new toy

We found a real deal today - only $3.99 as an end-of-summer clearance item. The sand and water playset kept the kids happy for a good half hour before naptime intruded. Poor Jamie, he cried as he had to leave, "I miss it!" 

Ohio field trip

Our trip to Ohio was wonderful - a time for fun with family and friends. We relaxed, played and shopped. It made me wish to move to Ohio! Oh well.
On Friday we went on a field trip to the Brukner Nature Center, which is near Dayton. We got more than we bargained for, in a good way and a bad way. It was a very nice place to visit - a welcoming visitors center, birds and animals to observe, an old log cabin, and plenty of paths to hike (reminiscent of Hocking Hills). On top of those things they were having a sale, where we got some good deals! Unfortunately, Jamie had some problems keeping clean and healthy, so our visit was cut short. He did enjoy seeing the animals and birds, especially the turtles.
They rehabilitate injured wildlife there, which explains all the animals and birds. We were able to see owls, turkey vultures, a heron, a bald eagle, crows, foxes, a bobcat, turtles, quail, opossums, and snakes. All for free! The center is supported through donations and grants for the most part, and charges a small fee for entry (only on Sunday). I highly recommend a day trip here. It would be nice to go back someday.

hindsight

From a little book I picked up at the library this week:

The British government even tried this tea tax on the American Colonies, but the Americans would have none of it. At an enormous fancy-dress tea party in Boston in 1773, where the guestss came dressed as Red Indians, they decided to renounce tea in favour of Independence. Pitt the Younger then reduced the tax on tea in 1784, a classic example of locking the door after the horse has bolted.

by Helen Simpson

what assistant pastors do on their days off

Apparently they research Saabs and post on blogs like this. Of course, this is only conjecture on my part. BTW, Mom and I highly recommend the ballet.

toddler vacation

What does a three-year-old do when on vacation? So far Jamie has been spoiled by his grandparents - he's never had so much attention throughout the day. There's always someone who will play with him. There are lots of "new" toys, and new places to see.
In Norwalk Jamie tries to play with Abby, Grandma's dog. Unfortunately, Abby is a bit frightened by this small human, and tries to avoid being alone with him. She does sit by his feet at dinner, though, as he is the one most likely to drop food.
In Columbus there are trains. Lots of trains. If only we could see each and everyone go by... On the other hand, there are lots of toys inside the house, and a swing outside the house. Of course, in Columbus we also go to the thrift stores, where there are lots and lots of new toys just waiting to be played with! Too bad Mommy always wants to look at clothes.
On Friday Uncle Mike will come over. We will go out to Slate Run or Ye Olde Mill or something else fun. On Saturday Daddy and Dorothy will join us and we will have a big party! Want to join us?

Rupert Christmas Exchange

Summer is coming to a close. Soon school will start, leaves will fall, days will shorten and winter will arrive. The holidays will be here before you know it! Are you ready?

Here is the Rupert exchange list for this Christmas:

Mike for Joel
Linda for Katrina

Andy for Mike
Sharon for Linda

Jim for Andy
Laura for Sharon

Joel for Jim
Katrina for Laura

Katrina, I like jewelry! :-)
Sharon, what's on your list this year?

The result

This is what I have decided to go with for now... medium-length, side-swept bangs. Thanks for all the input! 

Hair

I had the same hair for so long, and I figured it was time to change something. At the beginning of the year I started to let my bangs grow out. I know that it is hard to grow hair out gracefully, but I am getting pretty tired of my long bangs. If I return to my old hairstyle I'll feel like I am giving up. What do you think? Should I go for all long hair / no bangs? short bangs straight across the forhead? long bangs swept to the side? medium side-swept bangs?

what you say... what kids hear

This week is Neighborhood Bible Time at our church. I am in the nursery this year, which is far more work than you would think... we had four babies (under one year old) and one toddler (under two years old). None wanted to sleep, but all needed to sleep. I have two teen girls helping, but they tend to let me handle the diapers and fussy kids. At least I am inside with the AC on, instead of out in the heat wave we are dealing with.
One perk of working with the babies - we can sneak in the back of the auditorium for a few minute of Bible time if we want. One day I walked in and listened as they went over the Ten Commandments. Mr. Brock (our NBT leader) asked the primary kids to help him list the commandments in order, one by one. They did well up until they hit #6.
"What is the sixth commandment?" asked Mr Brock.
"Do not kill adult trees." a young boy answered.

Museum day

On September 30, 2006, for one day only, museums and cultural institutions across the country will join the Smithsonian Institution in offering free admission to visitors.
Look for more details and a complete listing of participating museums in the September issue of Smithsonian or visit smithsonian.com/museumday.

There are a few here in our area that look a bit tempting. A day at Historic St. Mary's City? The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania? (Yes, the RR museum would be for Jamie... I'm sure he would be thrilled!)

the good part of the concert

Earlier I wrote about the patriotic concert we tried to enjoy. Here is a photo from the good part. Jamie is a very friendly kid - he says "hi!" to everyone who passes our house. Here you see him as he made friends with a boy nearby our seats, one who was kind enough to share his toy cars with Jamie. Jamie has good taste, don't you think? Or is it normal for my famiy to seak out redheads? 

pinocchio

If only I were a real boy! 

Happy 4th!

We have been looking forward to this weekend for awhile. Jim obviously has today off, but he took yesterday off as well, making it a lo-o-ong weekend. We cleaned in the basement, and took a load of stuff to the thrift store (and brought back books, of course), went swimming at our friends' house, did some finish work on the basement door, and did lots of yardwork. To actually celebrate the Fourth we made plans with friends to meet up at Oregon Ridge for the Baltimore Symphony's Patriotic concert and fireworks. We had gone last year, and we all really enjoyed it.
Last night we headed out the door a little after 5:30 - the concert started at 8 pm. We arrived at the alternative parking area and rode the bus (free shuttles, well timed!) over to the park. Jamie loved the buses! It was probably the highlight of the night for him... The park was packed when we arrived, but we found a pretty good spot on the far side of the hill, and we staked out enough room for our friends, too. Jim took the kids to the playground, and by the time they were heading back our friends arrived as well. We all settled in, opened snacks, and waited for the concert to start. Jim, being a closet pessimist, looked up and commented on the clouds. No, they'll blow over, surely? (Please God, let it blow over...) The concert started, and we all stood at attention for the national anthem. Jamie was frightened when they shot off a few fireworks at the end of the song... he might not be ready for fireworks yet. We sat back down, and the symphony started some Copeland, when Jim turned to me and said, "I felt a raindrop." I admitted that I had, as well. (Please God, let it blow over...) Jim began to pack things up, and folded up our quilt. People nearby also packed things up, or brought out umbrellas or tarps (things which we did not pack). The kids huddled in our laps as it began to pour! The music stopped, and they announced that there would be a short break in the program. I pulled Jamie's quilt over our heads while Jim and Dot simply cuddled up without cover. There was thunder and lightning. People began to leave. Jim wanted to just wait it out, but the minutes went by and the rain kept falling. Dot pleaded to go take shelter in the bathroom. Jamie started to quietly question, "Bus? Bus? Bus?" as he and I got soaked through. We gave up on trying to stay dry, and told our friends we were going to leave. We slogged through the crowd, dripping wet, looking for a bus to take us back to our car. Jamie was happy to ride the bus again, and happily exclaimed whenever we crossed train tracks. He did not want to get off the bus! However, we were wet and cold, and we miserably trudged across the parking lot to our car. Thankfully it was not raining there. We loaded our wet things into the trunk, stripped Jamie, and tried our best to get into the car without soaking it. We headed home, and noticed that it seemed dry everywhere else. Some areas were setting off fireworks, which we could see from the interstate.
We got home and changed into dry pajamas once we unoaded all our wet stuff. Jim set out the chairs to air dry on the deck as I started a load of wet laundry. We covered the table with wet and damp items from our pockets (even things in Jim's wallet got wet!), and finally got the kids to bed.
We slept well last night. No thunderstorms here - in fact, the only rain in our area last night was up there, where we were. There's a higher chance of rain tonight, though. Other than PBS, we may not see fireworks at all this year!

Favorite new toy

When Joel went to DC by himself KJ and I took the kids to the thrift store. What else do you do when site-seeing??? :-) Of course, the kids wanted to look at the toys, a section that amounts to a giant toybox. We do find good toys every so often, and they found one on this trip, too. For only $ 1.91 we bought a magnetic play theatre, and all the pieces were there! We thought that Dot would be the one who enjoyed this toy, but it turns out that Jamie has claimed it for himself. He loves to play with it, and loves to have Mommy tell stories with it. Check it out!

Whatcha readin?

Summer beach books have been snatched up by the thousands, and many have already been devoured or abandoned. No bestseller books for me this summer... Not that I have much time to read anyway, with the summer schedule we have! On my dresser there is a pile of books that I am working my way through:
Bright Captivity by Eugenia Price
Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft
The Holy Bible, ESV
AWife's Purpose by Cindy Schaap (for Ladies Bible study)

I wholeheartedly promote reading the first three books. The last one is okay - if you can't find something better (which should be easy enough to do!).

On top of all this, I am also reading through my latest issues of Smithsonian (always a good read) and Cook's Country (a sister magazine to Cook's Illustrated from America's Test Kitchens).

Last night I read from Ladybug and Highlights to Jamie. A little below my normal level, but enjoyable just the same. Earlier this summer I read The Westing Game before giving it to Jim and then to Dot. That was a fun little mystery, very engaging.

So, what are you reading this summer?

local attractions

This past week was spent visiting our many local attractions. We spent a day in Annapolis, touring the historic downtown and Naval Academy, and picnicking at the beach (where while "wading" both kids got soaked). Tuesday we all went down to DC, walking through two Smithsonians and two monuments (Washington and WWII). It was very hot and sunny, and we heard many a request (complaint) for a drink. We took a break on Wednesday, although Joel headed back down to DC to do some research on his own. Thursday we drove into Baltimore, where we started off the day with a wander through a cemetery. After touring the shot tower, we headed to Little Italy for lunch. We then went back out into the hot, humid, sunny day to walk to the Public Works museum (not worth the admission price) and then to Fells Point. On the way back we walked through the Fells Point Markets, where the kids enjoyed Italian ices.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed having Unc and Aunt Bean around, and so did we! I will miss KJ cleaning up around the house (now I have to do it by myself again!). Dot misses having Unc playing games with her. We will all miss going out to eat at restaurants...

If any of this sounds good to you, call us to vacation at our place! :-)

Bad! Bad! Bad!

Last time I posted I told you I was going to clean the house and stay off the computer. Yeah, right. My house is still messy, and I've spent too much time on the computer, and my kid still isn't potty trained (although we have had a few successes!). Oh well.

Unfortunately, I found a blog that really interests me: A dress a day.

Yeah, I spent way too much time reading that blog. Well, I also spent a good deal helping a little boy try out the potty and pull up training pants. Fruit Loops and trains are our prizes for successes. I'm not sure how much he really understands, but he's doing better. Hopefully he'll be trained soon!

I am not worried, though, about my messy house. I know that if I had cleaned it the work would have been in vain anyway. The kids would have trashed it. So, on Saturday we will clean and it will look good when KJ & Joel get here. Then we will let it go. It will revert to it's natural state. Unfortunately.

A little break

Of course, as soon as I post this, I will find something of interest online that I will just HAVE to tell you about...

This week we are cleaning and potty training. I am not sure how successful we will be at either one, but we will be busy. Next week we have company! As a good hostess, I should try to spend time with our visitors. Therefore, I plan to stay away from the blog for awhile...

Is it time for a new purse?

You may have seen my handmade purse, which, despite it's upside down zipper, is turning out to be a pretty good purse. You may have bought yourself (or your wife) a purse at some time. I doubt many of us have spent more than $50 on a purse, although I have seen many purses that retail for $100 or more. I will probably never own a purse that expensive. Why would a purse be that expensive? I'm not sure I could feel comfortable using a purse that expensive... I guess it's just me.
Here's what you can buy for the woman in your life if you win the lottery.

back to reality

Vacation was wonderful! We enjoyed the peace and quiet that the "camping" and hiking in Hocking Hills provided, but we had to come back to the busy, noisy city of Baltimore that we call home. After all, it was Jim's job that paid for that vacation...

It had been a long time since I had been in Hocking Hills. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. We were alone on most of the paths, and were able to really enjoy the scenery. Memorial Day week is a really good time to visit, if you are able. The weather is comfortable, there aren't many bugs yet, and most kids are still in school, so the parks are quiet. We saw many beautiful flowers and lots of butterflies.

The gypsy wagon was a nice place to stay. Of course, you don't expect to be pampered while camping (even cabin camping), so the air mattresses were about as comfortable as we thought they would be. (They squeaked when you moved, so we tried to stay as still as possible all night long. That wasn't much of a problem, though, since we were exhausted from hiking all day long.) The castle and grounds were very nice, and the owners were friendly. Our kids really enjoyed the castle dog and cat! We didn't spend a lot of time at the castle other than sleeping and eating, since we had hiking to do each day, but we did stop to play giant checkers once or twice.

During the day we hiked, and Dot did every step that we did. Jamie, however, spent much of the time in the hiking backpack, and some of it sleeping! He did get out to hike some of the gorge trails. We are proud of how well they did - we figure we hiked 12 miles last week!


By the way, we took about 150 pictures last week... want to stop by and see them sometime?