The End Is Near

We're staring down the the final week of summer, determined not to let it go without a fight. I think many of us are having a familiar internal conflict -- sad to see the unscheduled warmth of summer days dwindle away but also ready for fall's consistency, backpacks, soccer, and new school friends. I loved starting school when I was a kid and I think my own kids may crave the familiar pattern of September as well. But, we have plenty of time for the fall rituals that await us. Before we head down that autumnal road, though, we were happy to give ourselves over to a final hurrah of summer loving.

We're pretty lucky ducks with our parents choosing to live in some pretty rad summer places. This month, our circus gave Maine a workout. We squeezed in a party, a play, a day trip to Rockport with moms and babes, cousin time, hangout time, mini-golfing, biking, and a final weekend of camping. Other than a few random one-and-done puking sessions and a little less sleep than I'd prefer, it was a perfect end cap to our summer.

These days were certainly lovely and I really have no complaints (outside of the puking) as we put the summer of 2014 to bed.

Five of the six blond monkeys

Not sure why this game was fun but it lasted a long time

This one seemed even stranger

This little cutie and I might just be very serious, very good friends now.

Until Jack unseats me and takes over the BFF role.

Choking? Hugging?

Meeting the characters after the play.

Evening bike ride while camping.

Looking out on Frenchmans Bay.

I think all tents should be sold with s'mores.

A quick stop on our bike ride in Acadia.

Looking out on Penobscot Bay from the only bridge tower observatory in the country. Who knew it would be in Waldo county Maine?

Another hug/choke?

 Exploring Ft Knox.

All Is Quiet On This Front

I wish I could say that we have been up to uber exotic things in the past month and a half, but, well, we really haven't. And, while I was recently called the "meanest mom ever" (credit for that to remain anonymous) for not signing anyone up for any camps, I seem to have redeemed myself (for the time being) by being incredibly committed to bringing good snacks to the lake. Yup, this is the summer of small victories. For us, this year, small was good. After doing a major move last year, and being commitment averse when it comes to children's activities (I mean c'mon, do we really need to sign up for fall soccer in MAY?), and wanting a summer fairly free of schedules, I decided I wanted to go low key for 2014. So we have done some trips to Maine, trips to Block Island, a trip to New York, the Cape and some various really fun day trips thrown in there (that sounds far busier than I remember being. But remember -- no camp due to mean mom). On our other (most of them) days we have gone swimming and hung out with friends. Aaaaand, that's about it. Oh, and we eat good snacks too. This year has been really great for us. Littles have made incredible strides (hah!) in their swimming. Bikes are getting ridden a lot. My garden is actually producing real, live vegetables instead of brown leaves on forgotten vines. It's nothing really special except it in that it's all special. These opportunities to do very little don't come around all the time and I'm basking in the mellowness and  relaxation (please note that I also break up fights, spats, wrestling matches, wooden toy throwing, shrieking, and whining a-plenty but I am currently wearing my very attractive rose colored glasses and I refuse to take them off). I have a feeling we'll be doing some more stuff next summer, which is good. I also have a feeling that some of us (even the mean mom utterer) will look back on this summer as a great one. One fairly free of demands and where the structure of our days was largely dependent on how much swimming we wanted to do. It's a pretty rad life, Charlie Brown... just not an overly exciting one and there is not one change I would make.

Butterfly catchers

These swimmies are soooooooo June 2014

Ferry shenanigans

Freshwater swimming on BI

Taking in the view

A little taste of RI's sweet nectar

More ferry shenanigans

Crazy berry picking in Maine

Propelling the future

The Dance Museum -- best dress up clothes ever, ever

A big fan of the giant ballet slippers

Oh, we also eat a lot of ice cream

Lots

And we celebrated some birthdays

Oh, these dress up clothes were pretty good, too.

Do you sense a theme? 

And a final summer selfie.

Are We There Yet?

I know summer is almost here because my hair is suddenly huge again. I almost forgot how much "fun" it is to tame this wild bird's nest on top of my head every day with only minimal flyaways so that I don't block traffic. It's worth every frizzy lock, though, to have summer at our fingertips. I've said this before -- I love, love, love the Pacific North West. It's a small sliver of heaven up there. The only sad face emoticon that accompanies our time there, though, is that summer isn't quite summer. I will tame all the irregular curls in the world in order to have our New England summers again. I am ridiculously excited that school is almost wrapped up for the year -- I am the most giddy one in this house by far. Jack finished up on Friday and as we pulled out of the parking lot on the last day of the year, he asked when he would get to go back and see his buddies. I'm your buddy now, my boy! Molly has another week and a half and while she's ready for school to be over so she can kick that yellow bus ride to the curb, she's also going to bummed not to meet up with her pals and write love notes to her teacher. It's really me who can't wait for the dirty feet, the afternoon ice cream treats, the lazy mornings, and random adventures. But I know my kids and they are up to the challenge of sticky fingers, late bedtimes, and wet bathing suits. Our summer schedule is most certainly not everyone's cup of tea and I'm conveniently ignoring the inevitable hum of being bored or the meltdowns that will ensue when I explain that we can't have slushies for lunch, because, well, those pesky realities don't penetrate my giant helmet of hair. Even excessive frizz has it's benefits.

In all seriousness, these days of having my little people still be little enough that they want to hang out with me are fleeting, so say the old timers. I'm soaking up our relatively unencumbered schedule while it lasts, because I know that it doesn't. I also know that I'm fortunate to have choices in how much I work so I want to honor the choices that feel best for us and keep my monkeys kicking around the back yard as much as I can. Because, really, they are pretty cute monkeys.

Wow, our lawn looked awesome earlier this spring. Thankfully it looks green now (even if it can't actually all be called grass) and is ready for the backyard aquatic madness that these two will concoct. 

Yes, please. I want lots of this...

And this, of course.

So does he, apparently.

Coming attractions this summer, right in the comfort of your own home: our traveling circus! Yes, we will show up on many of your doorsteps. My apologies in advance. 

This will be the summer of selfies, I just know it.

Meeting up with old friends without requiring an advanced degree in scheduling will be lovely...

As will spontaneous swim dates with new friends. 

I can't wait to hear the outcome of all the conspiracies.

And to see what totally random and always entertaining plans that we can come up with.

Happy (almost) summer!

Light My Fire

I honestly can not tell you what Molly is going to end up enjoying when it comes to hobbies and extra curricular activities. Whereas my littlest little seems to always, always, always be on the move (even when he watches a movie, he does some laps or often does the stand up/sit down tango when we're reading a book or coloring) and loves sports and gross motor skills, my biggest little's attention wanders in many different directions. She certainly also gravitates towards things -- drawing, writing, reading, hanging from monkey bars -- but she also shows interest in a bazillion other things -- karate, dance, mothering, becoming a scientist rockstar, making sticky potions from soap and clovers. It certainly doesn't bother me that I don't see her "path" but I'm curious what, if anything, will light her fire (other than climbing trees and going through 45 reams of paper a week). I think there's tremendous value in being a generalist so if sticking her hand in many pots ends up being her thing, so be it and more power to her. Turns out, there's lots of cool stuff to do out there in that big, wide world of ours. Moreover, it's interesting to join her on her journey and it turns out that I also learn things -- like that I'm not a very good a putting her hair up in a bun but I can apply make-up on another person better than on myself. Aside from these critical life lessons, and okay, more importantly, I also like hearing her take on what she gets out of ballet or learning about her mind/body connection in karate because they're new to experiences to me. I think she and I have a lot in common (sorry to those on the receiving end of our short temper) but she's much braver than I am. While she craves a good hug and warm snuggle, she is also fearless and strong and utterly unapologetic in being true to herself. I hope she keeps her six-year-old sense of curiosity and fierceness long into the future because nothing looks better on a girl these days than a sense of self-worth and imagination.

At the MFA -- we do churn through a looooot of paper and markers. Maybe the art world is ready to be stormed?

First dance recital. First time wearing make-up -- both highly enjoyable experiences. Maybe Carnegie Hall is ready for my half-pint?

Post-dance, accolades were appreciated. So, maybe a diva -- watch out Celine, she has some pipes on her too (this is where our similarities detour. I have also have a set of pipes on me -- they're just leaky and broken)?

Fire station tour with Girl Scouts. She did bring her own fire hate... maybe she'll be fighting the flames someday? 

Her dad clearly has some skills to pass along, oh conqueror of the canoe. We'll ask him for advice...

Sweet Child of Mine

Newsflash: boys and girls are very, very different. I'm not talking about effects of nature v. nurture here -- I think that particular debate might break the internets -- but simply that my anecdotal, observational data leads me to that above conclusion (well, me and a bazillion other people). And I love that I have the opportunity to experience both a mother/daughter and a mother/son relationship. Both are magical and fulfilling and bring me incredible joy. There is much to laud in their similarities and differences. As a second child, however, Jack very rarely gets the "only" or the "first" of stuff -- even though there are so many differences. We strive very hard to talk about how "fair" isn't about getting the same stuff, it's about getting what you need. Nonetheless, as the less vocal member of the under seven posse and certainly by virtue of the fact that he was born with another member living here already, he's often not the only one in the spotlight. So, this post is about my little boy. Right now I have the opportunity (and privilege) to spend a fair amount of time with my little guy and really -- he could not be more like a sweet puppy. He and his friends wrestle. A lot. There really is very little that a roll in the grass can't fix.They use their kinetic energy to fight and make up, fight and make up, fight and make up. There is zero drama except mine when I cringe at the yanking and kicking. He also needs to run (and run and run and run) and I'm very thankful that spring has sprung so that we can go outside and resume our endless hockey games, scooter walks, playground trips, trail run/walks, tree climbs, and anything else that gets those wiggles out. There is something just so pure and innocent still about his little boyness. He loves his friends, he loves babies, he is nudge sometimes, yes, but he is agreeable, he is rarely cranky unless he's so over-the-line tired. He is a concentrator, a story teller, a laugher, and a helper. He grows up quietly -- he's the one coming to me with an entire portfolio of people pictures and letters and writes his name and practices other things without much fuss or fanfare. He still loves trains, yes, and superheroes still rank highly but he also is a puzzler and a game player and a book "reader". He also may have the best belly laugh in the lower 48. It's catching, literally.  He is so, so fun and sweet and just enjoyable to be around. He's a marginal listener (with magic mom-voice-blocking powers) but he loves snuggles and says incredibly outlandish things that make me laugh so I'm (mostly) over it. It's really quite simple  -- I love being his mom.

Two of my favorite monkeys.

Might be hard to see here but his pants are undone. Because he just peed by the trees. Keeping it classy.

And another one of my favorite puppies.