and stay at a Hawaii bed and breakfast, I'll probably have to settle for a lush, tropical paradise a little bit closer. I'm thinking about the Bahamas. Pluses are that it is a short plane trip and there's supposed to be good snorkeling. I need to start looking into it soon, so that I can figure out when and how.

5 things

I'm forever going on about things I will never do, never buy, never say (I know, never say never...). Some of those things are exaggerations, but I can say for sure, here are 5 Things I don't ever plan to buy (in no particular order):

1. A crackberry Blackberry, or any type of hand-held electronic leash. The way I see it, no good can ever really come from owning one of those things.
   
2. Spam, in any shape or form.
3. A fanny pack. Really. I mean, who needs to add girth to their waist? Just lug along a damn purse, alright?!?!
4. Life insurance for kids. Just. Too. Macabre.
   
5. A pretend bra, or any of those pre-pubescent lingerie items currently marketed to young girls. Thanks a lot, Mary-Kate and Ashley for that innovation --grrrrr....

What's on your list?

Sugar High

Sadie has been wired all week, unable to concentrate on much except the impending Halloween festivities. With a buildup like that, I was afraid the actual day was going to be a letdown for her, but I'm happy to report that the holiday lived up to expectations. Sadie's school parade was in the afternoon, and it was very cute to see all of the kids in costume. Sadie looked great - the ruby slippers added a perfect touch.

Around 4:30, the neighborhood kids congregated to go trick or treating. Sadie, often the one who lags behind, preferring the company of her parents to her peers, was actually leading the pack this time. She was in there, running from door to door with the rest of them. I had a good laugh at my kid when, at one house where the homeowners decided to give out healthier alternatives to candy, Sadie turned to me, pumped her fist in the air and triumphantly shouted "Yessss!!! I got peanut butter crackers!" Obviously, I did something right with her nutritional tastes!

It took Eden all of about two houses to get over her confusion and determine that this going from door-to-door thing was something worth doing. Yes, she usually arrived at the door minutes after the rest of the group had been and gone, but darn it, she was determined to get her share of whatever those things were that were being handed out (more on her candy epiphany in a moment).

After about an hour, Sadie got tired and we headed home. We required the girls to eat their spaghetti before we let them raid their candy buckets. Our first thought was that we were going to let them eat to their hearts' content just the one night, then limit them to a single piece each day afterwards. We had thought that they would give up after maybe 3 or 4 pieces. Well, we quickly revised our plan. They were so wired from the activity to begin with, that they were manic. I swear, I saw little images of tootsie rolls swirling in place or Sadie's irises. ;)

Prior to this, Eden had only ever had one lollipop, but somehow, in the way second born children seem to just know things, she knew the word "Caaaaannnnndddddeeeeee" was something to shout for joyfully. We ended up cutting them off after two pieces, and that was probably two pieces more than they should have had. They were insane. Bouncing off the walls. Eden, in particular, was out of control.

I got them in the tub for a lavender and camomille infused bath (hey, I was desperate), and that did seem to help them bring it down a notch. Once in pj's though, they were still running around until, at about 7:15 (close to an hour earlier than her normal bedtime these days), Eden climbed up into my lap, put her head on my shoulder, and before I could say "are you sleepy?" promptly fell asleep.

Getting Sadie to sleep proved a bit more difficult. When I headed into bed at around 9 or so, I could still hear her in her room, chattering away.

All in all, it was a great day. I am making the kids get back into their costumes today so I can snap a picture (left my camera at work yesterday), so we'll spread a little more halloween cheer today as well. As for the candy? I've given Evan strict orders to do his best to deplete the supply (just subtly enough that they won't notice). He seems up for the challenge. I just know that I need to stay away from it. I'm going to need a hoodia patch if I don't quit hitting up the Reese's cups and Baby Ruths that we have leftover.

New Year's

In a bid to remain sober and out of drug rehab, Lyndsay Lohan has cancelled plans to host a New Year's Eve party in Las Vegas.

In a bid to have something to look forward to during what is for me, typically a very depressing day, Evan and I have decided to host a New Year's Day brunch for friends and family. I'm thinking biggish (30-40 people). Most of our friends and aquaintances have small children, and so going out on NYE isn't likely, so we thought it would be really fun to have a big thing on NYD. I'm thinking of inviting some people that we know but don't currently socialize with, just because.

My vision is for lots of people, tons of kids running around, and lots and lots of great food. Can't think of a better way to ring in a new year, can you?

Sleepless in Seattle

In addition to all of the catching up on laundry, bills, and work stuff I have had to do since my return, I've had to spend some time catching up on my celebrity gossip fix. Will Britney Spears regain custody of her kids? Will Lyndsay return to Utah to continue her drug treatment? Will Reese and Jake reunite? These are the burning questions that plagued me in Seattle. Ok, so they didn't really plague me, but on the first night, when I was jet lagged and woke for the freaking day at 3:30 in the morning. I had a whole lot of time to watch mindless tv, and wonder about these things.

Monday, Again.

The weekend just flew by so quickly. Sometimes, I get really freaked out about how quickly time is just passing. It seems like it just gathers momentum the older I get, the faster it goes.

Anyway, so, the weekend. It was nice and fairly mellow. Friday night we had dinner with Evan's parents, and then I think I was in bed by 9pm. Saturday morning was spent grocery shopping and catching up on the laundry and other exciting things. We spent the afternoon out at a birthday party for one of Sadie's friends, and had a quiet evening at home.

We went apple picking yesterday - but it was kind of cold and all of the apples were on the ground already, so it wasn't quite the idyllic fall experience we thought it would be. Then, we had friends over for an early dinner (Sadie's friend Olivia's family) and called it a night. I think as of this morning, I'm finally caught up on sleep and reacclimated to the time zone. This week is pretty busy, between catching up at work and assorted appointments and commitments for the kids, so blogging may be kind of sparse.

Seattle

I'm back!

Of course, I missed the girls and Evan tremendously, but I would be completely lying if I said I didn't have a great time. It was a fabulous trip! Swank hotel, top restaurant meals, amazing sponsored parties, lots of visits with old colleagues and friends from two of my past jobs, and much too much to drink - what's not to enjoy? Oh yeah, the conference itself was pretty good, too ;)

First of all, the food was phenomenal. We ate at a really great restuarant our first night there, and that set the tone for the rest of the trip. Everything in Seattle is about seafood and Asian food, so I was in heaven. Night number two was spent chowing down on sushi at the HP party, followed by D2L's party at the top of the Space Needle, where we enjoyed endless champagne, an amazing raw bar and, interestingly enough, an oxygen bar (I had never done that before - definitely fun). They also had wii stations set up all over the party, so I got quite the workout bowling and playing tennis. Thursday night, my one coworker and I capped off the trip by hitting a tiki bar immediately after the last session, then proceeding to the Educause event at the museum of flight, and then meeting up with a bunch of people we knew at one of the hotel bars. Definitely a good time, but I will say that drinking until 2am when you have to leave for the airport at 6am was not one of my smartest moves. I did it, though, and in the process, earned the respect of my younger, heartier and lushier coworker, who pronounced me a rock star at some point in the night. Yay for me. I may have really wanted to curl up and die at some point during the flight, but I never let on.

I really had a good time traveling with my two coworkers. The last trip we took together in the summer of 2006 was such a miserable experience for a number of reasons, and so I had very low expectations about how it would be to travel with them. However, we really had a great time. They were up for just about anything, from sightseeing to early morning latte runs and walks on the waterfront to closing the bars down on Thursday night.

One of the highlights of the trip also was meeting up with my boss from three jobs ago - at Cognitive Arts. He's now in a very prominent position at a well-known foundation. I hadn't seen in him since 2000. We planned to meet for lunch, and I'll admit I was a little nervous about how it would go, but it was great. He's still the same Michael, and we fell back in step as if we had just seen eachother a few months ago. Since we last saw eachother, we've each had two kids, so it was kind of a trip to spend our time together talking about things like potty training and carseats and private vs. public kindergarten. Anyway, it was great to see him, and I look forward to catching up with him again next year at Educause again.

So, that was the trip. I have more to write about other stuff, but I'll save it for another post. I'm beat and ready for bed!

Lighting

Right now, our living room is lighted solely by a a standing floor lamp. As you can imagine, it is kind of dark in there. Well, I prefer to think of it as 'romantic', but, you know...I guess it is time to invest in more lighting for the room. So, opinions solicited...which do you prefer - track lighting or recessed lights? We may be making this purchase as soon as this weekend.

Monday Report

We had such a great weekend, and it went by much too quickly. It was one of those weekends that you fantasize about when you first think about having a baby...nothing but pleasant, happy kids and fun, family-oriented activities. Of course, the reality of parenting isn't usually like that, so to get an entire weekends of it was just...all the more wonderful.

Friday night, we went out to dinner with my parents. I had some reservations about doing it, since we weren't able to get our act together until after 6, and I was afraid that the kids' timers would have popped before our meals came. However, they were both great, the entire time, and it was really enjoyable.

Saturday, they both treated us to a weekend sleep-in (they both slept until almost 9 - unheard of in these parts!). It was such a gorgeous day (I love this endless summer at the Jersey shore), so we were outside for most of it. Sadie and I planted some bulbs and did some fall cleanup in the yard. In the afternoon, we took a long bike ride down to the beach playground in Belmar. I can't believe how warm it was - there were tons of people on the beach.

We had S & L and their kids over for pizza and beer on Saturday evening. The four kids got along beautifully and it was such a nice evening. I remember being a kid and having tons of fun with the children of family friends, and it was so cool to see that happening with all of our kids. We ended up keeping the kids of waaaaay late and as a result...

They slept until almost 9 again on Sunday morning! Woohoo! I could get used to this. I know that this can't last, at least with Eden, so I'm just enjoying it for now. Yesterday was divide and play day for us. Evan, Sadie and my dad took a hike up at Terrace Pond. My mom and Eden and I went to this traveling petting farm and then out to lunch. We headed back to my mom's house for Eden's nap, and I sat outside in a lounge chair and snoozed - it was such a rare treat.

Last night, my parents babysat and Evan and I went out to dinner. We went to Moonstruck and had a great meal, though I definitely ate too much. Went to bed full and happy, in both stomach and heart. It really was a great weekend.

I leave for Seattle tomorrow, and it is nice to be leaving on a "I'm going to miss them all like crazy" note, instead of being excited to get a break. Well, I am excited to get a break, and it is going to be a fantastic trip, but, still. I'll miss them all like crazy :D

So what do you think?

are we 'B list' invitees? We got a call the other night from the mom of one of Sadie's former classmates, inviting her to a birthday party next weekend. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised that she is including Sadie -- after all, they aren't in school together anymore, and we haven't kept in touch since school ended, except for the random running into them around town. It was very nice of her to invite Sadie, and Sadie is excited to go, but I was just wondering if they decided to forgoe formal birthday invitations this year, or if we were a last minute replacement for someone who can't make it? What do you think?

Unloading

I've spent the better part of each evening for the past week or so, going through outgrown clothes and toys, and sorting out piles of stuff to either go to family and friends as hand-me downs, get donated to the Red Cross, or just get tossed out. It feels great to get rid of stuff. It always amazes me how quickly we accumulate stuff, despite the fact that I do this routine a couple of times a year. Anyway, I'm sure with the holidays coming up, it won't be long before we're bursting at the seams again, for at least for a little while, it feels good to have reduced the total amount of 'stuff' taking up space in our house.

Imperfection

From the moment my babies have been born, I have reveled in their perfectness. We had a big scare when Sadie was en utero, and were told that her odds of having Downs Syndrome were greater than the norm for my age. While we knew in our hearts that we would love and cherish her in any shape or form, we did wait with baited breath for her arrival.

The moment she let out a hearty cry and we counted fingers and toes and proudly received her perfect Apgar scores (as if we had coached her to them like it was the SAT or something), we declared to ourselves (and anyone who recieved the news of her birth) that we had a perfect baby girl. We were equally blessed with the arrival of a second perfect baby girl in Eden.

That's not to say that I have 'perfect children' (anyone who could have heard the ninety minute ordeal in getting Eden to sleep last night would agree, I'm sure). But, every well-check and every playdate has been an opportunity to assure myself that my kids are right on track, physically and emotionally. And, as much as I would love them any other way, I can admit that I get joy in this.

So, with that as background, I guess it isn't surprising that I felt a stab of--sadness? dissappointment? Not quite sure what to label it yet, as I'm still processing it, I guess--at Sadie's well-check this morning. I watched her take the eye exam, and saw her struggle to make out the figures and letters that were plain as day to me. It seems that the first (of the many that will emerge over her lifetime, of course) of her physical imperfections has reared. She "scored" (not sure if that is the right word, but you get what I mean) 20/50 -- a fairly significant vision impairment for such a young kid. In the 90 seconds it took for her to struggle through the exam, I felt a whole host of questions rush through my mind...should I have pushed her to eat more carrots? Will she be teased by the other kids for wearing glasses? Could poor vision be a sign of a more serious condition?

I know in the scheme of things, this is not bad news. Truly, I am so thankful every single day for my healthy kids, and given that Evan and I both wear glasses, I guess I figured it was an inevitable fate for the girls. But, I would be lying if I wrote that it wasn't a bit dissapointing or saddening.

Anyway, I need to make an appointment with the opthamologist, and I guess we'll take it from there.

I am so out of touch

With how much things cost, sometimes. I mean, the things I buy (or want to buy), I've got that covered (did you know that Australian navel oranges were a dollar EACH at Wegmans this week? Damn, that's expensive! But my girlies do love them some oranges, so Mama shelled it out for them).

Its the things that I assume are out of my league that fall off my radar. Like, I have no idea how much a brand new E class Mercedes cost, do you? I just know that I can't afford it.

So, when I read in a gossipy news site the other day that Fred Goldman had to return O.J. Simpson's watch because it was a fake, I thought, "how much could a fancy watch really cost that Mr. Big Shot Kills His Wife And Gets Away With It And Then Hides All Of His Money From The Families Who Won A Civil Suit Against Him can't shell out the bucks for a real one?" Well, apparently, a fancy watch can cost a darn lot of money. My big splurge before I started a higher-paying job at ZEFER, was shelling out $300 on a watch (for the record, I love that thing and have worn it faithfully for seven years, so I consider it $300 well-spent). That's nothing compared to the $65,000 (no, that third zero is not a typo) you can shell out for a Girard Perregaux watch.

As I said, I'm pretty ignorant (maybe blissfully so) of the wads of money that can be spent on things.

Note to self: don't go price-shopping for fancy cars or watches any time soon.

So...we're back.

Actually, we've been back since Saturday morning (yes, that's right, a mere 14 hours after we left), but I wasn't in the mood to blog about it all weekend.

Our trip (just the "highlights" - ha!):

• 3:30 - left NJ
• 6:00 - arrived at the resort (Sadie was beyond excited..."we're really here! our vacation!")
• 6:30 - had a great dinner out - gotta love those Pennsylvania Dutch smorgasbords.
• 8:00 - Took the kids to the indoor water park at the resort. They had a blast.
• 9:00 - I took Eden back the room ahead of Sadie and Evan, in an attempt to get her down and to sleep first.
• 9:45 - Sadie and Evan arrive back at the room, and lo and behold, Eden was still up and thinking it was playtime.
• 10:15 - The girls are finally settled down and asleep.
• 11:00 - Evan and I go to sleep.
• 11:15 - Sadie starts coughing.
• 12:00 - Sadie starts hacking
• 1:00 - Sadie starts barking a croupy cough.
• 1:15 - 5:30 - Sadie is up every 30 minutes or so, coughing and choking.
• 5:30 - Eden wakes for the day, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (and, why not...she got a nice stretch of sleep, unlike any of the rest of us).
• 6:30 - Sadie starts running a fever.
• 7:00 - We pack up, hit the restaurant for a quick breakfast, and check out. :(
• 11:00 - We're home. Well, not actually home, but sitting in the waiting room of West Park pediatrics. The doctor prescribed a steroid to help reduce the inflammation of Sadie's windpipe and we all head home.

We spent the better part of Saturday afternoon sleeping and trying not to feel too down about the crappy turn our weekend took. Sadie had a better night Saturday night, and actually felt well enough yesterday that we did go to a fall festival around here, so the weekend wasn't a total wash, but it sure was dissappointing.

I guess on the bright side...at least we weren't at Disney, or somewhere far and extremely expensive. Even though it was a bummer to do it, I was glad we were able to just pack it in and head home and cut our losses early.

Anyway, that was our weekend. If the girls are up for it, I think we're going to head back up there next Saturday, just for the late afternoon/evening so they can get to the Halloween thing they were so looking forward to at Dutch Wonderland. We'll see...

Leaving Today!

We're leaving for our mini-vacation this afternoon. I'm strangely excited! Actually, I'm more than a little bit apprehensive about how it is going to go as far as getting Eden down to sleep tonight (we're staying in one room, so I can imagine she isn't going to be to keen to just roll over and go to sleep at bedtime). But, other than that wrinkle, it looks to be a great trip. The weather is cooperating and we have lots of fun stuff planned.

I'll be back Monday with updates and photos, I'm sure.

Have you heard about this book yet? I'm debating whether or not to buy it. The premise is hiding superfoods in meals that kids will eat. I'm kind of torn...on the one hand, I think it is a great idea. There are many things that I would like for Sadie to be eating that she just wouldn't consider

However, on the other hand, slow and steady wins the race, and I feel like by not accommodating Sadie's pickiness, and by repeatedly offering/serving her healthy stuff, I'm slowly seeing a change in her willingness to try things. Just in the last year, we've gotten out of the bad habit of preparing separate meals for the girls, which has greatly reduced stress and meal preparation time. Now, our strategy is to require them to try a small bit of whatever we're serving and then make sure there is at least one thing on the table that we know they'll eat (yes, many nights, they fill up on mashed potatoes or egg noodles or dinner rolls). As I said, recently, Sadie has surprised us by asking for seconds of things she was reluctant to touch initially (pork chops, meatloaf, grilled chicken).

And, although Sadie is limited in what she'll eat, the things she loves are generally healthy (many veggies, fruits, carbs, dairy), so the thought of hiding sweet potatoes in pizza or pureed brocolli in chicken nuggets does seem like it is just going to reinforce to her that those kid type meals are what she should be eating. Huh, I guess I just talked myself out of buying the book, didn't I?

Need Sunny Day Vibes

The weather report is calling for rain on Saturday. This, obviously, will put a big wrench in many of the plans we have for our weekend away. I'm sort of scrambling to come up with a number of indoor alternatives, but the one thing that I would so hate for the kids to miss is the Happy Hauntings at Dutch Wonderland. So if you can spare some non-rainy vibes for Saturday evening, please do!

oh, and get this...

Our kitchen, which is in desperate need of a complete cosmetic overhaul, doesn't want to cooperate and wait for us to have the funds to do so. This weekend the fridge started mysteriously leaking water, and the sink faucet has decided it prefers to be on rather than off.

We really would have preferred to wait to replace anything and do it all at once when we can do the big renovation, but it seems that in the next few days, we'll need to be shopping around for refrigerators and kitchen faucets. The faucet, not such a big deal, as I'm sure I can find something I like and can live with when we redo the kitchen. But the fridge...ugh. Part of the problem is that the current space for the fridge is not where we ultimately want to have the fridge, and we had planned to go with an oversized one (like we had in our old house), once we had the new cabinet configuration. So, it looks like we're going to end up buying an interim fridge to fit in the current space, and then replacing that one down the road. We already have a 'basement fridge', so it isn't like the one we buy now can be justified by the thought that it will serve as our second fridge one day. Oh well, I guess we'll just go for the cheapest one we can find.

Adventures in old home-owning continue....

Our weekend had an identity crisis

Because yesterday we did the following:

Hit the beach, where it was hot, hot, hot.

Went to a fall festival, complete with hay rides and pumpkins and all that stuff.

Started buying Christmas presents.

Weird, huh?

In other weekend news, the birthday party was fun - the kids had a good time running around with the other kids, and it was nice to catch up with S____ and L_____ and some other people we knew there.

I had been a little nervous because the party was scheduled for 12:30, which conflicted with Eden's naptime (I have mentioned before that S and L don't ever worry about planning around their kids' nap needs, usually to disastrous results). Eden actually ended up falling asleep in the car on the way there, which is unusual for her, so I hung out in the parked car for an extra little bit so she could continue to sleep. She ended up with just enough of a nap to carry her through the afternoon in good spirits. I will say that every other toddler and preschooler there was simply miserable - I could see all of the other parents were having the same thoughts we were "why on earth does someone with small kids schedule a party in the middle of naptime?!?!"

Then, Saturday evening, I hosted my Simply Dish party. We had a great time, and our freezer is beyond full of meals now. Lydia came up for it, which was so great, and all of the women I invited seemed to click, even though most didn't know eachother.

So now back to the grind. Of course, I'm obsessing over the weather they are predicting for the next weekend. We have had day after day (week after week) of sunny weather. Now that we actually have specific plans that depend on good weather (our Lancaster trip), they are predicting cold, damp, rainy weather for Saturday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the forecast is wrong or will change as we get closer.

Did I mention?

that we're going to Lancaster next weekend? I think I mentioned that, but I may have omitted the fact that we're going to a kid-oriented amusement park - Dutch Wonderland. I know, I know...that is so not us, but everyone says the kids will love it, so who am I to deny them? Who knows? This could facilitate our big love of theme parks. First Dutch Wonderland, then Hershey Park...next thing you know we'll be making a pilgrimage down to Tenessee, booking a Pigeon Forge cabin rental and heading to DollyWood.

Ok, I can't even keep a straight face while typing that one. So, it's not going to happen. Or, it's SO not going to happen. But, we're definitely game on for Dutch Wonderland.

The weekend is almost upon us again

This week really flew by (or at least it seems so now, on Friday afternoon!). We've got another busy one ahead of us.

Tonight my parents are coming for dinner. I'm hoping for an early night, as Eden pulled some crazy shenanigans last night/this morning, and let's just say...we all could use some sleep.

Tomorrow, we've got a friend's daughter's birthday party in the afternoon, and then I'm hosting my Simply Dish party in the evening. Should be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to get another load of yummy food for the freezer.

Sunday, Evan is taking Sadie hiking. They're doing this hike again this year. She breezed it a year ago, so it should be no problem again this time. I'm trying to decide how to spend the day with Eden. I'm thinking about taking her to the Oktoberfest at Pier Village.

The weather is supposed to continue with this last gasp of summer, so who knows? Maybe we'll even hit the beach.

The Garage

When we bought our house, Evan and I were equally exicted about the fact that it had a garage. Our old house, in snowy freaking Massachusetts, did not, and I can't tell you what a pain it was to have to shovel the car out of the snow every other day for months on end.

So, I say that we were equally excited, but, apparently, we didn't quite have the same end in mind. I has assumed that the garage would, oh, I don't know...BE A PLACE TO PARK OUR CAR. Evan, clearly, had other ideas, and our garage, to date, has yet to have had a car parked in it. Instead, it is a mess of lawn equipment, patio furniture, grills, bicycles, garbage cans, tools, beach gear, an extra oven that we 'might want someday' and other such stuff.

I've pretty much given up on the idea that we will park a car in there, though I guess the mild winters here make that not such a problem. However, Evan informed me the other day that he's going to clean out the garage to make room for him to do the finish work on a piece of furniture in it. I'm hoping once it is clean and organized, and once he gets some good garage lighting in there, it will at least be a more useful storage space so that we don't have play a life-size game of tetrus every time we want to locate something.

Confrontation

Anyone who knows me, knows I am so non-confrontational. It just kills me to create conflict, even if that conflict is necessary in order to fix something. So, I avoid confrontation whenever possible, and as a result, end up sucking a lot of things up for the sake of peace.

So, without going into detail, I will just say that I'm proud of myself for advocating for Sadie this morning. I hope it gets me the result I want.

The more time I spend around college students...

...the more I start to think that 18 is really too young to ask kids to choose a school, pick a major, begin planning a career and for some, live away from home. I'm teaching a freshman seminar course again this year, and I'm just astounded at how ill-prepared a lot of students are for college life. And, as a senior in high school, how well can we really expect them to properly research their choice of schools? I have a number of students in my class who really shouldn't be here -- the culture here is not a good fit for them, and it makes me sad to think about how much money they are spending to be here, and not thrive.

I think students (and parents) need to do a lot more research on schools before deciding on one. Sadly, I think for many, they are swayed by factors such as student loans or location of campus, rather than the things that really make or break your college experience. I definitely understand why those things are important, but I just think a lot of students end up at schools for the wrong reason - what a costly mistake.

Anyway, I generally don't like to write about work on this blog (for fear of being dooced!), so I'll just leave it at that, I suppose.

oh, and how cool is this?

Sadie has been waffling back and forth about what she wants to be for Halloween. I've been bracing myself to have to shell out $$ for some crappy, princessy-type costume, and was just waiting until closer to the date for her to make up her mind.

So, I was packing up some outgrown clothes last night, and came across her costume from last year. Just for kicks, I asked her if she wanted to try it on. Well, it still fits perfectly, and she loves it and wants to wear it this year. So, yay! One costume squared away (and, assuming I can locate the frog suit Sadie wore at age 2, Eden's will be squared away, too) and nothing to buy this year.

I leave you with some pictures of Halloweens past...

2004 - Ribbit! Eden will wear this one this year.

Our little princess - 2005

2006 - She'll be reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of Wanamassa this year.



2006 - Is that not the cutest lobster you've ever seen?!?!

Exciting!

I'm not sure if I've noted it 'publicly' (to all six of my readers that is ;) ), but since early August, Evan has been striking out on his own professionally. Basically, his boss at the millwork shop kind of lost his marbles (well, actually, there's more to it than that...addiction issues, but I'll leave it pg for here) and that was just the kick in the pants that Evan needed to do what he's really wanted to do all along, or at least since finishing up with school: work for himself.

So, anyway, he's running a home based business, so to speak...making furniture, cabinetry and decorative millwork out of his workshop in our basement. He's had a few customers lined up, and thanks to a number of connections he's forged in the two years we've been here, more just keep coming out of the woodwork (no pun intended). He seems to have a nice pipeline of work ahead of him, which is great. And, more or less, it is all interesting pieces that he's excited to make, which is the best news of all.

But...the most exciting news is that one of the designers where he used to work put him in contact with a local architect whose 'schtick' is to sell craftsman style furniture to go along with his renovations. You can check out his work at http://www.richardbubnowskidesign.com (the site seems to work best in IE). Anyway, he is very interested in having Evan make a few of the pieces. This is potentially a very big deal, as the custom, one-off pieces are fun and interesting for Evan to make, but to have a steady demand of something like this is definitely the kind of bread and butter projects that he'll need to keep the business afloat.

So, I'm really excited. He's still in talks with him, so keep your fingers crossed. I really do think that the somewhat stressful events of this summer with his boss was such a blessing in disguise, and it would be great if this worked out.

I need to boast about something

I am actually freakishly organized for the holidays this year...the December holidays. Every year, I wait until the last minute and get all stressed out, in addition to ending up bearing the expense of gift giving all at once. Well, every year, prior to this one!

It is October 2nd, and I already have my gift list put together. My plan is to get half of the gifts this month, and the other half in November. That'll just leave December for sending cards, wrapping and last minute little things.

And, since I'm so dang organized this year, I think I'm going to be able to actually shop around for the best deals on things, with both online coupons and in the store bargains. I know I want to get my mom a digital camera, so I've been keeping an eye on deals at Best Buy.

Of course, the bulk of the kids' gifts will come from ToysRUs or Target, though I may have to be a big buzkill and throw some clothes into the mix, too.

I know what I'm getting Evan, but, being as he sometimes takes a visit over here to the world o' littlebitinteresting, I think I'll keep that one to myself for now.

So, who knows...if I manage to pull this off When I am all done with my shopping by December 1st, I might just get to enjoy the holiday season for what it is - a time for family and friends and joy.

PS - Lest you think this cat has really changed her stripes...I may be all organized for Christmas by the beginning of October, but don't ask about the as of yet to be purchased halloween costumes. Baby steps...

I Challenge You

To make three small changes to positively impact the environment. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, how for quite some time, I've felt that I wanted to do 'something' to fix things, yet felt unable to commit to any of the big things. I'd love to buy a hybrid car, for example, but hell will probably freeze over before I'm in the market to actually purchase a NEW car. I'd love to buy only organic produce, dairy and meats, but I simply can't afford to. I'd love to not create so much household waste, but with a baby in disposable diapers (who goes to daycare, so even if I were so motivated as to cloth diaper, it isn't feasible), the volume of trash we produce every day is staggering.

So, instead of dreaming big and doing nothing, I've started to just make some small changes. Anything is better than nothing, right? Here's what we're doing:

• I've switched to a phosphate-free dishwasher detergent (Bi-O-Kleen) to minimize adding phosphorous to our lakes and streams.

• I've switched to a non-petroleum-based dish soap and laundry detergent (Seventh Generation). According to the bottle: If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 25 oz. petroleum based dishwashing liquid with our 25 oz. vegetable based product, we could save 81,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 4,600 U.S. homes a year!

Both of these products cost a lot more ($2 plus per bottle) than the traditional brands, but it is an easy expense to absorb, as we only use, at most five or six bottles each per year.

• I bought a reusable grocery tote. While I don't think I'll be eliminating our use of plastic grocery bags anytime soon (they are very useful for disposing of stinky diapers!), I figure just cutting in half the number of these bags we use each shopping trip will contribute, in some small way, to reducing landfill.

So, those are our three small changes. We do have a bigger change in the works, but it isn't for everyone. We're going to start composting our kitchen waste. The county is offering a workshop next month and giving away a free Earth Machine, so we soon should be on our way. So anyway, I challenge you...make three small changes toward a bigger impact.

Shoes and Bags

For the past several weeks, I've been on a bit of a shopping binge. After nearly five years of really only buying the necessities for myself, while devoting any extra cash and shopping energy to outfitting the girls, I've rediscovered the pleasure of shopping for myself. Not the kind of shopping where you need to get something specific, or need to outfit yourself for a season all in one shot (I find those excursions stressful), but rather, the kind of shopping where you pop into a store on your lunch hour and end up with something you had no idea you wanted or needed, but now love.

I've gotten a number of things this way recently, but, by far, my biggest shopping addiction seems to be shoes and handbags. I know it makes me sound very stereotypically female, but lately, I just can't seem to ever have enough pairs of shoes. After years of wearing nothing but clunky black shoes, I've suddenly branched out and have several pairs of pumps (I'm rockin' the skinny jeans and heels look) as well as a couple of pairs of animal print ballet flats (I wasn't so sure about them initially, but I get tons of compliments on them, so I'm getting more comfortable with them).

I've also bought a number of bags that I love. I scored a great Hervé Chapelier tote from ebay this summer for a fraction of the retail price. I went a little crazy at Banana Republic a while back and now sport two bags--one a caramel color calfskin purse, the other a sheepskin trimmed tote--that get complimented everywhere I go. And, after carrying the same, raggedy wallet for nearly 15 years, I splurged on a funky, cheetah-print number (yeah, I'm lovin' the whole animal skin motif lately) that actually brings me joy every time I take it out (you know, take it out to buy more stuff...).

So, what's the point here? You're never too old to develop a superficial, additive behavir.

Ok, so...the weekend

Friday night was a flurry of getting ready. Since I knew we would be gone all weekend, and I didn't want to start the new week behind as far as the normal weekend chorse, I felt compelled to add grocery shopping and housecleaning, in addition to packing, to the nights' activities. At the last minute, while packing, I realized that I couldn't find the tie Evan was planning on wearing. Since he isn't a dress up kind of guy, he only has one suit, and two dress shirt/tie combos. Shirt #2 was out at the drycleaners, and shirt #1 definitely does not work with tie #2, so, what does one do at 9pm on a Friday night when one needs a tie? One goes to Target, of course! Who knew Target had such a fantastic selection of mens' clothing?!? So, I found a great tie, got back home and managed to get to bed just after 11 - not bad, all things considered.



Isn't this a great looking tie? Picture it with a bright blue shirt and dark green suit. He looked great, if I do say so myself. This reminds me of something funny the pastor said at the wedding ceremony "when I asked Kristin and Matt to talk about their love for eachother, Kristin summed it up perfectly: 'Matt and I make so much sense. I showed him how to dress, and he taught me to sit down and breathe'. " LOL - that just speaks volumes, doesn't it?

We dropped the girls off at their grandparents' house by nine on Saturday, and hit the road. The ride was kind of long, but it was nice to just have the peace and quiet and be able to chat, or not, as we wanted. We stopped for lunch in Scranton (not exactly a booming town) where we got the giggles over the fact that there is a coffee place named "Sheetz". I looked everywhere for the Dunder Mifflin crowd there, but they were no where to be found.



So, we hit the road again and made it up to Syracuse by 2:30.

The wedding was really a lot of fun, and very beautiful. Kristin was engaged years ago, and due to get married just a few months before Evan and I. Right before the wedding, Ben (her college boyfriend) called it off and basically sent Kristin into a tailspin that took years to get over. So, it is especially nice to see that she has found, in Matt, a real partner in life. I'm so happy for her (them).

The reception was a blast - Kristin has this amazing ability to make and keep friends from every aspect of her life. She keeps in touch with just about EVERYONE from the college crowd, so it was great to see not only my good friends that I'm still in touch with, but also the people that I only see from time to time, and even more thrilling, some of the people I haven't seen since I graduated. Of course, seeing Lyd (who is just about the cutest preggo I've ever seen) and Lisa was the best of all. I told Lisa I'm getting spoiled, since I've seen her three times in two months. It was a lot of fun to get to party with them (and, they both married such nice, fun, guys, too). And, it was defreakinglicious to get to sleep in, lounge around in bed, and stumble down to brunch at, what, for us, was unthikably late.

So, we got back to find kids who had a great time with their grandparents, but also missed us. As I mentioned, I think they've both got a touch of a virus, so there has been an extra amount of crying and whining since we've been back, but, thanks to a night away, I think both Evan and I feel refreshed and better equipped to handle it today.