Well, SOMEONE Had to Teach Them How to Spit!

Yesterday we had a very nice day!

We started out by going to the soft-play park inside Northpoint Mall. The kids really had a great time. It was fun to see how much more Dylan was able to do since the last time we went several months ago. Last time he could barely get over the little bridge they have there. This time he was pretty much climbing on everything. And they were both doing so well getting along with others (for the most part.)

After that we let the kids ride on the carousel. Again, it was so cool to see Dylan sitting up there by himself and, just like Maryn, not really wanting Mommy or Daddy to hang on to him. Afterwards we had lunch and then everyone took a nap.

Later we went to Papa and Nanny's house, where Papa Bear and Grandmama were also there. That's when it happened: In true Georgia-style, Papa Bear showed my kids how to spit!

Step 1:
Here, he demonstrated how to chug a big gulp from their water bottle.





Step 2:
Now he shows them the proper way to bend forward, pooch out the lips and expel the water.





Now Dylan tries:









And now Maryn:









Way to go Papa Bear!

Catherine Newman

From now on all my favorite Catherine Newman blurbs will be listed under a "Catherine Newman" header. That way, if you care you can read on or just skip these and go straight to the kids stuff or my ramblings.

But after a hard week — we are sad about the untimely death of an old friend, the mother of one of my very favorite teenagers on the planet — I'm in the mood for comic relief. And I'm not getting it from the (ceaseless) rain outside, but within the house, there's no shortage. I sit in the living room with my computer, trying absurdly to write while the kids balance themselves on the back of the couch to wrap their arms around my neck and kiss my hair with their lips and kiss my hair with an X-Files Agent Scully figurine. "Do you want to go into the study to work?" Michael asks gently. And it's a sensible question, but I don't. I just want to be here, where everybody else is, where my life hums with, well, with life itself. Even if one thing leads to another, and before you know it Michael is strumming the Billy Joel "Brenda and Eddie" song on a ukulele. Then he switches to guitar, Ben joins in on his guitar, with Birdy on a plastic whistle, and they jam a rocking version of "If I Were a Rich Man" and then a serious, gorgeous rendition of the Patty Griffin song "Top of the World." There is much dancing around in underpants, and it is both silly and beautiful.

I can be so awkward sometimes, trying to create special moments as if I'm following the directions in a kit I ordered from a catalogue: we'll light this candle in this way accompanied by this feeling; we'll read this poem together and be very poignant and sober. And other times, the blessings just wash up in unbidden, unexpected heaps on the shore of my day. The trick I'm learning is not to pass them by. Not to leave this happy scene to check my email or put the kettle on. "I'm wrestling with restlessness," I said to Michael earlier this summer when we were on the beach, and he'd laughed but said, "You really are. I can tell." I'm trying not to skitter away from the sitting still or the chaos. I know it's boring to say it, so obvious that it's almost silly, but the lesson of death is that we die — which is the same as saying that we're living now. Our friend's parting command to the people she loved was: "Dance." And so we do.

I just can't say enough how she so easily captures how I feel a great deal of the time. I can so clearly see my own living room while reading her words. There is something to be said for just sitting amongst the chaos. Life lessons seem so fleeting in the mind sometimes. I wonder what the glue is that makes them stick? Too many times it seems like it is regret, guilt, or loss. That it always seems to only really click while looking behind you. I really do want to know how to live life differently in regards to this.

Special Moments

There are moments of the day when Maryn is not to be reckoned with. Generally this is within minutes of her waking up. She will quite frankly tell you that she needs her privacy. Eye contact is not permitted. Touching is completely shunned unless she initiates it. She has perfected her sleepy sad face and the amount of time she can carry it seems endless. She was in one of these moods on our way home from taking Granny to the airport. She had fallen asleep on the way there, so the fact that she missed the event alltogether probably contributed to her mood. We decided to stop and get some food on the way home which is when she woke up. Dad went in as we all waited in the car. Dylan and I both are being respectful of Maryn's need for privacy and chatting with each other while Maryn just peers out the window. I am watching her take note of a family entering the restaurant, a mom and dad and four children. She watches each one enter and then says, "that was nice". I asked her what was so nice. She had seen the dad holding the door for his family while they piled in the restaurant and she said, "that was nice that he held the door open for all of them". I agreed with her how nice that was and she said, "I'm going to try to do that". I told her what a great goal I thought that was and silently hoped that this opportunity may arise after she has been awake for at least 15 minutes, else she be the grumpy door person bringing a little grey cloud to everyone's day. "How nice to see you" she might say, followed by "move along....I need my privacy".

One of my favorite moments lately with Maryn is watching her get ready in my bathroom. Usually while I am getting ready, she will stand on the potty and "get ready" beside me. I love this because I can so clearly see a mix of Rex and I through her eyes. She first starts off with her contacts. A little dabble of saline and she plops them right in. Next comes the deodorant which she gently applies to her cheeks and forearms as Daddy and I clearly do every morning. Next comes Dad's hair gel. A little dab of that to the neck and legs, some eyeshadow applied with a Q-tip and my girl is as good as ready!

While I am blabbering on about how cute and adorable my children are, I just have to share some funny Dylan moments. There are so many as he is my child that makes it impossible to stay mad. He makes me crack up all the time and I just can't wait to see what our futures hold with him. He has this wonderful knack for imitation. When he is watching a movie he can hit cues right on the mark and it amazes me. Their new favorite movie is "The Emporer's New Groove". He loves the opening song, as he loves all music. He chimes in on the funniest parts and to hear him say, "Boom Baby" cracks us up and has quickly become the house anthem! Better still, is to watch him say "No touchy, noooooo touchy"!

Rex and I love to watch the show Rock Star: Supernova. Sometimes the kids will catch a bit of it before bedtime which I am thinking is not the best idea. Not because it's vulgar, but becuase it sends them both to the floor to mosh 10 minutes before lights out. They love music and dancing and I equally love watching them which makes it so hard to tell them to stop. Dylan totally gets into the moves and Maryn just loves to spin. I see her inventing Rock Ballet! She asked me the other day why Tommy Lee did not have on a shirt. I responded,probably too quickly, "because he is a Rock Star". I am quite sure this response in time will come back to haunt me!

Oh, For Heaven's Sake!

Ever feel like a perpetual bring-you-downer? I have a wonderful friend and neighbor who lately I walk away from thinking, did I just spend the last 20 minutes complaining AGAIN?! Sadly, yes. It is amazing to have friends and husbands that you can confide in, I feel blessed to have them. But is it really fair? It makes me want to rush back and humor them with a little slapstick. That is until I realize that I don't even know the first knock-knock joke. But since I did journey all the way back I might as well tell you about the weird rash under my arm.

Maryn and Dylan are wonderful because they can quickly escape to the sunny side of the street with no need for explanation. They just simply know that at times there are more fun places to be than in my presence. I know they are not judging me (there will be plenty of time for that later!). This weekend at the beach was all sunny and it is those moments that leave you longing for more.

I am reading a book that brought something very important to my mind. It said that as parents we should not look at our jobs as something we have to do, but something we get to do.

I am truly blessed to have my wonderful children. To be able to watch Maryn play with little broken pieces of seashells for hours, to watch Dylan running from the waves laughing, and to watch how they can make a hotel room seem like the coolest place they have ever been. I am equally blessed to be there to teach them about their emotions and how to treat each other with kindness, why sticking your finger up your nose or talking with your mouth full are bad manners. Why screaming at the top of your lungs isn't a valid form of communication. I am also blessed for my husband and my friends who stick around through the grey clouds because being together on the sunny side is worth it.

View Photos of our Trip to Tybee Island!

[From Daddy: I can't remember the last time I had such a good time with Maryn and Dylan. I wish we could have stayed longer. I'm so proud of how good my kids were, and blessed to have had that time together as a family. Love you guys!]