My Little Cherubs

After a short trip to Marion, Steve and the girls returned. I enjoyed some quiet time and was hugely productive during that time, but it didn't take long for me to miss the fam. It felt oddly calm (and CLEAN!) in the house, and my nights were very boring. I did manage to fill the void by doting on Boog and watching absurd hours of Netflix.

Here are my little cherubs shortly after their return. I missed those cute faces.

Goodbye Twenties

I turn 30 years old next week.

It's weird because I don't feel 30. I keep thinking I'm 24 or 25 the same way that 2002 feels like it was just a few years ago. And yet, I haven't really felt like a young, hip twenty-something since about the time that I got pregnant with Lucy. And let's be honest: I wasn't even that hip in my twenties.

But I will not mourn my twenties. Because to mourn that time period feels like I have something to regret. I loved my twenties mainly because there are events from that time period that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I was 20 years old when I went to Feb Formal. I met a young man named Stephen Soden at that dance. He was from Massachusetts and he was probably most impressed with my summer vacation that revolved around trips to Fenway. He made a poor first impression and mixed one of the most disgusting drinks I have ever choked down, but after February 22, 2003 there was rarely a day that he and I weren't together.

In May of 2004, I graduated from college at the age of 21. (Sidenote: I have no photographic evidence of this event because I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out and looked like a chipmunk.) About one month later Steve and I were engaged.

And approximately one month after that, at the age of 22, I packed all of my possessions into my Dodge Neon and headed out to Alexandria, Virginia where I would dive into the boarding school world.

At the age of 22, I made what is arguably the best decision of my life and married Steve on November 27, 2004. We were young, we probably didn't know exactly what we were getting into, but we knew we were doing it together and that was enough.

We stayed in Virginia for a year before moving to Baltimore for a year. In February of 2006 we headed up to Sheffield, MA to check out Berkshire School. It was snowing and I remember coming up the picturesque driveway. I could immediately see myself being happy there.

In the summer of 2007 we found out that I was pregnant, and we welcomed Lucille Ann in April of 2008. And a little under two years later we welcomed Caroline Jane in March of 2010. Those girls turned our lives upside down in the best way possible.

And now here I am. I am *almost* 30, a mother of two little girls, a wife, a teacher, a coach, and I don't know what else. My twenties were good. I mean really good. The kind of good that you would never want to change - even the really hard parts like losing Meme, Aunt Jean, Grandma, and Grammy.

And now I think about my thirties. I am hopeful that they will be as good to me as the past decade has been. My guess is that the next ten years will be less about me and more about my girls and my family. And perhaps the best thing that my twenties have taught me is that it's good to have my life be less about me.

Check it out!

I will now shamelessly plug a website. A former student athlete of mine, Lauren Flury, has started her own handbag line. You can look at her products here.

I own the Reagan bag which is a quilted, basic black bag that is big enough to hold my laptop, wallet, and planner without looking like I am carrying an overnight bag to the grocery store. I love it! It is sturdy, stands up on its own, and can easily be worn over my shoulder. It just happens to be an added bonus that I know the creator and think she is a great person :-)

Here are some pictures:

Off to work!

Lucy can't miss a photo op

When I opened the box, Lucy exclaimed, "Mama, it is beautiful! Can I have it?"

Um, no Lucy. I don't think so.

So if you're in the market for a new purse or bag for work (or even if you aren't) go check out Lauren's stuff.

Together Again

We were lucky enough to receive a visit from some old friends from our days at Berkshire. They too have moved on to day school, and although they don't live in our backyard anymore, we have always made the effort to get together every few months. It is so fun to see the kids play together, and it is even more fun for the adults to hang out after bedtime. Here are a few pictures from the visit:

Playing outside - this is the only way that I could capture all four
kids in the same frame.

Inside after some serious outside playtime

Four kids, same vacant stare for all.

Discussing the pros and cons of the mac and cheese/chicken nugget combo

This guy put away more food than the other three combined

Caroline tried to keep up by shoveling handfuls of mac and cheese into her mouth.

The four kiddos

Such a sweet smile

These two are goofy.

It was such a fun visit. Thanks for coming, Courtneys! You are welcome to use our Aerobed anytime!

Busy Days

We have had a busy few days. On Thursday we met up with our old friends from Baltimore. I think there are very few people who become friends with their landlords, but we were lucky enough to rent from some pretty awesome people during our year in Maryland. Although we haven't seen them in at least five years, it was just like old times (only there were four more children added to the equation). We had a fantastic time, but I regretted not getting at least a picture or two with the kids or adults together.

The good news is that the reason for the lack of pictures is that everyone was having such a great time eating, drinking, and swimming the afternoon away. The girls were incredibly tired when we got home and actually slept a full 2 hours later than normal the next morning.

Here is the only photographic evidence from the evening:

They were a bit delirious at the end :-)

Differences in Parenting

When I came home today from teaching Steve said to me, "Check out the camera. I took some great pictures."

Here is what I found:

Steve and I clearly have different ideas about what constitutes "dress up."

Gobbles!

We went to the beach a lot this weekend. There are no pictures mainly because we spend the whole time running after the two little wackadoos.

Anyway, we all had a great time playing in the sand and water. We have been trying to convince Lucy to put her head under water, but she hasn't been very receptive. She loves for us to pick her up and splash her around in the water, but if her face gets wet she tends to freak out. So today when Steve was splashing her around he "accidentally" let her go and she flew into the water causing her head to be completely submerged.

I was annoyed with Steve at first. I felt like she should choose to do it as opposed to having some sort of traumatic experience that she would be explaining to her shrink 20 years from now. (Mind you,  the water was only up to her waist so it wasn't like she was going to drown and we were both within five feet of her.) Anyway, she stood up with a big grin on her face and actually let Steve do it again. As Steve pointed out, in new situations Lucy is often unsure of herself, over thinks the situation, and needs a little push (or a giant shove in some cases) to realize that she can do it.

So, she enjoyed being thrown into the water a grand total of two times before declaring that she needed goggles if she was going to do it again. Sold. We made a trip to Target this afternoon to pick up a pair. Being the savvy parents of two children, we immediately threw a second pair in the cart for Caroline who was sure to cry that she needed them also.

We got into the car and Lucy and Caroline both put their goggles on right away. They looked ridiculous and hilarious all at once. Caroline kept saying, "Mama, I wear gobbles. Mama, gobbles on."

It was clear that the gobbles were a hit. So we went home and wore them some more so that i could get a photo opportunity.

Easily my favorite "gobbles" photo

Fogging up