where did five years go?

I know it's cliche, but I just can't believe how fast the years go by. Two days ago, we celebrated Cooper's fifth birthday, and this morning, I left him in his kindergarten classroom for the very first time. I just can't possibly imagine him without his mother from 8:30-3, Monday through Friday.

(oh my, here I go again- eyes swelling up a bit)

He marched into his room, standing straight and tall. Aaron, Babi, Tagg and I all saw him off, and we were all quite proud of him. As all the parents started leaving, Cooper gave me that look. . .that "Mom, it's time for you to leave, or I might start to miss you" look. So off we all left him to his own space, with his own teacher, in his own classroom.

Ok, well, I did peek in at him through the window when we got outside- but just for a minuet :)

RIP Poco and Diablo

Well, we sort of knew this would happen, but it still stings. Poco and Diablo, our cats of ten years now, have been gone for a few weeks. With the coyotes and fischers around here, it is safe to assume they are not just taking a walk about.

They both spent their first, oh, six or so years as life as indoor cats, but ALWAYS yearned for being outside. Finally, we decided that they would be happier having a shorter life, if it meant being able to go outside when they wanted to. They survived the next few years in Contoocook, despite the VERY busy road we lived on.

Then we moved here, and were warned by everyone that outdoor cats don't have a long life expectancy around here. Still, the cats LOVE being outside (and, as a side note, Diablo was one heck of a mouser!) In and out during the day, we tried our best to make sure they were in before bed, to avoid the things that go bump in the night.

One day, a few weeks ago, Aaron mentioned that he hadn't seen Diablo for a few days. Another few days later, Poco went missing- I am completly positive he went looking for his brother.

I hope we made the right decision allowing them to go out when they wanted to, I just couldn't bear to force them to stay inside. They loved laying in the warm grass, chasing bugs around, and even tormenting the occasional song bird (I told them I didn't like that!)

Aaron and I got our two little kittens in our first apartment, they were our first living beings we were responsible for. I'd like to think we gave them a good decade. RIP kitties :(

ah ha, here come the mosquitoes

I knew this mosquito free summer wouldn't last! Thanks to all the rain we've been getting lately, we've got a whole batch of ity bity baby bloodsuckers.

Cooper and Taggart love picking blackberries. They'll spend an hour in the bushes, only to pick an handful of berries (and, as a side note, bring them all in for their mama) Being deep into the berries puts them at the edge of the woods- prime mosquito country. So my little berry picking troupers come in for rest time, both covered in bites.

Tagg is scratching everything like crazy, saying over and over again:

"Mommy, dragonflies bit me!"

Picturing him squashing pretty little dragonflies, I was sure to correct him that it was mosquitoes biting him. To which he replied:

"OOOOHHHH, taquitos bit me!"

Close enough buddy.

my gingerbread house is done

Finally, the house is painted! For those that didn't see pictures, the house was dark brown, with teal trim (yup, that is what I said. Teal trim) Finally, we've finished painting it! Sorry the picture stinks, I'm using my camera phone for everything now as we save up for a new camera. When we bought the house in Contoocook, seven years ago, we painted every single wall and ceiling before moving in. Then, after the fire, we RE painted almost every single wall and ceiling. Before moving last year, we painted the outside to freshen it up for sale. Then came this house, inside and outside more and more painting.

Ok, it's done. There is officially nothing else to paint! Hooray!!

way to go tagg!

Yesterday I washed my last load of diapers. Yup, that's right, Tagg is potty trained. The most amazing thing, is that he did it mostly on his own. I pushed Cooper before he was really ready, so I was determined to not make the same mistake again. This time around, it was the child teaching himself, I'm so proud!

No more diapers, wow. It's a liberating thought! Almost five years of diapering (several months of two in diapers at a time) I'm all done with that stage. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!