After Christmas

Phew! We're home. We got home late last night and we all slept in until almost 9:00 a.m.!! We were up late while we were at my in laws playing with our new Wii. That thing is addicting and WAY fun!

We never made it to the beach but we did get to spend time with Michelle, Chris, and Hayley. We went bowling! So fun! The girls got to see Rachel and Alicia which was a big deal for them. And I even fit in a shopping trip to the mall with my mom! We took Katie and my niece Michayla with us. We had a super good time!

We've decided we need one of the roof things to put luggage in. I'm still not sure how we fit everything in our van! We went up with a VERY full load and came home with an even fuller load! And just to test the true capacity of our MINI-van we stopped at ToysRUs on the way through Portland and the girls got MORE stuff with gift cards they got! Somehow everything fit!

My wonderful husband took down the Christmas tree today and put all the decorations away! I'm always more than ready to have my house back to normal as soon as Christmas is over but I dread the whole task! Ed just dives in and gets it done! The kiddos still have some things to put away but most of that stuff is pretty much taken care of too. YAY!

Ed is watching the Patriots/Giants game as we speak. Giants are down by three points with ten minutes left in the game. I'm not a football fan and Ed isn't a Patriots or Giants fan but the game is a biggie I guess so it's interesting to watch. Not interesting enough to keep me up any longer though. I'm off to bed! I'll see if I can get some pictures from Christmas on here real soon.

'Night.

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve! I wanted to try to post this picture of Allison and Rebecca with Santa. I had to scan it on our new 4 in 1 scanner, printer, copier, fax thingy. I still need to figure it out a bit but this picture came out all right!

Anyway, we are laying low today. I've been doing some packing for our trip to Maine. Packing always involves LOTS of laundry so that's primarily what's keeping me busy today. The girls already opened their Christmas Eve jammies. This year we threw in a family gift with the pj's. We got tickets to go see High School Musical: The Ice Tour. YAY! Everyone is looking forward to going. The show is in January. Should be a super fun time!

We will go to the Christmas Eve service at church tonight. Then home to scrub the kiddos clean, stuff them in their jammies, and then send them off to dreamland! I'm sure they'll be up early. I remember hardly being able to sleep Christmas Eve because of the excitement! My brother and I would get up WICKED early - it was still dark outside! My parents never seemed to mind. I think they were excited too. Of course, everything was ripped opened and being played with before the sun came up. And my parents were napping on the couch by mid morning! But Robby and I always had the best Christmases!

Merry Christmas!

This & That

I keep forgetting to post this funny little conversation Allison and I had.
Me: Allison, you need to brush your teeth now.
Allison: But Mom, I just ate a candy can so my bref doesn't stink!

There are no typos in there, that's just what she said. I will be so sad when she starts saying all her words properly! j

The girls are officially wound up due to the excitement of Christmas! I think now that school is out for vacation it all seems really close! We had our cookie party tonight which was a lot of fun. Rebecca invited a new friend from school who seems to be very sweet and she lives pretty close to us so maybe we'll be able to get the girls together for play dates! Anyway, there were parties at school today (junk food) and the party here (junk food) so they are riding on a sugar high at he moment! Better get them in bed before they crash. Crashing is never pretty! We're going to be monitoring the sugar intake carefully this weekend!

Lucy got a bath at Petco today. They used special Christmas shampoo so now my dog smells like a sugar cookie - yes, for real. It's actually more like a sugar cookie covered in dog smell. I guess it's a good smell. She's all shiny and soft. We had to bring one of Becky's friends home tonight and while we were gone Lucy ate Becky's gingerbread house. She must've been eyeing it all afternoon and then as soon as we were out of here she devoured it. Silly animal!

I finished my shopping today. YAY! I want to avoid the mall at all costs this weekend. It will be so crazy there! Ed LOVES to shop with the crazy people! I don't get it! I have to wrap now. As a matter of fact I think I will do some wrapping tonight!

Here's another nice Christmas link. It's the song Mary Did You Know which is one of my very favorite Christmas songs. Check it out.

A New Microwave

Good news...we have purchased a new microwave! We decided to go with an LG. We've had GE appliances forever and haven't had good luck so we're trying something new. LG gets good ratings and they seem to have something in every price bracket. I'm looking forward to having it soon!

I think I included this link last year but I though I'd post it again for anyone interested. It's a website where your kids can e-mail Santa! Check it out!

Today was a good mail day. We got ALL Christmas cards! I love good mail days. They don't happen very often, do they!?

Tomorrow is our cookie party. I want to bake the cookies ahead of time. I wonder when I will do that. Maybe they'll be coming out of the oven when the kiddos arrive. That may be what works!

Christmas time always forces me to get my kids toys organized. I like to donate some old toys to make room for the new ones. I'm planning a Wal*Mart trip later to get some canvas bins and a rolling storage cart for Allison's room. She has the most LITTLE things that need to constantly be sorted out. I have them all sorted and in various types of baskets and little bags but I need something a little different. Most of her toys are in her closet which is deep enough for a book shelf and some floor space where she likes to play. I have a shoe storage thing hanging on the door and another storage thingy for stuffed animals on the wall in there. I have the storage bins on the bookshelf. It's amazing what we've fit in there with room to spare! I think that's the advantage of keeping it organized! It can be time consuming but worth it! She LOVES to play in her room! I did Becky's room a month or so ago and I did the same sort of thing in her room with the canvas storage bins on the bookshelf in her closet. It definitely helps them to put things away in the right spot if the know where to put them!

Can you believe I've posted 11 times in December so far? I'm on some kind of roll! I also wanted to post this link. You've got to check it out. This little boy Logan is an amazing boy. He is wise beyond his years.

FIVE days until Christmas! We woke to a fresh coating of fluffy white snow. Perfect Christmas weather!

More Blah, Blah, Blah

The Biggest Loser season finale is on tonight. Kind of bitter sweet, you know. I can't wait to see how amazing the contestants all look now compared to the beginning of the season. But, I don't want the show to end! Fortunately, a new season is supposed to start in January! If you haven't watched before you MUST check it out!

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by what I must have accomplished by Friday. I say Friday because after that the girls will be home and it will be impossible to shop or wrap with them here. And since we had ANOTHER snow day yesterday, I lost valuable time! Allison is only in school three mornings a week and that's the time I use to get LOTS of stuff done! So, today I feel tired and a bit achy. I will feel better tomorrow after I've been to the mall (again!) and hopefully finished my shopping! I literally only have a couple more things to get. I only have about an hour to finish because Allison's class party is tomorrow and all the parents get to go. Deeeeeep breath.....

My beautiful Christmas tree is DEAD. Crispy dead. Brittle dead. Coming down very soon after Christmas dead!! For some reason it stopped drinking the water. Why does that happen? I guess we won't be putting our tree up so early next year. I think I say that every year.

We will be headed to Maine next week. I'm hoping it will be a bit of a relaxing trip. I want to go to the ocean. I don't think I've ever been to the beach in the winter but I'm sure it's as beautiful as ever. It'll be cold but worth it. Allison has no memory of the ocean. That makes me sad. I want her to love it like I do. To see the amazing beauty and power of the waves. To see that our God is so powerful that He can make wild ocean waves crash onto the shore and also make silent snowflakes float to the ground. I want her to see God's hand in ALL of creation. My girls each have such a unique way of processing the world around them. It blesses my heart when they point things out to me. I don't want them to ever take the beauty around them for granted.

The sun is bright today. There's even a bit of melting going on outside. That's good. We may get over 30 degrees this week. I can't believe how cold and snowy it has been already. This is how winter is SUPPOSED to be!

A quote just came to mind. I heard it on Clash of the Choirs last night. It will be my motto from now on! We're too Blessed to be Stressed!

Our Weekend in Pictures

I promised pictures of the party attire so here you go. I did not do my hair up. I knew it wouldn't stay so I opted for the curling iron instead. You can't really see too well in this picture. One of the girls took the picture of us.

Last night we drove into Albany to do some shopping and check out the Capitol City Holiday Lights. In Washington Park all of these light displays are set up and you drive through. It's all very festive. The snow really added to that Christmasy feel! Here are some of the displays...

Remember, we're in the middle of a major snow storm. So what does Ed decide to do? Head to Home Depot of course! He was going to get a spark plug for the snow blower which, incidentally isn't working any more. The new spark plug didn't work. So we'll just add the snow blower to the list of malfunctioning and not working household items! Anyway, Ed got stuck in the driveway. Our neighbor rescued him.

Then, I looked out the window when I heard the snow plow go by and saw him get stuck. Snow plows NEVER get stuck so it really was interesting. He tried to get himself unstuck but had no success so two of his snow plow buddies came to rescue him!

Now the girls and Ed are playing in the fluffy, blowing snow. We built a snow fort on Friday which is coming in handy today! It is definitely blocking some of the wind! I hope this weather improves drastically before tomorrow - we just CAN'T have another Monday snow day!

One more thing. We had MAJOR computer troubles yesterday! Long story short, we got some virus. Fortunately we caught it in time. Good grief, we don't need to add a computer to our growing list of broken down items!

P.S. It appears that Rebecca isn't wanting the Snuggle-Kins anymore. I'm not sure what changed her mind. We were at Toys R Us last night and she saw the poster for them. I pointed it out and she was totally uninterested. I said, "I thought you wanted one of those for Christmas." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "No, not really." So to all of you who were keeping your eyes peeled for a Snuggle-Kins, I thank you. But it doesn't look like Santa needs to bring one to our house after all.

Pictures and Stuff

Yesterday's winter storm is being labeled an 'appetizer' to the snow storm on the way for this weekend. We ended up with somewhere between 8 and 10 inches yesterday and AT LEAST 8 more coming Saturday night into Sunday. I love snow storms. Unfortunately, this weekend's storm is making our weekend party plans undoable. We're going to reschedule our cookie party. And I am supposed to go to a ladies Christmas party Sunday evening which I'm sure will also be cancelled but hopefully rescheduled. I guess that's the only real draw back to snow storms - they really are hazardous to travel in. I think we will be having a white Christmas! I don't remember the last time we had such a snowy December! YAY!
So here's a picture of the girls on the porch during the snow yesterday. I love how the snowflakes show up as big white spots on the picture.

And below is our little light up snowman. He kept getting buried. I think the pretty Christmas lights on our bushes will be buried in snow very soon!

I'm including a link to the Snuggle-Kins Panda that Becky is wanting from Santa. There are so many stuffed animals out there that they all kind of blur together! These are supposed to be life like little critters who coo and need to be fed. They're very cute! And obviously LOTS of people think so too since I'm not able to find them anywhere!

Here's a video clip from Becky's last b-ball game. I don't know if you'll be able to spot which one is her. I believe she's mostly on the right side of the screen and she's wearing an orange shirt and dark pants. Basketball is not an easy sport to videotape!!
One more thing. You know how I've labored over the right dress to wear tonight? How I spent lots of time shopping and getting prepared for this party? Well, my dear husband is out at the mall as we speak getting himself a new shirt and tie. The party is later tonight and he just now decided to shop. Is this a guy thing you think? I thought he was all set which is why I never even asked him about it. Go figure...

10 shopping days til Christmas! :)

Christmas Stress

I really thought I was doing pretty good this year with my shopping. I was finding what I was looking for. Still have a time to finish up last minute stuff. Well that feeling has come to a complete stop! Becky has asked Santa for a Snuggle Kins. I went to local stores looking for it today but didn't find it. No problem. I figured I'd just order it online. Apparently this little interactive stuffed animal is a pretty popular gift item this year and it is SOLD OUT everywhere on line. Everywhere except Amazon.com who's only charging 4 TIMES the retail price for it! The kicker is that I had one purchased the night Ed and I went out shopping but I wasn't sure Becky really wanted it so I returned it. I need to find out how badly the child is hoping for this thing. Santa never let me down and I don't think he's ever let one of my children down. I don't want this to be the first time!!

I definitely decided on the red dress for the party. I found some very cute black satin peep toe pumps with a little sparkly thingy on them. I'm going to try to do my hair up. Yes, up. It's long enough now, I think. It may be a bit tricky but I'm going to give it a shot. There will be pictures this weekend. Promise.

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. Wow. 15 years is a long time. I feel so blessed to have married such a wonderful man. So here's a list of reasons why I'm glad Ed is my husband in no particular order.

10. He puts up with me

9. He supports me in whatever I need his support in

8. He's always been glad that I have stayed home with our children -even when the budget was tight!

7. He's a fantastic father!

6. He doesn't sit in front of the TV and watch sports all weekend even though he probably would like to.

5. He likes to shop almost as much as I do.

4. He has a wonderful family that I'm so thankful and blessed to be a part of.

3. He has this goofy little grin he does when he's trying to get away with something.

2. He's generous.

1. He loves me and tells me so, often.

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Here it is Tuesday and I can tell you that I still don't have a working microwave. As a matter of fact, we haven't even been to the store to look at appliances since last week. It's amazing how I am adapting to life without it. It really isn't any trouble. Maybe I can just not have one. Maybe I can just keep a cooler filled with ice and do away with the fridge too! And, hey, we have a grill on the deck. What do we need a stove for?! And while we're at it, Katie and Becky are old enough to do the dishes so I don't really need a dishwasher either! YAY! I just solved the whole appliance issue!!


We had another snow day yesterday. I brought the kids to the movies to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It was EXCELLENT! Squeaky clean, fun, engaging, wholesome, the whole bit! Go see it - TWO THUMBS UP!


On Friday Ed and I are going to his work Christmas party. This time it's at the hotel in town. And the invitation said 'FORMAL' dress. YAY - you all know how I like formal parties! So I've been shopping for two weeks for a dress. I actually now have FOUR dresses upstairs in my closet. I'm trying to decide which one is best. I showed them to the Bible study ladies last night and I've narrowed it down to two. One of the dresses is red satin, sleeveless, just below the knee. It's pretty . The other is black with a little bit of sparkle on the waist. It's also sleeveless but has a full skirt and is a tad bit longer than the red. They are both pretty comfortable but the black one is more comfortable. I'm leaning toward the red. I still have to decide about shoes and my hair! At least this year my friend Betsy will be there. She's a HOOT! I'm sure we'll have fun with her and her husband!

Sunday we are having a cookie decorating party for the girls and their friends. Seems as though we've got a tradition going! Last year's party was FUN and the girls asked if they could do it again. Why not?! I just have to figure out when to bake the cookies for them to decorate!


Becky played her first basketball game of the season on Saturday. She did great!! I was so impressed. She's aggressive and confident! I LOVE watching her play! She seems to have a good grasp of the game concepts and has a real handle on what's going on! Good job Becky!!


I'm having a hard time finding the mint Hershey's Kisses for our favorite Christmas cookies! It seems as though they may not be making them anymore!!! Cookies in very cute tin buckets is what the girls are giving their teachers and I was planning to make the Magical Mint Kiss Cookies! What to do...What to do...


13- count 'em 13! - shopping days until Christmas!! HO! HO! HO!

The Joys of Shopping with Ed

Shopping for a new microwave is apparently going to be harder than I thought. The reasons are a bit complicated. If we are going to get stainless, (and by stainless I mean silver. There are titanium and ultra satin finishes as well as stainless steel) then remember we'll be slowly switching out our white appliances BUT we should pick out ALL the appliance when we buy the microwave so that they'll MATCH! Okay, so that's complicated enough. Then throw my husband into the mix. YIKES - shopping with that man is almost as fun as cleaning the bathroom! I love him to pieces but he's a difficult person to shop with. Let's just say he's VERY picky. He strolls down the aisles and picks the things he likes based solely on their appearance. When I stroll down the aisles I am not even looking at the appliances, I'm looking at PRICE TAGS. If I find a price I like THEN I decide if I like the thing I'm looking at. I'm not a chef extraordinaire, I only use my microwave to heat things up and cook veggies, and I don't drink water or get ice from the fridge door. BASIC appliances that LOOK good, that's all I want! SO, we went to FOUR stores last night when we should've been home getting our children in bed and we came home with NOTHIN' - not even an idea of what we are going to buy. Maybe by Christmas we'll have it figured out.

So enough of my whining. Allison went out to play yesterday and when I was dressing her in her warm woolies she asked if she could wear "ear muffins". So off she went to play in the snow with her fluffy "ear muffins." So cute.

The Joys of Home Ownership!

So. It's three weeks before Christmas. Of course an appliance would break! Fortunately it's just the microwave. Still, an unwanted expense! Our side by side refrigerator has been freezing things in the fridge side ever since we moved in. Nothing worse than going to get a glass of milk only to find it ROCK SOLID! Sometimes it's fine - most of the time it's not. So - another appliance on the brink of complete malfunction. I don't like the fridge. It's ugly, small, and doesn't work right. I like the microwave, at least I used to. It works just fine other than the fact that it is incapable of heating anything up. Minor glitch. So, guess what Ed and I are getting each other for Christmas!? A new space saver, over the stove, microwave oven!!! Woo Hoo! And possibly a new fridge! Woo Hoo Hoo!! The big question is, do we get stainless steel (which we both really want) or just go with the white so that they'll match the dishwasher and stove. We could sell the stove and dishwasher later and replace them but it could be awhile. Ahhh, the big decisions that plague me!

We are also trying to decide on a new vehicle. Our lease is almost due and we need to pick something out to replace it. We're leaning towards a Honda Pilot. It has 8 passenger seating which most SUV's don't offer. I LOVE my Honda Odyssey but we're trying to get something that will pull Ed's boat. More big decisions! So, when is the best time to find a deal on new cars? Some say the end of the year, some say the dead of winter. Hmmm...

About a week ago Ed was walking into the kitchen when he felt a drop of water land on him. He looked up to find the ceiling DRIPPING! Not good. Katie was upstairs in the shower. Apparently she didn't put the liner in the tub so water was pouring onto the floor and seeping through to the ceiling downstairs. Great. So, after mopping things up and making a gaping hole in the ceiling, things dried up. Ed has patched the mess and it is looking okay. Now he'll need to paint it. I'm telling you, the joys of home ownership!

On a lighter note, I'm going in to read a story to Becky's class tomorrow. I'm SO excited! I've decided to read Jan Brett's Twas the Night Before Christmas! You may remember how thrilled I was last year to find this book. The illustrations are GORGEOUS! The class is learning all about Massachusetts so I thought this one would fit nicely since the illustrations are based on scenes in nearby Stockbridge and Jan Brett has spent lots of time in this area. If I have time I'm also planning to read Emily by Michael Bedard with illustrations by Barbara Cooney. I LOVE Barbara Cooney's illustrations. She's also the author of fabulous books like Miss Rumphius and Eleanor. Anyway, Emily is about Emily Dickinson who just happens to be from Amherst, MA. I can't wait.

18 shopping days until Christmas!! YIKES!

Big Day

Today is a big day for me. I've just mailed out my first manuscript - EEEK! I was planning to hold onto it a bit longer because, well, just because. I got a letter from my instructor yesterday asking if I'd mailed it out yet. I want to be able to tell her I did, so, I did. I never knew there was so much involved in getting a manuscript ready to send out! I think I'm just so nervous about the whole thing because I want to do it right. I don't want to mess anything up. But, messing up is how we learn, right? I'll keep reminding myself about that! I'll let you know what happens. It could take several weeks...

Christmas Photo

I know you can't really see the Christmas tree but didn't this picture come out cute?! Lucy was none too happy about posing with her LIGHT up Santa hat on!

Ed and I went out to dinner and a little Christmas shopping last night. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Have you heard of it? In a word... YUM! The wait was an hour and 15 minutes but, oh so worth it. We shopped while we waited so the time was well spent. I had Ramano Parmesan Crusted Chicken which was SO good. Ed had a Cajun Chicken dish which he claims is the best meal out he's had in a LONG time. Then we shared a Chocolate Truffle Tower cake for dessert - can you say RICH?! We ended up bringing most of it home - it was HUGE! It was nice to have a kid free dinner, especially at such a yummy place with tons of atmosphere!

Looks like the kiddos may end up with a snow day tomorrow. The forecast is calling for snow and ice in these parts tonight and tomorrow. Fortunately everyone has boots that fit them so we should be all set to play outside!

A Little of This and A Little of That

There are only 24 days (and a wake up) until Christmas. Wow! When we woke up this morning it actually looked like winter. The ground is covered with a crisp layer of new snow. I think I may try for a nice Christmas picture of the girls outside today. The sun is shining so it's a bright and beautiful day. We'll see.

We put up the Christmas tree last weekend. It's GORGEOUS! I think it is probably my favorite real tree we've ever had! It's FAT and FULL. Hmmm...maybe the girls in front of the VERY FAT tree would be an even nicer picture!

Allison is enjoying the Christmas season as if it is the first one for her. Being so young it is brand new to her every year. I love that. Seeing things through the eyes of my sweet girls has been one of my very favorite parts of motherhood. Allison and I put lights on the bushes out front this week. She loved helping me, until she found a stick and some shiny rocks, then she got distracted and I was on my own. She was good company just the same. Today Ed, Becky, and Katie are going to hang icicle lights around the porch.

Last week I hosted the lady's Bible study group at our house. I just loved having this house filled up with people! We had 17 ladies here - what fun! We had been meeting at church but folks were commenting how we should take turns meeting at different houses thinking it would be warmer, cozier, etc. Then the group got kind of large and it didn't seem possible to fit anywhere but the church. We have a nice sized family room and I knew we could fit so I told them we could meet regularly at our house! They all thanked me a million times for being willing to meet here, but they don't seem to understand how much it meant to me to have them all here. I just love the people of our church and I'm so excited about getting to know the ladies in our group even better.

We went to see Enchanted last night. What an adorable movie! Becky is a HOOT to watch during a movie. She laughs, she crys, she grins - it's very cute. I think I missed some good parts because I was watching her reaction! We all thought the movie was fantastic and give it a definite TWO THUMBS UP!

I think I'd better get my vacuuming done. I wanted to post these pictures of the girls with their new cousin Chase from Thanksgiving. What a treat to see and hold him. He's just such a peanut and oh so cute! The girls and I kept fighting over who got to hold him next!!

A Little Snow

This is what the backyard looked liked yesterday morning. When I took this picture the snow had all but stopped. A little while later it picked up again and we ended up with a little over an inch of snow. Our neighbors actually made an entire snow family in their front yard with the little bit we got. It was very pretty but I'm glad it's melted today!

The forecast is calling for a nice, clear couple of days. I'm thankful for that since we'll be travelling this weekend. I think it will be cold but that can be dealt with pretty easily.

For the first time in seven and a half years I am not wearing my glasses. I decided to give contacts a try. My prescription is a bit tricky and I always just stayed away from contacts thinking they wouldn't be a good idea. I got the contacts yesterday and I'll try them out for a couple of weeks to see if they'll work out. Yesterday was difficult. I couldn't see well, my eye felt irritated, reading was a nightmare. This morning started out that way but things have improved dramatically over the last couple of hours. I can read just fine and I am barely aware that anything is in my eyes. Maybe this will work out... I'm looking forward to buying myself a pair of inexpensive sunglasses!

Becky starts basketball this weekend. She is on a really nice team, good girls, nice coach... I think she'll have a good time this season. She's in the 3rd/4th grade league this year so it'll be a little bit different for her but I think she'll do fine.

My mom and I have decided to head to Freeport on Black Friday! That could possibly be the worst idea on the planet, especially since my mom is dealing with a badly sprained ankle, but I think it'll be worth it. I LOVE shopping in Freeport and I haven't gotten to in quite awhile. Mom thinks she'll be okay for a couple of hours so we'll be good.

Do you know the state of your school's budget, resources, class sizes, etc.? I'm finding out a good deal more than I can wrap my head around about ours. It's actually quite discouraging and a HUGE eye opener. Apparently, we have elementary schools in our district that have VERY small class sizes (let's say 9 or 10 in a class). The idea has been suggested to combine classes (let's say 2nd and 3rd). This idea has been repeatedly shot down by folks on the school committee who don't believe it makes sense from an educational stand point. ON THE OTHER HAND; our district High School has had to let several teacher go over the past couple of years which has impacted class sizes drastically over there. For example, there is only one Geometry class offered and 29 students are in that class. Four or five others were told they couldn't take the class due to the already large class size. I was flabbergasted by that. Imagine your PUBLIC school not allowing your child to take a math class because they couldn't possibly accommodate any more students! That's INSANE! There just isn't enough teachers to go around over there because of these cuts. Somebody tell me again why it's okay to keep an elementary school teacher on for ten kids but not okay to have enough teachers on at the high school. I guess if these elementary schools were reorganized it would free up LOTS of money. Money that could be used to pay for additional teachers at the high school level as well as a middle school Resource Officer. Hmmm...the budget is always explained in a way to make the average person think we have to CHOOSE between teachers and resource officers. It seems to be there are very doable ways to have BOTH. But, what do I do with this information? Do others know about these things? I don't know what to do about this. Is a letter to the Editor worth a try? I just don't know. After the holiday I will call the lady on the school committee who seems to want to change things and ask her what I can do. Maybe she'll have some ideas. It really is disturbing to know that things are so WACKY and nothing is being done about it!

I've got to get some things done before the girlies get home. It's another half day of school. We have a busy afternoon planned so I have to get things accomplished this morning!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! And remember: Gobble til you Wobble!

The True Christmas

I wanted to tell you about a very cool interactive Nativity I bought for us to use this Christmas. It's called What God wants for Christmas. I'm not even sure how to describe it. Please check out the link where you'll find a detailed description of the Nativity. I always feel like we haven't done enough around the Christmas season to really put the emphasis on Jesus' birth. What God wants for Christmas seems like the perfect way to put some real focus on the true Christmas story!

Speaking of Christmas...I am actually doing pretty good with my shopping list! I have LOTS to do still but I have some ideas and just need to get the shopping done! Our nieces and nephews are getting older, and as you know, the older they get, the harder they can be to shop for!! Or, the things they want are SO EXPENSIVE!

Anyway, check out the link!

A Little of This and A Little of That

We've been to a couple of restaurants recently that have these Sweet Potato Fries and my mom made them once when she was down for a visit. I thought I'd try to make them. I didn't have an actual recipe but I figured, how hard could they be! They were easy, yummy, and good for you too! So here you go -- try them out!

Sweet Potato Fries

Wash 3 sweet potatoes and cut them into french fries (leave the skins on). Put them in a bowl and sprinkle with about 2 tsp. Oregano, 1 tsp. Salt, and 1/2 tsp. Pepper. Drizzle Olive Oil over the fries and mix thoroughly. I used about 1 Tbsp. Spread fries in a single layer on a cookie sheet and cook for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Remember to flip fries after about 20 min. Enjoy!


I'm officially half way through my writing course. I mailed in assignment 5 yesterday! YAY! This assignment required me to do a character sketch and then create a monologue for the character. It took me awhile to get into it but once I sat down to write it out it came together easily. My last assignment was to write a non fiction article. I really enjoyed that one! I struggled at first with a topic but once I figured out what I was going to write about it practically wrote itself. My instructor has encouraged me to submit it to a magazine for publication. I won't give you any more details until (unless) it works out. I'm excited about the possibility of seeing my writing published but also extremely nervous about submitting it. It's very likely that I will receive MANY rejection letters before my writing finally gets into print. I'm trying to be realistic. We'll see.

The girls had a half day of school today. We went to see Bee Movie. It was cute. There was some adult humor that, in my opinion, was borderline inappropriate. I never understand why movie makers have to tarnish a perfectly good story with some unnecessary elements. I still think it was a decent movie and overall I would recommend it. We are really looking forward to seeing Disney's new movie coming out next week, Enchanted. That one looks super cute!

On Sunday our church is having a huge Thanksgiving dinner. I'm sure it will be a good time! I signed up to make stuffing and cheesy carrots. Hopefully I don't mess anything up!! I love how this church goes all out to offer great family events. Everyone is so willing to pitch in and do their part! It's such a blessing to part of a such a wonderful church family.

Some exciting Allison news: She swam at swimming lessons on Wednesday without a bubble!! Yes indeed, she did it! She was jumping in without it and everything. Her teacher was always within arms reach. I was so proud of her! And sweet little miss was clearly proud of herself! I was really happy for her - what a big achievement! One more way my baby girl is growing up...

Can you even believe that Thanksgiving is next week?! We'll be headed to Maine - it's been too long since we've been up just to visit! We are all anxious to meet our new family member, little Chase! And, just in case I don't post again before the holiday I will leave you with this funny quote I read somewhere: On Thanksgiving - Gobble till you Wobble!!

Round 2 of the School Resource Officer Debate

It appears that the battle over having a School Resource Officer at Katie's Middle School isn't over. Some of you may remember that last Spring I spoke at a School Committee meeting urging them to reconsider eliminating our Resource Officer position. They voted to get rid of her anyway. I thought that was pretty much the end of it because SO many of the committee members were adamantly opposed to funding the position any longer. Well, yesterday while I was working in the library at Becky's school a School Committee member who was working there as well, asked me if I'd be willing to speak again at a Education subcommittee meeting next week. She'd like me to be there to 'remind the committee who they represent'. It doesn't sound like I'll be making some formal 'speech' but rather just saying a few things and be done. This meeting is also much less formal than a full fledged school committee meeting so I'll be able to respond to comments the subcommittee members make - it also means they can ask me questions and put me on the spot, so to speak. I told this lady that I'd be glad to come to the meeting...WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I'm not GLAD to go to that meeting and SAY A FEW WORDS! I don't want to go!! Someone else would be WAY better at sharing their thoughts! I also think some of the subcommittee members may recognize me and want to throw rotten food at me!! I know they don't want to keep rehashing this issue! BUT, I do feel like this is an opportunity to be involved in the 'system' and hopefully improve things. Can't complain about things if we aren't willing to try and change them, right?

We are headed to our FINAL soccer tournament this weekend in Rhode Island. I hope and pray the weather will be nice! Nothing worse than watching soccer in the cold rain! The hotel we stay at is beautiful and we're close to Providence and an awesome mall there and great restaurants. Our team has not been very good this fall so we're not expecting any big wins or anything but Katie has played well and had a few great moments - that's what it's about for me anyway - seeing my girl do well and have fun in the process!

Rebecca has had quite the difficult adjustment to third grade. The work is much more difficult and the expectations are much greater. She still cries some mornings about having to go to school. But, I've seen her school work steadily improve along with her confidence and she makes a conscious effort to keep her chin up and dry her tears. She's always had separation issues, ever since she was small, poor thing. Report cards come out this week and I'm sure Becky will be surprised by how well she's doing. Based on her schoolwork I'm guessing A's and B's which is certainly nothing to complain about!!

Katie on the other hand is thriving at school. She's about to get her first straight A report card! She's worked very hard for it! She also tutors sixth grade students who need homework help. I never have to ask her to do her homework or check on projects she has for school. She's extremely responsible about her schoolwork! Now if she'd only CLEAN HER ROOM!!

Allison is happy and carefree. Her life is easy and fun, just as it should be when you're four! Next year will be FULL of BIG changes for my little miss. I'm not sure what the adjustment to school will like for her. She's doing fantastic at swimming lessons and is on her way to swimming without using a swim bubble (on her back) very soon! She's very brave about trying new things and enjoys the attention that comes from all of us when she succeeds at something.

Lucy is still the best dog on the planet. The other day we were at a pet store and asked if we could play with the black lab puppy they had there. She was SOOOOOOOOOO cute, endearing, soft, sweet, playful......The neat thing was seeing Ed love on this puppy. I've said it many times, the man is not a dog person. But Lucy has changed him. He appreciates the gem we have in our sweet girl and it's softened his attitude toward other dogs. We all had such a good time playing with that little black puppy, but it was nice to say goodbye knowing our fully house trained, out of the chewing phase, mellow old dog was waiting at home for us :)

It's raining here today and is much cooler than it has been. Can't complain though because we've had the most wonderful fall so far.

Election day - GO VOTE!

October Recap

Allison and I went to Ioka Valley Farm in beautiful Hancock, MA for a school field trip. The weather was a bit soggy but we had a really fun time. Here she is in the pumpkin patch!

Our soccer club hosts a tournament every Columbus Day weekend. We had gorgeous weather! That's Katie in the center of the picture.

On a rainy Saturday when soccer games got cancelled we decided to head to Boston to catch a Bruins/Flyers game. Flyers won! Ed's brother and his family met us there. Very cool!

Our end of the soccer season pizza/pool party! Check out this great action shot of Allison and Rebecca jumping off the diving block!

Tinker Bell and Hannah Montana from Halloween. Trunk or treating was kind of boring so we came home and trick or treat (ed?) in our neighborhood. Katie and her friend were dressed as beat up soccer players!

And on Halloween afternoon our nephew Chase was born! He was a couple of weeks early and weighed in at 5 lbs. 3 oz. I can't wait to meet him at Thanksgiving! What a cutie, eh?

P.S.

This is a Post Script for the previous post...

I'm sorry you had to watch Allison sideways for half of the video. I am officially putting myself in the DINGBAT category!

Allison

We were at an orthodontist appointment for Katie yesterday and as Allison and I were waiting for her to be done it was clear that Allison was uncomfortable. I asked her what was wrong and she whispered, "I have to go poop!" I told her we could go to the bathroom so she could go. "NO!" Okay, whatever, I told her she'd have to wait until we got home then. A little while and much squirming later she said she'd go to the bathroom to PEE! Fine. We get in there and I told her she'd get a belly ache if she didn't go. "I can't Mom!" "Why not?" "I don't want to STINK up the place!"

Sometimes it takes great amounts of self control for me not to BURST into laughter at some of the things she says! I didn't want to seem uncaring about her concern so I assured her that she would not 'stink up the place.' The things that kid comes up with!

I'm including a video of Allison singing a song from preschool which cracked me up the first dozen times she sang it. Just for clarification, the words are:

Hi. My name is Jean.

I have a dog and three kids, and a button factory.

One day, my boss came to me and said, "Jean, are you busy?"

I said, "No."

"Then work with your right hand."

Etc. Etc. Etc.

We went to the Fall Festival Sunday night at church. It was tons of fun! There was games, candy, contests, dinner, a puppet show, face painting, and more! I've told you before, we have a REALLY fun church! One of the young moms there had her hands full trying to take pictures for everyone and watching her toddler and newborn. I sacrificed greatly to offer and hold little Bella...She was in my arms a good part of the night, sleeping peacefully. What a treat for me!! Her mom was so grateful but I was pleased as punch to hold that little bundle!! Tomorrow night we are going to Trunk or Treat at church. Apparently folks decorate their trunks in all sort of fun ways and the kids trick or treat from trunk to trunk. There will be games and more fun! I'd never heard of such a thing before. I'll let you know how it goes. Check out this great story that is fun to go along with Halloween. Allison LOVED it!

I found some great new jeans at Old Navy. It seems that I am ALWAYS looking for the perfect pair of jeans. You know, not too low, not too high, not too long, not too short. I think the Classic Sweetheart jeans are a good fit for all of those categories and not too expensive!

I was at the grocery store yesterday and overheard this conversation at the checkout next to mine. The customer was an 80 something woman and her husband. They were purchasing two bottles of wine. The cashier was a 40 something DINGBAT!

Customer puts wine up to be rung in.

Cashier..."Do you have some ID?"

Customer chuckles.

Cashier..."It's our policy to ask for ID for all alcohol purchases."

Customer..."I don't think I need to show you my ID. Harry! (her husband) She's carding me!!"

I'm not sure how this ended but I did NOT see the customer hand over her ID. I think I heard more chuckling however! Can you imagine?

I have a Halloween joke for you: Why didn't the skeleton dance at the party?

He had no body to dance with!!! LOL!

High School Hair In Living Color

I hesitate to even post this picture because it's more awful than I even remembered! I want you to notice the width of my face in relation to the width of my hair and the HEIGHT of my hair! Can you say AQUANET?!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

We were sitting at dinner and Katie asked me if I'd ever want to be a teenager again. I said, "Yeah, sure. I'd probably do some things differently though." To which sweet Rebecca replied, "Like your hair?"......

I so wish I had a picture of my 'high school hair'! Let's just say it was BIG.

Homeschooling Top 10 List

I recently came across this top 10 list. I found it offensive. Let me say that I don't consider myself to be easily offended but this bothered me. It makes homeschoolers seem self righteous. I need to back up. I homeschooled Katie for five years and Becky for one - we were a home schooled family. I prayed and prayed for God to show me if I should continue to homeschool my children and if not then where should they go to school. The answer was clear - send them to public school. Every year since putting my girls into public school I pray that if God wants me to homeschool them that He would make that clear to me. So far, it seems that public school is the place for them. I don't know if they'll be in public school for the rest of the educating but for now that's where they are. So, back to homeschoolers seeming self righteous...I was a self righteous homeschooler at one point - I admit it. I would look at kids who went to public school and think how much better it was to homeschool and how public school kids were missing out on so much. Then the Lord began to change my heart. I started to see advantages to both ways of educating children. I stopped judging and started to pay attention to the positives about public school. Soon, it was clear that Katie would be going to fourth grade at Woodside School and Becky followed the next year to begin first grade. No form of education is without it's problems! I think I've talked about my troubles with school things enough for you to know that I see the problems! I also see the benefits - if I didn't then my girls wouldn't be there. I learned that what's right for one family isn't necessarily right for another and we shouldn't stereotype homeschoolers or public schoolers. Let's support the decisions we make as concerned parents knowing that we all really just want what's best for our kids.

A Sad Tale

I saw the most disturbing sight this morning and of course I have to share it with you! Someone must share in the awfulness of what I saw and lucky for you - it's YOU!

I was driving down the main stretch of road that leads to our street. There were two or three cars in front of me. I saw something up ahead moving in the road and had a quick thought that I hoped it wasn't an animal and assumed it was probably a leaf. I was kind of far back from it at this point. As I got closer I realized that it was in fact an animal - a squirrel to be exact. The poor thing had obviously been hit and he was flopping all around trying for the life of him to get out of the street. He had blood on his chest and his little squirrel mouth was open. He looked like if he could holler that's just what he would've been doing. He'd hop up, then flop down again, his fluffy tail twitch, twitch, twitching. As I got even closer I thought maybe I should TRY to run him over and put him out his awful misery. I slowed down and went straight. Everyone knows if you want to hit a squirrel the last thing you should do is AIM for it, so I didn't aim. Unfortunately I straddled him and he continued to flop. I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed that he only flopped once or twice more and then he was still. The cars in front of me were going slower than usual and I think we were all just feeling SO SAD about what we'd all just seen. Poor, poor squirrel. It's so different to see an animal already dead on the side of the road versus watching one suffer. I'm so sad for the little squirrel and so thankful that Allison didn't see a thing!

Well, have a nice day! :)

Joke of the Week

Here's my fun idea for a regular video feature on my blog, The Joke of the Week! Enjoy!

War of the Worlds

And the answer is....

MADAM IN EDEN, I'M ADAM.

See? It's the same forwards and backwards! Cool, huh?

Last night Ed and I watched War of the Worlds, the original one from 1956. It was on Turner Classic Movies. I'd never seen it before and I do like the whole science fiction thing. The special effects were so hokey and the acting was kind of funny but considering it was made in 1956 it was AWESOME! I loved it. One thing that stood out in different parts of the movie was the references to God. Several times it came up that God had created the world and that people needed to pray for His salvation from the martians. The pastor in the movie recited scripture as he approached the menacing martian spaceship and Silvia's faith in God defined who she was. The final scene in the movie where the spaceships start to collapse suddenly was particularly interesting from a Christian stand point. None of the characters had anything to do with the demise of the martians. The military was helpless against the red and green rays that spewed out of the evil red eye. All anyone could do was run and hide. Then seemingly for no reason the ships start to fall out of the sky. The narrator explains that the martians were overcome by the germs and viruses on earth. Their immune systems couldn't fight them off and so the martians died. The narrator further explains that it was a miracle from God himself who created these viruses and used them to kill the aliens. Hmmm... It reminded me that as a society we've completely left behind the One who has blessed our country so richly. It used to be the common thing to do - to include God in everyday life, movies, school - now it's the uncommon thing to do. Sad, but true.

Supposed to be in the 80's today! Lucy and I went for a long walk this morning and I finally used my little ipod shuffle. A long walk whizzes by when you're listening to some good music!

Good day!

A Palindrome

What is a Palindrome, you ask...click here to see. And then see if you can figure out the answer to this one.

How did Adam use a palindrome to introduce himself to Eve when they first met?

I'll let you know the answer soon.

A Little of This and A Little of That

No video today - sorry Mom & Dad. Just me. I have a fun idea for the video thing so stay tuned...

Allison has enjoyed telling people that my birthday was this week. She asked me how old I am now and I told her '34, again.' She totally buys it! And that's what she tells people, "My mom's birthday was...she's 34 again." I love it! I will be lying about my age from here on out. I refuse to check the box on any questionnaire that asks you to select your age group. Mine would now be 35-50. I will continue to check the 18-34 box for a while longer!! It's not because I'm vain or have some issue with getting older - it's because you're only as old as you feel and I feel 34 AGAIN!! Ed and the girls got me this gorgeous Vera Bradley handbag! I'm loving Vera Bradley patterns and there are so many styles and sizes to the different bags!! Check it out!

Time for some TV talk. I watched the premiere of Survivor China last night. Apparently the survivors were left with the clothes on their backs and nothing else. You'd think that these people would have some sort of clue about what to wear as they set out on their survivor adventure! Other survivor seasons have done the same thing and folks were left with nothing but the suit and tie or short dress and heels they wore for the first episode. DUMB! Unfortunately for those of us watching at home it means a long season of watching people walk around in their underwear! This season has a professional female wrestler. She's quite pretty except for the earrings in her lip and her massive bosom that keeps falling out of her bra which is clearly TOO SMALL!! I'm not sure I will continue to watch. I don't like when people aren't prepared or they aren't smart enough to build a suitable shelter or when they put a professing Christian and a gay Mormon on the same team just to see what happens! As far as I'm concerned, Survivor may have already seen its last good season.

Ed and I are also watching NBC's Biggest Loser. It's about very overweight people who need to lose weight. Apparently the results are INCREDIBLE! It's interesting to hear from the contestants what the weight loss battle has been like for them and what its been like to be so large. You can't watch it without feeling so compassionate for these people. Each team has a trainer who is more like a drill Sargent. The trainer leads their workouts and helps teach them healthy eating habits. A must see.

Dancing with the Stars is back on Monday! I'll be tuned in! Thank goodness for DVR - I record these shows and watch them whenever I want! It's awesome!

We've had the most beautiful weather this week! Sunny and high 60's into the low 70's. Yesterday got up to 77! And today is supposed to be even warmer! Indian summer? We'll see.

American Girl has introduced a new historical doll to its collection. There are several dolls representing different eras in American history like a pioneer girl from 1854 or a depression era doll from 1934. The new doll is from 1974! You read right, 1974. That's not American history - that's current events!!! I'm slightly insulted that the folks at American Girl think 1974 is an historic era! I mean it's after I was born!!! Does that make me an antique at 34 again!? Perhaps I'm feeling a little more sensitive about this since I just had a birthday and birthdays only remind us of how OLD we are - and then to have a doll come out representing an historic era which occurred AFTER I was born - it's all working together to make me feel ANTIQUE! Any way, the new doll's name is Julie, check her out.

Our little preschool/kindergarten soccer team is having fun. Notice I didn't say we are winning or doing well, just having fun. We've gotten beat, badly, both of our games so far. But, the kids are doing GREAT in their concept of the game and dribbling. Passing is not going to happen in this league. But our goalies are learning how to anticipate when to grab the ball and the basic rules of the game are starting to stick. Allison scored our only goal at Wednesday night's game so I was a proud mom! Overall I think it's going well. Our team is mostly preschoolers who've never played before so in light of that we are having a STELLAR season!

I think I will take Lucy for a walk and then vacuum before I pick up my little pickle from school. But first I'll post some pictures...

Me and my girls on my birthday.

Allison at swimming lessons jumping in!!

Allison on her first day of school.

More Video

I love the video feature on Blogger! Here's the kiddos (and Lucy) just doing stuff...

I know I'm due for a more inventive post but this is the best I can do for now. We're off to Allison's soccer game :)

Testing 1, 2, 3

Just trying out Blogger's video feature. Pretty cool, eh?

Spider Story

So. I was plucking grapes off their vine and putting them in a bowl to be washed. As I'm plucking I noticed an old spider web on the vine. It was no good and I thought probably the spider was LONG GONE. Then my arachnophobia kicked in and I began to think that perhaps the spider was still there. But the voice of reason was still winning out at this point and I figured that even if the spider was still there it was probably small - I mean the old web was small so the spider must be too! I decided to hold up the grape vine and turn it a bit to have a look see at the whole thing before I plucked any more grapes. Sure enough I found the MOTHER OF ALL BROWN SPIDERS on my grapes!!! The grapes that I had been holding and touching!!! I most likely brushed that spider with my fingers!! Maybe it even TOUCHED ME with one of it's long, spindly legs!!! YOWZER! The grapes were promptly dropped into the sink and the spider was washed down the drain. I ran the garbage disposer for a minute to make sure there was no chance of survival! All in all I think I handled it quite calmly. Only a minor screech came out of my mouth and I managed to continue on with preparing lunches for the girls without any more trouble! I didn't like it - that spider - NOT ONE BIT!

Back to School

Today is the first day of school for Katie and Becky. They both did great getting back into the routine of getting up and ready. Katie cooperated for a couple of pictures before she left and she even let me walk her to the bus stop and wait with her there. That turned out to be a good thing because I met a neighbor who I haven't had the opportunity to meet before and her daughter is in sixth grade. Maybe she and Katie will become friends now that they are in the same school! Becky was more willing to have her picture taken and I was noticing how BIG that child looks these days!! I tell you, one blink and they're all grown up! Ed and I (and Allison) took Becky to school where I got a few more pictures and got to meet her teacher. She seems very nice. Then Allison and I went to her school for a clean up day - that was fun too - not the cleaning part but catching up with other moms from school. One lady said something that I thought was kind of funny. We'd been there for an hour or so and several people had come and gone during that time. Each time someone came in I'd say hi, you know, whatever. Well this lady says, "Lisa knows everyone! How do you know so many people?" That cracked me up, one because we've only lived here for a year and a half; and two because I don't really feel like I know very many people at all! I just happen to know lots of moms of preschool aged children!! It also helps that I have a child in middle school, one in elementary school, and one in preschool - I'm all over the place! It kind of made me feel like we're really becoming part of this community, not just people who live here - that's a good thing.

Before I post some very cute pictures of my children I have a complaint. Not that any of you can do anything about my complaint. It's really just venting. Here goes: We were at Sears the other day and Ed wanted to look at TVs (Ed always wants to look at TVs!). I strolled into the TV section with my children when I noticed a very questionable show on ALL the TVs. Then I noticed that it was a preview for a movie - a rated R movie! Another preview came on after that - also rated R! What's up with that?! I didn't realize that you needed to be over 17 to shop for a TV! When did that happen!? Clearly this isn't right. Something needs to be done. Whatever. I don't really want a new TV anyway - I just wanted to vent. I won't be shopping for a TV at Sears with my children again.

Okay. Here's the cute pics from this morning.

*LUCY*

It's been one whole year since we adopted Lucy. WOW! I know I've talked about her many times over the last year but I thought she should get a post all her own!

I've always thought that dogs who are rescued from a life in a shelter or from a life of hardship are appreciative. They know first hand what it is to be lonely and scared, or hungry and cold. Maybe they know sadness from losing the family they love. Today is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina - the catastrophic storm that changed many lives, including Lucy's. I don't know all the details but from what I've pieced together Lucy's family was unable to take her with them when the left their home. I'm not sure where she was left. Maybe she was left in the house with enough food and water to last a couple of days until her family thought they'd be back. I know many animals were left this way. Unfortunately her family didn't come back to get her. A different family took her in and kept her for almost a year. When she got pregnant they brought her to a shelter. Abandoned again. The shelter brought her to many adoption events to try and find her (and others) a home. No one wanted her. Then Labs 4 Rescue got involved and we found Lucy on their website. I loved her sweet face right away. We brought her home August 28 - almost exactly one year after Katrina. She thanks us a hundred times a day for being her family. Every thump of her tail on the hardwood floor. Every nuzzle of her wet nose under my elbow. Everytime she follows me all over the house. Everytime she gets up to go find one of the girls just to say hi. We are all so thankful for her! She was the answer to a little girl's prayers and she's added so much to our lives. Let me say that I don't think we should judge folks for leaving their pets behind when they had to evacuate their homes and head for safety. None of them could've known the destruction Katrina would leave behind. We don't know what choices we would've made under the same circumstances. I feel sad that Lucy went through such a sad time but God's plan was bigger than a hurricane and He brought her to our family. It amazes me that we have a God who cares about us so much that even the prayer of a little girl is important to him. And He delights in giving us the desires of our heart.

This was the afternoon we brought Lucy home. I love how Katie and Becky are gazing at her with such awe. I know they were thinking - wow, we actually have a dog!

Allison couldn't leave Lucy alone those first few days. Here Lucy is trying to nap in Allison's castle but as soon as Allison spotted Lucy she needed to join her!

A girl and the answer to her prayers then....

And now.....

No more sad days Lucy!

?

As interesting as crows are I think I am changing the topic of my non fiction article to something else. What? - you ask. I'm not saying, at least not until I make up my mind for sure. I do find myself still watching the crows around our house. I somehow find their squawking slightly more tolerable since I've been studying them a bit. Only slightly though.

It's a million degrees here today and amazingly humid! I LOVE it! It gives me hope that summer hasn't left just yet! I vacuumed the pool and got it all sparkly clean for us to enjoy this afternoon. The water temp was only 74 degrees when I checked it awhile ago but with the sun beating on it, it'll be up to 78 degrees easily in a couple of hours!

Katie is on her way up Mount Greylock - Massachusetts' tallest mountain - as we speak. Actually, she may be on her way down by now. She's hiking with her youth group from church. What a HOT day to be hiking! I can't wait to hear all about it.

Allison, Becky, and Ed are downstairs in the basement. We, (we means Ed and anyone who helps him. Not me and Ed, because I'm not really helping him except to plan things out) are finishing our basement. I think he is preparing to run the electrical wiring right now. Fortunately he has finished a basement before in our house on Aspen Lane in Bath, so he knows what he's doing - I think.

Can you believe Labor Day is next weekend? You know what that means, don't you? SOCCER TOURNAMENT! Three day weekend = soccer tournament - that's just the way it is! For Katie it means new coach, new season, new age division, new chance to prove herself. I know she's going to do great!

Pictures

My girls had such a great time at Frye Island. This is one of my favorite pictures of the three of them. The water was so warm - they were literally in the lake ALL day! Behind them you can see the beautiful view we had. Ahhh - vacation...

This was our home away from home. I took the picture from the dock. The beach was totally secluded from the neighboring beaches beside us. The girls spent countless hours playing in the sand and water!

Lucy LOVED this vacation! The first two days we couldn't keep her out of the water! But, the poor dog exhausted herself and by day three not even the ducks swimming up to the shore could entice her to swim! She'd just wade in, get a drink, and go lay down again. Obviously she did a little sniffing around as you can see by the sand on her nose!

Nothing in Particular

Well. It's obviously been a LONG time since I posted. 'Nuf said about that...



Summer has FLOWN by! And the chill in the air is a reminder that autumn days are right around the corner. I've even noticed the tippy top of some oak trees in our neighborhood that have a hint of red and orange in their leaves. I'm not sure I'm ready to say good-bye to summer just yet.



We've had a fantastic summer. The girls would say the highlight for them was going to camp with Alicia and Rachel and then spending a week on Frye Island. Allison and I stayed busy while Becky and Katie did their camp thing and it was nice to have some time with just her. I think she was missing having her mom all to herself so it was a good thing. My highlight would have to be Frye Island, hands down. Frye Island, Maine is a 2 1/2 mile by 1 1/2 mile island off the coast of Raymond Neck in Sebago Lake. We rented a 'rustic' cottage there. Rustic means old in this case. We had all the amenities we needed - indoor plumbing, a full kitchen, 3 bedrooms. The very best part of the cottage was the incredible private beach we had. It was so cool to get up in the morning and see the stillness of the undisturbed lake with the sun sparkling on it. Then as the day progressed we see speed boats, fishing boats, kayaks and canoes and even a 'tow' boat as they zoomed passed. Sometimes there were tubers or water skiers trailing behind boats. As the day wound down so did the traffic and the stillness returned. I could write for a long time about the wonderful vacation we had. Suffice it to say that it was an amazing week spent with great friends.

We've been doing some school shopping - a little at a time. My parents were down last weekend and my mom, me and the girls went to the Holyoke Mall. For a woman who had a heart attack two months ago she sure can shop! We were there for six hours!! We had a good day and all of us found some good deals. I haven't been shopping like that in forever - it's a little tricky with a preschooler - but Allison was great. I may be the proud mother of shop aholics yet!

I've finally gotten back into my scrapbooking. I hadn't done a thing since well before we moved here. I'm working on school albums for each of the girls. I think that's a project I can keep up with and it's a pretty easy one too. I've found that Michael's has a great supply of stickers and maybe paper but for my albums and accessories I need to order from Creative Memories.

I get e-mail updates and prayer requests from our old church and over the last couple of weeks I've been reading about a young soldier injured in Iraq. His mother has been so faithful in keeping everyone updated and it's quite something to read the account of this young man's ordeal from his mother's point of view. I can not imagine seeing one of my children wounded so badly. He's been through so much already and faces more surgeries to repair his broken body. Thankfully he will recover although he'll wear the scars for the rest of his life. It reminds me about how much these young men and women need our prayers. This man's name is Ben - pray for Ben.

I officially have my own soccer team to coach. I'll have 10 - count them 10!- little preschoolers/kindergarteners on my team! I'm excited but a little nervous. I worry about the expectations of the parents. I want to do a good job and I especially want the kids to have fun! If they learn something about soccer GREAT! I'm sure I'll be learning a thing or two!

Speaking of learning - I'm learning all about crows. I've decided to write a non fiction article about crows. In case you are wondering there are TONS of books and articles on crows. My challenge is to present something about these gangster birds that will be interesting to children. I'm especially facinated by the theory that crows have a funeral of sorts for a fallen bird friend or family member. And did you know that a 'flock' of crows is actually called a 'murder'? Hmmm...

Gotta go.

Just Pictures

Here are some fun pics I took this weekend. The girls went swimming for the first time from the boat. The water was about 78 degrees and they hopped in to swim over to the little island behind them in this picture.



Allison was a big deal 'driving' the boat!

And here's Allison and me on the camel at the Bronx Zoo. I don't know how anyone rides those animals across the desert! A 30 second ride was MORE than long enough for me!

This is the New York City skyline as seen from the sky ride at the zoo. If you look really close you can tell which building is the Empire State Building.