Nothing becomes ordinary....

I imagined a winter snowed in, hunkered down, with plenty of time to update here, eat massive amounts of junk food and wonder if all of the TV I let the kids watch would actually sabotage their academic futures. Thankfully, winter proved me wrong.

We do enjoy chilly mornings by the fire....

 But, the sun CAN shine in the winter? We quite literally forgot!

And while the beach may be cold, it's as peaceful as ever. No cars with plates from NY or NJ on this chilly day.

Ice skates replaced sand toys and PFD's (my husband's mariner word for life preserver) in the car. The kids meet up with friends "behind the bank." And there behind the bank one can almost always find children skating, playing hockey or in snow banks. There's a little hut with a wood burning fireplace where folks change and warm up. 

A New England winter, with all of its runny noses, muddy puddles, coat piles and drying racks warms me from the inside out. Mittens and snow pants hung by the wood stove add the perfect decor to a cluttered kitchen. Keeping floors clean becomes impossible so you just give up.  Multitasking finally appears senseless......drinking tea while doing absolutely nothing at all becomes ordinary.

Seasons turn, turn....

When in Seattle I missed the distinct cycle of the seasons the most.  I love how they slowly melt into one another until one day there are no remnants left of the previous. Maybe it's natures way of easing us into the long cold winters......we are enjoying our last bits of Fall now with just a few leaves hanging on, and more cool days than warm.

We did pumpkins this year minus the patch. Turns out the kids really didn't mind that these came from the grocery store and quite frankly either did we. Sleeping in and grabbing these puppies down the road kind of worked with the whole "simple" thing. While there are no tractor rides down our produce aisle, it offers cover and heat. Not to mention I did not feel an urge to take a picture of every time my kid touched a gourd.

While I was cleaning up the pumpkin goo glued to our hardwoods I saw the first flakes start to fly. We had our first bit of snow, which totally stole the show from our three pumpkins aglow...

And if I have not already said it, may G-d bless the public school teachers of Maine for having  extraordinary patience, a kind unknown to myself, to help dress 14 kindergartners daily for snow which includes but it is not limited too, boots, snow pants, coats and mittens.  Getting my three ready for this unseasonably early storm was enough to send me into the Halloween candy before breakfast.

Our baby girl turned 3 this month! Ackk. We officially need to stop referring to her as "the baby." We simply refuse believe there is not a baby in our house. No diapers, no crib, no nursing.  When we asked the little miss what she wanted for her birthday she said quite stern "A sister!" Double Ackk. She settled for one helium balloon and a pretend mixer and we called it good. I think she missed out on the whole deal about keeping it simple.

We are gearing up for Thanksgiving and I am feeling thankful for this peaceful and quiet space to reflect on what is dear to us this year.

Just dance...

A relative lost her battle with breast cancer last week after a long and courageous fight. She leaves behind two young, beautiful girls and her devoted husband. We spent time in NY honoring and remembering Dina.  The ride home was quiet enough to think - rare for our family of 5. And without speaking to one another I could feel Erik and I communicating about our weeks ahead. I knew when we got here we would hug the kids a little tighter, let messes linger a bit longer and focus on really enjoying them and where they are today.

And that meant, I ate a few more wooden brownies....

And built a few more miniature homes.....

We did not rush through lunch.

We played outside until the sun went down. (Yes! It is still sunny here. I am wondering if my kids will O.D. on vitamin D. ) I wish I could bag up some of these crunchy leaves so you can hear what fall sounds like to me and see how kids come alive while rolling around in them. It's like a no-mess version of snow. I often dreamed of looking out the window and seeing some of the below....

We ate Halloween candy 2 weeks early.

And most importantly we did not forget to dance before school.

Our hearts feel enormously full of gratitude for making our east coast move now and for enjoying today  regardless of nonsense out of our control. We plan on enjoying our future here without thinking of housing markets or the size of our home.... And dancing a little more often.

Good intentions....

New England and Fall go together perfectly.  Sunlight hits the big white church steeples in the afternoons in just the right way.  When you step outside those first chilly mornings the smell of wood stoves remind you of the changes in store.

While Cam finishes up his last hours of school, the little ones and I usually take a walk through town and each and almost ever time I end up calling Erik to say "I can't believe we live here!" OK, sometimes I say other stuff too.... Lately, we head to an adorable market in the center of town. Colored local vegetables lay in neat wooden boxes and you get to bring them home in adorable paper sacks. The store warms you up from the breads baked on site, and shelves are lined with bulk grains in neat jars. The clerks always chat with the kids and, well, it just doesn't always seem real! And you start to wonder with stores like these who thought Costco was a good idea?

We were lucky and got more guests this past week! Auntie Monti and Mike traveled up from New York City. Our hearts are full.  Few things are sweeter than watching your childhood friends love up your kiddos....

Right as I found myself cleaning out the crock pot from its first run of the season the weather changed. Summer made a come back for a few days and we headed to the beach. 

I can't believe we moved here nearly 4 months ago! Our lives forever changed when we put aside outside chatter and started listening to only ourselves and our intentions for our family. The gift of that choice is panning out to go far beyond lobster and sunny beaches. Fingers crossed that our adventurous spirit lives on through the chilly months ahead....

School days.....

The crickets are quieter lately and the days noticeably shorter. We tumbled out of summer quite gently and landed softly on our feet in Autumn. I get giddy and excited every time I see the tiniest tinge of red or yellow on the leaves on the giant oak out front. I am long overdue for a New England Fall!

I love that to her, umbrellas and rain coats will be a fun novelty.

Not leaving all of Seattle behind I ordered the children's school supplies on Amazon.com and had them delivered to my door just in time for meet the teacher. No meandering aisles of folders and trapper keepers, no picking out the perfect blend of folders - just an Amazon box packed neatly with gender neutral chidlren's scissors and pencil boxes.

My Eli started Kindergarten! A school boy, with a backpack (empty aside from a cheese stick), new sneakers and haircut to match left the front porch.

I played it cool with the bus and decided not to follow it. I put aside my anxieties of him riding in a vehicle I had no crash ratings on. The fact that he was not riding in a car seat made of steel, installed by a fireman, and tested by NASA could only be paled by the fact that he was going to be driven by a stranger whom I had not personally looked in the eye or had a chance to Google and stalk on Facebook yet.

It all went well aside from a little route mishap which led to the bus stopping in front of my home without my boy. A kind gentleman said "It's OK mam, we'll put an APB out for him!" What?? They found him in no time apparently on another lovely bus with another lovely driver and brought him on home. Someone please pass the Valium! And thus no photo of Eli arriving home his first day, my iPhone was tied up researching Amber Alerts:)

And of course with Fall there is apple picking........

Apple Cider Doughnuts....

I got to her too late....

Courtesy of crossed fingers, Google and one patient husband....

We go for a bike ride through town on most weekends. We stop at the local mom and pop market for a snack (high fructose corn syrup, dye ridden candy) - to keep little ones in the bike trailer happy so the rest of us can take in the sites. I wish I could describe in words the sound of the first crunchy leaves on the paved park paths.

For a small town, we have plenty of cool things to explore....

Our car sports Maine plates and our summer transition period officially ended. Bring on cool nights, cups of tea and nights like these....

8.....

The fear of running out of fingers to reveal his age has set in for me as my baby turned 8 this month.  I remember feeling this way when I finally started telling his age in years rather than months - after 24 months you kind of sound like a crazy lifetime movie mom saying stuff like, "Sammy is 61 months this Thursday." Eight! He will remember our trip across the country, and equally scary to the finger deal, he will remember me belting out a familiar song or two in the car. I tend to forget he is an actual little person now, certainly capable of realizing when those around him have lost all sense of reality.

My baby and I, August 2003 in the Camden Hills at the exact spot of one of Erik and I's first dates.

Note this picture was taken on a film camera AND I was not yet quite sure how to hold a baby.

Here we are in the same spot 8 years later. Both of us older, he with a bit more hair, and I with a bit more confidence in exactly what I am doing.

Yikes! Three kids really does do you in no matter how young you start.

We spent Cam's birthday checking out the town from which he got his name. I made him take dorky pictures under every sign that bore his name.

Let's just say there are many, many places in Camden with signs that say Camden.

We had a short trip to New York City recently. The 6 hour drive seemed like nothing to these seasoned road warriors. A couple of books on CD, a pad and pen did the trick for the ride down.

We stayed with our friends, soon to be bride and groom, Kristina (whom I call Monti) and Mike in their very cool apartment. I almost couldn't believe the doorman let Erik and I, our kids, and our stuff in.

Mike and Erik took the kids (ALL THREE) to the Museum of Natural History. Everyone had a great time, they brought a stroller, got on subways, the whole deal. It was nothing short of a Navy SEAL operation. Nobody got lost, they all came home in one piece and if I recall it correctly I think they even fed them!

Ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple.

While the men were handing out boxes of raisins, and holding hands across busy streets, Monti and I (along with some of her fabulous family) got to go shopping on Madison Avenue for her wedding dress and she picked one! And I was there, and so another tick goes on the chart of why we moved east.

After we said yes to the dress we ate lunch like real adults at a real restaurant. I wanted to scream,  "yes, bring me extra knives.....no don't move that tall glass of ice water, nobody here to spill it," and when we ordered our beverages nobody asked, "chocolate or white." As you can imagine it was a very exciting day.

Erik and I  felt so young in NY. After putting the kids to bed we ordered in late night Chinese and pizza and watched guilty TV on hip couches free of legos and goldfish crumbs. We will remember this weekend forever.

Taking a walk with someone who knew you when you were in the school band, heard about your first kiss the day of, and helped you through your first heart break is hard to find far from home.  They know who in your family is crazy and why, you don't have re-hash the sad and ugly, or whip out your wedding album to explain the day. The friends who know your story were there for it all. It's a unique blessing in any girl's life and I am thankful to see these girls more often now.

* Disclosure: I love my west coast friends; I can't imagine a better group of people to have spent the last season of our life with. They  welcomed us into their families, learned and became part of our story.  I feel so lucky to have lifelong friends coast to coast!

And when we woke up after our late night, Mike made the kids pancakes. It is seems as if Monti has truly hit the jackpot.

Mike reading AG a bedtime story. He reads the whole thing, no skipping pages or lines....

I wanted to post the pic above because it melts my heart and brings feelings of absolute joy for my friend having found such a great life partner and being here to be a part of it all. But, I am kind of nervous some psycho internet girl might start stalking him.

My ultra light packing, road warrior attitude may have been a bit cocky. Some screaming emerged from all rows of the car headed back to New England and I was wishing there were more than a pad and pen and a couple of lousy CDs. The tension melted away soon after little heads hit their pillows and Erik and I retreated to our not so hip couch complete with board books, random socks, and a couple of lonely puzzle pieces. We traded in the idea of food delivered to our door for some wheat thins and cheese sticks and called it a night thankful for another weekend adventure, good friends and one another.