Fizzy Lifting Drink

 The addiction began when I was pregnant with Elliot - nothing else could satisfy my irrational thirst like soda water. Yes, bubbly, calorie-free, sodium-free soda water. It is perfect to have in the kitchen at all times. Mix it with juice and you have an exciting breakfast cocktail. Keep it at your bedside and it relieves the middle of the night dry mouth. It is far superior than water which is terrible because it is stale by 2 am and tastes like your own morning breath.

 Gregory soon picked up the same habit and we were going through ten to fifteen bottles of seltzer water every week. Our taste buds started to get sophisticated and it was frustrating that the plastic bottles would lose their "oomph" and we'd always end of up with a flat glass of soda water with every bottle. We knew that cans of seltzer existed - we had seen them in grocery stores in North Carolina - but were nowhere to be found on the shelves of Giant Eagle.

 Lo and behold, it only took a move to New York to find all of the seltzer our hearts could desire! Both Tops and Wegmans (our most frequented grocery stores) carry a wide variety of canned seltzer flavors: Lime, Lemon, Pomegranate, Cranberry Lime, Mixed Berry and Orange. The assortment in bottles is even wider - including Pink Grapefruit and Vanilla - but those are only good if you are going to drink it all at once. (And don't worry, I usually do.)

 I am a complete convert from drinking regular or even diet soda now. It might be blasphemous in my family to say that I've renounced Pepsi (a photo album was made about 30 years ago, showing many family members using Pepsi for household chores, filling pools, watering gardens, etc. as a gift for my grandmother because she loved it so much.), but why would I ever go back? I can drink seltzer all day long without the calories or the worry of what aspartame is doing to my liver.

 Of course, there is the problem with excessive recycling and use of tons of aluminum cans and bottles. But water just doesn't cut it anymore. We have tried homemade versions of soda water with our iSi, but that would be an expensive habit.

 Imagine my delight when I saw seasonal flavors at the grocery store this past weekend! Apparently I am easily excited and I bought every one. Hello banana (it's better than you think), pineapple passionfruit, orange mango and pina colada! I haven't tried the last one yet, but I am still brainstorming as to how I'm going to mix that one with alcohol.

 Not to speak unkindly of PA and its' pride Giant Eagle - but this is one instance where I know I've upgraded. I can binge on seltzer to my hearts content and only hope they market even stranger flavors in the fall. Apple? Pumpkin? Keeping my fingers crossed.

Le Jardin Pathetique

I can't take credit for the rose bush... the previous owners planted it. But Ayla is really appreciating the flowers.

 My luck with the garden this year has been spotty, with a success rate hovering around 50%. I am adjusting to a new climate - where spring didn't really hit until late May and the yard was flooded with heavy rains for a few weeks after planting seeds. The seedlings that started indoors were promptly planted outside when their roots began to wind together, where many of them quickly perished (or were eaten by a pesky rabbit!). The strange thing is that some plants died right next to ones that are flourishing. It's as if there are dead spots in the ground. Others, like my cauliflower, aren't exactly dying but aren't growing either. Those plants have been outside for over a month and haven't grown an inch.

So what if there are more weeds than plants? The lettuce is in there something, and I finally wised up to using weed fabric by the tomatoes.

Tasty, tasty snap peas - they enjoy the Buffalo weather much better than Pittsburgh.

Can't wait to harvest!

  I put a lot of hope and faith into the ground every year, when I try new varieties and spend hours of time digging, weeding and mulching. My standards might be too rigid for realistic gardening: I am a little devastated every time a tomato plant dries up or the spinach looked healthy one minute and then was spindly and near-dead the next day. I know that gardening is all about trial and error, and I'm happy to be successful with at least one new venture every year. But, I have to admit, I probably get disproportionally upset when something completely fails.

 Like the potato condo.

I am almost positive that is it dead. We have no idea what went wrong, but when we returned from our week-long vacation, the greenery at the top of the potato box was almost non-existent. This is a complete change from the flourishing, out of control growth we had a few weeks ago. I thought it had good drainage and enough sunlight - it's possible that we may have built up the remaining plank levels too soon and caused too much shade as the sun shifted in the afternoon. Regardless, I've been digging into the potting soil and have yet to find any life. Only marble-sized potatoes at the very bottom and nothing else. They're too small to even pretend that we intended to grow baby potatoes!

 However, the front porch and full-day sun is working very well for our container plants.

Parsley, dill, lemon thyme and a bush bean plant.

Lettuce, basil, more snap peas and monster tomato plants.

Upside down bell peppers and potted eggplants - grow, eggplants, grow!

 Maybe there is enough time left in the season to make another attempt with the potato condo... but if not, I will just have to wait until next year. For now, I'll try to look on the positive side of my "jardin pathetique" and be happy that the snap peas are almost ready to pick and we've already enjoyed radishes, lettuce and a plethora of basil.

Happy 4th!

2009... with a baby Jackson!

 I hope everyone is having a fantastic, relaxing holiday. We are having a great first 4th of July here in Buffalo, all in part to family visiting AND Gregory getting the day off. Really, there isn't much more to ask for!

 We attended the parade in our new suburb small town of Lancaster. It satisfied the patriotic desires to clap for our veterans, volunteer firefighters, high school band and Girl Scout troops. Being in New York, though, is just not quite as relaxing as watching the Leetsdale parade from our front porch. Alas, that time in my life is over!

 And with more reasons to celebrate: I have to mark my second blogiversary!!! Amazing! I can't believe how time has elapsed and how cathartic this writing really is for me. I am honored that anyone shows an interest and comments on the random rantings spewing from my brain. I look forward to writing posts and hope that I come across in an honest, genuine way. I write here on the blog as a means to document my life and form cohesive thoughts about all the complications of being a woman, mother, wife, citizen and friend.

 So thank you for reading and supporting me. I know "Mom" blogs are very common, but there must be a reason for this. We are proud of our children and want to share their accomplishments. But we also need a voice amongst the hours of cleaning, wiping and diaper changing. This outlet gives me the opportunity to reflect in the midst of to-do lists, rapidly growing children and attempts to pursue grown-up interests as well. Every post helps me slow down  and get a hold of my feelings one at a time.

 Have a great holiday that hopefully includes lots and lots of fireworks!

Summer Vacation

  Promptly after graduating preschool, we got out of Buffalo and took our first road trip of the summer - ultimately to Diana (Gregory's cousin) and Jared's (now cousin-in-law) wedding in Virginia, with bookend stops in Pittsburgh.

 Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to arrive in Pittsburgh on Erin's real, actual birthday. It's virtually impossible to plan seeing an out-of-town friend on their birthday - but we were rolling through town just on chance! I arrived just in time to get a tasty honeydew margarita with Erin and her fiance (ooohhhh- kissy kissy!) Rob at Mad Mex. I do miss me some Mad Mex.

 Onto the scenic drive into Virginia to the wedding at Veritas Vineyards. We were kindly invited to a dinner the night before at Michie Tavern , where we feasted on fried chicken, mashed potatoes, beets, black-eyed peas, peach cobbler and ice cream. It was pretty fascinating to be inside a well-preserved historic tavern, although we did discover some horrific drawings hanging on the wall. Without getting too detailed, the drawings depicted some colonial sexual assault and then betrothment? It was weird.

 The wedding itself was stunning. I'm beginning to think there isn't a better backdrop to anything than a vineyard, let alone the tranquility of a wedding ceremony. (Okay, beaches are awesome too.) The food was amazing - it's not often to find a fantastically fresh salad in any banquet situation! Kudos, Diana and Jared! I only wish that bringing our three well-dressed children to a party with family meant that we actually got to spend more time catching up with said family. From attempting to take pictures, to running Jackson into the bathroom every time he announced he had to go (we are faltering at potty training, so we'll run anytime he says he has to use the real bathroom), to feeding Elliot and finding a wandering Ayla - the night sped by too quickly.

Ayla sat at the grown-up kids table! What a little lady.

Heartbreaker. He's wearing the "tie" shirt under that blazer!

Passed out by 9 pm. Jackson has a hard time even falling asleep in the car, so this surprised me.

A happy bride and groom!

Dinner companions - so what if we had the rowdiest table?

 We then returned to Pittsburgh for a graduation celebration for Genevieve. Woo hoo! "Quaker Valley" graduate! I'm sad to say we didn't pull out the camera that night until the unveiling of the cake.... sorry, Genevieve! But congratulations, we can't wait to visit you at college and tease you in front of your new friends! "Guys, stop teasing him!"

Luscious... and it was MY job to cut this bad boy!

"It's so much cake I can't handle it!"

 

 The timing for our trip was a perfect segway into the somewhat lazy summer days ahead of us. (Lazy for the kids, almost ulcer inducing for me.) I really loved seeing so many of our friends and family back in Pittsburgh, for even a few hours. It was very surreal to be less than a minute's drive from our old house and not be able to stay there. I'm realizing now that it was relatively easy, at least psychologically, to slink away from "home" in the dead of winter, rather than in the beautiful, green, energized power of summer.

 Alas, these are the kinds of weekends where you do a fair amount of looking backwards (old gardens, old neighbors, old familiarities) and realizing what the future can be (new marriages, another year of children growing, new jobs and cities).

Night Owl

Where has the sleep gone?

  No question, we are a family of night owls. Before having kids, Gregory and I would regularly sleep until the mid-afternoon (if I didn't have to wake up at some hideous hour for work), go about our day, and then stay up until nearly dawn watching TV, hanging out, having dinner. When we had jobs that kept us working until midnight... that was our "normal" time to unwind and spend time together. We never really felt that we missed much by skipping the morning entirely.

When I was a little girl, my parents used to joke that "Uh-oh, it's 11 o'clock... now Alexis is gonna get crazy!" It was as if my body only recognized the late hours of night and I was always pumped up with energy. I remember many nights in my bed, lying awake and wondering why I wasn't tired. It's my personal circadian rhythm, which is more in sync with the likes of raccoons and vampires rather than the human race.

 Ayla is quickly following in our footsteps... with one major difference. She doesn't sleep late in the morning! Isn't it an unspoken agreement that if I, as your parent, have to stay up late with you... that you'll continue to sleep the usual 10-11 hours later into the morning? Maybe it's the summertime, maybe it's part of her maturing - but Ayla is sleeping less and less.

  Last night, after Gregory had fallen asleep, I retired to bed to read my book. Ayla had been roaming around the house, getting Berenstein Bear books, putting on Band-Aids, playing with her toys. If she is quiet and enjoys herself... there is no reason to force her into bed. However, all of the lights had been turned out downstairs and I heard a rustling at the kitchen table. Ayla was sitting there in the pitch night, attempting to draw! Now that is desperate! I turned the light on for her, and after about 45 minutes of drawing princesses, she came to say goodnight. This was well past midnight.

 Of course, she woke up bright and spunky at 8 am!! I start to panic a little, as this is the onset of summer. All day, every day, all of the kids are with me! We try to exhaust them with playing in the sun, running in the sprinkler, trips to the zoo, walks around the neighborhood.... but every night it seems they are more and more energized instead of depleted (like I feel!).

 The point of my story - we need to teach these kids the beauty of sleeping in. Right now, they are happy in the mornings, crazy at bedtime and super grumpy in the afternoon when they should be taking naps.


 In other news, Ayla just had her preschool graduation on Tuesday and it was the most precious thing! Dressing 4 and 5 year olds in cap and gowns might seem unnecessary - but it was adorable. Her class put on a presentation, songs and introductions. Ayla was so proud and happy, and of course we were too! It's an understatement to say that we will miss her teachers very much - as much as it was difficult to leave Pittsburgh, I think it was fate that Ayla ended up in that exact classroom with Miss Harris.

Poor Eli, the boy next to Ayla, was scared of being on stage. So Ayla held his hand and when it came time for his introduction, he couldn't do it... so she said it for him! What a friend!

So happy!

Jackson getting some love from his sister: these hugs are rare!

Miss Harris!

Thumbs up for education!

  On her report card, Miss Harris wrote, "It's been such an honor to work with Ayla this year! She is one of the most creative students I've ever worked with. With her kind heart she's a friend to all of her classmates. I know for certain that Ayla is going to have an incredible Kindergarten experience. I just wish I could keep her here!" The feeling is mutual, Miss Harris! We love that Miss Harris nurtured our little "weirdo" and has encouraged Ayla to be herself. And Gregory was commenting that kindness and compassion are two of the biggest attributes we can hope for our daughter. The ABC's and algebra will all happen, but a good heart and ability to make friends: that's so much more important in the end.

 So now it's the beginning of our summer and we're kicking it off with a trip to Virginia for a wedding. A few days in Pittsburgh, maybe some Mexican food from Azul and lots of time with family. This will be the first time that many people will be meeting Elliot... it's hard to believe he's been here for almost a year!

Elliot is starting to figure out that we are ALL WEIRDOS.

You know what today is!

It's Father's Day! 

August 14th, 2006... the beginning of madness!

  From day one, almost five years ago, to today: 

Washing and detailing the car. Nothing says Dad more than minivan!

Elliot watches the hose/car washing with wonder. And look! our stupid 4th child, Baxter, is cowering with fear in the background!

Jackson was pantless, so no front shots... nothing indecent here!

Gregory, you are doing a great job! I appreciate how much a partner you are in caring for our children and how little I have to commiserate with other Moms at the playground when they start husband-bashing. And when I say little, I really mean I don't have anything to say.

  Our children adore you and we can only hope they appreciate how much you do! Parenting our three insane kids is a non-stop, relentless job and you never shirk from the responsibility. You encourage Ayla to be kind (and a weirdo!), teach Jackson the virtues of Star Wars and care enough to try and try again to give Elliot a bottle, no matter how many times he turns it down.

 They think you are awesome and so do I!

Clean House

 I had a goal when we first moved into this house to take pictures of each room as we set it up... and then share it on the blog so people had a sense of what our home looks like here in Buffalo. But most of the time, our house is too messy for me to document the state of affairs.

 I fall into the same motherly trap where I try to put on my best "face" and only show my house when it has been cleaned or looks out of the ordinary fantastic. I know that if we all just showed it like it really is, none of us would feel so guilty or inadequate because the dinner dishes weren't washed from last night or there are tiny pieces of legos in the bathtub.

 So... we have lived here almost six months and I'm about to show our second room in the house! We had Gregory's cousins over for dinner over a month ago and it took us all day to wipe and clean and make the room look presentable. Not just presentable, but sanitary. If this dining room was a restaurant, I know we'd be failing some major health codes. (We're potty training, okay!)

 Here are the pictures of our "sun room" or Florida room as people here like to call it. The word from our neighbors is that the previous owners added it on to their house and used it primarily as a playroom for their kids. I love that it houses our computer area, dog crate and "dining area" all in one and it gets great light for plants.

 

  I know this isn't the most exciting post of all time, but chances are, most of our friends won't visit us here at this house since it is temporary. Just imagine our wacko kids enjoying their meals in this room, looking out into the immense backyard and you'll get a sense of our new "home".