Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Best Wishes...

I am signing off for a while.

If I have learned nothing else in my family, it is that the love of a spouse stands above all else, for better or worse.  I respect that and I myself, live my life by that.  Nothing is more important to me than my husband and I prefer the company I keep to share that principle.


For better or for worse, I will always respect your vow to each other.

If two stand shoulder to shoulder against the gods,
Happy together, the gods themselves are helpless
Against them while they stand so.
~Maxwell Anderson

There is no such cozy combination as man and wife.  

~Menander

Chains do not hold a marriage together.  

It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.  

~Simone Signoret


Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, 

but through being the right mate.  

~Barnett R. Brickner


A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time.  

~Anne Taylor Fleming

  
 

I'm thankful for my Blog.  And this opportunity to share my thanks.

There were a lot of things that I didn't blog about that I am so very thankful for, but that is for another day, I suppose.  I think that's one of the many benefits of blogging to begin with.

Happy Thanksgiving.  

I wish all of you a peaceful, loving and grateful Turkey-Day!

As we express our gratitude, 

we must never forget that the highest appreciation

is not to utter words, but to live by them.  

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I am thankful for Santa.
It might be a little early for some, but not for us.
And Jay might tell you that I'm crazy and I am making the kids into crazy Christmas addicts, too - but he's just as bad.  He just plays cool.
Today we went to see Santa at the mall. We were upstairs when Wyatt spotted him on the 1st floor - "Hello Santa Claus!  You got my presents?!"
Abby was a bit shy in the beginning but talked old Santa's ear off once she warmed up.  She would like a Barbie Video Camera, an Easybake Oven and a Jewelry Maker.  Wyatt just wants Paper Jamz - the guitar and the drums, which was news to me...  so, I'm on it.

Thankful for Santa - in spirit and at the mall.

   

I am thankful for Maggie.

She was a rescue with a questionable background and often questionable temperament, and she has evolved into "Nanny Margaret", "Batdog", "Jaws", "Superdog" and various other pillows and playthings.


If you knew her before Abby was born you knew a barking, hyper, crazy, not-exactly-trustworthy dog.  To know her now is to know the patient, (PATIENT!!!) calm, loving and gentle little lamb that she is.


Jay and I always knew she had it in her.  But it wasn't obvious from the outside.

I am so thankful for this most special beast and as she just celebrated her 8th birthday, I am hopeful for 8 more years with her in our family.

I am thankful for community.  I am thankful for Hebron.  I am thankful for the wonderful friends and families that have become our community here in town.

This afternoon I took the kids to a birthday party.  Being relatively new to the whole birthday-party-racket I was not sure what to expect.  It was a "Zumbatonic" so I figured the kids would dance, have cake, open presents and head home.  There's not a lot of time at these catered-type events so I didn't assume we'd be eating so I fed the kids before we left.
At the party they danced, ate pizza, danced, limboed and danced some more then ate cake.  The birthday boy did not do presents at the party which is a little disappointing but a recent trend - the trade off for the timing of a Zumba (or gymnastics or karate or what-have-you) party.

The part that gets me, gets me each time we go to a gathering of this sort - a townie-meeting, if you will:  How many people we know, how many friends our kids have, how many of those parents have become our friends and how many of the moms that I have known for my kids' entire lives.  Now, almost-5 and just-3 isn't a really long time, I know but it's all relative.
We've been in town for over 6 years and things have really picked up over the last 12 - 18 months.  Those months have brought us school, soccer, birthday parties etc...  these events have led to dinners, fund raisers, parties and getting to know couples and families that we otherwise would not have any connection with.

And so, I am thankful for community.  This one, in particular.

I am oh-so thankful for the beach.  Thankful for sand, sun and summer...
This past summer was a great one - we had such beautiful weather and so many great beach days at so many different beaches!

The summer coming up - which is what? 6 months away or more? - is going to just as awesome, or better, weather permitting.
Not only will we plan to "beach it" as often as possible, we also have THIS:

And that will result in many planned and impromptu pool parties, I have no doubt!

I love living in New England, I'm thankful for all 4 seasons - because without one, we wouldn't be able to miss and look forward to another!

I am thankful for my MacBook.
(and my husband, the "Help Desk".)

Before I had a laptop I had to run downstairs into the cold basement when I had a moment or wait until the kids were in bed at night.
Now, I have my Book open in the kitchen almost all day.  I can check my email, balance the checking, manage my Frontier on Facebook (dork!) and not miss a boil-over on the stove or a scream of uncertain origin.

I can also say I am thankful for Facebook because I was not as involved in it prior to my portability.  It is a window out to the adult world while I am home in pre-schooler land.  And for that, I am so grateful.

I am thankful for Yoga.
The obvious benefits include increased core strength, better balance and finding some peace & quiet for an hour.
I love the zen.  I love the feeling of belonging.  I love being in a group of people all trying to achieve the same thing - personal goals with no competition or judgment of what's going on next to them.
And I love the strain I feel in my shoulders right now - because I know I held my poses longer yesterday than I had in the past.  And the tightness in my belly from the same.
This is "Camel". 

It was my recent conquest.  It's not as easy as it looks.  Try it.

I am thankful for sleep.

Blissful, thoughtless, recuperative sleep.

Where nothing is expected of me, no one needs anything and the whole house is just...  Quiet.

I am also thankful for good sleepers.

Wyatt often wakes up and comes into our bed, but it's not really a disturbance...  just the opposite, in fact.  He climbs in, snuggles either Jay or me and sleeps the rest of the night.  It requires no effort on our part and he's happy to be there.
Frankly, I'm happy to have him.  He smells good, he's warm and he's cuddly and sweet.


So, sleep well.  Enjoy this precious gift.

I am thankful for Ryan Hanrahan.
He is our weather guy.

Technically he is on Channel 4.  But, now that I live in Connecticut and try to live by CT's rules, I will tell you that Ryan appears on channel THIRTY.  Yes, I said 30.  Even though when holding the remote in your hand you will press 04.
Once I asked my mother-in-law if she saw a certain news story and she said "what channel were you watching" and I said "4" and she said "you mean 30?" and I said "what?  I mean 4" and she said "who was reporting?" and when I didn't know she seemed at a loss as to what channel I was watching.  This is what I deal with in a world of Connecticut-born-and-raised...

That's cool, though...  I am still thankful for Ryan.

 

But Ryan, seriously...  you're busting out of your nice suits.  Hit the gym...  or lay off the corned beef, babe.  We notice these things.




 

Today I am thankful for Sleepovers.
And for cousin-friends who adore each other and could not wait for their big Saturday night.

Movies, popcorn, ice cream and pizza.  Friends, family - Good stuff!

Today I am thankful for my health.
I am thankful for my sore legs, my aching back and my inability to bend in as many directions as I should be able to.

I am thankful for the Interval Class that kicked my ass at the gym I am oh-so-thankful for.

I may have to skip the gym tomorrow, but I will be thankful for Yoga on Saturday.

I am oh-so-thankful for Mindless Entertainment.
My favorite tv shows, Facebook, Hollywood & fashion magazines, other people's Blogs... 
I love the escape.  I need the downtime and thought-free relaxation.

All day the kids need my attention, I need to pay attention to the house, I want to pay attention to my husband and at the end of the day, I love to not pay attention to anything.

So, thank you, MacBook, RCA and US Weekly - you round my days out nicely.  (and you also explain why I rarely finish my books in time for Book Club!)

I am thankful for coffee.
It gets me up and out in the morning, it keeps me rockin' midday, and it makes me look cool when I walk around with it while I'm shopping.

I am thankful for my sisters.
Deborah, who almost never indulges me and Christine, who almost always does.
If I have any regrets about only having 2 children, it is that I could not give my daughter the gift of having a sister.

Sunday November 7th

I am thankful for my friends.  I am lucky to say that I have a lot of them.  They vary in duration and depth but I am grateful for each and every one of them.
Each of them brings value to my life and I to theirs.
Some cater to my "domestic me", some are more "diva", some are my gossip buddies, my wine drinking pals, my shopping crew, my mama-crowd, the beach ladies, school moms, neighborhood moms, single ladies, old ladies, gym friends.

Some are more "deep talk" friends, my "good time" friends.  I enjoy the friends-of-friends gatherings, too where you don't know everyone but there is less than one degree of separation which makes everyone feel close.

My best friend has been my best friend for more than 20 years.  My sisters are also my best friends, and obviously my husband...
But I have my best friend up the street, too.  Often referred to as my "sister wife", I don't know what I would do without her in my day-to-day.

Friends show you different sides of yourself.  You come to realize that you're more complicated than even you realize.  And more simple.

Life is not scripted, it's not easy - but, fortunately, I have a broad cast of characters to
play along with me on our journey.

Saturday November 6th

Today I am thankful for this lady:

For getting us tickets to see this guy:

And taking these 2 to her house for the night:

And booking us a luxury suite at this place:

Not sure what else to say...  what's your mother-in-law done for you lately!?

Friday, November 5

Today I am thankful for Fridays...

Ok, I like this kind, too but I meant the weekday!

Even though I don't work anymore, I love the feeling.  I love the vibe in the house.  No more work, no more school, no pressure to hit the gym...

I love the weekend because it is family time.

Thursday November 4th

I am thankful for my backyard...

Wednesday, November 3rd.
Today I am thankful for my husband.

Another "duh", right?  I know, I know.  But I can't do a month of being thankful and not mention the love of my life!

He works hard, he's dedicated and faithful; he's a good dad and my best friend.
He makes me laugh.  He shares my humor, my love of such stupid things I could not admit them outside of my own house (except maybe to Deborah).
He understands me and accepts me.  I can get so over-the-top, crazy, self-involved, spoiled and bitchy...  self-righteous, nosy, bossy...  okay, you know what I'm saying...  and he is the only one that can tell me. 

I am thankful for Jay.  He's a good man, and he's all mine.

Tuesday, November 2nd.
I am thankful that Election Day is here...  and the commercials will now Stop.

Of course, I didn't get my wish.  My wish was to be able to vote for a candidate that did not sling shit as his or her main campaign agenda.  My hope was that someone - be it Foley or Malloy, McMahon or Blumenthal - would say something of substance, something to make me believe in them.
I take voting very seriously.  I worry that if I, me, if I make the wrong decision, everything that goes badly will be my fault.
Maybe I still harbor some guilt for re-electing Bush...

Anyway.  I am thankful that Election Day is here, thankful we have such a thing, and thankful that it's done.
For now.

I am completely stealing this idea from my friend, Gini's private blog.  I'm linking it for those readers that we share, but really - if you've visited her before from here, you know how awesome her blog is. 

It is November.  Thanksgiving is coming.  It is my favorite holiday after Christmas...  maybe tied with Easter. 

I love getting together at my mom's house.  I love eating cold turkey with hot gravy 3 hours later than my mom told us we'd eat it.
I love drinking too much wine, washing it down with really strong coffee and too many desserts and driving home like my stomach might explode. 

I love that we don't need to exchange gifts or put up a tree to really enjoy and look forward to our time together as a family.
In addition to being together and eating great food, Thanksgiving is the official kick-off for Christmas.
If you know me, you know I have the Christmas music on already.  But I love that I can out-loud-and-proudly play it once Thanksgiving passes.

I love that we go to get our tree every Thanksgiving weekend.  This year we are having Jay's side of the family over on Friday night because we spend the holiday in NY.  And that day, Black Friday, I plan to shop my heart out!  After years of working that day in retail and then avoiding it like the plague and then having babies to keep me from those crowds, this year - I am going in!  Head first!  Target and Toys R Us, early in the day!  (not too-too early, let's not go crazy!)

Anyway...  back to Gini's idea and Thanksgiving being around the corner...
I am very thankful for so many things...
I read a great quote the other day, "nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart".

I am thankful for my children.
An obvious first choice, right?  They're fun and smart and healthy and happy.  They're gorgeous and charming.  They're kind and sensitive.  Every day they surprise me and humble me.  They teach me so many things - patience, honesty, appreciation.
Sure, there are moments when I want to bang their heads together, but not nearly as many as the moments I want to smooch, hug and squeeze them till they pop!
So, today, November 1, I am thankful for my children.

It blows my mind that people still smoke cigarettes.  Unless you're 90 years old and have been smoking Camel filter-less for 74 years, what is your excuse?
And with your kids in the car?  Don't even get me started.  We all remember sitting in the backseat of our parents' station wagons getting ashes flicked onto our foreheads...  but that was "the old days".  You have no excuse today, folks.
It's disgusting and if I was ok with the government telling us how to act, eat and consume down to the very details of our day, I would be ok with it being illegal.  But I'm not.  So use your judgment, people!


This weekend is Halloween.  Spidey is very excited.  He asks to wear his costume every single day and will have the opportunity to wear it three time over the next 4 days.
Tomorrow is Abby's Costume Parade at school, Saturday is a party at our friends' home and Sunday is Halloween which will be kicked off with our "Pre-T-o-T Pizza Party"!  We're having friends and neighbors over for a pizza & BYOB warm-up before we all swarm the neighborhood.
I cannot wait!
Halloween has never excited me much, not beyond the great movies on cable and the season in general.  But with the kids, that has changed.  They are so excited to go trick-or-treating, see all their friends, walk in the school parade and eat candy, candy, CANDY!  I don't blame them - it's all pretty exciting when you're barely 5 & just 3.

Their costumes, originally, were to be Buzz Lightyear and Rapunzel.  I was oh-so-thankful when Abby changed her mind.  THe hair for the Rapunzel costume was giving me major anxiety.  Plus, the movie hasn't even come out yet - why so excited?
But I was really sure that Wyatt was set on the Buzz thing...  he loves him, he ran around the house yelling "to infinity and beyond" and shooting lasers at us (read: spitting while touching his arms).
But, I underestimated both of their love of Superheros.
Abby has liked the X-Men for some time and in my attempt to allow that, I had introduced the older cartoons to them because the newer X-Men, Spiderman and Batman shows are very adult.  Thus spawned the love of all things "Super".
Abby spied the SuperGirl costume and was immediately taken with the gold belt and fancy skirt.  Wyatt took one look at Spiderman and hasn't looked back since.
Example, this was at his birthday party after much of the crowd had dissipated:

He shoots his webs with laser precision, folks so look out.

Each day that we head out of the house Wyatt is a different "man", be it Batman, Superman, Spiderman or Iceman.  Iceman shoots his ice walkway for us as we walk wherever we go.  Batman flies, as does Superman (yeah I know Batman doesn't fly, not sure where that came from) and Spiderman shoots his webs everywhere and at everyone.  It's a good thing he's cute because when I say at "everyone", I mean that.
They both enjoy the cartoons, specifically "Spiderman and his Amazing Friends" narrated by Stan Lee.  While we had his eyes covered on his brithday so that we could present him his Spiderman Bike from Grammy and Granbear Jay turned on the theme song to that show and he nearly bounced out of his skin trying to see what was going on.  He was not disappointed:

I'll leave you with this exchange with Abby from this morning.  It was the kind of conversation you wish others could hear but the precious kind that only ever happens while you're driving and you can't record it or write it down.
Abby:  "I don't think Flash is a superhero, Wywy.  He doesn't have any powers."
Me:  "Yes, he is, Abs.  He's Flash!  He's got super speed!"
A:  "So, what can he do?"
Me:  "Run really, really fast!  Catch bad guys!"
A:  "Oh, so he can run really fast and catch the bad guys for the real superheroes to fight?"

Love it!

Happy 9th Anniversary, babe.

 

In our pre-marital counseling with Pastor Ray we had to take a quiz.
I remember anxiously awaiting the results, having an on-going competition (in my own mind) with Jen & Steve...  {they had no idea and likely wouldn't care, but they were the ultimate, as far as in-love couples go, in my young life and I was so in love with their love, I hoped to be as in love or even more so.  It sounds dumb now, as I try to explain it, but they are truly still in love and a wonderful couple!}

Anyway - we did well (of course) and Pastor Ray even went as far as to say that we were even more in love than Jen & Steve.  {In retrospect, he was probably effing with me.  Knowing him, as he knows me.}

The one question that was "red flagged" was this one (or something like it):
Is this the person you are meant to spend your life with, without with you would die?
 We both said "yes".

Apparently, that's a bad answer.  You're supposed to be able to stand on your own two feet and not die without each other.
In that case, ok - I might not literally die, but come on, that's a trick question.
And, anyway, we both said yes, so that's gotta be a good sign.
Pastor Ray said he knew what we meant and went ahead and married us anyway.
Thanks, buddy.

Today is my beautiful baby boy's birthday.
Any mother with a son will understand that there is no love like this kind.

It does not compare to the love and friendship I share with my daughter - and one shouldn't try to compare the two.

It is a very special kind of relationship - mother and son.  The way this boy melts me, woos me, makes me laugh out loud...  the way I want to bite him, squeeze him, sniff him and cuddle him until he demands to be let go.

 
When my son was born I understood my mother-in-law in a way that changed our relationship forever.  I understand that her son is my husband - but first he was her son.

Today this sweet little monkey-man will turn 3.  These three years have gone by so quickly, too quickly.  I can't believe how time has flown.

He was born on a Monday morning.  The Saturday before I was elated, on Sunday I was petrified.
I remember wondering how I would handle two babies.  I remember crying about how I might be tired and busy and I might snap at my precious little girl for no good reason or leave her feeling neglected.  I remember wondering how I could love another baby as much as I loved my only baby at the time.
I remember feeling so overwhelmed and so exhausted and so dirty. 

But it went so quickly that I barely remember it. 

I barely remember Wyatt nursing.  I barely remember Wyatt screaming crying.  I barely remember the way he would cling to me and wail in crowded or noisy places.  {He still plugs his ears when things get too crazy around him.}

Now he's three.
He uses the potty and rationalizes with me in conversation.  He says "Daddy, come here, I need to talk to you for a minute." and "Mommy, you hurt my feelings and I'm going to cry!"  He asks me questions like "Mama, do you think Spiderman, Superman and Ironman like chips and pretzels?"


He tells me his cape (that I sewed for him on my machine!) makes him run faster than Superman.
He wants to visit the cows on the farm and chase the barn cats.

He climbs into my bed at 1am and slides me off of my pillow taking over my spot and then asking me to snuggle him.  Sometimes he just sleeps at the foot of our bed like a puppy.

He gets his own granola bars by climbing up onto the counter, opening the cabinet and climbing back down with it.

He opens the fridge and takes out his own drinkable yogurt.
He picks out his own clothes and gets dressed by himself.
He lets the dogs in and out.

My baby is a big boy.  I am so proud of him.  These three years have flown by but I can tell you for sure - we have enjoyed them endlessly - and look forward to millions more.

Happy Birthday, Wy-Wy!!

I love you so much.