Oh hey, look.  A blog.

I did start one 3 years ago but my life at that time was so vastly different that a new blog was obviously warranted.

This past year has been . . . eventful.  New baby, new job, new house, new town, new . . . hair? 

Ethan is a precocious 3 1/2 year old.  Doing those things that equally amaze and give you gray hairs.  His story telling is legendary or should be.  He is nimble, adventurous and social almost to a fault.  He will walk up to just about anyone and either ask you to play with him or tell you a story.  He is the foremost authority on everything nearly every conversation feels like a negotiation. 

Toby is an amazingly mobile and vocal (almost) 11 month old.  He grew up too fast.  Wasn't he just born like, WHAT LAST MONTH?!  Ugh.  He is not a cuddler, very independent and headstrong.  Even more so than Ethan was at that age.  I am fully aware that I'm going to have my hands full. 

I like to say that Ethan is my insanity, Toby is my sanity, I've lost my head but my body is right here, with little boys wrapped around it.  In time, I will find Jennifer again.  Right now I'm a MOM.  An important job, yes, but I'm so much more and hoping to find those parts of me as we get settled. 

We moved in the winter from Maine to Vermont with a 5 month old and a 3 year old.  Towing too much accumulated crap, 2 dogs and 3 cats.  Adventure is not an adequate term for the event.

Nonetheless, 5 months later, we are here, *mostly* settled and moving forth with our infiltration of Burlington and all that Chittenden County has to offer.

Ethanism:  He bit off a piece of his apple slice to give to Toby, just like I bit off a piece of my apple to give to him. 
Tobyism:  Pressing his face against the glass pane in my SILs office door and making faces at me then laughing hysterically.
Profound Moment:  That moment after the thunderstorm where the sun comes out, everything has this ethereal quality, wet and sparkling.  You hear thunder rumbling in the distance but everything else is still, like the world is holding its breath.
Web Discoveries:  In an attempt to distract myself from the devastation in Oklahoma from the tornado, I stumbled upon the website for Zach Sobiech.  His story rocked me in a way that few do.  This kid, diagnosed with osteosarcoma and terminal, began making music and trying to live life to the fullest knowing his time was very short.  It is refreshing to see that when faced with such a devastating situation that he had the support and wherewithal to push forward with a smile on his face.  As I read about him and cheered him on, I found out he died yesterday.  The same day I was reading about him.  My heart broke and I cried for this stranger.  I think in situations such as this we unavoidable look toward ourselves and think, "What would we do?"  How many times in my life have I faced just a fraction of his trials and failed to handle them with the same aplomb?  How do you keep fighting when in the end you will lose anyway?  http://www.childrenscancer.org/zach/