Phantom Farms

It's become a family tradition for us to go apple picking at Phantom Farms. It's a great apple orchard only a few miles from our home. The kids love the hayride. They also have a great country store with a yummy bakery. This year we got whoopie pies.

Julia reaching up high to get the good ones...

The trees were full of beautiful, crunchy, sweet apples this year...


My three cute, cute babies who are all getting way too big way too fast...

My little dancer who loves to pose...look at those Jazz hands Auntie!

Julia took this picture...

Crunch...

And tonight I made a delicious lazyman apple pie which the kids, once again, turned their noses up at. But Danny and I loved it!

Salad Heaven & Weather H-E-double hockey sticks

I've had this for lunch for the past two days. It's salad with candied pecans, pears, and blue cheese and it is so unbelievably yummy.

For the recipe click here.

On another note...yes the hockey stick part. Gianna is having one heck of a time with the change in the weather. It has gone from the high 70's to a brisk 60 degrees here in New England. The wind has been blowing and it is darn chilly especially in the morning. Gianna just can't understand why she can't wear her shorts. She had preschool yesterday and I wanted to be a good, responsible Mom and dress her appropriately so on went the pants. You would have thought they were burning holes in her legs. Oh the crying and carrying on. I refused to give in and made her go to school with the pants. I had to leave her crying with the teacher. This child is slowing driving me nuts with her clothing and shoe issues. Do we all remember the shoes??? This morning on went the pants again and she cried and cried for almost an hour until she fell fast asleep on her bed from all the crying. I'm exhausted too.

Seriously

Not that either of these pictures have anything to do with the other except cuteness.

Nicholas before his first game (which I ended up missing)...

And Lucky just relaxing on the porch...

thoughts

Three things in human life are important.
The first is to be kind.
The second is to be kind.
And the third is to be kind.

- Henry James

September 11, 2001

A day I will never forget. Thankfully, I didn't know anyone who died on that awful day. Especially when two of the flights departed from Boston.

I was home on maternity leave with Nicholas who was just one-month- old at the time. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The air was crisp and the sky was the deepest blue. We were living in Braintree at the time and I was busy folding laundry in my living room. The sun was pouring in through our huge picture window. I had the Today Show on but the volume was turned off. I remember seeing one of the towers on the TV screen with smoke billowing out. At the time, Katie Couric was reporting and thought it was a small plane that hit the building. I remember watching it live when the second plane hit. It was a terrifying moment. I was supposed to have lunch with Patty that afternoon but we both decided to cancel as we were just too upset and frightened to go out. Both of us wanted to stay close to home with our families. All day long, I had the TV on watching the horrible and scary aftermath. I made two phone calls to friends that lived in the area just to be sure they were safe and they were. I had to keep going outside for fresh air just to get away from the images on TV.

That evening, I was up in the middle of the night feeding Nicholas in his room. As I rocked him in the rocking chair and the house was dark and silent, all I could hear outside was the hum of fighter jets circling Logan Airport. They would actually fly very close to our house as we only lived about 15 miles from Boston. Most days airplanes would fly right over our house, often very low at times, depending on the landing patterns at Logan. It was so scary hearing those planes, knowing they were fighter jets because all other airplanes had been grounded. The days that followed everything on TV was 9/11 related. It was very depressing and so emotionally draining to see all those people pleading and begging on TV to find their loved ones who worked in the towers.

I can't believe it has been seven years already. And what was the point of all that killing? I didn't get it then and I still don't get it now. Just no purpose.

I'll never forget that day...the weather...the emotions...the images.

Never.

Gianna's first day of school

Well today went much better than yesterday. Much better. Gianna was very excited to go to school today. No tears at all. Julia was a wonderful big sister encouraging her and showing her around the classroom.

She helped Gianna find her name on the floor for circle time.

She was all smiles when I picked her up. She said she got to water the plants as her school job. She talked endlessly about the fish, how she made play-doh and got to play outside in the playground. So a big PHEW! Hopefully next week will be just as easy.

Dance Lessons - A big no go

What is she running from??? Oh that's right...DANCE LESSONS! I have to say that I'm very disappointed! I was really looking forward to having two little girls in dancing school this year. But Gianna kept telling me that she wasn't going to dance lessons and that she wasn't wearing a leotard and that she wasn't going to wear the dance shoes. I really should have listened a bit more closely. She pitched a HUGE fit today as I tried to get her ready to go to her lesson. She just cried and cried and squirmed and kicked and scratched and pulled off her leotard. This is a first for her. Needless to say we never even made it out to the car. Good thing I saved the receipts for her (expensive) dance shoes, leotard and tights but not so good that I already paid her registration fee and first month's tuition.

Next up...her first day of school tomorrow! I'm REALLY looking forward to that! Better put on my body armour now because guess what? She says she's not going!

Three in school

We have all three in school this year...first grade, kindergarten and preschool. One bump in the road though. Julia has afternoon kindergarten while Gianna has morning preschool. That's OK. It will give me some alone time with Julia two mornings a week before she's off to school all day next year. Next fall I will have three mornings a week to myself which I am so looking forward to. It will be the first time in eight years!

Nicholas was very excited for school this morning. He was really looking forward to recess and lunch! Typical boy!


Julia was excited too and not nervous at all. She is very independent. The bus was taking a long time today which she wasn't too pleased about. When it finally arrived she was a little annoyed that I asked for another picture of her getting on the bus. She was like, "Mom"!!!!


Julia posing again...


Julia was all smiles when she got home and Nicholas looked like a zombie he was so tired. Day one was a success. I hope they both have a great year.

Gianna starts school next week. Nicholas asked me last night at bedtime if Gianna had school the next day too. My stomach literally dropped. I guess I hadn't really been giving it too much thought and it just hit me like a ton a bricks that she will be in school soon. She looked so little laying there in her toddler bed sucking on her binkie. (Yes, she still has a binkie but only at bedtime.)

The Cake

That's what Gianna called it. "The Cake" instead of "The Cape". Last week we went to visit Pops and CeCe down the Cape. They rented a wonderful house in Dennis for two weeks. The house was within walking distance to Corporation Beach and had a beautiful ocean view. This beach is great for catching minos, baby eels and hermit crabs.


(Julia loves to pose for pictures now.)


My little girl is now SIX! We built six sandcastles in honor of her sixth birthday.


CeCe planned lots of fun things to do especially on Julia's birthday.


We went out for a yummy dinner and then on a hayride which took us down to the beach. It was just so beautiful.









Afterwards, we went back to the house to have birthday cake and open her presents.

The Cape is where I want to live after our kids are grown. Hopefully Danny will join me! ;)