Special Hand-Me-Downs

Catherine (Grace) wearing a dress that I wore that was made by my great grandmother Grace (Gran).
So special!!

Peering into the basement...

They're doing something fun down there...

I just know it!

Got Milk?

Do you know who is a genius? The milkman.

Maybe he saw me looking longingly at him as he puttered thru the neighborhood delivering fresh bottled milk to neighbors. I looked into it, but I didn't diligently pursue the idea because I figured that's a luxury we can't afford right now.

But Friday, guess who showed up at my door? The milkman! He wondered if I'd like to try a few samples to see if I'd be interested in setting up delivery. He comes thru every Friday morning. Same guy, same time.

The boys saw the truck and asked if we lived in the "old timey times". Turns out this company is a family business that has been in business since 1891.

So for breakfast today, we enjoyed homemade blueberry muffins (with our freshly picked berries) with a side of delicious fresh milk. Mmmmm..

So what do you think? Is it really a luxury for this harried mom of 4 to save many trips to the store, and in the process support a family business that has been around for 121 years??

Country Mouse

After a busy day in the city, we decided to head in the other direction...to the country!
We had a fun-filled day at a farm. We met some church friends there and picked blueberries...


peaches...


played with goats...


and played on the playground.


This was the "blueberry gallery"... Just waiting for the monkeys to toss a blueberry their way!


We left the farm tired and full! Now I have to get busy on some cobblers!

City Mouse

I finally got up the nerve to take all the kids into the city. Only because I had help waiting for me when we got there! The boys begged me to take the commuter rail/train into the city and I thought it might be a good idea since I wouldn't have to drive/park/etc. However, the rail was NOT stroller friendly, so that proved to be a challenge. We tried to blend right in with all the business commuters, but I'm not sure if we did. Our car attendant was extremely helpful. I wish I could've snapped a picture as he came up to Will and Andrew and gave them a ticket then started rapidly punching holes in it "Polar Express style". But I had two babies on my lap, so my camera was not accessible.
He helped me get the stroller on and off the train and luckily, he was our same attendant on the way home.
Ah, if I had a $ for everytime someone asked me, "Are all of those kids yours?"...

The only way I was brave enough to go in was because we met our sweet church friend, Mrs. Hayes, and her two grandchildren. She took the older kids to tour the Boston Tea Party replica ship while the babies and I strolled around.

 

They really enjoyed it and Will even got a chance to throw over some tea!

Then we all went to the Children's Museum, which is complete sensory overload, but the boys had been begging to go and they had a great time.

It was a fun day and everyone was worn out by the end. 

Especially me!

It's a good thing they're cute...

I'm about ready to pull my hair out. This has felt like such a hard move.

But then I take a step back and realize how good we really have it. We sold our house in a terrible market. We found a house in a great neighborhood. We are all healthy, together, and there is not a thing we need.

And even though they are wearing me out, I'm so lucky I get to be with these cuties everyday.

Future WSJ Reader

Matt is so proud...

10 Months Old

What a month! There have been a lot of changes for the babies. One of the most exciting is that James is now crawling! So now they are both EVERYWHERE!

James has had the worst separation anxiety. Everytime we leave the room, he SCREAMS like you wouldn't believe. Crawling has helped him a little because at least he can follow us, but we're still working on it.

Catherine has become the sweetest most content little girl. She is happy to play by herself and is pulling up all the time. 

They are eating almost everything with us. They can say "Da-da" and "uh-oh" and clap their hands.
Catherine is most content when her Da-da is holding her (can we say wrapped around her little finger already?) and James is happy as long as anybody is holding him!

Things I'm missing...

Don't get me wrong...I think we are going to love Boston. But today I'm feeling a little sentimental and just wanted to document a few of the great things that I'm missing. Perhaps in a year or so, I'll look back on this post and realize that life has gotten even better since our move. I am confident that we will make friends and grow to love this area just as much as we did Shaker Heights. 

But today I'm missing our beautiful house. It was perfect. The architectural details from this house were absolutely amazing. The fact that it has withstood 85+ years of lake effect snow is remarkable.

 

I miss our screened in back porch which served as our favorite summer dining spot, baseball dugout, and wiffle ball bleachers.

 

I miss the unique features like the milk crate drop box which was used a long time ago. Now capped  off, it stored my grocery bags, or was an occasional hideout for army men.

   

I miss our awesome babysitter, Rachel, who watched all 4 kids at least once a week so I could run fun-filled errands like going to the grocery store BY MYSELF!

I miss our good friends...

Especially ones who were always willing to hold a baby!

 

And I miss the voices of neighborhood kids (it's SO quiet here as it seems everyone goes to the beach for the summer!)

 

And I miss random chalk drawings that remind me of the luxuries of summertime.

I'm looking forward to finding all of these treasures in our new neighborhood. I know it just takes time...

BUT, there are a few things I am NOT missing...

BOXES!!!!

So thankful to be almost completely finished with them!




"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." ~ Thomas Meehan

#8

After a short hiatus, the Tooth Fairy was able to come back!

(P.S. Will let ME pull this one!)

Happy Independence Day!

We had a low-key, but great, 4th of July. We had some fun getting our food into the spirit.

 

The babies even enjoyed their own red, white, and blue fruit medley!

 

We were lucky to have Pops and Mimi in town visiting. Our first visitors!

After church, we chose to avoid the crowd of 500,000 viewing the fireworks in Boston and have our own viewing party in our pj's. It was perfect!