Zoo, drive in and a blueberry misadventure

We had a pretty full week.
  Wednesday we invited over another new couple in the ward for dinner and it went surprisingly well.  They are also from Utah and just came out here for Medical school.  We really clicked and the evening was effortless which was so nice.   I was a bit worried because they are newlyweds and Tyler and I have a bad track record of only making friends with people who have kids our kids ages.  I remember being pre-kids and probably judged every mother of a screaming toddler and fussy baby.  I only assume others have the same intolerance for crying babies that aren't their own.  They are the nicest people in the world and I have to stop myself from acting like an insecure teenager "Do they like us?  Do we like them more? Is it too soon to call?"  It's like I'm dating again, sheesh!  They even liked our kids, which was amazing seeing as the girls wouldn't even look at them and crawled into balls whenever a question was asked.  I wanted to say "CHILDREN, these people are nice and trustworthy and kind enough they might offer to babysit someday! BE NICE! love them, don't ruin this chance of potential future dates for me!"
   

Thursday we were pretty excited to go to Member's night at the Zoo.  We've never been members of anything so we had to go.  Living so close to the Zoo we usually choose to arrive around 4:30, right before they stop admitting people and the mass exodus is happening.  Member's night opened at 6:30 and I can tell you that the majority of Pittsburgh's residence are member's at the Zoo, and decided to be there the minute the gates opened.

But we had promised the kids free train rides and face painting so we went.  And then there were so many people that we got neither a train ride or faces painted so it was pretty much like a normal day at the zoo, but with lots more people, and it got dark.  They did ride the log ride though, it was a lot less creepy than the picture would suggest.

 And we did catch a firefly!  I put it on the double stroller on Heidi's tray and it rode with us for about 15 minutes glowing now and then.  I was entranced, Heidi was a mix of terrified and mesmerized.  

Friday was drive in movie day!  The kids have been working their way up the bed time reward chart 'wishing web' by getting to bed on time and without a fuss.

Friday marked the day they reached the top and the reward they chose was to go to a movie.  Tyler and I decided to surprise them and so we did the bedtime routine and tucked them in and then said "Wait, you've made it to the top of the wishing web, who wants to go to a movie instead of bedtime!"  The look on Heidi's face said it all, she couldn't believe what was happening.  Pure ecstasy.  So instead of our regular 7pm bedtime, we climbed in the car and drove out of town to a 9pm movie!

   It was a double feature, 'Planes' and 'Smurfs 2', but the kids were asleep before Planes even ended.  The kids got in free, so for our whole car it was only $12 which made it an easy decision for us to leave after the first film.  We splurged on popcorn and soda and ran around chasing fireflies before it started.  We all squeezed into the back of the car with cushions and blankets and it was really, really fun.

   Saturday we decided to go blueberry picking one more time.  Our previous batch were the best tasting blueberries you can ever imagine eating and when we told our newlywed friends about it they expressed interest in going.  
   So we loaded up in the car, (yes all 7 of us, we love our car) and took off.  Well, turns out blueberry season is over.  There were blackberries, peaches and other things available but we really had our hearts set on blueberries so when I found a place an hour away that said they had some- we went.  When we finally arrived we discovered that yes they did have blueberries, but we weren't allowed to pick anything!  So we drove around the area for 30 minutes looking for something to do and then ended up stopping at a sandwich shop for lunch because Quinn was screaming to be fed and the kids kept hitting each other in the back seat.  It was a great first impression, they might never call again.
   Tyler has a week off of school before the real semester begins and these posts get a lot more boring.  It seems all anyone has to say about the first year of PA school is how miserable it is and how we won't be seeing Tyler at all.  I hope we've squeezed in enough fun to the last 2 months and carry us over to spring and the beginning of rotations.
     Stay tuned for next weeks adventure, will Tyler's stomach bug clear up soon enough to allow for a quick Philadelphia visit? Or is the small family doomed to a week of indoor monotony!!!!!

Friends

           I never realized how much I took for granted the friends I had in Utah, until now.  It was so effortless there.  There were such an assortment of relationships that I was covered in really any situation.  Friends for play group, friends for canning, friends for deep conversations, friends for a rare girls night out.  Friends to babysit for, friends to have babysit, friends for the park, friends for church, friends for everything!
          And when there weren't friends, there was family!  My family, his family, our family, Grandparent's, Great grandparents, second cousins, brothers, sisters.  Plenty of people to talk to, play with, serve or have serve.  Looking back I realize that it did take time to develop these friendships. Even as I left, there were friendships that were just beginning to blossom alongside the tried and true blue ones.  There was always someone to talk to. And now, I sort of feel alone.

          I'm surrounded by wonderful people!  It seems every person I come in contact with is overly courteous and kind.  There are plenty of nice ladies in the ward and there are even a handful of really great girls on our street.  But friendships it seems, aren't an instantaneous thing.
           When I go to church or institute I try to plant seeds.  I go out of my way to talk to people, ask questions and be friendly when I really just want to roll up in my ball of insecurity and hide, waiting for someone to seek me out.  I've people watched enough to know that the painfully shy ones usually come off as stuck up, and I find myself walking an uncomfortable line between appearing stuck up, and over eager.  It's emotionally taxing, especially when I don't get any bites on my friendship fishing line.
          I suppose it's good that I experience the high's and lows, the stomach aches and social nervousness again.  If Alex is anything like me,
this is how she will spend plenty of her time growing up and I need to remember so I can be understanding.  It's hard to watch her face rejection at the hands of little kids and know it will likely get worse.  Watching her suffer makes me want to cry, and I need to get it together for all our sakes.
        I was blessed with such great friends in Utah, our play group was golden and I want each of those ladies here now!  It's hard to start over.  I know I will be better for it, and working through the challenges will make the victory that much sweeter.
           But right now, I just want to find a friend who wants me, as bad as I want her.

A jaunt to the park

We met up with a new friend yesterday at the park.  I'd only been to this park once before, the morning after we moved in.  It was a cool morning and the park was empty and so close to our house, (less than a block) so I easily overlooked the graffiti and trash accumulation and pronounced the park charming.
   Yesterday it was a lot less so.  I hadn't had the chance to take the kids back since that initial visit although Tyler had and came home with less than glowing reviews.  After yesterday I see why.
      With my original assessment I had decided to do some research and return to the park with cleaning materials to scrub off or write over some of the more choice words scrawled all over the equipment.  Alex is learning to read after all and there are some words I'd rather wait 10 years to explain.  Upon further examination I saw that the last month had brought more creativity with it and the playground seemed twice as covered as before.  Hmmmm.
     As a usually laissez faire parent, I found my eyeballs glued to the kids as they ran around care free amongst the cigarets that lay like fallen leaves and slid down the gratified slides.  My anxiety only increased when a gang of teenage boys arrived and laid claim to the playground, playing as though they were giddy 5 year olds, but their age making the activity seem menacing.  This was about the time my friends 2 year old daughter was caught sucking on a cigarette butt, I about died in that moment.
      As we left my eyes started to wander around the field, noticing groups of older teens and some preteens, even scraggly looking adults collecting around the park.  And that's when I said goodbye and decided that some things, like nice parks, are worth driving to.
And then I came home and ordered Mace.

Second week of school

First of all I'd like to say I used to be really particular about the pictures I'd post on here.  I'd made sure only to put on the best, each one painstakingly cropped and edited to perfection.  2 kids later I don't have time for that.  I'm lucky to get pictures of anything, and if the lighting is half decent and the kids aren't blurry- bonus.  

This week the local church had it's Bazarre.  I'm sad to say we didn't make it- I think it involved blow up toys, chocolate dipped oreos and raffles.  A sort of fund raiser for the church and the school, St. Raphael's. (they pronounce it Ray- fulls. weird.)  The best part of the whole thing was that there was a tiny little parade that went right in front of our house!!!!  When we heard the bagpipes we ran outside just in time for fist fulls of candy.  As a parade lover I was in heaven, it was great!
    Sunday night there was another parade of sorts, the Priest led a precession with a band and a statue being carried around the neighborhood.  I would have taken a picture, but we stood out enough being the only non-Italiens following the Priest around the block.  Look at us getting all diversified!

Tyler has been learning how to do exams in school.  This week we got our our eyes, ears, head, nose, throat, lungs, lymph nodes and hearts checked out.  Tyler also made it home every night for dinner!  I tied Alex's hair up in rags one night and the next morning she was a little Shirley Temple!  She put on her skinny Jeans and a headband and I thought for a minute my 5 year old was all grown up!  Then when I asked to take her picture, she told me to wait a minute and ran upstairs to get some toys.  I breathed a sigh of relief that she was still my little girl for at least another day.

A new friend from the ward invited us to Phipps Conservatory one rainy day.  It's a huge building full of beautiful gardens!

Quinn even loved it.  She has been wanting to sit a lot but she is so tall she bends in half.

There was a butterfly garden at the conservatory and we visited that room twice.

There was a cute kids garden, but even with all the amazing plants at this one, I still love the one in Cheyenne better.  Heidi is growing up too fast.  She has started to insist upon dressing herself, and wants to wear skirts all the time like Alex.

Our ward is growing as summer comes to an end.  I think it's a mix of more people moving in, and regulars returning from vacations and rotations.

We visited the Zoo again this week.  This time just me and the girls.  We chose Heidi as our leader and she took us to visit the Gorillas.  We sat and watched the elephants for about 30 minutes and actually saw the snow leopard move.  We also saw the baby tiger.

Quinn has become a bit more predictable.  She takes a nice long nap in the morning, so we have to interrupt that if we ever want to do anything fun.  She will also take a couple short ones in the afternoon  and likes to be held and played with.

Friday we visited Costco again.  We came home with chocolate muffins which we naturally had to then eat for dinner.  This worked out well with the game of the day- a mix of princesses and superheroes.  My favorite line of the meal was "Princesses help each other out." followed closely by "Princess eat with their hands!" and then suddenly "Princesses eat with forks so their hands don't get dirty."  

We found the opposite of giant square Costco milk at Rite aid, miniature milk!  These things might exist elsewhere, but since I've only ever seen them here, they are new and foreign and Pittsburgh.

Quinn is SOOOOOOOO drooly.  And she loves to bite.

The only thing she loves more than biting, is Alex. She does the cutest things for Alex.  She equally loves Heidi, but Heidi is a bit rougher and therefore Quinn is on guard with her.

Heidi and I have taken up baking again.  Cherry banana smoothies and peach tart are some of our favorite things.

We are starting to get Alex's school supplies for Kindergarten and I'm a mix of excited and nervous as we look forward to the schedule change.  Tyler will have a week off before 'real' PA school starts and this 2.5 week mini session ends.  I noticed the leaves starting to fall at the Zoo and it made me sad to think the summer is already over!  I'm so proud of us for getting out and doing new things and seeing the sites.  I wonder if we would be so aggressively adventurous if we knew were staying longer.
     My goal is to do something new every week, even if it just means a new grocery store.  We are happy.  And want visitors.

Settling into the new normal

Heidi's diaper changing skills are coming along nicely.  Give it another year and at a ripe old age of 4 she will be better than I am.

 Monday was our last Tyler day before PA school.  The end of an era.  I wanted to go out with a bang so we went blueberry picking!!!

 We took a winding, hilly road north to Paskorz Berry Farm where we were greeting by your typical upper middle age Pittburgian woman.  They are hard to describe, grandmotherly and almost intimate in the way that they talk to you and offer advice. "Where is your babies hat?  Shouldn't she be wearing socks? No, you can't come back to pick raspberries, I only let kids pick blueberries." It comes off as hostile, because they don't smile.

 We have a few of these women that live in the neighborhood.  It's interesting because you don't see any middle aged old men around (except the one across the street who comes out to smoke on his porch when it rains).  I've heard these two ladies in particular talking about me a few times when I've walked by.  They sit on the other side of the street, a few houses down, and I get the impression they know everyone and everything.  I was stopped by one the other day and informed that she had lived on this street 40 years, her Mom lived across the street and a few houses down were her daughter and grandkids.  She also told me that every evening from 5-7 she sits on the porch with her friend talking, and if there is ever an emergency to come to her.  I also got the history of every family and child who had lived on that street for the past 10 years.
    I don't think she smiled at me once, but I walked away thinking that if there ever were an emergency- I would totally take my kids to her.  And I don't remember her name.

 Blueberry picking was a lot of fun.  One of  our favorite stories is 'Blueberries for Sal' and Heidi made the "kerplink, kerplunk" sound as she put the berries in the bucket.

 Alex was in blueberry heaven, and even Heidi participated which was a surprise seeing as she is always telling me how she doesn't like berries, and won't eat them in pancakes, muffins or anything.

 After blueberries we visited 'Rita's'.  They make really good shave type ice and frozen custard and we've been told about them many a time.  Look at us, checking things of our must do list!!!!!

 After Rita's Tyler bought a new bike, because his road bike from DI had shed another bolt in the middle of his ride to school and I was no longer convinced of it's safety.  That evening we had both the neighbor families over for curry and FHE.  It was fun.

 Heidi is conflicted.  She wants to keep up with Alex and do everything she does, but she is really becoming her own little person and no longer lets Alex force her into being the prince.

 Alex will always pose for the camera, Quinn is only photogenic when I'm being lazy and Heidi is ALWAYS pulling faces!

 Alex decided the blueberries needed to be made into a pie, and so we made one.  With a sugar cookie crust it was delectable!  I had helpers.

 Heidi figured out how to pump on the swing this week!!!!!  She is so proud of herself and will ask to go out all along to just swing and swing and swing.  It's the cutest thing in the world and i can't help but stop what i'm doing to stare out the window at her, or sit on the steps and chat while she pumps away.

 On Wednesday I went to institute!  The couple missionaries put on a class for the mother's in the stake and afterwards there is a potluck lunch.  The mom's even switch off babysitting in the nursery!  On the way home we explored a bit and found some great Ally treasures.  The kids were always trying to ride the neighbor boys little scooter cars (the girls are WAY to big) so when i found this blue car thing I couldn't drive on.  We also scored a furry rocking horse and a toy vacuum.  These are the kinds of things you would pay good money for on KSL in Utah, and I'd actually previously purchased the exact vacuum at DI for $3.  It was broken and looked like it belonged in the dump but I bought it.  Our new one looks like it walked off the shelves of Toy's R us and it was free.  In fact all the free toys are in really good condition.  I'm very impressed with Craigslist here, everything is really lightly used and super cheap.

 Here is a shot of our backyard.  You can see how the fence is rolled back of the adjoining 3 yards so all the kids can enjoy a bit more space.  We have the swing set for the older kids-  if they go too high they hit the fence.  The next yard is mostly grass with a sort of hidden play house tucked away and the third yard has a trampoline and slide.  It's pretty much any kids dream I would imagine.

 We never have to water because it rains so much, and everyone shares the nice older lady net door's lawn mower.  We have this sort of weed tree in our Ally spot that is growing like crazy, and previous to taking this picture I sawed down a odd bush with a steak knife that was by our storm doors.  There is no privacy, and I'm so embarrassed when the kids fight outside because the entire block can hear- but it has helped me keep my temper a bit cooler because I know that not only will everyone hear me yelling at my kids, but then all the middle aged women will gossip about me.  More than they already do.

 Quinn has figured out a nap schedule, sort of.  She still loves her Daddy the best when it comes to the evenings, and LOVES to chew.

 Her preferences lean more toward fabric than flesh and still hates pacifiers.  She won't suck her fingers, but will soak a blanket, shirt or tie.  So we've taken to giving her a sock on her hand.

 She got really good at escaping the swaddling blanket, so I decided to sew up a contraption to keep her swaddled.  Actually I was about to drop $30 on one of these woombie things and then decided I could make one just as easy.  A trip to Walmart for a zipper, some leftover fabric from a nursing cover and voila!
  She loves it, although she can still escape when determined and is so tall that I had to extend my original  because it was WAY too small for my baby giant.

I can't help laugh every time I zip her up, the long skinny thing.

Tyler started classes Tuesday and is keeping busy reading and studying and experimenting on me with his new fancy ophthalmoscope and otoscope.  Ever since the toothpick incident (Stephen) I've not been fond of things near my ears, an I'm nearly blind from ophthalmoscope practice, but it's been fun.  Tyler seems to have some good friends, and so far he's been home for dinner every day.  Saturday we even went to an Omnimax film at the science center and i can't wait to go back and explore the rest.
   I've started driving and am starting to get used to how things are.
     I like Pittsburgh.

Summer's end.

I've got one more day before I lose Tyler to Chatham.  I can't say I haven't enjoyed having him all to myself the last month.  I've almost gotten lazy- changing 1/2 the diapers I normally would, putting the kids to bed 1/2 the time, getting the girls breakfast- never.  Makes me sorta wish Tyler was an entrepreneur and we could be business partners working, playing and parenting together. 

 

Because I know I'll be on my own from here on out, I've been making Tyler do fun things.  Fun things tend to stress Tyler out. No- taking all the kids out of the house and into public places where they will misbehave, run away or get stolen- stresses Tyler out.  Children mixed with heights stresses me out.

Which is why we decided to visit the Duquesne Incline last week!  Duquesne is one of the 3 commonly used Pittsburgh words I've been struggling to conquer.  Monongahelan and Allegheny are the other 2.  The Incline is sort of a box car that goes straight up a "mountain."  They call it Mount Washington, but don't be fooled, it just a hill.   

 

I may have been able to fool the kids into thinking I'm not afraid of spiders, but they can see right through my panic stricken white face as I cling to their arms,  standing a good 20 feet from the fenced edge.  They know I'm afraid of heights and it has rubbed off.  I about had a stroke letting Tyler that close to the edge while holding Quinn. 

I didn't really enjoy the ride, I just stared at the floor the whole time, trying not to imagine the cable breaking and my entire family plunging to their deaths. 

 Those tall buildings are the point of demarcation between civilization and Mordor.  Venture on those terrible, confusing, tiny, one way roads at your own risk.

Here you can see the point, where the Monjkljisdoghjl whatever river and the Allegheny come together.  We live on the edge of the Northern river (Allegheny), the cleaner looking of the two in this picture.

The Incline was an experience, we got a magnet so there is really no reason to return.  We can't seem to stay away from the Zoo though.

This was our third trip and we just visited the play grounds and the Children's area.  We got to see the Sea lions being fed right when we arrived which was a treat.

Quinn doesn't much care for the Zoo, but she does love the stroller.

We got to witness the garbage pick up this week!  Here the garbage can's are actually can's, and you must recycle.  Garbage goes in the alley on Wednesday night after 7 and Thursday morning the truck comes to get it.  Actually, 2 guys walking behind the truck and dumping the can's into the truck come by- it looks exhausting and not much fun.  But the best and strangest thing is that Wednesday nights you can walk down the alley's looking for treasure! 
    Our neighbors put out an old office chair and within hours it had disappeared!  I've heard of people finding toy play houses, slides, and great toys that people had just set out for the taking or the trash!  I've got my heart set on an old entertainment center so I can turn it into a toy kitchen for the girls.  It seems wrong to drive down the Alley looking through people's trash, but at the same time how much easier is that than going to, or dropping off stuff at DI?! 

I also realized today that while we are far from the oldest family in the ward, I think we may be tied for 2nd place as the biggest, first place going to the couple with a teenager.  I guess a lot of the Medical student families leave for the summer on rotations, or to visit familes, so our ward may grow a bit come fall.  But it's odd to me that while most of these families seem to be our peers in age, we are 5 years and 2 kids ahead of most of them.  I guess that's our big sign we wern't cut out for the medical school route- I can't imagine Tyler finally graduating and Alex being 13.  It's crazy enough that she will be 8 before we even start looking for a real job and starting the kind of life that most of our friends began years ago. 

Church is about a 10 minute drive away with good traffic, Alex class is the 5-8 year olds and there are 4 kids. The only other kid within 2 year of her age is our neighbor boy with whom Alex may be falling in love.  I write a lot about church because the only time I get to blog is Sunday evening, it's on my mind.

There is a tradition in the ward of 'porch sitting' we do it in the backyards because there are 3 mormon families living side by side in our row.  The fences have been rolled back a bit so the kids can run in between the 3 yards.  Sunday evenings families will gather in the backyards to chat and eat cookies and such while the kids run wild.  It was fun to be a part of tonight, everyone is so kind.  I look forward to getting past that 'newness' and really connecting and becoming comfortable with these people.

Who needs a tripple stroller when you have one of these!  We are always quite the scene with 3 tired girls heading home from the Zoo.

Target has escalators and a parking garage.  When it pours rain the dungeon floods a bit but it runs right to the drain.  The girls are all sharing a room and doing wonderfully at it!  I will have to post pictures now that we are a bit more arranged. 
   OH, one more thing!  The grocery store!  There is one called Giant Eagle (cool name right?) and they have an 'Eagle's nest' where you can drop your kids off to play for free for 2 HOURS!!!  Tyler and I went grocery shopping and signed the kids in, it was amazing!  The prices are higher, but oh, to shop without children, glorious.  I'll be returning.  I think stores in Utah should catch on, but there would probably be too many kids.
     I feel at home here, it's not so foreign anymore and the streets are becoming our own.  We love our home, our neighbors, our car and our family.  I feel like we have grown a lot closer since the move, it's been good for us.  Also, our house has yet to be broken into and I haven't wished for a pistol a single time.