Bowlin Beige

I'm not sure how my parents did it 'the old-fashioned way' when I was little. I know mom used cloth diapers, because that's what people used (it's coming back into fashion now too!) Now we have a million choices of disposable (or cloth or reusable or recyclable) diapers. With Ainsley I used Diapers.com for our free mail-delivery diapers, wipes, and baby food. I still use them for baby food and snacks, but with Parker's sensitive skin I have switched to using The Honest Company  for his diapers. They do a monthly mail delivery service also, and I especially love the choices of diaper patterns. No Mickey Mouse or SpongeBob Squarepants for Parker! He rotates between skull and crossbones, dinosaurs, Navy anchor, and the patriotic red, white and blue stars. They actually sell lots of other household products, all eco-friendly, organic, dye-free, and safe for sensitive skin. I've also switched to their laundry detergent, dryer sheets and dishwasher soap. Why am...

With another beautiful fall day ahead of us we decided to go back to Chesterfield Berry Farm (as a family) to pick our pumpkins. Ainsley was thrilled to go back and see all the animals, and we knew Parker would be yelling 'tractor!' as soon as we pulled in the parking space. More crowds than last weekend but still a wonderful morning. More rides on the barrel train, the wagon pull, and the hayride. We even ran into our old neighbors and Ainsley got to spend a few minutes in the moonbounce with Kyleigh. Pretty Bug Duck races   SOOOOO happy about tractor wagon rides!  Handsome Boy, Happy Mama Ainsley immediately asked to jump in the 'big thing with all the corn!' I'm still finding corn all over the house from last weekend's adventure and I'm sure to bring more home after this visit. After the hayride out to the fields, Ainsley picked out some very nice pumpkins and we look forward to carving them in a few weeks.   Farm...

Yesterday, after taking Parker to his weekly Romp-n-Roll class, I headed off for a girls day [here he is, scaling a wall.]  When I left Ainsley gave me a big hug and said 'I'll never forget you Mama!' I'm not sure where Eric told her I was going... Four of us spent the day visiting wineries, eating good food, and catching up on life. New Kent Winery is a quick 5 minutes off I-64. The tasting house is fairly new but has beautiful facilities and grounds. I was especially interested in the Ipe wood flooring that they had on all the outdoor porches, as this is the kind of wood my parents used to build the new dock at the lake. I wish they had a restaurant or cafe on site, but it was otherwise a perfect place to sit and enjoy the scenery with a glass of vino.  Williamsburg Winery had great food but bad service. Although, honestly, by the time we got our food it could've been McDonalds chicken nuggets and it would've tasted like the Inn at Little Was...

I took off work a little early today. I worked late Tuesday night for a board meeting and - lucky me - I get comp time! I was running a bunch of errands when I remembered that Ainsley's school finishes at 2pm. Wouldn't it be a big surprise if I picked her up from school and took her out for some frozen yogurt? Some special mommy-daughter time since I'll be gone all day tomorrow (more on that next time.) She was totally thrilled when she saw me outside her classroom. She held my hand all the way to the car and kept saying how excited she was to have special time with me. She actually told me all about her school day (she is usually tired of talking about it by the time I pick her up from Robin's.) We enjoyed girl talk while eating our fro-yo. She got to be the line leader today. They made an 'apple pie' in art class. And they had a fire drill, which was pretty exciting for her.  After we got home I laid down with her and she promptly fell asleep for a good long n...

So I don't want to be that parent who always brags about how talented and gifted their child athlete is. However...Ainsley really is a natural at soccer! I'm sure she gets it from her Dad (definitely not from me!) and probably has something to do with her unusually large feet. And she is tall for her age, although I don't think that really helps on the soccer field. The point is, I really think we have a future professional athlete in the family. So start saving up for when you travel to watch her in the Women's World Cup in 15 years! Here's Ainsley with her soccer team (minus Coach Ben).     One of several goals she scored last week.    Look at her go!  

Work and School... for me they are one in the same now that I am working at a k-12 private school. After 6 weeks in my new position I am still convinced this was the right move. My stress level has decreased dramatically. And I still can't believe that when I leave at 4:45pm each day, I am not expected to read emails or do any work until I come back in the next morning at 7:45am. On the rare occasion that I have to work extra hours, like for tonight's Board of Trustee meeting, I am given the option of extra pay or time off. My boss, the headmaster, is a friendly, supportive, and optimistic man who comes in every day with a smile. And I've quickly become friends with his lovely wife, which is a bonus! My office has (gasp!) matching furniture! And for the first time in 8 years I am not buried in under paperwork and files, but have everything stored nice and clean (and electronic) on my computer.  The board members that I work with are not high maintenance (like at my job a...

Today my DH made his annual trip to DC to watch a Redskins game with his friend Kyle. What was I going to do with the kids all day on a beautiful Sunday?  After looking up a few options I decided to take them to the Chesterfield Berry Farm. The farm actually has much more than berries - every season they have some kind of pick-your-own fruit or vegetable, or even Christmas trees! This weekend was the start of their fall pumpkin season. It's a little too early for us to get pumpkins but they have tons of other family entertainment. The kids fed cows, chickens and goats. They watched pig races. Ainsley rode a pony. They bounced in the moon bounce. We found our way through a 3/4 mile corn maze. They rode behind a tractor in mini-wagons, and they rode in the barrel cars behind another tractor. Yet another tractor ride - the hay ride - took us out to the pumpkin fields. We surveyed quite a few and got some ideas for what kind of pumpkins we want when we come back with Daddy in a few we...

This weekend we made our first trip to Harrisonburg for the JMU football game. My DH is now on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, so he had been there since Friday. The kids and I drove up Saturday to meet him and spend some time on campus before the game. We learned several things from this visit: 1. It's always best when my cute snuggly buddy has a nap on the way.  2. Ainsley learned who James Madison is.  3. Ainsley is still completely in love with Duke Dog. Earlier in the week she said she was going to give him a big kiss on the lips when she saw him. "Well.... maybe I'll just give him a kiss on the hand. I'm not so sure about his lips." 4. Eric was telling Ainsley about the Kissing Rock and told her when you kiss someone on the rock then you love them forever. She leaned over and said "Daddy, I want to kiss you on the kissing rock!" A-dorable. Luckily I was able to sneak a kiss from her too.  5. She's ready for college....

Watching coach Ben try to explain the concepts of offense and defense to a bunch of 3 and 4-year-olds is like teaching Shakespeare to cats.  (Here's what Parker does at practice). 

After Ainsley's second day of school she said she's "still trying to figure everything out with this new classroom." When asked about her teachers, "I'm just not sure about them yet." "What aren't you sure about?" "Well...I'm not sure about their hair. It looks like boy hair." "Why, because it's short?" "Yes. It's not pretty like Ms. Michelle's hair." [Ms. Michelle was her teacher last year and Ainsley constantly commented on her 'nice hair'.]  Her new teachers are very nice, attractive women, who both happen to have brown short hair. Apparently, in Ainsley's mind, to be a good teacher means having pretty long blonde hair. I think she's been watching too many princess movies...

On Friday Ainsley had meet-the-teacher day at Woodlake United Methodist Preschool. This is the same school she attended last year, but this year she'll be in the 4-year-old class on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30am - 2pm. She met her teachers, Ms. Laura and Ms. Lisa, and had a scavenger hunt to find the fun things in her classroom. She is sooo excited to start back at school, and even more thrilled that her friend Julianne is in her class again. Tuesday, her first day of school, was even more exciting. Daddy treated her to a special breakfast at Waffle House and then got to school early so they could have time on the playground. She discovered that three of her classmates from last year are in her class again this year. Since she has longer days this year we have to pack a lunch to send. I spent 5 minutes going through the lunch options with her and she selected a jelly sandwich ("with my favorite gold jelly, Mama!"). [Side note: A few weeks ago I lined up...

It's so hard to believe that Parker is now over 18 months old. A year and a half. 601 days. 14,424 hours. When do we stop counting his age in months? I guess I'll just say he's almost two. Where did the time go? Our little man grows more and more everyday. 25 lbs, 5 oz (65%) weight, and  33 1/2 inches tall (80%). He is (almost) running constantly, loves to climb, and really  loves trains, trucks and cars. He says a handful of words - Mama, Dada, Papa, Dixie, Mimi (lucky Amy!), ball, water, bubble, car, kitty, and more everyday! He has moved to one nap a day (a long one, usually 2 - 3 hours), and he sleeps about 12 hours at night. No bottles, no pacifiers, just lots of milk and occasionally food (he's going through a hunger strike at the moment). He's a happy boy and loves his sister so much. We are so happy and blessed to have him in our family.