A Mother's Voice

Things have been rough with Mom lately,

& the last few nights I have found myself 

tossing and turning, not getting much sleep.

My mind is racing. 

There are a lot of overwhelming decisions ahead of us.

When I had trouble falling asleep as a child

my mother would sing me lullabies, usually something Irish,

her hand stroking my back in waves, up and down,

until my eyelids became heavy, my breath shallow.

 I would fall asleep to the sound of her voice,

the lull in her tone, her soft touch on my skin.

Even though my mom did not have the best singing voice,

it was still the most soothing sound in the world to me.

It still is.

Kieran with his Grandma. 

These sweet moments get me every time.

I hope Kieran feels the same way about my voice.

Even though I am sometimes off-key,

and often forget the words to songs,

Kieran looks at me, calm and sincere.

As I hold him to my cheek,

I imagine he is back in my womb,

the vibrations of my voice bouncing off his body,

the sway of my hips rocking him to sleep,

with my own mother's sweet voice in my ear, 

her hand at my back.

Music will forever be a calming force in my life,

and this rendition of the Pixies "Where is My Mind" by Maxence Cyrin 

is just beautiful and special and makes everything feel better.

It makes for a good substitute of a mother's voice, 

when one is not within ears reach.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qOmNGPL2TE)

Settling In

Oh here I am! I've made it! 
(I am currently patting myself on the back.)
I've been thinking about you,
REALLY!
It's just been a little hectic 'round these parts.
Juggling work, baby, having some sort of social life, 
 squeezing in some exercise time, 
AND trying to keep up on blogging is not so easy!
But I shall try harder! 
Promise!

I've been back to work for two months now,

and I'm actually settling in to the new routine quite nicely.
Fancy that! 

I mean, I miss my days with baby,
don't get me wrong, but it's been 
good to have some adult time

and get back into the groove of things.
AND even get to dress in something 
other than jeans and tank tops for a change. 
Oh yay! 

This is what I wore on my first day back to work. 
Ladies Room Fashion Show!

 I feel good in red shoes & chevrons.
Who doesn't? 

OH! 

And I've definitely missed the espresso 

machine at work while I was out on leave. 

Generally, I'm not a big coffee drinker.

I don't even have a coffee maker at home!

(What?! Yep, it's true!)

BUT there is nothing like a freshly brewed latte 

 in the early morning hours of a work day. 

The office is still quiet, and I am able 
to leisurely sip away while I catch up on emails.

YUM! 

I am certain that my transition back to work 

has been so easy breezy because of Kieran's care 

while I'm away. It's a great relief that while I am at work,

 my sweet boy is with his Grandma Toni and Grandpa Ty. 

We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Kieran LOVES them so much!

And bonus for me, Grandma sends me 

LOTS of pics and videos of baby when I'm at work. 

So I've been able to enjoy his cute smiles and giggles virtually.

Score! 

This was them at the park yesterday:

Um, hi cute baby!

Auntie Tami came out to play too!

Baby Kieran is so very blessed to have LOTS  
of family closeby that love him to pieces! 

I admit, fun days like the park day he 
had yesterday make me homesick for my baby, 
but it is so nice that he is spending
some quality time with family.

And it's the best feeling in the world when I see him after work.

He sees me, smiles, bounces up and down 

and gives me the cutest squeals of excitement! 

I think that makes it all worth it. 

He is one happy baby! 
(& that makes me one happy Mama!)

I'm lucky enough to be home on Thursdays and Fridays,
so I am still getting in some awesome baby time. :) 
Sweet! 


The way he looks at me never gets old.

And we get to do fun things like
play Cowboys and Indians! 

Bang! Bang! 

All the good stuff aside,
I'm not gonna lie, I'm exhausted! 
The one-two combo of going going going
when I get home from work and then the lack of sleep thereafter,
well, it starting to wear on me a bit.
I'm waking up EARLY in the morning
to get baby and get myself ready for work.
Like 5:30 early.
(Sad face!)

But as exhausted as I am,
I am somehow starting to get used to this not-sleeping-so-much thing.

Pretty soon I'll be a pro at it.
Sleeping is overrated.
(Said no one ever!)

We had the honor of babysitting 

our niece Deklynn last month on a night after work.

It was so fun to have the two babes together.

Look at me double-hippin' it!

It was a blast! 

But we also acknowledged how challenging it was 

to prep dinner and do the normal evening things

with two babies to care for. We laughed at the idea of twins.

Bless the hearts of parents to twins! 

(Twins run on Travis' side of the family. Ahhh!)

OH! 
And guess what!
Baby got his first tooth yesterday! 

It's official, he is growing entirely too fast!
Already 6 months! 

Anyway, just wanted to check in!
Next up in the blog queue,
Getting Out! 

Happy Tuesday friends!

XOXO
Aimee

Happy 100th Birthday Grandma!

Today is my Grandma's 100th Birthday,
and although she passed away 13 years ago,
I thought it proper to honor her just the same.

She was pretty awesome.

This is my favorite picture of her.

Frances (McAullife) McMahon

She was in her 20s here, and it was the 1930s. 

She reminds me of me.

Don't cha think?

 She was the only grandparent I was lucky enough to really know.

My Mom’s parents died when she was relatively young.

Her father when she was 14, and her mom when she was 24.  

My Dad’s dad died when I was 6, and being that he lived

on the other side of the US, I only met him once or twice.  

This is my Grandma and Grandpa McMahon.

Paul Richard McMahon, Sr. & Frances (McAullife) McMahon, 1936-ish. 

Is it weird to say I think Gramps was kind of hot?

You go Grandma!  

And Grams had some pretty chic fashion sense.

I think she got it from her parents.

These are my Great-Grandparents, Mary and James McAuliffe. (1945)

Doesn’t this picture make you want to live back then?

You know, minus the whole Great Depression thing.

I love the old cars and how everyone dressed up and wore coats and cool hats.

Total wannabe right here. . .

 My Grandma was ahead of her time, 

receiving a Masters degree in Mathematics with a Minor in Home Economics

 from Regis College in 1934.

Regis was a small private all-girls Roman Catholic college

located in Western Massachussetts.

And later she became a volunteer at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT.

I did not inherit either of these capabilities.

(My math = calculator. Blood & guts = Me passing out.)

I did however, inherit her giggle,

which I think might be one of her best qualities.

Grams mid-giggle (c. 1936).                 Me mid-giggle (c. 2012).

And as any devout Catholic,

Grams was also a constant support to St. Augustine's Church, 

which was literally across the street from her house on Barker Street.

St. Augustine's Catholic Church.

The homefront. 187 Barker Street.

If they needed something, anything,

she was always sure to find a way to help,

 often enlisting one or more of her brood to be of assistance.

Her brood. Well, you know, many years later. 1999.

My Dad has so many wonderful stories about his Mother.

And I can listen to them all day.
(Which is good. Because once he gets started, well, it's going to be a while.)

One of the things I love most about it all,

is that this family is rooted so deep in history,

and my Grandma, a Matriarch of Matriarchs,

has so much to do with that.

Her children and grandchildren congregated around her,

not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

She was a woman of wits, and spirit and selflessness.

This is my Grandma as I remember her.

My Grandma & I at my Uncle Jimmy & Aunt Ellen's wedding. 1990.

And even though she lived in Connecticut,

 and I in California, we were quite close.

We wrote each other letters on a regular basis

and would enjoy some intermittent phone calls here and there. 

Since her birthday was on April 2nd, 

 it was our family tradition to call her

on the 1st to say "Happy Birthday" as an April fools joke.

And she'd fall for it every time.

"Ooo! Is today my birthday?"

Her 'Ooo' had this way of sounding almost like an owl's soft coo.

She lived to be 86.

I was 17 and a Junior in high school when she died.

And even though it has been 13 years, I still get warm fuzzy feelings

remembering her giggle, her voice, her smile.

Love you Grams!

XO

Aimers

See my post on her Irish Bread recipe here.