Sunlight

When we bought our house a year and a half ago, we loved the neighborhood, the size of the house, that it had a good sized yard, and that it was on a cul de sac (a bonus since that wasn't on our list of requirements). What we didn't realize at the time was that the good sized yard was covered with humongous pine trees which would make growing a garden difficult, not to mention that we wouldn't be able to throw a ball in the back yard without hitting a tree. Our actual usable back yard is pretty small. So fast forward 18 months and a good chunk of tax return money, and we are removing said pine trees.

I'm actually feeling a lot of guilt about cutting down so many trees -- trees are good for the environment. They're pretty. They provide shade and homes for our animal friends. BUT they also drop one million pounds of pine needles and pine cones. They provide a really good host for poison ivy (which is rampant in our yard) and make it impossible for the kids to be able to play freely out there. And really, I want to be able to plant a garden and put up a swing set for the kids. It's impossible to do now.

But not for long!! Men with chainsaws, a giant truck with an even giant-er cherry picker, and a wood chipper are here as we speak. They've already trimmed along the driveway (we're leaving those particular trees there -- they're just  trimming up about 35 feet) and are now in the back yard. There are a good 20 trees back there that they are removing. But don't worry -- they aren't taking all of them (we can't afford that much!) And with us sharing a backyard fence with a nature conservatory, we will still have a ton of trees nearby and places for our animal friends to nest.

This is supposed to take 2-3 days for them to accomplish it all (including stump grinding). Next step after this will be for a landscaper to come in and grade and level the yard and plant grass seed. I am so pleasantly surprised that this is happening so quickly! If it's possible to put the grass seed down now (maybe not -- it's still cold enough that not all the snow has melted) maybe we'll have the beginnings of a usable back yard by Lucas' birthday!? If not, then hopefully by Zach's, in July.

I can't post photos at the moment (my home computer has a virus) but will try to include some before and after in the next few days. For now I'm excited to get up from my chair and see what has happened in the 10 minutes I've been away from the window. Already I can see more sunlight in the front yard from where they've trimmed. I can just imagine that the back yard is going to be amazingly sun-filled by the weekend!

Overcoming a Fear

Zach is a dare devil. He has no stranger anxiety (he loves EVERYONE). He isn't shy. But for some reason he has been terrified of the idea of the dentist. I'm not sure why -- he hadn't even been to the dentist...but I think maybe he thinks the dentist and the doctor are the same thing, and he has it in his mind that you get a shot every time you go to the doctor. Wonder why that is (poor kiddo)!

Regardless, I have been meaning to take Zach to the dentist for a while now. I think by the age of 3 everyone should go, and then you should go every 6 months for the rest of your life. It's just what you do. Dental hygiene is important! But Zach is 3 and a half and still hadn't been and I knew I needed to remedy that.

Part of the problem had been that I don't particularly like the dentist that Em and I go to, and certainly didn't want Zach to go there. I knew I needed a pediatric dentist for him since he's a bit of a scaredy cat, and I wanted one near our house (my dentist is in Newton -- like 45 minutes away, in traffic). I finally asked some of our neighbors and was referred to someone really really close -- like a mile from our house. Turns out that all the neighbor kids go to this particular dentist. I made an appointment for Z and we got right in the next week.



Mommy Bunny had her teeth checked out too
(she apparently has 6 teeth)



On the day we were going in I had already decided that it was going to be a special Zachary Day. Dentist, then to Mommy's Work, then to Daddy's Work. I didn't prep Z too much on the dentist (I read this was wise to do so they don't stress), and on our way into the building told him we were seeing the dentist now. He said he wanted to sit on my lap and I said okay. Well, we walked into the waiting room and it was like Kid Heaven. Toys, fish tanks, and Toy Story 3 playing on the flat screen tv (and they had movie theater seating in front). When Zach got called in by the hygenist, I went back with him, he climbed up in his chair, and then nearly ignored me. He had his stuffed animal friends and blankie for support, but really wasn't scared at all. They hygenist explained everything to him (this is Mr. Suction, this is Mr. Squirty); he got to wear cool Spiderman sunglasses, and picked out his own flavor of toothpaste (strawberry). The dentist and hygenist both commented on how good Zach was (multiple times, actually), and I was even able to take photos and send a couple of cell phone pics out since Z was relaxed and enjoying the experience. When he was all done (with an A+), they gave him a goody bag of stuff and even let him feed the fish. The kid had a blast and felt really special.

We went to Dunkin Donuts afterwards for a donut and strawberry milk (where we ran into his preschool teacher), then to my office to see my work friends and have lunch. He showed everyone his goody bag from the dentist, drew an anatomically correct drawing of one of my co-workers (that's a whole other story), gave everyone kisses, and then I took him to Kevin's office where he spent the rest of the afternoon while I went back to my office to finally do some work.

The best part of it all was when he asked if he could go BACK to the dentist!

Snow, Snow, Go Away

March 13, 2011

We've had snow on the ground consistently since December. Usually we will have snow, which melts or sticks around for a week or two, then melts, and the process goes over and over again all winter. But  not this year. This has been a crazy weather winter for us and we have had not just some snow, but FEET of snow on the ground for months.

Look at these pictures. My favorite model is here for scale. Yes, the pile of snow behind him is taller than he is (and he is over 3 feet tall), and yes, this photo was taken a couple of days ago. This is the melted version of what we've had all winter!

It was 62 degrees today in Boston. You would think the snow would all be gone. It's been above freezing consistently for a few weeks now. But we have so much snow (and so much shade) that these piles just won't melt!

I'm hoping that the next good rain and higher temps will reduce the piles even more. It's kind of depressing to not even be able to traipse in the yard (yes, even though it's muddy) and see if anything is starting to poke through the ground. I have a big fear also that my hydrangeas may be badly damaged because they have been stressed with heavy snow sitting on them for so long (some of the melt has revealed broken branches). I also think our transplanted lilac isn't going to pull through either.

The next couple of pictures are from earlier this winter -- so you can see just how much snow we've had consistently this winter!

Good news though -- I hear spring IS coming! :)


February 2011



December 2010



Daylight Savings Time

I don't know what all the fuss is about daylight savings time. Some people get so upset about losing an hour of sleep or having to remember to change their clocks. Really? Who are these people that taking 10 seconds to change a clock is a big time sink? And you don't really lose an hour of sleep. You can go to bed an hour earlier if you'd like. Those of us with small children -- we do actually lose that hour of sleep, because babies don't know about daylight savings time and just wake up when their internal clocks tell them to.

My favorite part of daylight savings time though is getting that extra hour of daylight in the evenings. Who cares about daylight in the mornings? It will eventually get brighter. But daylight when you're driving home, when you're getting ready for dinner, when you want to take a walk in the evening -- now that's pretty awesome. I actually just had an epiphany rather recently about this. I used to think I preferred the fall version of daylight savings time -- where we "fell back" and gained an hour. And the spring would irritate me because suddenly I "lost" an hour. But really, if you think about it, you're getting more daylight! Daylight is good! Anything that makes it sunnier for longer when I'm awake is awesome!

There is some disease, I think it's seasonal affective disorder or something like that, that people can get when it's just too dark and dreary for too long. I'm sure all of us in the North have had a touch of this at different points. That's another thing -- if you live in the South, yes you also have to deal with it getting darker sooner. But at least it's warm! Here in the North it's dark and cold. It's just depressing. If it's going to be cold, at least let there be light. Trying to remember again why I left the warmth of North Carolina? Oh yes, I remember now. I love him and he's the father of my two boys. <3

On The Move

He's a couple days away from 11 months old, but Lucas is ready to bust a move. Check out today's first steps!!!!!

He's fast -- he just started thinking about this just the other day. I REALLY need to babyproof now!

New Year, More Time to Blog?

I'm baaaack!


Well, we'll see how this goes anyway. It's been several months since I've blogged and I'm sorta kinda in a routine now with the boys and getting them off to daycare/preschool while getting myself to work mostly on time. It's a struggle and I don't pretend that it's easy. It's really really hard. But with Lucas now nearly 11 months old, it's a teensy bit easier. Then again, sometimes it's a whole lot harder because now he's mobile.




Brother chefs

 Anyway, just thought I'd throw a hello out there in cyberland to my audience of zero. I'm sure any followers I've previously had have given up on me ever writing again. Well, if you're reading this, send me an email so I know! Or even better, post a comment. It'll make me feel like you care. :)

So a quick update on us since much has changed since whenever it was last year that I last posted. I'll give the rundown on each of us, but I'm sure I'll have forgotten some really big things. Sorry. If you know us at all though we likely have already told you some of those things. Or they were in my Christmas card.

Lucas:



Lucas at 10 months

 The cutest baby in the world! Seriously, this is a happy little guy and he is really good natured and so smiley. He has the best dimple in his cheek and piercing blue eyes. He is beautiful, and please don't think I'm narcisstic when I say this, but he does look like me. Or Baby Me anyway. He also looks strikingly like Zachary when Zach was a baby, but not like Zach now. Does that make sense? Lucas has recently sprouted all 4 of his top teeth (at the same time, ow) which finally are joining the bottom 2 teeth in his mouth. He eats quite a lot given his gumminess, and he is a chunk! Actually, not really a chunk, but more like a big boy. His hands seem so big for a baby and he is solid. Size-wise, he's not able to wear too many of Zach's clothes from when Zach was this same age which is a combination of old baby clothes shrinking, seasons being off, and the aforementioned chunkiness. Lucas is crawling around like a pro and stands up whenever he can. He cruises everywhere and has recently started letting go and balancing for several seconds before sitting down. We think he's going to walk soon. Then again, we've been saying that for a month.

Zachary:



Dancing! Apparently this means running
really fast around the family room

 Super smart and just a great kid. He is silly and organized and very loving. He loves all animals, stuffed and real, and I love that he calls his stuffed animals his animal friends. He still loves his blankie although doesn't drag it around to play anymore (although sometimes it is nearby -- just in case). Zach can count, knows his letters, and how to spell his name. He's working on being able to write his name down. He gets some of the letters right. Our big project this summer is getting him to dress himself (he can do it but is kinda lazy about it) and to wipe his hiney. He's been potty trained for ages, but the whole butt wiping thing he leaves for us. He loves Scooby Doo, Disney stories, Richard Scarry stories and the playset that Kevin got for him on eBay (it's about 30 years old and they both play with it for hours every day). He also loves firetrucks and anything to do with firemen. He loves to make Lucas laugh but is still not too wild about sharing toys with him, especially when he's tired. I should also mention that Lucas adores anything and everything that Zach does.

Emily:
Has moved home and is on a leave of absence from school. She is working on trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life and trying to come to terms with it. I'm working on that part as well. It's been a struggle to not take control and to see her making decisions that I don't agree with, but I'm trying very hard to support her as she figures this out. It has been really great to have her home and have the boys have a lot more time with their big sister. She loves it too and just adores them. She got a job in the mall near our house and is saving for a car although first needs to maybe get her license. For now Kevin and I have been toting her back and forth which is getting really old, really fast. But I know it won't be forever so I'm trying to keep positive about it. Emily is blonde again and seems to be sticking with it for a while this time.

Me and Kevin:


Getting the roof shoveled



Work, work, work. Between work and the boys, there's not a lot of time left over. We're trying to take advantage of our built in babysitter and have a date here and there. It's happened a couple of times, and I think that as it gets warmer and brighter outside, it'll happen more often. We're really excited about taking down several of our giant trees in our yard this spring and being able to enjoy the sun and grow some grass. We are also working on some things inside the house, helped along by the horrible weather we've had this winter and too much snow on the roof. No roof leaks, but water did force its way under the eaves and into the window panes, and we had leaking windows and walls in several rooms. We've had to have people in to rip open the walls, take out insulation, and blow big fans in the house to dry everything out. Now we're waiting to get the walls repaired and repainted. The good news is that we will get some additional painting done that we would have probably put off for another year or two. The bad news is that it's taking longer than we anticipated to be repaired.

A rare cuddle

A note on the photos -- these are relatively recent (Feb or March) and you'll notice that Emily, Kev and I are missing. There are several reasons: 1) Em won't let me take her picture unless she's had a lot of notice that there will be a photo shoot and she can get glammed up first (which kills the spontaneity of it), 2) I take the photos, hence I am never in them, 3) The boys are just so darn cute -- it's hard to not include lots of photos of them. Anyway, if I keep up with the blog going forward, I'll include more of the rest of us, and maybe even some of our evolving house.

So there's my blog post for the first quarter of 2011 (in just under the wire!)