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.

Who's that sleeping in MY bed?

So I'll admit that I'm pretty strict when it comes to kids sleeping in our bed. Mainly, I don't allow it. It's totally a personal decision, but I'm one of those people who thinks Mom and Dad should have their space apart from the kids. I'm sure it has something to do with how my own parents felt about it, because that's always how I remember it being in our house growing up, too; I can't ever remember climbing in bed with them. I know, too, that I need that space away from them. The days are long and tiring, and when I am able to get some sleep, I like it to be entirely mine, if that makes sense!

BUT...I totally break the rules when Brad's not home. And I have to say, I absolutely love little nighttime visits from my girlies when Brad is away, love snuggling with them and showering them with unexpected kisses during the night, and love waking up to find warm, squishy kids laying next to me. Brad's been away all week, and two nights ago it was Maddie who came in at about 3 AM and asked if she could sleep with me. By 6 AM, I had both Maddie and Sienna in with me, and then by 6:45 Lyla had joined the crew. This morning we made it until about 5:30 before I ended up with both M and S in bed with me again. What great snuggle time! Don't get me wrong...I can't wait for Brad to get home. Mostly because I've missed him, because honestly it doesn't phase me that much anymore to do it all myself. The kids are a bit older, the baby is much more self-sufficient than she used to be, and we've got a good routine going. But even though I can't wait for him to get home, I'm definitely ok with one more night of my sweet little guests.

They grow so fast...

Tonight I put a shirt on Sienna that used to be one of Maddie's. Increasingly, Madelyn's clothes are going directly from her drawers to Sienna's, since Si is quite a bit taller than Maddie was at this age. So it reminded me that this shirt was, in fact, the one that Madelyn wore on her first day of preschool last year! So tonight I was just messing around on the computer and decided to call up Maddie's first day of preschool pics from last year. Wow has she changed a lot in the past year! Where has my baby gone?? Reminisce with me...

Then and Now:

Little Ears are Everywhere!

Now that the kids are getting a little older, I really have to remind myself that little hears can hear a whole lot! It's amazing how much the kids pick up on, and even more amazing still when they might decide to drag up some of the information they know or have heard.

Sienna has been the source of a lot of laughs lately with what she comes out with -- all of which serve as reminders that even little kids DO listen...at least selectively. We were in church yesterday and the minister was giving the sermon, talking about a scripture lesson that included a man named Jonathan. While doodling on the bulletin we gave her with a pencil from the back of the pew, Sienna all of the sudden whispered (very loudy!), "MOM... he's talking about JONATHAN!" and I knew immediately that she was referring to out next door neighbor. I told her that she was right, he had been speaking about Jonathan - but it was a different Jonathan than her friend next door. A minute later, the minister went on to say '...and Jonathan was killed." Ok, a bit above the two year old, I thought. But Sienna stops drawing once again and turns to me with huge eyes and says, "MOM!! Jonathan was KILLED???" I didn't know whether to be amazed that she was actually listening to the sermon or concerned that she was hearing things a little over her head in church, but in the end it made me laugh.

I got my second little Sienna surprise of the day when we were driving home from church and all of the sudden Si started singing the following:

"I kissed a girl, I kissed a girl! Taste of her Cherry Chex..." repeat, repeat, repeat....

Obviously Sienna has taken in (in very short order!) the lyrics "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry, which comes on the radio sometimes while we're driving. She hasn't got it quite right, but close enough! (You can tell that Chex is one of her favorites, LOL.) Last week I was fairly flippant in my response to a question about whether that was the kind of song I would let my girls listen to. But something about hearing your 2 year old singing does just sort of bring the topic front and center, huh? Another prime example of little ears picking up on everything!

Maddie gave me a good reminder today that even if some kids stories are funny to me, it may not be so fun for the kids to hear me recounting them to people. Last week at Sunday School Maddie was told all about the kids in foreign countries (India, Haiti, Kenya) that the Sunday School is going to be sponsoring through their donations, which will go to helping kids that are not as fortunate as those in her class. At the end of class, I asked M what she had learned and she handed me the info. sheet, answering "You're going to have to spend a LOT of money!" It totally cracked me up, and I've told the story to my mom, etc. and recounted it to the Sunday School teacher today. I just thought it was cute, and yeah, funny to that the prime message she took away seem to be that Mom and Dad were going to have to pay a lot of money...somehow I doubted that was the primary message! In any event, it must have been bothering M to overhear me telling the story, because this morning she got a bit sulky and when I asked her what was wrong, she said, " I don't want you to tell everyone that I said you were going to have to pay a lot of money! I don't want you to tell people that story, I don't like it!" I instantly felt bad and wanted to acknowledge that she was right, and I was wrong -- I didn't mean anything by telling the story, but I did tell her that I was sorry and that I would not tell people again if it bothered her. She does seem very concerned that people are going to laugh at her for some reason, and I definitely felt bad. At 4.5, she is certainly old enough to know and appreciate when she is being talked about! So key lesson learned: Mom needs to be a little bit more careful when telling stories around little ears!

Potty Obsession

Lyla is completely fascinated by the toilet. I know kids tend to have a natural curiousity about it, and we definitely had a few instances with Madelyn and Sienna where we had to tell them not to get into the potty, let's stay away from the toilet paper, etc. But Lyla has a crazy interest in all things toilet related!

Last week, she put blocks in the potty, along with some Little People. Fun to get those things out and all, but no big deal - they went right in the dishwasher, then back into the toy rotation. A couple of weeks ago, she blocked the whole toilet up by putting about a half a roll of TP in the potty at once. Annoying, but again no big deal. This morning? Madelyn's brand new Stride Rite back to school sneakers. Yep, right in. GRRRRrrr!

I swear we do watch her, and we try to keep the bathroom door closed. But this stuff happens in an instant - she is SO quick! Add to that the fact that a toilet lock isn't really an option with a recently potty trained 2.5 year old, and you can see where we get into trouble. Hmmm...too bad this fascination with the toilet isn't a sign that she's ready for some potty training!

Back to the Routine

So I haven't posted anything in a while (again!) and lately I really feel I miss blogging. Time is just flying by so fast, and I feel like if I don't write something down here every once in a while, I'm going to forget just about everything!

We're trying to get settled back into a fall routine, and so far it's going mostly ok, with a glitch or two here and there. Madelyn started her first full week of Pre-K this week and really just seems to be loving it. I didn't really think I would notice a difference between preschool and Pre-K, but I definitely do. There are three new kids in her class that weren't in the preschool class last year, and she's happy to come home and tell me all about her new friends. Last year, she was the oldest in the class; now, there are a few others older than she is, which I think is good for her. I keep warning her teacher that she seems to have turned into a teenager over the summer (with all the sass and attitude that comes with it, ugh!). After her first day, the teacher told me that they were reviewing the family pictures that the kids were asked to bring in, and half way through Maddie said, "Umm...excuse me Miss K. I really think that, um, now that we're, you know - OLDER - we should really call our mother's "Mom" instead of Mommy or Mama." All the while she's doing her hand new teenager-style hand gesturing thing, of course. Miss K told Maddie she thought it was ok if the other kids still wanted to call their Moms "Mommy" or whatever. But Maddie said, "Well, you know. I just think since we're four, we should probably call her Mom, you know?" What a character. The teacher said she was perfectly nice and polite about it, and really seemed like she thought they should have to graduate to calling their mother's "Mom." Where does she come up with this stuff??

Pre-K is three days a week...the rest of the weekly schedule is now taken up with gymnastics for Maddie and Sienna on Saturday mornings, then Music & Movement for Sienna on Monday (the babysitter takes her during the day while Maddie is at pre-K, and Lyla watches), and year two of dance for Maddie on Wednesday. She's in the 5-8 yr. class this fall, a bit early but she seems to enjoy the challenge and since at this age it's mostly about following directions, that class is a better fit for her than the 2.5-5 year old class.

As for Lyla, she's going through a tremendous language spurt right now, mimicking more and more words and jabbering up a storm. She's in that adorable phase where she'll throw out what seems like an entire sentence of gibberish, and then end it with a very real word like "puppy" or "baby" or "up." It's so endearing! She's cut all four molars in the past few weeks, which has made for a bit of a clingy baby. But since they've all finally come through, she's back to her fairly independent and strong-willed self. Her favorite thing to do right now is to look at books, practice climbing up and down stairs (and chairs, etc.) and push around the baby stroller with a doll in it.