Labor Day = Day of Labor

Well, not completely - but pretty much! No fun events so far to speak of this weekend, but I'm really not complaining. We needed a weeked of work and I'm just SO grateful that I have one more day to go before having to head back to the office. Now that I'm working in the office again, I'm really struggling to get done all of the things that I was previously able to do...like cooking decent dinners, for example. Whereas I used to be able to just run downstairs on my lunch break and throw something in the crockpot, or get the meat marinating, etc., I obviously don't have that flexibility anymore. Add to that the fact that we're adjusting to a new schedule, getting Maddie out the door every day in addition to myself, etc., and life has been a little hectic - and more than a little disorganized.

So today, amidst the ever present task of unpacking, I decided to spend the day in the kitchen, prepping up some food for the upcoming week. We went to the big farmer's market in Fayetteville yesterday, where I picked up fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini radishes, green beans, a butternut squash (mmm...fall is coming!!), and even a new melon to try (Valencia) that the kids loved. In the interest of using things up while they're fresh, I planned out a few meals and went to work. Chef Sienna helped me make zucchini bread and mini muffins. Chef Maddie helped me make crockpot meatballs with zucchini tomato sauce. Mini chef Lyla helped me taste test and perfect mashed sweet potatoes. And after Madelyn begged me to make chicken noodle soup for her favorite new back to school supply - her Ni Hao Kai Lan Thermos - I whipped up a big pot of chicken bow tie stew. The kids were too cute, wanting to taste everything...so we ended up having a pretty mish-mosh dinner of little plates of everything, followed by movie night with popcorn. It was a lot of work in the kitchen, but honestly? I love it. I wish I could cook and bake like that everyday! And I have to say that my kids are pretty good incentive to keep cooking, because they're generally so appreciative of the things I make. Even if it's not their favorite, they give it a try and they think mom is a good cook! (I brainwash them at night, but that's another story...)

It wasn't all work and no play today, though. We went on a nice walk/bike ride with the kids, and also had the neighbors over for a swim in the pool. The girls spent a lot of time this morning playing with Eli across the street, who has some pretty fancy outdoor toys that are much cooler than our Little Tykes ride-ons! (Picture a battery powered Cadillac Escalade with a real AM/FM radio that Maddie rode around on for an hour, and you'll get the idea!) So all in all, a good, fulfilling day of labor. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Love and Loss

We both celebrated and grieved this weekend - celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, and, the same day, grieved the loss of my favorite uncle, Uncle Walter. Walter died early in the morning of August 29th, after an 8+ month battle with cancer that was really nothing short of heroic bvased on his initial prognosis. He will be sorely missed by our entire family.

A few things about our anniversary. First, I am truly shocked and amazed that it has been ten years since Brad and I walked down the aisle. Time has flown by, and in the blink of an eye since I found myself planning blue hydrangea flower arrangements, silver seashell sugar scoop favors, and rehearsal dinner on the Pilgrim Belle, suddenly three kids (not even babies!) have emerged and I find myself 35 and married, now, to the man who has become both my best friend and a better father than I could ever have imagined. So I'm taking stock, and here are some of the highlights and changes since we married 10 years ago:

- We have finished 3 degrees between us: Brad his bachelors, and me two Masters degrees;
- We have visited 12 different countries - and lived in two (including the US);
- We have lived in 5 different apartments/homes, in 3 states, and have purchased 4 homes (we've sold all but one, of course! Not keeping residences in every state, LOL!)
- We have worked for only 2 companies between us during our entire marriage: Unilever for me (9 years on August 29th!) and NSSC for Brad (11 years this past June);
- We have had three beautiful (in my very biased opinion) children;
- And sadly, we have lost 6 of our closest family members: Brad's mother and father; our niece, Stephanie; my Nan; my grandfather on my mother's side, and now Uncle Walter.

So lots has gone on in 10 years. Most of it has been fantastic, and I wouldn't change any of it. So to Brad, Happy Anniversary, to my best friend and forever partner.

Each year on our wedding anniversary I pull out the wedding video that Aunt Joyce and Uncle Walter had made for us as a wedding gift, and I reminisce. I adored our wedding day, adored the man I was marrying (though looking back, we both looked more like kids and it seems somewhat silly to call that very much younger Brad a man!) and thought it all turned our perfectly. But now, I am so thankful I have that wedding video to look back on, particularly to see the loved ones that we've lost. To see a close-up of my mother-in-law again, and see her dancing with Brad - and be able to share that with the girls, who never had a chance to meet her - is really, truly priceless. It brings tears to my eyes to see my Nan, and Brad's father, and Steph...and now Walter. But I'm so happy to have had such a beautiful day with all of them, and to be able to see them again.

The 29th is now also the day that Uncle Walter passed away, and so in the spirit of remembering him, I just want to post a couple of thoughts. Walter was one of the kindest, gentlest guys you could ever meet. What I enjoyed most about him was the fact that at every holiday get together, every meal or visit with the family, he would always want to sit down and talk - really talk - to me. He asked so many great, thinking type of questions, and more importantly, he actually listened to the answers. Maybe not a big deal now, but as a teenager that seems like a novelty! Walter was always the one who remembered what was going on in school, or what you were thinking about majoring in, or what you had coming up in life that was making you nervous. For that alone, he was someone you could really feel close to. A great listener, and also a great advice giver - particularly when it came to educational matters, since he worked in the school system. We gave Uncle Walter more than his fair share of ribbing for all the countless hours (days?) he spent behind that big clunky dinosaur of a video camera, but his narration was always a hit and now more than ever, I'm sure we will be happy to have the memories that he helped to capture and create.

R.I.P. Uncle Walter...until we meet again.

Confessions of a Crazy 1st-Kid-in-School Mom

Yesterday was the big day: Madelyn's first day of kindergarten! To be totally honest, I wasn't really all that well-prepared. Despite the fact that I've had, you know, 5.5 years to prepare or so. But between the move, the vacation so close to the start of school, etc., I just didn't quite have all my ducks in row - either mentally or in terms of physical gear. The physical gear wasn't such a big issue; after all, I figured that if they decide to tell you a day and a half in advance that the kids can't wear open toe shoes in the 98 degree weather (and half of your life happens to be in boxes), it surely can't be a horrific violation to have to make do with sandals for the first day until you can track down some shoes. But as for the mental piece, that's a different story.

My sweet Madelyn was SO excited to go to school. She picked out her outfit - a special dress bought by Grammy on their back to school shopping trip together - and got herself right up and dressed, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and was practically skipping to get to the car. On the drive to school, I asked her if she was excited. She responded immediately, "YES! I've been waiting for this for a WHOLE YEAR!" and could barely contain herself. For the first day, I was allowed to walk her down to her classroom to meet her teacher; but parents were not allowed into the classroom, for fear that it causes greater separation issues. Maddie eagerly sat down with her classmates in the hall, said hello to her teacher, and waved goodbye to me with a loud, "See you later Mom!!"

I'm not one who cries easily, and call me unsentimental, but I didn't cry yesterday either, really. I felt a bit of a sting in the corner of my eyes as I walked out, but the bigger feeling was one of having just been sucker punched right in the gut. I just felt this huge wall of anxiety - this awful feeling that I was leaving my baby, my firstborn, with these total strangers. These people that were now telling me that she would have to be dropped off in the car lane (no parents in the school afer week 1, please!)...would have to buy her own milk at lunch...would be registered as tardy after the late bell rang at 7:45 (seriously? my little BABY?)...would have to gather up all of her own things, and deal with her own issues, and spend a whopping 7 hours a day completely out of my care. And after the wall of anxiety hit, and the teariness had passed, I just kind of got ticked off about the whole thing. Just a little indignant - if irrational - feeling that I just forked over my baby's childhood at the door. And truly, I've been a little bit depressed ever since.

I'd like to say that Madelyn had a great first day and so I feel a whole lot better about school now. But when Brad picked her up, she got in and said school was fun, but that a little girl had told her she was "the rudest little creature ever!" Madelyn, who is honest to a fault when it comes to relaying incidents like this, was completely shocked as she didn't know the child's name, hadn't even spoken to her, and was simply standing next to her at her cubby. This is her version of the story, and I really do believe her. So Madelyn, who is not shy about standing up for herself (thank goodness! It's my mission to raise strong, self-confident girls!), said "Hey, that's not nice to say!" The little girl replied with a bratty, "YES IT IS!" and Maddie again said, "NO, it's not!" So the girl said again, "Well, you're still the rudest little creature EVER!" So needless to say, Maddie shook it off - but she's the kind of kid who will think about it over and over, and wonder why it happened, what she could have done, etc. Not that that's like her mother, or anything... So she was really bothered by it and we had to do a lot of talking about it last night, and a lot of hugging. Fortunately, she was still looking forward to going today.

This same little girl caused another issue for Madelyn today, when she apparently laughted at Madelyn's nose. Maddie asked her to please note laugh at her, and explained that she had fallen and hit her nose jumping on the bed while we were on vacation a few weeks ago. Truthfully there's nothing left of the injury, but she did get a bit of a sunburn on the tip of her nose the other day where the scab had come off. I'm happy to be raising a kid who (in my opinion) handled both of these situations ok, but I hope this isn't the start of some bully type issues this year.

Add that to the fact that I'm just not getting warm fuzzy feelings from her teacher, and I'm feeling a little less than excited about school. I'm trying to hold off judgement until after the first week, at least. But I really do miss my girl terribly during the day, even while I'm working, and wish I could be there to help her get through all that is new and different in life right now. She loves school by default, so let's hope her bubbly enthusiasm and generally excited disposition returns soon. Of course all moms just want their kids to be happy - and I'm certainly no exception!

Vacay!

Ahhh….vacation!! That about sums up how I’m feeling right now. There’s just no substitute for the relaxed, sleepy feel of sun, sand, and a fantastic beach vacation. I feel like we’re all getting a much-needed reset, after a completely crazy couple (ok, more than a couple?) months of prepping the house to sell, putting it on the market, moving, finding a new house, starting a new job, etc. We can handle the stress – but it’s oh so nice to unwind. And for me, just so nice to leave the corporate world behind for a week and spend quality time with the family.

We haven’t done anything particular exciting this week; our days have been filled with making sandcastles, swimming in the pool, jumping in the waves, taking decently long naps, and getting to know the cousins over family dinners and walks on the beach. I say “getting to know” the cousins because these days, we manage about one trip a year to see the H side of the family; so really the kids do need to get to know each other from year to year. But this is the second year in a row we have come to (gorgeous!) Atlantic Beach – and Maddie’s third trip here – and having memories from year to year is definitely proving to be nice for building relationships with Brad’s side of the family.

But even though we’re doing the same activities from day to day, it’s nice to see how things change… over the course of the week, Maddie has gone from using a lifejacket part of the time to going without about 90% of the time in the pool. She’s doggie paddling from one end of the pool to the other, working on perfecting her underwater somersault, and getting more confident by the day. Sienna and Lyla are motoring all around the pool with their floaties; arm swimmies have been a sanity saver with Lyla, who insists on doing everything in the pool herself even though she really can’t swim yet. The sandcastle skills are really getting honed, and the two older kids have gotten fairly brave with the waves and are now enjoying bobbing up and down in the surf with lifejackets on and Mom or Dad nearby.

More to come, but the pool is calling… it’s really too bad vacation can’t last forever!

Catching Up

So…I’ve been MIA for a bit due to a whole lot of activity going on here in the H household. Since I last posted, I went on a business trip to Chicago, we closed on the new house, and we headed out on vacation. The last item, of course, being the most important!

We’re currently in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, completely enjoying our vacation. We’re here with Brad’s two sisters, Melissa and Darlene, and their respective families. None too small a group, since there are a lot of cousins between our three families! But first things first…

The house closing went off without too much of a hitch. Other than the previous owners not being completely moved out by the time of closing (what the heck??!) and then asking if their two cats could spend the night after our closing in the garage (again, WHAT?!?), things went as planned. We did discover in our final walk-through that we need to replace all of the carpet, pretty much, which is a bummer. But I have developed a pretty intense allergy to cats over the past few years, and we had no idea they had two of them. That’s what happens when you house hunt from 1,600 miles away, I guess, and spend a total of 15 minutes at a time looking at your future new home. But now that we’ve spent some time in there, I’m DYING. Add to it the big stains that were revealed when they moved their furniture, and it’s pretty much a necessity to replace the carpets. Sigh.

The night after we closed, we brought the kids over for picnic pizza and their first swim in the pool. So much fun! We pulled up a spot on the kitchen floor and brought out the paper plates, then headed for a dip. The kids thought it was all very exciting to be picnicking (sp?) on the floor in the new house with no furniture, and Madelyn took all of about 20 minutes to get up enough courage to jump off the diving board in her lifejacket. They went back and forth between the pool and the fantastic new playhouse, which is seriously as sweet as any toddler/preschooler could want. Maddie is all excited about decorating it inside, which I think it just too cute. Guess she’s got a bit of Martha Stewart in her…so we’ll see what she comes up with! Move-in date is the 11th.

Best Sisters

I posted on my FB status this morning that I was really enjoying hearing my kids play so nicely together...and truly, it was probably one of the best Saturday mornings we've had a in while in that department! Our girls really do seem to be good friends, and because they are close in age they really play together most of the time. BUT they also fight really well together, and can go from best of friends to what would seem like lunatic enemies in the matter of seconds. Not fun.

This morning, after baths and shampoos for everyone, Lyla ended up taking a morning nap - which is rare for her these days. Madelyn and Sienna began playing together and just seemed to go from one happy little activity to another together - also rare! Madelyn, as usual, played the role of ringleader/activity coordinator, and for whatever reason Sienna was just being easygoing this morning and happy to oblige. So they started off by putting on costumes, and getting ready for the big show that they were going to put on in Lyla's room (which is a big empty "bonus room" on the second floor that has cathedral ceilings, and nothing in it but Lyla's pack-n-play and a clock radio the kids have been using as a boom box for mega dance productions) as soon as she woke up. Madelyn then decided they needed to dress up the costumes a bit more, so they moved into the kitchen and we set up craft stuff. Maddie drew huge flower petals on all different pieces of construction paper, then drew a belt for me to cut out for her (kids scissors are among the missing!) so she could glue them on to the belt and dress up her outfit. Sienna preferred to practice letters, but did a little jazzing up of her own with a headband.

After finishing up and determining the costumes were ready, Madelyn started teaching Sienna the words to her new song, "Best Sisters." The two of them sang together, arms around eachother, and it nearly melted my heart. I always wanted sisters (sorry Dave and Rich!) and I just think they're so so lucky to have each have two sisters. Amidst all the fighting that goes on each day, it was such a nice change to hear them loving on eachother and appreciating having eachother around. Soon they were singing at the top of their lungs, which probably woke poor Lyla Lu. But she woke up in good spirits and quickly joined in the singing and production. By then M had taken off her costume, but Sienna was still looking all Jane Fonda-esque in Maddie's dance leotard (backwards, of course), ballet slippers, and elastic headband. Besides being sweet to watch, the whole morning just allowed me to get so much done! I was able to wash and fold a load of laundry, make pancakes from scratch with homemade blueberry syrup, and get a whole batch of fresh tomato sauce made while they played together. Alas, it didn't last forever...the fighting eventually did start up. But it gives me hope that despite the fighting, they really are developing into the best of friends.

4 more days...

Only 4 more days until we close on the new house. YAY. We're not moving in right away since we're heading to Atlantic Beach, NC on vacation next weekend, but I can't express how relieved I will be to finally have the whole real estate buy/sell process completed. And to have an end to living out of suitcases, essentially, in sight.

The temporary housing situation has been great, all things considered. The clubhouse pool has been fantastic fun for the kids (and for Brad and I!) and a welcome relief to the intense heat here in Arkansas. The house is spacious and has a nice office for Brad, even, so we could pick up life here without too much delay. It's only a 7 minute commute to my office and less than a minute from Target and a beautiful mall. But all of that good stuff aside, it's still very temporary.

I miss some of the basics that this house doesn't have: a land line telephone; an iron and ironing board (I've looked like a mess at work some days!); my crockpot (which is essentially my left arm, let's face it!); my sharp kitchen knives; a number of the clothing items I forgot to set aside for temporary housing, etc. I don't think the kids notice too much of what's missing, but I'm sure they'll be happy to see some of their toys and books come back into play.

I'm guessing that one of the first orders of business upon closing this week will be to visit the house and go for a dip in the pool. We won't be moving our things in until August 11th, but I'm sure we'll be moving in some bathing suits and towels before then!

Random Updates...

• I recently discovered that I have grown a half inch since sometime in my early twenties when I had my height checked last. Seriously! I'm now a full-on (slightly over, even!) 5'1" tall woman! Measured and confirmed for my life insurance application. Crazy stuff. But dang, I will definitely take that half inch!
• Driving home from Target today, Maddie said, "Mom, are daddy caregivers better than mommy caregivers?" Taken aback (and buying time to figure out my response), I asked her what made her ask that question. "Well, in the Cinderella story, there is only a daddy caregiver. And he wants to find a mommy caregiver for her. So I want to know if that means that mommies are better caregivers than daddies?" Two observations about this: 1) I was very impressed with her deductive reasoning on this one, I have to admit. It was a bit of a proud mommy moment for me, both because I think this is a very logical - yet complex - conclusion to have drawn and a very insightful question, and also because her vocabulary is truly HUGE these days. Caregiver might not be the best example of this, but it's decent. She's forever coming out with big words that surprise me. 2) We are a very lucky family. While I may think we are different caregivers, there's no way on earth I could ever say that I think I'm a better caregiver than Brad. As a parent, he just rocks. I'm thankful we're a great team, and that our kids get the benefit of that.
• I'm really worn out from several nights of very bad sleep in our household. Every time I think we should be past middle of the night wakeup calls from toddlers, another one happens. Last night, Lyla was awake and climbing around in my bed for several hours. Since Brad had to get up at 3:30 AM for a business trip, this was just double torture. Here's to a better night tonight...

We have a school!! Woohoo!

Tuesday finally produced some great results in the school area...we got Madelyn registered for kindergarten! YAY! It wasn't without drama, though. I took her to Bellview Elementary at 8:45, in anticipation of registration beginning at 9. Of course, there were already parents there ahead of me and working away like busy little beavers registering their children, but not too many. I brought M with me figuring she might help a bit by showing her cuteness and wowing the receptionist and any other staff in attendance with her manners, winning smile, etc. ;-) I was feeling a bit desperate, and anything was worth giving a try! What I had sort of forgotten about was that Maddie has really never been in an elementary school before. So while we've been talking about school starting, going to K, etc., actually stepping into that elementary school was quite a shock for her. I saw her just looking around with big wide eyes while he headed for the office, and when we settled into the cafeteria to fill our forms she just looked around and said to me, "THIS is where all the kids eat lunch?" The sheer size of it all compared to her 9-child private pre-k school and classroom was pretty overwhelming at first!

After Maddie waited fairly patiently while I filled out about a million forms, we turned them in and then had to basically get "processed" by the receptionist. Here's where the fun began... they weren't happy with my proofs of residency, of which they require two...didn't seem to understand that no, we don't have a rental agreement OR utility bills because those are being paid directly by Unilever, etc. They wanted an actual social security card, not just her number...we lost that back in Chicago somewhere, and frankly - who the heck asks for an actual card anymore when you have the number, a birth certificate, a passport, and the actual child sitting right there in front of you? Maddie started to get impatient at this point (understandably!), but fortunately there was another very sweet woman working in the office who kindly volunteered to take Maddie to the kindergarten wing for a little tour. The receptionist and I finished up, and in the end she told me that we needed to come back with a copy of the district's approval or transfer letter, but that other than that - we were good to go and should come back the day before school starts at 4 PM to find out what teacher she has, followed by an ice cream social. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

We left, and Maddie was adorable on the way out. She only spent about 10 minutes touring with the office assistant, but as we walked out she showed me all of the rooms she had seen, told me about the music room, the art room, etc., and really seemed to be excited about starting. When we got in the car, she asked me, "So? Are they going to let me go to this school, Mom?"

Well...I thought the answer was yes, though I was a bit tentative. So I wasn't all that surprised when I got a call from the district office (vs. the school office) several hours later telling me that they had heard from the school, knew we had registered at Bellview - as we should have - but that we would have to wait until August 1st to find out where she would be accepted to school. This is because while we are living in the Bellview area now in our temporary house, when we move to our permanent address she will be a district transfer. And they only had a few spaces left in the K classes, which they wanted to reserve for actual district students. Sigh.

Long story short, we went back and forth on the subject, and the district office really seemed conflicted about what to do about her situation. After several phone calls within the district that went all the way to the school principal and then the district superintendent, the district office called me back late in the day to say they had decided to accept Madelyn into Bellview Elementary. Yahoo!! This is the best elementary school in the state, so I'm very happy with this; not to mention the fact that she will be a "car rider" since she resides out of district, but this elementary school is very close to our new house. So...with her K school supply list in hand and an actual school to set sights on, Maddie and I are both looking forward to spending Friday afternoon together having lunch and going back to school shopping. I always loved going with my mom before school started each year, and I think Maddie is excited too!

School Stuff

I'm heading in to work late tomorrow morning in an attempt to get Maddie's kindergarden situation straightened out. I'm trying not to stress about it, but the fact is she still doesn't have a school assignment and most people I know with kids her age have been to some sort of "meet the teacher" event, orientation program, etc. And school here starts August 19th...just one short month from today. Add to the fact that I'm just generally not ready to be the mom of a school-aged child, and you can see how I might be a little uptight about all of it.

For anyone who doesn't know the situation: the schools in Northest Arkansas are extremely crowded. They area adding a new elementary school every year or two in the two primary districts (Rogers and Bentonville), but the area has just grown so much over the past 5-10 years - and continues to do so at record rates, in terms of children entering the schools - that in spite of the new schools, they are continuously at or above capacity. The state of Arkansas has legislation about the number of physical bodies allowed in a classroom; once that max is reached (it's somewhere in the low 20s), they cannot put another child in the class, no matter how many teachers, assistants, etc. are available to help with the class. The home that we purchased is in a neighborhood that has some of the highest demand in the Bentonville school district, though it is geographically located in the town of Rogers. As a result, moving here in July meant that the two elementary schools that Madelyn would be districted for are 100% full with long waiting lists. While we've known for some time that we would be moving, the school districts here require two different proofs of permanent residence in order to allow registration due to the high demand. So there was no way to register her earlier.

Of course the district has to provide schooling for all children, so there obviously was an alternative for Maddie. But, she would have been bussed to the neighboring town of Bella Vista, which would have required a bus transfer, a very long ride, and getting on the bus at some very early hour like 6:30 AM. In my mind, just not an option. She's 5, people! And since this state has full day kindergarden, she would have gone from basically being a kid who spends most of her days playing to a kid spending all of her days at school or on the bus. Just seemed sad to me, honestly. And that's without taking into account that she would be in a different school than most of the neighbor kids.

To avoid the Bentonville situation, we went ahead and applied for a transfer to the Rogers school district. The request was granted, but we don't find out what specific school she will be going to until August 1st. And I'm hearing that the school we are closest to, which also had one of the best reputations in the state, is looking like it's already at capacity for kindergarden. Location is key, since we will now be responsible for providing all of her transportation to and from school since we're not technically a resident in the district. SO... tomorrow is the first day that students who are new to the district can register. And you can bet I'm going to be there with bells on at 9 AM, hoping (ok, maybe begging?) for a slot at Bellview, right near our house. I will feel so much better when we have her registered officially and when we have a school we can show her definitively!

Getting to know The Natural State

The license plate tag for Arkansas is "The Natural State," so we figured we shouldn't delay too long before experiencing some of the state's nature for ourselves. I've heard from many of my co-workers that most all of the activities around here center on either the outdoors or team sports, so while our family might not be completely up for team sports right now (Maddie's a possibility, but since she had surgery on her nose in May, things like soccer, t-ball, etc. are on the no-no list this year), a family hike seemed like a pretty good way to get introduced to nature! After hearing that the weather was going to change substantially via a cold front coming through that would finally bring us down below 97 degrees - to a lovely 86 with little humidity - I jumped online and started researching hiking trails suitable for the crew.

We opted for a "moderate" hike as as opposed to one classified as "easy." Our kids have hiked before and part of the fun for all of us is climbing the hills and not having completely flat, paved trails. Since we're in the midst of the Ozarks, finding elevation isn't too tough. I chose the Tanyard Creek nature trail north of us in Bella Vista, since it was only a 15 minute drive and promised a little bit of everything: a waterfall, a creek, a dam, and decent opportunities for learning through volunteer-created placards detailing various wildlife and plants, as well as local history.

In spite of the best laid plans...it took us forever to get out of the house. You'd think I would be used to this by now, but it still seriously amazes me how long it can take to corral everyone and everything required for a day trip with three kids. Between packing up lunches, gathering swimsuits (just in case), sunblocking everyone, and trying to find appropriate shoes for hiking amidst the very limited selection of clothes and shoes we have here in the temporary house, it just took forever. So I was a little bit exasperated by the time we finally got on the road just before noon, but the kids grew increasingly excited as the drive got hillier and hillier, and of course their enthusiasm is always contagious!

Our hike was great. We did a loop that was just over 2 miles long, and we took just over 3 hours to do it. We obviously weren't hiking the entire time - there was quite a bit to see and do along the way. There was a beautiful meadow with wildflowers and lots of creeks and pools with frogs, fish, crawfish, etc. to check out, and the kids were really interested in stopping to read every sign. Maddie, in particular, is a nature nut - so this was right up her alley. We hiked up to the dam, and while Maddie was rather disappointed that it wasn't one made by beavers (the concept of a concrete dam was just not something she was willing to accept, LOL!), later evidence of beaver activity along the creek cleared that right up. We spent a whole lot of time walking along the shale rock ledges and through the shallow creek and waterfalls created by them, which was definitely the highlight of the day. The kids found some very large spiders (eek!!) and crawfish, and we literally had to tear them away from exploring in the pools.

The downside of the trip was the fact that we started just after lunch...sort of the witching hour when it comes to young children in our house. Lyla had napped in the morning, so we thought she'd probably be ok. But Sienna was yawning on the way there, and despite my attempts to convince her to take a short power nap, she didn't fall asleep. Lyla is such a walking kind of kid that we decided to leave the Kelty carrier in the back of the van when we parked. But, given that it was nap time, it didn't take long before she was asking for a ride every now and then. I realized how out of shape I've gotten pretty quickly, trying to climb hills while carrying my 25+ pound two-year-old! And about 30 minutes into the trip, Sienna started to develop a blister. So she ended up spending a decent amount of time on Brad's shoulders, which also made his hike quite a bit of work! By the time we reached the very cool suspension bridge over the creek at the end, we were all exhausted and ready for a nap and an ice cold drink of Gatorade!

Overall, I think the trip was a big success. The big kids must have thanked us for taking them hiking at least three different times during the trip, which I usually take to be a very good sign that they are super happy to be somewhere. I think we were all happy to be doing some good solid outdoor time after the heat of the past couple of weeks; it's still such an adjustment for our kids to be inside most of the day at this time of the year, as opposed to spending 5+ hours outside a day running around and enjoying the weather!

I had absolutely zero desire to cook by the time we go home, since my day had started at 8 when I took Madelyn and Sienna to the farmers market to stock up for the week and I hadn't stopped until we got home from the hike until after 4. So we got cleaned up, did a bit more research (thank God for the internet!) and found a pizza restaurant where nothing on the menu has any nuts or is made with any ingredients made in plants that process nuts , and we loaded up once more. Ironically, the restaurant was called CiCi's Pizza, which may be spelled differently but I assume is pronounced the same way as our most common nickname for Sienna. So we all had a good laugh when Sienna took a look around the very crowded restaurant in the middle of dinner and said, "WOW, guys! Everyone wants to come to my pizza restaurant!"

I couldn't resist...

After reading Madelyn a bedtime story tonight (post-pool, where everyone apparently wore themselves out!), I walked into Sienna's room to find this sweet scene:


It was just too cute to pass up the photo op. Notice it's still light outside - very light. We've had such a hard time getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour because it's stays lighter here, later, than it did at home. I'm so relieved the kids are in bed and asleep before 8 PM! Hopefully our Saturday morning will get started on the right foot with a bit more sleep!

Blogger's remorse...

Ok, so I'm feeling sightly guilty that my last post was so, um... negative. I'm a fairly upbeat person and it takes a decent amount to get me down, so even I was surprised at how down I got by the kids' behavior at church. I'm happy to report that the kids were back to being their normal, fun selves and mommy was in turn in much better spirits towards the end of the day on Sunday. Phew!

We've added a new post-work activity to the daily routine. If it's not swelteringly hot (which seems to be rare!), we've taken to after work bike rides, now that the bikes arrived in our partial shipment from the moving truck. Yes, that means our things have arrived here in Arkansas - and are now in a storage area somewhere, eek! In any event, Maddie had outgrown her bike and we all headed to Walmart on Sunday afternoon to get a larger one that we had promised before leaving Massachusetts. She's getting pretty decent without training wheels and can go about 30 feet, but she doesn't often choose to try without her training wheels. So for now, she's graduated up to a 16" bike with training wheels. She picked a very girly Hello Kitty model, complete with handlebar streamers. She loves it and has had no problem switching to the larger size and is now trying continually to beat her own fastest record and go as fast as she possibly can. Speed demon!

Sienna is still on her Dora bike, and she too has gotten extremely fast on that little bike! Now that we have two of them able to ride for a decent distance, up hills, etc., we can actually go on a family bike ride and feel like we're getting somewhere - which is really fun!

Lyla enjoys riding in the bike seat on the back of Brad's bike, and I have to say...I'm relieved not to have to pull that big ol' bike trailer around all the time with two heavy kids inside. While we still like to use the trailer now and again, I much prefer the full family activity with everyone on bikes. In the neighborhood we're in, we can actually ride on the sidewalks up to the community pool, etc. so we'll probably try that at some point, though the life jackets and noodles add a bit of cargo that might take some configuring!

So much for a nice Sunday at church!

Venting big time here... We've had a terrible morning so far. We decided to venture out and try a new church, and had heard that the First United Methodist Church in Bentonville was nice for people with young families. Now, we are obviously church goers and our kids have been in church a million times. They are also pretty well behaved normally when we're out in public. So why is it that I'm completely bummed out and humiliated after today's experience?

The kids were horrible. Completely unacceptable. To the point where eventually, Brad had to leave and take them out of church. I wanted to leave too, but to save face a bit and NOT appear as if we had no control over our kids and our morning whatsoever (and because of course here in NW Arkansas, it's very possible - even likely - that I know one or more families in the congregation through work), I ended up finishing out the church service while Brad took the three kids (monsters??) outside for a walk. I could hear Sienna screaming even after they left. Nice.

So, we were "those people" this morning. I had a 5.5 year old who couldn't sit still for an hour and insisted on being on someone's lap at all times; a 3.5 year old who was throwing tantrums in the sanctuary; and a 2 year old that would not stop talking for one minute. Cute normally of course, and you forgive her because she's 2, but seriously - everyone always talks about how quiet she is, and she picks CHURCH to decide to be the chattiest kid you've ever seen. Despite having a paci! They dropped pencils, changed seats a hundred times, kicked the pew in front of them, and talked through every prayer.

If I could have crawled under the pew and not come out, I would have. :-(

I'm feeling whiny. Sometimes it's just so.much.work having three kids 5 and under! Of course the semon built off the first hymn, "Lord of the Dance," and the minister was challenging everyone to think about what mindset they come to chuch with...what are you thinking when you sit down to pray in church? What were you thinking when you came up for communion? Were you ready to dance? You need to take charge of your attitude towards worship, etc., etc. Seriously? My answer to that: Well pastor, I couldn't hear anything you were saying. And so number one, I was thinking I wished I could hear over the two year old talking nonstop in my ear. But given that her talking was the least of my issues, what I was actually thinking was: how long until we can bolt? It surely didn't help that all the other children in the sanctuary, no matter what their ages, were sitting angelically the entire time. And I kept thinking, we're in the South now. Church is serious business.

So the kids are in trouble, and they know it. They're playing quietly in their rooms and not even giving us a hard time about it. I think they actually get that they pushed the limits way too far. And Brad and I just had a chat about whether we're failing as parents, whether we're too lenient, allow to many compromises/negotiations, etc. What a fun way to start the morning.

Oh, and as an endnote...I do know that the point of church is not to have perfect kids, it's about the message, blah blah blah. But still, vent stands!

My newest obsession...

is farm fresh, local fruits and veggies. Ever since I read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kinsolver a few months ago, I have had a whole new outlook on fruits and vegetables. I highly recommend the book if you're interested in understanding the ins and outs of farming, produce lifecyles, and sourcing foods close to home. It's a bit extreme for me in some cases, but her premise is solid and it really taught me a lot about the benefits of eating locally sourced, fresh foods.

So...OMG! The Fayetteville Farmers Market is my new favorite place! Talk about a fabulous Farmers Market. You can tell we're in the middle of farm country by the fact that there were probably 100 booths, each filled with an individual local farmer selling his or her current crops, at today's event. There were booth after booth of fresh beautiful flowers -- gladiolas, zinnias, roses, huge sunflowers. The girls were really excited to pick out some fresh carrots (greens included, of course) and Sienna went crazy over a pint of green beans. We bought a pint of baby raspberries, also known as wineberries, and all of us pretty much couldn't wait to have them so ended up having a snack of wineberries and fresh squeezed lemonade before we left for home. Add to that the local animal shelter walking around with cute dogs and puppies on leashes, as well as some very talented teenage musicians playing violin, banjo, etc., and it really felt like a perfect summer morning.

I'd love to do the gardening myself...but since I don't really have a house at the moment and - who am I kidding? - I tend to kill most all plants anyways, I'm happy to support the local farmers. And I get such a huge satisfaction out of coming home and giving the kids fresh baby carrots and fresh cucumbers that we just bought this morning from the farmers. It just seems so healthy and fresh. And everyone who knows me knows I'm kind of a nut about feeding them healthy stuff, LOL. Now if I could just get them to expand a bit more into other veggie horizons... we'll see if the intrigue of the Farmers' Market is enough to convince them this summer!

Life in Arkansas, Day 7...

So we're settling into our new version of normal. All in all, I can't complain too much about the transition, really. The kids have really done very well settling into the new house, which I think it largely due to the fact that we have a house as opposed to the originally planned apartment. We only went one day without childcare, and the kids are enjoying their new (temporary) babysitter, Arianna. We did a decent job of packing, with the exception of really underplanning on the toys that we might need to hold us over for a week. Brad ended up going to Target and getting some new puzzles, a set of Megablocks, and some books so the kids would have a bit more to do than the arts and crafts and handful of Polly Pockets I brought along.

I'm adjusting to life in the office. I really miss seeing the kids, but I think with the exception of Lyla, they're fairly ok with the situation. Sweet Lyla wants to cling to me quite a bit more now that I'm going to the office for the day, which obviously makes me very sad. But this office shuts down MUCH earlier than the Chicago office used to when I was there, and my commute is about 7 minutes. So it's very easy to get home at a reasonable hour and that has given us time to jet to the pool as soon as I get home and give the kids a nice swim to end the day. Brad and I were at the edge of the pool last night and both turned and looked at each other at the same time and he said, "Not a bad way to end the day, huh?" As often happens (I think this is really common after 10 years of marriage and more together...), we were both thinking the exactly the same thing at the same time. It's a good sign for when we move into our new houses, which will make swimming even easier since it's in the yard and doesn't require a drive to the clubhouse down the street. From a job standpoint, I'm relieved to finally be in Arkansas after months of feeling like I couldn't really do the job as well as I should be doing it from Massachusetts.

Our minivan arrives tomorrow morning off the car carrier (yay! I miss that thing SO much!) and our moving van is in the state. Humboldt is dropping off our shipment for temporary housing tomorrow morning (another YAY!) and the close on the new house is still on track for July 30th. So all in all - things are good!

Managing

That's all I can say for today: we were managing. Brad left for a business trip last night, after only a couple of days in Arkansas. BUMMER. He was so disappointed. I felt really bad for him, because I think he was having a good weekend and really hated to leave 1) on a holiday weekend and 2) when we hadn't even really settled into the temporary house yet. But it was a mandatory company meeting at a customer site for a huge security contract, and hey - sometimes that's just the way it goes. We manage.

So despite all of my best efforts, I didn't manage to line up child care completetely right. It turns out I had a one day gap in coverage, which was today. In my opinion, that's really pretty amazing, considering I've been trying to secure coverage from 1,600 miles away! We have someone lined up for the month of July, starting tomorrow, and then our permanent nanny is most likely going to start the second week of August, after get back from a MUCH needed vacation. Hooray!!

So the kids went a little stir crazy while I tried to work and take care of them, and the problem was amplified a bit by the fact that we don't have any toys yet in this temporary house. Can't wait for the truck to get to Arkansas and make a bit of a delivery! In the end, I gave up around 3 and took them all to the neighborhood pool, which made them three very happy little girls. I was nervous -- bringing three kids to the pool alone is a challenge for me due to the lack of hands on deck, but after a thorough prepping by me on expectations (along with a threat for good measure that we would not be going back again if they did not stay with me, get out when I asked, etc.) I'm happy to report that the kids were really well behaved. We had a great time, and Maddie was thrilled with herself for making really good progress on her underwater swimming. She was swimming about 15 feet today without coming up for a breath, which is fantastic for her!

We made it home by 5 in time for Mr. Steve the realtor to come by and pick up our earnest money check for the new house. After the kids went to bed, my "real" work day began...and after a solid 3.5 hours or so, I'm finally ready to retire. Sleepy, very sleepy. Happy that Brad arrived home at about 10:45 tonight and that I've got a sitter coming tomorrow morning. Sad, though, that as of tomorrow, I'm officially back to being an office worker. I'm sure that will generate a post or two...

Da Bangs. Da Big Bangs.

The first half of our first 4th in Arkansas was pretty much a bust. I got the kids all excited about going to the parade (not a real parade, per se, but one where the kid all wear their red and blue, decorate their trikes, bikes, etc., and march around the town square; in the center of the square, the Farmer's Market was going on) and rallied them for getting dressed up in red, white and blue. Piled everyone in the car, then put the address into the GPS so we could actually FIND the town square, LOL. We got there a bit late and it looked like a lot of the parade was over, but the kids were amused by the remaining kids riding around on their decked our bicycles. There were some fun ones! I was really enjoying myself by the time we crossed the street and got to the first stall at the Farmer's Market; the local farmer was extremely friendly, chatting up the three girls, and we found some really good looking cucumbers and zucchini to come home with. Across the way, there was a stall with adorable handmade, embroidered dresses with lemonade stands, flower appliques, etc. as well as pretty headbands (defintely my kind of place!). We were checking that stall out when the first drops of rain fell...and then had about a thirty second warning before the heavens just opened up and torrential rain ensued. The market goers pretty much ran for the hills, as did the Hedgepeths!

It rained pretty much straight from then until sometime around 3:30 or 4, when it finally cleared up and began getting hot again. Maddie and I took advantage of the rain and decided to run to Target to get a few more things we seem to have missed out on packing or needed for the pantry. We came out and the rain had let up quite a bit - but of course, as we headed for the car the skies opened up again and Maddie and I had a seriously good laugh over both of getting drenched.

*OH* *NEWS FLASH* I'm in danger, danger, danger. We are currently living about 1 minute from a Target. A brand spanking new Target, with a huge food selection. And a Starbucks. I'm in heaven! We're also about 2 minutes from a beautiful outdoor mall. My shopping options just got a whole lot better and more convenient! Bad for the wallet, but fun for me!

After the requisite 4th of July hot dogs, baked beans and watermelon for dinner (no hamburgers, alas, due to no grill at the temporary house!), we headed to Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, about 15 minutes away, for the big 4th of July celebration. They were having inflatables for the kids, as well as live music, ballpark food, and a big fireworks display. The ballpark also has one heck of a playground, as it turns out, so the kids had a ball!

A few things I learned about my kids while were were there:

1. Madelyn is getting to be quite the daredevil, and has seriously improved her coordination over the past few months. She wanted to go on the biggest, tallest inflatable obstacle course (with about a 20-25 foot slide drop) and scaled that thing with absolutely no issues. She also came back a couple of times to help her sister, who gave it a good effort but had to bail in the end because her little legs just weren't quite long enough to get from rung to rung.
2. Lyla loves fireworks. She clapped and cheered all through the fireworks show, saying, "Here comes da bangs! Da big bangs! I like fireworks! Where's the fireworks?" All day today, the day after, she has continued to ask when we are going to get in the car and go see the fireworks and "da bangs." I feel so bad that it only happens one night a year, since she enjoyed it so much! We do have a few sparklers, so we may light those tonight, very carefully. No bangs, but still a show!
3. Sienna continues to amaze me with her ever growing acceptance of her own allergies and the limitations that sometimes brings with it. She doesn't feel sorry for herself, and in that respect has taught me a few lessons about not making the situation worse by acting like she's missing out. She often suggests bringing her own wipes along, in case we need to wipe things off to keep from "getting her allergies." We don't go crazy with this kind of stuff, mind you, but in places like ballparks or airplanes where peanuts abound, I usually like to give her hands a good wipe before she touches her mouth!

All in all, a very successful day. Lots of fun had by all. We really enjoyed the ballpark and were so glad we took everyone, despite the late night. We finished the night with snowcones for the girls, and I think they felt like it was a perfect holiday. Madelyn did mention fireworks with grammy and grampy a couple of times, and I think over the next few days as it hits her that we've truly moved, she's going to miss them more and more. But I'm glad that our 4th was a happy one!

It's time to revive the blog...

I'm feeling like writing lately. So much change, so much going on in our little family's lives. So far from many of our family and friends, too! So the blog is making a comeback.

We're now officially residents of Arkansas. Certainly nothing I ever thought I would write, but there it is. We've had so many mixed feelings about moving, but while we are sad to leave family and friends, we are looking forward to a new adventure. I guess I can't totally speak for Brad, but I think both of us feel somewhat proud of the fact that we are instilling a sense of adventure in our girls, and that we encourage them to seek new experiences, to have courage to do something new and different even when it makes you slightly uncomfortable. To meet new and different people in different parts of the world. These are important things, in my mind. It's good to learn them young.

The move itself was difficult. Brad and I really underestimated how much work would be involved on our part, even though we had movers there to do most of the packing. Since we hadn't yet bought a house yet, we knew we were headed to temporary housing for at least a month. This presented some packing challenges: we needed to pack for several days at my parents' house while the packing/moving rendered our house virtually unusable (the kitchen was the first room to get packed - yikes!); we needed suitcases for all of us for the first week we'll be in Arkansas, before our moving truck arrives; we needed boxes packed with temporary housing items, for the first 30-60 days here in a rental home; and then finally, everything else. Not an insignificant amount of organizing and packing there! We also had TONS of stuff that needed to be taken to the transfer station, etc., which mostly consisted of old toys and cardboard boxes from our last move that could not be used again. Thank goodness for the help of my fantastic parents. My mom watched the kids and spent some quality time with them before the move which allowed us to work at the house until all hours of the night; and my dad brought over his truck and helped haul a whole lot of junk to the transfer station.

Mid-way through day three, while the massive 53' moving van was being loaded (they estimated 23,000 pounds of household goods!), an intense thunder storm arrived which sent everyone running. There was literally a river running directly into the moving truck from the sideways driving rain, so the movers had no choice but to close up the doors and put the loading on hold. Despite the setback, the crew managed to be loaded and out by around 5 PM. I can't say enough about our crew -- they were friendly, efficient, and, well just plain good! I would recommend Humboldt (a division of United Van Lines) out of Canton, MA to anyone who needs a mover in Massachusetts.

They say that a house does not make a home, and I definitely think that's true. But I will say that I had plenty of teary moments packing up and leaving this house. This is the house that our oldest two kids have really developed their little personalities in, and become more independent in. And obviously this is the house that brought us sweet, beautiful Lyla - our favorite surprise. We've got some fantastic memories of great times with family, three little dancers putting on shows and giggles for us, and of course working at home and being able to be a strong presence every day, despite having a full-time job. So we don't leave this place lightly. But at the same time, I think we've got a lot of great new memories that lie ahead in Northwest Arkansas.