Swim Season 2011

My super swimmer Jake is going to be joined soon by sister swimmer Phoebe. A few days ago she decided she wanted to swim. Get her face wet, the whole works. A week ago if she got splashed, I think her screams of outrage could be heard in Timbuktu. But suddenly, she wants to swim. So she will.

She potty-trained much the same way. Decided one day to wear panties and hasn't looked back. So I have a strong-minded girl on my hands. Lucky me?

Jake had a great season as well. Mostly firsts and seconds in freestyle and backstroke. Time trials are this week, then maybe championships. So when did I turn into a swim mom? I am feeling very suburban. I'm not sure if I mean that in a good or bad way... I wasn't expecting this in my life for sure!

Jake starts first grade this fall, and I wonder where the time goes. In 2 years, Phoebe will go to kindergarten. My mind is being blown on a daily basis with their intelligence, awareness and general sense of what is funny. In the car the other day Phoebe was singing her own mash-up...Fight for your Right to Party and Dynamite. I don't know how she connected the Beastie Boys and Justin Bieber, but she did. An unholy alliance for sure!

Summer and swimming

I think I may have created a swimmer! Jake is in his second year on the Persimmon Creek Swim Team. And he's kicking butt and taking names in the 6 and under group! I may be just a wee bit too proud...but he's just doing so well. Firsts and seconds in the meets with his freestyle and backstroke. His intensity when he's swimming is amazing. It's so cool to have produced an athlete--given how non-athletic his parents are!
He has other talents--his reading and writing skills are in good shape--he's ready for first grade. We have to get him glasses, but that's OK.

Phoebe is just as wonderful--can't leave her too long without praise. Although she won't put her head in the water, she scoots around in her swim ring like a water baby. It's really wonderful! She's smart as a whip, and dare I say more advanced than Jake was at her age? I think his influence has helped her. She gets herself dressed and can figure out how to buckle and unbuckle her baby seat. Perhaps TOO smart sometimes...

Welcome back!

Goodness--it's been a year and a half since I blogged here. In the meantime, I changed jobs, the house STILL isn't done and the kidlets...well the kidlets have gotten older, cuter, smarter and BETTER.

It's been amazing, this ride. And the best part is that it's nowhere near over! So let's see--I left TV, but not really. Now I'm a college professor teaching broadcasting and journalism! I'm also the higher education blogger at RTDNA--where I used to be the PA state coordinator.

Jake is 6-and-a-half, Phoebe just turned 3. Three! Years! Old! My babies aren't, as evidenced by the insistence that I throw out the baby potty seat, the baby sippy cups...anything baby. But not the stroller.

Jake just finished kindergarten at West Park. Going to first grade in the fall. WOW. Phoebe is proud to be a preschooler (as she tells everyone she meets) but also yearning to ride the bus with Jake and go to "big" school.

Motherhood is turning out a LOT better than I thought.

I did it

2009 certainly turned out to be a year of change.

I am taking (possibly) the biggest step of my professional life. I'm quitting my job. The job I've held for 14 years (minus 2 maternity leaves), the job I dreamed of having, the job I never had any intention of leaving.

Did it change? Did I change? A bit of both, I think. For decades, I have been ruggedly proud of my career. Of doing whatever it takes to get the story on. Of working odd hours, weird times--all for the sake of TV JOURNALISM.

But that's all changed. The kidlets, most certainly, have made me realize what really is important (without sounding like a cliche). Also, though, the business changed. It became a business, for real. No more "Just go". Instead, how do we cover the story with no crews?

So I'm making the change. Moving into academia. I've done TV for almost 25 years, I can teach it now. Starting out as an adjunct. Already, though, I am more excited about the possibilities than I have been about TV in awhile. I always liked school--liked the exchange of ideas and the chance just to learn something new.

Oh, I know that no job is perfect and I'm sure I will miss the hustle and bustle of the newsroom--and breaking news. But I think, I know this is the right move for me and the right time to make it.

God help me.

Construction begins!!

I am so excited--I can barely contain myself! There is a GIANT hole next to my house, and soon it will contain our new addition. A very nice 4000 square feet of SPACE. For THINGS. And CLOSETS. And STORAGE.
Space for my babies to grow. Space for my books to live. Space for my clothes not to be crammed together. Space for me to go and be alone when I need to be. The latter being (almost) the most important of all...

Happy Fall!

I have so much to say, so why can't I get it posted? beats me. I guess I'm having my life, not writing about it. Which is OK, but I don't want to forget so much.
Jake turns 5 on Thursday. Yes, 5. He's halfway through his first decade. Holy crap. It's amazing... unbelievable... awesome. All wrapped up together! This past Friday, he was sick and I kept him home. He asked if we "could just have a special day together"... it was so wonderful! We went to the zoo, the mall and Griendly's. My big boy, full of wonder!

Phoebe is also an amazingly wonderful girl. She's getting more and more words, and has such a sparkly personality! Right now, bubble is her favorite word. She also yells "DOWN" when she sees Regen... and she loves to grab my hand and drag me to wherever she wants me to be.

I am such a lucky mom!

Growing up...too fast?

The kidlets are maturing at an amazing rate, and it's both scary and wonderful to see. The sibling relationship is developing and I have high hopes for success.

Jake played so nicely with Phoebe on Saturday! When she woke up from her nap she was a bit cranky. He started blowing raspberries on her tummy, making her giggle--a sound I just can't get enough of! She looks at him with such happiness and love, and he loves to make her happy too. Later Jake and I were playing tag on the bed and Phoebe wanted to get up and play too. Jake folded her right into our game and we all laughed and rolled on the bed and had just a great time! At the playground, Jake got onto the tire swing. Of course, Phoebe wanted to be on it too--Jake said "put her on the other side Mommy!" I sat her down and Jake put his legs on either side of her, then leaned over and put his hands over hers on the chain so she wouldn't fall off. I swung them around and both just laughed and laughed. Truly a golden moment I will savor forever in my mind...

Phoebe is quite the big girl now, walking everywhere and she's developing a devilish grin that just melts me... When we go to the pool Jake has to carry his toys inside, especially his swim ring. Saturday, Jake grabbed his ring and before I could grab Phoebe's, she had picked it up and was toddling towards the pool! She was so proud of herself for carrying her toy, and I was so proud of her too! Honestly the cutest thing you ever want to see... then as we were leaving I was carrying stuff to the car, and I looked behind me and she was right there with the biggest smile on her face--so proud to be following Mommy.

Each day, my heart seems to grow fuller and fuller. Watching them, playing with them, hugging and kissing them... my babies are my heart, my joy and my soul. Thank you God for giving them to me!