The Nutcracker

Rachel is really enjoying watching the Nutcracker on TV. She had taken dancing lessons a few years ago and has always enjoyed the music, but it is fun to see her not only enjoying the ballet but actually understanding the story, as well. She is so smart, that one. Maybe one day the Nutcracker will come to NH and I can take her to see it. :)

The treadmill

I have yet to introduce the concept of the treadmill to Ben or Rebecca. Rachel has fond memories of it from several years ago....trying to walk in front of me....riding down the belt to be dumped with glee on the floor. I just wasn't brave enough to take it out with the younger ones. But I have to do something. So today was the day.
It took them all of about 19 seconds to figure out that the belt moved and it was off to the races from there. Ben has the strength to move the track and Rebecca was more than happy to go for the ride. Repeatedly. For more than an hour :)
Then she got the idea to put a spoon on the belt and watch it move. That kept them occupied for a few minutes, then they moved on to a pile of books....then books and a toy....then books, a toy and part of a train. When they loaded the belt with laundry and started shooting it all over the room I finally put a stop to things. Awwww, mom!

Firetruck!

My son has decided that he would really, REALLY like a firetruck for Christmas. Actually, he would prefer it before Christmas, thank you very much. But, alas, his mean old mom said no, he would have to wait like all the other good little girls and boys.
This morning, however, my inventive son collected some spare change off the floor and gave it to me saying, "Here mom. Now you can go buy my firetruck!" If only it was that easy!

Hunting??

Chad was very excited this morning to finally get an opportunity to go hunting. He left as early as he could and spent a rather uneventful morning in the woods, but was thrilled to be there.
Rachel expressed an interest in going with him when he got home. Really? Hunting? My anxious girl? OK. Well, lets see.....there is no minimum age for hunting in NH. So they did a field trip to the hunting store for a vest, hat and mittens in hunter orange, went to the shop for some practice shots so the sound of the gun wouldn't startle her, then into the woods they went! Oh my, oh my. I really hope they don't get one!!

The Fells

John Hay's estate on Lake Sunapee was open to the public today all decked out in it's Christmas finery. How beautiful! I actually managed to take all three kids through the mansion (Don't touch! no, no-no! Careful! Over here, please! Dont touch!) and then enjoyed time in their children's corner making crafts. What a gorgeous day it was! Short sleeve shirts, pictures of the kids on the lawns....and within a day or two I will even forget that Ben threw a fit and didn't want to get out of the car....that Rachel really wanted to stay and see everything because she didn't want to have to clean her room.... and Becca refusing to walk every 5 minutes or so and plopping down on the driveway with her scowl. But none of that mattered. I was with my kids, I saw Christmas decorations in a beautiful house that had no drawing on the walls, and when it was all said and done they all said that they had a good time.

When I Grow Up

I brought Rachel up to CHaD in Hanover for her follow-up appt with the ENT and audiologist. She STILL has fluid in the right ear and a mild conductive hearing loss. I was talking to the audiologist and looking at the audiogram and happened to mention that I was a teacher of the Deaf. Or at least I had been. She said, " A T-O-D? Thats great! They are really in need of T-O-D's in NH. I has always thought of myself as a teacher, not a T, but OK! It was then that I realized that maybe I could have my cake AND eat it too! How about being a T-O-D on MWF and a historian/curator on TTH? Hmmmmmm! That just might work!!
I have been typing up a storm ever since trying to find places where I can polish up my rusty ASL and find workshops to get my 35 ceu's to get my certification back. I am really excited!! Wish me luck!

Just a little update

Hello, my blog.
I have really missed you! The incident that happened in late August with the Hillsboro fiddler scared me off from posting for a while but I really need to let go and this is the place to do it! So here goes-
Chad is ALMOST finished working on "the new house" and I can't wait until he has time to keep himself insanely busy at the house where the rest of us live. The kids have even taken to calling the houses Daddy's house and mommy's house. Out of the mouthes of babes!
Rachel is doing well with Dr. Lisa and I am starting to see her employ some of the tactics she has been learning to get through the day easier. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
We had a crappy summer and early autumn for the Lawn Service (drought is a horrible thing) but it is finally picking up and all my bills are paid, the trucks are registered and I have even made an installment payment on my taxes! Gotta love the wood furnace, though. I LOVE that we dont' have to worry about buying oil!
Ben is my handsome boy, everyone says so, and he is doing well in school (once we get him into it!) His speech is coming along VERY slowly, and although he is much clearer on the day to day stuff, I worry deeply about him and pray that his frustration level stays low. I feel like he must have so much more to say and stories to tell, but it is just too hard at this point. Makes me cry sometimes.
.....and my Rebecca. What a blessing she is! She is talking up a storm, has a great attitude and is truly an individual. Thanks to her, Ben and she potty trained together this summer and there are no more diapers in the house! Hahaha! LOVE THAT!
She says yeah as two syllables (yee-ah) and just has the cutest little voice. Reminds me of Rachel at that age.
Well, lunch is cooking and my duties call. Been nice having you back. Hope to talk again soon! Love, Christina

Jack-o-lantern carving

Auntie Jody came up to visit and helped us carve our pumpkins. Everybody got right down to business and there were guts everywhere! I think Halloween is getting to be as big (if not bigger) than Christmas as far as the commercial part of the holiday goes. We do it up big! No pic of Rebecca with her pumpkin as she was napping during the festivities. We'll get you next year, my love!

Decorations by Rachel and company......

I just love the fall.......:)

Halloween 2010

Are they cute or what??
Poor Ben has spent the last 4 weeks asking everyday if it is Halloween Day yet....Rachel has been wearing her costume since 9:00 this morning, and Becca really enjoyed being on the float and did her darndest to keep up with everybody. It was coooooooold but a great day/evening was had by all! Happy Halloween!!

Flea Market

HAHAhahahahahaha!
I withdrew some $ as Chad, Amy and I are talking about going to the Hollis Flea Market tomorrow morning. R1 says to me, "Mom- why do you need to get so much money to buy bugs???" *giggle* She does make me smile! :)

A way with words

Hi Mom, I want to come home but Grammy said I can't. Do you want to talk to her about that??

Gotta love my little girl. she is trying so hard to be brave and stay at gram-gram's house. I miss her! And yes, I would go to MA to get her. Love you, Rachel!!

Blah

I am in a blah mood this morning. It is day 10ish of 90+ weather with little to no rain and day 7 of either no water or disgusting brown water. The clothes are piling up, the shower, toilets and sinks are filthy and you can't clean them as it is the water that is turning them brown............blah! Being a mom is hard, too. My kids are either screaming and fighting with each other or they are ganging up on me with all the things I should be doing/buying for them. Whine, whine......wine! Maybe a wine cooler or two would cheer me up on this disgustingly humid day. Unfortunately it is only 9:52AM. Ugh.
It is a beautiful day out with bright blue skies and I just want to sit and read a book next to the air conditioner. Nobody touching me. Nobody screaming in the background, just leave me alone for my pity party. Poor me. Poor, poor me.
I must reign myself in, though. Grudgingly. You see, this morning I walked out to the camper this morning to find some train books for Ben and I saw that the ambulance was at a neighbor's house. I am guessing it was for her elderly father. And now that I think about it, Jen's 18 year old cousin is fighting for her life with several forms of cancer at Boston Children's hospital. And my parents's friend is fighting a battle with esophogeal cancer- that awful cancer that already took my uncle.
I guess this blah day- this bright, beautiful albiet humid day- isn't so horrible after all. I'd much rather be home amidst my mess in a grouchy mood than spending the day in a hospital praying. Time to go hug my beastly children and count the rest of my blessings.

Help a homeless vet

A man was collecting donations outside of Irving gas station yesterday. Rachel was with me and saw me give him a dollar. "Isn't that nice" she said, "that that man is collecting money to help homeless veteranarians!" Love her!!

Blink of an eye

Well, my wonderful son turned 4 in June. He is such a cutie (when he is not terrorizing his sisters *wink*) and finally decided that he was done with pull-ups. (Yippee! Yahoo! *horn blowing*) So I asked him when he was going to poop in the potty, too. His reply "next week". Let's hope he means it! Meanwhile, Becca is training, too and doing very well. Bliss!!

Running Hugs: A Guide for Beginners

First, go to the far side of the room, or even better, to the far side of the next room.
Next, extend arms out to sides.
Third, put a big, cheesy smile on your face.
Fourth, RUN! (Must be full speed,of course)
Lastly, launch yourself into the arms of your favorite family member and give them a big SQUEEZE HUG.
MMMMMMM...Nothing like it! <3

Facebook snippets

From my oldest-- "My bus driver is back, mom. She was on vacation for 4 weeks.....but it seemed more like a month!" Gotta love kids!

From my youngest-- "mooooom! My brother pushed me!" Sounds plausable, except for the fact that everyone but us was still asleep! Silly girl!

My oldest is having her first sleepover here at the house tonight (I am tired already!) They just finished applying their mud masks and are out on the swing de-stressing while they dry. They are sooo excited!

R1 is off to school....B and R2 are with Dad going to Sam's club. The tv is off and a quiet has settled over the house. I know I should be doing paperwork, but I am too busy giggling and listening to the rain......... :)

Ben can do an "F"!!!! :) He has apraxia and a month ago couldn't even touch his top teeth to his bottom lip spontaneously or following a model. And now he can!! Yeah, Ben!!

Gulp...we bought a neighboring house as an investment.... a fixer........my mind has been racing all night. I am like a crazy person!!

Just got back from watching the kids dip their toes in the river (brrrrr!). They had a BLAST and I really enjoyed sitting in the sun watching them. What a great day!!

Spent the last 3 days building a beautiful new gate on the south end of the house so the kids can't accidentally let the dog out anymore.....He's a habitual offender, you know..........and what does Ben do this morning ?? Props it open!! AAARGH!

Just walked by my sliding glass door this morning-- someone stuck a piece of american cheese to it....Rebecca???? Gonna be a greaaaaaaat day. -___-

Whew! Forgot what humidity is like. Enjoyed a nice day outside building a fort with the kids :)

Kids think it is great-- snowing for April vacation! I, however, am less enthusiastic lol

Everyone is in bed but me. The TV is off. There is no sound in the house except my fingers on the keyboard. Bliss ♥

What has 4 wheels, 12 legs and giggles?? Give up? 6 women riding down the street on a golf cart in the middle of the night. Lordy, what a good time I had!!

My youngest just fascinates me. I could sit here just watching her and listening to her for days........................:)

Facebook vs. blog

I decided that while I love to record day to day things about our lives in the blog, I feel that I have to write stories or at least a paragraph or two.....thus I never get here to do it. FB, however gives you space to write a sentence about your life...which I do all the time. Hmmmm....I think I will be changing my blog to more of a FB-type situation, so that the good stuff does get saved.

The clothesline

Lord knows I am not the most ambitious person when it comes to housework. I have always professed that I was supposed to have servants. Alas, no one has ever knocked on my door and told me to put my feet up and read whilst they cleaned and started dinner. You gotta have dreams, right?
Well, the funniest thing has occured- I decided that to help conserve electricity (and save $$) I wanted a clothes line. Seriously! I REALLY wanted a clothesline. I asked Chad to put one up all last summer. No dice. So this May when the weather got warmer I put one up myself. I LOVE IT! I use it all the time...and I just LOVE seeing the clothes hanging out there! Is it how neat they look all in a line? The fact that I can SEE money and electricity being saved? I don't know...probably a little of both. But I actually do laundry on a regular basis now and look forward to hanging it out. Bizarre, eh?

No, Mom. I'm almost a teenager now!

Rachel is having her first sleepover here at the house. She is all about decorating her room and choosing a theme. She decided that she wanted to have a make-up party. I said, "we can get all your dress-up stuff out. It will be fun!
She looked at me and rolled her eyes (rolled her eyes!!) and said, "Umm...no, mom. Dress up is for little kids. I'm almost a teen now. We just do makeup and hair."
*sniff* My heart constricted...my little girl, queen of the dress up scene....brings tears to my eyes to meet this new, grown-up (or so she thinks) version! *sniff*

Dear Cici,

I am thinking about you a lot today...*sniff*.....
Even in death you are taking care of us and trying to make our lives better. Please know how much we appreciate everything you have done for us. How much we love you.
An opportunity came up this past weekend to buy a neighboring house. Chad has long wanted to break into real estate but always thought it was a pipe dream. Well, your generosity has made it a reality. They accepted our offer and the property is currently in contingent status pending the signing of all of the addendums, etc.
Chad already has big plans for this property. With tears in his eyes last night he told me that he is going to paint it white with green trim just for you. It is a big step, but he feels strongly that you are still here watching over him and he is determined to make you proud.
Please remember that you are loved. Thank you, Cici. We miss you!

One potato, two potatoes

I took the kids down to visit with Cici yesterday. She has declined a lot in the past 10 days. Although there were still glimpses of the twinkle in her eye as she played peek-a-boo with Rebecca and looked at Ben's train book, she just wasn't herself. Her lunch came and for some weird reason they had given her both a baked potato and mashed potato. I asked her why they would do that and she replied, "One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four..." Throughout our visit she whispered that phrase to herself a few more times. I wondered where she had gone, what she was thinking. Was she a child herself playing that game with her friends or was she watching Sheila play the game with her friends?
I love her. She has been independent and all full of spitfire and vinegar as long as I have known her. Her family is the most important thing to her and she has never missed an opportunity to tell us so.
I am praying for you, Cici. For your continued strength, for comfort, and to find a place that keeps you smiling and your eyes twinkling. I love you!

My composer

The whole song went something like this.... Uh, uh train track I love you............uh, uh mommy, I love YOU! Daddy, Ray-Ray I love you....Uh, uh Becca I love YOU!
He is so precious!

My littlest princess is two!

Rebecca quietly turned two last weekend. She is just so amazing. Here's a picture of Rebecca today:
She loves her new princess dress-up shoes and wears them everywhere. Her favorite food is chicken with brownies a close second. She can repeat just about anything and is understood almost 100% of the time. Her funny expressions include a gasp followed by "What's that!!", "This way" and "Where are you??". She spent the weekend at Grammy and Grampa's house singing Twinkle, Twinkle and I love you a bushel and a peck, closing with a bow and a 'Tink you' when we clapped.
She follows Ben around like he is the pied piper and can basically do anything he can. She is LOUD and always willing to try something new. She loves the water and is already tall enough to stand in the hot tub. When she smiles her nose crinkles and her eyes squint and her smile lights up the whole room. What a blessing she is. My littlest princess

March 4, 2010

Today is a big day in our house.........we are taking the crib down. My baby is moving into a bed. It is really bittersweet. I am looking forward to all the things I can do with them all as they get older, but the last of the "baby" things is on its way out. So fast. So cute. So smart.
Ben and Rebecca had a good jump-fest in the crib for about 10 minutes as part of the going away party. Too funny. Goodbye crib, goodbye monitor. Have fun joining the ranks of the unemployed with the jumperoo, bumbo seat and the baby swing. I'll try to find a good family for you.
Drumroll, please, as we enter this next phase of our lives. Yippee!!

Madame President

A random conversation in the car on the way to art class winds down with Rachel saying thoughtfully...."maybe someday I should be President so [I can fix things up]"
I glance over and say, "That sounds great! Can I come and visit you a lot in the White House?" To which she replies, "Sure! You can come over and watch my kids while I go to work!"

Gotta love them Grammys and Grampys! <3

Exasperation

So my husband is in a "tizzy". He works best under pressure and knows how to make mountains out of molehills (in my opinion) about the weirdest things-- like Rachel writing "wash me" on his truck. (lol)
As he is frantically searching the barn for a brush so that he can have her wash it off in 34 degree weather, I pull her aside and say, "you know, your dad is a really great guy........but when you get married try to find a great guy that is a bit more laid back, OK?"
She looks at me with these beautiful brown eyes and says, deadpan, "You can divorce him, you know."
I blink. "I can?"
"Yes", she says. "People do it all the time."
"You wouldn't mind?" I ask.
"Depends on who I get to live with." she says.
I chuckled (She loves me mooooore, she loves me moooooore!) and gave her a quick head-hug and went to help find the brush.

Added 15 minutes later--the hose is frozen but Chad and all 3 kids are out front trying to thaw it out. Points for persistance!