Category Archives: Family Life

Mother’s Day

Posted on by

0

It was a really good weekend. We stayed close to home. My little boy is going through something right now. Some sort of transition which just breaks my heart and makes me so sad. There’s so much new independence with turning 4, he’s dressing himself, writing, starting to read, so so busy at school. I guess with that maybe comes fear? Plus he got really really sick two weeks ago and maybe had a hard time transitioning back into the routine. Whatever it is, a lot of old fears and anxieties are coming back, full force. We’re trying to breathe through it, but it’s hard.

But this post helped.  So this weekend we stayed close to home. It was kind of rainy and cloudy so we spent time with his marbles (his new obsession) and in the garden just playing. “Bare feet?” he asks, his eyes twinkling. Of course. We checked out a yard sale, a quiet playground, but mostly just stayed home. He relaxed and didn’t seem as worried.

And we relaxed too. Whole Food sushi was the Mother’s Day dinner. (By the way, that’s a great alternative to ordering sushi out, cheaper and more choice.) We played outside in the evenings and he fell into bed happy and asleep.

Has anyone else experienced this almost-4 anxiety? What did you do? Just wait through it?

Loving Summer

Posted on by

1

I’m sitting in a Starbucks right now having just finished my check-in phone call for my writing job. I’m feeling very important. 🙂 I have to say, I love this work and can really see making a career switch at some point.

Last night, C. and I were at home, hot, eating hot dogs and feeling sorry for ourselves for having nothing fun to do on the fourth. The streets were quiet, dead almost. We just haven’t done a great job of cultivating friends with kids. We’re kind of homebodies and I’m frankly a little socially anxious. Z. was perfectly content, hanging out naked at home, playing in his pool but we were feeling a little lonely.

After a dinner of hot dogs, we decided to check out the town celebration. Oh my god, I’m so glad we did! It was a great band, just enough people to feel like you’re part of something but not super crowded you know? Z. danced his heart out and we even saw some fireworks at the top of this hill but the lightning show was even more amazing. Z. fell asleep in the car and we drank beers on the porch and watched the neighbors set off illegal fireworks. Z. slept until 8am which is amazing for a 5:30am boy. With no pacifier so we’ll see. We’re definitely struggling with the whole big boy thing.

C. took the week off so we’ve been going to the beach pretty much every day from late morning until after dinner. Z. falls asleep on the way home and I dump his sandy body in his sandy bed. I love the beach in the late afternoon and early evening. It’s not so hot and the light on the water is so pretty. Loving summer!

And so summer begins…

Posted on by

1

Whew…that was a long end of the school year. But it has ended and with the summer solstice, our vacation begins.

It’s been too hot to do much work in the garden. Our little urban plot has become quite productive. The arugula was made into pesto as it started bolting and didn’t do as well this year. Lettuce and kale are coming up like crazy as the radishes struggle to stay in season. Zucchini and cucumbers are coming along and I’ve planted some peppers and eggplant as well, so we’ll see. We’re keeping an eye on those blueberry bushes and trying to keep ahead of those birds. I’ve put in thyme and dill and basil and three tomato plants that I hope will do well.

We swam at Walden Pond this morning and I planned an afternoon of kiddie pools and popsicles. It’s too hot to do much else. Tomorrow after C. gets out of work we want to go to the beach for a late afternoon picnic. I’m thinking I can shower Z. and put him in jammies while I’m there and pop him in bed at home.

And oh! I got a writing job for the summer. I’m very nervous and excited as it’s a whole new world of deadlines and strange web design programs but I’m hoping it’s my way in. Wish me luck!

I’ll try to get back here more often as the summer goes on. Outside calls though as I’m sure it does for all of you! Have a wonderful weekend!

First blueberry harvest!

                                                                    Trying to thin the lettuce and eat it at the same time.

I’m hoping to get to this pile of books this summer!

                                                                    The little swimmer!

Grateful for a Rainy Weekend

Posted on by

0

I’m sure mothers of active toddlers all over New England mournfully sighed when they saw the rainy weekend forecast. I was one of them. As I left Friday and said goodbye to a young, childless colleague, we mentioned the rain and I admitted I was a little jealous of her as she could do what she liked this weekend and didn’t have to entertain a child. I have memories of spending whole rainy weekends reading and watching movies under blankets.

But this weekend ended up surprising me. It was actually kind of nice and relaxing. There was no need to really get out the door to enjoy the sunshine because there was none to be had. As I mentioned in previous posts, Z. has been loving the drawing and painting lately and here he had a whole day to do it. We got out the “messy paints.” We’ve been using Crayola Washable paints. Once he used those, he had no interest in the wimpy watercolors. I squirted some colors on a paper plate, spread some newspaper and he was off. By the end of the weekend filled-up drawing paper was scattered all over the house.

And I seemed to end up with a lot of time to do what I wanted. I baked bread and made pots of beans. I made two solid dinners with some farmer’s market turkey I had bought on Wednesday. I read while he drew. Sunday morning it was decent enough to make a trip to Trader Joe’s in the morning and Z helped transfer groceries from the stroller to the kitchen which he loved. We went for a walk in the afternoon in the light rain, he fell asleep and I got a little shopping done for his birthday.

It’s almost like the universe sent the rain just in time. My legs and feet were feeling achy from a long week of walking to and from work in bad shoes. And Z. seemed to have no issue with it and almost welcome a weekend to devote to his new favorite activity. So this week, I’m grateful for the rain.

 

Sketching, Sketching, Sketching

Posted on by

0

 

 

 

Z’s been really into drawing lately which makes me deliriously happy for some reason. My father and brothers are very artistically talented and I never felt I was so I guess I’m hoping he got some of their genes. I really believe in having high quality art supplies. We always did growing up. We had our own sketchbooks that we picked out ourselves, really nice markers and pencils, etc. I’m trying to do the same for Z. We’re lucky enough to have a built in china cabinet with some drawers in our “dining room”. (Really a playroom with the kitchen table!) Those drawers have pretty much been devoted to art supplies. Every morning, Z rushes to those drawers to pull out his favorite medium, pencils and papers, and proceeds to fill up pages and pages of his “persons”. He’s working on smiles now and bodies. He reminds me of my brothers, the way he can do this for hours and hours. He also likes to paint. He really enjoyed watercolors for a while and I also bought some Crayola washable paint that he will paint with outside. I’m really hoping this interest is lifelong. The only problem is sketchbooks! He fills them daily! I’ve been trying to bring home recycled paper from work, discarded essays and leftover printouts from websites. It’s also hard to throw older drawings away. I want to keep everything but the volume is incredible! Yet, we really don’t have the space and he’ll draw on anything including Mama’s mortgage statement. For his birthday, our plan is to turn his old drop side crib into an easel kind of like this. That’s our plan anyway so we’ll see. In the meantime, our table has turned into a home for “works in progress” and I couldn’t be happier!

Monday Musings

Posted on by

0

-loving Z’s interest in painting, drawing, coloring, and everything art.

-wondering if I’ll be able to keep him in paper and getting ready to scour the school recycling bins.

-proud of this table found at a yard sale.

-smiling at my first child-selected bouquet of flowers.

-nervous about my independent writing project I will be assigning during this end of the year, after MCAS, before finals purgatory.

-hoping this post doesn’t get lost again!

-wishing you a wonderful week!

 

 

Counting the Days

Posted on by

0

This weather just makes me feel like writing this Thursday morning. And drinking herbal tea which I’m slowly but surely trying to replace some of my many cups of coffee with. I’m excited and happy for many things. I think we’re going to get the okay to get paid to modify the 8th grade History curriculum this summer with new textbooks. Keesha’s House is going well, (but fast!) with the 8th graders. The Outsiders is still slow going. Both of these books are ones that the kids enjoy but I don’t love teaching. My 8th graders are quietly finishing Keesha’s House right now as I write this and adding to their thinking maps. More on those later. I marvel how they will be in high school in a few short months.

Home is well with a sprouting garden with all this rain. Z and I came home yesterday to a stocked fridge and pantry because of my dear working husband. A big bowl of watermelon awaited Z which stopped a fit of whining in its tracks. Bedtime was late because of a daycare nap but I did get to watch this Cyndi Lauper performance and my guilty pleasure show on my laptop. Looking forward to a trip to NH this weekend. So far, a languid, slow-paced, rainy week but counting the days until summer!