I Know

I know that as soon as I put my head down one of the Youngers will wake up and demand to be fed.
I know if I do anything but blog right now that blogging just won't happen.
I know that as soon as I relax the timer will go off on the dryer and it will be time to fold and put away the laundry.
I know my kitchen looks like a tornado just ripped through it and this needs to be addressed before the storms for this afternoon start.  Because after they do, all bets are off. 
I know I ran 5.2 miles faster than I ever have this morning and the pleasure I am feeling from that *almost* outweighs the discomfort from my new blisters. 

See?  Benjamin just woke up. 
I need coffee.

Jim, Caroline and Ben playing Diamond Mind Baseball last night

Morning Cuteness

Monday Night.

And, yet again, I am a blogging blocker to keep Nate in his room.
I hear his breath becoming more steady and slow, so I think he may be asleep.  But I'm afraid to look because if he's not...I've just wasted the last 15 minutes
So I'll just stay right here and keep on writing.

Oh - we were mentioned in the article in the News Journal!  Hooray for new adventures!

1863 balloting joins W.Va. re-enactment

June 23, 2013

By John McVey (jmcvey@journal-news.net) , journal-news.net

         

HARPERS FERRY - The Watson family from Frederick, Md., came to Harpers Ferry Saturday to climb to Jefferson's Rock, but was caught up in the election frenzy that had gripped the town.
"We voted for the Union," said Karen Watson, which included her husband, Jim, and their children, Caroline, Samuel, Nathaniel and Benjamin.
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was recreating the 1863 vote in Jefferson County for or against joining the new state of West Virginia in honor of West Virginia's 150th anniversary of becoming the 35th state of the Union, which was Thursday.

Article Photos

Journal photo by John McVey

Visitors to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park show their passes Saturday to a provost marshal guard before being allowed to vote on Jefferson County joining the new state of West Virginia. The park was celebrating the 150th anniversary of West Virginia becoming the 35th state.

When West Virginia was admitted to the United States on June 20, 1863, Jefferson County was not officially part of the newly formed state.
Most of the counties that today make up West Virginia had already voted to form the new state, but Jefferson County was left out because it was not until February of 1863 the residents of Jefferson County were given the option of voting to become part of West Virginia or remain with Virginia.
The vote in Jefferson County took place May 28. There were only two polling places in Jefferson County: Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown. Both those towns were garrisoned by Union troops, while the majority of the residents in the rest of Jefferson County remained loyal to Virginia.
The vote in Harpers Ferry was 48 for becoming part of West Virginia and two against.
To vote, residents and Saturday's visitors had to swear allegiance to the United States, which was administered by Zach Fisher, a seasonal ranger with the park, and Joshua VanWinkle, a summer intern, who were acting as provost guards.
After taking the oath, visitors were issued passes and could go next door to the Dry Goods Store to vote. Their passes were checked by more guards before entering.
Inside, visitors lined up to sign their name or make their mark for or against joining West Virginia.
"I'm not in jail," one visitor shouted when asked how he voted.
In 1863, if you did not vote the right way, you could end up in jail.
"We don't have a record of what happened to the two people who voted no," said Park Ranger Phil Officer. He was portraying a first sergeant in the Union army who was acting as a provost guard.
"See that man dressed as a soldier?" Officer asked, pointing to a young man dressed as a Union soldier. "You would find a soldier like him every 10 yards in Harpers Ferry and they would ask you to produce your pass. If you couldn't produce your pass, you would be sent to jail."
Harpers Ferry was under marshal law for four years, he said, and 85 percent of the time it was occupied by Union forces.
"But the Confederates did the same thing when they occupied the town," Officer said. "Harpers Ferry was in a peculiar spot."
John Brown's Fort was playing the role of the town's guard house Saturday and it had some inmates.
"I was a day late getting my pass and they put me in jail," explained Laura, a girl from the town.
Once a month, every resident and even people passing through had to go to the provost marshal's office, swear allegiance and get a pass to be able to walk the streets of Harpers Ferry.
The re-enactors were trying to impress upon the people of today what it was like to live in Harpers Ferry during the Civil War.
"We want visitors to understand the subtleties of living in an occupied town that was approaching statehood," said Park Ranger Melinda Day. "There was no civil authority. The provost marshal was judge, jury and, sometimes, executioner."
- Staff writer John McVey can be reached at 304-263-3381, ext. 128.

The Olders had their first day of gymnastics camp today and had a really nice time.  They both have done the program at least once through the county and enjoyed it.  It's nice that they have the same coach and helpers as they do during the regular year.  Sam will only wear his green "exercise shirt" to gymnastics - so I am switching my laundry routine from morning to evening to accommodate.  :)
We had the McNiesh Family over for waffles tonight.
The longer I'm here the more I appreciate what a wonderful place God dropped us.

And now, to compensate for the late bedtime begotten from hanging out with friends drinking homebrew watching our kids soak each other with water from a community spigot...which also meant I slept through my alarm this morning and ran while pushing the Youngers in the stroller *YIKES*...I'm BEAT.
G'Night.  

West Virginia

As much as I snicker at West Virginia (who hasn't seen Deliverance?!?!), for the small amount of time that I have spent there, I enjoy it immensely. 

I was trying to explain it to Jim the other day and did a very poor job.  I could come up with nothing other than it's just easier for me to breathe on the other side of the Shenandoah.  \

We had some White Space on the calendar today, so we decided this morning to meander up to Harpers Ferry to have a look-see around Jefferson Rock.  Caroline, who has been super into her Civil War book lately, was nice enough to pack our snacks in her backpack and prompt us to get moving.  Unbeknownst to us, it was the 150th anniversary of West Virginia's statehood and there was a celebration including voting, painting, dress up, Ranger presentations, an election cake and an 1850s style baseball game. 
Cool!
Apparently other people DID realize the significance of the date.  We were able to count cars from 21 states, the federal government and the diplomatic corps in the upper parking lot. 
Big doings.
The kids were able to do some water color painting down in the village.  Caroline wowed one of the Rangers with her ability to keep up with him in historical discussions (he asked us, "Is she for real?" and we could only nod our heads), Daddy got to dress up like an Union Officer and we learned that Jim had family that fought in the Civil War in a NJ regiment that Caroline would love to learn more about (we have homework).  We were interviewed by a local newspaper reporter about our participation in the anniversary celebration, hiked to Jefferson Rock AND got to watch an inning of the baseball game.
Our stay at the game was limited because, even though we were able to construct a pretty cool shelter using the stroller, a blanket and a golf umbrella, we were powerless to resist the sirens of naptime. 
*code words = we had to get out of there quick before everyone destructed*

It was a good day.  And very much appreciated after yesterday. 

And now, yet again, I'm laying on the floor blogging while running blocker in hopes that Nate will get to sleep sometime in the next 30 minutes. 
Good for the mid/lower back flexibilty.  Bad for the comfort of the false ribs. 
Oy.

Nate - as he normally dresses.  Baseball on the top, various super heroes on the bottom (SpiderMan and Robin *only on 1 leg* today) and his breakfast all over. 

Benjamin enjoying his ride in the backpack.

 The Caroline and Nate painting, Sam playing with trains on the big map of Harpers Ferry.

 Up on top of Jefferson Rock.

 Daddy dressed as a Union Officer.  According to Caroline, he carried a pistol and a sword.  Turns out she was right. 

 The view down the Shenandoah from Jefferson Rock. 

PS - I have no idea how I embedded the picture of Nate into the text.  I'm afraid I'll lose the text if I try to remove it.  Ahhh...the new and exciting features of Blogger...

Today.

Today I needed to read this.
Today, the day I attempted to buy new running shoes at Kohls with 4 children in tow.  Those four children opened multiple shoe boxes and brought me all the shoes they thought were "cool".  Size was never taken into consideration.  Nor was the mess. (to the lady in the shoe department - I'm SO sorry).
Today, the day I was swearing in my brain the *whole* duration I was sweeping the kitchen floor for the *5th* time.
Today, the day my son went out wearing pink crocs, a Captain America shirt and his breakfast yogurt all over his face and I was just happy he was dressed.
Today, the day where every.other.kid we saw wasn't hitting, bickering, snarking or making faces at their siblings.
  Mine were. 
  Constantly.
Today, the day I heard my daughter say, "Sam, that was a poor decision and there will be ramifications if your decision making process does NOT improve!" and realized how freaking annoying I must sound.  

 Today, one of THOSE days.
THANK YOU for this post. 
Except for the running part.  We're running to stay sane.  Trust me. 

Jun 212013

 QUIT POINTING YOUR AVOCADO AT ME!

From: Momestary
BY  Glennon @ Momestary

One of the questions folks ask most often is: G, I’m drowning in the mommy wars. How do I escape from all the mom-petition?
My answer is always this: If you need it to disappear, stop believing in it. Competition is just like shame. It only exists for people who believe it does.
I used to believe in mom-petiton so strongly that it left me more than a bit paranoid.
I remember sitting in the food court of the mall one afternoon when my three kids were very young. I was cutting cardboard pizza and life-threatening “chicken” into itty bitty pieces, wiping up a million sugary spills, sweating, sweating, sweating, trying to figure out if I could be arrested for leaving my kids’ side for one hot second to refill my coke, praying no one would have to pee because: THREE KIDS WHO LICK EVERYTHING IN A PUBLIC RESTROOM and just, well, UGH.
Out of the blue- this women sat down at the table next to me with her quiet child. The child wore a matching top and pants. With a matching bow in her braid. In her BRAID. Someone had BRAIDED this child. While I stared looked back at my ragamuffin children who sort of looked like nobody loved them – the woman pulled out a high chair cover. To protect her child from GERMS, I think. And then. And THEN. She pulled an avocado out of her bag. An avocado AND A SPOON. This woman had packed a spoon. And she used that spoon to start feeding her well-groomed child food that came from a TREE. Or the ground? I don’t know –where do avocados come from? I don’t know but I’m pretty sure it’s not from the food court.
And this SHOW made my face start burning. I felt as if this woman had materialized for the sole reason of making me look bad. I am telling you that I decided right then and there that this mother was feeding her child avocados AT ME. And that also she had matched her child’s clothes that morning AT ME. And also that she had likely disciplined her child effectively for years AT ME. And that as icing on her (likely homemade and gluten free) cake she was enjoying a lovely, peaceful, well planned, healthy lunch AT ME. I felt judged. I felt like her approach to parenting was maybe developed solely to shine a big old spotlight on my “not good enough” parenting. She was parenting AT ME, I tell you!
For years I lived in world in which people lived AT ME. For example:
Craig worked out AT ME while I tryied to enjoy the couch. So aggressive.
People discussed natural child birth AT ME because they could sense my previous sixty epidurals.
People attempted ATTACHMENT PARENTING AT ME. ( I still don’t know what that really is but it certainly doesn’t sound like something behind which I’d rally.)
People threw Pinterest parties AT ME.
People trained for triathalons AT ME.
People refused to eat carbs after 8 pm AT ME.
I was constantly under attack with all of these judgy people living AT ME.I was living in a hostile world.

But after spending the last five years reading thousands of letters from mamas and the last year on the road hearing stories from every different “type” of mama - I live in a different world. I believe differently now. I know that nobody’s parenting at me and nobody’s living at me. Feeling judged by other people’s decisions is an insanely ego-centric way to live. Like my dad always says, “Glennon, nobody is thinking about you as much as you think they are.” Everybody’s just doing the best she can, mostly.
Other mamas are just weaving together families using what the unique gifts and challenges and interests they have. Just like I am. They are much too joyful and scared and fulfilled and empty and tired and inspired and busy living their brutiful lives to concern themselves too much with what I’m doing.
I mean, after five years – I’m ready to consider the possibility that avocado lady might not have even known I was going to be in the food court that day. It’s not likely- but it’s a possibility.
What we seek we will find and if we’re looking for a world full of judgmental mamas – we’ll find it. Parenting is the most important thing to many of us and so it’s the place we’re most vulnerable. But even when we’re scared – we can still choose. We can choose to see each other as competition or as fellow warriors –fighting the same fight on the same team. One goal – many paths. We can learn from each other. We can even ENJOY each other.
I live in a world where women do that now. It’s cozier. Better. More peaceful. And much more interesting.
And if you have a friend who makes you feel competitive or less than- just remember that it’s likely not because she’s bad or you’re bad – it might just be that she still believes, so she’s living in a different world than you are. But you don’t have to enter every world into which you’re invited.
Stand your ground. Stay in your world. Stop believing.

*********************

A Folk Tale About Worlds

A traveler came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment.
“What sort of people live in the next town?” asked the stranger.
“What were the people like where you’ve come from?” replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.
“They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I’m happy to be leaving the scoundrels.”
“Is that so?” replied the old farmer. “Well, I’m afraid that you’ll find the same sort in the next town.
Disappointed, the traveler trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work.
Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. “What sort of people live in the next town?” he asked.
“What were the people like where you’ve come from?” replied the farmer once again.
“They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I’m sorry to be leaving them.”
“Fear not,” said the farmer. “You’ll find the same sort in the next town.”

***********************

PS. I still think you marathoners are running at me. Cut it out.

 

Noodle Run 2013 - Harrisburg, PA

After realizing there will never be the same summer twice, I made an executive decision. 
This summer is going to be about adventures. 
So I asked the kids what they wanted to do this summer.
Caroline wanted to run in a race.
Sam said he was hungry.
Nate decided he was a superhero.
Benjamin sucked contentedly on his binky. 

So I tried to find something that covered us all. 
I succeeded. 
Yesterday afternoon I packed the kids in the car and drove up to Harrisburg, PA for the 2013 Pasta Run and Kids Noodle Run. 
I figured we would go up for the night when Jim was working late. 
Yup.  I'm insane. 

The event took place on City Island, which is in the middle of the Susquehanna River.  The stadium for the Harrisburg Senators is there along with a kid sized railroad that goes around the island, an arcade and a horse stable. 
The stadium is lovely and we will try to make our way back up there for a game soon. 

The Kid Run was fun.  Nate, not to be outdone by his older siblings, insisted on running.  However, when he got into the run (maybe about 3/4 mile total distance), he sat down in the middle of the race and begged for me to carry him.  So, with Benjamin on my front and Nate hanging on for dear life piggy-back-style, we made our way to the finish line.  Once he realized that people were cheering, he got down and ran the rest of the way.  THANK GOODNESS.
Sam and Caroline did great and ran the whole race holding hands.
Oh - I forgot to mention the kids wore capes (Nate's request).  :)  This was helpful for me actually, it made them much easier to find.
By the end of the pasta dinner, everyone was ready to go home.  We left in the middle of the awards ceremony, which resulted in some dirty looks from the volunteers that I asked to help me with my stroller because they set up the food tables in front of the only accessible entrance/exit to the pavilion.  But those looks, I'm sure, were minimal compared to what they could have been had Nate and Ben lost it because it was past their bed time.  But they still weren't appreciated.  If there had been an emergency, their set up would have been a BIG problem.  
Once in the car, Nate and Caroline were goofing off.  They were having fun, but by that point in the evening I had had enough and wanted them to sleep.  No sleep was had until we hit Thurmont. 
I'm hoping they all sleep late this morning. 
Mommy needs some time to recover from  adventure.  :)

Naptime Revisited.

Oh, naptime. 
I love you so. 
That is, I love you so when things are going right. 
Because right now we have sort of a love/hate relationship. 
I'm lying on the floor in the upstairs hall right now running blocker so Nate stays in his bed.  He is busy screaming at the top of his lungs about how awake he is and how much he does not want to sleep.  "I no sleepy.  It no night-night!!"  When he has exhausted screaming about that, he moves onto his (mine, actually) missing PillowPet, Noey, who is in the wash because she was covered in poop from the blowout Nate had this morning.  On the white carpet.  In our bedroom.  Because Nate sneaks in our room at night and sleeps on the floor, subjecting our carpet to whatever may be oozing out of his diaper.  And they don't make onsies big enough for *almost* three year olds. 
But that's another story for another day. 
Fun. 
Thankfully, Nate's screaming didn't interfere too much in putting Benjamin down for a nap.  Sam and Caroline are also mercifully tucked away in their own rooms reading.  I can probably keep them occupied with that until 2 or so, allowing me to pick up the kitchen from breakfast AND lunch and to put away the groceries and start dinner.  Oh...and fold / put away the laundry. 
At least I'm never bored. 

We were supposed to go to the duck pond this morning, but as soon as we got in the car the heavens erupted with thunder, scrapping our plans. 
We went grocery shopping instead. 
Shopping with 4 children is not for the faint of heart.  They did pretty good, but it kills me the way that non-nutritous food is at their eye level, occasionally sparking a good case of the gimmies.  The rule is if they can pronounce all the ingredients on the box, they can have it.  So far, I've won every single time.  Though, as Caroline and Sam's vocabularies grow, this strategy may have to change.  Luckily, today the only excesses we left with were a package of dino nuggets and a bagel for each child for lunch.  I held the option of bagels over their heads the entire shopping trip and saved them for last to pick out - ONLY - if they behaved well.  I consider the $0.79 an investment in my sanity. 
It was still raining when we got home and because we've set aside an hour in the afternoon for journaling/homework, we played outside in the rain. 
The kids decided to make their own version of the Okeefenokee Swamp (their words) and drew with different colored chalk on the cement gutter to make the mud puddles different colors.  Then they drew in the puddles.

Little Mr. Stinkbug has decided he's a big enough boy to try to stand up in the Cozy Coupe as he is being pushed.  Especially if Nate is pushing him. 

By this time, the name Okeefenokee changed to "Ickyfenicky".
You can see why.

Oh - just so  you know - Nate is STILL not sleeping. 
But at least he's not screaming. 

Recap

Sheesh.  It has been only four days since I've written last, but feels like much longer. 
Let's see...school ended, we spent Saturday in Baltimore City at the Batimore 10 Miler, in Auntie Melanie and Uncle Mike's pool and at the Sox/O's game and today we spent celebrating Father's Day at church and softball. 

And you know what?
I'm beat.
And sore.  Not horrifically sore - just enough to make it a challenge to move sometimes.
Who knew Baltimore had so many friggin' hills?!?!?
We got up at 4AM on Saturday and got everything and everyone in the car to go.  We were in Baltimore City by 6.  Jim really took one for the team with entertaining the kids so early and for so long in unknown territory.  We saw eachother briefly at the Start and Finish Lines, though.
The race itself was fun.  Even with the staggered start, it was pretty congested for the first mile.  I remember glancing at my watch and seeing 12:00 passing the One Mile marker and thinking, "Oh - this is going to be great," in not-my-most-positive tone of voice. 
But then I struck up conversations with fellow runners and quickly found my groove.  I ended up pacing with a 40-something gentleman from Towson and a woman who was running to celebrate her 61st birthday.  At Mile 5 I was starting to fade a bit and wanted to drop back, but impressed by the amount of utterly useless baseball knowledge possessed between the three of us, Matt and Debbie encouraged me to stick with them.  I think I must have looked aghast when he asked me if the 9:30 pace was too much.  Once I got over the initial shock I told them I had hadn't run that fast since high school and I might as well just keep going 'til I can't go no more and we would figure out what to do when the moment came where I had to stop.  Fortunately, that moment never came.  
We did end up dropping to a 9:45 or so pace, but I think that was because of the hills and not because of my slow butt.  We must have been speeding around the lake, though to make up the 12 minute first mile and end up with overall splits of 9:46 and 9:45 for the entire race.  We actually finished with a negative split.  6 seconds, but it was there.  :)  Druid Hill was wicked.  By Mile 9, it felt like we were climbing Kilimanjaro - but we did it. 
The beer and the nice jacket I got at the end were an added bonus. 
It was a good race.  Nice course overall - the seedy parts of town we ran through had cops spaced every 50 yards or so.  Cops everywhere, actually - the police presence was huge.  Good crowd, good organization, free Dunkin Donuts coffee...who could ask for anything more?

We then got to hang in the pool and eat lunch with Mike and Melanie.  They, too, took one for the team in having *all* of us over. 
So, so nice to see them and all they have done to their home. 
Yay for pools!

We didn't get the Sox/O's game in time for batting practice, but we DID run into a friend from our church here in Walkersville at Camden Yards.  Hooray for being a townie!!!
Our seats were high, but manageable. The kids were great and did not ask for ONE SINGLE THING during the game.  Sam and Nate were obsessing with Dustin Pedroia and Caroline was busy oogling over Nick Markakis and JJ Hardy.  Camden Yards is so fan friendly.  We could bring in drinks and food as long as they weren't already open - so I had the individual containers of goldfish, applesauce, some fruits and some juiceboxes that got them through the game. 
In the 8th inning, Caroline almost fell asleep in her chair.

Benjamin was busy flirting with the ladies in front, behind and to the side of him.

Sam followed the game.  He did a pretty good job keeping track of the score and runners.

Nate is getting good at photo bombing.

I was quite proud of the boys during the game.  We had a long conversation before the game about the act of boo-ing and how it was not nice and inappropriate. 
About the 5th or inning, the boo-birds came out.. 
Sam stood up, looking straight at the booing culprits behind us, said, "That's not nice!" and then proceeded to "web" them like SpiderMan would to make them be quiet. 
The people noticed the webbing and we didn't hear another boo from them for the rest of the game after Sam informed them of why they were webbed. 
Good Boy!!!!
Driving home last night, I had this song going through my head.  Right on the mark. 
It's too late...g'night. 

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Jim, my father, my father-in-law.
Thank you.
:)

Quickly

Some quick pictures because it's 10pm and waaaay too late for me to be awake.

We went strawberry picking tonight.  Took us about 10 minutes to pick about 8 pounds of strawberries.  Fortunately they did not weigh Nate before and after.  We would have had to pay a lot more. 
Now all I have to do is figure out what the heck to do with all these strawberries...

We played outside in the 90 degree heat today.  Our blood must be thinning because it really didn't feel THAT hot. 
They're talking up these storms for tomorrow.  It's tough to tell what's hype and what's real. 
My weather guy, Justin Berk, is usually right on the money and he seems concerned.  That's good enough for me to keep my eye on the radar tomorrow. 
These turkeys look like they could cause some trouble in a few years, huh?

Oh - and  lest I wonder why I have to wash the glass in the front door every.  single.  day...

The boys and I made a train out of rice crispy treats this morning for Sam to take to school. 
We did okay - even if Nate did eat most of the NECCO wafers. 

And *FINALLY*...Iron Man is sleeping. 
G'Night.

Field Day

Got home.  Boys fed and the small ones are sleeping. 
I now have nap time to clean up, make dinner, fold & put away laundry to prepare for tonight.

I helped at Caroline's school this morning for Field Day.  I was at the "noodle whacking station" where the kids tried to get each other's feet with pool noodles. 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single Frederick County Public School teacher for all that they do. 
Wow.

Caroline and Benjamin were goofing off last night...it was too cute.

Rainy Afternoon

So.  Naps for Thing 3 aren't happening today.
I *so* fear the day when they are altogether eliminated.
But, instead of the computer, today' s blog post is being brought to you by a piece of paper, a blue pen and a SpiderMan puzzle.
Nate is trying to write, but seems fearful of making a mistake.  He says an appropriate commentary when talking about how the letters look, "This one goes up down up down.  M." But doesn't want to try it on his own.  Soon enough.

We went to Hagerstown today to pick up a ( lame, functional and boring - BUT requested) present for Daddy for Father's Day.  We hit Dunkin' Donuts on the way home because I realized that I didn't have enough jars of cookie mix for all our teachers and it was too late in the game to try to make them.
There is also a mountain of laundry to be folded and put away.  Honest to goodness, our family is the  *only* one I know that does laundry every day AND gets hopelessly behind if we miss a day.  We had heaps of wet, nasty laundry from all of us being out in the rain last night at softball.  Everyone (except Sam) thoroughly enjoyed playing out in the rain.   I know my kids may be wild and crazy and get in their fair share of trouble -  but I was pleased when it started to pour and most everyone else ran for cover and the kids just kept on playing.  *They were in a mud puddle and probably already soaked, but still*. 
I didn't enjoy getting everyone to bed late, but I wasn't leaving there without everyone eating after spending the early part of my afternoon making hand-held apple pies. 

We drove around Hagerstown for a bit this morning.  It reminds me in some ways of Frederick with the brick buildings and old town feel.  It seems to have failed in some of the ways Frederick has succeeded, probably only through the fault of geography and the price of real estate.  So it's a cross between Frederick, MD and Utica, NY as far as cities go.  I did find the C&O Canal Headquarters - which is one we will be hitting up as soon as school ends.  I'm looking forward to our adventures this summer.  Having been pleasantly surprised by how much the kids got out of our discussions about music, I think our journeys this summer will be fun.

I had so many things on my mind that were *worthy* of blogging this morning...but they're gone now.
Nate is walking around with a viking hat over his eyes saying, "You can't see me! Mama, can I paint your toenails?"
He also told me to "Please put BenBen back in his kennel.  He no play with my legos."
What's most amusing about this statement is that we've never had a dog OR a kennel.  He calls the pack-n-play "The Kennel".
Heehee.  

Blogging over. 

Saturday Afternoon

All the kids are in their rooms.
The youngest two are sleeping.
Caroline is reading.
Sam is playing with his train table and singing.  Sounds like something between Johnny Cash and David Bowie.  He's having fun, though.

I need to do some prep for Children's Liturgy tonight.  The groups tend to be smaller during the summer, which is nice because we can go a bit more in-depth about things.  With this, though, I always need to be prepared because with more depth in a topic comes more questions.  Like, "Did Paul have a dog?", "So, if the Holy Spirit is like wind, why didn't tongues of fire blow out?" and "Abraham got rid of one of his sons and kept the other?"  You know...easy stuff.

But I'll blog first.

9 miles this morning wore me out.  To think I need to do 10 next Saturday in the swamps of Baltimore.  Oy.  Who's brilliant idea was that?
Right.  Mine.
My psoas has not been one of my best friends in the past few weeks.  Lots of ice, advil and stretching.  I think years of pregnancy and 4 c-sections have taken a toll on my abdominal muscles and hip stabilizers.  I'm trying hard, but it's going to take a lot ot get them back.  I hope the rest of me doesn't take too much of a beating in the meantime.  I'm really liking this running gig.
I am purging my closet over the course of time (Thanks Sue!) using wear it or get rid of it philosophy.  I've been trying on a lot of things that I just assumed would never fit again after having kids.  I've been pleasantly surprised - some of the stuff is actually too big now.  I'm down to one pair of pants that would look better with 5 more pounds off...other than that - it all fits.  Including the stuff I've found dating as far back as high school.  Nice.  I needed that little ego boost.  

Last night and this morning we were listening to youtube videos about the Rolling Stone list of the Top 500 Songs.  Lots of Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Doors and Elvis... more Motown and Beach Boys that we anticipated (totally on the mark).  The best part was the discussions that these songs started with the kids.  Nate totally digs Led Zepplin, Sam is more of a Smokey Robinson kind of guy, Benjamin was rocking out to "Iron Man" and Caroline likes the Mamas & the Papas.  It was cool to have all six of us sitting down around something and having a conversation (that didn't involve poop - Thanks Nate!!!).  We talked about why Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder wore sunglasses and how they did awesome things because of their disabilities.  We talked about Beethoven never being able to hear his symphonies except in his head.  We talked about Elvis and how he helped break down racial boundaries by with music.  Pointed out what a totally different sound The Beach Boys created.  Watching a video of Ike and Tina Turner we heard, "Hey!  That's Beyonce!" and cleared up that no, it wasn't Beyonce and that these days there isn't much new under the sun.  Listening to "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay", we talked about how Otis Reading died in a plane crash before the song was popular.  Caroline then asked, "Mama?  Was that the day the music died?".  We explained that no, even though Otis Reading died like those in February 1959 - it wasn't the same.  We'll save Richie Valens, The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly to discuss another day.  I was amazed that she even remembered and was starting to put pieces together.  Then I had one of the *eureka* moments when it's clear that sometimes they DO listen - dang
. 
Now...off I go to try to figure out how to explain Luke, Galatians and Kings...

Guilty

I am so guilty right now. 
You see, naptime is MY time. 
It's a beautiful 1.5 hours in my day.  
My time to get things done.  To talk to adults, to write, to cook, to clean, to fold laundry, to sit, to put something educational on the computer and listen, to get ready for the sea of humanity that inundates this house after 4pm. 
I love naptime. 
But today I flunked.  Big time. 
I got Nate to lay down and told him I would be back as soon as Benjamin was asleep. 
I gave Benjamin a bottle and promptly...I fell asleep, too.  
FAIL. 

And since it's a rainy day, there will be more chaos here vs less. 
So I'm punting and getting my blogging in. 
We'll make something like pancakes or waffles that takes forever and involves lots of clean-up to keep everyone engaged and on the right side of the Crazy Train. 

The boys and I went to Harpers Ferry this morning.  We only stayed for a few hours because I forgot to bring the backpack to put Benjamin in - so I had to carry him the whole time.  He loves being on my shoulders except that he pulls my hair out.  One.  Hair.  At.  A.  Time. 
Fun. 
We took a trail we hadn't taken before and explored Virginius Island.  We found lots of wild strawberries and flox.  We investigated the remains of an old cotton mill and a couple old houses.  We saw a heron and lots of geese and found a large goose feather.  The highlight for Nate, of course, was finding fox poop (gotta get the poop in there somehow) and Sam got to ask a Ranger why West Virginia is called West when it's really North.  I also asked the Ranger about some of the townfolk there during the Civil War era because I noticed a bunch of people the last names that could be of Jewish heritage, but couldn't find any synagogue or mention of Judaism anywhere.  She said I was the first person that has ever brought that up to her.  Hmmm....you can take the girl out of Worcester, but...

Nate's newest game when we're driving is cracking me up.  As I'm driving down any road that has a stoplight that's green, he cheers for me to go faster and yells that "I winning!  I winning!"  But if we have to stop at a stoplight, he gets SO disgusted and yells, "You lose, Mama.  You LOSE."  It's pretty funny. 

Caroline got up and ran again with me this morning.  I hope this lasts - it's fun to have a partner. 
Benjamin is getting a new tooth on the top and bottom.  :)
Tomorrow is Kindergarten Orientation. 
Sniff, sniff. 

Oh - last night before we read "Charlotte's Web" - THIS was how Nate showed up dressed for bed.
Just so you have visual proof that I'm not making this stuff up.
Because ties and capes are how we roll.