A February Update

Now it's been 7 months since I've last blogged......YIKES! Time is flying. I keep meaning to get back to this and the time never seems to be right. Perhaps now that I have a laptop I can make it more frequent.

Today Guy drove Christian to kindergarten and Connor and I drove Grammy and Grampy to the airport. They are finally in Florida. They are going to spend two glorious months enjoying the Villages and reconnecting with cousins, children, grandchildren and old friends. I hope that they totally enjoy their time as well as the warmer climate. I wish we were in a warmer climate. I am getting quite tired of freezing cold temperatures and having to dress my children in fleece and turtlenecks all the time. I am ready for warmth.

The boys are doing great. Christian is almost at his schools 100th day. This will be a big celebration. He and I will have to find something in our household of which we can count 100 of. Perhaps it will be legos or pasta. We'll see. He is right on track academically where he should be and I am more than thrilled. Three years ago I was worried about where he'd be. He is truly an amazing kid. He works hard and he tries equally as harder. His progress is amazing. Go Christian!

Connor is in pre-school, at the same pre-school that Christian attended. He is doing well, learing everyday. He is currently in the process of switching classrooms, into a classroom where he knows a few more friends. I am hopeful that this will make him feel more comfortable. We'll see how it goes...fingers crossed.

The boys have really taken to ice skating this winter. Connor is a natural. He can pretty much run on ice at 3 years old and have a blast. He is not the slightest bit fearful. Christian just got a new pair of skates from Grammy and Grampy and he suddenly can skate amazingly. It's awesome to see. I like to say it's like a "fire has been lit under his *ss" and now he goes!!!!! He is skating real fast. He's not fearful to fall and he's challenging himself on the ice. It's pretty cool to watch his progression. I've been waiting a long while for it :-)

Ok, now hopefully it won't be another 7 months till the next post. Connor turns 4 in just 2 days. He can harldy wait. He want's to be four already. Let his birthday celebration begin.

Summer

So it's been another 4 months since my last post. Christian and Connor both finished up school. Christian has graduated from his 3 years at preschool and is now headed to Kindergarten in September. Big changes headed his way. I am so excited for him, for the school that he got accepted at, for his teacher and classmates, I think it's all going to be a great experience and an atmosphere in which he'll thrive. He's ready to make the change. Connor too will be switching schools. This fall he'll be attending the same preschool that Christian went to. It will be a new set up for him, but he is already familiar with the building and some of the teachers and class rooms. He's a little shy, so I hope that he'll adjust quickly.

We've been having an amazing summer so far. It rained a ton in June, but the past few weeks have been pretty nice. The boys and I are on the Cape often, with Guy joining us some weekends, other weekends we go home. I found these wonderful swim lessons for C & C in Yarmouth. They each have a 1/2 hour lesson every weekday morning and they love their teachers. They are making lots of progress. Suddenly this weekend Christian turned into a fish, in our hot tub. He suddenly realized how much fun it can be to go under water and now a whole new world has opened up for him. If anything, he's a little frustrated that Connor won't fully dunk. I have to keep explaining to him that Connor is only 3, it might take him time, and that even last week he didn't want to go under willingly. However, Connor will put his face in the water and occasionally go under unintentionally. There is less fear in the little one, in most activities. Is it his personality or is it just a 2nd sibling thing?

Besides swimming, our days have been filled with mini-golfing, trampolines, ice cream, riding bikes on the street and on the bike trails, playing at the beach, taking our new blow up boat into the ocean and rowing around, shopping, water gun fights, t-ball, riding merry-go-rounds, taking walks & many....many other fun things. It already feels like the summer is flying by.

Today, back at home, Guy and I took the boys to Newton to go canoeing in the Charles River. What a blast. The kiddos loved it. It was hot and every so often we'd get splashed with the coolness of the river. I can't wait for our next trip.

When we finished up on the water, we headed to Boston and the kids ran thru the sprinklers at the Christian Science church. Christian said that the water was cold, so he wanted to move on. We grabbed lunch and then headed over to the Frog Pond. Aagghhh, memories. Where we got engaged. We love going there, esp. with the boys. They played in the park for a bit, then headed over to the water to frolic around. Even though it's only about a foot deep, we had to give Christian strict instructions NOT to go under! I'm sure he might have tried. It's the new thrill of his life.

After a family shopping trip to Kohls, Zac's favorite place on earth besides Aruba, we said goodbye to Guy and headed East again for the week.

Treasures:
*Perfect day all around - Home, Boston and Cape
*Great day on the water canoeing
*Watching Christian's expression each and every time he reappears from under the water
*Seeing Connor eat a bagel and have no concerns about having cream cheese all over his face and nose.

I Wish I Could Freeze Time

I wish I could freeze time in certain moments at least. I was gone pretty much all day today, teaching at two rinks. Usually on days like today, Guy has Daddy days with the boys....unless my parents or friends help out. I had a great day on the ice, and returned around 4:30. Guy and the boys were outside doing yard work....at least Guy was. The second that Christian spotted me, his face lit up with an enormous smile ear to ear. He ran towards my car coming up the driveway. Then Connor noticed Christian, then me. He too followed, full speed ahead towards my car with a giant smile, calling "Mama". That's the moment I want to freeze. Complete happiness to see me. Complete happiness at my return. Their smiles were so genuine, so engraved in my mind, I hope I will always remember those 20 seconds.

The rest of our day passed quickly. Bath time for the boys, dinner, a little play time and then bed. Guy and I are fighting off a head cold so we're turning in a little early too & hoping for a good night sleep. I promised him that I'd wake up early tomorrow. Not an easy task for me as I LOVE sleeping in. But it's his turn & he could use it.

I'm hoping that we see more days like today in our near future. The weather was so nice and spring-like. No jackets needed. The winter had been long & cold, so I am looking forward to warmer days ahead.

Treasures:

*Warmer weather
*A wonderful day on the ice with so many great kids
*An end to another Saturday skating season - as much as I love it, I look forward to the break
*The smiles on my boys faces upon my arrival home tonight

March is almost over & I'm finally writing again

I'm back. So now that my friend has started her own blog after reading some of mine, it encouraged me to pick up where I left off. I've been meaning to keep it up, our lives have just been a little too full lately.

The boys are getting so big. Connor is talking up a storm, always surprising me with what he can say and how much he comprehends. Christian has been trying to be an even better big brother....we're working on it. I had the boys at a playground this past Sunday and it was super fun for me to watch them up high on a structure together for about an hour. They'd go up, they'd come down. The great part is that while they were high in the air above me, Christian was Connor's doting brother, making sure that he wasn't afraid, going down the slides together, always on the lookout for his little brother. That was sure nice to see since typically I hear a lot of fussing and crying at home - disagreements about toys, wanting to play together so badly, just who knew sharing could be so difficult??? I just can't wait for the weather to be nice all of the time so that we can be outdoors more instead of being cooped up in the house.

Right now I am in a cast on my right arm. I took a few falls skating and it resulted in multiple fractures in my wrist. I'm on the mend and will be visiting the Dr. again next week so I'm a little anxious to see how the healing is coming along. With any luck the cast will come off for good. As much as my wrist feels better being immobile, it is a bit of a pain and it's slowing me down. However, I want my bones to heal correctly, so I'll take whatever he tells me.

Last week with St. Patricks day and all, we had tickets for the Saw Doctors. It was such a fantastic show, perhaps the best yet, and I've seen them 15-18 times over the past 15 years. My parents came with us and we met up with Michelle and Ken and their group. I can't remember the last time that I had so much fun. Michelle and I realized the next day that we're not 20 somethings anymore. Not fun. Highlight of the evening is when my Dad and Guy walked in 10 minutes after my mom and I did. I looked over at them and realized that they were having a converation with Leo Moran, the lead guitarist. I headed their way, but by the time I got there, he had already moved on, heading back stage. For a few seconds I had the thought to be a groupie and have him sign my cast.....it didn't happen.

I also had another big change in my life last week. I visited my hair stylest and changed my very blonde hair to a deep brown with reddish highlights. It is quite different and I love it. People that I know keep giving me shocked looks....amazed that I'd be brave enough to try such bold changes....but, I'm all about changing it up. This is closer to my real hair color than I've had it in years. Christian loves it because he says it's dark like his. Connor keeps asking me where my blonde hair went and tells me that he likes that better.

The weather warmed up today so we were outside for a few hours until bath time tonight. The kids were filthy. They play hard. They are boys.

My skating is winding down for the season and I will miss all of the girls that I teach on a regular basis. I so completely enjoy teaching, it would leave a big void in my life if I wasn't on the ice. I hope to get the boys on the ice at least one more time before the nearby rinks close.

Christian 5 1/2, Connor 3

I'm back in the blogging world

I feel like I have all but abandoned this blog. The holidays were quite busy around here, it seems quite a blur. We ended up having our family Christmas party here, the Saturday after Christmas. We had a wonderful time. The house was packed and fun was had by everyone. I'd say that everyone particularly loved seeing the newest member to the clan, baby Zachary. Babies have a way of making things especially special again.

We just got back from our vacation to Aruba. The boys and I were very lucky this year and got to stay two weeks instead of just one. Unfortunately, Guy had to go home to work for the second week, but hopefully next year we can plan better and know in advance that we'll be there for two weeks. One week just isn't enough with all the travel. Plus, this time of year, you really miss the sunshine. It's a great getaway.

Christian made a few friends down there this year. He really took a liking to a new friend named Juliana. They played a lot together and spend lots of time swimming in the pools, hot tubs and feeding the fish in the ocean. Connor also found a new buddy, an older woman - all of 6 - named Chloe. He loved her! She'd hardly pay him the time of day, but didn't object to his company. He was mesmerized in her presence. It was interesting to watch it unfold from my perspective. He's not usually like that, but I guess he likes older women. He was even trying to ask me - I am 100 % positive, if he could see Chloe at home. He kept asking me "Chloe at home??" I had to tell him that she lived far away. At least we have pictures that he can look at :-)

Keeping it short for now as I'm still catching up on all the household things that need attention. Here are a few pics from our trip.

A little bit of bread for the fish, a little bit of bread for me.....

Christian, Connor and Juliana

Looks like Connor is looking for more bread

Christian and Juliana in the hot tub

Connor and his older woman, Chloe. Love the hat!

Christian and Juliana playing "Soil and Oil"....a game only they can understand

Daddy and Christian in the warm waters of Eagle Beach

Getting ready for the waterslides of La Cabana

Connor is a little dare devil. Christian never would have ever tried this at that age.

Connor swimming in deep water. He thinks nothing of it even though he's 2.

The boys at Baby Beach after visiting with Jan at his train museum/house

Dinner at the Radisson...Italian night with those to die for deserts

On Auntie M's favorite Pier, Palm Beach

Chrisitan in the free form pool at the Radisson

Zac and the Palm Trees....now also known as Papa Jack....

which makes me want to say "Papa Smurf.

Me and my boyz

This is how we found the boys tonight. Christian is soooo tired that he has no clue that Connor is sleeping ON him. Connor is so tired and desperate to have company, that he snuck into Chrisitan's room.

We've been busy

I am back. I sort of fell off the face of the earth for a number of weeks, but I am finally getting around to posting again. I guess it is just the time of year, everything seems more hectic, we have less free time, and in general, we're just always doing something. Over the past few weeks we've certainly kept ourselves on the go. I was a bit sick with a head cold over Thanksgiving, Connor too. Guy had a touch of it, but nothing like the little man and I. It knocked me out and I was pretty bummed out because I absolutely love that holiday. I love watching the parade, eating lots of good food and seeing some relatives. Anyhow, I spent a bit of the day in bed. Boo hoo.

Guy and I headed down to NYC 2 weekends ago. We had tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and our day trip was quite fun. We crammed a lot into a day. The show was great and we did a lot of window shopping around the city. We walked to Rockefeller Center, up and down 5th Avenue, and over to Times Square. We had lunch at the ESPN Restaurant (Guy's idea, but good) and dinner at a small Tapas Restaurant right on the outskirts of Times Square. It was quite cold, but we picked up these funny little hats along the way.....we were easy to spot thereafter. What a great trip.

I've been teaching a bit more lately on the weekends, and I love spending my free time on the ice. I feel so lucky that I have a job that I love doing. I had Christian on the ice with me on Saturday afternoon. Grampy brought him down to the rink to meet up with me. He did so good. He loves being at one particular rink, and loves watching the Zamboni. Unfortunately for him, the rink manager that we know wasn't there, so he didn't get to go sit on the zamboni, but perhaps next weekend. That manager gave Christian a book (really for adults) last year, all about the history of Zamboni's. It is probably 150 pages, filled with really neat photographs of Zamboni's thru the years, from conception thru today. It's pretty fascinating and he just loves it, looking at all the pictures. He can even tell you lots of facts about certain models/pictures, etc. Add to his future resume: Grampy Cook Conductor Chef Painter Window Washer (like Curious George) and Zamboni Driver. If you ask him what he wants to be when he gets older, that is what he'll tell you. I love that he starts with Grampy....he so badly wants to be like his Grampy.

Yesterday we took the boys down to Edaville Railroad for their Christmas lights festival. We had so much fun, I actually can't wait to do it again next year. Connor was captivated and loved every second of the train ride & wanted so badly to do it again. Christian is getting so brave and he went on many rides after the train ride was finished. We did the ferris wheel, carousel, rockets, tilta whirl (I can't believe that I brought my 5 year old son on that one!) and many other little kid rides. They also loved playing on the stationary trains. I foresee another trip down there this summer for Day Out With Thomas.

Daddy and Christian on the Caterpillar Ride

Connor on a Mini Train

Christian being the driver of the Mini Train

All Aboard!

Daddy and Connor on the Mini Train

Mama and Christian on a play train. Both boys were in their glory!

Guy and I inside Radio City Music Hall

Look at the chandelier above us

Me and a random NYC Christmas decoration

Christian in front of our Christmas Tree

First snowfall of the season. The boys couldn't wait to go out and play. Christian desperately wants to go sledding on the golf course. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough.

Connor continued his nap one day after being carried in from the car.

It's November!

We had a truly delightful day yesterday. We're back to having some nice weather again, so Guy and I took the boys to a nearby playground in the morning. They had a blast, Christian started out by climbing along all the tires, up and down, up and down. After a while, I joined him. He took a look at how I was able to walk them, jumping from each one to the other and within a few minutes, he had the hang of it too. He's a fast learner. Connor meanwhile was enjoying all of his Daddy's attention on the swings and the slides.

We let Daddy have some alone time to watch the Patriots play in the afternoon. I took the boys back out to another nearby park where we spent a few hours. It was just gorgeous and there were so many people out and about walking & playing. We brought Christian's race car with us, which he thought was great! He had such a good time riding it fast. Connor had his bike, but grew tired of it quickly. He doesn't pedal yet, so his feet have to go very fast to go......so I can see why he got tired. Next time I'll bring his stroller and perhaps a smaller bike that can fit underneath.

We're off to pick up Christian at school!

Treasures:
*Playing outdoors for hours yesterday.
*Quality family time.
*Having a break of my own this morning while both boys were in school. It's a rare occurrence.

Playing is tough work. Christian taking a break.

Christian thoroughly enjoyed playing on the tires.

Daddy giving Connor a helping hand.

Connor and Christian playing on a train in the afternoon.

The Conductor!

The trees in our back yard are almost bare now.

The grass is covered in them and we are able to see the golf course again.