Momsie

Here's to a speedy recovery, Mom! Stay strong...

We NEED you for our Maine 50th Anniversary "Thanksgiving" Bash... ...and to see your newest granddaughter grow up...

...not to mention the other 4 cutie-pies!

We love you, Nana! Hope you feel better soon!

N.H. With Friends!

This past weekend was the Vt-NEA convention, which meant a long weekend for me and Ed! A few weeks ago, we finalized plans to get together with my old friend Sarah from UVM. We felt so lucky to get this same great VRBO in Winchester, N.H. (near Keene), since we had such a lovely time there last Spring. You might recall a blog post I created back in March, titled "Our New Hampshire Getaway". If you're ever looking for a nice lake house that can sleep lots of people, please check this place out. It's great!! We can even bring Zoe, which saves us money in boarding fees. The CT-based owners, Paul and Anne Harris, are so kind and accommodating, and seemed genuinely pleased that we wanted to return to their home. They even left us a complimentary bottle of wine from Stonington (CT) vineyards, which is so neat since Sarah grew up in Stonington! I thought I'd take some photographs of the house while it was still clean. Here's the master bedroom, overlooking Forest Lake:
A second bedroom:

And a third! This is the living room, leading into the sun porch, which can also double as a fourth bedroom:
There's a TV and tons of kid-friendly movies out there.The dining room and Great Room:

The kitchen. It's got everything! Looks like I almost caught Zoe "in the act!"

The Great Room, stocked with tons of books, movies, and cozy nooks to cuddle up.

The dining room, looking out over the lake:It was important that I took pictures, before this started happening:
Or this:The view from the top deck:

The hot tub!

Ed, Elijah, Zoe and I arrived on Friday afternoon to get the place all opened up. Our plan was to meet Sarah and her family at the Magic Wings butterfly conservatory on Saturday morning, which (located in So. Deerfield, MA) was on their way up to the house. This turned out to be a great plan, as Saturday was a rainy, dreary day. Here's Elijah, waiting for his friends to arrive:We killed some time visiting with a scarecrow:

And then they arrived! That's Sarah, Diego (4), Maya (2.5) and Sergio:
The boys checked out some pretty big goldfish:

Only one photograph of butterflies came out clearly. But I think they were mating, and that seemed somewhat tasteless to post on my blog. So here's a pretty flower instead:

Once Sarah's family got settled back at the house, we took the kids into the basement rec room to burn some more energy. Air hockey, table tennis, balls of every type to throw....
Even a kiddie slide:

And a whole dry-erase wall (although the marker fumes could kill you!)

Back upstairs, the kids played so well together. Fast friends!
Elijah was sound asleep by 6:30PM- he was so exhausted.

The next day, the sun was out! Thank goodness, as our children had resorted to this....Don't ask, I really have no idea...A beautiful day to get outdoors.

Later on Sunday, our other good friend Matt arrived with his family. He and his wife Anne have 3 children- Kaitlyn (7), Shannon (5) and Christian (4)- as well as one on the way (a boy due in January). They live in Westbrook, Maine and made the 3.5-hour drive to visit for just a few hours. They brought a delicious lunch to share, and then we set all those kids free outside. It felt like "Jon & Kate Plus 8!"

Here's our whole gang....It's been 14 years since we graduated from UVM...Who would have thought that all these years later, we'd be able to come together with our beautiful children for a fabulous weekend of pure fun?!?

I feel so lucky to have great friends who are willing to make such an effort to stay in touch. And no better place to come together than our favorite house on Forest Lake!

Preventing the Flu

I got this info from my Aunt Nancy with tips on how to prevent the flu. It was sent to her from a friend who works for Partners Health Care in Boston.
From a Biology point of view, some of these techniques really DO sound valid, and so simple that you've got nothing to lose (and possibly LOTS to gain). Who knows? Worth a try....

Prevent Swine Flu - Good Advice
The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps can be practiced:

1. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water or Listerine. H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive, and powerful preventative method.

2. Blow the nose hard once a day and swab both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

3. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

4. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Moose Season

Well, all hands were on deck in Wheelock this past weekend, in hopes Tyler might bag his first moose. No such luck yet, but he still has 2 full days of hunting ahead of him.

Elijah and I filled our time alone with a few fun plans. After bringing him for his seasonal flu shot on Friday (not fun) we went to McDonald's in St. Albans where they have one of those indoor playgrounds (very fun).

On Saturday, we geared up to go apple picking at Allenholm Farm. Here's a short video clip I took before we headed out. Nothing too exciting, but I know Nana loves her videos!

Elijah was very excited to go apple picking! I was excited about his $8.00 L.L. Bean jacket I got him at the Saxon Hill Barn sale. It's a 3T- a little big but will be perfect for this winter!

Once we got there, I couldn't drag him away from this fun ride-on car...

So we brought it with us into the orchard!

Eventually, the lure of a crisp fresh apple won him over.

I was actually glad to have the car in the end, to wheel out our big bag of apples.

After we'd picked our fill, we went back to the playground for some climbing...
...and "driving" another car:We were at Allenholm for about 3 hours. Saturday also happened to be the Green Mountain Marathon. Allenholm Farm was approximately 1/2 mile from the finish line, so beginning around 11:30, I got to see lots of runners finishing their race. That was pretty fun for me! Elijah was standing at the top of the jungle gym, and had a bird's eye view of the race. Every time a new runner came into view, he would alert me by calling out, "Na-Na Ra-Ra, Ma-Ma!"

Translation: "Another runner, Mama!"

There were only two downsides to the day:
1. Elijah got nipped by one of the miniature horses (ouch!) who probably thought he had food in his hand. Just a little bite on the finger, but it did draw blood.
2. Elijah had a bit of a meltdown when it was time to go. Always a little embarrassing, I ended up carrying his dead weight (30 + lbs) on one hip and our 16 lbs of apple on the other...all the way back to the car.

Ahhhh....but temper tantrums or not, it was a gorgeous sunny fall day and we had a blast. Best of all, here's a picture of the "final product!" Yummy!

Poll

Here's a reflective poll I borrowed from my friend Jen's blog. How would YOU complete these sentences?

Outside my window...is a cold, dark sky spattered with bright stars...

I am thinking that...I really like having my husband home from deercamp...Elijah is so happy in his new daycare...I should start a load of laundry but I don't feel like it...it was fun to reconnect with my old childhood BFF on Facebook...I spend too much time on Facebook...I have been truly blessed in this life...

I am thankful for...Elijah and Ed. Also, the health of my family, that we have a roof over our heads, we both have great jobs, we have amazing friends and family...

In my kitchen...is a delicious apple pie. I just might have another slice!

I am wearing...my blue bathrobe and warm LL bean slippers...

I am creating...a happy home, great memories...

I am going...to RI for Thanksgiving to visit my family, and to Arizona in April to visit Eric and Barbara Burnham...

I am reading...Some funny British novel that is making such a little impression on me that I cannot even remember the title...

I am hoping...that Ed, Elijah and I have many many more years together...that Tyler and Aimee's closing goes smoothly...that Matt gets into his top choice for grad school...

I am hearing...quiet...except for the fizzing carbonation of my diet ginger ale...

Around the house you will find...play-dough, books, tomorrow night's turkey casserole cooling, school stuff and newspapers...

One of my favorite things right now...appreciating how much Elijah changes and grows every day...just being a Mom...Jazzercise (haha!)...

A few plans for the weekend...We are renting that same VRBO in NH with my college girlfriends and their families...Can't wait!

A picture to share...one happy little boy...The light of my life!

Simply Fun

Seriously, you've heard me say before, "All kids need a dog." Here's proof...built-in, parent-free entertainment. Eventually, Zoe just gets tired and goes to lay down in her bed. Then the parents are required to pinch hit for the tired dog. THAT gets old...fast! :-)

Isle aux Noir

While it may not be the smallpox, malarial fever or dysentery of our American Revolution forefathers, our little army of 3 here in Fairfax has been stricken with our first sickness of the school year. Nothing more than the common cold, but just enough to disrupt sleep and make us all just a bit grouchy. I'm sure it's only the beginning of a loooong cold and flu season.

To tame the savage beast (a.k.a. Elijah), we decided there was nothing more calming than a nice snuggle on the couch with some good friends and a box of Buggy Grahams.... I got sick just in time for my half-marathon. Thankfully, my head cold was gone by the morning of the race- although the cold had settled in my chest, making for some difficult breathing while running (thankfully, I still had a few "puffs" left on my nebulizer from last year's post-flu bronchitis). Liz and I hoped to break 2 hours, a highly attainable goal at any other time. But in the end, we crossed the finish line in 2:03:54...missing our target time by nearly 4 minutes.

On a more positive note, it was a great day to run, and the race was as delightful and organized as always! Glad to have participated again after a 4-year hiatus.

This is the pre-race photo. NO ONE wants to see what we looked like after 2+ hours of running! When I returned (read: dragged myself) to my car, someone had stuck fliers on everyone's windshield advertising another half-marathon coming up at the end of the month in St. Johnsbury. Bad timing...what are these people, crazy?!?