Michelle and Gilbert's Wedding

Where to begin? My little sister got married this weekend. Like her, the wedding was beautiful and unique. The reception took place at Warner Farm in East Banana Peel, I mean Cummington, MA...

The ceremony took place in Northampton (My sister insists that it is 20 minutes from Northampton to Cummington. If you're ever in the area, I would give yourself at least 35. Trust me on this, we missed our manicure appointment, were late for the rehearsal, late for our hair appointment and the wedding ceremony that was supposed to start at 1:30, started a touch after 2:00) It was 95 degrees and soooo humid....made my Spanx feel like a little slice of hell, but I kept them on...I'm so vain (fat). On the way back to the farm, the sky opened up and it poured. The temperature dropped 23 degrees and by the time we all go to the reception, the rain had stopped and it was much cooler and much more enjoyable.

After taking pictures, Gil's dad played bag pipes as the bridal party walked up a dirt road to join the celebration. It was still misty from the rain, and well, well it was really cool. The food was wonderful, the drink plentiful, and their was a live Irish Band that rocked! I heard that there was a bonfire after the band finished...but I was in bed...(Not drunk, not at all, who has time for drinking when you are carrying a baby in a mei hip and making sure that your three year old hasn't disappeared into the woods?) like I was saying, not drunk, just completely exhausted.

Sooo, Michelle and Gil I love you both very much. You are two of the most wonderful people that I know and I am confident that you will have a wonderful life together.

Miche, I know I told you about it, but if you want a sneak peek, you can check out your present here! More pics to follow...

Overheard...

"If you don't count the epidurals, I've had nothing stronger than Tylenol for five years."

Lainey Ham on why she does not plan on having a fourth child.

Elaine, if you read this, I want you to know that I am bringing a six pack or whatever you crave to the hospital as soon as this child is born...even if I'm preggers! You are so much better than I..who holds a baby in one arm and a drink in the other while nursing...if your kids turn out significantly brighter, we'll know why.

When will we sleep again?

Number of times that Grace wakes up during a typical night: two
Number of times that Sam wakes up during a typical night: zero

Number of times that Grace woke up last night: zero
Number of times that Sam woke up last night: three .

He was "scared" so each time I let him climb into bed next to me. After a half hour of tossing and turning, hitting me and talking in his sleep ( I think he was dreaming about the movie "Cars") I'd put him back in bed.... If I have a third am I pretty much guaranteed to never sleep again?

Off to sisters wedding...where I am sure we will have nothing but good nights sleep....This is about 2/3 of what we packed for two nights!

Having too much...

I've been trying to clean my house for over a month. "Clean" is actually a strong word for what I'm shooting for... Although I'd really like to, I've given up on ever getting down on my hands and knees and scrubbing the grout between my kitchen floor tiles. The soap scum in my bathtub, is probably gonna be there till both kids are in school...full day...maybe even till they go to college..I think about cleaning the inside of my fridge on a daily basis, but alas, this to will probably also have to wait...especially since nobody sees it but us. When I say clean, I'm just talking about finding a place for the piles of things that have overtaken every surface of my home...so I guess I'm really just trying to pick up.

While my kids were napping this afternoon, I tried again...I hit the playroom/family room first. For the 10,000th time in my life and career as mommy, I put books back on shelves. I completed wooden puzzles and stacked them neatly. I filled a grocery bag with toys that belong in Sam's room. When I finished, I looked around and felt discouraged...it's still not clean, not picked up...Like the rest of my house, it's filled to capacity with stuff.

My first thought was that I need a bigger house. For those of you who've never been here, I live in a three bedroom, two bath house with a kitchen, dining room, living room and family room...It's about 2,000 square feet...not huge, but adequate for a family of four. A bigger house in my little corner of suburbia...not to far from Boston would cost well over a half million dollars...so, I'm probably not getting one, not anytime soon...maybe if I found out I am pregnant with quadruplets...maybe Oprah will buy us one then...not sure if four babies is enough to get her attention, might have to have sextuplets...I digress...as I looked around I felt a tad convicted...I don't think the problem is about space, I think it's about stuff. Too much stuff, way too much stuff.

Do my kids need 200 books (I'm guessing, haven't counted)? How about thirty wooden puzzles? A bucket of cars that weighs fifteen pounds? How about vhs tapes and dvd's? I think there are close to 100 in the entertainment center...

I went into my room and looked at the mess. I never got around to putting all my summer stuff in my closet...there are plastic bins everywhere...do I need all that? Do I even know what's in them? Did I miss any of it this summer? Nope.

Dining room...you can't see the table. The hutch and armoire are full of things that don't belong in a dining room and a lot of stuff that does....like ten sets of cloth napkins. They're beautiful, all from Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma, but they don't match our new house and even when they did match, I never used them....

I could go on and on, from room to room...too much stuff everywhere...way too much stuff. So, I'm going to try to purge...I just stuck a bag of videos on Freecycle...so now, we only have ninety...is that still to many? Probably, but for a pack rat like me, it's a start.

Watch out Martha!

Actually, I think there is a far greater chance of Martha being sent back to jail than of me ever making a wreath again.

After three trips to AC Moore without actually buying anything because I was so completely overwhelmed...

Here is my attempt at being crafty...keep in mind, my sister's wedding is on a farm and this is for a barn door, not the Ritz Carlton...the lovely bows that you see, are the same as the ones that will grace the pews at the church...only half a dozen more to go....

First day of school, sort of.

Today Sam had orientation for pre-school. It was an informal, unstructured come in, see your class, meet your teachers, mommy stays with you sort of thing. He's been excited about school all summer, but for the past week it's been nothing but "I'm not going to school!" in that whiny Caillou sounding voice that I love so much (hate).

We were on the edge all morning, split personality bi-polar kind of stuff....

"I'm not going to school, you go by yourself. Will Miss Katie be there (his teacher)?"

"Fine Sam, we won't go. Let's just get dressed and then you can play in your room."

"Oh, in the blue room (his classroom)?"

"Ah, no I meant your bedroom. Does that mean you want to go now?"

"No, I'm not going to school. Where's my backpack?"

He went, he did great, he can't wait to go back. First day is next Tuesday...we'll see how it goes.

Oh, they have those miniature potties...We went to use them and I said, "Wow, you might be able to do poops on these.." Sam replied, "Hmmm...yeah, it's worth a try. Maybe not though Mommy." Will he ever poop on the potty? What will it take? I have tried everything, indifference, bribery, threatening...I'm so sick (literally) of changing this kid!

Fun with our cousins

My sister in law Cathy and her almost five year old twin boys, Benjamin and Steven, were visiting this week. We only see them once or twice a year and this was the first time that Sam was truly able to play with them. Last summer he had fun running after them, but he didn't have the language to be able to really hang out.

I'm the oldest of twenty-two (or maybe there are twenty-three of us?) grandchildren. Growing up, there were cousins everywhere and we spent a lot of time together. It makes me a little sad that my kids don't have that. My brother and sister have kids the same age as mine, but they are in CT and we don't get together nearly as much as we should. Brad's nieces and nephews are mostly a lot older and live far away...

Here are some highlights of our long weekend together. (Cathy, I'll send you everything later...I am currently nursing Grace and typing with my left hand...)