Objects in the Rear View Mirror

An apple filled Addendum to the Rantings Post

Just when I decided that all that is wrong with the world is doing a frontal assault on me, some generous, kind person falls into my path and reminds me that the real problem lies in the black hearted person I let myself become. {Lesson: Don't Be Easily Offended!) We decided to take advantage of one day without rain, and it the apple orchard. Our favorite here is Dubois Farm in Highland. It is a beautiful orchard filled with all kinds of fruits, and has a barn filled with treats like apple pies and apple cider doughnuts. We went in search of our favorite apple - HONEY CRISPS... Jack and Lyv eat these like candy because that is what they taste like. We got there and found out that the honeycrisps weren't available to be picked anymore. BUMMER! So we settled for some Gala's which the kids loved too. We picked up a few pumpkins to take home and then started the walk back to the car. As we walked a man in a very "official-looking" golf cart stopped me and asked where I was from. I told him, adding that we loved this farm because we had got such great Honeycrips last year. He then told me to go up to where the honeycrisps were and see if I could find any that were still good. (By now the birds and bugs start to get to them.) I came back with a 1/2 bushel of the biggest, juiciest honeycrisps and all for the price of one man's kindness. He invited us to come back anytime to play in the little playhouses they have on the property as well. Thank you for falling into my path and reminding me that my generalizations aren't very true!) People are good, life is great, and no matter your location you can always CHOOSE to happy. Jack's giving you his thumbs up!

Finally a parting clink to you - our little post-school celebration with Sam, tea please!

Nothing Like Grass on your Cleats!

Saturday kicked off soccer season for Sam. This is his third season, and we've moved up to the "big leagues" in the under-8 category. I can see that sports are starting to get more intense and more important, now seeing parents pacing the sidelines and overhearing strategies for success being discussed during breaks. I'm not sure if I'm ready for this move up - but sooner or later it was going to happen. I'm a pretty vocal parent as far as cheering my child and his teammates on - an occasional Yay! Yay! Yay! might escape my mouth from time to time:)

*Note the "Erkel Look": they make the kids tuck in their jerseys, not a fashion friendly choice!

Sam was thrilled to get his jersey and have it be any color other than purple (Navy Blue this year!) He is one of the youngest kids on the team, and after his first practice, my expectations for Sam's performance were a little low. We never really play soccer at our house, so Sam's exposure is limited to his practices and games which have been ULTRA basic. However, saying this with complete objectivity, he proved to be a scrapper! He was one of the smallest kids there (there was one girl that was literally 1 1/2 feet taller than Sam) he managed to get in there and make some progress with the ball down the field. I love Sam's competitive nature, his drive to do well, and his love for being apart of a team. I hope this provides years and years of cheering him on in whatever venue he falls in love with!

Here's a still-shot movie of one of Sam's long drives:

Our Little Big Girl

I don't know the reason for the sudden transformation, but Lyv is no longer a baby - she is such a big girl. From talking, to brushing her teeth, taking care of her babies, and keeping up with her older brothers - Lyv has seemed to grow up over night! I love watching her grow. It makes me so grateful for the opportunity to be home with her. It is an amazing gift to see your children experience life and learn, talk, share, cry, conquer, fall, and accomplish!

She insists that she can do ALL that the boys can do, and gets VERY upset if I ever try to intervene (even if I'm saving her life). She gets really mad at me, and will yell at me, cry, get a really intense angry look and then start hitting me! She may look like Shawn physically but there is a Hill girl inside: bound and determined to get her way.



She loves to jump on the tramp and the air must have been static because her hair literally exploded! She looks like a toddler Einstein!

Rantings of a MAD Woman!

Because I have no other rational outlet for these feelings right now (Shawn's in surgery, mom at work, and other people have more important things to do than listen to my tales of woe) the internet will be the place for this. Why, oh Why do people here feel like they need to parent me on my parenting? We have lived here for 15 months and I have never recieved more Unwanted, Unwarranted, and Unnecessary "advice" and/or "reminders" on what I should be doing with my kids. Usually this occurs in a grocery store, it must be a perfect place for women to spot helpless mothers and spew out their rude comments, like they are pearls of wisdom.

So the story: Today I had Jack and Lyv in the shopping cart. Lyv is strapped in in the front and Jack is in the cart. I'm 10 ft away from them depositing a check b/c I can't bring the cart any closer than that due to a table in the front. This literally takes me about 3 minutes and I hear no crying, screaming, or other sounds of distress from either child nor do I see Jack trying to crawl out - we're doing good right? Wrong, in the meantime Psycho lady has approached the cart. Jack was playing with Lyv and grabbing her cheeks, but again no crying or screaming from Lyv (which if she was getting hurt or annoyed with Jack she would have let me know!) I see her talking to Jack, thinking "Oh she's just being nice." I walk over to the cart and she begins to tell me that I need to better supervise my kids because Jack was abusing Lyv's face and he could have and I quote "cracked her neck" - and I should "really watch this better!" Then she turns and walks away like she has just performed a great public service. It took every ounce of energy I had to not tackle her in the store, slap her across the face, and give her a piece of my mind. Which went something like this: Looky here lady - #1) WHO are you to tell me how to parent my kids? #2) Lyv's face does look like a battle ground but its because the misquitos are eating her alive and she is swelling like a balloon all over her face #3) If you wanted to be helpful and POLITE you could have just kindly said "I think your son might be hurting her!" #4) What is it about Eastcoast Women that give them the right to think they don't have to use a filter on what comes out of their mouths? Go ahead and think all the live long day that I'm a horrible neglectful mother, tell your daughter/husband/neighbor/co-worker/bartender about my bad parenting go right ahead, but WHY do you think it is okay for you to talk to me like that? Seriously! Any woman who has been a mother at any point in their life, should swear an oath that they will never judge another mother - because it might just be one of those days, those nightmarish, insane, everything goes wrong, spilled milk, sort of days.

Okay and as a repentant conclusion, I do greatly appreciate it when a friendly (they must be from out of state!) person tells me that my kid is about to spill out the cart or is running away from me, or hitting someone, in a way that I can still be the parent. Thank you to you - I need that help, because I know that I'm not always able to see out the back of my head. Today I had a very nice lady buy Jack a pack of Starburst that made his day! Thank you sweet kind woman, for reminding me that there are people here who like children and their unqualified mothers.

Lets Play Wrestle!

One of my kids' favorite things to do with Shawn when he gets home is wrestle. Jack beg's Shawn to "let's play wrestle" as soon as dinner is over. Nearly ever night he gathers the three of them in one of their rooms and turns it into a WWF arena. They all love it, and are getting good at their half and full Nelsons! Jack is our Little Bum Looker though and pulls down everyone's pants - that cheeky monkey!

Could it be any more flooded?

Saturday we set out in pursuit of some DELICIOUS HoneyCrisp apples at DuBois Farm. Little did we know that we were on a wild goose chase to find a raod there that wasn't covered in water. We spent about 1 1/2 in the car and still came up short. We finally settled for Stone Ridge Orchard, but I was a little disappointed with the "experience" and they weren't any fresh apple cider donuts to ease my disappointment.

Jack could care less - this is his dream come true. This child LOVES apples. He eats them all - core, seeds, stem, he's not a distinguisher of parts, types or color. He was thrilled and loved lugging the bag around saying, "It so hebby (heavy)" I couldn't help but crack up his Gus-Gus ness: you know the mouse on Cinderella that piles a huge stack of corn under his chin..... Jack took notes and did the same to his apples.


Lyv is right there with Jack in loving the apples, but these were a little sour. So we'll be making a trip to DuBois farm before apple season is over!

Jack also started Preschool today.

(notice the rubberband braclet - oh what an accessorizer! It reminds me of my mom's jewelery!)

He and Lyv are in for a year of fun! I hope that I stick with it as good as I did with Sam last year. I do have to say that Jack exceeded my expectations for participating - he hung in there for 45 minutes and did all that I asked him to do. The biggest disappointment came when he realized that he didn't get to ride the bus with Sam - soon enough little buddy! I'm super excited to spend this one on one time with Jack, he is a ton of fun.

Ahhh...The best Shower EVER!

Finally HOT WATER!!!  We had a week without electricity and water, and then another week without a dryer or hot water. No more hauling buckets or boiling pots of water for bathing!  I can actually turn on the faucet and have hot or cold water come out.  It is a beautiful thing.  The hot shower I took on Friday afternoon was the best shower of my life, second only to the shower I had after hiking in the Grand Canyon for four days. 

Sam's 1st Day of School

The day finally came for Sam to go to school. I have been dreading this day - not because I don't want Sam to go to school. He is SOOOO excited and so ready, but I'm sad to have this part of my life come to a close. We are starting a new chapter in our kids' lives that I don't think I was quite ready for. My kids will no longer be with me always, they are out experiencing and learning new and great things, and this sometimes scares me. I'm encouraged by Sam's intelligence and his ability to adapt to change well, but I'm so sad to have him gone. He has been my constant companion for 6 years. There were times when I was ready to send him to any school that would take him, and other times when I thought I couldn't live without him there to help me, to talk to me, and to be my oldest. The time came, and the I say with great pride that I didn't cry. (I did all of my crying the night before, okay sobbing better describes it). I put him on the bus, and sent him away.

A tender mercy came in the fact that he had a 2 hour delay, so I got an extra two hours to prepare for the inevitable. And yes, he came back in one piece looking older and happy with a day complete. I asked him about his day - he said he had the coolest t-shirt on, which was awesome. He also liked art and being able to eat his lunch in the lunchroom. His teacher's name is Mrs. Krauss, and we'll get to meet her in a week and see his classroom. He woke up this morning, early like the responsible boy he is and got dressed right away. He's so excited for school and I'm excited for him.

Jack's 3rd Birthday

Its hard to believe that three years have past since that wonderful moment in the early hours of Saturday September 6th, that a perfect, beautifuly, healthy baby boy was placed in my eager arms. It had been a long, sad wait for this moment - and in that instant joy replaced heartache. He has continued to bring our family JOY! Jack is the child that attribute most of the laughs in our house to. He is in constant motion and therefore constantly finding new things and new ways to play with and in. He causes me my most frustration and my most instanteous happiness. He was worth waiting for, and as we mark 3 years of having him in our family, I feel like I'm being to understand the wisdom is having to wait for him. I don't think I would have truly appreciated him and all of his uniqueness without it.

We started out the day with Apple Jacks - (no milk/ thanks Uncle Jake!). The festivities were slowed down in getting Sam ready for school, but we quickly started the party after that.
Jack wanted Old McDonald's for lunch, and then we waited for Sam to get home from school. Dad arrived home from work early and we ripped open our presents. We made Jack's favorite dinner - Hamburgers, homemade french fries, and Rootbeer! The best!Then we broke out the cake. Jack helped me make it during the afternoon, and our friend's the Thun's came over to sing Happy Birthday to Jack. He wanted a spiderman cake, and Spidey is what he got. He was so cute - singing the entire birthday song to himself, at the top of his lungs. He loved everything about birthdays!


Opening presents was the highlight - Jack was soooo spoiled and he loved all of his fun new toys, books, candy, shirt, music, and MONEY! He loves money, and often goes through my purse in pursuit of loose change or bills. Little pick pocket.

Future McDonald's employee: Jack LOVED this present!!! Curse you McDonald's for luring my child further into your grasps!
Here are some things about Jack that we love:

He doesn't say the word "YES" he makes this funny obscure grunt noise like "Huh". It drive me crazy!
He LOVES LOVES LOVES pop, juice, candy, and fruit - the more sugar the better for Jack.
He is incredibly independent - "I do it myself!" He is excited to be big and love his brother Sam.
He loves to snuggle at night and often asks "Mom, lay with me!"
He is so smart. Really he can figure anything out in a matter of minutes. This often leads to trouble for Jack, because he's usually McGievering some contraption meant to keep little people out.

He loves to destroy things - we build a tower or train track he plows it over. He finds great pleasure in playing in dirt, mud, throwing rocks, and poking sticks into things. He says funny phrases that are very adultish and makes us laugh all of the time.
Maybe it was the combination of having Sam go to school and Jack's 3rd birthday, but this birthday day struck me as making Jack seem so BIG. He is no longer a toddler, he's a fully independent, curious BOY, and I'm excited for the next two years of having him become my best buddy!

Summer Fun Before Life Changes Forever

As Sam prepares to enter the public school system and forever change the freestyle way of our life, we stock piled a lot of fun activities to commemorate this experience. It is 2 days away and I know that I'm not really prepared for the time to come. I'm so sad! But it is a great thing for Sam and HE is sooo excited. Here's some fun:

Hiking at Vernooey Kill Falls in Kerhonkson, NY. This was supposed to be a little kids friendly hike. Mind you it wasn't long (3.8 miles roundtrip). But I was thinking flat little walkway, frolicking in the woods with the two little ones in a stroller. The stroller only lasted about 1/4 mile before it was abandoned, and then the two little ones were packed on our backs for the rest of the slightly uphill hike. The falls were pretty cool and we were able to walk through them and in them. The kids enjoyed being outside, but Shawn assured me that hiking with its sweat, exertion, heat, and pretty much walking in general was not worth staying at the falls for 20 minutes. I told him this is the only hike that we'll go on until the kids get older.

Drive In Movie - A family favorite. Lyv wasn't very fun on this trip, she spent most of the time rearrange the controls in the car. The boys had a great time and who doesn't love fresh popped popcorn covered in buttery goodness?



Me and My Mom: If you've ever read the Mercer Meyer book "Just Me and My Mom" Little Critter and his mom go on an adventure to the big city. Well Sam and I took our last weekend of his freedom and headed south to NYC. We took the train from Poughkeepsie, stopping at Grand Central Station, and then subwayed ourselves over to the Museum of Natural History. We had a great time gazing at the huge dinosaur displays, seeing all the ocean animals, African, Asian, and North American mammals, and the Indian displays. Sam couldn't leave without seeing "Dum Dum give me Gum Gum!" I had such a great time with Sam. It is such a great thing to spend one on one time with your kids - you get to see so much more of their individual personality in these times then at any other.

Good Luck with school Sam - you'll do great. Good luck to myself in surviving without crying that day.