Hooked!

While in Watertown today, Steve got his fishing license and purchased Noah and Owen poles. Or, fishin' rod as Owen calls it. This was a surprise to Noah as he was at a friends house when Steve bought them. The excitement level was high and dinner plates were cleared quickly. So, after dinner we packed up, picked up some bait, and took off to find the place I had been when I was a teenager. The only problem was, I couldn't remember exactly where it was. After a wrong stop, speaking to a DEC officer, and a couple of phone calls (thanks Auntie L for her water knowledge), we found it...South Sandy Creek.

This was a first for our family. This great fishing hole is also a bird sanctuary as well as a history spot for the War of 1812. It has several options for standing anglers. A raised concrete dock with rails, a launch area, and under the bridge (Route 3) there is a fairly deep spot where some easy catches were hanging out. What fun! The boys absolutely loved it!

We started out with a couple of little mishaps for first timers. Noah got his line hooked under the bridge once. Noah & Owen got their lines tangled together. Noah got stuck on a tree in the water and had to cut the line. Also some frustration on losing several worms due to some tricky fish. But, overall, we caught rock bass, large mouth bass, perch, and rainbow fish. Close to 20 fish all together.

We finally headed home (in the dark) after countless times of attempting to get the boy's to leave. We knew they had fun as this is what was exchanged on the way home: Noah wants to go to a tackle shop and check out the different types of lures and equipment. Noah wants to visit Borders to find books on different fish species. Owen wants to go back again tomorrow. Owen wants to collect worms for the next time. Daddy wants a new fishin' rod, as the boys are much nicer. Daddy wants to find an app for his ipod touch about fishing. Daddy wants an aluminum row boat. Daddy forgot how stinky your hands get when touching fish. Sammy...he was fearless. He will be baiting hooks in no time. He carried around a worm and touched the fish! And, my boys (especially Steve), were amazed when they saw the Tom Boy in me. They couldn't believe that I bait the hooks. I forgot how peaceful fishing is, even with children in tow. I shared that I need to go get a license. Even I can't wait to go again. Everyone looks forward to fishing on our vacations this summer and wants to research what areas we can "drown the worms" nearby the rental houses in Hague and West Yarmouth.

Our little adventure was complete with a stop at the Country Belle for ice cream. After I scrubbed and sanitized everyone, of course!

The Boys & Me

So, we have moved passed nursery school moving up day with Owen, awards day with Noah, and Sam enjoyed his first day in Grandma and Grandpa's pool. We are very proud of Owen for branching out in school. He met some new friends which I am sure he will have for life. Noah is an excellent student and his awards and report card proved it. We couldn't be more pleased. We have rewarded the kids with some special time and a few trinkets with the hopes that they will continue their hard work in the fall. A few photos follow of the events.

I have added a new gadget on the right side bar called iLike. Since music and books are a big part of my daily life (my escapes), I am sharing a little snippet of some of the artists that I am currently listening to. I stumbled upon my first pick, Jason Spooner, as I was looking for artists or authors that would be in our vacationing areas this summer. We plan to see him in concert on 7/29. If you have some suggestions in music or books, let me know as I am always looking for new finds!

P.S. I warned all of you that I would bore you with all the details of our life!

Summer Is Beginning

So this week will officially start Noah's summer vacation. We have an award assembly at school on Wednesday, which we are looking forward to, as well as some of his friends celebrating 5th grade graduation that evening.

Tonight is the first night of lacrosse. He is so excited about learning this sport. As well as summer hockey in Cicero, reading camp at the library, swim lessons at the Y, lego robotics camp, vacations, family here from out of town, going to the park, go-carting, biking with friends, having sleepovers in the tent, playing street hockey, baseball, basketball, Wright Street pickup games, when can Dad take me golfing, when can we go to the zoo, when can we go to our cousins...oh, my...he tires me out with all of his planning. I wonder where he gets this from!?!

To be 10 again...I leave you with a glimpse of Noah and his buddy Nathan in the tree house setting up the summer plans...

Reflections of Kim

As much as I miss hearing your voice, I can still find you.

I find you in the flowers.

I find you in my favorite spot to have morning coffee.

I find you in my heart.

Until we meet again.

Party with the Animals!

Another busy weekend for Noah. He went with the Karboski Family to Grindstone Island. He came home full of stories filled with kayaking, fishing, boating, four wheeling and doing things that boys do. He even made his own fishing pole, which is a treasure. It looks like something out of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Saturday Steve, Owen, Sam and I went to the CNY Fertility Picnic. Dr. Kiltz hosts a private family evening at the Brunet Park Zoo in Syracuse annually. This was during non-zoo hours and everything was on the Dr.; entrance to the zoo, food and concessions, street performers, face painting, etc. We have been invited since pregnant for Owen, but have always had prior commitments. This year we really wanted to go and the calendar proved to get us there. We went thinking that we would be a family of hundreds. Boy were we wrong! There were over 3,200 people. We have never been in a place with so many strollers.

This night at the zoo was humbling. As we walked around Steve and I were kind of quiet at first taking it all in and thinking back five years ago. Amazement, was the word. To think that every family in this zoo was touched by Dr. Kiltz. Families that may not have been fruitful if it wasn't for he and his staff. We would have possibly been a one child household if not for his clinic. The Doctor stood under a gazebo for four hours greeting each family personally. You could tell he truly loves what he does. Meanwhile his staff and their own families were circulating and greeting. We witnessed many hugs.

I have always thought of Dr. Rob as one part doctor and one part therapist. Most of our visits with him were in comfortable chairs in his office just talking, mapping (literally, lots of road maps of body parts), and reassuring. His motto with us was "If you have the will, I will find a way." After some tests, surgery, and some hormone therapy, we were pregnant beyond 13 weeks. He then referred us to our next amazing doctor, Dr. Waldman, who got Owen to us safely. Dr. Waldman than followed Dr. Kiltz' protocol to get us Sam. Thinking back on it all, it was a like a dream. Truly, two dreams come true. And, to think that these families we were keeping company with for one evening were all in similar situations. Wow...mind buzzing!

So, Owen can't wait to go back next year. And, Sam, he was happy watching all of the activities and getting fed. He was like one of the animals. Fitting, the theme of the event was "Party with the Animals".

*Notice the "plug" for the Pittsburgh Penguins who won the Cup!!

Click here to watch the video (at one point during the Wacky Chad performance, you can see the Newton's over his shoulder):

Dr. Kiltz Video

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The title describes our Monday evening.

Sam was the GOOD, aside from his new found voice; no, excuse me, screams. As of late, he is so frustrated not knowing how to vocalize a word for something, that he screams until you proceed with show and tell.

Noah, well, he was the BAD. He gets so irritated by the four year old in our household that he results to mental torture in retaliation. In an effort to allow them to fight their own battles, I now attempt to retreat and ignore to a certain point. I am tired of separating, repeating myself, time outs, and spanking, as of none of it seems to stick! However, Monday, I did not intervene soon enough.

The time is dinner time. I am in the kitchen, with the two older boys in the living room. Owen wanted Noah's attention. Noah choose not to acknowledge Owen's existence at all by totally ignoring him. I must have heard Owen say his name 20 times in an effort to become acknowledged. The next thing I know, a WWF wrestling match began. By this time, Steve is walking in from work. Steve beats me to the living room to determine the severity and finds Owen on Noah's back, biting him. Like, break the skin bite. Like, let me see that to see if you need stitches, bite. So that is where the UGLY comes in. Steve removed Owen and bit him. Yes, the father bit the child. Our hope is that he has learned his lesson and will never do this again. Meanwhile, the dog is at the door looking at me with his expressive eyes that said, "You people are crazy, let me out of here". I wanted to go with him.

So, here is the kicker...at bedtime Owen went into Noah's room and told him he loved him. What planet are these children from?!

Me giving credit where credit is due: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Spaghetti Western film, set during the American Civil War, about three gunmen who set out to find a hidden fortune.

A Special Day for Owen

On Thursday after I picked Owen up from school, I told him that I had a surprise for him. A surprise to celebrate the end of his first year of nursery school. I explained that it is something that we are going to do and we have to drive to get there. He about came unglued because I wouldn't tell him what it was. I finally had to cave, as he started crying saying he couldn't wait. Not to mention that he thought we were going to the dump since it is the same road!

We took a picnic lunch to Washington Park. I brought along his favorite rubber boots (froggy boots that are hand me downs from Noah - thanks to Uncle Matt and Aunt Kate). This is something we used to do with Noah. But for whatever reason, have never taken Owen there.

I wasn't quite sure how this would gel with Sam in tow, since he does not like to be on the ground or in the grass. However, it was perfect! I parked him on the blanket during lunch and he didn't venture off it. It was the funniest thing to watch him go to the edge of the blanket and stop. Go to another corner and stop. He was happy as a clam on that blanket next to where Owen and I were playing.

Owen loved throwing rocks, splashing in the water, and looking for life within the water and the woods. We even found tadpole eggs sticking to the rocks on this little waterfall. What a bonus - thousands of them! This opened up a huge question and answer time. Where is their Mommy? How do the eggs stay there? When they come out will they find their Mommy? Will we see them today? And so on and so on. It is three days later and he still is asking more questions.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Owen shared his day at dinner that night with Daddy and Noah, including our drive by search for construction equipment on the way home. Speaking of the way home, Owen made my day and said something that I will never forget. He loves me more than chocolate ice cream. Wow - I am cool!

Today I just say...WOW!

Do you ever just stop what you are doing and all of a sudden say wow, how lucky am I?! Nature, God's work, man-made work, family, and friends - all of these - I am in awe. How lucky am I to be here experiencing it all!

How lucky am I to have a fabulous, intelligent husband to share my life with? How lucky am I that he is a hard worker and makes a modest enough living to allow me to be home with our boys? How lucky am I to have three active boys? How lucky am I that all four of our parents are healthy and live on the same street as us? How lucky am I to have an awesome extended family that helps us raise our boys? How lucky am I? Life is good.

*Owen's hand - picking Mommy a buttercup*

Even the Dog Needs Attention

Okay, okay already. We are face-book, phone texting, blogging degenerates according to our circle. We have dragged our feet long enough. (I, Beth, say "we"...Steve always asks if I have a mouse in my pocket when I use this reference!) I will be attempting to document our existence by use of blogger, in the hopes that somehow, someway I will find the time to keep in touch with all of you gadget people. As you must know, Steve is a gadget guru, technology guy. He just doesn't "get" the whole "what ru doin?" every minute of the day. Nor do I. So many times technology turns us into idiots. We don't use proper grammar, punctuation, and salutations. Our emails and blogs are read and perceived by the readers as per their emotional state of that particular day. I myself have always preferred the good old-fashioned telephone. And, again, no caller id, no call waiting, call forwarding or any of those annoying interruptions in this household. Probably wouldn't have an answering machine either except for it is needed for our jobs. So, with that said...here it is, our life put out there in internet heaven. I, as wife and mother, will be putting down our tracks, our life as we are making it. Maybe this will give me a starting point to my overwhelming piles of scrap booking materials. I look forward to boring you with our kid's milestones, vacations, and each time the dog smiles at me. I just hope that someday our boys will look back and actually read all of this stuff! Gotta go - the dog is looking for his "me" time. Enjoy our ride!