A daddy-daughter trip to the PA Renaissance Festival

A couple weekends ago I took Sadie to the Renaissance Faire. It was supposed to be a whole family thing, but Dallin was sick and I was very determined to go. So we decided Sadie and I would just go and we could all go together next month if we wanted. The Faire is a little east of Harrisburg, PA, so just about 2 hours from us.

I think Sadie really enjoyed it. We found her some wings in one of the first shops we visited. They were a bit on the pricey side but very, very cute and much nicer than the wings she already had. So, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to get them because we wouldn't be able to get anything else while we were there. And she said yes!


Her favorite thing by far at the Faire was a performing act with acrobats. It was a part comedy part acrobat act with two guys and a girl, all about my age or a bit younger. She was very, very impressed with the girl (and thought she was really pretty) and talked about her the rest of the day. She even wanted to go back to see their second show of the day. So we did! She also wanted to go up after the show and meet her. So we did that, too.

Sadie also got to be in a magic show. The magician pulled coin after coin out of her ears and nose. It was funny and I think she liked it.


For me, going to the Renaissance Faire brings back a lot of memories. I guess it takes me back to my adolescent years, when I went almost every year. I have one friend in particular, Brian Taylor, that I almost always went with. We had a blast. They're just a goofy, fun time.

I also have a thing for kilts, and I almost gave in and bought a kilt, belt, and tunic. It would be totally dumb given how poor we are, but one of these days I'm just going to do it. Think of how cool of a Halloween costume I'd have every year, not to mention an appropriate outfit for the Renaissance Faire every year. Oh, I plan to get a sword, too. Really, I'm still a kid when it comes to swords, shields, and all that stuff.

Steve

Our little family has had a lot of changes in the past year. Steve changed his field of study, we moved to PA, Dallin was born. The biggest and most challenging change occurred at the beginning of this year when Steve stopped attending church with us. He started attending a Unitarian Universalist congregation and has started a blog which talks about his thoughts and feelings about religion and life in general. You can visit his blog.

Although it has been hard for me (and for Steve) we are actually doing quite well. I have had to rethink my idea about what I want our family to be. There have been some positive consequences to this huge change. For one, Steve is much more open about his thoughts on religion, and so we talk a lot more. We also talk about gospel topics more . . .this was a bit of surprise for me. After I was forced to reexamine my feelings about the gospel, I came out of it with a stronger testimony. There are things that we don't agree on, but what marriage doesn't have that? We look forward to teaching Sadie and Dallin the value of both of our beliefs. They continue to go to church with me, but occasionally will go with Dad.

I have sensed a deeper conviction from Steve. He isn't doing all of this out of laziness or a desire to sin -- he is doing what he thinks is right. He is more committed to me and to our children. He is always trying to be a better person . . . I'm actually quite proud of him.

Issues

Two days ago, Sadie was at my neighbors playing with her friends Duncan who is 3 1/2 and Jasper who is 2. At one point both of the boys were crying or carrying on about something and Sadie had to go pee. So Mary (my neighbor) ran her upstairs to help her while her boys were crying. Sadie then said to her, "I think you have issues!" Mary responded with a laugh and agreeing with her.

I respond with, "We all have issues . . . especially when we are taking care of you little monkeydoodles."

New York City

We recently took a trip to New York City as a family while so Steve could attend a sociology conference. This was one of our first glimpses of the city. . .yes, we drove. Yes, we even drove in Midtown. Our hotel was just a couple of blocks away from Times Square. It was crazy -- we were crazy!


This is us in Times Square! We had a lot of fun. Sadie and Dallin both enjoyed all the sights and sounds.



The kids and I spent the day in Central Park while Steve was at the conference. We visited the zoo, sat on the lawns (to give Dallin a chance to get out of the stroller), and Sadie rode the carousel.

We rode the Staten Island Ferry. But only after getting lost on the subway. Then we missed a ferry back to Manhattan and had to wait for an hour. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 10. Our kids were real troopers though. I knew Sadie was tired when she told me, "Mommy, I need to get a bed because I need to go to sleep" We only had one major meltdown that night. The next day was the hard day.

Even though we had a number of meltdowns from monkeydoodle 1, I got this great picture of Dallin and Steve at Bryant Park. We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Rockefeller Center. After that we went to the park to regroup before we left the city. We met Aaron (Steve's brother) on the Jersey side of the Hudson for an awesome dinner. We had fun with him and Noah, though we did miss Nicolette and Britney. We drove home that night and it took two days to recuperate.

Poopy Pants

Ok, I started doing cloth diapers about 3 months ago with Dallin. At that point he only pooped once every day or every two days. It seemed like almost instantly, he started pooping like three times a day. It's almost like he knew it was more work for me. At least we don't ever have any blow outs. I actually don't mind the poop of a 9 month old --

Sadie is another story. She will be 4 in about a month and still refuses to go poop on the toilet. We have tried just about everything. She is completely potty trained (she will ask for a diaper) but for some reason or another, she just won't go on the toilet. We have even taken the diaper away a couple of times, but she held it for 4 days once and 3 days another time. We decided to just let her take control . . . it's been over a year now . . . how much control does she need? Will I ever be poop free? I guess I just have to look at the positive: she waits for a diaper, she's regular, she has a strong will (I'm hoping this pays off later in life) Any other ideas?

Sibling Differences

Since we haven't done anything extremely exciting, I thought I would write about the personality differences of our children. Sadie, who is almost 4, is a walking -- no, running -- ball of energy. They say the sun is the source of most of the energy in this world . . . well, I think Sadie runs a close second. She doesn't stop moving from the time she wakes up until the time she passes out at night. We love her enthusiasm for life and her love of just doing things. She is also full of questions right now. We usually try to answer all of them, but sometimes I just have to tell her that I am done answering questions for awhile. She is quite the deep thinker too. Last night she told Steve after we had bought some new pull-ups, "When people like these pull-ups, they buy them."

Dallin is a lot different. We knew the difference the day he was born. He slept the entire first day and ever since then, he has been super mellow. Even when he is fussy because of teething, he is still a really good baby. I think Dallin will be the emotional rock that this family needs. That's a lot of responsiblity for an 8-month-old. I don't know if the differences are due to gender or just their personalities. I am glad to have a mellow baby though. I don't think I would have survived without it.