I stayed at this absolutely adorable little bed and breakfast the other day called the Palmer House. This was my first time staying in a b and b, and I must say that it was a wonderful experience. The owners were extremely hospitable, felt more like family (the nice kind!). The rooms were amazing, it felt so much more cozy and comfortable than being in a hotel. My room was the Lydia Room set up with a king size bed, which was nice since I had both the kids with me. I loved that their huge standard poodle, Spencer, was constantly roaming around the house and checking on everyone, makes me feel safe. I just love dogs, and Spencer is such a sweety! Dolly, one of the owners, made amazing pumpkin pancakes the next morning. Another real plus about this place was that it was half the price to stay there than at the Best Western down the road, and I was more comfortable. I made sure to write a little blurb in the guest book in my room. It was neat to read what other people had left in there.

I have always wanted to try staying at a b and b and I must say that the Palmer House did not disappoint!

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You know how some books and movies are about a special group of people, such as a club or society or some such nonsense? Usually it’s about a group of women (think Ya-ya Sisterhood, Babysitters Club, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, etc.) or a family (Family Stone, Dan in Real Life, etc.) and it is a very feel good story. There are all of these wonderful people and they all have such great connection (whether positive or negative) to each other, and you think to yourself that this just doesn’t happen in real life. You don’t usually see a bunch of people just coming together like this! You especially think that, even if things like this did happen that you wouldn’t be a part of it.

Well, every Tuesday in my neighborhood a wonderful group of women get together and just talk about what is going on in their lives. I moved into my house almost two years ago and was immediately given an invitation to this little club (with no agenda!). I swear that the ladies who make up Knit and Gab are just a book waiting to happen. They are the most amazing group of individuals. It’s so fun to be a part of hearing about everyones lives and stories every week. I never thought that there actually were groups like this that existed, let alone being a part of one. Thanks ladies!

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Ok, so I haven’t updated in about a week, but I’ve been really busy as usual. I need a chance to bitch about what’s going on with myself. My husband and I are starting the process of purchasing our first home and that is just a TON of work. Just when we were going out with our realtor to look at some houses I get a call from my family in New York about a major emergency. I dropped everything I was doing and packed up for myself and two small boys in less than three hours. Luckily I had some help with that. We then got in a car and drove for twelve hours to New York State. Normally this is an eight to ten hour trip, but I am nursing my littlest guy and we had to stop to do that every one to two hours. Argh! My sister-in-law was good enough to accompany me on this little expedition, thank goodness! I could have done it without her, but it would have been a lot more miserable. I am now staying at my Mother’s house and looking forward to another trip tomorrow of about four hours.

My kids are being so good. Yesterday my two year old must have sensed something was really amiss because he was amazingly good. He didn’t whine or cry or throw temper tantrums. He just did as he was told and kept mostly to himself. I’m pretty proud of the little dude. I guess it helps that we have the DVD player in the Freestyle.

Tomorrow I’m going to pick up my Dad and am probably going to say good bye for the last time to my Grandfather.

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As I lay in bed nursing my newborn I am listening to the soothing sound of a Summer thunderstorm. I have always loved the rain in the Summertime. It can feel so refreshing. The un-earthly light that is specific just to these types of storms is beautiful. The sound of the low grumblings getting closer and closer and louder , and then receding into the distance on top of the sound of the pouring raindrops. The occasional flash of lightening and as soon as it came it is gone again. If you’re lucky enough you might get your rainbow at the end of the storm.

I am reminded of my childhood, either sitting on the porch of my Father’s apartment or in my grandparents home in Cherry Valley lazily watching storms come and go. Feeling the awe and respect of the power of mother nature.

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Breastfeeding may boost grades

Published: June 15, 2009 at 1:04 AM

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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I just ordered myself a dutch oven from Amazon.com and it should be coming in the mail tomorrow! I’m super excited! I just got a book out of the library called “Glorious One Pot Meals” by Elizabeth Yarnell and after reading it I decided that these recipes sound fantastic and easy. Of course you need a dutch oven to make all of them, so I went ahead and got one. I can’t wait to try the recipes and the oven! I know what I’m using to make dinner tomorrow night! I’ll post an update about the dutch oven itself and how the recipe comes out.

Update June 22, 2009:

I got the Dutch oven on the seventeenth. So far so good! I have cooked two very successful recipes, and one not so successful. The pot itself seems to be really well made and I am very happy with it. There have been no chips on the enamel as of yet, and I even put it in my dishwasher and it made a twelve hour trip to New York with me in my car with a toddler.

The first recipe I made in it was Sante Fe Chicken, and it was soooooooooo good! I will most defnintely make that one again. I then made some sort of a steak dinner, but I think I deviated too much from the original recipe since it wasn’t too good. After that I used on the stove top and dumped all of my left over veggies in the fridge into it. I then added some beef cubes and it came out so tastey. I have to call my husband and tell him to freeze it so I can have some when I get home from my trip to New York.

I’ll be sure to post the recipe for Santa Fe Chicken once I get home.

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I am finally going to try cloth. When I was pregnant with my first son I kept saying I wanted to try it. I didn’t want to deal with pins and rubber pants so I started looking on-line to see if there were alternatives. There were so many different varieties and choices that I just got discouraged and gave up. We’ve been doing disposables since then, I hate to admit.

Well, now that I have time to research, I’ve been looking a little more closely at the options. Yesterday I ordered three of the bumGenius  Organic Cloth diapers, just to try them out. I decided to go with these because not only are they a one size fits all diaper, they are all-in-one. If I really like them I’ll order some more. I will still use disposables at night since my newborn sleeps so well, but I’m really hoping that these work out well. We will end up saving a lot of money doing this. I’ll update once the diapers come in.

Update June 22, 2009:

I got my diapers delivered on June 17th. I then proceeded to wash them eight times! Boy, they take a long time to dry! They seem really well made. I have only had the opportunity to use one of them once, since I have a lot of other things going on right now. I’ll be sure to update more once I start using them consistently and can make a fair assessment of them.

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Until my Mom gets her website up with examples of her jewelry, I’ll be posting anything that she sends me. This is her latest creation, the Pomegranite Fairy with fresh water pearls. She worked on it all day on Sunday. She’s trying to come up with some stuff on top of her double necklace look. I think it looks fantastic.

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It’s real cool watching your kid grow and develop preferences. I hate to admit this, but since I am trying to get some chores done today I put the tv on for my son to watch. I’ve been putting Baby Einstein on for him in my bedroom while I fold the laundry. Because I’ve been putting these on for him one after another I’ve noticed that he seems to be more inclined to Beethoven than Mozart. The music for the Mozart DVD he could care less for, but Beethoven he dances to and repeats over and over ‘yeah!’ My son rocks out to Beethoven!

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I just finished reading this very charming book today. Considering what the subject matter is I can’t help but call this book anything but sweet and cute. It is set on the island of Guernsey right after Worl War II and is written almost entirely in the form of letters in between the characters. Most of the focus is on the islanders way of life while occupied by the Germans, but their English charm and characterisitcs really stand out to keep the feeling of the book light-hearted despite the sometimes very sad subject matter. Don’t let the name of this bood throw you off, it is definitely worth a look at!

Now that I have finished this book I think I will revisit a series of books I read in high school. I want to re-read the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. I reall enjoyed then while I was in high school, and there have been new books added since the last time I actually sat down to read them. I want to see if they are still as enjoyable now that I am more of an adult.

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