Hurricane Sandy: An Experience in Absentia

Maddie and Ollie, some many years from now, you may ask your mom and dad, "Why don't we remember Hurrican Sandy? We lived in New Jersey in the fall of 2012!" And we will have to remind you... we spent the entire storm and the weeks that followed it in Maine, untouched by even a whisper of the hardships that had smashed all semblance of normal life in NJ. Yes, like all of the east coast, we had very heavy winds and rain on Monday night and Tuesday, but around us here, there was virtually no damage at all, and no power outage. So we carried on as usual after that, while nearly 100% of northern New Jersey was out of power, and trees had smashed people's houses, and school was cancelled for over a week - even Halloween was cancelled! We are still here in Maine, more than a week later, and our house in NJ is still without power. We won't be headed home until we get power back. It is unfathomable, the devestation that so many are experiencing: lost lives, lost homes, lost businesses. We have lost nothing but a lot of frozen meats and Maine shrimp... not a lot to complain about, that's for sure. And through all of this crazy time, you have been surrounded by all four of your loving grandparents; just today Grandma Carole and Granddad Maurice flew home to England after a wonderful 2 1/2 week visit. Their last night was spent with Daddy in our cold, darkened house on Alexandra Road -- just a taste of what the entire week has been like for the rest of New Jersey. We had a wonderful birthday celebration for you on Saturday, Ollie (your favorite present was your "big boy" camera!), and right now you are sleeping upstairs, your very last night as a five-year-old. I hope that if life continues to blanket you with blessings rather than hardships, you grow up with a heart that is caring, mindful, and generous in every way, and that you help others when you are able.

Ollie's First Day of School!!!

Ollie, 28 minutes ago, you stepped onto a schoolbus for the very first time, and stepped right out of little-boyhood into big-boyhood, with your typical enthusiasm and joy. As this day got closer, you got more and more excited. We've been busy gathering the supplies on your back-to-school list from the school, which include baby wipes (??), 6 glue sticks, and a margarine container, among other assorted items.  Daddy worked from home today so we could all walk to the bus stop on the corner together, and so he could see his little boy off on his BIG DAY!!

Maddie is at preschool today, but she'll be home in time to meet you at the bus stop after school. As soon as we could see the bus coming up the street, you started shouting excitedly, "Here it comes!!" and as you walked towards the door,

you remembered to wave but you were completely focused on the bus. I don't think you would have looked back, but we shouted, "Turn around for a photo, Ollie!!" and you graciously obliged. The busdriver, Ms. Peggy, called out, "Hello, Oliver!" as soon as the door opened for him, and she looks very friendly, indeed. We saw you waving and smiling from your seat inside the bus, and we waved as the bus pulled away, taking you off to start SUCH a big adventure. 

Daddy held my hand and I had to wipe away a few tears, seeing my little boy taking such a big step. Ollie, you will love it, because you are so full of curiosity, enthusiasm, humor, and gentleness. We're so proud that you're our boy.

Happy Camper

Ollie is having a fantastic week at Blueberry Cove... on the last two mornings when I dropped him off, he quickly found his new friend, Joey, and I watched (with heart swelling) as they wandered off together, hand in hand. He came home last night with his spare clothes bunched up in his backpack, soaking wet and filthy with mud - so I figured it must have been a good day. Today it's a big camp trip to Drift Inn Beach all morning, what fun!

Our Garden Fairy

Sweet Maddie is so excited about her new fairy costume! She hasn't had a lot of dress-up clothes yet, so when I saw this today, I couldn't resist. We've had days and days of only sunshine here in Maine, and finally today we had a big huge rainstorm, with a bit of thunder and lightening as well (the kids loved it!). When it cleared out this evening, the light was fantastic, so we couldn't resist having a little walk to the harbor to enjoy it. Maddie obliged her silly mom by posing endlessly for photos. In this first shot, I think I asked her to smile really big, and this was the result!

I decided she must be calling out to all the other garden fairies to join in her revelry. Then she ran around in the grass a lot, possibly attempting to take flight. Prettiest garden fairy ever. xoxo

Nothing Better

Whether it's Tenants Harbor or Hayfield, I think there's almost nothing nicer in the world than taking an evening stroll with Andy and the kids. We're having glorious weather here this year, every day feels like heaven. All you can do is smile.

Soulshine Boy

It's not every day that you get an email that makes you smile inside and out. I'm posting this so that Oliver can look back in 20 years and have special insight into the kind of little boy he was. A very, very special boy indeed!!!! Last summer he was a camper at Soulshine Farm in Randolph, NJ for two short sessions, one in June and one in August. It's such a great place - each day is divided into three sections: arts, farm/garden, and yoga!! Ollie apparently made a big impression on them!!! Here's the email I received this morning:

**********
Hello Gillian and Oliver.... Hope your trip to the UK was delightful. I wanted you to know that Oliver, you were the topic of conversation today at camp...the conversation went like this. “Hey Miss Julie can you check when that boy named Oliver is coming? I hope he comes when I’m here, I wanted to show him my hat.” Another camper chimes in...“Yeah, I loved having Oliver here.” And a staff member...“I agree, it is not the same without Oliver.” No pressure, but we miss him! We’ve had a terrific start to camp and are enjoying the children so much....but it feels like someone is missing. All sessions are now full - but for Oliver, I will add an opening to any week he’d like to attend based on camper enthusiasm for his charming manner. You’ve raised one memorable child that others like to be around. Again, no pressure, just wanted to let you know we’re thinking about you. Smiles, Julie, campers and crew
PS I also have some scholarships left, so if it would be helpful for Oliver to come as our guest, he is welcome.
************
On trying days, Oliver, I will return to this and smile, again and again!! We love you!!! (Here's a photo of Ollie taken just a few days ago here in Maine, wearing his Soulshine Farm tshirt with pride!!)

Gardens, Shmardens

The Garden Tour this year was really, really nice, but the best part was just being out with Mom and Dad, Ian, Aidan, Eli, and Hillary!!! We even had a nice visit with Marianne and Arthur. Andy stayed home with the kids and they all had a lovely time at Drift Inn Beach. Fantastic day!

Happy 4th!

It's kinda weird having the Fourth of July fall on a Wednesday...

all day, Andy and I keep thinking it's Sunday - it just feels like that! We're not used to having fun-time together on a weekday! Andy's plan for a monster bike ride this morning were thwarted by rain, so we all hung out till about 9am when we headed to Sparta for the big parade.

By the time we got there it was already well over 80 degrees, and we used umbrella's to keep the sun off! (Except Andy, who thought that was silly!) Loads of people lined the main street in Mohawk, and the parade was good fun... a highlight for the kids being - as ever - the candy collecting! I was pleased there was a marching band this year...

I never get very excited about parades that don't have marching bands. Ollie loved the fire trucks, but Maddie (as you can see) thought they were a bit too loud!! After standing in the shade of a big tree for over an hour, we were still super hot,

along with everyone else - temps in the low 90s today! We headed back home, Andy ventured out midday on his bike and made it 30 miles or so before having to call me for a rescue -- just too hot out there!! A valiant effort.

We had a refreshing stop at TCBY for expensive ice cream, then back home for an urgently needed water-fight!! I think little kids learn all they need to know about ruthlessness from their Daddies during water and snowball fights!

Ollie took it all in stride, laughing gleefully with every squirt. Lovely marinated pork tenderloin for dinner, with corn and carrots. Happy 4th!!

First Day of Preschool for Maddie!!

Our little girl, getting so big!! She starts preschool *in earnest* in September, when Ollie starts kindergarten, but over the summer they are attending his preschool together for a few days here and there.

Whenever she talks about school, she says, "I'm going to learn letters...... and numbers..... and read books..... " and she's very excited about it!! In the fall she will go two days a week, just like Ollie did. Here she is with her very supportive big brother, wearing her new jumper from Primark (UK)!! We love you, little Maddie-boo!!!

Birthday/Anniversary Weekend!

Unfortunately, Andy will be traveling for my birthday on Tuesday (boo hoo!) but he was home for our 6th wedding anniversary on Sunday... we celebrated by going out to eat Saturday night (WAY too expensive dinner at the Mohawk House!) and out to breakfast with the kids on Sunday at our favorite spot -

Il Porto on Lake Mohawk.  Never fails to please!   I got early birthday presents - yay!  Andy surprised me by stealthily buying me a purse I'd been eyeing recently, as well as a panini maker!!  Some of my closest friends here joined me for dinner on Tuesday at Blossom, which was by far the highlight of my (actual) birthday!!  We just laughed the night away, it was such good fun.  Here I am with Carol, Kathy and Holly, and a yummy dessert we all shared...

it was nice to have a candle to blow out!  I would say that at this time of year I feel like the luckiest woman around, but the truth is, I feel like that all the time.

Camping Extravaganza!

When five families - 10 adults and 10 kids - all go camping together, you just gotta call it an extravaganza! What other word

could capture the excitement? This trip was conjured up months ago, when June 2 sounded sooo far away, and ever since then we've been crossing our fingers for good weather (we had to book the sites in advance and hope for the best). We lucked out!!! After what felt like monsoon conditions Friday night, Saturday cleared right up and was gorgeous, all the way through to mid-day Sunday when we headed home, exactly as it started to drizzle. Amazing. A week or two before the trip, the flurry of emails began, when Ivy, Laura, Melissa, Carol and I started making lists and figuring out who would bring what.

Our dinner menu was hotdogs and cheeseburgers, along with Ivy's (amazing) marinated chicken kebabs and corn. Dessert - of course - roasted marshmallows and smores. Breakfast was a combination of leftovers (that chicken tastes great any hour of the day!), fresh fruit, sausages, marshmallows (you can't really have a campfire without them), loads of different granola bars, and anything else lying around that looked good - along with lovely cocoa and coffee.
We had chosen five campsites in a row at High Point's Sawmill Lake Campgrounds (sites 4-8), and they were all beautiful, right a the edge of the pond and connected with a

little path that skirts the entire pond.  The kids spent the whole time running happily from one site to another on the path, free as birds, and loads of time at water's edge, looking for frogs, finding various treasures, splashing about.  There was major excitement when someone spotted a huge millipede on a big log at Carol's site; after some intense observation, Andy released him to the woods, where he'd be free from the poking and prodding of 10 curious kids! 
Around 8pm we started getting

the kids ready for "bed," which meant rounding them all up into one big tent (and by "big" I mean a 3-room tent on loan from Kathy, which was fondly dubbed the "Taj-Mah-Tent") where we hoped they would at least begin to wind down and eventually fall

asleep... which they all finally did by around 10pm.  The rest of us BIG kids sat around the lovely, blazing fire until after midnight, chatting about lots of silly things and admiring the brilliant moon that shone as clear and bright as a moon can possibly shine.  We were spoiled by the heat of the fire, as it was a cold night when we all

got back to our tents (kids in tow) - about 50 degrees.  I don't think any of the adults slept particularly well,
but the kids did all right! 
In the morning, the sun was shining, the air was crisp, and there was a gorgeous mist covering the lake.  The kids played

happily for hours while we all had a long, lazy breakfast and lots of fun taking a big group photo using the timer function on several cameras. After that we finally had to (reluctantly) break down the tents and pack up.  Before heading home, we all drove up to the monument at High Point (the highest place in NJ) to take in the views (except for Andy, who biked to and from the

camgrounds, racking up a neat 104 miles total!).  In the 5 minutes it took to get there from the campground, Maddie and at least 3 other kids had fallen alseep.  I know our bed is going to feel wonderful tonight!  What an utterly fantastic weekend - just couldn't have been better.  Unless a few more of our friends could have come as well..... next time!!

Happy Mommy

Mother's Day 2012!!  Ollie has been sooooo excited since he came home from school on Thursday with some SECRET items that he stashed in the trunk of the car, then hid under his bed when he got home.... he was practically exploding with excitement by

this morning, when he and Daddy set up my surprises on the kitchen table.  You'd think it was Christmas!  When I finally came downstairs, to shouts of "Happy Mother's Day!" all around, I found the most fantastic handmade card from Ollie, along with a beautiful handmade decorated heart ornament... best of all was his happiness, bursting at the seams.  Maddie was so full of smiles and happiness, too.  Daddy and the kids had picked out a nice Gerber Daisy plant for me, and Daddy chose some Stonewall Kitchen dressings and a lovely candle for me as well.  So nice!  Then Daddy set off on a 6-hour, 110 mile bike ride.  HA!  When I mentioned that on Facebook, noting "I love you, but you owe me one!" I unknowingly set off a firestorm of indignation... loads of friends writing in disbelief that he would do that on Mother's Day.  Then I had to write in and explain that he's training for a race and this was the only day he could get out on a big ride before the race next weekend, and that he always encourages me to have lots of "ladies time..." So yeah, he "owes me," but I would never say that if I didn't have complete faith that he would pay up!! 

After that I think everyone understood (as I certainly do) that he would never normally go out like that on a special day, and it's just unfortunate bad timing.  What I can't say on Facebook (because I hate using Facebook to blab on and on about my charmed life... but this blog is my space so I can write what I want!!) is that I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm the luckiest mom on the planet, married to a man who supports me in every way possible and then some, who loves me to the moon and back, and I him -- AND we are bringing up, quite simply, the two most awesome small humans ever known!  I don't think about this only on Mother's Day, I think of it just about every single day. 
So!  Then Andy called me mid-morning to say he wanted to cut his ride short!  Just 70 miles or so (wimp! ha ha), because it was Mother's Day (awww) and because we had so much to get done during the day, including a nice lunch out together, and then a big proj-dyect at home -- putting up our new bunk bed!!!  So I hauled the kids back to Bear Mountain, NY

(about an hour and 20 minutes away!) to pick him up, then we all had a really pretty drive to Warwick, NY for a nice lunch outside at an Italian resaurant.  Back home, we took apart Ollie's old bed and built the bunk bed, which we'd just picked up yesterday (after finding it on Craigslist, yay!)... much excitement all around!!  So Maddie has slept her last night in a crib, and now she's in her big-girl bed.  My big girl.  I heard them upstairs giggling and talking for a bit, but I think their fatigue got the better of them pretty quickly.  Soon Maddie's room will be a playroom for them, and they'll have so much fun in it!!  Can't wait.  Such a nice day, such a happy mommy.

Sunny Sunday

So -- a day and a half after Andy got back from yet another trip to Germany, he set off on the 40-mile bike race out of Mt. Arlington, and beat his own record by 11 minutes!  The weather has been so much better this year, he's had a lot more time to get out and ride... and he's also super motivated since this year he's also doing the Gran Fondo out of New York City in May.  We greeted him at Mt. Arlington Park with the Union Jack flying and lots of cheering.  After that we decided to pack a little picnic lunch and take our favorite walk along Lake Aeroflex at Kittatinny State Park... only ONE plane took off while we were there, which I guess is better than nothing!  When I got back home I posted on facebook this photo of me with the kids, and so many of my friends freaked out with "Oh my god! You look great!" because lots of them haven't seen me since I lost weight (for the sake of historical documentation, as of today I've lost 26 pounds).  It's all very flattering, but I did choose the MOST flattering shot out of about 5 photos.  Anyway, what a gorgeous day, couldn't have been nicer.

Great Wolf Lodge!

This week we had an unexpected treat - an overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge in PA with Carol, Ryan and Addie!  Carol and I hatched the plan over the weekend, and we all set off together on Tuesday at 12:30, after taking both boys out of school early.  All the kids were beside themselves with excitement -- a waterpark!!!  a sleepover!!! too much happiness!!!  When we arrived we were able to go right to our room with all our stuff, change into our swimsuits, and head straight for the waterpark.  It's quite a place... loads of different kinds of pools (kids pool, wave pool, lazy river, etc), tons of different slides, some of which involve different sized rafts, a huge "treehouse" with loads of water gadgets you can control... it's very easy to spend two days there and not run out of things to do or enjoy.  The kids were great, no meltdowns at all, except for occasional little things that you'd expect.  They didn't even mind when it was time to go back to the room after our first few hours there; we all changed out of our swimsuits and headed down the road for dinner (the only downside to Great Wolf: overpriced, unexceptional food).  We got back just in time to zip to the room and change into jammies for storytime in the lobby, where dozens of kids and their parents gathered for the event.  After that... bedtime!  The girls were asleep almost as their heads hit the pillows, and the boys took a bit longer, but not too bad.  Carol and I stayed up chatting for a good while, then finally zonked out.  Why did Maddie have to wake up at 6am, way earlier than normal??!!  Ugh.  So tired.  But anyway, we had a nice breakfast in our room that we'd all packed from home, checked out of the room for good, and spent the ENTIRE day in the waterpark, with a short break for a pizza lunch.  I think one of my favorite parts were these neat waterslides that started at the top of the treehouse, that you just sit down in and slide (no raft) -- they're sooooo swirly and fast, I screamed the whole way down the first time - both kids loved them!  Maddie was amazing, no fear.  The wave pool was cool, too - the waves were so strong they could easily knock you down if you weren't careful!  We all spent that last 2 hours or so in the warmest, smallest pool, just paddling around, Maddie floating in a dreamy, smiling way, kicking around, Ollie finally able to take off his life jacket and swim on his own (it was 3 feet deep!).  Maddie kept talking about how she couldn't wait to tell Daddy everything -- we're looking forward to our next visit already, as Daddy will certainly love it, too! 

The Little Things

It occurred to me last night that I'm not using the blog enough to record the "little things." Silly things the kids say, little memories, etc. One thing we never want to forget is the kids' minor obsession right now with small stuffed animals. It started well over a year ago when Ollie started carrying his little stuffed hedgehog with him everywhere he went. We thought he might never give it up, but one day, it wasn't Hedgehog anymore, it was Bakewell Fox. Then in rapid progression ,it was a tiny puppy, various birds, a duck, a few different kittens... the list goes on. No big animals, just little ones, about 4-5 inches long. His first *great* love was his (5th) birthday owl; Owl was never far from Ollie's side for over five straight weeks. A little kitten in Ollie's Christmas stocking then took center stage, but only for a short bit, when RED ROBIN showed up. A gift from our friends, the Weavers, Red Robin has had at least as long a run as Owl did... there have been times that Red Robin has flown the coop (gotten lost) but whenever he's found, he returns promptly to "first animal" status. For instance, after our trip to Florida this March, Ollie returned with Dolphin, whom he had been sleeping and playing with for many days. As soon as he set eyes on Red Robin again, down went Dolphin, and into his warm embrace went Red Robin. Ollie is tucked in every night with his special friend; he makes quite a production sometimes of tucking them in and demonstrating how they fall asleep together. I had to take this photo last night, of Ollie cradling Red Robin in his sleeping arms.
This has all been a bit jarring for me and Andy! "What if he's destined to be fickle," we worry! So much love poured onto one special "friend," only to have this friend abandoned when the next one comes along, or when fancy stikes?! But we have noticed that nearly every single animal comes *back* into favor at some point along the line, sometimes often! The main point is, he's showing such sweetness and attention to them, and that can't be a bad thing.
Like her big brother, and most likely because of Ollie's obsession, Maddie as well has had a great variety of special friends. She took Lamb with her to England last fall, and has also been very close to some bunnies, kitties, Owl, flamingos, and at least 3 diffferent Hello Kitties. We can't wait to see how the progression continues for them both - it's endlessly fascinating!

Happy Easter!!!

Easter in Maine - yippee! We started our holiday in the typical way -- taking down the Christmas tree that we'd left up since December. A live tree... and it still looked great!! Then we had several days of all of our favorite Maine things... morning walks to the harbor, playtime and meals with Grandma and Granddad (lobster! mussels! lamb!), ceremonial "first runs" on the zip-line (Ollie did the zipping), easter egg dying, a fantastic outdoor egg-hunt on Easter morning, a great 15 mile bike ride on the peninsula (Andy and Gillian), and Ollie's FIRST stab at cycling without his training wheels! He did great, going quite a long way each time before putting his foot down, and only falling gently once in a while. We had nice visits with Rich and Nicole and the kids, Don and Laurel, Anne and Tony. This year the Easter Bunny decided to go easy on the candy, and brought along a couple of stuffed toys and some other nice little things as well - the teeny tiny chicks in teeny tiny nests were a big hit! Granddaddy was SO pleased with his special Easter present - a stuffed playtypus - because "A platypus lays eggs; why can't it be the "Easter Playtypus" instead of the Easter Bunny??" You cn see his new friend tucked under his arm in the photo above. A happy, happy Easter - just couldn't have been nicer.