There are many things in life that I thought I'd be, but I'm not. And there are many things in life that I never thought I'd be, but I am.
Yet the reality is that I am happy and am loved (and that I love) more deeply than I ever could have imagined.
I love my boys so much and enjoy spending time with them and learning new things about them each day. Jack and Joey are so drastically different from each other, it does make things interesting. I also think that a big factor in my recent surge of happiness and peace is related to my parents moving to town. They are now just 20 minutes away instead of 5 hours away. They frequently come up for lunch with me and the boys a couple times a week and usually come on the weekend to babysit the boys for a couple hours so John and I can reintroduce ourselves to each other over breakfast or lunch. I know getting to see them so often has really helped decrease the isolation I have felt in the past from being a full time stay at home mom. And it has been wonderful to see their relationships with each of the boys continue to grow.
Here's a picture of us celebrating my dad's birthday with "little grandma and grandpa" this summer:
Anyway it was a wonderful summer where we did a whole lot of wonderful nuthin' together. The one big thing we did do as a family was go up to my aunt's cabin in July with my parents and my aunt. Despite the fact that there wasn't any AC in our cabin with 90 degree weather we still had a great time.
Here's some photos from the trip:
Nothing quite like playing with big brother's toys.
One of the highlights of the trip for Jack was frog catching... or chasing... or unfortunately sometimes clunking. (And yes those are dragon wings taped to the back of Jack's shirt in the picture above...and yes ironically enough the shirt is an ACDC shirt.)
And to a one year old, most anything is an adventure.
The boys had fun but clearly they were thrilled to be back home again... John included :)
It was a great trip and Jack and I will be going back to the cabin this week on our own with my parents. I'm excited for our first Jackie-Mommy only trip. I know we will miss Joey and John/ daddy, as they will us, but we will create some wonderful memories with my parents... and hopefully not freeze!
Here are a few snapshots of the rest of our summer:
Here are a few snapshots of the rest of our summer:
Joey started walking everywhere in June and has been going non-stop since, usually with a crazy smile on his face. And it seems like when he isn't walking he's climbing something dangerous!
I'm sure one of the highlights for the boys was when the workers came to remove the diseased Elm tree from our backyard. They parked themselves by the back patio window for hours!
We also went to the amusement park at Mall of America. Jack is really looking forward to hitting the height requirement to go on the next level of rides which includes a big roller coaster.
And we went to the MN Zoo a couple times. Once I was adventurous and went on my own with the boys... we survived :) Here they are in the play area in a big "nest".
But much of our summer was simply spent by almost daily walks to the local store for a donut or muffin and viewing of the local construction site a well as lots of backyard adventures.
And constant exclamations by Jack of "Nooo Joooeeeey!!!!"
As summer winds down and we spend more time in doors, this has become the most recent brother activity. Between their rough play together and Joey's propensity for climbing anything and everything, I'm sure Fall/Winter 2010 will probably include a trip to urgent care at some point!
My life is quite simple but filled with so much love. It amazes me how being a stay at home mom can be so mind numbing and yet so challenging to the core! But I love being home with my boys (most days) and wouldn't trade it for the world.
