Mile-Stone Portraits!

Abigail recently turned 3 and AJ 18 months! (Although I am a little late with these, oh well!)

First Beach Trip of the Spring

On NPR

At My Place, Every Day Is Mother's Day

Weekend Edition Saturday, May 9, 2009 · NPR

My wife doesn't work. She's a full-time mother. She luxuriates in bed until 6:30 a.m., when our 2-year-old chants, "Mama, Mama!" like some ancient war call, and she trudges into the kitchen with our baby on one shoulder to use her free hand to heat milk.

I stay in my office, writing, procrastinating and checking baseball scores until I need another cup of coffee.

My wife tries to go to the bathroom. Our 2-year-old clings to her knees. Using a bathroom with a 2-year-old on your lap should be a rodeo event.

Our 6-year-old gets up and chirps, "Mama! Mama!" My wife holds our 2-year-old in one arm, our 6-year-old with the other, and heats up more milk with her third hand.

I come into the kitchen for more coffee.

She dresses our daughters. It's like trying to put tuxedo shirts on two squiggling ferrets. My wife walks our daughters 10 blocks to kindergarten, but it takes half an hour because our girls won't step on cracks, stop to look in every window and stomp in every puddle. She has to pull them along like sacks of nails.

When she gets back to our apartment, my wife can finally relax. She does laundry; pays bills; stays on hold with the credit card, Internet and phone companies for 45 minutes because the bill is wrong, while our 2-year-old swings from her neck like a chimp; resets the wireless service; changes diapers and light bulbs; buys food; picks up toys; cleans the fish bowl and hermit crab habitat; organizes closets; cleans what our cat coughs up; schleps to the storage locker; tries to take a shower but can't because our 2-year-old can't find her stuffed dog; picks up our 6-year-old from school and takes her to ballet; makes three meals and innumerable snacks; calls our mothers and sends them photos of their grandchildren; and wipes up milk, water and diaper spills the way Red Adair put out oil fires.

I help by calling my wife a couple of times a day to tell her how busy I am and ask, "Um, darling, can you find my red socks?"

She has four minutes a day to herself and eats only Cheerios that fall on the floor. She works 15 hours a day with no breaks or mandated meals, 365 days a year with no real vacations. Our daughters feel free to cough up and sneeze things into her hands. If Samuel Gompers heard about my wife's working conditions, he'd say, "Organize and fight!"

Instead, she knows that in these times it's a gift to be able to be a full-time mother. You know: just to be home with the kids.

Happy Mother's Day

You are both inspiring mothers! I love you.

Happy May Day!

The girls and I went to a May Day festival where we wove May crowns and danced around the May pole. The girls love holding the ribbon and skipping around with the other kids.

Abigail's 3rd Birthday!

R Rated

After discovering his penis and asking what it was called, and then of course asking if Ruby has one, Juan has been infatuated with who has a penis and who has a "gina" as he calls it. An interaction in the living room made me really laugh the other day.
I was changing Ruby's diaper. Juan was watching and Noah was eating cereal.
Juan - Mom, Ruby has a gina?
Me - Yep, Juan, Ruby has a vagina.
Noah- Juan, don't talk about Ruby's vagina while I'm eating!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Noah!

Happy Birthday Ruby!

Happy Birthday Ruby and Noah - (Brant posted the video for me)

Unfortunately I have no video or pictures that can be posted of when Noah was a baby bc we didn't have a digital camera yet, but here is a video of Ruby's first few moments! Makes me cry every time. :)

Link for trailer to "The way we get by"

http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/


Check it out Military Mamas! (and everyone else)

HAPPY 3RD BIRHTDAY ABIGAIL!!!

What happens when you let a child dye Easter eggs for over an hour.

Spring

SPRING
by
Lee Bennett Hopkins

Roots
sprouts
buds
flowers

always--
always--
cloud-bursting showers

rhymes
April fools
fledglings on wing

no thing
is
newer
or
fresher
than
spring.

Happy Easter

This morning I was thinking of how thick the anticipation must have been for that first Easter morning. Never before was a dawn so eagerly awaited for.

Sending you all love today and moments to reflect on the enormity of how this day changed our destinies.

You know you've lost it when.....

Your driving home from caring for your Mother-in-law at 9:30 p.m. and your in the car by yourself when all of a sudden you realize your singing Ba-Ba Black Sheep out loud.

Favorite New CD

I've recently been exploring the world of children's music, something I haven't done since I was Madeleine's Nanny 6 years ago! This CD by Elizabeth Mitchell is my present favorite. Here is a link where you can listen, the girls' favorite is "three little birds".

http://www.youaremyflower.org/home.html

The Poem of the day

Rock n Roll Dad
by
Jaime Adoff

Rock n Roll Dad cooks
in the kitchen
radio blasts
always on ten!!
It's so LOUD, I have to shout,
"WHEN ARE WE GOING TO EAT!?"
Dad yells,
"SOOOOOON!"
Dancing past me with his spoon.
Pots shake,
pans vibrate.
Mom screams:
"It's an earthquake!"
"What?" Dad yells back.
I roll my eyes.
Mom shakes her head.
Rock n Roll Dad is a little deaf.
"A lot." Mom says.
"Too many years playing drums." Rock n Roll Dad shouts, twirling his sticks and stirring the sauce.
"Can I go to the club with you tonight?" I ask Dad.
"You're not old enough yet." He answers back.
"I want to go. I'm eight years old. I’m old enough to Rock n Roll."

. . . One day I'm gonna play the drums too.
My hands will fly so fast
my sticks will break the speed of sound.
I'll be the best drummer in town.
I play the plates with my carrot stick-sticks.
Splashing salsa cymbals with my rock n roll chips . . .

©2009 Jaime Adoff. All rights reserved.
Excerpt taken from "Rock n Roll Dad" to be published by Disney-Hyperion

Poem a day

http://gottabook.blogspot.com/

At this web address is a children's poem a day for the month of April in celebration of Poetry Month. It's been fun reading the different authors for just the last few........I may just post them now and again......

Roars and Showers

In this part of the world March decided to Roar its way out. We had a rainy and very windy day yesterday with the proof of it today in the scattered twigs and branches everywhere. April is making it's presence known with multiple types of showers....... snow, slush, and rain have all been on the agenda today with a very merry April Fools feeling to it. I do hope May is not feeling to burdened with all the hopes we are laying on her for sun and those May flowers!

Happy April 1st and Fools to all!

1 Corinthians 1:27

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY JUAN!!!

I can't believe we missed it! I think I let myself feel like it was covered since I got his gift out early! Hope you had a great b-day, you should post some pics Stace.