My Little Eating Machine

Katie D.

I’m a fast eater. My dad is a fast eater and so are my sisters.  I have memories of my youth being the last one at the table eating; everyone else was excused and all the dishes were cleaned up.  I believe this is why I started to eat faster, to keep up with my family.  Tom, on the other hand, is a very slow eater.  He takes a bite and puts down his fork and knife and chews.  I do realize that I enjoy my meal the slower I eat but I still always finish before Tom. This leads me to Lincoln.  Some days he is the slowest eater in the world.  I ask if he is done because he is just sitting in his chair hanging out but he will say no and then slowly and methodically eat one piece of food at a time.  I now realize why nobody stayed at the table with me when I was younger.  I’ve got shit to do and if Lincoln is going to take his time I might as well get the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up while I have the time. 

Keep on Eating Lincoln!

 I guess the longer the meal goes the less time untill bedtime! That is a perk! Keep on eating Lincoln, I'll just change the laundry and change the sheets while you eat too!

It was Great until 3am...

Katie R.

Let's start by saying it was wonderful to see my friend who was visiting from Iowa.  She was helping a friend by house/cat sitting and she invited us to visit and spend the night.  So I loaded up the minivan and headed to Salem, Massachusetts.

We got there without too many problems and were so excited to see her we rushed into the house.  And that is when I instantly realized that the couple did not have children.  They seemed to collect, well everything.  The house was beautifully decorated they had so many great pieces and if it could be broken by a child they had it sitting out.  However, Wes went down for a nap and we went outside to play in the pool.  Of course Andrew took a bite out of the noodle in the pool so that was awesome, but he miraculously did a great job leaving the breakables in the house alone so I’ll get over the noodle incident.

After Wes woke up we went to Salem and checked out some stores, the lighthouse, the “pirate” ship and just walked around.  Andrew was instantly taken with my friend and wanted nothing to do with me, which was perfectly fine with me. The boys were amazing at dinner which was a small miracle and at bedtime I put Andrew to bed with the threat of losing everything he held dear if he touched anything in the room.  To my great suprise and relief he read his books and went right to bed.

....and then there was Wes.  We all slept in the same room and Wes was awake and fussing from 3 until 4:30.  He was fine if I was holding him but wouldn't go back to sleep.  Finally I put a pillow over my head and let him cry and thankfully Andrew slept right through it.  Of course Andrew woke up at 6am and I whisked him out of the room before he could wake up Wes. 

The rest of the trip took its cue from the 3am wake up. It rained so beach was cancelled.  We stopped in at my old job to drop some things off and the boys acted like they have never been around strangers.  Andrew had to stop 2 times within 20 minutes on the way home to go potty, and of course it was when we were stuck in a huge traffic jam.   The second time he ran into the bathroom in the gas station yelling "the poop is going to come out".  Finally we got home to find out Joe was working until 11:30pm because someone called in.  Luckily, Wes was asleep at 6 and Andrew at 7:30 sharp so at least I could sit on the couch and watch Downton Abby in peace. 

All in all it was a great trip and even though I was exhausted when I got home it gave Joe a chance to get some work on the renovations done and I got to see a great friend.  Andrew is already asking when we are going to Iowa. 

Andrew on the "pirate ship". 

Cornhole

Katie D.

As stated on the American Cornhole Association website: Cornhole or Corn Toss is similar to horseshoes except you use wooden boxes called cornhole platforms and corn bags instead of horseshoes and metal stakes. Contestants take turns pitching their corn bags at the cornhole platform until a contestant reaches the score of 21 points. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point.

This simple game played on two large wooden platforms was key to an enjoyable vacation and family reunion this past week.  Tom and Joe spent the last two days before vacation making the platforms while the women folk (Katie R. and myself) packed everything else. Luckily I drive the big tan van so we had some room to squeeze these massive things in. 

I’ll admit that before vacation I had never played before and wondered if it would be as fun as everyone said that it would be. During vacation the kids used the platforms as ramps for their cars and by night it gave us grownups some quality time to get our competitive juices flowing.  When both opponents scored the same amount of points on an end and a “push” was declared I broke out into dance every time; curse you Salt-n-Pepa!! I couldn’t resist; I’m still surprised no one captured that gem on camera but thankful nonetheless! And by the end of the week we had our tourist sweatshirts to help show off our team pride! I wasn’t the strongest of players but I felt that I held my own. Tom, on the other hand sucked pretty bad for most of the week.  Even Katie R. got on him pretty good and they were on a team together!

team gray tourist sweatshirt

team blue tourist sweatshirt

Tom, the kids and I left vacation a day early to head to my parents’ house for a family reunion. It was sad to leave that beautiful place but I was eager to see all of my sisters and their families! Upon arriving Tom asked if we were taking out the cornhole boards and my immediate reaction was yes.  If only I had a picture of the van fully loaded to appreciate Tom’s reaction of “really?” The big tan van was filled to the top and the platforms were on the very bottom with everything stacked on top of them.  After a bit of time we successful unloaded again and put the platforms to use right away.  One thing about my family is that we don’t just sit around and chat; we are movers and shakers and need something to fill our time with. The following day, with the entire family in attendance, the game of cornhole found its true appreciation! Everyone enjoyed the camaraderie around the platforms as teams’ competed and family cheered on everyone.  Tom found his game while partnered with my dad as they schooled everyone that was in attendance!  Even during my best games my sister and I couldn’t even come close to beating them.  My father reveled in the glory of beating everyone.  My sisters and I don’t have to look very far to see where we get our competitiveness from.

Tom in the zone

my dad showing his form

The fun of cornhole won’t stop now that we are home.  We have big plans this weekend to use it for a BBQ that we are hosting on Sunday of Tom’s fellow co-workers. Hopefully Tom hasn’t lost his groove so we can school them too!

I'm Back!

Katie D.

Well...... we are back from vacation! It was well deserved and gave me the recharge that I needed to face the rest of the summer and head into fall. I'll be back soon telling stories of my life but for now please enjoy a peace of heaven from last week.




not a bad place to take in a sunset

Family canoe ride



                                 

                                hiking at small falls

Why I am an Awesome Parent...

Katie R.

We are back from vacation (many more posts and updates to follow) and slowly getting back to normal.  I was much more laid back on vacation which means reinstating all the rules and having a 3 year old who has told me no less than 50 times today he "wants to go back on vacation".

So Wes, 9.5 months old, started to take a few steps on vacation but we didn't officially call him walking.  And because we are awesome parents tonight we were seeing if he would walk and his motivation... oreo cookies.  Yes that's right he had a bite of Andrew's cookie and loved it, so when we were trying to get him to walk we used the oreo to get him to Joe.

It's amazing my friends don't ask me for more parenting advice.  I mean I think all of the text books say that oreos are what you should use to get your baby to walk!


And of course a drumstick is the perfect toy for a baby

Swim Class

Katie D.

For the past three weeks Colby and I have been attending swim classes.  It’s an introductory class in teaching the basics of swimming to kids age 3-5 and providing parents the tools to help support and foster good swimming techniques.   I would never have called Colby a water baby by any means but I had hopes that he would enjoy swim class.  Class was at the town outdoor pool and the temperature of the water was only regulated by the sun.  This did not help the situation.  We were in the class with good friends (Katie R. and Andrew) so I thought it would encourage Colby to participate; it didn’t.  Leah, the instructor, was wonderful with the kids and split up the activities into easy, fun steps.  As hard as she tried Colby still wasn’t a fan.  Most classes were spent with me standing in the water and holding Colby above the water watching the class and observing everyone around us.  Colby wasn’t disruptive to the class, just unhappy so I shadowed the class so I could learn the techniques and I also hoped that he would eventually join in.  He never did.  Here’s the kicker; as much as he disliked class and was miserable during it as soon as we got in the big tan van he would inform me that he had fun in swim class!  His memory was that he liked swim class and that was why I continued to bring him.  This Thursday was the last swim class and Colby did NOT want to go.  It was a fight to get him in his swim trunks and into the car.  I decided once we got to the pool not to push it.  It was the final class but we just sat on the grass and watched together. Halfway through he wanted to go to the side of the pool to cheer his friends on. Leah came over and offered him a kick board and invited him in.  Shockingly he accepted and we slowly waded into the pool. It was hot as hell out and I was grateful he finally wanted to go in.  And then, even more to my amazement, Leah asked Colby if she could show him something and he went willingly into her arms and worked on kicking and bobbing with her.  It took until the last 10 minutes of the last swim class but Colby cracked a smile.  After class we received our certificate for our completion of the class and I couldn’t have been more proud of it. This was not an easy endeavor for Colby and me but we pushed forward and I’m really glad we stuck with it (but I don’t plan to take anymore swim classes anytime soon).

Living in a Small Town

Katie R.

I grew up in a small town and until 4 years ago I would have never thought I would return to this life.    Although we’re now 1,000 miles from Ohio, I’ve definitely come full circle and very, very far from life in Boston.

Many days I long for the excitement of the city, the museums and the restaurants. However, then I remember that when we lived in the city I didn’t have a 3 year old and 9 month old so maybe we wouldn’t be going to the art museums or trendy restaurants.

One thing I do love about living here is after 3 short years we are so lucky to have a great group of friends and seem to run into people we know wherever we go.  This are also seems to have so many activities for little kids which is really great and we never seem to sit around saying “what should we do today”. 

The reason that I started thinking about all of this was yesterday we went to story hour in the park.  It was nothing special just the library reading books in the park but Andrew loved the books and Wes just loves being outside.  Today there was “Thursdays in the Park at Noon” which had a great kid’s musician singing and the kids were having so much fun singing and dancing.  It was really hot today and Andrew isn’t feeling 100% so we didn’t stay the whole time but it is such a well attended event I know we’ll be back.  The best part is that both of these events are free and really a great summer activity to do with kids and I really feel these are the kind of things that make a small town.

Andrew enjoying story hour

Thursdays at the park.  We got there late and all the shade was taken so we're a little far away.

There is also the weekly farmer’s market, which I use as a way to avoid cooking dinner for my family, but with swim lessons and being so hot I think we’ll skip that tonight.  It’s the last day of swim lessons so I’m thinking a trip to McDonalds is in order!

Wes just happy to have a water bottle.

Preparing for Vacation

Katie R.

The countdown to our vacation with friends is on.  I still have not packed one piece of clothing, the items "to be packed" are basically in a huge pile downstairs and  I just remembered on Monday I needed someone to feed the fish. 

However, I did remember this weekend to taste test some low-calorie beers.  I'm going to allow for a few more calories in my diet this vacation, primarily in the form of alcohol.  Hopefully the kids go to bed and we can enjoy a little adult time, play some games and have a few beers.  Now if only the kids will cooperate and sleep in.

So far Miller 64 gets a thumbs up!

And then some days it looks like this....

Katie D.

Some days the boys can be entertained by one toy. Lately it's been the matchbox sized Lightning McQueen.  They can push that car around the entire house; on every window sill, door frame and piece of furniture! Sometimes I try to mix it up for them but all they want is that one toy.

And then then some days all the toys in the house don't seem to fit the bill. 

But the toybox seems pretty awesome......

Andrew's Big Catch

Katie R.

So there was one great thing that came from my family’s visit to the Upper Valley, Andrew learned to fish.  Ok so he’s 3 and we’ll use the word fishing loosely.  This is how he fished:

1.       He watched Joe put the worm on the hook

2.       He watched Joe cast the line

3.       He reeled it in for a few seconds

4.       He went and swam on the beach

5.       He would go back when he got a bite

6.       He watch Joe reel in the line

7.       He watched Joe take the fish off the hook

8.       He ran around yelling “I caught a fish, I caught a fish”

9.       He watched Joe throw it back in

Of course Joe and my brother-in-law fished almost every day and Andrew caught the biggest fish, with his Spiderman fishing pole.  He did take a photo with it but wouldn’t touch it.

American Flag

Katie D.

If the size of your American flag in proportion to the size of your house is an indicator to your patriotism them I am the most patriotic person in all the land. 

Tom and I moved into this house last October and we are still coming across treasures from the previous owners.  Our shed has proved to provide the most goodies.  I’ve utilized several of the pots and gardening tools so far. This weekend I discovered a rolled up American flag.  I pulled it out and discovered it was in amazingly good shape.  With Independence Day this week I felt we needed to hang it up. 

Wow, is this why it looks so new?Did they never put it out because it an enormous flag on a small flagpole on small house! Well I’m keeping it up!

Here’s hoping your Independence Day is filled with fireworks, parades, barbeques and families.

A Happier Baby...

Katie R.

So just a quick update on the world's crankiest baby.  I hate to write this as I may jinx myself but he seems to be getting better!  He didn't scream all day yesterday or today and even let Katie D. hold him without a complete meltdown.  I mean he still cried and fussed but it wasn't the dramatic screams of terror like the day before. 

We're getting there!