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.

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.