Clarkland Farm

Clarkland Farm 10/10/09

Today we went to Clarkland Farm with Skye's friends Sophia, Danielle and Jake ... the kids had an absolute blast ... running from one thing to another ...

Schuyler actually road the horse 4 times ... we bought one ticket ... she traded her hayride ticket for another horse ride and then Danielle and Sophia decided not to ride the horse so she used their tickets as well ... she absolutely loved it ... during one of the rides she proclaimed, "Mommy I want a horse!!!" ... of course she does ...

Part way through the day she stopped answering to Schuyler and when I asked her why she said, "My new name is Mrs. Plots" ... we still can't figure out why but she responded to that for the next hour and a half ... it was quite funny when she tried to explain that was her name ...

The group had such a great time that I think we are going to start planning something once a month to go and do ... all the kids love being together and all the parents had fun hanging out ...

Our Shenandoah Trip

This is a long post about our weekend away ... with just a sampling of my favorite photos from all the ones I took ... I'm almost finished with the video montage of the trip which has more photos and some funny videos ...

We set out for our big weekend away at 9:30 (that is after getting coffee of course) ... so we did fairly well ... we put Lincoln's big car seat in the car which he was thrilled about (he never ever really liked the infant seat) and we hooked up Skye's movie player to the seat in front of her and she got a new movie for the trip ... Mickey Mouse Playhouse in Wonderland ... I also remembered to bring headphones which schwoooo for that one ... she watched the movie the entire trip ... never changed the DVD ... we only had a 2 hour car trip and all in all we had a great time on the road ...

When we got to the caverns we had planned to visit I decided it wasn't the right one ... it was deserted and very cheesy looking ... just didn't feel like it was going to be good ... and we saw tons of signs for Luray Caverns and I had seen commercials for the place before ... so we looked up the address on the Pre (have I mentioned before I am in LOVE with this phone) and plugged it into the GPS ...

Once we got there everyone was a bit hungry and needed a bit of a break ...

After lunch we headed into the Cavern ... and it was AMAZING ... a little tough getting down all the stairs with a stroller and an excited 3 year old but we made it without any stumbles or falls ... Skye was worried it would be really dark down there so we got her a head lamp and she was way excited to get that puppy on ... let me tell you it was a big hit with everyone down there ... she got so many comments about how cute it was and what a great idea and not once did anyone get annoyed that she was shinning that thing right in their eyes ...

The formations were gorgeous ... Skye thought it looked like a cave from Dragon Tails ... and she oohhhed and aahhhed the whole way through ... so did David and myself ... even Lincoln stayed awake the whole time craning his neck to get a look at everything ...

We stopped for a quick push-up break when we got out of the caverns ... and to get a look at the garden maze we were about to enter ... it looked amazing from up above and we couldn't wait to get inside ...

The maze was so cool ... there were cute butterfly and bee wind socks that spun around ... and misters all over the maze ... tons of dead ends ... and 4 stamp stations ... I think that was Skye's favorite part because she got to stamp her card herself ... so each time we would finally find one she ran to stamp her card ... we did pretty good ... and no one got frustrated even though it could easily happen ... and the secret message from all of Skye's stamps ... "Mazes Around The World" ...

After the maze it was time to head to our hotel ... Skye has stayed in a hotel before but doesn't remember at all ... she thought it was so cool that it was "her home for tonight" ... she checked everything out and was excited to find out there was a playground right outside our room ... after a bit of rest we decided to take a drive around town and through the countryside ... saw lots of farms and the most amazing full moon ever ...

After our drive we wound up back at our hotel at the Johnny Appleseed restaurant ... Saturday night was Prime Rib night and David can't miss that ... he got the biggest piece of prime rib ... even the waitress was impressed with the weight of the plate ... Skye was just excited to get some strawberry ice cream as a vacation treat ...

Once back in the room we all just hung out having fun ... lots of tickling going on ... movies to watch ... snuggling ... it was awesome ... everyone was just so happy to be together ... hanging out ... new scenery ... it just rocked ...

I loved seeing Linc and Skye hanging out together in the morning while I got everything together ... they are going to have such a great time when he is finally big enough to play with her ...

After a quick breakfast at Burger King (where they had what I can only say was a 3 story play land area with the longest slide) ... we hit the road to drive through the Shenandoah National Park ... we were really hoping the trees would have changed more and that fall was more apparent ... but regardless it was gorgeous ... the drive was wonderful and peaceful and beautiful ... you can't go over 35 MPH while on Skyline drive so it was just a nice relaxing Sunday drive ... we stopped at several of the lookout points and the view just takes your breath away ...

After our drive through the park we all got situated again for our ride home ... several times on the way home Skye would just proclaim, "I had a good time!!" ... which made me so happy to hear ...

I did post to the blog from my phone on Sunday morning ... I am going to start planning these little trips more often ... it is good for all of us to get out and do something different and fun ...

Mini Vaca

So I finally caught up on my blog posts ... it has become a horrible habit writing a little something when I take a photo and then saving it as a draft ... to come back to later when I have downloaded the photos ... but I keep doing it ... I'm just happy I am caught up because in about an hour we are leaving on our mini vaca to Shenandoah Valley, VA ...

First off we are going to the Shenandoah Caverns ... which also have an Americana Museum that holds floats and other things from parades and inaugurations ... there is a Main Street USA with shops and a cafe that has an original 1957 soda fountain and of course the caverns which we are all excited about ... David and Schuyler even got head lamps to wear ...

We are also going to travel through the national park to see the changing of the seasons ... everyone is very excited to see the leaves changing colors and feel the cooler air ...

Although at this moment I am wondering because I have been up for 2 hours already (after only 4 hours of sleep) and I have yet been able to wake anyone else up ...

Long LONG Weekend

So this has been a long long-weekend ... to say the least ... and I still have one more day off ...

Wednesday I got a call from the school that Skye had a sore in her mouth and that they sent an infant home with hand/foot/mouth disease ... there was no cross over between the 3's and the infants but Skye and another girl in the class were complaining their mouths hurt ... so off I went to pick her up ...

I made a doctor's appointment for first thing Thursday morning with the doctor we love (so glad about that) ... Skye was in OK spirits Wednesday night but would complain here and there about the bumps in her mouth ...

So Thursday morning we headed to the doctor ... including Lincoln ... he was coming to work with me and I figured the doc could have a peek in his mouth too to make sure he doesn't have something ... Dr. K checked out Skye's "bumps" and said it wasn't hand/foot/mouth ... it was cold sores and since we caught it so fast he could prescribe medicine (ahhh a doc not anti-medicine - love it) ... but he said her throat was red ... then he checked Linc to see how his mouth and throat were ... he has been rather inconsolable at night ... turns out his throat was redder than hers ... so it was throat cultures for both of them ...

You get the results in 6 minutes at our doctor (love love love this) ... turns out his was negative ... even after 2 more days and Skye was saddled with strep and cold sores ... poor thing ... so we filled the perscriptions and even though she wasn't feeling great headed to work ... my dad was the only one in the office and needed a bit of help and I had a couple of things that had to get done since everyone else was out ...

We lasted about 4 hours and headed home ... everyone was crying (well not me but I felt like it) ... I decided I was staying home with Skye on Friday and my mom was going to watch Lincoln ... keep them apart as much as possible so he didn't get sick ... and it gave Schuyler all my attention for the day ...

Friday she took naps and we hung out in my bed while I worked ... it was great ... and despite how horrible I knew she was feeling she was a trooper ...

By Saturday she said she was feeling better but I suspect it was because she was invited to her "best friend" Sophia's birthday party ... it wasn't until 4 so I told her if she took all her medicine and rested she could go ... but by 1 she wasn't feeling good and wanted to stay in bed ... and she wasn't the only one ... I picked Lincoln up ... kissed him on his forehead and knew instantly he had a temp of 101 ... which he did ...

It is now Sunday night and his temp has been either 99 or 100 since then ... Tylenol isn't doing much for him ... and his gums are bright red and swollen ... so he is either teething big time ... or teething and fighting off a virus ... I'm betting on the latter ...

Schuyler was much better today ... ate a little more ... drank a little more ... and wanted to blow lots of bubbles outside ... hopefully with the extra day of rest tomorrow we all will be feeling in tip top shape come Tuesday morning ...

A worn out tired care-giving mommy can dream can't she ... ??

Oh The Fair

Today we took Schuyler to the fair (we left Lincoln with Grandmommy and Granddaddy) ... I had been looking forward to it for some time ... I just knew she would have fun and I was right ... she loved every moment of it ...

We had to ride the merry-go-round 4 times and if it hadn't started raining we would have written it 4 more times ... we saw lots of animals like goats and bunnies and cows and lots of horses ... she got so excited with each new barn we explored ...

We got to have corn dogs and ice cream ... sausage and lemonade ... we got balloons and saw cool cars ... a toilet bowl decorating contest ... everything about the day was just perfect ... even the rain didn't dampen our spirits ... on the way to the car she asked if we could go again next year ...

Domino's House Party

Tonight we threw our first House Party and had a blast ... it was a Domino's Pizza American Legends party ... their new pizzas that represent different areas around the country ... I was pretty excited to get picked for a house party and looked forward to having people over ...

David was awesome and grilled a bunch of chicken, sausage and steak before everyone got here ... also some veggie platters and fruit platters ... some salads ... drinks ... it was a nice spread ... I called Domino's early to place our order for delivery later ...

I cleaned the house like nobodies business ... it felt great having all the areas of the house where people would be spic-n-span ... beyond clean ... de-cluttered too ... granted the other rooms need LOTS of work but it is getting there ... but I digress ...

Skye had a blast showing off for everyone ... she was the true social butterfly ... and everyone hung out and talked and ate and tried new pizzas ... it was such an enjoyable evening ... we really need to start having people over more often and doing more things at our house ... maybe as I work on this place and get it better and better we will do things more often ...

Anyway the House Party party was a big success and I hope I get to do another one soon ...

Last Year Before 40

So today is my 39th birthday ... my last year in my 30's ... seems hard to believe ... I remember being a kid and this being really old ... doesn't feel so old when you get here ...

I got to wake up without an alarm ... and hang out and have breakfast with my family ... and we all headed out to Target ... we had gift cards and figured we should get baby stuff now ... rather than on the way home from the hospital or something ...

So we stocked up on formula and got new bottles ... a killer baby blanket ... I got Skye some nightgowns and my goodness is she adorable in nightgowns ... and I got all her Easter stuff since I probably won't get to go to Target again before Easter ... which included a cool pair of Chuck Taylor's in white with a white star ... I wanted to get a pink pair and a red pair too but I refrained ... for now ...

David and Schuyler finished digging the new garden while I hung out and watched and then we all headed over to my parents house to celebrate my birthday and Abby's first birthday ... we had dinner and cupcakes and had a really nice evening ... it was a whole lot of fun ...

And now I am actually heading up to bed early ... we are all tired and I figure if I can get a bit of extra sleep now why not take it ... could be another couple of years again before that happens ... maybe I'll even sleep late in the morning too ...

A Great Day

Tonight David built a fire in the fire pit and we all sat around for quite sometime ... it was absolutely lovely ... it was the perfect ending to a perfect day ...

Our day consisted of getting up early for breakfast ... playing ... helping Daddy outside with sorting wood ... starting the laundry ... taking a wonderful family nap together ... planting a garden ... finishing the laundry ... sitting around the fire pit ... cooking out ... bath time and lots and lots of hugs and kisses and I love yous during the day ... and what David described as the best cigar he has had in ages ...

As we sat around the fire I asked Skye if today had been a good day ... her answer was ... "Oh yes mommy ... we grow seeds and sit by the yellow fire." ... I thought she captured it perfectly ...

Planting a Garden

It was an absolutely beautiful day today ... 70 degrees and just perfect ... so it was the perfect time to plant the garden Skye has been asking to do ... we had seeds for pumpkins, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce ... all seeds Skye picked out at the store ...

She and David had a blast and she is very much looking forward to watering her garden everyday ... if she was able to she would be out there every 20 minutes to do so ...

Planting a Garden 3/8/09

Super Saturday

I had the most fantastic day with Skye today ... David had jobs scheduled all day today so Skye and I headed out for a girls day ...

First we went to the tile store ... we had to change our order that was placed yesterday ... it took a while to get there but it gave Skye time for a quick cat name ... and we weren't in the store very long at all ...

Then it was off to the library ... I hate to admit this but it is the first time Skye and I have been to the library together ... she had gone lots of times with my mom or with David but she and I have never gone ...

She was so excited and kept hugging me and saying, "Thank you mommy ... thank you" ...

We took care of business first ... another thing I am embarrassed to admit ... I had a book that was a year over due ... I was surprised they hadn't just charged me for the book ... when I gave it to the woman and said I recently found it and thought it was about a year overdue she said well it is going to be the maximum penality then ... she said she was so sorry but it would be "blablabla" ... I said did you say 15 or 50? She laughed and said 15 ... I said I think I deserve that for having it so long ... so we paid the fine and then I got my own library card ...

First we found a book for my mom for her next book club read ... then I found the books I want to read ... I have decided to read the Laura Ingles Wilder series Little House ... I don't remember if I read them as a kid but recently Heather said she started reading them and was loving them so I thought it was a good idea ... and it was the only thing I could remember that I wanted to check out ... I figure now that I have paid that fine and have my own library card I can start reserving books on-line as I see ones I want to read ...

Then it was to the kids section ... we picked out a bunch of books for Schuyler and as I started reading "Little House in the Big Woods" (which is terrific so far) Skye watched the fish in the fish tank ... played with some puzzles ... looked through a huge stack of books ... and jumped into these huge floor pillows they have over and over again ... all the while running back over to me and giving me kisses and saying, "Thank you mommy" ...

After we had had our fill of the library and checked out our stack of new books we headed to get a smoothie ... of which we were both excited about ... as we passed Dunkin Donuts Skye asked if we could get some ... and I thought that sounded like a great idea ... we could have donuts for breakfast tomorrow ... so after smoothies it was donut time ...

We got a dozen to bring home and also got some donut holes to have right now and found a nice seat in the middle of the place ... very loudly and clearly Skye said over and over, "ummmmmm mmmmmm these are delicious ... i like these ... yummmmm chocolate cake mommy .... yummy thank you mommy" ... it elicited giggles from everyone within ear shot ... she was totally cracking me up ...

Then suddenly she yelled, "Listen mommy it is my bath song. I gotta dance." ... jumped up from her chair and started shaking her groove thing ... the song playing is on the CD that we play during bath time so she knew it and was ready to boogie ...

A little girl at the next table (maybe 5 or 6) kept saying, "She is so funny." ... then she got up and said, "We're gonna dance" and the two of them started doing twirls and shaking the booties ... it was so cute ...

After our impromptu Dance Fever we headed home ... Grandmommy came over for a little while and hung out ... we got to show her the progress on the house and read some of our new books ...

I'll tell you today was one of those days that makes me long to be a stay-at-home mom ... getting to spend the day with Skye every day would be wonderful ... and she appreciated it so much and was so loving and thankful it makes me wonder if she thinks the same thing too ...

For now I am just going to beel lucky and blessed that I get to have these experiences with her any chance I get ...

Our New Friends

 
These are Skye's new friends ... Cube Kermit ... Cube Grover and Cube Kitty Kitty ...  


Cube E Craft ... they have some adorable designs ... print them out on heavy paper ... cut them out (which isn't quick but totally relaxing and worth it) and pop them together without tape or glue ... I started with Hello Kitty on Friday night when I got home from work and she was smitten ... I made Kermit after she went to bed on Friday and he was waiting for her when she got up Saturday ... she hugged him and then hugged me and said thank you ... so Saturday night I made Grover ... again she was thrilled when she woke up this morning ... and she spent the day asking me when I was making the others I had printed out ...

Today she was so good while we were cleaning and moving stuff around in the house so I told her she could have some ice cream tonight ... so after a nice long hot bath she sat down for a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup and wanted to gather all her friends ... once everything and everyone was in place she wanted her picture taken ...

While she enjoyed she kept saying, "Oh thank you mommy thank you." ...

 

 

She is just so awesome ... I am sad when the weekend comes to a close because it is back to work and then I only get a couple of hours with her at the end of the day ... man I want to be her all day every day ... cause these moments are precious ... and I just love everything about her ...