… and I hope it is truly a happy one, I know the day can be rough for many. May yours be exactly the way you hope, whether it’s spent alone or normally or with gifts and pampering. A day to acknowledge the mothering you do, and the mothering you’ve had. Both potent, important, and worth celebrating.
We’ve come a long way, baby. Happy Mother’s Day!
I might be a holiday grinch, but my kids sure get into it and I can’t help but join in in some capacity :). D made me a lego heart, and drew out a detailed set of directions on how to play the online game he’s been obsessing about the last few weeks. Sharing the love :). Rather ironic that the game is called Motherlode I think. I’m trying to get into it, because he so badly wants to me to like it as much as he does!
I hope your day is a lovely one, and that your heart is full and your mind settled. Love to you all!
SaneMom
Bridget has declared it so, and I like it.
A day when we all kick back and appreciate that we are doing our best and that more often than not, our best is good enough. A day when we acknowledge all of those around us who are doing the same. One day a year where we proudly wear the crown of best wife, mother, daughter and friend. One when guys can be the best husband, father, son and friend. A day when we all make a secret pact to be happy with who we are. (And if we aren’t, we’ll promise to do better.)
Happy New Year to all my mom (and a few non-mom!) readers! It’s been a rather crazy ride the last few days, and my post yesterday was rather cryptic but from the heart. I’ve been struggling with some things that are dear to my heart, and hospitality is one of them.
Wishing you all restful, easy, just-what-I-wanted holidays. More joy than work, more thankfulness than disappointments. More love than whining, more room for those leftovers. Love and cheer from my house to yours, wherever that may be.
— SaneMom
We’ve had family here for most of the last week, and it’s been delightful. Cousins the same age to play together, and my sis all to myself! Best kind of holiday/birthday present in my book. I let my birthday slip by on Sunday with GF cayenne-chocolate cupcakes at the end of our holiday open-house, and that was all the recognition I wanted. Breakfast in bed thanks to Douglas was a huge treat the next morning too!
The two yahoos in the pic above managed to compete each other into a frenzy of yes-no-yes-no-yes-no more times that I can count, but they do come by it honestly :). Aside from party planning and cleaning and such, we did manage to make some forays out in the city to take a break from the massive Risk games and fort-building going on a home.
I’ve started to see a trend in the holiday season, and this year is proving no exception. You know the whole “holiday spirit” thing, and how people are supposedly friendlier and cheerier in general during the month of December? In the last few weeks I’ve had experiences on the bus, the subway, and in the post office, that make me doubt the overall pervasiveness of this fairy dusting of cheer. Sure it’s there for many, and real, but I’m seeing the other side of things too.
no, they weren’t at all excited …We managed to get the tree bought, up, and trimmed in one night, a miracle for us! Our only holiday tradition seems to be that we don’t ever do it the same way twice, and sometimes don’t do (the tree bit) at all. This is a tree year however, and we did make ornaments so Friday night was the designated purchase/haul home evening. 
70’s photos? nope, just my inkjet running low again. I swear I get 15 pages before it craps out …
I made noises last week about an ornament tutorial, but of course it turned into a long-standing project that got shoved aside, and I only took a few pics. How many of you have any intentions (still) of being crafty and making some personalized ornaments while sipping hot chocolate, listening to soothing holiday music, and everyone laughing and talking happily? I thought not. Not to be grinchy, but finishing up the ornaments last night turned into me making most of them, the boys drawing a few cats and a turtle for me, and then spending the rest of the time making popcorn and stringing it with Dad. More fun than fiddly ornaments for sure!
Today’s crafty moment : Glass “bracelets” so we can tell whose is whose. This time of year can be utterly chaotic, with the invitations and obligations tripping over each other to make a tangled web of shoulds and coulds. It can cause tension and drama, but I hope that’s not happening to you? My life has changed enough in the last couple of years that it’s now easier to follow the KISS principle, mostly thanks to homeschooling. We have a cello party this week, and our own holiday party next week, but other than that the calendar is pretty clear of obligations on our part, and has left room for family and friends to come visit which I’m really looking forward to :).
Holidays seem inextricably linked with food, which makes it joyous for some, torturous for others, and probably a mix of both feelings for most of us. Spending more time in the kitchen, cooking things that you don’t make any other time of year, and eating more often and more heavily than usual. It’s tough to keep it simple, and for many it becomes a depressing struggle with weight. How is it going for you so far this season?
I’m not sure I could ask anything else this week, other than what are you thankful for? It’s American Thanksgiving, and I went on about the subject of general thankfulness a few days ago, so it’s hard not to ask … can you share 5 things you’re thankful for this week? Here are the first 5 that pop into my head … 
I love it. I love the cooler weather, long sleeves, crunchy walks, and all the gorgeous colors of the Northeast. It’s my favorite time of year. The crazy weather has meant that some days we’re outside a lot, and other days we’re huddled at home with tea and hot chocolate. The coats are out, the mittens dropped everywhere, but thankfully without the muddy wet boots so far :).
The costumes have been finished for several days, which is a miracle. Thanks to the storm that dumped 4 inches of snow on us on Saturday night, the festival in the park was postponed and then cancelled entirely when there were trees down everywhere. Instead of that we had a nice quiet weekend, and now have fresh costumes to take around the neighborhood tonight! The grinch in me is glad we’re only going out once. The boys both made their own costumes this year too, which is a first for Fynn, and a very welcome relief as things tend to get over elaborate in a hurry when a procrastinating artist or two get involved. How does it happen in your household, or does it at all? Did you wrestle kids into costumes before school this morning? Do tell :)
One of many bird shots I took in FL … I’m home, the guests are gone, the sheets are washed but not back on the bed yet, and I go to pick up the boys tomorrow. I have some reflections on spending a week away, and the quietness of the house, but they’re not quite gelled enough to type out. I hope to get them on paper on the bus tomorrow, on the way to meet my two wanderers. I’m sure they’ll look different to me, I’m know I’ve changed and so have they. It will be good, I’ve missed them.
One thing that happened before I left though? I fell in love with my husband all over again. A week with just the two of us, without any parenting responsibilities … I felt downright giddy for a bit there! I was able to see him as Michael again, in focus, not as Dad first and husband later. D was born 18 months after we were married, and we hadn’t lived together before then, so there wasn’t a whole lot of “just us” time before parenting took over. It was a distant and very vague memory, but I found myself remembering bits of what that first year felt like as I once again made dinner for just the two of us. Delicious.
Happy Columbus Day, and belated Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends! Hope your weekend has been a good one. It’s been a crazy whirlwind here, and I’m still touching down. We had family from Quebec in town for a couple of days, and at the very last minute (around noon today) it was decided that they’d take my boys back to Montreal with them for a couple of weeks. They left at 4:30! I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but it might over dinner as my husband and I have a belated anniversary dinner, sans kids. Yay for a real honest-to-goodness-I’m-actually-going-to-miss-them-soon break!!
6KNPJZWTWRMXI have to give a shout out today to my husband. The one who regularly talks me down off of ledges, the truly amazing father of my kids, and the real sanity-keeper around this house. I’d probably be blogging from behind bars if it weren’t for him, and I thought about what a great dad he’d be long before I thought about having kids myself. I’ve always counted on him to be the stablizer and fun crazy keep-it-light dad that any kids of mine desperately need. And he is. Happy Father’s Day Michael!
Spiffed up and ready to roll …I promised you a weekend recap, and so I shall indulge in one! I spent the last two weeks getting more and more wound up, trying to get Fynn ready for his recital, find outfits, work out girl’s weekend details, and survive another couple of weeks of homeschooling. If you’ve read the blog the last few weeks, the few posts that surfaced made those feelings pretty clear! Not much sleep was had, tempers were frayed at best, and we just barely squeaked by. After a last rehearsal on Thursday night at Fynn’s cello class, I was sure that a) he could play squeakily and off key and no one would be able to hear it thanks to the din of 178 other kids, and b) that it was going to be really really cool to see him on stage at such a fabulous concert hall. Happy Mother’s Day to all of us, here’s hoping yours is fabulous and you get whatever you need! I’m not feeling the love right now, but hope I survive until Sunday night without imploding or saying too many things that I regret. Just one of those weeks where the breaks are few and far between, and the stresses pile up in precarious towers that I keep bumping into in the dark. Imploding might be nice at this point?
I’m obviously not full of cheer, but do have a few things to share that might brighten your mood if you’re feeling the least bit down! Otherwise I hope you’re headed for a delightful weekend full of things you love, whether that’s kisses and chocolate and sticky cards, or a day to yourself after getting to sleep in. I’m going for a long run, and can’t at this point imagine any better way to spend Mom’s Day :).
Can you take a quick look at who you were before you became a mom, and tell me if you’re stronger now? It just takes a glance for me to see that I’ve grown immensely since those pre-kid days, in ways I never thought possible, and in many cases didn’t want to. I’m stronger now than ever, but weaker and more fragile too, in matters of the heart.
Happy Mother’s Day to all my amazing Mom friends, enjoy!
Shipping Anchor, a painting based on my older son, by my husbandThere is nothing finished about parenting. No days where everything is done, no moments when you stop being a mom, no time when your memory isn’t stuffed with bits and pieces of parenting and birthing and whining and smiles and worries and epiphanies. They say don’t sweat the small stuff, and yet that’s the very fabric of life, isn’t it? The sweat glues all the little threads together, keeping us somewhat intact.