Fall Field Trip Fun on a Farm

I was blessed to be able to accompany Joshua (and 15 other K4 kiddos) on a field trip last Friday to the pumpkin patch.  Given my love of all things fall related, this one was right up my alley and I think I may have been more excited than Joshua was if I'm telling you the truth.

Here's the day's events in pictures.

Joshua had his very first opportunity to ride on a school bus!  He absolutely loved it.  I have to tell you that I was more than a bit unglued about the fact that all of these small children were unsecured in the vehicle.  Doesn't seem right that there were no car seats on this trip, but we chose to go a new route and "go with the flow".  It was a real stretch for me.  As you can tell by the dorky smile on Joshua's face, he enjoyed the ride very much and was quite annoyed that I wanted to document this critical moment in his life's history with a picture.

Here we are on the hay wagon.  He thought this was pretty cool and giggled when all of us had straw on our rumps when we got up.  I have to tell you that I so enjoyed this field trip now that I'm getting to know more of the parents of the other kids in his class.  What great people!  And as we all get to know each other a little more, the truthful sides of us are coming out----- you know the ones that we try to hide when we're putting on appearances about being the mom who has it all together.  If even half of these kids stay in Joshua's class through his primary/secondary education, I can only imagine the fun we'll have at high school graduation!

After locating "the" pumpkin, Joshua was quite pleased.  I'm sorry to tell you that we inspected every single pumpkin in the patch before he was satisfied with knowing which one was the most perfect.  It seems he does not have my shopping genes.  Get in.  Get out.  Get the best deal you can.  He was lolly-gagging around still on the great pumpkin search while the rest of the class was boarding the wagon to head back to the farm.  And then it got interesting when I had to lug said pumpkin while running across the patch in order not to miss our ride back to civilization.

After visiting some animals in the barn and thoroughly sanitizing our hands the kids all found seats at the picnic tables in the pavillion to have a snack of freshly picked apples on the farm.  This was Joshua's maiden voyage of eating an apple au naturale (ie. with the skin still on it and not sliced up).  He seemed to enjoy himself, but took sweet forever to finish.  He was still chomping on that apple when we pulled back into the school parking lot (after a 20 minute ride back on the bus).  But look at that grin....he had a great time.

So that was the pumpkin patch.  I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.  Joshua lovingly placed his pumpkin on the front porch along side our other ones.  We haven't had the heart to slice him all up and turn him into a Halloween jack-o-lantern.  Something about scooping all the goop out of the pumpkin just makes me want to skip the whole thing.

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On a totally different note, things are moving along in house land.  We have effectively listed our home for sale (as of yesterday)....and yes, I'm already stressing out that it hasn't sold.  Think my expectations are a bit steep?  I nearly wrecked the car as I pulled up to the house yesterday afternoon and saw the for sale sign in the yard.  I have to tell you that, amidst all of the excitement about moving, I am struggling with being a little more emotionally attached to Greenbriar Drive than I probably should be.  But there are a whole lot of special memories in that house.  And I seem to have a bit of a problem with that under the best of conditions---- as in, I still haven't driven by my childhood home on Edgewood Place (in the many years since my parents moved out of it) because I can't bear the thought of someone else living there.  If you've ever heard the song "The House That Built Me" you'll know what I'm saying....but that song pretty much sums it up.  I'm not saying that Greenbriar Drive is the house that built me but it is a pretty big block in our family's foundation.  To not be able to remember the feeling of bringing two babies home from the hospital in that house just by walking through the door is a little sad.  But I digress.

I have also officially applied for the mortgage on the new house as of this morning.  There's no buzz kill like looking at the dollars and cents of a move like this.  So I officially now have the feeling that this is all a reality and the weight of the transaction is heavy on our shoulders at this point.  However, I must say that we're beyond lucky that this is working out the way that it is, and truly, we're not considering doing anything that is outside the comfort zone of what we can afford.  So I think this is mostly just Megan being Megan kind of stuff that will likely fade as I realize that the sky is not falling and we'll probably still be able to put a few groceries on the table once all is said and done. 

As long as someone buys our house.  Just saying.

Home inspection on the new house is set for Monday morning and I'm already all jittery excited about being able to be back inside again.  Hopefully all will go well and there won't be any surprises.  I have a list of things to measure and I'll take some photos so that I can share a few.  I hope we love it just as much the second time as we did the first.

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It's Grandparents Day tomorrow at Meadowbrook.  Joshua is so lucky because his Grandma, Nana and Pap are all going to be at school with him tomorrow morning.  Something tells me there could be stories to tell about this one!  From what we hear, it's a really special day at the school and I'm so glad that our family is making the sacrifice to be there with our little guy to see what K4 is all about.  I'll be home with Lauren in the morning, so I'm looking forward to it as well.

Happy Thursday, all!

Arrrrrrgh Matey! Happy Birthday Joshua!

I almost can't believe that Joshua is really 4 years old today.  It doesn't seem possible that it's really my 4th anniversary of becoming a Mommy, but to look at Joshua's growing body, growing attitude and growing spirit, I guess there's no denying it.  With the reflection that I've done in the past few weeks after celebrating Lauren's first birthday and now Joshua's fourth, I can only say that I am blessed beyond what I deserve.  And I am grateful to God for the blessings that he has given to me in these two, beautiful, full-of-life children who teach me so much and humble me so greatly every day.

I don't know whether it makes me a bad Mom or not, but Joshua has never had a birthday party before with his whole family.  Let's just say that space has been an issue over the years.  And so was the swine flu that plagued us last October 25th, cancelling the John Deere tractor party that I had planned.  (Go back in the blog history to read about that if you missed it last year!)  But this year, our little buddy requested a pirate birthday party....so that's what we had.

After church yesterday, Grandma and Grandpa, Nana, Pap, Aunt Libby, Uncle Zig and Brooke all made their way to Milton for Joshua's pirate party.  We opened some presents, sang Happy Birthday, ate some pirate cupcakes (complete with little ships for them to sail in) and dug for treasure in a makeshift treasure chest that I painted and filled with styrofoam pieces.  Joshua enjoyed his pirate headband and eye patch, although the novelty of only being able to see out of one eye wore off about 17 seconds after he first tried on his beloved patch.  But it made for some cute pictures.

Everyone had a great time.  And it was wonderful to be together with our whole family to celebrate such a special day for Joshua.  I have to confess that I'm not sorry to say goodbye to age 3.  It has not been my favorite.....not even a little bit.  I'm told that 4 is better...and I'm going to rest on the hope that all those who speak from their experience are good foreshadowers of what is to come in our family.  Joshua doesn't need any help being independent or head strong, and it seems those are the characteristics of being 3.  We've had more temper tantrums and crying spells than I care to remember...to the point where it makes you question everything you're doing as a parent.  I told Josh yesterday afternoon that it was his last day to be 3, so he'd better get it all out of his system.  He said he would.  Already he's more compliant!

If I said it once yesterday, I said it about a thousand times...but we need a bigger house.  There were people on top of people yesterday.  And we would have loved to have shared the party with more of Joshua's friends and our extended families, but there just wasn't space to do it.  So I guess it's a good thing that the Dugans are going to be moving in a few months, huh?

Snuck that right in there, didn't I?

Please don't think I've been holding out, because this is all VERY new information.  Things have really been happening fast at our house lately, but we are really excited to announce that (pending appraisals and inspections that verify the work we've already done) we'll be moving to a bigger, more spacious, more appropriately laid out house sometime between now and the end of 2010.  It all happened a bit by surprise, but when the pieces fall together like they did, you almost can't question it.  (Which is how this Type A, plan every single move, stress about the details Megan is getting through the speed with which things are happening right now.)  To say there are a whole lot of things to work out is an understatement, but pretty soon, 80 Cherry Tree Ln in Turbotville will be our new home.  It's a bit out in the country from the perspective of proximity to my office (but the travel time is no more than 5-10 minutes extra), but it's 10 minutes closer for both Jason and Judy, so that's a good thing.  It's still close to Meadowbrook for the kids and their school transportation issues.  And the house is just perfect for us- move in ready, immaculate in condition, gorgeous cul-de-sac with what appeared to be boat loads of kids.  We're really excited.  Obviously, much more to come on all of that.

Finally, I'll leave you with my favorite picture of Lauren from the weekend---- making one of her many silly faces.  Goodness, I love that spunky little monkey!  I only wish she'd sleep.  (Different post for another day.)

UMass Homecoming

A few months ago, Jason received a message on Facebook from George Parks, the beloved band director at UMass, requesting that alumni marching band members make plans to attend the homecoming celebration this fall.  He was hoping for a record number of alumni who would come back and play in the band at the game.  Jason hasn't been back for Homecoming since leaving Amherst, so we decided this year would be a good year to pack up our troops and enjoy a fall weekend in New England.  We booked our hotel room, rented a mini van and made plans for all of us and Jason's parents to head to Massachusetts for the weekend.

Sadly, a few weeks ago, George Parks passed away suddenly after a marching band performance.  Everyone was shocked.  He was 57.  He had spent his entire professional career building the band program into the amazing one that it is.  (And you know, from this Blue Band fanatic.....that's saying something!)

Not surprisingly, his dream of a large alumni band came true....and something tells me he was quite pleased.  Almost immediately after the news of his sudden passing got around, the numbers of alumni coming in from all over the world started to skyrocket.  On Saturday, when the combined band took the field, there were 925 alumni band members there to play together.  Add to that the 400+ members of the regular band and it was a sight to see.

My pictures aren't the best because I was at field level with the kids so that Joshua could try to spot Jason.  But here are a few attempts.

Obviously, the whole point of the trip was for Jason to be able to be with the band and all of his friends from college.  It was so great to see him back in his element and loving the company of so many people who really meant a lot to him during his college years.  I think any of us who have "grown up" and had our lives change so drastically since college would probably agree that the feeling of being back on campus with your friends just brings it all back to you.  And I think you can appreciate it all even more after having experienced the "real world" that we all longed for so much during college. 

So, Grandma and Grandpa came along with us because they absolutely love it in Amherst, and because I was afraid I might need some reinforcements during the weekend since Jason was off doing his thing most of the day Saturday.  He had to be at rehearsal at 6:30 on Saturday, leaving us with the munchkins to entertain.



We visited a little farm place (didn't turn out to be too exciting...but burned about a half hour).  We had been lured there by a "make your own scarecrow" claim on the internet.  But upon arriving and realizing that they were actually LIFE SIZE scarecrows, we decided to pass.  If you'd have seen the mini van and its resemblance to a clown car, you'd understand why we elected to leave an additional passenger in Western Massachusetts.

We picked up a very fancy lunch at Subway and tried to introduce some Penn State style tailgating to the UMass fans.  Sadly, it was about 10 degrees outside and the winds were blowing something along the lines of the speed of the twister on the Wizard of Oz, so we opted to stay inside the van and find things to entertain  us until game time.  Turns out that was a wise move.  We were plenty cold after sitting outside for 3+ hours at the game.  No extra "tailgating" time needed.

After the game on Saturday night, we brought dinner back to the hotel and then went swimming at the pool there.  Joshua loved it...although I think Lauren enjoyed it more.  It was her first time swimming in a big pool and she just couldn't get enough.  She was kicking her legs, splashing with her arms and even put her face in the water a few times.  I believe I might have some of those Mommy & Baby swimming classes coming up!

We made our way back to PA on Sunday morning.  The kids travelled a million times better than I would have anticipated, and we were so grateful.  Joshua enjoyed a lot of movies on his DVD player and then spent the rest of the time drawing pictures and working on a few new sticker books we had gotten for him.  Lauren and I were in the back back of the van and spent our 12 hours of car riding packing and unpacking every bag I own.  She ate some snacks, drank some milk from her bottles and even ate a bologna and cheese sandwich at one point.  We read books over and over and over again.  We sang songs, tickled piggy toes and tried to learn how to say some new words. 

All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  I hope we'll do it again next year.  And I hope it's 65 degrees in Amherst that weekend instead of 25.  Just saying.

It was a wild and woolly time...

Here's Joshua participating in the Woolly Worm races!  He hand picked his racing worm, and I believe chose the slowest of the entire bunch!  But he had fun.

It was a beautiful fall Saturday, so the kids and I headed to the Woolly Worm Festival to check up on our Kiwanis friends and see what kind of adventures we could find.  This is a festival that has been put on my our Kiwanis Club for the past 12 or so years.  It was redesigned this year to focus on kids, and I think the group that organized it did an excellent job!  The point of the festival is to be kind of a silly thing--- our own version of Punxsutawney Phil, where the colors of the woolly worms that you find outdoors predict the coming winter weather.  Mostly the kids just like playing with the worms, and Moms and Dads like having something to do with their kids.  At least if they're like us.

Joshua was thrilled to find out about the addition of some animals to the festival this year.  He got to ride on a pony...a first for him.

And he also loved the petting zoo area.  They had ice cream cones full of feed for the animals.  Joshua just giggled and giggled when the goats and baby cow and sheep came and licked his hands to get the food.

 While Joshua was off exploring with the animals, Lauren was mostly interested in wandering around (seemingly aimlessly).  She loved Joshua's balloon and nearly poked her eye out with that stick more times than I care to remember.  She dug in the dirt a while, ate some leaves, and soon was ready to move on to her next adventure.

Shopping with Mommy.

I hate to say it this way, but I can't think of any other way to say it.  It was such a treat to make a quick run to the mall with only one child in tow.  Although I think I picked the harder one of the two to bring along with me, only because it involves strollers andn diaper bags, and then she won't ride in the stroller without screaming so I end up holding her as she scrooches and tries to literally squirm from my arms.  Lauren drank a bottle of milk (we're making progress, my friends) in her car seat while we rode to the mall.  Joshua stayed with Daddy at the festival to see the magician's act.  We got some things at the Clinique counter and then spent some Gymbucks, hit Target for the 12 things I managed to forget at the grocery store THE DAY BEFORE and then headed home.  The only downside to this little outing was that her only nap of the day consisted of the 20 minute ride home which made for a very crabby baby later in the day.  But, there was some shopping, so I think it was a good tradeoff.

I just thought I'd share one of the little lady rocking a very cute dress for church on Sunday.  Found that one for el cheapo at Target!

It's back to the races....not woolly worm races....the RAT RACE today at the office.  We're counting down to our big Dugan family road trip on Friday as we get ready to head to UMass Homecoming for the weekend.  It's sure to be an adventure......rented minivan, 6 hour car ride, 6 Dugans (Grandma and Grandpa are coming too!), 800+ people playing in the alumni marching band with Daddy, New England fall foliage......this ought to be something.

And she passed with flying colors!

Yesterday was Lauren's 12 month checkup with the pediatrician.  In the waiting room, upon arriving, we were greeted by two other little people about Lauren's size.  As it turns out, all three of them were born the same morning at the same hospital.  I had to chuckle at the personality differences between them.  The little boy, Ryan, was crawling but never stopped jabbering from the time we walked in the door.  He evidently has much to say.  Braylee was the other little girl who just smiled from ear to ear and gave it right back to Ryan.  He would say something and she would retort with great conviction.  Lauren, all the while, was standing beside me as if she was glued to my leg with super glue.  She watched with great intent, then would look at me and smile.  But she never let go.  When Braylee got close, she climbed into my lap, and there she stayed.  I think she might be shy....which doesn't seem to fit AT ALL with the wild child we have at home.  But she's definitely not an instigator in public.

As for stats, Lauren was described as "not the biggest child" by the doctor.  That we knew.  But he did say that she has steadily grown and seems to be doing great.  She was 18 lb 9 oz (down .5 oz from the ear infection day...but she was dressed then).  That put her at the 10th percentile for weight.  She was 31" long- the 50th percentile.  For what it's worth, her head was also apparently right on scale- 50th percetile there too.  She seems to be doing fine on all of her milestones, too.

I discussed a whole bunch of things with the doctor- from food introductions and any limitations given the history of a peanut allergy in the family to weaning.  It appears we're doing everything just fine.

Lauren was so sweet during the whole exam- smiling at the doctor and babbling a bit.  She offered him some cheerios, even.  She shed about 5 tears when she got hit with three shots, but quickly got over it.  Oh the contrast from my experiences with Joshua and his visits.  His hysterics start upon entering the hallway to go back to the exam room and don't end for about 20 minutes after leaving the office!  No ill effects from the shots last night- in fact, she was probably more pleasant than usual.  Bed time is quickly inching its way upward.  She's been down by 8:30 for the past few nights, giving me some time to fold laundry or do little jobs before hitting the sack myself.  Thank goodness for small miracles.  Now if only she'd sleep all night long....

A girl can dream, can't she?

It's so much fun to be ONE!

We had so much fun last evening, celebrating Lauren's first birthday.  Even now that it has passed, I still can't quite understand where the past 12 months went.  Did we maybe skip a few months in there somewhere?

We enjoyed a nice evening with Grandma and Grandpa last night, with a party complete with balloons, cake and presents.  Joshua was so excited about Lauren's party and talked incessantly all day about eating cake and decorating with our balloons.  It was at his insistence that I ordered balloons, actually.  He said that it's "not possible to have a birthday without balloons".  Who could argue with logic like that?

I had to laugh at Lauren while we were eating dinner last night.  As she ate her noodles and peas, she held on to that purple balloon for dear life.  We haven't tried any whole milk in her cup yet (hoping to do that tonight when I can watch her for any reactions), but she did have some bites of cheese for the first time.  She might be my daughter after all because her little eyes widened when she got a bite.  Like, "Mommy, you've been holding out on me!"

Here's a view of the not-anywhere-near-perfect #1 cake that I made for the birthday girl.  Suffice it to say that I now have enough pink icing left over to ice half of central PA.  But it was cute and safe for Joshua, and that's really all that matters.  I am seriously considering taking a cake decorating class of some kind if I'm going to have cakes to decorate like this for the forseable future.  Once their requests start getting complicated, I'm going to be outmatched in my skills in a hurry!

And here's our little cake smasher in action.  She was pretty reserved.  Like a little lady, she kept the cake on her hands and face only--- none in the hair and really not too much on her clothes.  I distinctly recall taking Joshua directly out of his high chair and plopping him in the tub, but Lauren played with her new toys without needing to be hosed down.  We gave her a few little bites of ice cream too, and she really liked that.  Like Mommy, like daughter!

Party #2 is scheduled with my Mom and Dad, Libby, Zig and Brooke tomorrow at our house.  I'll be baking another cake tonight and hope that it comes out half as well as yesterday's did.  Our little girl is so loved and we thank everyone for their well wishes, cards and thoughts yesterday.