Halloween

Halloween kind of slipped by me this year. The boys dressed up in costumes they had already.

Here they are in their school costume parade.
Troy is the red and blue Spiderman, above, and Teddy is the black Spiderman, below.

They went out Trick-or-treating on Sunday night, and I stayed home and handed out candy. I didn't dress up, and neither did Pippa, so I didn't get to create anything. I love costumes and making things, so afterwards, I regretted not getting more involved. I've determined to make up for it next year . . .

HAPPY HOLLOWEEN

Batman and the Ninja Turtle are off, trick-or-treating.  It's a warm, windy night -- perfect Halloween weather.

Funny story

I already posted this on Facebook, but for you old-fashioned blog-readers, here it is again.

I was triying to explain to Troy what I do for work, which took a while, because it involved explaining the whole legal system, when  C walked in.

C: If anyone asks you, I am an artist, and I take care of you.

Me:  That's a lot easier! (meaning a lot easier to explain)

Troy (eyes wide in indignation): It is not easier, Mommy.  Daddy has to spend all day cleaning the house!

I'm not sure what that says about us, but it sure made me laugh!

Back to school

I just watched Troy get on the bus for his first day of first grade.  I took one photo with my cell phone, but he wasn't really in a photo taking mood.  He's a bit nervous, especially since his parents blew it and forgot about the "meet the teacher" day on Monday, so he's never seen his teacher and doesn't know where he's going.  I was glad to see, though, that when faced with a situation like this, he sets his jaw and moves forward.  I feel like a mother bird, pushing her baby out of the nest, and  I even suggested to C that he could put Teddy in the car and go watch Troy go into the school. 

 I know he'll be fine.  He even gave us a smile and a wave as the bus pulled away.

P.S.  I folded his collar of his polo shirt down as we left the house, but he folded it back up again, just the way he likes it.  

Not A Baby Any More

Yesterday we celebrated Teddy's fourth birthday with a barbeque in the back yard.  All the cousins were here, as were aunties and uncles and friends and neighbors.  It was hot out, but the yard is shady, and the kids played in the baby pool we had set up.  Thanks to a very generous little boy named Charlie who had outgrown it and wanted to give it away, Teddy got a swing set in the back yard for his birthday.  The kids had fun playing on it for much of the day.  Here he is modeling the sweater he got from Oma and Opa

Four years old is definitely "big boy" territory (although there's still plenty of crying and whining going on).  He's one of the kids now.

Another big birthday just passed, too, although I'm not sure exactly when.  Pippa turned two some time this week.  (When I adopted her, I was told she was eight weeks old, but had she turned eight weeks that day?  Several days earlier?  It was unclear, so I made her birthday the same as Max's, August 9.)  Look at this picture of her this morning.

Those of you who know her, will see the significance -- she's SLEEPING.  In her bed, during the day.  I was actually walking around from room to room, and she was lying in her bed SLEEPING!

She's been doing this lately, just in the past week.   This puppy has been stuck to me like velcro for two years, jumping up to follow me from room to room, barely closing her eyes when I'm around, so a few times I've actually gotten concerned when I noticed she wasn't underfoot and gone looking for her, only to find her lying in her bed. *Sigh* My babies are growing up!!

Getting a-head in life

Psst!

Don't tell Teddy:  They aren't really "Power Sticks"; they're cut up zucchini from the garden.

It's a perfect day, and we went to Crane's Beach to enjoy the arrival of real summer weather.  Unfortunately, half of Massachusetts was there, too.  We got there at 10, which is usually before the crowds get there, but to find a place near the boardwalk (and hence not too far from the "potties"), we had to maneuver into a space in the middle of a bunch of other people who wanted to be near the potties and/or food (people with toddlers and one old lady).  Then, shortly after we got there a big group of people who had apparently come from the city, because they had a much different definition of personal space moved in behind us.  I breathed a cloud of sunscreen as one woman stepped away from her group to spray herself -- right upwind from us.  

I could go on, but I'll just say, the water was clear and refreshingly cold, the sun was hot and the breeze kept the green-head flies away.  We left after about an hour and a half, but that's the benefit of living 15 minutes away from the beach.

I'm sitting in the back yard now, after a picnic lunch, thinking about walking down to Patton park to hear the band.  The one sad spot in today will be the memorial ceremony we're going to have for Nemo.  I feel terrible, but we left Nemo yesterday in a spot where the sun shone in a window onto his cage and he got heat stroke.  We were gone most of the day, and by the time we noticed, it was too late to save him.  He died a few hours later, after being wetted and cooled, and then later warmed, wrapped in a washcloth in a basket on the kitchen counter.  He was, as Troy said, the best hamster we ever had.  

Dough Boys

The boys brought home those dough-balls that Bertucci's gives the kids to play with. I feel like we have a new pet -- we had to add flour last night because they got too sticky, put them in plastic containers so the boys could take them to bed, and this morning I had to re-knead them and clean out their containers because the dough had risen over night. Feed, exercise and clean - it's just like the hamster!

The Weekend is over

We had a great weekend.  On Saturday, Troy and I ran some errands and picked up plants and potting soil to fill our window boxes and pots.  We bought some tomato plants, too, because the ones we're growing from seeds are still so tiny, it's disheartening.  The bush beans we planted in the vegetable bed are sprouting, though, and so are some sunflowers.  It's so great to see things growing in the garden.  

We were looking at sliding glass doors on the internet.  We really want to put one in our dining room, with a deck into the back yard.  And have the house painted.  And have the driveway repaved.  And we have no money to do any of that . . .

Saturday evening, after running around and gardening, I didn't feel like making dinner.  We had a plate of vegetables and then went to the mall food court.  We had fun with the boys, going up and down escalators, and we went to H&M and found them each a "cool" cap and some shirts on sale.  

Yesterday we went to old friends for a barbeque lunch.  The kids played nicely, and the grownups got to talk.  We got home by 4:30, so still had time for a walk and to play some games before bedtime.  

After weekends like that, it's hard to leave and go to work.

Funny things kids say

C was cleaning when Pippa had an accident in the house (my fault for neglecting to take her out).  Already frustrated, C exclaimed "Now why did the friggin' dog pee in the house!"  Teddy was right there, immediately picked up the word he had never heard before and started practising it to commit it to memory.  "The friggin dog peed!  Friggin dog. Friggin' dog? Friggin' dog!"  C had to turn to him and say "Um, Teddy, that's not a good word.  I shouldn't have said that.  Let's not use that word any more, ok?"  

Ah, that's how kids make us better people.

Another winter weekend

This is a hard time of year.  It seems like the hours spent at work are so long, and the time at home is so short.  At least I realize now that it's not a sign that I need to make a major change in my life -- I just have to make it a few more weeks until Spring.  

We're passing the time by planning our vegetable garden.  We're going to put in a second bed and plant tomatoes, lettuce, peas, beans, zucchini, and we're going to try garlic and watermelon, too.

Today, I took both the boys to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner tonight and tomorrow.  (Marcy is coming to visit tomorrow afternoon, and we're going to have the Clapps over.  I decided to make chicken schnitzel.)  I cleaned out their closet a little, made lunch, and then we all had a rest together.  Teddy and I made "healthy" cookies (Oatmeal, nut, dried cranberries, and reduced sugar; which apparently I am going to eat by myself).  

Before dinner, I took Pippa for a walk at Patton Park.  It was just before 5:30, and the sun was setting on a clear, cold day, outlining the trees against the glowing sky.  

I figured out the trick to get Teddy to do ANYTHING: ask Troy to ask him to do it.  Right now they are both upstairs putting on their PJs by themselves.  You don't know how many nights we have battled him to put his PJs on (and to put his clothes on in the morning)!

All is peaceful here.  Good night :)

Educational Programming is Ruining My Kids

This evening as we were cleaning up after dinner, Teddy ran to the bathroom and tried to open the door.  He can't quite get the hang of pushing the handle down and pushing the door in at the same time.  "Slow down, Teddy, and you'll have more success," said Christian.  Yes, we are those people. The ones who talk to their kids like we're perpetually trying to impress a college professor or potential employer (I said perpetually).  We do it for the same reason we restrict their television viewing to the educational shows on public television, like "Sid, The Science Kid," about a boy who likes to learn about science, and "Martha Speaks," about a dog who can talk and who learns vocabulary words -- because we want to increase their exposure to knowledge and decrease their exposure to vulgarity (although apparently we don't want it enough to do without TV altogether).

Teddy opened the door, went into the bathroom, and stuck his head back out.  "But Daddy! Success means making a lot of money!"

Christian's jaw dropped and my head spun around so fast, I nearly pulled a muscle.  I recovered quickly enough to try to explain that for some people, success means being happy, or doing something to help others.  But Teddy insisted that "the man on 'Martha Speaks' said that success means making money!"  

That's it! No more PBS for you, young man.  From now it's Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel, 24/7!

In the old days, I was against the Photo-of-the-Kids Christmas Card.  Every Christmas, I would tear open the envelopes from far-away friends, eagerly expecting news of how they were and what they had been doing.  I would be disappointed when I would find only a picture of a child I didn't know and a sterile (I thought) "Merry Christmas."  

Time goes by.  Life changes.

This was the picture on our Christmas card this year: 

I am now fully a converted Photo-of -Kids-Christmas-Card-ist.  What I realize now, is that this photo, printed on a card ordered online, with a few words scribbled on the back, says more about how I am and what I have been doing, than I could write in 1,000 words.  You have to look closely, but it's all there.  

"I am happy," it says.  "I am completely captivated by these two boys."  In the picture, they are sitting in my lap, but all you see is the edges of my arms holding them: "They have become the most important things in my life."  C isn't in the picture either; he's behind the camera: "He is as engrossed in them as I am. We are sharing this with each other."  See how close he gets to them with the camera?  Trying to capture forever the exact color of each eye, the shape of each tooth, the curve of each smile.  

They squeeze in close together, pressing their faces to the camera: "They are happy, unembarrassed, unencumbered.  They love each other."  

You can see the reminder of the sun and sand of Cape Cod in the color of their cheeks, the highlights in their hair.  "We took a week off and went to Cape Cod," it says.  "The weather was fine.  The boys are always thrilled by the waves." 

"They are healthy," say the eyes and the smiles, bright and clear.  "We laugh a lot, see their silly smiles?  We spend time together as a family."

"And we think of you, even if we are busy.  Too busy to even write anything on this card, other than a very heartfelt 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year'.  We think of you when we see a picture in the last days of summer and think, this will make a great Christmas card.  I can't wait for them to see it."  

Of God and Video Games

Around Thanksgiving, Troy's kindergarten teacher had the kids write and draw a picture of what they were thankful for; and for New Year's she had them write and draw a New Year's Resolution. Now, C and I are atheists and proud of it.  I think the most discussion of religion Troy has heard in our house is me saying "Oh my god, Troy, how many times are you going to ask me that?"  Of course, everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and we want him to be free to find his own way and beliefs, so we don't say anything negative, either; it's just a complete non-issue in our house.  So imagine my, um, surprise, when I looked at his school papers and saw his "I am thankful for _____" paper. 

Apparently, Troy is thankful for . . . GOD. 

Complete with a drawing of the Holy Ghost in the sky.

After looking at it  for several seconds with my mouth hanging open, I gently put it in the drawer with all his other drawings.  A few weeks later, in front of the local Church's nativity scene, I gave Troy a little intro to Christianity.  He didn't seem overly interested, and I felt my duty satisfied for the time being.  

Today when I came home from work no one was home because the guys were at the bonfire where the town burns all the Christmas trees (which in itself is becoming an odd sort of community ritual).  There, on the dining room table among the notices and other papers from school, I saw "My New Year's Resolution is ____." Curious, I pulled it out.  Imagine my relief when I read:

"My New Year's Resolution: veleo gemks."  Teacher's translation written below it:  "to get better at video games."  

PHEW!  (I like how accurately he has tried to draw the TV on top of the cabinet, and that its main feature is the keyhole that locks the door where we keep the DVDs and videogame.)

Sledding

The weekend has been cold, but sunny.  We found a new sledding hill, and had a great time sledding yesterday and today.  The temperature has been hovering right around freezing, so the snow was packed and fast.  The boys are just old enough now to enjoy it and be able to walk up the hill on their own (mostly).  I'm so happy that they're learning that you can get bundled up and have fun outside even when it's cold.  Good preparation for skiing?  

I took the camera along, but left it in the car because I was having too much fun sledding, myself, so no pictures.  You'll just have to imagine it:  C, sitting crosslegged on a round plastic sled, flying down the hill backwards, yelling "Ahh, ahhhh, AAAAHHH!"

On the last run of the day, I accidentally sent Troy into the bushes.  Luckily he had his sunglasses on, but he got a good scrape on the side of his face.  We ended the day in tears, worn out and hungry, but I think we'll be back again soon.

Secrets

Kids say funny things, and I think one of the things that makes them funny is that they point out how illogical our use of language sometimes is.  Before Christmas, I was trying to introduce the boys to the "giving" part of the holiday. I had each of them wrap a small present with me for his brother.  Troy gave Teddy one of the magnets we had made out of one of his drawings.  Teddy was happy with the tiny square package tied with a ribbon -- he didn't even care what was inside.  

Teddy and I picked out a Star Wars figure for Troy and wrapped it together.  Teddy was so excited.  "I can't wait to tell Troy!"  

"No, Teddy, listen.  Don't say anything.  It's a secret."

"Oh, yeah.  OK, when Troy comes home, I'll whisper it real quiet in his ear!"

First snow

The boys went to get a tree on Saturday.  I was hesitating to put it up, because our living room is so small.  Now that it's up, it looks nice a cozy, though.  

We woke up on Sunday morning to the first snow fall.  It was the really pretty kind that sticks to all the branches of the trees.  Annakin and Luke put on their boots and coats over their pajamas and went outside to play (it was just after 7 in the morning).  I stood in the doorway in my slippers and shushed them when they got too loud so they wouldn't wake the neighbors.  Then we had hot chocolate and Lebkuchen for breakfast.  It fun to spoil them sometimes!

The First Joke, Ever

(First, an informational note: I'm tired of using T1 and T2 for the boys.  It seems so impersonal; plus it's awkward to always have to type numbers.   I still want to keep some anonymity on the 'web, though, so I'm going to go for Anakin and Luke, their favorite Star Wars characters instead.  OK?  OK.)

Anyway, Anakin made up his first real joke tonight.  Pippa was licking his face which he loves.  "She's a lick-er!"  he said, giggling.  Then, turning to me, he said,  "Maybe she went to the . . . Licker store!"  *silly grin*

(And no comments, please, about why the phrase "liquor store" is on the tip of my 5-year-old's tongue.)

Visiting the Cousins

We had a fun weekend with H and A and the cousins.  T1, T2, and I jumped in the car Saturday and made the 3 hour drive.  T1 got car sick for the first time (just queasy, not actually sick) but felt better after a little stop.  Still made it by lunch time, plenty of time for playing and, when the rain cleared, a walk in the woods to a playground with the 5 kids and 3 dogs.  Then, great Fajitas by A, wine for the mommies, and a movie for the kids.  More playing in the morning, with lots of jumping on the trampoline, another attempt at a walk (little Xavier was tired, but too excited to sit still in the stroller).  After lunch, we headed home for a relaxing Sunday evening at home.  I actually played a board game with T1 and T2: Hi Ho Cherry-O.  Too bad these weekends can't last forever . . . 

Love,

Christina