Brothers at Play

Who can resist a little two-year old, holding a brand-new soccer ball, his jacket on, saying "Will you take me to the park?" Fun Aunt Terri couldn't say no, so we took the boys over to the park, along with my new camera. While I am still learning about the camera, I loved that I captured some of the expressions on their faces, especially Ian's laughing smile.
"The first time his laughter unfurled into its wings into the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same. " author unknown

Playing with Our New Toys!

The Diego Rescue Center was a huge hit with both boys. In a rare moment, Ian allows Connor to look at the rescue center.

Uncle Michael could not resist the temptation to give nephew Ian his first camera lesson.


My gift to Thomas was also a gift to myself. This workbench will come in quite handy in finishing the trim over the next two weeks (and projects still TBD)



Ian went right to work with his new tool set and showed Daddy how things are done.


My new toy will come in handy as you will see in future blogs! Stay tuned! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning at the Murphys

Ian was really excited to have Santa Claus visit his house. He left a note explaining what a good little boy he has been all year and all the gifts he deserves. Leaving nothing to chance, he also left milk and cookies for Santa. He was amazed the next morning when the cookies were all gone! He was ready to open gifts, but first Mom insisted on a hearty Christmas breakfast. Then the boys finally got down to business and opened gifts. LOTS of gifts!


Ian offered to help everyone open their gifts, while Connor enjoyed the wrapping paper.


As you can see, after all the gifts were opened....chaos! The boys weren't sure what to play with first.



Daddy helped Connor decide to play with the lion.


To be continued.....

Santa's LIttle Helper

As assistant director of the Christmas decoration committee, Ian enjoys a warm cup of cocoa before getting to work. The sugar rush really gives him that much needed burst of energy to get the job done.







The assistant director has several important tasks. Of course, taking the Christmas tree out of the box is the first step.
Putting the ornaments ever so carefully of the very end of the branches takes a delicate touch. (I don't know why this sentence is a link)
Needing a bit of assistance getting the star on top of the tree. Ian feels his colleagues should be able to work in various conditions. Daddy had to blindly assist, which was quite challenging.
And when all is said and done, be merry and sing lots of songs!

The Precarious Little C

He crawls, he stands, he lets go and holds on with one hand!

Will try standing up in any situation. This has results in several lumps and bumps.

He needs to be hanging on for dear life for most of his day now. He holds on to the kitchen chair and lets go with one hand, then screams in pure delight and pride. Big Brother will occasionally encourage him to take both hands off, resulting in some world class tumbling. Then the screams are those where the sound is delayed because it is that traumatic. He shakes it off quickly and resumes his standing position. What a trooper.
Little C is moving on up.

Get Over Myself, sheesh!

I've been in a bit of a slump with writing, maybe a bit with things in general. Trying to keep a grasp of all the things that need doing at this time of year and I feel a bit short-tempered lately. I grow weary of the whining toddlerhood stage and also the dinner table antics. Connor's new found talent of standing, holding and falling down puts me on hyperalert during the entire day. Ian awake two hours after he was put to bed. The morning comes too quickly after lying awake through Connor's 2:30am separation anxiety cries, soothing bad dreams at 4am and then struggling to move for Connor's 5:30am wakeup call. It's motherhood, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Okay, so I've given you the bad and the ugly mixed together. I talk about toddler whining, but here I whine too. So where's the good in all this?

Ian is spelling words. STOP. WALK. DOG. Thomas had him spelling words in the funnies on Sunday. He soaks up books, memorizes them, reads along, reads to himself. He loves it. Storytime has become my favorite time with Ian.

Connor is a bathaholic. He stands at the edge of the tub while I fill it with water and he screams in delight. He splashes, he plays, he tries to stand up in the water. He loves getting splashed by Ian. It's pure joy to watch him laugh. I even put away the baby tub, because he was climbing out of it to get into the actual tub.

Ian is singing holiday songs. Currently, the repertoire includes "Jingle Bells", "Up on the Housetop", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and a Hanukkah song that we played in the car tonight 6 times in a row. The music teacher/music geek in me has taken note that he sings relatively close to pitch many times. Feel free to smack me after that sentence.

Connor is a Irish meat and potatoes guy. I made beef stew with carrots, potatoes and all in the slow cooker. The only one eating this glop is Connor and he loves it. He gets irate if I am not shoveling it in quickly. People wonder how this child is the size of a one year old. Well, I think we have our answer.

So, my goal for tomorrow is to try and put the frustration on the back burner and enjoy the boys, tired or not. Let them help and participate more in the things I need to do. Go out, enjoy the fresh air and take pictures. Try not to forget that they are just little boys and that they are my little boys. Take a deep breath and enjoy my Calgon bath once they are in bed tomorrow night. And maybe tomorrow will be a good, good day.

A Late Update (I know, I know!!)

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone and I apologize for the lack of updates. There are many fun stories to tell about our weekend visiting Michael and Terri and Terri's family. Unfortunately, I am just too tired to catch you up right now!

However, I want to thank Michael and Terri for hosting us for the holiday. It is always fun visiting both of you. I imagine once the boys are old enough, we four will be banished to the tent instead of you. Thanks for uprooting to accomodate us.

This picture shows what I am truly thankful for. My husband who keeps me laughing and tolerates all blankity blank I give him over silly things. For these little boys who make our world crazy, exhausting, happy and who constantly shed new light on the things we take for granted, I am continually blessed and grateful.

It's a Busy, Busy Life

"And someday I'm gonna do something great
I'm gonna make my world a better place
But I don't know if I can today
I'm just trying to make my way."
-Nancy Wilson

I have really been trying to find tiny ways to work from home and to work in areas that I find challenging and new. As I posted several entries ago, I had an interview with the Sonoran Desert Chorale for the Executive Director position. They were willing to give me a chance, even though I don't have true experience other than teaching music and organizing choral festivals. The chorale is comprised of working professionals who have a great love of choral music and who want to perform quality literature. I was so inspired and amazed in watching them rehearse and it is such a great privilege to be a part of their administrative team. The work is challenging, yet I can work from home and at 3am if I need to. (I don't, but I could!)

I continued to look for more opportunities even though I really have enough on my plate with the chorale, teaching part time and grant writing. I discovered a posting for the Mesa Arts Center looking for a part time music instructor for the Spring. After calling, I had a great interview (which took over an hour, probably the longest interview I've had yet!). They were looking for someone really for the summer to teach preschool music, a few mixed elementary music classes and a performance program that is created with the drama/dance department along with the kids. They called me this week to teach next summer, plus they have one class open for me in the Spring to teach. It will run into the fall, with homeschool classes, preschool classes and I can start a mom/infant music class if I want. It is completely up to me what I teach. They do have themes that the dance, art and drama teachers follow. If they are doing the ocean, I would just find songs and music related to that. They have instruments and a nice space to work in.

I also continue to work on my grant writing projects. Maria, my employer, has given me a huge research and grant writing project to fund a music retreat in 2008 for music enthusiasts. I would also work at the retreat (if we can get it going) doing the adminstrative work. The grant work is more sporadic and obviously my pay is based on each project I write. However, I really enjoy the process and it's been fun.

All that being said, working from home has been the greatest challenge. Anyone who feels working at home to be with your kids would be a simple solution, it isn't. I have to work around naps, outings, tears, meals, cleaning, etc, etc. Sometimes I don't work until after 8pm, and I've put in a full day of work already. The baby take very short naps and it usually awake most of the day. I need breaks sometimes and they don't come most days until my head hits the pillow.

I love the opportunities I've been given so far, including being with my boys more often and I will try to make my way and make it all work.

Ode to a Mother in Law

My mother in law calls our house and begins her messages the same way each time....

"Hello, Tom, Linda, Ian and Connor, it's Mom. Sheila. Grandma. Mother in Law. "

The first few times, we chuckled because it was so cute. She didn't leave any one of us out; she covered all the bases. Now, we are disappointed if she doesn't do her spiel, because it is so her.

Sheila came to visit us here in Arizona in mid-October, a perfectly lovely time to be here. My brother-in-law, Michael, joined us all for a weekend trip to the Grand Canyon.

While Tom and Mike went on a lava tuba hike that required headlamps and an open mind about small, dark spaces, Sheila and I set up camp with the boys at our cottage retreat in Flagstaff. By the way, anyone traveling to Flagstaff and/or Grand Canyon, these cottages beat a hotel room hands down. We read comments in their guest books-plural-from people all over the globe. I don't think I read a bad review. http://www.comficottages.com At least, I think that's the right link.

The highlight of the evening for Sheila and me was walking to the grocery store with a stroller full of sleepy boys, trying to figure out what we were going to cook for dinner and how we were going to carry our purchases back to the house. Sheila and I have a lot of "great minds think alike" moments, our most brilliant being the decision that we needed some wine. Unsure if there was even a corkscrew at the cottage, we spent quite some time hunting down screwtop bottles of wine. (we could not just buy a corkscrew, that is way too simple) Well, we paid for our loot and stood outside the grocery store organizing groceries into a backpack, hanging bags off the stroller handles and we still had no room, sooooo.....

Yep. It worked perfectly.

We cooked a mean ravioli dinner once the boys arrived. This was followed by an entertaining show from Ian, who is better than tv any day. There was singing, jumping, air tossing (with assists from Dad) and reading books with Uncle Michael. Uncle Michael was also treated to watching Dora and Diego the next morning.

On Monday, we spent the day at the Grand Canyon, walking around, eating lunch outside and then driving back to Phoenix. Ian provided us with a singalong after having an ice cream shake. Connor provided us with earsplitting drama, mostly related to how unimpressed he was with being strapped into a car seat for longer than what seems like 5 minutes. He refused a bottle, refused chew toys and eventually refused any soothing gestures, period. And people wonder why I stay home 90% of the time.

Anyway, my original theme here is Sheila, no matter how sidetracked I get in writing about my kids. She is a loving mother, grandmother, mother-in-law. She doesn't wait for me to ask her for help, she is right in there with the boys, getting them what they need. She knows the importance of a good nap or needing that glass of wine at the end of the day. She respects our decisions as parents, whether she agrees or not. She rationalizes our parenting issues and gently guides us when we ask. She knows where we are in our life, for the most part. She travels even when it is difficult, but she finds a way. We are grateful, all four of us.

It isn't all roses....she, along with basically everyone we know, live on the East Coast. She doesn't get to spoil the boys on a regular basis, like all their grandparents are just itching to do. She treats us with understanding when we cannot travel back East because of our finances and fear of losing our sanity in traveling with two children under the age of 3. But, there are underlying rhythms of emotion that swell during holidays, when you miss the ones you love. She misses us and we miss her too, just like we miss all of our loved ones. There is no easy solution unfortunately, where we don't lose a part of ourselves in the process.

I just want to say that I love her because she hugged me from the first moment I met her. She helped me find my voice when I was too afraid to speak. She kicked me under the table when I politely ate eggs even though I despise them. She lovingly kicked me out at 11pm on Sunday evenings when I had to drive 2 hours back home to work the next day even when I tried to procrastinate and spend more time with her son. I've learned a lot about friendliness in watching her around strangers and how comfortable she is in conversation most of the time. I could think of a million more things, but the most important thing is only for her to know how much this family misses and loves her and thanks her for just being Mom, Sheila, Grandma, Mother-in-Law.

Connor, the sequel

Connor is five months old here. His personality is changing and developing. He looks like Ian, but he is not a carbon copy. Oh, and at 5 months, this little giraffe outfit is a 12 month size. We must be carrying a gene for tall, chunkified babes, but we aren't quite sure who in our families it comes from. It's definitely not us!


Connor at six months old (actually closer to seven months, but who's counting that closely?). I am trying to find pictures that I haven't posted yet, but I think my favorites are all on here. Well, Connor is going to be nicknamed "He Who Doesn't Sleep". He sits up, he crawls, he plays, he talks, it is all rushing upon us.
And now, Connor is seven months old. Here he is with my seethrough backdrop falling down and he obliged me with a few cute looks before he needed to crawl off for places unknown (under the train table). He really just loves company and attention, what baby doesn't? He is just a pretty happy little guy. He has a lot of fun, but you really have to work to make him laugh, he is a tough crib. You have to be genuinely funny and you'll know when you're not. And no one gets him laughing more than his big brother. Connor, it's been seven months of sleepless fun, we love you!

A look back over seven months

Here is our little boy when he was first born, with his dark hair and mohawk and little Yoda face. His skin was a deep red color for the first month and he was just sweet, sweet, sweet.

Connor at one month old in May. He doesn't look newborn anymore and he is larger than babies several months older than he. I love this picture because he was so interested in his hand moving around, it was hard to get a decent shot.

Connor is two months old. Not the most thrilling picture, but he was in the baby state where they stare and just take in everything. His baby hair is starting to fall out, replaced by blondish wisps. He also begins to lose his redness and dip into his Irish background for his fine, fair skin.

Connor at three months old in July. Showing off his New York stripes (courtesy of the Vilbigs from when Ian was little, or maybe I should just say Christina, since I don't want to stir the pot in a divided household of NY baseball fans.) He still has that perplexed look but he is normally just happy as can be.

A happy-go-lucky Connor at four months old in August. Complete with chunky, squeezy baby rolls around his legs and arms and looking oh, so different from the first picture.

On to the next post because apparently you can only post so many pictures before they cut you off.

Halloween 2006, Part Two

In case I don't reorder this posts, you might want to read Part One first. But it isn't crucial.
Okay, 80's fans, think back to Clara and Wendy's for this next picture......where's the candy??

Basically, Tom and I ate it. Oh, no, wait. Tom generously gave out handfuls of candy to many children.(including to newborn infants-Connor is way behind schedule with the candy eating, apparently) I comment on Tom's generosity after he addressed a few days earlier how I was too generous last year and how we ran out of candy and what a tragedy that apparently was.("only give 1 or 2 pieces per kid so we don't run out!"-direct quote) He was genuinely surprised when he started running out of candy rapidly after doling out about 5-6 candies per kid (a bit over the quota) He quickly packed up shop after that. So, interestingly enough, he really set the example on that. Love you pup!

Later on, we closed down shop and worked off the sugar rushes that the three of us had by playing indoor catch with Ian. It was a pretty vigorous session followed by a tickle fight. Connor had a paper rush after eating the cover of the phone book that he was leaning on. (you did read part one on the babyproofing, here's a clear example) He didn't have a true sugar rush (yet) but he joined in by yelling and talking loudly because that seemed like a good way to contribute to the fun.

Here's the happy Murphy crew. Thomas needs credit, he really, really tried to get this picture to work. Even Ian was cooperative. You can take a guess who gave us a run for our money on this shot. Ian tried a chokehold to hold him in place (his idea, not ours!) but we intervened. Anyway, I decided to post them because it is so rare that you see the four of us together in one picture. We had a really grand old time this Halloween. Special thanks goes to:

-Grandma Sheila for the firefighter costume (and the Thomas costume).

-Tom for taking lots of fun pictures and videos (Grandmas, we will send you the complete collection, no worries!) Also for allowing me to tell stories about him.

-Linda for remembering to buy the candy (so we didn't get the lame slim pickings the day before or the night of Halloween-you know what I'm talking about)

-Ian for not having even one meltdown during Halloween evening. Even after candy and basically no dinner.

-Connor for being nocturnal and starting Halloween promptly at midnight on October 31 (and at 3:15am and 6am, the child really does not sleep)

-To our family and friends who read this blog and COMMENT to keep the author happy!

Love to all the NY peeps (and the CA and Houston peeps too).

Now, can I say, do you believe it's November already?

Halloween 2006, Part One

Okay, the cuteness factor is off the charts on Halloween! Of course, capturing these two cuties was the real challenge. Ian was a firefighter (minus the boots). Connor was a dragon/dinosaur; whatever you imagine him to be is fine. Finding him a costume not made of industrial strength fleece was another challenge, but Target came through. (hands up if you love Target!)

Okay, I know you are all doing a resounding "awww" for how cute my sweet baby dragon is. Connor also decided that celebrating Halloween isn't celebration enough. He added crawling forward to his repertoire to make a special day more fun. Of course, now comes the babyproof stage one: anything on the floor and floor level must now be checked, moved, hidden. This time around, it includes Ian's small toys and Tom's various music papers. You know, I always think our house is pretty babyproof, but they always, always find something you forgot or took for granted. We are very, very proud of our boy on the go. And maybe a bit wistful too.

Ian enjoyed the trick or treating, he was especially interested in ringing doorbells and saying thank you before actually getting candy (yes, folks, a two year old has manners! Whew!). The funniest part was prior to going out for trick or treating. I set out our bowl of candy to hand out while Ian was getting ready. He comes over with his bucket and starts choosing the candies he likes to put in his bucket. "I like this one.....and this one...." He did get to eat a candy after trick or treating and I think Daddy might have given him one before we left too, but he was outmatched by Mommy and Daddy, who created a secret stash of favorite candies. Love Halloween. It's such a lovely excuse to eat candy.

Okay, since Blogger is being tempermental (yes, you heard me, Blogger!) and will not allow me to post more pictures, I will have to create a sequel. So stay tuned.

Way Down Yonder in the Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch has become our first real tradition as a family. Part of that tradition is me becoming a bit neurotic about taking pictures of this event. Note the semi-matching shirts. Thinking composition, I chose blue shirts because I felt that color would be a good compliment to the orange pumpkins, add the matching hats, red socks, etc, etc.

Ian had a lot more fun this year (anyone recall the morose child from last year's pictures?). The activities included adding foam stickers to a pumpkin, a haystack maze, a playground, a hayride and a petting zoo. Let it be known that I am not a fan of petting zoos. If I had things my way, my boys would not be fans either. I have serious issues with the cleanliness of the animals in most petting zoos. It all goes back to being neurotic. Thankfully this year, nobody mentioned the animals so we skipped them entirely. Whew.

It was Connor's first official pumpkin patch visit (he was there last year too, unofficially). He really enjoyed sitting in the midst of the pumpkins, in fact it was really hard to get him to look up for a picture. (enter neurotic mom who wouldn' t quit until there was at least one decent photo with his face showing) The second picture reminds me of a certain percussionist. Like father, like son.

The nicest part of this year's pumpkin patch event was that my mother-in-law Sheila could join us. First of all, I am not sure who is more the queen bee photographer between the two of us.....she definitely is a shutterbug when it comes to these little boys. It was such a treat to have her visit us and share in some of the big and little moments in our family life. More on that in the next blog. (yes, Sheila, I will be blogging about you!)

I look forward to this tradition so much. I know my husband occasionally wants me to give the camera a rest and quit trying to make everything a picture.(unless he can be in it) I know that the boys may not remember the early pumpkin years. I know that it is just a simple activity. I know that I cannot miss it. I am just so glad that we have our pumpkin patch moment because it makes us all very happy. Isn't that the point?