Magazinaholic

                                           I think I'm just about cured.

I can almost go through the line at the grocery store now with out having to buy one.

You'd think I have enough of them anyway...why would I need more? Because they lure me in with their glossy covers...promising all kinds of things...A renovated kitchen on a budget...Make your own organic babyfood...The top ten things I need for summer....A taboulleh salad....

I have some dating back to 1993. That's the year I got married. Who keeps a magazine that long??

So many of my favorites are now just a distant memory. Now there are magazines online.  Lonny is a really good one. But they're just not the same. Steve doesn't get it. Why we've had to pack up and move these boxes and boxes of magazines every time we've moved.

Because opening those boxes makes me smile. Who am I kidding. I'll never quit this addiction.

My Other Love

They say to do what you love...write about what you're passionate about...right? I mainly write about being a mom. It's what I know. I do it every day. I like to think I know something about it by now. But, while at my kitchen sink tonight I was thinking about my other love. The beach. Griffy and I went to the beach this morning for a few hours. He sat and played under the umbrella. I brought my knitting. It was a beautiful morning. 

 I think it was an early release day for the Seniors here because I saw them all leaving school...headed to the beach. I thought back to my Senior year....I have so many memories of the beach. I think we all skipped school one day when it was nice and went to the beach. We had a specific dune that we hung out in...and I remember asking my Grandmother...yes...you heard me...my Nana to buy beer for us. She did. 

We spent Prom Night on the beach...with a bon fire and sleeping bags. Summers as a kid were spent on the beach...swimming lessons...sailing lessons. Steve and I met on a beach.  Every Christmas card photo has been and probably will be always taken on a beach.

And not just any beach. I've been to many beaches...all over the world actually. No beach can compare to my beach. I know the sand...how to drive over it..the smell at low tide .and that I'll still never get used to the coldness of the water. A walk on the beach has brought clarity to a troubled mind. A bonfire at night with the kids...making s'mores is just what our family needs when we feel pulled in too many directions. Watching each of my babies react to the touch of sand for the first time. Datenight with Steve never needs to be at some high priced restaurant.

The Beach. I don't just love it...I need it.  And so does Steve. It's probably our greatest love besides our family.

Now, if my view from my kitchen sink looked out at the beach...

"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea...you and me, you and me oh how happy we'll be" ~ Words by Harold Atteridge

Let's Get Our Sundays Back!

What happened to Sundays? Remember when you were a kid...(in the 70's) when nothing was open on Sundays? Not the mall...nothing. Sundays were meant for going to Church.  There were no recreational sports to go to. Your father watched the game on tv and your mom made a pot roast.

Yesterday Stephen had a baseball game and Will had team pictures..which we blew off. When did Sunday become Saturday? Don't you think there should be one day..just one that we could devote to our families, ourselves? No sports...unless they're on tv. No shopping. No work. Just a simple family day. That's what we're aiming for here.

What do you do on Sundays? Do you lie in a hammock? Read? Ride bikes? Putter in the garden? Read the paper? Let's get our Sundays back!

Week-ending

 Our weekend....

1 road race...yeah Hannah!

6 baseball games between Stephen and Will. Will is #4 in the purple.

1 Family Movie Night. Napoleon Dynamite. We are a bit obsessed with quoting lines from this movie. "Break the wrist and walk away" ~ Rex Quondo. This one is for you Sarah 

1 knitting class...my new obsession.  Soulemama watch out. I LOVE her blog.

1 nap with Dad.

1 sleepover (I know, I know..I caved.) Complete with makeup and junkfood and late night girl talk.

Lots of yard work.

Add a cookout with family...dinner on the beach....and you have yourself a busy but fun weekend.

Hope yours was fun too!! Happy Week-ending!

Do You Ever...

Frame your Grandmothers recipes? I love how old it is...love her handwriting...love the little red check marks next to each ingredient. I think about her making this Cranberry Nut bread. She made it all the time around the holidays. I make it every year now too.  I keep a picture of her next to it...and that's my handmade flower Will made me for Mother's day. My Nana has been gone now for 21 years...I still miss her. But, I love looking at this every day.  I love letters and recipes in frames...don't put them away in a box!

Service Engine and Grace

Sometimes when you have the whole day ahead of you all planned out...Someone just may have a different plan for you.  I had big plans today...dump, walk, beach. In that order. After dealing with a HUGE leak in my basement from the sprinkler system...loaded the car for the dump..... this happened. SERVICE ENGINE. So what did Griffy and I do?

I was able to take a quick picture of the Robins Eggs in our shrub out front. Mama Bird was not happy. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want some big honkin human messin with my babies either. Then we went out back to hang out in the sun.

Lately we've been trying to teach the kids that in life...it's not WHAT your dealt with...it's HOW you deal with it. Very often easier said than done depending on the hand you've been dealt. But, you have a choice. You can handle it by kicking and screaming...or with grace and dignity. Believe me, many days I want to...and  have...kicked and screamed. I'm still learning too. And in the process...trying to be a role model for my own children in how they'll handle LIFE.

I think of my Mom today and how she's handled this latest hand she's been dealt with. I'm proud of you Mom.

Tea, Angels and Silly Bands

My new favorite tea of the moment. I have a cup every afternoon..right about now. Don't you feel sluggish at 3:00? I do. A nap would be ideal but not happening. Maybe during the summer when I'm not driving all over creation. Anyway, this is Harney and Son's Green Tea with Thai flavors...coconut, vanilla, ginger. It smells delish. Try it. Plus it comes in a very cute tin.

So thanks to all for the well wishes for my mom. Her surgery went great..she's recovering and will start radiation soon. Living on Marthas Vineyard doesn't make trips to Boston easy...but do you know of Angel Flights? Can I just tell you what an amazing service this is? Pilots and plane owners DONATE their time and planes to fly patients off island to their treatment centers. There are some extrememly generous people in this world.

And see this face? Would you believe me if I told you he threw the biggest fit in the dentist chair today? I know...hard to believe isn't it? No, not this sweet child. At one point the dentist told me to leave because she thought I was making him freak out more. A cavity is a great lesson to take care of your teeth. This is our first experience with cavities. Hope it's our last. He calmed down a bit when the dentist said he could pick one of these when she was done.

Do you have silly bands? They are the new rage here. I wish I invented them.

Whiney books and loving my job

You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at what books are on their bedside table can't you? Here are a few of my latest reads...I've only started "hand wash cold" and she's annoying me already. Why don't I read the back cover of books? Maybe if I'd read the back and saw that it was compared a bit to "Eat Pray Love"..I may have not ordered it. As much as I loved the concept of Eating in Italy, Praying in India and finding Love in Indonesia..she just kind of annoyed me. The whining got to me. Maybe this one will get better...I'll let you know.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to the other two.

So, this morning I had to get up earlier than normal..shower and get out the door with the baby before the kids even  got on the bus. My mom is having surgery tomorrow and I drove down to pick her up at the ferry to take her in to Boston. While driving to get her at 7:45 I kept thinking of all the moms out there going to work...dropping kids off at day care. I was so thankful that wasn't me! First of all I hated getting  ready that early.  I love my lazy mornings with the baby after the kids go to school. I couldn't imagine dropping him off at a day care to go to a job. Honestly, you could not pay me enough to go to a job every day. I love what I do.

On Delegating

 

What do you see wrong with this picture? All you moms out there may recognize that Griffy's onesie is on the OUTSIDE of his pants. Can you guess who got him dressed this morning? No..not one of the other kids...his Dad.

Steve doesn't do a lot of diaper changing, bathing, feeding  and obviously clothes changing of the baby. It's really not his fault. I don't do a lot of delegating around here. That needs to change.

See, when it comes to my babies...at least for the first year..I've taken care of all their needs. I nursed all my babies 24 hours a day so Steve couldn't really help out there even if he wanted to. His work has always included a lot of travel so that's excuse #2. And excuse #3 is that I hoard the baby all to myself!

I can't do it all. Nor should I. But for some reason I lack in the delegation department. Am I that vain that I feel nobody else can do as good a job? Or is it just quicker for me to just get it done myself?

4 kids later... I'm still learning.

Milk, eggs, flowers

I buy flowers for myself once a week at the grocery store. The grocery store has the best flowers...they are cheap and always in season. Ok..Trader Joes is even better if you have one. I bought these pink roses for $6.99 a dozen. They are gorgeous! Mix them in with some $3.99 orange Gerbera daisy's and you have yourself a pretty bouquet. I LOVE pink and orange together..I made a few bouquets for the CCD teachers. They had their hands full this year with the 2nd graders. Tell your husband to run to the grocery store for milk or eggs and have him check out the floral department. There is no reason why he can't pick you up a bunch of flowers... I'm even on a first name basis with the florist there.

Today Mothering is Hard

Mothering is hard. Right now for me it's hard.

Sleepless babies vs. Middle school girls... babies win.

Emotional rollercoaster.

Wishing public schools had uniforms.

You don't have to like everyone...but you do have to be nice to everyone.

Envious of neighbors husbands that come home at 6...or 7...or 8. Or that don't travel to far away countries.

How can I be at 2 different baseball fields at the same time and pick up from ballet?

Ready for summer. 

Mothering is hard today.

Wake up and 10 happy things

This is how I start my day. In the colder months hot water and lemon...in the summer a big cool glass of water and lemon. Don't get me wrong..I love my coffee but I have to have my water/lemon mix first. It cleanses and wakes up the old body after a long sleep (hopefully). Drinking it out of a pretty cup helps too.

The very sweet and creative Melissa at Miss Sew and so  asked me to name ten things that make me happy! I love her blog and how she  writes and that she lives across the pond in lovely England! Maybe she'll let me visit.

Here they are in no particular order...

1. A clean and organized house

2. Happy kids

3. A cup of tea at 3:00

4. Aprons

5. A stack of books by my bed

6. Antique shops

7. Friday

8. Fitting into my skinny jeans

9. A nap on a rainy day

10. When Steve comes home from a trip

Do you Ever...

Find heart rocks on the beach? My kids love finding them...Will found one and saved it for Mother's day....but then he hid it somewhere and then couldn't find it. He was so upset! I keep these in my powder room. I'm so happy beach season is here!

Mothers

This photo was taken 5 years ago...how sad is that? The last photo taken of my mom, sister and I and our daughters. Why is it so darn hard to get family together for photos? The bottom one is Steve, kids and his parents on Steve's last bday in January.

Both my mom and Steve's mom are dealing with some pretty heavy health issues. Steve's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimers last year. My mom..breast cancer. Happy Mother's Day to both of you...we love you!

You want to hear something funny? My sister called this morning to wish me a Happy Moms day and told me what her kids got her. She told me her daughter who is 8 has been so excited about this gift for weeks...telling Jen she can't wait for her to open it..that it's something she knows she'll love. Jen opens the card to find a gift card to Stop and Shop. Is this not the funniest thing you've ever heard? I couldn't stop laughing. Her kids think that because Jen is at the grocery store at least once a week that she must just LOVE it there. I told her to buy $150 worth of magazines and flowers....

Happy Mother's Day to all you  moms out there.  Hannah and I are off to see the movie "Babies"!

* "Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a Mother" ~ Lin Yutang

A Day in My Life

This is my street. There are only 9 homes here and there's a pond and a cul-de-sac at the end. This picture was taken this morning after the last child got on the bus. Look how quiet. On the weekends there are kids everywhere..riding bikes..playing baseball..ghost in the graveyard. I counted 27 kids ranging from 10 months to college age...and they all hang out together. It's really pretty cool.

Here is my house. As I've mentioned before..we've only been in the house less than 2 years. I know little about landscaping...but I'd really love to take the overgrown shrubs out and plant hydrangeas.

And here is what Griffin and I did today. He's still trying to figure out if he likes the beach....he better.

And here is my reward after walking him up and down the beach. Oh to sit in a beach chair on a gorgeous day with a sleeping baby next to you....I wonder if I can get away with doing this again tomorrow.

A Happy Mom

Can I tell you what makes  my heart just sing??? Siblings not just being NICE to one another...but playing together...with out me even begging! I was nursing Griffy down for his nap late this afternoon and the window was open. I hear Stephen and Will outside playing catch....and Stephen giving Will helpful tips. THIS makes me sooo happy...I tell them all the time when they ask what I want for Mothers Day..Christmas..Birthday..etc. My response is always to just love and be nice to each other. (OK..sure I'd love a new Mac laptop or a J.Crew shopping spree)....

And then the UPS man brought this! (Don't you LOVE the UPS man??)....my awesome sister in law Nancy sent me homemade granola for Mother's day. She lives in VT and she and her husband own Stowe seafood....if you live in VT..go get their seafood. I've never had better shrimp!  Nancy and I were pregnant last year together with the babies. We had the exact same due date...her baby came two weeks earlier..it drove me nuts! This is their first baby..a girl and she is the sweetest thing. Love little girls in pink tutu's. She looks mad that I'm taking her picture! Thanks Nan!

Do'ers and Thinkers...what are you?

I love this tree in our front yard...at the bus stop this morning my neighbor told me to take a picture and I'm so glad I did before all of the little white flowers blew away.

There are 2 types of people...do'ers and thinkers. Can you guess what I am? I am a thinker....it  doesn't mean that I don't  do anything...but in my little world it means it takes me a REALLY long time to get it done because I think about it for too long. Maybe it's my personality, my DNA, my self diagnosis of ADD. When I was in  high school EVERY single progress report that came home said..."easily distracted." Maybe that's why I can't finish a project...I'm easily distracted. 

Steve...thank goodness, is a do'er. I don't think we'd be very productive if we were both thinkers. ...I am a procrastinator in the biggest way. Look that word up in the dictionary and there is my face. But you know what? I'm embracing it...the world needs thinkers.  

There are a million things I should be doing right now. I'm going to go think about doing them.

* The two rules of procrastination~ 1. Do it today. 2. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. ~ Author Unknown

First Communion...

We had a FULL weekend. It started out crazy trying to get Will in his "handsome outfit" (as he calls it)...for his First Communion. He woke up not wanting to go in his "handsome outfit"...good times. Well, after the ceremony was over he cheered up as soon as there was cake and presents.

And I'm thankful I got one picture of the four of them...

And then after brunch I was able to get a few pictures of them still "dressed"....

I'm very surprised that Stephen let me take a picture of him...just one though.

We had a great weekend. Today it was like summer! We went on a family walk on the beach...Stephen had a baseball game...lots of yard work and then dinner on the beach! It doesn't get any better than that in my book.

Oh and if you're wondering about my decision...there still isn't one.

And you know summer must be coming when the kids can shower outside after the beach!