Happy FOURTH Birthday, May 2006 Babes! - Page 3

[Marylizah]

Wow, Max, that is really big news!! I am sending your DH lots of "smooth transition" vibes. I hope everything works out beautifully.

Sydnee, we were going through a tough time recently with DS1. It seems a bit better now, but the temper tantrums, whininess, etc, was making me bonkers.

Not much to report here. Am super tired and my back is aching from carrying DS2 on my back while vacuuming. Not a great idea!

[~*max*~]

Thank you Mary. Some days it seems really exciting & positive. Other days, like today, I am bordering on a panic attack!

Any special Father's day plans mamas? We'll be going to church, then having a little cook out here. The kids will all be making dh gifts, so it should be really cute.

[alaskaberry]

Woo-hoo! Finally in Vermont! Now I can relax...ahhh.

Max--no plans. DP is on the Slope as always, so just a call for him, though I'll probably have Orion make him a card. Actually, Father's Day is the same day as the Alumni Parade, so we'll probably have a bbq.

marylizah--that sounds amazing. I hope you guys really enjoy the Alps. I've only seen them from the airplane (and in movies, of course). Re the tonsils: I had a lot of probs with my tonsils from childhood until my early 20s, when I finally got them removed. I had earaches, infections, you name it--they had to be drained of pus every time they got infected too, *not* fun. I would just get them removed. He will thank you later. Voice of experience and all that.

Mamab-how exciting! Are you going to be moving to the city, the burbs, or someplace rural?

The airplane trip was pretty good. I got Orion really excited about going, and he was wonderful for me. It helped, too, that Seattle has a kids play area, so they got some of their energy out during our layover. And they slept for most of the trip too

Can't believe I'm really here. Going over to my friend's farm this afternoon to work on reunion stuff and visit the cows. Then I have to go to Joann's so I can make myself a new skirt before Sat night...It's annoying to visit a place where I can't just go to town and have everything be right there all together. Instead everything is all in different towns. It never bothered me til I moved to Alaska. Then again, a lot of things about Outside never bothered me til I moved. Heh.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

[ecoteat]

Hello! Sorry I haven't been around much--the last few weeks of school were INSANE. Seriously, I don't think I've ever been so ready for the year to end in 12 years of teaching. Phoebe was REALLY ready for me to be done with school too. The last few days were tough on her when I'd leave. This morning she asked if anyone had to go to school today and when I said no she cheered and did a little happy dance. I feel the same way! I hope she's not developing the beginning of a negative attitude about school, though! She generally loves her preschool--I think she just resents all the time I've been spending with my "big kids." On the last day as I was hugging her before I left she whimpered, "but you had ME before you had the big kids!"

Max, how exciting for your dh and you! I hope it all goes smoothly. My DH started up a little side business this year doing the same stuff he does for the college he works for, but just as a way to get some different types of projects and even though it didn't effect anything in our routines or finances or anything, it was a little stressful for me. Whenever he talks about maybe someday leaving the college and just doing work independently I get really nervous. So I think I understand a little how you feel!

Phoebe, how lovely that you are here in New England. How long does it take to get to Vermont?

I have to go finish report cards while Phoebe is asleep...I'll check in again later.

[alaskaberry]

Amy--9 hours, not including layovers and time changes!

[~*max*~]

Hi all. We met w/a business attorney to get ball rolling on dh's business - patents, copyrights, LLC, etc. It was very positive and exciting. We are hoping for a gradual transition from his current job to the new business. The thought of needing to purchase our own health insurance causes me a lot of anxiety though. We have cut waaaay back on our spending to, to save all that we can. That is going well. Our kids are young enough that they do not really know the difference/it doesn't impact them much, so I'm glad for that. If anyone has any favorite frugal tips, I'd love to hear them.

One more week of school for the big kids here. LO has finished preschool for the year and dd(6) just graduated from kindergarten. Soon it will be

Amy, so glad you are on summer vacation! Sounds like it was a tough end to the year for you. I hope you & Phoebe have a wonderful time together in beautiful Maine!

Alaskaberry, enjoy your time in Vt! How was the reunion?

Sydnee, are you doing daycare over the summer? Sounds like your summer is off & rolling already.

Mary, how's the writing going? I really enjoy your blog.

Hugs to all. Gotta run - we're off to the beach!

[Mamabeakley]

Only have a few minutes . . . best wishes with the big changes, Max!

Hopefully, we are moving to the neighborhood in the city where I grew up. It is urban, but it's not "downtown". The realtor is coming to talk to us about getting our current house on the market today at 4. Yikes.

BBL!

[~*max*~]

Hello May Mamas! My goodness, long time no chat!!! How is everyone doing? Any special summer plans? I hope all my mama friends are doing well and your summers are off to a great start!

We are all well here. Dh's business planning is in full swing. Scary, but exciting. We had our first camping trip of the season last weekend - much fun. Lots of swimming, fishing & bike riding. We brought the new pup & he did great. We're home this weekend, then heading out again a couple more times in the next few weeks. Other than that, just trying to plan a fun summer for the kids, on a tight budget. (We're building up as big of a nest egg as we can for the start of the new business.)

Keep in touch mamas. i think of you all often.

[ecoteat]

We've been prett busy and having lots of fun. We went to Boston for a few days and I took Phoebe to the Museum of Fine Arts. She really enjoyed it--we looked at Egyptian scultures and she drew pictures of a Buddha statue. She LOVED riding the subway, and was pretty excited that the train that goes to the MFA starts underground and then comes up and goes down the middle of the street. Phoebe has been so wonderfully delightful lately. I love that she is independent enough to dependably get dressed or use the bathroom on her own sometimes and she can happily play unattended. She is so funny and her imagination is really out there! She has a few imaginary sisters that she blames when she does something she shouldn't by saying she did it because her sister told her to.

We were supposed to go to a concert this weekend that I was REALLY excited about, but it was cancelled. So that was a huge disappointment. It was going to be Phoebe's first big concert and camping trip--we even bought a new tent! Oh, well. At least we managed to see Phish while we were in Boston because a dear friend offered to meet us at our hotel to watch Phoebe for the night. So we'll be planning a camping trip now that we have a tent to try out and a new sleeping bag for Phoebe! We might kayak to one of the many islands around here and camp out there.

Ooh! I hear owls out the window. I think I'll go investigate...

[~*max*~]

Hi Amy. Now THAT sounds like real camping! What a cool idea. You'll have to let us know how it goes. And I had to laugh about Phoebe's imaginary sisters! In this house, there are plenty of real siblings to blame things on!!!

[Mamabeakley]

Whew! We are finished prepping our house to sell. Now we just have to wait . . . I'm pretty nervous about this, waiting with nothing to do about a problem not being my favorite activity. But . . . it's not really in my hands, now.

As part of this process, we dismantled our wall-to-wall bed (a king & a full size next to each other) and last night DS1, DS2 (my May babe), and DH slept in our second bedroom for the first time. DS2 asked why DH was still in there in the morning (as the plan is for DH to lay down with them, then come sleep w/me & DD in the other bedroom)! DS1 who is way more of a snugglebug at night, requested that he stay the whole night this first time.

Everyone is in a terrible mood today because we were up too late last night - I just put my foot down to say that if their "nightly Naruto" (an anime series DH, DS1 & DS2 want to watch an episode of each night) doesn't start by 9 it's not happening - staying up until nearly 11 every night is ridiculous with an 11 month old who wakes up by 7 am at the latest.

Have a great weekend!

[Sydnee]

Giving us a bump here!!

How are my May mamas doing? We are well, enjoying this beautiful summer weather

I have a book question for you all, Rachel is 9, and wants to read the Harry Potter books. She is a great reader, but I have never read those books, so I have no clue if it is for her age or not? Suggestions?

Personals coming later...

[~*max*~]

Hi Sydnee! I have read all the HP books. I allowed my 10 year old to read them. There are some scary/intense parts, especially as the series progresses. I would say the the first few would be fine for her as long as she is not one who is really sensitive or easily frightened. The final one is the most intense. You should give them a try with her! They are a lot of fun.

Mamas, I could use your positive energy. I just learned that a good friend, J., has cancer. I am so devastated. Please keep her and her family (she has two sons) in your thoughts & prayers.

[Mamabeakley]

Max, I'll send some good thoughts for your friend. May she and her family have love and light on this frightening journey, whatever the outcome.

I love Harry Potter but I don't know that I would have when I was 9. I was a VERY avid reader, but at that age really preferred less intense/dramatic stuff (Little Women, Little House, Nancy Drew). OTOH, I think the first one would kind of tell her if she liked it or not, and then she could wait till she's older if she doesn't.

I unexpectedly spent almost 20 hours away from DD (& everyone else) this past weekend at a labor! I had agreed to back up another doula, both of us expecting that at most I would be with a mama for a few hours till the other doula could get there. But she had two mamas in very long early labors needing support at the same time, so I ended up being there for a long time! It all worked out well, really, but I don't want to do it again really soon. I was VERY engorged. DD was fine, though!

[ecoteat]

Max, how scary for your friend (and you!). I hope everything works out ok for them.

Mamabeakley, that sure is a long doula gig, especially with your own nursling at home! Glad it went well and I wouldn't want to do that anytime soon, either.

Sydnee, I would have loved Harry Potter at 9 and I know a bunch of kids that age that have read them. They start out mellower and definitely get more intense as the books go along. It's kind of like the series matured along with the readers that started reading the first one in elementary school and read the last one some years later. The characters are 6th grade-aged in the first book and go on through the years/books until they are 18.

We just got back from the most fantastic weekend camping. We went with another family and took a ferry to an island that another friend of mine lives on. Her son has land there on a pond with a nice tent site in the woods and they let us pitch tents there for the night. It was so gorgeous and the pond was the nicest swimming I've experienced in years. We also hiked to a great beach on the ocean--not a swimming beach because it was dangerously crashing waves on huge rounded rocks. But it was beautiful. The weather was perfect and the girls had SO much fun. This was the first time I've visited a place where I envied the people who lived there. Usually we visit places and I enjoy it and then am really happy to be home. Usually people visit us and say they wish they could live here. But right now I wish I lived *there* all summer!

[~*max*~]

Hi May Mamas! How are you all doing? I hope everyone is well & having a great summer. We are doing very well here. Planning/preparing for dh's work transition to his own business. (Should happen within a couple of months.) We've also done some camping. Just got back from Ecoteat's part of the country - so beautiful and peaceful. You are right Amy, I too want to live where you live!

Amy, your camping trip sounds amazing! What a great experience!!! I would love to do something like that. My father lived on an island in Maine for many years. It was one of the most peaceful places I've ever been.

Mamabeakley, how's your house doing on the market? That has got to be a very stressful situation to live through. But, it's all good, right? Any luck w/dh finding a job near your new job?

Sydnee, did you decide about the HP books? Are you spending time at the lake again this summer? Hope you & your family are all doing well.

Mary, how's life in France treating you? And how is all the writing going? Your trip to the Alps must be soon. (Or did I miss it?) Can't wait to hear all about it.

Alaskaberry, are you still in Vt? Hope you are having a nice visit. How was your reunion?

Blue Lotus, thinking of you mama. I hope your father is doing OK. Sending him prayers & healing energy.

MCB & BBM, if you're still reading along, sending you both a and hoping all is well with you & your families.

[alaskaberry]

Hey everyone! I'm back from VT. Turns out the flight my folks were coming up on was filled, so I couldn't stay an extra two weeks. Which is probably a good thing...My suitcase was nearly over the limit already! It seems like we always leave with waaaay more stuff than we packed! ...Except of course the salt water taffy. Somehow I managed to eat it all on the flight home!

Orion uses the potty--finally! The only time he has "accidents" are when he's really involved in doing something and "forgets" he has to go. Of course this always happens at the park, , Go figure. Yesterday morning, he went out to go pee off the porch...and a bee stung him on the eyebrow! Idk where the bee nest is or else I would go kill them (I think it's under the cedar shakes in the roof). So now he's scared to pee off the porch when he gets up in the morning. Definitely number one on the "honey do" list for when DP gets home!

Max--camping sounds like fun right now. Where are you headed off to next? I hope that your dh's new business does very well! Also sending love to your friend.

Amy--was it phish? I heard about that too late. Turned out they were also playing the same weekend as my reunion, but I'd already paid to go to the reunion! -- Re Boston: I used to go there all the time when I was a little girl with my parents (my mom's best friend lived there). I played my harmonica to the lobsters and went to the MFA, which is still my fave museum. I still haven't taken Orion there yet...sigh. Someday.

Sydnee--I probably would have loved HP when I was 9 if it had been around. The Golden Compass is also good.

Mamab--good luck selling your house

To everyone else--I hope that you are all doing wonderfully and enjoying this summer (even if it's constantly rainy, smoky, muggy, or buggy! ).

[ecoteat]

Phoebe, the concert we were supposed to see that was cancelled was the Furthur show in Shelburne, VT. Apparently the venue panicked at the last minute when they realized tons of ticketless deadheads could possibly show up. What a huge bummer. Yay for a potty-using Orion! You must be so relieved.

Max, I'm glad you made it up this direction! Summer in Maine is so divine. We talk about traveling in the summer sometimes because I'm not teaching and dh's schedule is really flexible, but at the same time we try to not leave unless we really have to.

Tomorrow we are leaving for our next island adventure. Friends of ours have a cottage on an island and we are going there for 2 nights. I'm really looking forward to it. Phoebe is excited and apprehensive at the same time, but I know she'll love it.

[mamacatsbaby]

Yay! Only three pages for me to catch up on! I aced my classes again this semester . Tryin' to get into the groove of my school break . Hope everyone is well and enjoying the . Much love and light ladies! Bless up!

[Mamabeakley]

Hi, everybody!

Our house has not even been looked at ONCE. Apparently the banks are requiring 20% down and the people who are looking to buy small, cheap houses don't tend to have the savings to do that. It's not as if we have our house priced to high or something - nobody is looking at ANY of the 20+ houses for sale in our neighborhood. There are rumors that the HOA may look into allowing folks to rent, but that's not going to happen instantly even if it ever does. I'm kind of freaked out, but mostly trying to focus on doing the next thing that needs to be done . . . which is packing up for our first weekend staying at my mom's so I can go to work at my new job on Sunday! DH hasn't really done any looking for work up there - it's hard for him to do when we haven't sold the house . . ..

We went on vacation with DH's family in the first part of this week & had a great time.

Hope you're all well!