The Holiday Newsletter

It’s corny, but… whatever …

Hello Friend –

2007 wins for the busiest year in recent memory. Juggling two jobs and Little League and speech therapy has meant color coded schedules and pizza delivery and a few more white hairs, but we’re doing our best to keep a sense of humor about all of it.

In the spring, Laura accepted a full time teaching position at ……. College. She somehow managed to teach four classes this spring, while juggling Ian’s therapy schedule and daycare and Jonah’s after-school activities. Those first five months of the year are a blur of little sleep and lectures. Steve watched the kids all weekend, while Laura worked until three or four in the morning, so the kids didn’t have to be in excessive amounts of daycare. Laura is on a part-time line now, which is much more sane.

The kids continue to grow and mature, despite efforts by their parents to freeze them at age 8 and age 5. Note to other parents – repeated patting on the head does little to stop the growing process.

Jonah is our sweet daydreamer. He has to work harder on focusing on the teacher’s lessons, but he always redeems himself in writing exercises by coming up with the most imaginative sentences. As we drive through New Jersey, Jonah will entertain us with copious “fun facts” about animals. “Mom, do you know the weight of a sperm whale’s tongue? “Mom, do you know what the DEADLIEST animal alive is?”

Ian is our skipping, hopping, chirping boy. He attends a great, little kindergarten a half an hour away, where he has made miraculous progress with his speech and wiggles. He loves reading, writing out his favorite words, and watching Charlie Brown videos. He adores his older brother who leads him in games of swords and pillow fights.

Steve continues to work at ………. in Manhattan. The hours can be tiresome, but he’s thriving on all the pats on the back. On the weekends, Steve is Mr. Mom, while Laura grades papers and plans lectures. He’s the sports chauffeur and the bacon n’ eggs dude. Last weekend, he took the kids to train show at the Bronx Botanical Gardens.

We’re planning a major kitchen renovation in the beginning of the year. We’re trying not to get too carried away in the granite v. Corian debate and decisions over ice makers and lazy susans. We just need a neat place to do homework and make pasta. It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks, that side of the house will be gutted down to the studs.  I expect to be on a first name basis with the pizza guy.

2007 marked a lot of growth in the ……. home with careers and smarter kids and outgrown jeans and kitchen cabinets that close tightly. So, though things were crazy busy at times, we can look back at the year with a satisfaction of a job well done.

Hope that we can whip up a nice spaghetti sauce for you in our new kitchen very soon.

Lots of love – Laura, Steve, Jonah, and Ian