Moon & Celebrity

So you'll notice the moon on the sidebar. My sister and I are greatly influenced by the cycles of the moon. Our dreams, among other things, tend to be wild during the full moon. We were chatting about these little moon cycles people have on their blogs, so I decided to find one. My name, Cynthia also means goddess of the moon. Enjoy!


And the celebrity look alike at the bottom was something I found, I think, on Jen's blog www.mimimitchell@blogspot.com . She's funny. So I went to look but I didn't see the post on her blog....... maybe I missed it. I saw it around the time I had the miscarriage, but I may have been looking at older posts. Anyway, I was bored at the time and tried it. Don't Google the girl I look 96% like unless you are looking to get an eye full.

Weekend Doings

Some beauty from our walk in the woods at dusk, full of exploring and laughs.
Mixed up some of my favorite tea.
De-beaning as we call it.
Sunday night canning.

Dilled beans and veggie pickles.

We will do more pickles this week.

Three baseball games, baseball pictures, and packing......lots of packing.

Philly

Ships
Phillies Stadium
Eagles Stadium
Flyers Arena
Flying through the Philly airport.

Boys and Baseball

Finally to the age division where you can play CATCHER!!! He's perfected his stance over the past year.
Determined.
And the game ball goes to.........yeah baby....... Matthew!!!!!!
Matthew and Coach Daddy

Still Waiting.............

Completely in limbo. We have begun packing and getting moving quotes and all that crap...ooops I mean important details. We still don't have the written offer, it is being signed off on at corporate. I have mass amounts of green beans from our CSA basket this week (and okra) that we are going to can tomorrow in an attempt to do something fun. It is a good thing the boys have baseball or we wouldn't have any idea of the day or date. We don't wear watches or eat at meal times any more. I kind of like living life on our own time. I have been reading a lot in between packing and online house hunting this week. Staying up way to late to get to the end of the books, or falling asleep with them on my lap and picking them right back up as soon as I open my eyes in the morning. I have been feeling really sad about the baby and find it helps to have my mind constantly engaged in something other than my thoughts. The weather has been cooler the past few days and it is so refreshing. Maybe we will know tomorrow, maybe not. At least we'll have yummie food!

Still Foggie (yes it's y, I know!)

No go for the local job.......... so packing it is. The local guy felt Joey was over qualified and found someone less qualified and willing to work for 20k less a year. The NJ company let him know that they finished drawing up the offer today and we will receive it in the next few days. I just keep reminding myself of how beautiful it will be to have a white Christmas again when I think of packing and being on my own with the kids for a month or two. I have been lucky, very lucky. I have lived in three new homes since we got married. We lived in one when we got married, built one a year later (job move) and then bought the one we live in now , new, two and a half years ago. We won't be living somewhere new in Jersey. I am OK with older, I am not OK with dirty. Snobbish spoiled brat........ I know, I know. Ugh I suck. I just can't put my little in a dirty tubbie. I have a very clean kitchen sink ( yes people have commented on it) and I like it. Maybe an old house with a new sink and bathtub???? We can't turn the job down unless the offer is real bad because it's an offer and a great company. Joey said he would like the job and that is important. But go to www.bestplaces.net and compare the town you live in with some towns in New Jersey on the cost of living comparison page. The housing is 121% more expensive there than here and 47% more expensive over all. That scares me. I want to live simply and debt free and I just don't see that happening there. I am going to do some searching in Pennsylvania. That excites me, being close to Amish country. We have a lot of thinking and figuring to do in the next few days. We have started getting the house ready for the realtor to come by and getting things together that can be packed now. I have the overwhelming urge to get rid of tons of stuff. I just might do it. Simple is so good.

Waiting............

So we found a cute town and some nice neighborhoods, finally. We also found an apartment that we would really like. Are you ready????? 2,300 a month. Yes that's right, $2,300. We all felt terrible the whole trip and were sick. We eat all natural food - mostly organic, use all natural cleaning products, and all natural body care products. Sometimes you don't realize the difference it makes until you go away and have to eat out and use hotel products ( I don't fly often and didn't know about the 3oz. or smaller in your carry on rule - I hate to waste and when I had to throw my things away at the security gate, I wanted to cry!) Flying and lots of driving is not typical for us. We all felt so toxic. I couldn't wait to get home and cook for my family. So Joey will have a written offer from that company tomorrow, but we are hoping for an offer from the company here that he interviewed with last week. If Joey takes the job in New Jersey I will stay here with the kids to get everything packed and put the house on the market. That will not be any fun and I would much rather be playing and learning with my kids. Yes, and cooking and sewing. We were learning about boats last week. We read about different types of boats, what they are made of and how they move. Things that sink or float and why. Matthew was very interested in steam powered boats so we spent extra time looking at them and then made noodles for lunch so we could make our own steam. When we drove through Philly there we so many large boats and I got some pictures. I love when things like that happen, unexpectedly. I had to down half a bottle of wine in the parking lot before we flew home to calm my nerves some because the remedy that I took just wasn't cutting it. Have you ever had a child have to poop on the airplane??? Yeah two people just don't fit. Wiping your child and trying to not knock them into the toilet is rough. This all seems very random and not put together well so I should probably get some sleep and try again tomorrow. I hope I have good news to share on the job front.

Trying to be Positive

The company that Joey interviewed with last Friday called Monday morning and asked if our family would fly to New Jersey Tuesday morning to see the area. So here I am in New Jersey fighting the urge to flee to Maine to see my sister. I could be there by late afternoon just in time for tea. The area is not pretty at all, I mean not one bit. It is so expensive. If I picked my house up and brought it here it would be worth at least 400,000. No joke. We are trying to keep open minds and will look closer to the coast today where it may be visually more pleasing. I wish we were really excited about at least one of our options. I'll let you know.

Oh the Weekend........

Friday: Picked up Daddy at the airport
Saturday: Baseball........twice. Yes, four hours in the blazing sun. They love it, so I love watching them.
Dinner at our friends beautiful home.
Scrrrrrrreeeeetching halt....... ER visit. The boys were in their sons room jumping on the bed (we didn't know they were) when we heard a VERY loud thump. You know that scream that you will hopefully only hear a few times in your childs life when you know that something is very wrong??? If followed the thump. It was Matthew. My heart stopped briefly. I kicked off my flip flops and went running. He was coming down the hall towards me in the dark and I scooped him up. When I got in the light I could see the blood coming from his mouth and nose. His lip was already huge and the bridge of his nose was getting wider. He held his head and said it hurt "so bad". My legs were shaking and I felt like I was going to be sick. I love him so much and can't stand to see him in pain. We couldn't get the real story at first because no one wanted to get in trouble or get anyone else in trouble. I needed to know he was OK so we went to the ER just to get checked. He had fallen off the bed onto the hard wood floor on his face. He is okay and we left with instructions to wake him up every hour to talk to him. His little face is swollen and bruised up. He is such a positive spirit and brave. Oh I just love him so much.
Sunday: Starting to get the house ready to list if we move to New Jersey. We will probably know this week. Lots of talking and gathering information to make our decision.
Now: Sleep. I didn't sleep much last night . I was so worried and I guess with everything that has happened recently.

Our Family Tree

This is our pregnancy tree. I am glad that we did this. When I was younger I was a nanny for a vegan, eco friendly couple. He is an author and speaker who was one of the founding members of Food Not Bombs and she was just an amazing woman. At the time she was a surrogate mother for a couple who could not have children of their own. She had the baby at home and afterwards I was helping wash the blood off of her legs and feet. Looking up at her I felt so sad for her. I watched her carry the baby, went to her midwife appt. with her, saw the effort she put into taking care of herself and the baby, watched her nurse the baby and then hand him to his new mother. She explained to me that having her son was the best thing that ever happened to her and that she was giving that gift to another woman . Amazingly selfless. Anyway, after we had a party and planted a tree in a large planter with the placenta. It was a beautiful closure. When I was in the middle of losing this pregnancy and we were deciding what to do I remembered that day. I decided that would be the best way for me to handle it. I know it would not be for everyone, but it is for us. I still feel kind of foggy sometimes. I am a pretty in control of situations person, I make stuff happen. Well, I am learning to be comfortable with being out of control. I would do anything to still be pregnant.......but there is nothing I can do, nothing. Things seem to be playing out in their own way for us right now and I am letting it happen. Trying to be still and step back. I feel a little conflicted because sometimes it feels negative. I can't really explain it. I guess I am still trying to find my balance. Joey is in New Jersey today at a job interview. It's 14 hours in the right direction for me. I would only be six and a half hours from my sister and that would be great. We haven't seen each other in two and a half years and that makes me so sad. I miss her and her family terribly. There is also a job in Ohio that he has looked at. Ohio would be okay too. Staying here is fine although I like new places, people and experiences. I have been able to experience many things through moving and traveling. We will see what plays out. I am open to anywhere because you never know what a new place will bring.

Some of My Favorite Things

I love owls. I was trying to take a picture of him but he was looking away. I said "Mister owl could you please look at me?" He slowly turned his head and looked right at me. Joey and the boys got a kick out of that.
These wall hangings were in the carousel building at the Chattanooga Zoo.
The arts and crafts section was my favorite at the Creative Discovery Museum. There was clay, paintings, a self portrait area, and lots more.I know it is so easy and child like but I love to do rubbings. I was doing a Celtic knot.
We didn't eat here but next time we will. There are tables in the court yard to the left. I would love to own a little place like this one day. I would have soups, stews, and chowders all day everyday. I would love to do this with my sister, she could make lots of yummy breads and muffins.

Labor Day in Chattanooga, TN

Learning to build an arch at the Creative Discovery Museum.

In places like this I like the boys to wear matching shirts so I can look for one shirt to find them.

Dr. Matthew at your service
Archaeologist Matthew
Digging Dinosaur bones.ROARRRRRR

The boys with Clifford the really Big Red Dog and Emily Elizabeth.

I know that bone has so many germs on it, but when he lifted his head up it was sooooo cute I couldn't say anything until after we took a picture.

Max loves things like this and can figure out how just about everything works. Smarty Pants and he's so handsome too.