Emskyrooney

We live south of Boston near Cape Cod, about 20 minutes from the ocean.  And yet, in the 8 years I’ve lived in this area I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to the beach.   Which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it. This year we’ve practically doubled our number of visits to the beach already- and even went three times in one week!  We finally found the perfect place to go:  Nelson Park in Plymouth is not too far from the house, has free parking, a snack bar and bathrooms, and you can hit the the beach, a playground, AND a splash pad.  It’s easy enough for me to take both kids by myself if Paul is at work, and because it’s nearby and has free parking we can go for just an hour or so if we don’t want to make a whole day of it. So this year, the beach is what summer looks like. It looks like little boys and big oceans… It looks like father and son time together…. It looks like sandy buckets, s...

10 on 10: Ten photos taken during one day or event, documenting that day or event, and posted on the tenth of the month . This year was our first fourth of July where it was just the 4 of us.  In the past Paul’s parents were living nearby and we’d all get together.  This year though we had a quiet day at home.   The kids splashed in the kiddie pool and Paul smoked up some ribs for dinner.  Yum! Now head on over to Kate Suzanne Photography - she just relocated to Asheville, NC and is sure to have a great 10 in 10!

The theme for our Bloom Forum Group’s June “What ___ Looks Like” photography project is “happiness.”   Lately, happiness in our house is time spent in the kiddie pool: Delicious hotdogs in downtown Plymouth: A baby girl who’s so excited to have learned to crawl: A new couch to play hide-and-seek on: Wandering around the air-conditioned aisles of Target: Being allowed plenty of time to study each and every Star Wars Lego set on the shelf: And Mommy and LP time spent making our own Lego creations while Eliza naps: Happiness these days is in the little things: the everyday, the usual, making fun out of errands, staying cool in the heat.  And it’s in the big things- the milestones, the new teeth, the excitement of discovering the whole house on your very own hands and knees. Now head on over to visit Pamela Joye of Salem, MA to see what Happiness means for her!

In the last four weeks Eliza has gone from merely rolling around on the floor to crawling all over and trying to pull herself up to standing.  She is on the go, always, and into everything she can reach. She’s up to 7 teeth (2 more since 9 months!- with at least 2 more about to break through!) and at her most recent checkup weighed in at 17 lbs, 9 oz (2 pounds lighter than LP was at this age).  She is 27.6 inches long (just about the same as LP).  Funnily enough, even though she’s lighter she’s in the 25th percentile for weight while LP was only in the 10th at this age.  I guess it’s since she’s a girl. Eliza loves to play “so big!”, raising her arms (and whatever she’s holding) over her head if someone says, “how big is Eliza??” She’s been enjoying our little kiddie pool, at least as long as big brother is there to entertain her. She LOVES the dogs and usually be found following them around, trying to pull their ears and grab their tails.  Fortuna...

Today I’m the featured Snapshot over at PAIL !  Go on over to check it out and to check out the other Snapshots ! When Paul and I met we were excited to find out that each of us wanted three children as we both had two younger siblings.  We started trying for our first baby about a year after we got married and although the four months it took to get pregnant seemed like FOREVER to me as I'd fully expected to get knocked up right away, we now know that four months is laughably short. When LP (short for Little Paul as he's the 4th Paul in a row on hubby's side) was almost 1 we decided to try for baby #2 as we were hoping our children would be about two years apart.  Four months passed, then 6 months, then a year.  We had two "positive" home pregnancy tests which turned out to be chemical pregnancies.  At that point my OB/GYN suggested we go see the Reproductive Endocrinologist.  All the usual tests were done and we were officially diagnosed w...

When Paul and I bought our first house together, we spent a lot of time redecorating and renovating to make it more “us.”  We chose cherry cabinets, black granite counters, neutral rugs and couches and beautiful muted colors for the walls. I spent hours searching for the perfect fabric and then sewing curtains and matching pillows for the living room so that everything was coordinated.  And then the kids came along. And now our “perfectly coordinated” living room is splashed with accents of primary red and yellow and blue.  It’s full of raucous stripes and owls and polkadots. Our beautiful dining chairs and tablecloths have been replaced by shark cushioned chairs and wipeable placemats. And our once plain, beige walls are covered in artwork, chore charts and calendars. Our neutral carpet is strewn with toys… And our peaceful office is now called the “toy room.” Sometimes...