family

Wow, if I don't blog today, the month of February will pass by without a single blog entry! The horrors! I don't think that's ever happened to me in the eight and a half years of blogging.

January was a month of snow. Enough to keep our world magical and white, but not too much to overwhelm us and make us cry. In January we got rid of TV. We have plenty of other screens, but we watch a lot less. A LOT less. The TV corner is now a reading corner. Ellis sounded out his first words: "I am Sam. Sam, I am." And I became obsessed with knitting. I suppose it was only a matter of time. Look for me on Ravelry.

February was a month of friends. Friends visiting, visiting friends. Went down to DC to say goodbye to TulipGirl before their next international adventure. And my college buddy Joanna came for a week with twins and hubby. We played and her hubby conferenced. So much fun.

February was a month of waiting. I finished the last of my grad school applications in January. In February, I got my one accept and the reject that broke my heart. In March, I will move on and see what the next door holds for me, for all of us.

Yes, I knit their hats.

Did not have my head on straight today. But the day got progressively better. I consider it to be a win if I'm having a crummy day but don't yell at the kids.

And I had a nice walk this afternoon with M.

I managed to get dinner in the crockpot early. It was potentially a good idea, but kind of didn't work out. I needed to use up a lot of random veggie bits, so chopped them up and threw them in the crockpot with some curry. Well, really too much curry. Yes, there can be too much curry. That was the problem.

Marlowe's kitchen interest just really amuses me sometimes. He wanted to hold the whisk while we went on our walk. Sometimes he holds a lion or a hippo, but today it was the whisk. He then cried, "where my spatula!?" which he says "ba-la-la".

I'm trying to kick it into high gear with some GRE study. Less than 2 weeks. Went out to study. I think they're going to hold me back in community college once they see my scores. Can I be such an idiot in math!?

And hooray for the Chilean miners rescue!

Today we celebrate the great habit of those with more power triumphing over those with less power. Not to mix philosophy and history or anything... So why is it that we have Columbus Day? Did the powers that be miss having Fall Break or something?

Anyway, so no mail today. Or banks. Or school.

Nice for E to have a quieter day, because it's been a crazy weekend.

No soccer this weekend, due to tournaments, so we took the opportunity for the Great Upstairs Switcheroo. Something needed to be done about the Home Office aka Pigsty. The poor room that never really got moved into properly when we moved into this house a year ago. The room that had a table with my sewing stuff somewhere buried under all that crap. It was seriously scary. Hubby and I considered abandoning ship as one of the options. Closing the door and pretending it is a two-bedroom house. Or scooping it all out the window with a snowshovel.

But we took the upper road and tackled it head-on like responsible adults. After pondering the situation extensively, we decided to switch the boys' room and the home office. And to move the sewing into our large bedroom with wasted spaced. The middle bedroom is a bit longer and more narrow than the back one, and has a sliver of a window, so the boys are in a much nicer room for them now. Lots of natural light and a better floor plan. I'm excited to really settle them into it and decorate a little.

The front two bedrooms have an internal door, which makes for a fun sort of Suite for Adult Affairs. And after a couple of trips to IKEA for about 500gagillion KASSET boxes, I am well on my way to craft/sewing organizational zen. I'm really moving to another level here, and it's profoundly life-altering.

So that was Saturday. Sunday we went to church, driving down a very tidy street, since President Obama came to our neighborhood that evening. But we scooted out right after church to Lancaster, so now chance of seeing him. We went with pumpkin pies in hand to celebrate my Grandma's 80th bday. It was a beautiful, fall day. Albeit a very long day.

Today, I continued to master zen, and then took the kids to the park. Did a quick pop in to IKEA in the evening for my second installment of KASSET. And got up on Project Runway. And that's the news.

I'm sitting here and my feet are actually cold. The fans have long been turned off, and I'm wondering if I should close the window. I love Fall.

Sunday. This morning we had church. Chris let me sleep in a bit, which never works on Sunday. We're too rushed getting out the door, and nobody's been fed properly. I had to send them on to Sunday School without me. My boys handsomely dressed in their corduroy blazers, at that. But, that said, I did feel much better, and felt like I could focus on worship instead of feeling like crying and keeping my eyes open during prayer so that I didn't start to drift off--such is church when one is too tired.

I came home and made a quick lunch, and the kids miraculously played by themselves happily in the basement. E came up to show us his Lego creations, which makes me excited because I feel like he's really finally getting into building with Lego this year. (and these are still duplos)

I finally fulfilled Marlowe's wish and let him help me make apple pie. He's more interested in the making of than the eating of food. I had a pie plate with unbaked pastry and its top in the freezer, so it was just a matter of chopping up a few apples.

And then evening service. Ellis and me. Daddy stayed and put M to bed. A good Sunday.

My blog has had some problems this summer, which are now resolved--making it much easier to post. So a little back-blogging is in order. Namely, our big family vacation that we take every year to Maine.

Usually we go in August. This is our fourth year going, but this year we went at the beginning of July.

On Friday morning of July Fourth weekend, we loaded up the car, bikes on the roof, camping stuff stuffed in with duffels, and fairly effortlessly coasted our way north. There was a cool breeze that morning (which is a little uncharacteristic of this hot summer), which seemed fitting to send us off to New England.

We had a great trip and made excellent time, until about the last 50 mi, which took approximately 3 hours--even with using my phone's GPS to navigate us down some side roads. But, hey, at least we got to wave "hi" to Robert Frost's farm. I love New England.

Weeks before our travels, I obsess over campgrounds at which to stay. Pouring over state park websites to find just the right park and just the right site. And I don't know why I have such a fascination of being by water. I often try to find a place by the ocean, but I was getting really annoyed by the Massachusetts State Parks, so I looked to New Hampshire, which turned out to be perfect.

We arrived at our lakeside campground in the early evening to find the water delightfully accessible and most suited for splashing in, clear and not too cold and just for us. It was a perfect way to soothe the traffic angst of the past three hours. Marlowe surprised us by being a total fish.

Everything about that campsite was perfect. The wood was perfect for campfire burning. The rocks were perfect for sitting. There was good distance between campsites with plenty of trees, so it felt more private. We roasted hotdogs and broccoli and marshmallows.

This was our first time camping this summer, and I have to say, that camping with a 2yo is much improved from camping with a 1yo. From the moment we arrived it was clear that Marlowe thought camping was the best thing ev-ar and embraced everything we did with tons of enthusiasm. We already knew Ellis thinks camping is the best ever. He enjoyed being a big boy and riding his training-wheel-less bike around and around the loop.

Packing food for camping on a road trip can be a little tricky--especially when you don't have any kind of camp stove. So I was kind of proud of what I came up with. Hot dogs, veggies, chips, and marshmallows for supper. And I got a little hot pot for heating water. It's actually not too hard to find an outlet at a state park campground. Usually there's one in the bathroom. So I heated up a pot of water for instant oatmeal and the new Starbucks Via instant coffee, which is decent and great for traveling.

We left our site in the morning, making our way towards the interstate via a Target stop for some forgotten items and lunch supplies. We looked forward to stopping at our favorite park in Portland, ME for lunch. When we arrived M had just fallen asleep, and the water in the splash pond was so uncomfortably cold that it wasn't fun. And we had just missed the farmer's market. We ate our lunch, had some play time on the playground and then went on our way, arriving at our friends' house in Bangor in time for dinner.

We had a great Sunday with them and then jumped into our week of Maine activities. On Monday we went over to Acadia National Park, where we had a picnic and climbed a mountain. Six kids and three adults hiked up Mt. Champlain. I love a good view, and between the shrubby pines and low-lying bushes--including many wild blueberries eagerly harvested by the young hikers--there was nothing to obstruct a most fantastic view of the mountains and ocean. I was so proud of Ellis. It wasn't an easy hike, and downhill was very steep, zig-zagging trail. It was his second mountain summit climb, with last year's great Maine hike being his first.

While Philly was having triple digit temps when we were gone, Maine was having unseasonably warm temperatures, as well. It almost got to 90! We enjoyed a nice cool-off at our favorite swimming hole, Craig Pond, more like a small lake. It's fed by a spring, so the water is crystal clear, and abounds with frogs to be caught.

We chilled with our friends, the Curlyheads, and did some errands on Wednesday.

On Thursday we said goodbye to our dear friend in Bangor and headed down to Portland, where we were going to visit some friends of mine from college. I actually hadn't seen them since college. But we keep in touch a little over blogs/FB, and it was a good excuse to see Portland, too. We had an absolute blast with them. And with four boys and a girl, there were plenty of playmates. It was great to meet their sweet, sweet kids, who basically set about trying to learn everything there was to know about ASL from the minute we stepped in the door.

They took us to see the Portland headlight after dinner.

After sundaes and bidding the kids goodnight, the adults stayed up until nearly 2am talking, shivering in the cool Maine night air.

After a little beach time in the morning, we got on the road again, heading towards our campground in Connecticut. We got there at sunset, though, so even though the little beach area on Long Island Sound was perfect, we couldn't really play there long. And the wood we bought was damp and wouldn't light, and then it started to drizzle. And the kids were tired and crazy. So it was a little lack-lustre.

we got an early start Saturday morning and were shocked as we sailed along I-95 with no traffic through southern Connecticut and NYC. We got home mid afternoon.

It was an absolutely wonderful time, and we were totally not ready to come home yet, and keep scheming of ways to never have to leave Maine again. Thanks, also, dear friends, for your wonderful fellowship and hosting us!

Blueberries go "kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk" into buckets.

Marlowe, where do the blueberries go?

Enjoying apple cider ice in the shop.

And so another step towards instilling into my poor city kids that food comes from plants that grow in the dirt.

Ellis was actually a really good picker. He could've kept going longer than we did. It was end of season, though, and the bushes were pretty picked over. Marlowe did a good job of eating blueberries. Though i'm afraid more work in color recognition would be in order.

Today is our Ninth Anniversary.

Nine Years ago on a beautiful early summer evening two kids got married. I look back now, and wonder how we did it. We were so young. But there's only way to grow older, and that's to start doing it. We were 23 and (almost) 24, which isn't terribly young, but not terribly old, either. We got married on a Friday evening. The only sunny day that week, which was good, because I didn't have a rain plan for our outdoor reception. Call me an optimist. The sun set behind Lookout Mountain, and as we stood on the steps of St. Elmo Pres to get our picture taken, car horns honked congratulatorily as they passed. It was a great party. I wanted it to be a fun reception. We didn't have a DJ, but we did have Infradig. I wore heels that sunk into the ground. But they were very cool.

Nine Years. A lot of ups and downs. A lot of grace. A lot of love.

And now I'm going to have a glass of wine with my hubby.

More bloggy catchup.

A month ago I took my Do it With Kids policy to a whole new level by taking my boys down to Lookout Mountain for my sister's college graduation. It's about 700 mi. At the last minute, my mom did the drive down with me, which was really helpful. We did it all in one day. What took me 12 hours in college took about 17hrs with kids. But it was a great trip. I plotted the whole trip in terms of Chik-fil-a and its great indoor playground. I actually found a fun castle playground just off the interstate in Virginia, with a Starbucks nearby. That was fortuitous! And I bought a portable DVD player. Result, kids with nary a squabble about being shoved in the car over the course of 17 hours.

We stayed with our old friends, the "other" Joneses, of Jonesville fame. Their youngest two are the same ages as my two, almost literally. Just weeks apart, the both of them. It was way fun meeting Jonesgirl for the first time, too. Really the Jones's house was like Graduation Resort Paradise, an oasis in the midst of a crazy weekend. So, thanks, friends.

Since my sister's college is my alma mater, as well, going down to the Chattanooga area is a familiar, happy thing. I run into old friends at every turn. Literally, turn. Driving up and down the mountain remembering each curve.

The first day I drove down into Georgia a bit to meetup with my old friend, Joanna. We were in freshman music theory together and have been friends ever since. I FINALLY got to meet her twins!

I had lunch with an old professor, walked around a campus that looked totally different with all the new construction, but still felt the same. The students looked the same, too. Just younger than I remember. I still feel like I just graduated from college like last year or something...but it's been nine years, which admittedly isn't a huge amount of time, but it's a lot longer than yesterday.

And my sister done got graduated. Congratulations, Luisa!!

I did the drive home by myself. I spent the night with another college friend just north of Chattanooga. So I head start the next morning. I did the drive home in two, spending the night half way in Roanoke, with Chris's grandma. It was a long trip by myself, two long days of driving. But, again, my kids were awesome!

Sure, the calendar gives us a few more weeks until summer solstice. But in these parts, Memorial Day ushers in the season and Labor Day closes. Now you have to have beach tags to go to the shore or plan ahead for camping in the Poconos. It's the summer season.

We celebrated Memorial Day yesterday in Lancaster with my family. As we were driving along I thought of the many men and women who have served our country in the military. And then I wondered why we don't memorialize the many laborers that have served our country on Labor Day. Especially those who work in horrible conditions, like in the meat industry, while we blithely chow down on burgers. Remind me to revisit this in September.

My mom and Marlowe and I jaunted around a little. She showed me their garden lot in the community garden they are a part of. We went to an Amish farm, said "hi" to cows, and I got a gallon of raw milk for $3. We went to the store to get ice cream for the freshly picked and irresistably sweet strawberries. We said hello to some of their friends with a free potential piano for me. (stay tuned! *haha*--still haven't decided)

Then we went to my sister's way out in the country, splashed in their pool, watched storms in the distance pass us by, ate yummy food and teased each other. A good day.

Before I go on to blog about other things, I must post the Easter pics. My friend Chandra brought her camera to church to catch these cuties. She is a fabulous photographer, and I love letting her practice on my kids. I'm so magnanimous that way. Ha!

A few days before Easter my friend and her little girl were over, and we realized that we had gotten coordinating Easter outfits at the Children's Place. So Marlowe and Kezzie were all matchy and totally adorable. They have a lot of fun together. M calls her "chi-chi." He thought it was the most fun ever to run around hand-in-hand. We were all dying with the cuteness.