GOOD GOLLY, MISS MOLLY...You're Just Getting To The Easter Post NOW???

Well, yes...that's right. And this is how Easter morning started:



Little did Jon realize that this little tyke had been in training.



She was zeroing in on eggs like a mother hen.



They were everywhere.



And she was just getting started.



She wasn't beyond gloating either.



She was downright good at this whole concept.



Jon was not about to deprive her of her excitement.



What a good cousin.



But I think Celia just thought she was much better at it than he was.



With that done, the baskets were discovered.



Easter means candy for breakfast.



Yes, Jon...Really.

Dig in!



Silly toys can sometimes be found in Easter baskets.



Surprise books, too.



Which needed to be examined a little closer.



But it's better to have Mama do it, so as to have a free hand for PEEPS.



Of course, there is Celia's stand-by fascination with shoes.



What? Does something look different to you?



Then it was outside to work off some of our pancake and maple syrup breakfast, topped off with more candy.



I have no idea what they were doing. All I know is that they all piled onto the tractor and took off.



Oh, that's right. Look in the bucket.



They were collecting rocks for Kenny's new pond.



Celia took off in the other direction to pay a visit to Tremper.



But the dirt was much more interesting.



Ewww...yes, it's dirty!



But she got over it to share a little with Daddy.



Now, what to do with the dirty hands?



Good job, Daddy. A wood distraction.



The next morning, we were having an impromptu birthday party for Celia, who was turning TWO in ten more days.

We got her a new play table.



Which was much improved once Auntie Sam's and Martin's present was on top of it.



Are you noticing the Christmas wrapping paper?



Believe me...she didn't notice!



Or care.



She's quite the little pro at this, don't you think?



Mom...I think it's clothes.



Oh, yes. Auntie Sam knows what this little one is all about.



Clothes and shoes.



Who could she possibly take after?



Oh, good...matching pants.



Another outfit in blue?



Let's keep track of all these clothes.



Mind you, this is a regular Celia routine.



Lordy...more?



Lay it out.



Nana say's it's okay.



And now to peruse the magnificence of all these clothes.



What more could a girl want?



That's right. Someone else's shoes.



Auntie Sam is so much fun.



Fun enough to dance with.



And to do "fast foot, fast foot" with.



Fast foot, fast foot, fast foot...



Fast foot, fast foot,



Fast foot...



Will it ever end?



Yes, thank goodness.



It's time to blow into the party favor.



With a little help from Auntie Sam.



Who has no problem doing it.



Why does mine stay flat?



A jab to the belly.



That's the funniest thing, ever!



Do it some more.



Wait...let me get positioned.



Too funny!



Are you watching this, Mom?



Are you?



Pretty ribbons for the pretty birthday girl.



Enjoy it while you can.



Because this surely isn't going to last.



How about on Auntie Sam?



That's much better!



Thanks for my birthday party.



So, ten days passed.



Way too slowly for me.



And then April 21st arrived and I beelined to Worcester to celebrate the REAL birthday. Melanie had to work in the afternoon and wouldn't be home until later in the evening, so we got out the stroller and walked to the Ecotarium, where we saw animals and bought a sack of rocks. We went to the playground and almost got beaned in the head with a softball that came whipping over the fence while we were on the swings. We got home right before Steve came home from work and got dinner together. We ate and then played some more, but Celia was having so much fun that we decided to wait for birthday cake until Melanie came home.



In retrospect, she was probably a little more tired than I thought.



But once the cake was sliced on a plate and a spoon was in her hand...



and there was some ice cream on her plate, too...



She knew for sure it was definitely worth the wait.



Tired or not...



There is nothing like cake and ice cream.



Nothing!

The Miss Hannigan Post (04/2009)

Pretend it's the beginning of April. That's when Nana made a quick trip to visit me...

Celia!

We have to pack a lot of activity into a short period of time, so how 'bout it?

(Please notice my 'fancy shoes.')

Let's party!

Stickers are always entertaining.

Mama depends upon my interior decorating skills,

and I find that stickers placed in strategic positions throughout the house

achieve the look I am going for.

Oh! And one for Nana, too!

Okay, enough of that.

It's time to watch a little "Annie."

Miss Hannigan is quite alarming...

Her behavior is infuriating...

Approval rating is bottoming out...

Sometimes she makes me a little tense.

I find it a bit distressing.

But it looks like Annie is going to prevail. Here comes Punjab in the helicopter...

Yes...good job, Punjab. Together at last! Together forever!

Because of you, we get to see elephants and all of a sudden, Miss Hannigan is a good guy.

Who would've guessed?

A movie and dinner. My idea of a good time.

Let's squeeze a little more playing in before bedtime.

and make one last call on my cell.

Because in the morning, we are up bright and early for swim class,

which you can clearly see, is a pretty favorite thing to do.

Okay Mama...a quick one.

I've got a lot to do.

You see what clear (or sometimes just semi-clear) shots Nana got?

Really, most of them looked like this:

Thank goodness she took about a hundred and fifty pictures

so we could get a few that weren't a complete blur,

like this one of Mama signaling the warning for...

...this:

Whoa!!! That's good!

It charges me up!

And look how much Mama enjoys it.

Here's another favorite part...the jumping:

Oh, yeah.

This is a little sedate, ring around the rosie thing which I will gladly tolerate.

However, the dunking thing is an adrenaline rush every time!

But I do it so well!

And that makes me happy...

Can't you tell?

Nana will be back with the Easter post sometime in May...

and you'll get to see my reaction to 'The Sound of Music.' (I'm all about the Captain!)

PENNSYLVANIA MAPLE SYRUP

We are fortunate to live in a part of the country where maple syrup production abounds. As it is something Ken has always wanted to try (under the 'no stone goes unturned' catagory), he did lots of reading and talking to others who have undertaken (and then abandoned) the adventure of making maple syrup.

Before the temperature exceeded 40 degrees, it was necessary to go around and tap the sugar maples so they would be ready to forfeit their sap as the days grew warmer. He got 25 taps in and decided to leave it at that for this year. Within a few days, the sap began to pour. We jumped on the four tracks in the early morning's light and made our way around the farm to collect sap. Just to clarify, "we" didn't collect; "we" went. Ken collected, I took pictures.



The vegetable plot looks so desolate this time of year, but the seeds are started under lights and are sprouting as we speak! I'll be checking in on their progress within the next couple of weeks.



For each tapped tree, a hose is securely attached onto each tap, with the other end of the hose fitting tightly through the cap of a container. This way, no contaminants or debris can get into the sap.



Of course, if you forget that the snow is going to melt, your containers are then going to be dangling a foot off the ground and that could be a little problem. (Oh, yeah...that's something that's not in the books and if NO common sense is utilized, it's a whole lotta wasted hose!)



Ken empties the containers into larger water containers and let me tell you, those containers get pretty heavy as you go from tree to tree.



Sebastian enjoys the collection process and has even stopped pulling the taps out of the trees now.

He's such a joy.



You can tell this was the first day of collection. See the smile on Ken's face? Collecting sap doesn't have the same affect on him anymore.



With a fire roaring under the cooker (which has been revised, and revised again), the sap is poured into a pot to boil the water out of the sap.



In this process, you have to deal with a lot of steam from the sap and a lot of smoke from the fire...but look at his face...he really doesn't know this yet.



It starts out slowly...



...but what we have found is that there is no time to stand around looking at it, because that fire has to be fed constantly.



The woods around our house are being cleaned of all the dead timber laying around, and thank goodness, there's a lot of it. I've always wanted those limbs picked up. It's a win-win situation for me!



When the sap starts to boil, Ken adds to it quite a few times from the sap collected that morning, which is sitting in containers in the snow to keep cool. He usually cooks for 10 hours each day.



Once the sap has thickened, it is poured through a sifter with organic cotton lining it.



At the end of the day, the thickened sap is poured from this pail into a pot on the stove in the house for the final cooking stages.



For our first efforts, we ended up with a little sauce pan of thickened sap, but now we have two cookers going...



...with an experimental third one (in the foreground), so we are now filling a spaghetti pot full of the thickened sap for the final cook every day. (Look at those jeans...huh? It's a dirty job, alright. It's a strip down at the door before you step foot in this house kinda job.)



The sap cooks for almost an hour in the house and at first, we had to watch it constantly, but now, even the candy thermometer is a formality. We can tell when it's coming close to it's final stage from the smell alone. This wonderful aroma fills the house...it's woodsy, it's mapley, it's heaven!



The syrup becomes frothy and foamy, and when it reaches a certain consistency of frothy foam...it's done. It gets poured and squeezed through a double filter and then poured into sterilized bottles.



The syrup is 219 degrees and if you turn the canning jars upside down, the heat from the syrup heats up the seal so that once they are turned right-side up again, the air is forced out just as it is in a regular canning process and the jars are vacuum sealed.



The final product is the most amazing maple syrup I have ever tasted. Cooking it over wood gives it an awesome flavor. Ken's been using a lot of hickory, and the syrup is to die for...and look at this color!



Pancakes, anyone???

CHRISTMAS IN FEBRUARY

Ken and I had a very quiet Christmas at home with Samey. We all decided that there would be no fanfare...no tree or wreaths, no crazy cooking or cleaning. Just a quiet, relaxing Christmas.

It was wonderful to spend alone time with Sam...but it just didn't feel like Christmas. So, not because we strive to be different, but because we strive for an easy, non-stressful, non-traffic fighting, non-family juggling Christmas...we decided to do it right...in February.

Everything was planned out to perfection. The tree was up and decorated, the wreaths were adorned and hung, the cross beams and antler chandelier were decked in snowflakes and roping. Four meals were planned and Ken and I cooked and baked all day Friday to get as much done beforehand as possible. We brought out the leaves for the table, the bed linens were all pressed and fresh, plenty of towels were on hand for showers. Everything that could be done was done ahead of time so that we could enjoy our company once they arrived.

Samey, Ken and Diana, and Deb and Ben were all coming Saturday by lunchtime, but because Celia travels much better when she's sleeping, Melanie and Steve were coming Friday night, as soon as Melanie got home from work at around 7:30, with an ETA of 11:30 to midnight. But you know what inevitably happens when everything is planned to perfection. Right?

Something is sure to go awry.

At the last minute Melanie and Steve got a call that the condo was going to be shown that weekend, which was fine, except that Melanie was leaving for work in a half hour and you know how your house isn't at the peak of perfection when you are packing for a trip...especially a trip with a toddler in tow? But true to form, there was no panic going on over there. They would get things straightened up once Melanie got home from work and would leave about an hour later, pushing their ETA back an hour to 12:30 - 1:oo am.

I talked to Melanie at about 8:30. As it turned out, she wasn't finished with work when she anticipated she would be and was just on her way home then.

So, they didn't get out of the house until 10:00 pm. They made the pre-requisite stop at Dunkin' Donuts to load up on caffiene, plugged in Celia's nighttime music, and hit the road.

So, here we are in my kitchen on Saturday. Look how sweet she is. And tired...look how tired she is.

Guess why she's tired. C'mon...give it a guess!

Could it be because she was awake for the entire 4-1/2 hour trip, except for the last 15 minutes?

Oh, yeah. It could be that.

But she eventually cheered up after a good nap. I'll tell you one thing though, while the Christmas dress was adorable, this girl had no patience for ruffles and toole.

Quick...grab the camera, Nana. Get the pictures because this dress is history.

Ahhhh....we're all for comfort here, but please tell me why it's necessary to wear the tights on her hand?

Never mind. It was good to have something familiar once Santa showed up.

Was it a conscious plan to ignore him...will him away, in a sense?

Is he not understanding that she is not interested in ringing his bell?

Well, as long as he's gone, Mama can hang on to the bell and she'll handle the tights.

No...no. Not the bell.

Whoa...just one minute. This Santa is different than what she's seen before.

He literally does come bearing gifts...and then, better yet...goes away again.

Are you kidding?

More presents!

If it's safe, this needs to be investigated!

Yes!

Whoa!

Another reprieve.

Quick...check it out!

Holy Toledo!

She thinks she's likin' this silent, red man!

Bye, bye Santa! See you next year.

Good job, Samey! You always were the best Santa.

And now, there is important business to tend to.

A bucket of play dough!

If anyone thinks that a 21-month old child is not a master at wrapping paper...

I believe you're wrong.

No hesitation, no thought process at all, for that matter.

There was a lot of paper to attack and she was just the girl for the job.

Always a favorite...clothes. (She is definitely her mother's daughter.)

But there is more work to be done.

Elmo book!

A little stuffed Elmo!

Elmo is always cause for a slow down.

But there is more unwrapping to do, yielding yet more clothes.

Love the quality.

No one has ever enjoyed her gifts more than Celia that night. She even grabbed a phone and gave Santa a call to thank him...again and again!

She made tea for everyone in the house with the new tea set that Nanny and Pop Pop sent via Santa. The play dough rolling pin served as the milk container. Once it was ready, she served it to the lucky recipients, but you needed to drink it fast because the cups were getting rounded up pretty quickly.

It was just as much fun watching her the next morning, when she got up bright and early to dive into all this glory again.

Everything got re-examined.

Snaps and zippers were re-inspected.

It's very serious business, you know.

Feel free to document the process with pictures, Nana.

I'll just sit here looking adorable until you're through.

Once she reaffirmed that all her gifts were as they should be...

...it was time for some blueberries and yogurt.

Only about three or four bowls full.

During breakfast, she was demonstrating to me the face that the little boy in one of her books makes. Melanie said that she had looked over at Celia reading her book one day and Celia was looking at her with her head cocked to one side making a funny face. She said, "What are you doing, Celia?" and Celia pointed to the boy on the page and said, "Dat, Mama!"

Good job!

We all thought it was pretty funny.

Especially Celia.

All in all, it was a magical weekend

full of surprise and wonderment.

You would never know that anyone else was there, would you!

I'm going to have to work on that.

Steve's Surprise Birthday Party, as told by Cecelia

With each new day comes a new sunrise and a new surprise...

and because my daddy donned a tutu once upon a time...

...it is only fitting that I get dressed up in one as well...

and what could be a better occasion for this duplicity than Daddy's surprise birthday party!

I carefully assisted with the set-up...

...making sure all the toys were in order for the 'under five crowd.'

As this party was a surprise, Nana Terri and I practiced for the special 'surprise' moment all day...in the bathtub, while getting dressed, during set-up...throwing our hands over our head and shouting out, "Surprise!"

I had it down pat, and then the guests began to arrive.

...and the pizza arrived!

So, we ate...

...I showed off my cool boots...

while I ate...

and then the special moment arrived...

Dad (whom lately, I just refer to as 'Babe') was at the door!

At first he looked curiously at Nana Terri kneeling on the floor with a camera in front of her face, wondering...what are you even DOING here and why is my arrival home from a Bruins game photo-worthy?

and then he saw the rest of his family and friends...

Everyone shouted, "Surprise!"

It was awesome!

Daddy was completely shocked.

 

and very happy.

He chatted with his friends.

I chatted with mine.

I played with Uncle Phil...

...rested a little...

and played with Uncle Phil some more.

My buddy, Mekhi was at the party, too.

and we were both pretty excited to see the desserts come out.

Auntie Jamie brought a Red Sox cake

which Daddy made quite a show of cutting

We were very anxious to sink our teeth into these goodies!

Grandma Trisha hand fed me my cupcake

I don't demand such service, I just receive it.

Full belly.

My Godfather, John was at the party, too.

and Mom's friend Allison was the bartender, making specialty martini's for the 'over five crowd' that seemed to make them pretty happy.

I figured the smartest thing to do was to find a perch...

and just observe what was going on around me.

As the crowd thinned out, there was more room to get out some toys and play, like I did here with Pop Pop Buddy.

I was able to get down

and let loose...

because I truly believe that EVERY party is MY party.

Lexi and Mekhi played with my toys, but not necessarily together.

As it was getting late and was WAY past our bedtimes, we got into our jammies.

Here I am in the camo jammies Pop Pop Buddy got for me. Leave it to Pop Pop Buddy!

Lexi posed for this shot in my doll's high chair.

which was okay, because I was feeding my doll on the floor from an interesting blue bottle that I stole out of someone's purse.

Then I started putting a bottle cap (also stolen) on top of Grandpa's head

which he seemed to enjoy a lot.

I thought that I blended in pretty well with my camo jammies,

but somehow Uncle Phil was able to detect me under the table.

and the fun just went on and on...

until I collapsed...

But it definitely was a happy collapse.

Mekhi also had a happy collapse.

and when we each made it to our beds that night, we had sweet sugar-rush dreams.

THANKSGIVING...

Christmas and Channukah are almost upon us and here I am, just getting to my Thanksgiving post. Hey...I do my best! The actual holiday was nice, but even better was the weekend...when Mom and Dad arrived, Melanie and Steve came with Celia, and Diana and Kenny came with Jon.

Speaking of which...

Celia is totally awestruck by Jon.

In fact, he is the funniest boy in existence.

Even when Jon went out to hit the slopes

Celia was not far behind...

...in her pig hat and Sophia Loren shades.

 

What does a pig say, Celia?

"Moink Moink."

A lot of time was spent outside.

The snow was perfect for sledding.

Just ask Sebastian.

If everybody is having so much fun...

...then why shouldn't I???

(He's such a pain in the ass.)

Afterwards, a little hot chocolate and warm socks for our chilly feet.

Or, how about Nanny Betty's slippers?

Probably not a good idea after all.

So, instead let's climb all over Daddy for a while...

Pose with Pop Pop...

Flip over Nana, Mama, and Nanny...

and then relax and think about what a great weekend we had.

It went by way too fast!

WAY, WAY OVERDUE LAST VISIT!

You thought I forgot, didn't you???

Haven't you been waiting to see this little face?

I know many of you have been waiting very patiently

and finally, here it is...

the Halloween post!

Okay, so sometimes it takes a little time to get things off the ground,

but good things come to those who wait!

Pumpkins and gourds were a big hit here at Shadow Glen Farm and Celia got to experience many of them.

Then she discovered the old cassette tapes in the drawer by the stereo and proceeded to empty them of their contents. Quite happy about it, too.

Oh, yes!

They are on the sofa, even though you can't see them.

And it becomes a cassette tape celebration.

I bet it never occurred to you to celebrate the existence of cassette tapes, especially since they are so antiquated,

but some of us know how to celebrate

any ol' thing we want.

So, there!

CASSETTE TAPES!

Do you get it now?

Months and months ago I bought this little bench so that someday I could take pictures of Celia on it.

This turned out to be the day I had been waiting for:

The bench was definitely worth it!

Time for Halloween...

Steve's cousin went off to Villanova this year and knew Celia would make a superb cheerleader!

She was right.

Rah-rah, sis-boom-bah!

Did you ever see anything so cute?

A quick break to say hi to Sebastian and then Nana forced the solo squad outside for some pictures...

which went over like a lead balloon.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, NANA???

Being that I now made her miserable, it was to my advantage to suggest watching an Elmo DVD.

Melanie says that Elmo is like drugs for kids...

...Ya think?

I'm pretty convinced.

Wah..wah..whoops!

A fast come back.

Where's my Barker Lounger?

It was a little bit of a struggle

but Elmo won out in the end.

Hold everything! Is there a little more?

No, it's over and it was spectacular!

A couple of weeks after Melanie and Celia visited, Ken and Diana came up with Jon and Julia...

...who decided that the topsoil pile was the best place on the farm to be.

Oh, no.

Here's trouble!

They all managed to get pretty dirty. What's more fun than that?

FALL HARVEST...PUMPKINS!

THE SUMMER'S BOUNTY IS JUST ABOUT OVER. THERE ARE STILL BEETS, CARROTS, PEPPERS, AND A FEW TOMATOES HANGING AROUND WAITING PATIENTLY TO BE PROCESSED...

BUT DON'T BE SAD, BECAUSE AFTER THE SUMMER'S BOUNTY HAS PASSED...

THE FALL'S BOUNTY IS UPON US...

AND BOY, OH BOY...

WHAT A BOUNTY IT IS!

THE USUAL AND THE UNUSUAL...

THE COLORFUL...

AND NOT SO COLORFUL.

HOW ABOUT "ONE TOO MANY" FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT?

AFTER HIDING AND GROWING ALL SUMMER LONG...

IT'S TIME TO GET IN THERE AND HARVEST THESE BABIES...

BIRDHOUSE SQUASH...

CINDERELLA PUMPKINS (THE BEST FOR PUMPKIN PIE!)

BLUE RUMBO AND BABY HUBBARDS...

YES...JACK-O-LANTERNS!

WE PACKAGED SOME MINI PUMPKINS AND SENT THEM OFF TO CELIA.

DIANA CAME UP TO SELECT WHAT WOULD ADORN HER CUSTOMER'S HOMES THIS FALL.

THERE WAS A LOT THAT SHE LIKED.

CART AFTER CART WENT INTO THE TRUCK...

HAVING NO IDEA OF WHERE THEY WERE HEADED...

OR WHAT THEIR PURPOSE IN LIFE WOULD BE.

FRESH FROM THE GARDEN...

TO KEEP US HAPPY EVERY TIME WE ENTER OUR HOMES.

ISN'T IT FUN?