Name Game
Posted: January 30, 2012 Filed under: kids, memories | Tags: boys names, brio trains, caboose, long train, thoughtful gift, wooden letters 2 Comments »
When each of my boys was born, my friends Risa & Howard sent wooden letters to spell the newborn’s name. (And a caboose and engine, of course.)
Think they’d be surprised to know that the long train with all three boys’ names lives in plain view all these years later?
It was such a wonderfully, thoughtful gift. Maybe I’ll pass the letters down with the brio trains someday…
Postcards from the Edge
Posted: January 28, 2012 Filed under: kids, memories, travel 2 Comments »
I’ve saved every postcard that our family has received since the kids were born. I thought the boys would appreciate having them.
Stored in a vintage wine bottle basket, they quietly sit on a high bookshelf in my bedroom.
But I know they are there.
The basket caught my eye this morning and I had to take it down. I spent time with every card and smiled as I remembered the boys’ excitement as they looked at the pictures and I read them out loud…
Independence is the goal, right?
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: family, kids, parenting 3 Comments »
Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/shilders
As parents, Andrew and my primary goals have been to raise our boys to be independent, free-thinking, productive, and happy. That has always been our dream.
Always.
But maybe I was hasty.
I’d like to revise my wish to independent, free-thinking, productive, and happy as long as they agree with me.
Having teenagers is harder than I thought it’d be.
Happy judgment-free holidays to you.
Posted: December 23, 2011 Filed under: family, girlfriends, kids, memories, mood, parenting, work 8 Comments »I came across a post I wrote 6 years ago today. And it still resonates. I mean, really. What the heck is balance anyway? My boys were 7, 8, and 10 at the time. A lot has changed in our world.
But not that much.
Parts of Speech
[originally posted 12/23/05]
Judging others is a dangerous hobby. Without all the facts (and you never have all the facts) it is impossible to understand someone’s decisions, motives, choices on all fronts. Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t relate to others’ issues, challenges, etc. Two things I’ve learned over the years come to mind:
1) You don’t know what happens in someone else’s house.
2) Never say “I never would…” in reference to someone else’s choices. You might one day when faced with the same situation.
I’ve been stewing about something that happened the other day. In order to let it go, I’ve decided to write about it. I drove some kids (including some of my own) to an after-school class. One of the kids was unable to carry his stuff in, so I dropped them all off, parked the car, and, sans coat, trekked across the parking lot to bring the kid his stuff. I was cold. I had a sick kid at home I wanted to get back to. My father had a procedure that day and I couldn’t go sit with my mom while she waited because of my kid at home who needed me. My work was behind schedule due to the same sick kid and the construction noise at the house was really getting to me and to that same sick kid, who cried about his head hurting for hours. You get the picture – the day was not a cake walk. (I always wanted to say cake walk – I hope I used it correctly!)
Walking into the school, I ran into a friend. Not a “hang out all the time” friend, but someone I like and socialize with occasionally. After saying hello, she took a hard look at me and said:
Balance is a verb.
It felt like a punch in the stomach. She has balance so never looks harried? I am unbalanced? I am incapable of managing my life? What exactly was this wisdom she was (unsolicited, I might add) presenting to me? She had no idea what I had done for the past month, let alone for the day. I was really irritated. How superior.
After a day I asked a close friend, who I respect tremendously, what she thought. She said:
Bitch is a verb too.
Happy Erev Chanukah. Merry Christmas Eve. I’m planning on a judgment-free holiday.
Shake it, baby, shake it.
Posted: August 23, 2011 Filed under: kids, Spouse 2.0 Leave a comment »The earthquake today was crazy. We all made a quick bee-line for the basement. We waited until we were sure it was over. The boys were a little scared. It was a little scary.
But I admit, I was so glad we were all together.
It’s that time of year again.
Posted: August 18, 2011 Filed under: kids 4 Comments »
It feels like the heat of summer, yet we’ve been school supply shopping.
The start of school is bittersweet for me. I do appreciate when the boys are in school – learning and growing. I appreciate the quiet days with the early beginnings.
But I do miss them. And I am very conscious of the time ticking away; they’re growing up so fast. And this year, we start thinking about college for our oldest son. Unbelievable.
I won’t pretend that the first day of school doesn’t freak me out. I wrote about it here in 2006 and here in 2009. And in case you don’t want to click on the links, I’ll summarize it for you here. I cry the first day of school. Always have, always will. It’s just how it is. Feel free to ask my mom. She’ll confirm it.
So, as I was saying, we went school supply shopping today.
We don’t need crayons anymore. We buy college-ruled paper and flash drives.
I don’t know where the time has gone.
And as we were putting the supplies away and restocking our pencil and paper supplies, I took the time to clean out the drawers. I found fingerpainting paper (why did I save that?), safety scissors, and more crayons than you could shake a stick at. The crayons were in the Crayola ‘cigar’ box that we’ve had for as long as I can remember and a Crayola-branded zip up case that came with an art set that Davis got for his birthday when he was 3. Seriously? We have so many crayons that I doubt you’d really believe me if I counted them.
And you know what? I don’t have the heart to throw them out. I just don’t. Seeing and smelling them brings back memories of Davis and Sophie coloring at the kitchen table, Reed eating his first blue, Max coloring on the high chair tray. And of course, I can’t forget all the amazing art projects and coloring books.
So the boys are ready for school. 8th, 9th, and 11th grades. They aren’t taking crayons on their first day. Or any day. But I’m not throwing them out.
I just can’t.
Shock, review, and happiness.
Posted: July 24, 2011 Filed under: family, home, kids, random, the boys 1 Comment »Shock
Notice anything strange about this soap? Like the fact that it is unused? Yes, folks. I just unpacked this from one of my sons upon his return from 4 weeks at camp. All I can say is that I hope he gave the shampoo double-duty. Otherwise, ewwww. Just ewwww.
Review
I was sent a full size sample of the NEW Downy UNSTOPABLES™ from Vocalpoint, so fter researching to be sure it was safe in a high efficiency washer, I decided to give it the test of all tests. 
Yes, I’m talking about the musty, filthy, disgusting clothes the boys brought home from camp.
I’m not big on a lot of scents, so I started slowly. The first load came out smelling amazing! So, I tried a little more in the next. And the next. And now, I might be hooked.
Yes, I’m still going to need to burn some of those clothes. They may smell fresh, but they’re never (and I mean never) going to get clean. But the clean clothes? They’re both clean and fresh and the boys’ rooms smell better than ever since I hung the clothes up in their closets. Win/win.
I am a happy mom.
Happiness
But the real reason for my extreme happiness? We’re all back together again!
Good practice?
Posted: July 1, 2011 Filed under: family, kids, Spouse 2.0, the boys 6 Comments »
Photo credit to "greensmoke"
Here I am on day 4 of no kids in the house.
And it feels like it’s been quiet for months.
It’s not even that my guys are so loud (though they are sometimes), it’s just that there’s activity. Laughing.
And please don’t get me wrong! Andrew and I are laughing – and we’re spending some great time together. It’s so odd, though, making plans and going out with no consideration of the kids. We have no kids! Not for 3 more weeks.
3 more weeks. Wow.
They’re rooms are neat. Sheets changed. Bathroom mats and towels fresh. Laundry folded and put away. All I really need to do for them is write letters. Oh, and remember to mail them.
So what will I do with all this time?
I daydreamed about organizing my iPhotos. (I have thousands of pix.) Cleaning the address book on my computer. Categorizing my iTunes. Being crafty.
What have I done so far? Worked. Relaxed outside. Watched The Voice final. Shared a really nice bottle of wine with Andrew. Burger night at Twist & Turn. Picked up veggies and fruit from our CSA.
At this moment, I am giving myself permission to reduce my expectations for accomplishing anything (except work, of course) and use this time to unwind and enjoy my husband.
And hoping to take a little just me time, too.
Maybe this is good practice for the future.
What would you do?
Posted: May 26, 2011 Filed under: family, kids 15 Comments »I need some guidance. Stat!
My youngest son was invited to a bar mitzvah party with a sports theme and the kids are all wearing jerseys. He didn’t have one and asked for a Redskins jersey.
With everything going on around here (and it’s a lot!), the task of finding a jersey for him ended up on my list. No problem.
I went to Kohl’s and Target first. Since it’s baseball season, you can imagine that I didn’t fare well.
So, instead of running around town for another several hours or more, I went online.
Ebay. I love Ebay.
I found a ton! I bought the one that appeared to be the best quality for the lowest price.
It arrived yesterday. Great quality. Price tag of $229 still attached. (Not too shabby since I paid $30.)
With pride, I held it up for the kid and my hub to see.
Their reactions shocked me. They were not all “wow, you’re great and what a deal!”
They were more like “WTF.”
I didn’t know! Would you let him wear it or rush out and find another? Help me!
(and if you’re cluless like me, you can read about this guy here.)
Sniff. Sniff.
Posted: May 5, 2011 Filed under: family, kids, memories, parenting, the boys 6 Comments »
Andrew came home today with 4 DVDs. He had our videos of our kids when they were little converted.
I couldn’t peel myself away from it.
The gurgling, the crying, the chewing the toys.
I saw their first birthdays. And birthday parties year after year. I saw them with their aunts and uncles and grandparents and great-grandparents.
We were at the zoo, the park, our backyard, our kitchen.
And my favorites? In the bathtub. I always loved my little boys playing in the bathtub. They were silly and funny and cute. And in some scenes, they had a friend or a cousin. Really? They could not be any cuter.
I love the part with my BFF’s daughter singing in the bathtub and my boys cheering her on. Too. Darn. Cute.
But after I smiled and teared up a bit and laughed, I had a very sad realization.
I don’t remember it all.
The way their voices sounded. The drool. The screeching. The slobbery kisses. The falling down. The way they talked to each other. How funny they were. How squishy they were. How disgusting they were when they ate. How exciting it was for them to see the penguins at the zoo the first time. How opening presents was the greatest adventure in life. Except for the slip and slide.
I forgot how little they were.
I love, love, love who they are now.
But now, I miss who they were. Just a little.
