Appreciation

The discovery of Howard Pyle through the eyes of a two-year old...

Voila!

And just like that, the living room is complete. Here are a couple of shots of our new floor and the renovated hearth complete with a new granite stone and new mirror custom built by the best-looking handy man I know - my husband. The mirror contains recycled wood (some of it from my parents' old bedroom in Hanson and the radiator covers that Chris built contain pieces of his old futon from his bachelor days). The new area rug was laid about an hour before my water broke on 10/5/08 but Chris still managed to get it all done before the holidays. It's so nice to have a sitting room again that doesn't contain a television. I never realized how often we would hang out in the living room until it wasn't available for hanging out. It seems now, the only lingering remodel is the kitchen. Of course, we've saved the biggest project for last, but I'm looking forward to watching Chris work his magic again and hope that I can lend more of a hand now that my uterus is back in order...

Boo!

And the 2008 McNamara Halloween Oscar goes to...Memoirs of a Geisha and It's the Great Pumpkn, Charlie Brown

Our Own Mary Poppins

When your doorbell rings at 3:30 in the afternoon and you're not expecting anyone AND you're in the middle of breastfeeding your 3-week-old, you think to yourself, as you pull your baby off your nipple and head toward the door, this better be good. And boy was it ever! Standing on our doorstep was Auntie Jen, fresh from a conference in Shrewsbury which was let out early and conveniently located near Route 146. Before Auntie Jen could get both feet in the door, I passed MIchael off to her and then Maeve began her attack: "Auntie Jen, do you want to see my tricycle? Auntie Jen, do you want to see my big-girl bed?" I am convinced an angel delivered Auntie Jen to our doorstep yesterday just to give me a break. I was able to prepare dinner IN ADVANCE and pick up around the house. I even debated taking a shower - something seldom done by the mother of a toddler and a 3-week-old. We had a great dinner, then Auntie Jen took Maeve for a ride on the new trike around the block which left Chris and I to sit quietly and actually chat with one another. Go figure. Just a spoon full of Auntie Jen helps the medicine go down.

I never took that shower by the way...

A Lakeville Brunch

So Maeve and Michael and I headed out on Wednesday this week for our first real "outing" to the Graber home where Laura had lovingly prepared a yummy brunch for myself and Colleen and all the kids. She also created an atmosphere for the kids to really hang out and enjoy themselves - a highlight of this being when Laura broke out the Miami Vice soundtrack so we could all "get down" in the living room. We also got to visit with Laura's husband, Steve who now works from home. It was so nice to catch up with them after so much time passing since our last play date! We left there with full bellies and two bags worth of clothes for Maeve and Michael thanks to Laura's talents for clothing preservation! Here is some video from the "line up." Please note what my daughter is up to, would you? Thank you Grabers for such a nice time!

Satisfaction

As one might imagine, Michael is in his most pleasant state, after a good helping of milk and a diaper change. I tried to capture some footage of this so you can see what I'm talking about, especially for any of you who have only heard him at his crankiest...

Camera Shy

Here's the assortment of "nursery photos" that Michael gave Chris and I to select from...

I wonder if the photographer ever had a more difficult client to work with...

Personally, I'm leaning toward the last one...