I’m sure you’re all tired of me starting my blog entries with the excuse that I’m so busy I can’t think straight, but the honest truth is, I’m so busy I can’t think straight!  I hate living life at this pace!!  Things are about to slow down.  The biggest source of this busyness is the new church building.  We are hoping to have our first service in the new building on the 20th which is less than 2 weeks away and there is so much to be done.  Every spare moment has been spent painting, ordering curtains, shopping for all kinds of detail items, and trying to keep my sanity through it all.  I’ll be happy to have this all behind me. . .and I don’t plan to do any painting projects for quite some time.  So, as my title suggests, this will be another bullet pointed entry with the highlights and lowlights of the last week.  Here it is in random order:

• We had to replace the motor on our air conditioning and the hot water heater in the same day.  Ouch.
• 4th of July was completely crummy.  The weather was 65degrees and pouring rain.  I stayed inside and cleaned all day.
• We were in NYC over Father’s Day so we didn’t get to celebrate it as a family.  This past Sunday we pretended it was Father’s Day.  We put steaks on the grill and had corn on the cob, tomato slices, napa salad, and ice cream with fresh peaches for dessert.  We spent the rest of the day in lawn chairs in the back yard with books and glasses of ice tea.
• The above bullet point makes me especially thankful that God commands a day of rest.  I don’t feel guilty about relaxing, and we need days like that really badly.
• I attended the Ohio Homeschoolers Convention which was a cultural experience to say the least.  One of the main reasons I don’t want to homeschool is because I refuse to wear a denim skirt and fashion my hair in a bun.  More on that later.
• I’m not planning on homeschooling my girls this year, but we just got word that the principle from our school (who we totally love and he was one of the main reasons we sent our kids to that school) is resigning.  I attended the convention to explore my options and came back more convinced than ever that it is not a good option for our family.
• Despite my experience at the convention, I did find some great educational resources.  I went crazy at the Usborne Books booth, so much so that I just signed up to be a consultant.  I’m expecting my starter kit in the mail any day.  If anyone wants to order Usborne Books, you just let me know.  I will help you out, yes I shorely will.
• Ellie peed in the potty for a babysitter, but has yet to repeat that for me, her mom.
• My friend, Wendy, just brought over a big tub full of clothes to give to my girls.  Apparently, her MIL is a shopaholic who goes so nuts with buying clothes for her grandkids that Wendy ends up with way more than she can use and a lot of stuff is duplicated.  So she called me up to check what sizes my kids wear than dropped off this big tub of stuff.  Every single item still has a tag on it and it was all bought at Macy’s.  She refused to take a dime for any of it.  So basically, my twins are clothed for the winter and it didn’t cost me anything.  You can imagine how I feel about that (refer to bullet point number 1, if you’re not sure).
• The girls made a tent in the living room last night (the classic afghans over folding chairs style).  I let them have a sleep out in this tent and they thought it was great.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. . .I need to get my kids some lunch then I need to make (yet another) stop at the carpet store to pick out linoleum for the church bathrooms. . .

I just checked my husband’s (my dear, dear husband) facebook page and found that he had posted a seriously unflattering picture of me on the beach. In my bathing suit. On the Internet.  For all to see.  Not so happy about that at all. After a good lecture about the indecency and humiliation of that (I still don’t think he really gets it), we agreed that a suitable punishment would be for me to post this situation on my blog (His comment to me was, “I hate it when I screw up like this. . . punishment is so humiliating.”).  Bring on the comments.

I know it’s only been a few hours since I posted the beach pics, but the kids are all occupied so I thought I’d go ahead and do the NYC portion of the trip too. If you haven’t yet seen the beach pics, scroll down to the previous post.

Let me first of all say that my intention was to eat my way through NYC and I think I pretty much accomplished that goal. I am a bit of a foodie (but not nearly as much as my sister) and I really enjoy trying new things. I kept a list of what I ate. Here it is:

asparagus quiche with balsamic greens, blue corn pancakes with grilled duck, red snapper, a white peach margarita, everything bagel, sicilian pizza, banana pudding, chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, mint lemonade, cheeseburger, street vendor hot dog, asparagus-potato-leek soup, chilled curry corn soup, crudite which included veggies, olives, feta cheese, bread, mango chutney and vegetable tampanade, prosciutto bread, macaroon, chocolate lace cookie, humus with pine nuts and pita, guacamole with blue corn chips, yam fries with dill dip, a vanilla strawberry freddo, canoli from Little Italy (considered the best on the planet and I might have to agree), beef brisket, cole slaw, french fries, raspberry margarita.

I realize the above list looks pretty extensive for only 3 days. Some of the foods I ate from start to finish, but a lot of them were a bite here and there or even a spoonful of someone else’s entree’. All of these foods were carefully chosen from highly recommended restaurants, some fancy and some just a little hole in the wall recommended by a local. We waited in line for 30 minutes to get the banana pudding and cupcake and it was worth every minute. Let me also say that when we got home I discovered that I had actually lost a couple pounds, which should tell you something about the amount of walking we did. Okay, enough about food. I’m salivating just recalling it all. . .

This was my view for most of the trip: the backside of my brother and sis-in-law. My brother does everything in high speed, including walking which meant we were always about 10 steps behind.

These are all mushrooms at the market in Grand Central Station (only a true foodie can appreciate this picture):

The Subway:

Eating the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in Chelsea that we waited in line for 30 minutes for:

Next to eating, this was my favorite thing: trying on jewelry and bartering with the vendors!

Let me tell you a story about this picture: It was pouring rain so we all crammed into this doorway (except for Conrad who was brave enough to take this picture). We were debating whether to wait out the downpour or to just bite the bullet and run through the rain. As we were arguing about what to do, my brother ripped a Great. Big. Fart. Ahem. As only a big brother can, and made the decision easy. We all took off running and laughing hysterically through the rain.

Here are the 6 of us on the steps of the Harlem brownstone where we stayed:

Here we are on the Top of Rockefeller Center on our 10th(!) Wedding Anniversary.  That’s the Empire State Building in the background.

My sister will be posting pics on her blog very soon.  Feel free to click on her link from this page to see more pictures.

All in all it was a great trip.  I had a lot of fun with my siblings and their spouses.  We plan to do another trip like this someday.  But, until then, the pictures and memories will do.  Thanks for indulging me by reading this extra long blog. . .

I’ve decided to divide our vacation into a couple posts so I can include lots of pictures and not overwhelm anyone.  First, the beach.  We spent 2 and a half days at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware with Conrad’s family.  We rented a condo not far from the beach which made life much easier.  The girls had a great time with their cousins and the adults played games, stayed up late just hanging out, and generally relaxed.  It was a great start to our vacation.

All 3 girls were sound asleep on the way to PA. . .it didn’t last long, but we enjoyed it while we could!

Ellie’s first time at the ocean!  She loved the giant sand box!

Conrad with Bryn and Lydia and the crashing waves:

Excavating for the sand castle:

Cousin time:  the 2nd and 3rd from the left are Conrad’s sister’s daughters and they have another girl on the way (have we caught up with the Nisly’s?):

Bedtime stories with Uncle Jeff:

We also spent some time on the boardwalk.  This is Bryn and Ellie on the carousel:

Here’s one of Bryn, just because I like it:

Stayed tuned for New York City pics. . .

This is just a quick note to say we made it home from our travels.  We had a great time, and best of all, no one got sick!!  Hooray!  Pictures and details in a future blog. . .off to unpack!

I’ve been too busy to think straight, much less blog.  But, I have a moment to catch my breath while all three girls are eating lunch (mac and cheese).  The older girls have been out of school for more than a week and life has picked up its pace.  I don’t miss the morning chaos of rushing them out the door by 8:00, but I’d forgotten what it’s like to have 3 little girls vying for my attention at all times.

I’ve been getting up early (6:45) and walking with a friend in the mornings.  It’s a great way to start my day.  I love the opportunity to get some fresh air and clear my head before the chaos begins, plus the time with a friend is refreshing.

My days are filled with trips to the swings and the sandbox, the cupboard for snacks and the fridge for juice boxes.  My mom and sis-in-law and her 3 kids were here for a few days this week which was fun but very busy.  The kids loved playing with their cousins but by the time they left they all needed a little space from each other.  We did manage to get in a shopping trip without the oldest 4 kids which was a fun break for all of us.

Now my focus has shifted to the upcoming week which will be crazier yet.  We leave for PA on Monday afternoon, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on Tuesday afternoon, then on to NYC Saturday-Tuesday, then we’ll head back to PA, pick up the kids and come home. . .WHEW!  I’m exhausted just thinking about it!  But I know we’ll have a great time with family.  My biggest concern is everyone’s health.  My longtime readers will recall Conrad’s Salmonella in Florida and my strep throat in Michigan, and before this blog there was a trip to the ER for Lydia while we were in Michigan.  I think I’ve had my share of trips to the doc while on vacation.  Time for a care-free, everyone’s-healthy kind of vacation.

So, today I’m getting my house back in order and the suitcases are out just waiting to be filled with all that’s on my lists.  It takes a lot of organization to think through the details of a trip of this magnitude.  But, rest assured, my priorities are straight:  the first thing in my suitcases included everyone’s swimwear, my poker set, and season 3 of The Office.  What can go wrong?

Last week was a tough one for our community.  A freshman at the local public school committed suicide in her home on Wednesday morning.  I didn’t know her or her parents but I am good friends with some of her extended family.  I was asked to help create some scrapbooks of her life to have at the funeral home so I was part of that project on Thursday night.  I’ve got to keep it real:  That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.  Seeing all those pictures of her as a young, happy, innocent little girl was heart wrenching.  I was also asked to help put together scrapbooks of her older sister who is graduating high school this weekend.  So I spent several hours on Monday night scrapbooking again (there were 4 of us working and we did 90 pages!).  Again, a very emotional experience for me.  It’s always tough to lose a child, but suicide is the unfathomable.  I simply can’t understand it.

On a much lighter note, today is B and L’s last day of kindergarten.  Mrs. Trout told me she is thinking about flunking my children so she can have them again next year.  I wish she would.  The girls are sad about being done with school but very excited about the summer months.  We made a list last night of the things we want to do:  go fishing, eat ice cream at Young’s Dairy, mini golf, sleep in a tent in the back yard, go to the zoo, go to a baseball game.  We’ll stay busy, I’m sure.

And on an even happier note, Kimmie and Jon are all moved in and mostly settled in their new house.  Check out their blog for pictures of moving day and updates.

This conversation took place this morning while the girls were getting dressed for school:

Lydia:  Mommy, you know what my favorite part of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is [referring to the Veggie Tales version]?  I love the part where Larry gets out of the den and says “Thanks for the pizza!”

Bryn:  Lydia, lions don’t know how to make pizza.  They just know how to make meat.

Lydia:  Oh yeah, you’re right.

Bryn:  So I guess they just had meat pizza.

In Ellie news, her vocabulary now includes, I la loo (I love you), sticky,  Ba (Bryn), LaLa (Lydia), whamess (what a mess), and tank oo (thank you).

Back to work. . .

It’s been another busy week in the Esh Household, starting with Mother’s day, then Ellie’s birthday, then a visit from Conrad’s parents:

The girls created a “Mommy Store” for me for Mother’s Day complete with homemade money they gave me to purchase my gifts. . .very creative:

These are the flowers in homemade flower vases they did in kindergarten:

We had a small celebration as a family for Ellie’s 2nd birthday that included purple cupcakes with sprinkles:

I’m including this picture because of me in the background. . .you might think I’m laughing but actually, Conrad caught me mid-sneeze!

The girls were helping me plant flowers and they insisted they must have aprons to garden properly.  Their aprons no longer fit, so we settled for sleeveless pajamas over their clothes:

My rhubarb!

A more proper celebration of Ellie’s birthday:

Exciting stuff around our house today!  Bryn is the first one to lose a tooth, she is ecstatic and Lydia is bummed out:

Here’s a picture of Ellie from this past Sunday. Pay no attention to her hair; I tried 4 times to pull it back but she threw such a horrible fit each time that I finally gave up and declared her the winner. Does anyone recognize her dress?

Today, I won the hair battle:

And while I’m at it, here’s a picture of the slumber party I had with the older girls a few weeks ago.  We looked through their scrapbooks then watched a movie.  We slept on the sofa bed all night (actually, they slept while I tossed and turned):

And one more. . .believe it or not, Lydia took this picture of Conrad and me:

That’s all for now. . .