Happy Summer Solstice!!!

Please excuse the picture layout - still trying to figure this out!!! the pic of Ben is from the Solstice Party. It's B roasting his first marshmallow!!! Read on for details on the pic of Nate...

Well, it's official...Nate's crawling!!! This picture doesn't quite capture the full effect but I promise he is doing it. It's actually kind of overwhelming from my perspective, I'm so used to being able to put him in one spot and he'll be there when I turn around but not anymore! It's also uncharted territory for us because Ben never crawled. So, it's been a new and fun experience for all of us. Probably more so for us than Nate, he definetely gets frustrated with it more than we do.

In other news....things are going well as we ease into Summer. We celebrated the Solstice last Saturday with friends (yes, we know the real Solstice was this Thursday and we did recognize it). Our friend and her children celebrate the Summer Solstice every year and they really do such a great job welcoming the season and getting the kids excited about it. Ben is so happy that it's Solstice, though I'm not certain that he totally understands what that means; he does realize that it's now officially summer and he's very happy about that. He's also done a great job with one of our Soltice traditions which is to gather things that you no longer need or use and pass them on for someone else to use. Normally, Ben has a hard time letting go of possesions. If I clean out his room and find things to give to Goodwill I usually have to sneak them out of the house and into the van while he's sleeping and then of course the trip to Goodwill is done without Ben it tow. This year he picked out four (yes, 4) toys that he felt he was done playing with and he packed them into a garbage bag to give away. I'm really proud of him being able to let go of things like this.

We're looking forward to our summer days. We plan on doing some camping this year, hopefully in a few more weeks when it's a big warmer at night. We'll be sure to post about those adventures, I'm sure they will be eventfull with a 4 year old and 9 month old along for the ride! Ben has joined the library's Summer Reading program, which is really a program to make sure that Tim or I read to him at least once a day. Ben is very excited about it though and not to be too corny but whatever gets him exciting about reading is good news in my book! Really, more than anything I'm looking forward to the long days and the warm sun and sitting in my backyard with the boys to take it all in. Wishing the same to you and yours!!! Happy Summer Solstice!!!!!

PS

Thank you to the little voice who remided me that I had been neglecting my blogging duties! Will not happen again, rest assured!

So Sick, sick, sick of things!

I'm in a bit of a cranky mood today. It's better than yesterday was, I was scary-cranky yesterday. I did NOT model good behavior for my children. I was whiney, crabby, selfish and cranky. Just plain ole cranky. This is what a nasty head cold will do to a mama. I'm feeling better today, not 100%, but still improved. I'm just hoping that this cold is really going away and not just takinga day off only to come back double force tomorrow. That's what our weather has been doing lately and I've had enough.


It's April 9th and we have snow on the ground and another snow storm coming on Thursday. Now, I lived in NH for a good 20 years of my life or so, I realize that it's New England and we have long winters. BUT, what's killing me is the week of temps in the 50s, sun, rain, mud, that "it's almost spring" scent in the air - you know, the smell of mud, leaves, grass and usually a woodstove going somewhere. So just as we're getting used to this weather we get hit with a severe temperature drop and snow warnings. Just pick a damn season and go with it please!!!!


So, I thought about washing and storing the boys' snow suits and winter coats two weeks ago, but I'm not going to do it. Maybe by May 9th I can really think about it. Better make that June, just to be on the safe side. I'm going to go make some tea now and try to keep this cold moving out of my body.

Positive Push

We've had a pretty good day, so I feel a little silly sitting here feeling sad. I'm not 100% sure why I do. Our little family is ok right now, the boys are well (although Nate's got a runny nose and Ben is coughing but nothing major) and Tim & I are good. Well, Tim is stressing about his midterm this week, which is understandable, but other wise we're fine. I think that I'm feeling sad for friends of ours, and oddly enough not for anything specific. I just know that we have a few friends who are not having such a good day or time right now and I feel for them. I'm not sure that there is a lot that I can do to help, especially considering I don't know what specifically is ailing our friends (and I don't need to) I just know that they are hurting and I wish they weren't. SO, that said, I'm doing what I always do when I feel sad, or worried or sick or anything negative, I'm sending out vibes of the opposite feeling. I'm thinking of my friends and sending them good vibes - as simple as that may sound - I'm sending thoughts that say We care about you, we hope you're ok, we're here for you, hugs, etc. Whatever pops in at the moment. I'm sure plenty of people might pray but seeing as we're still learning about this Wicca thing and trying to figure out our path into it, I feel more comfortable sending thoughts.

So, if you're reading this and you have a second just put some good energy out there. I know some people might consider this corny or simplistic, BUT I really feel like it works. At the very least, it can't hurt to think something positive and put that out in the universe. Think how what could happen if we all sent out a moment of positive energy each day. I know this much, it makes me feel better even for that small moment, and that's positive in itself.

We've had a pretty good day, so I feel a little silly sitting here feeling sad. I'm not 100% sure why I do. Our little family is ok right now, the boys are well (although Nate's got a runny nose and Ben is coughing but nothing major) and Tim & I are good. Well, Tim is stressing about his midterm this week, which is understandable, but other wise we're fine. I think that I'm feeling sad for friends of ours, and oddly enough not for anything specific. I just know that we have a few friends who are not having such a good day or time right now and I feel for them. I'm not sure that there is a lot that I can do to help, especially considering I don't know what specifically is ailing our friends (and I don't need to) I just know that they are hurting and I wish they weren't. SO, that said, I'm doing what I always do when I feel sad, or worried or sick or anything negative, I'm sending out vibes of the opposite feeling. I'm thinking of my friends and sending them good vibes - as simple as that may sound - I'm sending thoughts that say We care about you, we hope you're ok, we're here for you, hugs, etc. Whatever pops in at the moment. I'm sure plenty of people might pray but seeing as we're still learning about this Wicca thing and trying to figure out our path into it, I feel more comfortable sending thoughts.

So, if you're reading this and you have a second just put some good energy out there. I know some people might consider this corny or simplistic, BUT I really feel like it works. At the very least, it can't hurt to think something positive and put that out in the universe. Think how what could happen if we all sent out a moment of positive energy each day. I know this much, it makes me feel better even for that small moment, and that's positive in itself.

She Fell In Love With The Drummer (s)

Yes, these are pictures of both boys playing the bongos at a young age. Ben is at the top at 7 months old and Nate is on the bottom at 6 months. Different set of drums, but the expression on each face is the same.

This past week Nate started sitting up on his own. We still put a few pillows behind him so if he does fall backwards it's a soft landing, but he's doing pretty well. I put him on Ben's bed with the drums the other day and right after I did it, I went looking for the camera, which happens a lot these days. After I took the shot I remembered having a similar photo of Ben and had to look it up. It's so amazing, four years later to have a these glimpses back into Ben's babyhood thanks to Nate's experiences. So often it seems that Nate does something, makes a noise, a laugh, a face, and it is eerily reminiscent of what his brother did at this age. It makes it twice as fun to watch Nate explore the world as we get to remember Ben's first explorations as well.

In honor of the theme here (Drums) I named this entry from the lyrics to a Wilco song that popped into my head when I started writing this. It always makes me think of Tim, as he was a drummer when we met (and I still consider him one even though he hasn't played in a while) and now we have two little drummers on our hands.

You've come a long way Benny!

Ben is now 4 years old! It's early on March 11th, he's still sleeping as I wrtie this which is keeping my brain from believing it's true. As of 9:34 this morning Ben will be 4 years old.

It's very strange and wonderful to look back and think 4 years ago at this time we were in the hospital, in labor and so close to meeting him! A lot has happened in that time of course, he's grown and changed so much, as has our family. I know it's a cliche but you can't imagine the way that children will shape your life until you have them. It's such an individual experience to have your own kids, to raise them, learn from them, watch them grow and at the same time as unique and personal as it is, it's also the most common unifying thing about us. We all know someone with kids, we all were kids, and most of us who don't have kids and are in a relationship are asked when we'll have them and those of us who do have kids get asked when we're having more. (we're good with our two by the way, just to answer that for family/friends who've been asking)

Shortly after Ben was born we received a present from one of my co-workers at PlusTime. The gift was an adorable blue, fleece outfit but to me, the words on the card she gave were the real treassure. It's stuck with me these four years and it's the most truthful thing about being a parent that I have ever heard. Well, that and "you'll never sleep again".

"Having a child is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

- Elizabeth Stone