Sugar Shack

Thank you Grant Family and the Pond View Maple Sugar House for allowing me to take these pictures!

OK mom these next couple of pictures are for you. I arrived a little after 7 p.m, I knocked on large sliding pine door, (tap, tap). I introduced myself, in my simple soft voice.

Come in, Come in! A smiling friendly group of people welcomed me in. Introductions went around the room, I instantly felt at home.

It was warm and sweet.

I told the story of how every year my mom wants to see the boil and come to the open house, but she isn't home in time. She winters in Arizona and every year she asks me when the open house is.

May I please, take some pictures to send to her so she could have a little taste of New England. Of course!, they said in unison.

Unfortunately, I could not get a good picture tonight of the outside of the sugar shack, the spot lights were on, people were coming and going and pallets of wood were being stacked by the sliding pine doors. However I got some pretty interesting shots from the inside.

If the weather is fare again tomorrow I'll take the girls for a little walk down the road and snap some good pictures of the outside.

The glare you see in this picture are on the tank. Coming from the chimney are bright orange embers shooting into the night sky.

I was granted a one of a kind Wednesday night tour. Marc, a very nice young man walked me through the process, and encouraged me to bring the family March 24 for their annual open house.

We attended an open house in March of 05' when the twins were a fragile 5 months old, many of our family and friends came. I'd love for us to do it again, mark your calendars everyone!

I see these men working hard as soon as the days turn warmer than the nights.

This tank holds 800 gallons of sap! They can burn 80 gallons an hour this one feeds directly into the evaporator. Their lines stretch from our little dirt road down to the main road. There are two other tanks that they pump and then transfer into this tank that feeds directly into the shack.

If I work or or go out I'll come over the hill and see those embers lighting the night sky. I'll drive slowly and try to peer though the steamy windows. It's alive with life yet hidden behind the steam of the evaporator, and the smoke from the stacks.

I love this time of year, winter on the cusp of spring!

You can visit these great people by going to http://www.nh-maple.com/

The Evaporator

It was so steamy in here, you can see the waves of steam floating in the air. The woodsy smell of the fire, and the subtle sweet smell of the sap boiling and evaporating filled the air. I spent more time socializing than I did snapping pictures. My intent was to capture some great shots but my visit turned into some great conversation instead.

Lights On

You could see the glow of the cast iron doors with the lights on. This picture does not do it justice, the glow was more red/orange. It was about 70 degrees inside the sugar shack and 30 outside. I casually said what does it look like with the lights off...

Lights off

Everyone was so excited! Turn the lights out! Turn the lights out! Let's take a picture with the lights off! They hudled around my camera and ooh....ahhh soon followed. It was great to meet new friends in the neighborhood.

Mohawks are back

Function beats Fashion...

Function beat fashion.

I've been struggling lately, diaper bags are great and all (I love my Vera diaper bag!) but lets get practical.

I don't want to sling a heavy bag over my shoulder, push an umbrella stroller and try to hold on to two toddler hands at the same time. I DO NOT have enough arms. If I put the diaper bag on the buggy and take Edie out it falls over stuff goes flying everywhere, if we go to the store Edie is in the basket of a shopping carriage and the enormous bag is in the seat, where do I put my groceries or other goodies that I may need?

Problem solved!
So here it is, It's an Eddie Bauer Ashland Pack. It has 1800 cubic inches. That means I can fit, a change of clothes for each of the twins, 2 changes for the baby, six diapers, a travel size pack of wipes, an insulated bag for warm water (Edie's bottles), a travel formula container, and a zippy of baby food, a second insulated bag for the girls snacks and lunches (when we go on long adventures), a sippy holder on each side, a compartment for my phone, wallet, keys, and of course a spot for some germy soap. I don't have to cart around a bag for clothes, one for food and my purse. Once it's packed with all this stuff I can still carry it on my back hands free, it's not too heavy and it's VERY PRACTICAL!

Edie found happiness in the pack and play.

She figured out how to pull herself up and BINGO smiles and laughter no more sad eyes! That picture is a killer!! Here she is laughing at me and playing peek a boo. The girls like to run by and rub her head or hands, she squeals with laughter. There is nothing like the sound of laughter to brighten the day

Because my house wasn't loud enough!

That's right my house wasn't loud enough so we picked up the girls some little keyboards. The first thing I showed them was how to turn the volume WAY down, and how to push the button to stop the looping pre-programmed rhythms. They absolutely LOVE them, Reagan will sing and push the piano keys, Aubrey likes it, but she likes to dance to Reagan's music and dance to the rhythms. Todd was playing twinkle twinkle little star (some sheet music came in the package) of course slow to start until he did it once, Reagan was singing along with how fast he was going. Very cute!! Edie likes to pull both keyboards around her and play one with her hands and one with her feet.

So this is what 30 looks like!

This IS me, this is my life.

These little faces are my everything!

There is no better gift than the gift of motherhood!

Count them 1, 2, 3, little girls, in less than 2 years! A drastic change from where I was 3 years ago when we didn't think a picture like this was possible. Well here I am and here WE are making a wish together and blowing out the candles.

Mom..Your baby is 30!

I've been blessed with a three adorable little girls, a loving husband, a beautiful home and a fantastic family, what more could I wish for?

Reagan...

...you got molars??

Let me explain. Aubrey recently got her two year molars. She has told everyone, 'I got new molars!' She'll open her mouth and show you her new choppers. So tonight I caught her giving Reagan a 'look-see' and asking her if she ...got molars?

On my way to 3 Toddlers!

The twins had just got out of the tub when I took these pics. Aubrey is in the background getting dressed. Reagan I'm sure is running around naked. Edie happy as a clam starting to pull herself to her feet..

Almost there

Edie Update

Well as you can see she can pull herself up. We were just looking at these pictures and thinking to ourselves 'she isn't a baby anymore'. Well she is and isn't at this point.

• Health: We met with Edie's specialist today. She is doing really well. She is growing that's for sure. She is at 21lbs. Keep in mind her sisters only weigh 24lbs each! She is on a new medication in conjunction with the Miralax. She is now taking a Soluble Lactulose Syrup which will help her intestines and colon retain water to help her move stool along. The problem is ; she can't successfully expel waste, therefore, her body takes all the water out of 'it' and then it becomes backed up and dry making it EVEN harder (no pun intended) for her to pass.We are going to try this for another six to eight weeks, then she will go for a test called an Anorectal Function Test. This test will evaluate muscle strength, a tiny balloon with go...yes...there, and measure muscle strength and contraction strength. Our specialist thinks her problem now rests in her rectal muscles. OH my poor baby!! It's painful to watch her try to go, but we are getting somewhere. The combination of her medications over the next couple of weeks will hopefully make her more comfortable.
• Diet: She continues to remain on a strict diet. NO cereals, starches, dairy, or binding foods. He said 'get creative' you know the things she likes, steam them or boil them turn them into finger foods, at 9 months she is itching to eat. Slowly, we will move from the teether/feeder mesh bag to finger foods. He also said we should also keep liquids/drinks at her fingertips. Diluted Pear and prune juices, water are helpful with hydrating her digestion.
• Development: It's been a huge month for Edie baby! She can pull herself up to a sitting position, then onto her knees then her feet. It is for a short period of time and she is a little wobbly but she will soon be mobile. She'll clap when the twins sing, or dance. She loves it when Grampy sings itsy bitsy spider. She'll shake her head left to right when we say no, no, no. She is just pure delight to be around.
• Meme and the girls and I went out this week for new shoes (Aubrey told Meme she needed new shoes.) The twins EACH measured a size larger. Just 6 short weeks ago they were fine, Aubrey is now at an 8, Reagan also an 8!
• Edie will soon be walking so we wanted to get some for her too. Unfortunately, baby shoes (soft soled) are not sold at Be Be Shoe. He referred us to Stride Rite. The fantastic salesman at the shoe store stated that most pediatricians recommend infants only wear hard soled shoes out, (when they are not on their feet), the hard soled shoe could affect arch development. At home no shoe at all. (OK I remember that a bit from the twins, but we had them in sneakers early). I stopped in to Stride Rite at the mall, and it's...get this...$40.00 for crawling shoes!! CRAWLING SHOES !! Basically a tiny soft baby shoe with a bit of rubber on the toe. What ever happened to the basic soft white lace up little number my mom had bronzed from when I was a baby? Please let me know if those are still out there!
  

Sisterly love

I picked up some new jammies at Old Navy for the girls. I actually got the three of them matching jammies. Edie's is a one piece the girls are two pieces.

The twins have a thing with pulling up the sleeves on ALL of their shirts.

Aubrey was having a rough day and Reagan knew it and kept offering her hugs, it seemed to be one of the only time Aubrey smiled today, of course salad and dip it was a turning point at dinner. She LOVES her dip-it!

CHEEKS

Taggie Love

Yes, she was sleep sitting, well sleep swaying. She eventually found a comfortable position to sleep in. The pipe has been an issue, Reagan randomly steals it and I'll find her hiding in a corner or behind Daddy's chair sucking away on it. Once again Edie is in the pack and play for her safety.

Don't laugh....

You try getting the 3 of them to sit still for a picture!

At this point Aubrey is upset Edie is touching her and she is climbing over the arm of the chair to get away, 'She's touching ME, mama!'.

Edie is bouncing off the back of the chair trying to sit up.

Reagan is upset and needs a tissue because she has a 'boogie'.

Sorry, no new pics of the three of them this time. I fired off about 25 shots and its just a painful variation of what you see here.

Teeth!!!

Can you believe this smile?

She is into squinting one eye when I take her picture lately. This is before dinner, she is all clean and tidy. She gets so excited when she sits in her chair.

We are finally down to 1 highchair in the dining room. WHooo Hoooo!

Got Prunes?

Edie baby loves prunes. She was exceptionally happy at dinner tonight. She had carrots, garden veggies (peas, carrots, and spinach) then for her treat prunes.

We go back to her gastroenterologist specialist on Thursday. Her movements don't seem to be getting any easier for her, and she is still taking the maximum dose of her laxative (you can refer to previous posts for a more detailed description of her condition). I'm anxious to hear what he has to say, what type of diet she'll have, things she CAN have now. She is so eager to start table food, she is having peas, and steamed broccoli stalks, she likes squash, and carrots. She is not a fan of citrus, blueberries are good but no strawberries. Stay tuned for an update after Thursdays appointment.

You A Good Boy Daddy

Aubrey likes to let you know throughout the day if your a good boy or girl.

We've come a long way.

Just a few short months ago we were talking about the strangers that we would encounter, whether or not they were a lady or a man, boy or a girl. We would be at the mall or some other shopping area with Auntie or Meme. This is the same face she would make, as she debated in her head 'lady' or 'man'. She holds out her hand and cocks her head to side, as with any two year old sometimes she was right and sometimes she was wrong, and sometimes...well she just didn't know. At this point she likes to yell out 'Hey Man!, or Hey Lady!' Of course it brings a smile to the stranger she is capturing the attention of, and a hint of redness to my cheeks.

Today, Daddy was a good boy.

Girls, smile for mommy.

When Daddy has a long weekend there is a lot of silliness around here.

I could hear the twins laughing in thier room, you know that laugh I'm referring to, that hysterical belly laugh that a only a 2 year old can do.

A contagious wave of silliness filled the house. We were dancing and singing, well we were singing and dancing yes...to the Wiggles. The girls had just got up from their nap, and for the first time in a long time they woke with a smile.

Of course the call of laughter drew Todd to their room. The next half hour was the three of them at the top of the stairs making silly faces, noises and doing daces for Edie and I.

Edie and I, were at the bottom of the stairs. She had pulled herself up to the sitting position and clapped her hands with pure delight from the second floor silliness. I grabbed the camera and tried to snap some non-blurry pictures.
We decided to go out to dinner. It was later than our regular dinner time, 5 ish.

The three seen here slept for two and half hours!

We thought we would try that little grille and pub down the road.

I did not have my hopes up and didn't want to go far.

To my surprise and delight everyone was wonderful. They sat and talked, ate and laughed. The girls played 'eye spy' with all the antiques that lined the grille walls. We treated them to a chocolaty treat for having such good behavior, then we headed home. They sang their ABC's and laughed with each other in the third row all the way! The rest of the night finished with this lightheartedness

Ok, it's time to go downstairs

Our stairs are VERY steep from the 2nd floor to the first and the first to the basement. I've taken a slide down both on more than one occasion. Auntie Amy showed the girls how to come down this way. Aubrey says, 'bummy first, like Auntie Amy'. So this how we come down after nap time.

Our home

We bought it on a Friday the 13th, and made our first mortgage payment on April Fools Day. Only good things were to come. 9 months later we welcomed the birth of our twins. 18 months after that the birth of our third daughter. The tress have grown back some in the last couple of years. That winter that we moved in there was alot of snow, so the deer found our trees to get them through the winter. Again in 2007, the temps had been in the teens for a good week and a half, those hungry deer came here again. They didn't damage them as bad as in the picture here, but they have left their mark in the yard in more ways than one.

November 2005

Those of you not familiar with the original color coding Aubrey always wore purple and Reagan in pink. Now they like to mix it up.

I've been going through some old pictures.

This one captured my heart then and it did again today.

I've been looking for some pictures of the girls at 9 months to compare to Edie. It's funny seeing Aubrey with NO hair, and walking around at 11 months. The twins had just turned 1 in this picture, Reagan started walking closer to 13 months. The jammies they have fit Edie when she was 6 months.

Two out of Three look confident.

Edie baby looking up at Aubrey. Thinking to herself. OH NO, what am I in for?

It's great that Edie is rolling and doing a torpedo army crawl, but she is getting into a bit of trouble, as you have read in previous posts she can reach her arms into locked (toddler) cupboards, and grab bits of wood from the fireplace wood stash.

What ever the twins are doing she wants to do. She has tried to eat crayons, suck on a markers, and chew on some little plastic animals that were a little too little, what next?

I don't want to find out.

So, to help strengthen her core and leg muscles, and to avoid giving her the daily fish hooks in the cheek to rescue foreign objects, we decided to pick her up a walker today.

I found a very simple one. The toys snap off so there is just a tray, not a lot of bells and whistles.

Here is a photo of my girls welcoming yet another new piece of baby furniture.

Two out of three look pretty confident.

Coming or going?

OK, we are NOT letting them push her around! This was a one time only! Poor Edie baby, the look on her face she doesn't know what to think.

I could totally reach that!!

A whole new world has opened up for her.

I love you Daddy.

Let it snow.

For those of you in warmer climates.

This is the view outside my windows.

It's for your own safety sweet pea.

Look at how sad Edie can be, breaks your heart doesn't it. No crying, just these big, blue, sad eyes looking up at me. Edie can roll her way around.

She can roll as fast as the girls walk!

It is quite a site to see, she'll position herself just right and then roll,roll, stop and pop her head up to see where she is headed then roll again. Once she in the general area of where she wants to be she'll do a torpedo army crawl. Her arms pull the rest of her body along, her legs kicking behind her as if she were swimming, her tummy never leaving the floor.

She'll roll over you if your sitting on the floor to get to her sisters.

Therefore I had to bring the pack and play back out. I told her it was for her safety that she had go into it, it wasn't a punishment I just needed to keep closer tabs on her.

She can reach her little arms into locked cupboards. She reaches in between the rungs of the fire gate to steal little pieces of wood. Of course with the girls potty training the bathroom door is open, If the twins are in there Edie wants to be there too.
She wasn't happy to be confined. She didn't cry she just looked at me with these eyes.

Fisch... I mean fish

'Reagan, what did you draw?'

'Fish. Fish, mama. I draw fish! Look!'

Yup, sure enough this 2 year old drew fish!

REAGANS ART WORK

A NEW FACE

OK, I'll let you remove the red eye, 'Edie baby' has a new face, she puckers her lips like this and then blows air through them. It's like a 'tooting' sound. She is so darn cute, she started this at Memes' house today. We caught her doing at dinner and had to share it.

'Mama, Edie look a like a puppy!'

Frozen peas and carrots made this baby happy. She loves this mesh bag full of non binding, lacto-free goodies. Since Edie baby is at this point a strict vegan, she enjoys her frozen foods. For example frozen blueberries, peas, carrots, green beans, peaches, plums, pears, and on a rare occasion pineapple. We need to stick with the 'p' foods for her (per her specialist). She was so delightful at dinner tonight. She had a stage 2 jar of peas, then a stage 3 jar of pears. She laughed and cooed the whole time. She IS the happiest baby Ever!!

Butterflies and Dragonflies

Blue butterflies, and dragonflies. That is what the girls wanted on their new beds. We went on an adventure to find some bedding with those little critters on them.
Aubrey wanted the butterflies and Reagan wanted the dragonflies.
Shopping and trying to look for these things was complete visual overload, not to mention letting two 2 year old walk around the mall was a bit daunting. We were hoping to exhaust them, and at the end of our adventure WE were the ones who were ready for a nap.
....Meme to the rescue!
She made the girls special pillow cases with material she had in her sewing room...Blue Butterflies, and Orange Dragonflies! She also made the girls special fleece blankets with Aunt Shirley fleece, and bright rainbow ribbon binding. The girls loved them, they wanted to lie down on the floor and cover up with their new treasures. It made going to bed in their new 'big girl beds' fun.
Thank you Meme and Grampy!!

Edie

Yes, she is in there.

Reagan said, 'mama Edie have a new bed too!'

She looked so little when I put her in. She pulled herself up to the sitting position, looked at me, then gave me a big Edie smile.

Everyone goes to bed at the same time, she fell asleep first as usual. She snuggled with her pipe and her taggie talked and hummed a little, then drifted off to sleep.

Aubrey

Aubrey sound asleep in her big girl bed. Todd and I were talking this afternoon about rearranging the rooms. We let the girls listen to our conversation.

A short time later, Aubrey came up to me and said, "mama Edie going to sleep in my bed, I sleep in Edie's bed?"

She knew what was going on. And she was so excited about her big girl bed. It took them about a half hour to settle in. They did great with the transition. This is only night 1, keep your fingers crossed.

Reagan

Yes she is sleeping in it. This is Reagan. She said, "I no like it" then we gave her her taggie pillow and the no-sew blanket that Grammy B made her, tucked her in with Memes new blanket with the rainbow ribbon and her new dragonfly pillow. So add her special taggie and 2 little piggies, noise machine, and music...Phew...she drifted off the sleep. She actually yelled to me, 'mama my piggies fell out of bed'. She didn't know she could get out by herself. I'm OK with that.

THE TIME HAS COME

The time has come to put the girls into big girls beds. We are a little stumped on what to do. We in no way want to alter the the wooden cribs that turn from this, into full size beds. Two full beds will not fit in the twins room. I thought the three of them could move into our room, and we could take the 2 smaller rooms. Todd did not like that idea. We are thinking Edie will take a wooden crib and the twins will take Edie's crib that DOES turn into a youth bed, Meme and Grampy have the same cribs at their house and they said we could take one. Until we move to a bigger house, or do an addition here we need to make some compromises. We need to do something now so that no one gets any more bad boo-boos getting OUT and back IN to the cribs. So this weekend will be VERY interesting, please take a moment and wish us LUCK putting two 2 year olds in big girl beds.

SHE IS JUST SO DANG HAPPY!

Look at those gum ball cheeks!

Her sisters were making her laugh.

I went to the dentist for a cleaning today. Before I had left I took a couple pictures of Edie's adorable little fangs on our digital camera. I put the camera in my pocket, I showed my hygienist Linda. She said it was nothing to worry about. Give her until she is at least a year old. I could take her in and they would do and x ray to see if she has some baby teeth buds where the gap is, but it's nothing to worry about right now.

She said she would call some pediatric dentists and see what they had to say and make sure she wasn't giving me any false information about it. She said she would get back to me early next week. It put my mind a ease, I have never seen little teeth like hers before.

When I got home this afternoon she had left a message, she had spoken to a couple of the dentists and they were in agreement that there is nothing to worry about.

She is special, special from head to toe!

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM

OK, it's been 16 degrees or colder for the last week. I can't help but think summer thoughts. Lush green leaves on the trees, that sweet earthy smell of fresh cut grass, and the warm glow of a lemon yellow sun.

I've been going through old pictures and this one makes me smile every time. The twins were all about ice cream this summer. They loved their afternoon treat of an occasional ice cream cone, or an icy cold pop.

So here's to everyone needing a little taste of summer.

BAT GIRLS

In case anyone missed the batgirls this summer, here they are.

They like to wear their footy jammies only on their arms and run around saying
'Im a SUPA GAWL' (super girl) add the mask and hysterical toddler belly laughs it makes for an entertaining evening.

Here is another remember when......

The twins were 2 weeks old in this picture, I just love this this shot. They slept in the same crib for a couple of months, they would cuddle up to each other and keep each other warm. They were such good babies, and they are great little girls. I read somewhere it's not terrible 2s it's autonomous 2s. Around here it's just autonomy times 2!!

A little cabin in the woods.

Once upon a time, in place not so far away there was a little cabin in the woods...

We are going to have so much fun this summer creating memories at our little cabin. This year I won't have a belly to hold me back, and with the twins endless energy and Edie catching up quick this will be a great adventure destination for us.

We hope that you'll all be able to come join us at our little cabin in the woods for food, fun and laughter this summer.

SEEING DOUBLE

REAGAN

AUBREY