Travelingjenny

Navigating the hilly terrain of motherhood

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  • Girl and horse

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    Grace accomplished something pretty cool last Friday during her riding lesson — she trotted and cantered off the lead-line. Meaning she asked the horse to do what she wanted and steered him around the arena all on her own, without the help of her teacher. But that wasn't even the really cool part. That came when the horse misbehaved and cantered to the other end of the arena when he wasn't supposed to. And our little horse whisperer kept her composure and used what she had learned to stop a horse that wasn't listening. She stayed calm and focused and got the job done. Her instructor was very proud, and told her she hit a home run. Grace didn't understand what the big deal was, which was probably a good thing. I understood, though, and I was very proud.

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  • Photo Friday: Multitasking

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  • Matching

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    Now doesn't that just brighten your day? I love it when they are sweet to each other and want to wear matching clothes and hug each other goodbye at school. Instead of wishing that it happened more often, I'm focusing on being grateful that it happens at all. They may make each other crazy at times, but they love each other.

  • Last day at Toots :(

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    Oh Toots, where did the summer go? Why have you left us a full two weeks earlier than normal? Why did I only get one hot fudge sundae this summer? I'm a bit shaken by your sudden closure for the season. I wasn't ready — WE weren't ready. We will miss your fun flavors, like "barn floor" and "pig pen," and your fuzzy rabbits and comical alpacas. But we'll be back, oh yes. We'll see you on opening day in just a few (long, dark, ice cream-less) months.

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  • Apple picking

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    This past weekend, we had one unseasonably warm day, and one day that was perfectly fall-like. And what does one do on an early fall day in New England? Why one picks apples, of course. And if one is lucky, this also involves a hayride through the orchard, hopefully culminating in a delicious snack of apple cider and fresh, warm donuts! And if one is really, really lucky, this might also include picking a pumpkin of one's very own. Hooray for fall!

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  • Last day at the beach

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    80 degrees at the end of September — in MAINE?! Oh yeah. We just had to go to the beach. My toes got numb after a few minutes of standing in the water, but I didn't let that stop me from jumping waves with Tess. And Grace was grateful for her wetsuit, which allowed her to boogie board and splash around for almost an hour. Then we dried off and warmed up by digging in the sand and searching for snails. Grace named each one of them — Twirly Swirly, Patches, Stripey, etc. It was an excellent day, and I'm hoping that we soaked up enough sun and saltwater to keep us going through the long winter (*sigh*).

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  • First day of fall

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    Today is the first day of fall, and surely you know what that means — it's time to start planning for Halloween, of course! (Really? Already???) Grace would like to be a witch (see the homemade bat on her shoulder? Love it!). And Tess would like to be a pumpkin. Or maybe a bat. She has already gotten out all of her black clothes to see if something can be done with them, but I don't have the heart to tell her that I can't sew. Thank goodness we have more than five weeks to figure out costumes!

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  • Pinwheels for Peace

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    Today was the International Day of Peace. To show their support, the girls' school participated in Pinwheels for Peace, as they do every year. Each child made a pinwheel, and the school walked down to the beach together to put them in the sand. It was beautiful.

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  • Family portrait

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    We took this photo the night before school started. Tess needed to bring a family photo with her for her cubby at school, and insisted on taking the photo in her room with all of our pets (except for Maggie, who won't go up the stairs). I have the feeling we're going to get a big chuckle out of this someday.

  • Luminous

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    Such little beauties, inside and out. How did we ever get so lucky?