Sick House

My boys are both a bit under the weather, so we've been sticking close to home a lot this week. Yesterday the boys discovered the costume bin and have been having a glorious time since then donning all sorts of creative outfits.

Fun with Tim and Tamara

We entertained Tim and Tamara at our house for once! Cause we have room! The kids were pretty genuinely convinced that Tim was there for climbing on and sledding down, and he was a good sport about it, though I'm sure they both went home and let out a big sigh of relief for being free of their crazy energy. We haven't seen them as much lately so it was treat to connect (and talk seeds and spring!) and of course to eat yummy food.

My new favorite community resource

We have passed the sign for the Mackey Skate Park a gazillion times on the way to soccer games, but never really knew what it was about. Well, volunteers offer to flood the ice daily, provide a small building for getting skates on and off, a bonfire pit, and well, an awesome winter-time activity for free! And while we love the Moffat Pond a whole lot, the Mackey Skate Park is also pretty great. Makili found this crate to push around and he was a motor, zooming around the ice so fast and falling just as awesome just for fun. It gave him a lot of confidence to push on the crate, and he was doing all sorts of crazy tricks. I couldn't believe he didn't get tired (I was tired way before he was!) Remick desperately wants to be one of the big guys, which is a really conflict for him since he can't seem to stay standing on the ice with skates on, or even shoes half the time. Anyway, I think it's pretty awesome that someone does this!

A Little Emotional

I just bought the new Wailin' Jenny's album (SO good) and am listening to it while I sort through some photos and finding myself a little choked up. You know, I am so lucky to have this guy. And I meant it when I said that some of my best things were watching him laugh and skate. He is a different person on ice skates, and while most of my winter I spend pining for Hawaii, I would be sad to not get to see him on ice as often as I do. Skating unleashes his total youthful happiness, and he is so graceful and confident and well, attractive. Watching people do something that they are good at is a gift and a unique window into their soul.

I love making valentines.

There is nothing I love more than Raph laughing and Raph skating.



I had to make a race car valentine for Makili and it was totally worth it because he has thanked me for it a half a dozen times tonight since I gave it to him. He LOVES it and I love that something as simple as a homemade valentine makes him so happy.




This little one thought that he might be nice as a decorated valentine which would explain why he is covered in marker. But like I wrote on the back of his valentine, my love for him grows every day.

Not on my A Game

I've been wrestling with a fever today and yesterday, and had to go to work at the restaurant and for CHI anyway. Yesterday before I realized I had a fever, and was just plain exhausted, I felt like a couldn't even keep up with these kids.

I mean look at this mischievous look.Raph took them last night while I was at work and bought them this hockey set, and has now transformed the living room into a hockey rink. Hockey, apparently, is not a quiet sport.
Yesterday, the boys and I had tea together. Their new found interest in drinking tea is such a delight to me. It was seriously like half an hour of calm as we enjoyed our cranberry tea together.
And then there are always craft projects. On Thurs. I needed a "mom" moment and went and got a cup of coffee with the kids. I saw a friend there and the person she was with had a huge bag of these little wooden boxes that she gotten for next to nothing at a garage sale. She gave us a handful, so the kids have been having a fun time decorating them.

Not Fwing Yet.

When you have a room that looks like this:
You have a teenager in the house. We have a Polish exchange student, Asia, living in our house for a little while. Good thing we made the house bigger, huh? She has been a pretty good sport about the lack of doors and chilly morning temps.

Makili woke up yesterday and said, "Is it fwing (spring) now?" Apparently since he didn't see any snow on the trees he thought we were in the clear. Oh how I wish it were true! Instead we've engaged in other things: craft time, experimenting with the shower, making funny faces, wearing Asia's "fancy boots" (it cracks me up when Makili comes whining to me saying "I want fancy boots!") and making forts. In the meantime, I am busy ordering seeds and dreaming of spring, and very busy with the exchange student business!

I'm really trying to have a good attitude.

I mean it. I really am trying. I try to have fun skating, sledding, and the like. But ANOTHER 18 inches? You have to be kidding me. I'm seriously going to lose me mind.

Moffat Pond Fun

One of the families that hosts exchange students through me has a pond and we have been working to see that enough people are skating on it to make shoveling all these huge piles of snow off of it! They are so generous to allow us to spend time there, and it is so perfect for the kids because it has skating, lights, bonfire, sledding, and a bathroom! We're pretty lucky. We had such a fun weekend with teenagers, tweens, and toddlers! This is what living in Maine is all about! It was pleasantly warm this weekend, which helped.

A little bit of Liam and a new phase

We spent a short window of time with Raph's cousin, Christian, and his wife Mags this weekend. Makili loved spending time with 6 year old Liam, their son. The two of them latched right onto Makili's new favorite toy - legos! And he built his current favorite thing - airplanes (Lightning is still very popular around here, but once in a while we get a little break). It was fun to watch them build together and fly their airplanes around the room. And Liam, the Florida beach boy, seemed to enjoy the snow and sledding too. He had us in stitches at time with some of the funny stuff he said, like when he told us about his girlfriend, Megan, who he described as "fun-size."