Our Weekend

Caleb had a great swimming lesson yesterday. He finally overcame his fear and trusted me enough to let go and allow his "bubble" to keep him afloat. He paddled from one side of the pool to the other and was so excited! I'm just so happy that he's finally having fun in the water. After the lesson, we swung by the Baby Cafe to see the Latch on America bus. A 27-year-old single man just started a new website to promote breastfeeding. His story is on the website, but the long and short of it is that he became very passionate about breastfeeding and wanted to help out moms. He's currently touring the country and making a documentary about women helping women breastfeed.

In the afternoon, we went to Skye's birthday party, which is always a good time. The kids got to enjoy a petting zoo, a pony ride, and a bouncy house....what more could they want!

Laughing

The kids and I went to Carrie, Ethan, and Jacob's house for a playdate on Friday. We all had a really nice time catching up. It was so nice to visit at a house where there are toys and such for Levi...he had so much fun exploring Jacob's things. At one point Levi was getting fussy but I needed free hands, so I placed him in the exersaucer and before I knew it, he was totally cracked up. I think sometimes when he is tired, he gets a little "punchy" and laughs at the smallest thing.

Kitchen Time/FDC

We had a perfect summer share this week: corn, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, blueberries, and burrata mozzarella cheese. The bulk on the share went into preparing ratatouille, one of our favorite dishes. For an appetizer that night, I sliced a tomato and served alongside the burrata cheese and fresh basil. Heaven!

The other morning Caleb and Lina were showering Levi with affection. I was so taken at the looks Levi was giving his brother and sister and am so grateful that they enjoy each other so much!




Levi has definitely found his grabbing ability! He is constantly reaching for things and exploring with his hands and mouth. The other day he was "helping" me pull dinner together and getting into everything.

For the Greater Good

I have all the kids signed up on participant registries for research studies at several Boston universities and hospitals. We haven't done a study in a while, but this week we were scheduled to participate in studies at Harvard and at Children's hospital.

The one at Harvard was quick and easy...in and out in 45 minutes. It was all about spatial relationships and seeing at what age kids can use 2D maps to find things in 3D space. It was pretty much Caleb’s dream and he did awesome. Lina did a study to see what types of models are best at helping kids find hidden objects. She had to find a bear hidden in a bucket after the researcher showed her a model of the room...she never went straight to the bear. I thought she was just too young to get it, but the researcher told me that the type of model they showed her got a very low response rate and they were trying to figure out why.

The study at Children's was just for Caleb and it was a lot more involved. The study is aimed at trying to get a biological marker for ADHD. Evidently 50% of kids who are diagnosed with ADHD at age 7, no longer have the disorder at age 8. So they are trying to figure out a true diagnostic tool so the kids who really need help/medication/intervention get it and the kids who will grow out of it are given the chance to do so. We were at Children’s for 3.5 hours and the researchers were great. They played with Lina and Levi while I filled out paper work and did a lengthy interview about Caleb’s behavior. Caleb had to watch videos while wearing the EEG and then they played with blocks and did other exercises. I think all the questions and such were to see whether Caleb would qualify as having ADHD....which from what I gather he is the anti-ADHD kid! So his brain activity would be part of the control group. The kids get to pick out a toy and Caleb got $20/hour for participating....which was unexpected and nice! We are getting ready to open a savings account for Caleb, so he'll have a nice bit of cash to put in.

Polka-dotted Lina

Last Saturday morning Lina woke up covered in red spots. I figured that it was due to chlorine in the pool or a reaction to using a new sunscreen. As the day progressed, she continued to develop more spots so a call to her pedi was in order. It turns out that she has an intolerance to amoxicillan, which she had been taking for her ear infection. So we stopped the antibiotics, and with in a few days, she was back to herself.

Keeping Cool

The heat wave this week has definitely been an experience. Caleb, being the numbers guy that he is, has been so excited to see how high the temperature gets every day. We've enjoyed water time just about every day.

On Wednesday the kids had fun splashing in the pool and doing water hopscotch. This baby pool is from when Caleb was a baby, but it somehow still gets the job done. They love jumping and crashing into the water.

Thursday was the first REALLY hot day and the Melrose firefighters did their part to keep the kids cool. For 30 minutes, they unleashed a fire hose across the Common park for the kids to enjoy. The kids also enjoyed some frozen goodies beforehand.

Yesterday was by far the hottest day, with temperatures topping 100 degrees. Kristen and I took the 5 kids to Bradley Palmer State Park to enjoy the splash pool. We all had a great time and really enjoyed the cooling effects of the pool.

Drowning in Veggies

This has been a banner week of vegetables and fruits. On Tuesday I got to pick up my friend Deanna's share since she was on vacation and I had swapped with someone last week since we were out of town. So this week we had 3 shares to enjoy. This week brought our first ears of corn, carrots, onions, garlic, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, lswiss chard, lettuce, green beans, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, blueberries, raisin pecan bread, and chili-garlic vinegar!

On Tuesday night, I made a pizza with lots of veggies from our share. Really yummy and easy...something I'd do again for sure. I sauteed onions, garlic, and peppers and then added in thinly sliced squash and zucchini, some corn off the cob, and chopped swiss chard. Rolled out some pizza dough, topped with tomato sauce, cooked veggies, mozzarella cheese, and basil.

On Wednesday, I did a simple veggie dinner with roasted carrots and sweet potatoes, pan-seared corn on the cob, green beans, and a roasted-garlic cornbread. On Thursday, I made vegetable cakes with shredded zucchini, carrots, and sweet potatoes topped with a corn-tomato relish (the chili-garlic vinegar was a nice addition). Last night was a roasted squash, tomato, basil, and mozzarella panini. I also cooked a gooseberry-blueberry crumble. The berries were quite juicy, so I mixed some berry "broth" into heavy cream and made an ice cream to serve along with the crumble.

Out of everything I've cooked, I think the pan-seared corn was the crowd favorite...especially according to Lina!

Playing around the house

Caleb was so cracked up at Levi sitting on the couch a couple days ago. Levi loves to kick his legs and Caleb kept putting his face in close so that Levi was kicking him in the face...evidently the most funny thing ever.

And Levi has really been enjoying watching Caleb and Lina jumping....it really gets some good laughs.

Beach Day

It was 90 degrees and sunny here today-a perfect day to go the beach. We spent about three glorious hours at Crane beach today....swimming in the water, digging in the sand, and enjoying each other. Caleb and Lina always have a blast and it was fun to watch Levi soaking it all in.

WashPA

Randy had to travel to NC this past week for business, so the kids and I headed to WashPa to visit with Grammy and Grandpa. I was a little (or a lot) nervous about traveling with three kids by myself, but it actually went very smoothly. People in the airport definitely took notice of me and the brood of kids and were very nice and helpful. The kids did great on the plane and were overall very well behaved. Once we arrived in Pittsburgh, we went straight to Primanti's for lunch and a well-deserved beer.

Grandpa was in charge of bath that night...and as you can see the bubbles got a little out of hand. Lina never got into the jets in the tub, but Caleb looked forward to bath and book with Grandpa every night.

On Sunday, we had a nice cookout with friends...some of whom I hadn't seen in a long time. It was great to catch up and introduce the kids. I let Caleb and Lina stay up pretty late this night to see the lightning bugs in the back yard...they are still thanking me for that!

Levi often took his bath in the kitchen sink!

On Tuesday, we went to Sarris for ice cream and to stock up on chocolate. Definitely one of the trip highlights.

On Wednesday, we went to Oglebay Park in Wheeling, WV to visit the zoo. It was the perfect size zoo for the kids and we had a really nice day. Caleb especially enjoyed driving into West Virginia on I-70 were the speed limit was 70 mph! He was also pretty impressed with the train display.

Probably the most fun thing at the zoo was feeding the larakeets. The kids really enjoyed trying to get the birds to come to them.

Levi and the front porch swing is probably going to be one of my biggest memories of the trip. He had a rough time sleeping, so we spent many an hour swinging out on the front porch to get him to sleep. Here he is hanging with Grandpa.

And before we knew it, it was time to go home. Here are my little travelers watching the crew prep our plane. In some ways, this was a tough trip for us....missing Randy, poor sleep for Levi, and an undetected double-ear infection for Lina....but watching Caleb enjoy every moment at Grammy and Grandpa's house was priceless. It was pretty magical!

Forth of July

We had a very festive Forth this year. The kids and I had decorated the wagon and scooter so that they could take part in the parade at the Melrose Common. I had no idea there would be so many kids--it was packed! The kids were all wearing shirts that we tye-dyed red, white, and blue. After the parade, Caleb did the bouncy house and then we all cooled off with a slush.

This guy was a little creepy, but the kids still talk about him.

Impossible to get everyone to look at the camera.

After nap time, we headed up to Wakefield for the big parade. As usual we enjoyed the marching bands and all the people.