Sheapshearing Festival

Having small kids who wake up early, take limited or no naps, and need constant activities means that festivals, fairs, carnivals and other outdoor events are your best bet to have some fun and tire the kids out.  This was our second time at the sheep shearing festival.  We had a really nice time and I want to remember to add it to our annual events calendar.  It was a great day where we got to see this very interesting sheep herding demonstration, sheep shearing, and the dogs catching frisbees.  It was great being outside, running into neighbors and tiring the boys out.

Traditions - Birthdays

When my husband and I were very recently pregnant with #1 - we took a day trip to Martha's vineyard.  We spent the day walking around and talking about how we envisioned our family life together.  We bought a journal and wrote down "rules" for our family and family traditions that we wanted to keep.  I think family traditions are extremely important.  They give our family a source of identity.  The kids like the predictability and excitement of these traditions.

Today, #1 is 6 years old!  We are keeping some old and some new traditions.  Our biggest birthday tradition is breakfast in bed.  This was hard today since #1 needs to leave the house by 7:40.  I helped this along by making pancakes last night, after the kids were asleep.  I just reheated this morning and #1 was so happy to have his breakfast in bed.  A new tradition we added was putting balloons on the floor of his room so there was a big surprise in the morning.  The final tradition we have for birthdays, is the birthday boy gets to pick what is for dinner.  Tonight's dinner ~ hot dogs!

Bag Packing - t-ball

I think a lot of being successful with little kids is having the right supplies.  Coming up with the essentials to carry around on a daily basis, have available in your car, or to have for specific outings comes with a lot of trial and error.  #1 had his first t-ball practice and I tried to be so prepared.  Practice is at 5:30 so I decided to bring a picnic blanket, dinner for all of us, mitts, balls and hats for everyone .  I was over prepared.  We did not use any of the stuff.  #2 and #3 had no interest in the mitts, balls or hats.  They each ate one orange and a handful of chips.  It is better to be over-prepared then have hungry kids screaming because you have nothing to eat - but I definitely need to reassess before next Wednesday.

Costumes - go with it...

My boys love dress up.  Hats, shirts, masks, jewlery - you name it - they want to put it on.  My motto for the costumes is "go with it."  I am happy to have them run around the park in a cape or go food shopping with a pirate hat.  But we all have to have our line.  I make sure to not allow the dress-up to stay at school.  I know #2's pre-school teachers were very grateful this morning when I took all of the pieces for the above outfit home so they didn't have to deal with them.  After school, the outfit went right back on. And I am cool with that.  My other rule is that pajamas do not leave the house.  You can put on your favorite pajamas if you must when you come home from school - but they are not for school.  We all need to have our lines somewhere.

"The Way of Boys"

I went to a great lecture last night by the author of "The Way of Boys."  Dr. Anthony Rao.  It was really interesting first to just sit and think about my boys social and emotional growth.  What a luxury to just sit and think a bit!  I took a lot away from the lecture - and I bought the book which I am looking forward to reading.  The first thing that I am focusing on - and that I have been thinking about - is what Dr. Rao said "risk taking is good."  I consciously try not to be the nervous mother not letting the boys hang from the monkey bars or jump off of high stairs (I am sure I still am a nervous mother).  They obviously shouldn't be running in the street with cars coming or playing with knives.  But there is a point where they need to climb a tree or jump off the slide.  I know they need to do this as boys.  I stay nearby if there is trouble - but I have to look away to let them be the boys they need to be.  I got so much more out of the lecture - but I want to get into the book and share more later.

Beginnings

The first question I have to answer myself is, "why am I starting another blog?"  Well, I have been keeping my family blog for almost 7 years now.  It is a great place where I put pictures, stories, activities and accomplishments of my family.  I love having it there as a resource for our grandparents, parents and friends to see what the boys are looking like and what we are up to.  It is also an amazing resource for us - to look back at what one boy was doing at a certain age.  I definitely want to keep my first blog going - but this will be something different.

I am the mother of three boys.  It is official - on Sunday I officially weaned my third son.  He is no longer a baby - and I have three boys - not two boys and a baby - but three boys!  On an almost daily basis - when my boys and I are out, people will stop and start talking to me.  The conversation starts out in different ways.  "Do you have three boys?" or "Are they all boys?" or even better "Are these all yours?"  But it usually ends the same way... "G-d bless you!  I don't know how you do it!"

Listen, it is not easy having young kids.  For some people a group of young boys is scarier than the alternative.  To me, I am living my happily ever after.  A couple of months ago, when #3 was not taking to cows milk, not sleeping well and #1 and #2 were giving me a hard time I was starting to loose it.  I looked back over the last 12 years of my life to figure out how I got here.  I went to law school, fell in love with my soul mate, he proposed and then was diagnosed with cancer.  I remember praying, pleading with G-d to let him get better ~ to give us a chance to get married and have a family.  Through a lot of pain, surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and miracles - I got my happily ever after.  So how do I have three boys 6 and under.... this is how I do it.