going fast.

it's never been a question. he moves quickly. he moves effortlessly. he moves in ways that he shouldn't be able to.

these help, I am sure. oh, yeah, baby Nike Cortez. classic.

but the reality of his ability to move his body is amazing. he has grace, power and speed. he is not a big kid, by any stretch. he's actually on the average side for an 8.5 year old ... but on this particular street we live in, he is among the little people. and that has proven to be far less than any barrier. he keeps up with the 16 year olds that are here. both speed wise, and also athletically.

he makes up for his wee stature in heart, though. and speed. i am grateful for the energy level to keep up with him, although there are times that i wonder if i have the stamina to survive another day.

he had a challenging summer, my little man. it was a summer of change. a summer of expanding minds, and boundary questions ... it was a summer of tip-toeing on that line - the line where little people graze while mommy and daddy are still watching, and keeping that close eye "how much can i get away with" line - and a summer of closeness.

he found something new in his sister. he's always liked her. i think he found a way to love her this summer. she made him, i think.

regardless of how fast he tried to run.

seven

she did it. she found a way. despite all my requests to stay away from the seven, she found it.

our baby turned 7.

she hasn't turned back, not once. it's as if she packaged her 6 in a box, wrapped it with a bow, and then shuffled it back behind her, leaving it for the next beautiful little girl to grab it and open it.



i have always known that boys and girls are different. in theory and in reality, of course. but this one, this milestone, feels even moreso, far more different in comparison. when the little man turned 7 it was another year of "little fella". the little boy still remains even today at 8.5. she seems so ..... big. she seems so independent. she seems so self-sufficient.



{sigh}



why do little girls do this to their mommies?? there is a place in my heart carved out, a warm and delightful spot that she gets to call hers. she might not really know it. she may never understand it. (perhaps i have the same spot within my mom's heart, and i am discovering that now ... much older than 7) i loathe the thought that she won't need me someday, or worse want me around her.

until then, though, i will take pictures. i will be a part of their life. i will enjoy, and be grateful for the time that i have been given with them. i will love.

and i will send them off to school for the first day way, way too eary because that's what our town does. :O(

but alas, the obligatory first day photos .....

yes, off the neighborhood went to the safe, wonderful school we call ours. off to start a whole new year of learning, and achieving, and enjoying the gift of education.

they had a great day ... all smiles, and chatter as they bounded off the bus.

now though, now it's time for sleeping. lots of it. one thing that my kids do very, very well .... sleep. :O)

sarcomial part deux

said i'd be back ... can't believe it's in the same day! ;-)

here goes .....

Hoping for: completion
Just Finished: tucking (in)
Jonesing For: sweets
Most Annoying Brady Bunch Kid: Jan
Word to Describe Your Personal Sense of Style: fun
Last Snack: seeds
Have Never, Ever Tried: skydiving
Last Clumsy Injury: bruise
Your Environment: energetic
Daily Object You'd Like to Throw Into Oncoming Traffic: briefcase
Favorite Kind of Soup: tomato
Holiday You Don't Typically Celebrate: (seriously? I love all the holidays! :)
Happy To Have: family love
Want To Start: scrapping
Need To Start: ordering photos
Last Thing You Purchased: hockey gear
Color of Your Car Interior: grey
Color of the Wall in the Room You're In: eggshell
Days Since Your Last Night Out: two
Number of Rings On Your Fingers: two
How Many Minutes It Takes To Do Your Hair: five
Favorite Outdoor Smell: fall
Number of Clocks in Your Home (not on appliances): eight
Where You Put Spare Change: jar

funny .... i may be back AGAIN tonight, if you can even believe that!

sarcomial

yep, she's at it again ... Nichole. asked us to play if we wanted to ... so i am .. she actually has two on her blog. i'll start here for now, and perhaps do the next one later.

Your Body Feels: rejuvinated
Your Mind Feels: sharp
The Last Thing You Ate: bagel
Something On Your Desk/Workspace: pictures
On Your Chest: bra
On Your Legs: skin
On Your Feet: sandals
Favorite Instrument to Hear: paino
Your Last Kiss Happened Here: bed
Something You Wish You'd Invented: iPod
Something You Wish Had Never Been Invented: evil
Favorite Place For a Quiet Afternoon: bookstore
Right Now You Should Be: working
You Hate When People: lie
You Love When People: love
When In Doubt, Order the: beer
Band You're Currently Into: many
How Many Movies You've Gone to See So Far This Month: one
Your Favorite Big Brother 8 Houseguest (oh shut up, it's my poll - just put N/A if you must): who?
Your Least Favorite Big Brother 8 Houseguest: yeah
Your Maternal Grandmother's Name: Rita
Your First Childhood Pet's Name: Shatzie
The Number of People in Your Family With Red Hair: three (!)
What You're Thinking about Doing After This: email
What You Really WISH You Were Doing After This: relaxing

here are the rules: if you wanna play, copy and paste, and remove my answers, add yours - BUT only one word answers! have fun!

off to email, then take some photos of the PROJECT progress out back! :O)

thanks, Nichole!!

2,554

that's how many days she's been here with me.

and if your math is as good as mine, and you, too, need a calculator to add and multiply (and divide, i suppose ...) that number, let me help you here:

that large number of days up there in the title is 6 years + 364 days. {sigh}

she is 7 tomorrow.

seven. s.e.v.e.n.

no way, can't be. it isn't even remotely comprehendable.

and while i cannot recall what my days were like before she arrived (likely quite boring, without color for sure!) i can honestly tell you that 2,554 days have passed me in the blink of an instant; faster than the beat of one heart.

the baby. the caboose. the one that brought us from three, to four. the 'old soul' of the group - the one that's been here before. the one that nurtures all of us. the one that adds so much to us.

she warms my heart.

she touches my soul.

she shows me love.

she brings me peace.

she takes my breath away.

she finishes a circle we call family.

seven.

my baby. i can recollect her first appearance like it was this morning at 4:03AM.

my water broke at 2:13AM; called my sister over to watch the first fella we had; shot out to the hospital, mostly at her urging, arrived at 2:40AM; whisked in the triage room, antibiotics administered (group B +); no thanks to the "other" drugs, we're going naturally again; whisked up to the delivery room; doc called three times, never showed. sean had me laughing - again, he is so good at that! - during intense back labor; ready to push, just minutes after arrival into room; fantastic nurse catches the squigly addition at 4:03 AM; girl? girl?! nuh uh! show us - yep - confirmed, girl. 9lbs, 13 oz., 19 inches; hubby escorts the new external piece of his soul to the nursery and returns giggling at the way she "outsized the other wee ones". gee, she looks kinda large in there, mom. :o)

the rest? the rest is the 2,553 other days .... they call one of each sex a 'rich man's family'. that's what i was told ... can't deny that here. we are "rich" in that manner. she has brought so, so much.

happy birthday-eve, babe.

perfect.

60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask,"What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.
If a woman over 40 doesn 't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.
Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.
Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.
Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald , paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress.

Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?", here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!

here ..

is a good place to be. home. i like it, and it is comfortable.

but ... i am feeling like i have so much to do. i am off again midweek for two days on business, and before then i have got far too much to organize.

oh, and our closet decided to have a hiccup. argh. time to purge some clothes.

so, although i am here, and comfortable - i am strapped.

i will be back, i promise.

grins

:O)

back

i'm back from the west coast. hardly can even believe that i was only gone for 48 hours, 14 of it in the air. {sigh}

needless to say long trip, and pretty tired with a weird clock in my system speaking a foreign language to me.

i have a feeling i'll feel more like myself tomorrow.

heading to catch up on some sleep, and perhaps change the clock back in my system to EST, and English. ;)

out

gone off to the west coast for a whirlwind 48 hour trip .... well, i *am* going. in 8 hours from now.

be back saturday.

cheers!

a few questions from a fellow bloggy-friend!

Nichole, my aforementioned bloggy-friend has posted some questions for me to answer ... so here are my attempts at filling in the blanks.

thanks, N! :O)


Hey Karin... Hope this week is better for you!
1. Have you seen Ratatouille yet; if so did you like it?
yes! last week, monday i think ... loved it! great fantasy/unrealistic plot line (just the way i like the entertainment type movies!!) and adorable characters with wonderful photography. i rec'd it highly!!!

2. Where do you like to buy your clothes?
typically, gap, old navy, ann taylor loft, and talbots (how's that for all around?!) but i have several different fashion preferences, and of course work vs. play/mommy clothes. my favorite place to buy clothes though is the land of SALE! ;o)

3. What kind of music do you listen to?
i like all kinds of music with the exception to rap, and head-banging hurt my ears loud heavy metal. i love: blues, jazz, folk, classical, rock and roll, SOME country, and good old fashioned 70's/80's and some 90's. kind of all over the place, isn't it?

4. Do you have an emergency plan/survival kit?
well,yes, i do have one... in my car. kind of an emergency kit just for cars. as far as the house and family survival kit - embarassingly, no. sean and i have discussed what would happen in the event of an emergency with us, and how we would respond, but we need a kit. we do .... reminder well taken. :O)

5. What is the hardest thing about being a parent? (again -- looking for free advice.) ;-)
the hardest thing is allowing your heart to guide you while listening to your head (as opposed to the opposite). your life and your heart are not your own any longer, and you are fully and completely responsible for other lives and hearts. then, you nurture your kids to be independant, happy, and well-rounded people. then you have to let them go to do that. i guess, in a sense, the hardest part is "letting go". it happens on so many levels from the moment they enter the world, until, i imagine, they find their own paths.
however, with all of this said, it is by far my greatest accomplishment in my life. it is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

ever.

feeling so, SO much better

thanks for the thoughts, and the words ... today was a gift. :)

the 4 of us were out doing some things together, and just basically taking a breather from the house, and the mahem that often comes with being an owner of a home with a pool - and temps outside soaring into the 90's.

we had some returns, and some things that needed to be purchased, and just plain old errand running later today. k-gal and i spent some time chatting, and being together alone too, and that was a treat.

today, i am grateful for the goodness that my life brings. i am grateful for the forgiveness that is granted when a mistake is made and you're feeling awful. i am grateful for the loving environment that my family is in.

i am grateful for the family i have, that i can hold them, and love them, and be myself with them. with all the uglies, and the difficult things that sometimes come up.

what are you grateful for today?

:O)

feeling awful

today was a rough day.

my little one, k-gal had a piece of glass in her foot, and she was completely and utterly unreasonable about the removal of said piece of glass.

i on the other hand was completely and utterly unreasonable with a level of impatience that i've not experienced. it wasn't pretty.

suffice it to say, the glass came out without tweezers, or needles, and without her knowledge of the passing. basically, she was thrashing, and kicking and screaming that it popped out, all while i was attempting to restrain her (good gravy, that child is STRONG). i didn't even know it had come out either, until i felt the 1mm (yes, one milimeter cut) and couldn't feel it anymore.

the mother of the year award was handed to me by my neighbors quietly several moments later. head down, shamefully accepting it.

since the incident, i've been feeling awful. she on the other hand, has completely forgotten she spent 90 minutes (yes, one and a half hours) howling about this.

this is the rarest and ugliest form of parenting. i loathe making this mistake. i loathe losing my temper, and showing her how an adult can be aggravated.

we hugged tonight, and discussed it, and i apologized for my behavior, and told her that i learned a lesson from the incident. i learned that i need to control my aggravation, and frustration and stay calm no matter what. she told me she learned to let things happen, and not try and worry about the what if's. she was terrified that the removal of the piece would be so overwhlemingly painful that she would not be able to bear it. :o\ and i tried to remind her that she once took 11 stitches in her forehead without anesthetic and she didn't remember that.

i don't think that we'll forget this one for a while.

here's to a happier tomorrow. {sigh}

g'night.

life .. life ... life!

it moves and shakes ... and makes you stop every once in a while to breathe.


today, we took a breath. our friends in Minnesota are okay. thank goodness.


yesterday we spent the afternoon and into the evening with some good freinds that we haven't seen in quite a while. so nice.


tonight, hubby and i have a date, of sorts, we are heading to other friends of ours to have the evening alone, no kiddliewinks. my parents are taking them to see UnderDog. excited, all of us.


the kids are enjoying themselves washing daddy's car and the neighbor's mommy's car (these two boys - mine and the neighbor - are the ones that call each other 'brother's from another mother' - hysterical!! soul mates, for sure!)





my friend kim asked us to be tagged, and answer some fun questions ... and as she mentioned, she's done this tag before, but the answers could be different this time around ... we'll see.

4 Jobs I've Had:
* lifeguard
* sales manager
* athletic trainer
* sales representative

4 Places I have lived:
* massachusetts
* maine
* rhode island
* massachusetts :)

4 Favorite T.V. shows
*grey's anatomy
* e.r.
* brother's and sisters

4 Favorite Foods:
* italian
* thai
* japanese
* edible :)

4 Websites I frequent:
* my blog
* friends blogs
* my kids sports organization sites
* my company site

4 Places I'd Rather be Right Now:

* hawai'i with my sil who is home without my bil in iraq
* vacation - anywhere
* maine
* europe

4 Movies I LOVE:

* finding nemo
* ice age
* miracle
* anything disney/pixar

fun stuff, so, if you want to be "tagged" go for it, and anwer the questions ......

my other bloggy-friend, Nichole offered a tag-type fun time too, and hers i will do tomorrow .... :O)

have a great sunday!

feeling like the flylady!

i am an organizing, and re-arranging woman. :o)

first we decided to change the bathroom color on the walls, then we decided to add a new toilet (the one that's there is just not my fave) then we'll add a new vanity with beadboard, or a pedestal sink (undecided) then we re-arranged K-gal's room, and added a major PURGE (yum! love those!) then off to C-man's purge and re-arrange .... now, I am a mad woman, wanting to go through every room in the house.

we aren't even completely done with his room, or the bathroom, but we are close.

so, i can feel a good house-latesummer-cleaning coming on .... i love to organize!

Happy August ~ away we go with the "dog-days" of summer ....

:O)