Cranky

I am cranky and stumped. My little guy just doesn't like to sleep. He's given up his afternoon nap most days...and of course by 5:00 he is a complete Tasmanian devil. By 6:00 I find myself wondering about how to parent well.....because even then he resists sleep like no one I have ever known. And, I'm not quite sure how to take charge of this situation. I can't really blame him for his crazy behaviour because I know it is a direct byproduct of the lack of sleep. But it makes dinner time a real drag...and I end up feeling very cranky.

Tips for how to create a new no nap schedule for an almost 3 year old???

Kuba's Chalk Art

He's a pretty fantastic drawer for an almost 3 year old!!

Vintage Winter Pants and Jacket

I bought these at a second hand store down on Cape Cod a few years ago....and I was about to take them to Goodwill when the thought struck me that maybe, just maybe I should try them on Anders and see if these were a realistic find or just a cool winter outfit from the 50's? After he willingly tried them on AND let me take his photo, I've decided to send them to the drycleaners. They really are cool....thick wool checked pants with suspenders and matching coat....now, let's see if we ever have the occasion to wear them!! They sure don't make things like they used to.

Chrysalis...

We woke up this morning to the lovely caterpillar in a chrysalis...he was hanging in a J for one day and TA DA...finally that lovely green chrysalis. The magic is underway!

What the Weekend Looked Like at Our House...

1. Friday night block/animal play.

The game started with just Anders and Kuba, but ended up with all four of us playing "school" using blocks and animals. It was really fun and was a great way for us to get a peak into Anders and Kuba's interpretation of life at school.

We had a lamb, kid, calf, colt, parrot, and baby moose that were the kindergartners, and a sheep, goat, horse, cow and steer, and parrot - these were the parents. The children walked down the hall (in a line!) to the kindergarten room where they hung their backpacks and listened to a story told by the teacher (the teacher was a horse all decked out in armor from our knight set.) The animals would then go and play outside for recess and wait in a line at the end of day until their parents came to get them. It was always a very joyful reunion!

We all had a role, but Anders was the director....or at least the one with direct K experience.





2. A Hike in The Woods

On Saturday we went for a fabulous hike in the woods with friends...it was exhilarating! The boys were off and running the minute we got out of the car.
We hiked around a beaver pond, over boardwalks and through a swamp and ended up in a field of milk weed! We had been looking for a monarch caterpillar for over a month now with no luck, and within about ten minutes our friend Cheryl found one! Not too long after I found one and both families left with a very hungry
caterpillar munching away on milkweed leaves.

Anna put the huge caterpillar in our terrarium once we got home and it has been munching happily all day long....tonight it is on the screen and we think might be a chrysalis by the morning. (and yes that is caterpillar poop on the other leaf)





3. Sunday Morning Waffles

On Sunday, the boys made waffles with Anna. They are both really into cooking now. Kuba has mastered how to crack an egg and empty the egg into the bowl, and
Anders has now become the "official" waffle maker. He was totally in charge of spooning batter into the waffle iron, waiting for the steam to stop and the light to go out, taking the waffle out, delivering it and then repeating the steps. It was a great job for him and I think from now on he really is our waffle maker.

5. HOUSE/Barn Work

Anna and I have been madly reorganizing and cleaning out the barn. We hauled out a ton of stuff, brought in 5 bins of winter/fall clothing, and began the labor intensive process of dealing with a ton of "stuff" that has been accumulating in the barn. There are boxes of dishes and glassware from Sweden, art supplies, furniture, baby things, toys, totes of clothing, etc. We want to actually use it for fun and play, but need it to be cleared out and reordered. I must have done 18 loads of laundry, washing the winter stuff of 4 people, and then removing summer clothes from drawers and closets. It was a very productive weekend!

6. Noteworthy quotes from the weekend:

Kuba and I were sitting on the couch reading, and he got up to get another book from the other room. He said " I am getting another book and I am taking my heart and my penis with me."

Kuba was sitting in the car seat and Anna was driving. He said "Mama, I really love the color of your eyeballs."

Paradigm Shift

I found out tonight after a mammogram and ultrasound that I have cysts. Nothing more. For about a week I was suspended...not sure how to proceed while I waited to find out more. I imagined the worst case scenario which is absolutely unimaginable -breast cancer. I couldn't quite believe that I had "cancer" because I feel completely 100% fine (if not better than that) and I found it impossible that this would actually be true.

Yet, there was that chance.

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 52 years old. I just turned 50.
I worried that perhaps genetics was at hand here and that it was time for me to follow in my mom's footsteps. (turning 50 really makes you think deeply about the value of this life) My mom is now 84 years old and doing very well thank you, but still fear is a powerful emotion and I was doing my very best to keep it at bay.

So suspended I was, partly calm and partly holding my breath.
And all I could think about was my family. (Hence the last post about love.)
I just can not imagine not having a long life with my two incredible, adorable, amazing and lovely children.
And now, right now, I am back to a real hallelujah about this life, this lucky life I do indeed have! And reaffirmed in the commitment I made to myself to make this one life I have as big and full as possible.

Love

I am up late tonight
and I am thinking about
love.

In my whole life there has been nothing quite like this love I have
for my family. It's so big, so real, and so much a guiding force in my life.

Every single day.

I think about Anders and I think about a sensitive boy who's heart is about the size of jupiter. He can be shy, slow to separate, but his depth and level of loving kindness is remarkable. I look at him and I wonder what he will be like in 10 years? How will the soft part of him stay soft as he matures and enters the bigger world more and more.

When Anna and I were expecting Anders we were keeping a journal and one entry was all about what values we wanted to share with him. Kindness was at the top of our list and I see that this value has rooted and is growing strong.

When I look at Jakob, I marvel as well but for different reasons. He is boisterous, loud, passionate, and unbeleiveably bright. He can be forceful and definite. He is alive like no one else I've seen and everything is felt fully...joy, sadness, anger, frustration. If he feels it, he'll show it. His spirit is so strong, so vibrant that I find him completely irresistable.

And the two boys together?
Well that is simply magic.

I find both of my children absolutely fascinating.

And of course there is Anna.
Quite honestly, the boys get all their beauty from her. She is without a doubt beautiful, but she is also one of the most talented people I know (I know a lot of talented people!)
She can do anything...and really well. Construction, wood working, drawing, designing, singing, playing music, athletics, fashion, haircuts, baking, mothering, etc. She is patient, kind, and really really nice. You can see why the boys are so lovely.

I can not tell you how lucky I am in love.

More than Bubbles

This is magical!

Precipitous Boy

When Anna delivered Jakob, it was a "precipitous birth."
That means it was rapid....really fast. The whole labor from start to finish was under 4 hours. And the actual delivery, that was about 45 minutes total.

Fast.

That is what I want to write about.

Kuba is sort of an amazing kid to me. Fast.
He was walking at 10 months.
He was speaking at 12 months.
He was singing in tune and many songs by 18 months.

And now...the real kicker...he potty trained in less than five days.
For real. And no night diapers. I'm not joking.

Precipitous potty training.

Anders wasn't fully finished with potty training until he was nearly five years old, so I wasn't even prepared for this. But Kuba's pre-school put a pair of training underpants on him last Thursday, and obviously he was ready.
He did have one accident on Saturday...but other than that, it's over.
No more diapers.
He even has the pooping down.

I went out and bought pull-ups thinking he might need them, but seriously, I just wasted the money. I think I used 2, and he really didn't need those.

So, here's to one other monthly expense we will be shedding...diapers!

YAHOO!!!!!

Followed by Kuba's Send Off Day 2....

Here's Jakob on his first day of pre-k at his new school, also the school I work at, also Anders new school. His room is right next door to Anders and there is a door between the two. It is so nice to have them right next door to each other, and all of us at the same place. I feel we are so very lucky.

Scenes from Kindergarten Kick-off!!

On the front porch.


Modeling new backpack.


Walking to school with a friend.


Stopping for juice and coffee on the way...(coffee for grownups!)


Marching into school.

Surprise!

Jitters be gone!

Day one of kindergarten was just plain old swell!
Anders and assorted friends walked to school,
he lined up with the rest of his mates,
and into the classroom they marched - not a tear in his eye.

I heard from my colleagues that he was just fine in the room, and I myself even heard him singing "Five little ducks went out one day" as I sneaked past his room.

WHEW!
Now tomorrow is Kuba's first day at pre-K. Let's see how that goes!!