Fall has Fallen

I guess it's time for another entry. I haven't been particularly inspired to write anything lately, so I've left my blog alone, but if anyone is checking in, I'm sure a new entry would be appreciated. I mean, who wants to go to the effort of clicking on someone's blog day after day without ever seeing anything new and exciting, right? (That's for you, Miss Global Okie!)

So... I'll tell about my day. It hasn't been exciting, but I have been in a much better mood today than usual (I'm NOT complaining about being 7 months pregnant, BUT... I do think the allergy/sneezing/congestion thing has put me in a bad mood for most of the last 3 months.), so I'm thinking there's a reason for my "sunny" disposition...

It's FALL!!

I LOVE Fall!

I know that's sort of a no-brainer, like "I love reading and traveling" or "chocolate is my life," but I REALLY love fall. I've actually been planning an I-Love-Fall entry for a while (anticipating the eventual change in season), but it will require digging out that old photo box and finding a particular picture from October of 2000 (see my Groundhog Day entry if you don't know why this is a huge problem), scanning the photo, and figuring out how to upload it. That'll just have to wait 'til next time.

My morning started as most of my mornings start, with Jonah coming in to wake me up (embarrassing, I know) and me convincing him to go back to his room until 8 (even more embarrassing, but as long as I can get away with it, why not?!). When he came back at 8, he brought the book he had been reading while waiting for me... it's one of my all-time favorites:

We read it together and Jonah said it made him want to make pumpkin bread. Since it was rainy (finally!) and cool (for once!), I agreed and we headed downstairs to make a ginormous mess. We were successful in making our bread and it made the house smell yummy and fall-like. Sigh. Can't you just imagine it? Being inspired by the homey-ness, I decided to put away my summer things and get out my fall candles and decorations. Now before you picture my house all decorated and cozy and ready for fall, take a minute to remember that I have two little kids. I'm not done. I have no business sitting down at the computer right now, in fact, but since I skipped a nap today (the first time in weeks!), I feel I have a right to do whatever I want.

So my house is a disaster. But here's what I've accomplished so far on this cool, wonderful day:

• Read a great book in bed with Jonah
• Made pumpkin bread and muffins
• Eventually got Jackson out of bed when he wouldn't quit shouting "TOO LOUD!" and "MOMYMOMMYMOMMY!"
  
• Ate about 7 muffins
• Fed the kids (I even let them have some muffins!)
• Took all of my summer candles and things upstairs (they're scattered all over the banister)
• Dragged out my fall candles. They're also scattered all over the banister (still haven't gone to the garage for everything else)
• Stripped the beds
• Washed and dried about 6 loads of sheets... none of them are folded
  
• Switched out my summer bedding (the bed is still unmade, but I have the fall skirt on)
• Sorted the rest of the laundry (it's all over the upstairs hallway)
• Took so much time doing all of that, that we skipped our morning fun activity
• Convinced Jonah to play at McD's instead... but it was raining so much that we just hit the drive-through... I'm sure he's still angry with me
  
• Ate fatty, nasty food from McDonald's (DON-OH! as Jackson likes to say)
• Didn't clean up from lunch (still haven't cleaned up from breakfast or cooking)
• Read to kids and put them down for naps
• Took all of my smallish and summery maternity clothes out of the closet... they're on the unmade bed
  
• Took all of my smallish (period) clothes out of my closet... also on my unmade bed
  
• Sat down to check blogs and e-mail and haven't gotten up yet

Now. It doesn't really sound like a lot... but I haven't stopped moving since 8 am! I guess when you're 7 months pregnant, over 30 pounds overweight, and living in a 3-story townhouse, everything takes a while. So I've finished NOTHING!!!!!! My house is a complete disaster, the bread is still sitting on the stove, getting all dry and un-eatable, I haven't returned any e-mails or phone calls, I ignored my kids for most of the morning, my bed is unmade, and I've eaten nothing but crap today. I haven't even taken a sip of water! Ugh.

Still. It's a good day. Because it's rainy and cool and there's finally a promise of the arrival of my favorite time of year.

Okay. Back to work.

Thanks for hanging in there, faithful readers!

A Bike Ride with 2 & 1/2 Kids... What Were We Thinking?!

We are eternal optimists.

We know how difficult it is just to survive a day with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. Most of the day is spent nagging, cleaning up, managing children and gear, and telling Jonah to be nice to Jackson.

So WHY do we continue to leave the house? WHY do we think we can go places and do fun things?

Jonah got his first bike this summer and he's been doing really well on the sidewalks around our house. So we decided to venture out for our first Big Trail Ride this morning. The weather was absolutely perfect and we found a beautiful trail near Mt. Gretna, which is about 30 minutes from our house.

Every time we go somewhere on a weekend, we plan to get everything ready the night before and pack the car, so we can get the kids up and go. I mean, EVERY time. Yet, in 3 & 1/2 years, we have NEVER managed to do this! Admittedly, it was my fault this time. If we hadn't spent an hour on a quest to secure fried chicken for my dinner, Brad might have had time to get the bikes ready last night.

Instead, he spent almost 2 hours this morning airing up tires and getting everything together and loaded onto the truck. I managed the kids (not fun... they HATE waiting!) and packed a lunch. We wanted to leave by 8:30. We left at 10:00. Not too bad... still time for a nice ride before lunch time. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the parking lot and started to unload the truck, Brad discovered that one of the tires for the bike trailer had gone flat again, meaning we would need a new tube. Which we didn't have. We were proud of ourselves for looking on the GPS and finding a bike shop just 2 miles away. However, when the nice lady on the GPS announced that we arrived at our destination, we were at someone's house. Great. So we headed for Walmart, which was another 6 miles away, down winding roads, on the other side of an art festival, and past a couple of little towns.

Thirty minutes later, we were back in the car and on our way back to the trail head parking lot. By that time, Jackson was all-out screaming and Jonah was yelling for him to stop. Pleasant. We finally made it back to the parking lot and Brad got everything set up while Jonah and I experienced the local porta potty. Awesome.

Finally, we got on our bikes and headed down the trail. By that time, it was almost noon and the kids were all but spent for the day. Jonah couldn't pedal on the gravel parking lot, but we finally made it to the trail, which was packed limestone. It was smooth and not very hilly, but Jonah needed a push every 10 feet or so to keep going. About 100 feet down the trail, he admitted that he no longer wanted to ride his bike and would like to ride in the trailer with Jackson. We abandoned his bike on the side of the trail and he got in the trailer. Great. Now we could enjoy the ride. Don't they look happy?!


Two minutes after we took off, we heard--predictably--"I'm hungry!!" So we stopped for a snack. Which Jackson immediately dumped out... "UH OH!" We finally got going again. They were quiet for about three minutes, until Jonah refused to give Jackson any crackers and Jackson started screaming at him. For the next 20 minutes (or maybe it was only five?!), we attempted to move forward on the trail, but it was impossible to make any progress while admonishing Jonah and trying to convince him that Jackson was not touching him ON PURPOSE.

We finally turned around and headed back to the truck. I'm sure every person we passed (none of whom were biking with small children, by the way) rolled their eyes at the screaming coming from the trailer and then said a small prayer of thanks that they were enjoying a nice peaceful ride on an amazing trail on a picture-perfect day.

Eventually we did make it back to the truck and had a nice lunch at a little park adjacent to the parking lot. This was somehow the highlight of the day for the kids, even though it's the kind of thing we do on a weekly basis.

Oh well.

I'm sure if we get an earlier start next time, it will all be FINE, right?!

Satisfying Jonah's Curiosity

I know it's only August, but Jonah's starting to ask about Christmas. It's pretty ridiculous, I know, but we have a LOT going on the next couple of months and Jonah has an overwhelming need to know when everything's going to happen. Our timeline goes something like this:

• When it gets a little cooler, Olivia's coming (yes, we can go to Great Wolf).
• After that, it'll be Halloween (yes, you can go trick-or-treating with Benjamin).
• Then it will be Jackson's Birthday (I don't know what kind of Birthday party he'll have; we'll decide when it gets a little closer.)
• When it gets a little colder and all the leaves are red and orange and mostly fallen off the trees, the new baby will come (no, she won't be ready to play and yes, you can paint her toe nails).
• Next is Thanksgiving (yes, you can watch the parade on TV).
• THEN, when it's pretty cold outside, it'll be your Birthday (sure, you can have a parajumper Birthday if that's what you still want by then).
• Finally, when it's cold and snowy it'll be Christmas (yes, Santa Claus will probably come, but I don't think you should dress in a Santa suit so he won't be scared away if he sees you... you will still have to go to sleep that night).

We have this conversation every day. The variation this morning was about Christmas:

Jonah: You should call Santa and tell him to bring Daddy another guitar.
Me: Daddy doesn't really play the one Santa brought last year, so I don't think we'll ask for another one.
Jonah: Why doesn't he play it very much?
Me: Because he's busy with school.
Jonah: Daddy's not in school!
Me: Sure he is... whenever he reads his ophthalmology books, he's studying and that's like being in school.
Jonah: (after a thoughtful pause) So daddy goes to school on the TOILET?!

:-)

Trying to be Deep about Being a Mom

Sometimes I'm quick to pass along funny stories or to complain about how hard my life is, but it's probably not often enough that I share some of the more precious times we have together. I've had two days--in a row!--that really made me happy to be a mom and I'd like to share a bit with you, my faithful readers.

I mean, I'm happy at moments every day, of course, and I love love love my kids more each and every day, but some days are just really hard. If you read my post about taking the kids shopping, you know exactly what I mean. In fact, if you have kids of your own, you probably know what I mean.

Yesterday morning, we got up and out of the house to head to Jonah's Garden Wonderers class at Hershey Gardens. It was a beautiful morning... not too hot for once... and we were happy to be out in the fresh air. When we got to the gardens, we couldn't find our group. When I inquired at the desk, it turned out that there was no class that day; I had marked my calendar wrong. Since we were already there, we spent some time wandering leisurely through the grounds and enjoyed the butterfly house and children's garden. We sat down at the end and had a snack together and talked about everything we'd seen.

That's a sweet enough memory and experience--and a good reminder to take it down a notch sometimes and not always have to have an activity to do--but what made me smile even more was when Jonah told Brad about his day: "Daddy. You might be really disappointed about this, but we didn't have flower class today." He then went on to tell him it was the best time he ever had at Hershey Gardens.

Last night before bed, he wanted to start a new chapter book (we finished Winnie the Pooh last week). He didn't want ME to read House at Pooh Corner to him and it was Brad's turn to read to Jackson. Earlier in the day I had told him about Charlotte's Web and he remembered to ask for it. We read and enjoyed the first chapter. The best part, though, was the reverent way in which he carried his new book over and placed it gently down on the table right next to his bed.

When he got up this morning, he came running downstairs carrying three precious things: his blue blankie, his new water bottle (who knew a kid could get so excited about a bottle?!), and his new copy of Charlotte's Web. We immediately read a chapter and then talked about our plan for the day. When I told him we were going to Hershey Park with a friend, he said he wanted to take his book with him to show his friend. At first I said I didn't think taking a book into the park would be a good idea, but he said "Well, let's take it with us and when I get tired we can sit down and read a little chapter!"

Sigh. It was just one of those moments that you want to freeze. Of course we took the book with us and read a little chapter after we had our picnic lunch. I hope and pray that I never forget the gratifying feeling of having my three-year-old want to take a chapter book with him to an amusement park. When he's older and wants nothing to do with books or me, I NEED to remember that feeling.

I know every one of you has had moments like this... maybe even on a daily basis. Aren't you thankful for them? I'm going to try my hardest to conjure up these special memories the next time Jonah is accusing me of child abuse or the next time we're running frantically out of the house, late to an appointment for a class or play date. Does any of that really matter?!

Yes, actually, it does. We need classes and appointments and play dates and there's nothing wrong with all of that. It's only wrong if we fill our lives SO full with other stuff that we don't make time to pick up a new special book--the reading of which might possibly change our lives forever!--or to sit down together under an umbrella and enjoy a snack and conversation or (literally) take time to smell the roses.

That's why we're doing this, right?

Have a great weekend, friends.

tara

PS Diana: you'll be happy to know that my baseboards are decidedly UNclean today.

:-)

Why I Don't Let Jonah Dress Himself

Jonah the Drama King

I shouldn't tell anyone this story. I certainly should NOT post it on the internet for the whole world to see and openly judge me for being the World's Worst Mom. But it's just too funny not to share...

I don't normally take the kids shopping with me. In fact, I've even started buying my groceries online so I can avoid grocery stores altogether. I definitely, absolutely, never even think of taking them clothes shopping. But my husband surprised me with tickets to the Billy Joel concert last week (it was GREAT!), so I had no choice but to drag Jonah and Jackson into Motherhood Maternity to try to find something that wasn't too small (I'm much bigger than I was during my other two pregnancies, so I've outgrown most of my summer clothes) or too frumpy to wear to a concert.

Everything went pretty well, I guess, considering the fact that I was asking my 1- and 3-year-olds to hang out and do nothing while I tried on about 20 shirts. Jackson was fussy... didn't want to be in the dressing room, but certainly didn't want to be outside of the room where I was. Jonah tried to entertain and distract Jackson by playing (a loud version of) peek-a-boo. Finally, exasperated with my children, the ugly clothes at the store, and my non-sleek body, I gave up. I settled on a top that wouldn't be embarrassing to wear and headed for the checkout.

While I was waiting for the clerk to get off the phone and ring me up, both kids really started to lose it. Jackson entered full-on frustration mode and Jonah began running circles around the store, shouting "I'm SUPERWHY! Here to save the day!!" While I was declining the clerk's request for my number, e-mail, street address (come on, lady! just ring up the order!!), Jackson started screaming because he couldn't strap himself into the stroller and Jonah started diving in and out of the round clothing racks. Finally, as the clerk was explaining why my clothes were NEVER to be returned to the store for any reason (LOOK! I'm wearing it to a CONCERT in less than 4 hours, I probably WON'T be returning it!!!), Jonah started swinging his arms windmill-style and knocked an entire rack of underwear on the floor.

By then, my patience was gone. I went over to Jonah, grabbed him none-too-nicely by the arm, and dragged him over to a chair. I told him sternly, "Sit there until mommy's done!"

At which point he yelled, "MOMMY! You're CRACKING my BONES!!!"

I turned calmly back to the clerk, asked her very nicely to just ring up the flipping shirt and release me from her torture.

So. There you have it. World's Worst Mom Award goes to me. Once again.

But I did look really cute at the concert, so I guess it was worth it.

Right.

The results are in...

I know I should be creative and post some funny story about our pregnancy or thoughts or--at the very least--our trip to the hospital for our ultra sound, but I just don't have the energy today. I could also post photos from the CD they gave us and make you figure out the blobs (two? or three?). I could even post a picture of the 7 outfits I bought on sale at Babies R Us less than 3 hours after we left the hospital...

But I'll just go ahead and shout our exciting, wonderful, surprising news:

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!

We're actually having a baby girl! I didn't know they made those!!!

And, yes, I would have been VERY happy with a boy... I love my boys! I never have been able to imagine myself being a mom to girls (Nicole has already promised to tutor me in the art of bow-tying) and it seems to be working out great with managing the two boys I have...

BUT. I'm incredibly excited to change it up and try out life as a Mom to a Daughter. This will be a whole new adventure!!

Fish Taco Recipe

We had some AWESOME fish tacos this week, and I thought I'd share the recipe. I found it on allrecipes.com: Fish Tacos

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup beer 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 lime, juiced 1 jalapeno pepper, minced 1 teaspoon minced capers

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1 quart oil for frying 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1.	To make beer batter: In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps).
2.	To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeno, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne.
3.	Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4.	Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas; not too crisp. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/3/2008

Our New Digs

A quick disclaimer:
I know I didn't post many photos from our wonderful Great Wolf/New York City trip, but I did want to mention that we had quite a time. As you could tell from my last post, it was more work than fun, but we did get to do some fun things, like taking the Staten Island Ferry to get some great photos of the Statue of Liberty and exploring about 1% of Central Park. We enjoyed spending lots of time on the Subway, we ate several delicious bagels, had some good pizza, and spent a VERY rainy (like, umbrella-breaking wind-storm-type of rainy) day in FAO Schwartz. Best of all, we got to spend time with Brad's brother Jeff and my old pal Amy Osborne.

So. Don't think our trip was uneventful or un-fun, just because I didn't write much about it.

And on to the rest of our early-summer adventure...

My next post will be about our trip to western Ohio for Brad's youngest brother's high school graduation.

First, though, I should mention the exciting 24-hour period that immediately preceded our 9-hour road trip to lovely Lima OH. Our plan was to leave after work on Friday and drive halfway that evening... we had reservations at a hotel in Pittsburgh.

I decided at noon on Thursday that I should look into buying a minivan. During nap time, I called around to the Honda dealerships to see if anyone had the model we (after a year of deliberating, looking, test-driving, researching, etc) had decided on. Lo and behold, three of them did and all three came in with different offers. Which left me in the position of negotiating. FUN! One of the sales people (persons?) was smart to offer to drive the van over to MY HOUSE that day so I could check it out.

Long story short:
He ended up being the best sales person EVER and, after about 15 calls back and forth and some very impressive wheeling and dealing on my part (of course, he's probably bragging right now about how HE swindled ME into a horrible deal), I drove our new Odyssey home at 6 pm on Friday evening. Short story a little longer: I hadn't exactly planned to buy a minivan then, so I had to consult with Brad at 10:30 pm on Thursday night, after he had worked about a 15-hour day. Maybe he was too tired to argue? :-)

SO... we bought a minivan. We're officially a Minivan Family. You might be embarrassed for me, but--deep down--I bet you're either (a) jealous because you want one or (b) gloating because you already have one and you want the rest of the world to join your Little Club.

Without further ado:(Not an Actual Photo, but a very good likeness!)

And for those of you who are still reading:
I wouldn't want to leave a story unfinished... since I spent the day-and-a-half before our trip car shopping instead of doing laundry and packing, we ended up leaving town at 10pm on Friday evening. We arrived at our hotel at 2:30 am, the kids didn't fall back asleep until 3:30 am. We woke up the next morning and drove the rest of the way to Lima and arrived with plenty of time to spare before the graduation on Saturday evening. We remained exhausted throughout the weekend and never had a chance to catch up on sleep until, well, now.

But it was SO worth it!

Back Home

We're finally home!

We have had a fantastic 2 months, but we are SO happy to be back home and settling into our routine. We enjoyed every part of our recent adventures; I only wish they could have been spread out a little. The timing worked out the way it did, though, so we forced about a year's worth of trips and visits into 2 short months.

Since May 1, the kids and I have slept in 8 different beds! We've been in 6 states, on 3 airplanes, and driven almost 3000 miles. No wonder we're exhausted, broke, and sick of each other!

I'll post a few pics at a time (no more excuses!) and cover one segment of our "vacation" (yeah, right!) in each post. So... this sounds almost like a promise... check back soon for photos from our trip to beautiful Lima, Ohio.