Look Ma, no lines!

THIS is... Only 1 Me!!

Funny thing. I was sitting in my bed, sicker than snot, last Saturday. Into my room trots my little Eva, artwork in hand. Lately, she's taken to ransacking the "art" drawers for supplies & tools to create her little picassos. (I am so prejudiced..heehee) SO, the sight of her with art was not an unusual one. What was unusual, however, was the fact that she had produced (UNAIDED & unpressured) her very own self portrait, as well as portraits of Charles & I. I took one look at that adorable picture she drew of herself & knew that what I was seeing was her vision, her picture, herself! I thought alot about that last post, wondering if I was being too...I don't know, "free?" Too judgemental? NOT!!! I knew in my heart that she was capable of that, I just needed to really see it in living color. She's been making leaps and bounds all summer in her fine motor, dexterity, inventiveness & her "pretend" stories & friends. To see it all culminate was so cool! It just makes me more determined than ever than I will never let my children be boxed in by the expectations or desires of others. I know what's right for my girls.
Watch out Picasso, Casatt, Monet & Van Gogh...
Here comes EVA!
I really am so totally prejudiced!
luv,
tiffers

Being one of three...

is best for me. I remember quite vividly the day my Mom told me & Sam that we were going to have a little brother or sister. It was the icing on the cake of probably the best year of my life to that point. After some tough times for my family, my parents decided that they really were meant to be & embarked on a new journey together, remarrying on our vacation to Maryland. The following summer, we packed up the house, the dog, the cat, the construction supplies, the boat, the trucks & of course, us, and headed cross country for a fresh start in Maryland, my dad's childhood home. That trip TOTALLY sucked. We were all sick, the trucks overheated, got flats, the cat & dog jumped out while the truck was moving & to top it off, we never got to see the Grand Canyon or the World's Fair. We did, however, get to Maryland safe and sound, ready to jump into our new lives clear across the country from California. Talk about an adjustment. ANYWAY, I digress. We quickly settled into our new lives in East Coast suburbia, throwing a fun labor day party for our new friends & family. Well, Fr. Brault decided blessing my parents bed was in order that day. Hm. Wasn't but a month or so later my Mom broke the news to Sam & I about the impending arrival. To say we were excited would be an understatement. When my parents were separated, we never even entertained the idea of another sibling, we just wished for our family to be one again. When things smoothed out for us, Sam & I began bugging my parents in earnest for a little brother or sister. Both Mom & Dad told us the time had passed for adding to our family & that we were just perfect the way we were. Well, I guess the Man upstairs had other plans. Our neat little family of four morphed into a rambunctious five on July 20, 1983.
Things in the Lewis household would never be the same, to say the least. Sam & I finally had the brother we'd wished for, the whole family we'd prayed for, a pool & by the following year, my Nana with us all the time.
Mark changed all our lives with his. Even though we had a true generational gap from Markie to me, with Sam somewhere in between, we have always been & will remain a tight little sib family of 3. I am so incredibly blessed to have my sister and brother in my life. I can't imagine life without either of them. Which is why...
3 is the number for me. I want my girls to be one of 3. I can't imagine a more perfect number. I can't imagine better siblings. I certainly can't imagine life with just me & Sam. All was right in the planetary alignment for the Lewis children, the Wetherill children & maybe someday, for the McCawley children.
Wish me luck.

Coloring inside the lines...

squashes my punkin's exploration of what she thinks is art!! I've always had a bit of an issue with "pre-determined" art for kids. Yeah, those little craft thingys they make in school are cute, but it's not thier idea, thier interpretation. It's not THEM. Today, Evie came home with this cute little worksheet with an outline of a little girl. The title was "Only 1 Me." She was supposed to color it & fill it in with whatever she wanted. YES, she did an amazing job of coloring in the lines & used lots of fun colors & even made her hair blond, but I did wish that she had just drawn her very own self portrait. It's funny, though. I actually felt guilty for feeling that way & not just being bowled over by how great she was coloring inside the lines. I know you're all rolling your eyes and thinking I've gotten way too crunchy granola (except you, Angie :-), but I really do think that sometimes our society is so obsessed with labels, commercialism & keeping up with the "Joneses" because we've lost our ability to be "free" thinkers. We're born into a society that doesn't always value the whimsy & magic of our children. I believe that there are still way too many people out there who think children are meant to be controlled, told what to think & should be seen/not heard and that it has an enormously negative impact on both our children and ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I like nice things as much as the next person, but I've found over the last 2 years that not having what I thought was so important & that I could live somewhat "without" that it's really changed what I think is important. I no longer believe that money is the marker for success in life. My marker is my family, my children & my self-image. I get a much bigger reward at the end of day when I look at my children sleeping, peaceful- happy- healthy, and I know that they are that way because of Me, of Charles.
I haven't turned into "simple living" poster child. I haven't stopped buying things just because I like them. What I have done is learn I should want things because they make me happy, not because they show others what I have.
SO, how did I get to what I want/have/believe from "coloring inside the lines?" Simple. I want to live my life without conforming to societal norms just to fit in. I want my children to learn how to learn, NOT just learn to recite, regurgitate, pass the standardized test or color in the lines. I want to sing every day for the rest of my life, just because I finally love my voice. The way it sounds, the smile it brings to the faces of my children, my family, my students, my friends. I want to write for ME. I want to write for my children. I want to write for all of you. But most of all, I want to live each day like it's my last and regret nothing else. Because honestly, I have no regrets anymore. Each piece, part, event, has made me who I am today. And you know what? I like me, I really like me.
I really was so proud of Eva's coloring today. It means her fine motor is totally ROCKIN' and that she is beginning pre-writing. And that is awesome. Any new thing she accomplishes makes me smile & fills me with joy. BUT, I can still wish for better experiences for her & make it my mission to find them for her.
Hmm. I must be feeling introspective today. Ya think?
luv to you and miss you all!
Pay
IT
Forward,
tiffers

My perfect Mom day...

I know you're totally thinking I spent the day at the Spa, right.
NOT!! I think today was my best day ever in the chronicles of Mommyhood. I started this fabulous day with a workout. Totally made me feel like me again and not just a milk factory/cleaning lady/reservations clerk/teacher/playgroup guru/etc.................
When I picked Evie up from school, we just decided to come home, play games, hang out with Charley, bake & enjoy each other. And that is just what we did! I never once felt like I just had to go clean something, clean out a closet, make a phone call, deal with business crap, or anything else that is so NOT important in the grand scheme of life. It was so the best day ever!
I don't think I figured it out until today. Being a Mom really is TOTALLY fun if you let it be. No, I can't junk the routine of life, but I can decide to make it less of a priority to be so TYPE A that my picture is in the Mental Health guide next to OBSESSIVELY organized disorder. There will be crappy days, sad days, stressful days. But days like today just totally make me forget all about those days. Thank God for my children, my husband, my family, my friends, my life. I am truly blessed. Love to you all.
Don't forget to...
Pay it Forward...
luv,
tiff

Having a second baby is like...

The mohawk lives....

Hangin' with Sis

Who's that adorable baby in the mirror, Mom?

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho, It's off to school I go!

Hangin' with Selah! See, I am a pygmy.

I will roll over, I will, I will!

Mmm, Mmm, Good!

falling off the face of the earth. Just Kidding! Seriously, sorry I've been lax about posting, it's been busy here with Kindermusik registration, pre-school starting & attempting to get Charley on some kind of predictable schedule. So, I've been absent a while, but I'M BACK!!
Where to begin?
Eva's Adventures...
back to school on Sept 8th. Oh, what a different first day than last year! My little wallflower has blossomed into the life of the party & just couldn't wait to get back to school. Last year, every morning was the "hand-off" from me to Kerri or Kim, usually followed by tears. This year was "See Ya!" followed by her reassuring her crying classmate that it's okay & it'll get better & he'll really like school soon! What a sweet child.
Eva brought home her schoolwork for the week on friday. I was so excited to see how much her fine motor skills have grown when I looked at her letter tracing & saw that she was spot on! Which brings me to my next dilemma. Education. When Eva was an early toddler, I started to look into Montessori Education. I'm really impressed by Montessori principles & really think the style of learning would benefit Eva's personality at this stage. I also firmly beleive that children will direct thier own learning if placed in the right environment to create curiosity. So here's the problem. The best montessori here requires full time attendance of 5 days/week, 6 hours a day. Evie is totally ready for that type of schedule, but guess who's the wuss? MOM! Although school has started, I'm still considering montessori. I know I can send her next year if we go to Parris Island, but I just don't want to miss this window of opportunity in her development. UGH. The perils of parenthood. Well, regardless of what I decide, my little punkin is growing up & I'll have to deal with it some day! So for now, we move onto:
Chronicles of Charley...
Holy Moses, what a sweet baby. I swear I've never seen a baby smile so much in my life. And at EVERYONE!! With that mohawk, those huge eyes & that super smile, she is breakin' hearts everywhere. The other day, we were out & about and she was hanging out in the sling. All you could see was her saucer shaped eyes & the top of her mohawk peeking out. I swear even 20 year old Marines were checking out that kid.
4 months old! We had a check-up, complete with those yucky shots. 24.5 inches long, 11 lbs 7 oz. I know, I know. I have little pygmy children. Hey, I'm small. It' s hysterical to see her next to all of my other pals who had babies at the same time. They all weigh like 16 or 17 lbs and here is my mini baby. She looks like a doll compared to NORMAL sized children. Speaking of looking like: I was moving pics around last night & found one of Evie at about this age with a towel covering her hair & only her face showing. Talk about creepy...it was totally Charley! How funny is that. Maybe they'll look like little clones with opposite coloring. Cute!
Charley decided to celebrate her 4 month birthday with rolling over. Right on the table at her check-up. I think it was a reaction to being set on her tummy. Which up until about a week ago, she hated. So the little bugger figured out how to roll over to avoid tummy time. STINKER. Finally, though, she likes tummy time, is pushing herself up, staring in the mirror and looking all around. So I guess I can stop inventing torticollis symptoms.
We also celebrated 4 months with some spoon fed cereal! Which she absolutely loved. Unfortately, I've 86'ed it since she started waking at 5 am again as soon as we added it to her diet in the evenings. Sleep beats cereal in the Mommy wars. We'll try again next month.
As for me & my honey...
Kindermusik started with a bang on Tuesday the 12th. My new space is awesome & my classes went great. I'm really excited to get back to teaching & enjoying the kids. Charley & Eva both loved thier classes & it was so fun to have my girls in classes. Wish me good karma all semester long.
Charles is submitting for DI duty this week, so we hope to know something by Christmas time. People in hell want ice water, so we'll see who wins. He has to spend the next 2 weeks as the Staff non fire for the range up North, so the LONG days will give us a taste of life in PI. Wish me sanity.
Our Christmas travel is booked, so a light is on the horizon. We can't wait to see everyone & be totally overwhelmed by all the choices! We are counting the days.
Well, I've reached my brain power limit for writing today, so hope you enjoyed the blurb. We miss everyone!
luv to all,
tiffers