9 May

The stuff you say...... (Lucas Age 5)
"I want playing to be a chore...."
"I'm going to rock it in Kindergarten"
"When our teacher at school says table conversations it means not pretending to play the paino by banging on the table, pretending your hand is a gun, or putting your bowls or plates on your head"
"It's crazy that the doctors buy Popsicle sticks without the Popsicle, who would do that?"
"What if the whole world was made of candy and Candy was actually good for you, then you would never have to grocery shop again!"

8 May (warning lots of honesty in this post.)

Sometimes. (and Gosh, i LOVE this photo)

When I get a glimpse of what might be life for you if you didn't have Down Syndrome, I struggle big time.  Maybe more so that others I have insecurities. Insecurities about you being accepted and me being accepted. You really aren't that much different.  Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it putting us out there in activities that regular girls do so I wouldn't have to face these insecurities.  It sure would be easier.  I see older girls hanging with their best friends singing songs, having fun, talking about the boys, and gosh,  I want that so badly for you. Yes, you are awesome, and you are doing awesome, but that doesn't keep me from wondering sometimes what life would be like without all this complicating stuff that we are going to have to deal with and get through for the rest of our lives.  So yeah, it's weighing on my mind heavily this week and whenever it does,  I reach out and email, text, talk, read, and run and go to bed early and try find support in any way I can.  It will pass like it always does.....as soon as I see your smile and your happiness (it's contagious!).

7 May

Coming Home.

To a week that's a bit over scheduled, and allowing myself to have some early bedtimes because of it.
Excited about some new roles I'll be taking on at school  (VP of the PTA, organizing their garden planting), things that would ordinarily be out of my comfort zone.
To Lucas' notes which seem to be evolving and spreading (Love that kid!)
To putting chores and technology aside and being completely present for the most interesting conversations (like the debate about which book has more words, Moby Dick or Harry Potter).
To lots of Hugs and I miss yous and I love yous:)  am I a blessed or what?

6 May

This weekend.

Girls weekend with my friend Heidi up at her Families House at Sugarloaf (this place was AMAZING!).
So nice to get away and scrapbook, and walk, and talk and drink good wine and eat good food (and talk some more!).
So nice to have absolutely no interruption to my thoughts, words or anything I was into at the moment.
Thank You Heidi, and I can't wait until next year!

5 May

I Love......
That the coaches sent out a two page e-mail explaining their rules and philosophy and why they have the rules that they do.
That you had your first game today against another team on the turf and did awesome
Watching you do what you love.
That When I'm not there, Josh will pick up the camera.
You.

remembering.

Philip "Pop-Pop" C. P. 

June 6,1922-May 2, 2012

We'll always remember your smile,laugh and jokes, playing cards around your dinner table, many delicious  meals shared, your wise words, your hardworking nature, the lessons you had to teach.  Your engineer brain, how you could fix anything and everything and how you loved each and every one of us with all your heart.  I am sad to be closing this chapter of my life, with all the happy memories of my childhood, but I am happy that you are at peace and reunited with the one you love.  Five years she has been patiently waiting for you in heaven.  I feel so blessed that you were a part of my life Pop-pop and that I have a copy of your memoir.  Your story, a lifetime of happiness and love and your legacy will live on forever.  

(I will be away for the weekend but will return to this space on Sunday night or Monday)

3 May

Loving.....

that the littlest one has taken to leaving himself little reminder notes around the house (his brother helping a little with the spelling), and that the reminder notes have to do with a chore deadline that is quickly approaching:) I love how learning how to write opens up a whole new world for them.

2 May

Loving.....

The little things coming home from school......oh so much progress. Her language is booming, she's asking, "what are you doing??"  Every second of the day, which can get annoying, but I'm grateful for it.  One of her teachers actually sent this home in an e-mail last week: "Bre is amazing!"  Yep, this little girl is rocking it right now.... Life is good.  Now If I could only get all three to rock it all at the same time?  That would be a miracle.  

1 May

Just a boy and his dog having a little rest time.  

Hello May, I'm so happy you are here!

30 April

Monday Random.....

We went out to lunch, we made a design plan for our shed and our new patio.  We have big dreams for this year.  Doing it ourselves, we can stretch our cash a little farther.  I spent about two hours weeding around this swing set.  Lucas was a happy helper and he used the shovel to dig the weeds out.  We saved two earthworms and he cheerfully ran them up to the garden and placed them around the pea plants that are growing.  He asked if we should feed the earthworms, he said they like to eat apple peels, "like compost"...He's right.  We practiced Lacrosse with the pitch back after school and Liana took Bre to swim lessons.    We had Tacos for dinner.  Trevor had a little obnoxious streak so he didn't get special time.  Happy Monday to you:)

29 April

The weekend.

I finished up my week in the life photos and boy did I have fun with it , I took over 1,000 (but I'm glad it's over.)  I love the collection of photos even if they never make it off my computer.  Here's a good one that pretty much sums up my life right now......Just trying to keep up the home, manage 5 schedules, plus stay on top of everything the kids are "up to".   It's pretty much impossible:)  Happy weekend to you!

28 April

Today.....

The First big game of the season (and when I say big game, I mean they have so many kids they played their own team and didn't even play positions or goalies yet, but hey, a lot of kids are just starting out).  I LOVE this game, it is so exciting, I could have sat out there and watched all day, If I didn't need two down coats, hats and mittens and a blanket.  I mean it was freezing and WINDY (Lucas wore long underwear), if it wasn't sunny, it would have snowed any minute. Seriously.  But We do it for you....we love you and are so proud of you #14!


P.S. I rented a new lens to try out for sports photography, the Tamron 18-270.  I'm liking it so far.  And this week, I'm totally off Instagram and back to loving my SLR :)

27 April

5 Year Well check up.

I rode up on the elevator with the NP and she said she remembered when I was carrying you in in a backpack and that she couldn't believe that you were five (I guess I made an impression on her that day toting in my three kids, one in a stroller and another in a backpack....I think she's mentioned it every time we go in to see her).
38 lbs, 42 inches.
Good hearing, eyes,  everything else and you could hop on one foot.
I promised you no shots today and I delivered.
You said, "Well that was easy, all I had to do was sit there!"
An you were excited about your new book, a beautiful new hardcover book in it, five books by Maine Authors (I love that they give out new books at every well visit), and a spider man sticker to boot.
...........
 I still can't believe my baby is five.

26 April

The Story of Today......

Laying in bed worried about friends, sports, homework, music, influences, and what you might have forgotten to do at school.  The decisions are getting harder, my boy.  Growing up is hard to do, but we're here for you every step of the way, if you let us.

25 April

This Girl.....

Loves Spaghetti almost as much as her Mom did when she was a little kid.

P.S. Bedtime was a dream tonight.  Baths and getting dressed and teeth done almost independently is less than 10 minutes for one five year old boy (with no stalling OR arguing!) I think God knows when moms need a break:)

24 April

Today....

Parenting, and housework, and disciplining and just getting dinner on the table, well it's hard after working such a long day.  Parenting has been extra challenging lately, It just gets in a rut sometimes, like nothing new is really going on, when in fact, it's always new. Just really challenging right now.  And not just one of them, but all of them together.  I just want them to do what I want them to do at the exact moment that I want them to do it.  Yeah....that.

23 April

Monday.

It rained....ALOT!  Our backyard is flooded again, UGH. Trevor said...."Mom, now we don't need to travel anywhere to fish, we can do it right in the lake in our backyard!....He's right.
Today, I'm super grateful that Bre did awesome in her first swimming lesson in over two years.  No crying at all.  She was all smiles and so proud of herself.  I needed to rush out and get her a bathing cap, her hair was so short last time she took lessons.  Phew!  I'm also grateful for the one on one time I got with each today to read, and that even bigs enjoy being read to.  It's one thing as a Mom, that I just truly enjoy doing....reading to them.

I'm also starting the photo heavy intense week in the life project this week,  I said to myself that I wasn't going to do it up until this morning (becuase in four years I've never completed an album), but how could I not.   I'm going to take tons of pictures, write down some details, and whatever it becomes it becomes....no pressure.  Happy Monday!

The hardest Job in the world.

22 April

Last Day of Spring Break!  It was a rainy one, a great day to stay inside and read and listen to some new music.  (And Keeping it real......I told them they had to read for 30 mins before they could watch any more TV).  We ended the vacation with a somewhat competitive Sorry Game.  I love how we have to keep playing util all the places are determined.  Good Times.  I loved our vacation this year.  I loved the fact that we didn't need to go anywhere special or constantly entertain for it to count as memorable.  Good Times indeed.

21 April

We have had an absolutely beautiful stretch of weather this April Vacation, and really we can't say that we did much over vacation other than get up and do whatever we felt like doing on that day.  We worked a little, got some outdoor yard work done, cleaned the decks and outdoor furniture, played games, ran through sprinklers visited friends, and played legos.  There was quite a bit of self- entertaining going on while Mom and Dad did the outdoor chores (when they weren't "helping").....and honestly this time was good for them, and they got along REALLY well until about today.  Frustration levels soared by the afternoon and I didn't exactly go to bed felling like mother of the year.  I was tired, and so it goes.  I'm grateful tomorrow is another day....Real Life.

20 April

:: Right Now::

Loving the Lego fortress that has become the boys room (and the fact that they had to move Lucy's cage in there).
Cucumber and tomato salad with Italian cheese and dressing.
Playing Cars Memory every day and how she kicks my butt every time.
Trying to be in more pictures (embrace the camera).
The fact that my weekend is here and I'm actually home on a Friday night and not working (although I'm pretty tired from getting up at 5).

Seven years.

Happy 7th Birthday Pretty girl! I'll never forget the day we first met, you lived so far away! It's hard to believe that seven years has past already! We love you and miss you and hope you had a great day and dinner out at cheesecake factory:)
                               

19 April

"Mom, If I won a thousand dollars (from the radio contest) I would buy Trevor the lego airport he wants" Sweet boy thinking of his brother like that.....and he makes a really good spectator too (third children always do, don't they?).

18 April

17 April

Tuesday.

Sun and warm breezes, exercise, watching kids play and rising early.  Everything that makes one feel good.

16 April

Today.....
a whole lot of nothing.  A whole lot of good and beautiful day allergies kicking into high gear nothing.  The playground, legos, riding bikes and skateboards, having a friend over, eating popsicles out on the back deck,   planting some more plants that a friend gave me.  At dinner:

Trevor: Lucas what is your least favorite meal?...mine's dinner.
Lucas: Yeah,  dinner (especially when we were having fish for dinner)
Trevor: What is your most favorite meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner?  Mine is breakfast, yeah I love breakfast.
Lucas:  Dessert. (a boy after my own heart.) :)

15 April

Today.....

These guys worked their butts off for 11 hours on some holes for deck footings.  I mean backbreaking work.  The weather here is just gorgeous, And the kids all played outdoors with each other for about that same amount of time.  I don't think there is anything I love more than watching the kids play with their friends, outdoors, swinging on swings, making up games, riding bikes and skateboards,  and doing what kids do.  I mean (and I keep reminding them) that they just have an awesome childhood:)

14 April

Another Inspiring Down Syndrome related post...

I guess I'm just personally inspired this week :)

Read Here.

And an inspiring Moms post here.....get the tissues!

13 April

What a big week this girl has had!  A Big concert and now her very First Dance.......Father Daughter style.  I seriously thought of this day (and the prom) when she was born, and wondered if it would ever be.  We got all clean, we curled the hair and put on lip gloss.....we went all out (because there is no other way to go).  She loved every minute of getting and looking beautiful.  This girl can party and dance it up like no other.  Hopefully this is the first of many more fun times for this girl (and no offense, but hopefully not all of them will be with her daddy):)

12 April

Spring :)

Beauty in the unexpected

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

11 April

It's also a big week for this boy.  Standardized testing at school, kid city, vacation starts Friday and Lacrosse season has begun.  He loves the sport, and it has become extremely popular in these parts.  The coaches are great and I know the kids are going to be safe:)  It's his second year, he's been playing all winter indoors and he's ready to go!  Can't wait to see the first game:)

10 April

I was delighted with the perfect natural display of inclusion. This is what it looks like. This is what it is. Pointing it out actually seems silly as if I should marvel at the fact that they breathe. Of course they breathe; it's what they were born to do. What would really be silly is if, over time, we were taught how to stop breathing; how to gradually retrain our good, natural instincts. Something to think about, indeed.

Kelle Hampton

Tonight was her second Spring Concert.  Don't forget last year the emotional roller coaaster ride we took with this one when some people had counted her out right from the beginning.  This year, however, she didn't even need any extra practicing at home, no one counted her out even for a second.   She was a rock star.  Nope not perfect, still lifted her shirt a few times and whacked her classmate while making a hand movement, but one of her classroom aides came up to me after the show and said how she is inpired to tears by Bre and all she is able to do.   I used to think it was about making her look less different or act less differently to her peers, now I know it's not that at all.  It's about teaching THEM to accept differences in everyone, right from Kindergarten. Since Bre has always been there right with them, learning along side them, their good natural instincts never change.  Yes, Ladies and Gentleman, we have achieved full inclusion in elementary school.  High School?   Well, let's just take one day at a time:)

9 April

I try to keep in mind this simple truth: one person's mess is another's work in progress. 
Yes, yes, yes.
~Soule Mama

8 April

Easter 2012..... (5 people twelve times April)

Now we don't usually have a lot of we always must do family traditions around Easter.....not like my Mom did when she was little with the outfits and fancy hats, church  and dinner at Grandmas.  We just go with it (and always be sure to have an egg hunt first thing in the morning).  Today, well Lucas laid under the chairs at church (which caused him to almost miss a very important egg hunt).  Josh got the chainsaw out again, knocked down a woodshed and started a fire and I made a path in the woods.   It was raw and cold outside, and I think it even snowed a little.   As in every regular day, we managed to mess ourselves up and trash the house and then clean up several times, all while pulling off a great ham dinner (which did involve a box of Kraft Mac and cheese, someday I promise it will be homemade:)).  Not bad if I say so myself:)  Happy Easter!

7 April

Today....

was just a stay and home and get everything done day.  Boy it felt good and it's a rare event these days that we don't have a sporting event or an activity to attend on a Saturday.  We started rebuilding our Lego police station.  We filled in the garden with new soil and added two more beds made from old pallets (genius!),  we cut down two trees, we planted some cool weather crops (spinach and peas) and gathered the pine cones up off the lawn.  We moved the woodpile and filled the birdfeeder.  Boy do those muscles feel good tonight:)  This afternoon, one Easter Bunny prepared last minute for tomorrow.  AND, there is nothing like the last minute to color some eggs.  They all loved it, and I LOVED today:)

6 April

Today.....

The Dairy Corner opened for the season which is always monumental.  Breanna got her "white" icecream in a dish, Lucas, Chocolate in a dish and Trevor twist in a cone with rainbow jimmies.  Flavors just about as different as they are.....

5 April

Because he's never going to listen to anyone telling him it's not cool to wear a paper hat with bunny ears around town for the day.  He's going to do what he wants to do and think he's great no matter what anyone else says or thinks.  Here's to thinking your great no matter what, I hope he never loses that.

4 April

Today.....

We visited the capital of our state with two of the third/fourth grade classes.  Honestly I had no idea there was a huge Maine history museum there, where we learned about making iron, made our own spearheads out of rocks, and the history of the last 12,000 years of Maine.  We also got to visit the state house and see the floor of the senate and the  where the Representatives sit.  We met representative Siroki and even got to bang the gavel and stand outside the governors office where the press conferences take place.  It was really just something different, the kids were great and I had so much fun talking to some of the other Moms and teachers.

3 April

::Things I'm loving right now::

This photo, it's so him.
the new Picasa upgrade
My new Skis, they just arrived (got a GREAT deal online)....can't wait for the first run next year
Big plans to make our backyard great.....hopefully this summer.
Our Mondays together.
How I'm reading to them, everything we can get our hands on and listening to stories on CD also.
My phone, I don't know how I lived without it.
Special Time.
Ipods and music....always playing.
Kids pitching in to do jobs that I don't have to do anymore, and me willing to let more things go to have them do just that.
My new garden soil mixture, sitting in the garage, begging for a home, and that J is just as excited about the garden plans as I am.
Goodnight and morning hugs, the fact that I can still pick him up and carry him.
Bre, she's finally finding her voice, it's awesome.
The fact that our house is always bustling with fullness and friends (we had five kids for the day last Friday!)
The fact that there is always a huge laundry pile (yep, I'm sure I'll miss that someday too.)
Baking and making our food from scratch and teaching them that it's really important to know where it comes from.
The littlest, using words like impressed and clever.....love that.
An organized Tupperware drawer.
Scrapbooking, Project Life, documenting the here and now right as it's happening.  Looking through old ancestry pictures and scrapbooks and appreciating them even more as the time passes.

2 April

Kids today (random).....

Have the whole world right at their fingertips.  Games, music, want to talk to someone? It can happen in an instant these days.  Want to learn how to do anything?  I mean anything?   for that these kids have You tube.  Don't know what a word means? Just put your finger on it in your kindle reader and it gives you the meaning of the word in an instant dictionary.  Want to watch a cartoon made in 1950?  Try on demand.  It's awesome.  But Sometimes, learning how good something is by having to wait for it....that's awesome too.  And as far as this boy goes, I'm happy that we have been having the maturity talks these days, as in being mature means thinking about other people and what to do in certain situations.  There are a lot of learning opportunities.  Also, I love how you say goodnight, ("Goodnight Mom....Love you....see you in the morn"  and how you always have to arrange your stuffed animals in a circle at the foot of your bed before you go to sleep.  Little and big.  Love that.

1 April

Happy April Fools Day!

We attended church for Palm Sunday....I love how Bre stands up with her book open pretending to sing the hymns.
I ended up meeting Kristen and Aiden to take Trevor to the Hunger Games movie after Josh went to preview it last night.  After all the hype about it .......it was fine.
I did a lot of reading about gardening in the various books I own and ones from the library.  WE got some peat moss and compost to add to the soil at Lowe's.  I'm getting excited and impatient for the warm weather to arrive (1-3 inches of snow tonight!).  I also know I still have so much to learn!
The littles did a little raking, added some fertilizer spikes around our trees and played a little basketball while we were at the movie.
And that's the weekend!  Hope yours was great!