Sixth Sense

Here's my girl at six. She's still the same sunny, funny, chock full o' ideas kid that she's been for however long I can remember... oh, that's right, I remember it all because I have been there nearly every concoction brewed, costume worn, elaborate scene set up, new height jumped from, glitter and sparkles glued, and monkey bad crossed. Her energy remains unflagging, her stubborness continues to assert itself in new and "exciting" ways, and her independence grows and grows. She loves to do math and workbooks, likes to color, does lots of dancing (still wears tutus and leotards most days), has questionable taste in clothing matches, will wade happily out in snow, has a sneaky sweet tooth but likes all food more than most normal people, could organize a national conference on fairness and justice (for herself and ever changing rules), and could be a professional arts and crafter if that was actually a thing. Girlfriend loves her glue and sequins and paper products. She is doing really well in school with good reports from her kindergarten teacher and has realized the social upside as well as the academic advancement that "real" school offers. She retains many of her "first child" attributes -- you know the bossy, alpha, rule following, bossy, mother hen knows best, bossy ones --  but they are tempered with her sweetness and caring for others. Sometimes the alpha qualities are helpful and sometimes it's just. so. interesting. how the rules change to fit the needs of the moment... and very rarely to Jack's benefit. She is, most of all, just... her. She is undeniably, unequivocally Molly. I wouldn't have her any other way.

Molly: 6
Weight: 45 lbs
Height: 46 inches

1. What is your favorite color? All of them (Red, orange, green, blue, violet, brown, and black)
2. What is your favorite toy? Lego Friends (Playmobil)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Mango (Watermelon)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Cat In the Hat (Wild Kratts) ed note: I still think it's Wild Kratts. Or the Sound of Music. I guess that isn't really a tv show though unless you watched poor Carrie Underwood embarrass herself. 
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Tuna (Yogurt) 
6. What is your favorite outfit? My patching PJs with my doll (My bow dress). ed note: Though she likes her jammies a lot, girlfriend is all about tutus and leotards as her comfort-wear these days. 
7. What is your favorite game?  Candy Land (Garden game) ed note: Also known as the most boring game in the universe. 
8. What is your favorite snack?  Goldfish (Goldfish)
9. What is your favorite animal?  Bunny (Koala bear)
10. What is your favorite song? Mr. Grinch (Any Lori Berkner song) ed note: Please see her love for Sound of Music above. 
11. What is your favorite book?  Little House books (Ramona books) 
12. Who is your best friend? Marin (Sophie and Kingston) ed note: Who?
13. What is your favorite cereal? Strawberry Os (Granola)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Monkey bars (Make a snowman) ed note: This is the truest answer in this entire list.
15. What is your favorite drink?  Shirley Temple (Gatorade) ed note: Who's isn't? Yum.
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas (Christmas and Valentine's day) 
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Dolly (Rapunzel and Dolly and Pillow) ed note: Some things never change.
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Toast (Oatmeal)  
19. What would you like to have for a special birthday dinner? Lemon shrimp pasta (Grammy's Macaroni and Cheese)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A doctor or a famous figure skater or a rock star scientist (A teacher)  ed note: Rock star scientist seems to really be pulling ahead. It's what she told the doctor today, too. 
BONUS QUESTION: What is one wish you have for the year? That I could take tap (I wish it was sunny because tomorrow is rainy. would like to learn all about Spanish.)

Hoodwinked on Halloween

I would love this to be a story about how I started asking my children what they wanted to be for Halloween in March and though they went through several iterations of "best2013Halloweencostumeeverwhoowhoo!", they finally landed on their final visions in mid-September, in time for me to order and construct in a leisurely way before the big night arrived. I would love to tell that story. And for one half my dynamic duo, this is true. One decided to be Batman (after I nixed some amazingly complicated other costumes, though that stuff never bends him out of shape anyway) and stuck to Batman. And I ordered and constructed what I needed and finished in a leisurely way. Okay, I actually finished his the day of Halloween but it never felt THAT rushed. The other one started with a koala bear, migrated through most of the animal kingdom, and ended up at Tinkerbell. Totally fine. I ordered and constructed this costume with oodles of time to spare. This was my inspiration:

and my final product ended up pretty close to this, if I do say so myself. It was somewhat labor intensive but totally worth it. We added some wings and shoes and other cute accouterments and Tinkerbell was in the house. Why do I not have a picture of the actual dress I made. Well, it doesn't look quite as nice on a hanger as this one does. Molly had a Halloween parade at school the day of Halloween and I suggested maybe her Tinkerbell costume wasn't the best to wear to school since it required some tying and shifting and I was pretty sure her lovely Kindergarten teacher was not going to have time to adjust 24 costumes. This didn't go over particularly well but it went over. Eventually. So, off to school Molly went with her ballerina costume instead and the parade was super duper cute. 

Fast forward to the evening when the time arrived to put on costumes. And guess who didn't want to be Tinkerbell anymore? Sure as hell wasn't me, I'll tell you that much. Someone loved her ballerina costume so much she decided that it was actually her costume of choice for the evening. I committed a big parenting fail and argued about it until I realized a) it was all my fault for not letting her be Tinkerbell earlier in the day and b) I wasn't going to change anyone's mind and c) it was HALLOWEEN COSTUME for the love of pete -- not a decision to start smoking crack on a whim. I'd love to say I just accepted defeat gracefully and let it go, but in reality, I gritted my teeth a few times, faked (badly) a smile, probably muttered some incredibly immature thing like "see if I care" and let her get dressed up in her ballerina costume. 

And it really didn't matter. We joined our friends, got a sugar high, melted down at the end of the night and have continued to eat Halloween candy for over a month. All things considered, I'd say it went about as close to plan as you can expect. 

Our streets were safe from crime that night with these two on the prowl.

The parade that started it all...

Birthday Boy

Boo. Here I go again with my hiatuses...

All is well in suburbia and life continues to bump along at a good ol' pace. Kindergarten is going well for some, preschool is going well for others, plane flights to Seattle are rocking for still others -- just the normal stuff. Except somewhere in the midst of the normal, our little guy turned four. And I'm pretty sure I can (mis)appropriate the old saying "in like a lion, out like a lamb" except instead of March calmly turning into April, our littlest has turned this notion upside down. His toddler years came in like a sweet, sweet lamb and then BAM, four came like a lion. So yeah, it's nothing like the saying except lambs and lions are fun. Basically, he likes to run around like a crazy man... and he doesn't like to listen to, you know, RULES ABOUT SAFETY (personal, property, really any kind). He takes me dives, tackles more people, runs on more sidewalks, hits more slap shots, crashes more trains, flies more superheros, and climbs more questionable objects than any of my other children. But he is also snuggly, incredibly empathic, sweet tempered,wily, gentle with babies (only), at times helpful, very opinionated, and very, very funny. He likes to be rough... but he also likes to tell "jokes" to the babies in his life (for the record, he only tells the punch line and never sets up the actual joke). And homeboy has discovered exactly.how.to.push.buttons. He's very, very, very good at that and has one particular target... doo do doo (poormolly). 

I get lots of time with this sweet child of mine and while I occasionally would like to keep him on a leash or in a protective bubble, I always love his spontaneity, his humility (he's the kid who just wrote his name with no fanfare one day. No need to show off or tell me who taught him letters because goodness knows it wasn't me), his snuggles, his devotion to hockey, trains, and superheros, his excitement at seeing grandparents, his friendliness (not when he screams hello to the neighbors at 7am but ya' can't win 'em all), his fondness for his buddies, his devotion to his dad, and the fact that he doesn't even care that I write run on sentences.

At four, he knows his letters, can write his name, does not like going to the doctor, pretends he's David Krejci, still loves his train tracks, remembers way too much stuff for anyone's good. He is a little wobbly but proficient on a two-wheeler though he far prefers his scooter. He is learning to skate, tells good jokes, enjoys puzzles, and has a really fun imagination to listen to as he narrates his games. His favorite show is Wild Kratts and Thomas and he loves books. He continues to have zero interest in arts and crafts (though I do appreciate his teachers' encouragement of mixed media), sniffle, but he's a good egg in every other way. 

And so, a belated happy birthday to my littlest bean. He's come a long way, baby. 

Weight: 40.6
Height: 42in
1. What is your favorite color? Blue and Yellow (Yellow and blue and green)
2. What is your favorite toy? Thomas (Thomas)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple (Apples)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Thomas (Thomas)and Wild Kratts - like all kids his age, he' likes his creature power
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter and jelly (Peanut butter and jelly)
6. What is your favorite outfit? Striped Thomas shirt and cozy pants (Thomas shirt)
7. What is your favorite game?  Thomas chugging on the rails (Cat in the Hat)
8. What is your favorite snack?  Chocolate granola bar (Applesauce) though really, it's always been granola bars
9. What is your favorite animal?  Monkey (Llama)
10. What is your favorite song? Chuggington (Elmo song) nope
11. What is your favorite book?  Superhero books (Busytown) 
12. Who is your best friend? Theo and Levi (Teacher Katie) my boy misses his Seattle peeps but he does love Will and Joshua an awful lot 
13. What is your favorite cereal?  Strawberry Cheerios (Tractor Cereal) dunno what those are
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play hockey (Play football)
15. What is your favorite drink?  Milk (Juice)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Thomas holiday... Christmas (Santa)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Horton (Elmo, Burt, Thomas, Percy, Curious George, Horton, Cookie Monster, Grover )
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Bagels (Scrambled eggs)
19. What would you like to have for a special birthday dinner? Pizza (Pasta)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A real hockey player (I want to cross the street myself. I like Firetrucks)
BONUS QUESTION: What is one wish you have for the year? See Joshua 

She's Lost It

While the above title could probably definitely apply to me at any given moment, in this case it references the other she in our family. And while it could, ahem, also mean a whole host of things about her, this is a story about a tooth whose owner was desperate for it to sever its ties to her mouth and begin its holy journey to home to the tooth fairy.

For whatever reason, losing a tooth was a REALLY big deal to Molly (I mean before it happened. Before it was even on the horizon. Before she knew money was involved!). She was convinced of canine conspiracy! molar mystery! incisor intrigue! that was going to keep those teeth in her mouth forever. It was rough. And because I was so focused on not letting her get too focused on it all, I never thought to check to see if any of her teeth were loose. Oops-a-daisy. And so, a few weeks ago, on a ride home from Maine, she complained of her tooth hurting. I began tallying up orthodontia bills in my head, convinced that my faulty teeth and mouth  genetics had been passed on, whole hog, to her. At a rest stop (because, you know, Jack has a bladder the size of an ant so every rest area becomes an opportunity for us to stretch our legs), I looked in her mouth and discovered her tooth hurt because it was about to come out. Oh heck yes! Dreams (or natural growth progression... whatever) do come true! And a week or so later, that sucker came right out, happening in grand fashion -- at school where the nurse came and gave her a little treasure box to put it in. It couldn't have been written any better. And the tooth fairy? That's a story for another day... but ultimately she came and deposited her cash and we got woken up at 5:30 in the morning with the confirmation of her visit.

A Love Letter

Dear Fall,

I have missed you very, very much over the last four years. There is almost nothing as divine as New England in autumn and it hurt too much to remember how exciting and generous you can be while we were apart. I admit it -- I got distracted and developed a crush on the mild weather in Seattle -- it was painful to forget about you, autumn, but I had to put your gloriousness out of my mind during the drizzly months of late fall out there. I'll admit that I was swept off my feet with being able to comfortably head outdoors for nearly all the months of the year and forgot the allure of four distinct seasons. I even briefly fell head over heels for the dry, hot heat of Penticton. I've come back to you now, though. This thing we have is special and I realize now that there is nothing like New England fall -- the chilly mornings, mild afternoons, gorgeous sunshine, crisp air -- my heart lies with thee forever and ever. The allure of the season will hopefully keep the woeful depression of late winter and dirty snow from becoming overwhelming and your loveliness will be enough to carry us through the other months of the year. I suspect it will be just fine. I want to remember you just like this, especially in March when I've gotten used to seeing crocuses and daffodils pop up even though I know it'll be at least another month before I see them here. I need you to continue to be reliable and steadfast so that I don't get sucked back into thinking spring comes earlier than it actually does. I think you've turned on your charm quite nicely this year and I sincerely thank you for putting in your best efforts this year. I won't forget it.

Yours faithfully,
Melissa

P.S. Apparently, I'm not the only one happily enjoying the season.

The Wheels On The Bus

We have week #1 of Kindergarten tucked under our belts. And I use the "we" generously since it was a transition for all of us last week. The bus ride, the outside the building pick up and drop off, the "I have no idea what you did all day" -- those were opportunities for reorientation for me that apparently barely registered on the actual kindergartener. She says her days are great, she's making friends, she's ready to replace Charlie on the MTA and become Molly on the yellow school bus (except she actually doesn't want to get off versus not being able to get off). I have no idea what is actually happening at school since getting information out of the lock box isn't ever easy (why can I find out the play by play of a Wild Kratts episode but cannot hear who she sat next to at snack?) but I can easily tell that she's found her rhythm already and is off and running. Little brother is embarking on his school year next, and that familiar routine of school days is on the horizon, which is comfortable and comforting despite all the big changes we've achieved over the last several months. After a very fun summer, one where I wouldn't have changed a thing, I'm happy to slip back on the familiar threads of the school year. Though spring is traditionally the time of rebirth and regeneration, when your life is centered around school-aged children, the fall usurps that traditional cycle of mother nature. And while they are off and exploring and experiencing, I have a little more quiet in the house, which is both welcome and a reminder of the other things people are doing and that they are off on journeys elsewhere. I am thankful for the little break from the constant-ness of small people. I certainly miss overhearing the stories from the playroom and the conversations and snacks under the quilt forts (while decidedly not missing the bickering and tattling) but I take a great deal of comfort knowing that they will resume sometime after 3:00 and while I might not know what happened during the school day, I can rest assured that I'll know what every pirate, dancer, ice skater, baby, and other random assortment of characters is doing during the great toy takeout of the afternoon. The balance of new and old, of known and unknown is exciting and peaceful and helpful to tuck away in the back of my mind. It makes the inevitable bumbs along our roads easier to weather, aware that we strive towards homeostasis and balance.

And The Beat Goes On

Tomorrow is the day -- well, really it's Wednesday but tomorrow is orientation -- so we're going into school and meeting Molly's kindergarten teacher and learning whose face goes with which one of those twenty-two names on the class list and finding out where she hangs her bag and where I pick her up. I'm nostalgic and a little sad, of course, finding it hard to believe that my baby who was responsible for my change in careers is ready to embark on the school journey already (wasn't she just this big? and didn't she just learn to sit-up/crawl/walk yesterday? and where does the time go?) and (overnight, of course) turn into a big kid. She is beyond excited, having continued to pack and repack her backpack over and over. She had her clothes picked out weeks ago, is steadfastly maintaining that she is ready to get on the bus, and is full of energy about what tomorrow will bring. I know that isn't always how new experiences have always gone with her but she has really been looking forward to this day for a long, long time and has grown enormously in her ability to embrace change and have faith that the unknown is okay. Having that faith took me a long time so the fact that she leapfrogged over me on this one is making me feel a little like a dunce. I'm proud of her, nervous for her, nervous for me, a little freaked out about the loss of control (for me) but know that this is a natural and logical step for her and she is super ready to embark on this phase of her life. She'll actually be in school for less time this year than last year but this feels so much bigger and official-er and grown up than preschool. It's not the time she'll be away from me that is hard to get used to but the door that she's walking through and that the balance is yet again radically shifting in regards to sufficiency and agency. Thus, while my head and heart aren't totally in sync here, I know that harmony will come and with a few ups and downs for both of us, we'll soon be looking in the rear view mirror on this day of firsts.

The almost-kindergartener at our special Molly/Mom first day of school lunch date 

Babes In the Woods

I am, by no means, a moving expert but one thing I have learned to appreciate when starting off in a new place is to explore spots that blend into the background before too long. Some are hidden gems tucked away in the woods, some you know are there because you drive past the sign 4000 times a day but it's hard to make the time to actually get to, and some are hidden in plain sight and easily overlooked. I'm not going to pretend that every opportunity to explore has turned out well -- I've had some major duds. We have dragged people on a trail from beginning to end or tried to convince everyone that "this place is so kitschy cool" with scary looking, most-definitely-not-amusing, ceramic tree creatures peeking out from weird nooks and crannies. Looking back on our early days both Penticton and Seattle, there were beautiful spots that we stumbled upon soon after we landed that I didn't necessarily return to as time went on and we settled into our routines (clearly, we're a well oiled machine) and normal stuff dominated our daily lives. And while we've "returned" east, this part of Massachusetts is still pretty new to me and I'm trying to bask in the best of both worlds thing that we've got going on -- familiar faces and places to catch up with and return to while also enjoying the new-to-me spots that come with every transition. Amid the chaos that comes with large men dropping large boxes into all corners of your house and doing super fun errands like poking your eyes out at the RMV, it grounds me to just head out and find something new (to me) and see where it takes us. We did that the other day when the lack of pictures on the wall made me feel like I was living in an asylum (there are some up now -- I guess John didn't like the direction I was trending). I knew there were big adventures to be had -- the aquarium, the children's museum -- but it's the small, local places that I really like to suss out. We headed out on a path with a picnic lunch, made it approximately 50 feet before the little river (swamp) made for an enticing spot to stop and throw rocks. Lots of rocks. I've been making a concerted effort this summer to stop hurrying and rushing -- to let my hurry-resistant children set the pace more than me. You know us, being late is our calling card, but this has been a special summer with almost zero structured plans and very few times when we've absolutely had to be on time. And then we stopped 25 feet further along to climb on big out crops and (Jack was not with us that day but Superman was and he was convinced he was going higher on the rocks than Jack could ever go. Good thing Superman has two moms...ahem...to let him know how he's doing with every step). Eventually, because Molly realized that bears might come get us despite my reassurances that bears don't live in Dedham, she shooed us along and we spent a completely lovely, longer-than-planned afternoon meandering in the woods. 

These afternoons are the kind you savor. The big stuff will always be fun and magical and there's nothing like watching your kids' eyes light up on Christmas morning or when they see their favorite character in real life. Those times will get memorialized and talked about with great joy and pleasure -- as they should. But these less thrilling afternoons are the mortar between the bricks of those great adventures. They blend together and aren't necessarily outstanding in and of themselves but they are quiet moments of togetherness that I feel privileged to enjoy. It eases the transitions, too, to go back to basics and just head out together without muss or fuss or even too much of a plan. This move hasn't been awfully hard by any means but I still like these early months when everything is new and we have the opportunity to explore the big and small stuff right under our noses. It's a good opportunity to remind myself to stop doing and just be a bit more -- that adventures come in all shapes, sizes, time frames and distances from home and that small things, like dragonflies, can make the world sparkle. 

Superman and Mom II

Rock scrambles

The road newly traveled... by Superman

And magic does happen when you can stand still enough for a dragonfly to land. 

Wonderland

Wellllllll, what can I say? The white rabbit and I are late for a couple of important dates. It's been a whirlwind couple of months and when I say whirlwind, I mean a complete mess... of loveliness and sweet moments and hard goodbyes and a myriad of other fun stuff. My biggest (but still very, very small in my mind) monkey graduated from pre-K (proudly) and set up her first entrepreneurial venture all in the same week. This girl is ready to move on to bigger and better. She is most definitely the daughter of my dorky self who loves nothing better than a good day of school and her father's kid who can identify and carve out a business niche in the neighborhood like it's, well, her job. 

In the midst of celebrating and bidding adieu, we got some much needed hands to pack up our house in Seattle. Has anyone told you how not fun packing and moving is? I remember moving out of a dorm room as painful, but you add a few Legos to the mix and it all goes down the toilet. The good news is that I never plan on moving again so come visit us in our new house! Suburban Massachusetts is lovely for the next 1000 years so you'll know where to find us and our not-moved-selves.

We finished up in Seattle with a much needed tour of local ice cream joints. It's about the only thing (along with a littie bit of Johnny Walker) that makes your forget about boxes and packing tape. 

I also managed to harass friends into letting us tucker our little people out.

And we said our final goodbyes to our sweet little Craftsman

 But we said hello to...

our new house (thanks to Nana for the picture)! Wahoo!

In the midst of all the craziness of packing and saying goodbye and moving and flying and unpacking and saying hello and seeing old friends, we have sneaked off and had some fun (is that allowed when your life is contained in many totes and boxes and bubble wrap? Apparently and necessarily).

Enjoying Molly's oft requested meal of Maine lobster

Jack took Nana's hat to new heights

And stood on top of the world... or on the tippity tip of Block Island

And even enjoyed a freshwater dip.

While this has certainly been a nutty, nutty summer, we're looking forward to being a little more present (hallelujah! I've been waiting for someone to pay attention around this joint) and able to be back in the swing of things. There is a lot on the horizon as we get ready for the big Kindergarten leap (I'm not sure who is more excited for that upward movement... though only one of us chokes up a little when we think about how dang old our baby is) and Jack leaves behind his beloved co-op preschool and starts afresh at a new school, which thankfully has a few cars and train tracks kicking around. It's been an up and down and over and under summer but we're enjoying the ride again... now that we've divested ourselves of those boxes.