Last Friday

We got letters from cousins last Friday. Madie and Sadie have been pen-paling for almost a year now and Madie got a not from Sadie. Even though she had a card she'd made already written and addressed and ready to send out the next day, she said she needed to write a new one because Sadie had asked questions and Madie needed to answer them! So a second letter will be in the mail shortly, Sadie.

On a side note, here's Madie sporting cat ears and a mustache from Aunt Alexa.

She kind of looks like a guy I went to high school with.

But that was not all! Finn and Killian sometimes send each other pictures. Well, in the mail I found a large manilla envelope addressed to Finn. Inside was an awesome Killian original and a cool shark-sticker poster. (It was like color-by-number but with stickers.) Finn immediately started working on the shark, pausing only to have dinner. At the very end--the last five stickers or so--he started to weary and asked for help. I sat next to him and did a couple of them for him, but mostly I think he just needed someone to talk to while he did it. He is not a quiet boy, and spending so much consecutive time on his own doing the poster was, I think, taxing on his brain.

I mean, that makes it sound like he was doing this for five hours or something. It was more like two, including supper and setting the table. But two hours of quiet activity for Finn is similar to two hours of listening to death metal music for other people.

The shark now hangs on his wall by his bed.

Tongue

It's not a giraffe tongue, but it is busy busy busy.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

There he is, Mr. Amazing. Mr. I'll-Take-The-Kids-Camping-in-January. Mr. I'll-Just-Run-to-Work-Today. Mr. Sure-Honey-I'll-Watch-The-Kids-And-Hold-The-Baby-And-Sing-in-The-Choir-All-At-Once-For-You.

Happy Birthday!

Snuggling in the double hammock. The most recent picture of us with no kids is October. I was telling him while I sought for a picture of just him or us together that we really needed to take more.

He chose a pecan pie as his "cake" this year. It is hard to beat a fresh pie with vanilla ice cream. 

Thanksgiving

This is a little late, but better than never, yes? We celebrated Thanksgiving at home again this year, and it was delightful. We were tired at the end of it, but food tired is always more of a blessing than a curse. We also introduced the kids to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. I always watched it growing up, until we moved to Saipan anyway, and it was always fun to see the balloons and bands and shows. I also love seeing where different bands and squads come from. The kids really liked it. I also borrowed a great book from the library called Balloons over Broadway. It has great pictures and tells the story of the man who invented and designed the first balloons used in the Macy's Parade and why the Parade was started.

This year we had our friends the Axtells over for dinner. They usually go down to Boston but because their toddler has such a time in the car, they didn't want to risk five hours of screaming. It was fun to get together. Between dinner and dessert we went outside and kicked a ball around and the kids balanced on the slackline.

Let me introduce you to the stars, from L-R: Mal's Secret Pecan Pie, flourless chocolate torte, buttermilk pie, grapefruit merengue pie, pumpkin pie, and peanut butter brownies.

Friday morning breakfast.

The kids enjoying leftover cheese ball, nuts, fruit, and rolls for lunch on Friday.

The past few months have been an opportunity to learn to be thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I've been trying to complain less and smile more. I'm always telling the kids to be thankful for what we have--because it really is way, way more than we need; but the best way to teach is by example.

Readers

I love to read. And I love that they love to read.

Of course, there are no photos of Madie reading because she is the Clandestine Reader. I found out only a few months ago that she had read a bunch of books on the bookshelf in their room that I didn't even know she knew were in there. 

Me: "You know a book we should read, Finn? The Wind in the Willows."

Madie: "Wait, is that the one with a toad?" 

"Yeah." 

"Oh, yeah, I've read that book."

"Where?" I thought maybe a teacher read it to them at school.

"It's in our room."

"Well, okay, I know. I didn't even know you'd read it. I mean, I only ever see you with Fudge or Harry Potter."

She just looked at me like I was weird for not getting it. "Well, it's not like it's long." Meaning she read it in an hour or so, and I didn't even know.

"How many of those books have you read? I mean the ones in your room."

"All of them."

So, that's Madie. Sorry, no pictures.

Madie-Made

Some of Madie's most recent art pieces returned from school. Mike and I were duly impressed. I'm particularly impressed by the one on the right--it's the first self-portrait I've seen of her that has any shape to the face other than oval.

Feast Your Eyes

Some Amity love for you all.

Enjoying a walk along the shore.

Doing her sit-ups.

Being cute.

Taking a snooze in the park.

Petya and Friends

It's fun to see Petya really come into her own now that she's the big kid at home. For a while after Finn and Madie started school, Petya would keep asking if we were going to see our friends, "Logan and Caroline." I kept explaining those were actually more Finn's friends than hers, and that they were in school now too. 

"But," I'd say, "we will see Viv and Emily!" 

Finally talks about her own friends and is excited to see them when I say we're going anywhere. The cutest kiddo to see her with is Emily. These two are wicked sweet together. I came around the corner to get Petya ready to go and found them sharing a bean bag and looking through a book together. 

They are like this all the time. It kills me.

The Blankie

Thanks, Aunt Holly, for blankie #4. They are all well-loved and even Madie and Finn still keep theirs on their beds.

Nell never really got attached to hers though. 

Sugar Cookies

For Family Night last night Madie had the treat. I think every Family Night of the summer that Mike or I weren't in charge of treats we had ice cream. Finally, half-way through October, when Finn said that he wanted ice cream for Family Night and Mike rolled his eyes at me, I realized we had achieved the previously-thought unachievable: Mike had grown tired of ice cream. I mean, he still ate it, but he took to listing all the other treats we were missing out on:

"Pie, short cake, brownies, blondies, pudding, clouds, cheesecake--come on man! You could have anything you want!"

But Finn wanted ice cream, so ice cream we had.

Last night though, Madie finally broke and chose sugar cookies she saw in the Hannaford food magazine. She asked Petya if she wanted to frost them for the activity (which was Petya's choice this week) and she agreed, which was great for me!

Pajama Sale

Every year, starting some time before we moved back to Maine, the town started an annual pajama sale on the second Saturday in November. This year, since we have decided not to do Christmas gifts aside from stockings, I didn't think we'd go. I realized though, when Mike came home Friday night with two grocery bags filled with sausage, eggs, tater tots, and cocoa for hot chocolate, that the pajama sale had reached holiday proportions in his mind. 

"We're going to have a big breakfast--7 am sharp!--then head to the sale in town."

"But, why? We're not buying anything."

"Well, we need a new park pass," (they're discounted during the sale), "and we can get the free fudge and taffy at Acadia Country Store and just window shop!" 

So that's what we did! I think this was my favorite year yet, since Mike and I stayed together instead of trying to avoid each other while we shop for gifts. It is a really fun morning, and I like the festive feeling--a lot of people about buying Christmas gifts, people from other parts of the island running into others they don't see so much, and a lot of the shops have coffee, hot chocolate, and baked goods out. We still have never stayed for the bed races, which I'm told are hilarious. Maybe next year. 

We did hit up Serendipity to stock up on some winter gear--they all found hats they like, so we grabbed those and a pair of brand new pants for Mike. Scores all around.

Chores

Madie broke into tears on Tuesday when I pulled out the pair of snow pants a friend of mine gave us when they moved. They didn't fit last year but this year--like a glove. 

"What is wrong with these?" 

"I want snow bibs!"

"Okay, but that's not something to cry about. These are in great condition, no tears, a cute pattern--patterned snow pants!"

"They're ugly! I hate them!"

"Madie, why are these ugly?" 

"They just are!" 

Oh.

"Listen, we are not going to buy new snow pants just because you don't like the ones we already have. If you want different ones that badly, you need to buy them yourself."

"I can't! They're too much! They were $10 at Marden's and I only have $3." 

"You only have $3 because you never do any money chores. We are literally trying to give you money for things we can just do ourselves and you guys won't take it!" 

"By the time I earn enough they probably won't even be at Marden's." 

"You could earn $7 in a couple hours. Stop whining and do something useful."

And thus ended my pep talk for the week.

Fast forward to Friday. Here we are on a day off from school with a whole afternoon and nothing to do. I suggest after lunch that anyone who doesn't want a traditional quiet time (reading a book, taking a nap, drawing, etc.) can do some money chores. Finn opts for setting up a "desk" and writing out phrases like, "Madie is farty." (Thanks, Ms. P, for teaching my son to write.) Madie decides to pick a task from the money-chore list on the fridge. 

Now my windows are clean, my door knobs and switch panels are disinfected, my heaters and dining chairs are dusted, the garage is swept, and Madie is $7 richer.

We had a high today of 35, in the sun. And the wind was bitter.

But my garage is clean.

Here's hoping Marden's still has $10 snow pants.

Halloween

This year, I told the kids two weeks before Halloween that they needed to nail down their costume ideas THEN. This was mostly a message to Finn. He is one of the least decisive people I've ever met; always flip-flopping between one idea and another until the day before. He struggles to even pin down what he wants for breakfast on a week day when the options rarely vary: toast, bread, oatmeal, or eggs. Holy moly.

This year, Petya wanted to go as Fireman Sam. It is her absolute favorite show. Every day she asks to watch Fireman Sam. Every day she asks for me to sing her the theme song. Every day leading up to Halloween she told people, "I'm going as Fireman Sam." 

And of course, the week before Halloween we completely lost the fireman helmet we have had for three years. The morning of the Halloween party at church (the Wednesday before Halloween this year), we stopped at the fire station dispatch in town and asked if they had any on hand--that's where we had gotten our other one--but they just happened to all be away on a call that came in literally minutes before. So, Petya went as a cow girl and rode the hobby horse Finn made her for her birthday.

Just relaxing between cattle runs.

Of course, I never got back to the fire station--our town being so large and sprawled out--so she went without the hat for trick-or-treating too, but she didn't seem to mind. Here they all are just before we started out--and before it was too dark for a picture:

L-R: Hermione Granger, a tiger, and Fireman Sam.

The Friday before Halloween, there is big party at the Dorr Museum. Apparently this happens every year, but this was our first to hear about it. They had a table of cricket foods--fried crickets, caramel popcorn balls with crickets, chocolate cricket fudge, General Tsao cricket skewers. Aside from the legs getting stuck between your teeth, they weren't bad. Especially the skewers. I would definitely be down with those again. Upstairs they had a dim and quiet room with a man who cares for owls. He held them and talked about them and answered questions. Downstairs they had some crafts and some hands-on activities like holding snakes and scavenging. The scavenging was so clever: they took the hide of an animal--I can't remember which, beaver I think--folded it in half and hid candy in the fold. The kids had to stick their hands in to pull out the candy. 

I told Madie that we might get Petya a snake sometime, since she seemed so taken with  them. She shuddered and protested. I told her they make great pets, and can mouse just as well as any cat, making them useful, but she didn't seem to think that was justification for getting one.

Soccer

Soccer is such a great sport, particularly for little kids. It is so good for developing motor skills, and is a good introduction to team sports. Mal and I were probably overly ambitious in attempting to both coach different teams (Mal with Finn and myself with Madie), along with a new born, and a 3 year old. It was complicated, but we made it work. Our biggest worry was ensuring that the kids had a good experience with a consistent coach. I'm glad we did because we were the most consistent ones of all the ages groups! 

Finn loves sports, and immediately warmed up to soccer. He was excited to play, and would typically score 1-2 goals per game. His friends were on the team, and it was a smashing success. Great work, buddy!

Madie was reluctant about soccer at first. She wasn't interested in team sports because "...they are dumb." We told her she had to try it and see how it goes. Guess what happened? Guess what typically happens? Say...I like team sports, Sam I am! She was getting more and more aggressive as the season went on, and at the very end was eagerly contributing to her team. After the season, she admitted that she loves soccer! She wants to keep playing to get better and better. I think we'll work on some more basics indoors this winter and keep that flame lit. Very proud of Madie's change of attitude and newfound love. 

It was fun to coach my team. They are all very bright kids, and have a lot of potential. This was the first year the YMCA in Bar Harbor decided to participate in a soccer league, so there were a lot of first-time soccer players. It will only get better, and we will win more games as time passes. Great introductory season to soccer for everyone. Plus, the parents all chipped in to get me a Geddy's gift card. Very kind of those that contributed! We went out to Geddy's that night and took the night off cooking and cleaning. 

First Backpacking Trip

Earlier in the spring, I had been talking to the kids about backpacking and potential backpacking trips that I'd like to take them on. I love backpacking because you can visit some very remote places, away from roads and cars. Places that few people are willing to visit, or ever see. I wanted to take them on a trip that would be fun, but give them a taste of what backpacking is all about. The Daddy & Kids Canoe campout was the perfect opportunity. We paddled in last year, but decided to mix things up this year with backpacking in. 

On our way to the trailhead at Great Pond Mountain Preserve, we stopped by McDonalds to load up on provisions. We got to the trailhead by sunset, and began our hike. It got dark very quickly, and found ourselves hiking under the milky way. The kids clung closer to me, particularly Finn. Questions about wild animals, and Bigfoot came up. Finn's curiosity kept him asking questions, while Madie was on the other side of the coin saying "Okay, you can stop talking about that now!" Though she wouldn't admit it, she was a little scared too. 

We had a map, and knew where we were going...until we missed the fork. We must have overshot it by a half a mile, but figured out we were a bit off, then got back on the correct path. The kids were a little concerned that we had turned around, and thought we were lost. I tried to calm them down by saying, "That's the great thing about backpacking, we have everything we need right on our backs!" An hour later, we arrived at camp and had s'mores. We set up our hammocks to avoid a blood clot from sleeping on a 30 degree slope. Why this spot was chosen, I have no idea! It works, but tent camping with 25+ people is quite rough. We wised up this year with the hammocks, but I'm still trying to figure out how to sleep in a hammock (I usually only manage 2-3 hours of sleep per night). 

At the start...

The previous photo was too serious...let's spice things up. 

Everyone else canoed in, including a family that used ours. It was nice, because we still took it out for a canoe ride. The morning was gorgeous. 

Poor Finn woke up with some sort of rash. Not sure what it was, but it seemed to be connected to stress or anxiety, because it was gone after 24 hours. He seemed to have fun though!

The colors were incredible. 

It's always fun to walk back the next day in the light so you can see all of the things you walked by. There were a few swamps where beavers lived along the trail. When we walked by in the dark, they would slap their tails against the water to warn us away. It was alarming in the dark when you least expected it. 

These Happy Meal cameras were a huge hit at the campout. 

Madie didn't want to look at the camera, at all. 

Both kids had a good experience, overall. I think we have more trips in the future!

Fall, in Review

Since Amity was born, Petya has been hit with the hardest with adjusting to the changes in our family dynamics. She loves Amity, and wants to take care of her, but has also been regressing with potty training and in behavior (most likely for attention). We have really had to push and remind her that she is a big girl now, and she needs to act like one. We've changed the plates and utensils that she eats with, we have given her some other responsibilities, and have tried to spend some more one on one time with her. It's all been helping, and she is back to progressing...for the most part. I took her on this hike up Parker Mountain on a beautiful Friday afternoon. 

She still enjoys hiking in the backpack, but if there are some challenging rocks to scramble, she wants out. My kind of girl. 

On a cooler day in September, we decided to fire up the stove. Too cozy not to!

We also made it up to Grammy Haskins a few times. We took Elvis with us one of those times, and explored Dover a bit. 

Hanging out at the old Mill property down the street from Grammy. 

One thing I wish we had in our neighborhood was a sidewalk. It's so nice to be able to use walking as a mode of transportation. That's one thing I really liked about Livermore, we literally walked everywhere! We really didn't need a car, except for excursions to Yosemite or somewhere else off the beaten path. 

Some outside time with Mumma and Petya. 

Amity was happy hanging out with Grammy in her nice warm blanket while we watched General Conference.