Family Fun

First picture with her grandkids after our surprise arrival!

Well, we are home and finally back to our "normal" routine ! We had a WONDERFUL time on our family vacation and I am so glad that we decided to make the journey.  The kids made some special memories, we spent quality time with all of our family there, had tons of laughs...and of course, tears were shed as we left.  

Sophia got to see cows, pigs, goats, etc. at the 4H, we enjoyed a night out on North Street, ate tons of wings at Patricks, played outside in the fresh air every single day, shopped, visited all of our family, took walks, cooked out, celebrated our wedding anniversary, stayed up late, work up early, had tea parties, got the kids haircuts, shopped some more  and so many other fun things !

We arrived on the eve of the Feast of the Dormition...and attended the Divine Liturgy at our "parish away from home".  As it turns out, the next weekend was their annual Greek Festival !  We enjoyed some delicious dinner and my husband was sure to get a BOX full of pastries to bring back to the house for our snacking pleasure !  My little guy had a TON of fun on the dance floor.  He parked himself right in front of the stage, eye to eye with the bouzouki player..and danced his little heart out !  I will have to post the video of that one soon...he doesn't have much rhythm yet (to say the least) !

pulling her own suitcase every step of the way

on the mini carousel while shopping at the outlets 

plenty of outside playtime to practice our jump rope !

yummy.....ice cream from Scoops !

Mama and the little man

Baba and the kiddies

Surprise !!!

YES !  We did it...gave my mother-in-law a lovely surprise after her rough week !  Glory to God for all things - the timing was just perfect. She had just gotten home from a busy day at work and was putting in a load of laundry when she saw the face of her son through the window!  Her grandchildren haven't left her side since we arrived and I think it is finally sinking in that we are REALLY here !  

We celebrated the Feast of the Dormition this morning at the quaint church of St. George and are enjoying a beautiful afternoon together - soaking in the beautiful Berkshire weather  (a wonderful change from the oppressive heat). 

I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures and videos in upcoming posts.  I got an awesome FLIP video camera from my parents for my birthday the day before we left...it is SURE to catch plenty of fun times!  

Can we do it ???

Things are getting pretty exciting around here...we have a countdown ticking away to a big surprise.  I can't post this right away because my inlaws (hopefully) check the blog often !  In just a few short days, God willing, we will be sitting on their front porch as they arrive home from work !

My mother-in-law has really been having withdrawal symptoms from being away from her grandchildren these last few months - and we are definitely in need of a family vacation.   So we decided that we would try to pull off the ultimate surprise and buzz our little family up north to brighten up her summer !  At first, we enrolled the help of my father-in-law...of course we needed someone to "know" we were coming, to pick us up, to be sure she was home, etc etc.  BUT THEN we started to sense some weariness in his voice:  "Don't you think we should tell her?  She likes to prepare?  Half the fun is anticipating the arrival".  That sort of thing.  We decided that he couldn't be trusted !!!  So, we purchased our tickets and planned our trip for much earlier than he had anticipated !  We waited until the last minute to rally up some help - and Aunt Denise has come through with flying colors.

We've been slowly preparing the things that need to be packed.... and I have to really try to keep everything around here looking like we're NOT packing.  You see, we talk to my inlaws over the video conference almost every night.  Sophia would NEVER hold a secret for more than 10 seconds at this point.  I am bravely waiting until Friday, after which I don't think we will talk to her again until we are there, to actually pack it all up.

Can't wait to post some updates....hoping it all goes well !  REALLY can't wait to see their faces !

Swimming lessons

Our little lady finished her first session of swimming lessons today...and she was so excited.  The session lasted 4 weeks and it was really only in this final week that she began to enjoy herself and have some fun ! She was having a difficult time in the beginning with the whole concept, but we are so proud of her for sticking it out - even when she was afraid !

Daybook Entry

Outside my window 

It is dark and quiet...and I'm pretending it's a cool night out there !  It  has been so unbelievably hot lately!

I am thinking

about how long it has been since I had a minute to sit down and read a blog, add an entry to mine, etc.  The last few weeks have just been so chock-full of activity that it has left very little time for sitting down at the computer.  A good thing in most ways !

Currently reading

I finally had the opportunity to finish the Gurus, the Young Man and Elder Paisios !  I am on to find my next reading adventure ASAP.

I am thankful

for my sweet husband.  Today is my mother's birthday...and although I wasn't feeling well, we still had my parents over and he cooked the entire dinner, cleaned the dishes and made very light work for me tonight.

I am wearing

a few new dresses this week....gotta love the sale racks !!

I am listening to

the birds chirping...coming from Sophia's bedroom (from her sound machine). Both my kids have small sound machines to block out some noise since our home is small...and they are light sleepers.

A few plans for the rest of the week

Nothing out of the ordinary this week (says the mother with two toddlers)!  Some classes at the Y, swimming lessons, playtime.  The Fast for the Dormition begins so we will be attending the Paraklesis nightly, as possible...
Preparing for a little family road trip coming up soon.  A much-needed vacation for all of us ! We might even have a "new-to-us" car for the trip too !!

Around the house

Boxes...and stuff.  I am desperately trying to clean out the kids closets and garage and get rid of more "stuff" we don't need.  I have given myself a deadline (which I won't commit to in writing)!  Let's hope it works out and everyone cooperates !

Sophia

Sophia attended Vacation Church School last week !  It was her first time and she had so much fun.  The theme was Joseph's Journey..which was good since it's a story she is familiar with.  She has made me read it over and over in her Children's Bible Reader.  She was actually a little young to attend, but it really worked out and I"m so glad she went.  The teachers were wonderful and very patient and understanding.  My koumbara's daughter was one of the volunteers and was the main reason she made it through the week.  Sophia is so comfortable with her and felt very safe when I left her there.  She doesn't attend public preschool so this was really the FIRST time I "dropped her off" anywhere for any length of time !  She did great !  On the last day, the group baked prosforo and she was delighted !!

Demetrios

Our little man gave us a rough week prior to the Church school.  He came down with Strep and was really not feeling well.  He recovered well and just in time...right before Mama was ready to pull her hair out !!!

The domestic Church

As I have posted previously, Demetri really enjoys watching everything Father does during the services. He imitates him from the pews.  He has always "chanted" on his own, even at home.  He doesn't pass an icon without asking to be picked up to venerate, has to touch every cross in the house.  But lately, he has really taken to "censing" the whole house...and chanting...and loudly !  I have taken a few short videos of this and really should post them.  He combines the English and Greek Version of Ayios O Theos and Holy God...making his own little hymn.  But the funny part of the story is that he used to use my chomboskini (prayer rope) to do this...but lately he has found a new favorite "censor".  (I really hesitate to admit this).  He uses the toilet bowl brush...he holds his fingers through the hole in the handle and swings it back and forth while walking around the house chanting.  It is quite a sight to see.

On my iPod

Well, nothing new on my iPod. Sophia, however, did score a new pair of "children's" earphones a few weeks ago.  She was always so irritated the cheap earphones I gave her kept falling off and she could barely hear the stories/podcasts because they didn't sit right on her ears !  I was a little hesitant that these kids ones would work, since they all seem to say for ages 6+, but they fit perfect, they are pink, and she loves them !

From the kitchen

Well, we are preparing for the Fast (for the Dormition of the Theotokos) to begin tomorrow...so that always means a change in the weekly grocery list and meals for the week.  I think I'm somewhat prepared.

On a different note, but food-related:  As I previously mentioned in this space..I love the idea of muffin-tin lunches.  Originally, I saw the idea on my friend's website....and while I didn't pay much attention to her next "step" in this type of lunch-making, it came to me a few weeks ago.  My kids (like her kids) love the fun presentation of the muffin tins, and I like the variety of foods they eat when I make them.  However, now that we are busier and find ourselves "out and about" more often, there are a lot of times the kids get hungry and need a good snack or even a small lunch.  I was getting into the habit of bringing a pbj sandwich, or crackers and cheese, or even (gasp) a pop-tart !  The kids were getting in a rut with lunch and starting to ONLY ask for pbj and macaroni for lunch.  That's not really them, since they have always had a pretty good variety of foods.   I immediatly thought of the healthy lunch idea I saw on her website...which was sort of a transition from the muffin tin idea. BENTO BOXES !!!!  If you don't know what they are, I will have to post some pictures when we get ours.  We placed our first order for our first Bentos last night !  Sophia is thrilled. I let her pick out hers and Demetri's !  Now, of course, I will have to get some accessories to make the lunches cute !  The theory behind the portion size, the variety of food and the fun packaging is just what the kids need to keep their interest in eating healthy and colorful foods !  Can't wait to start packing them.  Might even have to get one for myself !


In the Garden

The cucumbers are taking over.  Well, I shouldn't say "the cucumbers", I should say the "cucumber plant".  I don't have any cucumbers just yet.   The plant is out of control.  The leaves are so big that they are shading the adjacent tomatoes...and they are taking over the trellis and strangling the green bean plants Sophia planted !  I don't want to cut them back or anything just yet, because I want CUCUMBERS !  I will however, plant them differently next time.

On the positive side, everything in the garden is growing and looks healthy.   The kids LOVE going out to check on it and water it every day.  We had our first green pepper in a salad this afternoon and it was delicious !  There are a few more coming on that plant, a red pepper about halfway there, a tomato on the way and the eggplant plant is producing flowers and is gigantic !  I do need to post updated pictures.  I can't wait to expand the garden.  It's been so much fun and very little work, relatively speaking.  The look on Sophia's face when we brought in that first pepper was priceless...made it all worth it !   We've also made some great pesto with the basil too !

AND we found THIS guy in there too....I think he was one of the culprits eating my leaves (at least according to my facebook friends).  He is in my neighbors yard now :)

A picture thought to share 

Up, Up and Away !

I am learning lots of new lessons in my small gardening adventure.  If you recall, I built a trellis for my plants that need some vertical support.  I couldn't wait to see them all start climbing !  When I compare the pictures from the above-linked post, I am shocked !  As you can see, they are really filling out !  I think all the rain we had last week helped a lot.  

In the back of my box, I decided to try a little experiment and plant some sweet potatoes.  I actually purchased these 6 little ones and  thought that I would be putting it in my Square Foot Garden box.  It was an impulse item.  We love sweet potatoes and when I saw it at the store, I couldn't resist.  Poor planning.  When I got home and read a little bit about growing them, I realized they wouldn't work in my box. They CAN be planted in a SFG, but would take up a few boxes at least...and I had decided to start with one box and had limited space to use.  I didn't want to waste them but I didn't really have any great spot for them.  The ground on the side of the house here is pretty sandy and the articles I read stated that they would do well in hot, sandy areas.  My dad gave me the idea to put them behind the box and see how it works !  They are really growing great.  I should have spread them out more but I wanted to keep them looking somewhat neat.  The other problem is that the south side of trellis is shading that half of the sweet potatoes.  I am not really certain that is a problem, but I am noting it as a potential issue.  

Speaking of potential issues regarding shading.  You will notice the large leaves on my cucumber plant ! They are growing like monsters.  I had NO IDEA how these grew !  I am really new to all of this.  Add to this ignorance the fact that we didn't have to go out to water for a few days in row...and this means that I didn't head out to the garden on those days when we had such yucky weather.  It didn't take long and the cucumber vines are taking over everything !  I think that if I was out there during those first climbing days, I could have trained them up a little straighter - and not over to the sides.  It's amazing how they send out those little thin "viney" things that grab the trellis and start spreading out !  You can see the my tomatoes are on the two boxes to the left of the cucumbers in the pictures and are REALLY being shaded and overshadowed by these huge leaves.  I don't think they are getting enough sun at this point.  Sophia's pole beans are also getting really crowded - they are on the right side of the cucumber plants.  A few of those vines have found a spot on the netting, some are climbing up the cucumber vines too !   I don't think there is much I can do at this point, but we will chalk it up to lesson learned.  We are enjoying the whole experience !  

My little man in Church

I hesitated on whether or not to post any words along with these pictures, but it has been such a long road for our little guy that I thought it deserved a small post.  Learning how to behave during Church services (loooong and frequent services) can be difficult for little ones!  Learning how to get through it can be difficult for parents as well !  

We've had both of our children in Church since their 40 day blessing.   Glory to God for all things.  Sophia made it seem easy.  She made me feel like a very competent Christian mother.  Everything went just as I had envisioned it when I would try to plan how I would "teach" my children about our worship.  When she was younger, she spent a lot of time in my sling or other carriers.  She would stay in there most of the service, come out to receive Holy Communion and then sit quietly for the end of the service.  I was so calm and thankful.  My prayer was not interrupted.  My active participation in our Holy services was just as it was before she was born !  I only remember having to leave the Church to go to back when she needed to be nursed or changed.  As she got older and spent less time in a carrier...I didn't know what to expect.  But I knew what was expected of me, as her mother.   She was quiet, never tried to run away, always listened, never brought many "things" to play with and still doesn't know that the Church has a playroom/nursery upstairs.  I am very thankful.  

When Demetri came along, I have to admit that I felt pretty confident that I would be able to instill in him the same proper behavior that his sister had made look easy !  THIS was not the case.  I did things the same.  Talked to him the same way about services, treated him the same way when we were there and so on.  As all mothers know, each of our children can be very different.  He spent quite a bit of time in my sling as well, but as he got bigger he was less and less content there.  He just LOVES to go, move, talk, etc.  He is not content sitting in a pew for a few hours at a time.  It is so hard for him, which I completely understand.    So often I hear the comment "Oh, he is nothing like his sister" or "you have your hands full with him huh" or "boys will be boys"!  

 I admit that I have spent countless hours in the Narthex of our Church.  We sit up front and I can't tell you how many times I am walking from the front of the Church, to the back - over and over and over - poor Sophia, tagging along !   I often wonder if all the people standing in the pews along the way are thinking "WHY doesn't she just STAY back there"?  I'm sure at some point they have all said that at one point or another.  But, with Christ all things are possible !  Through prayer and His Grace, he is slowly learning to be still.  Through HIS struggle, I am struggling and learning too.  I am so thankful for this opportunity.  He is learning to love our Faith and our Church.  He can't WAIT to see Father come out of the Royal Doors.  He can often be seen pretending to "cense", using a komboskini (prayer rope, pictured above) as his censor.  He recognizes certain prayers and hymns that he hears often.  He can "chant" Ayios O Theos...well, some of it !  He has come a long way.  He still tries to run - but now instead of trying to run away from me, he is trying to run up to the altar.  He is either trying to approach the lower level icons on the Iconastasi, or he sees our Priest or his Baba.  In my mind, I am happy that his attention is THERE and not somewhere else...so I don't mind running up and getting him a few times.  

We still have such a LONG way to go.  He does.  I do.  We all do really.  I thought that in the event that any struggling mother visits my space here, I would post my own experience and struggle - hoping that it would serve as hope.   I tried to keep it short, particularly since I honestly had no intentions of writing anything when I put these photos on the page.  But then I looked at them and thought that he looked like a well-behaved little boy, participating in his own little way during a Church service.  I thought that they looked like a mother's brag book, showing off to her family and friends how "good" her son is during the Liturgy.  That couldn't be further from the truth and ANYONE from my parish can tell you that these were just lucky snapshots of rare, quiet moments.  I really don't have a free or steady hand to reach into my bag and grab the camera as I am chasing him around the church trying to get him to focus on the altar, or shoving a pacifier in his mouth to stop the shout of "NOOOO" mid-scream !  Now THOSE would be some funny and realistic pictures !    Sometimes it is hard to balance what we share here in public view, but sometimes sharing does bring us together.   This truly is a part of my own journey.