I want to be a better, more active part of this community. I started with a little bloggy facelift (nothing ground-breaking, so don't feel like those of you reading in a feed need to click over!) I intend to comment more and post more often. Lofty. Plus, things are about to get a little more interesting. bah bah bhum...that should keep you coming back.

I'm not finished tweaking here...l'll take into account some of C's opinions too. For one, I'm not sure I want a blog roll, since I have them all in Reader. And, from here on, we will sign our entries, as our colors didn't all transfer with us, depending on the template I picked.

All aboard!

Oh yeah. What brought on this sudden burst of energy and committment? The beginning of summer and the last day of school! YAHOO.

The seasons a-changing

I'm counting on the solstice to turn some things around for us over here in cute baby town.

Spring was tough. I usually love the season, with lilacs and birthdays and all that. I went into hibernation a bit. Too much to handle with Meme's death, Auntie Rita's death, my mom's deep sadness, Ringo's death, fear of the pink slip at work, eventual involuntary transfer notice from a school I adore and the class from hell (yes, I don't blog much about work, but it was BY FAR the most challenging (aka pain-in-the-ass) group I have taught in 11 years.) Between weddings and funerals, we have had no time at home to just be outside in the garden. And the rain, the fucking rain.

Summer is coming. 1/2 day of school left. I am teaching summer school but it is a much lighter load of children and classes meet only 3 hours/day 4 days/week. We have things to look forward to. Theo's FIRST birthday. 4th of July with friends. Red Sox in Camden Yards with cousin Jackson. A week on the beach. Time to garden. Teeth coming, more words, more laughing. Time together.

And a big one...continued ttc. I'm not sure how to talk about this one. We have some IRL readers these days. C. may not be ready to share this info. I'll follow her lead I guess. We would really miss out on the camaraderie and support of this community though, especially when we need it the most. Perhaps a move to Wordpress where we can password protect? Has that been good for people? I've never been into total anonymity, but I don't want to let it hang out there either.

It's good to be back. Hope you're still there.

Well...yes, yes, here come the excuses. It's the end of the school year (teachers should know this excuse is sufficient enough!). We've been busy traveling--a wedding last weekend, another funeral the week before, believe it or not (S.'s grandmother's sister). It's just been---crazy. Guess what we get to do this weekend? N-O-T-H-I-N-G. And we will love every second of it. We have "plans" already (apparantly we cannot sit still) -- working in the yard will be a MUST this weekend. That lawn won't mow itself. Although the weather in New England has been less than inspiring to get out in the yard and work this week, we did manage to pick some radishes and lettuce from our garden, which is a tease for all the other bounty to come. If only the sun would come out, maybe the other veggies could actually GROW!

I'll leave you with some beach pics of Theo--his first trip there with our friend S. down on the shore in Connecticut. It was a beautiful weekend for hanging on the beach, although the water hasn't quite warmed up yet. Theo was a fan, but not so much of his sunhat. That fair-haired boy will need one stitched onto his head this summer or have his hair doused in sunscreen.

Sand in the mouth? It doesn't taste so bad!

Mom, do I really have to wear this stupid hat?!