Fall on the farm

Halloween festival

My kids love this annual event that includes a miniature train ride, inflatables, carnival games with candy prizes, a small farm animal petting area, climbing around on hay bales, and trick or treating in the fairy tale forrest (getting treats from fairy tale characters in the woods). And I like that it's only $5 a child for all of the activities!

A Day at the Apple Farm

We shook up our annual apple picking tradition by going to a different orchard this year. The main reason for the change was the opportunity to try out a corn maze. It was hot in that open field and it's a good thing that it didn't take us long because the natives got restless quickly. They also had some really cool stuff at the p[layground, inclusing the tepee and the bouncing tubes. But all in all, I think we'll be back at our beautiful, cool mountaintop orchard next year.

What's Alicia been up to?

• I've been stuck at home for a month since Brian's car suddenly had engine failure (at ten o'clock at night while I was driving it, no less). We thought to replace it, but it seems used car prices have doubled in the past couple of years, so it's been in the shop since Wednesday with no word yet on its prognosis. But it's bad...very bad. Edited to add: for just a little over the amount we originally paid for the car, we will now have a repaired car. Uggh.
• Ethan has had a mild, but lingering stomach bug for nearly two weeks. Brian had it for about five days.
• My family was supposed to arrive on Sunday, but my Grandma's cardiologists are continually trying to kill her by putting her on new drugs to control high blood pressure brought on by ...new drugs and their accompanying side effects. She passed out again and is in the hospital. As soon as she fires the cardiologists and drops the new drugs (which, btw, is not just my opinion, but the internists' at the hospital as well), she should be fine. Hopefully she'll be released this morning. I really hate doctors!
• Oh, and my parents van had the newly replaced compressor go bad the day before they were supposed to leave, so that's been rereplaced too now. When it rains...
• Despite all of this, I'm not the least bit depressed.
• Partly because I'm in the middle of a very long, very torrid love affair - with my husband. Keeps life fun and interesting.
• I also read the Twilight series about the same time the car engine died. Stayed up three nights in a row to read the three books, getting my sister hooked on them too, in the process, then was totally obsessed with them for at least two weeks, reading all 1625 pages of them about five more times. This is the real reason I quit blogging - I was busy reading! Don't think I'd recommend them to the young adults they're marketed for, but if you're older a love a good romance that get an emotional grip on you, is well-written, and has great lines, this might be an unexpected pleasure for you too. I'm ranking it right up there with Romeo and Juliet and The Notebook. The last book in the series is due out August 2, and the first movie is coming in December.
• This Twilight hang-up resulted in my listening to Stephanie Meyer's playlists that go with her books, and becoming readdicted to music as well. I've found lots of new music to love as a result, and these days find me exploring new artist on youtube and organizing my favorites into playlists. I'm enjoying Secondhand Serenade, in particular, these days.
• I also ended up in a scramble to find some fiction half as good, so that I could quit reading the same books over and over. I reread some Francine Rivers and Lori Wick and a bunch of new books. Some were pretty good. After skimming through mostly non-fiction for the past few years and reading mostly just blogs for the past year or so, I've really enjoyed reading fiction and have read more books in the past month than I have in years (if you count the massive number of rereading I've been doing).
• Oh, and another Twilight side effect is the huge quantity of Twilight flair on facebook got me readdicted to facebook as well. Good grief. :^)
• We also celebrated Rosie's third birthday and our eleventh wedding anniversary this month. I'll get her birthday letter up soon. I've got to get her official pics too. And I know that I'm miserably behind on pics for the blog, so watch out - if I start I might not stop!
• We've had some other stuff going on as well that I'm not quite ready to share here yet. It was stressful for a time, but right now, at least, I feel peaceful about this unknown in my life.
• And, who knows if this will begin continuous blogging again or not. My fam is (probably) coming in tonight or tomorrow for the next couple of weeks, and then it's going to be a mad scramble to get my school year going (no, I'm not ready, I've been reading!)

He wants to be just like his dad

The "Short" Shopping Trip

The Family Dollar and Bi-Lo are side by side. I wanted to look for the same (late) birthday present for my sister-in-law that I've been looking for for a few weeks. A pretty photo type box for storing letters and several pretty packs of notecards. (Have you noticed that, whatever you decide to buy as a gift for someone is always everywhere in plain view until you decide that it's exactly what you want to get , then suddenly, you can't find it anywhere.) And then I was going to pay a bill at Bi-Lo and pick up a short list of five things. Did I mention that I had three kids with me? Let's begin now.

Exit van, cross parking lot, "can we ride on the merry-go-round?", no quarters.

In dollar store, Ethan stops at shoe bin, flashing flip-flops, they're cool, searching for sizes, Rose takes off ballet flats to try them on, too small, back to looking for present.

Find only one pack of notecards, try to continue down aisle, "mom, look at this", "see this", "can we get this"

"If you ask for it, the answer is 'no' " (haven't I said this before)

"Look at this" (picks it up), pass shoe shelf, Rose has shoes off again to try on adult flip-flops, put shoes back on (did I mention they're a pain to put on)

"No one is to pick up anything else." Each one picks up one more thing. Informed that I've begun a tally for each infraction, now standing at 1 and 1, Mom finally wins a round.

"Who are we shopping for?", "Aunt Kristy", find beautiful storage box

"Mom, look at this", am I crazy?, "I said the answer is 'no' ", "It's not for us, Mom, it's for you", "Thanks, but the only thing that I want is to get out of this store."

Eventually we make it out of that store. Stop at merry-go-round with perfect $.50 change. Head to Bi-Lo. Put girls in cart.

Go to bill counter, "Mom can we get a [free] cookie", pay bill, get cookies, debate over rotisserie chicken flavors, compare sizes, "ooo, broccoli", Ethan weighs chicken just for fun, choose apple slices over melon cubes, Ethan weighs those too (even though they're packaged and the weight is marked).

On to the sample guy with his delicious sauteed veggies and chicken. We all love it, except Rose who doesn't like veggies or chicken (or anything else, really, except breakfast, PBJ, and bananas). Add seasoning to the list. Try it on the chips...

"AHH!" "Too spicy!" "We need a drink" "Where's the water fountain" "I don't know" Catch up with the pharmacists (that we, thankfully, haven't seen much this year). Find fountain. Get everyone a drink. Go to spice aisle. Can't find spice. Get it from sample guy. Back to original list. Get pull-ups. "Ooo, I really want poptarts." "Not this time."

Okay, Scotch toilet scrubbers. Do they have them? "What are they?" "What do they look like?" Show picture on coupon. "Is this it?" Give up. Get milk.

On spying a grapefruit juice carton Ethan: "See, Anna, I told you that there were red lemons" Me: "They're pink grapefruit, not lemons, and they're called Ruby Reds."

Head toward batteries. No button cells. Look around elsewhere. Sick of looking. want to go home. Forget button cells - Walmart another day. Get in line.

Anna: "Look, Mom, are those poptarts? I really want poptarts" "They're not poptarts." "I think they are, Mom, can you go look?" "I can see them, they're not and we aren't getting poptarts today."

Ethan: "Ooo, Mom, this cereal has an Indiana Jones spoon in it. "Oh?" "Can I bring it to you?" "Honey, you can't eat it. It has gluten" "Please, Mom, just check it." "It has gluten." "Please..." "Fine, bring it... It has gluten." "That's okay, you guys can eat it and then I can have the spoon." "I don't even know how much it is." I go to find the price. Why am I doing this? I don't even want this. Am I really losing it? $3.57. "I am not paying $3.57 for cereal just to get a spoon." "Please." "I'll get it on sale or at Walmart later, if I can."

Finally. Check out....

One and a half hours.

Spring photo shoot

Last Friday, we handed the kids a camera a set out to find signs of spring. We had lots of fun, but I think our walk down an azalea, dogwood, and wisteria filled residential street last year actually offered more in spring flower shooting opportunity. We'll go back to that next year.

Happy Arbor Day!

Day 5

I didn't care much for the ship decor. We were on an old ship on its second to last sail, but there was a Carnival TV channel playing in the room and when it showed Carnival's other ships and their common designer, I really found them all to be gaudy and rather ugly. I'd like to see if other cruise lines have nicer more elegant, or just simpler, decor. I'm all for themes, but I prefer the way Disney resorts, for example, interpret them.

That said, our ship's inspiring theme was supposed to be New Orleans. I've been to New Orleans (before Katrina) and it was gorgeous. I really didn't get the feel of it at all here. But this one deck had a few stronger elements with the trolley and trolley line, and the lamposts.

I do think that this Endless Summer Lounge is a really cool room.

I very much wanted to revisit Jekyll Island on our way home. It's so beautiful, and who can get to much of oceans and islands? Besides, we were still feeling lulled. Going from boat to car kept us in that rocking motion, but sleeping while driving is not recommeneded. Brian treated me to a delicious fresh seafood lunch. The man's a gem.

View of the marina from the back porch of the restaurant.

I have a love affair with Spanish moss. It just makes me happy.

See, don't I look happy?

This may well be the softest sand I've ever felt.

Hamming it up.

Pelicans are my favorite seabirds to watch. They're really pretty ugly, but I love to watch them dive. I saw a bunch, but they were to far out to get good pictures. Trust me, I tried. There were, however, plenty of sandpipers and seagulls.

Day 4

I managed to not take very many pictures today somehow. It was a lazy day at sea, and we were lulled by the ship. We slept in, had breakfast, met and talked to a cardiologist about his medical research, got some sun (not that we needed any more after the day snorkelling), took a nap, and took pictures of the sunset. I wish I had read the tutorial on sunrises and sunsets. I took a million shots, but just couldn't capture what I was seeing. And the tropical breezes were now long gone - it was freezing out on deck that evening!

I've always wanted to try karaoke and decided that this was the place to do it - I'd never see anyone there again. :^) Broadway, here I come!

Day 3

Day 3 found me scrambling to get dressed in a hurry

so that we could run up on to an open deck

to watch us pull into the port at Nassau at 8 AM.

Entrance to the city

Souvenir shopping - we avoided shopping as much as possible,

but had to pick up gifts for our kids and parents. I collect magnets and postcards,

do that keeps my souvenirs at a minimum. I kind of wish I had

gotten myself something a little more significant from the islands, but

I guess that that's what my photographs are for. I thought that

I was going to be able to bring home a piece of coral I found on the beach,

which would have pleased me much more than shop merchandise,

but found out that stuff like that doesn't go through customs. :^(

Nassau was a center of pirate activity in the 18th century, and Brian really wanted to see the Pirate Museum.

It was a very nice wax museum and lots of creepy sound effects.

I'm pretty easily spooked and I was sure that one of those guys was going to turn out

to not be wax and was going to scare me to death.

The guy outside turned out to be the only resident pirate. But he more than made up for it.

The locals recommended The Fish Fry on our request for an authentic and "untouristy" restaurant. They also recommended trying conch. I had cracked conch (breaded strips) and Brian had grilled conch which came in a foil packet with peppers and onions. It was served with salad and french fries and we were stuffed! Oh, and a virgin strawberry daiquiri for me - perfect on a tropical humid day. :^) Conch is like a cross between clam strips and calamari. It was pretty good, but I was wishing for the marinara sauce.

We're sitting on the back balcony of the restaurant. Can you see our ship in the distance? click on the picture to enlarge it. It's the ship on the left.

We even got a lesson in how they "crack" conches and cut the meat out.

On the way to the fort, we had to pass these market booths, and Brian met his Bahama Mama. She stuck this coconut hat that she'd made on his head, and said, "Come get a picture with Big Mama." Then she wouldn't let us go until we'd bought coral necklaces and t-shirts from her.

Fort Charlotte

It was time to hit the beach, the buses take you most places for $1, and they stuff them full, but these buses had a unique feature. instead of standing in the middle holding on to a pole, they had little seats that flipped down from the side seats to fill the center aisle.

We went to Cable Beach, thinking we'd find an open stretch of beach. The bus driver, however stopped in front of a hotel casino and told us to go through the casino to the beach. We did, and found a lovely beach a the resort, but spent a little while wondering if we were really supposed to be enjoying the lounge chairs and tiki huts, then decided not to worry about it. And enjoy them (and that gorgeous blue water!) we did.

This is a view of the other two cruise ships from our ship.
The only time I really felt nervous on the ship was out on an open deck on the open sea, in the dark. When the only other mental images your mind has of a big ship cutting through dark water is Titanic, it's a bit unsettling. Hehe.

The guy spinning the plate was our head waiter, Martin. He was a hoot! And our maitre'd was a crazy man. Every night as we finished dessert the lights in the dining room would flash, and he'd whisper "showtime" into the microphone in his French-Canadian accent, and a hilarious five minute show would follow. One night it was Italian night which ended in the wait staff singing "O Solo Mio" in Italian in 16 different accents. Another night it was a congo line. The last night a hilarious farewell song.

Terror Level: High

Ever have one of those days when you can't decide which would make you feel better, locking all of your kids in a room, or locking yourself in a room? It's especially discouraging when you woke up that day with so many good things you wanted to do with them - reading, planting seeds... and at the end of the day, you did nothing but referee arguments, fix problems, and clean up messes. Makes ya glad that days only have 24 hours - then you get a new one. ;^)

We're back!

Anna Kate's Birthday Pics

the make-up kit she's "always wanted"

breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts


new outfits from Gramma - she sent four,

Anna chose one to wear to the park - and so did Rose!


at the park


finally at the end of the day, the new Barbie Mariposa
movie she'd been waiting for

Anna Kate's Ballet Party

ballerina cake - a 12 Dancing Princess barbie, no less

real leather ballet shoes from Gran

doing a ballet routine on an improvised barre
with the I'm a Ballerina Now DVD

"Happy Birthday, dear Anna Kate"


Beautiful Beaded Hair Ribbon Ballerina Craft

Ballerina Says

the up and coming ballerina

More Links and Ideas for a Ballet Party:

1. Free printable ballerina party invitations
2. We started with this ballet class hidden picture activity as the guests were arriving.
3. Raspberry floats - raspberry soda with raspberry sherbet
4. Blow up a bag of pink and a bag of lavendar balloons and scatter them across the floor
5. Dollar Store princess crowns and/or tutus as favors - we also had stuffed ballerina bears and unicorns that I got 50% off after Valentine's Day (and later saw for 75% off!)
6. I meant to scatter artificial rose petals down the table too, but I forgot
7. Play "pass the slipper" (hot potato) to Nutcracker music
8. You can find Angelina Ballerina coloring pages here.
9. More great ideas here and here.
   

Ethan's blog

Ethan's been begging for a blog, and so this past weekend we launched Art by Ethan. Go have a look and leave some comments - make his day!

Easter news and pics

On Good Friday, after much debate with myself, I decided to ditch my somewhat sick kids and off-for-the-day husband in the afternoon and attended a 20 year college chorale reunion which involved a short rehearsal, dinner together, singing as a reunion choir for the last Bible Conference service, and a reception. Brian's mom came to watch the kids so that Brian could join me for the reception and it also happened to be my 10 year college reunion that night too, so we popped in on that as well. I'm so glad that I went to the chorale reunion. Being in that choir was my favorite part of college, and I love the director. He is a wonderful choral conductor and kind, personable teacher. It was so nice to see and talk with him again.

First thing Easter morning, Ethan created a couple of dioramas - I love this one!

Isn't Mom's Easter table pretty?

Brian and his grandma

The artist as one can usually find him

They missed the Saturday egg hunt, because, despite the cute pics, they were feeling really crummy.

So even thought I'd planned on skipping the Easter afternoon egg hunt, they begged for it.

So I swiped a dozen eggs from Gran and the candy from their favors and hid them - they were quite pleased!

Rosie got swapped out in Photoshop by my brilliant husband, and I think that it turned out rather well.

Our day-after-Easter-50% off- baskets and bunnies. It really was a great concept, but those toys redefined cheap. Ethan couldn't even use his - they have to be returned, and the others aren't far behind. I think we'll skip Walmart and see if K-Mart or Target have better quality next year.

Seeing the light

At the end of the tunnel, that is. It's been busy! Easter and birthdays with a lovely mix of bronchitis and stomach bug has been exciting, but it's winding down. I think Anna Kate is officially over the stomach bug and Ethan's cough is almost gone and the girls' coughs are much improved. And we only have one birthday left - Anna Kate's ballerina party is this Saturday (her birthday is April 1). We've enjoyed all of the celebrations, but shopping and doing all of the extra stuff with three sick kids was a little much. Just wanted to pop in quick. So many posts and pictures, so little time...

Sweet 32

Ethan made up this version for me and compelled everyone, even my sassy father-in-law (love you, Dad!) to sing it for me. Brian's mom made dinner and my pretty cake.

I just realized I'm twice my Sweet 16 birthday. That'll make a girl feel old ( I was doing well until then!).

My Life In Pictures

It's a good thing that I like to take pictures, because it's the only way that I remember what I did a week ago!

So here's the run down:LEAP DAY 2008:

The gang with their Amphibian Ark frog masks

Ethan was so excited each time he caught sight

of another table set up at the zoo for Leap Day.

the kids made origami frogs at this one.

*******

preface:

Rose is always in character, usually as a princess, and most

often as Luciana (from Barbie's Island Princess movie).

"Come'on, Rosie, smile."

"Smile for your prince, Luciana." (The things mothers will come up with to get a picture!)

Our friend, Leah thought this leapord was too funny with his

tongue hanging out and had me take this picture.

Sherbet the Frog

And his short life span...

Happy Birthday, George... and half my family!

Today is George Washington's birthday. It is also my Nanny's birthday (my paternal grandmother), my father-in-law's birthday, and my brother Titus' birthday. So, Titus requested a gluten-free chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. He, however, lives a few states away from me in northern Virginia, so I shipped 15 chocolate cupcakes, 2 gluten-free fudge brownies, and a few other things, including peanut butter and confectioner's sugar, and my gem of a sister is going to make the peanut butter cup frosting (the recipe was on the cake mix) for me. We're celebrating Dad's birthday on Saturday with a mahi mahi dinner. I found a really cool gift idea last night, and we're going to see if it can be found in town this afternoon. I'll show you later. And we'll give Nanny a birthday phone call sometime too.

As for George, we're about to read the story of the cherry tree, as well as his prayers at Valley Forge from The Children's Treasury of Virtues. And we're having these yummy cherry cheesecake cupcakes for dessert tonight.

graphic from www.historyimages.com

Dejected

Why on earth would she want to see a giraffe when she was just at a playground? (And who, I'd like to know, had the brilliant idea of putting a huge playground right outside the zoo????)

Anna's New Look

Our trip to the zoo on Tuesday was slightly delayed by an impromtu haircut, but it turned out okay. I've asked her to let me know when she wants a haircut before attempting it herself next time. :^)

Of Deals and Discouragement...and Hope

The Lord poured out blessings in my shopping this week.

It began on Thursday night when we passed by Steve and Barry's, a store I'd never noticed (it was near the mall, and I avoid the mall) to find that everything in the store was on sale for $8.95! I got a great denim jacket, a pair of pants, and camouflage pants for Ethan.

On Friday, I was reading Money Saving Mom, and realized that a reader she linked to lived near me. She mentioned a store that I shop at, and said that they had a sidewalk sale every few weeks where you could fill a banana box with groceries for $6. I had no idea. I go there once or twice a month for meat and produce deals.

Then, without my having mentioned all of this, Brian came home from a friend's house Friday night telling me about the same sale, and that they were having one tomorrow! Well, I'm not as dense as I look, so I picked up on the fact that I'd better plan to be there bright and early. Here is what I got for just $12 (two banana boxes):

This stash includes 13 boxes of organic cereal and granola, most of which are gluten free, 5 bags of gluten free pancake mix (those are about $4.50 a piece usually), gluten free bread mix, 3 cartons of chai tea base, 4 boxes of oatmeal, and a ton more.

I'd seen a yard sale on the way to the grocery store, so I stopped on the way back. Here's what I found:

For the past two summers, my children have begged me to get an ice cream maker. This one had only been used once or twice and had the instructions. The stoneware set was unused. The four lighthouse ornaments have price tags on them of $7.99 each, Don't you think the backpacks' cute? Ethan's been wanting a snake like that for a long time, I 've been picking up Magnetix and any other building sets wherever I find them, and this is how I have a large video library that my family and friends enjoy. Total cost? $13.

I was on a roll and decided that this was definitely the day to hit the thrift store that is only open on Thursday and Saturday mornings. They only take cash, and I walked in their door with $8 left in my pocket...to find a sign saying that it was $5/bag day for clothes and shoes. Unreal. Here's what $5 bought:

Ethan needed the most, and certainly got the most with four pairs of pants, 5 shirts, and a sweater, some for now, and some for next year. The rest is girl clothes, with the exception of the cute shoes. They're mine. I've been kind of a mess in the shoe department this year. I rarely spend more than $15 on a pair of shoes, and virtually never buy more than a pair or two a season. I'd found a pair of brown flats this fall, but my black shoes were a couple of years old, so these are perfect. Especially for my jeans that are a bit too long. :^)

Back on the homefront, Brian's been miserable for weeks. A lot of pain and extreme fatigue. He did so well in November, but that's long gone. It gets discouraging, not knowing what makes him go from better to awful again. Today was a rough day for him, and for the children that want to play with him, and for a wife that feels helpless and in the dark as to why this is happening to our lives.

But all I have to do is look at what He just provided for us today, and see the little details God brought together for me to be in all these places at just the right times, and it's obvious that He is in control of and "working together" things so small that we sometimes miss Him. I think that we often feel Him far away when He is, indeed, very near.

Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,because His compassions fail
not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “ The LORD is my
portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The LORD is good to those who
wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and
wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

This is where I'm at tonight. Clinging to the goodness of God.

God is good all the time.

Anna Kate's First Official Dance Lesson

This is what she's been waiting for her whole life! I've been looking for an appropriate, affordable, and local program for years. The strict classical ballet programs were the most expensive and the Christian arts program was 40 minutes away, but I finally found this program at our local YMCA. Their recital piece this quarter is to a Twila Paris song from her lullaby CD.

Every morning since I told her that she was to finally begin her lessons, the first words out of her mouth each morning were: "Only three (two, one) more days til my ballet class!" Literally. I kid you not!

Her teacher told me that she did very well (she'd missed the first two classes) and Anna told me that the teacher had asked if she'd had lessons before, and how she knew the positions. Anna Kate told her that it was from princess movies!

This child spends nearly every day in a leotard and tights and practices positions and dance moves from the Barbie princess movies. I'm absolutely relieved to finally have her in a dance class where she can learn to do what she loves best.

She chose this black outfit. Originally she'd wanted a white leotard to go with her ballet shoes that she'd received at Christmas, but Walmart had only black and pink. She had this leotard already and chose to stay with black, so I got matching shoes, skirt, and tights. She pulled her black leggins over her tights to wear on the way to her lesson, wearing her Mary Janes and carrying her slippers in a cute bag. I tried to coax her into wearing a gorgeous turquoise rose in her hair, but she insisted on black there too.

Rose was wearing her Snow White dress, and I'm sure that in about six months we'll have to begin discussions on when to enroll our next dancing princess.

Do you get really stuck on one or two songs?

I absolutely get addicted to songs sometimes, playing them over and over. Right now it's Coldplay's "Fix You", who wouldn't love that guitar bridge? Ethan sure does, and my girls find it very danceable. I'm also enjoying Hillsong's "From the Inside Out". What songs are you stuck on right now?

We sing hymns and spiritual songs at the end of family devotions. Rosie usually requests "Jesus Loves Me" or "Oh, How I Love Jesus", but last night she surprised me. When we asked what she wanted to sing she said, "Glorious", I began racking my brain for what she was referring to, but Ethan quickly interpreted that she wanted to sing "Father all-glorious", as in "Come Thou, Almighty King". I'd introduced it as the new hymn a few days ago and we'd only sung it two nights, but she apparently liked it, and did quite well singing it. I love new songs, but don't want my kids to miss the treasures of the old.

So tell me now, what song's in your head today (that you want there, ya know, not the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme, although it is really cute!)?

And then it was day

It was wet, but they convinced me that they really needed to try out the backyard too.

I think I might be crazy...but I'm enjoying it

The snow began Wednesday night and before the children went to bed it had already covered the cars and grass, but wasn't much to play in, so I sent them off to sleep. By midnight it was coming down harder than ever and we had