Fall Fun

Wow! We spent last weekend at Poppy and Nanny's house and we had the most fantastic time. It is amazing how much we managed to cram into 3 days.

We started with the Luray Rescue Zoo. It's quite a nice little place (although Zoo might be generous) considering the size of Luray. The most impressive part of the Zoo is their extensive snake/reptile collection. They have an impressive number of highly venomous snakes (cobras, Gabon Viper, Mambas) as well as US and local venomous and non-venomous snakes. To me, the most impressive was the Canebrake Rattlesnake (sub-species of the Timber Rattlesnake). This snake was massive. It was easily 6 inches in width - maybe more. I had no idea they were they wide and it was quite impressive.

Natalie was impressed by the very large pythons, which both she and Abby seemed delighted to think were going to eat them. They find this more amusing then scary - fortunately.


The Zoo also has a host of owls, birds, some kind of monkey, a petting area of a pig, donkey, yaks, deer, goats, etc. There are also a few cats: a bobcat and their pride and joy - a Bengal Tiger.



Friday afternoon was spent on a canoe trip I'd been wanting to take forever. Luray has a wonderful walking "Greenway" through the middle of town that hugs a little creek perfect of canoeing. The water was a bit low, but it was enough to have a little fun. Ben started out with us, but the water was too low for all of us. He and the girls abandoned ship to feed the ducks, but I picked the girls up again a little downstream. The girls seemed to have a great time and I was happy to do something I haven't had a chance to do in probably 9 years.


Saturday night we closed the day with a roaring bonfire and smore's and hot cider. My chocoholic children were mostly interested in tossing the graham cracker and marshmellow parts and scarfing down the chocolate. It was a wonderful way to end an amazing day.





Saturday we started the day with a wonderful breakfast with a former member of Poppy's church who had always offered such wonderful support and prayers. Then we headed off to Syria, Virginia to Graves Mountain Apple Farm for the Apple Festival. This year was much more crowded, and hotter, so we didn't stay as long. But, we had plenty of time to ride some ponies, check out the hay bales, and visit the petting area of the farm. They even had baby pigs, which were a real treat to watch as they ran around chasing each other.









Saturday afternoon we headed back to Poppy and Nanny's to get in a little more fun. Ben and Nanny hung out with the girls and Poppy and Mommy took a little canoeing adventure. We put in on the Shenandoah River behind their house and followed the river to see where it would go! We knew it would hit under the bridge (our pick-up spot) but we weren't sure how long it would take or what water conditions we would find. (I was hoping for white water all the way:-)) What we discovered was a wonderful stretch of river with some beautiful smooth cruising water and a few fun little rapids.

















After picking us up, Dad and Ben dropped me off at the same spot we ran the day before so I could run it myself and go a bit further. It was wonderful, although going "a little further" turned out not to be so smart since there was not actually a good place to take out the canoe. So, Ben and I ended up carrying it a good bit back to the truck. Did I mention it was dark by then? While I was gone, Poppy gave the girls his own version of a hay ride in the little trailer pulled by his lawn mower. They loved it! The next time we are there in the snow, we will have to hook up a sled and go for a spin.

Sunday we enjoyed attending church at Poppy's church and seeing all our Luray Church friends. The girls were actually wonderful and made it all the way through the service up to the sermon when Natalie said she needed to go the potty. I think they would have made it through if not for that. (It was a short sermon:-))

At lunch, the girls continued to make liars out of our complaints about their eating habits as we watch them eat salsa with a spoon as if it were soup, handfuls of chips, and 2 or 3 chicken wings. It was remarkable.

After lunch we headed to Luray's Heritage Festival where Poppy had a friend who would give us a horse and buggy ride. The girls loved it. We also rode more ponies and took a ride on the cutest homemade train made from barrels - and pulled by a tractor! It was so much fun.

And to cap the whole weekend off - we found a lovely little garter snake on the road that we were able to hurry along before it was smushed.




As always, our time in Luray ended too soon. It was amazing to at least have a 3 day weekend instead of just two and it made all the difference in being able to relax and have fun.

Coming soon to a blog near you: Natalie and Abby's first trip to the NC State Fair!

My Ingenious Laundry Sorting Solution

I'm rather proud of this. I hate the laundry ending up all over the floor. This works great for us!

Extreme Yard Makeover

The backyard of our new house is pretty much a mess. I think it might have been nicer at one point until the owners moved out well over a year ago and God took over the landscape maintenance and fired the gardener.

When we first saw the house in March, it looked like this:
Not so bad - very doable.

Once spring hit...it turned into this:

Basically, the backyard has been terribly overgrown to the point that you could barely see the side and back fence. There was a grapevine on the left side that had taken over some trees and created a canopy and nearly impenetrable hedge. The right side had a stack of nearly rotten wood (maybe stacked firewood) that created a rather significant mound. The back fence is a mess of who knows what and more wisteria than I have ever seen on my life. I think, although I can't imagine why, that the previous owners had planted it along the fence line every few feet. Pretty stuff, but a bear to get rid of - and it will take down a fence. Not a good idea. The grapevine, BTW, appears to not actually even be in our yard, but is migrating from the neighbor's yard on the other side of the fence. (Thanks neighbors).

The weekend of the girls' birthday in May, I worked really hard to try to clean out the corner where I wanted the girls' play set to go. I made a lot of progress, although grass tried quickly tried to take over.



This past weekend we spent most of Saturday working on the left side of the yard (where I plan for our future pool to go:-) ) We cleared SO much brush and that dreaded grapevine, rescued some maple saplings (again from the grapevine), and even cut down some small trees. The plan is to let the nicer hardwoods grow up and get rid of the yucky gum trees and pines. There's a lot left to do, but we made progress.





All the slate you see on top of the flower bed were pieces I found on the ground under all the brush. I foresee a slate patio in my future:-)

I still have a lot to do, but I have a grand plan. When I'm done, it will be beautiful. The kids will have a wonderful corner with the awesomest daddy-built play set and a wonderful grassy area where they can run around a play. Everyone is invited over for a cookout - and a swim in the pool I'm still trying to convince Ben we should get one day:-)

Animal Planet

*warning: snake phobics should skip this post*

Natalie and Abby love animals. They may not know all their ABC's, but they can tell you where a Panda Bear lives and what it eats (China - Bamboo), what kind of animals have a pouch and some examples (marsupials - kangaroo, koala), and identify at 3 kids of sharks (hammerhead, tiger and great white) and 2 kids of whales (orca and humpback), and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

They get this mostly from me as I could watch Animal Planet all day (the good stuff - not the weird Animal Cops and Pet Psychics), although Ben does have a healthy fascination with Blue Planet and Planet Earth. I especially love the cats, particularly big cats, dolphins, whales, sharks, and snakes. Yes, snakes. Just call me The Crocodile Hunter.

I have this thing about snakes - and the fear of snakes. I believe the fear of snakes is taught - not inherent. Therefore, the opposite can also be taught - fascination and a healthy dose of respect.

The good thing about living in NC is that there are only 4 types of poisonous snakes here so one's chances of coming across one are relatively small, unlike some countries, like Australia, where practically every snake you see will kill you. Here, even the most common venomous snake in this area, the copperhead, is extremely unlikely to kill you. Oh, it will hurt, but you won't die. Contrary to popular belief however, NC is not run amok with Copperheads. People just think they are everywhere They mistakenly confuse any number of poor non-venomous snakes with the copperhead, resulting in many, many needless deaths (of the snakes, not people).

A favorite story of mine:
My little friend, Hannah (about 9) and I were traveling to my mom's in the mountains. Just before her house, I saw a snake on the road, and of course, stopped to investigate and get it off the road. It was already severely injured and I believe was either some kind of corn snake or water snake, snakes with coloring that are often mistaken for copperheads. As we were looking at it, someone stopped to see if we needed help. As they pulled over, I whispered to Hannah, "watch, they are going to think it's a copperhead. Everyone always thinks EVERY snake is a copperhead". The man looked out, took a look at the snake, and announced, "that's a copperhead." Nope. Sorry.

All this to calm the fears of all those who are about to freak out at the following picture:

While working in the yard Saturday, I found two little snakes hiding under some slate. Two different kinds, I think, but both too small to even bite - and of course, they weren't copperheads.

The kids loved them. They have no fear. But, they do have healthy respect. They been drilled to know to never touch a snake without asking Mommy first. (Frankly, even Daddy wouldn't touch it without asking Mommy first.) They know snakes can bite and some can hurt you and make you sick and even kill you. I'm not into sugar-coating it. But, I'm also teaching them that snakes play an important part in the ecosystem and that there is no reason to be paranoid and afraid. Respect is good. Fear - not so much.

I believe strongly that educating reduces fear. Another favorite story:

One summer at camp, where I was on staff, it seemed we had an unusual number of snakes on the river that runs through the camp. The same river we tube, canoe and swim in. On one tubing run, I remember looking over at a rock and seeing 3 or 4 snakes sunning themselves. 99.9% of the snakes we see at camp are harmless - water snakes or black snakes. On the water, they are almost all water snakes.

One particular tubing run, I was with a boy, JC, who was about 10ish. He was deathly afraid of snakes. He made me stick by him to protect him from the snakes for the whole run. I wisely failed to point out the several snakes I saw along the way. Near the end, however, we both spotted a snake on the bank. He promptly freaked out. I calmly and confidently told him that the snake wouldn't hurt us, was more afraid of us and would just go the other way. JC is still freaking out. Then, the snake, a rather sizable water snake, did something I'd never seen a snake do. It left it's perch on the bank, entered the water, and swam straight for us. I put my tube out between us and the snake, because, what else could I do? (There was no way to get out of the water, expect towards the snake. JC is really freaking out now, and I'm beginning to consider joining him especially when the snake disappears under the water about ten feet in front of us.

Well, we high-tail it out of there, JC's bum held high above the water on his tube and me praying I don't feel anything slithering by my legs. At the first place to exit the water, JC was outta there.

I really felt bad for JC's overwhelming fear. He was really, really shaken up. (He later declared me one of the heroes in his life for "saving him from the snake", which might have been a bit over dramatic.) So, I pulled out my trusty snake books and persuaded him to sit with me and look at the pictures and try to identify the snake. After a while, he became interested. Later that day, there just so happened to be another snake in the swimming area. This time, JC agreed to approach it with me to check it out and after, helped me try to figure out what kind it was. At some time after that, he said to me, "you know, snakes aren't so scary when you know a little about them".

Ding..ding..ding...A little education goes a long way.

I don't want my girls to fear nature. I want them to respect it and know that some things can hurt them and that they have to be careful and always listen to mommy and daddy. I also don't want to sugar-coat the reality of the animal world either. You can't watch Big Cat Diary for long without seeing the lions go after the gazelle. The girls are learning that "some animals eat other animals because that's the way God made them".

Well, that's my little science lesson for the day:-) For those still with me, here are some more pics of the girls and a video.

Potty Experts

I'm going to be paying my sister back for years. Between her rates for sleep training and now, potty training, I owe her big time.

The girls are amazing. Natalie and Abby are now potty experts. After 6 days, they are doing amazing. They will now either announce they need to potty and then run to the potty at our urging, or, simply go there on their own, and return to us announcing they pee-peed in the potty. A few minutes ago, the most marvelous thing occurred - I walked past the bathroom to see Natalie sitting on her little frog potty and heard her announce, "I went poopy."

Any parent will tell you that pooping in the potty is the creme de la creme and we.are.there. Abby has been pooping in the potty for several days so now, we are set.

Of course, diapers are still for sleeping and long drives (and for another week, Little Gym, Ballet, and therapies - can't have them peeing all over everything). But, I think next week, we may even try those things diaper-free.

Diaper-less nights will also involve moving out of the cribs so they can get to the potty, so we will have to figure out what we are doing about that.

I am so proud of my big (sniff*sniff) girls, and am eternally grateful to Auntie.

Potty Training - Part Deux

So, my sister whirls into town and in all her wisdom and knowledge starts the potty training. I learned this was the plan when she sent me a text while I was in my real estate class: "Potty training, need flushable wipes". It's for the best really, because I am a potty-training wuss.

I really don't like potty training. Hate it, really. Kids peeing, and worse, pooping on the floor. Ick. Having to stop every 15 minutes to potty - which takes 10 minutes. I can't get anything done. Look at me, I'm whining and my sister is the one who did most of the work on Wednesday. God bless her.

Why can't kids just go from diapers to toilet instinctively? I'll have to take that up with the Big Guy when I get to Heaven. If God was a woman, we wouldn't have this problem.

On to the potty report:
It's going okay. I think. Abby is doing slightly better as she seems to recognize more when she is about to go. Even sitting on the potty she will announce, "I'm going to tinkle", and then go. She is also pooping quite a bit, but I think this is happy consequence of the antibiotic she is taking for the massive ear infection she had last week.

Natalie has been successful as well, but I think more luck than anything. Because she is on the potty so much, she has to pee on the potty sometime. She doesn't seem to know when she is about to go nor can she force it. She could easily sit on the potty 10 minutes without going, then get up and tinkle in her pants 3 minutes later. --Wait - breaking news...Natalie just announced she needed to go pee-pee - and SHE WENT!!!! WOO-HOO!-- Stay tuned for more information as it comes in.

Moments like these...

My sister is on her way to town, so I am attempting to clean up a bit. This leaves Natalie and Abby to entertain themselves in their amply supplied playroom. It was a bit quiet, which as all parents know, is generally not a good sign.

I pop my head around the corner and find this:


Natalie, Abby and an assortment of babies sitting quietly against the door staring at the ground. They looked up at me and declared, "we're watching a movie". I inquired as to what their movie was about and was told "the stars". (We visited the Planetarium a few weeks ago).

It was absolutely the cutest thing. These are the moments I wish I could capture forever and never forget. Natalie and Abby do so many darling things every day, and I know I won't remember a fraction of them. I wish I could make a movie of every moment of their lives so I could watch it when I'm old and gray and remember...

Thank you, God, for the imagination of a child.

Checking in

I know, I know...I'll skip the apologies and get right to the updating.

We have been busy. It's been a very busy summer for our whole family.

In April we celebrated Easter and had an Egg Hunt with Grammy. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and spent many afternoons at nearby parks and finally made it to the Zoo. We bought a house and started moving, sadly said goodbye to the girls long-time feeding/speech therapist (she moved) and took Natalie and Abby fishing for the first time.

In May, we finished moving and said good-bye to our old house. Natalie and Abby turned 3 and we had a little party, even though they were sick (again). Mommy and the girls took a trip to NYC, Daddy started a new job, and Mommy started working again (babysitting).

In June, Natalie and Abby started Little Gym (and loved it!) and did all kinds of fun things with Walker and Bean like going to the coolest drive through zoo. We visited Grammy in the mountains and spent a day with old friends, Jerry and Gayle, in Winston at Old Salem. Mommy also had the honor of assisting as a birthing partner for her dear friends, Michael and Lori, and their new baby, Sam (and older sister, Awa).

Poppy came to visit in July and we went fishing again (which the girls LOVE - they like to play with the worms). We also took an amazing trip down memory lane with Poppy as we visited his old churches and neighborhood and learned more about his childhood and life as a young adult. We also took a trip to the beach with Auntie. We discovered the fun of the big pool and more fishing with Walker and Bean, discovered an amazing new museum in Raleigh, Marbles, and tried to potty train.

August involved more swimming, more Marbles, a family reunion and playing with baby goats at the Carl Sandburg house. There was more hanging out with Walker and Bean, visits from Poppy and Grammy, and weekend sleepovers at Ya-Ya and Grandpa's. The girls gave up their bottles (but not the special milk), started ballet at Uncle Johnny's studio in Burlington (where Mommy and Auntie also took as little girls) and started a new session of Little Gym. They even attended a Little Gym half-day camp for 3 hours. They have also started some of their old and new therapies - PT and OT (still waiting on speech). Daddy had to work lots and lots of overtime and Mommy started babysitting for Baby Sam.

Whew. Oh, and somewhere in there, Mommy and Daddy made an attempt to get the new house in order with some painting and organizing, new furniture (just this week), a yard sale, and with LOTS of help from Grammy. Thank God for my mom or we'd still be living in boxes.

And, just to make sure we don't leave anything out...the cats are thoroughly enjoying their new environment. They are happy their kitty perches (cat towers) are back and have each claimed their own. They also have favorite spots in the yard. Kitkat likes to hang out in the bushes and both have taken to hiding in the cool of the storm drain. And, as the girls like to say, "the kitties like to chase the bunny rabbits!"

Ok. That's 5 months in review:-)

Now, it's picture time! - and hopefully, more of the little details.