A Labor of Love

Looking back, I can see that it's been awhile...a LOOOONG while.

So long, in fact, that the last thing I posted was about Edward's 14th birthday in....February.

Gulp.

SO much has happened. Good, bad, easy, fun, hard. My brain has nearly popped with it all.

I'm good at giving out advice about savoring the moments, slowing down, yadda, yadda.... But it's hard to take your own advice, huh?

So here's a quick recap. I'll post more with photos after this. I think I just need to unload my brain.

Since February...

Edward had his first Keystone Exam. Emily was accepted to Albright College and won a Shirk Scholarship. We coached Ethan's Spring U8 soccer team. Both older kids went with friends to the prom. Emily graduated from high school. Edward finished 9th grade. Emily got her first good job (after a failed first bad job complete with an office full of e-cigarettes). We renewed her permit, and Emily started learning to drive in earnest. We switched Edward to 21st Century Cyber School. He started 10th grade. Emily developed a type of seizure similar to epilepsy. (We're still investigating.) Edward started school and his second year of high school soccer. We moved Emily into....college! (Eeek!) Ethan finished 2nd grade. And Stuart was accepted into the continuing education program at Albright College to finish his bachelor's of science degree.

Now, everyone is completely and utterly....overwhelmed!

It's amazing. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to Knoebel's with my parents, an overnight trip to Chincoteague/Assateague Islands, and our annual day of Camp Woohoohaha! But it was a tight squeeze. (And despite the millions of bites we all sustained while visiting the islands, all three kids were trying to figure out how to move down there. *wink-grin*)

So there you have it. A recap of months and months of events in one or two paragraphs.

And there it is....my brain unloaded...I think.

Until I remember that a week from today our youngest turns 7!!!

Camp Woohoohaha! 2014

Each summer, since the year before Ethan was born, we've done a little one-day family camp that we named "Camp Woohoohaha!" It's a day that is full of crafts, outside games, and campy sorts of things, like s'mores, hotdogs, nature hikes, and sing-songs around a campfire.

We start the day with a loud rendition of "Reveille" to rouse the troops and get us all ready for a day of family fun. I usually plan the crafts and food, while Stuart usually plans the outdoor activities. Some years we've had to modify outdoor activities due to rain.

We were a little bit late doing our camp this year. Pre-school activities -- like high school soccer practice, school newspaper meetings, college visits -- overtook us, and we found ourselves in a flurry to grab a date before school begins.

So today, we did our annual tradition, waking the kids with an even louder version of our bugle call (since I now have a little Canz speaker). We had two activities to work around, but we used that time for some downtime and filled in with a DVD of Looney Tunes/Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Here are some highlights from our day: Boiled eggs and baked oatmeal for breakfast; a little canvas bag to color and keep our crafts in; an awesome obstacle course; painted garden markers; Cracker Jacks; a walk in the park; Poohsticks; an impromptu visit to the museum, where the kids built structures and saw the mummy; Looney Tunes cartoons; coloring puzzles; decorated notebooks and photo frames; hotdogs and chips and s'mores; a firepit; lanterns; and songs/jokes.

A great way to finish out summer vacation.

We have a few activities to do on another day that we couldn't do today, due to a couple of outside obligations, but that's not a problem. It gives us more time to enjoy as a family.

We seem to spend a lot of time together, but sometimes we realize that we just exist together, passing in our hallways, caught up in our own busyness. Having our little camp helps us to make the time to be together and have fun. Totally worth all the planning!

"This is the day that The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

Here's an album of the photos I took during the day. Enjoy!

Do you have fun family traditions that you enjoy? Share them below!

Wordless Wednesday

Fleeting Summer Monday Musings

Emily and Stuart on a facetime chat

Happy Monday!

I cannot believe that a little less than a month from now we'll be starting school. Yikes!

Our daughter starts 10th grade, our older son starts 6th (with 7th-grade math and language arts), and the "baby" starts kindergarten. How did all this come up so fast?

Didn't the summer drag a bit longer when we were young?  I remember having times when I felt extremely bored...almost (though I'm not sure I would have readily admitted to it) eager for school to start again. That said, I did like school, so maybe?  Still, I remember summer feeling like one long relaxing hot day.....

Now?  I feel like it's pretty much the same scramble as the school year. 

Ah, well. The play is over and now we can settle down for a few weeks and get some of the necessary tidying done in the house. I'd been hoping to get the dining room and kitchen sorted out before the new school year. I'd love to have more space (and less stuff!) for our lessons...especially with another student joining us.

Speaking of Ethan...  He's loving his Summer Bridge book and keeping right up with it. He's even trying to spell words for himself. It's amazing to watch him go. He was drawing a get-well card today and spelled "ritiin" on it for "written." Not bad for a nearly-4-year-old.

Speaking of Emily... (Okay. So no one actually mentioned her, but...) She's glad the play is over (practice-wise), but I think she's missing the acting part.  We had a great idea of starting our own little skit group to take some fun entertainment to elderly-care homes in the area.  Watch this space. 

My real dream would be to do a Christmas pantomime, complete with a humorous "baddie" and audience participation. Such fun!  Oh, that and open a tea shop. But time will tell.

No one mentioned Edward... But we finally sorted out last year's curriculum to send back and opened up this year's stuff...and he's well-chuffed by all the fun stuff he has this year. So well-chuffed that he was ready to start school today. Hmm... Hang on to that feeling, Budboy. Only a few weeks to go.

Stuart's off in Kansas for the week. We "facetimed" him after he left. I love so much that we have this technology now. It's such fun to be able to keep in touch face-to-face.

How's your week starting? Hope your Monday is a great one!

Muggiest Monday Musings

Happy Monday!

It's hot. Very hot. But then it's July, and it should be hot, right?

It's funny to remember how much time we spent outside as kids during the summer. I don't know if it was because we didn't mind the heat...or our parents minded us going in and out. Either way, we had lots of fun in the sun.

Summer is nearly halfway over, which is kind of exciting and kind of sad.  We always have so many fun things we hope to do...and somehow the days pass one into another without us remembering that. My goal is always to make sure that we relax and have some moments of boredom, both of which I think are extremely important to children. Our modern culture has us raising our kids expecting to be entertained EVERY moment of every day. As a stay-at-home mom, I find that that can be especially exhausting to all of us. My mom never did it for us. Of course, she played with us and did things with us, but there were times when we were expected to entertain ourselves. Idle grass...

So Emily is in full-swing rehearsal mode and  has been busily working on her part in the play "Twelfth Night." They have been practicing for it nearly every day. It's the first of its kind for our county park system and should be a couple of fun nights. If you're in the area, the play will take place at the Gring's Mill Park at 6 p.m. on August 3rd and 5th. The costuming alone is phenomenal! And I'm know the acting will be even better!!

Edward and Ethan have been participating in the Vacation Bible School week at our church. The opening night was last night, and it was loud and overwhelming to say the least, especially for the youngest family member. But I think Ethan will adapt. (It's his first-ever VBS.) The staff are letting me stay with him, and I'm doing whatever I can to help out with the 32 (!!) pre-K kids in his group. The entire amount of kids (ages 3 to 6th grade) attending last night was 299!!  We'll see if it continues. They had the county's largest-ever Twister game. (Pictured above.) It was hilarious to watch the kids trying to follow the instructions. Someone came with a ladder-truck from a local fire company so that we could get photos of it. They managed to do so before a huge storm hit.

We ordered some of the coursework for Ethan's kindergarten school year. It should be exciting for him when it arrives! We'll order the rest next month and whenever we need it. It turns out we'll need to do kindergarten and first grade on our own since he misses both age cut-off dates for Agora. Still, that takes some pressure off of us and allows us to determine the timing of everything. Not a bad way to school...especially since we're starting him so early.

And one final tidbit: The kids each got a haircut last Friday. We went to the in-store salon at Walmart to get Ethan's hair cut (since it was only $8) and ended up with three new 'dos.  I think they look really nice. What do you think?

Monday Musings and Memories

Happy Monday!

Wow! Is July really speeding along...nearly the middle of the month. Sheesh!

It was amazing to go to Target yesterday and see school supplies out ALREADY?!?!? Seriously? I mean, don't we get to enjoy a bit of summer break without thinking about "back to school"?

Guess not.

Stuart says it won't be long until they have out all the Christmas stuff. Give 'em a month or so, he says. Which reminds me that they are...drum roll, please...171 more shopping days until Christmas. This has been a PSA brought to you by Writer's Block.

So many thoughts...so little brainpower to get them written down.

My boys are vacuuming for me as I type. Really cute. Edward is manning the larger (real) vacuum, while Ethan follows using his Fisher-Price (pretend) one. Edward volunteered. Really sweet, huh? Emily is at play practice for "Twelfth Night," which opens on August 3rd, pending no rain. I think she's actually pretty excited, and she's really clever at learning her lines so quickly. Here's hoping she remembers them under the weight of her nerves.

Speaking of school. I heard Ethan whispering sounds during the prayer time at church yesterday. He was sounding out the word "EXIT" at the back of the sanctuary. He was quite pleased with himself when he figured it out...and so was I, though I did remind him that we should be quiet since we were praying. He's so clever with his learning, sucking it all up like a very thirsty sponge. I get excited by it, but then I'm quick to remember that the other two were just as clever. It makes me feel very blessed...and very daunted, being their teacher.

We suffered through a mini heatwave at the end of last week, and I don't think the air conditioner turned off at all during that time. I know that other parts of the country have been suffering for much longer, some without power. With temperatures close to 100 on Saturday morning, Emily decided she just had to have the next book in the Ender's Game series. So since we have a small used bookstore up the street that carries them, she begged Stuart to take her. He told her it was way too hot...but, being the book lover that I am, I said I would go with her. I've been looking to buy the book I Captured the Castle for less that the $14.99 Barnes & Noble is charging...so going along I knew I might get lucky and find it there.

Wow!

We hadn't even gone 10 feet and the wave of heat nearly melted us into a puddle. We made it there -- found her book and a bag of others (not the original one I hoped for but $5 for a bag of books?), as well as a book of short stories by Fitzgerald -- and back without frying too much. Yikes. What we do for our kids, right?  And, just for the record, it got to 102 F on Saturday.  Hot enough to fry an egg?

I am actually (finally) reading a book again. It's called The Janson Command, the sequel to a Robert Ludlum book I read a few years ago. Not written by him, of course, since he died back in 2002 and this just came out but still very good. I have a stack of other books to read, and I'm hoping this greases the wheel for me to get reading again.

I'll end with a photo I decorated in memory of Molly, Edward's guinea pig. It was a hard day yesterday, but we know that God cares for all of His creatures, big and small, and that He loved her, too.

Merely Musing on Monday

Happy Monday!  The last Monday in June!  Six months from today is....CHRISTMAS!

Don't panic. Still 183 shopping days left. Plenty of time...plennnnnty of time. Yikes.

So it's Monday, the beginning of another new week, and I realized that I never blogged about my kids finishing school. I know that I mentioned that they did. But I never posted their photos. I'll be sure to remedy that today.

Summer always lends itself to a more relaxed tone. Well, that's the theory anyway.

So we've started our Summer Bridge books and rearranged our cleaning schedule. We've walked to the park a few times. Still haven't made it to the library to sign up for their summer reading program, but hopefully this week.

Both boys got a pair of Crocs yesterday. It's so funny to me because I never knew how much they actually liked them. They're very versatile/useful shoes...though not that attractive. I have a pair of the "relief" style to help with my plantar fasciitis. I love that I can clean them in the shower, and they look as good as new. I asked Edward why he liked these shoes so much, and he said it was the little "alligator" on the side of the strap. Hmm... I don't remember any other time periods where a little "alligator" on a piece of clothing was so popular and/or desirable. Do you? *wink-grin*  I'm showing my age, of course.

Anyways....

Not much is planned for the week. Emily has a play practice and Ethan has an appointment with the allergist -- both events happening tomorrow. We're hoping to get stuff tidied up around here. School books have to go back to K12....papers need to be sorted and filed (in either the proper folders or the trashcan)... All good -- if a bit boring -- stuff, really. But sometimes life requires us to eat a bit of fiber, right?

So without further adieu, I give you the end of year "portrait" session and a video of our "promotion ceremony."

Start of school -- September 2011

End of school -- June 2012 

THE "PROMOTION CEREMONY"

Emily is promoted to 10th grade

Edward is promoted to 6th grade

Ethan is promoted to kindergarten

THEN (9/2011) AND NOW (6/2012) -- Haven't they changed?

Wordless Wednesday

To (B)each His Own...

Coming to the beach has been an excitement and joy for each of us this year...but something of a curiosity for the baby.

Having never been to the beach (or anywhere further than an hour away), he's been quietly (and not-so-quietly) taking it all in. Since he's still taking two naps a day, he's had a slight crimp in his "beach time," but, overall, I think he's enjoying his time exploring the sand and feeling the ocean.


It's amazing to experience such a place with a child this young...it reminds us of how big and wide and mighty the ocean really is.

Oceanward Bound

"We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo... How about you, you, you? You can come, too, too, too... We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo."

Okay. We aren't going to the zoo.

We're heading to the beach instead. Our first time in two years -- since last year we had to bypass it due to having a new smallish family member coming to live with us.

We're going to Nags Head, N.C., the beach I've been visiting since I was nearly 3 (and we won't pause to calculate how long ago that was, thank you very much).

So 9 hours or so from earlier (or later?!?) this morning...some 375-ish miles later...and we'll be listening to the ocean and smelling the sea-scented breezes.

Mmm...Nags Head, here we come!

Muggiest Monday Musings to Date

Happy Monday! The muggiest one yet, I think.

And just past the "ides" of the month. Already! Can you believe it?

Sigh.

We had an eventful week last week... well, eventful for us... probably slow to some others. *wink-grin*

On Tuesday, Emily had a "playdate" with a girl from our cyber school. It was nice for them to have some one-on-one "girl-time." Edward, Ethan, and I enjoyed visiting with her mom and younger brother during drop-off and pick-up.

We returned from that "fun-ness" to hurry off to our annual 4-H club picnic/swim. I think the kids changed into fish that evening. They hit the pool, and we didn't see them again until we "forced" them out to eat a few bites of food and then again when it was time to go home. All in all, it was a perfect day and didn't start to rain until just after we were home.

Thursday took us to Nemour's Children's Hospital for Emily semi-annual check on her scoliosis. Since she's hit puberty and done a huge growth spurt (5 inches since last October), the doctor there is fairly confident that her scoliosis isn't going to get any worse. In fact, from her newest x-rays, it appears that it may have improved slightly. Yay!! We always enjoy going to that hospital though. It's bright and colorful and has lots of fun things to look at -- including a model train/car/airplane table that is interactive -- and do. Note the above photo with Ethan riding in "patient transport." I'd like to see all hospitals offer all patients (big and small) rides through their facilities in little red wagons. Wheee! There's a fantastic and colorful playground outside, complete with wheelchair-accessible swings. Sadly, the day was filled with rain so there was no chance of playing on it. Maybe next time?

Edward had soccer practice on Thursday evening since the rain had eased by then. (Go figure, right?) He tried out for goalie. He likes that position, though we're not sure he's really ready for it yet. Still, he's having a good time learning this sport so we'll encourage him all the way.

And on Friday, we celebrated Edward's "half-birthday" and Ethan's 11th month-iversary with a little steak and potatoes on the grill, accompanied by a huge salad. It's hard to believe how quickly the kids are growing up! Makes Stuart and I age faster, I think.

This week should be a bit quieter.

Phew.

This Friday (shhhhh!) is our annual "Camp Woohoohaha" day. Stuart took the day off, and we'll have fun doing crafts, going on nature hikes, playing games, singing songs, and roasting hotdogs and marshmallows!! One day, we'll have a firepit so that we can pretend we're around a real campfire. We had lots of fun doing this last year, so I hope it's just as fun this year. Fingers crossed for good weather.

We watched Yes Man for our "Monday Movie Night" last week. It was...hmm...not bad. We enjoyed it but were glad we only paid $1.06 to see it. Not sure what's on the list tonight...but I have a shortlist of The Notebook or something from Redbox. I finished Season 7 of 24 yesterday. Awesome! I'm very surprised the show didn't get nominated for an Emmy this year. It was such a good season! At the end I felt chagrinned all over again that the new season doesn't start until next January. Sigh. Only 5 months to go. It'll be worth it!

The baby is walking in earnest now. He toddles everywhere, though crawling is still available, when and where necessary. He has two teeth trying to peek through. TWO TEETH!! We're so excited! We spotted them when he was screaming while I changed him on the examination table at the hospital. Perfect time to see them, huh?

Well, as I'm still a little out of sorts with some sort of "bug" I picked up this weekend, I'll bid you adieu and wish you a happy (and hopefully less hot and muggy where you live) Monday!

Slip Sliding Away!

A couple of fun videos of the kids sliding on the "Slip 'n Slide" I got on clearance last week. Awesome fun for an awesome price!!

Like that Mastercard ad says: "X-amount of money for such-n-such... X-amount of money for this other such-n-such... The end result? Priceless."

Boredom Buster #1

Sometimes during the summer, kids get a bit restless...i.e. bored.

My kids usually have lots to do during the day so it isn't a chronic condition for them, but it does happen.

Sidewalk chalk, jumpropes, blankets on the grass. Outdoor playthings don't have to be elaborate for the kids to enjoy a good time. Emily and Edward have even enjoyed building tents using blankets and our outside chairs.

A really fun idea I picked up somewhere along the way is to give the kids a can of water and a paintbrush and let them paint the sidewalk or frontporch or driveway.

It's easy, cheap, and can give them lots of time to be creative -- while keeping the mess at a minimum.

Sometimes my inner-Monet reminds me that it's fun to join in, too...

On Monday Musings and a Tired Brain

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday? Already?

At the risk of continuing to sound like a broken record: I cannot believe that it's Monday again already.

The weeks are certainly whizzing by!

Sigh.

The weather has been so fantastic this Summer -- cooler than usual and much less humid. We've enjoyed plenty of outside time for a change...and still NO air conditioning! Woooooooo-hoooooo!

Not much to report since my brain is still so overtired from Friday's movie/sleepover with the kids. Oh, yeah. We had an awesome time with the kids and their movie nights. Sadly, I could not seem to stay awake long enough to chat with my daughter afterwards. I guess I'm getting old. *sniff*

We didn't watch any movies tonight since Stuart is out of town on a business trip until Friday. *sniff-sniff*

But, on a more positive note, the kids and I will enjoy a week's worth of mac-n-cheese for dinner. Yeehaw... I know. I know. It's not healthy. But it's only a week. And it happens every now and again. So... I'm not worried.

It's very very late and my brain has gone to bed without me. So I'll end this until next Monday...which is sure to be here before we know it.

Sigh.

I promise to be more "newsy" then.

Monstrously Muggy Monday Musings

My handsome guys after their latest haircuts
Happy Monday to you! A very hot and muggy one here in Pennsylvania. I think you could ring out a few clouds today.

Looking at the calendar, I am again reminded of how quickly time dost fly. Is it really nearing the end of July already? Didn't we just celebrate July 4th?

Ugh.

We already received our school materials which means...not long until our lessons begin again.

Ugh...again.

(Hmm...I wonder why the school year doesn't go quite as fast?)

Anyways...

I made a small change on the old blog, trying a music player on the sidebar instead of the usual music video. It has about 30 or so songs on it, and you can select other songs to play whilst you read. Or you can choose to stop the music -- especially helpful when watching a video. Either way, I hope you enjoy some of the selections.

We enjoyed a relatively less busy weekend. The kids went to my parents' so that Stuart could take me to a local tea room that opened a few months ago. It was such fun to dress up and enjoy an afternoon together. When we returned for them, they told us to go out again...they weren't ready to come home yet. *grin* So two dates in one day? Yippee!!

I have another appointment at the midwife's tonight. I'll report her findings tomorrow. Hard to believe we're in the single digits week-wise now. Less than 8 weeks to go!

We've been battling fleas on the dog recently. I keep washing him in flea shampoo and then all his bedding in hot water and ammonia. But I think I need to break down and buy the more expensive flea remedy...and then spray the heck out of the house. See what cheapness gets me? Ugh! I hate fleas so much and think of them as large brown lice. Soon enough, I'll get rid of them...or they'll get rid of me?

I've enjoyed a few more 24 prequel trailers...and another trailer for Mirrors. Egads! Can you feel my excitement? I'd start a countdown for the prequel, except then I'll be even closer to my due date, and I'm not quite ready for that at the moment. Mirrors comes out in a few weeks...and, as I've said before, I'm nervously excited about that one...not being a true fan of horror flicks. Still in all, I am a big Kiefer Sutherland fan...and I've never seen one of his movies on the big screen...so "any port in a storm," right? *wink*

Off to finish my cleaning and continue organizing? Here's hoping!!

St. Swithin's Day

I had to push off the promised account of our trip to New York to report on another day of extreme importance.

My husband has kidded us about St. Swithin's Day since the kids were little.

"We'll do that on St. Swithin's Day," he'd say when the kids asked to do something we couldn't do.

"When is that?" they'd wonder.

"I don't know...but it'll happen."

Of course, I wasn't really sure if I believed that it was an actual holiday...he's such a big tease sometimes.

But today he sent me a card to say that here it is...actually St. Swithin's Day.

Legend has it:
St Swithin's Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain.
St Swithin's Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t'will rain no more.

And it's a sunny day.

Hmm...

To read more, click here.

And in the meantime: Happy St. Swithin's Day! (Should we contact Hallmark? *wink*)

Now, what was it that the kids wanted to do?

Savoring a Simple Summer

I got an e-mail today from "Healthy Kids" telling me "50+ things" my kids need to do this summer in order to have their "best ever summer."

There are lots of great ideas listed.

But I'm always left wondering why they need to do anything. Isn't that part of the charm and fun of the summertime? The fact that there isn't a firm/fixed schedule, and kids are left to do as they please (within reason, of course), to explore and play and basically unwind from one school year and re-energize for the next one.

Hmm...

I laugh at the number of us adults who forget that kids are constantly learning. Their little sponge-like brains learn all the time -- things that are both good and bad -- through everything they do. Why must they be a part of something structured all the time? When do they get the chance to relax...and even be *gasp* bored?

Boredom in our society is synonymous with idleness and devilishness, I think. And for some kids that's probably true. But that's where we as parents come in. (I believe that kids still need supervision well into their teen years -- due to the fact that they lack the maturity and discernment needed in certain situations.)

So will my kids have a good summer even if they don't get to do one of the 50+ ideas listed in the e-mail?

Undoubtedly, yes.

We have bubbles and tents and sidewalk chalk and books and a big yard full of "pillbugs" and ants and beetles to explore. We just started our second "after-lunch" book, and they're still doing a little brainwork with reading time and their Summer Bridge books.

And they'll undoubtedly get bored, too...at which point we might take advantage of our museum or zoo memberships or a trip to our local library or playground. Or maybe we'll get out some coloring books and crayons or a boardgame...or we could just lay in the grass and study the clouds.

With a little imagination, there's always plenty to do.

And to think people pity us because we don't have a pool membership...or a bigger cable package.

*grin*

I think our life is pretty full without those things. And I think the kids are having a good summer despite it, too. *wink*

Hershey Park Photo Fun!

Beachy Musings on Monday

My musings today will be delayed until tomorrow due to a one-day, "emergency," sun-basking beach trip.

Okay. Okay. So there's no emergency...but it sounded way more important when stated like that. *wink*

We'll be thinking of you as we do this:

See you tomorrow!

Molten Monday Musings

Happy muggy, melting Monday to you! And hopefully wherever you are, you aren't in the middle of this same heatwave.

We're roasting here!

Thankfully, we're nearly through the worst of it.

The forecasters are promising lower temperatures by Wednesday. Mind you, that only means highs in the 80s F, but that is definitely cooler than the high 90s F.

We're continually thankful for the air conditioning in our house.

We had a busy weekend which ended even busier when we discovered a leak in our bathtub that put a quarter-sized hole in our living room ceiling. Ugh. One of the "hazards" of owning an old house, I guess. Still, Stuart managed to fix the leak, and I managed to recaulk the tub and any possible hole behind the fixtures, so we should be safe for now.

Edward finished his Spring soccer season on a very hot note yesterday. He ended up dropping out of the game due to heat exhaustion, but he played well while he was in. We were amazed that more kids didn't pass out from the heat. We took our "bunbrella" -- an old beach umbrella we use to shade the outside bunnies -- so the kids on the sidelines had a small bit of shade at least. Edward was a bit disappointed that there wasn't any kind of celebration afterwards...and no trophies. *sigh* We were sad for him. His head coach wasn't able to make the last game either. But we celebrated with ice cream and donuts/bagels at the local Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins.

Emily begins her "pointe club" tonight. It's an intensive week of learning to dance "en pointe." I finished attaching the ribbons and elastic to her pointe shoes, and we went out to a dance store to take a peek at some "lamb's wool" toe pads before heading home with a 1/4-yard of faux lamb's wool to sew our own. $2.50 for the material versus $11.99 for one pair. We still have tons of material leftover and could probably make her enough pairs of toe pads to wear a different pair each night. She suggested we start a toe pad business and sell them. Hmm...tempting. *wink*

I got the kids some Poptarts this morning when I went out very early for more caulk. We have them maybe once a year, and since it's Summer I thought it might be fun to have another "classic" treat. Emily asked me if they were around when I was a kid, and I said yes. Edward laughed and said with a wink, "They'd be pretty old and moldy by now though."

* * *

We've been debating names for our new addition, due in mid-September.

We have settled on the boy's names and a girl's first name. But it's been difficult finding a name to go with it. Of course, it has to be another "E" first name and "S" middle name -- we have two of those already. But there aren't many "S" names that go with our girl's "E" name. So I suggested another "E" name that sounded pretty with it.

Stuart kidded and said then she might decide to write everything in lowercase letters like the famous poet, "e e cummings."

Then he sent the following to me with a note suggesting that the double "E" name might not be so bad.

"To be nobody but yourself --in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." ~ e e cummings, poet

No matter what this next child's gender is, I love this quote and will write it somewhere in his/her room and baby book.

It is so much a part of what I've felt in recent years...especially when it comes to my kids.

God created us each to be unique...to be ourselves.

After all, there's only one "you" in the whole world. Why does the world want us to change that?

That's something to celebrate -- not change!

Think about it.