Letters From Mommy

Calvin & Hobbes

2017-08-03T19:16:00.001-04:00

Jason,

You have read every single Calvin & Hobbes strip ever made about 83 times. Here goes 84...

2016 Interviews

2016-06-26T09:32:00.000-04:00

3rd Grade Wrap Up

2016-06-10T10:05:00.001-04:00

Jason, this was a big year for you...your last in Lower School. This poem describes you perfectly.

Kindergarten

2016-06-10T10:05:00.000-04:00

What a year you had in Kindergarten! You fell in love with teachers, friends, and learning. I had so much fun watching you create and grow.

"Once upon a time was a dog and a wolf and they played games and boxed and wrestled and played baseball and soccer and football and scratched trees."

Happy Birthday Matthew

2016-04-25T10:08:00.000-04:00

#6 Needless to say, I'm pretty impressed with my cake decorating skills right now...

Growing too fast

2016-04-23T10:16:00.000-04:00

Jason's shoes are grey. Mom's shoes are black. And they are precisely the same size.

First tooth!!

2016-01-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

My absolute least favorite part of parenting is loose teeth! Ewwww. You don't seem to mind it, and you pulled your first one out all by yourself. Thanks!

Happy Halloween

2015-11-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Seeing Harry Potter doubles

Irony

2015-10-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

That one time I wore colors and Mamo chose BLACK.

First Day

2015-09-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Happy first day of school! Kindergarten and 3rd Grade. Matthew, you were SO excited to finally join your brother on the bus!

2015 Interviews

2015-07-27T20:58:00.000-04:00

The world according to you guys, 2015 edition...

Matthew, you were in a silly mood! (And for the record, Jason has never punched you in the face. That little nod was your really bad poker face.)

Parenting Goals

2015-07-27T20:28:00.002-04:00

Parenting. Sometimes we get lost in the grades and travel teams and college admissions and homework and broccoli and teeth brushing and math proficiency and batting averages and room cleanups and chores. And we miss out on the good stuff.

This is the good stuff.

Dad is the best Dad

Mom is the best Mom

Matthew is the best brother

and Jason loves

them the most.

Life Lesson #2

2015-07-07T20:31:00.000-04:00

People who leave their weights on gym equipment are the worst.

Also, the girls are there to work out, not to be picked up ;)

25 Things About Mom

2015-07-02T22:45:00.000-04:00

Several years back, this was a thing. I posted 25 Random Things About Jason on this blog way back then, but I just came across the one I wrote about myself. It is from February 2009, so some things have changed...most notably, there was no Matthew yet!

1) Okay, I give in. I've been tagged by this too many times to continue putting it off...

2) I am a master procrastinator.

3) I love making lists and crossing things off. Often, if I accomplish something that wasn't on my list, I'll write it down and then cross it off just to get the satisfaction.

4) I almost always finish my Christmas shopping in November.

5) I almost always send out Christmas packages in January. (see #2)

6) I have two sons, Michael Patrick and Jason Henry. Michael was stillborn in 2006 and I miss him every day. Jason was born screaming his healthy lungs out in 2007. That scream was the best sound in the whole entire universe.

7) I hate it when strangers ask me how many children I have. I usually lie and feel guilty about it later.

8) I also hate it when people refer to stillbirth as "miscarriage."

9) I am not a fantastic housekeeper, but I insist on freakish order in certain places (paperwork, DVDs, books, pantry, closets)

10) I don't mind diapers, but I HATE HATE HATE cleaning sippy cups.

11) I am a fast and frequent reader.

12) When I got engaged at 20 everyone thought I was crazy.

13) I wasn't ;)

14) I once got a D- in college (Materials Science). Which is actually pretty impressive, when you consider I showed up to 3 classes (first day, midterm, final) and didn't turn in an end-of-term project.

15) I tried the "attend 3 classes" routine in Statistics and got an A-.

16) I know the names of all the "Thomas" trains.

17) I call my Mom & Daddy every day.

18) I did not watch television on a regular basis until I married my husband.

19) I have not slept more than three consecutive hours since Jason was born.

20) I used to dance and miss it terribly.

21) I hate my husband's cat.

22) I never thought of myself as very "Mommy-ish." But it turns out I am!

23) I get my hair cut about once/year.

24) I have lived in 22 different houses/apartments.

25) If I could spend the day with any two people, I would choose Jon & Jason. I guess that makes me a lucky girl!

Sleep Tight

2015-06-30T22:27:00.000-04:00

Seems my hobby is taking photos of sleeping brothers. You start on opposite sides of a king sized bed, and within a few minutes you look like this:

It's Funny Because It's True

2015-03-05T17:57:00.001-05:00

"You get a little moody sometimes but I think that's because you like to read. People that like to read are always a little fucked up."
-- Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides

Embrace the crazy, boys!

Comet Batdog

2014-07-02T14:26:00.000-04:00

A little snapshot of Comet's first 10 months!

Fish! By: Jason

2014-06-02T11:11:00.002-04:00

Jason,

A sample of your school work at the end of 1st grade. I love watching you learn and grow!

Love, Mom

Introduction: Cast, Bite, reel, a fish!

Read this Book to

Learn about Fishing!

Have you gone fishing?

I have. It is fun. You

shold read this Book!

Chapter 1 Puting on Bate

First Put bate on a hook. Cast

the line out. wait.

If youre a kid ask an adult

for help. The hook might poke you.

Its really painFull!

Chapter 2 feeling

If you feel somthing it mihgt

Be a fish. It might Be seaweed.

It looks lik the pole Bending when you

get a fish. Somtimes it is seaweed.

Mabye it's the waves.

3 reeling

When you think you find

a fish reel. See what it is. What is

it? A fish! See my

fish on my

Granddad's

Computer for the spisices.

True! Ive caught

13 spisies of fish

4 catching

If you Hav a fish Choose to eat it

or not. if you choose to eat if you

want to keep fishing you can.

If you want to stop you can to.

5 Whihging

I think you kow what im gonna say

next! whihging! if the fish is 5 lBs

you can eat all of it if its 181 lBs

it will take long to eat. Choose

4 lBs. Thats perfect! Really.

I'm seuriuos. Big groupers

are ENOURMOUS!

If you eat

181 lbs

you'd get

surgery

2014 Interviews

2014-05-29T11:01:00.005-04:00

2013 Interviews

2013-05-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

Life Lesson #1

2011-09-28T19:41:00.000-04:00

The difference between people who are late and people who are NOT late:

People who are late

1. Figure out how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B.

2. Calculate departure time using the following formula: (intended time of arrival) - (travel time) = departure time.

3. Start getting ready to leave at departure time.

4. Pull out of the driveway 15 minutes after departure time.

5. Arrive at destination 15 minutes late.

People who are not late

1. Figure out how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B.

2. Calculate departure time using the following formula: (intended time of arrival) - (travel time) = departure time.

3. Start getting ready to leave 15 minutes before departure time.

4. Pull out of the driveway at departure time.

5. Arrive at destination on time.

First 50 Words, Part 2

2011-09-10T09:39:00.000-04:00

Matthew, this news is a few weeks old now, but you are officially Talking. Capital T. I managed to keep a list of your first 50 words, which was quite a feat considering you absolutely refuse to speak on command. Even more impressively, I didn't lose the list.

Regular blog readers may remember Part 1 of this series (Jason) here. I thought you boys would have more overlaps, but even the 14 common words (starred below) differ in delivery. Kind of cool that we get to know your "ouch" pronunciations so well. Jason did this dramatic, two syllable "ow-cha" while Matthew has a soft litte, "ach." Both so sweet!

Okay, here are the first 50. At press time you've already added at least 10 more!

* 1) All Done ("Allda" complete with hand motions and an insanely cute face)

* 2) Baby

3) Strawberry

* 4) Apple

* 5) Up

* 6) Daddy

7) Tree

* 8) Truck

9) More (with respect to food..."ma ma ma MA MA!")

10) Flap (with flapping arm motions)

11) Oink (really more of a snort)

12) Tweet (in a very high pitch)

13) Duck)

* 14) Quack

15) Cheese (for cameras AND the dairy product)

16) Fishy ("ishy")

17) Wood ("oof" and so stinking cute)

18) Jason

19) Neigh

* 20) No (nanananana)

21) Nadi (this is what you call me)

22) Hat (and you pat your head)

23) Socks (you are OBSESSED with socks)

24) Eye (while poking yourself in the eye)

25) Book

26) Read (this is the best, you scoot your rear end into a lap for a story)

27) Door

* 28) Ouch ("ach")

* 29) Bubble (for carbonated water and actual bubbles)

* 30) Boom

31) Uh-oh

32) Hi

33) Bye-bye

34) Rock

35) Stuck

36) Stick (stickers)

37) Swing

38) Wee

39) Slide

40) Outside

* 41) Boo

* 42) Ball

43) Sit (pronounced, "shit," so that is lots of fun when you say it in public)

44) This

45) This one (diswaa)

46) Dino ("diiiiiie")

47) Water ("awa"

48) Flower

* 49) Noni

50) Mamo

School Days

2011-09-08T20:01:00.000-04:00

Jason,

Last year around this time, you attended your first day of school. I dropped you off and wished I could tell the teacher something--anything--to make her understand how important you are to me. To let her know that if she would only look past your unwillingness to sit in circle time, your disinterest in writing, and your propensity to jump around wildly singing Cee Lo Green songs, she would see how smart, funny, kind, sensitive, and wonderful you really are. I wanted her to preserve your innocence, to listen to your stories, to encourage your individuality, to spark in you a passion for learning. I wanted her to love you and protect you.

Fast forward to bedtime tonight, on the first day of a brand new school year with that very same teacher. You whispered, "Mommy, did you know that everyone in the whole world has different color hair, and different birthdays, and different color skin, and different Mommies, and different color houses, and different ages, and different talking...isn't that great? Mrs. G told me about that. It would be really boring if everyone was the same. And I would be very confused." And I said, "I love you, Jason." And you said, "I know that, Mommy."

Sometimes God puts the exact right person in the exact right spot to help you along life's path, and you just need to stop and appreciate it. So tonight in our prayers, we thanked Jesus for your wonderful teachers. You are so blessed!

Bye Bye Baby

2011-09-05T16:36:00.001-04:00

Matthew,

You are officially a big boy after getting your first haircut yesterday. You had these beautiful little curls and people started assuming you were a girl, so I finally broke down and got them cut off. You're welcome.

Checking out a book...everything seems okay so far...

...until the water and scissors came out.

Then you got distracted by a piece of hair in your mouth.

A little traumatized from the experience, but very handsome!!

Naked Italian Leprechauns

2011-09-02T22:00:00.002-04:00

a.k.a. Jason & Matthew