Fantastic Fall Family Fun

There are few things I love more than fall.  But if you add time with my family in a beautiful lodge to the beauty and majesty of God's creation during autumn, there truly isn't much better.  This weekend was the weekend we had all marked on our calendars last Christmas as the payoff for the gift Jason and I got for my family as a gift.  Each summer when we gather in Benezette at the Winslow Meadow Lodge, we have always talked about wanting to come there sometime to enjoy a fall weekend.  And enjoy it we did.

We all took off from home on Friday afternoon and arrived to check in around 4:00. The kids immediately got to doing what they do best at Benezette--- running, giggling, getting dirty and exploring.  We all settled in, and unloaded our goods from home.  Pulled pork that had  been cooked at our house went into the oven to start getting ready for supper.  The chill in the air was perfect.  It definitely felt like fall, just like it always had when we arrived in Poe Valley on a Friday afternoon when I was growing up.

We filled the weekend with lots of arts and crafts, a visit to the Visitor's Center to see the elk (probably 50 or more were in the field plus a whole bunch of turkeys, too), Play Doh, coloring, pumpkin carving (thanks to Aunt Libby for the pumpkins, and the Daddies for the carving) and a whole bunch of food.  We had homemade ham and bean and chicken corn soup, hot dogs on the grill, taco dip, apple dumplings, whoopie pies, smore bars and Grandma Mary's raisin cookies.  Jason made breakfast burritos on Satuday morning, and Zig made french toast this morning.  Yum and yum.  The kids really enjoyed hot chocolate and had devoured an entire bag of Swedish Fish before supper on Saturday.  Evidently we have continued the camping motto of our childhood..."Anything goes when you're camping."

Somehow, we convinced the kids that early tubs on Saturday were a good idea, and then talked them into having an "Only Kids Club" in the big bedroom while we watched the PSU game in the living room.  It mostly worked.  They only emerged when they were ready to fall asleep and needed our presence to do it.  But the grown ups (and one very overtired, scroochy Mara) got to sit together and watch the PSU game while we talked, told stories and had a great time.  I absolutely loved it.  So often, our time together is spent scurrying about...but not yesterday.  And to top it off with watching such a great PSU victory was really the icing on the cake.

We talked this weekend about memories of our childhoods, and about how the kids will remember these kinds of things someday--- how we all got together and laughed and carried on, ate too much, and watched PSU win a big game together.  And somehow, all of the work cooking and packing and unpacking is totally worth it for the memories made...

Our quiet weekend...

I sat last evening, after getting the kids to bed, typing a blog post about our weekend.  Only to have it deleted by Blogger.  Twice.  And so, at 11 pm, I put away my iPad and went to bed.  But I wanted to make sure that a quick update about our weekend and a few pictures made it to the blog. 

There has been so much happening at our house.  I feel like I usually feel at this time of the year--- like I'm chasing my tail (moreso than usual).  Between PSU football games, birthdays, other commitments and just our general activity level, we are looking at an October that doesn't have a single empty square on it.  And that makes me tired just looking at it.  Sadly, November and December don't look much better.  We don't have a totally free weekend from now until after the New Year.  And that is either very cool or very sad.  Or maybe a little of both.

Friday evening, Jason had been given some tickets to see The Velveteen Rabbit at the Community Arts Center along with a back stage meet & greet for the kids, so we decided to give it a shot.  Taking all 3 of them to an evening anything is usually a challenge, but we were feeling strong and mighty and decided to try.  The story was as cute as it always is- and reminds me so much of Joshua and Lauren's relationships with their friends Bear and Monkey.  But I believe much of that was lost on the kids.  In fact, we asked Joshua on the way out of the theater if the story made him think at all about Bear.  To which he replied, "Huh???"  And there you have it.  However, they did enjoy the cute music, and they didn't seem as bothered as we were at how abstract the whole play was.  Joshua especially loved the back stage tour and loved asking the actors questions.  Lauren thought touching the Velveteen Rabbit puppet was cool.

After this, the magic had worn off for Lauren.  She sat and whined from about 5 minutes after the show started, asking when we could go home, then complaining that she was hungry.  And then tired.  And then just generally cranky.  Joshua did pretty well and seemed to enjoy the music and the funny parts of the play.  He did pretty well at sitting still.  Honestly, he is a real joy to take places most of the time.  He enjoys it and seems to appreciate the experience, which makes all of the running around worth it.  I know Lauren will get there eventually, but it wasn't like the Max and Ruby show that we saw where it was cutesy and easy to get the story line.  During all of this, Mara wanted to be anywhere BUT in my lap, and ended up crying during the show when I wouldn't put her down to crawl.  And so, I did the only thing I could think of to keep her quiet-- feed her.  I believe she ate about half a container of puffs and nursed for the entirety of the show.  Whatever.

Saturday morning we did a little shopping after dropping Daddy off to pick up his rental car for his trip to New England on Sunday.  Santa got some great ideas after seeing the kids' reactions to things, and has made plenty of notes about things that just might make some special kiddos happy on Christmas morning.  I find it sad that I am in serious Christmas prep mode in October, but honestly, it's better for me to get it done.  Things have already started to arrive at my office, and I have already broken my promise (that I make every year) about wrapping it as it comes in instead of waiting to be totally overwhelmed by the job.  Maybe I'll get a jump on that soon.  But probably not.

Saturday afternoon I hit my stride in the kitchen.  I had the oddest combination of food smells going in the house--- chicken corn soup on the stove for our Benezette trip this weekend, oatmeal cups in the oven, hot dogs and sauerkraut in the crock pot for supper that night and topped off with a loaf of banana bread for the kids to use up the brown bananas in the basket.  It was an odd combination for sure.  But I was happy to get it all done to get a jump start on the weekend prep for the trip with my family on Friday.  Still lots to do, but it's pretty low key, and pretty low on the mess factor, which is important mid-week.  While all of this was going on, the big kids wanted to play on the deck, and ended up constructing a booby trap for monsters.  Please make note of the trip wire on the deck.  I was just pleased that neither of them broke their necks.  Because a trip to the ER on top of all of the cooking just might have driven me over the edge.

Sunday morning was the normal church run, which I still can't seem to get a handle on.  I don't know what on Earth is so hard about getting everyone up and out to be somewhere for 9:00.  For whatever reason, the children who are awake with the roosters on  Monday-Saturday mornings decide that Sunday morning is their day to sleep, and I'm stuck dragging them out of bed and yelling at them to get up and get moving.  Get moooooooving!!  PUT ON YOUR SHOES!!!!  If you don't eat that breakfast, and I mean fast, we are going to be late.  You don't want to be late do you?  What do you mean you don't care?  It's not pretty, and I always feel as though I need prayer and forgiveness every single stinking Sunday morning.  But I believe God is happy with me for making the effort to get them there, and the kids absolutely love it.  So do I, but it takes me until about the end of Sunday School for my blood pressure to return to normal levels after all of the yelling and rushing around.

However, when we got home and everyone had some lunch, I was able to snap a few pictures.  I was in love with Lauren's dress, and really wanted to remember it.  By the rate she's growing, she might not get into this one again, and I don't think I can wait to see Mara in it in another 2 years.  This girl can be as sweet as she can be sometimes, and I normally just want to gobble her right up.

And then there is this one.  Love love love!  I'm thinking it is frame worthy.  Certainly may make an appearance on a Christmas card if the ones I try to take don't work out in their Christmas clothes--- which you can almost count on.  I honestly think I could sit and look at these three sweet faces all day long.  How blessed am I, really? 

And here's my sweet baby girl- moving like crazy.  She is standing almost 90% of the time now- and you can see the wheels spinning inside of her little mind as she tries to figure out how to walk.  She's such a joy.  And that smile makes my heart sing.

Jason has been gone since Sunday morning, and we are all quite ready for him to return.  The kids are so good for me and seem to understand that there are two less hands to help them with things, but they've missed their Daddy and so have I.  We are so lucky that his trips aren't more frequent than they are.  We'll be really happy to see him later this afternoon when he returns.

See you tomorrow!

9 months old...and on the move!

Mara is 9 months old...plus a few days, but I'm hoping no one will notice.  Somehow, time is slipping through my fingers these days, as evidenced by the way I'm struggling to keep up at home, at the office, and anywhere else for that matter.  A lot of that has to do with our little lady's new found mobility.  Gone are the days of putting her in her seat, or on a blanket on the floor, or in her exersaucer.  Mara is places to go, things to do, and exploration to embrace these days.  It's almost as though you can see her little mind racing from thing to thing.  The world has certainly opened up to her over the past month as she can get where she needs to go, and she's figuring out how to do it a little more each day.

Official stats will be a few weeks, but because of the double ear infection the poor baby is dealing with (and perhaps has been for some time....) I know that she is weighing about 15 lb 13 oz (or at least she was Friday at the doctor's office).  That's a weight gain of nearly 3 pounds since her 6 month checkup.  And I believe we have Yo Baby yogurt to thank for almost all of that.  She is still nursing between 6-7 times a day, but is losing interest in her bottles a little more each day when I'm gone at the office.  That's a bit of a mystery to me, and one that needs figuring out since she will literally nurse all night long after those days of bottle refusal.  On one hand, I'm happy to make sure she has what she needs nutrition-wise, but I'd certainly rather provide it for her during the daylight hours, and still work quite hard to do so with the pumping schedule I keep in the office.  She loves her baby food and is starting to work on some table foods at this point.  She loves Cheerios and has been eating some puffs and little bites of bread in the past several weeks.  I guess the search is on to get her eating more finger foods, as I am getting the message that that's what she wants.  She is starting to work with her sippy cup pretty well, drinking mostly water from there to practice.  I love to watch her face when she gets a good sip--- she's so proud of herself.  I have been putting some pumped milk in her sippy for her to help get over this bottle issue, and sometimes she'll take it that way.

The list of physical milestones Mara has hit in the past month is intense.  Perhaps it's no wonder she isn't sleeping well with all of the things she is trying to learn how to do.  She has mastered crawling, though with her own style.  She doesn't get up on both knees, but rather pulls one leg along with her like it's in a criss-cross-applesauce position under her.  It looks really funny, and the doctors have said that every child learns their own method.  So we'll see.  She can pull up to stand on literally anything- including pant legs, and non-stationary objects like the dog.  She can walk behind her lion toy just like Joshua and Lauren learned to do.  She is starting to work on climbing the stairs....yikes.  She can open cupboard doors to explore their contents, loves to tear down block towers the kids have built, and is a champion at taking apart puzzles to chew on the pieces.

I see an intensity in her personality that reminds me so much of Joshua.  She seems very persistent when she wants to do something, and it flashes me back to watching Joshua conquer his world at this same age.  She doesn't get frustrated easily, and seems content to keep working at something until she gets it right.  She loves to giggle, and we spend the majority of bath time giggling together, either because she is splashing me like crazy, or because I'm blowing raspberries on her belly.  She is really starting to "talk", putting long strings of sounds together into gibberish, but she loves to tell stories.  She regularly says "dada", not necessarily knowing it means Jason, but I've only heard "mama" once or twice.  She seems to be saving that one.  She has, however, mastered squealing, and does it a lot.  A lot!  Her smile literally lights up the whole room, though.  And when she's happy, you just can't help but be happy too.  She adores her big brother and sister and loves to giggle at them when they're being silly--- which makes them sillier--- which leads to a whole house full of laughing people.  It's awesome!

Here's to a whole bunch more giggles and smiles before it's time to try on your #10 sticker next month, sweet girl.  We love you more than we could possibly ever put into words.

Happy Birthday, Lauren!

 

It hardly seems possible, but yesterday was Lauren's third birthday.  Thankfully, I was too busy yesterday to sit and think about how fast the past three years have flown by- since I first had the chance to know what it feels like to say, "This is our daughter."  Three years have gone by since our house started filling with pink, since the sound of a little girl's raspy giggle started to fill our home.  Three years since I fell in love with the sweetest baby girl.

 

She awoke to a doorway full of pink and purple balloons.  I have to admit that I was secretly disappointed when she asked me about her "balloons", correctly pronouncing every single letter in the word.  It seemed like yesterday that she had so enthusiastically requested "purple gaboons" for her 2nd birthday party.  She requested a birthday breakfast of pancakes (just like she wants every other day of the year) and promptly gobbled up every last bite.  She picked out her outfit for church and then saw fit to announce to every person we saw that today was her birthday and that she was three now.

 

Party plans were in full swing for the afternoon-- in fact, we left Daddy home from church with a list of to do's to finish up preparations.  He blew up balloons and cleaned up the house and finished some food prep for us.  When we pulled into the driveway, Lauren was greeted with pink and purple balloons all over the front porch.  I think my favorite birthday moment of the whole day was the smile on her face and when she said, "Mommy, I am sooooooo happy!"

 

Lauren has had quite a love affair with the new Disney show, Doc McStuffins, about a little girl who gives her toys checkups and fixes them when they are broken or sick.  And so, our idea for the day was to have a Doc McStuffins party.  Sadly, since it's a new show, there is little to nothing available to help with the theme.  So this one relied on Mommy's creativity, Pinterest, Etsy and the gifted fondant sculpting skills of  Nicole Swanger at Cakes by Nicole in Lewistown.  We had a few little doctors around the house,and they kept themselves so busy with their medical supplies giving all of the toys in our waiting room checkups.  Once they were all done, they moved on to the people at the party, and did quite a nice job giving everyone diagnoses and treating their ailments.  All of the grownups commented about how quiet this party was compared to many of the others we have had--- honestly, the kids had such a great time that they were upstairs playing together (6 of them!) with no squabbles, no arguments, and no running and screaming.  I have to say, aside from loving the fact that they were having so much fun, I was thrilled that it was  quiet enough to enjoy some adult conversation downstairs.  We had to call them to come down to open presents and eat cake.

 

In the end, Lauren had a fabulous birthday.  She was surrounded by everyone who loves her so much (except Pap who couldn't come because he was sick...bummer).  She smiled all day long and has been so excited about her new gifts.  Honestly this morning, she can't seem to pick what she wants to play with first.  We are so thankful for everyone who made the trip to Turbotville yesterday.  It was a very special day for our family, and for our sweet THREE year old.



 

 







And now...the pictures!

 



 This was Lauren's cake- as requested....purple on the outside with pink on the inside between the layers.  The Doc McStuffins toppers were made by Nicole (Cakes by Nicole) and were made peanut allergy safe for Josh so that he could eat the cake.  Nicole did such a fantastic job on all of the Doc McStuffins gang.  Lauren absolutely adored them.  I used a few recipes from Pinterest for the cake and the frosting, and I think it's safe to say that they will by my new go-to's for birthdays.  Both were really good!
 

 My birthday girl and her cake.  Lauren loved her shirt that had her name and #3 on it, along with Doc McStuffins.  I found that on Etsy and just knew we had to have it for the party.

 And all suited up for her work with the animals!  I found these adorable doctor smocks for all of the kids and they loved them.  Earl found us a few surgical hats and masks to make the pretend play more realistic, and they really finished off the kids' outfits.

I wish I had taken pictures of Lauren's "The  Doc Is In" sign as well as the goodie bags that were labeled with everyone's Doc McName.  I thought they were cute and the kids seemed to like them.  It really was a great day.

Happy Birthday, Lauren!  We love you more than you can imagine.