A Trip to the Beach

This weekend we finally made a trip out to the beach! As it turns out, Connecticut beaches are absolutely nothing like California beaches. We were expecting waves, cold water, and soft, hot sand. We arrived and found a very shell and rock filled shore (not exactly fun for walking on), and much warmer, calmer waters than we're used to. 

As you can see, the beach we were at is located right on the coast of Connecticut but directly below us is Long Island, hence being blocked from any kind of waves. If our boys were 10 years older they probably would have been bored out of their minds. Thankfully, this was PERFECT for them because they were already terrified of the water when we got there and the calm waters really helped ease them in. We all ended up having a lot of fun and it was the perfect escape for a Saturday afternoon. The funny thing about our boys is that even though they are having tons of fun, they don't smile much about it. They are very focused in their fun: Joey, in running in the water screaming "BRAVE!" and Moses, digging sand and trying to put it in a bucket. 

At one point we saw 5 planes flying in formation and then before we knew it, they were spelling out letters. Crazy!!!

Thankfully all of our boys wore enough clothing/sunscreen to be protected from the sun. The same can not be said for me. I apparently sat in the water too soon after putting my sunscreen on and I got this lovely red pattern all across my legs (and back too). Considering I brought no long skirts or tights to CT with us, you can imagine how attractive I looked at church the next day. Lesson learned. 

Adventures with Helmets

Tonight we went to get Joey a new helmet at Walmart so that Tom could take the boys for a bike ride tomorrow morning. We got to the helmet section and started looking for ones that would fit. Instantly, Joey saw a helmet that he wanted and insisted on having. Did it have flashy race cars on it? No. Did it have monsters on it? Nope. Did it have cool racing stripes? Definitely not. 

This, my friends, is the helmet that my firstborn absolutely NEEDED to have and put on as soon as possible. We tried to show him all the cool boy themed hats, but he insisted on the pink unicorn with a horn. Now before you get all gender-issues on me, understand that I am totally for my sons cooking at kitchenettes and  consoling baby dolls. But this helmet. I don't even think I could bring myself to let a daughter buy this helmet, let alone my son (remember my pink and purple issues?) It has a horn and ears for goodness sake. Do you blame me?

So we distracted him with a spatula and switched out the helmets when he wasn't looking. We got home and instantly fell in love with the one we picked out. Phew. He even insisted on wearing it while we read stories before bed. 

Then he insisted that Moses put on his helmet, too. 

(Don't worry. That curl in front of my ear is driving me crazy too. It's not supposed to do that, I promise)

Our boys are so much fun. Hopefully they don't soon realize that the helmets can allow them to run into things harder without fear of getting ow-ies on their heads. 

Hank the Tank

This weekend we make a visit to Thomaston, CT (about an hour north of New Haven) to take a ride on an 80 year old coal-fired steam locomotive. It was the Flagg Coal #75 AKA Hank the Tank. We went for Joey's interest, but it was Moses who ended up being the most excited.

In the station, they had a display with little trains running and the boys were both fascinated:

Joey got to "drive" an old car:

Outside the found more toy trains to ogle over:

And then we found the real trains for Tom to ogle over:

(we thought these two cars were appropriately linked for our current situation in life)

Joey was very scared when Hank pulled into the station and constantly wanted to be held but as soon as we were able to actually get on the train, all was well in the world again.

It was a fun day for everybody and we got to have a nice and quiet drive home while the boys slept.

We're really looking forward to all of the fun things that we'll be able to do this summer in New England. So many places to see, so little time....but at the same time, so much MORE time because we don't have to deal with homework and studying and job searching, etc. I love this "no school" life. Can we keep it? 

Not sure what is next on our list of adventures, but I'm thinking coastal. 

A whole lotta catchin up to do

Oops. We're a bit behind on our updates. Everybody seems to have some sort of big, exciting news to report in our family so we'll try to give you the Cliff's Notes version on everybody.

Joey: 

This big boy has graduated out of his crib. This wasn't actually something we wanted to do yet but were forced into it by living constraints. Because we only had so much room in our van for our summer Connecticut move (more on that later) and we knew there would be an extra twin bed at our new apartment (and I refused to let either of my children sleep in only a pack-n-play for the whole summer), we only brought one crib with us. That left Joey the twin bed. He has actually taken to it really well and I think it will be a good switch for everyone. Because he can now get out of bed and come get me when he wakes up rather than scream in his crib for me to come get him, he wakes up much happier. Even though this sometimes means that we're all awake a little earlier, even I am much happier for it because as it turns out, "wake up, Mommy" being whispered in my ear is a much nicer alarm clock than screams from the nursery. Go figure.

Moses:

Our little late bloomer FINALLY crossed two big milestones this month. Firstly, he's walking!! I know 14 months doesn't exactly qualify him as a "late" walker but Joey was walking at 11 months and all of Moses' little friends started walking so it felt slow. He really enjoys it and it's so cute to watch the first toddles of a toddler. Secondly, Moses finally cut his first tooth!! Good grief, we thought this day would never come. Most children cut their first tooth sometime circa 6 months, not 14. It was a painful day for him, but we're happy that he will actually have teeth. 

Tom and Mary:

Let's start with Tom's big news. There's a lot.

1. Tom is doing an internship this summer in New Haven, CT at the Achievement First Charter Schools through a program called Education Pioneers. In the smallest nutshell possible, he will be planning and piloting a computer enhanced remedial summer school. He's very excited about it and we're both happy to be in New Haven for the summer. We were really blessed to find great housing on campus and are already making friends with people from church.

2. Tom completed his first year of business school. Hallelujah! This year was a little more intense for us than expected because Tom was completing for one of two scholarships. One of the scholarships would be for a full year's tuition in exchange for earning the highest GPA in his class. We have yet to hear back about this one, but it really doesn't matter because....

3.. Tom earned the McGowan Scholarship to pay for his second full year of tuition! Since Tom won't brag about himself to you, let me do the honors. The McGowan Scholarship is awarded to 10 students from 10 of the top 20 business schools in the country. It requires a high GPA, leadership skills, and community involvement. This will not only be a HUGE ease on our debt load, but it will be a great additional network for Tom to put in his collection of contacts. We're excited about all the aspects of this scholarship except for one. In early November, he will have to go to Chicago for a two-day conference to meet all of the other fellows who earned the scholarship and are involved in the organization. This would normally be great except...

(invisible transition into Mary's big news)

We're pregnant! I am due on November 5th- the day after Tom is due back from his conference. Let's just hope this baby comes late like Joey and Moses did. Oh, and by the way, it's a GIRL. Before you ask, let me answer the questions that I'm sure are running through your mind:

1. Yes. On purpose.

2. No. I'm not crazy (or I suppose we'll leave it to a matter of opinion). I'm really excited to have another child and I know it will be exhausting and overwhelming at times but if I can get through 2 in 13 months, who's to say I can't make it through 3 in under 3 years? 

3. No. I wasn't praying for a girl the way everybody around me was. But yes, I am excited to have a girl. I would have been content to have another boy but a girl will certainly make things exciting. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little scared. I don't like pink and I abhor purple. Bows, tights, dresses, and dolls scare me. I don't accessorize. I provide enough emotion to supply an army- adding more estrogen to the mix is terrifying. 

All that being said, I know it will be wonderful. I know it will be good for the boys to have a little girl around to keep them in line and I'm sure it will be good for her to have big brothers to keep her from being too prissy. We'll have lots of fun together. 

4. This pregnancy has been rough. I had bad nausea all of the first trimester plus some (though thankfully it's gone now) and the dizziness has been out of control. For weeks and weeks I could rarely do more than lift my head up without feeling like I would pass out. No bueno. Though my energy is still really low, the dizziness has mostly subsided (except for extended trips to Walmart or Target. Those still don't work out so well). 

5. No, I'm really not showing that much yet. I've certainly gained enough weight to be showing, but it has been equally distributed to just make me look all around plump. I met a girl here in New Haven who is due 3 weeks after me but looks like she's months further along than me. I wish I looked pregnant. Looking pregnant is so much more fun than just looking chubby. Boo.  

6. And yes, though totally unrelated, I chopped off my hair. All gone. So glad. SOOO much easier. You should do it, too.