FOR TODAY... a day late....again

Outside my window... gray, humid, cool, but still warmer than I would like! Yesterday we had a beautiful day of rain. Rain all day!! Loved it!

I am thinking...about all the appointments I am juggling around in my head and glad for my ipod calendar where I can record the appts along with any notes/addresses/directions I was given. So everything is in one place. And wondering how long my drippy kids will be drippy and why infants aren't born with a reflex to be able to blow their noses.

I am thankful for...grandparents that are always willing to babysit, husbands that are nearly perfect, gorgeous and intelligent and GOOD children.

From the learning rooms... Well it was supposed to be leaf week but the books I requested from the library haven't come in yet. So we are having squirrel week and will go back to leaves next week. Ben will now SOMETIMES participate in certain vocal parts of table time. On days where we have had to skip table time due to appointments or illness he asks for it. So it has become a positive and expected aspect of his day. Just what I wanted :)

From the kitchen...I have a knitting class tonight so it will be something like chicken nuggets, mixed vegetables and biscuits. Something simple.

I am wearing... pajamas: black sweatpants and a greeen tshirt

I am going... to take care of odds and ends today...some laundry still needs doing, some floors need cleaning, some naps need taking ;)

I am reading... Emily of New Moon and Alex: Life of a Child. My grandmother gave me this book when I was a kid and I read it then. It is the story of a young girl who dies of CF at age 8. I thought I had gotten rid of this book...I had even looked for it a few weeks ago. THe other day Anna got upstairs and tour all the books off one of the bookshelves and there lying on the floor was the Alex book. So I have been reading it.

I am hoping... for a clean house someday

I am hearing...Benjamin saying "Ohhh nooooo.....I do dis!!" LOL no idea why he is saying that.

Around the house... everyone is still recovering from colds. Kids are still quite drippy. I am on an antibiotic for the inevitable sinus infection that developmed and Cla, the late comer to this party, is just sort of in the middle of it.

One of my favorite things... pumpkin coffee creamer

A few plans for the rest of the week: tomorrow Anna goes for an Upper GI at Children's Hospital and hopefully this weekend we will go apple picking and Ben will stay over and Grandma and Papa's so I can take Anna to her Nutritionist appt early Monday. Other than that I am trying to stay home as it seems the entire world is sick.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing:

at the beach resisting a nap!

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A Day (or two) At The Beach

Still working on catching up around here....mentally and actually. Laundry is mostly done but entirely unfolded for example. We are all still sick and I just got home from the Minute Clinic at CVS where they confirmed that I do indeed have a sinus infection.

So here are just a few pictures from our stay at the beach. My inlaws had rented a house and we stayed over Sunday to Monday.

Hurricane Igor was passing by off shore somewhere and so there were just insane waves and currents. We couldn't really go in the water at all. Just at the very very edge.


Ben loved to carefully walk along the white lines on the boardwalk

Wordless Wednesday

Pork Chops and Applesauce

Well we are suffering from our first colds of the season. A little premature for my liking. So far Anna has been struck the worst. I am attacking mine with Zicam and Airborne and so just dealing with minor congestion and sluggishness right now. Ben seems to be getting a bit droopy. Tomorrow will tell for him. And Cla, so far, untouched! We were supposed to have a our first preschool playdate from our local Catholic homeschool group, but we will have to back out. I am really disappointed, but luckily there is another next month.

My little Anna has had such a hard month or so and I just feel awful that just as all the teething seems to have past that she now has quite a yucky cold. I think she might be running a low fever and she is just so drippy and unhappy. Now in addition to this cold her pediatric GI appt was moved from Oct. 21 to THIS Thursday!! I am so happy to be getting her in so much earlier, but it is just unfortunate timing for her I think. Prayers please for her to get well quickly and for her appt to go well.

For Ben table time continues this week with stories about harvest time. I keep meaning to do a post with what books we are reading each week. Hopefully I will get to that this week.

I took these videos about a week or so ago (I see myself falling behind with the schedule getting busy and the colds *sigh*). Anna is at that difficult stage where she doesn't want to be fed anymore and can't quite feed herself things that require the use of a utensil. So on a whim I figured I would let her go for it with some applesauce just to see what happened and I was shocked to find that she did really great! And then of course Ben wanted his video take!

FOR TODAY... a day late....

Outside my window... Same as usual: Cool sunshiny morning that will turn into a warmer than I would like afternoon with no rain or cooler weather in sight.

I am thinking...it seems Anna has a cold which is the last thing my little pixie needs after months of terrible teething mixed with a good dose of bloodwork and doctor visits. And let's be honest. I don't really need a sick baby right now *sigh* And if Anna is sick how long before Ben is sick and I am sick....etc etc. We are looking well into October before this has all past.

I am thankful for...my home, my sanctuary, my place

From the learning rooms... Onto week three of Table Time and a harvest theme. And since Daddy is off from work today he said he would like to join us for table time!

From the kitchen...I haven't got a clue LOL...we got back late last night from a few days at the jersey shore an the house and kitchen are still in disarray!

I am wearing... pajamas: light blue sweatpants and a navy tshirt.

I am going... to catch up on a few blog posts that need getting to, I am going to get the house back in order and laundry done, I am going to start a new knitting class tonight, work on potty training Ben (God help us! Is there a patron of the potty???), and pray I don't get sick

I am reading... Emily of New Moon

I am hoping... to stay healthy, to keep Ben healthy (noticing a theme this week??)

I am hearing...Benjamin reading a book and Anna's mobile. She is down for her morning nap and hoping for a happier baby when she wakes.

Around the house... suitcases strewn about, toys strewn about, etc

One of my favorite things... that I can put my kids down to bed and they go to sleep on their own. In fact last night when we got home I got Anna ready for bed and she was so happy to see her own bed that she practically threw herself from my arms into the crib and quickly snuggled down into her blanket with a peaceful sigh. It was a sweet sweet sight.

A few plans for the rest of the week: It is a busy week! Yesterday we were at the beach still, this evening I start a knitting class downtown, tomorrow we have our first preschooler playdate with our local Catholic homeschool group, Thursday I have a dentist appt. And for some reason I THINK there is something Friday but I can't remember what!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing:

An oldie for today. I have new pics, but everything is still on the camera and not sure when I will get to it. So a blast from the past is what we got!

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New Shelves

It is funny how sometimes a smart idea just doesn't occur to you for years! Why we never thought to put shelves over the desk is beyond me, but it finally struck me like a moment of genius the other day!

We already had the shelves, but I decided to paint them white and voila! I was able to clear the cookbooks out of a cabinet (thereby making more cabinet space) and now I have a space for some books and other materials for Ben that I don't really want the kids to have free access to. AND I have a clean desk than can now be used for whatever I want!

Wordless Wednesdays

A Step Into History

This past weekend we celebrated Rosh Hoshana with our family on Long Island. As a special treat we decided to sleep over at my aunt's house and go to Old Bethpage Village Resoration on Sunday afternoon.

The village is made up of old homes and other buildings that were rescued from all over LI, moved to Old Bethpage and renovated to reflect what it would have been like in the 19th century. There are also constumed interpreters there to tell you the history of each building. The village was always one ofmy very favorite places to go on Long Island.

There are quite a few pictures here!

This is basically the 19th century answer to the bumbo chair LOL...the interpreter told me I could put Anna in the seat as long as I didn't tell anyone. Hmmm, wonder if that included putting it on my blog??

A three seater outhouse!! We couldn't resist!

A disclaimer on behalf of my dear friend Linda who joined us: it was a cool windy but humid day....and so fluffy hair abounded

My homage to Anne of Green Gables

Steeling her brother's pretzel!

I couldn't help but take all these pics of Anna sleeping. She is such a light sleeper that it is so rare that we catch her like this!! She was TOTALLY pooped!

Here are pics of everyone on our long drive back to NJ!

I thought this was awesome. In the middle of the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn is a Dunkin Donuts!!