I'm convinced there must be a big black hole somewhere in our house. Increasingly, I'm discovering more and more things that are 'misplaced'. 'Missing'. 'Nowhere to be found'.
Yesterday I became so frustrated by this that I did practically nothing else all day long besides search for missing items. I looked the house for a package of pictures I'd ordered to be printed and never put in the photo album. I searched for a bound photobook that Nora used to love to look through & has been MIA for months.
I'm beginning to think that the only solution (short of spending money to replace the missing items) is to clear EVERY.SINGLE.ROOM. out. Literally. Take EVERYTHING out of the room(s) and then replace it all back in the appropriate places.
Something tells me that Gordon wouldn't be too happy if I insisted everything get carried out of each room and placed in the backyard...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
I'm slacking
Can you believe that I have yet to take any pictures of the girls' soccer games this year? Yeah. I can't believe it either.
I'm hoping to remember both my camera AND my zoom lens this Saturday. Dianna will be playing in Bolton, starting at noon. Grace will be playing here in town, with a game time of 6pm.
If you don't see any soccer pictures by this time next week, feel free to call me and rant away. ;)
I'm hoping to remember both my camera AND my zoom lens this Saturday. Dianna will be playing in Bolton, starting at noon. Grace will be playing here in town, with a game time of 6pm.
If you don't see any soccer pictures by this time next week, feel free to call me and rant away. ;)
Friday, September 23, 2011
Singsong
Back when Grace was in pre-K, her teachers told me that she needed work on learning our phone number and address. They advised me that if I made a song out of the digits, it'd be easier for Grace to remember.
So I did. And she learned it! We've used the same singsong-y way of teaching our phone number to ALL of the children. Even Nora knows our phone number!
When I picked Eleanor up from pre-K yesterday, she proudly showed me the craft project they'd made that day. A balloon, using construction paper, tissue paper, a ribbon, and a pipe cleaner. I saw that her name had been written on the back, which Nora tells me her teacher 'helped' her to write. I'm guessing the teacher held her hand over Nora's, guiding her as she drew the letters.
The problem is that her name was spelled incorrectly.
It dawned on me that Nora will need help in learning how to spell her name. Why not go with a tried-and-true method? This morning, while waiting for Will and Dianna's bus, I started a chant-y, singsong-y cheer that spells out E-L-E-A-N-O-R and then followed it with, "that spells Eleanor!"
Nora and I have both been singing it all morning. I love that she picked up on it so quickly. I also love that she can now spell her name!
So I did. And she learned it! We've used the same singsong-y way of teaching our phone number to ALL of the children. Even Nora knows our phone number!
When I picked Eleanor up from pre-K yesterday, she proudly showed me the craft project they'd made that day. A balloon, using construction paper, tissue paper, a ribbon, and a pipe cleaner. I saw that her name had been written on the back, which Nora tells me her teacher 'helped' her to write. I'm guessing the teacher held her hand over Nora's, guiding her as she drew the letters.
The problem is that her name was spelled incorrectly.
It dawned on me that Nora will need help in learning how to spell her name. Why not go with a tried-and-true method? This morning, while waiting for Will and Dianna's bus, I started a chant-y, singsong-y cheer that spells out E-L-E-A-N-O-R and then followed it with, "that spells Eleanor!"
Nora and I have both been singing it all morning. I love that she picked up on it so quickly. I also love that she can now spell her name!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Faces this Mother can Love
These are pictures that I took of William a few months back. I just love how he likes to ham it up for the camera. If ever I feel like I need a smile, I just refer to pictures like these. Will's joyful attitude spreads easily!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Holiday Decorations
A couple of weeks ago, I was dismayed to see all of the Halloween decorations on display at the local stores. It was too soon. We were still enjoying Summer!
Now, as the temperatures have begun to dip, it's beginning to feel like Fall. I have started to think about Fall decorations for the house and yard. I have never gone 'all-out' in my fall decorating. It's more like a few well-placed items.
One decoration I like to put up is a faux spiderweb. I like to stretch the gauzy, cottony material over the two forsythia bushes in our front yard.
No need to do it this year. This morning, Dianna and I discovered that the spiders have been busy! Nature had taken over for me. Check it out:
Little Gardener
This past Easter, each of the children received a packet of seeds and a little pot. They were all excited to plant their seeds and watch them grow. Nora was most especially excited.
Nora's seeds were marigold seeds. The packet had so many seeds that I suggested to Nora that we plant them in the two planters we have on the front step. All spring and summer long, Nora has delighted in watching her flowers grow. Her favorite part has been 'dead-heading' the blooms.
With fall descending upon us, I realize that our days of enjoying Nora's marigold blooms are limited. The other day, while Nora and I were dead-heading the plants, I thought about how much we'll miss the flowers through the winter. I knew instantly that I want for Nora and I to plant marigolds in these pots again next year.
So I thought, rather than needing to go seed shopping in the spring, why not harvest the seeds from the blooms we'd dead-headed? We did just that the other day!
We now have more than enough seeds to plant in the spring! Hopefully our little experiment works!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Grace-ism
After participating in the practices for about a week, Grace decided that Cross Country isn't for her. When she first told me that she wanted to quit, I talked to her about commitments and following through. I asked her WHY she wanted to quit now -- they haven't even had their first meet yet.
Her response?
"It's BORING -- all we do is run."
Her response?
"It's BORING -- all we do is run."
Friday, September 16, 2011
2 years, in the blink of an eye
It's hard to believe that it's been two years since Dad died. I have a hard time saying that. That he "died". I tend to say "passed away" or "left us". I've even said that he "went to heaven", but that's usually when I'm talking about him with one of the children. It's easier to use those phrases. To say that he died drives home the finality of it.
I miss Dad very much still.
The hardest part, for me, is that I know my little ones don't remember him well. I was young when both of my grandfathers died. I was 3yo when Pop (Mom's father) died. I was about 6yo when Grandpa (Dad's father) died. I don't have any memories of Pop. Just stories that have been told to me. I have only a couple of fuzzy memories of Grandpa. They're more like memories of things that happened about/around Grandpa.
I have a framed picture of Dad that hangs on the livingroom wall. While it's a decent shot of him, it doesn't convey who he was. You can't see his personality or mannerisms.
I much prefer to look at pictures like this one. This is a picture that was taken at Mom & Dad's 45th Wedding Anniversary party. Here, you can see Dad in his element. He was a story teller. He liked a captive audience. He would share stories about anything from his childhood to his former career as a truck driver to living in an estrogen-filled house.
I miss Dad very much still.
The hardest part, for me, is that I know my little ones don't remember him well. I was young when both of my grandfathers died. I was 3yo when Pop (Mom's father) died. I was about 6yo when Grandpa (Dad's father) died. I don't have any memories of Pop. Just stories that have been told to me. I have only a couple of fuzzy memories of Grandpa. They're more like memories of things that happened about/around Grandpa.
I have a framed picture of Dad that hangs on the livingroom wall. While it's a decent shot of him, it doesn't convey who he was. You can't see his personality or mannerisms.
I much prefer to look at pictures like this one. This is a picture that was taken at Mom & Dad's 45th Wedding Anniversary party. Here, you can see Dad in his element. He was a story teller. He liked a captive audience. He would share stories about anything from his childhood to his former career as a truck driver to living in an estrogen-filled house.
Monday, September 12, 2011
It's a Soccer Life
This past week marked the beginning of the soccer season. My three biggest kids are all playing. Grace and Dianna both have practice every Tuesday and Thursday evening, with games on the weekend. (Usually Saturday games) Will has practice/scrimmages every Saturday morning.
We had a great weekend to kick off the soccer season. The weather was beautiful, if maybe a little too hot. The practice/game schedule worked out perfectly so that Gordon and I were able to watch everyone's practice/game without having to split up.
Next weekend may not be so easy to navigate. Will's practice/scrimmage will be at the same time as this past Saturday -- 9 - 10:30am. BOTH girls are scheduled to play a game starting at noon -- which means they need to be to their respective fields by 11:30am. On the one hand, their games are both scheduled to be played at the local elementary school. This is where Will's practice is held. We'll already be there! On the other hand, neither Gordon nor I will be able to watch both girls' games. We'll have to split up and each cheer on one girl while the other cheers the other.
To further add to the chaos is the fact that we've been invited to our friends' son's birthday party on Saturday -- ALSO scheduled to start at noon! I just talked to Heather, the birthday boy's mom, and explained our situation to her. She's going to see if she can plan on picking William up to take him to the party while the rest of us stay at the soccer fields. Isn't that awesome of her to offer? I told her not to stress herself out trying to accomodate us -- I certainly didn't expect she'd make such an offer!
We had a great weekend to kick off the soccer season. The weather was beautiful, if maybe a little too hot. The practice/game schedule worked out perfectly so that Gordon and I were able to watch everyone's practice/game without having to split up.
Next weekend may not be so easy to navigate. Will's practice/scrimmage will be at the same time as this past Saturday -- 9 - 10:30am. BOTH girls are scheduled to play a game starting at noon -- which means they need to be to their respective fields by 11:30am. On the one hand, their games are both scheduled to be played at the local elementary school. This is where Will's practice is held. We'll already be there! On the other hand, neither Gordon nor I will be able to watch both girls' games. We'll have to split up and each cheer on one girl while the other cheers the other.
To further add to the chaos is the fact that we've been invited to our friends' son's birthday party on Saturday -- ALSO scheduled to start at noon! I just talked to Heather, the birthday boy's mom, and explained our situation to her. She's going to see if she can plan on picking William up to take him to the party while the rest of us stay at the soccer fields. Isn't that awesome of her to offer? I told her not to stress herself out trying to accomodate us -- I certainly didn't expect she'd make such an offer!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The first day of Preschool
I dropped Nora off at preschool about an hour ago. She was super excited to finally get to go to school too!
I'm sitting here trying not to cry. Good thing it's still rainy here in CT. I can blame my tears on the rain, right?
I need to do something to keep myself busy for the next two hours so the floodgates don't open up on me. I keep looking at my watch, silently willing it to move faster. I can't wait to get my baby girl and give her a big ol' hug!
I'm sitting here trying not to cry. Good thing it's still rainy here in CT. I can blame my tears on the rain, right?I need to do something to keep myself busy for the next two hours so the floodgates don't open up on me. I keep looking at my watch, silently willing it to move faster. I can't wait to get my baby girl and give her a big ol' hug!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Preschool, already?!?
Tomorrow morning will be Nora's first day of preschool. I can't believe she's big enough to be going to preschool. When did that happen?!?
Starting tomorrow, Eleanor will attend one of the local preschools twice a week. She'll be there every Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:30am-11:30am. On the one hand, I'm excited to get to have some regular quiet time. On the other hand, I know those three hours will FLY by!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
First Day of School!
Grace, all ready for Gordon to take her down the road to wait for the bus. You can't really see it well in this picture, but she had her hair cut yesterday. It's a stacked bob. Very cute. It is a style befitting a cool, hip, trendy young pre-teen. It's bittersweet for me.....it makes my little girl look not so little, but I can tell that she absolutely loves it. And it DOES look really good on her.
About an hour later, it was time for Will and Dianna to head to the end of the driveway to await their bus.
They were both a bit excited, I'd say.....they ran ahead of Nora and I even though the bus was still nowhere near!
Finally the bus came, a little later than it normally should. The kids have a new bus and driver this year. She apologized for being late (though it wasn't necessary -- I fully expected it'd be late, being the first day and all). 
Nora and I waited for the bus to go up the street, pick up the other neighborhood kids, and then come back down by our driveway. We wanted to wave to Will and Dianna. Typical, neither of them were looking for us!
And then, just like that, they were gone.
About an hour later, it was time for Will and Dianna to head to the end of the driveway to await their bus.
They were both a bit excited, I'd say.....they ran ahead of Nora and I even though the bus was still nowhere near!
Finally the bus came, a little later than it normally should. The kids have a new bus and driver this year. She apologized for being late (though it wasn't necessary -- I fully expected it'd be late, being the first day and all). 
Nora and I waited for the bus to go up the street, pick up the other neighborhood kids, and then come back down by our driveway. We wanted to wave to Will and Dianna. Typical, neither of them were looking for us!
And then, just like that, they were gone.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Catching Up
While in Vermont, I took the kids to visit the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. We took a tour of the factory and learned the history of the company, as well as how the bears are made. The kids really enjoyed the tour.
Back at Mom's house, Nora set up her own little hideaway. I found this hidden behind Mom's armchair in the corner of the livingroom. Looked like she was having fun!
Like I said in a previous post, the kids and I headed back home from Vermont a day early because of Hurricane Irene. It was a good thing we did, too! Irene hit before we even got up Sunday morning.
We woke first thing Sunday to find that we'd already lost power. It didn't really phase the kids, luckily. Dianna grabbed one of our camping lanterns and her Harry Potter book. She was happy!
Not only did we lose power from the storm, but we also lost a lot of trees and large limbs. I couldn't wait to get outside to take pictures of the damage! I *think* the following pictures show all of the major damage we sustained.
This tree initially hit the roof of Gordon's shop before falling to the ground.
Here, you can see the damage on the roof. Like Gordon said, it's a good thing he hadn't gotten around to putting up the gutters -- they'd have been ripped off by the tree!
This next picture shows the damage to the interior of Gordon's shop....see the crushed I-beam?
We didn't get power restored until Friday evening at 5:30pm. That's five and a half days of no power! Luckily we had the generator to power the fridge, freezer, and waterpump. We made good use of a lot of our camping gear too -- like my 3-burner cast-iron propane stove!
We had friends over for a small barbecue on Saturday evening. It was the perfect way to relax after a day of labor-intensive yardwork! For added fun, Gordon drove the kids around the yard in the back of the lawnmower trailer.
We have not yet finished clearing out all of the downed trees and limbs, but we're getting there. The couple that are left are down at the back of our backyard. Hopefully we can get them cleared out sooner than not.
And now we're back up to date.
Tomorrow the kids will all go back to school. Grace will be off to the middle school, this year as a sixth grader. Dianna will rule the elementary school as a fourth grader (the eldest class at the elementary school). William will be heading to first grade.
Nora will be starting preschool soon too. The last I'd heard from her preschool director, her first day was scheduled to be tomorrow as well. I wonder if her first day will be delayed because of the elementary school's delay. (Her preschool is also a daycare; they follow the elementary school's calendar)
Back at Mom's house, Nora set up her own little hideaway. I found this hidden behind Mom's armchair in the corner of the livingroom. Looked like she was having fun!
Like I said in a previous post, the kids and I headed back home from Vermont a day early because of Hurricane Irene. It was a good thing we did, too! Irene hit before we even got up Sunday morning.We woke first thing Sunday to find that we'd already lost power. It didn't really phase the kids, luckily. Dianna grabbed one of our camping lanterns and her Harry Potter book. She was happy!
Not only did we lose power from the storm, but we also lost a lot of trees and large limbs. I couldn't wait to get outside to take pictures of the damage! I *think* the following pictures show all of the major damage we sustained.
This tree initially hit the roof of Gordon's shop before falling to the ground.
Here, you can see the damage on the roof. Like Gordon said, it's a good thing he hadn't gotten around to putting up the gutters -- they'd have been ripped off by the tree!
This next picture shows the damage to the interior of Gordon's shop....see the crushed I-beam?
We didn't get power restored until Friday evening at 5:30pm. That's five and a half days of no power! Luckily we had the generator to power the fridge, freezer, and waterpump. We made good use of a lot of our camping gear too -- like my 3-burner cast-iron propane stove!We had friends over for a small barbecue on Saturday evening. It was the perfect way to relax after a day of labor-intensive yardwork! For added fun, Gordon drove the kids around the yard in the back of the lawnmower trailer.
We have not yet finished clearing out all of the downed trees and limbs, but we're getting there. The couple that are left are down at the back of our backyard. Hopefully we can get them cleared out sooner than not.And now we're back up to date.
Tomorrow the kids will all go back to school. Grace will be off to the middle school, this year as a sixth grader. Dianna will rule the elementary school as a fourth grader (the eldest class at the elementary school). William will be heading to first grade.
Nora will be starting preschool soon too. The last I'd heard from her preschool director, her first day was scheduled to be tomorrow as well. I wonder if her first day will be delayed because of the elementary school's delay. (Her preschool is also a daycare; they follow the elementary school's calendar)
Friday, September 2, 2011
Storm Recovery Update
We're still without power. We power up the generator to run a couple of hours at a time, to keep the food in the refrigerator & freezers cold, and to run the water pump from time to time. Oh, and to watch a little TV and use the computer. ;)
According to CL&P's website, we should have power restored by 6pm on Tuesday.
I have some pictures of the damage we sustained that I'll be sharing with you. I haven't uploaded them yet. Sorry!
Today I think I'm going to take the kids to a playground to play for a couple of hours. We're all going pretty stir crazy, getting in the way of each other and just being short with one another. It's time for a change of scenery!
I'm going to end up running to a laundromat soon. I didn't have time to get all of the laundry caught up between returning home from VT and the storm hitting. Too bad I didn't think to wash the laundry at Mom's in VT!
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