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!

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!

Ahh...Quiet!

Here is one of my favorite recent stories; I'm starting with this story because it leads perfectly into one of the strangest - yet very nice - aspects of our Memorial Day Weekend:

Lyla is in the clingy phase...teething up a storm, severe stranger anxiety, freaks out whenever Mommy or Daddy leaves the room or even puts her down. In other words, that really fun phase. So our days over the past few weeks have pretty much consisted of her crawling or cruising around behind me, wherever I go, screaming or yelling at me because I won't pick her up. If I stop for a second, she climbs up my legs; if I don't then pick her up, she yells even louder. It's obviously VERY loud.

This means that putting Sienna in Time Out for hitting Madelyn could nearly put you over the edge, since the volume level more than doubles. But that's where she ended up the other day after getting a little too agressive. So, she was in Time Out (in a small hallway off the kitchen) screaming that she didn't want to be there. Lyla was crawling around behind me in the kitchen, screaming because I was dealing with Sienna and wouldn't pick her up. Thank goodness Maddie wasn't really hurt by the little incident with Sienna, and therefore was NOT crying and was instead satisfied by Sienna going to time out. Lyla managed to crawl her way over in the general vicinity of Sienna's Time Out spot, still yelling and screaming at me. Sienna momentarily stops carrying on enough to shake her little index finger and Lyla and yell, "HEY! NO, Lyla! I'M CRYING!! You don't cry!!" I had all I could do to keep the tears from running down my face. We've reached a new level...they're fighting over who gets to cry!

So back to this weekend...my parents offered to take Sienna overnight after Maddie's dance recital, so that she could have a special night too, in the midst of all of the fanfare over Maddie's performance. Since we've been getting so little sleep lately with her waking up at all hours, we were looking forward to a night of sleep and some time with Maddie and Lyla. Maddie was pretty upset about the arrangement, so my mom and dad ended up taking Sienna on Saturday night, and then Maddie on Sunday night. It really gave us some time to spend a little more in-depth time with each of them. But the thing I noticed most? It is SO much quieter at our house with only two children! I missed them both terribly, but we found ourselves appreciating just a bit of quiet SO much. Obviously we love the loudness and the chaos and pretty much everything about our three kids, but sometimes it's so loud I can't think straight!

So we did some fun things... while Sienna was at Grammy and Grampy's, we took advantage of having no allergy worries and actually going out for breakfast at Percy's Place. OMG, it was delicious! Maddie, Brad and I all had EGGS and loved every bite of it! And little Lyla put away so much pancake I thought she might seriously burst. Then while Maddie was gone, we took Sienna and Lyla to the duck pond and the Grist Mill for a picnic lunch. It was a gorgeous weekend, weather-wise, and we took full advantage. I missed each of the kids tremendously while they were gone (it was especially weird not to have Maddie around after spending so much one-on-one time with her over the past several weeks at dance recitals, rehearsals, etc.), but I think it's always nice to get a little more time to focus on each of them - especially if it's a little quieter and less chaotic!

Hey Santa!

The big guy definitely made a visit to our house this Christmas, and brought with him a big gift for three girls: a play kitchen! We were really thrilled by this, since Maddie had been asking for it for months and telling everyone she could think of that Santa would be bringing her a kitchen. So hooray Santa!

The problem? Apparently Mr. Claus didn't quite understand Miss Madelyn's request or...ummm...expectations.

In the spirit of the Christmas traditions I remember (and I've been reflecting a lot on the fact that I just automatically want to recreate some of those traditions in our home...so I'm thankful for the fact that my mom and dad really went out of their way to make holidays special for us!), we gathered up the kids and sat them on our stairs, while I went down and checked to make sure Santa had, in fact, come. In other words, I turned on all the tree lights, took photos of the calm before the wrapping paper storm, and got ready for action!

Video camera rolling, we brought two very excited little girls into the living room, where the first thing they saw was this:

(Another aquired tradition: gifts from Santa aren't wrapped in our house!) A rather subdued Madelyn - and by that I mean no high pitched exclamatory remarks or shrieking, which is generally her way of showing excitement - stated matter of factly, "He brought me a kitchen. Not a REAL kitchen, but it's ok I guess..." HUH? Mommy Santa experienced a moment of pure disappointment followed quickly by serious anxiety over the fact that this was the MAJOR gift, particularly for Madelyn. If she didn't like this, Christmas was pretty much going to be a bust!

Me: "What do you mean, a "real" kitchen, Maddie?"

M: "You know, one that works. This one isn't real, look. The sink doesn't have water and the over (turning knobs back and forth) doesn't work."

Me: "Oh well I don't think Santa could bring a real kitchen, Maddie. Kids can't have real kitchens you know, they're kind of dangerous. You know, working ovens get really hot and..."

M: "Well it's ok. It's cool anyways."

And with that, the excitement actually kicked it, she recovered, and she was off... ooohing and ahhing over the kitchen and everything else, including the not-so-fun things like her new winter coat.

PHEW. And thanks for okaying it, Princess M! After my moment of temporary panic, I actually started thinking about how funny it all was and how happy I was to have caught it on video. She didn't come off as ungrateful or anything (and I'll admit I was a little horrified at first, thinking she might be about to act truly spoiled), just genuinely perplexed by the fact that she had wanted a real kitchen and this one wasn't going to actually cook stuff. I guess Santa can come around again next year after all...

Nothing like a little train ride...

to spread the Christmas joy to our children!

[Side note: It's been a while since I've updated (what else is new...I need to get better about this, and I swear it's on my list of New Year's resolutions!) so I'm going to back post a number of Christmas season updates and photos. Might take me a bit, but I'll get there.]

We decided to go to Edaville Railroad on December 23rd, which is the best place I know of to get in the holiday spirit. I remember going there as a kid, and to be honest -- not much has changed. And I love it that way! Edaville's claim to fame is a lovely old fashioned heated train ride (about 25 minutes) through the woods and around the local cranberry bogs, right through their Festival of Lights. The light displays contain over 7 MILLION lights and some really fun scenes, including Noah's ark and all the animals, a Christmas Village, dinosaurs (one of Maddie's favorites!), a castle, etc. Since it was a really mild day -- but still a bit of snow on the ground -- we decided it would be a good day for a trip. We called my mom and asked her to come too, so the 6 of us headed in at about 5:30.

My mom said that my dad didn't really want to go, since it wasn't his thing...and I joked that she should remind him that it would be fun seeing Christmas joy through the eyes of a child (or three, as the case may be). But seriously, even I probably couldn't have imagined the thrill and excitement that this trip would stir up for our girls.

It took us probably 45 minutes just to get down the entrance walkway, where there were little wooden houses lining the walk, each containing a moving animated Christmas scene. Madelyn loved the one of Santa's living room with Mrs. Claus in a moving rocking chair, as well as the one with the elves making Christmas toys in their workshop. They also had a man carving reindeer, beavers, etc. out of big logs, which Sienna was amazed by. Even Lyla was thoroughly entertained by the whole night and didn't really fuss once. She is definitely at her happiest when "out and about" shopping, sightseeing, etc.!

The train ride was obviously the prime event of the night, and we all really loved it. We were near the front of the line and managed to get seats in the first car, which had comfy booth-like leather seats and nice HEAT to warm us up! Once we got off the train, the kids went on a few rides and climbed up in some of the real antique train cars. The merry go round seemed to frighten both of them, for some reason...but everything else was a huge hit.

Not to go unmentioned was the fact that it was just as fun to see how excited my mom was to watch the kids' excitement as it was to see them! It was also nice to have another set of hands, so Brad and I could enjoy a couple of rides with the older two while my mom stayed with Lyla and the stroller. Thanks, Mom!

Finally -- three cheers for Starbucks, who had set up a fabulous tent right at the entrance way and was handing out beautiful little cups of steaming peppermint hot chocolate, complete with whipped cream and sprinkles. They were giving samples both on the way in AND the way out, along with coupons to everyone for a free beverage of your choice at Starbucks when you buy one at full price. I have to say, this little touch was just the icing on the cake for a really nice holiday night. The yummy cocoa was just the right size for little kids and just the right amount to warm you up. And from a marketer's standpoint, I gotta say that it was just the right amount to make sure that I will return to Starbucks and give them some business. They're sure to get some really decent conversion out of this particular sampling tactic!

Turkey Day already?

How did it get to be Thanksgiving week?? This whole fall season has just flown by, and I can't believe that 1) we are going to be having Turkey in three days and 2) my girls are going to be turning 2 and 4 in less than two weeks! I'm busy trying to finalize details of their party amidst crazy holiday schedules for everyone. I'm not sure I'm really ready for the work involved in planning birthday parties for three kids, but I guess that's what I signed up for, LOL.

In addition to Thanksgiving, we have an appointment for the kids to have pictures taken on Wednesday afternoon. I hope it all goes well...this is the first time we will be trying to get all three of them in one professional picture, and that just seems like an amazing task to me!

Even though the holiday has just totally appeared out of nowhere this year, it seems, I'm still really looking forward to turkey day and, in particular, my mom's delicious Thanksgiving spread.

We made it through Halloween!

I was very nervous about Halloween...this was our first year having to think about Sienna's allergies, and I honestly could have just skipped the holiday altogether (and that's without even taking into account the fact that I really don't even like Halloween!). But what's fun for the kids is usually fun for me too, and Halloween was no exception.



Madelyn dressed as - what else! - an adorable princess. Sienna fit so well into Maddie's turtle costume from last year, and loved it so much, that we decided to use it again. And Lyla was a cute little tiger (also worn by Sienna last year, but who's keeping track? LOL).



We began the festivities the day before Halloween with a preschool party for Maddie. She and I had a lot of fun baking Halloween cupcakes; cooking really seems to be our "thing" to do together and I think we both really enjoy it. She's such a good little helper in the kitchen. We dropped her off in her costume, then all the parents came back at 10:15 for a costume parade around the cul-de-sac where her preschool is located. Parents and kids had yummy treats, then did some Halloween crafts together. All in all, a very fun time. Maddie marched hand in hand with her friends Olivia and Katrina, and they were all just adorable!

Halloween night, the kids all got dressed up in their costumes, and Maddie and Sienna headed out with Brad while I manned (sp?) the door with Lyla the tiger. I think I literally saw about 1,000 Disney princesses. Guess that's what happens when you live in a neighborhood where there are kids under 5 in almost every house! My parents came over to see the kids in their costumes, so all three girls had a lot of fun with Grammy and Grampy when they came back from trick or treating. Sienna was really good, and the allergy issue was manageable, thank goodness. I packed a bag of safe treats for her, and she actually didn't even take any treats from houses (for fear of cross-contamination from candy with peanuts). As it turns out, Maddie was so quick running up to doors with her friends Jonathan and Theresa, that by the time Brad and Sienna got anywhere near the door Maddie and cronies were already done! Sienna just had a ball dressed in her costume and being out and about in the neighborhood with all the big kids.


Madelyn's primary question before going trick or treating was, "Mom, where's your costume? What are you going to be?" And, true enough, I hadn't even thought about a costume. So next year, I guess I'll be thinking a little further ahead. I'm sure it will make Halloween even more fun for them.