Fair Winds

It's still early in the season here, but Providence gave My Hero gorgeous weather for his birthday (Happy Birthday!!!) and he finagled one of the only boats that was actually in the water moored just off Long Island Sound. I'm not going to lie. The cold bit through two sweaters and my coat. Wind must be cold blooded like a reptile, because it generally comes out after the sun has been up for a while. In our case, that was the last hour of our sailing time.

It was GLORIOUS!

We met a new friend (NF) who had at least 20 years of sailing experience. NF and My Hero generously coaxed me into taking the tiller while we had the precious wind. Normally, I stick to the sheets (ropes) and follow orders because I find the tiller counter-intuitive. Last season I logged a total of 40 minutes on a Sunfish before a lightening storm blew in. I was holding sleeping Mermaid the whole time. I'm not exactly a helmsman. So I was embarrassed to take the tiller in front of NF and didn't want to steal any of their wind time. This is not what is meant by "willing to learn."

I felt the wind working with our little vessel and the tiller started to make sense on a visceral level. I had to concentrate, but I made a successful tack. That was probably the longest I was ever at the tiller. My Hero fell in love with sailing first. I'm right behind him.

We didn't take any pictures, but it felt something like this:


Click here to learn about the Nortons, a family of 5 from the UK who are sailing around the world, expanding our dreams and spicing up our geography lessons. We all adore them!



I recently learned about this book promoting the value of sailing as a family in this day of decreased family leisure time and increased division due to digital devices. Here is the quote that sold me:

The best way to get people into sailing and keep them interested, says Hayes, is the time-honored relationship of a capable mentor and a keen apprentice: “Mentoring is teaching infused with leadership. Mentoring may center on a principal skill or a capability like sailing, but its mastery isn’t exclusive to the skill or the technique, but to the broader understanding of what makes the skill or technique valuable and relevant.”

Family, Mentoring, and Sailing - three loves of mine.

Fair Winds!

Red Lipstick Therapy

Scrutinizing my reflection and contemplating my upcoming birthday I realized that I not only look my age, but I also look something like my maternal grandmother when she was my age. I decided to accentuate the similarities with bright red lipstick like Grandma (and all the hollywood starlets of her day) used to wear. The change was dramatic. I was mildly uncomfortable, but genuinely emboldened. Red lipstick, it turns out, makes me feel cheerful.

Mermaid noticed the difference right away and was mesmerized by the presence of lips on my face. She focused trying to imitate all the shapes they made as I spoke or sang to her. Could this be a break through in her speech development? Maybe. I'll be wearing red lipstick more often... for both of us. Thank you, Grandma!

A Knight's Tale

(No babies were harmed in the celebration of this birthday)


(There was a literary skirmish regarding the definition of "happy ending." Happy for who? The pirate or the prince? Read on for the diplomatic conclusion...

A Knight’s Tale
(As told by the guests of Sparkle’s Medieval Birthday)
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away there was a princess who was stuck in a tower and a the pirate who was very greedy indeed trapped her. He said, "Argh! Argh! Argh!” And the pirate killed the king.
The pirate hired an evil scientist to make a creature that could help him take over the kingdom. Nearby there was a knight trying to get to the princess to save her. But the pirate killed all the people who were trying to save the princess. Until there was one more prince left.
He had special helpers named Max and Alex. They had super-super power. They had super speed and super vision. The prince heard a voice calling, "help." Then there was a big burning fire from a dragon.
All of them were sleeping at night. the pirate snuck in and went past. The pirate is still alive in the castle with the queen and king dead as Zombies. Watch out. He might get you.
The prince was very quiet back to his cabin. He has a special cabin. His assistants were waiting. He talked to the super speedy one and he said, "I need you to zoom all around the castle."
Then the prince would sneak up because the fast one distracted the dragon. Then the prince killed the dragon. He got the princess and they got married.
Then the magic fairy put an invincible force field around the kingdom and the prince and princess sprinkled magic glitter over all the people to change them back to normal. The pirate and the mad scientist revived the dragon and went to hunt for gold and treasure. So everyone got what they wanted and lived happily ever after.


THE END

Mermaid's Birthday

Mermaid is rockin' two years old! She didn't know what to do with her candles, but she was all over the cake.

Torpedo's Birthday

On Torpedo's fourth birthday, he showed me the joy of met expectations. For the six weeks leading up to his birthday, every time he asked for a "red Lightening McQueen racecar" I told him "Yes. I will give you a red Lightening McQueen racecar on your birthday." The fact that he was able to delay gratification let me know that he is indeed turning a corner, not squealing around it on two wheels at mach 3, but plugging along.

When the anticipated day arrived, he was appropriately giddy. Even though (and maybe because) he knew exactly what he was getting, he was SO happy when he opened the package and squealled, "A red Lightening McQueen racecar! I LOVE IT!"

I guess surprises are fine, but knowing exactly what you want, working towards/waiting for it and then getting it is awesome! Kachow!

I left his eyes red because it seemed right given his current obsession.

First Fairy

This has been an exciting year of many firsts, not just for Mermaid, but for all of us. Thankfully, we have traditions to anchor us periodically. One of the oldest and most famous traditions in our family is the Birthday Fairy. The BF helps us celebrate the glorious golden age of earth life. Today, Mermaid got her first visit from the BF. We are so grateful to have Mermaid in our family and she's pretty happy about it, too! Or, she may just be happy because, from her point of view, the decorations look like gigantic rainbow breasts, a nursing baby's dream come true! (Her Dad gets credit for the rainbow comment.)

Beautiful Bella

We're so thrilled to welcome another niece into our family.
The cousins are destined to be great mischief at future family gatherings.

Happy Birthday, Star!

This post is dedicated to Star, the brave girl who first joined our family and made us parents. We've probably made it too hard on her. She has probably made it too easy on us. Star is delightful. She is aware, thoughtful (as in, thinks things through), responsive, funny, kind, appreciative and very fashionable (see above). We Love you!!!!

Angelfish says, "Star is a good sister!"

Sparkle says "Star is smooth as a shell. Like her hair is smooth as a shell. Get it? Like hair is smooth."

"Torpedo, do you like Star?"
"Yes."

Angelfish is the Bomb

This is just a shout out to Angelfish on her Golden Birthday. I wanted to share a favorite picture of Angelfish that captures her attitude on life and the feeling that she brings into our family.

Love you, Angelfish!!!

Always time for cheesecake

Happy Birthday, My Hero! 

He only had 50 minutes to join us for lunch and a luscious Keylime cheesecake. 

(Kendra C's lemon cheesecake is still number 1!)

Happy Birthday Two Torpedo!

Balloons can be fun first thing in the morning. Apple cider donuts are good any time of the day or night. But when you're Torpedo: Happy is what happens when all your helicopter dreams come true!