Things I Learned...in Maine

We had yet another fabulous trip to Maine.  It is fast becoming one of my favorite places in the world.  Stunning beaches, quaint towns, tasty lobster, friendly people...  It has it all, and it's less than two hours from home!  The weather was hot hot hot, but if it's gonna be sweltering, the beach is a pretty great place to be.  The boys are also getting to be much lower-maintenance.  With every trip, it gets easier.  

Here are just a few things I learned this time around...

1.  Bring good shoes.  I forgot how much walking there is, and I did all of it in flip-flops.  My shins were not happy.  

2.  The ocean is cold off the coast of Maine.  The air may have been really hot, but the water was bone-numbing cold.  I always seem to forget that too.  It didn't stop the boys from jumping right in and having a blast, though.

3.  My favorite flavor of ice cream is called Maine Black Bear.  I have tried ice cream/gelato in many different places around the world, and I've tried just about all the flavors.  It's official - this one is my fave.  (Raspberry ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate truffles - soooooo good.)

4.  I will never be able to afford one of those beachfront houses.  But it's fun to dream.  

5.  Breathing in salt air, listening to the waves, watching the kids squeal and laugh in the water...the beach is good for my soul.

6.  If you're walking around in a bikini, don't steal glances at your reflection in the window.  Just own it.  

7.  You don't have to travel far to take a vacation that feels very far from the routine of your home life.

8.  Coming home a day earlier than everyone else means that there is less traffic and that you have a day at home to get settled again before having to jump back into that routine.  

9.  Whoopee cushions are never not funny.

My travel companions, enjoying the view.

The boys got to see what a sparkler is.

Just a short walk to the ocean walk to see a great fireworks display.  Another first for the boys.

Starting Summer in Maine

I love the beach.  I always have.  Before kids, I loved it for the magnificence of the ocean, the peacefulness of the waves, the warmth of the sun, and the feel of the sand between my toes.  I still love it for these things, but now I mostly love it for the joy I see in my kids when they are there.  The little guy promptly creates a hole in which to sit and dig.  The big guy wants to chase the waves along the water's edge, over and over and over again, squealing happy squeals. 

We took a quick trip to Maine this weekend.  We visited a picturesque Maine town and a beach that a friend aptly described as "a kid's paradise".  My big boy was pretty upset that we had to come home.  He said to me later that afternoon, "Mom, I like everything about Maine."  I do too.  We are already planning our next trip up there. 

The rest of our weekend was filled with wonderful start-of-summer activities - riding bikes, blowing bubbles, eating outside, and running through the sprinkler.  Summer has officially begun. 

What's Going On...

I love that we live near the coast.  I really don't think I could ever live too far away from the ocean.  To be honest, we don't go very often, but I like knowing it's there, and we do make it to the beach at least a few times during the summer.  In fact, we've spent the last two weekends on the beach.  The first was a beautiful weekend with friends on Cape Cod, and this past weekend we were in Maine.  

We have visited the same town in Maine every summer for five years now, and I think it is a pretty solid family tradition at this point.  It's a perfect long weekend trip (actually we could easily spend an entire summer here!) - not too far away, great hotel with indoor and outdoor pools, walking distance to everything, lots of good restaurants to choose from, beautiful beaches, harbors, shops, etc.  It's great.  

What else is going on?  Well, my job search continues.  The boys started camp last week, and it was perfect timing, since I had interviews every day!  I have two good possibilities at this point, and I'm encouraged by the fact that I've made progress so quickly.  Both jobs have pros and cons, of course, and although I've been trying to soak in the family vacation moments, I must confess that I find myself thinking about my future employment pretty much all the time.  In addition to thinking about what our new schedule will look like, I've been contemplating after-school care for the boys and managing their activities.  It's intimidating to say the least.  Overall, though, I feel optimistic and positive about the whole venture.  

When I'm not interviewing or job searching or emailing contacts, I'm exercising and tackling house cleaning/organizing tasks.  Today I started cleaning out the fridge.  Ick.  But oh it will feel so good when I'm done.  I want to be as organized as possible when my return to work begins.  I also want to appreciate my last weeks at home.  I'm thinking I need to do something a bit decadent next week...   

As I was taking pictures of the boys running into the (very cold!) ocean in Maine, I realized that I always take the same picture.  Every year, the same beach.  It is already fun to look back and see the boys growing.  My, how the time flies...

Spring Life...

Our house is completely surrounded by beautiful, colorful groups of tulips, and they make me smile every time I pull into the driveway. Many of the bulbs were souvenirs from last summer's visit to Amsterdam - what a lovely memento! We don't get to experience the awesomeness of tulip season in The Netherlands, but I'm so happy we brought some of that awesomeness home with us. 

Work has calmed down for a while now, and I've had a really nice opportunity to catch up on all sorts of items on my personal to-do list. It's good to feel in control. I found out I will be staffed at the same client through the end of the year, and I'm happy - with the client, the commute, the stability...all good things. 

We have more little house projects underway, as always. I laugh every time my husband talks about the day the house is "done". What does done mean? There will always be something - such is the life of a house owner, especially when that house is old! 

Spring has not only brought flowers, but also the start of soccer and baseball seasons. My boys are so excited and happy to be members of a team, to be learning and practicing, and to be having fun. And I am so happy to watch them! I never had the opportunity to be a part of a team as a kid, and I do think it's such a wonderful way to learn how to win and lose, grow in different areas of life, celebrate sportsmanship, and most importantly, make friends. 

Next year Aaron will be playing his games in the Little League fields behind our house - not only will it be convenient, but it will be so much fun. The other night, they wandered over to hang out with friends who were watching siblings play, and as I looked around at the group of parents and neighbors and kids, I felt really grateful for where we live. It's a community in the best sense of the word.  

The summer is mostly planned, although there are a few open weekends left. For one of our big trips, we'll be spending a week on Cape Cod this year instead of visiting our beloved Maine. I will miss Maine, and the pool, but maybe the water will be just a tad warmer? We'll also spend another week at Lake Ontario with family - my sister and her family will be with us for two weeks. It's going to be busy and fabulous and it's going to go by way too fast. They always do. 

But before I start to lament the briefness of Summer, let me first savor each beautiful second of Spring! 

2011 Recap

First, let me just say that I am generally not a fan of really long blog posts.  That said, sometimes I just can't help myself.  I thought I'd do a little summary of 2011, so I started looking through my blog.  Then I got a bit carried away.  Then I decided to include a picture for every month.  And that is how a really long post happens.

Here's a little month-by-month view of some of my 2011 highlights.  This was really fun to do, and I love that my blog helps me remember so many of the good things in my life.

January - We played in the snow, saw a crazy movie, and visited friends.

February - More playing in the snow, more movies, and a Civil Wars concert.

March - I cleaned up my blog reader, had an amazing spa weekend with one of my best girlfriends (we need to plan one for this year!), I turned 37, and we visited my family in North Carolina.

April - I hated Spring (April sucks in New England) and made peace with Spring. 

May - I started to learn to use my camera (and haven't made much progress since!), made a list of fun things to do over the summer, saw Joy Kills Sorrow in concert, and spent an awesome weekend in Maine.

June - We played in the rain, and we visited my family cottages on Lake Ontario.

July - My baby turned 2, good friends came to visit, I made lots of popsicles and ran through sprinklers, went to Walden Pond and walked through a wildlife sanctuary, and took a trip to my university town.  (July was a good month!)

August - We went to the farm, and vacationed in Italy!  Florence, San Gimignano, our villa with an awesome pool, a bonus stay in Paris...

September - We gave Summer its last hurray in Maine, learned more about Pearl Jam, and went on several dates.

October - We visited friends and the Bronx Zoo, saw Crooked Still in concert, picked apples, had fun at the Head of the Charles, dressed up for a costume ball, and went trick-or-treating with the cutest superheroes ever.

November - We spent a nice day in Cambridge and the Museum of Natural History, saw The Wooden Sky in concert, and went to Connecticut for Thanksgiving.

December - We made crafts, watched movies, celebrated my big boy's 5th birthday, baked cookies, went to the Boston Pops, welcomed family, played games, went out to lunch, did some shopping, and tasted delicious chocolate fondue on New Year's Eve.

I also discovered a lot of great music, saw some good movies, and read some memorable books.

Good-bye 2011!

Ecofriendly Doormats

The ropes used by Maine lobstermen were trapping whales, so they've been banned.  But!  They are putting the old ropes to good use by making these durable and super-cute doormats.  Good for the environment, good for the whales, good for the lobstermen.  I love the colors.  Another reason to wish I had a beach house.

Found at Daytrip Society.

Weekend Recap


Ah, September.  How I do adore September.  The beginning of warm days and cool nights, crisp air and clear blue skies.  We decided to celebrate the beginning of this glorious month by heading back up to Maine for a couple days.  Yes, I know we just got home from a big trip, and we were all still very tired, but it was still very worth doing.  Nothing compares to the joy I see on my boys' faces when they are playing at the beach. 

I was so grateful for that extra day this weekend.  We came home on Sunday, which allowed us to have a full day of being at home.  No plans, except several more loads of laundry.  We all needed it, and we all appreciated being able to hang out.  The boys rode their bikes, played with bubbles, threw frisbees....they just played.  I played with them, and I also continued to put our house back in order.  Suitcases away for a while. 

Now that we're home, my mind has shifted its focus towards the upcoming fall and winter seasons.  I am deciding on Halloween costumes, thinking about holiday plans, and looking forward to a homemade apple pie sometime very soon. 

Cape Cod

This picture seemed so beautiful and calm to me until I learned that they tagged a 13-foot great white shark off this very coast a few days ago. Yikes!

We hadn't been to Chatham in many years, opting for long weekends in Maine instead. It wasn't technically a full vacation for me, since I was working several of the days; but we had wonderful family time on the Cape last week. My sister-in-law found us an amazing house, just a block from the ocean and big enough for all of us with plenty of room to spare. It gave us so much flexibility, to be able to walk down to the beach for a while, walk back for lunch, bring my 18-month old niece back for her nap, etc. It was wonderful.

The weather was iffy overall, but we managed beautifully. In addition to beach time, we watched Star Wars IV, played lots of corn hole and badminton and other yard games, went out for ice cream, visited batting cages, rode bumper boats and go-carts, attended a Cape League baseball game, and went to an inflatable water slide park. Oh, and the adults played cards most evenings after the kids went to bed. Why is it that we only play cards when on vacation? 

It was a beautiful week. I'm happy we were able to be together as a family, that we got to celebrate Nathan's 6th birthday in such a fabulous place, that we got to enjoy so much great ice cream, and that we got to share more of the Cape with the boys. Time at the beach is a summertime must.

Newport and the Month of Fun...

Entering July, we realized we had really fun plans for every single weekend, so we entitled it the "Month of Fun".  And it was!  We had a wonderful week at the lake, a visit to the Cape, a fun weekend in Maine with family, and we capped it all off with a weekend in Newport!  Whew - that's a lot of driving! 

Newport was a lot of fun.  I have to remind myself that my boys are 5 and 7 - not quite old enough to want to sit still for long periods of time to listen to music.  I came prepared with lots of diversions, but we also spent a lot of time in the family tent, which is thoughtfully full of crafts and snacks and even included a couple sets of corn hole.  We played games and did crafts while still getting to enjoy fabulous music on the main stage.  I did also make it to one of the smaller stages to see The Oh Hellos, which was my favorite show of the day.  Aaron stayed with me and agreed they were a ton of fun.  All in all, despite a few sprinkles in the middle of the afternoon, it was a beautiful day full of beautiful music.  

If you like that sort of thing, you could listen to a few of the shows we saw.  NPR has several of the main stage concerts online, including Nickel Creek, Aoife O'Donovan, and Shovels & Rope.  They were all really good.

So our month of fun is over, and we haven't even gone on our big trip yet!  Only 12 days until Spain and Amsterdam!  Wow I'm spoiled.  

A Few Thoughts...

Just a few updates and things that are on my mind...

*We had a fabulous weekend in Maine.  A long, full day at the beach on Saturday, with nothing but sunshine.  And then a cloudy and cool Sunday, which was just as awesome.  We went out to eat, took a long walk along the water, swam in the indoor pool, and generally played together.  All good stuff.

*I miss blogging.  I've been pretty disconnected from the blog world lately, and I miss it.  I miss the process of organizing my thoughts and then coming up with a way of presenting them here.  I also miss keeping up with my reader and connecting with my blog friends.  I'll get back into a rhythm soon, I hope.

*The house is still a mess.  Frustration and stress are still running high, I'm afraid.  In an effort to focus on the positives, I started doing some cleaning and organizing today in the spaces where that's possible. Oh, how I do love my pantry!  

*Aaron's second week of kindergarten is underway.  He is still getting used to things, but he's having fun and meeting friends.  Nathan starts his new school next week, so we'll have more transitioning to do. 

*Did I mention that our little garden finally started producing?  We wrapped it with netting to keep out the pesky deer and managed to save the tomatoes.  We have been getting about a pint or two every day for the last month!  Really fun.  I only got one zucchini, about five puny little peppers, and one butternut squash that I keep hoping will get bigger, but those tomatoes did great.  We'll see how we can do next year.

*I have the most amazing little boys.  They can drive me absolutely mad; but even at those times, I am still able to recognize how awesome they are.  Gorgeous, fabulous boys.  

*I have been so focused on the house that I haven't been able to prepare for the upcoming season.  Fall!  Oh how I adore Fall.  We booked tickets to go to San Francisco to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, but we don't have dinner reservations or baseball tickets yet.  Our good friends are supposed to be coming to visit next month, but we haven't confirmed a weekend.  I also just realized that Aaron's passport expires in November, so if we want to go to Barcelona for New Year's (which we do!), then we will have to take care of that.  There is so much to do!  Life is beautiful and good.

Beautiful, even on a cloudy day

Summer Fun List - 2013

I'm sure it will end up looking similar to last year's list, but it's always such a fun exercise.  I am feeling the need to document it and display it somewhere in the house, but we'll see if I can make that happen.  Checking items off lists is so satisfying, especially when it's a list like this!

• Have a picnic
• Swim in Walden Pond
• Meet new friends at camp
• Pick-an-animal day (learn all we can about it, paint pictures)
• Go berry picking
• Try a new flavor of homemade popsicles (thinking fudgesicles)
• Go on a scavenger hunt
• Start a new chapter book that both boys will enjoy
• Create big canvas paintings
• Write letters/postcards to send to family
• Backyard campout
• Hug cousins
• Throw rocks into the river
• Have an awesome birthday party for Nathan
• Go to Lake Ontario
• See a movie in the theater (Monsters University)
• Play on the beach (Maine)
• Watch a sunset
• Hunt for frogs and turtles at the wildlife sanctuary
• Pick veggies from the garden
• Dance at the Newport Folk Festival
• Look for shooting stars and fireflies
• Try something new from the farmer's market
• Make s'mores around a bonfire
• Learn some spanish words from cousin Zach
• Make watermelon-lemonade

Little Things and the Week Ahead

We had such a wonderful day celebrating our little man.  It was threatening to rain, so I was nervous and contingency planning.  Thankfully, we didn't have to break out the "Pin the tail on Bullseye" inside the house, as the rain mostly stayed away.  It was muggy and very hot, but I'll take it!  The boys had a blast, and I did too.  

an adorable gaggle of boys

The last couple days have been cloudy, with on and off showers and storms rolling through.  So instead of venturing out to a local swimming pond, the boys and I have spent quality time at home.  It's been surprisingly okay.  So far, I've heard very little of the dreaded "I'm bored".  I know it has only been a week since school let out, but still...I feel like my boys are figuring out how to entertain themselves more, and we are all getting along pretty well.  We are plowing through our Summer Fun List pretty quickly - I think we need to slow down!

I've been able to take note of lots of the little things, such as:

• playing catch in the yard
• picking our first cucumber and cherry tomatoes
• riding bikes up to the library
• the resulting silence in the house after we return home with a stack of books
• the smell of banana-zucchini bread filling the house as I attempt to use up all our perishables before our trip
• allowing the boys to sleep later and later (today was 8:30!) as I enjoy a bit of quiet in the morning
• watching the boys create works of art
• learning new things as we take on 'pick-an-animal day' (today was sea turtles)
• walking through the grass barefoot

Tomorrow, we are off to the beach!  We are headed back to our favorite little town in Maine.  (Although I should admit that we have not explored enough of that beautiful state.  Need to see more.  What we've seen is so beautiful!)  We will be there through Saturday for our first taste of the ocean of the summer.  All I want to do is dig my toes into the sand and listen to the waves.  Ah....I can't wait!

Settling Down...

joy williams, photo credit: allister ann

Since coming back from vacation, I've found it very difficult to get back into our normal routine.  I guess the routine sorts itself out, but personally I haven't felt settled.  Our vacation was less relaxation and more adventure, the travel itself was exhausting, and because we were delayed coming home, we had to jump head first back into work/school without any time for reentry.  The next weekend was a quick and fun trip to Maine, but it again thwarted real time to decompress.  Only now, a week and a half later, am I starting to feel the pieces come back together.  We're not quite there yet, though.  I still have piles of stuff throughout the house that need to be sorted, and my mind seems to be churning too fast to be still.

I've also been getting sucked into the vast internet black hole.  I love my blog, and pinterest, and facebook, but it can be a bit too consuming at times.  I have to remind myself to limit my online time and make sure I'm using it in a fulfilling way.  There is lots of inspiration out here in the blogosphere, so I don't mind spending time reading here, but again, it needs to be limited.  After this post back in the Spring, I did a "reader cleanup", and the result was wonderful.  The number of blogs started creeping back up, so I just went out and cleaned it up again - perhaps it's one of those things I'll need to do a couple times a year.  Now, what I find in my reader is beautiful - inspiring, entertaining, full of content, like-minded people...  

Good reminders...via Dear Inspiration

Thankfully, the weekend was a quiet one.  Just me and my boys, at home.  We did venture out - to a town festival on Saturday and apple-picking at the farm down the road on Sunday.  But those are small events, easy enough to leave the mind uncluttered with planning and preparing.  Otherwise, we just hung out and played.  The usual bubbles, bikes, and balls.  The weather was typical September gorgeousness - clear blue skies, warm in the sun, cool in the shade.  Perfection.  I felt us all soak in the quiet, the routine, even the sleep; and as a result, we were all in the most pleasant moods.   Let's hope we can all carry them into the coming week.

photo by Sarah Maingot, via 

A Little Art...

My husband and I typically don't exchange Christmas presents, but for some reason we felt compelled to this year.  Perhaps because we both knew something that the other wanted.  I knew he wanted an iPad, and I was happy to oblige.  It'll be great for the family to have.  But I also wanted to get him something he wouldn't be expecting.

Paul Ferney is an artist currently based in Paris, although his home is San Francisco.  You may know him as the husband of Jordan Ferney (Oh Happy Day) or the brother-in-law of Gabrielle Blair (Design Mom).  I like his style, and I was intrigued when I saw that he was starting to do commission paintings.  I originally thought that a painting would be a nice anniversary present - we'll be celebrating 10 years in September - but Paul plans the commission project around the holidays.  And no way could I hold on to it for nine months!  So Kevin got an extra present under the tree, and really it's a present for me too.

It was so hard to choose a picture, but I love this one of the boys.  I love the water, I love both of them walking forward together, and I love that it reminds me of a happy trip to Maine.  It now sits on our mantle, at least until we decide to move it elsewhere.

Isn't it sweet?  Looking at it makes me smile.