Another First

Today was Bean Dip's first day riding the bus. Can you tell he's excited? We were out at the stop a good 10 minutes early this morning. Baby G cried when she couldn't get on with him.

Happy Halloween!

My Two Shadows

Short Visit

Story time

On Sunday, we had a quick visit from my parents. They had spent the weekend in Nashville, and stopped to see us on their way home. The kids were quite literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. So we went to the park, and then picked up Chinese food for an early dinner. 

A Visit to the Civil War

On Saturday, we went to a Living History Event at Fort Defiance in Clarksville. I had been looking forward to this for weeks, thinking it would be a really big event. I was a little disappointed then, when we got there and saw how small it was. But it was still a good event, and a good way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon.

Fort Defiance is the Civil War fort in Clarksville. (This is the South down here.) There was no actual fighting here, but over in Dover, Tenn., near the lakes. We spoke with a re-enactor for a long time, and he told us all about it. Then he and Win started trading war stories, which was just as interesting.

Anyway, the fort is a beautiful little hidden spot in Clarksville. It is on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Cumberland and the Red rivers., and was built to protect Clarksville from the Yankees. There is a great little museum and some walking trails. Because of limited parking, we had to park down the hill at a shopping center, and take a shuttle to the fort. The shuttle turned out to be a school bus, and of course, the kids loved that.

Do you see Abe?

Ready for the "boom."

The big event was the shooting of the canon. It was very exciting. And the kids didn't freak out, probably because they were expecting it. But immediately after, a regiment started its shooting demonstration with muskets, and that caught us by surprise. Baby G just burst into tears, and when they kept shooting, she kept crying. I finally had to leave the area. But other than that, we had a really good time.

A Shot in the Arm

On Monday afternoon, after I picked up Bean Dip from school, we headed to post to get our flu shots. I also planned for BD to get his last round of immunizations until he is 11.

Baby G was sound asleep, and Bean Dip was in a fantastic mood when I picked him up. He talked nonstop until we got to post, when he finally asked where we were going. I told him, and he immediately got upset. When we finally parked at the hospital and found the clinic, he burst into tears when he found out he was getting not one, but four shots. He proceeded to cry while I got my flu shot, while they took so long to set up all his shots, and then started screaming when they showed me how to restrain him while they gave him the shots in his arms. To top it all off, Baby G sat there crying, too, because of what was happening to her brother.

He did stop crying long enough to ask what the shots were for, and said goodbye and thank you through his tears as we left. We had to wait for 20 minutes in the clinic, and both of them kept crying for a good 10 minutes. And my stupid phone didn't get any service, so there was no chance of my go-to quieting app -- Netflix.

So then, to get it all over at once and further torture myself, we stopped off at the pediatric clinic so Baby G could get her shot. The nurse decided to give her the shot instead of the mist because of her runny nose, and when G heard that she said, "Please, no shot," and started crying as well.

But we all survived, although Bean Dip keeps telling me he "doesn't like to talk about it." He did say, when I was telling my mom and Win that he got two shots in each arm, and "that equals four."

I will just say, I prefer the vaccine shots when they are babies. They don't know it's coming, cry only for a little while, and then usually take a long nap. That's much better than dealing with kids who know what's coming, and have decided they don't want it. Maybe he'll be better at 11?

What's Going On This Week

We have a visitor this week. His name is Stout, and he's a Boston Terrier. We're dog sitting for a friend. It's going well so far; he's a sweet little dog and well behaved. The kids adore him. Bean Dip is so funny, he talks to Stout like a person: "Stout, do you want to come play with me?" "Can I please have that?" And Baby G, she just laughs and laughs at him. She is very concerned with him eating and drinking. She is always saying, "Stout, drink water!" and "Here Stout, eat! See? Yummy!"

This is definitely good practice us. Eventually we'll get a dog. But right now it's fun just to "pretend" having one for a week.

Dreaming of Sugar Sand

It was 8:30 a.m. and 50 degrees out, but we finally got sand and nothing was going to stop them.

Riverview Mounds Farm

Sunday, we headed out to Riverview Mounds Farm in Clarksville. We were mainly in search of a pumpkin for Bean Dip to take to school on Monday. We ended up having a great time. We went early, so it wasn't crowded, and there was lots of fun stuff for all of us to do. We even got to see a little history on the hayride -- the two Native American mounds that are on the farm, and what the farm is named after. You can read more about them here.

We did the corn maze, played through the playground, took the hayride and picked out a pumpkin. G got a pony ride, but Bean Dip wasn't interested. On the way home, they both fell asleep and took long naps, which was wonderful for me.

Photos from the Park

Here are a few photos I took this weekend at the park. I think Billy Dunlop Park has to be a hidden jewel of Clarksville. It's just beautiful -- surrounded by woods, there is a creek that runs along the sweeping green fields. There is a short, paved walking trail, and a great playground. It's wonderful. 

We spent the afternoon there, fishing and playing on the playground. I took a lot of photos, thank goodness for digital cameras. They were mostly of Baby G, but even she is starting to protest all the picture taking. So I'll catch her while I can.

 

And Then There's This One

Troublemaker No. 2. Her favorite things right now? Tattoos, motorcycles and rap music.

Overheard

As we were leaving the park today:

Bean Dip: Bye!

Little Girl: You can see me tomorrow!

Bean Dip: Can I have your number?


I think we are in trouble.

Yoga

So I went to my second yoga class with Jessica today. And this time I tried out the childcare for both Bean Dip and Baby G. It is in the gym, so they were just a room away from me. I wasn't worried about Bean Dip (he actually hugged me and said, "I love you!" when I told him we were going), but this was the first time for Baby G. I spent the first half of yoga worrying about the kids instead of my breathing, but of course they were fine. They were the only ones there, and the two women were very nice. They gave them a snack and each a pumpkin to take home. Baby G got a little sad when the other kids left, but her big brother and Bunny helped her through it. And I had a great time at yoga, even though it was really hard this time!

Fall Break at the Farm Pictures

The lake.

Collins learning how to shoot a bow.

Emilie's baptism.

A tree climbing lesson.

Fish fry on the porch.

Down on the Farm

We had a great weekend at home in Illinois. Win hunted and fished, the kids fished and learned how to clean fish. We carved pumpkins we picked from the garden, grilled burgers and sat out in the yard with the family, and also Ed and Collins. Bean Dip and Baby G took care of crushing all the cans -- Bean Dip can reach the can-crusher now, and Baby G was his helper. We watched Mike practice his tree climbing, and got a lesson. And the kids got rides on both the four-wheeler and the tractor.

On Sunday, we went into town for the baptism of the newest member of the family, Emilie, the daughter of my cousins, John and Kelly. It was great to spend the first anniversary of Papa's death by celebrating new life. After church, we all went over to John and Kelly's for lunch and football. Then we came home in time to watch the Cardinals game, and fry the fish we caught for dinner.

I love being home this time of year; fall is so beautiful at the farm. And it was a great little getaway for all of us. Being out of town and out in nature makes everyone happy.

Fall Break, Day 1

So Bean Dip is off school this week, for fall break. It is a little different having him home all day. I left all the laundry/unpacking for tomorrow (?), and we spent the morning at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville. We haven't been since our first visit back in July, and we had a great time. They are running the model trains during this week because of fall break, and it was so much fun to see. The set was decorated for Halloween, and the kids loved it. They played with the Thomas the Train sets, looked at the space exhibit (Bean Dip learned all about satellites and Hurricane Charlie. Baby G learned about astronauts.), then played in the Bubble Cave and play area. It was quite the happening place -- several day care classes were there as well.

After dinner we watched Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, the third installment of the Transformers movies. It took us three hours to get through, mostly because of bathroom breaks and "talking" breaks. I kept pausing so Bean Dip could tell me things; even so, he talked through most of the movie. He went with Win to see it in the theater, but I hadn't seen it yet. Baby G passed out on the couch pretty early, but she was happy to see Bumblebee.

It was a good movie, but I think I like the first two better. This one was too "end of the world-ish" for me. Also, the final fight scene goes on for what feels like an hour. And there wasn't enough Josh Duhamel.

So, we'll keep busy this week, and hopefully I'll see the end of the mountain of laundry that awaits.

The Injury List

This weekend resulted in:

1 splinter in the sole of a foot
2 sets of pinched (in a screen door) fingers
1 set of smashed toes
1 bonked forehead
two pairs of black-walnut stained feet
a rash of mosquito bites and scratches


Nothing serious, and nothing a bag of frozen peas couldn't fix. These are just the result of playing long and hard in this beautiful weather. We spent the Columbus Day weekend in southern Illinois. Pictures and stories to follow.

Trophy Night

Last night was the last soccer practice of the season, and so it was party and trophy night. It was a lot of fun. The kids received their trophies, had pizza and cupcakes, and then ran the sugar off on the field, playing tag. All the siblings joined in, including Baby G. She finally decided she liked the little boy who shares her birthday, and they chased each other all over the place.

I'm glad soccer ended up being a success for Bean Dip. It was touch and go at the beginning, with him refusing to practice. But after that first game, he was hooked.

This morning he came out, saw his trophy in the table and said, "I'm going to take my trophy everywhere, but not to school or restaurants or stores, because it might get lost."

One Shot

Oktoberfest '11

This weekend we went to the Oktoberfest celebration in Clarksville. While it wasn't exactly like this, we did have fun. We went Saturday, late afternoon, after Bean Dip's soccer game. It wasn't huge, just one large beer/food tent and some questionable carnival rides. But the beer was delicious, the food alright, and the music and shows entertaining. There were German dances and a wood chopping show. The kids rode a few rides (I had to go on the spinning strawberries with them, which was Bean Dip's idea, and then he hated them), and then they had a blast playing in the dirt and rocks outside the tent. We saw a few people we knew, including our landlord. After one last hot dog (for Bean Dip) and giant pickle (for Baby G), we headed off into the sunset for home.

Halloween Sneak Peak

Baby G and I made our monthly trip to Wal-Mart on Friday, and we checked out the Halloween stuff. She saw this costume, and that was it. I had no idea she was such a Spiderman fan. (Although, I'm sure if there had been a Dora costume she would have been hugging it.) I think her favorite part is the spider on the front, she keeps saying, "See? Spider!" (And as I'm writing this, she keeps pointing at the picture and saying, "See? Gwyn Spidergirl.") On Saturday, she wanted to try it on, and then wouldn't take it off to go outside, she didn't even keep her coat on, even though the temperature had dropped considerably. Oh, well.

I looked all over for a zombie costume for Bean Dip, but didn't find anything. I did, however, find an Optimus Prime costume, so I think he's going to be that. Or he's going to be a zombie Optimus Prime. We still have time to decide.