Bob the Builder

This past weekend we went to a local humane shelter to look at a puppy named Happy. Happy is a hound mix described as "shy".

The first time we met Happy she was going ape-shit in her yard trying to attack Bennie, the most benign creature that has ever walked the earth. Caden didn't even get a chance to enter the yard with Happy since if a creature doesn't like Bennie, there is something inherently wrong with said creature. Happy was removed from the yard, which left one more puppy. Who they were calling...wait for it...wait for it...Adele.

How could we not pay attention to Adele? She is 6-month-old husky mix with silky black fur. She completely worked and won us over.

Currently, she is out in OUR yard with Bennie, because, ya know...we took her home.

It feels so good to have another dog in the house. It has been 10 months of being a Single Pup House and I wasn't enjoying it. There was alsways something missing.

Once we brought her home it was sorta required to name her. I'm not good at names. At least with the kids I have 10 months to think of names...and I needed each day of those 10 months. It's also a very good thing they were both the gender that they are, because I don't even like their other gender names anymore.

When I adopted Bennie, they were calling him Ben. So, I'm not terribly creative when it comes to naming pets.

So we left it up to Caden who recently named his two Betta fish Jack and the Beanstalk. So we call one Jack and one Bean (the one on the left is Bean, so really they are Bean and Jack)

Well, Caden wanted to call her Bob the Builder. We spent the first day calling her New Dog and Black One. When shen got out Sunday evening, it was really hard calling her back in without something to call her! (We had to abandon Adele pretty quickly, since, you kow, we're trying to get the baby to learn that as her name. It's on her birth certificate and all, so we can't use it for the dog and rename the baby.)

Although Caden tried to call her Bob the Builder for at least 24 hours, which is serious commitment, we have decided to name her Gracie.

Welcome to the family Gracie (Bob the Builder)!

The Forest For the Trees

In September, it will be 8 years that we moved into this house. An average 4-bedroom colonial with an above average yard. While we own less than an acre, we are graced with nearly 8 acres of woods surrounding our house in a largely swampy area.

The result is towering sycamores and poplar trees that help us mark the passage of time.

The leaves turn and fall gracefully to the forest floor beneath them and we get to sit back and admire the yellow, orange, and red transformations.

Sunlight dances on the trees throughout the forest, creating leaves that shimmer light and dark as the winds flip them over and the sun brightens the lighter side.

In the early years in this house we enjoyed the yard with our dogs. Watching them run from one side of the other, running along the fence line, and barking at the deer that passed through the woods.

Over the years, the tree canopy grew and expanded. Slowly casting even longer shadows across our yard. The sunlight seemed to shine for fewer and fewer hours. We lost sight of the sycamore tree trunks as the poplar sprouted lower and lower branches. Two of our dogs passed and are now resting beneath the trees.

Today, a tree company is trimming back the trees and taking the poplar up, welcoming the sunlight back into the corners of the yard.

Now we enjoy the yard with our one remaining dog and two young children.

The trees will continue to mark the passage of time as our children grow and we welcome and lose more dogs.

And when the limbs grow out and the shadows grow long, we will remember to trim them all back so we never lose sight of the forest for all the trees.

That Day

Not every day can be filled with glorious, "I love being a mother" moments. Some days, such as this one, suck. They suck with epic proportions and send me Googling for summer-long sleep away camps suitable for a 3-year-old.

Some days (also this one) make it extremely obvious that I'm a shitty mother who is "faking it until she makes" only I'm "faking it until failure" at which I think I've arrived.

My usually sweet, mild tempered, smart little boy has been a complete Devil today. A playdate with his declared "Best Friend" including hitting, shoving, toy stealing, and food stealing. The playdate ended with Caden being dragged down the street by me promising to put him in Time Out. Which I did.

He screamed and cried until I told him he could get up, and then continued to scream and cry until I carried him, which I could not because I was feeding Adele and getting her ready for a nap. Needless to say the screaming and crying lasted nearly an eternity.

With Adele safely sleeping, I tried to explain to Caden why he was in Time Out and why his behaviour was wrong. He then handed me some jell-o and a hammer and said "Good luck!"

Not really, but he might as well have. When I ask questions such as "Will you hit your friends again" and he answers "Yes" it is clear he Does.Not.Understand.

After making him a PBJ sandwich, because the Hellion was hungry, I went upstairs to do something. All the while I'm listening to him cry, "I don't want water, I don't want water..." over and over again. Moments later I hear a thud.

Water.All.Over.The.Floor.

I asked him what happened, he said he knocked it on the floor because he didn't want it.

I promptly presented him with a towel, a few stern words, and highly recommended he start cleaning. He (and I'm totally not kidding) threw the towel on the floor, said "humpf", folded his arms, and turned away.

Come Again?

Caden Dragging Part II ensued as I brought him up to his room.

After a phone call to Shawn and several more days of crying (ok...not days but it sure felt like that) I went back up there.

He is currently watching Madagascar on the couch, despite my taking his TV away. (he told me he wanted a movie, not TV).

Clearly, I'm a shitty mother.

But, how does one discipline their kid when the kid clearly has no friggin' clue that they have done something wrong or what that something may have been.

I don't want to be the mom who is abused by her kid.

I just want my 2 year old back. He was so sweet.

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Caden and Adele,

Thank you for letting me celebrate another mother's day; my first as a mother of two. This weekend was amazing. Spending Saturday at a winery, with friends, watching Caden climb all over a pile of dirt while daddy held Adele was relaxing and beyond enjoyable.

Sunday going to soccer, which you don't enjoy yet, and then Airlie Conference Center for Mother's day brunch followed by a walk around the grounds and planting some flowers in this year's garden. Caden, watching you strip naked and run through the sprinkler was priceless and I apologize ahead of time for encouraging daddy to film it. We HAD to. :)

Adele, you are such a doll, I am beside myself with affection for you. You smile and laugh at everything. You absolutely adore Caden and positively light up when you see him. You began to crawl a few days ago and nothing gets in your way. I hope you carry that determination with you throughout life.

I love you both with such an amazing amount of love, it's difficult to convey through mere words. The words just aren't strong enough. My heart simply expands when I think of the two of you. One of my greatest fears is that before I know it, I will be an old lady looking at back on our life...having more days behind me than ahead.

This is such a precious time in my life. A time I dreamt of without knowing how to dream it because unless you have children, it's nearly impossible to define the feelings.

I am so grateful to the two of you. I am so happy of the fact that you have made me a mother. I am extremely proud and honored at the privilege of being able to raise you both into self-confident, kind, caring, happy people. I want nothing more for you than to have the joy you have brought to me.

I love you both with every fiber in my body. Every cell that makes me move, breathe, eat, and live does so for you. Every action I make, throughout everyday is to ensure you are both safe, well-cared for, happy, and loved.

I love you both endlessly.

Love always, forever and ever, and one more day,

Momma

New Outlook

April was a maddeningly hectic month. We celebrated Easter with friends, took Caden to the circus, hosted Adele's Baptism, had work done on the house, prepared to refinance our house, finished the playset for Caden's birthday, participated in a Mud Run, Caden started soccer and I wrapped up my work for the March of Dimes which included executing walk day for my county, helping with walk day in another county, pulling off a few unsuccessful fundraisers...AND I managed to land a gig with non-other than the Governor of VA's sister in law.

Holy crap...April was busy.

New Windows!

Hunting for Eggs with Hayden

Soccer with one of his best little friends

I have to admit that I'm quite relieved to see May upon us. Pools will open at the end of the month, my contract with MOD has expired, my calendar has freed up, and my main duties will be to pull off an awesome event in June for my newest client, continue to promote the farm, and schedule endless playdates for Caden so when he's older he will look fondly at his childhood and the long summer days spent with friends. I don't put too much pressure on myself.

Oh and how can I forget the other milestones in April? Caden ditched the pacifier all together, although he still cries for it when excessively tired or upset, but a quick distraction generally helps, AND we began potty training.

I'm so endlessly proud of this kid. He has been a major champ when it comes to the potty. It's been just over a week when we decided to go cold-turkey with the diapers. We just stopped one day and threw him in underware and let him pee on himself and explained it from there.

He's doing very well...mostly because he is awarded a Dum Dum after every successful pee trip. The kid is living on Dum Dums.

The big event for May? Dentist. Yup, that's right. After plowing him with Dum Dums for 10 days straight, I thought, "huh, perhaps I get his teeth checked out". So we'll go on Thurs.

Other major happenings? Somehow, without my looking half a year flew by and Adele is now a 6-month-old insanely adorable baby.

She is absolutely a riot. The kid has no time to develop...she MUST move...NOW! When she is in her BUMBO, she angles herself and uses one leg to push herself around the floor (or table until we put a stop to putting her up there). The other day she pushed herself over to Bennie to give him a pat.

She is so adorable and lovely and I love her so much...which is great because she is STILL (yes, even at 6 months) getting up numerous times each night. Last night was a good one though. She slept from 12:00 until 5:40. That's MAJOR. That has NOT happened before. I hope it happens again.

These children continue to impress and surprise us on an hourly basis. We are so lucky and beyond blessed to have a house filled with little-boy pee droplets and babygirl spit up.

I hope we never overlook all our blessings!

Little Boy in the Big City

I'm not a city person. There is little that appeals to me in a city. Yes, there is great food all over the place and I can buy milk or wine any time of the day or night. But I can't watch the woods thicken as the leaves begin to grow. I can't hear the fox cry or the hawk scream. I can't see the stars as clearly or feel the spring blossoms fall through the air.

I love the country setting.

This past weekend we went to New York for a wedding. It was a long, expensive weekend and I'm fairly certain our attendance was neither noted nor appreciated, because that's how some people are.

But we went none-the-less.

We went because it was the right thing to do. We went because hearing the back lash from not going is so not worth it. We went because we are so bloody rich, spending upwards of $3,000 on someone neither of us even speaks with is totally okay with us. Not like we have two kids and a mortgage to consider.

It was very nice to see some of our family members who we've not seen in a long time and it was a ton of fun to get all dressed up, eat good food, drink nice champagne, and dance in a beautiful room.

We're not morons, we recognize and appreciate beautiful things. And Manhattan may be dirty and filled with too many people, but it also houses beautiful things.

And above all else, I got to see my sweet little boy dun a tux and my darling little girl all dolled up in an over-the-top-adorable dress. She was passed around the reception room like a flask at a bachelor party.

We walked to Rockefeller Center and shopped at the Lego store before the wedding festivities. Following said festivities, we got in the car and spent our remaining $30 on tolls returning home.

And today, the windows are open, the sun is shining, and warm smells of spring fill the air and we are home. Where we belong. Far from the city.

Three Years Ago

Three years ago was the eve of Caden's due date. I anxiously awaited indications that he (or she) was on his (or her) way.

It wasn't until MAR18 at 7:00pm while I spoke with my sister on an uncharacteristically warm March evening that something started to happen. By 1:30am on MAR19, we were on our way to the hospital and at 5:33 that afternoon Caden Michael entered my life.

These past three years I've watched an infant become a baby and a baby become a little boy. A little boy with thoughts and ideas and a personality all his own. Shaped by his parents but fine-tuned by him.

Caden is an amazing little being. He is happy and healthy and loving and smart and has two parents who adore every inch of him. He loves tractors, dinosaurs, airplanes, cars, trucks, balls, trains and bubbles and probably a million other things I can't think of right now. He has us read two pirate books and the Itsy Bitsy spider book every evening. He can recite all of them almost perfectly.

Caden has endless energy. He loves to be around other kids and tends to outlast them on many occasions.

This week we visited a preschool where he will go in the fall with his "best friend" Ian. He will take soccer beginning APR01 and swim classes at the end of April. He will be the ring bearer in Shawn's cousin's wedding this fall. He will wear his first tuxedo next weekend.

Caden loves his sister.

He calls her Dell and kisses her and loves to check on her. He also blames his smelly messes on her.

Someday he will be potty trained, we hope someday soon but have our doubts. He has peed precisely once on the potty...on JAN31...and not since.

Caden loves chocolate, milk, chocolate milk, Gatorade, juice, chai lattes, chick fil a chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and cheerios. He's not the best eater. He tastes broccoli and occasionally eats string beans.

He loves to be outside. He'll do anything just to be out there. Throw rocks, swing sticks, chase bees...any number of things that will land him in the ER (again).

In a few weeks we hope to have his playset completely assembled. It is now a playset in pieces. We hope he and Adele love it for years and years.

I can't believe how much I can love a little boy. My little boy. A little boy who I have had the privilege of raising for three years now. I am completely honored to be his mother. When he tells me he loves me or that I'm his best friend, he makes my heart melt.

We love you Caden and we hope you have a wonderful birthday party tomorrow!

Happiest of Birthdays to you!!