Home

is where we are. We got in yesterday afternoon, after a long day of travel. We had luckily discovered Naomi's fever Sunday night, gotten to the clinic Monday, and started treatment so that by Tuesday morning at take-off her ear infection was under control and not hurting her poor little ears.

We're all very happy to be home, although we had an awesome trip! Pictures to come soon, of course. I let the girls out of the van yesterday when we arrived and Naomi went straight over to the stroller and got in. And screamed like I was torturing her when I got her out. Hannah has reconnected with Baby Gretel, and now has about 8 kids, I think. She was beside herself with joy at the jelly bean costumes that Grandma Ellie made. Pictures will be posted of those, too, after this afternoon and evening's festivities.

In the meantime, I should figure out how to reset the laptop's clock. It is still showing Eastern time, and it's already shocked me three or four times. This may be a job for Michael.

How apt

As we were going into Rob's dorm building today, one of the cousins said, "This place smells like a zoo." Hmmm...

However, despite the zoo smells (oh, and Rob's actual room didn't smell like a zoo), we did enjoy our visit to Rob's college campus today. It was a beautiful day, the kids ran around a lot, we soaked in the atmosphere and woke a few college kids up with Naomi's cries when she got her hand pinched. It was 11:30, but I'm still pretty sure we woke some kids up.

Yesterday we visited Lee's, where there were tons of fish -- everyone was *totally* fascinated (and it didn't smell like a zoo) -- and we had a great time. No college kids to wake up there, but Naomi did enjoy going up and down the big ol' staircase over and over again.

Also, both yesterday afternoon and this afternoon were absolutely beautiful swinging days, so Hannah's been as happy as can be playing on the swingset in the backyard.

More things we've learned

1. Hannah and Naomi both like their Baltimore cousins. The youngest one has taught Naomi that just because Mama's holding a baby doesn't mean that she has to panic. He's a cute one, all right.
2. During the Revolutionary War, the U.S. put a huge chain across the Hudson River at West Point. They still have some of the links there. It was a good deterrent -- it kept British ships from making their way up the river.
3. Whole Foods near Central Park on Sunday at noon when there's a convention in the same building is not a calm place. But they do have about 16 express checkers, so takes only about 15 minutes to get through a line of 70 people.
4. The train from New Haven to Baltimore is a fun place for kids, even if you do have to change motors in New York.
5. If it must rain during your 2-week trick to the east coast, days when you're admiring a new baby and playing with cousins are better choices than days when you're touring Boston...or New York...or West Point...or New Haven. And we are so thankful to God that we got that good weather! :)

Things we've learned

1. Hannah likes to try out many different modes of transportation. She liked the airplane, the taxi, the T (subway in Boston), and the rental car.
2. Naomi dislikes (with a consuming passion) taxis. She didn't like the first one, she didn't like the second one. She's hoping beyond hope there isn't a third one. She tolerated the T, but a taxi was too much.
3. Going to New York for the day without a pacifier when thunderstorms are predicted isn't a good idea. You should just turn around and go back to West Point. Which is what we did, I'm happy to say. We'll see the city on Sunday.
4. Naomi loves a certain Jack Russell Terrier named Scout. As long as Scout can't actually get to Naomi, she's wildly ecstatic to see Scout. Hannah, in her own words, is not a fan of dogs, which means that poor Scout is spending more time outside than she's used to.

Trip prep

is taking most of our time today. We'll try to keep you posted while we're away!

A distinct lack of photos

is something I noticed in the past few posts. So I give you photos to illustrate that happiness is...

...having a sister who will let you crawl into her lap

and has your favorite book memorized, so she can "read" it to you

over and over;

...swinging

...swinging

and pushing/being pushed by your sister;

watching the bees in the flowers;

a walk with Dada on a lovely fall day.

Too much renovation

Michael and I were discussing how we're eventually going to remove the popcorn ceilings in our house. Hannah overheard us and said, "That's okay, just don't remove it in my room."

I told her, "When we remove it, it will be the whole house, including your room."

Hannah got a bit panicky, "The whole house will be without a roof?!?"

At which point I realized that Hannah didn't know the difference between a ceiling and a roof. Once we explained that, she was okay with having the popcorn ceilings taken down. It must be bizarre to be a kid who thinks her parents have gone mad and are going to take the roof off the whole house. No wonder she was panicky.

Are you threatening me?

Posted at the dojo where Hannah and Michael do karate is a sign that reads:

"Unattended children will be given a shot of espresso and a free puppy."

Let the record show that my children have never been -- and never will be -- unattended at that dojo! :)

A litany of the saints for kids, by kids

Yesterday the girls were a bit restless in the car. So they came up with this game:

Hannah: Who loves Mama?
Naomi: ME!
H: Who loves Dada?
N: ME!

They moved rapidly through the family members and Hannah started in on the saints:

H: Who loves St. Joseph?
N: ME!
H: Who loves St. Maria Goretti?
N: ME!

After a few minutes more of naming saints:

H: Mom, what are some more saints?
Monica: St. John?
H: I've already done St. John.
Monica: St. Rose?
H: Oh, yes! Who loves St. Rose?
N: ME!

This went on for quite some time. Of course, Naomi will answer ME! to almost any "Who?" question out there ("Who can leap tall buildings in a single bound?" "ME!" "Who's making dinner tonight?" "ME!"), but I don't think the saints mind.

Correction

to my "It's not 97 degrees" post. It wasn't 97 in Baltimore. It was 93. So I guess I don't have to change my packing plan after all! :)

Snuggles

What good is it to have two little girls if you can't snuggle? Michael often acts as the human jungle gym when he's home -- "Dada, be a slide! Dada, help me jump! Dada, UP UP UP!" -- but he also gets to do lots of snuggling of both girls at once. Any time he's sitting on the floor or lying on the couch, they descend to make the most of Dada time.

He doesn't seem to mind.

And if you can get Dada time and a snack...it doesn't get much better!

It's not 97 degrees

which is what it is in Baltimore, apparently. We're going to the east coast for a couple of weeks soon, so when my sister (in Baltimore) mentioned this, and told me I might need to pack accordingly, my carefully laid packing plans began to be reshuffled. It's definitely fall here, although today was 63 degrees or so as the high.

But warm jammies are a must!

We've been taking advantage of the lack of rain to get out and walk and do yard work and play. When we go on walks, Naomi provides the music. Or zeezick, as she calls it. When she says it, it sounds almost like she's saying "seasick." Selections vary from The Star-Spangled Banner to Amazing Grace to Bingo. It's an interesting mix.

Hannah sporting her "Uncle Rob" hat...made by Uncle Rob! She tells this to everyone who compliments her on her hat.

Walking on "the grass."

I usually let the girls out of the stroller to walk the last little bit home, and Naomi has begun to anticipate "the grass." As soon as she sees it, she begins her chant of "the grass." She and Hannah get out and run along...or walk along...or stop and look at flowers and buses and the sippy cup that someone left behind. Everything is interesting.

Quick, easy meals

For all you out there who may have some reason not to have tons of time to cook dinner, Danielle Bean has a post on her blog today about quick and easy meals. Some of them look really good.

Cold season

...is here. Yet another way to tell it's fall. Poor Hannah has a cold. She's been pretty cheerful about it all, but it's hampering her style a bit. I asked her not to kiss Naomi on the face while she's sick. She doesn't think that's a terribly reasonable request, but she's doing okay with it.

The cold has not affected her appetite. Yesterday she was able to eat dinner and then the rather large slice of apple pie that Michael gave her for dessert. Yes, he made another pie on Saturday. MMMM...

Hannah seemed better today, so we went on our walk. The girls were bundled up and enjoying a bit of sunshine. Naomi is very funny on walks -- she sings almost the whole time, and usually changes songs from day to day. It's a great accompaniment to a walk.

It's hard to begrudge the fall cold season too much when beautiful sights like this are right outside your front door:

Extreme Home Makeover Update

The home was revealed last Thursday morning, and there was a good article and some great pictures in one of our local papers. You can see the house from the front, but of course they don't allow the media in to see the inside, since that will be on the show, which they're saying will air sometime in January.

Happiness is...

...a visit with cousins. And their toys.

We went to P&G's today, and then they came over for dinner. It was quite fun, with only a couple of skirmishes about who got to do what when and who had to share. The littlest ones are getting along pretty well now that Naomi doesn't scream about every toy she has to share. They definitely both agree that it's great fun to try on other people's shoes.

Wherever she goes, you can bet Naomi will find the stuffed animals.

Oh, and the shoes.

Did I mention she'd find the stuffed animals?

The Mom Song

This was pretty funny. I recognize many of the phrases. I haven't had a chance to use them all yet, but I'm sure my time will come.

Another way to tell it's fall...

...is that the girls are wearing their new Halloween dresses from Grandma Ellie. Aren't they precious?

I got a new lens for the camera...

...so you get to see some of my experimental shots:

Hannahisms

While we were discussing that "hate" is a strong word and should not be used lightly: "Well, yes, but you can say, 'I hate going to the Bronx,' right?" Okay, little New Yorker.

She was telling me about something Sensei said in karate class: "It made me crack up, but I didn't laugh on my face, I laughed in my belly." Translation: I'm laughing on the inside.

You know it's fall when...

...your toothbrushes start showing up in the dishwasher on a regular basis. Seriously, I got this idea from another mom, who said she puts the toothbrushes in every day. The dishwasher is set on sanitize, so the toothbrushes get sanitized. Brilliant, especially with all the colds coming back into season.

Karate

I took some pictures at Hannah's karate class the other day. That was fun. Here are a couple of them:

Hannah is practicing Choke Escape #1 with Sensei.

Look at her run!

Hannah's been trying to teach Naomi the choke escapes, too. She's not getting some of the finer points, but she's doing pretty well with the running, as she demonstrated on Sunday. Michael was practicing choke escapes with Hannah, and Naomi got in there to demand her turn.

First, Hannah demonstrated that pink and black are great colors for choke escapes.

Then Naomi wanted her turn.

You can tell she's moving fast -- she's blurry! Can you see the big ol' grin?

Choke escapees have never been so happy!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

For those of you interested in Miss Connie's continuing saga, there's a website that tells about it and shows some pictures. It looks like they had good weather for pouring the foundation, so that's good news! It's been really wretched weather at night and since Saturday afternoon, so I'm sure they're glad they got that done when it wasn't too awful out.

Whew!

Boy we had a busy weekend. The compost party was a massive success -- all the compost got spread on the beds, thanks to our good friends! Also, the weather cooperated, and we only had a couple minutes of light sprinkling toward the end of the work time. Before and after those few hours it's been raining pretty constantly, so that was a blessing. And now it doesn't even look like there was ever any compost there at all! The garden sure looks lovely, though. Really, really big thanks to those of you who helped out! We couldn't have done it without you.

Someone asked if our neighbors minded our big pile of composted manure. Nobody mentioned it, but when we called to ask for the loan of wheelbarrows and shovels for the event, our neighbors were more than happy to lend...:)

Today Michael and I are going to be interviewed for a local Catholic radio show called, "Conversations with Fr. Bob." We're talking about NFP. Should be interesting, and I'll let you know when it's airing and where you might be able to hear it. I don't know if out-of-towners will be able to hear it online, but I'll find out.