Dance!

Last night Tyler and I went to his school's Fall Formal.  I wore my fancy dress with high heels, and he wore his suit; we felt pretty sharp.  Our beloved, trusted neighbor came over after we put the kids to bed, to keep an eye on things.  Then we high-tailed it into the city to dance the night away at the Seaport World Trade Center.  I got to meet all the people that Tyler talks about, and connect faces to names.  But once the lights were dimmed and the music turned up, there wasn't much talking going on. Let me just say that, even though I'm a quiet person with no sense of rhythm,  I have a LOT of fun on the dance floor!  Thank you Babson for a wild night!

Belated recap!

This summer we had a few visitors.  And even though I'll admit to being stressed beyond sanity to host anyone, it means so very much to me that they spent the time and resources to travel here.

I love my grandma’s adventurous spirit, my brother’s easygoing acceptance, and my mother’s depth of love and knowledge.  I love that my children get to experience that.  

With Evan, we walked around downtown Boston, celebrated the twins' birthday, and

saw the Sand Sculpture Festival at Revere Beach.

My grandma saw the North End of Boston and the harbor.  We also picked berries at Wards Farm.

With my mom, we got to take a Duck Tour, visited another beach, and met my friend Ami at the Westwood Tot Lot.

And next month, we'll get to see all these wonderful people again for Christmas and the New Year!  

I love my family!

I sleep in a straight jacket

to keep my dreams sane.

But my thoughts allude me;

the night is Houdini,

I wake up in chains.

The warden I hired,

he’s old and he’s tired.

Says it’s long past time to go free.

I shake my head, crawl back in bed,

Unequipped to start being me.  

August

Summer is stink.
Sweat trickle, grass tickle.
Brown, naked dirt
caked on crispy, crunchy lettuce and
the crescents of my fingertips.
We pick berries and stain our clothes.
Hats and glasses, shade seeking sunbathers.
Ice clinking as we sip.

1 year!

Hazel Eyre and Ezra Oakes are a year old (plus a month now...)  We had a great party with all the friends we've met in Massachusetts.  The beauty is, we met all of them here in our complex.  So it was only fitting that we hold the party in the community room and pool.  We love where we live, and the people here.

My brother was also visiting while we held the party.  Thank you Evan, for taking the time out of your busy summer (the last before starting college!) to come from Utah to visit us and play with my kiddos.  I am so happy you were a part of this memory!

We sang:

We ate cake:  

Ezra devoured his entirely:

Hazel had no clue what to do with hers:

Lincoln was willing to help her out, of course:

And to sing at the top of his lungs for the camera:

After opening the many wonderful gifts, we packed up and headed down to the pool.  The twins had so much fun!  Thank you to all our friends who came to celebrate with us.

Background story on why I wanted a cargo bike

When my family lived in Oregon, we biked during the summer.  I toted my little brother around on something like this:

We called it the co-pilot.  On a hill, and there were many, I would bark out the command, "Pedal, Evan!  Pedal!  Go! Go!"  The bigger he got, the more I needed his help.  We biked to the beach, to get donuts, to meet his friends at playgroup.  

Fast forward 7 years, and I'm a stay-at-home mom with one outdoors-loving kiddo.  Lincoln was the type of baby who never got cold.  If he was crying, a step out on the balcony would remedy the tears.  We played in the snow and in the rain.  Going inside was a necessity because I wimped out, not him.  We got a jogging stroller when he was 6 months, and I used it to push him all around downtown Salt Lake City.  We watched the construction progressing on the new City Creek Center, strolled alongside men in suits and ties, elderly couples walking hand in hand, and college students picking up pizza on their bikes.  It was a beautiful time.  Many days, Lincoln and I would leave before lunch, and still be out on the town by the time Tyler came home from work.  He would drive his truck to our apartment, switch vehicles, and pick us up in his civic, wherever we happened to be.  There is no better way to discover a city, learn its nooks and crannies, and appreciate the local retail scene, than on foot.  

Part of me bemoaned the news that we were having twins, merely for mobility's sake.  How would I usher around three munchkins in the same low-stress, eyes-wide-open sort of way that Lincoln and I had become accustomed to?  How would I go anywhere stress-free, for that matter?

The first year has been tough in that respect.  Tending two babies at once, especially if you breastfeed them both, requires being in a relatively safe and private space every few hours.  This past week I have officially weened the last of my kids.  Hazel is drinking rice and almond milk full time, and I haven't had to unbutton or pull up my shirt once!  It's always sad to say goodbye to a phase that we'll never enjoy together again, but I'm looking on the bright side and taking advantage of our newly found freedom.

In the form of... a very big, very heavy, very awesome cargo bike.  

Say what?  Looks crazy, sounds crazy, I know.  About a month ago, Liz sent me an article about a woman named Emily Finch in Portland, Oregon who is redefining "possible."  She bikes with six kids in the city.  

I laughed and got teary-eyed when I read it.  Something in me clicked, and I started researching cargo bikes.  I found out they are common in Europe, especially the Netherlands, and are appearing in Portland (of course, it's our bike capital!)  They come in two wheel and three wheel versions, front loading and rear loading.  They all looked outlandish and out of my reach, like the stuff dreams are made of.  Like what I'd do in my "ideal" life, living in the perfect city with lots of money.  

Then I came across this video, and was excited to see the bikes in action.  

Some unexpected events transpired, quite quickly, and I am already the owner of a Babboe City.  I will tell the story of how we found it and how it works for us (and what we plan to do in the winter!) in another post, but for now let me demonstrate:

Happy Independence Day!

Ironically we spent a lot of the 4th of July with French people.  :-)

When I was a kid we visited London over the holiday, and for a brainless moment I wondered where were are all the fireworks?  Because you know the Brits love to celebrate American Independence!  Ha.

Tyler and I and the kids are all a little grumpy this summer.  It should not warrant even the slightest complaint, the fact that we are all here together most of the day.  It should be a wonderful blessing.  And it is.  But adults are used to a certain amount of productivity in a day, and children are used to seeing one or both of their parents head out somewhere in the morning, and then return in the evening tired but happy to see them.  We are all here though, and it's frustrating that taking care of the kids isn't any easier, we're not getting more done, I'm not taking any breaks, etc.  Tyler's summer internship is not using enough of his skills or time, so that in itself is unsettling for him.  Ideally we should both be able to exercise, address a hobby, and both take care of the kids, because there are two of us to switch on and off.  But instead we're going on weekend mode every day, because that's what we're used to doing when we're all together.  What should we do today?  What fun thing would the kids like?  All this to say that on the morning of the 4th I was not ready for a special family celebration, I was ready to leave the house independently!  I did.  I took the trash out.  And the 5 minute walk was honestly enough to recharge.  The day got better as it went on.

Norwood has a children's parade in the early afternoon, where they can dress up as historical characters and decorate their bikes, strollers, wagons, etc.  Lincoln, naturally, was Lincoln.

I made a paper top hat and we taped it to his helmet.  He also had a makeup beard, but it was hard to see underneath the straps.  

Another kid had the same idea!  Abraham, meet Abraham!

After parading around in the heat, everyone was pretty sweaty and tired.  We went home, and after several of the kids took naps... 

we went to the pool in our complex.  

It was really fun to play in the water with 6 kids; our friends are happy, kind people, and we usually feel the better after spending time with them.  For the latter half of the evening, we had the pool to ourselves.  Lots of squealing, sharing, "NO RUNNING!" and laughing.  I don't have pictures of the actual swimming, but here's some boys taking a break.  

Life is good.  

I'm happy to be an American.  

And I recognize that freedom and independence are wonderful but not easy, like most responsibilities.  

They require intelligence and creativity to work well. 

Plagiocephaly

Hazel's head is ever so slightly crooked.  It's common now that parents are encouraged to place babies on their backs to sleep.  It's also common with multiples.  Hazel was always lower in the womb (Baby A), with her head scrunched at the bottom.  Chances are she was born with a flat spot, and favored it while sleeping over the first few months.  I didn't notice it until she was about 3 months.  The doctor suggested I try to reposition her every time I laid her down, and to give her lots of tummy time to help the muscles in her neck.  I did my best.  I didn't get a referral to see a neurosurgeon until much later, and here we are at 11 months.  He recommended that we use helmet therapy.  Ideally we would have put her in a helmet around 4 or 5 months, because that's when her head was growing the most and it would have taken less time to reshape it.

(Example)

Her forehead bulges slightly out on her right side, and her ears are off center. The difference in the oblong measurements of her skull is 13mm.  We won't be able to get it to a perfect 0 (no one is perfect anyway; asymmetry is the rule of the human body, after all) but the hope is to get down to a 4.  

It's emotional, and I am questioning everything.  Is this vain?  Will she be uncomfortable and hot and stinky for nothing?  What if it's too late?  Is her head really misshapen enough to warrant months of head gear 23 hours a day?  If we didn't do it, would she wish we had later in life?  

The decision has been made, though.  Now I just have to stick to it for the next few months.  She gets a half hour break in the morning, and a half hour break at night, during which we bathe her, wash the helmet, dry them both, and then put it back on for bed.  She doesn't mind it, and one time even tried to put it back on after I took it off.  She sleeps as soundly as ever, too.

Hazel, honey, the good thing is you won't remember this.  I hope you'll agree it was the right thing to do.  For now, all of us, especially your big brother Lincoln, are supporting you!

Washington D.C.

My dad recently changed jobs.  He was sent to Washington D.C. for a training, and decided to come visit us in Massachusetts during one of his free weekends.

While he was here, he mentioned that he was staying in a 2 bedroom condo all by himself, within walking distance to the National Mall.  Our ears perked up.  You have an extra bedroom?  We can fit into one bedroom!  All five of us?  No problem!

So it was that, on the spur of the moment, we decided to drive 7 hours to visit our nation's capital.  Free lodging is an excellent incentive.

The trip ended up being just as fun as our one night stay in New York City.  We travel well, this crew of five.

I'm so grateful that my dad was willing to have of us stay with him.  The condo was amazing.  We had our own bathroom, a full kitchen, a living room to let the kids play in, and even a rooftop overlooking the city.

The company stocked a FULL liquor cabinet in the dining room.  I mean, this is the most alcohol I've ever seen in one place outside a pub.  None of us partook, because really, traveling with three little ones is enough buzz for anybody, but still, it was funny to see the spread.  I brought enough food for three meals, and was proud of myself for that fact, especially considering the effort it takes to prepare meals even at home.

There was a coffee shop at the bottom of the building.  Did you get that?  A coffee shop, right there, mere steps from your front door.  Linc and I may have taken advantage.

I don't know why, but to me that seems like the ultimate luxury.  We stayed three nights, and walked everywhere.  We didn't use our van until the last day, after we'd packed up and cleaned up our traces from the condo.  (Except, my dad later lovingly mentioned, Lincoln's little fingerprints on the windowpanes.)  Those windows overlooked a tree-lined street, and each morning we watched the pedestrians on their way to every-which-where.  I did not allow the windows to be opened, not even a crack, because no one survives a 9 floor drop to the cement.  And yes, that's where my thoughts go when my kid is standing at a window.  That is also the reason they weren't allowed on the roof.  My dad really wanted to let at least Lincoln take in the view, but my nerves said no, absolutely not.  I'm adventurous, but everyone has their limits.

Tyler and I snuck up there, though.

What we did allow Lincoln to do, was ride his bullet bike all over the city.  I think every pair of little feet deserves a set of wheels when sightseeing.

It was a good idea: lending him the entertainment and endurance to make it through each of our three days.

We packed the Bob with everything else.  This is our Metcalf-mobile!

When the babies weren't sleeping, and we weren't walking, we did our best to get them out of the stroller.  Ezra crawled in random D.C. parks, at the Lincoln Memorial, and even (uh...illegally...whoops) at Arlington.

And Hazel smiled at everything, taking it all in.

Tyler and Lincoln went to the library before we left and checked out books on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and the capital.  Now when we read to him at night, Lincoln points and says, "I was there!  We went there!  Look, it's the Washington Memorial!" at all the appropriate monuments and museums.

It was really special to sit in the Lincoln Memorial.  Linc said, "That's me!" and then chased his brother around the floor.  What a beautiful, majestic place.

I loved the marble columns and quotes everywhere.

And this silver tree.

Lincoln loved the General Motors section of the National American History Museum.

But he got a little grumpy at the WWII Memorial.  We stayed there for quite a while, while I fed the babies.  I enjoyed watching veterans visiting, taking pictures, talking. 

Thank you Dad for this opportunity!  I'm sure it was the first of many days in D.C. for our future presidents.