Total Dork

I forgot to share what happened on my way to Minnesota while I was in the Philly airport. I was standing in the worlds longest line and Apollo Ono walked by with sun glasses on looking not to happy to be awake at 6 am EST. I was quite astounded and told the nice man behind me who he was. Ok, it was more like.... mouth gaped open, turn and watch Apollo walk by with mouth still open, (stupid Ellen, close your mouth) and then announce to the cute guy behind me, "That was Apollo Ono." He shrugged in that way that shows he doesn't know who he was. "He's an Olympic speed skater", I say. Totally made the hour long line better.

Then as we approached the security check point I noticed the guy behind me had a Play Book in his hand. Play Book? Who could he play for? Hum. I boldly asked who he plays for because far be it from me to shut up. He told me the Kansas City Chiefs... that didn't help me much so nosy me asked his name. He told me Casey. I was a bit flabbergasted. What do you say to the adorable man who you have politely chatted with for an hour after he informs you that he is an NFL player and you being the dork that you are knew who the Olympic skater who ended up on Dancing with the Stars was but not the football player?! I guess something along the lines of, "Sorry, I don't watch much football." God I am an idiot. I just looked him up and he's the quarterback no less! Well, I can say he was very nice.

Lovely Flowers

I happily went out into the yard this evening with scissors in hand to retrieve some flowers. We have hydrangea's all over the yard and they are so beautiful.
Sadly I am a slacker when it comes to gardening so I like things like this because they are low maintenance. I know that the pH level of the soil is what causes the different colors but I am happy with the blues and purples we have. Pretty.

Wow it's been hot the last two days! We threw open all the windows finally around 7:00 in shear desperation to cool off the house only to discover it was the same temperature outside. Just muggier. The sad part is it isn't even the hottest part of summer yet. It makes me want to cry. I do have a window unit in the office which helps. I think I'll watch a movie up here this evening and start working on the binding for Susan's quilt. I am not really looking forward to all that fabric on my lap in the heat but if I don't just do it they won't get it until Christmas!

To combat the heat today we took refuge at Misty's house. Ahhhhh, AC!!!! I helped her pack a few boxes and then we talked over a cup of coffee. Little Oliver is getting SO BIG! By the time we ready to leave I was actually cold. Boy was that short lived.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow and cool off on Friday. I am looking forward to that.

Minnesota

I had a wonderful trip to visit one of my oldest and dearest friends this weekend. Their new baby is absolutely adorable! We divided our time between some yummy neighborhood restaurants and enjoying each others company. They live in a great area of town. There are all the things you could ever need within walking distance. A coop grocery store, cute shops and restaurants, lakes, etc. I had a good time. She took us to a book store called Wild Rumpus. I love the name and hope they took it from one of the best children's books of all time, Where the Wild Things Are. The fun part is the book store has animals in it. There are cats, chinchillas, birds, and a fluffy chicken. Seth went right after that poor chicken. He was gentle though.

The flight home was a little delayed... like 3 hours. Mechanical problems. They had to get us a new plane and that took for freakin' ever! I won't call names or curse (I already got that out of my system). We got home in one piece finally at 2:30 am! Why is it that when you get to the airport 2 hours early like a good citizen (ok, the stress of possibly missing my flight makes me feel quite content with arriving extra early) inevitably your flight is delayed?

I don't think the kids missed me all that much though. Should I be surprised? I am, after all, the mean one who tells them they can't eat junk food all the time and to eat more fruit and veggies. While I was away they had Mickey D's, pizza, and donuts. They were however excited to show me all the cool things they can do on their new play structure!

It is pretty darn cool. I realized after I uploaded the pictures I took of them playing that I didn't get a full picture of the structure itself. Seeing as it is rather dark outside I'll have to wait to take a picture until tomorrow. For those of you who need to see it now, here you go.

I always feel overwhelmed when I return from a trip, even one as short as this. I was supposed to take my car in today and I had to reschedule it again! I was not about to get the whole lot of them all up and ready to go so early when we all got home so late. Oh, well. Hannah and Simon started their swim classes today. They both did really well from what I was able to see. Someone short made it hard to hang out around the pool so we headed over to the playground for most of the lesson time.

There was a great email waiting in my Inbox today...

Susan and Ben's quilt is ready. For real this time! I am going to go get it tomorrow!!!!!! I am thrilled. I will have enough time to get the binding done before we have to go! Perfect. I hope the quilting is as good as I think it will be. Cross those fingers.

Alright, I need to head to bed. It's almost midnight. I just wanted to share my adventures.

Adding Two and Two Together

Yesterday Seth got a real mild rash and I began to piece things together. (Remember me mentioning that I am a slow learner...) Last week he had a runny nose, over the weekend a fever, and then a rash. Hum, could it be a reaction to the MMR shot he had 2 weeks ago? Maybe. So, the doctor wanted to see him this morning. They deemed he had Roseola (I disagree, I think it was a reaction) and once the rash is present you are no longer contagious.... ah, oops sorry to all the kids that were exposed last week if it is Roseola. :) My bad. My biggest concern was making sure he didn't have something contagious right now because I was going to hang out with Misty today to help her pack and then we are flying to Minnesota Friday to see Cynthia. I really didn't want to get the little guys sick.

It is officially summer for us now! The kids had their last day of school yesterday. Hurray!I always get that song running through my head, "Schools out for summer..." We went to the library and got new cards so the kids can check out some books and they can participate in the summer reading program. They'll go to craft time and Hannah gets to be a helper for the preschoolers. I hope she has fun reading to them. The best part about craft time is that you drop the kids off (sweet!) and then they typically have a movie afterwards that the kids are welcome to stay and watch (even better!). Between the library, our trip to Denver, and all the swim classes I think summer will fly by.

This evening Dan and I had to quickly move a ton of bark mulch out of the area where the new play structure is going in. OMG there's a lot! The area is about 20' x 25' and the mulch is a few inches thick! Seth had a great time playing in the dirt. He's such a boy! Simon was leaping on top of the mound of mulch and Seth went running up it right after his big brother. It was pretty cute. Hannah was in the house reading a book. Shocked? We did go to the library so she has 4 new Babysitters Club books to read.

Well, I sadly haven't started a new quilting project yet. I began the tedious and well neglected job of, are you ready for this, organizing! Bleck! I started with my photos. Thank god I got a digital camera when Simon was little or I wouldn't be done organizing them until the end of summer! Somehow my goal is to make it through all the rooms in the house and actually make my house look less cluttered. Maybe I am just dreaming but darn it, it's a good dream. I have a secret weapon though. Tiff. She is organized, likes organizing, and volunteered to help me. I might actually get it done!

I'll try to get pictures of the play set up tomorrow.

Here's a fun picture to leave you with. Moss soup anyone?

Beautiful Amish Country

I met mom in Intercourse, PA today. (Did you snicker? Tee hee, she said intercourse...) I got a quilt magazine a few months back that suggested a few different places in Amish Country to go see if you wanted to look at quilts. Not far from Lancaster is the little town of Intercourse. The drive was about 2 hours away and Seth did a great job in the car both ways. Aside from the stinky poop I had to change once I reached a Service Center.

I was in awe of what it is really like for these people. Rolling hills, patchwork farms, cows, horses, and of course, buggies. I wanted to take lots of pictures but I know that they don't like to have their picture taken. I got a few shots of the buggies from a distance.

It turned out that we showed up on the weekend of the Berry Festival. I saw no berries...? Needless to say we meandered through several quilt stores and other kitschy stores. We had a great lunch out on a terrace. We bought some jams and mom got pickled watermelon rind (let me know if it's any good?). I had so much fun.

Last but not least. I bought two wall hanging quilts. I couldn't decide on just one! I did want to get something that reflected traditional Amish style quilting. They are known for bold, solid colors and the details are in the exquisite hand quilting.
Now, where to put them.

I actually wasn't sure if I'd be able to go today. Seth is sick again! I am worried that he didn't kick the ear infection from a few weeks ago and it's back. Like last time, no one else in the house is sick but Seth has a runny nose and now a fever to go with it. I don't like it. I was supposed to take my car in on Monday but it looks like I'll be going to the doctor instead if his fever continues. It's so hard to have sick kids when the weather is nice. Seth wasn't too warm this morning so I decided we could go. I brought along the thermometer and baby Tylenol just in case though.

While I was off having what I consider to be a good time Daniel took the kids to see Rise of the Silver Surfer. They gave it two thumbs up.

Under Contract

Need I say more!

Ok, I can't not say more. This is me were talking about. As long as the inspection goes well (the house is practically brand new inside and has a warranty on it!) we close July 19th. I will be in Denver that week anyway. Phew. Finally. Now we do have to take about 5,000 to the closing which sucks. Let's face it though, we've been dealing with trying to sell the house since March 2006! This is probably the best offer we'll get.

I am still in a state of shock. Could this actually be real?

Offer

We got an offer on our house in Denver. I am not sure how this will all pan out. They offered 25K less than it's listed for and they want us to pay closing costs. Yah, no. We countered so we'll see. I know we are going to have to pay out of pocket and that makes me sad. I feel like I have to pay someone to take my house. Our beautiful house that Seth was born in. I suppose we could just keep making mortgage payment after mortgage payment on a house we don't live in anymore. It turns out that the guys (Yes, a gay couple want our home. It seems almost perfect, minus the we're-getting-screwed part.) who put an offer in are the same ones who tried to buy the house back in the fall. Hopefully it will work out this time.

I'll keep you all posted...

Happily some of our yard work was completed today. It looks fabulous. With our yard being soooo big and quite frankly with us being so lazy we paid to have our flower beds mulched with cedar.

The back yard still needs to be done but with the stupid play structure on it's way I figured we should wait.

Another One Down

I finished another quilt top! Ah, the sense of accomplishment is so great. The kids helped hold up the quilt while I took a few pictures of it. This is actually the same pattern I used for Misty's quilt but it looks completely different. Gotta love fabric choices.

Now I get to decide what to do next. I have a few that I'd like to do.... hmm.....

We've had a rather quite weekend all in all. Simon had his little birthday party yesterday that happened to be at the Tae Kwon Do place. He is itching to go back but we are going make him wait one more month. It is a "no contact" sport at his level so I don't think it's a big deal for him to start going again. Anyway, Hannah is off at her b-day party right now. Seth is down for a nap so the house is eerily quite. I think I'll play with some fabric even though the dishes need to be done.

Here are some pictures just for fun.

Budding artists.

Nintendo DS junkies.
Aren't toys also wrist bands?

Could you please read to me?

Hannah's Spring Concert and Pool Pictures

Hannah did very well at her performance tonight. She is so little compared to the other kids! Anyway, Daniel and I were a bit shocked when our kid, you know the one who won't freakin' practice her violin and wants to quit, had a solo during the concert! She did a great job. I talked to Mr. Gross (yup, I make fun of his name from time to time) about her after the performance about how he thinks she's done this year with the violin. He said she's progressing well and hopes she'll keep it up. Grr. I can't tell you how many times we've talked about practicing and then she won't do it. Yet, she was so thrilled with the concert..... quite the conundrum. Should we try another year? Should we let her quit because it's hard?

On to cute Seth pictures. Much more fun! I took a few pictures of us together so people can see me. I am not a fan of pictures of myself. It was actually pretty chilly in the pool today unlike Tuesday which was nice and toasty. Hopefully the weather will be warmer next week on our swimming days. The rest of the time I don't want it to be hot because I don't have central air.
Aren't his little feet cute? Well, tomorrow Misty is going to join me at the NJ Quilt Convention.
I think we will have an excellent time! Lots and lots of fabric!!!! (I better leave the credit card at home!)

Getting Bigger

Well, Seth went in for his 15 month well check today. He won't be forward facing in his car seat for a bit. He is 19 lbs 12 oz. His car seat actually says forward facing 22+ lbs. Also, he still has fluid in his right ear from his ear infection. His doctor wants to see us again in 3 weeks because the fluid can mess with his hearing. It's so strange that he is having ear problems because he isn't showing any signs of it at all. I was surprised to find out he had an ear infection when I took him in 2 weeks ago. No ear pulling, rubbing, or crying when he drinks or nurses. Nothing. So weird.

The little guy is down for a nap now. He was pretty mad at getting his last round of shots while we were there. It always makes me cry when they scream about shots. I feel like I'm torturing them. Reminding yourself that this is actually beneficial for them doesn't seem to offset the guilt of causing them pain.

In my last post when I went on about all the things to do I forgot to mention that the kids also have field trips this week. Hannah is at the Philadelphia Zoo today and Simon is going to Wemrock Orchards tomorrow for strawberry picking! I had to have Hannah at the school at 7:30 this morning and they aren't scheduled to be back until 4:00. So I have to go to the school 4 times today.... oh well. I got myself a Chai Tea for all my hard work getting the kids off to school at different times today. Ok, really Dan and I are addicted to Starbucks and will go there without provocation. I think we should go ahead and buy stock since we practically keep them in business single handedly.

I better get a little lunch put together so I can throw some food down Seth's throat on our way to Gymboree this afternoon.

No rest for the wicked...

Camp, Swimming, Quilts, and Trips. Oh my!

Hannah had a blast at camp. The only thing they didn't do was go canoing. She came home talking a mile a minute about ALL the things they did. For skit night Hannah's troop applied makeup to some of the older girls. The older girls had their hands behind their backs and then Hannah troop reached their arms out as if they were the older girls arms. I think you know what I mean. That is almost as hard as describing how to tie your shoes. Anyway, the result is a big mess of makeup all over the place. Hannah said she got lipstick all over the girl's cheek. I bet next year she won't be nervous to go.

Things are going to be busy this week. Again. I am still not sure how I end up so busy all the time! We've got Hannah's last band concert on Thursday (mind you I just found out about it yesterday!), Hannah's last GS meeting Friday (we have to bring a snack to share... hum, what will I bring...), Seth and I started swim classes today (we go twice a week for 3 weeks), our usual Gymboree classes are on Weds and Fri, the kids have 3 birthday parties to go to this week (Hannah had to say no to another one!), and Seth has a a doctors appointment tomorrow. Wow, lots to do!

Our swim class was fun. Tiff took a few pictures while we were at the park and pool so once she emails them to me I'll share them. Seth went right into the pool without any hesitation and had a great time. He even wanted me to let go of him. This kid has no fear. After we swam we ate our picnic lunches and then let the kids play on the play ground for a bit. This will be the theme of most of my summer days. Swim, eat, play, repeat.

I went to get the quilt today and got a rather big surprise. It was Sheri's quilt not Susan's! I was bummed and didn't even look to closely at the quilt till I got home. It looks fabulous. I just really want to see Susan's quilt all finished (I am so impatient). I'll get the binding done on it in no time. I love to do binding because you can sit your happy, fat, tush in front of the boob tube and watch a movie while mindlessly stitching away. I'll post a final photo of it once I have it bound.

So, I am very excited about an upcoming trip I am taking with my mom. We are going to Dutch Amish Country. I think we have settled on going the 16th. That was one of the things I wanted to do when we moved out here. I don't think the kids will want to come along for a day of antiquing and quilt store shopping! That's fine by me since they'd be hard to keep in check.

Field Day and Camp Ocky

Today was field day if you couldn't tell from the title of this post. :) But what is Camp Ocky??

The kids had a great time today. It was really hot and humid out. Their new school goes all out for the occasion. All the kids and volunteers got t-shirts, there were 2 bouncy castles (I got the help "monitor" one of them for the first 2 hours of the day), a DJ booth, your usual assortment of relay races, and lunch was provided for everyone. Maybe I just went to a ghetto school as a kid but all we got was sun burned and a Popsicle at the end of the day. Granted it was a blast but we didn't have all that stuff! I also had to monitor one of the 4 water stations. I am sooooo glad I brought my big beach umbrella with me! Being stuck out in the middle of the field with NO shade and Seth sounded like a bad combo to me so I brought the umbrella along.

I got to see Hannah and Simon a bit when the came by where I was stationed. I managed to get a few pictures.

It was a long hot day and once school let out we had to get Hannah ready to leave for Camp Ocky. Her girl scout troop is going there for the weekend. I wish I could have gone with her but 1- they didn't need anymore grown ups along ( I loved camp!) and 2- Seth would hate having his mommy gone for that long. I had Hannah take a shower since there aren't any shower facilities at the camp and she did a lot of sweating today. She'll be pretty ripe when she comes home on Sunday anyway! I am excited to hear tales of how many fun things they did. I know they have options like horseback riding, canoing, swimming in the lake, crafts, skit night, and they are doing their bridging ceremony while they are there. (Bridging from being a Brownie to being a Junior Girl Scout.) I am crossing my fingers for them though, there is rain on the forecast for the whole weekend!

Simon desperately wanted to go to camp but he doesn't seem to be much of a GS even though he always had to go to meeting with us last year because I was a troop leader. Simon's big job this weekend is helping us pick out a new play structure for the back yard. The old one came down Thursday and a few tears were shed even though they know they are getting a new one. It was cool- just old, rickety and dangerous.

I will leave you with some field day pics.....

And this one is my personal favorite of the day. I think he has one of the best smiles ever!