tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90163620376706614402024-03-12T22:31:22.045-04:00joy in the journeyJoin us as we tackle a new career, cloth diapers, knitting, quilting, baking bread, homeschooling, and more in a new city in a house full of kids and loosely organized chaos.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.comBlogger237125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-36379437151837445252015-11-01T14:35:00.002-05:002015-11-01T14:36:49.844-05:00We bought our camera when Joseph was a baby and it was pretty fancy then. Now it simply devours batteries. 2 brand new batters MAY get you 1 picture. Suffice to say, we haven't taken too many pictures lately. (I spoke with a guy in Best Buy yesterday about new cameras. He was very nice and when learning that I was looking for something to replace my 7 megapixel camera with a 256MB SD card, he very politely said something to the effect of, "Whatever you get will be way better than that." And also that our SD card is probably not compatible with the newer cameras. It seems much has changed in 8 years.)<br />
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Charlie likes to sing. Lately he's been singing as follows: "Do you wanna build a snowman? Do you wanna play outside? I never see you anymore. Because I am poor. But I am only 5!" I like it.<br />
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Mom fails from last week:<br />
1. Realized Joseph's towel was still neatly folded on Mon morning--exactly as I'd put it there from the laundry a week before. So, that meant he hadn't bathed in over a week. (They NEVER use anyone else's towel--except maybe to stand on. Cooties, you know.)<br />
2. (A) Got to church last Sunday and realized Elisabeth had no shoes. (B) Her socks had a hole in them large enough for her to poke out her big toe. (C) And her hair was still in braids from Friday. Yes, Friday. And for a bonus, she announced (rather loudly) that she'd had Peanut M&M's for breakfast.<br />
3. At Joseph's Open House on Thurs, I read his "Where I'm From" poem, which talks about how things around us shape us and make us who we are. The line where the kids were to write about what they often hear.... Other kids had "Share and be kind" "We are all in this together" "Work hard and try hard" Lovely, uplifting, empowering. Joseph's line, "Shut up and are you lost?" Ouch.<br />
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Scouts hurts my head. Too many ranks. Too many badges. Too many various options and assignments. And the "Turkey Cheer"--are you serious?<br />
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We have a chipmunk. He likes the cover for our propane tank. We lifted the cover to check the gas level and found the whole thing filled with sand. We removed the sand, plugged the plunge hole and bought a cover for the tank lid. More sand a few days later. I bought super stinky dryer sheets (you should have seen us testing them in the grocery store!) and filled hole with them, lined the inside of the tank area, and layered them under the blocks around it. (I bet the little bugger is using them for blankets right now!) This weekend we covered the area, inside and out, with castor oil repellent. He's still hanging out.<br />
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I blame the loss of our neighborhood cat. I miss her. Maybe we need a new one. I'm sure we aren't the only ones with chipmunk problems. It would be a community service. :)<br />
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We've changed our phone service. Saves $45/mo. I guess that's worth the pain of notifying everyone of our new phone number. Nathan did the happy dance last night when he hung up with the phone company after cancelling the service. Email me for the new number. :)<br />
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Lil'Nathan bought himself a phone in August. No service, but it works as a tablet and he can call with Magic Jack if he's in WiFi. He used his phone camera to take some pictures for us yesterday. I wanted a shot of all the kids together, and all smiling. (It could happen.) I shamelessly promised each of them a Klondike bar if they cooperated. Lookie this:<br />
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And, coming soon to a Christmas Card near you...<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-76673607170226456602015-08-18T09:00:00.002-04:002015-11-01T13:41:10.594-05:00Random update<div class="blogaway-section">
One more... although since the posts load newest first, this does look like the first. But it's not.<br />
<br />Anyway... Here are some pictures Nathan has taken of the kids with a camera he borrowed from work, the Bandit Action Cam. Oh yeah.<br />
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Charlie has been riding for a few months now, but here is proof. we can't find a bike small enough for Elisabeth, so she is still on the toddler trike we got from our Winthrop neighbor when Charlie was a baby.<br />
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A rare moment where the boys aren't trying to kill each other, though they do have big sticks. It's a game they invented. Joseph calls it Muggle Quiddich, but I don't see much correlation. <br />
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Is it just me, or does she look like she's falling off? And in other news...<br />
<br />The kids start school in two weeks. Lil'Nathan starts high school, Mary goes into 7th, and Joseph is skipping 3rd and going right to 4th. Charlie may be starting kindergarten if I can work our a 1/2 day option with his teacher--we already have principal approval. I have been scouring LISTEN for binders and paper and all the other "B2S" necessities. And also WalMart, when LISTEN fails me.<br />
<br />Mind you, not that LISTEN often fails me. Quite the contrary. It's often too generous!<br />
<br />We have been blueberry picking twice this year and are awaiting this weekend when we go get peaches from our VT farmer friends. :) Blueberry-peach cobbler anyone? With fresh cream? YUM!<br />
<br />And we have made our monthly (and sometimes more) trips to IceCream-4-U. Lovely place. Lovely. This year everyone has been more adventurous with flavor choices. Charlie's new favorite is S'mores and I've rediscovered Pistachio--which is the flavor that hooked me on ice cream as a kid. (My dad brought home a 3 gallon tub of it from an ice cream truck that had broken down. So he said, anyway. I used to go down to the freezer with a bowl and help myself after school, for months. Well, once I'd gotten over my prejudice of its being green and therefore gross. So glad I came to my senses.)<br />
<br />Where was I? Oh, summer, right. So Charlie took swim lessons the last three weeks of July. Mary and Joseph have them these first three weeks of August. My car now drives itself to swim lessons--even when it should be going to piano, which is why we've been late to piano two weeks in a row now! Mary also started piano this summer. We'll see if she feels she has the time to devote to once school starts, b/c she is very serious about her practicing.<br />
<br />We've been camping a few times, too. Once in early July for birthday celebrations. We camped near Franconia and while there visited Keepsake Quilting (not a wise financial decision) and Franconia Notch which was sooo beautiful! The kids liked the campsite, but I'm not sure we'll go back to that one. 1am karaoke parties, despite a 10pm curfew are not much to my taste. We (Nathan and I) prefer our local, quiet Storr's Pond, where we went a few weeks ago. The older boys and Dad went on a 20 mi hike with the Scouts this past week. (Joseph got to go b/c Dad was a leader on this one. The other leader let the boys--ahem, older brother Nathan--that all families were welcome and there was to be no harassing of the much younger Joseph.) They had a good time, and despite losing Joseph on the hike out (rangers were dispatched, but Dad found him first), it was a good experience for all. And no ticks. :) We have a ward campout coming up at the end of the month, at Camp Joseph. More s'mores! And we have one more coming up in September, at the Highland Games.<br />
<br />At the end of July I had all my hair cut off. Mary lost hers last week. ("I love it! I love it!" Why didn't I do this sooner?") Now I'm eyeing the mass of tangles that is usually Elisabeth. But I can't bring myself to really do it. She is so cute--this tiny little person with the long, long hair. Stay tuned. Half of me hopes that in all the scissor cutting she and Charlie do--and they have free access to scissors and cut our pictures daily--part of me hopes she'll try herself and then the decision will be out of my hands. I'll probably regret writing that.<br /><br /><br /></div>
<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-2623342881055274922015-08-18T08:30:00.002-04:002015-08-18T08:31:08.179-04:00We went camping as a family in July to celebrate Elisabeth's and Nathan's birthdays. On the way home we stopped at Franconia Notch. How have I missed this all my life? The pictures cannot do justice to its amazing beauty. Even Lil'Nathan, who had a massive headache (and it was his birthday!) eventually enjoyed himself and said it was beautiful.<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-758357477389844332015-08-18T08:21:00.003-04:002015-08-18T08:24:35.643-04:00Let us begin with a quick review of the lovely trip to Acadia and Bar Harbor that Nathan and I took in June.<br />
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We began with a 5am run (ahem, in the car) to the top of Mt.Cadillac to be the first in the east to see the sunrise. Cold and windy, but we had lots of company. Very quiet. Very pretty.<br />
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Then, it being Sunday, we went back "home" and slept for 2 hours before getting up and heading to church. Afterwards, we went walking along the trails around the ocean in Acadia.<br />
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Day 2 was a walking tour of Bar Harbor and the surrounding beach areas. And a little shopping. And a little seafood. (Not a fan of crab cakes, but Nathan's fish and chips were very yummy.)<br />
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Day 3 was biking along the beautiful carriage trails throughout Acadia. It was drizzly most of the day and then rained hard. Needless to say, we pretty much had the trails to ourselves!<br />
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and then we went for dinner... where we warmed up with hot chocolate and dried out with the ceiling heaters!<br />
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Day 4 was more touring of the town and final shopping. No whale watch was to be had, so what else was there to do but to buy yarn to commemorate our trip?<br />
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<img alt="'My souvenirs from Maine. :)'" class="_46-i img" height="211" src="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/q88/p228x119/11401070_10206432301233706_8131721068724952360_n.jpg?oh=390ac5152c018f52790c3f3dae5f4205&oe=567149BF" style="left: -39px; top: 0px;" width="320" /> </div>
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Of course, we did more touring, too. We walked to an island that is only accessible at low tide. We drove around to the "other side" of Mt Desert Island. We walked around a gorgeous flower garden. We visited a lighthouse. </div>
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The last day we kayaked. And, since it was the MOST gorgeous of all our days in Acadia, we went back into the park and saw all our previous sights again... without the fog. Some of the following pictures are of the same sights as above.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(this one was up on biking day, covered in fog)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">did you find it's mate above?</td></tr>
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And then, as we were walking back to our car to head back to our cabin for the last time, we saw this...<br />
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How poetical to begin with the sunrise and end with the sunset, ain't it? And all that water you<br />
are looking at. Yeah, that's what we walked across at low tide the day before (though the island we went to is to the right and not in the photo).<br />
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Such a great trip.</div>
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Who wants to go next year?</div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-1507635012006663962015-05-17T16:22:00.006-04:002015-05-17T16:23:44.989-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We're back!</div>
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Joseph planted this flower "box" in the front. We have 4 total and can't wait for the flowers to begin spilling over the edges. Gotta be easier than the hanging baskets we killed last year, right? (By the way, I just LOVE it when the boys match clothes by accident. For some reason, it cracks me up.)</div>
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Charlie's little lavender plant. He's very proud of it.</div>
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And happy.</div>
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It's May now, so the lilacs are blooming. </div>
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Our back "serenity garden" was discovered by the deer in the early part of spring. But it turns out, they left some for us after all...</div>
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In addition to flowers in the front, we planted lettuces, peas, and spinach in the back. In cinder blocks.</div>
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I'm trying to sell my baby clothes. The 24mo girls stuff sold (for enough to buy ice cream after we finish the climbing box--see below). Nothing else sold. Not even at the scout yard sale this weekend. (Though to be fair, they actually had a pretty lousy turn-out and made very little this year.) I'm beginning to think I may need to just accost people on the street, give them a bag of clothes, and run.</div>
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And yes, a climbing box.<br />
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A friend of Mary's gave us a slide, 2 swings, and a monkey bars. <i>My</i> plan was to build a simple, little swing-set for it. Ahh, me and my wishful thinking.<br />
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Here is the slide, sad and lonely on its side for the past 2 weeks.</div>
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Elisabeth couldn't take the excitement. She didn't even make it home from (the 3hr trip) to Home Depot.</div>
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Here is Joseph, hanging out in the car with half (yes, <i>half)</i> of the supplies.</div>
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Let the drilling begin. </div>
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Here is everyone, half done, at 9:30 last night, when I <i>begged </i>them to reduce the plan and let this suffice. (Puh-leeze!) </div>
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They agreed. It was planned for too much. (The plan was 2 boxes of this size, with a 10 "bridge" between where the swings would be. There was also some talk of turning one of the box bottoms into a chicken coop!) So I returned about half the lumber and bolts, and they attached the slide and went to bed. (Side braces coming soon, as well as a ladder for the slide. Swing/s to go up later. Maybe monkey bars across the top and a fire pole down after that.)<br />
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Today, Joseph swung up some rope and began to play on the 8x8x10 box. Lil'Nathan used more rope to make a giant spider webby thing. ("It's 3D.") We'll see about that.</div>
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But Peanut Pants loves it.</div>
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<span id="goog_231885746"></span><span id="goog_231885747"></span><br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-55679065184408701972015-02-08T15:07:00.003-05:002015-02-08T15:10:49.061-05:00It's been 5 months. Is anyone even there, anymore? Just in case someone is still checking (oh, you patient person!)... Feel free to skip to the pictures at the end.<br />
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In January, right after Christmas break, Lil'Nathan, Mary, and Joseph started public school. I offered it as an option to Lil'Nathan. Joseph heard and pleaded to be able to go, too. Mary said she wasn't interested. About a week later, however, Mary said she wanted to go, too, which really surprised me. As it turns out, she loves it the most. Lil'Nathan is so-so, but overall happy with it. Joseph, my most adamant "I-want-to-go-and-I-want-to-go-now!" (he used to ask weekly) is the one who told me two weeks into it, "You didn't tell me there would be so much sitting." Um, yes I did. I tried to talk him out of it, actually. But once committed to go, they were committed to stay for the rest of the school year. Mary and Lil'Nathan will keep going. Joseph may decide to come home.<br />
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Eight days into his school career, Joseph broke his collar bone in PE. Three weeks later, Mary broke her wrist, also in PE. We are all watching Lil'Nathan and taking bets on what he's going to break and when. He survived the Youth Winter Sledding Event yesterday, so I'm thinking his turn will come this week at either the school's winter carnival (sledding) or the Scout Klondike Derby. I have a friend who said to me, "bring me the little kids when it's Lil'Nathan's turn, so you don't have to drag them around the hospital." See, I'm not the only one who thinks it's coming. :) <br />
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And just so they weren't left out of the injury pool: Elisabeth took a tumble off a stool in the kitchen on Wed, and took a pan of cooling brownies with her. It shattered/exploded next to her and she had a few small cuts on her hand. (See the pitiful photo below.) Charlie put himself to bed on Fri at 5pm and woke up at 9 to throw up. He's had a cooking fever ever since and has spent the past two days asleep, waking only for water and a hug or two.<br />
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LISTEN has been good to so far this year. After one frustrating day trying to find Mary some jeans (the girl is picky! she tried on 23 pairs and we were there over an hour!) we went back the next week and hit the jackpot. She got 2 perfect pair of jeans and 2 shirts. But the golden prize was a practically brand new Zojirushi bread machine (exactly like ours) for... ready for this?... $2.75. Yes. YES!! I saw it and grabbed it b/c the paddles on ours need to be replaced ($30 new), and it looked like it was in great shape. When we got it home, we realized it couldn't possibly have been used more than a few times--it was spotless! And it works perfectly. I went back to LISTEN on Fri looking for a new brownie pan, but they didn't have any. :( I came home, instead, with a Warring-Pro Belgium Waffle Maker, the rotating kind. This was $6 and it was brand new. (Smelled that funny new-smell when we used it yesterday.) Makes perfect waffles. The kids are thrilled.<br />
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Joseph's birthday is on Tuesday. He'll be 8. He'll be baptized on Sunday, right after church. But unlike Lil'Nathan's baptism, where GG and Gramma and Grampa were there, or Mary's, where GG made it, Joseph's will be without visitors. You can blame the schools up here. They scheduled winter break for the following week and that makes flights out of NH wicked expensive. And he doesn't want to wait until the end of March when the tickets go back down.<br />
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In Dec I found out I was pregnant. We had our first midwife appt. two weeks ago. She found no heartbeat, and at 10+ weeks that was cause enough for an ultrasound. They wouldn't let me see the ultrasound, but Nathan watched and said there was nothing in there. The dr. and midwife suggested a D&C the next day, thinking it might be a molar pregnancy, but after they got the full ultrasound report and my bloodwork numbers, they said molar wasn't likely and I could wait it out. I'm still waiting. My body is showing no signs of letting go of this pregnancy.<br />
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For a while I was hopeful the first ultrasound might have been mistaken and was living accordingly. But I had a long talk with my midwife and got a few more details (the gestational sac wasn't empty, but had an unformed mass--"a cyst-like mass") and now my high hopes are much lower. Still, they are there, I guess, b/c I asked for another ultrasound and will get one on Tues afternoon. (My midwife seemed reluctant to order it, b/c she is convinced it's over.) I did also call my Boston midwife and she concurred with me that another ultrasound is a good idea, just to be sure. She also recommended another blood test. She told me, "I don't think this is going to end the way you want it to."<br />
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I know. <br />
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I found out I was pregnant with Charlie the day Lil'Nathan was baptized. I found out Elisabeth was coming the day Mary was baptized (also her birthday). What will I find out on Joseph's birthday? I'm having chocolate either way.<br />
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And as for other news... it's snowing. That about sums up the past few weeks. Snow. Nice, light, super-easy-to-shovel snow. Our neighbor said if he wins the lottery, he'll buy a snowblower and we can all share. :)<br />
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Wanna see some pictures?<br />
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Peanut with her beloved "baby orngies."</div>
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Joseph, quiet.</div>
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King Charlie, on Christmas morning. Thank you, GG. </div>
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Lil'Nathan, before he realized he wasn't making a funny face. HA! Gotcha. :) </div>
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Mary, hamming it up with her new cast. She goes in on Wed to get the "real" one. This was a temp b/c of the swelling. I told her to get plain white and then paint it. She gave me a "poor woman, you don't understand anything" look.</div>
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See, isn't this pitiful? </div>
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-37811409938587162962014-09-08T16:17:00.000-04:002014-09-08T16:18:08.718-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Photo Dump!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Proof we went camping. Though, as you can see, the camera never left the car... and only Charlie took pictures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>See our lovely lean-to? Our favorite site. This allowed us all to sleep dry and tent-less on our last camp-out, despite the fairly heavy rain.</div>
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Don't know what Nathan did to tick off this bird, but it got him three days in a row. Blueberries must be plentiful this year.</div>
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I had just set this block down after carrying it from the back yard and who should happen to pop out and wonder what was happening to his lovely hiding place, but this "little" guy.<br />
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He stayed right there while Nathan carried his block back to the back yard. <br />
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Our friend brings in peaches to sell at her farm stand. Peach prices for friends included the box. I now have three new bookshelves. :) <br />
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When we moved in the stairs were... well, recently stripped of their carpet and looked it. So, Nathan desired to finish them. We had different ideas of what this meant, but as he was the one doing it, it went his way. First to stain them black (my first clue things were not heading in the direction I was imagining). Second, paint the faces white. (Joseph says they remind him of piano keys. Mary claims they look like ice cream sandwiches.)<br />
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Third, cut out letters and decoupage. (At least, I think that's what it's called.) We settled on the 6 characteristics Nathan put into our family Coat of Arms--Charity, Hope, Faith, Unity, Integrity, and Courage.<br />
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Embellish with fall foliage stickers, cover with polyurethane, and viola! Beautiful stairs.<br />
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And I've been busy making hats of all sizes. This is my total from the past two weeks. All the crocheted ones on the right were done in 2 days. Wicked easy pattern. :)<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-23562238979309920912014-08-10T10:44:00.001-04:002014-08-11T11:34:48.482-04:00Brain Dump!<br />
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We bought an iPad. Most of the money came from Nathan and Mary's most recent "brain study". They donated their full earnings, I threw in my half, and we found a little extra hiding in the form of an old gift card. We were planning on an iPad Mini, but found a better deal on a regular one. It arrived in 2 days and the kids nearly died with joy. Shame that Mom doesn't give them free access to it, isn't it?<br />
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The iPad arrived just a few days before our computer kaputzed. We concluded the issue was a dead inverter. $9 later we had a new inverter and VIOLA! I have my computer back. The iPad is fun, but I don't like "typing" on it (I feel like Schroder from Peanuts) and when I "tap" I want it to do what I want, not bring up something random. But I do like the Blocks game and the kids love Monster Physics ("Monster Fig-ets" according to Elisabeth) and "Bugs and Bubbles." I will probably add a few more math apps and some history/geography games. We really bought it for the kids for school.<br />
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Our garden has been producing well. We've gotten several zucchini, lots and lots of tomatoes, a half dozen eggplants, two meals of chard, one meal of kale, and a yellow squash. The kids claim they've had a lot of beans, but I've not seen any. We have one pumpkin that may or may not make it, and two watermelons well on their way to yummy-ness. There are at least a dozen or more peppers ripening now, dozens and dozens of tomatoes still on the vine, and more eggplants. But the zucchini are done. Squash borer worm. Very effective (and ugly) little cuss. I hate it. Mary has been diligent about bug picking and has been able to keep cucumber beetles and squash bugs at bay with her soap water and quick fingers. But that dang borer worm is beyond detection until it is too late--it's inside the base of the plant. Second year it has destroyed an otherwise bounteous crop. Such a beautiful plant it was, too. Sigh.<br />
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All the flowers are still growing strong, though. Please let me know if you want any marigold seed. We are going to have it by the pound!<br />
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Mary has started oil painting. I've introduced her to Bob Ross's Joy of Painting. She was helpless against it. Her first two paintings... she had so much fun we couldn't get her to stop for dinner! She's just been using paper and only stopped b/c Charlie and Elisabeth somehow managed to go through our last 1/2 ream using markers and scissors. No more paper, pause in the painting.<br />
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I'm blogging. Nathan is putting away the dishes. They've been in the dishwasher since Fri.<br />
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We went camping on Fri night and got home yesterday afternoon. Funny. I talked the kids out of swimming on Fri b/c we got there kind of late and I felt it was important to have a calm, relaxing evening. So we sat by the fire, cooked and ate dinner (all packed by Lil'Nathan), told stories, and then made s'mores until we ran out of grahm crackers. (I forgot the camera, but trust me. Elisabeth really enjoyed her s'mores.) The next morning we broke down camp and were at the pool as soon as it opened (a little before, actually). They only wanted to swim for about 2 hours and then they wanted to go home. I wonder if the drone Daddy had at home needing to be built had anything to do with that.<br />
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For work Nathan is working on a project that involves a drone. His team's first attempt didn't work out the way they wanted, so they decided to try again, building it themselves this time. The parts and components arrived right before we left for camping Fri and he needed it built before work on Mon. So, when we got home, they jumped right on it and before we left for wedding reception last night, they were finished. The "brains" are at work, so they could put it all together, but couldn't fly it.<br />
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Lil'Nathan has spent a great deal of time camping in the past few weeks. He admitted he's a little done with it. He was at Scout Camp with his current troop the first week of July. We went as a family on an overnight trip toward the end of July. He joined his old troop for a week of Scout Camp two days after we got home. Three days after he got home from that, he was off again for an overnighter with this troop. The day after he got home from that, we were out again as a family for another night (this most recent trip). We go again in two weeks, but as he has nothing scout related in the interim, perhaps he'll be more enthused, and less tired, when we get there. "Where's Nathan?" has become a common question by Elisabeth. Then she answers herself, "Oh, at scout camp."<br />
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We spent most of the last week dealing with plumbers. The downstairs toilet went out (think shooting water and leaky seals) last Sat. We had a plumber Mon who told us to go buy a new toilet and he'd install it. So we went off to Home Depot. Instead he found himself in the hospital for a week and his partner came by and installed it Tues. But he was overworked (taking his partners jobs in addition to his own) and left a leaky valve. Another plumber came by Wed to fix that and take care of a few other things the others didn't have time to fix for us. I'm still awaiting the bill (gulp), but it's a lovely toilet. :)<br />
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I subbed for Joseph's primary class last week. He was most disappointed. "They said they'd get <i>good </i>substitutes!" he complained. Well, I guess I did something right, b/c that night he said, "That was the best primary class I've ever had." Cool. No candy. Just brought some silks and had them act out scripture stories.<br />
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Lil'Nathan has been appointed Troop Web Master. He got an email address and is in charge of making/keeping the troop blog. A very happy man.<br />
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Joseph is sailing through his piano lessons. We just got him a metronome to help him keep time. Now he needs to work on keeping his hands in one spot and not jumping all over the place. He loves his lessons and is really enjoying learning new things about music. I asked him to tell me what he's learning and got, "No, you wouldn't understand."<br />
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Last night after the wedding reception, we were driving away when Charlie suddenly yelled from the backseat, "Oh, no, stop! I just stole a plate!" He'd left with a half dozen potato chips on a "fancy" plastic plate.<br />
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Elisabeth has given up naps. But not the need for them. If she crashes any time after 4 (which she is want to do since she won't sleep earlier) she is up until 11. She sits next to us downstairs and reads and re-reads piles of board books. Then she hits her wall and says, "I'm ti-wed," and folds over on my lap and goes out. So cute.<br />
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All of our school books for this year have begun to trickle in. I think most of them are here. Histories and sciences for Nathan and Mary. A lit curriculum for both of them to share. New language/vocab for everyone. Art book for Mary. I still have to get something for Charlie, new penny whistles for Dad (if you know where Charlie left his other ones, please let us know, we can't find them anywhere!!), and of course we need more paper. Then we'll be ready for school.<br />
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Summer reading... This year I decided to take an idea from a friend of mine. So, the kids read what they want, write a report--one sentence per year of age--and get paid a penny per page. So, Mary is writing 10 sentence reports and Nathan is writing 13 sentence reports (up from 12, earlier this summer, much to his dismay) and they are racking up the pennies. (And I won't let Lil'Nathan read whatever he wants, he is also undergoing a "mind cleanse" and I'm carefully watching how much "snarky teenage, stupid grownups" stuff he is reading--ahem, none--and he has to read something with value. I get to determine what that means. Oh, the power!) Mary is at $68.55, Lil'Nathan is at $51. (Scout camps, you know.) Mary is saving for a Bob Ross kit. Lil'Nathan is hoping to buy a soldering iron and some stuff for his drone.<br />
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Did you know he bought a drone of his own? It has a camera. He also got two batteries for it. Good thing, b/c when it was just 3 days old, he landed it in the fish tank. Drone survived. Battery, not so much. In saving it from the water damage, he also accidentally discombobulated the camera unit. Hence the soldering iron.<br />
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Lil'Nathan started a blog of his own with his new email account. That means Mary will be taking over their joint blog. Watch for changes coming soon.<br />
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I've bored you long enough. And not a single picture to make up for it. Ah, well. Next time.<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-23556736332322281142014-07-23T23:22:00.001-04:002014-07-23T23:32:54.115-04:00Nasty hot day + water hose + tools + PVC + 2 trips to Home Depot = lots of fun!<br />
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And in no time, it's ready to go! (We made it tall.)<br />
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Don't look too sure, do they?<br />
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But maybe it's just her brother.<br />
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And a shot of Nathan before he could make a face...<br />
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And just so you know we still have Joseph...<br />
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Love those pig-tails!<br />
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In this house, if you can't find it, it's probably in a laundry basket.<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-22462219168053245372014-07-06T22:07:00.001-04:002014-07-06T22:07:55.875-04:00If you are sick of hearing about the garden, skip this post...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are going to make this look like a wishing well. Or maybe we'll just plant it with flowers. (It's hiding the top of the propane tank.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serenity Garden with the birdhouse.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking from the other direction.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rock box, instead of a sand box. Why? We have cats in the neighborhood. 'nuff said.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Current view of garden.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closer.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I told Mary these beets would never survive. She is <i>delighted </i>that I was proven wrong.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See my better scarecrow? (Mary asks that you pay no attention to her in this photo, please.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peek inside our largest zucchini. Now we just need some bees.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's grown. Must be all that good NH air.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite flowers. </td></tr>
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-71648098291792901432014-06-22T18:14:00.001-04:002014-06-22T18:21:14.371-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is what I had in mind for our garden...<br />
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This is what I got....<br />
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I am <u><i><b>WAY</b></i></u><i><b> </b></i>more talented in my head.<br />
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(After a week, we took it down and replaced it with something we found at a yard sale--much closer to the original vision. Mine looked like Charlie-on-a-stick.)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-83527911491707674692014-06-22T18:08:00.001-04:002014-06-22T18:25:53.099-04:00Our Gardens... <br />
(These are already old, but you'll get the idea. I'll make the pictures big for detail, even though they'll stick out of the border.) :)<br />
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We planted the tree stumps b/c we couldn't dig them out. I love it.<br />
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And between them we put the Japanese Maple, named Maiko.<br />
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We've changed the look of this, our Serenity Garden, a little. The stones around the stump on the right now go all around and we've added stones around the other stump and the tree. The stones around the tree have been filled in with... smaller stones. It's lovely. We've also added a little birdhouse the kids painted. We still want to put stone all around the perimeter. And I'm not yet sold on the ring of irises.<br />
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Also in the back are Mary's lettuces for her guinea pig. They love it there. :) (The little spinach isn't doing too well, though.)<br />
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And this is our veggie garden. Along the top tier are 7 tomato plants and three watermelons. Level two is beans, eggplants, and pumpkins (along the fence). Level 3 is squashes and another watermelon. There are now kale plants in the 6 holes on the left and chard plants in the 6 on the right. Oh, somewhere we've got 2 struggling beets, too. Marigolds fill the other holes.<br />
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Along the side (where you'd be standing if you took the above picture) of this garden, is our herb garden--now also with straw. Chocolate mint in the separate box, 4 basils, one parsley, one oregano, one dill, one bug geranium (planted by a helpful Charlie, but originally planned for elsewhere) and now a lemon balm where that "hole" is.<br />
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Now we go around front. One of our flower "buckets." See the little corn plants in the background.<br />
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And this is a full view of the front of the house. We had to get hangers to lengthen the hanging baskets b/c we couldn't reach them to water them. :) That's the flower bucket from the above photo. You can barely see the little corns. On the far left are two blueberry plants and a raspberry in the center (yes, in a container--and no thorns!). The overgrown geraniums and irises may not still be there next year. Just sayin'. (Under the stone wall, we put the drainage hose for the sump pump. "Free" irrigation system!) <br />
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The herb and veggie garden on on the right of the driveway. The Serenity Garden and lettuces are in the back of the house.</div>
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Oh, and the elephants from India are on the piano.<br />
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Drainage. Windows. Driveway. Order of priority. Somewhere in there, too, is a back-up sump pump with a battery.<br />
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Four weeks behind on hats. (Needing one per week to reach my year-end goal of 50.) I tried 3 different styles/ patterns yesterday and tore them all out in frustration. I don't want to make hats right now. I want to make a shawl. A lovely shawl. So I started it last night. It's lovely. More fun than a hat right now. I'll get back to hats later.<br />
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Charlie smashed his toe. Beautiful job--prolific amount of blood every time it was bumped for 2 days. Then I remembered butterfly bandages. (I love those!) I think he's going to lose the toenail. But he wears shoes now.<br />
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We "lost" a library book. Five days of tearing the house apart and bribing the kids ("Five bucks to anyone who finds it!") and it was finally found at the the library. I'd checked there--3 times!--but it took a sympathetic librarian--a sub!-- to find it. She took it upon herself--believing my story of not realizing it was a book/CD kit and therefore only returning the book--Anyway, she believed me and made some calls to unlikely departments within the library (instead of saying, "well this is where it should be if that were the case, keep looking at home"--Arrgh!) and VIOLA! She called me with the happy news 20 mins after we got home yesterday ("I knew it would drive you crazy."). The book was in Tech Repair, no one knows why. (Were they trying to make a new CD for it?) I could have hugged her through the phone! Francine is getting cookies. (Though not the ones I made yesterday, they didn't turn out well.)<br />
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I'm all out of Trader Joe's PB cups and chocolate covered almonds. It was a rough week while Nathan was gone. We won't be near a TJ's until next weekend. I guess that means next week will have it's own brand of roughness, huh?<br />
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This time it was Charlie who forced me to have to have to explain "baby snacks" to a confused--and highly amused!--friend. Oi!<br />
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We were... okay, <i>I </i>was pondering adding a dog or a cat to our family. But since I have to close the outside door 10 times--or more!--per day, I think we shall just have to settle for taming the flies and mosquitoes who come in if we need more pets.<br />
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Mary has decided to hold off on the guinea pig breeding. There is a high financial risk and output. It is more of a hobby than a business venture. She was looking for a way to help pay for current pig's food and bedding expenses, but this won't be it.<br />
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One day while Nathan was in India I watched the kids of some friends. 14 kids at my house for about an hour. Then 11 for another hour. Then down to 9 for an hour. Then finally just 8 until well past bedtime. What got us through? Popcorn and plasma cars.<br />
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Went through our food storage and organized it. One of us will be able to survive a year. I think. I hope they share.<br />
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Sara and Hudson (and Mike, too) are moving this summer, back to VA. She's mixed about it. I'm sad.<br />
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Lil'Nathan is on track to go to 2 scout camps this summer. He has already done the yard sale for this ward and they are going the first week of July. The yard sale for our Salisbury ward is next weekend and they will be scout camping the last week of July. I hope he appreciates all the driving we do for him. Should I charge him gas money or just clean his room while he is gone?<br />
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I bribed my kids out of a ward activity tomorrow so we can stay home and do yard work. The price was ice cream. The reward will be a beautiful garden and yard. And my happy little introverted self won't have to face a <i>big </i>party. Sorry, but it's true.<br />
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Two bike crashes this past week. Yesterday Joseph wiped out and slid. Lil'Nathan, a few days ago, managed to do something that made it appear his bike ate him... and then ran over him. Don't know. But he's got a doozy of a burn (!) on his shoulder as a memento.<br />
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India did not kill Nathan. (see his post from last night) Though for a while the kids and I wondered if the jet lag had. He brought home wooden elephants for the kids. Elisabeth's is already tusk-less, and Joseph's has a cracked trunk.<br />
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We were busy with a lot of family history work before Nathan left. We found a sister to my grandmother's mother that no one knew about--though she was 14 when she died! Weird. Still can't figure out how or why we have the Estes' family bible, but we did learn that the couple who started this bible were listed as "married and died" at age 17 in his family's family tree. Oookay. Tough to see how they took my great-great grandfather and his sister in and raised them with their children 20-odd years later, then, isn't it?<br />
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Joseph knows about chords on the piano, but he knows only one. 1. One, which he pounds again and again (and again!) as his right hand plays the melody. Same chord. Every song. Works for "Praise to the Man." Not so much for "Silent Night." Someone please help <strike>me</strike>, er, uh, him.<br />
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Okay, enough babble. Here are the photos you come to see.<br />
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Piano</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ADrQ45QdGLw/U4inaIySr2I/AAAAAAAACfU/rx_SQsjDJ8U/s1600/100_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ADrQ45QdGLw/U4inaIySr2I/AAAAAAAACfU/rx_SQsjDJ8U/s1600/100_0689.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Father and Sons Camping at the Joseph Smith Memorial</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x57lFNK7x3I/U4inaxJvOsI/AAAAAAAACfs/ZscZ3pZPwIc/s1600/100_0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x57lFNK7x3I/U4inaxJvOsI/AAAAAAAACfs/ZscZ3pZPwIc/s1600/100_0710.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Note the look on Lil'Nathan's face. It's his favorite, lately, and he uses it whenever he can.) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lcWZMh1xsMA/U4incvrEK5I/AAAAAAAACgk/DgzXnqemNt8/s1600/100_0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lcWZMh1xsMA/U4incvrEK5I/AAAAAAAACgk/DgzXnqemNt8/s1600/100_0716.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph and the newt.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-EAtXlv9L8/U4incTQeKQI/AAAAAAAACf8/R7cEb-j4SvM/s1600/100_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-EAtXlv9L8/U4incTQeKQI/AAAAAAAACf8/R7cEb-j4SvM/s1600/100_0715.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0nLQ7j0G88I/U4inb_GSHZI/AAAAAAAACf0/tYDyksLLKhQ/s1600/100_0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0nLQ7j0G88I/U4inb_GSHZI/AAAAAAAACf0/tYDyksLLKhQ/s1600/100_0713.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite fast enough for the camera timer.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XEqMRsLIAjQ/U4indxyBC3I/AAAAAAAACgs/kp2WC7OJ2gQ/s1600/100_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XEqMRsLIAjQ/U4indxyBC3I/AAAAAAAACgs/kp2WC7OJ2gQ/s1600/100_0726.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty, huh?</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNrOlzTb-yA/U4indTUT9MI/AAAAAAAACgQ/Rf0uOFmrtxU/s1600/100_0724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNrOlzTb-yA/U4indTUT9MI/AAAAAAAACgQ/Rf0uOFmrtxU/s1600/100_0724.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ0F05aH-6A/U4indBvWrII/AAAAAAAACgM/1kHwTdUjkLY/s1600/100_0720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZ0F05aH-6A/U4indBvWrII/AAAAAAAACgM/1kHwTdUjkLY/s1600/100_0720.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie and the newt.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g7uNJ4jJ6ZA/U4inbXVFRYI/AAAAAAAACgE/Nsu4WDzwmtE/s1600/100_0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g7uNJ4jJ6ZA/U4inbXVFRYI/AAAAAAAACgE/Nsu4WDzwmtE/s1600/100_0712.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty much gives the camping attitudes of all, doesn't it?</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This one, I couldn't believe myself, so I to take a picture for proof. Yes, that's a hack saw and a piece of wood and a folding chair and no shoes. I'll use this next time he tries to tell me he has good judgement. Right.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0-aGXF465uw/U4inefKhrTI/AAAAAAAACg0/-PCFqeKnA0E/s1600/100_0728.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Spiffy little contraption Mary built for Elisabeth.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pY0OtD3iYz0/U4inf3RoWXI/AAAAAAAACg8/V6T6rOtxqrU/s1600/100_0736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pY0OtD3iYz0/U4inf3RoWXI/AAAAAAAACg8/V6T6rOtxqrU/s1600/100_0736.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O56yrWtnhq4/U4infVdSV2I/AAAAAAAACg4/WwSnRK0mPSM/s1600/100_0733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O56yrWtnhq4/U4infVdSV2I/AAAAAAAACg4/WwSnRK0mPSM/s1600/100_0733.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bur5_Gp45Xc/U4ineVoYqmI/AAAAAAAACgc/C_o76R2cFg8/s1600/100_0733+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bur5_Gp45Xc/U4ineVoYqmI/AAAAAAAACgc/C_o76R2cFg8/s1600/100_0733+%25282%2529.JPG" height="320" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just love the expression on her face.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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And in case you missed it on the kids' blog, here is a video of what was going on in the background while Mary and Elisabeth were riding around so sweetly.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwg3_5Mz1BueAU5lSkprpEbVIUA5ACvB91y8QJNV2T44dVd1dDvniUlcmFCic89BX-_W76yYmAwgKE4g_4uWQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz8KlBaheZ-X_7QeOH0xw0QcM_TzCQcD4VWm8knIHPs8kGPDr7LZY531GpbJ2SkvwjHxAFgv88MfxIb1uLhIg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />
Charlie hurt his toe later that day by trying to pull a board out from under Joseph as he was coming down the ramp! Joseph stopped in time. Charlie dropped the board on his toe. Hard to <i>really </i>feel bad for him, though.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-3514232038573102142014-05-29T22:43:00.000-04:002014-05-29T22:47:29.501-04:00Taste of INDIAFrom the blazing heat (112<span class="st">° F)</span> of India...<br />
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To the majestic architecture of the Taj Mahal...<br />
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Splendidly colored sarees...<br />
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Sophisticated society...<br />
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Rich in religion...<br />
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<br />
<br />
I bring you <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hyderabad!!!!!</i></span><br />
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.<br />
<br />
Hear the voices of the people...<br />
<br />
Leading the world into the new millenium as the champions of technologies....<br />
<br />
But wait..............<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
There's more than just FANTASY.<br />
<br />
Here are our brothers and sisters of India -- Relations -- residing more than eight thousand miles from North America. A family-centered society which has not yet embraced the improprieties of the ill-natured SMART era. Imagine the bygone days where Humans built confidence by communicating cara a cara? Look - look inside yourself and see far you've slipped into Virtualism. <br />
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Observe the beauty, simplicity, and reverence.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kl46hlTSXwQ/U4fmDMdSqFI/AAAAAAAACeA/DrAHc81ybmQ/s1600/SAM_2315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kl46hlTSXwQ/U4fmDMdSqFI/AAAAAAAACeA/DrAHc81ybmQ/s1600/SAM_2315.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Convenience.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-viGfNIwK80o/U4fmDxKPnEI/AAAAAAAACeI/05uoSqvr-D0/s1600/SAM_2341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-viGfNIwK80o/U4fmDxKPnEI/AAAAAAAACeI/05uoSqvr-D0/s1600/SAM_2341.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Practicality.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JG_9BSweEQc/U4fmE8ZMf_I/AAAAAAAACeg/YL3r6b3YFls/s1600/SAM_2357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JG_9BSweEQc/U4fmE8ZMf_I/AAAAAAAACeg/YL3r6b3YFls/s1600/SAM_2357.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unassuming.</div>
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Efficiency.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwCJCK0sRiE/U4fmGAf-e6I/AAAAAAAACes/b3AXcEe0QMg/s1600/SAM_2359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwCJCK0sRiE/U4fmGAf-e6I/AAAAAAAACes/b3AXcEe0QMg/s1600/SAM_2359.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Honesty.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7wx8WZ0qVRQ/U4fmGtDVshI/AAAAAAAACe0/Gsxr_-BCG8I/s1600/SAM_2365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7wx8WZ0qVRQ/U4fmGtDVshI/AAAAAAAACe0/Gsxr_-BCG8I/s1600/SAM_2365.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Accountability.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AP0XlFSq8Nc/U4fmDX8GJ9I/AAAAAAAACeE/1IaRcG1Uf3A/s1600/SAM_2344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AP0XlFSq8Nc/U4fmDX8GJ9I/AAAAAAAACeE/1IaRcG1Uf3A/s1600/SAM_2344.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pensiveness.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9uFQN_YtTBU/U4fmEcoW0YI/AAAAAAAACeU/zUHG7QNDnNA/s1600/SAM_2346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9uFQN_YtTBU/U4fmEcoW0YI/AAAAAAAACeU/zUHG7QNDnNA/s1600/SAM_2346.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Steadfastness.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzNaHbJithPWWa_QJMLSEM_pP6BLj_AqQ7TOFzx4CvtpfAtbNeAwHwgtUPWYWQ8XQDombi8WTtLOg_NCn5Puw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Synchronization.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxEuwBAzy28Tn3-9LBDjj--gdgx8bXPumZhbnt6fLl7qhG1-laMGv0bLX-VK-nv2_fdOHpokr6fYjyf_y7t5A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mystical.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Interconnectivity.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
But, alas, the shortsightedness and labels...</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Discrimination.</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>(http://www.who.int/ith/mode_of_travel/aircraft_disinsection/en/)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-80793197058357519582014-05-05T23:36:00.000-04:002014-05-05T23:36:20.904-04:00The weather has been mostly beautiful (if it's not raining) so we open the windows daily for fresh air. Elisabeth enjoys the breeze and the view, so one day she ate her lunch in the window.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_lxYG-OWKzg/U2hV3ePWLGI/AAAAAAAACY4/BMyJNCm99Cg/s1600/100_0621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_lxYG-OWKzg/U2hV3ePWLGI/AAAAAAAACY4/BMyJNCm99Cg/s1600/100_0621.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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And having Joseph outside to play peek-a-boo with her probably didn't hurt. :)<br />
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We've been meeting our neighbors. This one, however, was rather unexpected.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k40H46Eg250/U2hV4tTC_xI/AAAAAAAACY0/L7xKHA7jFqY/s1600/100_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k40H46Eg250/U2hV4tTC_xI/AAAAAAAACY0/L7xKHA7jFqY/s1600/100_0673.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JPm-K2bqNqI/U2hV6yZikmI/AAAAAAAACZo/_S6BCXoYoO0/s1600/100_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JPm-K2bqNqI/U2hV6yZikmI/AAAAAAAACZo/_S6BCXoYoO0/s1600/100_0673.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(a close up, for your viewing pleasure)</td></tr>
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Nathan had just sent Charlie out to pick up his toys when he spotted her. He "gently" called Charlie back in, and then yelled for all of us to come and see. We watched from the back door/ garage.<br />
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I don't think she came <i>for</i> the bird feeder, but figured while she was here, she might as well check it out.<br />
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She did. Tore it down, chewed on it for a little while...<br />
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And then left to see what the neighbors had. I guess she made the rounds of the neighborhood, b/c a few minutes later she was in Joseph's friends' yard and scared the daylights out of the boys.<br />
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And in other news...<br />
<br />With his birthday money, Charlie bought 2 things: A betta fish named Snowflake Olaf (we had just seen Frozen) and a penny whistle, which is undoubtedly his favorite purchase ever. He proclaims himself "very talented, huh?" and is here performing a solo of his favorite song. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-70853899505589908882014-04-20T19:39:00.002-04:002014-04-20T19:39:53.931-04:00Flooded basement from two weeks ago. None of that stuff is ours, it all belonged to the guys putting in the new furnace.<br />
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This is the lovely pump which drained the basement. 50 gals/ min. It still took quite a while.<br />
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And this is the pond we created at the end of our lot. Apparently it was all on our neighbor's side. He was pretty nice about it, but it was clear he wanted it gone ASAP. <br />
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And now all the snow is gone. (The pond, too.) We've moved the sump pump outlet so it runs across our front yard and we have a <i>beautiful </i>little patch of green grass down near its outlet. :) We tried to get the curtain drains cleaned out this week, but the scoping showed the pipes are totally clogged. So, so much for that. We are working on a different plan. <br />
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And this is what Miss Peanut does daily with our dishes. Since they are no longer kept in the dishwasher (we use that for real now!), and they are right at her level, she considers them fair game and uses them in all sorts of sorting adventures. And we find them in strange places--laundry baskets, bathroom, toy box...<br />
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As usual, I nearly forgot Easter again. I mean, I know it is coming, I look forward to it, but I always forget that I am supposed to <i>do </i>something about it. (Mom totally freaked out on me yesterday when she learned we had no baskets and had not dyed eggs!) But dye eggs we did, this morning. This was Lil'Nathan's and was pronounced "coolest egg" by everyone. The kids hid the eggs when we got home from church. (And, yes, Mom, the Easter Bunny came and brought fruit snacks and M&Ms in little sand buckets.)<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-14906662386174592082014-04-13T18:19:00.000-04:002014-04-13T18:34:40.369-04:00We are in. We are unpacked. We are soooo happy to be here.<br />
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The last week in Salisbury was very busy. We started packing for real and then decided to unpack and thin out some of what was already done. Double packing. Nathan found out he had several boxes of "stuff" that he didn't know existed and has just been moved and stored for the past few years. (Most of it is currently in the living room now. He's determined to go through it and keep only what he really wants and only what he knows is there.)<br />
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And of course, Charlie got sick. Then Lil'Nathan. Then Mary. <br />
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The day of loading the van (a Thurs) we found ourselves without help, thanks to the spread of a violent stomach bug. We both think it worked out better that way, though. It allowed us (mostly Nathan) to load at a slower, more organized pace and really focus on packing tightly. Fri morning it was clear the "leftovers" were not going to all fit. No way. (Previous moves we had the option of moving some things early and of picking other stuff up later. Not this time.) So Nathan rented a second truck, a little one. We threw the rest of our stuff in it (bags of clothes, the trash cans, the cleaning supplies, the fishes, the rat, the guinea pig, Joseph's mattress, all the plants, the bikes,... you get the idea.) We parked the 2nd truck at U-Haul (after transferring the animals to the van) and drove up the big truck for the closing. Our Salisbury closing was being handled by our attorney. Seemed saner that way. It was. <br />
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The fish waited here in the garage (bad idea, by the way) and the rat stayed in the van, but the guinea pig came in to the closing and watched Toy Story with the kids. The closing was quick and flawless and we did a few little errands and then came to the house. We found the betta fish floating and quickly tried revive and warm them. 2 of the 3 made it, one did not. (Fishy, the giant goldfish, was fine.) An hour later, exactly at the time we asked for help to be here, 5 guys showed up to help us unload. Everything pretty much went in to the garage so we could unpack without tripping, though they did take all the food storage down to the basement. :) Lil'Nathan was invited to a psuedo YM activity and was thrilled. The rest of us had pizza and started getting bedrooms ready. Elisabeth was already running a high fever and I got sick before morning.<br />
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Sat morning we still had to return to Salisbury and get our other truck. And the kids wanted food, so we had to get a few things from the store. Not too much unpacking happened that day, but Comcast came and we got hooked up to phone and internet again. :)<br />
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Sunday I stayed home with the baby and Nathan and the kids went to church. All the kids, except Charlie came home delighted with their classes and teachers. Charlie said he liked Sunbeams in Salisbury and didn't want to go to this one.<br />
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Mon was lost to the DMV, but by the end of the day we were licensed and registered in NH. A good feeling, even if not a good photo. (My MA license was a GOOD picture. sigh.)<br />
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Tues Nathan was back to work. We unpacked and made phone calls, and Wed and Thurs were pretty much the same. Fri we were ready to go grocery shopping for real--glorious day! And we got Lil'Nathan's bike fixed up and safe for his upcoming Scout trip. Sat was another day of joy and bliss--we took all the trash and recycling to the dump. And General Conference started. Between sessions we went to a piano store and may have found a piano, we'll see. Sunday was more Conference and I started a pair of baby socks for a friend who just had twins.<br />
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Mon the heating people came to put in our new furnace. Tues we woke up and discovered 3in of water in the basement--the sump pump failed some time during the night, causing all of the workers' tools to be submerged or to float. Happily the furnace was already hung on the wall and received no damage. Yay for Home Depot renting us that lovely big thingy that pumps out your basement at 50 gals/min and for Nathan working so close that he did all this and was still only a little late. A plumber came by and put in a new sump pump. The furnace guys were only delayed an hour by our flood and lost only one digital thermometer--despite literally being able to pour water out of their drills. By Tues night we had heat and hot water again. Sara and Hudson made the trek up here and spent the day with us, too. He is getting so big and so smiley! And he looks spiffy in his new sweater, if I do say so myself. :)<br />
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Wed we found out our neighbor to the left is nice, even if not happy about our water running through his property as it drains from the basement. He knows we are working on a solution, though. I spent all of Thurs calling and meeting with people to figure out how to stop so much water from being <i>in</i> the basement. I was told there are ways to do it, but also that this will likely be as bad as it gets b/c it is currently melting season. We have a few ideas, a few proposals, and one more person coming.<br />
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Fri the kids and I went to Salisbury to get back our MA excise taxes. One of the reasons for going was also to get a plant stand I'd seen at a garden center over there. It was still there and we brought it home. (I <u><i>love</i></u> it! I'll get you a picture soon.) We also brought home a new Japanese Maple (named Maiko), two blueberry bushes, and 2 packs of pansies--but we only went for the plant stand. We then went to Lowe's b/c Home Depot (which is all they have here) doesn't have the shower heads I wanted. We left with 2 shower heads, 3 smoke alarms, 3 door locks, a fire extinguisher, 2 escape ladders, a battery recharger, and a squeegee--<i>most</i> of which was intended. <br />
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The next day was Sat, yesterday. We started off by splitting up. Nathan, Joseph, and Charlie went to drop off a load at LISTEN and check out another piano store. Mary, Elisabeth, Lil'Nathan, and I went to the dump, the library, the pet store, and Home Depot, and filled up the van. When we got home, Nathan started replacing smoke alarms, Mary and Joseph took off on their bikes to play with friends, Lil'Nathan settled in with a book in the front yard, and the little kids and I started cleaning out the van. A power failure, caused by a broken circuit soon ended all the fun. Now we were without a phone, without internet, and without a sump pump. Nathan started baling and I went next door (to the right!) to borrow a phone and call an electrician. Turns out our neighbors have a friend who is an electrician, and they called him for me. (Our neighbor even came himself, with pant legs rolled up and barefoot, to help us bale for a while. I think he thought there was more water than was really the case. It was preventative baling this time.) An hour and a half (and $150) later we had power again. YAY! Mary and Joseph missed the whole thing.<br />
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Another trip to Home Depot for a battery-backup-sump pump and a water alert alarm--and some new plant pots to fit the stand (and dirt, and starter pots, and a few seeds--really, a garden center is as dangerous as a yarn store!). But the battery backup system is <i>way </i>expensive and we aren't sure that's the best route. This requires a little more research. Any ideas?<br />
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Which now brings us to today. And, with the exception of more than a few little details--Elisabeth had a double ear infection and a slight case of croup. Our computer is wonky and we've gotten an external hard drive for back up. I finally saw Frozen, the kids will see it tomorrow. We have wireless internet now and are actually considering getting 2 tablets for the kids for school--Lil'Nathan nearly fainted with shock and joy. My birthday was Thurs. Mary got a new bike from another neighbor...--you are now up to date.<br />
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Pictures will be coming. I promise.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-22174428900093079992014-03-11T22:56:00.001-04:002014-03-11T22:57:25.241-04:00Sooo... We are supposed to be moving in two--yes, 2--weeks. Here is some of what we've been doing to get ready.<br />
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--It was 55 degrees today. I went outside and shoveled the snow off the area where I planted my crocuses, tulips, and daffodils. There is no way the sun is going to melt that pile in time for me to see something of them poking out of the ground before we go without my help. Meanwhile, Elisabeth investigated how much water her snow boots could hold by splashing in puddles. (Note to self: get her galloshes.)<br />
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--Lil'Nathan ordered some sculpting balloons in preparation for the ward talent show next weekend. Can you imagine how many balloon poodles, chihuahuas, snakes, and hats we have around the house?<br />
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--We had the home inspection done on the NH house. And the fire dept. is coming tomorrow for the fire inspection of this house (a MA requirement). So, progress is being made.<br />
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--I made a sweater for Hudson. Maybe my most favorite sweater, yet. It's awesome. 2 days.<br />
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--We are eating down the freezer and the cabinets. I don't want to pack a lot of food this time, cans are heavy. The kids are happy. We had a 7 mo old apple strudel for dessert on Sunday. :)<br />
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--This doesn't make sense when you realize I've just ordered a bunch of wheat and milk through our ward's upcoming cannery trip. Food storage doesn't count as "moved food." I'm a Mormon, I'm supposed to move a lot of wheat.<br />
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--Now I am working on a NICU hat. It's cool it opens flat and buttons shut, to make it easy to keep wires in place.<br />
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--Notice still not working on the blanket.<br />
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--Notice, more importantly, not packing.<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-69780363332902022792014-03-05T10:28:00.003-05:002014-03-05T10:29:15.431-05:00So... should I do something about this?<br />
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I mean, besides taking pictures?<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-87747862917746525202014-03-02T15:57:00.002-05:002014-03-11T22:57:44.049-04:00Too much talking from me on the past few entries. This time, some pictures. :) (Though none of the piano disassembly, b/c it went to new home last Tuesday. They did have to take it apart, but it wasn't as interesting as it would have been had a hack saw been involved, so I left the camera alone and concentrated on silently praying that no one would end up with a broken toe and that the floors would remain intact.)<br />
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We'll start with Joseph's birthday. Lil'Nathan was the camera man, this is the best of the bunch. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He wanted you to see is awesome ice cream. The cheese was not a part of dessert.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">True to tradition, I couldn't find the candles. He had to work fast b/c matches burn faster.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening Aunt Kathie's gift.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Aunt Roberta's</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Charlie and Elisabeth have started working together to defraud me of peas and corn during dinner prep.<br />
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These are some pictures Lil'Nathan took of our last snow storm--the very heavy, very beautiful one.<br />
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And here is Elisabeth getting ready to go out and <strike>come in</strike> play in the snow.</div>
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And my hat model. I took these for the sewing blog, but they are too funny not to share. "Pitty hat!"<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-48508568635837031362014-02-23T17:56:00.000-05:002014-02-23T18:02:41.489-05:00This week we went house hunting, "bought" a house, had the home inspection on this house (crazy inspector on the roof in a blizzard), and celebrated Nathan's birthday. Nathan spent two nights near work b/c of the weather. I made two hats and didn't touch my blanket--which means my 2nd arbitrary deadline will whiz by, too. (I guess I should find a legitimate one.)<br />
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We were stood up (again!) on Sat in trying to rehome our piano. I was very, very annoyed this time. Craigslist people up here are flakes. Huge flakes. In Boston, if they weren't trying to scam you, they showed up when they said they would. Crazy north shore nuts. I have two more people who claim to want it. We'll see. I'm ready to pull out the hack saw and call a dumpster service.<br />
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Anyway, yes, we "bought" a house. At least, our bid was accepted. Nice 3 bed/ 2 bath house, with 2 car garage, larger yard than here, carpet (yay!--I'm a floor sitter and hardwood holds little charm for me), and a lovely, lovely stove. (New, gas, center burner, and <i>clean</i>.) It's in West Leb, a few houses down from where friends of ours used to live, and they loved it there.<br />
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Yesterday was Nathan's birthday. Last of the 30's. The kids gave him all the rice and spices which was delivered a few days before. He was happy. :) We had pudding pie with cherries and also pineapple ice cream. He watched a Charlie Chaplin movie with the kids for his birthday movie, and Brigadoon with me. We ended the day by going to sleep at a reasonable hour and Elisabeth slept through the night as her gift.<br />
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We did much shoveling this week. It snowed like crazy on Tuesday, the day of the home inspection. I kept checking email thinking they were going to reschedule. Hoping they would b/c we had to leave for the duration and I didn't want to be out in that stuff! Lil'Nathan was put on "clean-up-the-driveway-duty, but couldn't keep ahead of the snow and finally, when the inspector arrived, he just gave up. We hung out at the library until they decided to close early b/c of the snow. Nathan stayed in a hotel near work that night. I spent two hours on Ravelry organizing my 287 patterns, and didn't add any new ones!<br />
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The next morning we were up to clean up the snow, since it was too dark and snowing too hard when we got home from the library (just as the inspector drove away, I might add). What a pile! We shoveled in 4 stages, each followed by a break and a treat. The first was the hardest--the pile at the end of the driveway gifted by the plow (I won't share some of our thoughts on that gift). Reward--Trader Joe's Frosted Flakes for breakfast. Stage 2 was the rest of the driveway (and salting the frozen, packed down stuff from the inspector and realtor driving on the un-shoveled driveway the day before). Reward--a whole Lindt truffle. Stage 3 was the back deck and pathways. Reward--hot chocolate. Stage 4 was the rest of the clean up, but it started snowing again. I had some ice and sloppy driveway stuff to clear when the snow started falling and I yelled, "Are you kidding me?!" It was supposed to be rain! This meant Nathan would have to stay in Leb again that night, and indeed he did. I went in, made dinner, and told the kids not to say a word about the snow. We woke up to another 4 inches, totally obliterating the work of the whole previous day.<br />
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And we had to clear the driveway at 7:30 am b/c our food (125 lbs of rice, several pounds of spices, 50 lbs of pastry flour, 2 lbs of yeast... you get the idea) was being delivered. (Lil'Nathan objected much to being forced out of bed so early in order to shovel the driveway for the delivery of rice. Rice!) The plow had a smaller gift for us than the previous morning and it was lighter, so the work went much faster. But we were sore and stiff from the day before and the mounds were <i>well </i>over our heads. Nathan came home that night and dug trenches through the snow--the next day was supposed to be 45 degrees and the rain had already started. The trenches were brilliant, our snow melted and ran to the street instead of puddling in the yard.<br />
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I don't have any pictures from this week. And you probably found this the most boring entry yet. Sorry. Hope for better next week. Maybe you'll get pictures of the piano disassembly!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-83456231834695292292014-02-16T17:20:00.000-05:002014-02-16T17:20:44.540-05:00This has been a big week. <br />
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To kick things off, Joseph turned 7. He chose "Daddy waffles" for his breakfast, though I was allowed to make them (Daddy being gone at work and actually he hates making waffles). I guess they passed muster b/c there were none left. For his dinner, he chose Mexican Lasagna (also a Daddy specialty and this time it <i>required </i>Daddy --"Mom, you'll mess it up"-- so we had it last night). Dark chocolate pound cake with mint cookie chip ice cream (yes, I wrote that right). He said it was a good day. Best part: No school. (Birthdays are a personal holiday.) And the 2nd best part: A birthday movie ON his birthday. Disney's Robin Hood. Cards arrived from GG, Aunt Berta (with an awesome puzzle), and Aunt Kathie. Gramma and Grampa's card came the next day. I still haven't ordered his birthday book, but he's used to that.<br />
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Tuesday we were without a van b/c Nathan took it up north to get some recall work done on it. It served well that day b/c the missionaries needed an early morning ride to Manchester for a zone meeting. He passes through Manchester at about 7 am, so they certainly got there "early."<br />
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Wednesday Lil'Nathan went sledding with the youth from church. He had a blast and came home tired and happy, and little cold. One of the YM advisers gave him a ride and the scout leader gave him an old DVD player to use as a screen for his beloved Raspberry Pi. And before he left, he made dinner, finishing every last grain of rice in the house. ("Yes!! No more rice!") Needless to say, Wed was a great day for our resident 12 yr old.<br />
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Wednesday was good for us, too. We sold the house. The offer came in late on Tues and by Wed evening it was settled. The closing is set for the end of March. The inspection is this week and we need to find a house.<br />
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But where to look is our big question. Up in St. Johnsbury? 60+ miles to Nathan's work, but housing is pretty affordable. The biggest draw up there, though, is our friends, Rob and Tamara being sooo close and the fact that the kids could go to St Johnsbury Academy. *sigh* Or we have the option of staying in West Leb. Housing is much more expensive, but there is no state income or sales tax sneaking in on top of other expenses. Plus, it's only 6 mi to work, meaning a LOT less travel time and money. To say we a torn and caught in a bit of circular thinking would be accurate.<br />
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Thursday and Friday were snow days (14+ inches of heavy, wet snow), so Nathan worked from home. What a mess. On Friday evening a friend mentioned we were getting a blizzard on Sat night. I thought she was kidding. I found she was not. Suddenly the idea of facing the crowds at the store the next morning (we being out of all food since it was my shopping day) and of shoveling more snow (where are we going to put it?!) made me laugh. And laugh. And laugh. I couldn't stop. It was so ridiculous--a blizzard! We had stuff to do. My mittens were still on my hook. A blizzard! <br />
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Well, we did all we had to do and we faced the nutty crowds at the store. (LONG lines, but everyone there was pretty good humored about it). There was plenty of milk and eggs for everyone. It started to snow and the weather channel's predictions got worse as the day went on. But the storm never materialized they way they forecasted. It was a pretty easy clean-up for Nathan this morning--light and fluffy, and only about 4 inches.<br />
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We're supposed to get more on Tuesday, but it looks like only a little bit.<br />
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Yesterday morning the Primary hosted a pajama party at church, complete with games. The bishopric made breakfast for all the kids--a feast of pancakes (with hot syrup--G'pa was right, it really does make a difference if the syrup is hot!), eggs, and sausage. (I made a little girl cry. I snagged a sausage off Charlie's plate and she thought I took it off hers and ran sobbing to her mom, "That big lady stole my sausage!" I'm not sure her mom believed me--I was laughing too hard.) During the game of "Duck, duck, goose," Charlie and another Sunbeam jumped up and ran, no matter who was pegged "goose." When the "goose" jumped up and ran, so did they, all around the circle. Every time. Not trying to help, not trying to tag anyone, just running. One mom laughed they were "taking everyone's turn," but I seriously doubt they had any thought of the kind. The game was <i>clearly </i>about jumping up and running and, by golly, they could do that as well as anyone else. So why just sit and watch?<br />
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My deadline for finishing my wool blanket was on Fri. I told myself earlier in the week that it was an arbitrary deadline and nothing of any consequence would happen if it remained unfinished, so no need to stress out about it. With motivation like that, is it any wonder the day came and went and the blanket remains unfinished? New arbitrary deadline: our anniversary at the end of the month.<br />
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Important lesson learned: Dr. Bronner's Soap, one drop at a time on a
dry washcloth and scrubbed in straight lines will remove bright green
dry erase marker from a freshly painted wall. Nothing else works. Hiding <i>all </i>the markers high up on a shelf <i>well </i>out of reach of the baby may prevent repeat learning experiences. <br />
<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-14726154665864508052014-02-09T15:09:00.002-05:002014-02-10T10:02:56.857-05:00Normally I love snow storms, and Wednesday morning was no exception. Nathan knew about the upcoming storm and made arrangements to work from home, so he was home and safe. The snow was coming down hard and fast--so beautiful! Everything at home was calm and quiet. <br />
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And then, things started to bug me. I don't know when it began or what started me off, but very soon everything was irritating me and building. Elisabeth seemed to need a new diaper every 30 mins. I must have swept that kitchen floor 3 or 4 times before noon and don't get me started on the number of times I wiped off the table. (Fresh oranges can be a wonderful thing and I am truly glad my kids like fruit, but on Wednesday afternoon I just wanted to fling the whole bowl of them out in the snow, and I would have enjoyed it.) Then there was my 12-year-old curmudgeon who argued with every single thing I asked him to do. And then the kids were a little put-off by having Daddy home, but not available for play. I froze shoveling and then had to come in to unclog the toilet and clean up the bathroom floor. Lil'Nathan was making dinner (HA!) and oh, what a mess! He wasn't sure why the muffins were still soupy after 30 mins of baking and they only boiled over a little and so what if he forgot the potatoes? Muffins and hot chocolate were a good enough dinner--they were solid (again, "HA!") muffins. I think I threw something and stifled a scream.<br />
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I went out to Nathan and asked him to please hurry and finish, I had to leave. I looked at the snow still falling and the soupy roads and realized I was stuck there. Nathan came in and I went upstairs and hid in my dark room until everyone was in bed. I was dreaming of the things I could have done and the places I could have gone if the weather were good. (Though if the weather were good, Nathan still wouldn't have been home, so I would have been <i>really </i>stuck.) After I emerged, I washed dishes, ate some pudding, and felt like I could hold a conversation without screaming, which was a huge improvement over the previous few hours.<br />
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I was all better on Thursday, even chasing Charlie and Elisabeth as a tickle monster and totally not caring if the floor was a mess in the kitchen. I didn't sweep it at all that whole day. Not until after dinner. I also cut off the kids' computer time. No more online classes each day. We're going to a different system--now they must <i>earn </i> their time (by completing everything else on time) and can only redeem it on Fridays, when they can use it for their classes. Ahhh, huge stressor gone.<br />
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Thursday was also a day of adventure. We started the morning by driving over to Raymond, NH (25 miles or so) to pay a tow truck driver so Daddy could get to work. Nathan had hit black ice and spun into an embankment. He valiantly tried to dig himself out (with no shovel), but he'd high centered... and killed his battery. The tow guy only took cash, so Nathan was stuck at his station waiting for rescue from his rescue.<br />
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Later in the day, we thought Joseph might have broken his toe. It was twice as large as this before the swelling went down. He was making a mad dash from the piano to the kitchen when he heard me open the crackers. He got stopped by the fireplace. We tried to split it, but it was useless, too small. And also, as it turned out, not broken. He was running around within an hour.<br />
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We got a pep-talk email from our realtor last night. He said to hang in there and hopefully our buyer will show up soon. No one likes to look for homes in snowy, cold weather. I'm hoping we can be out of here by Charlie's birthday. It will keep a tradition. He's never celebrated 2 birthdays in a row in the same place. (Born in MA, 1 in FL, 2 in MA, 3 in FL, 4 in NH?)<br />
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Here is Lil'Bit. Mary rocked her to sleep on Thurs, or maybe it was Fri. So sweet. She does love her baby.<br />
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We made cookies on Friday. One day I will learn not eat so much cookie dough. Only chocolate chip dough tempts me. And I <i>always </i>eat enough to make myself ill. Did it again. We made molasses cookies, too. (Surprisingly, those were Charlie's favorite, he called them "the yummy ginger ones.") The kids spent most of the day on Fri outside, so it was just Elisabeth next to me asking, very exuberantly, for "a piece? juss one?" when she saw the bag of chocolate chips. "juss one?" Yeah, right. She's got my genes and had to be removed from the kitchen to keep any chips in the cookies! :)<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-7167783063061663222014-02-02T15:09:00.002-05:002014-02-02T15:13:55.597-05:00Welcome to February!<br />
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Nathan has started work in the Upper Valley. It's a little dangerous (tempting!) having him working so close to the Co-op everyday. ("Bring home....") He is commuting and says it isn't too bad. We are still hoping it won't have to be for long. The house has been "live" for about 10 days now and we've had 3 showings. Nothing else to report there. We found a house in VT, about 30 mins from Nathan's work, that we really like, but we aren't willing to get into a contract (even with an escape clause) until this house is under contract. Besides, we are thinking we may actually go even a little <i>further </i>north. So we are still looking and pondering.<br />
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Teddy is in FL. He is with Stacy and her family. According to Stacy, "We just <i>love</i> him!" That makes me happy. Most of us miss him a lot here, though. (I don't think Daddy does too much and I know Charlie doesn't really at all. Teddy did like to pick on Charlie. Sounds like he's transferred that affection to Hannah, but she still loves him.)<br />
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This is how our piano "earns its keep"--good for music and excellent as a puzzle station.<br />
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Elisabeth has been talking up a storm lately. Some words do double duty--"Pa-pah" works for both potty and puzzle. She is very good at, "NO!" for all kinds of stuff and most questions. Many things are "funny" and all my hats are "pitty!" (I show her my sewing when I need a confidence boost.) She does love hats and she does love babies. And she loves putting hats on babies. Although, here she is casting her baby to the ground in order to grab the camera from my hand. <br />
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Joseph was on a puzzle kick for a while. I think he's over it now. He just bought 4 at the $ Store and is letting Mary and Nathan work on them (as in the photo above). He is going to be 7 next week. </div>
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For one of my goals this year, I decided I'm going to donate 50 hats. Chemo caps, hats for the homeless, and baby hats. 50 total hats works out to be about 1 per week. Another of my goals is to keep track of what I make. I'll be doing that <a href="http://knittingsewingandmore.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a>. I'll show you a photo of January's projects, though, since I know you really care. :)</div>
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Mary wants to model the hats, but she was working on the puzzle when I took the picture and I didn't want to wait. So impatient am I.</div>
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I'm sorry. I'm having trouble thinking of what else to say. Pretty boring entry. And ended with a photo of yarn. Hmm.... I'll have to fix that...</div>
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We finally met Sara's baby!!</div>
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Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9016362037670661440.post-58779050070234154332014-01-13T10:00:00.000-05:002014-01-13T10:00:04.644-05:00So far in 2014Just a listing...<br />
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We've had a lot of snow so far this season. It snows a lot and then a day or so later, it warms up a lot, then it gets frigid again. And our back yard is a lumpy ice rink. Very funny to watch the dog try to race across it. Less funny to try and walk across it to clean up after the dog. More than one of us has clunked on our rump. Okay, kind of funny, but rather painful.<br />
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And in addition to snow, we've had sickness. Elisabeth started it this time, on Wed. Joseph and Charlie joined in on Fri night. Lil'Nathan and I got it yesterday. <br />
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On the day before Thanksgiving, Nathan's boss asked him to look for work elsewhere--regulations are killing his business and he can't afford to keep everyone on board anymore. Nathan had felt this coming on for a while and was really just waiting for the word from his boss. So he immediately sent a query to a former colleague of his and a resume at her request. Within a week he had a job interview and two weeks later (holidays and snow storms) he had an offer. He accepted it on Friday and submitted his resignation at work. His current employer found it bittersweet--financially good for both of them, but oh so sorry that things had to work out like this. He starts at the end of January.<br />
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And where are we going? We are going home. Back to the Upper Valley. New Hampshire/Vermont has been calling to us since we left 6+ years ago and I simply cannot believe that we finally get to go back. It all seems a little surreal.<br />
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We've contacted our realtor and started the process for selling this house. After he left yesterday, Nathan took the healthy kids to Lowe's and they bought paint, painting supplies, molding, and super glue. We had dinner, cleaned up the dining room, and at 7pm began to paint. The kids were sent to bed at 8:30. I was able to hold out long enough to do all the trim work and finish up the dishes before I had to go to bed (hoping to avoid the illness the kids had had, but failed). Nathan came to bed at 3am, having finally finished all by himself. I can't get a photo that does it justice, so you'll just have to trust me that it looks great.<br />
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Teddy is going to FL. He's going to be my mom's new baby. I have mixed feelings about this, but it's for the best. We are planning to send him out on Saturday.<br />
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The week before Christmas my dear friend Sara and her husband welcomed baby Hudson Paul into their lives. It's been a long road for them and I spent all day (okay, all week, while they were waiting for him be born and then sorting out paperwork) glued to Facebook and email waiting for updates. Tuesday Sara and Hudson are coming to visit! I'm very, very excited. He makes me an aunt again, and this time I'm in the same state! (for now) Our first attempt at meeting was snowed out. Our second was thwarted by a sick Elisabeth. So, here we try again. I was looking at one of the things I knit for him, and I think it's going to be too small already.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115590761833375507noreply@blogger.com0