Big Changes

I haven't posted in a few days, but I have a good reason. Several good reasons, in fact. As most of you know, we are making some big changes in our life, and many of those changes became much more concrete in the past week. Wednesday was the last day of school in Brockton, which was truly the last day for us in Brockton. I will be staying home with the kids next year, and Dave has just signed a contract with Saugus Public Schools to teach English at the high school next year. It was very emotional for me to clean out my desk and classroom. I became very attached to the people at the high school over the past ten years; I even married one of them. Driving away from the school for the very last time was tough on me. Luckily, I had my three adorable reasons to stay home babbling at me from the back seats of the van.

Even harder than leaving Brockton High was saying good-bye to Miss Pat. Miss Pat has been Mairead's daycare provider for the past two years, and we LOVE her. She really is like an extra grandmother for Mairead, and I know Mairead loves her very much. Mairead has been incredibly happy and well taken care of, and that made things much easier on Dave and me. Sending her to daycare was so hard for us, especially since we were still afraid to take our eyes off of her after her stroke. But while she was with Miss Pat, I never had to worry, and I have been very thankful for that. We stopped by to have the boys meet Miss Pat and the kids, and to say goodbye. Miss Pat wrote Mairead a little poem that, of course, made me cry, and told us how much she would miss her 'angel.' She said, "She is the best one I ever had. Except when she throws food." Yep, that's our girl! Thank you, Miss Pat, for taking such amazing care of our little girl- we are really going to miss you!


Thursday was pretty uneventful. More rain. But on Friday, we had an offer on our house. After some negotiating and a million phone calls, we accepted the offer and are now under agreement. We are so relieved to have a buyer since we are planning our move to Lowell at the end of July. The home inspection is Friday, so please pray for us that it all goes well. If it does, we will close the first week in August. This is another very emotional event since this is our home and we will miss it very much. We know that our kids will love being in Lowell since they can see Nana, Grampy, and some aunts, uncles, and cousins whenever we like.

I think that's it for the 'big stuff.' As for the 'little stuff,' Jack and Ben have both started to enjoy their 'special bear' blankets that we chose for them. As you know, Mairead does not go anywhere without her special bear, so before the boys were born, we bought a Tigger and a Pooh for them. The Pooh was quickly confiscated by their big sister, so we went back for another Tigger. The boys love them! They like the soft part against their faces, especially while napping, and they babble away at Tigger. They are getting to be so social and cute!

Ben on the left, Jack on the right


The boys have also started to enjoy Miss Spider. I had Mairead on my lap on the couch, and the boys were chillin' out in Dad's chair to watch the episode. When it comes on, Mairead yells, "Bounce, Bounce!" (the name of her favorite character). Now, the whole family can enjoy bedtime with Bounce and the gang.

Ben on the left, Jack on the right


Here's our 'baby' girl at just a month away from two years old! Where does the time go? She's got her new t-shirt (thanks, Kathy and Sye), her shades, and her cell phone. What else could a girl need?

Thanks for checking in with us- we will keep you posted about our hectic summer. Three kids under two (for another month, anyway), selling a house, packing, moving, Dave starting a new job, me as an official stay at home mom (I'm still teaching online, though), and enjoying every second that we get to spend with our kids!