I've been sitting tapping my fingernail on the counter the last couple minutes trying to decide exactly what to write. It's been a few weeks and I'm not sure how to cram everything in to one entry. And, I'm tired. The boys are down for their naps and the house in nice and quiet, other than Pandora playing on my computer and the ingracious squeak of the dryer in the background. I'm still not sure what all to write even as I write. I'm feeling snacky, but there's nothing snack worthy in this house.
I took the kids to the park down the way here to hang out with my new wonderful friend, Joia, and her kids. Elijah and Keenan, Joia's son, get along.....sort of. They are quite the dynamic duo together. Joshua often reassures me that 3 year old boys bickering and punching and pushing and shoving and shouting and hitting and stealing and screaming is a perfectly normal and even necessary thing in a friendship that young.... They are a hoot to watch. Joia and I often discuss how sometimes we feel the same way as they in certain situations, we just deal with our frustrations very differently. Thats where our job as mother's comes in. We pull them away from each other often, but when they are having fun, they really have fun. Watching them when they get at each other reminds me of the book "Lord of the Flies". They seem to have no reasonable control over their emotions or their actions when they get frustrated with the other doing something they don't like. I don't want to imagine what their behavior would evolve in to if we didn't intervene for them. Every now and then I will see one of them ball up their fist and wind up for a punch and then double think it and cancel the plan. That is a highly rewarding moment as a mother - to watch your child choose the right thing. All that hard work is worth it when your child CHOOSES for them self to NOT punch their best friend in the eye! Joia and I, I have found, are like minded any many ways, and parenting is one of those ways. Keenan and Elijah, I have found, are much a like in MANY ways. They are sensitive, loving toward their siblings, territorial, strong headed, and are both ultimately ALL boy! Moriah is Joia's 18 month old beautiful daughter. She adores Judah and Judah stares at her like she's the last blond toddler on earth. We are both excited to see how their friendship grows as they grow in to realizing they have a friendship. Judah squeezes Moriah's hand harder than I'm sure she likes if she holds his hand, and Moriah poked Judah in the eye a few nights ago when we had the Dooley's over to eat. Today at the beach they sat in Adirondack chairs side by side and watched the water lapping up on the shore as their pacifiers drooped in their mouths with the occasional sucking every now and then just for reassurance. We tried in vein to get both to smile without their pacifiers and look at Joia's camera at the same time. I'm not sure we succeeded. I haul my camera around most the time and don't use it and when I don't take it the perfect picture opportunity inevitably arises.
These past couple weeks have been filled with shopping trips taking care of the last little odds and ends that have to be purchased when trying to fit in to a new house with different rooms, different storage and different....everything. I just finished a face-lift on the kitchen and it feels so much better in their! The longer we live in this house the more I love it! We've been having a blast in our backyard in the evenings! I found a blow up pool at Walmart a few weeks back and Elijah spends MUCH of his time out back bouncing around in it. He's content in their by himself for sometimes more than an hour at a time. I've found that moving in to a new house and having this canvas to paint and decorate has been such a breath of fresh air. I just have to remember how it feels and keep project ideas for myself to do when the house is all put together and I run out of constructive, creative things to occupy my time.
Joshua came home from his first day of residency yesterday and nothing really felt different. He got home at 4:30, we sat down to dinner at hour later and went for a walk around a park close by while Elijah rode his bike in front of us. It's hard to believe he's a real live doctor now seeing his own patients - no more being a student. He's going to be a wonderful doctor.
It's been cooler here the past week or so and what a blessing that has been. It was scorching when we first got here in the middle of May and the thought of the rest of the summer continually getting hotter was a bleak view. It's been rainy, overcast and in the 80's for about a week and a half and I love it! There's been just enough sunshine to play in the water now and then if we feel like it and take walks down by the shore in the evening, but the rain is a welcome respite from the sweltering heat. I'm afraid this is a terribly boring blog. I'll be done with it now and go do some dishes.