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.