my cute cowgirl

I know you all have cute kids in your life but if you have a second, go here to vote for my cute kid…

(I just realized you have to sign-in to vote. How annoying…)

weekend update

It’s hard to believe we have been living in St. Louis with my parents for 5 months. So many things have happened in that time and yet it feels like just yesterday we were sitting on our stoop in Brooklyn. As much as I miss the people and places of NYC, for now, being close to family surpasses all my longing. To see my parents enjoying my children on a daily basis is priceless.

Celebrating Halloween in the suburbs had its high points (thank you Ken and Megan!). Both Sophia and Ira could not believe people were willing to just hand them candy. In Brooklyn, we didn’t really trick or treat. We just let the kids hand out candy from the stoop. So, on our way out on Saturday, Sophia grabbed a bag of Snickers and said, “I’m going to sell these.” That was her way of saying she was going to hand the candy out. She had no idea what she was in for. And Ira LOVED the St. Louis tradition of telling a joke before you get handed the candy. I gotta say, I REALLY missed this tradition. Seriously. I could never get over kids getting something for nothing. Ira’s joke?

“Why the chicken cross the river?”

“Because for to get the other siiiiide.”

Duh. Yes, he made this up.

Other weekend highlights – my dad celebrated his 66th birthday. Following tradition, Sophia insisted on decorating with balloons. It is not a birthday without them. On Friday, Sophia did not have school so I took the kids up to visit Joe’s class. I can not tell you how impressed I was. We walked in and every kid was in his/her seat and on task. The room was quiet and yet there was a sense of pride on every face. They had so much fun asking Sophia and Ira any question they wanted about Mr. Hays.

We spent Saturday morning raking leaves. It was a gorgeous morning, especially after a week (or month, really) of rainy days. Joe commented that this was his first time to rake leaves. I was shocked. I have many fun memories of spending autumn days in the yard with my family raking leaves. Or maybe that was just my parents raking and my brothers and I goofing off. Not sure about that:)

Thanksgiving, here we come!

Ira and “his girl”

I don’t really have anything new and exciting to post. I just needed to post this picture.

My one piece of news is that after 34 years I finally know what is my favorite color. I know, this sounds a bit ridiculous. But it is true. This question has always bugged me as I’ve never felt particularly drawn to one special color. I would always say blue but somewhere in my heart I knew that wasn’t quite it.

The other day I was wearing a new sweatshirt that Joe and I bought (apparently to share) from Ira’s school last year. And it hit me. I LOVE this sweatshirt. And I LOVE it primarily because I LOVE the color. And that color???? Navy. Yep. My favorite color is navy blue.

fall is here

Wow. I haven’t blogged for 20 days. Where does the time go?

This week I got to fly with Opal to Kansas City to spend 2 days with my 3 best friends from college. It was just what the doctor ordered. Or would have ordered had I been to see her. We sat around in our pajamas and talked non-stop. We laughed, ate, cried, burped, farted (or tooted if you live under our roof), walked, talked, ate, dyed our hair (oh wait, that was just me), dreamed, and ate some more. I came back feeling rejuvenated as mom and wife. I am so thankful for those friendships.

I have spent much of the last two weeks taking Ira to appointments. As his teachers and therapists will say, Ira is a mystery. There are things he can do and things he can’t do that don’t seem consistent. I am taking him to a specialized optometrist tomorrow. He also failed an extensive hearing test because he has fluid behind both ears. He is on an antibiotic for that and have an appointment scheduled to see the ENT doctor in a couple weeks. We also spent a couple days at a feeding clinic here in St. Louis. Their approach is quite different from what we experienced in New Jersey. Their hope is to put the power of eating and experiencing food in Ira’s hands. Ira’s school really wants him to receive their services so we will begin going there once a week in November.

I am working on beginning my music classes again. My friend has volunteered her home one day a week. We will see what kind of response that brings. I’m excited to begin those again. The trees here are gorgeous. We never got the colors in Brooklyn that I see out my window today. So lovely. I love this time of year.

vote for Joe

A friend has nominated Joe to receive a $100 gift card from Office Max and their “A Day Made Better” giveaway. If you would like to vote for him, go here and leave a comment. He deserves to win!

(If you don’t wish to vote for him, just think about all the food I could buy with the money he is NOT spending on paper.

the latest

I thought I would share a little bit about how the Hays family is doing. We are good. This weekend, although Joe worked both Saturday and Sunday, it felt like we had a little bit of him back. The time he did spend with the family was time he was able to be here both physically AND mentally. That felt good. He is working so hard both because it is his first year and because he doesn’t know how to do a job half-way. We are so proud of him.

Because Joe is working so much, however, I am very thankful to be living with my parents. Although you will find me driving around the neighborhood on Sunday afternoons looking for Open Houses, we are not really in the market to buy a home. Not yet. Not until things slow down just a bit for Joe or I grow an extra arm.

Truth be told, I like living my parents. I love watching them enjoy the older two and seeing them drool over Opal. I like sharing meals with them and hearing about their days. It’s nice to have some adult conversation available if I want it. I have a new appreciation for cultures where generations of family live under the same roof – often for survival. My parents are helping me to survive this present time.

As for the kids, Sophia is truly enjoying first grade. She went into the school year timid about learning to read but her skills are taking off. She is making new friends and is excited to go in the mornings. She still likes to play “teacher” with anyone who is willing and cracks me up with the outfits she finds to wear. The other day she came home from school and immediately changed her clothes. I found her in the backyard like this:

Ira also loves his time in the “frog room”. Every now and then we will be going somewhere when I’ll hear another child yelling “Ira!” and realize it is one of his classmates. Who doesn’t love that kid? He is a lover of all animals and the other day I caught him observing a praying mantis. Yikes. He is still receiving Speech, OT, and PT and we have made no headway in the eating department. He has one favorite food and that is strawberry yogurt. Everything else is disgusting. Yes, even chocolate ice cream

Opal had her two month check-up today. She is in the 99% for weight and 75% for height. She came out of the womb with the skills…she will probably have to teach her brother one day. She is smiling and cooing and just plain being her cute self.

We have joined a church – Union Avenue Christian Church – and are looking forward to getting involved by teaching the children’s class. I have joined the choir and sang for the second time with them yesterday. They were so welcoming to us that we could not NOT join. Suzanne, the pastor, has been nothing but a blessing to our lives the past 3 months.

I am feeling much better. I’m still taking medication and feel like it is helping me stay on top of my life. I’m able to feel joy and find myself smiling more than I have in a while. I’m enjoying my kids, my parents, my life. I’m thankful for this. With October around the corner, I find myself feeling nostalgic for Brooklyn. This is my favorite time of year and Halloween was my favorite holiday there. I will miss hangin’ out on the stoop with good friends and neighbors. I’m eager to discover what will become my favorite part of living in St. Louis.

Shhhh!

Nobody tell my dad I’m wearing a headband.

Nobody tell my mom I’m napping with Dad and not in my bed.

Nobody tell our neighbors that we actually CAN get along sometimes.

If only…

I got a pay check for…

changing diapers
and
changing minds

washing clothes
and
rinsing hair

scrubbing toilets
and
sweeping floors

reading books
and
cutting coupons

playing games
and
pureeing dinner

dropping off
and
picking up

taking time
and
tucking in

nursing wounds
and
nursing babe

giving smiles
and
granting wishes

instilling confidence
and
inviting hope

loving always
and
always loving

…then I could stop feeling so guilty. Can I get an AMEN?

pink dress

Sophia wore this pink dress for her first Easter. Yesterday I busted it out for Opal. Do you see any resemblance?

Sophia 2003

Opal 2009

snippets

Opal is growing and changing too quickly. Somebody please tell her to slow down. At 6 weeks she was over 12 lbs.

Joe finally has a decent number of kids in his classroom – 23. He is in a much better state of mind and so are we.

I was pretending with Ira yesterday to be checking out at the grocery store. He was the cashier. He handed me my produce and said, “Enjoy.”

Sophia asked me on the way to school the other day if she could go to second grade at that school too.

Opal has started smiling and cooing just a little. It just doesn’t get any cuter.

Ira came home today from school with 2 Mickey Mouse stickers on his shirt. When asked why he had those stickers he said, “Because I got them for good listening.”

Sophia asked me if she could have a sleep-over with Roan when we visit Brooklyn. I said yes assuming she isn’t a teenager by then.

Ira told me today that he wanted to go to feeding school. What?!?!? I asked him if he wanted to learn how to chew. He said no.

One of my favorite times of the day is after Opal’s morning meal – between 5 and 6am – I leave her in the bed with me until I get up. I love to lay next to her and watch her sleep.

Joe is excited about teaching. I love to see his enthusiasm. I am so proud of him.

But he is working a lot and so for now, I’m glad we are living with my parents. Hopefully they feel the same