The Stability of Fireflies

It's been an extremely busy time for me at work, almost from the moment Molly was born. It's partially my fault, as I'd been behind on my hours (due largely to my time spent working on another blog . . . ), and I needed to catch up. But the heat turned up even more a few weeks ago with the approach of a trial in one of the cases I've been working on. There's no greater thing for a litigator than going to trial, but few things worse for a litigator's family. For the last two weeks I've been working way too much, and the time spent with Macy, Rex, Lucy, and Molly dried up almost completely. A lot of days, my only sight of the kids looked like this:

(And by the way, that's not all bad. You can't walk out of their room seeing them asleep like that without feeling pretty lucky)

It only takes a few days of that lifestyle to remind me that it's not one I want to continue. So much of what I do for the kids I think I'm doing for them-- playing with them, taking them places, talking to them. And then when I have to stop doing all that for a while, I start to see how important it is- for me. I've come to realize that being with Rex and Lucy (and increasingly, Molly) is a necessary part of my mental/emotional hygiene. They remove all the stress, self-pity and worldliness that I pick up every day, and replace it with feelings of genuine tranquility and stability. And believe me, if you saw these kids every day, a lot of words would come to mind, but "stability" wouldn't be one of them. It's a little ironic that three little kids-- best described by analogies to gunpowder, jackrabbits and fireflies-- can become the rock-solid foundation of an adult's life. But that's what they are. Kids, as flighty and ephemeral as they can be, are the best solution to disorientation in life.

So, this past weekend, we made up for a little lost time.

We went to the park . . .

and raked some leaves. . .

and washed the car. . .

and went to Gardner Village with the Beans and Maudsleys (not pictured) . . .

and even stopped by the petting zoo while we were there.

Hopefully, they all know who I am again. Now I'm back to work, back to a normal schedule, and feeling completely refreshed by my time with those goofy little kids. Maybe it's a good thing to be pulled away from them once in a while, to stop thinking about how much they need me, and remember how much I need them. I'm glad we had this weekend. Everyone's better off when Dad's around. And by "everyone," I mean me.

P.S. Of course, it's Macy that makes all of this absenting and returning and ruminating possible. Thank you, Macy, for providing the real stability at the heart of all of the above. (Also not pictured).

Another Season Over

Today was the last game of the soccer season for Rex. He's been playing with his friend Will, on a team of kids a year older than he is. It's been a lot of fun, and he's more than held his own, but he's often been pushed around by some opponents that are much bigger than he is. During his game, the adjacent field was being used by the team that he is supposed to be playing with- a bunch of neighborhood kids his own age. I was surprised to see the difference in the levels of play, and it made me sad he hasn't been with them. Hard to say what's best though, whether he should stick in a league of older kids and keep progressing ahead of his curve, or play with people his age, lead the pack, and build friendships with the kids he'll go through school with. Anyway, I love the soccer season, even though I find myself becoming much more vocal and invested than I ever thought I could be. I'm trying to keep my cool though, and really, I only get on him if I see he's not hustling.

Our little guy is only four and has now finished his third soccer season. Crazy how early everything starts these days, but this is clearly a case where the rush was led by the kid, and not the parents. He's never happier than on a soccer field, as evidenced in Exhibits 1-4 below (Rex is Number 5):

Scissor Happy

Before:

While I was on the phone today with Ange, and I admit not paying close enough attention to my kids, including Ike, they got a hold of some scissors and went after Lucy's hair. From what I gather Lucy cut most of it herself. It looks pretty bad, and although everyone laughs and thinks this is so funny....I have to say I am pretty devastated. There was hair all over the kitchen floor, and the kids just thought it was so funny. I could not get through to them. I am taking her to the salon this afternoon to see if they can somehow fix it, but I know it is going to be sooo short, and I am really sad about it.

My question is how do I react?? Lucy does not seem phased at all, but that also means she doesn't get that this is not a good thing. Of course it was fun, and I can see how getting a hold of some scissors and chopping your own hair off sounds fun at age 3, but I need her to see that she cannot cut anything but PAPER!!! How do you react as a mom, in these painful, yet sort of funny experiences??? Do you get mad or just take pictures and not make a big deal??

Okay, the above paragraphs were written earlier today, and I am feeling much better about the situation, and have almost laughed just a little about it too. I just love how she thinks she looks so great, and can't stop talking about how much she loves her new haircut. I guess I should be glad that she has such confidence. Nicki, Ali's friend, who works at a really great hair salon in SLC did a great job at making a really, really horrible haircut into a decent , even sort of trendy, fun haircut. Lucy is a new girl and even sort of has a new personality with this fun haircut. She has been so spunky and chatty, especially about her hair. Thank you Nicki, for helping us in a really desperate moment!!

After:

Our little Molly is 6 weeks old!

We are starting to come out of the fog..... We have all had little colds, and unfortunately baby Molly got one too. She has been sniffly and coughy for the last 4 or 5 days, but seems to be getting alot better, and is more importantly sleeping much better! Last night she went to bed at 8:30pm(unusally early for her) and woke up to eat at 1ish, then went right back until 6ish, and again went back until 9am!! We love good nights like that. Ryan has been super busy, and trying to juggle everything hasn't been easy, but I think we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. At least that is how we are feeling on this day! We love our little Molly.

Molly in her bumbo

Rex seems so old lately, and is so good to his baby Molly

Lucy, right out of the bath kissing baby Molly

Molly laying in Lucy's bed during story time.
Back in the bumbo...we love it!

Fresh from the Garden

Our little garden has been Ryan's baby this summer, but I have very much loved being the recipient of his project, especially the basil and cilantro. But the best thing about our garden is that the kids have loved being apart of it. Almost every night Ryan goes out to check on the garden, and for some reason Rex and Lucy love going out to check on things too. On Saturday it snowed almost all day, and Lucy kept looking out the back door and saying, "Mom, Mom it is snowing on our garden!" She was very worried. It has been really great to see how into it they have been. Ryan has taught them a great deal about planting and keeping a garden. What a great thing for them. Lucy loves the garden , but still won't eat most of it, but our good little eater Rex has loved all of it, and is willing to try things just because it came from our garden. I even heard him tell his cousins at Grandma's house, " Guys, we brought all of those vegetables from our garden, you have to try them!" I look forward to having all of this again next summer.

I had Lucy choose what she wanted to wear today....

A Day at the Zoo

We had a fun, fall day at the zoo with our friends, Alta, Lizzie , and Charlie. Rex and Lucy both love Lizzie, and fight over who sits by her, talks to her, plays with her, etc, etc,....she is so sweet to both of them. This past summer a white alligator came to visit our zoo just until November. There are only 10 in the world, and my kids are obsessed with seeing this really strange creature. He is really fascinating. If you live close to the zoo like we do, having a season pass is the best way to go. Sometimes we just go up for an hour or so, see a few animals, play at the fun playground, ride the train, and go home. We had a fun afternoon!

It was Molly's first day at the zoo, and of course she slept the whole time in the baby bjorn.