Anna the Fashionista

I have tried to keep pants on this girl, but some days can be a challenge.

She definitely has her own sense of style. For instance, for the last 3 days, she has decided that a teething ring that she found in a tub of toys makes a very fashionable bangle. She hasn't taken it off since she put it on. Also, she decided yesterday afternoon and this morning that it was o.k. with her if she could only find ONE Cinderella glass dress up slipper. I couldn't stand to hear the clunk, silence, clunk of her walking. It was sad. So, I was able to find the matching slipper for her this morning. I gave it to her and she was immediately thrilled and put it on. Of course, she was a lot funnier in her walking around and making noise then the video below, but I couldn't grab the camera fast enough.

Enjoy!

Hospital Tour & Update

Yesterday, Bob and I went on a tour of Hillcrest, the hospital that we are going to be delivering Jake. It is very similar to St. Joe's in that there are separate areas/rooms for Labor & Delivery and then Post Delivery. The rooms are fairly small in both areas. However, the nice part is that the rooms in the Post Delivery area have a bathroom complete with shower. When I delivered both Celie & Anna, the Post Delivery area had not been updated yet and they only had a toilet and sink in the room - no shower. So, you had to go down the hall to shower and get ready. That was a bummer.

Also, Hillcrest has a Level 2 NICU, which, at least in the state of OH, means that the NICU can take care of any baby born after 28 weeks. So, that made me feel reassured since we are at 29 1/2 weeks right now. The only time that they transport newborns to another hospital is if there is a surgery that needs to be performed. They have affliations with Rainbows, Cleveland Clinic main campus and Metro. So that is also reassuring, though I am hoping that we won't need to worry about any of that. Because of the NICU being situated in the middle of the Family Maternity floor - you are not allowed to have cell phones on at all on the floor, nor can you have anything that plugs into the wall. They are very concerned about things that disrupt the cardiac monitoring machines in the NICU. So, everything is somewhat limited. But the staff seems really nice and it is very clean. Also, there are a ton of restaurants in the area so if room service isn't that appealing, Bob can run out and get something else. YEAH!!!!

When we deliver, we can expect to be in the hospital for about 48 hours after birth - given there are no complications, etc. So, that is what we are hoping for.

On another note, I had my check up today with my OB. My blood pressure was 110/76 YEAH!!!! So, that is good. I had lost 1 1/2 #'s - so my OB said that I should just try to keep something in my stomach, even if I do not feel like eating much, I should try to eat small meals, etc. Jake sounded good - like a galloping horse. I asked her about what she thought about having to give me/Jake a shot to help him develop his lungs if he is coming at 34 weeks. She said that the shot is only given before 34 weeks and that after 34 weeks, the likelihood that his lungs are good are far better than the risks of taking the shots. Also, she said that babies that have been developing under more difficult than normal circumstances, i.e. hypertension, pre-eclampsia conditions, tend to accelerate the development of their important organs incase of an early delivery. That is why some 30 week old babies can be born and have hardly any issues and a 38 week old can be born and have issues. It just depends on the history of the pregnancy, etc.

So, we are still in the wait and see mode. We are hoping for the 34+ weeks. And we are very hopeful that we will see it. I just have to remember to be slow & rest. Oh yeah, and breathe.

Happy Halloween

I have offered many a times to help with Halloween costumes for friends and relatives. Usually no one takes me up on this offer. So, with great delight, I just couldn't wait until the girls were here so that I would finally have someone to make costumes for. However, being pregnant has definitely put a damper on things. Also, the girls are not quite of the age or interested where they can tell me what they WANT to be for Halloween, so I am left trying to come up with something on my own.

Well, I have to say that I cheated this year. I couldn't help the ridiculous sale that disneyshopping.com was having - about 5 months ago - so I bought a Tinkerbell outfit for Anna - complete with leotard/tutu and wings. It is rather cute. We are finishing it off with a white turtleneck & tights underneath. I made her a white and silver bag for her candy loot. There were not any costumes in Celie's size, but I did find some Pocahontas accessories that were on a super duper sale. So, I bought her the Pocahontas headband & necklace and the Pocahontas boots - moccasin like boots. Then I did make her costume from a pattern I bought at Joann's. Her dress is all handmade, including stitching all of the various trims and individual leaves on the front. We finished her costume with a brown long sleeved shirt & shorts. I also made her a matching bag for her treats.

Since Bob was home this year for the big Halloween Event, we decided to go out for the first 1/2 hr or so with the girls to our neighbors and then spend the rest of the time at our house passing out candy to those that came to our house. There weren't as many kids around the neighborhood as there was last year. The girls had a great time and even Anna was getting into the whole thing saying Trick or Treat and thank you. I was trying to get them on video saying it to post, but they were too fast and I was too slow. It was nice to see the neighbors that we knew. A few of them thought that girls were so adorable that they gave each one of them HANDFULS of candy. Lucky for us, they are purists, they really only eat solid chocolate and that is it. They won't even eat M&Ms - whose kids are these?????

Anyway, here are some pics from this evening. The house picture is of our neighbors the Gritti's. I loved their house & decorations.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Glucose results

I received word from my Dr. that the results came back and I do not have gestational diabetes. Phew. I am glad to hear that one. She said that 1 out of the 4 markers were high, but to be considered diabetic during pregnancy 2 out of the 4 have to be high. So, though I am not, she suggested that I watched my sugar intake. So, that is what I will be doing.

Glad I have one less thing to worry about.

Ridiculous & other miscellaneous items

This is what is ridiculous.
Yes, that would be snow on our deck. Ah, a light dusting you may say, well, as I sit next to the sliding glass door that looks onto the deck, it has hailed, the size of peas, and is currently snowing a light fluff of flakes. Joy!! It is October!!! I am NOT ready for this.

* * *

I spent 4 1/2 hours at the hospital on Saturday. Nothing serious, but I did have to do an extended 3 hr glucose test because my initial test came back high. So, hopefully, the results will come back some time this week and be o.k.

* * *

Jake continues to move around and I am thinking that he is growing pretty well. However, he likes to move around, just as I am about to settle down for awhile, trying to relax. Having him use my stomach as a punching bag isn't very relaxing, but at least I know he is doing o.k.

* * *

I am really trying to take to heart the recommendation of my doctor - she at least has gotten me to quit drinking diet pop. I haven't had one in 29 weeks and don't think I will go back to them. I am trying to relax more and not do too much. However, for me, that is difficult. I really feel guilty and lazy if I am not doing something. But I know that it is in the best interest of Jake and Me to keep low key about everything. So, I am really trying to focus on 1 thing a day that I will let myself do - whether it is laundry, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning off the desk, making pants for Celie, etc. and the rest of the time, I am trying to relax with my feet up.

We will see how long that lasts.

My next Dr. visit is on Monday. Details to follow.

Halloween Pics will be up, hopefully, over the weekend.

Happy Haunting!!

This one is for Uncle Tom

Jake Update

I went for my 27 1/2 almost 28 week visit this morning. Everything seems to be o.k. However, my blood pressure was a little high 130/80. I am usually 120/70 or lower. So, my Dr said that she would like to see me every 2 weeks from now on just to keep an eye on things.

I have been experiencing some numbness in my arms and hands, like I did with Celie. And last night, I had some weird vision things happening. Hopefully, it will just pass, but the Dr. suggested that I just try to relax, but keep aware of the symptoms of pre-eclampsia.

Jake sounded great and he is definitely moving around quite a bit.

Our next milestone is 34 weeks.. That is when the Dr. said she feels comfortable - depending on the situation of inducing me. So, that means, that Jake, could potentially be a December baby. That would make Bob happy - tax deduction.

We are just hoping that things calm down a little bit and he stays in his incubation state as long as possible.

A New Anna Phase

The weather here is now cooling off. We are not supposed to get above mid 50's today. Perfect fall weather. However, for some reason, Anna does not like to wear her pants. She will tolerate her pj bottoms for sleeping, but as soon as she is awake, she wants them off. It is hard to get her dressed to go anywhere, she screams and has a fit. It is not fun.

Well, this morning, I came down from doing laundry (our laundry is on the 2nd floor) and this is what I saw. I know that it is blurry, but I wanted to capture her with her hat that she put on sitting on the pillow watching TV.
Here is a side profile of Anna in her hat.


Anna saying Cheese for the camera. Usually I can't capture her because she is moving all of the time.

I missed it

I can't believe that in 5 short days, it has peaked and I missed it.

Last Sunday, we took the girls to Kent State University to see Katie - the girl that babysat for us this summer. She plays soccer for Eastern Michigan University and they were playing Kent. On the way home, the girls fell asleep and to take advantage of the time and to let them sleep, we kept driving, just driving around the area. The sun was out. The leaves were glistening in their fall glory and I thought, excellent, next weekend, I will have the chance to get out and take some photos of the fall foliage.

Nope. In the past 5 days, we have had rain and a cold snap and a little bit of rain. All of which has contributed to the colorful leaves to exit their branches and find their way to the ground. The scenes are definitely not photo worthy now. Bummer.

From my Previous Life

There once was a time when I was a grungy art/sculpture student. As I have posted prior, an influential figure in my life as an art student began with Charles Hook, my undergrad sculpture teacher. He died this past St. Patty's day of Pancreatic Cancer.

This past weekend would have been his 60th birthday. In celebration of him, there was a retrospective of his work and an Iron Pour in his honor. Also, a sculpture park was dedicated in his name at Railroad Square - a long tradition of artist studios, galleries, etc. in Tallahassee, FL (where Florida State is located and where I went to undergrad). I so wanted to be there to participate in the weekend activities. However, being pregnant with Jake would have made for a very tiring and trying weekend. So, I opted not to go. Luckily, Deborah, his wife, completely understood and has sent me a link to a video that was made of the Iron Pour.

Just a little information for those who may not know, when you are casting metal, whether it is aluminum, bronze or iron, you must melt the metal in a furnace. There are a lot of different types of furnaces and ways to do such a thing. However, iron has the highest melting point of the 3 most common metals used in sculpture, therefore, the process is different than for aluminum or iron.

As you will see in the video, the upright tube in the picture is the furnace or cupola as it is called. Also what you will see are people holding a "bucket" with long handles under the tap hole of the furnace. They are going to catch the molten metal coming out. Then, a person will take an instrument looking like a hoe and scrap off the slag or the impurities from the molten metal that is on the top. Then the metal will be poured into the various molds that are on the ground. If I remember correctly, that furnace, when tapped full has about 100#s of molten metal coming out at a time. Yes, it is very hot. The starting melting point for iron is around 1800 degrees, but most of the time what is coming out is more in the 2200 range. That is why everyone around the furnace is wearing leathers. Yes, I have a pair of those along with a Fireman's helmet that I wore when I poured iron.

There is a lot more technical stuff to it as well. And it amazes me that I remember so much of it. I owe that to my great teachers Charles Hook & George Beasley (my graduate instructor).

I hope you enjoy the video. The music may be a little loud - but the video is definitely the type of pour that I experienced in undergrad and grad school many times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqx3rBQ_7xM.

Jake's Room

Well, we definitely accomplished quite a bit this weekend. We have started about 6 different projects and none of them were finished. So, we decided that it would be a good idea to concentrate on one thing and then the rest would follow. So, the first thing to do was Jake's room.

I started painting his room on Wednesday night and was finished by Saturday morning. I had to wait for all of the coats to dry so that I could apply multiple coats. It saddened me to be getting rid of the fairies, but as I painting over them, I knew they had had their time and it was time for something else.

After the paint went up, I used my cool Cricut cutting machine to cut out outlines of puppies and paws out of vinyl. I then stuck them in the border around Jake's room and paw prints up his walls. I am very happy with how it turned out.


I couldn't resist putting his name somewhere in his room. I also liked the sleeping & waking up (as Celie calls him) puppies along his crib wall. Yes, I did that on purpose.


This dresser was Papa Tony's and Celie has used it since she was born. Now, Jake will use it and Celie will use another Papa Tony piece in her room. Yes, those are bone & fire hydrant drawer markers. I made them with my cool machine as well. Yes, they serve as labels for what are in the drawers. I am too forgetful these days to remember everything, so hopefully, they will help out a lot.
This is the artwork that is above Jake's dresser. It is an original print from an artist here in Brecksville. He had a bunch of different dogs, but I liked the pugs the best. It is what inspired the theme for the room.

I am feeling more settled knowing that his room is done. I am hesitant to open up the diapers and put them in his organizer because I have a feeling that between Anna & Celie, they will end up all over the floor. So, I will wait on those types of things. But for the most part, we are ready for him. Though since I am only at 27 weeks, I think it would be a good idea for him to stay in there for awhile.

However, I do have my days where I wish he were here. He can really serve up a good whallop.

Tramatic

That is the only way to describe yesterday.

I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to make the girls appointments to get their hair cut. I knew that it would be a challenge as neither of them will really sit still and I have been doing the hack job of cutting their hair ever since we moved to OH. When I try to cut their hair, they really don't seem to mind, so I thought, well, maybe they are out of the tantrum stage. I was wrong.

Yesterday, the girls and I went to Cuts N Curls in Solon, OH, about 35 minutes from our house - Why not go locally? because they were featured in an article about Salon's specific for kids. They had the cars that you ride in lifted up on chair hoists. Each cutting station had a dvd player and/or video game player. Really, it was pretty neat. So, I made the appointment for each girl at the same time so that if they were terrible, they would at least be over at the same time.

As soon as the brush came near Celie, she threw a fit. That made Anna just go off as well. Anna at least stayed in her car with a few attempts to get up. The woman that was cutting Anna's hair did an o.k. job considering she wouldn't sit still and she kept bowing her head. She cried the entire time - no juice, no goldfish, no nothing would soothe her - other than getting out of the car. Celie kept flailing her arms and was not cooperating at all. So, I took her out of the car - that was difficult - she is EXTREMELY heavy these days. I sat her on my lap and wrapped my arms around her like a straight jacket. She kept crying and screaming, but I was determined not to leave with out her hair cut. Kara, her stylish, did a great job of giving her a cute haircut and adding some layers to it. She did get about 2" cut off her hair, but she really needed it. We also took care of the knots that she got while she was in her cast and I still hadn't managed to get rid of.

It was a very trying day for my nerves. Actually, I should say morning, because all of this happened before 10:30am. Oh yeah, and it was raining all morning too.

Luckily, they did not ban us from the Salon forever and since it was Anna's first haircut, they took her picture, gave us a locket of her hair and a certificate. It was actually really sweet & cute, but unfortunately, it was all lost on the moment. Next time, the girls are going separately, and only one at a time.

Here is Anna at the Salon - I couldn't get a good pic because she wouldn't stop moving and trying to get out of the car. She wouldn't stop crying either, until we got back out to the van.
I took the long way home - so I could decompress. Today is much calmer. Thank goodness.

Celie & Anna Singing

I have been wanting to capture this on video for awhile. I am hoping that it isn't too big to download for people.

I hope you enjoy it as much as Bob and I do.

I'm in LOVE

Yes, it is true. I am in love and isn't what you might think.

Let me explain.

Our computer has contracted a virus. We have been discussing for a while about getting a new computer and what kind, etc. I have been wanting a Mac for awhile because I thought it would be easier to do a lot of the things that I like to do.

So, yesterday was the day that I went to meet with a personal shopper at the Apple Store. I fell in love right there. I couldn't believe that we hadn't switched earlier. I couldn't how easy some of the things could really be. WOW!! So, I bought us a new computer and an iPod. I feel so hip now - sort of.

Right now, I am converting all of our CD's over to the iTunes Library so that we can then create the playlists and add it to our iPod. VERY exciting. I have also imported the photos from this weekend that I used in the previous post. So, if things are taking longer to load, etc. Please let me know so that I can change the settings I used.

What amazed me the most was that I was able to plug my camera & printer into the iMac and use them right away. I didn't have to upload drivers, etc. to the computer to make things work. This is awesome. Same with the internet. It just worked. How Cool is that? I am hoping that I can do some really cool things once I get the hang of things.

I am in LOVE!

Fall Festival

On Saturday we set out for a Family Fall Festival at the Rockin' R Ranch about 30 minutes from our house. This was an event that was put on by the Preschool Mother's Club that I belong to. I was excited because there was supposed to be hayrides, shows, petting farm, pony rides, etc. We also got lunch. :)

So, we loaded up the girls in their matching shirts (I had to buy them matching plaid shirts so they looked "country" + they were on sale) and headed to the ranch. When we arrived, I was a little suspect because there were large barns with very large skeleton heads. I thought it was definitely geared toward older kids. But we ventured on.

We signed in and got our picture taken as a family. We almost got it. The girls were given cowboy hats. Anna wore hers almost the entire time. Celie - only for the pic.




Then we had lunch. After lunch, we headed outside to see this show that they put on. It was very HOKEY - but Celie enjoyed the music and enthusiastically. After the show was over, they announced that we could have our picture taken with the characters for $5. I wasn't interested.


We then headed to the petting farm area. Anna was in love with the bunnies. She couldn't get enough of them. So, while Bob was with Anna, Celie wanted to ride the ponies. So, we got in line for her to do that. I got one picture of her and was about to take another when I was reprimanded by a teenage with acne that I couldn't take any pictures of my daughter on the pony. That if I wanted a picture, I would have to pay $5. I told him that I thought that was ridiculous. Celie got off the pony and I went to tell Bob that I was done with this place and we could go any time. I was not happy.

Here is the rogue pic of Celie.

After Anna played and admired the bunnies some more, we coaxed the girls out to the car. We had been there a mere 1.5 hours. Bob and I agreed that we do not have to go back there again. The girls and I had a much better time at Heavenly Hill Farm. That was what I expected. Not something Hokey and money driven like Rockin' R Ranch. Live & Learn.

Sunday, September 21st

Sunday was a lazy day.

The fog was very thick in the morning. So much so, we couldn't even see the dock when we woke up.

We had breakfast and the girls played with the presents that Anna got the night before.

My mom and I worked on patterns for Celie. She has gotten so big that regular clothes just do not fit her that well and it is difficult to find clothes that have an elastic band. So, my mom, who is an excellent sewer, was helping with various patterns to make sure that we had the right fit, etc. She also gave me some pointers for Celie's Halloween costume. She is going to be Pocahontas.

Sarah stopped by for a little while to see the girls and us. My mom headed back up north and then Sarah left. We were on our own and the fog was lifting and the sun coming out.

Bob took the girls out to fish & play. I snapped some pics of them and a whopper (blue gill - blurry). I also captured some seagulls on the floating dock and swans on the lake.





While Bob was watching some football, Anna sneaked up on his lap and decided to give him a big 'ole kiss.


Our friends Allan & Jen came out with their 6 month old daughter Richelle. We chatted and the girls loved trying to make Richelle laugh. Then Tammy & Reagan stopped by and the girls immediately were playing with Reagan.

Allan & Jen headed home and it was almost dinner time. Not feeling like cooking, we asked Tammy if she wanted to join us for dinner somewhere. So, we all headed to Thompson's for dinner. Celie enjoyed having some pie with her new/old buddy Reagan.

After dinner, we headed back to the cottage to enjoy a great sunset on the lake and then gather items to pack up for our trip back home.

The girls were exhausted by their many visitors and tons of fun. They were sleeping within 2 minutes of going to bed.

On Monday morning, we got up, had breakfast and packed up the van. We said goodbye to the nice cottage and headed back home to OH. It was a GREAT weekend filled with fond memories.

Saturday, September 20th

I woke up early. It is getting more difficult to sleep no matter where I am. I can't believe that I have 3 1/2 more months of this. :) I headed to Dexter to get some delicious baked goods from the Dexter Bakery and then go grocery shopping for the next couple of days at the cottage.

Once back from my excursion, we ate breakfast. As soon as we were finished with breakfast, Celie asked, "can we catch a whopper?" "We have to get dressed first," was my reply. So, as the girls were getting dressed, Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom came to hang out with us for the day. We all went outside to see Celie catch a whopper. They fished for a while and then Bob asked Celie if she wanted to go for a boat ride.

Uncle Tom was trying to help Celie put on her life vest for the ride. Bob was on the dock and I was taking pics from the lake end of the dock. Anna had decided that she had had enough and was trying to pass Uncle Tom & Celie on the dock - there wasn't much room and I told her "No, Anna. No, wait." I saw her step off the dock between the paddle boat & the dock. My heart sank as fast as she did in the water. Bob straddled the water between the boat and the dock and swooped down and grabbed her out of the water. She had been completely under. She was soaked. Everyone was getting off the dock. Water was pouring off of Anna and she finally began to cry. It seemed like the longest 3 seconds of my life. I waddled quickly inside and got towels to dry her off and calm her down. After about 20 minutes, she was finally fairly calm. We remained inside for a little while after that incident while Bob took Celie on a boat ride.

Bob and Celie heading out for their boat ride.


After their boat ride, we had lunch and then decided to head outside for some more fun. We didn't want Anna to be afraid of the dock after her incident. And she wasn't. As soon as she was outside, she headed for the dock. She walked carefully and we all made sure to pay attention to where she was at all times.

However, she did want to take the big rocks off of the shore and throw them into the lake. That was not allowed. So, she had a challenge with that. So, I decided to go in and get some ice cubes. I figured that was a lot less damaging.



However, one bowl of ice turned into many bowls. I don't think that Anna can make up her mind which hand to throw with. She has a decent arm with both as proof of this video clip of the girls throwing ice with Aunt Sue - audio is of Uncle Tom.




My mom came around mid afternoon. We also had visits from Scott & Shannon Janezcek with their 7 month old son Ethan. My dad & Pat came over too and we started the B-day dinner grill for our dinner of bbq chicken, munchies and cole slaw. I didn't go over board with the food because we had plenty of cake and ice cream coming up as well.

After dinner, our friends Shaun & Jeff Ormsby stopped by with their kids, Eva, 3 & Lydia, 14 weeks. We then decided it was time for cake & ice cream.

Anna's cake.


Yes, we went with a Tinkerbell theme for her b-day because that is what she is going to be for Halloween. However, I think that she is going to get renamed - Stinkerbell.

Here are 2 different videos. One of us singing happy b-day to her. Don't cringe at the vocals too much, especially you, Uncle Mike. And the other is Anna trying to blow out her candle - after it was re-lit.






A campfire was the nightcap event of the day. We were all too full from the cake and ice cream so we didn't make s'mores, but we thought about it.

Friday, September 19th

I had packed most of the items for our trip during the week. We just had some finishing touches that needed to be complete.

Bob worked a 1/2 day and was home by Noon. By time we had lunch and finished packing the van, we were on the road by 12:45 pm. We encountered a few construction spots that held us up a little, but for the most part the ride was smooth sailing. We got to the cottage around 3:45pm.

It was wonderful to get out of the car and the girls were happy to be out as well. Bob had told Celie that we were going to go fishing and so the entire trip to MI, she kept asking, "We are going fishing, right daddy?" She would also say "I want to catch a whopper."

We went into the house and checked things out. It was fabulous. The living space downstairs was open, clean, and bright. Very comfortable. Celie saw the dock and the lake and wanted to go outside. Bob took the girls out there and showed them the dock and told them they had to be careful and they looked for fish. 2 swans came up to them to greet them. Once the swan's realized they didn't have any food for them, they swam away. It was almost like the Chevy Chase moving funny farm and cuing the deer - though it was cuing the swans.

We unloaded the van and I worked on getting the house in order as Bob and the girls set out to try to catch a whopper.

It was fun to hear the squeals of delight as Celie saw the fish try to bite her bread bait.

Friday night, we ordered pizza and fried pickles from Thompson's. My dad & Pat came over for dinner and Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom came out as soon as they got into town. The girls and I had made a cake for Uncle Tom's B-day - German Chocolate cake. (We were celebrating his b-day early since we wouldn't see him on his b-day). We had pirate themed plates and napkins and goody bags with pirate items - Uncle Tom loves pirates. We quickly found out that we think that Anna is allergic to coconut. She kept spitting out the frosting from the cake. Then she started really scratching her face and crying. We quickly gave her some benadryl, which was a challenge, and she seemed to calm down. Her face did have tiny welts on it. Drama.

The kids, Uncle Tom included, played with the Pirate goodies and then it was time to the hit hay. Both girls were out in a matter of minutes.

Here is a picture and some video of Pirate Celie.

What a weekend!

We had one of the best weekends in a long time.

We had decided that we would try to come back to MI more often than we had done in the past. However, in doing so, we wanted to find a place that we could stay without inconveniencing friends and family, but could spread out a little bit more than just a hotel room. We found the answer - a cottage on North Lake.

We rented a 3 bedroom, 1 bath cottage on North Lake which is just NE of Chelsea and about 2 miles from our old house in Chelsea. I found the cottage online and was hoping the pics on the internet were as good in person - they were and even more so. It was a fabulous place. Very kid friendly and very clean. It was awesome.

We had decided that we would celebrate Anna's b-day there and would try to invite as many people out as possible. However, the parking situation was a little cramp, which kept us from having a big party, but that was o.k. People came and went as freely as their schedules would let them. It was a lot of fun.

Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom came in from Chicago and stayed in Chelsea and my mom came down from up north and stayed with us for a night. We were there from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

I will detail the events of the weekend in separate posts to make it easy to keep track of things.

Here are pics from the cottage. Looking out from the front of the cottage onto the lake.


View of the back of the cottage & the view from the back of the cottage.

1st Field Trip & I survived

Since deciding to not enroll Celie in Preschool, I have made a large effort sign her up for things so that she can socialize with other kids. Today was the first event that we have signed up for through the Preschool Mom's Club I belong to.

We went to Heavenly Hill Farm. We went on a hayride, picked apples, did a treasure hunt, picked small pumpkins, went in a bounce house, and frolicked through a corn maze. WOW!! That was a lot of activity and yes, I survived, barely.

Once we got to Heavenly Hill, I introduced myself to the mom's that I didn't know. Here I am worried about Celie not having the social skills by not going to preschool, but she went up to every person, adult and child and said, "Hi! I'm Celie!" One of the mom's that I know, Katie, said, "Boy, she isn't shy," as her boy/girl twins clung to her leg. I guess I really do not have anything to worry about.

So off we went on a hayride. Celie and Anna both loved it. The hayride went through the apple orchard and in the trees, they had hung stuffed animals for something for the "kids" to find. Pics of Anna & Celie on the hayride.


Once we were in the middle of the orchard, it was off the wagon and out to pick apples and put them in the bucket they provided.



Anna pointing at Elmo in the tree.


Next it was back on the wagon to the "high" grass area. This is where the girls were in search of baby pumpkins. They were small pumpkins that were tossed in high grass for the kids to find.

Then it was to a park like area where there was a treasure hunt set up. This wasn't very popular with my girls and Anna had a meltdown when I wouldn't let her have the pumpkin of some one else as we waited for all of the other kids to finish. Yes, I got a pic of that too.



Then it was back to the Main Barn area. We split the group into 2. One group went to the bouncy house and the other in the corn maze and then we switched. The girls loved the bouncy house. You can actually see Celie get some air in her pic.






Next we switched with the other group and went in to the corn maze. Snow White greeted us at the beginning of the maze and we were told that she was in search of the seven dwarfs and next to each of the dwarfs was a prize. So, each child was to get 7 prizes.

So in we went. The maze was pretty cool, but the ground was fairly bumpy and pretty rugged. Anna had a hard time with the path, but Celie was the awesome. She was way ahead of us and found the 1st dwarf with Anne & her kids. Celie didn't quite grasp the concept of the prizes until she found the first dwarf. Then she wanted to continue, but Anna was having a meltdown, so Anne offered to take Celie with her and her twins to find a few more dwarfs. I thanked her a ton and Celie went along graciously. Anna was having a fit and wanted to go back into the bouncy house once we were out of the maze. I didn't let her because it wasn't her turn. And we had to wait for Celie, so I put her in the van as we waited for Celie. Boy, what a little stinker. Celie came out with Anne's kids and they all were saying good bye to Snow White and thanking her for their prizes. I thanked Anne for taking Celie. Celie said, "Look Mama, Look at my prizes!!" She was so proud & so was I that she was independent and was plowing through the maze better than me. Here is a pic of Celie & Anna in the maze.



We all got into the van and headed for home. It was a great 1st field trip!