We just got the call

We just got the call that school wont start until Tues, Sept 6-IF there is power. It was scheduled to start tomorrow.

hey everyone! We made it

hey everyone! We made it through the hurricane. We lost a number of trees and a few large limbs. No power or phone.

Hurricane Irene

Mother Nature isn't being very nice.

I've been in Vermont for one last summer hurrah since Tuesday. We've been looking forward to this trip for weeks now. The plan was that the kids and I would head home Sunday morning.

Now, with the news reports and weather predictions about Hurricane Irene, we're going to have to head home sooner than we've been planning. I hate that we have to cut our trip short. Even if it is only a few hours. Still, more than that, I really hate driving in rain. There's NO WAY I want to drive home in hurricane winds and rain!

So we'll pack the van tomorrow and head home.

Manicures

You know that unorthodox spin I've put on potty training?

The one where I paint one of Nora's nails every single time she sits on her potty to try to go.

C'mon...tell me you remember....

Ingenious as that idea is, I didn't think it through thoroughly. Nora only has 10 fingers and 10 toes. That totals just 20 nails. We've run out of nails to paint!

Never fear -- Momma had another bright idea!

Nora gets to paint one of MOMMA'S nails every time she sits on the potty now! Don't my fingers look perrrrrrty??

Playdate for Nora

Yesterday I took the kids up to the local playground to meet with a friend of ours. She has a little girl who is a mere month older than Eleanor. They recently moved into a house that is closer to us.

It was great to see the girls play together, but even better for me to have the chance to visit with a friend I haven't been able to see a lot of in recent years.

Here is a picture of all four girls on the seesaw....

I've been neglectful

So I just looked back through my blog archives. I scrolled through all of the July posts for each year I have been blogging. It's pretty cool to go back and read what I posted. Sort of like reading from a diary.

I noticed that there were times when I shared little details about almost every day.

I miss that. There have been so many times recently when something will happen during the day and I'll think to myself, "I should blog about that!"

I very rarely get around to actually blogging about those incidents. A lot of times I'll forget the moment. Other times I'll tell myself that it's just an insignificant moment, and chances are that noone will be all that interested.

I hope to get better about blogging more regularly. These next couple of weeks may be difficult to accomplish that, with one last summer trip to VT and last minute back-to-school preparations. I will try my best to get those mental notes down in blog form to share with you.

We've Got Layers Again!!

Yesterday, Dianna came running in from outside, yelling excitedly. I couldn't understand what she was saying. I made her repeat herself at least three times before I figured out what she was trying to say.

She'd been saying, "I found an EGG!!"

I still didn't quite put the pieces of the puzzle together right away. I was trying to figure out where and how she found an egg. Silly me, I didn't even consider the fact that it could be an egg from one of our young hens!

It *was* an egg from one of our chickens.

I took a picture of the egg today to share with you. I layed it next to a ruler so you can properly gauge its size.

Grace went outside at least a couple of different times today to look for more eggs. So far no more have been laid. I'm sure the 'girls' will be laying more regularly in just a few short weeks' time.

Update on Creativity in Potty Training

I bet you're all on pins and needles, waiting for an update on Nora's potty training quest.

Guess what?

I've got an update for you!

I know. I'm awesome. I aim to please.

Today was Day Two of Nail Painting-Potty Training. I'm happy to say that while neither day was a complete success, we're doing pretty well. Nora has had FAR LESS accidents while wearing panties in these last two days than she's had in a long while. Not only that, but Nora has been more than agreeable whenever I tell her it's time to sit on the potty. She's been so very excited to get to choose which nail we'll paint and what color we'll paint it!

Creativity in Potty Training

As we travel along the road on our Potty Training quest, we've hit more bumps and detours than I care to think about.

Eleanor is scheduled to start preschool in just a few weeks. The school expects their 3yr old students to be potty trained. Nora is not yet.

Today I decided we needed to shake things up a bit.

We needed a new approach.

We needed to put some 'fun' back into the challenge of potty training.

Our latest big obstacle with trying to potty train Nora has been that she doesn't WANT to try. Sometimes she'd barely sit down, only to declare that she'd "try again later". Other times she'd stubbornly insist that she didn't have to go.

I've become worn down.

I've gotten tired of cleaning up accidents.

In an 'Aha!' moment, I came up with an idea this morning. I sat Nora on the potty and told her that we could paint her nails while sitting on the potty. The caveat is that we're only painting one nail each time she sits down to try to go potties.

I'm very happy to announce that this new treat/technique is working well so far! Nora now has six fingernails painted. We've had three potty successes. There have been no accidents.

Please keep your fingers crossed that THIS TIME something will click with Nora.

More camping pics

YAY. Blogger is being nice to me this morning! Here are a few more pictures from our camping trip. Sorry they're listed sort of randomly. Enjoy!

Camping/Beach Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our camping trip....I have more that I wanted to share but Blogger is having difficulties right now.

We tried crabbing......everyone had a TON of fun trying to ensnare crabs!


Grammie came to visit us on Saturday. We went to the beach and enjoyed the sandy shore.

We're BACK!

We're back from camping. I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time. We spent a lot of time at the beach. We rode our bikes. We tried 'crabbing' for the first time ever -- and found we all LOVED it!

**For the record, no crabs were actually caught by any of the Crazy Family. Even if we HAD caught some, they'd have been tossed back in. None of us are really big seafood eaters.

I have pictures to share. They're still on the camera. I'll try to get them uploaded soon.

I also have a few stories to share. Some cute. Some funny.

Family Gatherings

Yesterday we celebrated Gordon's Mom's 80th Birthday. All three of Gordon's sisters were able to be here to help us mark this special occasion. We took the opportunity to take a picture of everyone together.

Below you'll see (from l-r): Kathy, Donna, "Grammie", Laurie, and Gordon.

Campground Bound

We're heading to the campground this evening. It's been so long since we've been camping that I keep feeling like I'm forgetting all of the important stuff.

Hopefully that won't be the case. Of course if I realize that we DID in fact forget something important, the worse-case scenario (or is it worsT-case??) is that we either come back home tomorrow to get it or purchase a new one at the store. Not a big deal, really.

That's the best part about camping (relatively) locally. Home is less than an hour away.

I'm fairly certain that we won't have wi-fi available at the campground. I'll be sure to bring my camera. There will be photos and probably a few stories to share when we get back.

We're good!

I know, I know. I haven't been posting on here all that much. I'm sorry. Throughout each day, I'll experience something or think of something that I will think should be shared here with all of you. Unfortunately, by the time I get around to sitting down in front of the computer, I can't recall any of those thoughts!

I've slowly started the back to school shopping. Using the lists that the elementary school sent home, I've bought all of the essentials for both Will and Dianna. Since Will's backpack was just a cheapie Spiderman one that I bought when he was in preschool, and is now falling apart, it is time for him to get a new one. We went up to the LL Bean store and picked one out. I left it there to be monogrammed with his initials. They shipped it to us (for free!) after it was done.

Now I have to go BACK to LL Bean and return it. I'm NOT happy with the embroidery job. The backpack fabric is pleated and puckered around two of the three letters. I'm very disappointed -- LL Bean's quality is usually far better than that. I can't believe they even shipped it looking like it did.

I'm now on the official countdown till school starts. The summer has gotten to the point where everyone is getting restless. Attitudes are rising with the heat.

Before school starts, though, we've got some more summer plans. We'll be camping at the beach next week. At the end of the month, I'll be taking the kids back to VT for one last summer visit with Nana. We'll stay for just under a week.

A little secret you probably don't know about me....

Before you start guessing -- NO.

I am NOT pregnant again.

We are not moving.

We have not hit the lottery.

Done guessing?

I have become great friends with a large group of women I've never met. Yes, you read that correctly. I've NEVER met most all of the ladies that I consider my closest friends.

We all connected over six years ago through a message board for expecting mommas. I was pregnant with William at the time. All of my friends were due to have a child (or two or three) sometime in Novemer of 2005.

We called our babies Cranbabies (because of Thanksgiving, cranberries, etc...). We became CranMoms. Through the years, our cranbabies have grown into cranKIDS.

We have since branched off from that original message board and created our very own private group on Facebook. On this new(er) group page, we have been able to share so much more of ourselves with one another -- without the fear of 'strangers' viewing our private thoughts and pictures. Facebook has enabled us to REALLY get to know eachother. We share our deepest, darkest secrets and our worst fears. We've supported eachother through so many ups and downs -- from new pregnancies to broken marriages to the passing of loved ones.

TODAY I got to meet a few of these women, face to face. I got to hug my friends. We laughed. We talked. We made references to inside jokes.

It was awesome to spend time with these women I've called my friends for so long.