Mothers. Daughters. Sisters. Friends.

I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blog - the sunshine, the closet cleaning, the gardening and the Dougherty summer of Fitness 2008 - is getting in the way of my creative process. Life has been really wonderful lately. The boys are funny, wild and happy. They are also pretty independent (well, as independent as a preschooler can be), they are happy to play in the yard making mud pies or playing soccer (which looks very little like real soccer since there is usually tackling). MJ is thinking about walking - she seems to change every day - and we are enjoying her thoroughly. James took the boys to the compost last night to clear out my weekends work, and so I had some quiet time with MJ. I read to her in the rocker that James bought for me the mother's day I was pregnant with Seamus and she seemed to delight in the special attention. Sometimes I think I could smother the kids with kisses and snuggles. It is such a blessing.




We headed up to the lake over mother's day weekend to open cabins (since this is the latest spring that anyone can remember). And I got to enjoy some fun time with my mother. MJ slept all through brunch (the smaller one) so I didn't get a picture with the three of us. Mother's Day for me this year was really about feeling grateful that I enjoy being a mother so much - which sounds silly - but I just didn't know that I would be as happy and comfortable with motherhood. I'm a place right now where I feel so pleased to be exactly where I am - for the first time (maybe ever in my life) I know I am doing exactly what I want to be doing and what I need to be doing. It took me awhile to get here, but now that I've arrived I feel a sort of gratitude to the kids for helping me find this part of myself. Diapers, dinners and discipline aren't always a laugh riot, but these wonderful relationships and every day that I have is filled with someones special "first" or watching a child discover something brand new is just a pleasure. And of course, it wouldn't be everything that it is without James. He's been so patient with me as we figure out this parenting thing. Our life is vastly different than what it was five years ago, so much has changed, but I wouldn't make any different choices. The four best things I've ever done were get married, and have each of our children. Now, the best days of my life change all the time, and I'm pretty sure they are all in my future.



I've also included some photos from my mother's birthday (75 whopping years). The girls surprised her with an afternoon of shopping, manicures and lunch. We had so much fun - there was very little quiet in the day - we decided we need to do this every week. The boys surprised her the next night and took her out for drinks - I'm sure this was equally as loud. If I've learned anything its that I hope I enjoy my life, my husband and my kids half as much as my mother does. We all my be lunatics, but we sure have fun.












The pictures are acting goofy, I'll try and fix later.