30 September

We've lucked out this year and have had summer weather all the way through until the End of September. Bring on October......we have all our pellets stacked up we're ready for cold nights!

29 September

Right Now He.....

is getting ready for the Maine Marathon this weekend.

just finished bringing 3 tons of pellets into our basement (and re stacking them when they fell)

Is coming home today! (We missed you!)

Is beyond frustrated with his job, but loves working at home.

Loves it when people compliment the food he makes (He makes the best ribs and beef wellington ever!) and when they say they "saw him running".

Makes the lunches every night (and turns off the lights and feeds the dog.)

can't live without his morning coffee

28 September

Last week I had the pleasure of attending my first Church "devine Divas" Tuscan dinner at our neighbor's House. As you can see, there were no plates!

27 September

Going Apple picking (and pumpkin and chestnut picking) with the WW preschool . I'm so grateful I got to go this year. It's so fun to see and get to know the kids, teachers and connect with the other Moms. The little farm bakery we went to for snack was devine and I brought home some fresh cinnamon rasin bread and a whoopie pie to share. That's what I LOVE about where we live, within a half an hour we can be anywhere. What a beautiful warm day full of fun fall memories.

26 September

My Very First Daisy Girl Scout meeting tonight and I loved it!

25 September

Today.

The Buddy Walk. (It usually rains, but today we were ROASTING!)

The Buddy Walk^® was established in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.

Today.

Bre walked with her two best friends from school and their families. Today, Bre walked with her teachers and her Mom and brother. Today, Bre's friend E (6 years old) told the face painter to paint not an animal , but "For Bre" on her face. Today, even one of Trevor's best friends and his family came. Today, was just greater than I ever expected it would be. The people of our community have just come out of the woodwork for this special little girl. I am just moved beyond words. There are no words.

On the day she was born, I wondered if my little girl would ever have friends, and look....look where she is now:)

24 September

Today.

rain, cancelled soccer games,flu shots and the first dance class of the school year. My girl loves it, and loves getting dressed up to get her picture taken. I love how she smiles so big when anyone tells her she is beautiful (because she is...)

23 September

Today, I'm making my own sandwich for lunch. I'm carefully cutting the cheese in the shape of an airplane and my bread in the shape of a Christmas tree just like they do on Curious George!

22 September

What is real right now.

Homework. Working hard, and being successful and not successful, but still working hard. I'm loving spending this time with them.

Our schedule, it's too much most days(especially weekends!).

Even seven years later, it still hurts when someone says to me, "Well my son is doing a lot better this year in his class because there are more brighter kids and less special needs kids..."

Meetings, evaluations and after school therapy.

Trevor is reading 2-3 hrs a day on his own (Harry Potter) all of a sudden. Today, he asks me, "Mom, why do we need to write down the time we read for school, why can't we just read for the fun of reading?" (I love this, but please know he is far from perfect when it comes to being a student:))

A husband who is travelling a lot more this year.

getting a healthy dinner on the table every day has been a really big challenge lately (and I'm disappointed that I've given up on the garden).

Getting nervous for our first Daisy (girlscout) meeting next week. (I hope so much that it's something Bre can do!)

Trevor rocking in the rocking chair next to Bre every night as she falls asleep (Love this!)

Buddy Walk this weekend!

Down syndrome..... some days it's normal, and insignificant......some days it just seems so huge.

21 September

Around here.....

Who gets hot lunch vs. cold lunch is a hot topic daily. For Bre, we have resigned to the fact that she has to have hot lunch every day (or else she refuses to go to lunch!) For Trevor, a few times a month is fine, and Lucas says, "Mom....at my school we have hot SNACK!" Well, there you go.

20 September

Right Now.

Your feet are just about the same size as mine, and your hugs are close to my shoulder.

You love sleeping on your penguin pillow pet

You Love soccer and you practice every day on your own.

You forget things at school and at soccer sometimes, but you are taking responsibility and do most things without reminders.

You love your iPod and music.

You love your friends and you have a lot.

You like riding your bike and can ride 8+ miles.

You don't care about clothes or girls (yet....that we know of)

You can't wait to play the trombone, go fishing and skiing again and build your tree house

You love to read and are on the 6th Harry Potter book.

You are working hard on being patient, polite, and appreciative (and you are getting there!)

You haven't had a haircut since July.

Your favorite season is winter.

You ride your bike to the neighbors house by yourself but want Mom or Dad there to get you on and off the bus still (I'll take it!)

You are such a good big brother.

You are working hard on trying new foods, but are still pretty picky.

You would love to have a Wii and a pool.

I can't believe how fast you are growing up!

You are so handsome boy and we are so proud of you!

19 September

go Pats!

18 September

weekends.

lately, we're just partying it up with neighbors and friends, kicking butt in races and watching tons of soccer and football. Our neighborhood, it's pretty much like living in a dorm these days, always something going on. I, Love, love, LOVE how all thew kids in the neighborhood just play together, pick up soccer games, riding bikes and just plain running around(and how they get tons of exercise at the same time). The weather is just perfect here, warm sunny days and cool nights. Hey, who has time for chores, there is just way too much fun to be had on these early fall weekends around here.

17 September

Right Now.

You are going to preschool 3 days a week and you love it.

You are playing soccer 2 days a week and you are the smallest kid on the team (but you try so hard!)

You are starting to read some words

Eating snacks and drinking milk are your favorite things.

Playing with Mom is getting boring and now it's all about having a friend over (sniff, sniff...)

You love and are so excited about everything we do.

You love going to the library and taking the books with you to bed every night with a flashlight.

Every morning around 6:30 we hear the pitter-patter of your little feet running into our room and jumping into bed.

You say, :Whatever", "seriously", "actually" and "really?!?..."

You love playing with cars and trains

Tonight, Tonight is your favorite song

You love listening to books on your iPod

You are completely independent dressing, getting shoes on, coats on, and getting into the car.

Your favorite game is battleship.

You love riding your tractor and bike.

You love cutting your own food and eating mangos.

You love doing crafts, cooking, playing in the woods, and practicing your writing.

You love to argue and you hate taking no for an answer.

Your morning meltdowns are waning.

You always bring back little pine cones and stuff to collect from the woods at the bus stop

I can't believe how fast you are growing up.

We love your hugs, snuggles, smiles, and just all of you!

16 September

Right Now.

You are in first grade and you love it (you even ask to go to school on Saturdays!)

I love the way when we call your name You say "what?".....and then "hold On" or "just a minute"

You love to eat everything, you are my salad girl and you love getting hot lunch at school (with no help!)

Anything to do with the Cars Movie is your absolute favorite (Thomas the Train is now only a close second)

You are very excited about your new sparkly sneakers.

You are pretty much obsessed with the Dog, Lucy and which side of the door she is on.

You want to do everything Lucas is doing

Your favorite games are Trouble and Jenga

You love to color

You have tons of friends on the bus who like to sit with you and help you buckle in.

You are working on writing your full name, buttoning an zipping and tying your shoes

You have two loose teeth on the bottom.

You are fully included in your first grade class and you do EVERYTHING the other kids do.

You love dance party and acting silly.

You are reading level 1 and some Level 2 readers.

You are either smiling or pouting.

You are starting ballet and Girl Scouts in a few weeks.

You are a rock star

We're just so proud of you!

15 September

Where did the time go?

14 September

Finding our way to a new normal.

New school year, new schedules, new routines.

Mondays-just me and Lucas all day, we go to swimming lessons, the library, read, play outside and go to the playground. Lucas loves playing with his mama but he's asking more and more these days to play with friends (which is just bittersweet). We take our "long bike ride" to pick the kids up from the bus in the afternoon. WE make smoothies after school and have a healthy snack. Bre has a Daisy meeting once a month. We don't have sports or work....Mondays are good.

Tuesdays- 6 am run with neighborhood ladies. I work all day and get home to read the kids a book and tuck them in, that's about it. Lucas goes to preschool and Trevor has soccer practice.

Wednesdays- Lucas goes to school and I go to work for 4 hours. Bre has Speech after school and Lucas has soccer practice so we eat dinner late.

Thursdays- 6 am run with neighborhood ladies, Lucas has school and I have chore time, special projects, errands or craft time in the mornings. Every other week I will pick Bre up at school and take her to OT. Trevor has soccer in the evenings

Fridays- gym inthe mornings then to work until 10 PM.

Saturdays: Lucas's soccer games (and sometimes Trevor), Bre has Dance, we do some family fun activity or we usually have gatherings with friends and neighbors.

Sundays: Church, Trevor's soccer games and chores.

I still haven't fit in laundry and grocery shopping....working on it!

Watch this.

13 September

a little pre-bedtime Party Rock is in the House tonight.......

(thanks I for the inspiration)

We LOVE this.......

12 September

Every year, we drive up to this place, usually twice. Once on a warm summery day to pick Raspberries and a few apples, and once on a colder blustery day to pick more apples, pumpkins and Mums. Every year, we have grown a little, we are more independent and can do more of our share of the picking. Every year we take our picture on the bench out front and on the pile of pumpkins. Every year, the crops are a little different.....ready at different times, sparse or plentiful. Every year, we enjoy talking to the "farmers" and petting their German Shepard. Every Year, we enjoy freshly baked Pumpkin cream cheese whoopie pies and brownies on the ride home. Every year, we peel the apples when we get home using our apple peeler corer slicer and make apple/raspberry crisp. Every year, we love this.

11 September

remembering.

10 years. I remember it was a clear warm September Day. There was not a cloud in the sky. I was at work for a day shift (I worked full time at my current job, no kids yet.). Josh was on his Way to CT for work. It was a perfectly ordinary day. We heard about what happened, everyone was huddled around what TVs we could find. For weeks, we cried, we watched the news, we stood outside and lit candles. It didn't matter where you lived in America, or whether you knew one of the 2,977 lives stolen, the attacks were personal. The country united. Just a Huge reminder of the fragility of life, and how two seconds can change a life and a world.

It was the day that changed America. We'll never forget.....

10 September

Pretty cool how today it's 9-10-11

Lucas had hist first soccer game ever today, we're so proud of him! He is by far the smallest kid on the team. He tried hard to get the ball, he ran a lot and had fun (although he was disappointed he didn't get a goal). The boys are all so adorable, I love watching their games:) To top it off, it was a beautiful September Maine day, warm and dry, and not a cloud in the sky......

9 September

Spring Woods.

Our Pop-pop's health has been failing him for many years and a few months ago he made the move into a nursing home. This weekend, my parents have had the daunting task of going through their things. Nanny and Pop-pop made this house a home around 1980 (it wasn't the house my Dad grew up in). It was their little country retirement house in the woods in the little town of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania (which I'm not sure I can even spell right). They filled it with the many things that were important to them, most of all the very many important family, friends and townsfolk (I think they knew everyone) that were treated like royalty around their dinner table. I remember Nanny in the corner of her kitchen, the two trash cans for recyclables, the canning cellar, the ping-pong table, the twin beds and the cot upstairs, the old books and the trunk full of vintage toys. I remember hiking "up the cut" with a really quick dog who has recently passed, filling up the wood box, picking black rasberries and raking leaves. I remember the coffee table (which quickly became a coloring table for all the great grand children), all the handmade furniture, the old rocking chair that my Dad first Sat in, and Trevor did also. I remember the dinners and the breakfasts, the late night card games and the jam sessions, my dad on his trombone and Nanny at the piano. I remember the vintage car wallpaper, the noise the shower made and the carpet in the upstairs bathroom. I remember how the screened in porch was often used as a second refrigerator for many Thanksgiving goodies. It was so much more than a structure, Nanny and Pop-pop put everything into making their home, everything was perfectly cared for and dusted, not because it had to be that way but because they put so much love into everything they did. . I think it was everything they wanted it to be. It was far away from us, but I'm so thankful to my parents for giving me all those wonderful memories of days spent here. It's sad and happy all at the same time. Happy, because I know their example and these memories have been an inspiration to me in my life, with my family, in my home and the way I mother my children. Sad because, it's so humbling to realize that things can not stay the same forever, that certain "paths" will never be walked again and now I have lived more adulthood that childhood. Now, it's time to begin the journey of letting go, always remembering two lives well lived full of happiness and love.

8 September

First week of his last year of preschool (sniff, sniff).

This year he is going Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

so far they have made a frame for a picture of their class with shells, blueberry muffins and played outside in the rain in the woods , a big sandbox and a boat (that's on the playground).

He loves it, (and we love him!)

7 September

Ian Michael

Born today Spetember 7, 2011 1:52 PM

8 lbs 1/2 oz

Beautiful, healthy and loved....

Congrats to Mike, Michelle and Leah!

6 September

Love this.

5 September

And today.....home.

there is just something about doing something you never in your life thought you could do, I'm still walking on the clouds (I guess literally). It was so much fun, thank you so much to Jeff, Irene and the kids (and their friends!) for some wonderful memories. It's a weekend I'll never forget.

And I'm going to miss how Ryan says "DAAAAAD" all day long.

4 Spetember

We did it! We Rocked and Rolled it in Virginia Beach 13.1 miles. So, So fun! What a great day.

3 September

Overheard.

The other night, I walked upstairs to overhear one little big boy giving one little boy a lesson on how to use soap and be totally independent in a Big Boy shower. It was so cute how T was patiently waiting outside the door and giving L all the verbal instructions he needed. L was so proud of himself:) Love this.

2 September

Today.

I'm leaving via bus and jet plane to go down to Virginia to run the Rock and Roll half Marathon with my sister in law Irene. I hope to finish and have fun in the process. Wish me luck!

For Fun.

First day of Kindergarten and 4th grade.

on differences.

5 minutes for special needs here.

1 September

beginnings.

They were both up early and excited.

1st grade and 4th grade.

it's 9:13 and I miss them already (but I'm so happy for them and proud of them)........

they had a great day. I got two e-mails form Breanna's teachers saying how wonderfully she did. She loves school, she works hard and thrives on it (she just needs to know who is boss sometimes). I'm excited about this year, it's going to be great.