A return to knitting

The swift arrival of chilly and damp weather has brought with it a return to knitting.


After my haircut the other day I had a rare few mintes to myself while out and so went to the fair trade tea and gift shop across the street from the hair salon. I picked up some local honey, one of my must-have culinary and health items, and found a birthday gift for Danielle which was perfect: a whimsical marriage of form and function that I thought she would really appreciate (she did). I wish I had taken a picture, it was a wooden stand in the shape of a nose and mouth designed so that when you rest your eyeglasses on them, they complete the "face".

I noticed that the yarn shop a few doors down was having a retirement sale and was lured in. I'd been thinking I wanted to knit Cap a scarf and so needed some new yarn. I found some great wool skeins, for him, and for me or someone else. I had forgotten how expensive yarn is...I hadn't bought any since a few seasons ago in Sac when I knitted a bunch of wonderful Christmas scarves for the children in our life.

It's been wonderful knitting again. Time for myself where I am zen. I've noticed that I am more relaxed while knitting than I used to be. Despite this, some may notice that the scarf is tightening as I go along, a habit which I'd like to break at some point.

I'm trying a new stitch, the seed stitch. As it turns out, the yarn I am using is not ideal to showcase the stitch because it changes color and texture (the yarn is not uniform in thickness) and it's difficult to see the pattern of the stitch. But, it knits a flat piece, which I wanted, and I don't like the garter on both sides look.

I was delighted when First said he wanted to help make the second ball of yarn (he had watched me do the first ball out of the corner of his eye a couple of days earlier). He wound the yarn around the back of a chair as I unwound the skein and then he rolled the yarn into a ball. For anyone keeping track, great fine motor and eye-hand coordinating exercises. A practical art building up to his first knitting project which will probably begin this winter.




These pics were taken by Kinder.

Superheroes

The boys went to a homeschool day at our local art museum yesterday.

Comic books and super hero lore have been a vivid facet of Kinder and First's lives for the better part of a year. They were in Cap's childhood and adolescence, too, and it was serendipitous that he could take them to this one off session centered on the museum's current "Superheroes and Superheroines" exhibit.

They did a gallery walk and then worked on art projects creating and developing their own super heroes/heroines. They worked on cover art (the piece at the top done by Kinder, a picture that spans what would be the front and back covers of a book) and capes with painted logos (below, photographed by Kinder).

Their superhero charcaters were: Writeman (First) and Superdraw (Kinder).



Superdraw's power is the power to draw things in the air which than take actual form and matter thwarting the plans of villains.

Writeman's power is that when he looks into someone's eyes they know what they want to write, if they want to write something.

New 'do

My hair guy came through today. It's not quite as short as I'd envisioned, but I think his advice/instinct was good and I'm happy with the cut. (It was hard to get a good shot of the whole 'do with Kinder vying for frame space :-)

Our high elevation walker

First likes to walk at the highest points in a room. He much prefers solid, hard surfaces to soft, cushy ones. Chairs, tables, desks, stools, headboards, footboards (is that what they're called?), dressers...

I actually like this about him. It's unique. His agility seems so natural, such an animal state, and is beautiful to watch. And for a kid who is "in his head" much of the time, it's a welcome break for this mom to see him in a "zone", where he is not thinking so much. It looks kind of therapeutic.

I guess I thought he would grow out of it, but he hasn't, at all. At seven, his body has become long and pre-gangly. I wish I could build him bars and ledges, taking full advantage of our high ceilings. Because, not surprisingly, he doesn't do this high places walking anywhere other than in our home.

Introvert

Some strands coming together.

Jamie began things by talking to me about some books she'd read about introverts (months ago). From these conversations, I started to think about my introvert tendencies, as well as, First's.

Then there was Fiber Arts on Monday and our co-op meal last night.

FA felt, for the most part, chaotic to me. The kids were having a blast and were very energetic running in, out and around the house. Kelly's house is fantastic for this. It's an old, roomy house where all the rooms have two ways to exit and enter (great for running through). Their yard is a masterpiece, really, with three levels, two slides, an in-ground dipping pool, nooks and crannies, sloping and flat surfaces, and lots of green.

My kids were happy to play, like last week, but I could feel my energy, which was low to start with post-weekend, begin to drain almost immediately. It may have unfolded differently had I had a project to plunge into, but with all the busy-ness lately, I haven't gotten anything organized. (The kids' Halloween costumes and a knitting project are on my mental radar.)

The co-op meal felt very different to me last night, in large part, I think, because I was a guest and not a host. There were times during the meal that I could feel a familiar "freezing up" feeling followed by a detaching of my mind from my body. Exactly the kind of thing I would feel at parties back when I used to go to parties.

I struggled to stay put, there were six of us around a table and I wanted to just "be" with them. I forced myself to interject comments and even found myself telling some stories, but awkwardly, almost blundering, not fluid.

I realize that hosting gatherings, which I love to do, provides me with a way to be social without having to be "extroverted". All the cooking, fussing about, keeping an eye on things, keep me involved and cuts down on the amount of time I need to "small talk".

There's a down side, too, which is when I am hosting people with who I'm already close to. Then I often feel I've been cheated out of "quality" time because all I was able to do was make the equivalent of "small talk". I often feel this way when I get together with family.

Then this morning, on one of my Yahoo groups, I read some posts about introvert parents who are homeschooling, and their tips, stories, insights. It was an interesting and timely conversation.

And all of this has kind of settled into my head, reminding me that I'm an introvert.

I forget this because I am also very interpersonal. Once I connect with someone and become friends with them (which requires some one-on-one time...usually not a lot, I am quick to fall in love), I place a high value on spending time with them. Because we've moved so much in the last half dozen years, I've had to forego a lot of this because there simply isn't enough time in my days to talk to everyone I'd like to on the phone.

What I have found is that this doesn't matter in maintaining my friendships. More often than not, I will see someone who I haven't seen in a year or more and we can just fall into the intimate and warm communion that I remember. Literally, it's like we've jumped the space and time continuum.

We've been quite busy the past few weeks. Kinder is an extrovert and he has been showing me this fall that he is ready and wanting to do more outside of the house, outside of our core.

Fiber Arts, art class, co-op dinner, drum and movement, soccer, swimming, our schedule now includes planned activity every day of the week except Thursdays and Sundays.

Every weekend between now and Christmas has a planned activity.

Something else to keep in mind as autumn deepens. In order to create and maintain a good energy for myself, I need to be more vigilant about protecting my time alone... doing something other than watching tv!

Massachusetts

Another trip to MA under our belt. Part of me feels like I have an internal countdown, noting that each trip we take there is taking us closer and closer to being back there. Particularly when we go to Boston, something knocks around in my soul as we make the approach on the Pike, and Newton and then Brighton comes into view.

On our way up to MA, we stopped in to see Anna and got a tour of her new place in CT. I was surprised by the tinge of longing I got for single family home living. It's a great space.

We spent a few hours Friday in JP meeting our new nephew, Theo, and hanging out. We took the kids to a playground behind El's house in the hopes of catching her as she got out of school (she couldn't meet up, but we ended up seeing her Sunday). It was a summery day.


Then we drove down to Karen and Brent's. Cap went on to his dad's to get some work done, the poor guy was seriously behind the eight ball on a particular project. The boys spent a lot of time digging and building with Will on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They worked on a cinderblock fort way in the back of the yard and in the dirt circle closer to the house.

Here's a pic First took of the trench shortly before we left on Sunday morning (originally three holoes dug individually, which were subsequently connected).


And here are the happy diggers in their trench.


If I could bottle the feeling I had, bursting joy, peace and wonder, as I watched Kinder and Will at 7 am Sunday morning, them down by their holes, me on the deck, the wind blowing vigorously, the giant pines and their comrades swaying and rocking, the sky gray, the air full of early sutumn chill and microscopic droplets of moisture... oh, oh, oh, my kind of moment.

We spent part of Saturday at Jake and Evie's. Nancy, Alexandra and Cecilia (Cap's aunt, cousin, and Kinder and First's second cousin) stopped by on their way back from an outing down the road to ride the trains. The hens were out, Pops plucked loads of raspberries off the bush which the kids could not gulp down fast enough and then we all took a tromp through the woods that stand at the back of their property.




After saying our good-byes to Karen and crew (always bittersweet) we drove back to Boston on Sunday. We stopped into a Finnish bakery near Jay and Aim's and Cap chose a blueberry-walnut coffeecake to bring over.

We had a nice visit with Amy's parents who were also there. I got to hold Theo again and the kids played nicely together. Cap got to watch the Pats, it was a nice Sunday afternoon with family.

Jay and I took the kids to the playground and El was able to meet us, which was nice (Eleanor is a friend who I met when we taught together in an inclusion program for kids on the autism spectrum, she was the general ed teacher, I was the special ed teacher---a twist of fate which has resulted in a close and beloved friendship). Jay and I spent some time amusing ourselves creating the story of a very athletic looking woman who was there with her four sons...juvenile, but fun :-)

We headed out of town around 5 pm and ate dinner over at Mike and Julie's after picking up provisions at their local Whole Foods in CT (Mike is Cap's best friend from teenhood). Cam, their son, is such a cool kid, and the kids had a blast playing. Mike and Cap watched the Red Sox highlights and Julie and I looked at the portfolios of the current cast of America's Next Top Model on the CW website, followed by Nathan Fillion's recent appearance on Ellen on YouTube. Fun was had by all.

I wish I had more pics, but the memory stick filled up fast because there was a bunch of old stuff on there (our desktop is SO slow these days I just avoid it at all costs and that's where we store our photos).

Fedora

I walked in on Kinder playing by himself the other day and this is what he looked like.

I just added a group pic to "Flowing".

Little nemo in slumberland

When we moved here last year, Cap took the kids to a local art museum to see a comic book exhibit. He fell in love with an original sized bound edition of "Little Nemo in Slumberland". I gave it to him (he never would have bought it for himself, good Yankee that he is). Me, I'm with Oscar Wilde, who said, "anyone who lives within their means, suffers from a serious lack of imagination".

Here they are on a recent evening before Kinder and First went off to slumberland themselves.

Video uploaded

It messed a bit with the formatting of the post, but I uploaded a video into "Flowing". Check it out.

First co-op meal

The co-op meal last night was a smashing success. There were six adults and seven kids. The food was devoured, very satisfying for this cook. The kids played harmoniously (at one point the air was full of their voices chanting, "stop the war!") and the grown ups chatted amiably about various topics. There was a balance of getting to know each other and simply hanging out.

Interestingly, First had thought it would be a "homeschoolers" dinner and was surprised there would be schooling families coming over. It wasn't an issue anymore than that, just made him go hmmm :-)

I did end up spending the bulk of the day in the kitchen. My pace is manatee like when cooking. The kids helped make the apple cake which burned ever so slightly on the outside, but on the inside brought me back completely to my mom's apple cake which I loved growing up. The red Thai curry was ridiculously simple. I had forgotten that Cap uses the recipe off the red curry paste jar---love that! The tzatziki was good, but I don't think the yogurt agreed with my stomach. I woke up this morning feeling it. I also made carrot tofu scramble, one of First's favorites, which was a hit with the others, as well.

We did check out the ice arena because we ended up running a book up to Cap that he needed for class. The arena is right on campus. We saw Lucy and it was very invigorating in the cold air watching kids and their grown ups skating. I plan on taking the kids skating next week. Roger said that he may bring Lukas and Anna, as well, which would be nice.

Also, discovered that the little Y has some better family swim times, including an earlier time on Saturdays.

Today will be a stay-at-home day. We're all still in our pajamas. The kids are drawing and I'm about to do some qigong exercises. I'll be doing laundry and packing and getting ready for our weekend in MA. We may see Danielle and the kids this afternoon, but otherwise, should be a very quiet day.

Flowing

Friday

Holly and Lucia, Kelly, Lila and Pippa, Silke, Anna and Lukas, all came
over for lunch. It was phase one of welcoming Holly and Lucia back for
their brief trip stateside to deal with visa stuff (they are in the
midst of a six month stint in Paris). It was a warm, gentle and
wonderful time. The cold sesame noodles were yummy :-)



Kinder's drumming and movement class went smoothly. No issues, no tears, it was
as if last week had never happened. The second class is challenging for
him. He seemed to be off rhythmn for nearly 50% of the time. But, he
just kept sticking to it and sticking to it, his self-esteem untouched.

When Yayah, the teacher, asked if there were any questions about
halfway through class, taking care to check in with the new kids,
Kinder's hand went right up and he said it was really confusing to have
more than one rhythmn going at the same time. (They had been practicing
"Kuku" with three different interweaving rhythmns.) I learned something
about patience and perseverance watching him that day.

Saturday

We trekked into the city and met Lisa, Takai, Ellie, Akihiko and his
mom for lunch at my mom's place. My mom had to work, but had left us a
feast that I just had to warm up. Everyone had a nice time catching up.

I particularly enjoyed watching the kids. Ellie loves the boys and
can't get enough of them. Kinder played peek-a-boo with her for awhile
and First played with her for a long time in that silent, but loving
way he has with young ones. Watching him with babies reminds me of
something Erica told me, oh god, nearly 20 years ago, that for her it
was easier being with animals than it was with people a lot of the
time.



After lunch, the kids and Cap and I went to a puppet show of "Comet in
Moominland" which was fantastic. I was really impressed by the
staging/set. The kids liked it much more than they thought they would
and Kinder asked a lot of questions afterwards when the audience was
invited to check out the sets, each manned by a member of the
production crew available to answer questions.

We met Sandy back at my mom's and then hopped in the car to head home.
And we sat in fracking traffic for a looooong time. It took us two
hours, me on the hump in between the boys in back. (The video was shot by Kinder in the car.)



Once home, Cap fed the kids quickly (I was queasy from car sickness for awhile) and put them to bed. The grownups had take-out from our favorite bbq/southern food place and then Cap and I took off for Matt Pond PA.

Having lived and learned from the Gob Iron show (the one where we left
after Jay's solo set, me unable to bear another minute of standing), we
skipped the opening band, walked right up to the stage when we arrived
(second row of people, there was a guy who looked just like Ricky
Schroeder from his Silver Spoon days in front of me, yes, the place was
full of twenty year olds, some amusingly drunk), and the show started
about fifteen minutes later.

The band was great (Cap thought the bass was too pumped, I loved it),
the lead singer funny and good at bantering, there's nothing like a
fantastic song that you've only whirled around to in your living room
washing over you and vibrating in your cells, completely becoming one
with you as you are in touching distance to the very big amps and the
band jamming intensely, literally, right in front of your eyes.

Sunday

We all slept in (my kids seem to have graduated from waking with the
sun, which is what they have done their whole lives), I made
mini-pancakes (First's new favorite, he's asked for them every
morning for the last week-plus) and then Sandy and I rushed out to get
her to the train station a few towns over (our train line doesn't
operate on the weekends).

We were thwarted by a 5k road race shutting down some streets and ended
up back home. I walked her to the bus instead and we had a nice time
sitting on a bench for a half hour just chatting.

The kids and I went to Lucia's birthday party, phase two of spending
time with them. It was a wonderful gathering. Kids were having fun,
grown ups were having fun, it was a beautiful day, and Lucia's
grandparents hosted in a space perfect for the occasion.
Nick was giving kids ride on the pedicab, there were games where kids
were getting toys and prizes throughout the party keeping them very
happy, I had the chance to talk to friends and meet some new people, it
was really nice.

First had an accidental ingestion of dairy and it was an interesting
opportunity to see that the few hives he got around his mouth were
going down by the time I was giving him Benadryl (about 15 minutes
later). It looked like his body was able to absorb the reaction
smoothly and well. I gave him the Benadryl anyway, but it did make me
go "hmmm".

Saying good-bye was hard. I really like Lucia and Holly has a special
place in my heart as the first friend I made here. But, adventures will
continue to be had and they'll be back in the spring.

Monday

We went to Fiber Arts at Kate's and, drumroll please, the kids had a
good time! It took a year, but they finally feel comfortable with the
kids they've gotten to know and had a great time with a new friend,
Malik. I felt strangely (but in a pleasant way) unmoored as the kids
weren't clinging to me and asking me every ten minutes if it was time
to go. Holly and Mary are absent (Mary and her girls are due back from
Ireland in a couple of weeks), and Felicia and Shannon have joined in.
I actually think I'll be able to get some handwork time in!

Tidbits

Our new nephew was born Sunday night, no name yet. Everyone is doing
well and we're heading up to Beantown on Friday to go see the little
guy. Can't wait.

Kinder starts French class today. If he absolutely hates it, we won't
do it, but I'm hoping that it might help inspire me to do some Japanese at home with them.

I'll be cooking today for our common meals that start tomorrow. Silke
and Roger have started up a small co-op meal group. We'll meet for
dinner on Wednesdays rotating through each family's home. We're up
first. Unfortunately, the schedule didn't mesh with Cap's so he won't
be involved. I'm making Thai curry, rice, tzatziki and an apple cake.

The Red Sox are in the playoffs, they start against the Angels
tomorrow.

Going to Vinny today for a tune-up. My energy has been good, I just
keep corrupting my healing with crap food, though my portions are
getting better. The qigong exercises are pretty impressive in the
results they produce. Even if it's just five minutes that I do in the
morning, there's a difference to the quality of the day.

Seasonal table

Yesterday, at the playground, First picked up the season's first blood red leaf. It was smudged with yellow and green and was a beaut. It passed through many hands and in the end, he plucked it from Kelly's fingers, wanting definitive ownership.

This afternoon I remembered the leaf, and inspired, announced I'd be deconstructing the summer seasonal tableau. First, who was watching the Wonder Pets Save The Three Little Pigs (quite funny), bobbed up above the top of the couch to say he wanted to create the fall table. TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) rocks. I am so grateful and moved at how much more connected he's been.

He began by placing items at each corner. Then he constructed the middle. He had other ideas and was reassured that he/we would be able to add things as the days pass and we find treasures in nature. (He was thinking about resorting to use pencils to make something because he didn't have twigs.)

The leaf, incidentally, had dried up considerably during the night and First no longer desired it.

First's first seasonal table. Enjoy.

Harvest moon

I love hearing the train blowing its horn...especially early in the morning or late at night. The trains we see here aren't as majestic as the ones we'd see in Sac, but the sounds are just as good.

I got some bodywork done by Vinny on Tuesday which was wonderful. Afterwards I felt like my body had become a giant magnet, the pressure of my weight on the table felt incredible and grounding. I wish I had been able to sleep there for an hour.

I'm at that place where I know I have to "release" dairy from my diet again. A month of traditional Chinese medicine had healed my system to a point where I could digest dairy again, but it's been too much too soon. My emotional ties to pizza and chocolate are strong!

The start of the fall tv season, with dvr for the first time ever, has brought on a lot of tv watching once the kids are in bed. I watched America's Next Top Model, drawn by the contestant with Asperger's and had my heart broken a bit last night.

I finished the first season of Deadwood and am taking a break with some movies. I have Catch and Release in the tv basket, Year of the Dog is next on my queue.

Yesterday I opted not to go into Manhattan to see Akihiko and his mom and my family. The kids were both running low grade temps. I was able to reschedule with Akihiko for Saturday. It'll be good to see him, it's been a couple of years.

Serendipity stepped in and we ended up meeting Kelly and the girls at a great playground that was new for us. It was in nearly complete shade (crucial with a day that warmed up to 85+º) and the structure was wooden and had a lot of unusual and interesting components.

I wish I had brought my camera. Kinder and Lila are like two peas in a pod, very comfortable with each other whether walking, climbing, or building a fairy forest. First spent a lot of time with Pippa (who turned one in August). I don't think he said a word to her the whole time, but he was saying a lot with his eyes, body language and proximity. It was really cool watching them in their wordless, yet very connected play.

Later in the day we went over to Danielle's. Our four kids are just crazy about Ben 10 and whenever they get together, the first few minutes are a bedlam of excited talking updating each other on the new Ben 10 goings on in their lives (new drawings, comics, toys, etc.) Their friendship preceded the Ben 10 craze, but it seems so much a part of it now that I wonder what it will look and feel like for them when the inevitable (it is inevitable, right?) decline in interest in things Ben 10 begins.

My session with Vinny helped stopped the closing in on myself that I was feeling for about a week. Kelly and Vinny both spoke of the harvest moon, it was full last night or will be tonight. Apparently it's a tough one for many to get through.

It's going to be a busy few days:

Today - Silke and kids this afternoon

Friday - Holly and Lucia (who are back from Paris for a long weekend to deal with visa stuff) and Kelly, Lila and Pippa at lunch time, drum and movement in afternoon

Saturday - lunch in the city with Akihiko and his mom, puppet show of Comet in Moominland in the afternoon, Sandy and Mike come over to baby-sit and Cap and I go to see Matt Pond PA at night

Sunday - Lucia's birthday party, family swim at the Y

In between the social engagements and voracious tv watching I'll be planning some structure for our mornings next week (home learning time), cooking and cleaning, and eagerly awaiting news of the baby we're waiting for up in Boston :-)

Up at 4:16

Kinder needed some early morning care. Arnica for his aching foot, sting stop for his mosquito bites from yesterday's "unconventional baseball" game (the Pink Scarves won the game shortened by Kinder's being bit multiple times being the only one in shorts---the usual order of skeeter preference is me, then First, then Kinder...if I'm amply exposed, they don't get touched), and the last dregs of tylenol for his feeling crappy (my word, not his :-)

I actually went to bed at 10 last night and so could not fall back asleep. My body had six hours of sleep in it and would not settle down. So after snuggling with Kinder till he fell back asleep, I got out of bed.

I checked and read e-mail, checked the weather (highs in the mid-80s today and tomorrow---huh?!?), read the local newsy blog and though I thought about getting back into bed, realized I would not fall back asleep, or probably even relax much. With three other bodies in the bed, it just wasn't going to happen...

I saw that it was 5:50 and thought if I were to go to the Y class for "morning people", I'd be leaving my house NOW to walk down to the Y. And I thought, now that's crazy. I'm hoping to start going to the Y next week. This month my Tuesday and Thursday mornings (my child-free times) have been devoted to appointments ad errands.

October is the new September in our household. I guess that's what happens when you lose August.

Black and blue

I lay in bed last night, past 11:00 pm tossing and turning. I realized I was feeling black (dark, self-annoyed) and blue (depressed). Not horribly, but enough that in the past few days I've been more out of my body and in my head than is good for me.

This morning I did some stretches as I had decided I should do as I was finally falling asleep (nothing like Kinder coming into bed at midnight asking to be snuggled to get me back in my body :-) I was shocked at how tight some parts of me were because I don't feel it during the course of a day.

Kinder just handed me his sketch of the Upgrade costume he wants me to sew him for Halloween. Sweet. To see Upgrade, go to this link, click on the drop down menu for "characters" and click on Upgrade. Plus, you'll get to hear the catchy Ben 10 theme song :-)

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ben10/index.html

Today is Fiber Arts day. First is snuffling and a bit drippy. He may not be up for it, we'll see.

Ah, I watched Stranger Than Fiction Sat night and enjoyed it (watched The Forty Year Old Virgin for the second time Fri night and loved that). It was so good to see Emma Thompson again, I love her. Both these movies, in retrospect, helped soothe these feelings I have inside of me.

As did Ainori last night. It's been on and off a local channel that carries Japanese programming, and I found it relocated to a higher-than-100 cable channel for "Asian American" tv. My mom introduced it to us a few years ago and we love it. Now that we have higher-than-100 cable, we can watch it even if we're not at her house (where, incidentally, she no longer gets it because she has bare bones cable). This site describes it much better than I can:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainori

Consignment shop

I finally made it over to our local children's consignment shop and struck gold. I so should have gone there before trekking out to the mall where I had been utterly (and unsurprisingly) let down.

Almost done with fall/winter kid clothing gathering. I'm checking out the local Marshalls for the first time today. The Target stuff I've bought and they've worn in the last year did not hold up well. The Land's End shoes haven't either. I miss the days of having so many hand-me-downs we didn't have to buy clothes for the kids.

It was with relief and a smile that I saw Cap's first paycheck of the fall had been direct deposited into the account yesterday. After months of waiting for our tax refunds, I recently discovered that I had had them direct deposited. $700 came and went without my comprehension (frack!)---no wonder I felt like I could spend some money on myself earlier this summer (a summer nightgown, a pink and red muumuu, deluxe slippers from the Vermont Country Store).

Yes, now I'm paying closer attention to lines other than the balance when I check on our funds online.

Most honorable son

I watched this doc about a Japanese-American fighter pilot the other night and learned some things.

http://www.pbs.org/mosthonorableson/

Growing up

Sometimes growing up is hard to do.

Kinder went back to drumming and movement class yesterday after a summer away. He was resistant, cried, said he didn't want to go, that he didn't want to do any "classes". He cried at home and he cried once we were there. Once he saw Donovan arrive, a boy who was in the class last year and who is a special connection because he was in Lukas' Kindergarten class last year, he calmed down. We chatted with him and Kinder settled right in.

A number of kids, including Kinder, were invited to join in the second class. They are "tweens" now and straddle level one and two. He resisted this, too, but hung in there with my firm encouragement and enjoyed class with Kevin (the first class is led by Maya) for about 45 minutes. We ducked out early, 90 minutes of class was long for him!

Change of season, change of routines, approaching his sixth birthday, it's a lot for my second born, the one who seemingly has no filters, who feels everything so intensely and becomes one with those feelings, whether it feels good or not.

Apple cookie jar

This is my apple cookie jar. It is part of a set of apple ceramicware that Mummu (before she was Mummu :-) and Auntie Carol made for me for Christmas one year. I love this set. This afternoon I finally baked the batch of cookies Cap was unable to because of the faulty old oven (we have a brand spanking new oven which I am thrilled about). As I transferred them into the cookie jar, I felt quite blessed.

Still feels like summer

Just came in from the third game of the season. The Aliens won again---14 to 8. Our legs are itchy from mosquito bites, the backyard was in humid shade.

Vinny's body work did wonders for First. He has a sparkle in his eye and a spring in his step. He has said, "I'm happy today" out loud. My heart was flipping over and over as he hung out with me as I made meatloaf and pesto. He asked questions, helped, and we played around after he noticed that I sounded as if I were on a cooking show with how I was talking about what I was doing. I can't remember the last time he relaxed with me in the kitchen.

Kinder is having bursts of intensity (ie. crying, hitting, screaming). I think he may be fighting a cold/virus. It may be hard to believe, but he pitched a pretty big fit about not wanting to go outside about 15 minutes before this picture was taken. It was so unfair that I was forcing him to go out....

I offered oatmeal or quinoa for breakfast. They chose oatmeal. First loved it, Kinder did not.

I'm doing some laundry. I'd taken a long hiatus due to my back/shoulder issues, but with Cap not feeling well and in the midst of his late nights at work (Wed and Thu), and, being on call to go up to Boston this weekend if the baby comes, I figured better to get it out of the way. The load felt pretty heavy going downstairs. I'm going to have to bring it up in waves.

Still haven't gotten to what I wanted to do today, go through the kids' clothes, change over summer to fall/winter, etc. Not stressed, just noticing.