Open mouth, insert words

Regarding nighttime potty training:  "I'll make sure to post that I've had to eat these words if we have a big setback, in the interest of our case study."

Well, he certainly is still doing mighty well, and accidents aren't very frequent (less than a handful of incidents total).  In fact, he may have relapsed because of grandparent visiting and excitement; haven't had an accident since then.  BUT, the solid 2-week alarm-free spell did not last perfectly.  FYI.  :)

Grandparents!

Today ended a lovely multi-day visit with Mommo and Daddo, in which we played a-plenty, picked a-plenty apples, did a few projects, and mostly just enjoyed each other's company (and ate a lot...whew, salad for a week for me).  The kids really savored the time, and little Asher was in all kinds of tears this morning to say goodbye.  Of course, they acted like hooligans much of the time, but their Mommo and Daddo were very tolerant (you'd think they'd done this six times before, or something!).

I didn't snap too many pictures because we were too busy living, but here's a few...

Daddo brought toy trucks and bulldozers...with multiple electronic sounds!!!  Doesn't get more fun than that.  Many a moment occupied with living room driving and construction.  Getting the toys out of the box is a project unto itself...

If you give a mouse a cookie...
If you take a Daddo to an apple orchard where there are more than 16 apple varieties...you come home with a lot of apples, and each one labeled, for flavor comparisons!  'Spencer' apples were a newly-discovered and yummy variety, which pair excellently with Mommo's pie crust.  Also came home with Jonagold, Suncrisp, Macoun, Early and Late Fuji, Shizuka, Cameo, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Empire, Cortland, Empire, Creston, Topaz, and more I just can't remember off the top of my head.

Asher discovered the horsie.  The horsie took a beating when Asher threw himself on for rides, but held up phenomenally well!

Owen and I worked on a post-visit feast of butternut squash soup, homemade bread, salad and Jonagold apple cake this afternoon to occupy the sudden feeling of empty space around the house!  Thanks for a really nice week. 

Sometimes...

There come the days where you just don't care if the pj's match, if the toddler has britches, or if meals are spoiled with too much cookie dough.  This was one of them.  At least we managed to have some fun :)

Happy Birthday Reuel!

My husband is getting OLD!!!

The fair

I was feeling a bit forlorn about Reuel leaving for a business trip last night, and missing his Columbus Day holiday, and no preschool for Owen to boot.  Since we've been a bit housebound lately trying to make progress on bathroom remodel, I decided late last night to throw tiredness to the wind, forget I am exceedingly pregnant, and take the kids to the last day of the Topsfield fair this morning.  WOW.  Haven't been to a fair in so long, I really forgot the vibe.  The junk food!  The questionable characters running the rides!  The crowds on a relatively sweltering 80 degree, sunny holiday!  The extreme overpricing!  The wide-eyed temptation to beg for everything in sight when you're 2 or 4 years old!  Well, we had a very good time, but I was SO exhausted on the ride home.  Asher does not like the stroller, and I have not done a good job of teaching him that it is not optional, so he did a lot of walking, and I did a lot of running back and forth like a spastic chipmunk and chasing so that he would disappear in the crowds.  I was also being indulgent with him because he was so devastated to not join Owen on rides...it turns out that he was too short for all but one ride, and all but one carnie would not be convinced to let a pregnant woman accompany him (tell me the last time a woman was sent into early labor as the result of a carousel ride, PLEASE).  I spent a fortune.  I kind of knew that would happen so didn't worry about it since it was our special event while Daddy is away (though we *really* would have rather shared the excitement with Dad!!).

Let's see, we saw...
*milking demonstration
*cows, ducks, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, roosters, bunnies, llamas, an elephant, a camel, ponies, and we narrowly missed the bengal tiger show.
*New England's largest pumpkin of 2011 (Yup, it was large.)
*Cart horse competitions...kids enjoyed the HUGE draft horses.
*Police K-9 dog demo

And we spent...
$10 parking
$12 admission
$18 eight ride tickets
$3 cotton candy
$13 two corn dogs and french fries
$4 lemonade
$5 two bottles of water
$3 ice cream cone
gas money, 45 mins drive each way.

Insane!  Looking at that list I feel awfully indulgent, but let me tell you, that was after telling the kids no to about 4 out of 5 things they asked for!!  I guess the fair still got a pretty good milking from us :O

Ash

 Eating while watching Dad mow=prevention of toddler jack-in-the-box syndrome at mealtime.

Asher's fave cheeseball face.

Overworked and Underpaid