Come On Eli, Its Time to Potty...Update

Just over a week ago, Eli finally gave up Pull-Ups at night.  Night times were our last bastion of potty training.  The first morning he woke up wet and cold, but there has been only one more night accident since then.  Potty training has been hard and a long road, but we finally made it.  That's not to say we don't have an accident here and there, but, Eli is three, its to be expected. 

Way to go Eli!  I am so proud of you!!!  Now only two more kids to go...

Fort Farrar-Stenbak

 

Fort Farrar-Stenbak  

So what can you build with a wheelbarrow, the lid to a sandbox, some firewood, a sheet, and some outdoor toys.  Well if you are Eddie and Eli you can build quite a fort to defend off invaders from my back yard! 

Eddie came for a visit a few weeks ago and he and Eli were playing quietly outside.  Amanda (Eddie's mom) and I were only half paying attention to the boys as they were playing well together and were pretty quiet.  We were instead watching the girls (Esme, Iris, and Amanda's daughter Dori), who were at the time requiring a lot of attention.  When we looked up to check on the boys, we realized that Eddie and Eli had built quite the contraption in the back yard.  I went out to investigate further.  The boys were so proud of their shelter building skills and begged me to let them sleep outside in the fort overnight.  It was a bit rickety, a lot unsafe for sleeping, and mostly open to the elements which makes for a cold night in October in Maine, so unfortunately, I had to say no.  The boys were disappointed, but the fort provided much entertainment for the remainder of the visit.

When Jesse got home later that night, I forgot to tell him about the new structure in the backyard.  I was running late, so I just headed out for work.  When I got up the next morning, Jesse looked at me and asked in a confused and somewhat amused manner, "So Tori, did the Lord of the Flies visit the backyard yesterday."  All I could do was laugh.

 

 

Eddie and Eli

 Cozied Up Inside Fort Farrar-Stenbak

 

Imagination Eli - What a Mind!

This past weekend we stayed at Colin and Nancy's (Jesse's bosses) camp in Falmouth on Highland Lake. It was beautiful. The cottage is cozy and the views were fantastic. Eli, of course, thought it was magnificent. He has been talking about the camp and going back to the camp since we came home on Monday.

So this morning he asked me if after I picked him up from school if we would go back to the camp. I tried to explain to him, in terms that he would understand, that we had just "borrowed" the camp for the weekend, and that we had to give it back to the owners because someone new was going to be "borrowing" it now. Well, this was not satisfactory to my little creative genius. Instead, he told me that he wanted to go to the camp and pick it up and bring it home.

This made me chuckle a little, as I imagined us putting a camp in our pocket and carrying it back to our house.  But this was not at all what Eli had in mind.  I replied to Eli, "Honey a camp is a type of house and that is too big to just pick up and bring home with us."  To which Eli responded, "Mom, lets get a bunch of cars and put it on top of the cars and the cars can drive it to our house.  This is a good idea, Mom?!"

What a genius little mind he has.  And what a funny vision that is, a camp on top of a bunch of cars driving down the road.  It is a good idea, Eli.  Maybe we should give it a try.  It is a nice camp...I wonder if Colin and Nancy would mind if we "borrowed" it just a little bit longer...?

Exciting Updates and Random News

So, this entry is just a chance for me to catch all of you up on what's been happening around the Stenbak household for the last few weeks.  I have been working an evening job, five nights a week, so needless to say, we have been super busy.  So here's whats been happening at our house:

Iris and Esme are growing like weeds.  They are now 9 months old.  We just had their well child checkup and the doctor described them as super healthy!  Both girls are almost 30 inches tall and are around 25lbs.  I think they outweigh most of their friends by at least 6 or 7 pounds!  In the last month they have started sitting very steadily and moving around the house.  They are not crawling yet, but they certainly get around.  Both girls can get up on their knees, but haven't tried yet to move forward.  It wont be long now and they will definitely be crawling.  Also, they can both clap their hands.  That is really cute to watch.  If I clap my hands they will mimic me.  They are both starting to move away from bottles and on to more foods.  Their formula intake has dropped dramatically and they are eating more and more table foods.  They can both eat finger foods now, like cheerios, black beans, bananas, and small vegetables.  They also really enjoy playing with toys and have even started stealing toys from each other.  I can't believe how big they are getting!

Talk about getting big, Eli started preschool this month.  He is attending Prides Corner Nursery School in Westbrook.  His program is Monday, Wednesday, Friday Mornings from 9-11:30.  He really loves his new teacher, Mrs. Philbrook.  We have already received the Scholastic Book Order form and received our first group of books.  It is so fun to see the projects he brings home and to see how excited he is when I drop him off in the morning.

Jesse celebrated 10 years with Portland Magazine this month.  He first started working at Portland Magazine just before we were married in October of 2000.  I remember when he was offered the job.  He was so excited, but a little nervous to tell them he would need his second week of work off because he was getting married.  His office threw a party for him with take out from Beal's St. BBQ and Ice Cream Sundaes.  Myself and the kids went in for the party.  He was then given the rest of the week off and Colin and Nancy, Jesse's bosses, graciously offered us their Lake Cabin in Falmouth for the weekend.  It is from there that I write this entry.  Also, Colin and Nancy announced that to celebrate 25 years in publication they would be taking Portland Magazine's full time employees plus one guest on a trip to Bermuda this coming March.  That's right folks, this March, Jesse and I will be taking an all-inclusive vacation to Bermuda WITHOUT our children.  My mom has already offered to babysit!  Let me tell you, I am all over that passport application!

This past Friday, I had my first night off from everything (work, kids, life in general), since my girls were born.  I had to take a business trip to Calais, Maine, which is about 4 hours from Portland.  Calais is located in Washington County, which is the down-east section of Maine, right on the Canadian border.  I drove up on Friday and stayed overnight at the Redclyffe Shore Motel in Robbinston, Maine.  The Motel sat right on the shore line.  I had a beautiful view from my room and from the restaurant.  I treated myself to a delicious dinner, a couple drinks, and chocolate raspberry cake for dessert!  I watched whatever I wanted on the TV and went to bed at 8:00.  But the best part was that I slept until 10:00 am the next morning.  I haven't had that much sleep in months!  It was WONDERFUL.

Lastly, I am currently discussing with my former law firm returning to practice after the first of the year.  What a wonderful year it has been being home with my kids.  I don't want to give that up entirely, so returning part-time will be perfect!  I don't know all of the logistics yet, but I am definitely excited by the prospects.

September has been a big month in the Stenbak Household!  And despite all of these goings on, I have managed for the first time ever to get all of my kids Halloween costumes figured out and ready before October has even fallen upon us!  I feel so organized.  I can't wait to see what October will bring!  Hopefully, I will be able to post some updated pics soon.

Potato Harvest

Jesse and Eli Harvesting Potatoes

This summer, we once again took a try growing our own vegetables.  We don't have a traditional garden, as our backyard is almost completely shaded.  In fact, the only really sunny area in our whole yard is our patio which is paved with concrete.  So we plant in pots.  This summer we planted potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli (which was completely eaten by the groundhogs who live under our shed), green peppers, and tomatoes.  Truth be told, we haven't really had much of a harvest.  We either have black thumbs or we just don't have a yard for growing things.  But, a few days ago, we harvested the potatoes.  We had planted yukon gold variety.  There were less than I was expecting, but the ones we got look fantastic.  So that night for dinner I made a Sheppard's Pie, with the potatoes from our harvest.  It was delicious!

Eli and Jesse Harvesting Potatoes

Our Potato Harvest

The Homemade Sheppard's Pie

Apple Season is Early, But Upon Us...Don't Miss It!

Typically, I think of apple picking as a mid to late fall activity. I definitely don't think of August or 90 degree weather. But the apples are early this year, thanks to a very early spring. So last weekend, we took the kids to McDougal Orchard in Springvale to pick our own apples. This is a great farm! (Thanks Amanda and Ed for the tip!) It has many different fruit trees, including apples, nectarines, plums, and peaches. There are also pick your own rasberries. Additionally, they have some beautiful flower gardens, goats (and fresh goat cheese) and a playspace for younger kids. We packed a lunch and headed over. The drive is about an hour from our home. It was a truly great time, even if the weather made the whole experience a bit odd. It is definitely a weird experience to pick apples in very hot weather but we came home with a bag of Cortlands and a bag of fresh nectarines.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Nectarines

Plum Tree

Sunflower Eli

Eli Picking - The apple trees are really small and low to the ground.  Great for small kids!

The Goats!

Esme and Iris Enjoying Some Lunch

Swinging Under the Black Walnut Tree

Esme

Iris Thinks Feet are Great Fun

Fun in Stockton Springs

We were recently on vacation.  Although we didn't take a big trip this year, we took it easy, made some progress on some projects around the house, and took a few fun adventures around Maine.  Our first adventure was a trip to Stockton Springs, Maine, to visit one of my closest friends, Heather.  For those who don't know, Stockton Springs in on the Midcoast of Maine, next door to Searsport.  It is only about 40 minutes from Bangor.  Stockton Springs is a sleepy town, sporting, as far as I can tell, one or two small convenience stores and a diner.  But, it has a beautiful beach.  We took a walk down to the beach the morning of our second day.  Stockton Springs is also about 15 minutes from Fort Knox and the Narrow's Bridge Observatory, but of course, our camera died the minute we entered the elevator to the observatory.  But here are some pics from our walk on the beach.

Wanna Buy Some Railroad Tracks?

The beach was littered with mussle shells, little pebbles, and seaweed