There is No Way to Catch Up...

...which is the Song of Parenting!

It's been an age since I've updated this, and as anyone with kids knows, whole new personalities can emerge in the space of a week, let alone three months! I'm hoping I'll have more time this summer to get back to regular posting.

Where to begin? It was a long winter. A really long winter.  Even Paul, who claims to love the snow and ice and the grey began to tire of it. The first whispers of spring came in early March and breathed just enough life back into us to keep us going until the flowers came out.

 planting amaryllis bulbs

 

 

I bet if I went and looked at posts from this time last year, I'd have been saying the same thing: until I had kids I didn't understand, didn't fully appreciate springtime. Sure, it was pretty--who doesn't like flowers?--but I had never felt that stuck-in-the-houseness you get after so many dreary cold days, had never felt like the sun had literally brought me back to life along with the buds and roots until the kids were born. It's become my favorite season--even, maybe, beating out my beloved autumn. Revival! Renewal! Rejuvenation! I need it. I'll take it. And thank you.

Did they plan this look?

Besides the difficult weather, there was also the sadness of losing my grandfather in March. Traveling back to Florida so soon after my grandmother's death felt surreal but also not surprising. We had always imagined they would die near to each other. It's the best thing, really, but the sting is still there. I'm so grateful that they both got to meet the kids and I look forward to telling them stories about their great-grandparents as they grow-up. I have a ton of them!

25th Wedding Anniversary

In our regular life, things keep moving. The semester is coming to an end again and we are looking toward a long, fun and, I hope, restful summer. The big question on our minds right now is Kindergarten. Will he or won't he go? Rudy turns 5 in early August and the cut-off is August 30th. We have gotten advice on both ends of the argument--he's cognitively and academically ready, so send him; he'll be the youngest boy by far, so don't. Truth be told, we're more concerned about his emotional readiness than his academic abilities, because....

Rudy is reading! He doesn't really believe it himself--will insist, "no, I'm not!" --but he's doing it! It's beyond wonderful to see words hook him the way they did me. The way they do. This is definitely one of the biggest, proudest  moments of parenting thus far. I can't believe he's been with us for almost 5 years. He is such a funny and smart kid. Recently he discovered how to make portmanteau words. "Mama, I was caughing. That means I was coughing and laughing!"  Hey, I've done that! And now I know what to call it. Thanks, Roo!

But emotionally and socially, there are still some challenges in front of us and we're working to help him gather the tools he'll need to do well in school. The co-op preschool has been great. It's such a warm, loving place and we've loved being so involved with his learning there. But we realize that he needs more structure--longer days and more of them--whether that means kindergarten or another preschool in the fall. We plan to enroll him with Josephine at her school this summer as a transition, and we'll see what things look like come August.

I swear she likes school. Really.

Josephine's newest trick is to approach children on the playground and announce, "I'm Josephine Squillante! Let's play." And they do! She's got quite a commanding spirit, but so far doesn't seem despotic.  Just sure of herself, her needs...and your needs too. :) She loves her preschool and the teachers there adore her. They have identified that deep well of empathy we've seen in her since she was first able to communicate with us. She's such a neat little package of stuff. Our wild-curl, bruise-knee, climbing, jumping, whirling, funny-kind, force-of-nature-in-a-pink (or orange)-dress girl!

 Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey

Fiesta Day at J's preschool

 pigtails and chalk eggs

On Friday we all went to Hameau Farm in Belleville, PA with Rudy's class. We saw goats and sheep and cows and chickens, fed the calves and made homemade butter--which we are still eating--yum!

ah, silo love