costume fun

Yesterday

Yesterday was an "off" day. It wasn't a bad day- nothing really bad or devastating happened. I feel guilty even complaining, but it was just an "off" day. You know those days- everyone seems extra whiny and grouchy; no one seems to have gotten enough sleep the night before (mostly me); the messes all seem bigger; the cries all seem louder; I don't have time to shower; and we make yet another trip down to the laundry room, while the clean laundry from the LAST trip to the laundry room still sits in a pile, unfolded.

But...have the greatest husband in the world. He came home from class last night with this combo for me and washed all the dishes. Thanks, my love!

princeton farm day

We went to a farm down in Princeton that has a lot of fun Fall activities on the weekends in October. I LOVE Princeton. It's got to be one of the prettiest towns in the country (or at least in New Jersey). 

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We had a great time. I got some freshly picked produce. We had fresh hot apple cider and apple cider donuts...yum.

Life is good.

rain is falling all around

Yesterday it rained; all day long. Of course, all this rain created several mud puddles that the boys quickly discovered. 

My first inclination was to usher them back inside where it was dry, warm, and clean- but I stopped myself. 

I loved the look on Garrett's face when I told him that since he was already dirty, he might as well just keep on jumping in the puddles until he got too cold.  There's nothing like being a child and actually enjoying that cold, squishy, uncomfortable feeling as you wiggles your toes around in your heavy, wet, muddy socks inside your soaking wet tennis shoes. They had a blast.

adventures of an 8 month old

   

Pulling herself up on pretty much everything, getting herself into all sorts of trouble, and pretty darn proud of it!

more vermont highlights

more farm and fall fun...

fall foliage

We took a little family vacation to Vermont over the weekend. The weather was wonderfully crisp and the fall colors were spectacular. We only saw the southern region of the state, but it seemes as though the entire state is covered with trees. I loved the covered bridges too. We visited a local living farm and sampled some genuine Vermont Maple Syrup.

It was nice to take a little break from school and have a quiet weekend away as a family.

bows are for girls

My cute baby GIRL

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I keep having these funny "people" experiences...

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Story #1

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I was holding Lydia, dressed as she is pictured above.

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An older woman says to me, "Oh he's so cute! Do you put him in the blue bow so that people don't think he's a girl?"

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"Well, no, I put HER in the BOW so that people don't think SHE's a BOY." I say, as politely as possible as to not make her feel bad that she just called my little princess a BOY.

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Then she responds, "But blue is for boys!"

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"Oh, girls can wear blue too....but her bow is purple." I say, as I check to make sure that it really is, just in case I'm as confused as this cute little old woman.

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Yep, it's really purple.

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Story #2 (less than 24 hours after Story #1)

I had Lydia dressed in a blue and black floral print dress, with a lacey blue bow on her head. A man says to me, "Cute baby. Now, the baby's got a bow, but it's blue...is it a boy or a girl?" At least he asked.

I was telling Matt about it later (not because I was at all offended, just because I think it's fascinating). I didn't realize Garrett was listening, but after we said something about a bow usually being a clue that the baby's a girl, Garrett chimed in, "And she was wearing a dress, so he should know she's a girl."

Good point, Garrett!

did you REALLY just say that to me?

In case you thought that I was exaggerating in my last post about the comments I get from people~ here's an encounter I had this weekend: I was walking along the sidewalk with my kids. Lydia was in the front pack and the boys in the double stroller. The traffic along the road was backed up and a guy in the car next to me rolled down his window. Man: "What happened? The TV break?" Me: "TV?....no....huh?" (a little confused) Man: "Are they triplets?" Me: "No." (are you kidding?) Man: "You guys need to get a TV. Too much free time." Me: Absolutely Nothing. The implications of his comment hit me, and I was so shocked that I just stared at him. The traffic immediately let up and he sped away, leaving me speechless. About 2 seconds later, I came up with a million things I'd like to say to that man. It's probably better he drove away first.

my thoughts on the way home from Costco today

There are people in the world who are not accustomed to seeing a mom with 3 young children. I think most of those people live in NEW JERSEY. Nearly EVERY TIME I go out in public with my kids, I am sure to get a number of sideways glances, stares, and often, comments from perfect strangers. It's not that my kids are overly loud, rowdy, whiny or obnoxious. There's just THREE of them- and with their small builds, Garrett and Ethan DO look like they could be younger than their respective 4 and 2 years of age. Oh, and evidently I look like I'm about 16 years old too. I think it's funny how much these PERFECT STRANGERS feel like my family planning is their business. As if it's their civic duty to inform me that if I continue at this rate, our family will soon be using up more than our fair share of the earth's oxygen. Some of the comments we've gotten: "Are they ALL yours?" "You've sure got your hands full." "They must keep you busy." "You're done now, right?" "You have THREE?" "You got your girl, now you can stop." and most frequently.... "Oh, bless you, dear." It's not that people are trying to be rude (at least most of them). I think I'm genuinely a sight they've never (or rarely) seen before. Usually these comments don't bother me, and I cheerfully respond with something about how they bring me great joy, it's worth it, they're the light of my life, etc. while advocating strong, happy, healthy FAMILIES. But today, I was just really ANNOYED by it. Strangely enough, the most common place I get these comments is at COSTCO. You'd think that a good amount of the people that shop at Costco are those buying in bulk for their large families. Either they forgot that their kids were also once 4, 2, and 8 months old, or there's just a lot of single, childless people out there eating massive amounts of hot pockets, shredded cheese, and canned pineapple. In my short, 30 minute trip to Costco this afternoon to pick up baby wipes, dried mangos and electric toothbrush replacements, I had two women stare while actually POINTING at me, and received 2 of the comments listed above by other Costco patrons. For crying out loud- I have 3 children. Only 3. We are very happy and we plan to have as many more as the Lord wants to bless us with. . . . On a lighter note...I made apple crisp again tonight. Mmmm.

i love fall

The ultimate fall scent: Warm Apple Crisp The kids and I went apple picking today.

After dinner, we made apple crisp and put it in the oven to bake while we left to pick up Matt from class. When we came home, the whole apartment was filled with this wonderful aroma. Then we ate it.