Que Sera, Sera

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

I have been avidly watching the Olympics all week. I'm hooked. I enjoy the sports, in all their randomness. Like so many others I become an expert in badminton, rowing, beach volleyball, gymnastics and water polo every four years. But even more than the actual sports, I love the special interest stories on the athletes and their families.

I watch the moms pour their hearts out about their children. So much love. So much support. Moms who watched their children grow from precocious toddlers to world class athletes. I wonder at what point those moms and dads realized their child was so spectacularly talented?

So I watch the young men and women representing our great nation, and wonder if my child might one day fly off to the host nation to compete. Will my child stand proud on a podium receiving a medal reflecting years of hard work?




Laura is a blossoming personality. She loves to run and jump and mother her dollies. She's growing up so fast, already asking to drive. Sometimes I wonder what's in store for Laura, for Gavin, for me... But in the end, the future's not ours to see.

Que Sera, Sera.

Five

Five years ago, we said I Do. Best two words ever spoken. Happy anniversary, Nate!

Olympic Spirit

Me sometime around the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics

Do you remember your first Olympics? I was two for the 1984 Olympics, and don't remember them. But I do remember vividly the figure skating competition at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

My parents were throwing a dinner party, and shut my older brother and I in their bedroom with the TV on the stay out of trouble. With free reign of the master bedroom, we caught Olympic fever. We jumped on the bed like the figure skaters leaping across the TV screen. We invented a relay game that involved the closet and master bathroom.

I have a lot of fond memories of playing with my big brother, but that night ranks among the top. What a fun night! And I have been an Olympics fanatic ever since.

I remember balancing like a gymnast on the back of my parents couch in 1992 (without the back flips, thank you very much). I gasped in awe and wonder as Kerri Strugg vaulted, landed, and hopped to her Gold. I cried when she was carried to the podium! And who wasn't completely overwhelmed by the Beijing opening ceremonies?


Laura watching the 2010 Vancouver Opening Ceremonies

My coworkers joke that I plan my babies around the Olympics. Laura was only a week or two old for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Here I am in 2012, hosting an Opening Ceremonies party with my two-month-old swinging happily next to me.


Gavin practicing for the Equestrian events

I guess I'll have to plan my next baby to be born just in time for the 2016 games in Rio!

Olympic Spirit

Me sometime around the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics

Do you remember your first Olympics? I was two for the 1984 Olympics, and don't remember them. But I do remember vividly the figure skating competition at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

My parents were throwing a dinner party, and shut my older brother and I in their bedroom with the TV on the stay out of trouble. With free reign of the master bedroom, we caught Olympic fever. We jumped on the bed like the figure skaters leaping across the TV screen. We invented a relay game that involved the closet and master bathroom.

I have a lot of fond memories of playing with my big brother, but that night ranks among the top. What a fun night! And I have been an Olympics fanatic ever since.

I remember balancing like a gymnast on the back of my parents couch in 1992 (without the back flips, thank you very much). I gasped in awe and wonder as Kerri Strugg vaulted, landed, and hopped to her Gold. I cried when she was carried to the podium! And who wasn't completely overwhelmed by the Beijing opening ceremonies?


Laura watching the 2010 Vancouver Opening Ceremonies

My coworkers joke that I plan my babies around the Olympics. Laura was only a week or two old for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Here I am in 2012, hosting an Opening Ceremonies party with my two-month-old swinging happily next to me.


Gavin practicing for the Equestrian events

I guess I'll have to plan my next baby to be born just in time for the 2016 games in Rio!

In Small Doses

In small doses...
I can play pretend like the best of them.
I can do the same puzzle over and over.
I can dress and redress baby dolls.

In small doses...
I can make snacks and plan dinners.
I can run up and down the stairs to get to the potty on time.
I can put all the toys away.

I small doses...
I can listen to the whining.
I can answer the question "Cause why?" again and again.
I can be firm, but still elicit a smile.

But then I reach my limit. I can't play pretend, do puzzles, dress dollies. I can't feed another person, take one more fruitless trip to the potty (or clean up another accident), or put anything away. I cringe at the whining, snap at the questions, and yell without reason.

In small doses, I can be a great mom.
But the rest of the time, I'm a wreck.

The Trouble with Thumbs

The trouble with thumbs is that they just don't stick out on their own!



Get in there!

Aw man!
Gavin wants to suck his thumb so badly. He starts off innocent enough, lifting his little fist to his mouth. He sucks loudly on as much fist as he can fit in his mouth. But it's the thumb he wants! He gets more and more frustrated, often holding his fist to his mouth with his other hand. After a few minutes, he squawks in anger! Thumb!! Get in my mouth!!

It's such a funny progression to watch. Sometimes we try to help him stick his thumb in his mouth, but so far to no avail. I keep hoping both that he'll find that thumb soon... and that he'll find some other way to self soothe so we don't have to break the habit later!

But isn't he cute? Angry face and all?

Coming Home

We are back home in Maryland after a wonderful two weeks in my most cherished place: Cape Cod. As I walked into my cramped, tired home here in Maryland, I wondered about that word. Home. Am I home in Maryland, or had i just left home when I crossed the Sagamore Bridge?

Home. Where the heart is. Where family is. When I arrive on the Cape, I heave a sigh of relief. As if part of my heart stays on that sandy strip of land, and I cannot be complete until I'm back again.

And when I'm on the Cape, I truly am back with my family. All of my family. Brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, my grandmother, her brothers and sisters, cousins. My own two additions to our family. When I'm on the Cape, I am home.


Gavin with his great-grandmother

Cousins

"Garding"

Third cousins!

Clamming

Beach Babies

No Words

Full heart

The View from Here

Nothing beats my parent's pool. Except maybe powder sugar donuts. Or naps.

Happy 4th!