Some Photos

 One Year Photo - I don't know if I will actually use this one, because I have plans to have another session with both boys, and maybe even a family shot.

 Malcolm on the big boy swings. He was partially proud of himself, and partly worried, but he didn't want to get down.

 Eamon is a master swinger. He especially likes underdogs and going high.

 Eamon's birthday trike. I love the little smile on his face. He was so thrilled, his whole face lit up in this grin.

 Malcolm's first time painting. We used a special homemade paint and he had a blast.

 Meanwhile, Eamon wanted to write a message to me on my computer. He worked very hard on it.

My birthday cake masterpiece. It was fun to make and tasted delicious!

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So, was it worth it?

YES!

I devoted the last two months of my life to a high school play. At times, I neglected my children, my husband, and my house. After some practices, I came home and just wanted to give up. Sometimes I thought it was impossible to get everything done on time. Many times, I gritted my teeth at the lack of help and sometimes even support. But was it worth it?

YES!

I learned so much about Beatrix Potter. She was an amazing woman. Talk about persistence, patience, and vision! She not only wrote children stories, but was a conservationist and gave over 1000 acres of land and an unique breed of sheep to the National Trust (similar to our State Parks). And her stories are captivating. Kids love them, relate to them, and dream about them. Watching the faces of kids watching the stories was beautiful. They loved them! She understood that kids don't want "moralistic little stories", that there is a difference between being bad and being foolish, and that naughty little bunnies sometimes turn out to be responsible and helpful grown-up bunnies, but not always. But I could have learned all that without doing a play. Was the play worth it?

YES!

I love these students. Some of them I taught in Kindergarten, so I have known and loved them for years. It was so exciting to see how they have grown and developed and are now wonderful young men and women. It was fun to "teach" them again, opening up a new world for them, and getting to see their poise, confidence, and imagination grow. Others I have worked with on other performances, but those were several years ago. I loved seeing how those girls have become lovely and talented young women, so full of hopes and dreams and potential. And there were others who I have never worked with before. I enjoyed getting to know them and hope that they will try again and I can use what I learned about them to help them do even better next time.

And then there were the parents and helpers. At the beginning, I realized this was the first play that I have directed that I was closer to many of the parents age than the students age. But by the end, age and experience didn't mattered; we all worked as a team and made a beautiful show.

On top of that, my boys became friends with some of the cast and several of the parent helpers. They loved playing with Ben and Josiah. Eamon was disappointed when he couldn't go play with Mrs. Irvin or Mrs. Danielle. Malcolm didn't mind cuddling Ruth and a few of the other girls. And Eamon also took another step toward independence by staying at a friends house while I was not there at all! The first few times he cried, but then he began to look forward to it.

These relationships are what made all the difficulties and hard parts worth it. For these kids, I would and hope to do it all over again.

Boys are Growing!

"What did the grandma monster say to the little monster when she saw him?"
"My, My, You Gruesome!"

Today we had doctor appointments; Eamon had his 3 year, Malcolm has an ear infection. But it was a great time to see how much the boys have grown.

Eamon is 2 feet and 11.9 inches. So close to 3 feet! He weighs 29 pounds. Malcolm is 2 feet 9 inches and weighs 22 pounds. They are getting rather close in size. It seems just a bit ago that I put away Eamon's 18 month clothes, but now I am pulling them out for Malcolm. And although Eamon still fits in 2T, I am looking for 3T's when we go clothes shopping because the 2T's aren't going to fit much longer.

Eamon was asked what he was going to dress up for Halloween as. He didn't understand the Halloween part of the question, but when I asked it again without that, he answered, "Mr. McGregor." He went on to say that Daddy should be Jeremy Fisher and Malcolm should be Peter Rabbit. It seems the play has made quite a difference in his life.

The other day, I was putting him down for a nap and he just wouldn't let himself fall asleep. I finally left and told Thomas, "He has been fighting since..." and I looked at the clock to figure out the time. Thomas replied, "since he was born." And it seems so true. He has been fighting since he was born - fighting sleep, fighting for what he wants, when he wants it, how he wants it, fighting for attention, fighting just because. But it was helpful to verbalize it because fighting isn't always bad. He just needs to find a good cause to fight for.

Malcolm fights too, but it looks different and doesn't seem so pervasive. He wants to be just like Eamon and has been picking up many of his habits - good and bad. He is also developing his own little sense of humor. He looks at his daddy and grins after he passes gas. He smiles and runs away when he wants to play. And last night he and Thomas played knocking down the tower of blocks. He would knock it over, then fall flat on his belly on top of them giggling.

Hopefully now that we have this antibiotic, he will start sleeping better and we can get back to a decent sleep schedule/daily life routine. It has been at least a week since I spent more than a few hours in my own bed, and several weeks/months/years since I have slept well. I am beginning to notice the effects of this in my communication and memory. So as they are growing bigger, I am growing old!

Now the Play is Over

It hasn't completely sunk in that I don't have practice on Monday. I don't need to be sewing costumes. I don't need to be making lists, calling people, or remembering five million things at the same time. But at the same time there is a huge relief and wave of satisfaction in a job well done. Now I have the rest of life that has been neglected to get caught up with.

The house needs to be cleaned. Many people find spring to be a good cleaning time, but these crisp autumn days make me want to open the windows, throw stuff away, and give everything a good scrub down. So this week I am looking forward to indulging that desire with gusto. Maybe I can send the boys outside and do laundry, switch out summer clothes, tidy the house, organize the toys, vacuum, scrub, wipe down and reorganize the cupboards, and even wash the windows! I doubt I will really get all that much done, knowing the way life goes, but it a goal and wish.

I have writing, photos, and videos work to do. Some for the play, some for family, some for blog, some for fun. I have lists of things to write that I have been putting off because I haven't had the time. I have lesson plans and Sunday School plans to work on. And I need to write thank you notes and jot down thoughts and plans for future directors and drama folk.

So right now, daily life is looming large, but like the play, everything that needs to get done, will get done, just little bits now and little bits then and large chunks when I get the chance. Because the first priority for this week is to spend some quality time with my family. They have been so helpful and amazing and put up with a half-mommy/half-wife for long enough. We will read stories, draw pictures, play games, do puzzles, etc. We will learn how to sleep again, how to have quite hour instead of naps, and how to have a conversation without play interrupting. I loved the play, and I will write more on that later, but I am glad to be done for a little while.