Yo, These Are My Peeps

Aren't boys just great? The adventures are non-stop. They pose, they strut, they get messy...they embrace every day with huge, courageous hearts. I just love 'em.

Slater B is my nephew, not by "blood", but his Mom & Dad, Brad and Cindi, have been my "friends who are family" for almost 20 years. Isn't he cute?


Slater, Wyatt & Jack



Slater B.

Faces of Jack

His name is Jack Michael, but we call him Bubbers. Or Rooney. Or Bubber-Roo. There's no method to the naming madness; these are just the names that have evolved for him over his five years. He's got quite a personality, after all. He's our little bundle of creative energy.

Among many other things, Jack is:

...the boy who took an old Playtex baby bottle (the kind with openings on both end) and the boot from a Luke Skywalker doll to fashion himself a hook to hide his little hand so he could play the evil Captain Hook from Peter Pan.

...the boy who put a black cowboy boot on one leg and rolled up the pant leg on the other to expose one bare leg. The bare leg became his "peg leg" as he stomped around shouting orders as the mean Captain Ahab from Moby dick.

...the boy who took his brother's stretchy cloth book cover and draped it across half his face, transforming himself into the villainous "Two Face" from Batman.

I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. I just know that when your child is a ham, it's darn tough to get a sweet, smiling portrait. You get what you get when you click the shutter.

The Many Faces of Jack

Getting all Fancy on Ya...

Just quick shout out to my sister bloggers, Marjorie and Patty. I had some questions about how to pretty up my blog and got some tips from both. Marjorie introduced me to Picasa and Flickr...so over the next few days (or weeks, ahem!) you'll get to see the some of my novice stabs at using some of the features. Click their names to check out their blogs...you'll see some cool stuff. Great pictures, yummy recipes, interesting thoughts for the day. (hey, I learned to hyperlink! How proud am I!)

I learn best by seeing how others do things, so we're going to try and set a "blog tutorial date" at Starbucks one of these days--soon, I hope. In the meantime, I'm striking out on my own. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two to share with them (hmmm...?).

I love looking at other people's blogs. Blogging Molly has come cool stuff on her site. I love the daily thumbnails she does for each month on the side of her blog. She has some "green tips" and yummy recipes of her own, too.

It's going to be fun experimenting! If you're a seasoned blogger and have some ideas, please feel free to share them!

Mohawk *without* an Attitude

There comes a time in every Mom's life when her sweet child gets a fashion sense of his (or her) own. With each passing year, I knew my days of picking adorable outfits and cute hair styles were numbered, but I have to confess I didn't expect them to end quite so soon. Certainly not by the tender age of 8.

How naive of me.

It began with the clothes. Over the last year, Wyatt has developed very specific taste in what he wears. He'll make small concessions to keep his dad and me happy and to ensure the ongoing privilege of picking what he likes without getting our blessing every time. Asserting control over his hair, it turns out, wasn't far behind. Wyatt has been asking for a Mohawk ever since he played soccer with Cooper. Cooper was the Coach's son and Cooper had a Mohawk. Wyatt's never whined for one or made a fuss about it; he's just mentioned it in passing from time to time. Somehow we, his slightly nervous parents, managed to dodge the issue for almost six months.

Since Wyatt was a little tyke, we've kept his hair "buzzed." Short, maybe a little spiky, but always tidy and well trimmed. Early this spring, though, he expressed his desire to let it grow. He has great hair...thick and wavy, would probably be curly if it got long enough. We gave him the thumbs up and let Mother Nature do her thing. His hair grew fast. He looked good with it longer--like a stylish and contemporary 8 year-old. Alas, thick wavy hair becomes like a winter hat you can't take off when the weather turns warm. It gets sweaty and sticky under bike helmets and causes much gnashing of teeth when trying to coax swimming goggles into place. So it wasn't long before he asked me to buzz it again. I revved up the clippers and made a first pass around his head when I heard him murmur the fateful question, "Mom, can I have a Mohawk?"

I paused.

Hmmm. Well, why not?

It's not a full 'hawk...more like a half 'hawk because I'd already buzzed the back. But he likes it. It's fun for him. And fun for me to see him enjoy it so much. I'm getting a glimpse of what life will be like when adolescence hits as he spends countless minutes grooming his 'hawk into place every day.

We really need that extra bathroom.

A sweet kid with a great 'tude and cool cut

Friends...

As I mentioned in my first post, I am blessed to have friends that I have made in various seasons of my life scattered throughout this beautiful country. Sadly, though, that means that I don't get to see most of them as often as I would like and, in too many cases, our connection consists of an occasional email or Christmas card. Still, I'm glad the connection is there. Now that Wyatt and Jack are elementary school age, they are beginning to form what may become lifelong friendships. It's very cool to see these fledgling relationships develop. I was fortunate to grow up with the same group of friends from elementary school through high school. That continuity was incredibly important for me. Those relationships helped form who I am and gave me an identity that endures to this day; they ground me in time and place and still provide a meaningful touchstone.

I don't know if the friendship experience is the same or different for boys. Regardless, I firmly believe that friendships are incredibly important relationships to foster and maintain. Valuing friendship doesn't devalue the role of family nor does it ignore how often family members are also friends. While bonds of family are intricate, invaluable and often indescribable (though poets, philosophers, psychiatrists have tried), friendships are unique in that people who were once strangers choose to love each other simply because they share something together that defies obligation. It's as simple as this: friends just want to be with each other. For many folks, myself included, some friendships are so nurturing and sustaining that those individuals actually become family, though no genelogy will ever memorialize their existance. These special friends add value to our lives in powerful ways; and that's a beautiful gift I want my boys to have.

With that lofy ideal in mind, I try very hard to give Wyatt and Jack time with friends. Because they are on an intradistrict transfer, they don't go to school with the kids in the neighborhood. So we do our best to create play dates and other experiences for them to enjoy with the friends they have made. They have good friends...friends that one day may be just like family. At least, that's my hope.


Wyatt and Levi: These handsome boys became buddies in Ms. Megan's class at preschool in 2003. They've been on soccer teams together for the last two years, the Pumas and the Leopards.



Jack and Ian: How great is it when your children are friends with other siblings who are about the same age? Pretty great! Ian is Levi's little brother. We like doing "dual play dates" with all four boys. Our thought is that if the little brothers are occupied with a friend and they won't bug the big brothers...as much.



Third Grade Buddies:
This is a quite a crew. These are Wyatt's kickball mates at school. Maka (far right) and Wyatt have been friends since birth. We lived in a duplex beside his family when they were born. What a great group of young men!




Jack and Jake: Jake is Jack's friend from preschool. Time will tell if they'll still be finding fun together down the road. Someone asked if they were twins...made me smile!

That Maine Girl's Been Away...

Have you ever spent 45 minutes creating a post only to delete the whole dang thing with one incredibly stupid keystroke? Have you ever naively thought you could retrive it, since Blogger kindly saves your drafts every few minutes, only to discover that the last save saved your blunder?

Good grief.

It's probably for the best. I waxed on for several paragraphs about why I've been away from my blog (which I warned you may happen ). Rather dreary and mundane stuff actually. I think my unfortnate delete may have been a little message from God to "lighten up." It's probably enough to say that the last couple of months were a little difficult and I spent a lot of time focusing my time and energy on my boys and attending to various health concerns--mine, my husband's, and loved ones' near and far. Too many doctor appointments and hospital visits. Creative pursuits fell to the bottom of the heap.

The good news is that I recently got a clean bill of health. The not-so-good news is that others I love are still waiting for theirs. But, hopefully this will soon be behind us. For now, I have a little time to return to the Blogosphere.

A mother's pride fills her heart...and empties her wallet

There are a few things that make me feel proud of myself that I can brag about without sounding like a big horse's patoot. For example, I take a measure of pride in the fact that I was raised to be the kind of girl that can comfortably go to other people's homes and eat whatever food they are kind enough to share. I don't get squiggly about food in combinations I've never seen before or whose colors and aromas are foreign and confusing to my senses. Generally, I see new a new food and think, "Cool, I'll try that." Of course, once in awhile I do find myself seated before a dubious offering. At those times, my worst inclination is to think, "Well, how bad can one bite be?" My mom, you see, always told me that I had to try at least "one bite."

My waistline tells the tale: I like most everything. More importantly, I want my kids to like most everything, too (while maintaining a healthy waistline, of course!). I want them to be the kind of kids who can enjoy dinner at a friend's house and not freak out because the food is touching, mixed together, or (gulp!) completely unrecognizable as food. It will happen...some day...and it will be the worst possible occasion, like the first dinner with a special girl's family. With this in mind, since Wyatt and Jack started eating solid foods, I've tried to expose them to as many different textures, flavors, and combinations as possible. For the most part, I've been successful and Michael is very supportive of my efforts, going so far as to choke down foods he would never consider, all for the sake of humoring my need to expand the boys' palates. Naturally, both boys get on jags and swear they "don't like x" or "will never try y." I don't take these small protests seriously. I just gently remind them that "yes you do like x, you ate it before and you'll eat it next time" or reassure them that "you don't have to try it today, but you do have to keep it on your plate." Then I make it a point to serve the questionable food often and put it on everyone's plate for consideration. Eventually, what was once offensive becomes familiar and I'm rewarded with the sight of a sweet little boy polishing off his x or y with gusto.

By staying positive and not giving up when confronted by wrinkled noses, Michael and I have managed to help Wyatt and Jack like many different foods and not become too boggled by new things. While I'm thrilled that they'll eat broccoli, cous cous, pecorino romano cheese (in chunks...by itself!), and hummus, above all else, my greatest desire was to help them learn about and enjoy seafood. Fish, shrimp, scallops, clams, and of course, lobster. What kind of Maine Girl would I be if I didn't love lobster? What kind of Maine Mom would I be if my boys didn't grow up to love lobster, even if we do live 3,000 miles from the chilly Atlantic???

Which brings me to the aforementioned empty wallet...both of my boys LOVE lobster. Michael treats me to lobster for my birthday or Mother's Day each year. One lobster once or twice a year isn't that extravagant. But now...it's three lobsters (sadly--or luckily--Michael does not love this sweet delicacy!). Jack enjoyed his first lobster, on his own plate, last Mother's Day. Wyatt has been a pro at eating lobster for several years and was thrilled to help show his little brother the ropes. Take a look...

Jack admiring his first lobster...

on his own plate

with his own drawn butter

and his very own shell cracker

Wyatt scored a HUGE claw!

Jack, Mommy, and Wyatt...loving lobster, loving life!

Happy Boys...with Expensive Taste...and a very Proud Mom!