My first drive by

There is a phenomenon that I have learned about since becoming a mother called the "mommy drive by." The idea is that someone who doesn't know you, or know anything about you or your kids, criticizes your parenting skills out of no where. I had my first one today.

There's an older woman who is retired from work but still goes to the gym (I haven't quite figured out what she does there besides use up about 25 towels, but that's her prerogative). Today I was changing next to her and we started chatting. She wondered what I did at the school, how long I had been there, etc. etc. She made some comment about how she was old enough to be my mother which always irks me so I told her my age which led her to ask if I had kids, and then ask how old they are. She asked me if I was still breastfeeding and when I told her that I weaned Chava around 8 months, she launched in to a diatribe about how jobs come and go but the benefits of breastfeeding last forever and I should really go back to breastfeeding. She even asked me why I stopped - I should have told her it was none of her business but instead I stupidly started to explain what a challenge it was to pump, which she immediately poo poo'd. I just sort of nodded and packed up my stuff and left, feeling like crap.

Why do people do that?

Chava looooooves her food.









Either these are from the other day or I dress the children in the same clothes every day of the week, which is entirely possible.

Two more from the weekend

Maddox in hog heaven - his own bag of goldfish and Grumpaw's train.











Nonna and the kids unwind after a long day.

Boating!

Self Portrait. And Playtime.

I. Am. Bad. Mother.

Maddox has an ear infection. And we've started Claritin.

Six Years

Six years ago today we woke up under crisp blue skies and swore we would take all this crap together. We're in the thick of it now, and I'm glad I'm covered in shit with no one else but you, Honey.

Hello, Lover

Al took the kids to the Cape on Friday afternoon, so I had a 27 hour period with no children. 10 of those hours were spent in bed.... the rest was ALMOST as delicious. But I was happy to see them return on Saturday night.

can't post... slowly dying from sleep deprivation......

We had to take away Maddox's beloved binkies because the dentist said they were changing the shape of his mouth. Well, there's been no sleep in our house since then. At first it was screaming for the binkies. We've moved on from there, to screaming to have his blanket pulled up over him (he can't do it himself because "my feet stick out!!!") to screaming that the temperature of the water in his sippy cup wasn't quite right to last night, when he screamed that I needed to cut his toenails because "they have fingernails on them." It's fun.

But we hit a new high last night when we realized just how talented our son is. He pooped after we had put him down for the night and when Al went up to check on him, he had done some diaper diving. After cleaning him off together (Al called down for reinforcements), we tucked him in again with kisses all around. He put two and two together and realized that pooping got him some extra attention. So he did it, no shit (excuse the pun), FOUR more times. Including twice at midnight.

Saturday

Chava gets a snuggle.



Maddox in all his many (!!) moods.
















Bedhead + Thomas the Tank Engine Sunglasses = Cool

Friday in the park with Lee and AJ

Lee tries on Chava for size.






Maddox and AJ discover the chimes.















Maddox needs his privacy.

The artist at work

Maybe he's only about 1/8 devil

Maddox can be very cute, and very charming. One of his funny quirks is that he picks up little phrases he hears and then uses them in conversation. Every time we drive out to Lincoln he asks if we're in "the snowy countryside" and last night, while bathing, he asked for some goggles so he could look "under the deep blue sea."

p.s. Annie and Jayme - they'll be on the next flight out.

Feel the Chava Love

It's pretty easy to love Chava. Easier still when her brother has turned in to the spawn of Satan because he can't have three little pieces of silicone and plastic.

A Weekend of Firsts

And of course, I took no pictures. But, just so you know:
1. Maddox gave up his binky (not voluntarily). He picked out a little Elmo to sleep with and a new tractor at the toy store, and "paid" with his beloved pacifiers. So far, all it's meant is no sleep for us, and his teeth still look a little buck-y.
2. I gave Maddox a very cute haircut. You promise that boy "a few licks" of a lollipop and he'll give you one of his kidneys.
3. Chava is getting up on all fours and rocking... crawling is coming any time now.
4. Chava had her first bagel. That's like the precursor to the Bat Mitzvah, right?!

Sweaty pear

Chava's on the move!

You can see the beginnings of crawling here.

While Daddy's away.....

Nonna spoils the children.







Chava fell asleep so fast and so hard at the beach that I actually had to watch her chest rise and fall to make sure she was breathing. Ahhh if we had only had the beach those first three months....

In reverse chronological order

Catherine and Chris came over for a lobster fest and Maddox loved having the other kids around (not to mention Cat, who I think he fell in love with right then and there).














If only Gracie were a few months older, I'd happily let her babysit.