Memorial Day

Winding down the weekend. 
Just blogging, relaxing and listening to the Dodgers pre-game. 
Scully is talking about how Buzz Aldrin is an amazing testament to this country.  Funny - I think the same about Scully.  


We had a wonderful weekend. 
We had planned to go up to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park on Saturday.  However, by the time we got to Brunswick, 3/4 of our brood was fast asleep and we were loathe to wake them up.  So we kept driving until we hit the Manassas National Battlefield.   Interesting stuff. 
Of course, employing a zone defense with four little ones leaves precious few moments for learning the history I should have learned years ago, but it was nice to just be on the battlefield and do some hiking.  Caroline and Sam both worked on their Jr Ranger Badges.  Caroline earned hers.  Sam has one more activity to go until he finishes his up. 
The Zouave soldiers freaked Sam out - so we had to split squads to minimize his exposure to them.  That was okay - it was windy and Sam & I got to spend more time in the museum. 
We got to see our first cicadas.  Coming to Maryland soon...
We drove around Centreville and found Jim's childhood house. 
Fun day!

The Nate quote of the day today was really, really funny.  Nate was playing with Sarah (Caroline's American Girl Doll).  He had Sarah doing cartwheels, splits and somersaults.  He was very proud of her accomplishments. 
"Look Mama!  Sarah turning tricks!!!"
I couldn't stifle my laughter.  Heeheehee. 

Nate also gave us a run for our money on Friday night.  We went to Wegmans for dinner (Mama wanted the night off).  We saw a co-worker of Jim's from Hopkinton.  The boys had been playing tag before we left and had been fairly quiet and well behaved for the ride. 
We were standing and talking.  A nice conversation, actually. 
Until Nate run up to the man, slapped him in the crotch and yelled, "TAG!!!  YOU'RE IT!!!"
Oy.  Vey. 

Getting ready for t-ball, soccer and school to all wind down in the next few weeks.  We just got the news that, contrary to what we have been told, the funding for Caroline's class has not been approved for next year.  And it's late enough that, if the funding doesn't go through, we cannot appeal to the district for Caroline to at least attend the school that she goes to now, even if she isn't in the magnet program.  Grrrrrr.  So this would make it the 5th change of schools for this poor girl in the past three years. 
Because homeschooling really wasn't on my To-Do list for next year. 
The more "acquainted" I get with the Frederick County School Board, the more I wonder WHO VOTED FOR THESE CHUMPS?!?!?!?!?  It's obvious they don't want to get re-elected.  I'll stop here because I'll just get mad and rant.  I'll stop after I say that I firmly believe that Frederick County has some of the best teachers, students and schools in the nation and that I'm not sure the Board of Education is doing the best they can to perpetuate that. 

90s coming up for this week.  Should be perfect for some hiking...a little hot for running.  But I have to get used to it.  It's going to feel like I'm running through a swamp in Baltimore in June, I'm sure. 

Have a great week!

Friday Afternoon

Nate is NOT napping. 
Has no intention of it. 
So, being the results driven woman I am, he is sitting in front of the laptop watching "The Civil War".  Except that he is repeating every single name he recognizes.  John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harpers Ferry and on...
I'm thinking he's not going to sleep. 
Oh, well. 

I have things to do.  Dinner is in the oven (stuffed zucchini and salmon), laundry is done & folded - but not put away, the house is okay - but needs to be vacuumed...You know how it is. 
It will happen.  
I should also be finishing the sleeping bag I'm making for Caroline's friend's doll.  But having needles accessible when Nate awake is not a good idea. 

In summation of the past few days, though...Benjamin had his first Oreo. 
He liked it. 

Caroline finished up soccer and is anxiously awaiting to start again in the fall. 

Sam got really pissy when I tried to take his picture.  So I took it anyway. 
Ha!  Can't wait to show this one off at the prom...

It was Nina's birthday - here was how we celebrated...

Caroline went to school dressed as she thought "a girl from NYC" should dress. 
It was pretty cute, actually...

Nate is into doing puzzles and wearing sunglasses. 
I'm all for the sunglasses. 
The puzzles...well...anyone that knows me knows how I feel about puzzles. 
They are the fruit of the devil.  Designed to make me crazy...
And the boy loves them.  I tried to put together a 100 piece puzzle, just so I could say I can keep up with my 2 year old.  I couldn't finish it.  Grrrr
When Nate was wearing his glasses, I told him he looked great.  His reply?
"I know I am."
Oy.

 

The boys and I went hiking in Harpers Ferry, WV yesterday.  They did really well.  We had a wonderful time.  I asked Sam what he saw and learned about.  After thinking for a bit, he replied, "I saw a train, a crane train, a depot, John Brown, geese, goslings and some mulch."
Glad to broaden your horizons, there, boy. 
Nate is also developing the amazing ability to incorporate the words "butt" and "poop" in every sentence.  It's a talent. 

Happy Memorial Day. 

Monday Monday

So today...
-I've stopped Nate at least 3 times from taking money out of his brother's piggy bank and putting it in his own
-I've been to Wegmans, put away groceries, washed/folded & put away 3 loads of laundry, changed the beds, made dinner and vacuumed the upstairs.  WITH 3 little boys in tow AND minimal raising of voices.  Hooray!
-I heard Nate yell, "Hey Sam!  Where's your parachute?!?!" followed by a big crash. 
This, in itself, is not out of the ordinary...however...NOTHING BROKE!  

And as soon as I'm done with this, I've been directed to make some pretzel cookies...it IS a good day when preztel cookies are involved!  :)

Yesterday we went to Harpers Ferry, WV to do some hiking.  It was about 65 degress with a moderate breeze and a gorgeous blue sky. 

Here are Turkeys 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the parking lot before heading down to the town...

 And here is Turkey Boy...

 We hiked up toward Point of Rocks along the Potomac on the Maryland side.  We drove from MD to VA to WV and walked to MD but then crossed to bridge back to WV, got to the car and drove from VA to MD to get back home.  Confused?  So were we. 
Both the Shenandoah and the Potomac were very high because of the recent rain.  The roar of the rivers was very loud at times.  There is something about this part of WV, though - all of the sudden the mountains seem to appear out of nowhere.  The Blue Ridge are just beautiful.  I already have a couple of destinations for races in WV in mind for the next couple of years...

 A family from Tennessee was nice enough to take our picture at the convergence of the rivers when we finished hiking.  The Shenandoah would be to the far right of the picture.  The Potomac is behind us and looks very calm.  It wasn't.  The bridge over the river was more intimidating to me than it normally is. 

A lovely day. 
Now if I could only get Benjamin to nap.  Oy. 

Being a mother has blessed me beyond words, though sometimes I realize it better than others.
Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Mother-in-Law and all the other wonderful mothers and mother figures that have impacted my life.
We make more of an impact than we can imagine, do more good than we can envision and are CRAZIER than we ever thought we would be. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Yay!

Thank you for the comments!
One of the reasons it's easier to document on Facebook than it is to blog is that Facebook makes it easier to get feedback.  I can go into more depth with things on the blog, but since my interaction with adults can be limited, Facebook can be more fun since I feel like I actually get to talk to people.
That being said...WE LOVE COMMENTS!
So please feel free to leave them!
It makes it a bit easier to keep on keepin' on.

People have been telling me how big Benjamin is getting recently.
Today I saw this:

And it hit me. 
Turkey Baby is rapidly becoming Turkey Boy. 
And a piece of work, too.  Very mischevious.  We'll have our hands full. 

I had one of those 'Awwww.....so cute" Mama Moments the other day when I saw this:
Nate sleeps with "Baby Nate-Nate" every night.  Sometimes he gives him bottles and rocks him to sleep.  It's adorable. 

And...bringing me back to a Friday afternoon 11 years ago in Beverly, MA...I got this beautiful bouquet of lilacs out of my back yard.  The flowers are so thick they look like they're dripping off the trees.  Gorgeous. 

Weekend In Review...

Yup.  5AM still comes wicked early these days.
I've been trying to post pictures and videos but Blogger, Yahoo and my camera all seem to be plotting against me.  Grrrr.
So...after Nate got sick with the stomach bug, Sam started acting punky.  .
He came home from school, put his jammies on and put himself to bed.  At 4:30. Add Benjamin's surgery to the mix and it was quite the week. 
It went downhill from there.  I'll save you the gory details except that my week involved being up to my elbows in excrement on multiple occasions, multiple bedding changes, Sam needing a new beanbag chair and my car being hosed down in vomit.
It was awesome.
But, with Nina and Pops being here, it was nice to have extra hands on deck. 
Because, even though Sam couldn't play T-ball, Coach Karen sill has to show up.

Pops got lots of pictures this weekend.  When Pops couldn't be behind the camera, Uncle Patrick was on duty.  We did T-ball, soccer, the Kids Fun Run and Uncle Pat ran in the Twilight 5k on Saturday night.

We had fun cheering him on.  Even Sam, who stayed wrapped up in the double stroller the vast majority of the night.
Here are an assortment of pictures from the weekend...

13.1

We did it.

Pops paced me and was nice enough to slow down a bit so I could keep up.  ;)
An amazing feeling to see our families cheering for us, to cross the finish line with my Dad and accomplish this goal.  It has been a long haul. 
I am very grateful and very humbled to have a day like today.
I was feeling a bit nervous when we started the race.  Then I saw a woman my age who was obviously dealing with the effects of chemotherapy.  The back of her shirt read, "Stage IV Running Tour" and listed the races she has done since she was diagnosed with metastatic cancer last December.  There were 5 races listed and room for lots more.  The bottom of the shirt read, "Living with Cancer.  NOT dying from it."
My world quickly came back into perspective. 

Running with someone makes the race go much faster.  The scenery was lovely - through downtown Frederick and many adjacent neighborhoods.
We were blessed by the Methodist Minister as we went past the church.  We thanked numerous cops and firefighters for the work they do to keep us safe, saw wicked cheesy signs that made us smile ("Worst.  Parade.  Ever."), heard lots of cheers for our Red Sox hats and gave high fives to every kid that offered a hand.
When we hit Mile 8, we turned it up a bit.  At Mile 10 we were going strong.  About Mile 12, my legs were turning to jell-0.  At 12.5 came the biggest hill in the race, reducing me almost to tears.  It was all I could do to keep up with my Dad.  The span from Mile 13 to 13.1 was the longest of the entire race.  We finished on the horse track and the surface was very deep and gravely.  Wasn't sure I was going to make it.  But we did.
 I cried crossing the finish line.   
And I'm glad I have another 4 months before I need to run that far again.  ;)
Here are the official results:
Your overall finish time was 2:17:19.90. 190 out of 348 in the
Female 35 to 39 age group and 2458 out of 3588 in the race.
Results by segment:
8 Mile - Rank - 2885 Time - 1:27:28.65 Pace - 10:56/mile 
Finish - Rank - 2458 Time - 49:51.25 Pace - 9:46/mile
 *I will blog about the rest of the weekend later - we got some great pictures and I can't wait to share them.  However, sleep is calling like a Siren Song and simply cannot be resisted*
Pictures courtesy of Uncle Patrick:

The sea of humanity heading towards downtown at the beginning of the race. 

Happy to see everyone at about Mile 2

CJ and Nate watching the runners

Seeing everyone while passing Baker Park

Mile 11.  Still smiling. 

We did it!!!!

Pops said this was the best part of the race for him. 

A New Feat.

 I attained another high point of my mothering career. 
You see, even with four children, I had yet to have one spew chunks in a grocery store. 
Until today. 

Nate was acting a bit punky this morning.  Just grumpy and a bit tired, but nothing I could really put my finger on.  No fever, rash or other obvious signs of illness.  Sometimes when you're two, it's hard to tell if your behavior is a result of coming down with something or just acting like you're two years old. 
So we went grocery shopping at Wegmans.  Nate said his tummy hurt. 
Great. 
So I hurried up a bit, fearing what could happen. 
Then he got a funny look on his face...eyes big as saucers...a look of surprise and fear...a look that can be read as nothing but "I'm going to puke so you better get me somewhere with a receptacle and no carpet - PRONTO". 
See?  I HAVE learned something in seven years!
And I was able to scoop him up and get him to a trash can until he was done.  He got a little on himself and a little on the floor - but not too bad. 
After a warning to the lady in the cafe that the garbage bag needed to be changed, I don't think we've ever left Wegmans so quickly. 

And when we got home the proverbial you-know-what hit the fan. 
Multiple times. 

Noro virus. 
Fun. 
I hope this doesn't interfere too bad with the weekend plans.  Big doings on the schedule here.