Of Boys and Books

Matt and I have started working with the boys on reading. Every night before bed they get a story and we have some books out for them to peruse throughout the day. They are still learning to be quiet and listen to the story, but they do seem to enjoy it. Most the books we have are old hand-me-downs so today we are going to Barnes & Noble to pick out a new book or two. I'm looking forward to guiding the boys through the shelves of brightly colored pages to find one special book. I'm hoping that they will share our love of literature as they grow older and discover all the wonderful things that books can offer.

Ladders, trucks and hoses oh my!

The boy's presents this year definitely had a theme. Killian was adamant for the last month that he wanted a fire truck and Avery was stuck on tractors. So parents and relatives obliged and trucks and tractors and appropriate head gear were stuffed under the tree. Both boys seem quite pleased with their loot. To add to the theme Dottie (Matt's mother and the boy's "Deedee") has set up for us to visit a local fire department today. Killian and Avery will get a tour and will be able to climb on the fire trucks. I think their little heads may just explode. Needless to say I have my camera ready to record the imminent chaos.

Christ?mas

I'm decorating the apartment for Christmas. We don't have a lot of space so its a just little things. A small fake tree, some lights and a few knick-knacks. As I'm putting them up I can't help but think about what Christmas means to me and what to teach the boys about it.
Santa is a must. I firmly believe that belief in Santa, and other childhood fantasies, is beneficial to children. Terry Pratchett (a favorite author of mine) said that we need to believe in small things there is no proof for as kids so that when we grow up we can believe in the big things like Justice and Hope. These things are creations of the human mind and for them to be real we have to believe in them.
But I'm at a loss on the religious aspect of the holiday. Matt is an agnostic and I'm a lapsed Catholic, reluctant agnostic and generally indecisive on the matter. For all that I am very involved in the boys' lives, I am not one of their parents so its not really my call as to whether or not they are introduced to christianity or any religion and when. However, if Matt and I have a child together then I will have a say. I just don't know what that say will be. The boys are still very young and another child a few years off at least so I guess I can put off the decision for a few more years and just enjoy this holiday as is.

Slightly off topic

So as the title says this one is a bit off topic, but I have to ask. If a friend of yours has a "boil" that looks something like this...














Do you A) Poke and prode at it. B) Stay clear of it and suggest he/she see a doctor?

I must admit I'm bad about picking at scabs and pulling of peeling sunburned skin, but that...that I wouldn't touch.

Learning how to clean

We've been trying to teach the boys about cleaning up after themselves for awhile now. Of course, we haven't been very consistant so far. I want to be better with it because I know how important it is for them to develop the habit early and learn about responsibility. However, I must admit I feel a bit hypocritical when I tell Killian and Avery to pick up after themselves. I've always been a bit of a pack rat and not very neat or organized. Over the years I've tried to improve on these bad habits. I do really well for awhile and then slip back into my old ways. I'm hoping that by working with the boys on where things go and putting toys away when they're done playing some of the good habits will wear off on me.

How I became a "Meggie"

I've always been "Megan". I despised being called "Meg" or "Meggie" or any abbreviation of my name. Occasionally my Aunt would call me Meg, but I hated it, even if I was polite enough to keep it to myself. Now, however, I find myself being called Meggie all the time and not only do I not hate it, I adore it. It is one of a million changes in my life over the past year since two little boys and their father wormed their way into my heart.
I must admit I've never been big on kids. My life plans didn't involve having children, especially not anytime soon. When I started spending time with Matt (now my fiance) his two sons were obviously included in the deal. At one and two years of age "Megan" was a bit much for their vocabulary, so I became "Meggie". And I have no regrets about it.
Killian and Avery are not perfect children. I doubt that such a thing exists. They have tantrums, beat each other up and conveniently "forget" any rule that interfers with their fun. On the other hand they love hugs and kisses, dance with carefree abandon, are fascinated by "monsters" and other scary things and make me laugh at least as often as they make me want to scream.
I still don't like most kids, though I'm a bit more tolerant of them. But I'm embracing my "Meggiehood" and looking forward to one day adding another little one to the mix. Odd how life can change so suddenly and completely.