Pumpkin Patch...Volume II

Elise and Grayson playing so well together!

This was well supervised!!! They were 'pretending' to nap together!

After traveling to Greenville, we had 2 quick days of turnover, and then headed to Florida for Steve and Mary's wedding (more on that later!) On the way to Gainesville, we spent 36 hours in Jacksonville visiting Mike, Konomi, and Grayson...we hadn't seen them in almost 8 months and I was in major withdrawal after seeing them DAILY in Japan. It's always nice to catch up with them, and Elise and Grayson played together like they never missed a beat. She's asked for him everyday since we left, too...that part makes me sad. =(.
When we all lived in Jax, there were about 5-6 of us that hung out every Sunday night watching Desperate Housewives, drinking some adult beverages, etc...at the time, Konomi was the only one of us with kids. Now, there are 6 kids (+1 pregnant) and we're spread out around the country. Three of us got the kiddos together for a little photo shoot at a Pumpkin Patch. It was DISASTROUS! We had good intentions, but here's a syn0psis...it really went wrong on so many levels...
*Elise didn't sleep well the night before...I ended up sharing a twin bed with her, but no blankets. I was GRUMPY, so was she.
*It was 89 degrees outside. Unseasonably hot for mid-Oct, even in Jacksonville!
*Ainsley had a fever of about 102. I didn't know that at the time, but realized it when we got home from the pumpkin patch
*Grayson also was sick. He'd been fighting off something, but had a fever, too
*We put Elise in an extra costume of Madeline's....head-t0-toe fleece
*Grayson was in head-t0-toe fleece, also
*It was 89 degrees. Did I mention that already? I'd be pissy in all that fleece in the heat also...
*We didn't want a crowded street in the background, so we had to face INTO the Sun...you'll see ...and try to smile

That's enough...you'll see from a few pictures how well it went. We'll just laugh at these now and realize that none of them will be framed and put on a wall anywhere!

madeline, grayson, elise...all relatively happy
Madeline is bored, Elise is antsy...

We thought we'd add Ainsley...she totally FREAKED out over the costumes!

All three kids are BORED/hot/grumpy... I was trying to cheer up Ainsley, but really just LAUGHING soooo hard!

Ainsley can't open her eyes, Elise wouldn't even LOOK at the camera now

AFTER the event, back in the A/C...Elise was much happier!

Where to begin?

Ok, since I have the need to keep this chronological, I'll start the updates from almost 2 weeks ago. yikes. I'll keep them brief since Elise is at school, Ainsley is sleeping, I'm doing laundry and cooking baby food while I work on this, too...
Adam had a Court Martial (or something like that-whatever-he was in court) a few hours away on a Saturday. Since the NAVY was paying for his travel, hotel, etc...we decided it would be fun (!) to join him. One of my college roommates lives about 10 minutes from the hotel (all part of the plan...), I'd get to spend the day with her family, meet her kids, etc... we drove up on Friday, only slept about 4 hours Friday night because Elise didn't adjust well to being in a hotel! At one point, we just turned on the water at the sink in the hotel room to create some "white noise" so that Elise's crying wouldn't wake up Ainsley...every little bit of tree-hugger in me was CRINGING, but the fact that both kids were asleep won me over. It lasted maybe an hour...sorry to the environment. I had to do it.
The 8 or so hours we spent with my friend Steph was a BREATH OF FRESH AIR. It was great to see them (their kids are 8,6,4, and 2). WOW. The three oldest are boys and are adorable! Little Claire is so sweet and a blast to be around. In the midst of total craziness (a joint 6/8 year old birthday party for HER kids, soccer games, etc...), it was great to be with them. Steph has always had a wonderful attitude about family, kids, etc...and it is wonderful to watch her and Ian with their kids. They have a great balance between discipline, love, and fun. Their house is kind of a disaster, but how could it be any different with 4 active kids!? I loved (am I saying this?) the mess and the chaos. Elise was in HEAVEN with all the kids and toys, Ainsley just explored the whole time- practicing her walking skills while pushing a grocery cart around...it was great.
Although I'm pretty sure we're NOT planning on having 4 kids of our own, I would love my house/family/attitude to look like Steph's if we did! But, I would also want a nanny and/or grandparents to live nearby, and a lawn service, and a cleaning person...but that's all. =)

When Mommy is away...

I have a great weekend to blog about, also, but I'm in the midst of packing for another trip- 6 days to Florida to visit friends in Jacksonville, be in Steve/Mary's wedding, etc...but I HAVE to share a quick story from just a few hours ago...
Our great neighbor Jean wanted to go for a walk, so she took Elise in the jogging stroller so I could get some stuff done while Ainsley was napping. What a blessing! They did a quick 45 minute walk around the neighborhood. As they came home, they passed the pond (this is typical). We usually take some stale bread to feed the fish and turtles, but I forgot to send it with Jean. I guess this was the conversation that followed:

Elise: Miss Jean, can we feed fishies and turtles?
Jean: Elise, we don't have any food for them today, maybe tomorrow
Elise: I can share my snack with them if I want
Jean: I don't know if Mommy would want you to give the fish your yummy snack, though
Elise: Well...hmmmm.....but I not wif Mommy, I wif Miss Jean. So I can share my snack with fishies and turtles.

HILARIOUS!?!?! Are kids supposed to know that logic before 3 years old!?! Hmmm...Jean said she almost fell over laughing and couldn't wait to tell me when they got home.! I also love it that Jean knows how cheap I am and knew I wouldn't want the fish to get the 'first run' food of Cheerios and Raisins...they only get the junk we won't eat! =)

A Fit is a Fit

Next weekend, we're heading to Gainesville for a good friend's wedding. Adam is a groomsman and we're very excited for Steve and Mary! Adam's mom lives an hour or so away, so we'll get to spend time with "Nana" and leave the girls with her while we have 2 nights in a row on our own! I'm not sure we'll know what to do without having two kids in tow...we'll manage.
So today I started trying on old clothes to see what I would wear (BTW-Men have it so much easier...it's only a matter of suit vs. sportcoat/khakis...maybe or maybe not on the tie). After pushing past maternity clothes still hanging in the closet (b/c we have no storage in this house), then past the 'in-betweener' size stuff (the early/mid pregnancy sizes or the first couple months postpartum), back to the stuff that has a solid layer of dust on it...I don't think I did one 'dress up' event while in Japan, and the only weddings we've been to in the last three years I was a bridesmaid. So, I'm reaching DEEP on some of these dresses. I was a little intimidated, but the girls were napping and I had to get it over with. I put on my Spanx (if you don't know what that is, don't worry. If you do, you know they're heaven-sent!) and started with the dress that I wore to my own wedding's rehearsal dinner. That was over 7 years and 2 kids ago.
SURPRISINGLY, THEY FIT!!!!!!!! I was seriously amazed and it did wonders for my confidence in the midst of a harried week, a desperately needing a trip to the hair salon, and having just overall 'blah' feeling for a few days. The dresses probably don't look as great as the did 15 pounds ago, but like Notre Dame football these days, a WIN is a WIN.
For me, a "FIT is a FIT".

Weekend...

In addition to getting her second tooth this weekend, Ainsley has also turned into a master-crawler and beginning-cruiser ("Cruising"= standing up at furniture and taking steps while holding on). She loves being eye-level with Elise, who is having a blast with it, too. Here are a couple pictures from this past week. Also, over the weekend we went to a local pumpkin patch and hayride with some friends. Elise and Ben spent a ton of time in the kiddie "Hay Bale Maze." It was adorable to see them run around inside and try to solve the maze. Pretty cool idea, too.

Never one to waste..

So I made this great casserole on Friday. It's one I've made before, but I amended it a little and it was even better than normal. Yum. HOWEVER, I didn't pay attention to the amounts of each ingredient until I was in the midst of cooking already. At that point it was too late to cut the recipe in 1/2 (which I usually do since it's only two of us eating something like that). So that was Friday. Adam and I both had a healthy portion for dinner that night... and Saturday... and Sunday night, too. At this point, we're both sick of the casserole, but I'm not going to throw away any food, so we keep plugging away. I just finished the last portion for lunch today (Monday). It was good each time, but it'll probably be awhile before I make that again. I should've suspected something when it started with "FIVE CUPS of cooked rice"....=).

Hmmm...why did we wait this long?

After a couple hours of us helping Elise fall asleep (annoying last night, but really no big deal in the whole scheme of things), she was fine without the pacifier all night. She woke up asking for it once around midnight, but that was it! So we made a trip to the Dollar Store this morning and got a new puzzle and coloring book. That's it. Seriously? I should've done this 6 mos ago. But, whatever. It doesn't really matter, either. One thing that I feel like I'm continually learning as a parent is that I don't give my kids enough credit. I underestimate how well they can adapt when they need to. It's fun when they exceed what I expect of them. YAY!