Happy Halloween!

Adventure Chronicles: Expanding our Horizons Close to Home

With Hurricane Sandy threatening to cancel Halloween again this year, we had a lot outside work to do to get prepared.  By we, I really mean Matt, and I did my best to keep the kids out of the way for a couple of hours.  The kids and I often head to Grassy Pond, a nearby conservation area, but we're starting to outgrow the half mile trail.  A half mile or so further down the road is a much larger area, known as East Boston Camps that includes 3 or 4 miles of trails, and a beautiful pond.  You've seen pictures before, as I spent a lot of time here walking during both of my maternity leaves.

I had planned to push us for a bit longer walk, but Rod has a diaper rash and wasn't much in the mood for walking, so I adjusted my plan and we ended up spending some time at the side of the pond.  We very literally did not see another soul during the hour or more we spent there.  I think the pictures speak for themselves!

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 43

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 42

Roddie Report: Potty Progress and Aspirations for the Future

Back when Norah was a baby, before I had the blog, I though I'd never forget anything she said or did... and while there are many things I'd like to forget she said or did, there are many many more things I wish I could remember, from both kids.  It's been a strange year for the blog, I changed jobs twice this year and it really just didn't leave much for blogging... however, now that I've been at the second job almost as long as the first, I've been feeling a little more bloggy and hope to capture some more of their finer moments.  SO here are a couple of Roddie highlights...

• He's a peeing machine!  He sits on the potty and pees on command 5 or 6 times pretty much every day now.  He hasn't mastered the art of 'not peeing' so we don't have many dry diapers, but one thing at a time!  He's only 26 months, so we have plenty of time.
• He told me last night he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.  OK, maybe not in those exact words, but as Norah was explaining a picture of a space shuttle to us, he pointed to it and said, me, in there, me big... which I interpreted as he wanted to ride in a space shuttle when he grows up, ergo, astronaut!
• I've been catching him singing to himself a lot lately - he doesn't care for an audience, and stops when he knows you're watching, but it's adorable.. la, la, la... occasionally snippets of ABC's...
• He's really coming along with talking, putting words and phrases together to get his message across.  Some of the words still aren't all that clear, but I can usually tell what he is saying/
• We got a harmonica at a yard sale last weekend, and as strange as it sounds, Roddie's not bad at it
• Last but not least, he's becoming a master in the art of procrastination at bed time - blankets, milk, music, toys, books, you name it.  We're wise to him though, and going through the painful process of regaining control.. again

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 41

On the Road

I traveled for work a week or so ago.  I've reached a point in my career where I really need to visit customer sites and some industry events to progress any further... not to mention I only started in this industry earlier in the year, so I have much to learn in some regards.  Matt is very supportive and doesn't seem to get too flummoxed with me leaving for a few days, though I know things are hectic for him while I"m gone and he's glad to see me return.  The kids seem to take it all in stride though and now that they are getting much better at talking on the phone, we have a nightly touch base that helps us all.  

The thing the phone can't show us, of course, is body language   Norah somehow looks like a teenager as she sits on the sofa, gabbing with her Mom.

 Roddie looked a little more like the toddler he is on the first night...

 Though was copying his sister by the second!

Thanksgiving Photo Highlights

I had an especially great Thanksgiving this past weekend.  As you may know, we celebrate Thanksgiving twice each year - I cook a turkey on the American Columbus Day holiday, which coincides with Canadian Thanksgiving in October, and then we celebrate the American holiday of the same name in November with the rest of the country.  I feel like we have the best of both worlds - we get to celebrate at our own home and again with the American half of the family in PA (Matt's family).  

The weekend had been great already, with some great family time and a family friend birthday party.  Matt had to work part of the day, and I had arranged for two of my pre-suburb, pre-Matt, pre-motherhood friends to come out for a playdate.  We collectively have 6 kids now, ranging in age from Jason, 4 months, to Norah, 4.5, and also including Emily, 1yr, and the terrible 2's Laurel (2.5), Claire, and Roddie.  I think it was the first time all 6 kids were together and while it was chaos, it was awesome!  I've spent a lot of time with these mommies, biking, hiking, camping and commiserating, not to mention sharing weddings and pregnancies!  We all work, and our homes are not especially close to one another, so getting everyone together is challenging - but so worth it that we've tentatively planned to do it again all holiday Mondays!

Roddie, Norah, Laurel and Claire

Jason and Emily getting a ride with moms Sue and Julie

 After all the little people (and some of the big people!) were sufficiently tuckered out, we fed them and sent everyone home in time for nap time.  I had a 20lb turkey in the oven that was starting to smell good when I sat down on the sofa for a snuggle with Norah while Roddie napped.  Matt got home as quiet time was ending and he and the kids went back outside while I finished cooking up dinner.  Then our neighbors and friends Megan, Wayne and Courtney from across the street came over along with Laura and Jack from next door.  Canadian Thanksgiving dinner with the neighbors has become a bit of a tradition here on our little street, one I really enjoy!

Jack, Norah, Courtney (in back) and Roddie - the kids of our Road

I think Norah summed it up shortly after the last of our company left... "Mommy, I am so tired, I want to go right to bed!"  Of course there was work to do cleaning up and all the rest, but it was a great day with a house full of friends (and a nap in the middle!)  What more could one ask for?

Mom in the Pictures

I read an article that got me thinking.  The article, in the Huffington Post, basically talks about how many moms have legions of photos of their kids, but very few that actually included themselves.  The reasons were varied, from a simple "I'm always the one taking the pictures" to "I hate how I look". I realized that I imagines of me (or Matt, for that Matter) don't appear very often here on the Bugle, which also serves as our family yearbook.  While I'd be happy to lose a few pounds, how I feel about my looks has nothing to do with why I don't appear here - I've just been so focused on documenting the kids that it escaped my notice.  The article goes on to talk about some women's memories of their own mothers, the feels, smells and love they experienced as kids, and how they never thought twice about their mom's hair or outfits.  

So, to that end, I offer up the following pictures, for you, Norah and Roddie, and pledge to post more like them.  They aren't the most flattering of me, but they do capture some really fun times we've had recently, and I want you to remember them!

A Yardsale Find!

Sometimes our life seems really hard – we’re on the move from before 6 am until after 10 pm just with the business of living.  This does not include much “me” time or “us” time, let alone time for things like cleaning or exercise.  Kids, work, laundry, cooking… add in a business trip or evening meeting here or there, and you get the picture.  The thing is, compared to a lot of people, our lives are pretty darn serene.  We only have 2 kids, for starters!

This weekend we happened upon a yard sale on our way out for what turned out to be a nice day as a family.  The sale was at a large house in on a nice street not far from where we live.  A kayak and bike-for-two caught our eye, but what we came away with was a box of kid stuff and a little perspective.  The sale seemed to be run by a man and his late-teen to 20’sh daughters.  Clearly they hadn’t cleared out in a while, as there were dolls and books these girls had outgrown before Y2K!  There were also hundreds of Beanie Babies I had assumed the girls “had to have” when they were younger, that he was now trying to give away as a gift with purchase. 

It turns out that it was his wife, who had passed away 10 years prior, not his daughters who had the Beanie Babies.  She also had dozens of Barbies, still in their boxes.  Apparently she suffered from Fibromyalgia, and the treatment for this debilitating disease included medication that played games with her mind.  As he continued to describe what she had gone through, I was a little uncomfortable, but it was clearly therapeutic for him, so I continued to listen.  Apparently in this large house on the nice street, a very ill mother of these two girls has begun buying things, and hoarding them in the attic – bags and bags of these things, under floorboards, in boxes and so on.  The man told me that for years, they knew there was “stuff” up there, but had no idea the extent of it. 

After we left, I couldn’t stop thinking about this family – the two girls had to be 7 to 10 when their mom died, and as young as Norah when she first got sick.  I don’t know if there are any other siblings, I find it almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like to have your wife first physically, then effectively mentally ill, and then pass away, leaving the rest of the family with a gaping hole that could never really be filled.  I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the life and family that I have.

As I write this, I am reminded of some sad news I heard recently.  An dear friend from my college years was in a car accident two years ago, and hasn’t been (and is not likely to be) the same since.  I’m Facebook friends with his wife, and did notice he was missing from a lot of her pictures, but having lost the closeness we all had back then, I was reluctant to ask more.  A mutual friend reached out recently and filled me in.  He’s going to be ok, though will never gain a full recovery – he hasn’t been able to work or handle any amount of stress for instance.  So, in addition to being overwhelmed with gratitude for all that I have, and I’m also reminded for how it can all change in an instant.

So, as we pass through our first Thanksgiving of the year, I do indeed have some great things to be thankful for.  I’m thankful for Norah and Roddie and Matt.  I’m thankful for my health and theirs.  I’m thankful for the simple things we do as a family, like going out for breakfast or evening walks. I’m thankful for Matt’s calming perspective to my irrational side and whatever balance I provide to him in return.  I’m thankful for our little house on our little road in our little hood rich with good neighbors and space to roam.  I’m thankful for the job that I hold and the jobs that I’ve held that allows us to have the things we have.  I’m thankful for the ladies who watch over our kids with such caring that I can do my job without worrying.  In short, I’m thankful for the life I have.

Heck, I’m even thankful we get to have two Thanksgivings

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 40