Things I've Learned Lately

I have a love/hate relationship with food preservation.  I've spent the last couple weeks canning peaches, dehydrating apples, and processing tomatoes.  Peaches are ok, although I got some free ones this year that had a ton of bad spots, so it took awhile; but they were free, so I won't complain.  Dehydrating apples are ok, although I'm surprised by how much they shrink.  I've also learned the important lesson of not eating too many of them once they are dehydrated.  Just trust me on that one!  My awesome aunt gave us two very large boxes of tomatoes to can.  I decided I wanted to try to make salsa and spaghetti sauce.  It was kind of fun. . .for the first hour.  After two days of trying to balance canning and kids, it was not so much fun.  I love the idea of canning, especially if the food is free (you know how I love free things!) and homemade/canned goods are always better than what you buy in the store.  Plus, no preservatives.  But in the end I probably spent about 8 hours plus cleanup time and only got 6 quarts of spaghetti sauce and 7 pints of salsa, . . . which I could buy at the store for about $1.50 each.  Hmmmm. . .

I love preschool!  Initially we decided that we didn't want to put Alex in two years of preschool, but after coming home from our trip to Maine, he was bugging me constantly to play with him.  There aren't a whole lot of little friends his age in our neighborhood, so in the end we decided to enroll him in preschool, just to give him something to do.  I was skeptical at first - it sounded like a lot of driving back and forth three days a week, and how on earth was I supposed to get the kids ready and out the door that early?  But I LOVE it!  I drop Alex off at 9, come home to put Caleb to bed, enjoy 1.5 hours to myself, then go and pick Alex up at 11.  I am so much more efficient on the mornings he has school, Alex gets social interaction, we still have plenty of time to go to the park and things afterwards.  It's great!  It's hard to tell if Alex really likes it or not, he mainly only tells us what they had for a snack.  But he seems pretty happy to go, so I assume he likes it.    

Alex will NEVER look at the camera these days, so this "first day of school" pic is as good as it gets.

Going on the opening night of the State Fair is the best, but somehow still expensive.  The past couple years we've gone to the State Fair on the first night.  It's great!  Tickets are discounted, not all the animals are there (but come on, how many sheep do you really want to see?), the barns aren't as smelly yet, and it's not nearly as crowded.  This time we bought dinner there, which was fun, but somehow by the time you pay for parking, and the tickets, and dinner, and a few rides, it's a rather expensive night out.  Or maybe I'm just way too cheap.  Yeah, that might be part of it.  It was still fun though, and the boys had a grand time hanging out with Meme and Pepe.  

Hormones suck.  (Sorry, TMI) My Dr. has had to change my birth control prescription a couple times.  I now look like I'm going through puberty again.  But I suppose acne is better than having a period every other week. Either way, I'm kind of over all of it.  Hopefully next month things will be more normal.  Being a girl is so much fun at times. . .     

I really like painting.  Not that I'm any good at it, but we can pretend.  Growing up I always loved drawing and painting.  In 5th grade my grandpa would pick me up from school, take me to the mall and buy us some Cinnabons, then take me back to their house for a watercolor lesson.  I haven't touched a brush much since then (well, other than brushes to paint the house, but that sort of painting doesn't count).  I've felt rather stressed and grouchy lately (yay for hormones!), so I've started to break out the paints more.  It's been rather therapeutic.  I've forgotten how much I enjoy painting. 

Alex and I painted together.

Day trips up to the mountains are awesome, but PLEASE smack me if I ever again suggest going camping with little people.  I love the mountains.  Every year at the beginning of summer I start itching to go camping, go hiking, go up with friends for dinner, etc.  And somehow every year we never make it up as much as I'd like; so around this time of year it begins to dawn on me that summer is over and I frantically start planning as many trips up the canyon as possible.  We took the boys up Big Cottonwood Canyon twice a couple weeks ago to roast hot dogs and go fishing, which was so much fun!  The boys seemed to really like being out in the wilderness, having a fire, fishing, playing in the dirt, etc.

Two weeks later I convinced Matt to borrow his parents tent trailer and go camping.  Some friends joined us for dinner, which was fun, except Caleb was getting a tooth and Alex was so excited that he didn't take a nap that afternoon and was complaining that he wanted to go to bed by 5:30.  That night ended up being a lot colder than we had expected, the heater in the trailer kept making a rattling noise that everyone else seemed to sleep through but me, Caleb kept waking up crying until I finally brought him into bed with me, which lasted about 2 hours before I was going to lose my mind (I cannot cosleep!) and I finally strongly hinted to Matt that he should take over.  I'm also the type that can't function very well without sleep, so the next day I felt like crap.  The kids were still whiny and wanted to be held while we were trying to pack everything up.  Then I had another brilliant idea that we should go on a little hike before heading home.  Once we got moving, the kids would be happy, right?. . .Sort of.  We really were having a grand time walking along, looking at the leaves, an old wasp nest, a little waterfall, a squirrel eating some berries, etc. when after about half a mile Alex decided he was too tired to possibly take one more step.  He's way to heavy to carry these days, so he moaned the entire way back to the car.  It was awesome.  At least Caleb fell asleep in the hiking backpack on the way back.  Please remind me to read this blog post next summer when I forget the whole experience and get it into my head again that camping with our children would be a fabulous idea. 

At least the boys are dang cute when they aren't crying

I love thrift store shopping.  Ok, this is something I've known for a very long time.  But seriously, it's great!  Alex's pants were all too short, so I've spent the last couple weeks going to all the nearby thrift stores.  I've found 6 good looking pants, a brand new pair of shoes, a slightly used pair of snow boots, and some snow pants for Alex, plus 3 pants and 1 shirt for next year.  I got Caleb a couple pairs of pants as well.  I bought Matt some brand new snow pants.  I found me a new pair of boots.  AND the best thing of all?  A large area rug for the living room, brand new from Target but half the price since it came from Goodwill.  Yay!! 

Maine Vacation Part 2

The last post was getting a bit long, so here is part 2 of our travels. 

Thursday we went to the beach at Ogunquit.  Despite this being the warmest time of year, the water was still FREEZING.  I managed to get in up to my thighs, and that was enough.  Ethan and Keegan were much braver and got in all the way.  It's not so bad once your legs go numb. 

Going to the beach = sand EVERYWHERE

Alex would chop the waves and then run away.

Of course we had to bury dad in the sand

No palm trees, but it's still SO pretty!

 

 

Caleb mastered his dipping skills at lunch on the beach.

After we were sufficiently frozen from the ocean, we walked along Marginal Way.  Alex loved climbing on the rocks.

In preparing for this trip I googled "things to do in Maine" and happened to find out about the Narrow Gauge Railway they have in Portland.  A few times during the summer they have the "Ice Cream Train" where you get a cup of ice cream and get to ride the train.  We mentioned this to Alex before we left, and he kept asking us every day, "Can we ride the ice cream train today?"  The ride itself is only 3 miles, and the train certainly doesn't go very fast.  But it does follow the coast and was quite pretty.  They had a little museum there as well with old train cars you can go inside, a little play train kids can climb in, and wooden train sets for the kids to play with.  We went with Brian, Somnang, and their kids.  Poor Caleb wasn't feeling very well, but I think all the other boys had a lot of fun.     

 

 

 

Afterwards we stopped by Portland Head Light so Alex could see a lighthouse up close.  The sun was going down as we got there.  Once again, SO PRETTY!

 

Saturday was another lake day.  The sunset that night over Loon Pond was amazing.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.

Leo's best friend still lives in Acton, and Sunday he invited us all to go for a ride on a pontoon boat around Mousum Lake.  We ate pizza on the boat.  Alex was pretty excited to first ride the "ice cream train" and then the "pizza boat".

Tuesday was sadly the day to come home.  We attempted to go to Salem before catching our flight in Boston, but by then we were all tired, grumpy, and it started pouring, so it wasn't the greatest time.  We did manage to make it to the "Witch's House", apparently it's the only original house around dating back to the 1600s.  They had a lot of history surrounding the Salem witch trials, but they also had a lot of time-period furniture that were not behind ropes, and we have a very inquisitive child who likes to touch EVERYTHING, so it did not work out all that well.  We will have to try to visit Salem again when the kids are older. 

Witch House in Salem

A huge thank you to all of our family for hosting us, feeding us, and entertaining us!  We had a wonderful time!  It's so much fun catching up with everyone.  Already Alex keeps saying "Let's go back to Maine."  It is so pretty, I really love it there!

But the best sight of all. . .

 

Maine Vacation Part 1

My father-in-law grew up in Maine, so we travel back there every couple years to visit family.  It's definitely not the most popular destination site, but I'm so grateful we get the chance to go every now and then.  It's absolutely beautiful!

We stayed with Matt's aunt and uncle on Loon Pond for 12 days.  This is their backyard.  Not to shabby, ay?  You literally walk out of the house and there is the beach and lake.  While we were there my father-in-law mentioned that he would do it all over again if he could (meaning, relive his childhood).  I can only imagine how awesome it would be to grow up here . . .minus the harsh winters. . .

We had amazing weather the entire length of our trip.  Every day was sunny and warm.  I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've ever been hot in Maine.  The last two times we've gone it's been rainy and cold for most of our visit, but this time it was perfect.  We spent several days playing on the lake, kayaking, swimming, jet skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing.   

Last summer Alex was so terrified of water he wouldn't even put on a swimming suit.  This summer he will get in, but he's still very timid.  It took a couple days, but he even got up the courage to go on the tube and jet ski.  I'm so proud of our little boy!

I do not look nearly this cool on a wakeboard, but Matt certainly does.  He's got skills.

Alex has a fascination these days with ropes/bungee cords/tie downs.  He was a big help tying up the boat.

There was a lot of time spent playing in the sand as well.

Sunday was Somnang's birthday, so the grandparents took the kids while the cousins were able to go out to lunch.  I tried oysters for the first time.  Texture was a bit weird, but taste wasn't too bad.  The company was excellent. 

Monday night Rodney and Debbie hosted a family dinner.  Fresh lobster and clams. . .YUM!  It was so much fun seeing all of the family.  The kids had a grand time playing in the sandbox and trying to catch frogs in the pond.  Alex was in heaven having all of the kids around to play with.  He's been going through withdrawals since we got home. 

Seriously, this is no Red Lobster.

Cousins!

Tuesday we wanted to either go down to the Boston Aquarium or tour Portland with Matt's family.  While we did make it to Portland, we only got to see the inside of the ER at the hospital.  Boo!  Thankfully we were able to meet up with the family at Kennybunk Port later that evening for dinner.  Kennybunk is a cute little town with lots of touristy shops.  It's quite pretty.

  

Wednesday we took the kids to York Wild Kingdom, the largest zoo and amusement park in Maine!  It was really nothing to brag about, it was a mix of what Hogle Zoo was 20 years ago and Jungle Jims, but it was perfect for our kids.  They had a blast.   

They had deer and goats you could feed.  Caleb thought it was the coolest!  He loved being able to pet the goats!

Riding the train!

Medical Woes

It's been a while.  I feel like life is really busy, but yet we don't do that much.  My days are filled trying to keep two very energetic children out of trouble, attempting to teach them to be at least semi-functional human beings, trying to keep the house in a somewhat livable state, and not losing my sanity along the way.  We've spent a lot of time going to parks, going to the zoo, and working on the house.  It's been good.  I also feel like time is flying by far too quickly.  How is it already August?  My baby is suddenly not a baby anymore, but a walking toddler.  Alex has become a thin, lanky, athletic little boy.  How did this happen?  I don't know.

We've had WAY too many doctor visits this last month.  I'M SO SICK OF GOING TO DOCTORS!!!  Caleb had some weird bruise-like spots appear on his torso about a month ago that never went away.  I made the mistake of googling it.  NEVER GOOGLE SYMPTOMS!  The Dr. said they were Café au Lait spots, and while a lot of large spots can indicate a rare neurological disease, as long as they didn't change or get any more, he should be just fine. 

Matt was really sick for one day around that time, then I caught what he had and it lasted a week.  I had several days of fever, then cough and congestion, then an eye infection and ear infection, so I got the pleasure of seeing a Dr.  Caleb got a runny nose, Alex had a cough, but neither boy got very sick.  My ear was still plugged, but thankfully I was feeling better by the time we were ready to leave for our vacation. 

I made my first call to poison control the day before we left on vacation.  I had been cleaning the bathroom when both boys woke up from their naps.  Alex had to pee and insisted on using the bathroom I had just finished cleaning, so I quickly moved the chemicals out so he could go.  Next thing I know Alex is asking for a towel, because for whatever reason he completely missed the toilet.  Great. . .I JUST finished cleaning, and now there's pee all over the floor.  I was trying to get him cleaned up, when I heard Caleb cough.  I looked over, he was sitting on the floor with the can of bathroom cleaner open in his hands, white foam around his mouth, a funny look on his face.  AAHHHHHH!!!  I quickly grabbed him, washed off his face, anything that may have gotten in his mouth was gone, so I called poison control.  They were surprisingly nice.  They didn't even make me feel like an idiot when I had to say, "So, my baby just ate some bathroom cleaner (because yes, I'm an awesome mom like that and left the chemicals on the floor within his reach, and yes, I was totally neglectful, and yes I do use chemicals to clean my house, although now I'm totally going to switch to vinegar from here on out, and yes, this was a total mom fail. . .)".  I don't know how much Caleb actually ate, but thankfully there were no negative side effects.  He was totally fine.    

That afternoon, Alex started complaining that his toes tingled.  An hour later his ankle was swollen.  I called the nurse line through our insurance, and she told me she thought he should be seen within 8 hours (keep in mind by this point it was about 9pm).  Great.  We searched online and found an instacare nearby that was open until 10, So Matt took him there.  They x-rayed his ankle, said it was fine, probably just a sprain, wrapped it up and sent them home.  Two days later Alex was fine.  Then the following day his shin swelled for no apparent reason.  Two days later he was fine.  The next day his knee swelled for no apparent reason.  We were concerned, so we took him to an instacare in Maine.  There the dr told us it could be nothing, it could be something, and since we were staying in a somewhat rural place away from our pediatrician, it would be beneficial to have some immediate answers so that we know what we were dealing with.  She sent us to Maine Medical Hospital in Portland.  Yay.  After 6 hours there, several blood tests, a conscious sedation where the drs were unable to draw any fluid from Alex's swollen knee, they said, "Hmmm, we don't really know.  It could be rheumatoid arthritis or a virus, come back if anything changes."  Poor Alex hated every minute of it, but he was such a trooper.  Later that night he was running around like nothing had ever happened.  He's been fine ever since.

Matt started feeling crappy again and had a sore throat for a few days once we got to Maine.  Although that might have just been lack of sleep.

I really hoped this would be the end, but Caleb came down with a fever last Friday for several days.  The lymph nodes under his ear became very swollen, so once we got home, we went back to the Dr. on Wednesday.  Thankfully no ear infection, but no real reason why it would still be swollen, so take some antibiotics and come back for a checkup next week.  If the swelling doesn't go down, bloodwork will need to be done.  Fabulous.  He seems fine, but it's still a little swollen.

Also, my eye infection came back Tuesday, and I have a soar throat.  I'm done.  We are now up to 5 dr visits with one more next week, 1 ER visit, 2 x-rays, and about $3000+ in medical bills after insurance.  Can we just all agree that this will be the end?   I hope so!!

I promise my next post will be a happier one.