New Adventures

We started some of our new adventures in Maryland recently. We"camped" in our new hosue and were busy exploring the area, meeting our neighbors and getting acquainted with the lay of the land. So far it hasn't been too bad being the New Kids. It seems like many people here are transplants and eager to help make us feel at home. I won't lie - it's nice to be back in Worcester. It's a lot of work trying to navigate the unknown...

I have lots of ideas as to how to "improve" our new house and make it ours - but for right now, it will work. It will MORE than work. Jim did a great job finding it. The more we learn about the house and the neighborhood, the more we're realizing how fortunate we are to have got it.

We were out and about when we cam upon Lock Farm in Woodsboro.
I think when we get settled we will partake in the CSA. Sounds great. Farmer John said not many people around here did it - CSA is much more popular in the Northeast and Midwest. With these prices, I don't know what the Marylanders are waiting for! Plus, he picked us a beautiful bunch of wildflowers and I got the scoop on which perennials are best in our area (though here they're called "volunteer flowers"). Jim got a slab of meat, too (we can't replace Harvey, but we can't go without meat, either).
We also ventured to West Virginia (only 30 minutes away). The scenery is simply breathtaking. At Harper's Ferry we learned a lot about pre-Civil War history and Caroline completed her Apprentice Park Ranger badge. I know I'm biased, but I'm super impressed with what she did to get it. She is so proud of herself. That's nice to see.
Somewhere in there, Nate developed a fever of 103.8 - so we had our fair share of nerves that we would have to find the nearest urgent care center. Thankfully, we didn't have to.
So, without rhyme or reason - here are some new pictures from our soon-to-be permanent new adventures in Maryland...

Long Day

Today, for a variety of reasons, was one of the longest days ever. And it ain't over yet.

Kids have been winy, I've been ornery and vastly under-appreciative of the help I get from my neighbors and parents to keep me on this side of sane.

This about sums it up - Caroline was being particularly annoying and pushing my buttons in ways only she can...
I said, "Caroline - let's just put it this way. If there was a contest to see who could annoy me the most - YOU would win, hands down."
Caroline then walked away and Sam walked up to me very solemnly and said (with more than a twinge of whine in his voice), "But Mom, I want to be the winner. I never get to win."

What can I say?

AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!

I have to say, I'm not a big fan of Justin Timberlake in general.
But I LOVE it when he and Jimmy Fallon get together.
I don't know what it is. When I see the Barry Gibb Talk Show and The History of Rap, I am enthralled. It just makes me smile and want to dance (which recently I've haven't been doing much of either) - so when I was looking on YouTube today and I found this, I was sooo excited.


The good news is that Sam has since forgotten the words to "Gold digger". The (maybe) not so good news is that when Caroline saw it she said, "I'm going to be on that stage someday."
Oy vey.

Ladies, Please Step Back.

First of all, let me say that I have NO idea who took these pictures of Nate. I found them on the camera tonight.
They're not too bad.
I thought it was funny that he looked like he was flexing for the camera.
And let me just say - you can't get a body like this from starving yourself!

Yup...

...I'm procrastinating.
I really, really don't want to sweep and mop the kitchen floor again. We did have a lot of fun, so I suppose it is worth it. I broke the almost 3 month moratorium on doing anything remotely fun in the house (for fear it would mess things up) and we baked cupcakes and played trains and tried on costumes. And I DO have more things to sweep and mop and clean (Nate insists on licking EVERYTHING - ugh). Who cares (that's a statement, not a question).
So I"ll post some pictures from the past few weeks. That should take at least a few minutes.
Here is Caroline in her new hat from Mrs Marshall...She wore it most of the weekend. =-) Even though it was 80 degrees.
Caroline and I stayed up way too late one night re-arranging furniture after some feedback from a showing. She was so tired she fell asleep like this.
After going to the park with Taylor, Brandon & Hailey. Sam took the picture - not bad, huh?
This was as close as we could get with a group shot for the kids, though...
Ugh - he's such a big boy now.

And so is he...

A Little Victory

Got Sam in the costume we bought today. It took some bribing - but he looks really cute.
Unfortunately, he is still insisting he will be a ghost for Halloween.
Sigh.
So I bought a white sheet, too - just in case.

Retail Therapy

I am not like many women that find comfort in spending money. I'm the type of girl that "splurges" by spending $2 at a garage sale.
Usually, I just feel guilty and return anything that I have bought impulsively.
Today is an exception.
It has been a tough week. But I decided to take the boys to a secondhand store this morning to get some Halloween costumes. We even found a costume of Sam's favorite race car driver (if he'll ever put it on)
I don't particularly like Halloween. I don't like to be scared. I don't really like to dress up. Since we've had kids, I've had to do a little - like it or not.
But today, as I was looking at the fancy dresses at the store, I decided that I wanted to be a princess this Halloween. If I can pull off an entire costume for under $15 (and I CAN at this place), why not have a little fun?
So I tried it on.
And it was so totally not anything I have ever worn before, I BOUGHT it. And I'm NOT taking it back. =-)
And I may get some funny looks from other parents, but I have every intention of wearing it (and pretending I'm a princess) when I chaperone Sam's school dress-up party.