27/52


Summer time swimmer. The pool is open and Oliver is at a longer day camp this week so he has been begging to go. So earlier this week after camp pickup without Huck and without thunderclouds over head I took him to the pool. I did not have my swimsuit so I let him go along. I showed him how far he could go and although it was a bit nerve wracking he did great and I could see that he was really proud of himself. The pool is still a bit chilly so we did not stay long and plus there was dinner to made so out he came, a bit blue in the lips but so fulfilled to have gotten in the pool for a dip. 


Oh jeez. This boy. He is a mess. A cute mess. But a mess. How so? Well do you see those three, yes three bottles on his table. We make them before bed and if he needs one during the night you pop the bottom and it mixes the formula as you need it (thank you, Mixie). But recently he has been eating ALL of them. In one night. That means that he has been getting up three times in the night. THREE times. He is 13 months old for Pete's sake. He used to sleep through the night or only get up once. So we need to work on that. I'm thinking of trying to put him down to sleep earlier. I have read that that can reset his biorhythms. We also need to stop feeding him in the middle of the night but that has become a bit of a crutch because until recently one could just feed him, put him down and then walk away knowing you were not going to hear from him until 6am(ish). So yeah. A full night of sleep is well, a bit of a dream at the moment. 


But look how sweet they are! Oliver has been at camp and Huck is full on walking now. He mostly would rather walk than be carried. At times it means it takes us much longer to get where we are going but my goodness he is proud of himself and Oliver is such a sweet helper. 

25/52 & 26/52





Summer time is upon us! Berry picking, park playing, hot dog eating summer time. I have a mess more pictures and a lot more to say but right now i'm tucking in to a movie and a bit of rosé on the eve on my 34th birthday.

24/52


Helping in the garden. We are so behind with our container garden this year. Perhaps this weekend we will tackle it. Oliver drags his feet a bit when we ask him to help water or weed or whatnot but he always enjoys it once he has completed the task. And he usually has a story to tell or bug to examine or a rainbow that he creates with the hose. 


Always watching. And crying when he is not involved in the task. Or when Matt leaves. Or when Oliver leaves. Only sometimes when I leave. 


Goofball at the school play ground. He has boundless energy. It truly amazes me how after a full day of school he is still ready to play at multiple playgrounds. I wish I could steal some of his energy as easily as I could drink another cup of coffee.
  

This little dude. Rocking mostly 2T clothing as long as it has an adjustable waistband. He is talking more and has lots of baby opinions, most of which is hard to decipher and leads to a lot of pointing and feeling a bit like you are living with a very old man as opposed to a very young one. 

mother


When I undress each night, I am reminded of the lives of my children. It’s no secret that the mother’s body is a physical testimony to the life she’s brought into the world, and my body is no different. Over the years I’ve watched my hips widen and seen stretch marks form like little rivers and tributaries across my lower belly. I also bear a thin pink line across my pelvis. The unevenness of the incision, the way it arcs slightly upward above my right hip, reminds me of the way in which my boys made their arrivals into the world. But these physical reminders are my battle wounds the emblazoned marks that made me who I am today, a mother. 

The work of motherhood is cyclical; it's hard to decipher the beginning and almost impossible to imagine the end. It is relentless and monotonous. And yet it's all very necessary. Every few weeks I struggle both privately inside my head and publicly in front of my husband and on the phone with good friends about the sacrifice of my decision to stay home. I am envious of the men and women that I know who get to go to an office and bounce ideas off of co-workers. I miss the banter over lunch and the gratifying tick marks on a to do list. But then I think of everything I do get to do. I get to sing a ditty to my youngest before he takes his nap, I get to walk to the post office whilst pointing out all of the birds and I get to pick up my oldest from school and be the first one to hear about his day. And on most days this is enough and I feel fulfilled with my choice but then I begin to panic. I think about years down the line when both kids are at school. What do I do then? Who am I? What are my goals? And frankly, at this moment in time I just do not have the answers. I know what I love. I love my boys. I love my husband. I love my neighborhood. I love art. And man do I love coffee. And for right now I'm going to settle on that. I am doing the best that I can. To keep ahold of me. Just me. 

23/52



Dappled in morning light. Gearing up to face the day. We had a busy Saturday today filled with baseball, swimming, lunch out, and an early birthday present for me by going to get a tintype photo by Giles Clement. Huck was a bit cranky and the image rendered Matthew the shade of someone who works outside all day everyday, because well I suppose he does. So we will see when they get shipped our way which one we will display but it is amazing to sit and pose for a classic, antiquated photo. Truly wonderful to be a part of a lost art. 

on the river.


Over the last weekend we headed out to Newton to check out the smaller (new to CRI boathouse) for the National Learn to Row Day.  It was a great opportunity to get Oliver into a mini, tubby shell and get him out on the water.  Oliver was so excited to try out rowing because he runs around the boathouse with Matt like he owns the place. He loves an erg. He loves to walk out onto the docks. He loves going to wood shop and bug Tristan and Dave for power tools. But this was the first time having the experience of having an oar in his hands. Oliver was ready to roll and was practically already in the boat before I could snap a few pictures.  It was a joy to introduce Oliver to a sport that both Matt and I have a history with and Matt has turned into an amazing career.

Oliver really enjoyed the experience. He worked hard and tried his best. Matt hopped in a boat too and showed Oliver a few tips. Oliver got out of the boat with a beaming smile and was rewarded with a cold juice box and a sachet of goldfish. Success!

 marching off down the docks.

 waiting patiently.

 learning the basics.

 oh my...he is awesome.

 let's do this!

 watching daddy.

 love them.

 oh hi there Huck!

Oliver found his favourite oars! (well until he spotted the batman ones behind him and then had a bit of an existential crisis). 

love my crew. 

22/52


Oliver, helping around the garden and Huck, looking too cool for lunchtime.   


We wrapped up our Memorial Day weekend with a trip to the MFA exhibit entitled, Megacities Asia. I have wanted to go for awhile and I really thought that Oliver would enjoy it. The museum was crazy busy with a line running down a city block. Thankfully, we are members so we got to bypass the line. We sort of sulked by the poor folks visiting from out of town clutching their umbrellas, waiting in the rain. The last time we went to the MFA Huck exceeded my expectations and we stayed for hours but this time, it was crowded and Huck was not feeling it. He was fussy, cranky and overall a pain in the rear so after we went through the exhibit we had to leave with promises to Oliver to go back to see the mummies and Contemporary Art another day. Can I gloat for a moment at how much my oldest enjoys going to museums!? Makes me super happy and proud. 









Blog Archive