As of this week I am embarking on a year-long challenge. I’ve decided to train to ride the Sturbridge to Provencetown route of the Pan-Mass Challenge!
All the details and such can be found at my new site Rebecca Rides: From 0 to PMC in One Year or Less. Come on over and check out the RSS feed!
Never fear, family note and other points of interest will continue to be posted here at World Wide Wood 🙂
I love the Internet (and sites like this blog and Facebook) because it enables me to keep in close contact to friends and family that are spread out over the country and world. But there is nothing quite like seeing loved ones in person, so we cherished the time we spent with them this trip, even if for the shortest of times!
Sorry for the shininess, Jenn!
Self portrait with Nose and Cheek
Despite the craziness of wedding preparations Jenn and I were able to squeeze in some time together. On Friday night she and I and Esme grabbed some dinner at the American Dreams Diner, or “the Shiny Diner” as it is known among the Bresnans. Amidst mirrors and loud decor we chatted and enjoyed some yummy breakfast burrito-type meals.
We also met up the next day with Jenn’s mom and other bridesmaids at the Westwood Diner. Yes, two diners in two days. The five of us had a great time gabbing and relaxing before heading off to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
When we bid farewell to New York and New Jersey after the wedding we headed south to the City of Brotherly Love. While in Philadelphia we met up with Gordon pal, Amanda Thomson and her boyfriend Rich. The six of us had dinner at Pietro’s Pizza. The coal fired pizza was delicious and the conversation pleasant. Catherine even took a turn at serving some slices. Regrettably (and you’ll find this hard to believe) we have no photos from the evening. We’ll be sure to take some the next time we meet up!
Rebecca, Esme and Sarah
Catherine and Grandpa
While we loved seeing so many Carters; Dave, Katie, Becky, Luke, Caleb, Sarah and Steve, we missed having Auntie Kirsten and Uncle Mark along for the fun.
On Friday morning we headed to Columbus for a visit with the (recently expanded) Neuharth family. We were thrilled to finally meet baby Elena and, as Heather wrote recently, “When Baby Esme Caroline and Baby Elena Elizabeth were introduced by their mothers on Friday, the two babies smiled at each other. They observed carefully, as though they’d met before somewhere and were glad to meet again. ”
Preparing Lunch
Heather and I and the babies visited the Friday morning Moms group at nearby Sprout Soup while the Dads and Catherine hung out at the playground. After lunch we headed home, sad to leave good friends behind.
All dressed up for W&M's wedding
Blowing Bubbles!
I truly wish that we didn’t have to leave anyone behind as we traveled back home. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family; wherever they may reside! Thank you all so much for your hospitality, great conversation, games, laughs and love. Please darken our doorstep the next time you find yourselves in Massachusetts.
The Wood family headed out on the road once again in mid July on an 11 day, 7 state road trip. Along with seeing new sights and having lots of family time, we were looking forward to the joy of celebrating two weddings.
My dear friend and college apartment-mate, Jennifer and her betrothed, Matthew, were married on July 19th at a cute little church in Harriman State Park in New York. I was honored to be the Matron of Honor and had a wonderful weekend preparing for and celebrating Jenn’s wedding! The weather cooperated nicely (though I did get a wee sunburn), the band was so fun, and the bride and groom couldn’t have been happier. May their marriage be as beautiful as their wedding! (hear, hear!)
Less than a week later our friend Will and his 1st grade crush, Michelle, tied the knot. We attended the wedding with Grandma and Grandpa Wood and we all enjoyed seeing the beautiful interior of St. Vincent de Paul Church for the first time. There were bubbles and chocolates to satisfy the 3 year olds in all of us and Will and Michelle’s story was a beautiful reminder of how God works in our lives. We may have to wait 20some-odd years to know the true importance of the relationships we start today. Many congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs Farnham!
[galleries from the Bresnan/Liddle wedding] 1 2 3
[galleries from the Maloney/Farnham wedding] 1 2
Stay tuned for Part 2: Visiting with Family and Friends
Esme celebrated her first Fourth of July today, decked out in her new, Mama-made, Star Spangled Romper. We didn’t get any great pictures of the whole outfit, but who cares when you can see a great smile like this
It was the fourth Fourth for big sister Catherine. She and Nonnie decorated her bike and marched in the MVCMA kids parade.
The rest of our day was spent at the West Tisbury Farmers Market (where we met the Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown and drank yummy Limeade) splashing in the ocean, eating delicious grilled corn on the cob and otherwise generally enjoying the freedoms we have as Americans. Happy Fourth, whichever number it is for you!
What is the first thing a gal should do when faced with five boxes of sewing patterns? Take pictures and post them, threadbared style, on her blog, of course!
Some that I’m keeping:
There are some really cute kids patterns. I love the simple lines of these little dresses and rompers! One of them is already in the works. Pics are soon to follow.
Some that I’m not:
Holy shoulder pads, Batman! And I’m pretty sure that’s Meg Ryan from the later portions of “French Kiss” there in the yellow pants. Not the yellow pantsuit. I think Meg had better sense than that!
Of special note:
That’s right, folks, a Snuggie. Or at least it’s older cousin.
Check out a bunch more here.
It is raining. It’s been raining for the better part of two weeks. But it didn’t rain on Wednesday, so we rushed to take advantage of the sun. And what better activity on a sunny day in June than strawberry picking!
Connors Farm in Danvers was close, not to pricey and turned out to be chock full of plump, juicy strawberries. We arrived, took a quick tour of the farm stand and collected our cardboard flat. Catherine did a good job picking. She mostly stuck to choosing the nice red berries and didn’t wander off too many times. Her main concern is that we didn’t fill all six containers. When she got bored of picking she grabbed the camera and took a few pictures. We had a nice trip to the farm!
We ate our fill of strawberries, but still had plenty left over as we watched the rain on Thursday morning, we know is not that healthy to eat that much sweet, but we try to take care of our health other ways like with the dr gundry diet that give more energy and vitality. A quick search led me to this recipe for Strawberry Jam. As we had all the ingredients on hand we set forth making jam.
The method was easy, hampered only by my lack of proper canning supplies. Catherine helped with the mashing and the stirring…and the tasting! The taste is perfect- sweet, but not exceedingly so (we cut the sugar in half, for health and our love of tartness). Last night I thought the consistency was too runny, more like a sauce, but after a night in the fridge it seems to have solidified into a more jam-like substance. I’m looking forward to trying the recipe again.
You can find photos of strawberry picking on Wednesday and jam making on Thursday by clicking here!
Today marks the three year anniversary of our having Catherine home with us. We celebrated her third birthday over Memorial Day Weekend with a Bubble Blowing Party (pictures here) but to me June 10th is just as special as May 26th.
I can still remember the relief I felt walking out of Beverly Hospital with her and the joy of arriving home. She was finally ‘all ours’. There were no more nurses or doctors checking in or making rounds. No more protocols, no more tubes or beeps or cords. Just our little girl.
If you met Catherine today, not knowing the story of her first two weeks, you would have no idea she had such a rough start. Every day she amazes me with the things she is learning. She makes me laugh with her dancing and singing and jokes. She is a caring big sister and a loving daughter. She loves life and ice cream and ‘rice and beans that are not spicy’. She is polite and generous and helpful. She exceeds our expectations daily and is truly a joy.
With the green leaves of Spring upon us and the warm air of Summer sneaking in, Catherine and I have replaced our ‘oatmeal for every breakfast’ routine for something a bit cooler- Smoothies.
Or “Sweeties”” as Catherine has been calling them. They’re thick, fruity, sweet and they fill our tummies up for days full of adventure. In the world of natural and healthy eating they’re known as Green Smoothies. We whip up a batch every morning- mine is gone quickly, while Catherine savors hers in between reading her Richard Scary books and ‘Dressing the Bear that Josie Gave me’; two favorite morning activities.
Here’s our recipe if you’re interested (amounts are approximate and vary based on what I have on hand)
In blender, combine:
1/2 cup frozen Blueberries
1/2 cup frozen Strawberries
2/3 of one Banana *note- I cut bananas into thirds and freeze ahead of time
1 large handful Spinach leaves, chopped well
1 cup (or more) Plain, No-fat yogurt
Splash of Orange Juice (optional and yummy)
Blend until smooth. A word from Catherine- “The blender is not scary. It is just loud. But not too loud.”
The yogurt we have been using the past couple weeks is a batch that we made ourselves. We put our crock pot to work and followed the instructions found on the blog Nourishing Days. It came out a bit runny for normal yogurt eating, but is perfect for smoothies!
The fruit combo above is easy for us and we like it, but feel free to try other combinations. We should mix it up sometimes as well… Any good suggestions?
Esme is two months and two days old today. She had her checkup yesterday at which the doctor confirmed what we already know; she’s doing great! She’s gaining weight, getting taller and meeting her milestones. We are all loving her little coos and smiles and giggles. Maybe my favorite thing about her lately is that she has a little cry that sounds exactly like she is saying, “Esme”.
Long story, short, she’s awesome and we can’t imagine life without her.
Big sister Catherine is leading the way. She has been picking out clothes for little sister and showing her how all the baby toys work. I’ve found her, more than once, lying inside the ‘baby floor gym’ batting at the hanging toys.
Catherine has been charming the pants off her Mama by reciting her story books (“Mother and Gloria were inside at the table drawing place cards for the party”) and by never using contractions (“I fell, Mama, but I am okay.”) She also attended story time at the library today for the first time. We talked about how the other kids would go in alone and she had no qualms leaving me behind!
Life with two has its super sweet times and its super hectic times. I’ve found that the best way to manage and keep our sanity is to be compulsive about planning ahead. Luckily, it is one of my better qualities (if I do say so myself) I’m always mentally composing lists of things to pack in the diaper bag, noting where all the restrooms will be when we go out, categorizing to-do lists based on the number of girls napping…that sort of thing. It doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for daydreaming or creative thinking (I cram that in before bed) but it does help our days and outings run so much more smoothly.
What do you do that helps keep your days stress free?
This Earth Day started out sunny and warm. With the threat of rain later in the day knew we should enjoy the weather while we could. Catherine, Esme and I went out to the store and purchased a flat of marigolds, three basil seedlings and a handful of other veggie and herb seed packets.
Before heading home we hit the playground for some climbing and the Danversport boat launch for a picnic lunch. So far the sun stayed with us.
Once home, and once Esme was sound asleep, Catherine and I set to work planting the flowers. Catherine did a lion’s share of the weeding, digging and planting. She also rounded up a large number of worms and transported them to the compost bin. I think I’ll call her the Worm Whisperer from now on!
The sun has since retreated behind clouds and it seems rain is imminent. Catherine was a bit upset that we couldn’t plant the seeds in the garden today, so we went in and planted them in some sixpack containers. Hopefully they’ll sprout soon and we can transplant them out into the garden.
Here’s some photos of our flower planting adventures!
