acadia 2009

Last weekend we took our annual Columbus Day Weekend trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park. It blows me away that this was actually my sixth trip and Riley's third! Shelby was there for the tenth time. I guess you can tell we love the place.

Riley has been big enough for the last two years that we can do just about anything we want. He's also small enough that we can do just about anything we want. A long hike with him in the backpack is still possible and we can put him in the trailer and do whatever bike riding we have in mind. He loves the kayak, popovers at Jordan's Pond House and hiking on his own when he gets the chance.

Things are going to change a lot when baby number two arrives on the scene next year, so this is our last "unrestricted" year until at the very least 2011. We took advantage of the situation.

Our weekend started with the l0ng trip up to Mount Desert Island on Friday. The car and our boy were both ready for travel:

Not a totally full car, but close















Plenty of toys to keep him busy















The trip was uneventful until we got a few miles from the entrance to MDI. It took us about an hour and a half to travel that distance because they were doing road construction on the one intersection that lets you on the island. On a holiday weekend. On Friday after 5 pm. Right.

Riley was amazing as usual, and actually we had a lot of fun saying, "Stop!" and "Go!" with hand gestures, hiccups and hands blocking mouths. Two year olds are so much fun when you get them laughing. Here's some video of Shelby getting him laughing earlier in the trip:

Ponytails are fun

Once we got on the island it was too late to do much, so we just unpacked and headed into town for some dinner. It was early to bed so we'd be ready for the next day's activities.

Saturday morning we took our annual trip to Bar Harbor for breakfast at Cafe This Way. Cafe This Way is a funky little restaurant that serves an awesome breakfast. There is always a line to get in, even this late in the season. We love the food and the atmosphere (original art is always on display and for sale) so it's worth a wait. Riley displayed some new skills for us as we waited, saying, "Stop!" and putting out his hand was the first. He also demonstrated jumping off a curb:

Jump!

It was a sunny day and we were ready for biking. We headed out from the Jordan Pond House for some riding on the beautiful carriage roads. We did a new route this year, and it ended up giving us some very long climbs (one was 1.3 miles long.) It made for an extra good workout, especially for Daddy who was toting an extra 60 pounds or so of trailer, boy and misc. The views were great even though the foliage was not yet at peak. There are pictures in the slideshow below. One of the places we stopped for a photo break was a stone bridge that Shelby and I had stopped at on our first trip in '04. We took a picture of us and I also took a picture of our bikes (OK, to me it had meaning...) This time around I took a new picture of our bikes and progeny:

Bikes '04















Bikes and progeny '09















After a hard ride we returned to the Pond House for some well deserved popovers. It was too cool and windy to eat outdoors like we usually do, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Riley enjoyed not only the popovers, but the tea as well. Our boy has very mature tastes.

Dinner was with the cousins who had made the trip in the morning and were out hiking during the day. All in all a great day.

Sunday was our hike day. We planned a hike that was much like the one we did in 2006, which was my favorite hike I've ever done. It was a little different this time around since Shelby is more pregnant than she was that year and I was going to be carrying a 30+ pound boy on my back, but expectations were high. The trail didn't disappoint, it was as beautiful and fun as ever and an extra good workout. Some video:

Riley and Daddy take a hike

Exposure with a boy on my back

We ended up going longer than we thought (these things can be hard to judge) and had to bail after about four hours. We walked the last 2.5 miles back to the car on the road. Riley and I had fun dancing and finding ways for him to get tickled on the way back. Altogether it was over five hours of hiking. It was a fun and exhausting day.

We had dinner with the cousins at Poor Boys Gourmet Restaurant in Bar Harbor. After that it was an early night for some very tired folks.

Monday is always a short day at the park since we have a long trip back home. We decided (as we had the two previous days) not to do any kayaking due to the chilly and quite windy weather. It wouldn't have been fun, but kayaking was definitely missed by all.

We were still tired from the previous day so we decided to do an easier hike before heading home. We picked the Jordan Pond Trail, which starts at the rear Pond House and loops around Jordan Pond before ending in front of the Pond House once again. Jordan Pond is where we did our Monday kayak trip last year. It is a beautiful place.

I have to say that I'm the last person who should be writing about that particular hike. I was pushing Riley in the jog stroller for the first half of the hike, which was to be about 4 1/4 miles long. It started out with a nice easy crushed stone path. But then came the log bridges...1.8 miles of them. Walking them is easy and fun. Pushing a jog stroller (which is wider than the bridges) is torture. We just kept thinking that it couldn't go on for very much longer... The bridges ended in a boulder field where Shelby had to carry Riley and I had to throw the stroller over my shoulder while I picked my way through the boulders. Not fun. When we got to the halfway point the trail turned back to crushed stone and Shelby took Riley in the stroller. With the exception of having to listen to me gripe continuously through the first half of the hike I think everyone (but me) enjoyed it. We did get a chance to get some video of Riley hiking though, that was fun.

Hiking boy

With our hike completed it was time to say goodbye to the cousins and head back home. The trip home was uneventful except for getting caught for 45 minutes at the same intersection that caused all the problems on the way in. Riley once again was great on the trip, but he was happy to see our house again (much like Mom and Dad.) We always love the trip to Acadia, but it's always good to be back home again.

The Acadia trip is a great one for pictures. The 40 pictures I was able to cut things down to are still too much for a blog post, so here's a slideshow. Enjoy!



Jonathan

boy's weekend - 3

This was the annual weekend for the gathering of The Four, Shelby and her closest friends from her days in Nashville. What that means for Riley and I is another Boy's Weekend.

I miss Shelby when she's gone, but I love having such a large amount of one on one time with my son. I find him to be great company, and we really do have a lot of fun together.

This time around it was four days. More than a weekend, Shelby left early on Thursday morning (they met in West Virginia) so Riley and I were on our own for the duration. This means that I had a helper at work for a couple of days. Always a fun time for all involved, even my patients.

The days at the office were fairly typical if you've read one of my past entries about Riley coming to work with me. One difference is that Riley is showing more of an interest in buses, especially school buses lately. Well, at 3:09 pm every day the elementary school down the street lets out and the buses come by the office. We went out to watch. Riley also had some playmates when patients brought their kids in. Some pictures and video:

Riley playing with his toy bus while waiting for the buses















Bus!

Kaz plays the recorder for a rapt audience















Riley and Henry















Having Riley in the office for so long (and the fact that he's my son) means that there are some things that he gets away with that other kids don't. He plays with my electric adjusting instrument and runs the battery out for instance. I don't even let other kids touch the thing... He also gets to climb on the furniture and amuse himself with stuff in the office:

Climbing on a traction table















Sliding anything flat he finds into the desk drawer. I don't know why either.















One thing that drives me crazy is that he always want to stand by the front door and look outside. I don't really blame him since there are trucks across the street and you can see the commuter train when it goes by, but the last thing I need is to have him bolt out the door (or worse.) He pushes the discipline envelope on this one, either ignoring me when I tell him to come back in the room or taking two steps and then stopping, looking me in the eye the whole time. This, of course, while I'm treating patients.

Drives me nuts!















Over all though I love having him there and it was a really fun two days. The days ended with a very tired boy (who can't nap at the office) falling asleep in his car seat on the way home.

Dressed for bed and ready to go home!















Next up was the weekend. We had plans to sit around in our underwear drinking beer, eating chips and watching sports on TV. But since Riley doesn't drink beer and we don't watch TV when Mama's not home we decided to do other stuff instead. Riley started the day on Saturday by doing one of his favorite puzzles (since he is the puzzle master.)

Fire Engine puzzle - It plays the siren when you finish it















After a morning hanging out and a failed nap attempt (shaking the cage) we did what we should have done in the first place, ride bikes! We took turns, Riley riding first and then Daddy pulling him around after. Some video:

Riley Rides!

Daddy's perspective

When we got home Riley took some time to practice up for the upcoming arrival of a sibling. I think he'll be ready for stroller duty:

Stroller practice















The rest of the weekend was typical with his normal bedtime and getting up and going to church on Sunday. Daddy spent his evenings getting some much needed work done on his mountain bike. Ask me about riser bars some time (if you care about mountain biking that is...) Mama was back Sunday afternoon...for 30 minutes. Riley ignored her at first and continued playing with the puzzle he had been working on. I think he was mad at her. Hmmm...our boy is showing a little more personality. 30 minutes because Mom and Dad were then off to see U2 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. But that's another story.

Another fun weekend for Dad and boy. As always I'm really happy to see Shelby when she gets back home. The concentrated time with my boy is priceless though. I love it!


Jonathan

the ollie

I learned a few tough lessons after I became pregnant with Riley in the fall of 2006. I went into my pregnancy in the best shape of my life, but the fatigue that came along with the first trimester was tough. I gave in to it and exercised less and spent a lot more time on the couch. I didn't eat as well either and it left me with a lot of work to do once the pregnancy was over -- 50 lbs to lose to be exact.

After a year of eating healthy and exercising, I was finally able to lose the pregnancy weight. I then focused on my endurance training to see if I could improve my fitness from where I was at in 2006. I was encouraged to hear the women atheletes peak in their late 30's - early 40's. It seemed to prove true when I ran my Mother's Day Marathon in May, beating my best time (set at age 28) by almost 30 min. My way of thumbing my nose at middle age...ha.

When I got pregnant in July, I decided that this time around things would be different. So, despite the nausea and fatigue, I've been watching what I eat and exercising at least three times a week. I've continued running, trying to maintain as many of my recent fitness gains as possible.

Each September, I enjoy running the Ollie 5 mile road race. This year's race was my fourth. In 2006, I had just become pregnant and although my legs felt heavy I ran a pretty good race at a 9 minute per mile (mpm) pace. The next year, I was 3 months post-partum, and I ran an 11:22 mpm pace. Last year I ran the race at a 9:27 mpm on a hot, muggy day. This year at 12 weeks pregnant, I was just hoping to run at least a 10 mpm.

I wasn't sure how fast I would run it this year. I am running noticably slower than earlier this summer, but since I run trails, I don't get a good gauge of my mpm. Since my two runs earlier in the week felt slow and labored, I figured that a 10 mpm pace would be reasonable under my "delicate" condition.

One of the things I love about running is that you never know what kind of a run you'll have until you start. I have been sleep-deprived and had a great run and I've run in ideal temps and conditions where my usual course felt really hard. It's such an intricate and complex thing, that it's just this big unknown until you get going.

This year's race took place in conditions that are well suited for running. The temp was about 60 degrees and there was light rain for most of the race to keep us cool. I felt great throughout the race and ran at a faster pace than expected. I ran the race in 45:31 which is a 9:17 mpm pace, only seconds per mile slower than my best time on the course.

I was so encouraged by this -- it shows me how much the training and eating well have done for me. Hopefully it will also mean an easier pregnancy for me this time around and a faster recovery once the baby is born.

Jonathan had some problems with the button on the camera so I don't have any video of me crossing the finish line, but here's a video with some pictures of me before and after the race and pics and video of how the boys kept themselves occupied while Mama was off running:





Shelby

labor day weekend

Labor Day weekend is normally a time for us to travel a bit. This year was no different. Several times before we've taken a trip that began in CT visiting my family and ended in the Big Apple giving Shelby a fix for her New York City addiction. This year was the first time we did the trip with a toddler...Riley would get his first taste of New York.

We started by spending a couple of low key and fairly restful days visiting my Mom in Old Saybrook. Here are a couple of pictures:

Grandma reading Riley's new "Cars" book















Riley helped Grandma collect acorns from the yard















On Saturday afternoon we headed off to Stamford, CT where we'd be staying the nights. We met up with our friends the Zivans who were coming along for a taste of NYC with toddlers...they have two.

We made a trip to the Stamford Mall for a quick dinner and some playtime for the kids. Stamford has the coolest mall playground we've seen yet:

The boys and Taz















Our precious flowers















Then it was back to the hotel. No late nights out with the kids...although the playground was still filling up at 8:30 pm as we were leaving. Who can figure. Our kids got ready for bed and then Shelby read them a bedtime story.

Nice to see the kids riveted to the Rhyme Bible Storybook















The next morning it was off to the big city. The kids enjoyed the trip in on the train. The conductor was really cool. He came back and asked if the kids would like a chance to blow the train's horn. Riley did, but seemed a bit freaked out and was done after one quick blow. Funny, since he loves to press buttons so much.

We got to Grand Central Station and had a quick look around. It's a big place and a very impressive structure. Riley was fascinated:

Checking out the architecture















He particularly liked the big American Flag















Next it was a quick trip on the subway and off to church. Shelby and I have always tried to visit Redeemer Presbyterian Church when we're in New York. We love Tim Keller's preaching (although one of the assistant pastors was preaching this time...still good) and it's nice to be able to travel somewhere and still attend a church we love. It was A LOT more work though. Everything is different when you've got three kids along. And the nursery was in a building across the street from the auditorium where the church meets. Things sure are different in the Big City.

After church it was off to Central Park. Our priorities for this trip were very different. We wanted to do fun things with the kids this time around, so we hit the Central Park Carousel and a toddlers playground.

It was love at first sight for the kids at the carousel















Riley even loved the little horses on the fence















Riley and Mama take a ride















Riley goes solo (think he was having fun?)















Some video

The kids spent most of their playground time at the sprinklers. Riley wasn't all that excited about letting the water hit him. He's actually not a big fan of water being sprayed at him. The other two had a ball running around while Riley was immobile exactly where I placed him.

All three kids















The boys. Notice Riley has not moved...















Next it was off to one of our favorite places: Alice's Tea Cup. Alice's is a tea house with an Alice In Wonderland motif. They serve excellent food (like the British, it's more than just tea you're having) and of course...tea. Lots of different types of tea. It's fun, and a major feast. Some pictures:

Oil, Jon and a whole lot of food















A little girl's dream, Fairy dust and wings




















Riley making funny faces















Our last place to visit was Times Square. I've done a lot of crazy things in my life, and bringing three toddlers to this place ranks right up there with the best of them. Of course, crazy things are usually fun too...

On the subway to Times Square















Whoa, New York, just like I always pictured it...















Daddy and Riley




















Mama and Riley















Family Times Square shot















Riley was wired, but not everyone else lasted















Do kids have fun visiting New York City?

The next day was mostly a travel day, but there was a cool playground down the street from the hotel. So we HAD to make a stop...

Making music with the pipe chimes















Riley demonstrates his balance















He STILL didn't want to have anything to do with the water















Tandem sliding

Then we were on the road home. A quick stop for lunch at Cracker Barrel where Riley showed us how to put together the puzzle that was on the table:

Our boy loves a puzzle















It was a great weekend. Relaxing and energizing both. And it was so much more fun to be able to share the New York experience with friends. I think we've got some more New York lovers on our hands. And some of them are only two.


Jonathan

we have a heartbeat...

Yesterday was a big day for the Berg household. Shelby had her second appointment with the midwife at the the birthing center and this time if all went well we would hear our new child's heartbeat.

There has been some nervousness on our parts with this pregnancy. Neither of us are 'spring chickens' and Shelby in particular knows a number of women who have miscarried on their second pregnancies. So this was a big day. That being said, here's some video:

Mama celebrated with some post check-up sushi.















It's about seven weeks to an ultrasound. Yes, we do want to know if it's a boy or a girl. In the mean time Shelby has given our child the nickname, "Frankie Fetus".

It seems so much more real and so very much more exciting now.

Riley has been getting some practice at being a big brother. Here he is with his pal Dominick at daycare. These two really enjoy each other:















I think he's going to be great at it.


Jonathan

where he's at - Riley at 27 months

It's been a while since we've updated what Riley is up to, other than the obvious fun stuff on the blog. So here we go...

Health / Development

Health wise Riley has been pretty strong. Aside from a bout of conjunctivitis a few weeks back he's been a healthy boy. He was even exposed to Chicken Pox without showing any signs at all. He seems to have a healthy immune system.

He got his last incisor recently, so he has a mouthful of teeth. He allows us to brush them nightly with little or no difficulty.

Riley is a good eater in general, and will eat most things he's given. So far, fortunately, he's not a picky eater. He has meals where he doesn't eat much, but they are usually followed by meals where he eats a lot. It usually averages out. Offhand the only thing I can think of that he won't eat is green beans (he picks them out of his food if you put them in) although other veggies he'll only eat if they are mixed with eggs. He particularly loves milk, bananas and cheese. They are the three foods I can think of that he calls by name.

Riley is also a good sleeper. He is off to bed at about 8 pm each night and is up somewhere between 6:30 and 9 am (most days it's about 7 though.) Napping is hit or miss. (Today was miss, he bounced in his bed for an hour before I brought him down stairs.) Some days he does, others he doesn't. Although he usually gets a good nap every Monday...right after his swim lesson.

Because of the difficulties he had immediately following his birth (if you don't know about that you can start here to find out more) he's been under the watchful eye of the good folks at Children's Hospital every six months or so. They referred his case to Early Intervention who have been checking his development. Back in February Riley started working with one of the Developmental Specialists due to a delay in speech. Riley has always been very good at communicating, but has never used many words to do so. So he has been working with Miss Irma for the last six months. He had his update evaluation a couple of weeks ago. He is at or beyond his age level in all categories except speech. He is at an 18 month level in his ability to speak. So now Riley and Irma will be working together twice a week for the next six months. Here's a picture of them working on speech by playing:

Riley LOVES it when Miss Irma comes















I have to say that we aren't really concerned that Riley won't be able to speak (my brother Tom said very little before starting to speak in full sentences at age three) but we do want to give Riley any advantage we can with learning to speak. It would also ease communication quite a bit since his needs and desires are now becoming more specific and that can make things very challenging with his current level of ability / desire to speak.

Stuff he likes

Riley is a very active boy. But he also is able to sit and play quietly for long periods. So his list of things he likes is varied:

Riley loves to read - Our boy has always loved books. I posted some pictures of him reading on his 20 month update. He continues to love to read anytime, anywhere:

Outdoor activities with Mom & Dad - Bike riding, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, the beach, you name it. Riley loves it all. Here he is last week at the beach where he played quietly by himself for hours:

He also loves riding his own bike:

Toys - I've said many times that Riley has never met a toy he didn't like. He does have some current faves though:

1. Cars - He especially likes the cars that wind up when you pull them backwards, which he has just learned to do in the last week or so. He has several that he plays with a lot, but his favorites are the school bus ("Bus!") and the Checker Marathon Taxi.

2. Puzzles - These are things he has always liked. He's also good at them. He does puzzles at a three year old level and does them quickly. Unless he's playing one of his favorite games, which is to intentionally put a piece in the wrong spot and then say, "No!" and take it out to put it in the right spot.

3. The truck Grammy and Poppa got him - This has been the longest lasting favorite of all. Grammy and Poppa had this little truck (which makes all kinds of great noises) waiting for him when he came to visit in Alaska last year. He loved it so much that they spent more than the thing cost shipping it down here to him. Money well spent, as he rides the thing constantly (and pushes the buttons, etc. to make sounds and play music when he's not riding it...)

4. His bike - He's been in love ever since he saw the box...he's definitely Daddy's boy.

5. The front seat - Riley looks at our cars as toys I think. He loves to sit in the front seat and push all the buttons and pull all the levers. Last week when we were in Maine we were walking past a big tour bus and he was pointing and calling out, "Bus!" After a few short words with the driver here's the result:

Riley drives the bus















He pushed buttons on the bus too...and closed the door.

6. Legos - We got these for him quite a while ago, but lately he has taken to sitting and playing with them for extended periods. Quiet play is nice (well, quiet except for when he's dumping them all over himself.)

Playgrounds - Riley has loved the playground ever since he was first able to go on a swing. His favorite parts are the swings, slides and the steering wheels.

Videos - Riley has discovered Pixar. His two favorite movies of late have been Cars and Monsters Inc. Bob and Blue have taken a back seat. He still enjoys the occasional Curious George or Veggie Tales. Yesterday he sat with Mama and watched Gene Kelley dance up a storm in "Singin' In The Rain."

Babies - Riley likes older kids, but he's really enamored with babies (which bodes well for happenings in this family in seven months or so.) In swim class he wants to go to where the smallest kids are. He loves Dominic, the one year old son of the woman who does day care for us (Dominic loves him too. He greets Riley at the door saying his name.) He is surprisingly gentle for a two year old. Tonight he was sitting with Shelby next to friends who have an eight month old and he held out a finger for the baby to grasp. Very sweet. We think he'll make a great big brother.

Swimming / Water - Riley loves the water. We've got enough pictures and video up already that show that. He also loves going to the pool for swim lessons and has been getting better at the "reach and pull" and "kick with the feet" that he's told to do there. He's actually moving up to a more advanced class tomorrow morning. I'm really glad to have a son who is comfortable with the water. Oh, and Daddy loves the swim lessons too.

Going to the office with Daddy - This is one of those treats I get every so often. My business is such that having my two year old boy along works well. The only thing that suffers is my ability to do paperwork. So when we have a day where there is no daycare Riley just comes to work with me. Being the extrovert he is Riley has a ball. He helps me all day too. He turns on the lights for me (although sometimes he turns them off, then on, then off...), helps me adjust patients and he also helps me get the ice packs to them. He's a very helpful boy and we both have fun when he's there. My patients do too. Some of them want me to call them when he's going to be there so they can visit.

Times they are a changin'

There are going to be a number of changes coming up. Riley will be transitioning into a toddler bed in not too long. That ought to be interesting... We'll be working on readying him for the arrival of a sibling soon too. We already told him that, "there's a baby in Mommy's tummy", but it probably doesn't mean that much to him since Shelby doesn't really look that much different than normal yet. Soon enough. It will be a winter full of transition. And not too far down the road there will be potty training. Oh boy. We'll also be looking forward to an increase in Riley's vocabulary. Better communication will be really nice.

And I can't wait to be able to post a list of all the fun things he'll say.

We love our boy!


Jonathan

the body odd, take two

I've been debating for weeks whether or not to post this as it is "news" to most of our blog readers (at least the ones I know are reading) -- which is strange as we Bergs tend to be pretty open about the goings on in our lives. I've decided to commit to the story, even if the succeeding chapters become more difficult to write.

Yes, I'm pregnant -- 8 weeks to be exact. Due date is March 29th. We're excited to have another child and to give Riley a homegrown playmate. I didn't feel like we were missing a child, but I am excited about adding another member to the family. I look forward to Riley taking on the role of big brother and caring for his sibling. Nicole (his daycare provider) says he will be a great big brother, judging by the way he treats her son Dominick.

At the same time, I'm more than a little aware of the miscarriage possibility. Not just because of my age (40 is just around the corner), but having known several women who lost second pregnancies. It's more on my mind this time than it was with Riley.

I find myself not entering fully into the joy of our expectant child until I hear that heartbeat. It's like I'm waiting to really be able to celebrate. I say this to some and they dismiss my concerns by saying, "Oh, everything will be just fine". Probably it will be just fine. But things do go wrong and is it really that awful if I hold back a bit until I get past the first trimester?

So while in wait-and-see mode, I thank God for another opportunity to be blessed with a little one and pray for his protection on little Em (as in 'bryo). So far, I've been spared the horror of morning sickness, but most food is not that appealing, unless it's cheesy and greasy. Something's serious off when I have chocolate in my desk drawer that isn't touched in a week. I'm also very fatigued, but this time I don't have the luxury of taking a nap when I come home from work. Also, I'm running a good minute a mile slower now. Not to mention that my belly doth expand. I've been wearing my elastic waist clothes for weeks. They say with #2, everything happens bigger and faster and I had to tell folks at work because it's getting kinda obvious that I'm packing it on, all of a sudden.

One thing that is different this time is that my eating habits aren't going to pot. Even though I'd love to nosh on comfort food like I did the first time, you all got to see the effects of all that. So far, I'm able to keep my eating in check and limit the amount of unhealthy crap that I have begun to crave again. I don't need to try and lose another 50 lbs after all is said and done. Been there, done that and don't plan to do it again. So I eat cheerios, peanut butter, whole wheat bread & crackers and drink seltzer, milk and kefir most days.

I'm not a fan of pregnancy -- all these strange things that happen to my body that I can't control. I don't understand how any woman "enjoys" being pregnant. I just want my old body back. But I sure enjoy having me a babe in arms, so it's worth it. At least one more time...

I did have my first appt with the midwife today and she said my uterus is measuring 8 weeks, so I guess that's good. In a couple more weeks we get to listen for the heartbeat. So much waiting when you're pregnant...a good opportunity to actively trust the Father for all of the unknowns.

Stay tuned...more to come,

Shelby

going a little bit green

My introduction to recycling came in the fall of 2000, when I moved to Portland, Maine. They encouraged us to use our recycling bins by requiring us to buy their special blue trash bags that cost about 5x what the other bags cost. Naturally, I tried to recycle as much as possible to keep from filling up my trash bag too often.

Having gotten into the habit of recycling and continuing to do so here in Mass, J and I started looking at small changes we could make to eliminate waste. We started by putting reusable grocery bags in our cars for the trips to the store. It feels good not to throw away all those plastic bags that used to fill our trash bin each week.

Earlier this year, I discovered a reusable sandwich bag on Amazon called the Wrap-N-Mat. I picked up a few for our household. Since J takes sandwiches to work and we make them for picnic lunches, we've gotten a lot of use out of them. They wipe clean and are machine washable. An added bonus is that they make a nice placemat too.

Then, a couple of months ago I was on Etsy, and I found that there's quite a number of people selling reusable snack bags, lunch bags even produce bags there among other reusable items. I picked up a few snack bags (large and small) and we took them out with us this past weekend:














These bags are da bomb. Like the sandwich wraps, they wipe down easily and are machine washable. They have a generous strip of velcro to keep things like our trail mix contained. And they come in lots of fun and interesting patterns too. We have a baseball one, a sushi one and one with a cute bug pattern.

So out of our whole picnic lunch, the only things we threw away were the fruit bar wrappers. While we may not be able to complete rid ourselves of plastic bags, we're using them a lot less now.

It really is easy being green!

Shelby

beach time

This has been one of the worst summers ever weather wise. How often do we get 13 inches of rain in June and July around here? NEVER! (And hopefully never again...)

Despite the rain this beach loving family has spent some quality time at the shore. We'll skip the verbiage this time and go straight to video...

We love the beach!


Jonathan

what we've been up to...

We haven't done much blogging for the last few weeks. Busy times. So I'll fill you in on what we've been up to.

Gramma Betsy's House

Another day without daycare meant an opportunity for Riley (and his parents) to spend some time at Gramma Betsy's house. Betsy lives on Plum Island, which in itself is a cool thing. She has a really cool house with a beautiful garden, a patio, a built in sand box (it's a beach house...) and Jessie the wonder dog. Riley spent the afternoon and then Shelby and I came by after work to hang out and have dinner. Some pictures:

The "built in sand box"














Riley and Jessie checking out the neighborhood














Riley loves Jessie














Pretending to feed Jessie














Playing on the patio














A fort in the cushions
















Fourth of July Weekend in Maine

We finally had some decent weather on the weekend of the fourth. We headed up to Maine for a weekend of sun, fun and hanging out with friends. There are so many pictures from this weekend that I put most of them in a slide show below. There will be a couple of exceptions...

Friday we went to Portland and made our first stop at Gilbert's Chowder House. Riley wouldn't eat french fries, chowder, or grilled cheese (all of which he loves.) He had a small sip of beer to which he said, "More, more!" Daddy said no.

We then went out to the Eastern Promenade where there is a fun playground. Riley has enjoyed this spot once before. When our friend Riann was visiting from South Africa we did some sledding on the hill there. This time around the weather was very different. With the wind chill the temperature differential was close to 90 degrees. A contrast picture:












And it felt the way the pictures look... Shelby took a video to send to Riann showing him that things aren't always so frigid here.

Saturday was our beach day. Riley hadn't been to Popham Beach which is one of our (and especially Shelby's) favorite spots anywhere. The day started with fog, but it was still nice enough to enjoy being there. Then the sun came out and it was absolutely glorious...until the thunderstorm hit. Beach and island pictures are in the slide show, here's some video and a panorama of the beach looking from the island:

Chasing a Seagull

Running to the water (One of my favorite videos ever!)

Popham Beach







That night we took a trip to Naples to see the fireworks over Sebago Lake. After a little initial nervousness Riley loved the fireworks, always wanting, "More, more!" Here's a video of the Grand Finale:

Sunday we went to church with the cousins and then it was off to Bintliff's for a fantastic brunch with the Bliss family. We haven't gotten to see Jen, Adam and Carter since Labor Day weekend last year. It was nice to catch up and see how different the boys were. Here's a shot of the Bliss crew:















After brunch it was time for us to take a trip to Two Lights. Two Lights is a piece of quintessential Maine seashore. Rocky coast with waves sending up spray. It is a sweet spot and another of Shelby's faves. It's also the first spot on the Maine coast Shelby shared with me when we were dating. Riley has been there before, but this was the first time he was able to go on foot. He enjoyed walking and climbing on the rocks. Pictures from Two Lights are in the slide show. Here are some videos too:

Riley likes the rocks

For those rainy days, here's some Maine beauty

OK, so this post is getting a bit long. I'll end with the slide show:

Jonathan