Pumpkintown is for the Bees...

Today might have been our last foray to the land of the Pumpkin.  I love Fall.  I love the smells, the sounds, the flavors...  I love Wyatt's birthday and how it kicks off the entire holiday season.
What I don't love is aggressive, stinging bugs coming at me with a purpose - only made worse when they aim for my kids.
Call me a ginat baby but the bees literally chased me out of Pumpkintown today.
No, thanks!  No, way!

So, our visit was cut short but we really could have tried harder...  the truth be told, we didn't care that much.  Pumpkintown was a fun, enjoyable, season-y thing to do when the kids had pretty much nothing else to do with our time.
Now, with school and activities we had to squeeze it in.  And squeezing in a fun activity is hardly a good way to start out.
To add insult to injury, we had to pay admission.  In previous years, when it was a random weekday that we decided to head to Pumpkintown it was free.  Today, being Columbus Day Observed, we paid $4 each.  So, $12 to get chased by bees in blazing sunshine while sweating in line for a pumpkin bounce house that, according to Abby, had too much air and was not very bouncy at all.

Perhaps we'll put P-Town behind us.  It seems we've outgrown it.  But it will forever be a fond memory of my tiny kiddos' Fall line up...

2009

 

Today, 2011

Today, 2011

2010

2009.  Where's Wywy?

How Tall in 2010?

Today, 2011

After we dropped Abby off at school this morning, Wyatt and I were bopping around town.  I had a bin of clothes to drop off at my friend, Sue's house.
Sue just had an addition put on her house - an addition the size of my house to her home that was already the size of 3 of my houses.
On the one hand you want to hate her.  Her kitchen is literally the size of my first floor, her granite island seats 12.
But, truly, she is one of the kindest, most compassionate people on the planet so I didn't hold back my drool and adulation. 
She has an entire set of drawers for her cake decorating tools and baking pans. 
She had a custom cabinet built for her KitchenAid Mixer. 
She has a "Tea Drawer".

On second thought, I do hate her.
Good thing she doesn't read this.

After Sue's house I dropped by Kim's.  I knocked but left her bag in the doorknob assuming no one was home.  As I was driving away her husband came to the door, then her daughter, then her.  The whole family was there as I played Ring & Run.
Good times.

After the 2 visits I stopped and picked up a couple of mums and some bird seed at Wild Bill's.  Bill's is a catch-all store that you can spend very little at and walk away with very much.
For $16 I got 3 large mums and a big bag of Sunflower seed bird food.  Not bad.

Wyatt and I stopped at home after that, went potty and decided to head back out to grab some corn stalks to decorate the top of the driveway with.  The corn & mums complete the look up there and hopefully they will stay standing and blooming at least through next weekend for the Boy's birthday party if not through Halloween.

We headed out to the farm to the left where I knew the corns were $3.50 a bundle but they were empty.  So, we headed up to "the cow farm" where I figured I would pay more but, oh well.
I did pay more - but it was worth twice what I paid.

This particular farm is owned by Mr. Ellis whom I have met here and there through town though I'm certain he would not know me in a line-up of moms who he chats with.
He is a dairy farmer and his cows are part of the group that make up The Farmer's Cow.  They don't sell milk in gallon bottles so I don't buy it but I do try to buy their eggs and ice cream when I see the opportunity. 
We've went through the Farm's Open House Tour and I asked his son so many questions about cows, how they're milked, how they're treated, why and what-for - SO many questions that Jay was starting to walk a little behind me and other people were whispering and pointing.
But, I loved it.  It did make me stop eating beef for a while but I got over that.  {Oh, and I did Blog It!}
 
Anyway, the son was there today, setting the cows up for feeding time and when he saw us he smiled, waved and welcomed us to "take a look around".
How nice is that?
What year is this?

Just to refresh you - in this morning I stopped by 2 friends' houses and then 2 farms and now here I am, walking around a local dairy farm with Wyatt, mooing at and petting the cows before we head home to finish decorating for Autumn.

It was the best distraction ever.
Any more questions about why I love Hebron? 

It's on now!

Cold Nights.
Frosty Mornings.
Colorful Mums.
Rustic Corn & Pumpkins on the porch & fence posts.
Football!
Halloween.
My Big Boy's Birthday!!
Thanksgiving.
Hayrides.
Apple Picking and Dessert creating.
Crunchy Leaves.
Hooded Sweatshirts.

I look forward to next summer as much as I have looked forward to this Fall, as much as I cannot wait till Snow and Christmas... 
I Love New England!

Driving through town this morning there were Farmstands, Mums & Pumpkin Stands, Tag Sales (and a line at the DD Drive-Thru a half a mile long!)
I Love Hebron!

Why did we consider moving?
The grass is always greener, I suppose.  I am so, SO glad we learned (the relatively easy way) that this is our town, this is where we belong.  We may have wandered had the situation gone differently and who knows what might have happened.  We may have been very happy, we may have been quite regretful.
What I know for sure - I do not regret putting the house on the market, we put it out there on our own terms.  I do not regret taking it off.  Our terms were not being met.  We could not sell for the inflated price we wanted, we could not find a place that we preferred to 131.

We love our house, we love our town, we love this part of the country.
Life Is Good.

(and it's ever better with a Quad to Plow our Driveway!!)

It's obvious from my recent blog entries - or lack there of - that I really love summer.
I love the beach.  I love 'no school'.  I love being tan, having fun-filled days for next-to-no money spent.  We swim, we build sand castles, we play on the swings, take walks, play with friends - whatever - it is the weather that allows for, inspires such activities.  And while it is only August 11th, I know our days are numbered.  School starts on the 30th of this month.

We'll have a week of school and then head to vacation where we will indulge in one more week of fun-filled summer vacation.
But when we get back I will be ready for Mums in pots, Autumn transplants and Pruning, Crock Pot cooking and preparing for the holiday and birthday season.  I love Iced Coffee but I look forward to brewing a hot pot around 3:00 as I see the sun beginning to drop, hear the school buses groan through the neighborhood and get ready to start dinner.

I have always said that God graced me with October & January babies to help me kick-off the holidays and then wrap them up.
After Wyatt's birthday we start prepping for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And after Christmas, instead of being depressed, I start prepping for Abby's birthday.  And now that she is old enough to help me with that, it's that much more fun.
We're already putting our heads together and shopping clearance sales for her big 5th birthday bash.  It will be a Beach Party Theme.  And why not?  Why can't a January baby celebrate her love of summer?

Here we are in August.  Summer will end as quickly as it started at the end of this month.
School starts August 30th here and while I miss the days of "Wednesday after Labor Day weekend", it doesn't bother me that school starts before summer officially ends.  It is what it is and I'm excited to get back into the routine of it all.
Normally at this time of the summer I am planning our Annual Jaybor Day BBQ.  Jay's birthday falls right around Labor Day weekend so we host a party, a "kegger", if you will - and it is always a lot of fun to plan and always a lot of fun to host.
Attendance varies from year to year as Labor Day is a busy weekend for most but the good time does not.
This year, however, I am not planning our annual bash, I am searching the web for SeaWorld coupons and cursing myself for putting our luggage - packed - into storage.

We're headed down to Florida for a birthday-business-trip and I am unbelievably excited!
It started out as a business trip for Jay and is winding up as a week's vacation for me and the kids!
More on that as it comes, but for now - rest assured - Jaybor Day will return in 2011.

Speaking of summer vacation.  I haven't blogged much these past few weeks...  partially due to my addiction to my Bakery & Hotel on Facebook, I'll admit it.  Partial blame goes to Blogger for not allowing me to blog for a while.  I have no idea why or how it fixed itself or I fixed it.  And partial blame goes to the glorious sunshine of summer.  The kids & I have not wasted a minute of this summer vacation and we plan to party like Pre-K rock stars for these last few weeks of it.

We've been to the shore, to several lakes & ponds, visited family & friends, a few day trips, a few playdates and a lot of yard & pool time right there at 131.  Even Daddy has emerged from his cave (err - I mean office) for a few beach days and some pool time!
We're very tan, very tired at the end of each day and a very happy family.  Life is, indeed, very good here.

We have more beach days planned, in addition to Abby's swimming lessons every day.  We're headed to Davis' Farmland at the end of the month and then, of course, Florida!

When we get back, we promise to get serious.  School, Soccer, Gymnastics and the holidays will take over.  We'll cover the pool, pull out jeans and sweaters, plant mums, carve pumpkins and turn the lights on around 4:00.
For now, though, we'll carry on.

I am not babysitting this school year.  That will be a weird change.  I only did it for 2 years, but when you consider that Wyatt is only 2 - that's a pretty good chunk of my life.  Both kids are comfortable in Jody's house and with Q&K like they're family and really - they are.
It will be nice to only have my own kids to worry about.  Our own schedules, our own needs.  But I'm sure I will miss my daily dose of Q&K and I'm sure they'll miss me kicking their butts around their busy schedules.

W, K, Q & A
Just another day in paradise...

Tomorrow, after swimming lessons I am taking the kids to see Toy Story 3.  They have never been to the movies and I think, at this point, we are making more of it than there is to be made - as far as milestones go.  So, we're just going.

Originally it was Debbie's idea but since she's in labor right now, we're going without her.

Here's Deb.  This is from last year, when we played softball.  

She's probably using Jack as an excuse not to play Right Field.

Come on, baby!  Come out!  I need my drinking buddy back!

 

I do not like this time of year.
It's boring.
It's ugly.
The weather is generally cold, nasty, wet, and unaccomodating.
I find myself withdrawing.  Hibernating.  Feeling quite irritated and anti-social.
I have lots of friends & family that I love to be with and talk to but I don't feel like it.
I feel discontented.  I make myself disconnected which leaves me feeling alone and sad.
I focus on small things.
I overthink.
I start big projects and map out even bigger ones.  Whatever it takes to distract myself from myself.

There's nothing going on.  There's nothing to do.  Nothing to plan, nothing to attend, nothing to pack for or set up for or save for.  It's b.l.a.h.  Nothin'.

Many people suffer from "Seasonal Depression".  It's not rare.  Maybe I do, too.  Maybe I should discuss it with my doctor.  When I do feel icky enough to consider "doing something about it" I feel too icky to bother.
Then, the next day, or a few days later, I generally feel "back to normal".

It passes.  It's normal, natural, the ebb-and-flow of being a thoughtful, feeling human being.
Then, something will set me off.  Someone will say something to me that I can't quite wrap my head around.  "What did that mean?"  "How did she intend me to hear that?"  "Does he know how that sounded to me?"  And I begin my obsession... 
Or something is done.  To me, to my family, to my friend, to the guy that bags my groceries or takes my $1.25 at the toll.  And I begin that obsession...
And then, I weigh in and see that I've only lost 1 pound even though I know I ate well and exercised my ass off.  Or, worse, I gained weight.  And I spiral into a self-loathing sulk that lasts a day or two.

In the Spring, I get joy from clearing out the gardens, sprucing up the outside of the house, preparing for our lives outdoors.  In the Summer I spend lots of time in the sun, at the beach, in the pool, with friends, in the gardens - all the fun, summery things that we all dream about in these yucky end-of-winter weeks.  In the Fall,  I truly enjoy the end of summer, the crisping of the air, the pumpkins, mums and apples and the holidays right around the corner.  In the Winter, I enjoy Christmas and the beautiful snowy days of January and even into February.
But now, this ugly-muddy-trampled-mostly-melted snow that covers my yard is just a reminder that winter is just about over, spring is weeks, if not months, away and summer is even farther.
The fun of the cold and snow is pretty much expired but the fun of the sun & grass is years away.

It's a yucky time of year.
And I am a generally happy, optimistic woman.  So, I figure if I feel this way about it, plenty of you probably do, too.  I hope you feel a little better now.
I do.

I just signed my first official school document.
With my own name, I mean. As the parent.
I signed my own, full, legal name with my own signature. Not my Dad's name... hee hee

I have officially registered my baby girl for Pre-School in the "fall". I put the season in quotes because the first day of school is actually August 27th. Hardly the leaf-crunching, sweater-wearing, apple-eating sort of September I romanticize so much about. But still.
This is huge.

What else is huge?
This:

This is a photo of my big girl heading up my driveway with her friends, for a pladydate of cookie baking without her mommy!
When I received the call inviting her (to my very good friend Jody's house to be with my very precious Quinnie, aged almost-12 and their nanny, aged 20-something, but still!) to come up and bake cookies while Wyatt napped, my jaw dropped.
I didn't know what to say.
Becky, the kids' summer nanny, knew that Wyatt would be asleep and that I couldn't leave, so she was offering to come down and get Abby. Clearly, they were bored. But also, they really like Abby and they knew she would love it and Becky, I'm sure, knew I would welcome the quiet time during Wyatt's nap.
And I did. But it was very strange.
It's nice, peaceful quiet when both kids are asleep and I am putzing around the house, or even doing nothing - like playing Pirates.
It was very different today. I have never been home without my girl. Not counting a quick run somewhere with Daddy here and there. This was, for the first time ever, me, Jay and Wyatt all in the house. Not Abby.

I wasn't devastated or anything. I didn't cry or carry on - don't get me wrong.
But I recognized today, for the umpteen-millionth time (it feels like) that my baby girl is getting so big. So independent. So smart, so brave.
She has been proving it in other ways, too. In ways that often annoy or exhaust me before I have time to reflect on the importance of them. Such as the back-talk, the deal-making, the "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" among other things that come with age.

I try to keep a handle on them, keep things in perspective. Allowing my baby bird to spread her wings but know that here in the nest, you don't talk to mama like that!
And I will openly pat myself on the back and tell you that I do a very good job of it.
I am very patient, I often smile to myself when I know many other moms would be over-the-top frustrated. I take a deep breath before I answer - and if I forget to take that breath and answer in a way that makes me less than proud, I apologize.
And we move on.

Abby also swims underwater now.
All of a sudden.
Two weeks of swimming lessons, she finally put her face in on the 2nd to last day. Now, she zips back and forth, under the water, in the tub like a fish.
She showed me 44 times tonight. Then Wyatt popped his head in to see what the ruckus was and she showed him a few times.
(They generally bathe together but Wyatt is quick - he prefers to run around naked and watch some tv before bed so Abby gets some playtime with the tub all to herself.)
Then, as I was trying to reign her in, Maggie trotted in and - without missing a beat - "MAGGIE, WATCH THIS!", under she goes again!
Maggie seemed relatively unimpressed and I later realized she was just looking for a place to sleep where Wyatt wouldn't bother her. She found that place - it was Abby's bed.

Last night, Abby said "I want a tv in my room."
I said "no."
She said "why?"
I said "Because, like I will never drive a mini-van, never purchase a car-dvd-player and never, ever pay full price on children's clothing - you will never have a tv in your bedroom."
That answer seemed to placate her. Confuse her, probably is more like it. But still.
Also, I would bend my mini-van rule if it were a brand new, fully-loaded, navy blue Honda Odyssey. But, honestly, I'm gonna hold out for the Pilot or Pathfinder.
And, I will allow her a tv in her room - when she's old enough for chores and report cards - real ones, on both accounts - she can then earn a tv, tv-time and the trust to know what to do with both.

For now, I will look forward to "fall" and playdates and the never-ending "BUT" that begins each answer to my request of clean-up, go upstairs, put something down, have something to eat or wear what I pulled out for you...

Today is the first day of summer vacation.
"But Liz," you say, "your children are 3 & 1, what concern could the school year possibly cause you?"
Well, throughout the school year, I watch my friend's kids from 3:30 - 6, after school.

9 months ago I started this gig. Wyatt was 11 months old, a far cry from his now "almost 2" status. Abby was 2 & 1/2, Kieran was 7 and Quinnie was 11. Each day we went up to Jody's and greeted the kids as they got off the bus.

Random day that the kids were off from school - we headed to Pumpkintown!

I could tell you about their exhaustion, their busy schedules, their difficulty adjusting to summer boredom to school craziness - with homework and extracurriculars and sports.
I could tell you how hard it was for me to try to show patience while teaching patience.
I could tell you hard it was for me to adjust from putting dinner on the table each and every night for my family at 6:00 (promptly) and my kids down to bed at 6:30.
I could tell you how strange it was for me to be in my friend's house as a paid employee and not a guest.

One of several "family" dinners.

Instead I want to share with you how much I love showing patience for 2 very tired, very over-scheduled, very smart, very loving, very well-taken care of children as they learn to show patience for my 2 kids.

I want to tell you how much I love helping with homework, projects, peer-pressure struggles and soccer practices.

I want to share with you that a little boy who all but hated having 2 babies in his house each day, touching his stuff, speaking to him in a language he didn't understand, all-around bugging him - how that little boy came to playing with, showing how to use his stuff and straight up offering to help and easily enjoyed protecting those same 2 "babies" within a few months time.

I want to offer that a little girl who is a t time in her life in between "little girl" and "teenager" learned how to laugh at herself, how to shrug off kids who don't count in the long run and how to enjoy and look forward to challeneges that scared her to death in the beginning of the school year.

February Vacation - spent a day at the Lutz.

In 9 months I learned so much about myself as a friend, neighbor, mother and just as an adult - a person who's every word, facial expression & action is studied by the little faces all around and affects each little person in a way, very often, different than intended.

I helped these kids as much as they helped me. We learned from each other.
Getting off the bus to me is not as good as getting off the bus to their own mom, but I like to think it's as close as we can all get. Because that's how it felt to me.

Lunch at Evergreen.

And their mom, my friend. I loved making her house feel like "home" for her when she got home from work. I loved loading the dishwasher, or lighting a candle or starting dinner. I loved making her entrance as peaceful as possible after her long day at work, just as I try to do for my own home, for my husband.
I often joked with my husband that I was the stay-at-home-mom for both households.

Last day of school - Pizza Dinner!

"Next year" (meaning - in 3 months, when Fall unofficially starts and the buses rev up their engines again; when high school kids don their wool sweaters and corduroys fresh off the rack for "fall" only to sweat their asses off as it is actually still quite "summery" for a few months; when the book bags & pencil cases are still full & organized, the books are still neatly covered; when the lunches & snacks are healthy and carefully packed; when the lazy days of summer actually begin to crave the structured days of school... can you tell how much I love Fall? And it's not even summer yet?) - I will take the kids off the bus again.

And I already can't wait!