...about party attire

my darling little one has been invited to a birthday party today.

his little friend is turning four and the theme of her party is "princes and princesses".

he loves a good party. he loves anything that includes cake.

he has been talking about his party all week.

my little boy plans to go dressed as...spiderman.

the joys of having boys.

...about the breakfast of champions

my son gets up early. every single day, without fail he gets up at 6am (or earlier)! some days we let him go downstairs to get his own breakfast and watch cartoons. a little responsibility is a good thing and a few extra minutes of sleep for mommy and daddy is not so bad either.

check out the picture of the breakfast we found him beginning to eat as we came downstairs this morning.

he called is creation, "bagel s'mores".

yummy.

...about what is never far from my mind

i try my best. i eat fruits and vegetables. i never drink soda or coffee or beer. i do enjoy the occasional glass of wine but i wouldn't say i overdo it in that department either. i don't smoke and i am relatively active, especially if running after two little boys counts.

and yet...i am stuck in a bit of a rut. i lost quite a few pounds a couple of years ago through watching my calories and exercise. box-fit and run-walking on the treadmill were my activities of choice. i put a few pounds back on in the stressful months leading up to our bermuda move and then lost them and a few more when i wasn't working and the winter weather on our little island proved the perfect combination for a healthy lifestyle. running beside the ocean and along the trails melted off the pounds. i wowed my friends and family (and, admittedly even impressed myself) when i returned for a visit to Canada in June of last year at a weight that was probably only about 20 pounds away from my goal.

fast-forward to now. I am about 25 pounds away from my goal. i have been about 25 pounds away from my goal for months and months and months. the good news is that i can mostly maintain my weight. i should be happy about this. i am trying to be happy about this. the reality is that i am frustrated that i can't keep my resolve to lose that last 20 pounds. i cannot seem to balance looking after my family, teaching full-time, while still continuing to work away at my weight loss goal. every week i say, i am going to stick to it. will this be the week that i actually do?

i hope it will be. i want it to be. i need it to be.

...about a year

that was then.... ...this is now

it has been a year. we moved to bermuda on december 29th, 2008. everyone told us when we moved here that it would take a year before we felt okay about our move. it is official. we have completed our requisite year.

do we feel bermudian? not even close.

is it beginning to feel like home? it is getting closer.

i knew it would be emotional and hard and exciting and huge. it was.

i thought it would be the right move for our family. it has been.

i hoped we would be closer and calmer and happier and saner. we are (well, sanity is something i expect we will always strive for).

i expected we would miss our families. we do.

...about my prayers for the twenty-first century

i have hope for the future.

recently a little baby was born into my extended family. she is hope.

i believe in what she is capable of.

she, along with her sister, her little cousins, my darling nieces, and my sweet boys are part of a generation that i know will make the changes that need to happen. they will have the creativity, the freedom, the unique ideas, the equality, the open-mindedness, the passion for a better world.

i often read the book, "Prayer for the Twenty-First Century" by John Marsden to my students on or near Remembrance Day. i did this again this year.

these are some of my prayers:

may laughter and joy fill each and every day

may we feel inspired by something greater than ourselves

may we see and bring out the best in those around us

may negative voices be silenced, may creativity and imagination ring loud and clear

may we fully cherish the innocence of childhood and the wisdom of age

may we realize that there is hope for the future

welcome, alice hope.