Gratitude #15

15. Today I am thankful for my good health. Especially in the last year, every member of my immediate family suffered or even still suffers from various mild-to-serious problems with their health. Even my blood is cleaner than it should be for my eating habits and level of activity (just had my first real "checkup" in 7 years - it always got pushed to the side while we were overseas).

Gratitude #14

14. I am ever so thankful for the library. So many books! All for free! Since we've moved into our house in August I have been to the library at least once a week. More often than not it is in the company of Zoltan, who is also developing a love of the place. The pile of library books threatens to take over the living room and Terry is threatening to impose a borrowing limit. I just got out a Russian novel I currently have no hope of getting through (I could have back in May, according to my Russia teacher who recommended this author). Yes, Russian novels in my sort-of-suburban neighborhood!

The best part is when we go back overseas I'll still be able to use their e-book lending. I am giddy thinking about it. I may even let Terry convince me to put the majority of our books in storage rather than schlep them around the world just in case I run out of reading material.

Gratitude #13

13. Today I am grateful for the glimpses I occasionally get of the good people the kids will turn out to be. Terry was sick on the couch last night. Zoltan lovingly drew two blankets over him, then brought out a magazine (Hi-5) and his (Zoltan's) second favorite lovey - the most favorite stays in bed or he'd have brought that one. Then he kissed Terry on the forehead. It made my heart grow three sizes bigger.

Wordless Wednesday

Gratitude #12

12. I am thankful for the endorphins that rush through me when I go for a good run (well, I'm just getting back into things, "good" is 2 miles). I am finally back into it regularly enough that I feel grouchy when it's been too many days. I love how the human body can let us know what's good for us when we pay attention to it!

Renovation Update

Finally the spackle is done enough that it is time for the primer.  In this case we are using white paint since we have a full 5 gallon bucket of it already.  Once the first coat or two of paint is on the wall then we will assess how much more spackle is required before going on to the final paint and eventually the ceiling and floor.  For now there is some progress.

Gratitude #11

11. In honor of Veteran's Day I am thankful for everyone who has, willingly or not (hello, draft!), physically or diplomatically, worked to keep our country and the people within it safe from outside threats. I am equally thankful for those who work to ensure the freedoms of each individual within our country, always remembering that it isn't "freedom" if it tramples someone else's rights.

Gratitude #10

10. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to stay home with my children, and also to work part time. If anyone had said 7 years ago this would be my life I would be shocked and horrified. And yet as trite as it sounds, having children really does change everything. I wouldn't want to have missed all this wonderful time (well, from birth to 6 months I could do without, but apparently that is exactly the time children don't fare too well without a mama). The linked piece is that I am grateful to have worked part time for 3 of the 6 years I've been home with the kids. They had a chance to bond with other (wonderful, fabulous, almost better than me) caregivers and later to play with other children all day. My schedule let me be away from them fewer than 30 hours each week so my role as primary was pretty cemented. But having "adult time" is also important for my mental and emotional health, so it was a perfect balance. If only every job had the part-time options!

Gratitude #9

9. I am so grateful for my husband. We are truly a team in every good sense of the word. I know he has my back and I have his. He is still the only adult I want to talk to every single day, and I still DO want to talk to him every single day. Together we have produced my favorite two small beings in the world, who alternately sass me and beg me to hold them, often within the same 60 seconds. And I wouldn't want anything else.

Gratitude #8

Today I am thankful for seasons. Between Malta and Russia I had forgotten how much I love having four distinct seasons, each of which lasts longer than 2 weeks. As a New Englander there is definitely something missing in my life if the leaves don't turn vibrant red, golden yellow, crisp orange. I wish we'd been taking more photos this year!

Gratitude #7

7. Similarly to yesterday, I am grateful for the friends in the DC area with whom I've reconnected. Some are people I never knew very well and some are close friends with whom I have fallen out of touch. In each situation, however, it's been a highlight of returning to the USA to see people I've known a long time.

Comcast. AGAIN

So the guy from the Executive Customer Care division called us on halloween. Guess what? November 1 we are without internet for almost the entire day. I called him and left a message. Never heard back, although I did say it was a "heads up" message.

Today, only 5 days later, we were once again without internet. First the CSR got disconnected/hung up one me, but she did call back so it is possible we really did get disconnected? Then she says the modem is entirely offline and someone needs to come check it out. Then we're back online (???)  The end result is someone will come tomorrow, she said it could be the line is bad so the internet isn't even coming into the house properly. Zoltan will have to go to preschool late but at least someone will check it out. Three reported problems in less than two weeks is completely unconscionable.

Gratitude #6

6. I am grateful for the group of moms friends who have invited me and the kids into their group. Overseas it's pretty easy to make new friends as you move - there's a whole expat community standing in your exact same shoes. In the USA, well, nobody comes over with a basket of muffins and greets the new family with open arms anymore. It's been really nice to hang out with a group of moms.

Gratitude #5

5. Terry and I met while we both lived in DC (actual DC, not MD or VA). We don't like the DC area. Well .... we didn't like the DC area. See, we didn't have kids when we lived here before. I now understand all the wonderfulness that is to be found in this area. Parks, playgrounds, museums, activities, sports, the list goes on. If I were independently wealthy and only needed to entertain my kids all day as my job I could easily find something new to discover every single day of the year.

I am  grateful for the wealth of enriching, interesting, and fun activities/sights/events in my area. I am grateful that anyone with time can take advantage of most of them as much in the area is free or cheap.

Gratitude #4 and fifth CSA haul

4.  I am grateful for the CSA. It is so rewarding to do something that is important to me and reflects my values and lets the kids get a better sense of where our food comes from. It's also exciting to spend every Monday figuring out how to use all the good stuff and I love the unique and memorable experiences (rutabaga cake, anyone?). Last week's fennel was absolutely delicious sliced thinly and sauteed in olive oil with a bit of salt at the end. Couldn't stop myself from stealing slices as I got the rest of dinner ready. I'd never eaten fennel before.

This week we got:
- a bunch of carrots
- a bunch of kale
- an enormous daikon radish and something else that may be radish or turnip
- 4 ears of corn
- apples
- one green pepper
- one white eggplant
- a medium sized pie pumpkin
- an enormous head of cabbage
- a bag of potatoes

Gratitude #2 & #3

2. I am grateful for this opportunity to spend a chunk of time in America. In October alone we had visits with 4 sets of family and November looks to be similar with different family members. The kids are actually remembering people from one visit to the next!

3. I am grateful for the opportunity to see the cabin in all different seasons. Actually using our beach club membership this summer as the kids and I sometimes hit the beach both before and after nap; seeing the leaves change and hiking in the nearby state park; and I can't wait to see everything under snow and maybe splurging on snowshoes for everyone to recreate the kids' favorite activity from last year's trip to Lapland.

November gratitude

As a first world person with first world problems, it's too easy to get bogged down sometimes. I loved doing the daily gratitude post last year and will be continuing the tradition this year. Some posts will be redundant, I can't help it, there are some things I am continually grateful for every single time I think about them. That's a good thing, no?

I'm running a bit behind as we went cabin-ing this weekend so didn't have internet (and yes, you can bet the cabin will feature this month).

To kick it off -
Day 1: I am grateful for our enormous pasta pot that lets me cook down a crazy load of apples into several quarts of applesauce. Having control over what goes into my family's food is important, and being able to do it efficiently makes me happy.

(now I must get back to peeling and chopping apples from which to make delicious applesauce)

Giving props when due

Nobody likes Comcast. Normally, we don't like Comcast. But I am forced to admit that actually have the capability to do the right thing.

A week or so ago, I had an awful day exacerbated by the inability to use my telephone or get online due to non functioning internet. I blogged about it. As you can see, a Comcast rep found me and left a comment inviting me to contact him and go over what went wrong. Within the day of me sending the information he requested we got a call. (being a little picky, I will say that the choice of 7pm on Halloween wasn't inspired)

And ... the end result is we were compensated for the inconvenience and even given a rep's direct number for the next time we encounter a problem.  We have also noticed that our service has been much better since then.

I have a feeling if all problems were resolved like this, everyone would switch to Comcast voluntarily.

[Edited to add: the very next day we were without internet for the entire day. I even called  the guy who had called and left a message that was never returned. Ugh. Possibly back to hating Comcast.]

Third and fourth CSA haul

With all of last week's excitement, I forgot to post what we got. So, here goes

Third week
big head of Romaine
huge head of cabbage
6 ears of corn (score!!)
a fennel bulb
4 green peppers
12 apples
4-5 potatoes
3 eggplant (1 big purple, 2 small white)


Fourth week
5 ears of corn
4-5 big sweet potatoes
a bunch of greens, possibly collard?
a big head of broccoli
a bunch of beets
a bunch of carrots
4-5 green peppers
7-9 apples, red and golden delicious

A bit more about Halloween night

This was the kids' very first Halloween*, at the ripe old ages of 4 and 6.

There's a great group of moms who meet at the playground near school and we've started hanging out with them. They invited us to trick or treat with them and at first I hesitated because it's "all the way" across the one main street and near the school. I am SO GLAD I changed my mind.

We met up at one mom's house (she has the oldest kids so the most neighborhood experience). Alex and Zoltan were seriously about to explode and I eventually sent them to run around a lamp post to burn some energy while waiting for everyone to gather. By the time we left, we had 20 kids and I have no idea how many adults. It was complete pandemonium but a ton of fun to be a huge group.

 When we got home the kids wanted to do some trick or treating on our street. The majority of the houses were dark. We only wanted to go to a few houses anyway as the kids certainly didn't need any more candy. There's an older lady on our street I once met and chatted with who had told me she loved Halloween, she decks the house out and the kids love coming to her house. I made sure that was one we went to and I am glad we did, she had put together a whole little bag of non-candy items like a pencil, stickers, eraser, etc. With that level of attention and effort I am glad we came by to appreciate and enjoy the fruits of her labor!


* Yes mom, I know they were both alive and Alex even went trick or treating at your house but she was 2 years and 2 weeks old, he was 5 days old, and I just don't count it given that they don't and couldn't possibly remember it.

Halloween Night

Cabin John Regional Park

For Zoltan's birthday "thing" he chose the Halloween "not so scary" train ride at Cabin John Park.  He and I had visited the park once, briefly, on one of our adventure days before we started spending every M/W/F at the library, playground, or doing chores. Nobody else in the family had been there.

There were a lot of little things to see and do right around the train station so it was nice the kids didn't have to get too bored while waiting for the ride to begin. The attendants handed out "eye spy" cards of things to look out for during the ride. The ride itself was about 30 minutes or so on this rickety old line. It was a lot of fun keeping an eye out for the different sights to spot, and hearing down the line when a particularly rare item was spotted (the Dalmatian is only in the last 5 minutes  and then there's about 5 stuffed puppies along the line). The photo of a deer was the best as we didn't think it would be real deer to spot, yet there were a couple of groups of actual deer just hanging out and having a snack in the woods as we rattled along. Terry forgot the camera so we don't have any photos :-(

After the ride Zoltan wanted to watch the train go (with the next group on board) so Alex and I went into the party room where she could do some coloring and pick out a fake Halloween themed tattoo to do at home.

Then we had a bit of time for the kids to play in the playground. I had forgotten how awesome this playground is, how much space it covers and how it melds forest stuff with normal playground stuff. Even though we have 3 walkable playgrounds, Terry agrees this is one worth driving to.

Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo

Whenever we drive up to PA for cabin or family trips, we pass the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo on Route 15. It's a bit under an hour away, making it an easy day trip. Turns out it's a bit less than an hour from Terry's sister, too, so we decided to get together on the Sunday between the kids' birthdays and meet there.

I'd read up on it a bit, so we made sure to get tickets to the safari. It was the highlight everyone said it would be!  The zoo/preserve itself is interesting - the enclosures are crazy small, but the animals seem healthy and well groomed. All the animals we saw had healthy looking fur and behaviors. Honestly, I'm not sure how this is true but it is.

There are several separate areas where you can feed an assortment of friendly animals. We'd gotten a cup of "zoo food" at the store/entrance and the kids were delighted to feed the goats, llamas, potbellied pigs.

 There's also two playgrounds on the zoo grounds. One is brilliantly located by the safari pickup point, as well as a snack bar (not open in the winter) and a bathroom (all bathrooms in the zoo appear to be portapotties, from what I can tell, except for the bathrooms in the same building as the store/entrance).

The safari: There's three "cars" in the jeep + trailer system and of course it's bench seating all along the perimeter. They had boxes of English muffins that we fed to the animals who came by. During the course of the safari we drive through four different enclosures and stop within each one and have time to feed the animals who show up. Poor Alex got pecked by an emu she was feeding so I had to pull out the Neosporin and Band-aids and she calmed down pretty quickly when she couldn't see blood anymore. My highlight was feeding the zebras.

 In sum, we spent a bit over 3 hours there and didn't see everything. We had decided to meet for brunch first so it was already getting toward naptime when we entered the zoo. If we'd gone in the morning we easily could  have spent more time. The concessions are closed in the winter, which was a benefit (whining for treats was minimal) but if we hadn't been prepared it could have been problematic (tired kids tend to want more snacks).

I hate my kitchen...

But I loooove my kitchen cart. I will confidently state that it adds 20% more counter and cabinet space to our kitchen. Thanks mom for the early Hanukkah present!!!!

To Zoltan as you turn 4

To my very favorite, very special son,

Four! You are such a strong, independent little man. It is such a treat to see the workings of your thought process, the things you remember from last week or last year. It is, quite frankly, less of a treat to see how often you reject the premise of my argument. ("Can I watch a show?" "No" "Can I watch two shows?")

Your vocabulary is astonishing - a product of your verbose older sister I assume. You can't imagine the joy in my heart the other day when we got to the library early, you wanted to wait til it opened rather than go do something else, and went running in the moment the light turned green. I also get all gooey inside when you still want to snuggle when I read to you. You are without doubt a mama's boy and I dread the day that your kindness, sensitivity, and loving nature get ridiculed as being "sissy". I can only hope that you continue to be big for your age and your size encourages your peers to keep their mouths shut.

We're still seeing only glimpses of the young man you will become. Like your sister, you have an occasionally paralyzing shyness - coupled with sometimes wanting to tell every stranger on the street what you will be for Halloween. I hope that, like your sister, you work your way through that as you age so that it becomes a mere hesitation at joining in on the fun.

One of "those" days

So Tuesday actually started Monday when Zoltan fell backwards off the couch onto the coffee table and gashed his head right at bedtime. We called the kids' pediatrician's office and the answering service said we'd get a call back from the on-call doc within 30 minutes or so. The bleeding seemed to have gone down significantly, but the gash looked deep. Terry held Z and the ice pack (aka the sacrificial bag of green beans) while I packed them a bag and started looking into urgent care clinics. They were all closed or closing. The doc calls, says she really can't tell over the phone but normally if you think the kids needs stitches, the kid does. She had us take a photo on the phone and text it to her, which I thought was cool, but she still couldn't tell.

She suggests we take him to the local hospital's ER (duh). So Terry and Z leave and I get Alex to bed. She was amazing, fetching whatever we needed and literally running to get out of our way when we rushed here or there. She offered him her new, favorite stuffed animal to take - but of course he only wanted BlaBla.

Already long story slightly shorter, I lay down on the couch around 11, woke to read a few texts on their status, and welcomed the boys home around midnight. Ugh.

Next morning came early. Alex slept a tiny bit past wakeup time, I had to wake Zoltan around 9am to keep his schedule from getting completely off and because he had to start getting up to go with us for Alex's doctor's appointment previously scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Doc visit was fine, we went over her cough and the possible causes and what to do in various scenarios. He gave us a prescription for Prevacid, which I am assuming is something between Zantac (what she's already taking) and Prilosec (I hear it's pretty hard core). We got Alex to school and went to fill the prescription. Pharmacy doesn't have the full supply, can give us some that night and can order more. Fine. I get Zoltan home late for lunch and nap and of course today of all days, when he really needed a good long nap.

He goes down and I try to get on the internet to look up dinner's recipe. No internet. I call Comcast and that's always a huge hassle. In the end I rebooted the router and the cable modem and then had even less internet. I also get a call from Terry that the pharmacy called him because the generic was discontinued and the name brand will cost us about $150 for the prescription.

I spend the entire 2 hours of Zoltan's nap on my cell phone because our home phone is VOIP and thus useless without internet. I call Comcast several times. I call Terry. I call our insurance company. I try to call CVS but without internet I can't look up the number so I call Terry. I call CVS. One of the times I call Comcast the CSR hung up on me within the first minute, because when she asked if something was OK (I forget what) I joked "and what will you do if I say no". Oops. At least I had offered to take the customer service survey so I got to give feedback on the customer "service".

After nap, it seemed like things were starting to look up. After school we went to the playground with some new friends. I managed to make a tasty dinner without internet. The kids were surprisingly well behaved for the excitement and sleep deprivation. Terry got the internet working again.

And then, as the kids were on their way to brush teeth and go to bed, they fight about something. Zoltan pushes Alex and she goes down. When she comes up she's holding her arm. NOOOOOOOOOO

(to be continued)

Milestone: First ER visit

Apparently they don't do stitches anymore, only staples.