Ahhh, The Weekend

When I was a working Mom (and I dislike that term, because all Moms work whether they stay home or work outside the home), I really looked forward to the weekends. Partly because I was not happy at my job, but mostly because I could spend a whole bunch of time with my kids. I just realized today that, even as a SAHM, I look forward to weekends just as much. Granted, I am "working" because I am watching Benjamin for a fee, but it's not really work for me. I love him like he is one of my very own! But I still look forward to being with my two kiddos and doing all the fun activities that are only offered on the "S" days of the week.


Friday evening after we did some household chores, Damien and I drove the kids to Mill Falls in Meredith to do some window shopping. It was a cold night, so we bundled the kids up and headed out the door. Before we got in the car, the kids took turns telling Daddy the names of our candidates and then running into his arms to be tossed into the air.

At Mill Falls we went into Innisfree, a wonderful bookstore that has a train table all set up for kids to play on. Of course, it is right next to the Thomas the Train items that are for sale, but Cameron is pretty good about not even asking, or if he does, he accepts the first no. The hardest part is convincing him it is time to leave, because he LOVES train tables. Olivia was just as difficult. She loves to send the trains down hills and every single time she does it she exclaims, "Wheeeee!" It's so cute. We did convince them to leave by asking if they wanted to go see the waterfall.

I tried, again, to get a photo for our Christmas card. As you can see, they were having too much fun throwing poisonous berries into the water to pause and smile for a photo!




Saturday we went to Engine 7 in Manchester where my brother Wit is a firefighter. It was their 100th anniversary celebration. They had a bouncy castle and food (thanks for the veggie burgers, Wit) and all kinds of fire trucks on display. The State of NH even had their Incident Management vehicle there, which I helped "pay" for when I worked in the grants unit. I had never actually been into it, so I took a little tour. It was pretty neat! The kids had a blast and it didn't cost anything (except the price of gas, which is going down :)

We left Manchester and went to my parents house and had Chinese food. Yum! Damien says that my parents have the best Chinese takeout place. We decided that since my parents would be coming up to Laconia the next day, and Damien would be going to work at 7 a.m., the kids and I would spend the night. Cameron and Olivia love sleeping at Nana and Grampa's house and REALLY love waking up there.

Today we came back to town and went to the Craft Fair in Meredith. After walking around for about 15 minutes my Mom and I decided we would not go back to that fair for a few years. It's the same vendors every time, and we were not impressed. What we were impressed with was the Quilt Show at the Expo center.

All I can say is, "Wow!" I hope I can make a quilt like those someday. They were giant-sized compared to the cuddly quilt I am making for Cameron. I asked a lot of questions and got a lot of great advice. I especially loved the quilts that were done by hand. The machine quilted ones, though beautiful and unique, just did not compare to the hand appliqued and hand stitched ones. I think I will take a class after my knitting class is through, but I think I've done pretty well on my own. I am so happy with the creative outlet I have found in sewing, knitting and stamping. I would love to be able to display a quilt in a show, but at the same time I never want this to become a competitive thing for me. I think that would take the fun out of it!

Now the kids are fast asleep and I am going to finish another dinosaur for Cameron's quilt. By the way, a little know fact about my Mom... she is a quilter! I didn't even know that until yesterday when she gave me one finished quilt and one almost finished quilt (for me to bind and back). Photos to come!