to your mother

THOUGHTS ABOUT BEING A MOTHER AND LOVING A MOTHER...FROM A MOTHER OF TWO.







Friday, August 31, 2012

This Girl

started pre-school yesterday. 
 
After a half-hour of screaming "I not go to SCHOOOL!"  I threatened to take her new backpack away. 
 
 "I can take it to friend's house. I no need to take it to schoooool."
 
"No, the backpack is for school, you take it there or you take it NO WHERE."
 
pause...voice brightening "Mommy? Can I wear my purple socks?"
 
She realized and accepted her fate.
 
 Still not too happy.


 Drama, people, drama.

Joseph, on the other hand, calmly told Julie that she needed to go to school to learn.

Thanks, Joe, for your wisdom and support.


 
 Day Two of Preschool:
Classic, people, classic.

(note: She did NOT take all those babies into school with her...they were just along for the ride.)
(Her purse was holding a baby diaper, a hat, and a flosser from the dentist...reminds me of Mom, always prepared for any situation.)

Monday, August 20, 2012

Cell Phone Pics Episode 6: Blast from the Past

The house that we grew up in in Woodbine was put up for sale last fall.  Our dear friends the Parkers met us there for the open house one Sunday.  Here are Joseph and Brody standing on a stump with the old homestead in the background...a cell phone pic taken for prosperity reasons.




The house that shared our driveway was for sale also.  Chris Parker's, longtime friend from elementary school, best friend Eric lived in this house.  Colleen, Chris's wife, and I thought it would be groovy to get our pic taken in front of the fireplace in the kitchen.  I spent a lot of time in this kitchen growing up and later Chris spent time here with Eric in high school.

The old homestead was auctioned off this past spring, Eric's house still sits empty and owned by the bank.  Times, they are a changing.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Cell Phone Pics Episode 5: Big Machines

Mom and Dad receive a tremendous amount of help from the German Baptist community in their area.  A favorite is Dennis North who does Mom and Dad's landscaping around the house.

Here Dennis is removing some bushes from the front beds.  The kids were fascinated with the walk-behind loader/grabber machine that Dennis used to get the job done.  I cleverly placed them in the back hatch of the van so they would be safe...and not pester Dennis too much.


 This episode was a couple years ago...I don't remember why Julie was shirtless.


Two summers ago we went to Cape Cod to visit Mike's Mom's side of the family.  In the background you can glimpse the beautiful, refreshing cove in which we swam...but who really cares about that when you have an excavator doing some work.  The driver took pity upon the boy who would sit and watch him work and asked me if it was okay to give him a ride.

This fortunate boy...living his dream.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Cell Phone Pics Episode 4: Two Kids = Lots Of Fun

Most of these pictures were a quick and dirty way to let someone know we are thinking about them...be it a thank you or we miss you or hurry the heck home before I explode upon these children.


Thank you Phillips Family for the Valentine's card!
(Then I sent it out to various loved ones to say Happy Valentine's Day)


Hurry home Daddy!




 I forgot my regular camera and thought this episode with Mom was too precious to lose. 
Note Julie's socks pulled up to her knees...Mom did that then waited (a long time) for me to notice. 
We laughed a lot about that.




Thank you Sara for the hula-hoops!



I didn't bring my camera to the last soccer class...4 weeks of Joseph playing his hardest and Julie whining more than, well, more than any whiner you have ever heard.
Really.  Don't let her joyous smile fool you.



Thanks for letting us use your trampoline Kayla!




Texted to Daddy to let him know we missed him at the Mall carousel.  Joe - 3 years, Julie 2 years



Not Halloween, just dressing up.  Julie will secretly don this mask, then jump around a corner yelling "Piggyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"...funny throughout the day, not so much at 6 A.M.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Joe-isms


This kid cracks me up...here are a few of his recent thoughts:

Sitting on the toilet: "When I was in my bed, I stuck my butt up in the air...and I had a POOP signal!"

During a discussion about going to the fair: "What's that thing at the carnival?  That sweetness?  It's pink?  (If you think you know that answer, respond in the comment section below...you may win a prize.)

After finding some laminated paper monkeys from a past library art project:  "Why are those monkeys trapped in plastic?"

This boy, he makes me smile.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

What I Learned On My Vacation

1. MaMa and PaPa's beach house is a magical place.
2. Spending time with family is truly a blessing.
3. 7 cousins (ages including 7, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 1) can have a great time doing just about anything.
4. Balloons can be a blast or just plain evil, it all depends on your age.
5. A week of eating most meals in front of the tv can be a relaxing break from day to day structure.
6. A week of "meals" meaning eating cheesy poofs from the bag or a hot dog on the fly can be fun.
7. Expecting all this fun to last into week two is unrealistic.
8. Accepting defeat and coming home before week two is complete was a fantastic decision.

We are recovering well from vaca; gobbling local fruits and veggies, snuggling into our own beds at night, playing with our toys as if they are long-lost friends.  Peace.