BACK TO SCHOOL

3 down 2 to go! Just think in a year or two both Julia & Liam will be off to pre-K and Kindergarten.

Here are a few pictures from the first day of school for the kiddo's.

WESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

It's one thing to find out that the middle school in my town has known for 6 months that we had contaminated soil (and didn't say anything) but now a neighboring town Westwood High School (where my bro Timmy goes) found hazardous chemicals sitting on the premises for decades. They actually had to call the bomb squad to detonate it behind the school, while the students waiting on the front lawn. They were doing routine inventory and saw this bottle of Picric acid. They think it was used 20-30 yrs ago for preparing biological slides. After a long time the acid crystallizes and becomes highly volatile any friction will set it off. Whats next???

By Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less. Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life.

When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

The Cat in the Hat

Katie made this when she was 5 maybe 6. She did a pretty good job here. Thought I'd share it....enjoy!

Family

I remember not caring very much to be in this picture. Now it is a very special picture to me. I think this might be the last picture we were all together before we got married or moved away.

Katelyn won the contest!

This was Sept 2004 - and I entered Katelyn in a model contest. It was non-competitive and local. But out of 43 girls in her age group 4 - 6 she won first place! The judge said she had a Drew Barrymore look. She got a crown and trophy oh and a picture in the paper. We didn't pursue anything after that. It was just something fun to do.

BBF

Katelyn & Jolie before the siblings hanging at the beach house. Looking forward to a great summer 2007 :)