Happy *insert blank here* Day

I think my kids are the best, we cart them all over the place in order to accommodate our theory of doing stuff = fun, and they keep the whining to a minimum. This weekend, we went in one direction to play in the Berkshires and than in the opposite direction to fulfill Ted's year long dream of seeing Plymouth Plantation for father's day. The kids laughed, smiled, neighed (Maddy is a unicorn of course), cuddled, and sang. Oh the singing. At one point, we were out on the dock enjoying 75 degrees of lake side warmth watching the girls catch fish with nets while they sang oh what a beautiful morning. It was a hollywood fake family moment that was really unfolding before us. Ted and I looked at each other confused and happy..but really with a "how did we do this" expression that we often pass to each other when our kids show us what it's like to be truly happy. They could never have guessed it, but their joy at being alive was the most priceless fathers day gift ever. I don't think it hurts that they are the cutest humans to have ever lived..I'm not biased either, just ask Ted.

7 years of Charly Painter

When Charly was 2 weeks old, I held her over my shoulder after nursing her to sleep. As we rocked together I burned us into that moment. The feel of her soft downy hair under my palms as I stroked her hair, the milky baby smell that newborns possess, the feel of her little head nuzzling in my neck, the sound of her heart beat, the rhythm we were in, the exact lighting in the room, the direction the chair was facing, the colors of the clothes hanging from the newly placed hooks on the wall, the details, every single one of them that could be collected in the flash of a second..all burned so deeply into that moment, that I never left. We talk about it often, usually when I tell her how big she is and how unbelievable it is to watch someone grow into the world. She's 7 years old today. I am so proud of who she is. She is a happy, talented, beautiful soul who teaches me every day how to keep the magic that adults usually toss out in favor of "reality". What a gift she is, happy birthday beauty!