Outside fun!

We have been spending a lot of time outdoors. We had an early spring here in New England, and we have taken full advantage of the nice weather. Andy took an afternoon off from work on one warm day and we drove up to Odiorne Point State Park to look in the tide pools. We have visited a number of parks. A few parks I didn't care for two years ago (with a 2 year old and a newborn) are now viewed from the eyes of a 4 year old and have become favorites. Our current favorite parks include Kid's Cove in Merrimack (an old wooden park) and Benson's Park in Hudson (partially due to nostalgia on my part!). We love trying out new parks and discovering the challenges each one holds!

Benson's Park:

Odiorne Point State Park:

A house burned, a home lost, a family displaced.

Last night I witnessed the destruction of the home across the street from us. I don't think I can put into words how much my heart breaks for the family that lost their home. I'm writing down this account of the day as a means to process what happened.

Andy and I got home around midnight, both tired after a great day. We had spend the early part of the day visiting with Andy's parents. Andy worked on a few house projects, I did some cleaning and filing. Then, I made dinner for my in laws and the kids and Andy and I went to my sisters house for a wonderful evening. When we pulled onto our street, I was barely awake, but remember it being "foggy" and smelling like wood smoke. I had assumed that since it was Cinco de Mayo that a neighbor was having a small fire to celebrate. I never looked at the house across the street from us. Shortly after we went to bed, we heard a crash. At first, I thought it was Beth falling out of bed, but then I heard banging and some screaming. I thought for sure there were some teenagers running around the neighborhood partying (we have woken in the morning to find Monster energy drink cans inside my minivan). I asked Andy if the car was locked up and he got up to check. He didn't come right back. When he did come into the bedroom, he said "Bob's house is on fire" and grabbed the phone and ran out the door. As you might expect, I was suddenly awake. And very worried. I joined Andy outside and found out that we were the second call to the fire department. Someone around the corner had gone out for a walk to locate the smoke she was smelling and found the home, smoke pouring out and called 911. The two women (a mom and daughter I think?) were outside  screaming that there was a pet inside (this is what drew our attention). We think the "scratching" sound they heard was caused from the heat of the fire. Andy tried to assure them that Bob didn't have a pet (although we weren't sure, and at the time, we weren't even sure if anyone was home!). He tried to get them to move away from the home, which was now warm to the touch, for fear that a window would blow out. It didn't take long from the time we called 911 until the first fire truck arrived. It was now around 12:30.

The first fire truck stopped and then pulled forward just past the burning home. A fireman ran over and asked if anyone was inside (at the time, we were all unsure). Another fireman ran to the house to assess the situation and a third went and told the police officer that parked right in front of the house to move out of the way. Next thing I know, there are a couple of fire trucks and the ladder truck pulls up.  Then, after the situation was assessed, a few more trucks pulled up (second alarm called in), an EMT arrived, the Fire Chief and the red cross. For the next hour or so, I watched the fireman do their thing. It was an amazing dance as the fireman vented the home and got the fire under control. During this time, many of our neighbors also came out and we learned that the young girl who lives across the street was at a sleepover (and we all breathed a little better after that). Finally, the Fire Dept told us that no one was inside. As things wound down, the Fire Marshall stopped by to ask what we knew. After that, we tried to get some rest, knowing the kids would be awake bright and early.

We learned early this morning that the fire started in the basement and the damage is extreme. It has been amazingly emotional today. It's so hard for me to look out my window and not just burst into tears. This amazing hardworking family has lost their home. At one point, Kathy was sitting on her retaining wall just looking at her home in disbelief. It was a beautiful and very emotional image. If I had the courage, I may have snapped a photo to capture the raw emotion that I could feel just looking at her, sitting quietly.For me, this was even harder than watching the smoke pouring out of the house before the fire department arrived.

The neighborhood children are very clearly processing whats going on. They are pumping every adult they see for information and going over the whole thing over and over. We have a lot of similar aged kids in the neighborhood (8-12) and they all play together almost every day. Many of them even carpool to school on a regular basis. I am amazed at the compassion many of these children have shown - offering stuffed animals and friendship to a very scared little girl. Many of the grown neighbors have also been looking for ways to help. One, who is good friends with the family, is hosting them for now. I believe that this family will be able to rebuild and that their lives will be stronger and better because of all this. But for now, it's just heartbreaking.

Easter Weekend

We had a fabulous Easter weekend (if you don't count nighttime). We went to Maine, and while the weather was a little cool, it was a beautiful weekend and we spent a lot of time outside. We went to the nice park right down the road from Gramma and Grampa and the kids got to climb and swing.

After lunch, we went to Wolfe's Neck State Park and had a lovely time. The girls did wonderful on the hike, despite a rough night for sleep the night before. Wolfe's Neck is a great park for hiking and has some great views of the ocean.

As usual, Nora was up to her usual antics of hugging every tree she saw. It's a great way to figure out how big a tree is!

Normally, Nora insists on being the line leader, but she was quite happy to share the honor with her Grampa. She enjoyed walking along next to him for quite awhile!

The girls resting next to a tree stump. The stump was hollow, so the girls may have also been looking for some gnomes (or a treat to leave for the gnomes).

Beth walked for most of the hike, but got tired near the end. Grampa carried our tired little girls for a good distance, and she was very happy for the ride!

The kids struggled less with sleep on Saturday night, but were still pretty tired. However, they enjoyed their Easter morning! We got the kids small Baskets - they got a jump rope, some bubbles, a game (Spot It) and a bit of candy. The most enjoyable part was watching Beth take her first bite from the chocolate bunny. She bit his face right off.

Gramma had a little egg hunt for the kids. They really enjoyed looking for the eggs, and lets face it, watching kids run around filling baskets is really cute!

Once the eggs were collected, they both made short work of opening them to explore everything that was inside. They got some more candy, some play-doh, feathers, change, shells and stickers. The day was made even better when Aunt Megan and Uncle Steve brought them each another Easter bag full of goodies!

School Vacation Week!

We have had a great week. Barring the sinus cold I've been battling (and suspect the kids have as well), it has been a great week. The kids have had plenty of energy and it has been a fun and relaxing week.

On Monday, the weather was wonderful, so we spent some time outside and also did the grocery shopping or the week and stopped at the library. I made some baked potato soup for dinner and it was just all around fun!

Tuesday was a tougher day. The kids were both very cranky. It was still nice out, but the wind and slightly cooler air were displeasing to Beth so we didn't spend to much time outside. We did get in a lot of time bouncing on the trampoline though! The kids took turns - one would bounce and the other would run circles around the trampoline while counting.

Wednesday, we had a trial class at The Little Gym. First, Beth and I tried a parent/tot class and then Nora had her own class. While it was a lot of fun for Beth to run around, I kind of felt like it was a big price tag for what it was. Nora's class was with a friend of hers. She had a blast in the class, but I'm still unsure. They seemed to spend a lot of time sitting and waiting (they sat to wait while an inflatable bouncy mat was set up, and after they bounced along it a number of times, they had to wait while it was taken down again). There was also a long time sitting at the beginning of the class. Nora is currently in a tumbling program at the Nashua YMCA and we love the instructor but more and more equipment is getting damaged during "open gymboree" time. This has really limited what the kids are able to do. She really wants to learn to swing and spin on the bar, so I'd like to find her that opportunity. We have a trial class at a gymnastics center in Hudson on Saturday and I think we'll make the final decision after the trial.

When we finished up with our trial class at Little Gym, we went out to lunch with a surprise guest - Daddy! He met us in Westford for some lunch and then we went to the Acton Discover Museum for an hour to play. It would have been nice to stay longer, but we weren't entirely sure what to expect from the snow, so we erred on the side of caution. When we got home, there was an inch or so of snow on the grass and the kids both wanted to stay outside and play. The shoveled for a bit and then we went into the backyard to sled. Nora continued to sled for 20 minutes after Beth went inside. I think she was just excited that we had some snow!

Thursday morning. the kids woke up to find close to 8 inches of snow outside. They were super excited and we out on the deck playing in the snow before 8am! We got fully dressed and went out to play 3 times during the day. Nora had a blast - she built a snowman (she built the middle and top ball without help!), made tracks and snow angels, did some shoveling and some sledding. Beth wasn't as thrilled. She is still to petite to really be able to maneuver in the snow, so after several failed attempts, she got frustrated and started whining and crying. Poor thing! I ended up pushing her in the swing for a bit and pulling her in the sled for a few minutes. Inside, we read many stories, made rolls, made some snow ice cream, had a dance party and watched a video showing yeast in sugar water blowing up a balloon.

Friday was our big adventure day. Andy took the day off and we decided to take the kids to the Museum of Science in Boston. The day didn't start off as planned - the sliding doors on the mini van were frozen shut, so we had to let the car run for about 10 minutes so we could pry them open. But, soon enough, we were off. We parked at Alewife and took the train in. We thought Nora, who loves trains, would be excited but we were concerned about how Beth would react (she has been scared on trains or in confined spaces in the past). Imagine our surprise when Beth was a bubbly happy child and Nora was a bit overwhelmed and nervous! Luckily, it didn't take long for Nora to relax and enjoy the ride. She was very excited when we changed lines to the green line to get to Science Park! We had another little problem when we got to the museum. Usually, I get our membership through the Dover, NH Children's Museum, and this year, I got it in Boston because that was where we were when we needed to renew. Anyway, the MOS and BCM do not reciprocate because they are too close! D'oh! And even worse, we forgot Andy's badge (Raytheon employees and family get in free). Luckily, the gentleman working at the information/help desk was super kind and let us in anyway! Once inside, we had a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed many of the exhibits, although once again Nora showed her slightly timid ways when she saw the life-sized T-Rex! She was very nervous around the dinosaur! We enjoyed our afternoon and then took the T back to Alewife. Of course now if you ask Nora about the day, she excitedly tells everyone about the train ride

February Fun

I wasn't terribly good about taking photos in February either. The following are all taking from my phone, so I apologize that they are not great quality, but they do allow for everyone to see some of the fun the kids had this month!

Nora and Beth went through a few days where they made at least 10 paintings a day. It was hard to keep up - cutting the paper off the easel, making sure paint cups were full and finding places for all their artwork to dry!

For some reason, this photo makes me happy. Beth often reminds me of Little Sal from Blueberries for Sal (and One Morning in Maine, but we don't read that one very often). Seeing her in (unbuttoned) overalls made me start dreaming of summer and fruit picking!

 

 I took the girls to a local toy shop to pick out a birthday gift for a friend. Of course, once they picked out the gift, they found the books and sat down to read.

 Nora has an hour long tumbling class at the local YMCA on Friday late afternoons. Beth and I wait for her in the lobby and play. I started bringing some of our magnatiles to keep Beth entertained and they have worked out really well.

 On occasion, Beth lets me use a few magnatiles. One day, I actually got 8 magnatiles, so I built this tower. Beth delighted in knocking it over almost as soon as I finished building it.

 Nora and I were playing chase in the front yard. She peeked back at me through the trees while I was taking a quick rest.

 Both girls have enjoyed pretending to be The Big Bad Wolf lately. They want a tower built so that they can huff and puff and blow the tower down!

Beth, "reading" on the way to a birthday party!

 There was a clown at our friends birthday party and she painted Nora's face so she would look like a puppy. It's the first time Nora ever wanted her face painted and it looked so cute!

 Beth did not want her face painted, but after playing for awhile she finally decided that maybe the clown wasn't so scary. She got some balloon butterfly wings, which she adored.

The girls got silly sunglasses in their loot bags at the party. Beth loves to wear them (and ham it up for the camera).

 I'm sure I've mentioned that my girls both love books before, but here they are again, reading. This time, I'm told they are on the train riding to work.

 Nora is really starting to get interested in experimenting ( it seems to come with the age - a lot of our friends who are a year older have really become wonderful scientists!). Here Nora is using a vase to make rainbow patterns on the floor (wall, and ceiling)!

 My little goofball! Beth loves taking bubble baths and this photo just makes me smile :-).

Playing together!

Over the last week or so, the kids have really started playing well together again. It was a bit of a tough stretch between Thanksgiving and early February. The constant fighting over every little thing, the tears, the screaming, the whining. It was making for really long days! Then, we had a rather extended cold (or 2). First was two weeks of exhaustion combined with a 4 day fever. We followed that with another cold that included a few days of fever and a few weeks of wet coughing. It has been a long month! We seem to be mostly recovered from everything. Beth still has a bit of a runny nose, but the majority of the coughing has stopped.

One day last week when I was up in the night with Beth, I was totally exhausted. I got the kids breakfast and then laid down on the couch for a few minutes. The kids finished their breakfast and then started playing. They played, without one fight, for the entire morning! I was able to wake up, make some tea, pick up the breakfast dishes, and start the laundry without having to break up a fight or answer fifty questions!

Here's a photo of the girls that I just love. Both girls love books, and Nora has really enjoyed 'reading' to Beth lately. But really, what I love most about this photo, is the little bit of their personality you can see. Nora is still wearing her pajama shirt underneath her playdress and Beth has her dress on backwards.

 One of the games the kids adore playing is hide and seek. Of course, neither of them are very good about keeping quiet in their hiding location (although Nora is getting a lot better). During one round, I entered the living room to Beth "hiding" behind the chair.

Butterfly Place visit Feb. 2012

We went with some friends to the Butterfly Place in Westford, MA this week. It opens on Valentines Day for the season, so all the plants were still small and there weren't too many butterflies. There were enough butterflies to have a nice trip though! One of the butterflies landed on Nora almost as soon as we entered the room and it really freaked her out, but she was totally fascinated at the same time.

More baking soda and vinegar fun!

Nora loves baking soda and vinegar experiments. She was very excited when I asked her if she wanted to blow up a balloon using the "fizz" from the reaction. We used a funnel to put some baking soda inside a balloon and then put some vinegar in a bottle. I stretched the balloon over the top of the bottle.

Here's Nora right before we started the reaction.

 Lifting up the balloon to dump the baking soda into the vinegar.

 Watching the balloon inflate with carbon dioxide.

 At one point, the balloon inflated enough to fall over to the side. It surprised Nora a bit, but she really enjoyed this experiment.

We have repeated this experiment a number of times. Both girls love watching the balloon inflate! We ended up inflating one balloon with the carbon dioxide and another with regular air. It was really interesting to compare them. I wish I had taken photos. We noticed that the "gas" filled balloon fell to the ground much quicker than the 'breath' filled balloon, which seemed to float down a little more. Then, the next morning when Nora picked up the 'gas' filled balloon, she noticed right away that it had shrunk significantly in size! The 'breath' filled one didn't seem to change overnight.

Valentine's Day

February 14 and we were outside in a mid-weight fleece jacket! After I dropped Nora off at school with her bag full of homemade Valentines cards, Beth and I went to her tumbling class. The second we got home, Beth asked if she could ride her bike. So, instead of going inside for a snack, I opened the garage door and we played outside until it was time to pick up Nora.

 Nora made Valentine's for us at school. She was so proud to give them to us!

 Here are the Valentine's Nora made for school. I cut out butterflies and Nora decorated them. They came out really cute. Some were simple (like the one I have a photo of) and some were elaborate with lots of rhinestones and glitter glue. Nora's preschool teachers told me how excited Nora was to hand out her cards to her classmates. They were also happy to see that Nora is given artistic freedom at home. Unfortunately, when Nora got home from school, she was upset because all the other girls in her class gave out princess valentines (Disney princess/fairy, with princess lollipops). We talked for a bit about how special her cards were because they were so different. By the end of the day, she was back to being proud of her cards.

 We actually made these cookies the day after Valentine's Day. Nora requested roll our chocolate cookies, so that's what we made. i let the kids decorate them with some icing and sprinkle sugar. we had some pretty silly looking cookies.