Sunday, November 6, 2011

Oh my, where have the days gone?

I started working at the office week before last, so I'll blame my lack of posts on that? Okay?? I'm home by 3, so really that's not much of an excuse.

So it snowed here, way early - see the leaves on the hydrangea behind the kids. It was a freak storm - I don't recall ever having snow before Halloween in this area. It was fun, and of course Tate tried to make snow angels! 


We did our pumpkin carving (after the snow but before Halloween) - kids drew their faces on the pumpkin, and David and I took turns carving Tate's. Smith did his all himself. We dried the seeds in our dehydrator and they are YUMMY!


Dilbert and Cheetah Girl. Poor Smith - everyone thought he was Harry Potter. Guess people don't really expect a 10 year old to be Dilbert.


At our town's parade. It was a gorgeous night!


And oh my, the loot.


Tonight we celebrated my grandmom's 93rd birthday with her favorites - split pea soup, and salty Virginia ham and cheese sandwiches, yum. I just may drink a gallon of water through the night. It was a great day, gorgeous weather, great family time, soccer win from Smith's team. Good day.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Right now I am loving...





...how oddly, quirkily funny she is
...listening to her play and what comes out of her mouth
...that she wants to take a bath multiple times a day to play with her toys in the tub (soon she will run out of water room! There are foam letters, plastic insects, polly pockets, tea set, etc, etc
...her love of school, and watching her make new friends
...her little face, glasses free for a short time more (although the pink/black frames with little mushrooms on the side are only going to make her more adorable!)
...going on nature walks to collect pretty leaves, acorns, and to check on our leprechaun tree
...how she asks me to sit with her so we can "just talk," then she asks what I want to talk about
...that she sneaks food and thinks I don't know it
...that she changes clothes minimum 2 times a day, often into seasonally inappropriate attire (sundress in October? Sure! Why not!)
...her adoration of her big brother




...seeing an open book on, seriously, almost every flat surface in this house
...his excitement over his new glasses (oh that face!!)
...how excited he was for the Jeopardy online test
...his love of school, his teachers, his friends
...watching him play Legos - the toy that has been with us for over 9 years
...listening to him talk with friends when they come over
...his brain. Goodness he has a brain on him!
...his humor - dry, wry, sometimes just plain 10 year old silly
...how his first thing every morning is to hang out with me on his sofa and slowly wake up 
...his love and ability for soccer
...his adoration of his little sister

"Kitten Died"











We went to the orchard yesterday, the four of us, and did not pick one apple. We played leapfrog, jump over the dad, roll on the ground, etc, etc, and Tate often forgot that there were others enjoying the day around us. She kept yelling (happy yelling) and just being generally loud. We finally told her that every time she yelled, a kitten died (play off "It's a Wonderful Life," albeit a little darker...). Few minutes later, she screamed, looked at us and said, "kitten died!" That girl is quick. Cracks us up.


We ended up buying much cheaper pumpkins at Home Depot - a little sad buying pumpkins off a pallet, and a little sad not supporting a local orchard, but we all are feeling the pinch. Plus we just laid out a tidy sum for eye doctor checkups and glasses for all (!!!).


Happy, happy fall.


Sunday, October 9, 2011

Getting ready

Weather could not be more beautiful right now. The last several days have had skies of all blue, crisp evenings and nights, and up to 75 during the day. FALL IS HERE!!! And no rain! Ahhh - perfect. 

Wood pile moved to the back, check. (It spent a good week and a half in our driveway under a tarp to keep it dry). Who says we don't provide our kids with good, clean fun? Well, maybe not clean...



Tate's soccer is back on after the rain, too - Smith was David's assistant, and he told David "now I understand why you like coaching kids so much." He loved helping his sister's team. It's all girls now, and they scrimmage with a ball always in play, but David is teaching them real soccer, and they are getting it! Look at that girl - she's getting so big!




Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Nerds and making lemonade





Chipotle, our weekend favorite. The boys were making a Tate sandwich. Tate found a Nerd anomaly, and no, she doesn't have two left hands, the other one is Smith's. Finally stopped raining on Monday so we went outside - we ended up very wet and soggy, but darn it, we were going to enjoy the rain respite! Leapfrog was ON!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Rain.

We haven't had this much rain since...yesterday. I feel moldy. We've had soccer cancelled over and over again. Fall is my favorite time of year, usually! This is getting very old.

Finally got the caterpillars from the Butterfly kit that Santa gave Tate last Christmas (!!) - they are firmly ensconced in their chrysallids currently, and we should see some moth action in the next couple of days. Amazing creatures that are able to transform from one shape to another like this. 


We were able to get some fun in at JoAnn Fabrics - Check out this scary mask! Freaky, right?




This was the sky at soccer one night. Gorgeous. We were waiting for the dark skies behind us to drop their rain again (are you sensing a theme of pessimism and lack of sunshine? I would never make it in Seattle!). 



Walk to 7-11 for slurpees - it's now gotten quite cool (put the heat on for the first time), so this may be one of our last walks for this season. Always a favorite. And look at those cutie patooties!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Lately...


This is on my needles - a sweet, soft, blue and green baby hat for a friend who is having a baby boy. I'm making this hat.




We're back on with Lego Club Fridays - 4 of Smith's best buddies come over and they eat, play Legos, eat, run around outside, eat, and play Lego's. They are great kids. 



Tate and I are getting in the FALL Spirit - she collected beautiful red leaves from our outside tree (sadly, we have ONE tree in our yard. That must be corrected!) and decorated a pie plate with them. 




Smith played a game in Culpeper, VA, Sunday - long drive, but beautiful. We are becoming intimately involved with Route 15 - seems all our games are that way. Here he is, #5, doing his thing!


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Rainy Day(s)

Started raining here Monday and hasn't let up much. I'm not complaining - days like this make me want to stay home and ACCOMPLISH things. I've vacuumed, dusted, done laundry, baked, hugged my kids, worked on my work projects.

We had a break in the weather, so we headed outside...I seem to have a few pictures of Tate emptying her boots over the years...These kinds of days, I encourage the kids to get sloppy muddy. I remember playing in the rain when I was a kid.





Thursday, August 25, 2011

Preparation...

We are getting ready to start school! Soccer! Gymnastics! Piano (a resurgence)! 


Today was Tate's Kindergarten Orientation, which she LOVED. I got a tear or two in my eyes as they discussed our children coming in and being just fine, and getting bigger. My baby! She seems so little, but she is so ready to go on the bus, take her backpack, join her brother.


And her brother...so I'll have one starting and one ending elementary school! Where have the years gone. I remember when Tate was a baby and Smith was catching the bus for kindergarten - how I would run out to meet his bus while she was napping, and as the year wore on, and she wasn't napping, Smith and I would be greeted at the front door by a little Tate face and hands banging on the screen.



Heartbreak hotel, this is us meeting him after his first day of school. Oh the love those two share.



And then this is today (albeit a TERRIBLE picture of her) at her orientation, looking all grown up.



Okay, I must stop looking through all these pictures. Here are two cute ones from today. We joined a dear friend of mine and went ice skating! In August! We had to dig out those jeans, jackets and gloves - kind of a good thing to be prepared for, as it will be getting chillier here before too long.






Saturday, August 20, 2011

Less Dishwashing

I absolutely love having my kids home all summer. I love love love summer break, spending time with them, going on fieldtrips, reading to them, all that. That is not to say that we don't have bad moments, bad hours, bad days, but overall, we really enjoy each other, and it's a fantastic summertime.

However.

I have loaded and unloaded this dishwasher sometimes more than two times in one day, and almost always twice every day this entire summer. Yes, it's a testament to us eating at home, talking (or reading by ourselves) around the table, saving money by not eating out. But MAN am I sick of the dishwasher! Is that an reason to be excited about the start of school??


Dishes, dishes, dishes.



Friday, August 19, 2011

9/11







There was a motorcycle "parade" of sorts through Leesburg today. Approximately 1,700 motorcycles came from the site in Pennsylvania, through our town, and toward the Pentagon to show support of our Country in this 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. They are making their way up to New York by Saturday? Sunday? Not exactly sure, but wow was it a site to behold!

It is hard to believe it's been 10 years. Smith was only 3 months old when the attack happened. We lived along the C&O Canal at the time, just minutes away from Washington, DC. In fact, David was home with Smith and I was driving toward the Pentagon for a meeting, just before the plane struck it. I didn't see anything.

We were directly under the flight path for Washington Reagan/National Airport, and the 5 days of air silence following the attacks was memorable. The three of us went to a local deli and just sat in stunned silence. We watched the tv over and over, and I cried and cried. 

We did not know anyone personally that was killed in the attacks, but it felt so personal nonetheless. David had been to a hotel directly across from the World Trade Center just a few months before. When we drove to Arlington or Alexandria, we went right next to the Pentagon. This was our world that they shook - our America.

I am sure I will be a big puddle of emotion come 9/11/2011, along with hundreds of thousands of others. While I do not believe in all the choices made in response to these attacks, I do feel that it has made our country stronger, with a bigger belief in ourselves and our National Pride. 

This was a very moving tribute to those who fell that day. I am glad I bore witness.



This Moment

From Soulemama


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