The Work I Do

So I know I have written in here many times about how exhausting it is to work full time at two different schools and raise two young children at the same time. It was a bit of a leap this year when I agreed to take on the second position. In fact, I think I have written about this a lot. Often times it feels downright impossible to do it all very well. On the worst days I want a maid, a landscaper, a nanny, a personal chef and of course a secretary. Oh, and sometimes I really need a fashion consultant!

However, in spite of the exhaustion I often feel, the work that I do is remarkable. I am an art educator in a high school, which I totally love, and I am also an arts coach at a very local public elementary school, which I also totally love. Having been in education for so long and having had plenty of amazing experiences and mentors to shape my vision, the thrill I feel about this position of arts coach is hard to describe. The school is in the middle of a transformation process, with the focus obviously being on the arts. It is fascinating to be a part of this process. I work with some very bright, very passionate educators and I feel enlivened to be at this visioning stage with them. We are sending Anders there next year and this combination of the things I feel most passionate about, education and my children, is a combination that thrills me.

These photo's are of a recent field trip - an integrated arts unit with a group of first graders studying the five senses in science. We got to touch, see, smell, hear and imagine tasting all at a local art museum. The museum photographer happened to be taking photo's and I thought I'd post them here. I just love them. It is pretty amazing work.

Recent Quotes

Here are two really recent quotes of Kuba's that made Anna and I crack up -

Before going to bed the other night he said:

"Let's talk about stuff.....pause....
What can you make with oatmeal?"

and

In a conversation I over heard him having with a 5 year old friend:
"You know what I have? Don't you think it's a racecar?
It's not a racecar! It's a fish tank!"

Nothing as good as Home Made

MCann's steel cut oats, farina cereal, cinnamon, baking soda and cookie decorating sugar sounds delicious, doesn't it? If not to you, then imagine it was a wonderful way for me to keep my two year old incredibly happy while I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen around him. No one liked the steel cut oats or the farina anyway.

Kite Flying Weather

The highlight of my week was flying kites today with Anders.
It was absolutely wondrous! I mean exhilarating! The wind was fantastic and the kites were new. A frog and a turtle kite given to the boys from Uncle Mark and Aunt Sharon at Christmas.

First of all, I have to say that Anders is a real natural!
He tugged the line to keep it up, ran with it, in fact he did the most amazing tumbles as he tripped while running, his eyes peeled on the sky...and all the while keeping the kite in the air and not letting go of the string.

He did get the kite stuck in a few different trees around the playground, and once in a tree above a neighbors house across the street. We managed to get it down or free it up every time.

The final exciting obstacle was when Anders was flying his kite really high...I mean way above the treetops. He accidentally let go of the line (while he had a LOT of line out) and the kite sped across the basketball court....causing all the players to stop their game and run after the kite, but it raced past all of them - free at last - and continued flying out across the main road and over some rooftops. We all watched in complete horror! Anders was beside himself, panicked as he watched his kite flying away! After searching we found it...luckily it got stuck on something on the side of a house and came to a halt.

Somehow, I managed to get it for him. We borrowed a neighbors ladder, I climbed up and cut the kite down, and then wound up the seemingly mile long kite string.

We rejoiced over our good luck!

We plan on making a habit of this...just maybe in a more ideal location!

Architect Mama and Son

We have this wonderful set of blocks on our coffee table...just sitting around begging for attention. Anna and Anders have been playing with them a lot, and here are just a few samples of their work. How could I not post them? They are so beautiful! I love this family of mine!

These Spring Days....

................................................................................................................Now that the weather has shifted, there is a lot going on out of doors - and most of it right in our own backyard!

My pajama clad boys are out early, happily creating animal habitats; arranging animals all over the yard, making nests, poking in the dirt, and in general acting as if they have been starving for the out of doors!

To be outside without all the gear is glorious!
The brown grass, the mud, the naked gardens, the bare trees full of potential, all of it...
fabulous, wonderful, and clearly meeting a need all of us have had.
Happy Spring!

Art in Action

I had a painting in the barn I had done years ago when I was an art student. It wasn't a great painting, but the canvas was large so I saved it.

Anna and I decided it was time to haul it in, let the boys repaint it, and hang it in the new playroom.

We began by having them paint over the old painting with white gesso in preparation for the new painting. We then divided the canvas into squares and painted each square a color. The kids are now in the process of painting over the color grid - my thoughts being that the contrast between the geometric grid and the organic quality of their paint strokes will be interesting and beautiful.

I have been doing this with them in little stages, a bit at a time, so they won't tire of it and will remain enthusiastic. It's new for me to work with the boys on something so big, and it's really fun to see what they decide to do with the paint. In fact, it is thrilling to watch them go at it. We don't really know where it is headed, but we are watching for clues. All of us figuring it out as we go along!

More to come as the painting reveals itself!

Kindergarten Registration!

Oh boy! Get Ready! After months of conversation about which school to choose, we registered Anders for kindergarten this week. We chose to send him to the school I teach at, only a half of a mile from home. I simply cannot believe we have moved to this phase of parenting. Thank God we have 6 months to prepare! I am definitely the one who needs it most!

Making Faces

Sometimes being silly in the car is as good as it gets!

Magical Birthday Party

I just got these photo's from my friend of Anders party.
I really love the cake Anna made with all that black icing.
And all those capes you see in one of these photo's...well my sister sewed them all, one for each child. Talk about love.

Growing

There's been lots of growing going on in our house these days.

Literally, we have moved upstairs again and are in the final round of settling our house. It's been wonderful and fun and so good! More space, each boy has his own bed, a playroom, etc. and Anders got a 10 gallon fish tank for his birthday and this is so exciting. We have settled the playroom, added big shelves and sorted and placed all the toys we took away when we downsized. It feels marvelous, organized and like a really nice play space. We are now in the midst of finishing off our office space upstairs and then the final frontier, the bedroom! We should be done then until the next big addition....:0 We are considering getting an extra room put in above the kitchen. If we do it, this should be the end of all major renovation on our house. We would have literally touched and rebuilt the entire house from the inside out. Not easy, but each day it feels more and more like our dream home.

And physically. Anders has just turned 5. A big number it seems! He's had lots to say about it and he's not quite so sure turning 5 is as good as being 4. He really liked being 4. Kindergarten is coming this fall and he's not too sure about that either. He finally got used to pre-school and now we are going to change it on him! We have lots of months to work on preparing him for this transition. We've been sorting through the choices for his kindergarten... and we've pretty much narrowed it down to the arts magnet school I work at. Big choice and not particularly easy I might add. Lots of pros's and con's either way. I can be anxious and worried and he can be a bit dependent so we had to factor that in. But that is pretty much where we have landed. More on that as it unfolds.

And emotionally. Yikes! I feel like Anna and I have been working so hard on finding balance in our lives. It's been a long haul.
It's so easy to get consumed with activity especially when you both work full time and have 2 young children. But we are making progress and that is all that counts. Both boys are happy, healthy, eager, feisty, and fun. We are aware and trying hard to do our best. That again, is all that counts. This life has been such a journey, such a learning. So hard to describe...the depth of feeling and angst that arise on a day to day basis as a mom, teacher, partner, individual. Finding balance. Finding the way that is the most loving for all.