Sunday Night.

After an afternoon of softball, we are watching "The Princess Bride" as a family.
It is one of the few movies we have found that everyone thoroughly enjoys.
Yesterday I saw the boys sword fighting with pool noodles.  Nate said, in his best Spanish accent,  "Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die."
It.  Was.  Awesome. 

We're still in catch up mode from vacation.
The Olders have Dino Camp this week - so I'm getting some help and hope to some things done around the house that I can't do with a lot of urchins underfoot.
It's nice to have plans to make the house ours. 

The parents of these two are still hoping for an arranged marriage.

Playing in the backyard with Dominic

We were grateful for the pool.  Both for the fun factor and to tire these turkeys out. 

Breakfast at Bagel Time with the Dubrey Family. 

The WPI Crew

...and their broods...

The Families of the Londonderry High school Crew

Ryoko got out her kimonos for the girls to try on.  Nate is getting very good at photo-bombing.

And rest. 

Rejubilation.

Because I need to go to a happy place.

Cooperstown.

Vacationing with children is not always like a vacation. 
While, for the most part, our kids are good, they certainly had their moments during the week we were away.  I would be lying if I didn't say that there were moments in the past week that I SWORE that I would never leave Frederick County with them again. 

-Like at the Tolpa House when Sam said to our hostess, "I don't like anything you made to eat."
-And when Nate stopped me in the Communion line at St Pius when I waited for wine, announcing loudly, "Come on, Mom!  Why you drinking that? Let's go!"
-And when Benjamin decided to take a hammer at the Diamond Mine and hit Sam squarely in the back.
-And when Benjamin decided rock throwing was his new favorite pastime at the Mine. 
-And when all four kids decided they had to pee urgently as we were driving on a country road with no shoulder.  And when we stopped?  They *all* had stage fright.  Not an ounce of pee was produced. 
-And when Nate decided to set up residence behind a trash can where I couldn't find him in the Locker Room in the Baseball Hall of Fame, peeking out only when he sensed I was about to lose the last of the sanity I own. 
-And the two night that all the kids decided sleep was for the weak.   What I would have given for a solid 3 hours of shut eye...
-And when Caroline decided to roll down the hill at The Smith doing dirt angels at the bottom, covering herself with dirt and goodness knows what else before the game even started. 
-And...well...you get the idea.

We planned a lot of things well with this vacation.
That being said, we planned the trip to Cooperstown totally wrong.  
The drive from Boonville was a couple hours and we didn't get to the hall until eleven or so. 
Just in time for lunch, naps and the tour buses to show up. 
Ugh. 
In retrospect, because we were there the day of the All Star Game and The Hall was open until nine pm, it would have been better to eat, nap and then see the sights. 
Live and learn.
We know for next time.

Fernando.  He was using his parietal eye to mesmerize the boys.

In front of The Captain's locker.

Nate insisted we take his picture in front of JJ Hardy.  Even if it was really Brian Roberts

Was glad that CJ pointed out this one. 

Benjamin was DONE by the time we got to the theater.

But the other kids enjoyed the show so much we had to go twice.

Sitting in Old Yankee Stadium.

We'll always have 2013.

Feet.

Tonight I'm curling up with my laptop, my radio and a glass of Jack. 
I now know what it feels like to get my toenails pulled out.
Seriously. 

The good news is that they shouldn't grow back. 
Might be a tough tempo run tomorrow morning, though.  ;) 
My toenails have been awful since high school and after the Boilermaker when they got infected (again), it was the last straw. 
So I distributed the kids throughout the neighborhood (taking Sam with me) and headed to the podiatrist this afternoon.
All in all, the procedure was painful, but no worse than I thought it would be.  As I was getting the lidocaine shots in my toes (8!), the doctor told me to breathe like I was in labor - to which I retorted, "I had 4 c-sections for a reason!"
We got a good laugh out of that.
Sam sat and happily read his space book, blissfully unaware of what was going on and only looking up when he heard me sniffling.  He comforted me and then saw what the doctor was doing.
Without a word, he sat in his chair, eyes wide as all get out, and covered his ears and said, "I can't watch, Mommy!"
His eyes stayed opened the whole time.  
Can't make this stuff up. 

So now, having had my allotted tylenol, hanging with Jack was my only option.
Hope everyone sleeps tonight.  

Vacation Detox.

Today was our first full day home.
There was no easing back into the routine.
We had no food in the house, so we hit it head on, taking Wegmans by storm this morning.
Let the good times roll!
Nothing quite jolts you back to reality like taking four kids under the age of 8 grocery shopping.

We survived.

Everyone is in one piece and in bed now...so I have to say it was a good day.

Funny thing, though - this afternoon I was on the verge of losing my temper.  The kids were picking at each other, whining and not doing what they were supposed to do.  Grrrr.
Instead of going ballistic, I sat on the floor and covered my face with my hands.  I asked for wisdom to do the right thing and to hold my temper.
When I looked up, I was surrounded by four children doing the exact same thing. 
They *are* watching.

I was trying to get our recent adventures documented by making a photo book at WalMart.  After organizing the pictures THREE times and having ShockWave crash each time as I was finishing the book, I had enough.
So blogging it is.
Something to numb the 4-0 deficit the Sox have dug themselves into.

After the Boilermaker, we were treated to a great lunch at the Tolpa's house.
Good food, good company, playing with Rookie & Zeus and a dip in the pool for the kids was just what we needed.
I would have loved to have gotten in the pool, but with the race that morning, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out!

After dinner, we headed up to Boonville.  Our hotel was really cool and the kids have already asked to stay there next year for the Boilermaker.
We got to explore the area a bit the next day.  Nina & Pops took the us to a swimming hole that Nina frequented as a child.  It was good for everyone to splash in the pond and play on the playground.

We found some 12 week old Chorkie puppies.
Adorable is an understatement.  
Caroline and Nate fell in love.
Thankfully, we were able to leave the park without a new addition to our family.
It was close, though.  

Then we got to rest back at the hotel.
Rest?
Really?
With this crew?
The reality was that Pops got to rest.

And Nina didn't.

After Rests, we ventured into town early for Uncle Matt's baseball game
But before that, we had a mission to accomplish.
A few months ago, one of the local Moms I know mentioned that she heard of wine ice cream and wanted to try it.  She mentioned it was Upstate, so I was intrigued.  I had never been to Mercer's Dairy before and was more than willing to take one for the Mom Team and see what the ice cream was like. 
It's safe to say that I will never again go to the Tug Hill Plateau without stopping at Mercer's.
The wine ice cream is delicious.  Nothing you will get drunk on.  Just something that makes you smile because it tastes so darn good.
The gingerbread is a show stopper.
I mentioned to the ladies scooping the ice cream behind the counter that I was there on a reconnaissance mission from Maryland.  The owner of the dairy came out soon and we had a great chat, learning a lot about the diary and the ice cream business.  Mercer's is one of the only all women owned dairies in the country and these ladies are working so hard to innovate and keep making a name for themselves.  "I can't compete in vanilla, but I can with this."
We learned that Mercer's was ruled to be a food product, NOT alcohol, and because of this, they just penned a contract with Wegmans and that wine ice cream should be available in Maryland soon!  Yippee!

After thoroughly enjoying ice cream, we headed to The Smith for the Blazer's game.
It was just as baseball should be -  family oriented and FUN!
The players were very nice and signed baseballs for the kids.
We also got to be in the team picture.
Can you find us?

We positioned ourselves well for scooping up foul balls and the Watson children distributed them amongst the children in the crowd.
There was a dirt pile to play in and a rainbow (without rain).  .

The Trailblazers notched a solid win against the Utica Brewers.

Day Complete. 

Boilermaker

2014 has been a tough year for running.
After my right foot got too intimately acquainted with a roofing nail and this led to nasty case of shin splints, I just couldn't get back to where I was.
It has been frustrating.
Last year I ran over 1300 miles.  This year, so far, I've only clocked about 500.
But I've learned a lot about conditioning, cross training,nutrition and prioritizing. 
Things I never really *wanted* to know, but lessons that I need.

For a long time, I questioned if I would be able to train appropriately and do well at the Boilermaker 15k again this year.  The Boilermaker is, by far, my favorite distance and my favorite race - I've been looking forward to it since last July.

After meeting with many Leahys on Saturday night for pasta party, my Dad and I ventured out to Verona.  This was the first night I have ever spent away from my kids and my husband in 8 1/2 years.  Once I got over the fact that I could go to the bathroom without hearing "Mommy Mommy Mommy!!!!!!" and seeing little fingers reach under the door, it was great.  ;)
A weather warning had been sent out Saturday night about the anticipated severe storms coming in the area for Sunday afternoon.  We were nervous the race wouldn't happen at all - especially after an edict was issued that if you didn't anticipate finishing in 2.5 hours that you shouldn't start the race because you won't beat the storms.  An official announcement was to come at 5AM.
Thankfully, the weather held out and the storms that materialized were well south of us, so the race went off without a hitch. 
I don't know if it was that the temperature was a good 20 degrees cooler than last year, that we were the first people on the first shuttle to the Start Line, that Sarah and I christened the port-o-pots, the sheer number of Leahy-affiliates running, the extra spectators, the old guys singing Huey Lewis karaoke on the golf course, the added cowbell or that running is my happy place...but the race was wonderful.
I'm pretty sure I smiled the entire 9.3 miles. 
93:37.
A full 8 minutes faster made the beer taste THAT much better. 

Adventures.

Wow. 
Long time no blog. 
We have a new camera, so that's not an excuse (thanks, Sue - I appreciate the encouragement :) )
I think it's more that every time the kids are down and I have some alone time, what I most want to look at is the back of my eyelids. 
It will be better now that we're home from vacation.
 
Getting ready for vacation is usually a harrowing experience.  Difficult enough that it makes me never want to leave the house.  Like ever. 
It is hard enough to get everyone ready for school in morning...to get us ready to leave the house for a week is akin to pulling out toenails.
 
We all have been working very hard to get our house organized and a place that we love to be.  We have all been decluttering and sticking to a loose cleaning schedule. 
The kids are helping consistently with laundry and cleaning and while the work seemed to be daunting initially, we're finding that having stuff done is freeing us up to do the things we really want to do.  It can be a struggle to get everyone to participate and  I will be the first to admit I feel like pulling my hair out sometimes.  I mean...it's great that we're finally getting pictures on the walls and that it's easier to relax in our house, but getting ready for vacation was the first time we could really see the fruits of our labors. 
I finally listened to advise and hired the young lady across the street as a Mother's Helper for 2 hours last Friday.  Best money we have spent in a long time.  In those 2 hours, the house got cleaned, laundry got done, people got packed and the car was prepared to go.  Because all of us had worked to get stuff done and having Hannah entertain the kids for a couple hours, it wasn't a struggle like it normally is.
We were rip-roaring and ready to go by that afternoon instead of scrambling madly in the wee hours before leaving.
It.  Was.  Awesome.
And it seems like such a stupid thing to write about now.  It's really not a big deal.  We got ready for vacation and it wasn't as difficult as it normally is.  Whoop-ti-do.  But it was nice to see the hard work we have done allow us to leave a day early for vacation and to enter the week in the right frame of mind instead of harried and exhausted.
So when Jim got home from work and all four kids came downstairs in the PJs because they wanted to play "Christmas", we seized the moment by sitting their butts in 5 point harnesses and making our way up to Rochester.  :)
I'm finding that this motherhood gig is all about the little victories.  :)

A little victory - putting pictures that we treasure up on the walls. 

July 4

You know, it's just not as much fun to blog when there aren't any pictures.
Our handy dandy old camera bit the dust, so we've been relying on the kid's toy camera or the tablet to take pictures.
It's not for lack of things happening, writing isn't as exciting without illustrations...

We're well into Summer routine now.  It's amazing to me how doing nothing in particular can be so exhausting...

Our ducks that nested in our AC unit hatched.  We didn't think they would because it is so late in the season.  We're assuming it's her second clutch because there were only nine eggs.  After doing research, we now know that Mallard Ducks will nest about anywhere, up to three miles from water. We were lucky to see them because as soon as the hatchlings could walk, they were off in search of a pond.
Mallards nest in the same place every year, so we should see her again.

The unfortunate excitement of last weekend was that BabyNate was lost.
It was awful.
When we couldn't find him at bedtime, Nate cried and cried.
We looked all over the house. We searched the yard. We took apart the car.
We thought he may have been left at church.
Nope.
We were on the cusp of ordering a new one of ebay when he was discovered at the bottom of a bin of dress up clothes in the blue room.  Nate cried tears of joy.
He has slept much better since.

So now the kids are playing Wii.  Jim and I are having a beer and putting our feet up, doing our best to relax.
Caroline is so bossy that it's only a matter of minutes before someone is in tears or whacked in the head with a wii remote for mouthing off, so we're resting when we can.  The  kids were going at it so bad that we said they had to be nice to each other for 30 minutes in a row or else to Wii is gone. We'll see how they do.

We spent the day up in Gettysburg today exploring the battlefield.
We walked through the Visitor Center, but did not do any activities.  Since being operated by the Friends of Gettysburg and not the National Parks Service, the cost to get in the museum is prohibitive, even with our National Parks pass.  This is a shame because with young kids, we need to go to a museum at least three our four times before the kids even start to understand things.
We walked by Meade's Headquarters and went from the Copse of Trees towards Spangler's Farm.   It was awe inspiring to think of all that happened where we were standing 151 years ago almost to the day.
It had to be obvious to the Confederates going across that field that they were on suicide mission.
Puts a lot of things in perspective, especially on July 4th.