Thank you Ocean Spray for bringing us to Massachusetts!

Just before the holiday break, I was offered and accepted a job at Ocean Spray (Lakeville, MA). The title is Sensory Scientist and we were excited to move to 22 Carpenter St. in Foxboro, MA on January 27th 2014.  I received some warm letters of welcome from my team and HR as well as a welcome package including a shirt, pen, mug, hat, and Ocean Spray Yankee Candle.

Even though we are still renting, it is our plan to stay put in MA until the children graduate high school.  Mia feels mixed:  she is excited to have her own room and get a new house but is sad to miss her school, teacher and friends.  Gavin is still largely unaware and has no close friends that he will miss, or at least as far as we understand.  

My job starts Feb 3rd so we have a week to get everything set up and in order.  Mary, who now has a 6 (vs 12) hour drive to visit, has been so gracious as to come and watch the kids for 3 full days while we unpack, get curtains and rugs up and out, do some serious Craigslist shopping, get a new car, get our license/registration and on and on.

22 Carpenter St. Foxboro, MA 02035

Welcome candle

hat

pen

shirt, hat

hat, mug

Oh and in case you don't know what to call us now, I found this on the internets. . .

People from Massachusetts may be properly called the following term(s):

• Bay Stater
• Massachusite
• Masshole

Mia's birthday party

Mia decided to have a tea party birthday this year.  We invited her best friends from all different places she has lived and gone to school (see list below).  We were lucky enough to have Libby (her aunt) visit as well.

Simon (from Philadelphia, St Mary's Nursery school)

Rachel (First Steps Preschool, NJ)

Henry (The Nature Preschool, NJ)

Maddie and David (Keyport Central School, NJ)

*each child except for David had a little sibling come too and we had a room with fun things for them to do also (plastic balls in a box, coloring, stuffed animals, tea pot set)

Mia's party started off with edible necklace making using chocolate Cheerios and generic Fruit Loops 

Then we did pin the handle on the tea pot (see on the wall back there?  Dave drew it!) followed by our sit down tea party, which included rainbow kabobs (red, yellow and green apple and clementine segments) dipped in yogurt.  In the picture above, I am reading/singing Mia's old favorite board book "I'm a little teapot"

Here is Mia blowing out the candles on our soy, dairy and egg-free yet somehow delicious vanilla cake with blueberry filling and blueberry frosting (there was a guest with severe allergies).

Here are Simon and Mia goofing off outside after all the guests had left.  Remember how hard they tried to lift/drag that bike into the playground house's window and then it got stuck?  That kept them busy for a long while!

Here is Gavin posing with his "best friend".  That is Gavin's thing now, to call people his "best friend".  Clearly this friendship was slightly one sided but they will always have firetrucks :)

In the foreground are some beautiful Irises that a guest brought for us and in the background Libby and Gavin chatting.

Here is our 5 year old Mia looking very grown up eating her green beans and hummus.  

Mia is 5 yrs old

Mia enjoys creating art work in her own space.  Whether it is with paper and markers, paint and glue, scissors and stamps or beads and ribbon.  Her creativity extends beyond physical artwork and shows itself in things she says as well.  The other day she told Dave "let's pretend we're kittens and I'll put you on tiMEOWt" (time out).  This creative girl is very reluctant to say "hello", "good bye" and "thank you" if asked to do so and she still would prefer we not kiss her.  As always, Mia continues to be a champion sleeper going to bed at 7:30pm if she didn't nap or 8:30 or 9pm if she did and sleeping until 6:30-7pm.  Naps can be encouraged by telling her it results in staying up late or by lying down with her.  When they do happen, her naps are 1.5 to 2.5 hrs.  Mia and Gavin are like most siblings in that oftentimes they play together very well and just as often they have days where all we hear are "Gavin pinched me!".  On a different note, Mia's reading has really taken off and she will sometimes ask to read her own books at bedtime and I am amazed by how fast/smooth her reading is.  I always assumed kids stumbled through phonetic sounds and revelations as they read but since hers is a mix of reading, memorizing and first letter/picture cues she manages to read just like an adult would.  It is especially cute when she agrees to read Gavin books at home or in the car.  

Here are some pictures of Mia the morning of her birthday, January 15th:

Her birthday dress

Dave, Gavin and I made Mia a birthday chair decoration and some cards and wrapped her presents from Bubbe/Pop Pop and the Miller-Licons

Good morning birthday girl!

a new jewelry box

 
A cash register!

signing her first debit card

Mia,

I love how you get excited about your ideas, which are constantly flowing.  I love how you love me so deeply.  I love how you have the ability to go from upset to loving with Gavin without looking back in anger.  My wish for you this birthday and all following birthdays is that you find happiness for yourself and share it with everyone your path crosses.

Love,

Mom

Happy New Year!

I woke up the morning of New Year's Eve and decided that we should throw a kid-friendly New Year's Eve party.  This came from my annual remorse that I cannot go out and see fireworks and party like I used to. . . well there was that party at Kimery's house that once. . . but generally, especially being a nomad with few connections, it is tougher to have fun on New Year's Eve with kids.  Matt, the party planner, and I set off to the dollar store, grocery store, 5 Below and even a couple of Party stores with a budget of $50.  This is what we came up with (temporary tattoo station and make your own ice cream sundae bar not pictured): 

opening their invitations

noise makers, paper tiaras, snacks, confetti, silly string, and count-down balloons, which were popped by a different kid every 15 minutes

Here is Mia ready to ring in the new year playing freeze dance (we also did musical chairs).

Doughnut-eating race

Maddie and Holly

Jeremy and Mattie

Blair, Dave (done, winner) and Harold

April, Stacie and Matt

Fishing for prizes

Countdown to 5pm. . .

. . . Happy (5pm) New Year!!!

The kids really enjoyed "sweeping" up the confetti.

The guests enjoyed sparkling apple juice and sparkling cranberry juice. . . you didn't think we really let Gavin drink did you?

Have a happy and healthy 2014 everyone!