Mom in Boyland

This summer has suddenly slipped through my fingers. It has been great at moments, trying at others. But my heart is still stolen by these little boys who demand so much yet give me so much at the same time. How could my heart not be stolen by this?:

We are getting very close to a time when they all play together. Nate sits up on his own these days, and is reaching for things but hasn't yet figured out how to actually move. When this happens, my life will simultaneously become easier and harder: I'll have to watch his every move, but he'll be able to entertain himself better and interact with Sam and Levi more.

All the kids have become affectionate of late. Kisses abound. Not good when we have germs. But I'll take it, especially since I'd trade them kissing each other for hitting each other any day (I know that's coming, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts!)

We all got sick about 10 days ago. It was some sort of stealth sinus thing, where you'd wake up in the night and feel all stuffy, even head-achy, but there wasn't much nose blowing or coughing, etc. Levi ended up having the worse symptoms, and ended up with conjunctivitis and two ear infections.

I don't think I even realized I had it, except that my ears seemed stuffy and I felt run down. I thought it was just sleep deprivation from helping the kids during the night, as none of them were sleeping very well. But now that I'm better I can see how it effected my energy level.

Our sickness intersected with Mike's first few days of activities back on campus. This was unfortunate, since he was very busy and gone a lot, and we needed to stay close to home so that everyone got their naps and we didn't spread the wealth, I mean germs too much. That meant we did a lot of this:

Ugh. Sam was even bored with TV after a couple of days. So I started making a real effort to change things, and the pst couple of days we've had lots of creative play.

And a random fact about Levi: He can fall asleep anywhere, if it is between 11 and 12 am and his is riding in a stroller or car. He is helpless.

Notice the half-eaten cracker.

The thing I'll miss most about summer is all of the fabulous family time. Although it makes more work to have Sam home, he is a sweet heart and loves to be home as much as I love having him here. And there's no trading having the evenings and weekends and vacations with Mike. We feel renewed as a couple and as a family, I think.

School starts for Sam on Monday. I am both relieved and melancholy. There goes another summer of endless hours to spend with my sweet boy who is growing up so quickly. He feels the same way. Yesterday he was not himself: pushing the envelope, moody, short-tempered. I asked him what was wrong, and guessed out loud that maybe he didn't want to start school. (A big hint was that this behavior began immediately when I got home from his kindergarten orientation.) He broke down and said, "I'm going to miss you!" Ugh. Break my heart, why don't ya?

But he's going to love it. And so am I. I think it's funny how much I looked forward to the freedom of summer, and now am so looking forward to the structure of the school year.

Last weekend we were in Erie, our old stomping grounds. Both Mike and I grew up in Erie (or should I say, Erie County?). We hadn't been there for probably a year and half, so before we left Sam kept mentioning how much snow is always in Erie. Apparently we haven't been there during the summer in a very long time.

The weather was so pleasant, it was enough to make me consider moving back! But then I remembered the snow that covers the ground for 3 months of the year and came back to my senses. ;)

We had a great time, staying at Mike's mom's (or Grandma G's) house with cousins Josh and Abbie. On Saturday everyone headed to the Erie Zoo, where they not only got to see animals, but also pirates and Ronald McDonald!

Sam grew some facial hair while hanging with those pirates!

Getting an autographed picture of Ronald McDonald.

Here are all the cousins who went to the zoo, posing on a termite mound.

Sunday we went to church in the morning, and then to the Lake Erie Peninsula, Presque Isle, for the annual Godzwa family picnic. It's always fun to see cousins, second cousins, third cousins, aunts, uncles, and several other relatives that I know are family but don't know exactly how. The Godzwas are great - it was fun to catch up with people we hadn't seen in awhile, as well as participate in the razzing (or being razzed) about sports teams and other fascinating subjects. Good food, too, including pepperoni bread!

Putting away some grub... er, hot dogs! We don't get to grill out much in our apartment, you know. ;)

I think Nate got his head shape from Mike's side of the family... Or he's just Uncle Jim's Mini-Me.

After the picnic we headed over to the beach. The best thing about Lake Erie is that it's big enough to feel like it's more than a lake, but you don't have the salty water, high winds or larger waves of the ocean. This particular beach, Beach 11, is on the bay side of the peninsula, so it is very shallow and calm, perfect for kids.

The water was a little cold, but the sand was really warm so Sam kept alternating between the two.

Levi enjoyed the sand more than the water.

Dave and Kelly, Tony and Corey, we missed you guys! Maybe next year?

At one point during vacation we did our best to get a picture of all the cousins. I was trying to figure out which one turned out best, and found it quite amusing.

OK, now he's back. But so is my hand. And we've got some funny facial experessions.

Hmm. This could have been good, except for Sam's "pose".

We're losing control.

Levi's gone again.

Hmmmm...

Better luck next year?

We returned from vacation 2.5 weeks ago, and it has taken me this long to finally post about it! That's partially because I have gotten out of "summer vacation" mode, and things fell apart a little in the past couple weeks. Not really, but it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, either. The boys get cranky when they are bored.

Plus, a few other things have been going on, which I will update you on in a future post. (Why do I keep saying these things? It seriously puts me into procrastination mode!)

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Smith Mt. Lake was great! We were with my parents, my brother and his family, and my sister and her husband. Our rented home was on the water with a little beach and dock. Here's the view from the back deck of the house:

Yes, that's a double-decker boat dock! It was particularly fun for this reason:



Mike was the resident thrill-seeker and took the plunge off the top deck first, but my brother Geoff was soon to follow. Sam thought it was most fun when Daddy jumped off the top at the same time he jumped off the bottom. It made him feel empowered.



The little sandy beach was perfect for the preschool/early elementary set. There was lots of fun sand-and-water-play going on:

Mom and Dad picked up some nightcrawlers for us, and we were able to do a little fishing. The kids had some fun, especially with the worms. They even caught a few fish!

On our last full day, my dad rented a pontoon boat and we spent the day on the lake. So much fun!

The best part was the innertube. Most of us went out for a ride, which was just right for the kids because the boat maxed out at 12 mph with all of us on it!

After frolicking in the lake, it was fun to take advantage of the hot tub on the lower porch.

Besides all the water activity, we got in plenty of family time. Nate had fun discovering daddy's ear:

Nana (my Mom) provided some much-needed stimulation when it was raining, as well as other times. She spent time with the kids playing games, doing crafts, teaching Levi several letters, and building a system of tunnels from carboard boxes that became a little playhouse for the kids in the lower rec room!

Nate got to snuggle with Paw Paw (my dad) more than once:


Sam had a birthday party, complete with Pinata:

And there was lots of cousin bonding time.

Sam and Emma, who are only 6 months apart, particularly hit it off. At one point early in the week, they were downstairs unsupervised in the "clubhouse" which they were supposedly decorating with markers. They got carried away and ended up colored in markers themselves. Arms, legs, faces, eyelids, and even areas where, well, clothing should have been were nicely decorated. We tried not to laugh as we handed down the punishment: they couldn't sleep in the same room that night. It didn't happen again.

Evenings were spent chatting, as well as watching hilarious Rhett & Link videos and a couple movies (The Bucket List and Bella - both worth renting). All in all, it was a great time away from the city with my hubby and kids. But more than that, when I visit my family I am reminded of the wonderful family I have been born into, and wish we could be with them more often.

After a wonderful week at Smith Mt. Lake at a large rental house with my parents, siblings and spouses, and all our kids (and my sister's pooch), we loaded up our van and said our goodbyes. Sam asked if he could go home with Micah and Emma, his "best" cousins. He also asked if we could stay at the house forever.

I oh-so-gently brought him back to reality by saying, "Sorry, vacation can't last forever! Only for a week." He took it in stride.

I have to admit that I felt a little pang of guilt over his desire to stay. Maybe I'm projecting my own feelings onto him, or assuming that I know what he feels, but I often feel guilty that we live in an apartment in the city. The kids don't have their own rooms or their own yard. We don't have a playroom. And although we spend lots of time at the park, it feels pretty sterile compared to my own upbringing. At the lake house, Sam and Levi had what I think of as a normal childhood experience: lots of time outside, fishing, swimming, playing, Sam riding his bike in the street (we were almost at a dead end). Lots of space inside, where they could run around a make noise without my shushing: "you'll bug our downstairs neighbors!"

We drove home on a scenic route and made a stop in Charlottesville to visit our dear friends, Harvey and Sally, who just moved there. After having lunch together and chatting for a couple of hours, we continued our trip. Long story short, it took us until 7:45 to get home. (We left the lake at 10am!) The kids were tired of being in the car.

As we pulled into the driveway of our building, Sam looked elated. "Hey! Our house!"
(Never mind that it's actually a huge apartment building, not a house. We still call it that.)

We pulled into our garage spot, and Sam and Levi danced around while Mike and I figured out just how much we could manage to bring up to the apartment in one trip. We made the trek and finally arrived at our apartment door.

What followed were excited shouts of glee, things like,
"We haven't been here in a really long time!"
"Da Iggles!" (Levi, upon reacquainting himself with his big red car.)
"I love our home!"

And several other exclamations that I tried to remember but can't. But what I do remember is how warm it felt, how rewarding, that my kids were so happy to be home after such a wonderful week away. Sure, it's a place, but it represents the way we spend our time on a normal basis, their rituals, their lives. Time and rituals that I am in charge of, that I sometimes labor to plan and keep orderly and sometimes allow to become disorderly and askew, even boring. And although they had a wonderful week away, they missed it.

More on the vacation soon!

... I became a mommy for the first time.  Wow, how time flies!  And how my life has changed.  But more than that, my children have changed me.  

After a day or two of recuperation, we were off and running again. We've had a busy week! I'm ready for vacation.

Here are our boys:

Again, Blogger is rotating my pictures. What's up?! Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? They are right side up in My Pictures.

We had to be taken to the berry fields via tractor ride, which all the boys except Levi loved. I'm sure we are quite a sight, both of us with a baby strapped to us, toddler in tow and running after preschoolers! Thankfully this seems to be a very popular outing among moms and their kids. We had some fun conversations with other moms of 3 and 4 kids on the tractor ride. It's like we're a part of a sisterhood or something.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with friends Anita, Symon and baby Elsa at Hayse Park. Wow, it's a great little place. They've got a creative playground to climb and play around, and a fantastic sand area.

Levi has really enjoyed climbing in the past few days! He's not so cautious lately; this afternoon we found him in his crib, though we hadn't put him there! Here's my little climber in action:

But really, the afternoon was about the Sprayground. Look at this:

They had a blast! Levi wasn't interested in the sprinklers, so he spent the afternoon doing this:

Grrr. More sideways photos.

Anita and I got to chat, and I got to hold baby Elsa.

After about an hour of running around in the sprayground, the boys were cold and hungry!

The sun got rid of their blue lips, though.

Sorry. I know that's gross, but several days later my life is still filled with much nose-wiping. Sometimes with kleenex, sometimes with my shirt (not by choice!).

Nate was indeed sick with a cold which caused so much congestion that he simply could not breath while nursing or sucking on a pacifier. So instead of learning to sleep, he got to sleep with Mommy and pretty much get whatever he wanted while Daddy took up residence on the air mattress in the living room for a few nights.

A day later, Levi came down with the same thing, and then Sam followed suite.

By Tuesday night I took Nate back into the doctor's office, and he did indeed have two ear infections. Poor baby.

But I'm happy to report that the whole family is sleeping better, even though their noses still drain more than you can imagine - where does all that stuff come from?! I seem to have dodged a bullet, so I'm thankful. I'm also thankful that we nailed the ear infection before leaving for vacation! Woo hoo! More on that in the next post...

The highlight of our morning was the elephants. We watched them play a little, and then got to see their bath.

Levi calls all animals "doggie". Pretty cute when directed at an elephant!

When asked what his favorite thing was at the zoo Sam responded, "the pizza playground!" He's not much of an animal lover (although he does find them interesting!)

Hamming it up for the camera:

And cooling off a little in front of one of the misters: