Ten on Tuesday

1. Yes, I am not good at updating this lately. I feel like the world just keeps on spinning and I am hanging on desperately by my fingernails trying not to fall off. I keep thinking "oh next week will be better/calmer/easier." I've been thinking that since September. It doesn't seem to have happened yet.

2. My kids are totally unpredictable at the dinner table. Yesterday they ate all of their food and even had seconds of some things (actually Claire had 3 helpings of green beans). Today they ate all of their carrots and not much of anything else. Oh well, it means leftovers for Brian's lunch tomorrow.

3. I'm sure one thing that doesn't help with the dinner issue is that lately I usually don't get to pick the kids up until at least 5, which means we're not home until around 5:30, and they are starving. Finding them a snack that they're willing to eat that won't ruin their dinner is a constant challenge.

4. Two weekends ago we took the kids camping. Actually, due to my knee I came home to sleep and left Brian to sleep with the kids. It was a big success. The others with us raved about the food Brian prepared (though you could tell it was planned by men, there was a lot of meat and no side dishes for dinner). The kids had a blast playing at the playground, eating s'mores, and fishing. Everyone slept pretty well, though a few found themselves on the downhill slope of the tent making it a little more complicated. All in all a good trip. To be repeated.

5. Work has been stressful lately. It is time for the state standardized testing, and my students test in math on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Sunday I woke up and immediately my head was full of sample test questions. It's even invading my weekends! So far the kids have been mostly cooperative during review activities, so I am hopeful that it will go well.

6. Today the kids wanted to go outside when we got home, so I went out front and did some weeding while they rode bikes and scooters up and down the sidewalk. None of our gardens have been weeded since my dad worked on them when I had my surgery, and boy can you tell. Part of this weekend needs to be dedicated to getting the front of the house under control and planting some annuals.

7. Some of the gardens are flourishing, though. Last week I went out and picked a vase full of peonies (photo above), and put them in the middle of the dining room table. Their sweet scent drifts across the house at unexpected moments and just makes me happy whenever I notice it.

8. I can't believe that in 8 days I will be the mother of a six year old. Where does the time go. I can still remember so vividly the day that she was born. That morning I sat on the floor of my kitchen - 2 days past my due date - talking on the phone with a friend while I scrubbed the fronts of my cabinets with Clorox wipes. After a very stressful afternoon and evening I held my first baby in my arms. But the rest of this is a story for next week.

9. Claire graduates from her Montessori school on her birthday next week, and she is beyond excited about it. However, she is upset about leaving behind her teacher of 3 years. She keeps telling me that she wishes Miss Pam could be her teacher forever, and why can't her school add more classes so she can stay there for first grade.

10. Friday night when going to get in her pajamas Claire told me that Miss Pam gave her some kisses to put in her pocket, so she was going to put them somewhere safe. The next day she was upset about something. Then she said, "I know!" and stuck her hand in her pocket. "I have my kisses from Miss Pam, I put them in here this morning." And just like that it was all better.

Ten on Tuesday - It's April!

1. The biggest news around here is that on March 24th I had surgery to reconstruct the ACL on my right knee. I've had this surgery twice on my left knee, and don't remember the road to recovery being so long, but the last time I was 9 years younger, and had no kids to keep up with. I was also on summer break, so had plenty of time to recuperate. I am headed back to work tomorrow, and am hoping that it goes ok.

2. The surgery was on my dad's birthday. We did manage

to have some yummy Thai food, and some sort of dessert (I can't remember what) for his birthday dinner, and then we celebrated again a few days later with my sister and brother-in-law. Of course Dad did cook his own birthday cake.

3. This is not the first time his birthday has been interrupted because of my knee. When I was in high school doing PT after some of my knee surgery I reinjured my knee (popped some scar tissue) at PT, and both of my parents had to drop what they were doing (Mom was cooking Dad's birthday dinner) to come and get me because I could not drive home.

4. Speaking of Dad's cake, we were discussing it a few days earlier, and someone brought up pineapple upside-down cake. Dad thought that that was a great idea for a birthday cake, when Claire piped up, "upside down cake? That's crazy! How will you have candles?" She didn't understand why this made all of the grown-ups erupt with laughter.

5. In other Claire news, she learned how to tie a bow today at school. She came in wearing a sticker that says, "I can tie!" and promptly ran to get one of her sneakers and show me how well she could tie a bow. It took her several minutes, but she did a great job!

6. Also, she continues to read everything she can get her hands on. While down at the lake she found an article on lemurs in my parents' Smithsonian magazine and read it (with some help). Then she read part of it again to me on the phone later that day.

7. Quite a while

ago

I ordered Ben a shirt and tie from Children's Place for Easter and a wedding we are going to next weekend. Ever since he saw the tie he has been dying to wear it. Sometimes he would fasten it over his pajamas, and he would

often ask to wear it to school ("Mommy, can I look handsome today?"). I finally took it and hung it up in my closet to keep it safe. He finally got to wear it Sunday, and he was thrilled!

8. Easter was nice, we had a relaxed brunch at the home of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, complete with an egg hunt for the kids. Everyone had a great time (except my leg which swelled up enormously in protest).

9. Spring has definitely sprung here in Virginia. The cherry trees are past peak, which means that we have drifts of cherry blossom petals covering our deck. Our dogwood is just about to bloom. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths brighten the garden. Even the bleeding hearts have started to bloom. I was thrilled last week to discover that the magnolia tree that Brian and I bought as an anniversary present two years ago. Last year it got leaves but never flowered, so I was a bit concerned, but this year it got quite a few beautiful large flowers.

10. Brian has also spent quite a bit of time readying the vegetable garden for planting. So far the only thing he's put in the ground are onions, but he has the rest tilled, raked into mounds, and ready to be filled with peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash. Summertime is coming!

Ten on Tuesday - It's been a while!

1. We are really ready for some warmer weather around here. I would truly like to get rid of the giant dirty piles of snow that still line the roads and parking lots.

2. Had a nice dinner at Noodles & Co. with the kids tonight. We all get food that we really like, and they told me about lots of things that happened at school. They're growing up!

3. Of course, no conversation with Ben is complete without him totally making something up. At dinner tonight, after hearing that Claire did something so well that she got to make the class example, he told me that he did such a good job at taking grapes off of their stems for snack time that he got to teach that "lesson" to the other students.

4. Brian is off on a trip tonight. I never sleep well while he's gone. Hopefully Friday will come soon.

5. As I'm typing this I looked out the sliding glass door, and noticed snow drifting down. It's not supposed to amount to anything, but still - really? It's March.

6. The kids and I are really enjoying the adventures of Iggy and his Wiggy bed as our bedtime story the last few nights. Check it out. (Be prepared - it plays music!)

7. I celebrated my birthday last weekend. I got many lovely gifts, and birthday greetings from friends new and old - near and far (thanks to Facebook). The kids were probably more excited than I was, which is fun to watch. They probably sang to me about 7 times over the course of dinner Friday night - needless to say, the waitstaff also knew it was my birthday, so they sang to me, too.

8. Some parts of the Olympics have been very exciting to watch. Watching the kids try to act out the sports they see after the fact, is also very entertaining. Perhaps more so than the NBC commentary. ;)

9. It has been interesting at work trying to get back into routine after our extended snowcation. I believe that last week was the first full school week for students since the middle of January. I'm sure they'll be back up to speed just in time for spring break in a few weeks.

10. Well, Mom and Dad arrived back in the country from France, shared a glass of wine with me, and now it is time to head to bed. I didn't have time to pull out my camera and look for recent pictures - maybe next time. Until then - Happy Tuesday!

Four Years Old!

Dear Ben,

A few weeks ago you turned four years old. You were anxiously waiting for the day to arrive. A few days earlier you told me, "I couldn't do this if I was only 3, but now I'm almost 4, and so I'm big enough." Turning 4 was quite the milestone in your eyes. When I asked you if I could still call you my baby even when you were 4

you thought about it very seriously, but finally agreed that it would be ok. I'm not sure how many more years that will last!

I can still remember so clearly the day that you were born. I had to wake up very early to get to the hospital at the right time. Now you wake me up early nearly every day. I guess I should have known what I was getting myself in to. Someday I will be yelling at you to get out of bed, I'm sure, but I don't anticipate it happening anytime soon!

Just a few days after your birthday I had my first parent-teacher conference for you. Your teacher had many wonderful things to say to you, including how smart you are. She was concerned that you tend to choose easier work than what you can do, because then you don't have to concentrate very hard. I talked to you about it that day, and only a couple of days later

she told me that you had gotten 2 lessons on newer more challenging work, and you told her that you had been wanting to try this work. She was very impressed with how well you did. I have a feeling that this is a conversation that we may be having for the next 14 years. Probably with varying levels of frustration on both of our parts. You made me proud, though, and I am sure that that will also happen over and over for the next 14 years.

Even though you think you are so big now, you still love to snuggle, and will often run up just to give me a kiss, and then go back to whatever you were doing. I cherish the moments I get to cuddle with you, because I know it won't always be this way. I hope, however, that you will always be as loving as you are now - even if you find new ways to show it.

You still have delicious toddler cheeks - they help remind me that as much as you think you are all grown up, that you are still my little boy, and no matter how big you get, that is never going to change. I love you, Ben - happy birthday to my very big little boy! I hope that being 4 is every bit as wonderful as you have imagined.

Mommy

It's a new year

Looking back on 2009, it is amazing how quickly the year went by. For me it hasn't been an easy year. The beginning of the year was filled with anxiety wondering how the budget cuts would affect my position. Then I was relieved to find that my position would be renewed for the new school year. I spent the summer doing a lot of work, and not a lot of resting, only to discover, just a few short weeks before school began that my position had been cut and I would be back in the classroom. It made for a very stressful fall for me as I struggled to find the balance between an increased work load and my family, though thankfully, I feel like I'm finally starting to get my feet under me. The fall was made more stressful when I got a mystery illness. The doctors still haven't figured out what it is that is plaguing me, so I'm hoping that 2010 brings some answers. Ben also got hit by a case of the chicken pox that, partially due to his having been vaccinated, resulted in the longest slowest case of the chicken pox that I've heard of. He was contagious for nearly 3 weeks, and the spots are still fading.

We were, however, blessed in many ways. We were able to spend a lovely Easter on the outer banks due to the generosity of some of my mother-in-law's friends. It was a quick trip, but it marked good time spent with family. We also had a lovely trip to California with my family over the summer to celebrate an important family birthday. The kids have been flourishing in school. They are both learning so many new things, making great friends, and constantly astonishing us with the things that come out of their mouths. They love being at the same school this year, and I think it has been good for them (and much easier for us). We have spent lots of time with our many good friends, and although it sometimes seems that those times are few and far between it always wonderful and much appreciated when we do make the time for it.


In general, life was good. And when it wasn't I always had two, goofy, adorable, snuggly, all-around-wonderful kids to cheer me up and make me smile.

So here we are, with high hopes for 2010. I have several goals for this year. One is to post here more regularly. Another is to use my camera more - this past year I had a huge decline in the number of photos I took. Lastly, and most importantly, is to find a good balance between taking care of my family, dealing with work, and taking time to take care of myself.

Happy New Year!

Fall Fun

It's been a while. This school year is kicking my butt. One of these days it's bound to get easier, but I haven't seen it happen yet. Here are some pictures of the fun we've been up to this fall when we can squeeze it in!

All four of us headed down to Blacksburg for a football game - we had a beautiful day, and a WIN! Claire showed off some very unique Hokie style.


We harvested lots of tomatoes from our garden, and have a freezer full of spaghetti sauce to show for it.

I went on a field trip to the C&O canal, where there were some beautiful views.

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

The kids had international day at school.

And then Halloween - an adorable musketeer, and a beautiful princess showed up at our door!

Stay tuned for more. In the meantime, for those who are interested in some unique handmade jewelry check out the giveaway going on over here. Lisa Leonard's designs are lovely.

Early Morning Funnies

Me: I think you guys gave me your colds.

Ben: *sniffs experimentally* No, I still have mine!

Best Shot Monday - boat ride

Ben enjoying a boat ride on the weekend before Labor Day. Looks just about perfect to me!

Check out more great shots when you visit Tracey over at Best Shot Monday.

Ten on Tuesday - the back to school edition

1. Today was a busy day for most of the household. It was my first day of school with students, Ben's first day of Montessori, and Claire's -2nd day of kindergarten (kindergarteners don't start back at school until Thursday, but she went today to help her teacher show the new 3 year olds the classroom routines).

2. When Ben woke up he didn't even make it all the way down the stairs (he saw me in the hallway) before he ran back upstairs to put on his clothes for the first day.

3. He was most excited about his new "cool" shoes (sorry Uncle Brandon, they're not fancy anymore). So excited that after taking off his pajamas and running to the bathroom, he came back naked, and started putting his socks on. I did manage to talk him into putting on his clothes before his socks and shoes.

4. When I picked Ben up he told me he met lots of new friends. According to him, he met a girl named Christopher, a boy named Benjamin wearing the same shoes (Brian guesses he met him in a mirror), and a boy named traffic light. So pretty much everything he said is suspect.

5. Claire said she was very helpful, but that there were lots of people to help, so she got to spend some time doing her own work. She brought home two bracelets that she made, one sewn, and one beaded, and some coloring including a picture labeled "me and mi famle".

6. After school we went to get a "treat". Ben opted for the coffee shop and got some of "Nonni's favorite cookies", I got a pumpkin spice latte, and Claire chose ice cream from Cold Stone (I still can't believe that Ben chose the coffee shop over ice cream).

7. I was planning on asking Claire for a bite of her ice cream until she made her choices. Cotton candy ice cream (blue) with mini marshmallow mix-ins. No thanks.

8. Brian didn't have a special first day of anything, but he did a good job finishing packing the lunches (he was responsible for the PB&Js, and taking some pictures before they left.

9. He did, however, turn Ben's name tag in to the front office with the paperwork instead of actually putting it on our child.

10. All in all a good first day for everyone.

Ten on Tuesday

I've been thinking a lot lately about what my kids have added to my life. Here are some of the things I've been pondering lately:

1. Patience. Teaching middle schoolers I was pretty sure I had boundless stores of patience. Clearly I had a lot left to learn - as my kids quickly taught me. I am more patient than I imagined, but still, it runs out sometimes.

2. Humility. There is no choice when you have children, but to be humble. Like a few weeks ago at the post office when Ben told a man he had a big butt. That was most definitely a humbling experience.

3. Reflection. Sometimes when I watch and talk to Claire I see some of my traits reflected in her - particularly self-consciousness. I hope that I can help her outgrow that, as it is something that I have struggled with all my life. As I watch my children experience things, I spend a lot of time reliving my own memories of similar things.

4. Energy. There are days I feel like I have nothing left to give, but as a parent, that's just not an option, so I somehow manage to find enough extra stores of energy to make it through the day and keep up with two very active monkeys.

5. Laughter. I have never laughed as much as I have since Claire and Ben were born. Every day they do something goofy that makes me laugh.

6. Wonder. Having kids is an opportunity to look at the world again through fresh eyes. The wonder that they find in the smallest things is amazing to watch. The other day Claire said to me, "Look Mama, isn't this the most beautiful rock you've ever seen?" It was something that normally I would have walked right past without noticing, but to her the color and the shape were clearly noteworthy.

7. Fatigue. All nighters in college were nothing compared to the day-in day-out demands of taking care of two kids. Especially when one or the other (or both) are going through periods of not sleeping very much, or for very long at a time. Somehow we make it through. I can do a lot more, on a lot less sleep, than I ever thought possible. It definitely makes me forgetful, though. Sometimes I wander from the dining room into the kitchen, and by the time I've arrived I've forgotten what I was coming for.

8. Pride. There is nothing that makes my heart swell more than watching my kids accomplish something new. When people compliment them it makes me so proud of the little people that they are becoming. Also getting to see the pride that they take in their accomplishments - be it reading a new word, some artwork, or an outstanding physical feat - fills up my heart.

9. Gratitude. I feel as though since becoming a mother I stop more often to be thankful for all of the blessings I have. Clearly, Claire and Ben are two of my biggest blessings, but there is so much else to be thankful for. Every time that I take a moment to stop and think about it, I feel so incredibly lucky.

10. Love. I never imagined that I could feel so much love, and yet it continues to grow and grow. I am so lucky to have these two amazing children in my life. The love makes me happier than ever for the good things, but it also makes me hurt when they are hurting. I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Ten on Tuesday - the picture free edition

1. The power cord to my lovely MacBook is not working well. Tomorrow I will be visiting the Genius Bar. This is why there are no new pictures today.

2. Tomorrow I will also be celebrating my 9th wedding anniversary. Yippee!

3. Except we're not really going to celebrate until next week when the kids are at my parents' house for 3 days.

4. Also, to add to tomorrow's excitement, I need to register Claire for SACC (school aged child care) for the 2010-2011 school year. I have been told that if I don't get through tomorrow, I am likely to wind up on the waiting list, without a spot.

5. My kids crack me up all the time. Lately they frequently pretend to be mother and child, and so tonight I heard Claire telling Ben, "Honey? Honey, you're beautiful, but I just don't know. You're kind of odd." I have no idea where she came up with that, but I could not stop laughing.

6. In other funny kid stuff, Ben has started prefacing many statements with "I'm serious!" which just makes me laugh so hard. He really is trying to be serious a lot of the time, but I can not help cracking up.

7. We just got back from 5 days in northern California. We had a great trip including a trip to an aquarium, riding a cable car, seeing the giant Redwoods, a 98th birthday party, and a trip to the beach where both kids got to splash in the Pacific Ocean. It was fabulous.

8. My mom told me today that one of Claire and Ben's fourth-cousins-once-removed (got that?) who is between them in age, told her Nonni yesterday, "I want to go back to Auntie Popo's and play with those kids." When she was told that they flew home on the plane yesterday she then replied, "Well call them, and tell them to come back!" Apparently they were popular.

9. Ben liked playing with his fourth-cousins-once-removed, but preferred playing in their father's fire truck. I think if we lived in California Nick would be Ben's new best friend. He let them turn on the lights, talk over the loudspeaker, and try out the siren, as well as trying on his hat and coat.

10. Speaking of his coat, in a classic example of one hand not talking to the other, it was determined that all fire personnel at a traffic incident have to wear reflective vests. The reflective vests are not fireproof, so if there is a fire they can not wear them. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Ahh, bureaucracy.

And that's it for this Tuesday. Stay tuned - if I can get a new power cord, or they can make it work, hopefully I'll have pictures from our trip to share soon.

Best Shot Monday - buds

As a kid, being forced to get up early on Saturday mornings to go and weed the gardens, I never thought I would have gardens of my own, or get so much pleasure out of watching the flowers come up. My favorites are definitely my hydrangeas.

Please stop by Tracey's blog to check out some of the other fabulous pictures from Best Shot Monday.

Five!

Claire's fifth birthday was last week. I will try to write more about it later, but here is a photo from her party on Saturday as she waited at the table for the cake to be brought in - she couldn't hold still she was so excited.

Happy birthday, Claire! I love you!

Make sure that you go visit Tracey to see what everyone else is sharing for Best Shot Monday.

Best Shot Monday - Memorial Day

Today we remember all of the men and women who served our country and have died, but most particularly, around our house, we are thinking of our grandfathers. Here is a picture of Brian and the kids with Papa Jim taken in December 2007. This is the first year that we are remembering Papa Jim on Memorial Day, rather than Veteran's Day. He accomplished so much in his years of service for our country, and was very proud of it - deservedly so. We miss him, and we're grateful for his service, and that of Grandpa Collins, and Grandpa Mills - all of whom proudly served our country.

There are so many men and women who we honor today. Take a moment to remember them, before heading on to see the magic everyone else is sharing at Best Shot Monday.

Stay tuned...

For 10 on Tuesday - the Wednesday edition. I am exhausted, and it is not going to happen tonight. I will leave you with this cute picture, as a consolation prize.

Ten on Tuesday - remember that thing?

1. It's been a long time. At the end of the day I am tired, and though I frequently think of blog posts as I work or drive, I rarely take the time to type them once I'm sitting on the couch.

2. I'm making it a mission to take better care of myself - tonight I soaked my feet, then exfoliated them with a sugar scrub, and put on nice foot lotion and heavy socks.

3. I've also started doing a cross-training exercise program every Monday at school. It makes Monday long days, but I get a great workout, and I need it.

4. I had a very relaxing Mother's Day with my three favorite people. They were very sweet to me.

5. My husband must have read my mind about my plan to take care of myself because I got a spa gift certificate for Mother's Day.

6. Last Saturday we made our first (of many) trips to the farmer's market. Even though there's not a lot of produce out, what was there was great, and the kids were thrilled that the homemade donuts were back.

7. Brian was sad that the olive and pickle guy was not back.

8. My fresh crepe at the farmer's market was delicious (feta, spinach, and mushrooms - yum). My favorite part of Saturday mornings.

9. Right now I'm watching the Biggest Loser finale, and chatting online with my sister. An enjoyable way to finish the day. We're also simul-blogging our 10 on Tuesday. (I just made that word up, btw.)

10. Our gardens are starting to change over to summer flowers, and I'm enjoying looking around each week at what is new. The bleeding hearts (shown above) are shedding their flowers, while the peonies are getting more buds every time I look. The clematis has started to bloom, and one lilac is done, while the other hasn't begun yet. I've found one of the nice things about gardening is how much everything changes week by week (or sometimes day by day).

Poor sick boy

This afternoon at almost 4 I turned my cell phone on to find I had a message. Ben's daycare had called to tell me he had a fever of 101.5 and didn't feel well, and was I going to come pick him up. They did not call my work number, or Brian, but I jogged over to get him, and then had him sit on a mat in the gym and watch me exercise. He sat so very still and watched us run, do sit-ups and push-ups, run some more, jump rope, sit down and stand up over and over again (squats). He must have thought it was all very bizarre. I got several comments about how well behaved he was - I knew it was because he was sick (and maybe because he was up at 4:45 this morning - ugh).

Tonight at dinner, he leaned against my arm, looked at his plate of food, and said pitifully, "I'm so berry hungry" and yet he didn't pick anything up to eat it unless I handed it to him. He had roughly half a piece of garlic bread, and half a cup of water.

My boy is sick, and I wish I could make it all better right away.

Things to remember

Some of my favorite current phrases and words that the kids use:

ickscover - Claire's version of discover
icksgusting - Claire's version of disgusting (a theme?)
It will feel me better - Ben speak for it will make me feel better

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We have been inundated with rain lately. This morning Ben saw all the worms on the driveway, and begged me to let him pick them all up and take them to school. Because I am mean and horrible I refused - instead we threw them into the garden. He sulked for the first 4-5 minutes of the car ride, but then wanted to know what a sign said, so the silent treatment was over.

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On the way home today the kids were in the backseat. They decided to tell each other jokes. Claire said, "ask me if I'm a crab?" Ben: "Are you a crab?" Claire: "Yes! Wok wok wok wok wok!" They laugh like little loonies. Then it was Ben's turn. He tried the same crab joke, but Claire said he needed to make up his own. Ben: "A hat was silly and fell into the gas station and they closed the tank." Claire: "That wasn't funny. Yours needs to be funny like mine."

Best Shot Monday - how can I choose

A few shots from the beach - it's been a week and a half now - how is that possible? These are certainly special memories. See what other memories people are sharing by visiting Tracey over at Mother May I for Best Shot Monday.

Vacation

I have been extremely neglectful around here lately. Things have been hectic, and my stress level has been high, so blog posting has not been at the top of my list. Yet life goes on.

Yesterday we dropped Lucky off at the house he would be staying at while we were away, only to find out about an hour later that he had run off. Here's a snippet of conversation from the back seat as we drove back to try to find him:

Claire: We need to hurry, we can't waste any time! I don't want him to be gone, because he has such soft ears. I love his soft ears. And I love beagles. If Lucky is gone we would have to get a new dog, and I think the pet store wouldn't have any more beagles.
Ben: *shrugs* I guess Papaya (ed: our Siamese kitten) will have to be our beagle now.

later:
Claire: We can't give up.
Ben: Imagination Movers never give up!

Today he was found, and is now back safely at Brian's grandmother's house. We'll pick him up on Monday. Hopefully he won't have any more adventures between now and then.

In the mean time, we'll enjoy this.

Picture taken at dinner. Not a bad place to relax, eh?