February vacation is half over, yikes! We’ve been staying very busy and enjoying every moment of it.

Tim and I picked the kids up from Dave and Roberta’s Sunday afternoon. Logan did NOT want to leave. I had gathered up all their lovies, flashlights, etc. and before I knew it the little bugger had unpacked all of it (including the monitor and his clock) in an attempt to stay for the “third night” that I had allegedly promised.Insert a bit of sadness for him not wanting to come home, but more gladness since it is so wonderfully awesome that my kids LOVE going to their grandparents houses and staying overnight. As a kid I remember it being really weird and not wanting to go without my parents. This is a testament to us needing to move closer sooner rather than later.

On Monday the four of us headed up to the University of Maine to go swimming. We stayed a little over two hours and had a great time. Tim and I were curious to see how Paige was progressing since her daycare provider aka Goddess Ruthie takes her swimming every Friday. We were stunned. She just jumps off the side, floats on her back, gets her eyes wet and kicks well enough to propel herself in the deep end. Wahoo! This summer is going to be so awesome.

Tuesday the kids and I hung out at home doing the usual play “stuff”. We played tons of board games, played outside for an hour or so, painted and colored and had an inside picnic on the living room floor at lunch. After naps all four of us packed into the van and went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. ONE OF THE WORST MOVIES OF ALL TIME, but…the kids both liked it. I had made three pb&j sandwiches to tide our tummies over and it all worked out perfectly. This goes on the record as being Paige’s first movie that she sat the entire time for. We attempted Tangled last year, but she and I had to go into the van about an hour in.

Today was a big day too. I took Logan and Paige’s friends Maddy and Lainey with us up to the UM pool. At times it was a bit tricky to keep all four together. Logan just loves to swim and wanted his buddies to go into the deep sections, but they really didn’t want to. We compromised and kept rotating around the pool. We did the kiddie part for ten minutes, then I swam with the girls on my arms to the whirl pool and did that for ten, followed by ten on the “bridge” and so forth. By the end of the time they all had hit their groove and were enjoying all parts of the pool. I found myself nostalgic to be hanging with these four awesome humans all by my lonesome. I remember them all (well, not Lainey) being born and it is so cool that they are still hanging out together. Okay, enough sentimentality.

We stayed for over an hour and a half and then we all were hungry. I suggested Pat’s Pizza, but was grossly outnumbered by the cherubs’ requests for McDonald’s. In my head I reminded myself that the day was for them so begrudgingly we went to the McDonald’s in Old Town. We all ordered, ate, and then they all played another 30 minutes on the equipment. Truth be told the indoor play area is by far the best one I’ve seen in the state for olders. All of them had enough to keep them busy and saying “Nooooooo…..” when I told them it was time to go.

So what does the rest of the week bring? I know for me it brings more homework. I’ve got to get going on scoring persuasive writing prompts and entering grades. I have a presentation to deliver next Monday so I want to get started on that too.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what we do next. That is the most magical part of being on vacation.

Last weekend my parents took the kids for the weekend so that we could install a new floor over this hideous old one:

We really thought we’d be able to get it done in a day and a half, but it just didn’t work out that way. We got all the big pieces down, but were left to putter away at cutting and affixing the edge pieces throughout the week. We’ve got a ton left to do so we called up Tim’s parents to see if they’d watch the kids this weekend so we could finish up.

To do this weekend:

1) Finish floor

2) Patch, spackle, and sand Paige’s room.

3) Finish cleaning out kitchen cupboards (I got more than half of this done last weekend), finish washing walls in kitchen/dining room.

4) Get outside and scrub siding (if it’s warm enough).

Once again, there’s more on the list than is humanly possible in a day and a bit, but it’s better to have strong goals set in my mind. Happy start of vacation to all the teachers and kiddos out there!

I’ve been hearing from Logan’s teachers this past week that Logan is full of energy (more so than usual), that he’s devouring his lunch and is still hungry, that he isn’t being the best listener and worse yet, has been rough on the playground. “He’s certainly not the only one” his teachers say, but that isn’t an excuse in my book. So, we’ve been doing a lot of talking in our house. We’ve been doing a lot of immediate consequences for not listening (like going to bed 45 minutes early one night this week), and all that fun stuff that comes with parenting.

Friday morning I had a talk with Logan on the way to school about how I expected him to behave and how if his friends were being rough on the playground I expected him to go find something else to do. “Yes, mom”, he replied.

I kissed him goodbye and said, “I’m going to ask your teachers how you did tonight when I pick you up. Love you.”

Well, eight hours later I asked, and eight hours later the answer was, “He’s had a hard time listening today.”

So, the ride home wasn’t fun. The usual parenting conversation, “I’m disappointed in your behavior. You’re not respecting your teachers when you don’t listen to them” and the such. He sat in the van when I went in to get Paige and by the time I got back he was bawling his eyes out.

We talked about his emotions and how I, too, was sad. He quieted down and didn’t say boo for another five minutes or so, when he asked, “Mom, I just don’t get it. How do mom’s and dad’s not get into trouble.”

Oh. my. lord. So funny. I tried hard not to smile because he’s so spot on here. I explained that I do get into trouble and that sometimes I have to think hard about my behavior and apologize to daddy or whomever I hurt. Logan looked out the window.

I continued, “Sometimes you make bad choices and you just have to apologize to the people you’ve hurt and think about how you can make better choices next time.”

Logan, “That’s what I’m going to try to do too.”

Excellent. We’ll see.

Fast-forward two hours or so. Logan and Paige were decorating Valentine hearts at the table and I was walking out of the laundry room.

Logan was educating his sister. “You know, Paige. Mom and dad control us, but we control the dogs.”

He’s certainly trying hard to figure out the rules of the world.

How do you explain to your child that there aren’t any rules? That it all depends and sometimes it just isn’t fair. Oh my. This parenting stuff is hard.

Thank You cake, baked with love for my family

The saga of the long weekend began for all of us last Wednesday. Logan woke up overnight Tuesday throwing up, just as Paige had done the previous Friday so I already knew I’d be staying home from school. Tim had to go to Gorham and couldn’t get out of that obligation, so it was my turn. I called in sick, let the kids sleep in a bit and emailed my student teacher sub plans. Because it was so unexpected, I still had to go into school and gather some materials up for my students. Around 8:30 the three of us bundled up and headed into Brewer. The kids sat at my teaching table and played on the iPad while I talked with my sub and student teacher and worked them through the day. Little did I know what was in store for me…

From there the kids and I drove home and enjoyed some low key activities. I got out the easel and they painted for a bit, we took a hot bath and Logan visited the toilet several times…poor kid. I put them to bed and decided to get my workout out of the way before Tim got home so that we could enjoy some quality time together in the evening. I was 35 minutes into Plyo Cardio Circuit (one of the amazingly difficult workouts offered by Insanity) and dying, in a good way. Sweat was pouring off my forehead and I knew I only had two more moves to do before the cool down. Yes, I pushed myself too hard and yes, I wasn’t controling my core muscles as I should have and therefore while in a push-up position doing “in and outs” my feet came in and when they went out-my back went out with them. I fell to the ground and managed to wiggle my way onto my side. I tried to slow my breathing and think logically, but the pain was incredible. In my mind I thought: “How am I going to move?” “Where’s my cell phone?” “Tim’s over two hours away” “The kids are napping…please let them take a long nap today” “Who can I get to help?” “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?”

The short answer was, push through the pain. I had no choice. I had two kids to take care of. Why I hadn’t trained Ada to fetch my cellphone was beyond me. I managed to get on my hands and knees and crawl to/up the stairs. From there I went to the kitchen counter and felt around for my purse, grabbed it, dragged it down and texted Tim. I knew he was in a session, but I needed him. He said he’d get on the road, but he’d be at least two and half hours away. In between tears I slid myself to the living room, attempted to get on the couch, but there was no way. There I was: sweating, shivering, crying, and writhing in pain on my living room floor. Pathetic, I know.

I texted our babysitter to see if she could come. Nope. She had to work at 2:30. I thought of our fried Michelle, but was pretty sure she was watching her nephew and couldn’t help. I called my mom to get my aunt’s number, but she wasn’t answering. Luckily it was 2:30 or so and I knew I had another hour before Paige would be up. I formed a c-shape with my body and hunkered down. The pain was equal to that of labor and I didn’t know how I’d throw child rearing into the mix.

To make a long story short: my kids were AMAZING. Logan woke up first and I explained how I wasn’t going to be able to move. He followed directions without complaint, got his sister up, got them snacks, drinks, and such. He even took Paige to the bathroom a couple of times and helped her get on the toilet. I couldn’t ask for a better kid. Around 4:30 I began to get so cold that my legs were going numb. I began to worry that I wasn’t going to be able to make it. Should I call for an ambulance? The kids fetched me their sleeping bags and snuggled up to get my warm. That last hour I talked to my parents, my aunt and Tim every ten minutes or so to keep my mind thinking about something other than the pain.

When Tim and my brother got home at 5:30 I was immobile. I couldn’t even get onto my hands and knees anymore. They lifted me and assisted my crawling, wrapped me in blankets and placed me out of harms way. Poor Tim had been sick all day, but between the two of us he was in better shape. The men fed the kids (Logan still wasn’t eating anything due to his stomach bug), put them to bed and then they assisted me to the van. “This is what if feels like to be 90 I thought” as they both took one side of my body and cajoled my muscles to walk.

ER: we checked in around 9 and left around 1:30. Enough said there. The ER just sucks. Luckily with three drugs and shot to the back I was able to sit on both butt cheeks on the way home and even managed to walk into the house all by myself and slept through the night…

Thursday-Sunday:

The drugs they prescribed me were pretty hardcore. I slept and slept and slept and slept. Tim and Logan took care of the kids. Tim continued to throw up, Logan continued to not eat, Paige was great (thank goodness) and thank you mother nature for allowing Bangor and Brewer to go to school so the kids could attend school/daycare.

I went to the doctors for a follow-up appointment and she predicted I’d be better by Monday. She was right. As of now it just feels like I strained my back. No more feelings that my spine is going to collapse upon itself and I’m able to enjoy the day with my kids. This long weekend did not live up to my expectations.

Thank you to my husband, my brother, my kids, my student teacher (who took over my classroom without plans Thursday and Friday), and to the wonderful drugs prescribed to me to get me through.

Last night when putting Paige to bed she said, “Mom, ‘member when yous was a baby and crying last Tuesday?” (she refers to all past and future events like they happen on a Tuesday).

“Yes, Paige. When mommy’s back hurt?”

“Yes. I rubbed yous back and made yous feel better when yous was a baby. Yous crying and my make you feel better.”

I sure am a lucky mom. My two and four year old knew just what to do to make their mommy get through three and a half hours of hell.

Remember these beautiful gingerbread (graham cracker) houses that I mentioned before? Well do I have a story for you. I was busy making dinner when all of a sudden I noticed Paige acting in a rather peculiar manner. She’d run over to the candy-covered houses and then run and duck under the kitchen table only to reappear and repeat the same behavior again. What might this sugar loving, devil of a girl be doing?

EATING THE CANDY OFF THE HOUSES! When beckoned with the motherly, “P-a-i-g-e…” She just snickered to herself and hunkered down into a tight ball to finish chewing the last bits of m&ms before I caught her in the act.

Silly girl. Gingerbread houses are for eyes only.

We, Harts, keep our lives full of fun and festivities this time of year. Logan is super excited and eager to participate in all sorts of holiday fun. The past ten days have involved:

Gingerbread House Making- I’m simply too busy to go through the rigamarole of preparing actual gingerbread, so I decided to give the graham cracker thing a try. I got the recipe for frosting at the PBS site and to town we went. Logan and I assembled the houses early one Saturday morning before anyone else was up. The website said they would be dry and ready to frost within an hour, but that didn’t happen with a five year old application of frosting. Therefore, the four of us sat down to decorate the houses the following day.

Medicine dropper application was the key

Notice her tongue!

Last weekend also involved driving up to our very own town’s Kings Mountain to select our Christmas tree. The weather wasn’t too chilly, and we had little snow to contend with. The kids ran through the trees for quite some time before they tuckered themselves out and were ready to select the perfect Hart tree. We didn’t settle at all this year, our tree is simply gorgeous.

Ready to roll!

Logan's favorite part

Daddy's least favorite part

Then we came home, put on some holiday tunes and trimmed the tree. It’s so wonderful to have two kids who were into decorating this year. They both would pull out an ornament from the box and “Oooo” and “Ahhh” over them. It warmed my heart to see them place their own ornaments up on the tree just as my sister and I used to do as kids.

She was a careful worker

Last Saturday night we all bundled up and headed for Bangor’s Festival of Lights Parade. When we arrived we could barely see the floats because there were so many people lined up along the street, but with 77 floats total (Yea, I know….ridiculous), the crowd thinned out and about an hour in we were right at the front, sitting on a blanket, waving and hollering. My kids LOVE parades and easily made it an hour and a half. By this time, it was getting really cold and despite being dressed in their snow apparel, Paige was ready to go. Logan, however, really, really, really wanted to see Santa and Tim was Superdad and Superhusband. He offered to stay with Logan and insisted I take Paige back to the van to warm up.

Grammie and Grampie Benn have certainly outdone themselves this year with the kids advent calendars. This year each door holds one, if not two pieces of chocolate, an occasional grow capsule and each day features a small gift under the tree. They’ve received a coloring book, crayons, stuffed animals, lion/lioness figurines, a kazoo, chapstick, paint by numbers, and more. Needless to say, getting Paige out of bed every morning hasn’t been quite the struggle it usually is!

Each morning's picture features "sleepy eyes"!

We’ll continue to celebrate this holiday season this week with a Christmas party at Ruthie’s house, Paige will go to see Santa for “Santa’s Breakfast” and she’ll make a trek to Piper Mountain for a horsedrawn carriage ride, we’ll attend Zeke’s fourth birthday party, ride Grampie Hart’s train this weekend, attend Logan’s Holiday concert, and spend lots of time snuggling under the tree watching Christmas movies.

I love this time of year. We’re making great gains in the getting and wrapping of presents and I’m hoping to be done and stress free a few days at least before the big day. Yesterday Logan signed all his teacher’s Dunkin’ Donut gift cards and wrote out all the notes, so all we have left for his teachers is to make some goodies to stick in their Santa baskets.

Despite all these happy events, it’s been kind of rough. Tim has been away everyday for two weeks. The away hasn’t been anywhere local and he’s been up at 4 or 5 and out of the house well before the kids are up. He’s been getting home later than normal and it feels like we haven’t spent much family together. This coming week he flies out to California for the week and so once again, we go it alone. We’re all very much looking forward to our vacation time together and don’t have much planned other than to have some fun!

Today I was worked down at Pineland and came home to smiling faces all happy to see Daddy. What a wonderful feeling to see your kids come running yelling “Dadddddyyyyy!”

After yummy homemade Pizza, Morgan was off to the Brewer Middle School dance and the kids and I cuddled on the couch to watch an episode of Super Why before bed. After putting Paige to bed I went to tuck Logan in and we played our regular games of “arm fall down, Logan catches it” and “guess which hand is going to tickle you” and “lay still and see who moves first.” After the normal goodnights and see you in the mornings, right as I am closing the door, Logan says “Wait!”

“Yeah,” I reply.

“Dad, you are the best daddy in the whole wide world.”

Fall is great for lots of reasons, but one of the best is the nice, crisp, afternoons to enjoy in the leaves.

Proud of her ghost baby

I’ve been all over Bangor looking for pumpkin leaf bags this year and have yet to find them. I did, however find these cute set of three Pumpkin Family bags at Goodwill. After climbing a tree with Logan, the kids and I had fun taking turns hiding items in a huge pile of leaves and calling out “Warm, warmer….COLD! Warm, hot, hotter, YOU’RE ON FIRE!”

After that, the entire family played a rousing game of leaf “dodge ball”.  After getting covered in leaves, we filled the family ghosts bags. I did the first one with the kids and then they each got busy.

One Happy Ghost Family

Halloween seems to be the biggest holiday around here. For me, I always was super pumped for Christmas, but for Logan it is most definitely Halloween. A few things said or done by the little guy:

-Today I was outside brushing Maya’s fur and Logan came out, plopped himself on the stairs and placed his face in his hands. “What’s up bud?” I asked.

“I’m just going to sit here until Halloween.”

me: “Well, it’s still two weeks away.”

Logan: “That’s okay. I’ll just sit here and wait.”

-Whenever we’re out in the van, he requests we go out looking for people with “cool Halloween decorations”

-He has been counting down the days until Halloween and will announce it FIRST THING when he sees his teachers at school. One of his teachers said, “Logan you must really love Halloween.” and he replied,

“YES! I’ve been waiting a looooooong time. A WHOLE year!”

So last weekend we got to take our annual trip to Pumpkinland in Mechanic Falls. The night before was much like Christmas Eve in terms of excitement. My parents had graciously offered to watch the kids so Tim and I could go out to eat, but we heard about bedtime when we returned. My mom said she and dad took the kids up and Paige wouldn’t stop talking. She jabbered on and on in anticipation. Logan on the otherhand was hurried to get to bed. Mom said she put him down, reminded him that he needed to get right to bed for the next day and he was out in less than a minute!

Overnight (after I had joined them in that bedroom) Paige woke up at 1:15ish. She wanted to get in bed with me and I said no, but she insisted so to keep her quiet and as to not wake up her brother I let her into my bed. AN HOUR LATER….she was still awake. Playing with my hair, talking about “Where we going?” etc. I eventually had to take her downstairs and throw her on the couch with Tim.

When I got back to bed about 2:30, Logan woke up and asked what was going on. I told him nothing and asked if he needed to pee. He replied, “Does Pumpkinland have potties?”

“Yes, honey.”

“No thanks, then. I’ll wait until we get there.”

HA! Silly kid.

So after a rather rough night, full of emotion, we all awoke, got ready and headed out. After stopping for breakfast we made the trip with two, EAGER kids. It certainly was not the fall day we usually have. It was 85 degrees +.

Despite the heat, the kids had a grand time. We adults, were beat about an hour in, but kept up face on behalf of the kiddos. Logan’s favorite ride remains the spooky hayride and Paige enjoyed petting the animals. She especially was fond of the barn cat she found sprawled out on a hill. She sat beside him for a good ten minutes before a bunch of less patient children hurried over and scared it away.

The gang at Pumpkinland

When Logan returned to school this week his teachers asked him how his trip was. “Awesome! and next year there’s going to be a haunted house.”

It appears he has already reset the countdown to Pumpkinland 2012!

We Harts are pretty darn pumped for our annual trip to Pumpkinland on Sunday. The weather is going to be less than “Halloweenish” as it is supposed to be in the upper 70′s but we prepared in other ways this year. Check out our “spoooooky” pedicures!