The Bestest Place

We had an adventure at Niagara Falls on Memorial Day.

We enjoyed a picnic with my extended family and explored the Three Sisters Islands.

The American side has beautiful areas to walk, climb, play and enjoy for families.

It is one of my most favorite places to go. (If you have children you will know that there can and seemingly must be many "favorites".)

It made an impression on Nathan who is used to playing in Grandma's little backyard creek. He exclaimed, "Niagara Falls: That's SOME creek!"

Racing Report

Our family went to the Lake Erie Speedway this weekend. There was noise, cars, speed, noise, spin outs, breakdowns, noise, wrecks, and bleachers.

I think the boys liked the races. I am certain that they loved the bleachers. My conversation went a lot like this: Oh my cow! Can you sit still please! Look at those cars. Sit. Here. Which one do you think will win? Stop bumping the people in front of us. Did you see that? Hold still. Get him over here! I missed what happened. Your car came in last again, John.

We ended up leaving early (which was already past the boys' bedtime) but we had watched several short races.

The next morning I had Josiah write in his journal. (I'm trying to keep him in the practice of writing while school is out...unlike me.) He wrote something like this: Last night we went to the race track. I brought my money but my mom told me I couldn't buy anything. Really?? That's what stuck out to you? Not the wrecks? the spin outs? the cars? Well... glad I could make an impression.

Size-wise

My nephew, Eli, caught his first catfish! HUGE. LIKE A FOOT LONG! Only it wasn't.
Amazing how a little perspective changes things...

Actually, things are still the same; now you just know the true size of the matter.

(Eli still didn't want to get anywhere near that fish though.)

Tough Yet Sensitive

Our family went to the park last Saturday evening. The boys played on the playground, ran on the tennis courts, and ventured toward the trees. Then we did it. We walked through the woods to the other side of the park to play on the other playground, the old playground (which is more fun than the new playground).

The path through the woods is wide and well worn as well as full of mosquitoes. Okay. Maybe not full but I was bit twice. Twice in a short little walk. And as we walked I noticed a little bump on Josiah's eyelid. "Josiah, I think a mosquito bit your eyelid! Did you feel that?" No. He was oblivious and even after I pointed it out, he could hardly tell it was there. I was amazed that he didn't feel the bump on his eyelid that looked sort of like a blister but not as transparent. One other thought that occurred to me was that I couldn't see a bite mark in the middle of the bump. Then we were distracted by cool things like lots of playing, walking, and watching a father and son practice batting before going home and getting the boys in bed.

Little did I know that things would be different in the morning....

One glance and "WHOA! Um. Josiah, your eye is swollen." *flashback to the little eyelid bump* When I asked about it, he said it didn't hurt and it itched just a little bit. I gave him some children's allergy medicine hoping that would relieve the swelling. Josiah was embarrassed at the thought of going to church like that and started searching for his pirate eye patch. Soon I noticed scraps of paper laying around. Hm. It wasn't long until I head an outcry from Josiah; Nathan had grabbed and crumpled the eye patch Josiah had been making for himself. It was then that I realized just how self-conscious Josiah was feeling. His self awareness is developing and shutting out the carefree obliviousness.

So he and I started afresh and made an eye patch together. I cut it out and found a strap. He came up with a clever way to attach the strap and decorated the front. Then we attached a cotton ball on the inside for comfort. Perfect.

Only it wasn't over. Josiah's eyelid was still red and swollen and almost swollen shut for awhile. We decided to wait it out and just make sure that whatever it was wasn't spreading. (Why do these things always seem to happen when the doctor's office is closed?) Finally, on Monday we could see improvement but Josiah still cocked his head to the side in order to look at you since his eye wouldn't open all the way.

With his top front tooth missing, a bottom front tooth missing, AND his eye swollen, he looked like he had been in a serious fight. Belinda said that he should have a shirt saying "YOU SHOULD SEE THE OTHER GUY."

At least with the noticeable improvement, the worrying and wondering came to an end. And eventually the swelling did too.

I'm not sure if we'll get Josiah back into the woods anytime soon...

Good Times

Once upon a time a sister and a brother walked and talked.

Sister told Brother how funny it was to her that Husband tried to answer bra questions when he obviously knew nothing about bras (except that he likes what they hold). Brother laughed with Sister.

Sister wondered aloud whether she should tell Husband to stop trying to talk about bra sizes as if he knows anything about it or whether she should teach him so that he could be informed.

Brother stated that learning is good. Too many people don't know about bra sizes including many women.

Sister stated that there are stores to which women can go and get a professional bra fitting.

Brother said he wanted to work there.

Sister said she was telling Brother's Wife.

And there was much laughter.

*Any resemblance to actual persons may or may not be completely coincidental.

And the Winner Is.... Mom

I'm sure that EVERYBODY is talking about the Miss America Pageant. Well. Most people... half of everybody? Okay. One out of ten. *ahem* Well, I am.

After not seeing the pageant for years, I said to myself, "Sarah, you're going to have to watch that pageant this year." After finding out what day the pageant aired, I waited until Saturday to do my show prep.

I did a search on the Internet and came to this page which showed me each contestant's picture, name, and state. Of course, I pulled out my index card and listed all the states' two-letter abbreviations and the first name of the contestant. Step 1 complete. Then I pulled up the post office web site and made sure that I wrote down all the abbreviations correctly. YES! I still have it.

Next, I scrolled through each contestant choosing my preliminary favorites based on their photos. I picked 12, then erased one. (Sorry #12.) Seriously, Rhode Island, this is supposed to be a contest to be a public relations person, not some sultry magazine model. Couldn't you find a "girl next door" picture like everyone else?

Then I had John look through everybody and choose his favorites because that's what I do.

He only chose six and five of those were ones I had chosen. His only chance of pulling out a singular win was dependant upon Miss Vermont's success.


As John was giving his quick yes or no, Noah started mimicking him and doing his own, "No, no, no, no, no...." Wow. He's tough.

Then Josiah joined in the scrutiny! His first remark? "Her face is too square." Really? Then, "Round, oval, oval, oval, round..." Then there was much laughter.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?


Since the pageant was on TLC, I went to my parents' house and watched the show with my mom. Yes, I sucked her into it too.

I was pulling for Miss Oregon during the pageant but she was eliminated before I left for work. That's right. I didn't get to see the end because of work.

No worries though.

We recorded it.

And I watched the whole thing again with my sister-in-law, Holly, on Sunday.

We watched the evening gowns (There was one gown I didn't like because it didn't allow for "gliding".) ... the swimsuits (Sorry, DC, but you were thrusting your rib cage out. This is not a show for starving children. Besides that, I haven't seen my ribs for some time.) ... the talents (One sang a Whitney Houston song. Lovely song. Lovely voice, but COME ON! You're putting yourself up against Whitney instead of the other contestants. Most anyone would have a hard time with a sing off against Whitney.) ... and finally, the Questions. (Please, ladies, focus on the actual question asked. You forgot where you started and I'm pretty sure that is why you two finished last.)

The big moment finally arrived!

Miss Virginia is the new Miss America!

I know the suspense was killing you.

"Isn't she lovely...."

Just so you know, she was on MY list (and not John's).

Wait! Wait! The best was yet to come.

On the way home from Grandma and Grandpa's house last night, Josiah asked me, "Did you ever win won of those contests, Mom?"

Me: No, I didn't.

Josiah: Why not?

Me: Well, I never entered one of those...

Josiah: You could wear your wedding dress.

Me: I suppose I could...

He thinks I would win! (Josiah, now would be a good time to ask for whatever it is you've been wanting.)

P.S. I was going to name this post "And the Winner is ... ME" but then I thought that you would think,"Is she out of her mind? Miss Maine did NOT win the pageant; she didn't even make the first cut! Obviously this person has no idea what she is writing about." (because I have faith in you to know the 2-letter abreviation for states too and that those abreviations are foremost on your mind at all times) and then you wouldn't read that it was indeed me that won because I picked the winner and John didn't and Josiah (God bless him!) implied that I too could have won.

Red Faced and Loving It

There's nothing quite like a good embarrassment. This must be the reason why we pull out all the stops on Christmas.

LET THE EMBARRASSMENTS BEGIN!

Preliminaries:
Admit your size to the entire family when letting your Christmas list be known.

The events:
1. Trivia games. Play that 2-second trivia game with super easy questions and show everyone how quickly your brain can freeze.

2. Wii. A new dancing video game? Fun! or... Act like Elaine when attempting to follow the dance moves on the TV screen! I admit there were way too many cameras and video recorders around for me to participate in this particular event. Just think... I could have been the next YouTube star! Oh well.

3. Open all those presents and then test your memory skills by thanking each person for the specific gift received. Watch their face closely for clues as to whether you are getting it right. "Thank you so much for the b... uh... swea.... uh... GIFT. I love it!" Then dig diligently through the packaging to find the labels.

4. See how many desserts you can eat while rationalizing the healthiness of them. Oh wait. That wasn't an official event. I just did that on my own. See? Fruit! Fruit is so good for you.

5. Be sure to leave the Christmas wrappings where they lay so you can frantically clean up just before company arrives. This is great fun! Then when you open the door to welcome your guests you have that fresh out-of-breath, red-faced look... kind of like Santa which is very holiday-like. Oh. And just tell them that you haven't cleaned up after the big day yet (since you only had time to stuff the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and pick up the laundry strewn about the house).

Seriously? How do that many presents leave so much wrapping paper behind? It's a miracle.

I'm probably leaving out some really good embarrassing moments. Do you have any to share?

Our Christmas was truly wonderful. We're blessed with great family and had treasured time together. And if you can't be yourself with family... where else can you do it, huh?

Preparing for Christmas

We rearranged the living room and decorated for Christmas last weekend. It took longer for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I'm not sure why but I blame the mild weather because I like to have a scapegoat.

Here is a strangely aimed picture of the boys digging into the ornaments. From the looks of Nathan, it was just after Nathan was doing some digging into his raviolis. That would explain any strange stains I find on the ornaments...

After the tree was decorated, the younger boys took a nap and Josiah went outside to play while I set up our Playmobil nativity set. When Josiah came inside, he was amazed that I had set that up all by myself and had done it so quickly. "Wow! Did you do this all by yourself, Mommy? How did you do it so fast?" It's a superpower I have... kind of like being able to open jars.

I had the presence of mind to take a picture of the nativity since I kind of figured that it wouldn't remain intact throughout the Christmas season. At this point, I'm just hoping all the parts can be found when it's time to put things away.

The tree itself has remained decorated and unscathed. We may even be able to put the glass ornaments back on the tree by next year! Woohoo! I love a loaded tree.

Merry Christmas!

Whatsa Matter?

This is my nephew. Isn't he cute? Yes, he's crying. Nobody would let him finish off the birthday cake and he is so hungry. Wouldn't you be crying too?

I think it could be that he was tired and coming off a sugar high. And that cake was so darn delicious; he just wanted a couple more pieces. Is that so much to ask? Yes. Yes, it is. And so the tears came.

And I am such a compassionate aunt that I said, "Wait! Wait! Let me get my camera. Go on, Eli. Let is all out! Let me see those tears." You know that they say sometimes it's best to cry it out. I was only trying to be helpful to my nephew.

Fine.

I admit: I had to take my nephew's picture while he was crying because my brother (pictured above) loves to snap photos of my children anytime that they start crying around him.

It only seems fair....

And I was trying to help....

Hey. I threw the party; I took the pictures. It's what I do.

Man! No sense of humor around here...

A Good Gourd Day

The large pumpkin in our house survived unscathed for two weeks but calls for its transformation had increased after the introduction of three small pumpkins into our household last weekend. It seemed that every day I heard the questions, "When are we going to carve the pumpkins? Can we carve pumpkins now?" Therefore, Saturday became our Pumpkin Day.

The boys were thrilled to get out the pumpkin carving kit and choose what kind of design they wanted! However, the excitement was notably less for the work of removing the seeds and goo from within the pumpkin. These same boys who play in sand, mud, floam, play dough, and other goo declared that they didn't want to touch the pumpkin guts! "Ew. It's gross!" they asserted. Even John left the seed removal to me; he was waiting to do the cutting. (Reminder: "we" means "you".)

After "we" removed the seeds and set them aside for later roasting, John set to work on the big pumpkin.

And I began work on Nathan's pumpkin with his choice of happy face. I threw the teeth in there free of charge.

Our young supervisors asked us many questions during this time all the while making certain the pumpkins were carved according to their standards.

After we completed the pumpkin transformation, we searched the house for candles so that we could appreciate fully the finished product.

Tah dah! The pumpkins are finished. Then it was time to cook down the remaining little pumpkin and bake a pumpkin pie. While the pie was cooling, Josiah asked me when we were going to roast the pumpkin seeds. "We" are going to do that another day.

Monumental Fun

Ah! Perry's Monument. Does this look like a fun destination to you? Well, it has graduated to the top of our list of places to go. "Mom! Can we go to the monument?" You may wonder, "What's so great about going to a monument?"

Let's see.... It's pretty.

There is a lot of room to run.

You can read about a lot of fun historical facts such as:
*Admiral Oliver Perry's middle name was Hazard,
*Someone thought ahead and figured out a way to get two large fighting ships over a sandbar with only 4 feet of clearance,
*Admiral Perry totally bluffed the British into believing he was battle ready so they retreated and then he whooped them.
*Reporting to Gen. William H. Harrison, Admiral Perry said, "We have met the enemy and they are ours" I love that quote!

BUT the funnest part of the monument for my boys is the climbing!

Everyone loves to climb.

And survey their domain after climbing.

Climbing isn't possible during the summer because they fill this "moat" with water. The nerve.

"Can you get me outta here!"
In the end, make sure you have an exit strategy.

My Kind of Farm

Saturday was our much anticipated trip to Port Farms. We planned to ride giant trikes, play in the corn bin, race down the slides, lose ourselves in the corn maze, roast hot dogs, climb on the straw fort..... and much more.

John and I drove separately since his car was loaded with dinner supplies. I was so tired starting out that I had to really focus on the road to stay awake. When I told Josiah I was sleepy he asked me, "You want me to drive for you, Mom?" Well, I didn't get any pictures of him driving..... since I turned down his offer by saying, "Ha ha! You're so funny!"

Soon after arriving and greeting friends and family that were already there, we checked out the slides. They were as big a hit as last year!

We trekked up the hill.

And we raced back down the slides. Again and again. Josiah found this cool digging toy!

The giant corn bin was one of our favorites!

You could make corn angels,

You could sink into the corn,

You could bury yourself,

Or you could bury someone else.

We found a lot of corn kernels in our clothes throughout the day.

After playing for some time, we took a dinner break. We ate hot dogs, chips, banana bread, pumpkin bread, grapes, submarine sandwiches, popcorn and, of course, marshmallows.
And then we had seconds.

This is my mom pretending to be a scarecrow. She's much too pretty for that though.

If you look at the closeup here, you can see the gap where Josiah's tooth used to be!

But that wasn't on Josiah's mind as he climbed and ran and jumped all over the straw fort.

The guys and I went on the hayride three times during the day!
And we liked it. A lot.

Another trek into the corn maze was in order as the day was winding down.

Then we made time for one more activity on our way out. Tricycle racing! I'm pretty sure I won... because I like winning and there wasn't an official race but there definitely was racing so.... I WON.

Nathan has been watching me choose photos and says, "I wanna go play in the corn again."
We will. Oh yes, we will.