A Day in Photos

Today, since I've been up since 4:30 a.m., I'm being lazy and just giving you some good stuff to look at.  We took a little half-day trip to Connors Farm last week, mainly to get pumpkins, but also because they have tons of stuff for little ones to do.  It was loads of fun, we had perfect weather, and came home with gorgeous pumpkins (mine is white!), yummy cider, and a carrot that Lilah took a bite out of at the farm stand so we had to buy it.  We will definitely go back there again!

Daddy and Grady on the jumping pillow.  Lilah was a wimp and didn't like it.

The spiderweb was more her style.

This is just quintessential 'boy' right here.  I had to keep corralling him away from mud puddles.

The girl means business in the duck races.

In amazement that he's allowed to play with something so cool.

Can't leave this guy out!  He was loving the fresh air, but not so much the sun in his eyes.

"Whatchoo lookin' at?"

The one pic of me from the day.  Taken by Lilah.

Taken while we waited for Daddy and Grady, who were on the hayride.  Sister was too chicken for that, too.

Pumpkin tether ball!  She would have played with this all day if we'd let her.

I wish I had all of these in my house.  I think I have a pumpkin addiction.

The hayride.  It went probably 2 mph, and Lilah was scared of it.

So there you have it!  Hopefully I will get a little more sleep tonight.  Check back tomorrow for Pinterest Project Friday!

Nature Walk

Attempting a stroller escape.

This guy?  This guy's chill.

I accomplished a major feat today.  I laced up my sneakers, made sure the girl went potty, changed a couple of diapers, and took all three of my little ones on a walk.  By myself.  Three miles of walking on a nature trail, pushing two twenty-something pound children in a huge jogging stroller, plus carrying a fifteen pound baby strapped to my body, made me feel like a superhero.  And as I was huffing and puffing up the impossibly long hill on the way back, Lilah asked me, "Mommy, can you sing a song?".  I told her that I can't until we get to the top of the hill, because I'm out of breath.  "But, Mommy, you're not out of breath.  I hear you breathing!"  True, kid, very true.  So I panted my way through my version of "Raindrops Are Falling on My Head" with some nice back-up from Lilah.  When I got to the top of the hill, I wanted to snap a couple of shots of these mushrooms (with all the rain we've had, wild mushrooms are EVERYWHERE up here!).  Lilah and Grady were both annoyed that I stopped pushing the stroller for ten seconds to take a picture, and both of them immediately tried to escape.


Besides feeling like my lungs were going to collapse, it was really a great mini-adventure.  The air was cool (I feel fall in the air, yay!), everything was freshly washed from the rain, and all was peaceful and quiet in the woods.  The kids seemed to enjoy it too, although Lilah was hoping to see something more exciting than "boring trees".  We heard lots of birds and bugs, but there was no wildlife to be seen today.  I was fine with that.

Speaking of wildlife, we saw a gigantic caterpillar outside today like none I've ever seen before.  I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so no photo, but if anyone knows of a humongous bright green caterpillar with black and white markings, I'm curious as to what kind it was.  It was about six or seven inches long and as big around as my thumb.  Gross.  Lilah thought it was cool, and Grady wanted to poke it.  I think Cosmo wanted to eat it.  Ick.  I much prefer them after they turn into butterflies (or moths, as the case may be.) 

It's nice to have days now and again where you feel like you've got it all together.  I don't feel like that very often, and some days I'm a frazzled mess and can't seem to brush my own hair, never mind take three children aged three and under on a walk in the woods.  So I'm giving myself permission to be proud of myself for such a simple task today.  All too often I think that parents beat themselves up for not doing enough or doing things "right", and I'm trying to change that about myself.  Today, I was an awesome mom.  And you know what?  Tomorrow I will be, too, even if I don't comb my hair, take the kids on an adventure, or read "Barn Animals" 57 times. 

On a side note, I have no idea what's up with blogger today, but I can't get my photos to go where I want on my post.  If you can fill me in on what I'm doing wrong (or just commiserate with me) in the comments, I'd be eternally grateful.  Good night, darling readers!

Smile!

Today's post is a little bit random, but that's how it's been around our house the last few days so that's how I'm writing.

Lilah, like many three year old girls, knows how to throw a mean tantrum.  And, like many girls, those tantrums reach epic proportions after she comes home from spending time with her grandparents.  I know I did it to my own mother, and I'm truly understanding of the phrase "I hope you have one just like you someday" now.  Lilah was fortunate enough to spend a few days with Grammy Julie and Grumpie earlier this week, and I was so grateful that she was able to do so.  I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a child, and I hope my children are fortunate enough to do the same.  She went to the beach, to Santa's Village, and got lots of ice cream, lucky girl.  And I got to have a little bit slower-paced daily routine with just the two boys, although the house was truly too quiet without her.  I was thrilled to pick her up at a halfway point on Wednesday, and she was very sweet and chatty with me the whole ride home.  Lots of kisses and hugs, and "I missed you soooo much!" was the refrain for the rest of the day.

And then, Thursday arrived.  My sweet little angel girl turned into a three-year-old devil.  She screamed, she kicked, she was defiant about everything.  She spent a fair amount of minutes in time out.  But the thing is, this girl knows the routine and understands her responsibilities when she has done something wrong, and I'm holding onto the testament that it means we are doing something right.  Once she has been placed in time out, she may continue to throw her tantrum for a bit, but she knows that when she stops that she needs to talk calmly and politely to Mommy or Daddy about why she was put there.  She usually apologizes and asks for a kiss and a hug.  And lately, she throws this into the mix: "Mommy, will you please smile at me?  I want you to be happy."

That simple request from my three-year-old daughter has moved me and inspired me as a parent.  I am more conscious about how much I smile and show my happiness around my children these last couple of days.  Because, honestly, it's easy to show them the negative emotions and frustration that come with day-to-day parenting (especially of a toddler and a preschooler).  We have to doggedly reprimand and re-direct, and although it's all in the interest of "their own good", it can't be pleasant to see or hear all of the time.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not constantly on the watch for negative behavior, ready to dole out punishment.  We have lots of fun at our house and I try to let the kids be kids for the most part.  But if you are a parent of a child over the age of one, you know how often "teaching moments" come up during the course of a day.  It's all about balance, and I really want to tip the scales in favor of those happy, smiling moments in the future.

And, speaking of smiles, this kid is full of them.  Forget Happiest Baby on the Block, he's the Happiest Baby in the World:

Don't you just love those baby bubbles?

And Lilah is showing a budding interest in photography, always asking to take a picture when I have my camera out.  She's not half bad, either:

Please ignore my shabby attire, I was trying to beat the heat.

She took this one, too, of her little brother feeding her doll a bottle.  It just melts my heart to see him playing like this:

He is so sweet with baby dolls, even when he's whacking them on the back to "burp" them.

Finally, this made me smile today:

Lilah took the initiative for our "project" today and decided we should make paper bag puppets and a backdrop.  I love how creative her little mind is!

I have set a new goal for myself as a result of Lilah's request.  I want my children to look back and remember how much their mom smiled when they were little.  It sounds simple, but it will be challenging at times.  And now, I'll leave you with another adorable (random) picture of my happy baby.  Thanks for reading!

Surprise Packages

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved getting the mail.  There is always a sense of anticipation, the possibility of something exciting that you weren't expecting to get.  A glossy new catalog to flip through and circle the items you want, a wedding invitation, a big check made out to you for your birthday...and sometimes, if you're really lucky, a suprise package.  I got one of those today.  Surprisingly, I didn't even notice a delivery truck pulling up beside our house at all, and Cosmo didn't alert me to it by barking either.  But just as Matt was leaving for work, he told me there was a package outside the door and tossed it in for me to open.  And it wasn't something I ordered, honey, I promise!

It was addressed to Lilah and Grady, and after scanning the packing slip I discovered that is was from my lovely mother.  She must have taken note of me mentioning that I would like an ice cream maker, because that is just what it is - called "The Camper's Dream".  It's shaped like a ball and after we fill it with the necessary ingredients, the kids can toss it around and it will make the ice cream.  So neat!  I can't wait to try it out.  It also came with one of those glossy catalogs, from Educational Innovations, and there are many things in it for me to circle.  I just LOVE to circle things in catalogs, don't you?  My BFF from college (hi, Kara!) used to sit on one of the twin beds in our dorm room, each with our own special color gel pen, and circle the things in the Victoria's Secret catalog that we wanted.  We'd even make notes in the margin of what color and size to order.  But I digress...

So now I can concoct all kinds of ice cream creations.  My mind is reeling with possibilities for flavors and I'm sure that Lilah and Grady will be willing test subjects.  So, thanks Mom!

I also wanted to share some photos that I have been playing around with from our summer so far.  I'm thinking about putting together a little summer album on Shutterfly with all of the great memories we are making this summer.  That's the one downfall of digital photography, at least for me - I rarely actually print my photos on paper as keepsakes.  It's something I'm going to attempt to get better at in the near future.  But for now, they'll live on in cyberspace...

A Lily Photo

This is just a random photo I took the other night and edited in Picnik:

Settings: ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/200 sec.  Adjusted red tone in Curves, added slight Vignette.