New Bed

We have a very, very happy little boy here.
Sam got his new bunk bed today.  It even has a special "bed" for his stuffed puppy, Don Diego.  He has been waiting for almost 10 weeks for it to arrive and was not disappointed. 

His sister, however, has eyes that are rather green.  She's trying to convince Sam he needs to have sleepovers including her because he's going to scared sleeping so high up. 
But secretly she came to us crying because she thinks Sam will have better dreams than her because he's higher up and closer to heaven than she is. 

Oh -

We hit a new milestone on the blog tonight.
We have 1 GB of material.
It only took 7 years.
So now we have to pay to blog.
It's nominal, but still.
Since this is costing us now...look for some improvements coming soon.  

THIS is what I get...

...for having Christmas cards done early this year...
Oh, well.    =-) 
Since we've been here for a year now, the walls are begging for pictures.
The kids were happy to oblige.

Weekend in Williamsport.

Williamsport, PA. 
It's exotic, mysterious AND has a hotel with a pool. 
Who could ask for anything more?
Except for maybe Nina & Pops...
(pictures courtesy of Pops, who is much better with the camera than I am)

Saturday Night

Our Saturday Night isn't exactly what the Bay City Rollers had in mind  - but it's my kind of a night.  We're watching a BBC special on Netflix about Jurrasic Seas and liopleuodon.
 Real exhilarating stuff.
We hope to get to bed early, I would love to get in a run in before Mass tomorrow morning - we'll see how that goes.

The lack of blogging recently hasn't been because there isn't anything going on.  At night, after the kids are in bed, I've somehow been more drawn to games of FreeCell than blogging.  I get aggravated when I'm not being productive, so I really don't understand the allure.  Only that sometimes it's nice to turn off my brain for a bit.

Big doings around here soon - Sammy's birthday, the Christmas Pageant (and all the rehearsals leading to it), Christmas, New Year, Caroline's birthday and parties & days off in between.  Yikes.

Since Sam likes to dance (and pretend he's Jimmy Fallon) so much, we decided we're putting him together a "Sammy's Greatest Hits" album for his birthday.  It has been fun compiling the songs - now we need to get them in one place and on the CD.  All it will take is time.  =-)   I DO think he'll enjoy it. 

The kids and I have been hiking quite a bit recently.  Just trying new trails and exploring the area.  We are surrounded by state and national parks just begging to be explored.  Some of the trails have been a bit challenging for Nate.  I end up carrying him on my shoulders while I have Benjamin in the Baby Bjorn and a small backpack on.  It can be quite the workout.  I also started some running a month or so ago.  I'm getting 14,000 steps a day consistently on my quest to return to fighting form and hope to mark something off my Bucket List in May.  Again, all it takes is time and determination.
Seems to be a common theme here. 

Benjamin is getting so big.  He is round and jolly (unless he's hungry) and has a smile that could melt the coldest heart.  He is giggling and laughing and interacting with his siblings.  His newest trick is to coo or cough when he feels he isn't being given enough attention.
The kids sing him the "Hey Mickey" song, except they change the lyrics to "Hey Ben-Ben you're so fine.  You're so fine you blow my mind.  Hey Ben-Ben!  Hey Ben-Ben!"  His siblings adore him.  He may just go down as the most loved baby ever.
Which makes me so, so happy. 

The kids and I attempted to rake the yard this week.  Since it gets dark so early now, it's hard for Daddy to help us.  This is as far as we got:

And so I gave the neighborhood kids $20 to rake and bag the rest of the leaves.
It was well worth it.

We had one of Caroline's friends for the day on Wednesday.  We were graciously invited to spend Thanksgiving with her family and had a very nice time doing so.  We also got to celebrate her birthday and do some hiking.  =-)  We made her birthday cake for her family celebration and had a lot of fun (and got really messy).

We made a Candyland cake.  All it took was 24 cupcakes, 5 tubs of frosting, food coloring and the rest of our Halloween candy.

Sam Quote of the Day

Sam, Nate and Dada are all wearing their Captain America shirts. 
They're running around using glow sticks from Halloween for super powers. 
Pretty typical. 
Then I heard this Nate saying, "I'm Tatin 'Meeca!  Yayyyy!"
To this, Sam replied, "No, I'm Captain America - YOU'RE Captain Underpants," and then he walked away. 

It was the first time I've ever seen Nate speechless.  Unfortunately, it didn't last long - the lure of saying the word "underpants" was too great.  He's choosing to be Captain Underpants. 
Awesome. 
Can't wait to see his costume for this. 

Mommy Time

Today I was desperate need of some time to  myself.
This qualifies as having no more than 3 children with you at one time.

Jim was working this morning and I took the kids to church on my own.  Nate's performance during Mass was epic.  Ugh.  I can't even think about it.  He is just so two in every way, shape and form.  I do think it's very hard on Nate to be two.  It must be exhausting.  I know it is for me. I need strength and wisdom and patience.  STAT. 
Sleeping has not been a strong point of his since he has returned from Rochester.  Hence me blogging while laying on the floor outside his room to preempt any escape attempts.  He wakes up in the middle of the night and wanders into our room with his pillow and blanket.  It's pathetic.  Of course, after four kids, I am immune to pathetic - especially when sleep is involved.  But even so, it hasn't been a picnic to get him back on track.  I put him back in his room 18 times last night. 
Yes, 18. 
He's quiet so far tonight - so I'm hoping it will be better.  

So, in light of this, Daddy took the boys for the afternoon and Caroline and I went hiking up in Cactoctin Mountain National Park.   It was 65 degrees with an impossibly blue sky - a day just begging me to be out in it.  We hiked a moderate trail (the boys and I do the easy trail) to Cunningham Falls and did some extra work to allow Caroline to earn her Junior Ranger Badge.  She is very proud. 
We DO do more than hike, usually.  We have been doing a lot of that lately.  The weather has been very nice (besides the hurricane) and it's fun to explore new places.  Now that Benjamin is here and my body is healing, it's also nice to be able to hike again.  I'm in the midst of attempting to get back to fighting form and am trying to include the kids any way I can.  I also have come to  the realization that our children will not be the most athletic kids in the bunch, so it's really up to us to give them non-sport-based aerobic activities.  If we hike up to all these rock formations while searching for dinosaur bones, we're really nurturing their inner athlete and inner geek all at the same time.  =-)  The fact that it's fun and an activity they can do for the rest of their lives doesn't hurt, either. 
Here is Caroline with her magnifying glass.  She is rip roarin' and ready to hike.  

 I was informed I also had to pose with the magnifying glass, "It means you're ready to hike, Mama."
 I obliged...

 The 100 year old trees dwarfed us.  The sky felt close enough to touch.  It was amazing. 

 Some Pre-Cambrian rock formations covered with uprooted trees from Sandy.  Caroline was able to point out the different types of rock we were seeing and the differences in the rock during the course of the hike.  It was like being in Mr Swain's 8th grade Earth Science class all over again.  =-)

 Resting along the way.  I surprised  Caroline by putting Gator-Aid in her water bottle.  She was thrilled.  "This water is just so tasty, Mama.  I love it.  I really love it!" 
It's the little things that keep us going, I suppose. 

 At the Falls.  "What do you mean our hike is only half over, Mama?  I'm tired." 

 Playing Poohsticks in the creek.  Funny how she always wins...

 Taking her Ranger Oath after her book was corrected and the Ranger asked her some questions about the ecology and geology of the area...

 Her fourth Ranger Badge and first Ranger Patch!  We have to put the patch on her bookbag...

And now this Old Lady is taking her aching legs to bed. 
G'Night!

One Year.

We've been in Maryland a year. 
Wow. 
A lot has happened. 
No wonder I'm tired.  =-)

The kids are in bed, but I can hear Benjamin giggling in his sleep and Sam, who is decidedly awake, singing, "Allosaurus, Coelphysis, Giganotosaurus, Stegasaurus, Ornithocheirus, Diametradon..."with an English accent.  Guess he has watched a little too much "Walking with Dinosaurs" recently. 
Nate has been asleep for a few hours.  Being two is exhausting.  For everyone involved. 
Caroline will probably be up reading for a while - so we shouldn't see her until morning when we  have to drag her out of bed.   

To celebrate our first year here, we decided to go hiking in Harpers Ferry.  Sound familiar?  It was different this year.  Instead of having a 5,3 and 1 year old we had a 6, 4, and a 2 year old with a 2 month old. 
We were more mobile, instead of less - we got smart and put Nate in the backpack.  He HATED every single minute of it but there's no way we could have done nearly the hiking we did if he was mobile.  I only got 10,000 steps today - but they were very well earned.  Many of the trails feel like they're straight up.  The steps are also made out of 200 year old hand hewn rocks - not exactly easy to navigate with an infant on your chest and a four year old hanging onto your leg because he's scared of heights. 
Every time we go to Harpers Ferry, I am astonished by the beauty of it.  The mountains come up out of nowhere and the rivers are amazing - shallow and fast moving.  With all the learning about local geology we've been doing, I have a new appreciation for the Appalachians  and especially the Blue Ridge Mountains. It may sound dorky, but it's so neat to learn about the rocks under your feet.  We can see the mountains from our house and every day when we're outside I say "Thank You" for the beauty we're surrounded by.   

Daddy and Nate-Nate ready to ride.  

 Caroline did a great job taking this picture up on Jefferson Rock.  The view was well worth the hike!

 Even Sam enjoyed the view, once he got used to being up so high.  The boy does NOT like heights. 

 Watching the Potomac roll by...

 We were able to *almost* get a family picture.  Sam wanted nothing to do with it.  So...here we are...

 ...and here is Sam.  20 feet away.  But I STILL got his picture. 

 On the Maryland side, sitting at the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac. 

 Watching the fisherman catch and release.  Pretty exciting stuff. 

 Sam and Benjamin winding down after a long, active day. 

 Ben-Ben sucking his thumb.  I'm amazed he hasn't poked his eye out yet. 

G'Night all.  Mama is cooked. 

Election Day

Either way tonight goes, half of the country is going to be pissed off tomorrow morning. 
Kind of like the day after the Super Bowl, but on a much grander scale. 
Some days I'm glad I work at home and I think tomorrow will be one of them.  =-)

We voted today.  We got to the polls about quarter to five and waited in line for only a couple minutes.  They are run very efficiently.  Maryland sends out an exact copy of the ballot to every registered voter a few weeks before the election and I find it to be extremely helpful.  Caroline has informed us that the kids on the bus told her that we should vote for President Obama. 
Luckily, I don't live in a swing state, so I can vote my conscience with a clear conscience. 
I could stay up late listening to CNN agonizing over the results OR I could go to bed and get a decent night of sleep.  Either way the election will be the same.
SLEEP WINS.  

Our schedules have been really messed up with the Hurricane, Halloween and the long weekend because of the election.  There is a normal week next week and then it's Thanksgiving.  Oy vey.  Where is this year going?
Nate has been in full Destructi-Nate mode in the past couple weeks.  He is so contradictory and tantrum-y.  Ugh.  Seems like his preferred way to manage any situation that goes slightly awry from how he thinks it should is by flopping on the floor.  His preferred word is "No!", more often uttered as "No! No!  No!  No!  No!  NOOOOOOOOO!". 
Potty training continues.  He refuses diapers and will only wear pull-ups now.  Some mornings he refuses to wear anything but underwear and this lasts only and hour or two before we're changing clothes.  THIS morning, he refused to wear any clothes and was running around the house with his baseball glove yelling, "I' Jeter, Mama!  I Jeter!".  When he's naked, he does a bit better with the potty (since he gets naked to use the toilet, anyways) - but as the weather gets colder, this is less practical.  After a bit, he did decide to put on something - he wore his underwear - but on his head.  Oh, well. 

The boys and I went hiking up at Cunningham Falls again today.  Caroline got to do her first overnight with a friend, so the boys got to do something fun.  

Thurmont took it in a serious way last week during Hurricane Sandy.  Wow.  There were trees everywhere and line crews still out.  The staff at the Park did a wonderful job making sure the trails were safe and getting trees out of the way.  The landscape is significantly different than it was where we were there just a couple weeks ago.  The changes were amazing.  

Almost all the trees in the park are 100 years old.  They were planted as the area was reforested in response to the notable environmental damage done with clear cutting from the Cactoctin Furnace.  Strangely enough, even with the age of the trees, there were very few trees that had snapped limbs.  Most came up from the roots and took other trees down with them as they fell.  The course of the creek was altered, even.  Gave me more of an appreciation for the ox bow lakes we learned about in 8th grade Earth Science.  

Our Pre-Cambrian rock formations were almost covered with fallen debris.  But the freshly cut trunks provided prime ring counting opportunity.  No matter how many rings, all the trees were 10 years old to Nate and 60 years old according to Sam.  Benjamin, being the silent type, didn't relay his opinion on the matter. 

 I love that boy. 

Here are pictures from our adventures today:

 Looking for "dinosaur eggs". 

 The boys liked climbing on rocks and comparing their heights to the uprooted tree sizes. 

 When he's not Destructi-Nate-ing, he IS a pretty cute kid. 

 Our rock formations were almost covered as a result of Sandy. 

 The boys enjoyed looking a the falls. 

 Sam was being a total turd and wouldn't un-cover his face for the picture.  Go figure. 

 The Falls were very full and very loud. 

 My adorable two Middle Children!

Oh - and here is how I found Benjamin on the floor this morning.  He was surrounded by cards.  Prayer cards for Archangel Raphael, St Valentine, St Elizabeth Ann Seton and our Guardian Angel.  But do you see the Spider-Man card that got slipped in there, too?  I was amused.  Very amused.