Let's talk about the kiddos...

We haven't been out of the house enough this week, I guess. Or maybe it's the humidity? Or maybe I just keep waking up on the wrong side of the bed? Whatever it is, it's been making my day job less desirable, at times. But I'm trying to maintain a somewhat positive attitude. So, I'll try not to whine too much here, kay?

First, let's start with this little dimple darling...

Oh yes, she's super-duper cuter than ever, and we just love her to pieces. But I think she must be teething or something. These past few days she's just been so... unpredictable? Her naps are shorter, her appetite is hard to read, and she's developed a VERY loud "yell" of sorts that she uses almost constantly. I mean, between bites at meals, during most diaper changes, and even when she's drinking a bottle or sucking a pacifier -- she feels it's her duty to pull the "sucker" out and give a good yell every now and then. Not so amusing after a few hours, let alone a few days. Oh, also, she has a great love of paper. She finds any little scrap, and into the mouth it goes. Today she was munching the American Express statement. It's kinda cute and funny, except she REALLY yells when I have to take away her "toy" and dig the remnants out of her mouth. hmm... Any thoughts on teaching her some better baby manners?

Well, at least she's very cute, even when she yells at me nonstop!

Then there's this little sweetheart...

Samantha really is pretty sweet these days, and she tries very hard to be my helper, a lot of the time. She has her moments, though. And they are not fun... Like, the big wide eyes and instant tears running down her face when I tell her she's played on pbskids long enough today. Or the stomping feet and sassy, demanding voice when I don't get her a snack "right this second." Or the whiny, sniffly way she acts so bothered if I do something without her (like, go running in the mornings, for instance). Yeah, these things usually get her in time-out, and leave me feeling wound up, irritated, then later guilty for being less than patient.

But she's my sweet little friend, most of the time, of course...

Now, let's get to the real "discussion" of the day: My Second Baby...

Who me??

Me????

That's our boy!! I am having the hardest time figuring out what to do for Spencer these days. I think I've mentioned it before, but he really does want to be a baby again, and I'm not at all sure how to handle this "stage." Let me give some details...

When we first moved here, Spence would occasionally say to me, "I want you to hold me." I thought it was sweet, and, when I had a few extra minutes, I'd sit down with him and cuddle him a bit. Well, that was every once in awhile -- like once or twice a day, maybe. And now? I hear that every five to ten minutes. All. Day. Long. If I can't hold him, he bursts into tears and sobs, then says "I'm too tired. I'm just too tired." Then... "I want BaBa (his blanket)." This happens at meals, in the car, when I'm working with Natalie, when we're out for walks...

I'm sorry, but this is the whiny part. Skip it if you want to. But I am going cr-aaaiizy! And I'm not sure what to do. I go back and forth between feeling like I should just give him a lot of extra attention, you know -- reassure him and just sort of "love him" through it... to feeling like I should just ignore it altogether -- so I don't encourage him. And when I'm not actively trying to deal with it through one of those methods, I also sometimes find myself throwing up my hands in exasperation and frustration. (Maybe I do more of that than the other two, actually.)

It's not just the "hold me" stuff that's puzzling/frustrating/annoying (can be any combo of those three, depending on how I feel at the time. ha!). He really does seem to be reverting back to babyhood? for lack of a better word. He tells me all the time, "I grow back little now, like Nattie." He rarely dresses himself, at meals he often wants me to feed him bites, he has virtually NO interest in toilet training. And if I push any of these things, I better be willing to put up with a nasty tantrum and lots of tears. I don't know if maybe he's sick or maybe he's not getting enough sleep? Or maybe he's just having a harder time adjusting to everything (Natalie, the move, the absence of Daddy, etc)??

Anyway, it's been rough. And I'm honestly not sure what to do for our poor little Spencer boy. Any suggestions? I'm open to whatever!! Actually, I should probably get off my blog and get online and find some "expert" ideas on how to help my toddler grow up, eh?! Just thought I'd vent a little bit here, hope ya don't mind.

Ciao for now...

In Connecticut, and other random conversations

I know I'm behind on my blog.

See, what happens is I tell myself I HAVE to put up all the pictures and tell about our awesome vacation before I write another word about anything. And then... welp. There I am again.

But while I continue to put off some major blogging, I thought I might as well jot down some fun conversations with the kids we've had lately...

-- We went shopping in Connecticut last week (about 20 mins drive from home). When we were coming back, Samantha noticed the big "Welcome to New York" sign on the freeway.

Sam, very surprised: "What? Welcome to New York!??! Mom!? Did we leave the country?!"

Me: No, Sammie. We were just in Connecticut.... but it is another state.

Sam: Oh. Connecticut. (pause for thinking) Well, that explains why everyone in the store was speaking Spanish!!

???

-- Samantha, while my parents were visiting, felt it her duty to tattle-tell on Spencer: Mom, Spencer said he has a servant.... and it's Grandma!

-- At Applebees, after a very big meal, Spencer lifted up his shirt and examined his stomach studiously, then said: hmm.... My tummy is spilling over!

(I think I know the feeling, buddy!)

-- Brian, trying to teach Samantha about manners, since she kept interrupting everyone: Sammie, it's really not polite to interrupt people in the middle of a conversation.

Sam: Oh. Okay. [thoughtful pause] Dad. I don't even know what a conversation IS!

All for now... wish I kept better track of some of the other things they've said lately. They make me laugh all day long!

More Park Pictures

I can't resist. I just have to put up some more of the pictures from our park outing a few weeks ago. I was messing with the camera, trying to get some cute pics of the kids... maybe even "wall" worthy. I liked some of them enough to share...

It was hard to get Samantha to hold still long enough to pose, but I did get a few cute ones, I think...

A little too much sun, and too many shadows, and she's got that funny bite going on, but I love it, for some reason. Mama's bias, I guess...

Also kinda "squinty," but I like this one, too...

Spence's new smile... a little scrunchy, but so cute...

Love those lashes and those baby blues!

Also love this one, but darn that green thing on one corner of his head. If I knew photoshop.... oh well!

And now, more of the little lady who quite decidedly steals the show when it comes to photos right now...

Oh so yummy!!

hee hee... I love that little tongue!

Hard to get anything but cuteness when I'm taking pictures of this girlie! She just makes me smile!


And this last here.... It's from a different day, but every time I look at it, it makes me giggle inside. Thought I'd add it to the collection for blogger consumption...

ps. darling dress and matching bow compliments of our dear friend A. (hope she gets to see it!)

pss. Just back from a lovely, week-long vacation, WITH Brian and the kids. And with my parents, too! Oh yes, there is much to blog about... stay tuned!

Special Days

A few weeks after we moved here, I was telling Samantha and Spencer a "story from when I was little" as their bedtime story. I told them about a trip I took with some of my cousins, and how, in their family, they had Special Days. These cousins of mine had seven kids in their family. So, each day of the week it was someone's Special Day. That meant, the "Special" kid could pray or choose someone to pray at meals, sit in the front seat of the car, and pick a little "special" something he or she wanted to do (like, play with a friend, play his/her game of choice, eat some kind of treat, etc.)

Well. The idea was FASCINATING to my kiddos! And so... we now have "Special Days." Samantha's is Tuesday, and Spencer's is Thursday. At first, I kind of wondered, what did I get myself into?! But actually, it's been kind of fun. We don't really do that much stuff we wouldn't normally be doing already. But the kids look forward to it, and they feel like they're helping to make the plan for the day.

Here's some of the things we've done for Special Days...

-- Found a new park, with some VERY cool toys

Natalie's first swing ride... she was a BIG fan!

-- Walked to the bridge to see the turtle in our pond

He's kinda hard to see, but I promise, there's a HUGE turtle in that pond, about as big around as a large trash can lid. And he has a really long neck, too. I think you can mainly see his neck in this picture...

-- Rode our bikes at the beach

(my personal favorite, and probably theirs, too)

There's a great boardwalk, all along the beach near our house. Perfect for biking!

Oh, and, Samantha's friend from church gave her this little two-wheeler, no training wheels. She got on and had no trouble whatsoever riding it, from the very first try! Wow.

-- Took a "just for fun" bath in the middle of the day

(one of their last all-together baths... Samantha's starting to take them on her own now... growing up so fast. sniff sniff.)

-- Read extra stories together before bedtime

And, some other "Special Days" we didn't catch on film...

-- Walked to Dunkin Donuts for pink donuts with sprinkles

-- Played at McDonalds playland

-- Went to Central Park to play in the sandbox

-- Watched a movie in bed with mom, even staying up after bedtime

-- Went to the library

It's fun. And, actually, it kind of helps with some of the little sibling fights... "Spencer gets the red one, because it's his Special Day." "Samantha gets the last jelly bean, because it's her Special Day." "Spencer can go first, because it's his Special Day." "Samantha can choose which she wants, it's her Special Day."

I even claim my own Special Day, occasionally... I tell them we're going to go shopping and they have to be extra good even when we're just looking at boring mommy clothes and such, because it's my Special Day. They're very good about it, a nice surprise!

The only drawback is when we can't actually do what they'd like, for their Special Day. Like, umm... Spencer seems to think it's a "Make a Wish" list. Several times a day, I hear, "Mom. You know what, on my special day??Umm... go to McDonalds." Then five minutes later, again, "You know what on my Special Day? Umm... go to Wal-mart." And again, "Umm... watch Thomas the Train." And my favorite so far, "Ummm... go on an airplane." ha! We'll save that last one for a few months, eh?!

Anyway, Saturday is Brian's first Special Day: he starts a week of vacation! Yay!! Wish us luck, making it very extra Special!!

Money Matters

Wow. First, thanks for the feedback about what I should blog about. I know this blog is mainly for me, right? But I'm always interested to know what others find interesting. So, thanks!! :)

This post is a little different than my normal stuff. Since we moved here, it seems like I've had money on my mind a lot more. It could be that Brian's so busy that I've (begrudgingly) taken over doing most of the bills -- so I "see" the money a bit more? It could be that I'm constantly comparing what things cost in Idaho, to how much they cost here. It could be that New York is just an expensive place, and I've still got "sticker shock." It could be that we're finally MAKING money instead of just burning our savings away, and yet we're still not really gaining much. It could be that we moved into a VERY affluent area and I'm much more aware of how some people spend, because they have it to spend.

It could be a combination of all those things. Most likely, it is. Well, whatever the reason, I just feel like some of my observations are interesting, maybe somewhat amusing, and worth sharing. But it still feels a little weird for me to be talking about money, because I don't usually do it. So, if you get embarrassed for me on some of this...

well, a-hem.

First little story...

A few weeks ago I looked up a few consignment stores in the area and took the kids with me to check out one of them. It was an upper-end clothing and shoes consignment store, with prices ranging from $5 - $100 for gently used items. It was just me, my kids, and the store owner in the store -- super nice lady. She started helping me find clothes that will fit my body, even though I'm not a size 4, 6, 8... She pulled out several pairs of capris and jeans, and lots of tops. Each time she pulled out a new top, she'd say "oh, and here's another Anthropologie, here's a Testament that would fit you, here's a Puella that's kind of cute..." $15 for one shirt. $22 for another, and so on.

I smiled politely and took all the clothes to try on, even though the only name I recognized was JJill. Am I so disconnected with fashion that I really have no idea what the hot brands even are?? Apparently so. I was browsing through the "grab bag $5 bin" at the back of the store before I left, and I saw a cute black jacket that was my size. Not bad for $5, I thought. I decided to get it, along with some $3 Sonoma t-shirts (Kohls, of course), and a few other shirts that were some of those name brands she'd mentioned. As I put the jacket on the counter to pay for it, the owner lady got all excited for me and said, "Oh!! Is that that Eileen Fisher jacket?! What a steal, eh?! I'm so glad it fits you! Can't beat that, -- just take it to the cleaners, or press it yourself, and... wow. Eileen Fisher for just five bucks, huh?!"

I acted like I knew what a find I had found. Even though I was clueless and, again, had never heard of Eileen Fisher. (Have you??) So, I looked for her line online the other night. Found a jacket like the one I just got, only mine's black, and a little bigger :) ...

And how much is the online catalog price for this little beauty?? $278.

Wow. Who knew? And the testament shirt I got for $18. I love it (and thanks for the compliment, Alysa)...

I know, this was in my last post, but I had to put it up again, now that I'm actually talking about the shirt. It's pretty cute, I think. I looked online and found a similar cut Testament shirt for $98. For a t-shirt.

Wow. I'm just not into spending like that. Nor do I ever plan to be. It kinda blows my mind that nice, designer clothes actually cost that much. And that people have money to buy clothes off the rack at those "new clothes" prices. And that they actually SPEND it on that.

And at the same time, I have to say, that shirt fits really nicely. It hangs well and feels so light and comfortable. So do the others that I bought. It makes me want to go back to that little store and see if she has any more like it (which I bet she DOES). Maybe she even has some more Eileen Fisher stuff ... now that I know what that means. ha! Not that I don't like the designer clothes -- just not the prices.

I remember having a conversation with a friend once -- not anyone really close -- about clothes and shopping. She said, "I never thought I'd like to spend a lot of money for nice, good quality clothes. But then I tried on some nice, good quality clothes. And they fit me so much better. They just felt good on me. Now... it's really hard to *not* by the good stuff."

Hmm... lucky for me, fashion isn't really my thing. And really, I'm okay with my ignorance of the fancy brands. But being here, being surrounded by a really high fashion standard, it does give me pause for thought... and for blogging. ha! You should see the lovely shoes on some of the ladies at church, oh my! I could write a post just about the shoes... but not this post.

Next little story...

I went to drop off some paperwork to the school nurse at Samantha's new school. She (the nurse) was super nice and friendly. She gave me a referral card for her family's dentist and was telling me about our town and surrounding area. "Have you got your daughter signed up for a summer camp yet?" she asked. I kind of shrugged, so she gave me a booklet about "Summer Fun in Westchester County." She started telling me about how there were lots of different camp options, but it'd be kind of late to get registered for most of them. Then, she said, "Oh, actually, Harrison City offers a camp that has a later registration. It's nothing great, but it's so cheap. It's only, like, $300 for the week. So, if your daughter didn't want to go one of the days or it got really hot or something... well, you know... you wouldn't be out any money, right?"

Umm... okay. Except, yes, we would be out $300. I'm sorry, but that still feels like a lot of money to me. For a five-year-old. For a one-week summer day camp thing that's "nothing great." The school nurse went on to tell me that "some of those private day camps can start to get a little bit pricey... You know... $5 or 6 THOUSAND dollars."

Umm... okay. So now I understand. ... I guess $300 is "so cheap" in comparison. But really, to me, it's still $300! -- Five fill-ups with gas (also on the pricey side, now that I think of it), three weekly grocery trips, or two month's worth of utilities.

It's the same with the community pool here... $700 for the summer. Means me and my two kids can swim at two different outdoor pools all summer long. And that's "such a deal" according to a mom in the park, because it's so much more reasonable than the nearby Rye Country Club, which is $3000 -- as in THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS to swim in their outdoor park and pool. (And, of course, there's an out-of-city additional fee we'd have to pay at Rye, since we live in Harrison -- a lady we met while we were out walking tonight told me about that nice little add-on, thanks.)

It's the same with preschool prices... A lady in our ward is doing preschool right now, charging $150 per month for two days a week. She's on the lower end. Someone else is doing one next year and will be charging $185. But either of those options is soooo much more reasonable than any of the private preschools around here. I hear they charge in the thousands. per month... haven't actually verified that yet, so I could be wrong. But still, I guess I really do have sticker shock. Sammie's Spanish Immersion program (back in Caldwell) was pretty pricey to me -- $90 a month. Sorry Spence, you're getting Joy School. :) Or, maybe *I* should start teaching preschool???

I know, I know... New York is just an expensive place. Yes, it's true. But the fact is, my same dollars still mean as much to me here as they did in Idaho. And yet they don't buy nearly as much here, at all! Those dollars just seem to stretch so much farther, almost anywhere besides here, eh? Seems almost wasteful, to spend more for less. But that's what it feels like here. Kind of a downer, when I stop to think about it. (But don't worry... I try not to!)

I'm sure I had more to say about this, but it's not coming easily. Probably because I don't write or talk about money very often. And probably I don't talk about it much because we all see money from a different vantage point, depending on how much we have, how much we need, how much we spend, etc. Right? Well, then. Enough said, for now.

The Beach.

It happened, finally! Brian had a WHOLE WEEKEND where he didn't have to work. At all! Well, actually I think he may have checked his email a few times, but it was on the sly and didn't involve hours of isolation. So!!! We finally had some time together as a family. And it was wonderful.

We slept in Saturday morning. (Actually it was mainly Brian who slept in, since Natalie didn't get the memo, and the kids -- and I-- wake up as soon as they hear her.) We made delicious french toast for breakfast (Brian kinda missed that part too, but we saved him some). Then, we packed up a picnic lunch and went to the beach. It was lovely. And here are the pictures, to prove it.

First, here's our beach, so fun! With Long Island off in the distance...

And, presenting.... the man of the hour! Not even toting his Blackberry (at least not visibly!)...

Happy Lady. VERY happy.

Water was cold, but the sand was what the kids came for anyway...

I love her smile... She didn't even know we were taking this one, but she was just in a really good mood. (Aside, all those cute little "parts" in her hair for her twisty braids got sunburned. Ouch and oops.)

Natalie wasn't quite sure what to think of the beach.

Or the sun...

Or the sand...

She got her fill in the first half hour, then crashed out in her stroller...

Brian and the kids build a sand tower. It was going to be a castle, but that was proving to be a very tricky endeavor. So, they opted for a tower instead. Here's Brian, carefully packing the bottom layer, with Spence in the background, bringing him another bucket of water to firm things up...

And, um, I accidentally knocked the tower over before we got a picture of it. Oops. But it was cool. Looked like a three layer wedding cake, and Samantha even decorated part of it with seashells.

Then Daddy buried them.

They LOVED it!

Then Samantha helped Brian bury Spencer up to his neck.

He thought that was the cooooolest!

Until Sammie "broke his sand" and ran off like a bandit. Hahaha...

Ah, what more can I say? It was a lovely afternoon. We ate a picnic lunch, stayed until it got a little bit chilly and overcast, then packed up and drove home (5 minutes, no joke!) It started to rain just as we got home... perfect timing!

Blog ideas? Let's vote.

Kay, so I have lots of ideas of things I'd like to blog about, but I'm not making time to blog these days. Anyone noticed?? Well, I was thinking, maybe I could put up some of my topic ideas, and see if any of my faithful readers might have suggestions about what I should do for my next posts. Any takers? Well, here's my list of topics I'm considering right now:

-- Money Matters

-- About Blogging

-- Kids' Stats, and other random stuff to remember

-- Beach and Other Outings

-- "Special" Days

-- More about the Neighborhood

-- Internal Anxieties

I've seriously been thinking of writing something about each of those topics. Any that would be more interesting than others? I guess I'm curious what it is people like to see on my blog. Not that I have THAT many readers/followers. But maybe there's something that you'd like to hear about??? Let me know...

Neighbors

We've been in our house for a month and a half now. Time to write about our neighbors, though I'm not sure there's all that much to write, really. As you know, our house is a duplex, you probably remember from "the tour," right? That means, we have neighbors right through the wall on one side.

At first it kind of bothered me. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. every day, listening to someone next door creeping down their stairs and out the door to work. And at bed time I was super self conscious, knowing they could hear me raising a motherly voice at my less-than-cooperative children on those not-so-easy single-mom nights. I guess I'm now used to all that, and I'm less self-conscious about my "pitch" after overhearing a doozy of an argument through their bedroom wall one night.

Anyway, one of our first afternoons in our new place, Samantha looked out the back window and saw a little girl getting on a two-wheeled bike, and an older man putting a toddler in a stroller. Sammie was running for the coat closet, ready to grab her jacket and go meet them. I held her back, because the little "party" was obviously off to somewhere. I told her we'd wait a few days and then probably meet them.

Next encounter, I was pushing the kids in the trusty sit-n-stand, and we were just getting back from CVS when I noticed our neighbor was getting into his car -- the same older gentleman. I hurried my pace, so I could ask him about the garbage cans (two cans, which was ours, when was garbage day, etc.) I waved at him, just as he was closing his car door. He looked at me, waved back, and sat waiting to back up his car. I motioned toward the garbage cans and shrugged, as if to ask "can you tell me what the garbage situation is??" and he just looked at me, didn't roll down the window or anything. I gestured again, and he waved briefly and drove away. Okay. Maybe the gesturing about the garbage was the wrong tack??

This was weeks ago. We still haven't really met. But the kids have, of course. I mean, we share a back yard. It was inevitable, right? Turns out the family is from China, and the grandparents are living with the family. The older man in the car? he's the grandpa, speaks no English other than "thank you" and "cookie," as far as I can tell. (Guess that explains why he wasn't too eager to explain about the garbage cans?) The girl is Kathrine and she's 7. The toddler is Justin, he's 2.

Kathrine and Samantha hit it off. They started playing together in the afternoons after Kathrine gets home from school. At first, it seemed like it was just the two of them-- and Spencer on the side, doing his own thing. And then, after a few days, I noticed some other little girls would join them. Now, they're over here fairly often -- at least two or three days a week, if it's not rainy.

Usually, I sit in our living room with the patio doors open to the back deck while they play. I listen to them, and occasionally go out to make sure they're doing okay. They play a lot of hide-and-seek, a tag game called "witchy," and sometimes pretend to "plant a garden" or "bake a cake" out of leaves and twigs from around the yard. It's been fun to see Samantha light up when she's with her new friends.

Only, there's the down side... Samantha is the youngest. And she's the new kid. And she's not allowed to leave our yard (mean mom!). So, she sometimes gets the raw end of the neighborhood friends deal, especially when the other girls run back and forth between several houses that are right next to ours. But she puts up with it okay.

Sometimes the older girls don't want her to play, or she's just a little young for their games (jumping rope is a tricky one for her). So, she's had her feelings hurt a few different times. That's ROUGH for a mom to watch. But I gotta hand it to Samantha --- she's really resilient! If some older kids had told me I couldn't play when I was little, I'm sure I wouldn't have shown my face for weeks. Not Sammie; it's happened a few different times. Each time, she comes inside, has a little cry, changes her clothes, tells me "it's okay, I'm just the new girl, and they're not used to me." And she's off again, laughing and playing with them like nothing happened! Wow. Is she really mine?? ;)

I took some pictures of the kids playing in the back yard a few weeks ago. Can you pick out Samantha? heeheh...

Kinda funny --Sammie's the only pasty white girl from Idaho. All the other girls are Asian (mostly Japanese, some Chinese). I find it interesting to watch them play and I've learned a bit about their cultures from the way they play together.

On this day, I counted nine little dark-haired girls, and Samantha...

Okay, so I guess I'm finally getting to the real reason for this post...

See, I didn't grow up with neighbor kids. It was just my brothers and me, and our two cousins who lived next door. Other than that, we were on a lane with lots of farms and lots of older people. Frankly, I'm still not sure how to handle the whole "neighbors" thing. I feel extremely protective and nervous about having my babies out there interacting with the other kids on the block. Is that normal??

I mean, I watch these little girls traipsing back and forth up and down our road, playing games and wandering back and forth together and I wonder, do all their mothers know each other? Are they comfortable letting their daughters go into each others' houses? Am I just the overprotective small-town mother who wants to keep an "ear" on every game they play? I mean, none of their mothers knows me -- does that matter?

I'm just not sure what I think about this whole "neighbors" business. But my instinct, for now, is to go ahead and be the mean mom who doesn't let my kids leave the yard. And go ahead and be the mom who is always within ear shot and often "checking in" with my babies. Am I right?

Oh, I'm sure I have more to say on this subject, but writing about my motherly responsibilities reminds me that my kids are downstairs, plugged into "Super Why" on Netflix while I blog. Better get back to mothering for now. But here's my introduction to our neighbors. Stay tuned...

why we have a bed rail...

I know he looks slightly uncomfortable, but I couldn't resist getting a picture or two of him!

I repositioned him after I was done with the camera.

:)