PSA

Over the course of the last 14 years I have spent a lot of time on the internet. Over the course of those 14 years I have met many wonderful people. Some in person, and some I have only gotten to know online. Those who haven't ever experienced this for themselves may be doubtful. Brian and I first met and talked online. Even after we finally met in person we really got to know each other through words on the computer screen. Eventually we decided we wanted to be more than friends, and here we are 10+ years later. So yes, you can get to know someone - some pretty wonderful someones even - through the computer.

Over the last several years more and more individuals have turned to blogging as a way to share themselves, their families, and their thoughts with others. I started out only reading blogs of people that I knew - either from other online places, or in person. Then I would read the blogs that those people read, and on and on. I have read lots of happy stories, and many that have moved me to tears. I have "met" some amazing individuals that I will probably never be in the same room with.

Two of those amazing people are doing something really important this week. Melody over at Slurping Life, and Julie at Rarely Home Mom are both holding special fundraisers to help out a little boy named Parker. Parker has a whole host of medical issues, but the biggest problem is that the insurance company, in all of their infinite wisdom, will sometimes refuse certain treatments or medications, or want to try a cheaper option first in order to save money. So Melody and Julie are trying to raise some money to help his parents pay for the things that Parker so badly needs that the insurance company will not pay for.


You can get a lot more information about Parker over at Melody's website. Julie is hosting a fundraiser through Usborne books. If you place an order 25% of the price will go to help Parker, and you will get an entry into Melody's fantastic raffle. Any donation you make through Melody's site will give you a chance in the raffle for a lot of fabulous prizes. Please, even if you don't have the money to make a donation or to buy a book, take a moment, at the request of Parker's mom, and say a special prayer for Parker. And then please click on over to their sites and at least take a look at what they are doing.

Thanks!

The Deafening Sound of Silence

It's been quiet around here. You see, my muses were missing. All last week, and yesterday morning, I was teaching a staff development class for the county, and so my parents kindly took care of the kids at their house.

They had a blast. The kids did, anyway. I think my parents were a bit exhausted by the end, and glad to have their house and time back to themselves, but I'm pretty sure they had fun, too. Claire got to swim at least once every day, and sometimes twice in the lake. She has no fear in the water (she either goes in a little float that she can propel by kicking her feet or uses a suit that has float devices built into the chest and she can either just kick, or kick and paddle to move). She demonstrated for me on Saturday morning how she could make vrooming noises and spin in a circle like the jetski they had seen the other day. Ben has gone from crying and clinging when he gets into the water to happily floating in his ring, splashing and smiling. He can spin himself around, but he doesn't seem to be aware that he's doing it.

Mom taught Ben to say "gobble gobble" when you ask him what a turkey says, so he will definitely be ready for football season which is coming up very quickly. They must have also emphasized him saying please because yesterday I noticed him saying "peas peas peas" as he held his hand out for something. He's already pretty good at the "tack oo" (aka thank you).

Which brings me to today's thoughts. Saturday afternoon after we returned home from the lake with a stop at Ryan's birthday party, Ben and I headed out to two stores to pick some stuff up (Harry Potter!) and to pick up pizza for dinner. At each place Ben chimed in with a cheery "hi!", "bye" or "tack oo!" at appropriate times, complete with waves. Even the woman who took our pizza order who seemed bored to tears with her job gave him a bright smile and a cheery wave when he talked to her.

Sunday morning I headed out with Claire to a birthday party held at an indoor kid gym (like Gymboree or Little Gym). Claire politely waited her turn, followed directions, and responded enthusiastically to instructions. She said thank you after the coaches helped her with things, or gave her turns, and (after I prompted her) gave the birthday girl a nice hug and told her happy birthday. I was pleased, but a little surprised, when one of the coaches complimented me on her manners.

It led me to wonder whether it is abnormal that I am teaching my children to be polite, and to know how to respond in common situations. The woman at the parking garage Saturday seemed genuinely surprised when I told her to have a nice day after she opened the gate. The coach at the gym was amazed that Claire thanked her for helping her off of the swing. Is this so outside the norm? As a society have we grown to expect that since these people are paid to do their jobs that they don't also deserve a nice thank you and a smile or wave?

My kids manners are far from perfect. Claire, like most 3 year olds I know, rarely thinks twice about interrupting me in the middle of a conversation. She frequently needs to be prompted to ask for something politely instead of demanding it. But when prompted she knows what words to use, and says them with a smile. Ben is hard to resist when he gives you a big smile and a cheery "hi!", but he still has occasional meltdowns if he doesn't get exactly what he wants when he wants it. It just strikes me as odd that when they are well-behaved and polite it is considered extraordinary and unusual.

Visiting the Monuments

Last week Brian's dad, stepmother, brothers, and uncle came into town, and we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with them. On Friday Uncle Dave, Calvin, Nigel, Claire, Ben, and I went into DC to visit the monuments. We went to the FDR, the WWII, Vietnam, and the Lincoln. It was a hot, sunny day, but occasional breezes kept it bearable. It was a really nice day, and I loved watching Claire with her uncles. She already knows how to wrap a man around her little finger.

Claire and Calvin check out the fountain (isn't she adorable with her hands in her pockets?)

Nigel, Claire, and Calvin at the FDR Memorial

Ben fell asleep, but he made sure not to let go of his peanut butter cracker and drink!

Ben admires the fountains at the WWII memorial.

Claire and Nigel investigate the WWII memorial

Uncle Calvin helps Claire feed the ducks

Uncle Dave and Ben discuss the DUCKS!

Calvin borrows the stroller for a little rest

No more tickles! PLEASE?!?!

Silly boy

Ben is sitting beside me with a saltine cracker in one hand, and a toy in the other. As I watched he stuck the toy in his mouth, realized his mistake, and switched his hands. Mmmm, cracker.

Happy Fourth of July

Today I carefully dressed both kids in cute red white and blue outfits. And took zero pictures. None. I'm a slacker mom. Or I was too busy changing messy diapers, and trying to keep the diaper rash at bay.

Happy Independence day everyone!

The final beach post

I need to finish posting, before I forget anything else about what we did while we were there!

I was admonished for neglecting to mention that on Wednesday night while we were out partying, my parents had a "pajama party" with the kids, and took these adorable pictures.

See Mom? When you complain? Then I post pictures of you in your nightie!



Thursday morning was spent trying to organize a trip to see the wild horses that roam the beach in Carova (north of Corolla, just south of Virginia Beach). We planned to fit everyone in our MDX, and Mom and Dad's MDX, and do it ourselves, but when we got to the place that had said they would sell us a map and some info, the guy strongly suggested against it, and Dad and I thought it was best not to risk getting stuck in the sand. (The next day we found out that the one tow-truck that rescues cars trapped in the sand charges you $125 just to pull you out of where you are currently stuck, not to tow you back to a road, so if you get stuck again? He charges you another $125. And another. And another. What a racket!) We made lots of phone calls comparing prices, and trying to see who could fit us all in one vehicle. Thought we had the best price lined up for the next day, and then while eating some tasty pizza, finally found a flyer for the place we wound up using.

Then we went to the Currituck Wildlife Museum (free!), where Ben got to practice saying "DUCK!" approximately 1 million times (they had a decoy exhibit, that it was hard to drag him away from). We discovered that they have a calendar with tons of free lectures/story times/learning opportunities for both kids and adults, so next year we will have to stop by there early on to look at the calendar and work some of that into our non-schedule. It also has some lovely outdoor areas that we didn't have a whole lot of time to explore.

Promptly after arriving home, Mom, Cindy, and I left for our lovely pedicures. We had a great time, and Cindy and I decided that we will definitely return to the same place next year. Mom liked it because it was next door to a quilt shop. She's incorrigible. We also stopped on the way back to the house to take advantage of being kid-free do some shopping. While we were gone the kids napped and flew kites. I'm sure the men were exhausted.

We discovered at dinner that night that Claire loves lobster. She got Uncle Brandon's share, and maybe a little more.

Friday morning Mom, Dad, and Brandon headed back to their respective homes, and we got ready for our wild horse tour. Claire and Ryan were very excited about getting to ride on "a bus! A BLUE bus! Will it pick us up at the house?" First we stopped so Brian could replace his sandals with some stylish Reef flip-flops. Then lunch which was very tasty, but rather over-priced. Finally we climbed aboard the big blue (non-air-conditioned) bus for our adventure.

When we first pulled onto the beach there were a whole bunch of dolphins swimming around close to shore. The kids thought that was pretty neat. Then we rode for a while without seeing a whole lot. Finally, we spotted the first group of horses. There were four of them, walking together as all of the vehicles slowed to take pictures.

Then we took a detour through the area out there where the houses are built, as Ryan needed to use the bathroom, and the driver lived out there, so he knew a place we could go. The detour took quite a while, and we heard a lot about the politics of the area from the driver as we rode. This portion of the trip served to put Claire and Ryan to sleep, which was not at all a bad thing.

When we hit the beach again to head back to the road we passed two more groups of horses. I believe that one of them was the original ones that we had seen, but somewhere along the way one of the group had disbanded. All in all, it was definitely worth it to do at least once.

Then we headed back to the house for some fun in the pool, one last walk on the beach, a simple dinner (burgers), and then lots of cleaning, sorting and packing after the kids had baths and were in bed.

Saturday morning we finished the cleaning and packing, and it was time to head home. Good bye, beach! See you next year!

Thursday's Theme - Begin

I can't imagine something more significant than the beginning of perhaps the most challenging, and most rewarding thing I have ever tried to do. This is Claire just moments after she was born. My beginning as a mother.

Visit Tracey over at Picture This, to see more beginnings (links are in the comments).

so sweet I'm getting a toothache

Right now Claire and Ben are sitting together on the family room floor. Claire was trying to convince Ben to have a tea party.

"Wanna have a tea party? C'mon, buddy. Wanna have a tea party wif me?"

He ignored her, holding a book open in his lap and pointing at the pictures.

"Dis!"

Finally she gave in.

"Oh, bear. Oh, sand. Oh, truck"

Ben pointed

"bah"

"That's right, buddy! Bear!"

Now they're taking hands holding the book so she can point to things for him and tell him what's in the picture, and what the colors are while he stares in fascination.

"Oh, there's a blue star. That's a blue star, ok? It matches your jammies."

We must be doing something right.

Thursday's Theme - Glee

This is my first time participating in this photo sharing started by Tracey over at Picture This. Take a look at the links in the comments over at Tracey's post to find more photos showing glee.

Just look at how much fun he is having - throwing sand, eating sand, getting messy, and noone is telling him to stop. Hooray for the beach!

back to our regularly scheduled (HA!) blogging

So the first full day at the beach -Sunday - it rained. Lot sof rain. It was windy and wet. So we found a bowling alley in Nags Head and headed down after lunch. The adults played on one lane, and Claire and Ryan played on the other. I deeply regret that we didn't have a camera because a) the kids were adorable (especially Ben sitting on the racks with all of the bowling balls), and b) I won. Yes. I beat all of the other adults. And I threw two gutter balls on my first frame. Claire actually rolled one ball so slowly down the lane that when it bumped into a pin, it stopped. And the pin didn't fall down. It was that slow. It was a fun way to kill a little time.

Monday was beautiful. After breakfast we got ready to head to the beach. Don had purchased a nice tent type thing to set up to provide us with some shade, which was really nice, though it only lasted through two being set up two times before too many of the poles were messed up. Claire and Ryan headed for the water immediately, and loved jumping the waves, and running up and down the beach. Ben let the water hit his feet, and then it got up almost to his knees and he was done, so he spent the rest of the time playing in the sand.


We came in for lunch (Zero's subs) and spent some afternoon time in the pool. Mom and Dad arrived, and got settled in. Fortunately the new gas grill for the house got delivered in time for Brian to cook some delicious steaks for dinner.

Tuesday morning we spent some more time at the beach, and then we headed to Timbuck II for a little shopping and ice cream. After a nap, Claire took her first ever bike ride (thanks for the bike cousin Ryan!).

She had a blast, and did a great job.

Wednesday was a low-key day. Some beach, some pool, and (hooray!) a night out for the parents. Mom and Dad watched the kids, and let us go out to dinner and for a few drinks with Don, Cindy, and Brandon. We ate at a great restaurant in Timbuck II, and then to a really cheezy bar (because Brandon thought the hostess was cute). Then back home so the boys could play pool, and Cindy and I could fall asleep on the couches.

Ugh. I am tired, and so that's all for tonight. You can see a lot more pictures here.

Fun at the beach

After arriving at the beach house on Saturday, unpacking the cars, and making a list and sending the boys to the store, Cindy took Claire and Ryan to explore the beach. They played "Red Light, Green Light" with the waves, looked at shells, and generally had a blast. Here they are coming back from their first adventure.

Hi mom!

Our view from the deck.

Then we headed out to the deck with all three kids so they could play with bubbles. Claire and Ryan had a blast blowing bubbles at Ben with the cool motorized bubble blowers that Aunt Cindy brought.

Our vacation was off to a great start!

Claire's Birthday

Claire's birthday started pretty early. We got her out of bed, dressed her before she was awake enough to protest or express an opinion about what she was wearing, and then popped her in the car. For much of the first half hour of the ride we kept hearing from the backseat, "It's my birthday. Because I'm 3 now. Because I'm not 2 anymore. It's my birthday. Because I'm 3 now..."

The first part of our trip was fairly quick. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel a little over an hour away to have a birthday breakfast with Nonno, Nonni, Uncle David, and Grandma.

(photo credit: Dad)
Claire checks out some of her presents from Mommy and Daddy
(all stuff to keep her busy in the car)

(photo credit: Dad)
modeling her new Dora hair scarf

(photo credit: Dad)
admiring the Dora truck - thanks Grandma!

(photo credit: Dad)
Thanks everyone! I love birthdays!

Then we got back in the car, drove another couple of hours, and stopped in Williamsburg for lunch where we met up with Uncle Don, Aunt Cindy, and Ryan. After lunch and a brief running around time for the kids, everyone piled back in the cars, and we were off to the beach. The trip was uneventful, and there wasn't really a whole lot of traffic.

After waiting a bit to get the keys to the house we got there, settled in, and sent the boys to the store to get a few essentials (like a birthday cake and candles) and dinner. After dinner it was time for cake!

Mmmm - strawberry! Good choice, Daddy.

Getting help from Ryan to blow out the candles.

Yum!

Ben thinks it's delicious.

We got Claire a scooter which came complete with helmet. Once she opened that she had to wear it to open all the rest of her presents. It's always important to be safe!

Look at me! I'm ready to go.

Claire had a fantastic birthday. She loved being at the beach, and getting to see so much family on her special day. She was a very happy little girl.

Sunrises

Thanks to Ben and his early risings I was lucky (or not?) enough to see the sunrise most mornings. On two days Dad generously got Ben up for me, so I got to sleep in a little, but he took pictures, too so here are a weeks worth of sunrises. Being in a beachfront house has its benefits, and watching the sunrise over the Atlantic is one of them.

Sunday - no sun, only rain

Monday - Not a good sunrise photo, but my first shot of the day

Tuesday

Wednesday (photo credit: Dad)

Thursday (photo credit - Dad)

Friday from beach (photo credit: Dad)

Friday from house

Saturday - our last morning