Fall Photo Shoot

We have a cranberry bog across the street and right now they're harvesting them. It is so pretty this time of year...(even though it was 80 today..gross.) I took the little boys for a quick photo shoot today after school. (Will had to be bribed with a candy bar)

I just love his curly hair. That didn't come from me. I used to get perms. They never worked and I'd have to go back and have it done again...and then my pillow would stink like perm solution. Does anyone even get perms anymore?

:)

  I'm not one of these mom bloggers who only write about how hunky dory everything is. I'm sure you've figured that out already. I get why some moms only write about the positive stuff in their family lives..who wants to read someone whining and complaining all the time? I wouldn't read me either if that was the deal. But right now, for me..things aren't so hunky dory and I'm needing to vent...and, it's ok to be able to look back someday and think..so it wasn't all pretty sunsets all the time.

Right now I'm lacking a lot of sleep, cranky with my husband who gets to travel and stay in nice hotels and dine in fancy restaraunts while we eat frozen mac and cheese for the 3rd night this week..I'm short with the kids, barely shower, and walk around in Yo-Baby yogurt splattered clothes looking enviously at all the put together moms out there.

I do know that if we were watching the pretty sunsets every night we'd probably get bored..or we'd criticize it somehow, or not pay as much attention to it.

I just think I'm ready to go watch a pretty sunset.

And maybe sleep for 12 hours.

I've been....

...fall decorating...

...lost in some books...

...comforting or trying to comfort a fussy, teething, non-sleeping baby.

Pay Back

So here's a funny story for ya. A couple weeks ago I'm in Target with the baby and a woman approaches me. She's asking me how old Griffy is, what his name is etc. She has a baby with her not much older than mine plus a whole gaggle of kids following her. I say to her.."Wow, and you're having another". She said no and walked away. Crap. I could not get out of that store fast enough. I SWEAR, in my own defense, this woman looked 9 months pregnant. I felt like crap the rest of the day. Here comes the funny part in this story...or at least you'll think so..I'm still in tears. After a VERY trying morning..I go to Target (yes, I know, again...the same store no less. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson)...and I'm starting to feel better. Found a cute Halloween costume for Griffin..some cute Frye boot knockoffs for me..drinking my Pumpkin Spice latte from Starbucks..my day is looking up! I go to checkout and the cashier boy is over the top friendly... asking me how my day was...chatting with Griffy...blah blah blah. Are you ready for this? He says to me..." Is this your first GRANDCHILD?"  I literally froze. And then I looked at him and said.."Dude, I'm Forty freakin two..not 62." And I left. In tears. And then I started laughing. Pay back.


* I have to add...that when I said to the "non-pregnant" woman.."wow, you're having more"..I said it like.."wow,  you're so lucky..I wish I was having more"....

Thanks Coach

This is Stephen's 3rd year rowing..first on Varsity. It is such a cool sport to watch and we've met so many great families through it.  He trains really hard to be on the team. At one point he was complaining about how hard it was this year and he didn't seem to be enjoying it as much. His coach recognized this and put him in a seat that made him work even harder. When I picked him up that evening he was so excited because he had a great practice. I think he just needed someone (besides his parents) to believe in him. That's good coaching in my opinion.

When did organized sports become so competitive?  Kids are being groomed at 5 years old to be the next star lacrosse player. I don't get it. I don't like it either. If you haven't picked up a lacrosse stick or a football before middle school you can probably forget trying out.

We need more coaches out there like Stephen's crew coach. It's not about winning the race or the game as much as it is about boosting your kids self-confidence.

Somebody Smack Me

Could someone please smack me over the head the next time you hear me say something along the lines of..."oh look at that cute pregnant woman..I want to be pregnant"..or..."oh to swaddle a newborn again..Steve, let's have another". Ok? Seriously. I'm done.

This was a crappy week. It was our first full week of school and man am I glad it's Friday. Remember me talking about all the sweet little one on one moments me and the baby were going to have once the kids went back to school? We'll snuggle and take naps together and read books and go to the beach.  No, instead I'm head butted every time I try to snuggle or lie down for a nap with him. I look like I've been in a fight...bruises and scratches all over my body.

 My house is trashed...meals this week were bought through a window of a drive thru...I think I showered 3 times...yelled too much..slept not nearly enough...I can't even change the header of my blog from August...

We're done...right Steve??

Canning and The Cape

Is anyone else crazy busy? Do you miss summer yet? I think I do already. I miss my built in babysitters that can watch Griffy while I get stuff done..or better yet, excercise. We've already missed the bus once..have fallen behind on some homework and have even had one kid home sick. It's going to be a long school year.

So you know my latest obsession? Canning. I know..any reason to put an apron on and I'm there. You know I love my aprons...now if I could just get the darn sewing machine out and make my own I'd really be a happy girl. Anyway, this summer I made jam and pickles. And today I made tomato sauce. I went to the farm stand and bought 14 pounds of Plum tomatoes.

5 hours and a messy kitchen later..I had these babies.

This weekend we were down on the Cape for a family get together. My sister in law and her family rented this gorgeous beach house. Man do I miss living in an old house. Someday. Right Steve?

Thanks for having us Nancy and Ed!

Friday's Favorites

Thought I'd start a new thing on Friday's...I'm always looking for my new "favorite thing"...I swear with each pregnancy, each baby..there is always a new "something" that I wish I had with the previous pregnancy/baby. I look at maternity clothes now and think.."oh I want to be pregnant!"...With Hannah and Will I made my own baby food. I loved it and felt so good feeding them. Griffin took FOREVER to eat real food...still prefers mommas milk but we're trying. Anyway, I'm having a hard time finding the time to  make and freeze those cute little ice cube trays of homemade baby food. He loves these "Ella's Organics" baby food...and I feel good feeding them to him..no preservatives, no added sugar, all organic fruits/veggies. And aren't these packages adorable. I'll buy anything if it comes in a pretty package. You can get them at Target. Of course.

Earl and Girls

Labor Day weekend is so bittersweet isn't it? I remember as a kid growing up on the Cape we would stand on the overpass looking over the highway and wave goodbye to all the tourists. I think that's when I realized how lucky I was to live where I did....

This weekend started out with the arrival and quick departure of Earl. He was nothin. After he left, the rest of the weekend was gorgeous. Our friends came down from NH and this time brought the husbands and spent the night. We had a fabulous spread out on the beach....good food, wine, s'mores..and lots and lots of laughs.

Hannah and Earl in the background. See...nothin.

Me and my boys.

Me and my girls...

Hannah and her girls..

I am a lucky girl.

Can you still call yourself a girl when you're...42? Cuz I do.

Ahh...The Sweet Smell of Bus Exhaust

This is where we spent our official last day of summer. The last storm washed up a lot of icky seaweed so we've been going to the Bay side of the beach. It's the best place to watch the sunset and Steve found us our own private beach. The water is a bit warmer and the kids can dig for clams.

Can you see the water squirting up from the sand? That's a clam.

Then Hannah made a house for the clams. See where she wrote "Clam House"...

I'm really sad to see the Summer go.

But we were sooo happy to see that big yellow bus this morning!! There goes my big 10th grader...and my sweet little 7th grader.

And my tired little 3rd grader...

And this little 14 month old missed them all day long. A nap for both of us was just what we needed...Goodbye Sweet Summer! You were great!