Valley Forge

First of all, I got my wish for a day at home. Tyler got the dreaded stomach bug that is going around like wildfire. Word on the street is that it is only a 24 hour deal, so for that I am grateful. Sleep sounds so nice right about now. Poor little guy is just lethargic on the couch. I am letting him eat a big candy cane, because he hasn't eaten anything since lunch yesterday and it was the only thing he seemed interested in.

A few weeks ago Mom and I threw the kids in the car and went to Valley Forge. James has been asking to go for a while now. It turned out to be a little cold, but we still had fun. The real story of Valley Forge is actually very sad. So many soldiers died there. The docent at the park said that it is a myth that they died from cold. He said they were all good, strong farm boys who knew how to build a cabin and a fire. Instead, disease and lack of food caused the deaths of 2,000 soldiers between 1777 and 1778. The soldier huts have been reconstructed, which are very neat to see. There are three bunks on each side of the fire that are VERY, VERY small. The top bunk is at James' height, and the lower bunks are so tight I don't think a grown man could roll over once he squeezed in.

Here are a few of the artifacts in the museum. The bottom left picture shows what they would strap to their shoes to walk in the mud. 

This is one of the soldier huts. Those are the bunks on the wall.

James was thrilled to find a play rifle for sale at the store that was in his price range. He has been wanting a 'hunting gun' for a long time. He has been using just about every day since. In fact, one morning before school he went outside to 'do farm chores.' He came back in and told Jeff had had 'shot like 5 squirrels.' Jeff told him he better go out and pick them all up, because he can't go around leaving dead squirrels everywhere. James had to think for a second before he realized Jeff was joking!

Spring

Spring is here. Warm weather is (mostly) here. And apparently that means I forget I have a blog. Things have been the same ol' around here. I feel like we have been too busy. Women's Retreat stuff, playing outside, preschool, art lessons, Bible study, the continued painting of my living room, and the usual...I just feel like I need a day, or a week of nothing! Good thing my friend Erin is coming soon. I am taking that as my excuse to do nothing but enjoy life. It will be nice!

Our 'Beach'

Here are a few pictures of our newly discovered 'beach.' I have a feeling we will spend a lot of time down there this spring and summer! It is so beautiful right now, as the banks of the creek are covered in happy yellow buttercups. I think Spring might be my favorite season in P-A with all the beautiful blooming trees, and everything getting green again. Even Tyler seems to be happy about the change in scenery and points out all the 'dah-uh-dills' he sees on the walk to school. 

I went to check on Katie the other day, and this is what I saw :)

Errrrrrr!!!

Here is James in front of his Science Project. He is giving me what I like to call the 'Jeff smile.' Because really, it's more of an 'I'll humor you while you take the picture, Mom' look. He was quite happy to take home a certificate, a ribbon, and a free Water Ice coupon. Speaking of water ice, yesterday was the first day of spring and that means free water ice at Rita's! I still haven't figured out quite how to describe Water Ice to my non-PA friends, other than its like a slurpee meets a snowcone, but better. I actually hate slurpees and snowcones so maybe that's not the best description. Anyway, while I do feel that in the world of water ice, Dairy Delight is where its at, Rita's is also good...and free on the first day of spring. Back when I was young and fancy-free, my sister and I went to several Rita's locations on free day and loaded up. Good times.

In other news, I went to the doctor yesterday to get my Thyroid checked and guess what I got diagnosed with? Asthma! Woo! Who knew. He asked me if I ever got short of breath. Uh, no. Then he diagnosed me with asthma. When I asked him why, he said because he could hear a slight rasp in my breathing. Huh?! He prescribed me an inhaler (that I can use up to 4 times a day as needed, you know, for when I get short of breath and all) and Singulair. He also kept my thyroid dose low, even though he told me that my dose will need to keep increasing as I get older, and this is the lowest dose I've been for as long as I can remember. All in all, very discouraging and now I feel that I must find a new doctor...again. I didn't fill the prescription for the inhaler or Singulair, because I am pretty sure if I had asthma, I would have noticed.

A Hat

I just uploaded pictures and realized that I have really slacked off on the blogging. I have pictures of James' science project, Valley Forge, our newly discovered sandy L-town beach, and more. I promise to post more pictures tomorrow, but for now...here is a picture of Tyler in his super duper Revolutionary War (?) hat. James saw one in a picture at Valley Forge and of course we had to make one. Guess what we made it from? Oh, yeah, an oatmeal canister. I am my mother's daughter. I just trimmed that bad boy down, covered it with construction paper, added a bill and a pipe cleaner band. Just like they had in George Washington's day!

Pinterest

There is this really neat site called Pinterest. It is basically like an online 'pinboard,' where you can 'pin' pictures of things you like. I like it because it is like a visual bookmark system. There is a wide variety of things to see, but I mainly dabble in the DIY/crafty/sewing/food areas. The thing about Pinterest is that you can end up spending your time drooling over stuff, and never end up making it. This month, I decided to make at least 4 things I have pinned. So far I have made soft pretzels, Parmesan breadsticks, bacon-wrapped roasted cabbage (mmm!), homemade glue, quinoa mac and cheese, bubble prints (total bomb!) and scrapbook paper seed packets. Now only a hundred and one ideas left to try! :)

All's Well

Everyone is happy today now that Jeff is home. Although he was only gone for 3 days, it seemed longer. The kids have had hard time sleeping when he was gone. Although Jeff didn't get home til about 9, the kids couldn't sleep because they wanted to see him. I kept hearing them talking, singing, etc. up until about 10 minutes before he came home. I went to check on them a few minutes later, and they had all passed out. Jeff went in and patted their heads and said goodnight, and guess what?! They all slept like babies. It was lovely! That also meant that I slept like a baby, which was also lovely!

The Tree

It's a sad day. As I write, 'our' tree is being shredded. I can hear each time they throw in a log and it makes me sad. The tree fell over in the hurricane last year on the greenbelt, and the kids have spent a lot of time playing on and around it. Initially, all the leaves were still on it, creating a room of sorts to play in. The leaves even changed colors in the fall. Despite the fact that the roots are exposed and the tree laying on the ground, some of the branches were getting buds. I knew it was coming, but it is still a bummer!

Here are a few pictures of the picnic we had last week with our preschool, before the tree met its demise.

Well, Golly Gee!

It seems like I haven't blogged in almost a week. We had a few computer glitches over the weekend involving the fact that we have a lot of pictures on the hard drive. Thanks to Jeff, the problem is solved and my pictures are back where they are supposed to be. Yay! We looked through some of the archives and found lots of funny photos, as well as those pesky 'were they really that small only a year ago' pictures. The kids are growing so fast, too fast! I have posted some of the pictures below, just for kicks. In other news, Jeff is in LA, cruisin' Highway One along the California coast and inspecting condensers in his spare time. I am hoping this one goes quick, because the kids are not handling it well. He hadn't even left, and last night Katie couldn't get to sleep til almost 10 because she was sad he was leaving. As of now, she and Tyler are still awake and they've been in bed over an hour. They like their Dad near to them., thankyouverymuch!!

This one is ridiculous, and I'm not sure why I'm posting it, other than that it is funny. It was taken at Christmas a few years ago.

Tyler: I wish I could keep him little and squishy :)

Proof that Katie has always had her own wacky personality!

Jeff as a kid

Aww! 

Katie

Responsible parenting at its best!

The day Katie was born

Goofballs

Sleeping Beauty

False Advertising

In a moment of despair, I went to the library to find a few books about Science Fair projects. Jeff and James picked out a Fox Hole Radio to build, and it wasn't working out. While I was perusing the library (one of my very favorite places) I saw a book called 'How To Fossilize Your Hamster'. You better believe I had to check it out. I mean, how cool would that be?! I brought it home and showed it to Jeff. He looked at me with that look, and asked if I would seriously go buy a hamster just to kill it for scientific purposes. (Says the guy who used to get paid to shoot prairie dogs...alas, we are turning into softies) The answer to his question is 'Why, yes, if I could actually fossilize a hamster...that would be so fascinating.' I believe he just shook his head at me. I was disappointed, although not too surprised, that the title was misleading. It went into great detail about how you could, hypothetically, fossilize your dear deceased hamster, who died from natural causes of course. If you have a deep sea bed handy, free of anything that might eat Fluffy (may he rest in peace) as well as several thousand years, the book says that fossilization is possible. Sigh. I guess I won't be fossilizing a hamster after all. Good thing the fox hole radio turned out! :)

P.S. I sat outside today, in the sun, in my bare feet, reading a book while the kids played. Now that's my idea of a good day!

I Might Have Squealed A Little

I was going to post something nice and sophisticated and intelligent today...oh, wait...I never do that. You would think you have come to the wrong blog, or that I had come down with some sort of illness. But seriously, whatever I was going to write about has gone out the window because my friend Erin emailed me and said she is coming to visit us!!! I am so excited it's ridiculous. I mean, this is going to be fun! We have known each other since way back in Second Grade. We have about a million things we want to do when she is here, including visiting Longwood Gardens, going to Lancaster, dyeing Easter eggs, canning something, sewing something, and eating cheesesteaks, pretzels, and water ice. Her husband told her not to get into too much trouble with me...poor guy has no idea!! :) This is going to be so much fun!

Pictures From The Week

Last weekend

Preschool Fun!