The Night Before the Last Day of School

The boys are asleep, Ella's nursing & I'm sitting her, wondering how it can be the night before Ry's last day of kindergarten. After moving his sleeping self from my bed, to his own, I sat there for a few minutes, staring. Then with a kiss goodnight, I took a deep breath, & stared some more. Earlier in the evening, we ran around the yard. The boys wanted to look for fiddleheads; Ella tried to rally right along with them; they all ran, ran & ran; & Covey used his binoculars for some thorough scoping of the landscape. The air was surprisingly warm, filled with sounds of the nearby nesting Eagles, & a lurking summer. Some days feel so long, but somehow the past 9 months got away from us. Not even one whole year, yet full of so many big changes. Ry has transformed, quite literally before our eyes. Tonight I asked him if he was sad or happy about kindergarten ending. He told me mostly happy. I felt selfish, but this wasn't the response I was hoping for. Did I want him to be sad? No. But I think I wanted a little hesitation. Instead, he told me he was excited for first grade. As bittersweet as it is, I'm very excited for him. New adventures await all of us.

The End of the Season

I recently wrapped up Visual Storytelling, taught by Molly Flanagan through the Define School. It was an amazing online workshop. I highly, highly recommend it, for any photographer interested in learning more about the art of storytelling through images. When I took the course, I knew I wanted to document our soccer routine. Ry has been playing the last five weeks, so every Monday & Wednesday evening, we run out the door to his games. This was his first year playing, & he loved it! We really enjoyed it, too; it's pretty cute watching a dozen or so kids run around after the ball. Last night was his final game, so I made a point to have a few extra minutes for photos. p.s. there's no actual game photos posted here, to protect the other players privacy.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day. Yesterday, I told the kids I wanted one photo with them, for Mother's Day. I rarely attempt that with the camera & have been trying to more with the iPhone. So I admittedly took advantage of Mother's Day, & got some pictures. Mike took them for me- I got it all set-up & then hoped for the best, but was pleasantly surprised with his photo skills (or listening skills, as I told him exactly where to stand, bend his knees, what to focus on, etc...haha, it's kind of hard not to).

I hope all of you mom's out there have a wonderful day today, but more than that, I hope you have wonderful days. I know there are some really long ones, some really hard ones, some really fun ones, some really crazy ones...& I'm not really sure how one day a year can encapsulate all this motherhood stuff, but it's nice to get that extra bit of acknowledgement. Motherhood is not easy & it's not always smooth-sailing, but it's really fricken amazing.

An Afternoon at Sad Park

A long time ago, I played at this park as a kid. The playground equipment was shiny, the quonset huts were upright, four-wheeler tracks didn't cover the grassy field- flash forward twenty years, & the park is a disaster. However, it's our neighborhood park. One time, a year or two ago, I said it was a sad park. The boys' soaked that up instantly. Every time I ask if they want to go to the park, they refer to it as "Sad Park." It is sad. I wrote a letter to the editor over a year ago (or maybe two already? I can't remember...) about the condition of the park, which sort of sparked an interest in revamping it. The borough has also gotten a few calls about it. Then last year, we got funding. Nothing has happened yet, but next week the Parks & Rec Committee is having a meeting. We're hoping to finally put a smile on this Sad Park. It's over three acres of land & the only park in our large neighborhood. Yesterday, I took some pictures, to tell it's story.

May: 10-on-10

1. Good morning, brown bananas. 2. Good morning, EllaGrace.

3. He's been forgetting his 'y' lately, when writing his name.

4. Double-fisting breakfast.

5. The domino track.

6. Exiting the shoulder rides.

7. His sister destroyed his domino track.

8. Test run.

9. Playing on the beach.

10. I love Sundays, especially those spent in Pasagshak.

when you're done here, be sure to go visit Jill!

don't forget, Jill's blog is next!

Bedtime

Bedtime is always an adventure. If the teeth are brushed & books read, then I feel pretty successful. If they're asleep before 9:00, I'll do a victory dance...there's not a lot of victory dancing. We get so much daylight this time of year, & more with each new day, that it's a bit tricky. The boys are convinced bedtime is when it's dark. Oh well. One more book, one more glass of water, one more snack, one more late night...one more month & summer will be here, & we can have as many late nights as we want!