.. ..coffee. ..

I am a coffee fanatic... like to a fault, like have to cut myself off mid-day cause I could drink it all day and night. But not just any coffee, nope

Goood coffee... dark, oily, yummy, brewed correctly coffee.

Most likely this is the result of years working at a high end Coffee Roastery, Maybe it was the weekly cuppings I tried to attend, maybe it was the company meeting tasting's. Maybe it was the hours, years ago, spent in a room coffee tasting and listening to true masters of the craft talk about coffee and all it's attributes... maybe, um just maybe.

I got a Keurig for Christmas, I do use it, but nothing, and I mean nothing, can beat a french press good coffee, not even the little fancy k-cup single brew schmanzy machine.... not that I don't appreciate the Keurig... but... just sayin.

.. .max. ..

This kid cracks me up, we spend almost every minute together (right now he is at the indoor play park with Dom and Leone, I almost didn't know what to do with myself). Every morning we walk Ollie to school, Max is included every morning just like a kindergartner, he reads with the kids, sits down with them in circle time and participates in the morning calender. Then we leave and it is just me and him for a couple of hours. My mom offered to pay for pre-school for him, but I must say I am kind of hesitant. Is that selfish of me to keep him home one more year, I mean he has to go to pre-school another full year before he makes it to kindergarten. I just kind of want to keep him all to myself, well most of the time I do.

At home we read, just me and him, I think he loves the one on one time. We snuggle, we laugh, we clean, and we goof off.

I see him learning things, making patterns, grouping colors, counting, adding, and even multiplying, all on his own.

I see him playing make believe by himself, telling himself stories, occupying his time alone, his time to play with any toy he wants and he doesn't have to share. He doesn't have to share me, and I don't have to share my time either. I love it, and I don't know if I will be giving that up.

This kid cracks me up, and I love him.

...a different view....

I am not a big fan of January and February. I get sad about the lack of sun, the lack of warmth, and general darkness of my mood during these months.

but than I read this post today. It gave me kind of a new outlook, maybe I can embrace these months, without hating them so much....

...Bedtime stories and Sweets...

The boys and I love bedtime reading, it really is one of my favorite parts of the day.

After baths, brushed teeth and clean jammies, time to snuggle up and read stories. It is amazing to me to watch Oliver (and Max too) learn to read. It has switched from me reading stories at night, to them reading to me. Oliver, my sweet little man, came in the other night when I had an early bedtime (that happens about once a week, I stay up late working on burdy, and than at least one night a week I am zonked out by 7:30) and brought a story to read to me. He cuddled up next to me stroked my hair and read me a story. So sweet.

Speaking of Ollie and his sweet spirit. Last week one of his friends in school, Gisele, who is an ESL student was having a really rough week. Every morning when her Mom left she would just cry, it was so sad. We were at the grocery store and Ollie asked if we could buy gisele a gift to make her feel better, something with a princess on it, cause he knows she likes princesses they are on her lunch box.

This is not the first friend he has helped at school. Joey, one of his classmates, also has some separation issues, we talked about it at home. He also has a hand that did not fully form when he was a baby. I told him he should just befriend him and ask him about his hand, he is no different than us. The next week at school, Joey's grandma told me how Oliver had pulled her aside and asked about joey's hand, and how much Joey has talked about his friend Oliver, which is a pretty big deal since she said they have had a hard time getting him to socialize with other kids...they are cute little friends. One morning when joey was having a particularly hard time, Ollie sat down next to him, rubbed his back and told him "It is okay, your grandma will be here at the end of the day." What a sweetie.

It is awesome to watch him grow into such a caring, sensitive little man.

boys.

I found these boats at SCRAP and had to bring them home. They are super cute and I can't wait for summer to be able to actually try and sail them. The boys keep begging to take them in the bath, I think they may only be good for looking at, not sailing so I keep putting them off till summer.

I love when the boys play together, they have great imaginations. It is rare they can find an activity they both enjoy, usually it is Max trying to do whatever Ollie is doing, and Ollie getting frustrated with him. They played for quite awhile, and our kitchen had become a great ocean for the boys to explore, with a T-Rex leading the expedition of course.

Love these boys.

what I traded...

Back in November I abandoned (more like ran as fast as I could) the days of sitting in a cubicle in front of a computer.... Sometimes I admit I miss the steady paycheck, the hour long lunch breaks, and the shower every morning!

But, I think my trade is pretty sweet! One of the things we did after I quite work is cut down all our expenses, we took Max out of pre-school, which I was kind of sad about, and kind of not, I do all the same things with him at home that he did at school, and really this kid needs no socialization, He has nooooo problem being social.

What we traded was every day Max and I volunteer in Ollie's class. Max loves this, for an hour each morning he is also a kindergartner. He has his own book box and is reading.... That is right, the kid can READ and he just turned 4.

He does calender with the kids, and does the first math problem of the day. I think 5 hours a week in a classroom setting where he is challenged is a great trade for four hours a week at pre-school...

God knew what he was doing when Brian and I prayed about what to do, about work, about our family, about our decisions....and man oh man are we being taken care of.

So my days are now filled again with cooking and cleaning, and playing, and walks in the park...sometimes feeling sorry for myself, but I have done the other side, the working outside the home and trying to hold it together... I know where my place is, I know this time will fly, I know there will be plenty of work left for me in this world once my little men don't need me as much.

and I am happy being just where I am.

bloggers block... and welcome 2011

life has been busy... so busy... and for some reason my blogging ability has been all plugged up. I still read all my blogs, but when I sit down to write one for us, I blank.

Here is to 2011! a fresh start, to work off that weight that has crept on with age, to chronicle the awesomeness of the boys, to strengthen our family and our goals!

Welcome 2011!