Time for a breather

Emma is getting harder and harder to keep in bed these days. She has every excuse to get up and keep her brother awake. She is driving me crazy and I am about to go to the hardware store to purchase some rope so I can hog tie her to her mattress. Is that bad parenting?

Ben on the other hand is an absolute sweetheart when it comes to simply laying in bed until he drifts off to dreamland. His sister has been raging for 45 minutes now and he is just flopping around trying to find his comfy spot quiet as a church mouse.

I am probably antsy because I didn't get out of the penthouse at all today as I was cleaning and prepping the suitcases for our trip to Florida tomorrow. The flight is only 3 hours long - so much nicer than our west coast - east coast jaunts with the kids, and they are older now and generally easier to entertain. But just the stress of being out of the house again so quickly coupled with knowing as soon as we get back we immediately leave for Palm Springs for our convention means that 18 of 21 days have been / will be spent sleeping in a bed other than mine.

The day did go pretty fast today. The kids are having a blast playing with their new toys. The Thomas tracks continue to be the big winner - we spent a good 4 hours of today building them and playing, ripping them apart then rebuilding them in a different configuration and playing with them more. I ordered some rechargeable batteries today because we are blowing through AAs like crazy. As you can see, Ben likes to get right in the center of it all with his face super close to the track to watch them go by. It is so darned adorable and he gets the biggest smile. When a train derails and he can't get it back on the track, he will grab it, come and find me, tug on my pants to get my attention, take my hand and place the train in it, look me in the eye and smile huge, then run back to the tracks looking over his shoulder to make sure I am following him. It bursts my heart! If only he would speak - it would make the process so much easier for him. But then again he would sound like his sister screaming at me across the living room, "MOOOOOOM! GET IT! PUT PERCY BACK ON THE TRACK! QUICK, MOM! THOMAS IS GOING TO CRASH HIM!" ...I think I prefer the mute...

Christmas 2010

I didn't take any notes about the wonderfully funny stuff that Emma said this past week and I can't remember the details (oi), so you will just have to trust me that she did not disappoint.

Our Christmas was AWESOME. My entire immediate family was present which was the best Christmas present ever. That hasn't happened for 3 years - Emma's 1st Christmas. Ben woke up at about 6:30am and Emma soon after. They timidly came into the living room, saw the goods, ran up to the tree and stood there not quite sure what to do! Ben just wandered around in circles around the room ultimately picking his old toys out of the toy bin and playing with them. It was as if he were too overwhelmed to grab any of the new stuff. Emma just sat on the carpet staring at the unwrapped presents finally figuring out that we could open the others. We spent the next hour slowly unwrapping / playing with the gifts. There were a few toys that were a big hit - especially the leap frog computer, princess magic wand from Auntie Cold, and the Thomas the Train Trackmaster set that neither kid could get enough of.

Around 10am we headed over to Aunt Lisa's for round 2. We had a yummy brunch and unwrapped a bunch more presents and played the afternoon away until Grandpa and Grandma Nancy arrived for round 3. Yes, round 3! Needless to say, there is a reason I only spent a total of $60 of my own money on presents for my kiddos. They are so very loved by our families that they get so much cool stuff!!

Both kids were exhausted by the end of the day and slept hard and long that night. I am happy to report Benny slept pretty good the whole week we were there - he only had one night of insomnia and one night of waking but falling back to sleep after some milk (much better statistics than our Thanksgiving vacation).

On Sunday evening the storm that we had been eyeballing decided to swing back around and dump a foot of snow on our home in NY. We debated driving back on Monday as planned, but were confident that by the time we reached our neck of the woods the county plows would have done their jobs and cleaned up the streets. We were correct and made it back with no trouble. As we are heading to Florida to celebrate the New Year with Abuelita and Grandpop and Uncle Raul and Aunt Laurie, we left our dogs in the care of Gramma Lou. About 2 hours into our drive home when we stopped for lunch Emma burst into tears crying out at the top of her lungs with giant tears rolling down her face that she "missed Doedoe and Cass so much and that we had to turn around and go back to Gramma's house right now and get them!" She did it randomly again today here at the penthouse. Who knew she liked the doggies so much... I am also pleased to report that about 30 minutes from home she announced that she had to go potty and held it the entire way home without a drip. That has given me confidence that she truly is "trained" and I will attempt to now stop reporting to you on a daily basis about the toilet habits of our daughter. (Or maybe I won't - you will have to keep reading! I will probably be telling you on her 16th birthday that she didn't have an accident and we are very proud of her...)

Here are pics of some of our favorite gifts:

(Handy Manny toolbox, Leap frog computer, and paints and stamp craft kit)

(Train tracks complete with motorized trains, and Toy Story 3 Chutes and Ladders - Aunt Miki won!)

(a rare present - my siblings and their spouses all together in front of the tree)

Hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families and friends!! xoxoxo, Mommy

Trains!

We have been so busy playing with our Christmas bounty that I haven't had time to post. I have set aside time tonight after the kids go to bed, but for now enjoy this 30 second clip:

Brush your teeth!!

Yesterday my false teeth having father popped out his bottom teeth and handed them to Emma. She about died on the spot. She was soooooo worried that there was something wrong with her beloved Grandpa that she almost started o cry. When I explained to her that Grandpa was just teasing her and he had fake teeth she felt a bit better but told him he really should go to the dentist. Then she had a brilliant idea, "Grandpa! Herbie is a dentist! He can fix your teeth!!!" (As in Herbie the Elf from Rudolph - hahahaha!)

Our drive to PA was fabulously uneventful. There was no traffic - not even in NYC - and we only had to stop for one potty break. Emma did great and once again we were very proud of her. We arrived in record time and are hoping for something similar on the return trip!

It hasn't gotten above 29˚ this week and is almost too cold to play outside. Emma had fun shoveling Gramma's front steps with Cousin Frank, but that is about all the fun we have been able to have outside so far. There are a couple of inches of snow on the ground with cold temps forecasted, so it looks like we will be having a white Christmas. Hooray!

Flirt

We have had such a good run of sleep filled nights here that I didn't want to write about it and jinx it, but last night Ben woke up hollering at 1am from a bad dream. He couldn't be convinced to go back into his crib, so he and I snuggled in on our comfy sofa. We just hung out snuggling and singing soft songs for about an hour. It was sweet and wonderful and as I tired as I was I know my days of snuggling in with Ben like this are numbered so I enjoyed every minute of it. At 2:10am when he finally decided, no more snuggling I want to PLAY, I decided that if he wanted to play he could take his train with him into his crib and play there. Usually this is cause for great fuss from Ben, but last night he was content to do so. I heard him quietly playing for about 10 minutes before I passed out, then he must have to and slept until almost 9am this morning.

Last Thursday while Emma was in school, Daddy and I took Benny to Fun For All. He was nonstop movement for the entire 75 minutes we were there. He was so excited to be out of the Penthouse and to also have the full attention of Mommy and Daddy. Normally he isn't a fan of the bouncy jumpers, but there was a cute little almost 2 year old girl playing on it, so Benny actually stayed a while and flirted with her by falling face first into the pit over and over near where she was playing. It was so darned adorable. By the time we needed to leave and pick up Emma, he was starting to slow down, so I scooped him up and off we went. He was asleep pretty quickly in the van, and barely even moved when I transferred him from the van to his crib where he napped for over 2 hours. Sweet!

Humble Bumble

As it is colder here these days than Alaska (seriously - check weather.com!!), we have been stuck inside quite a bit. We fill our days by rotating through our toys, watching Christmas movies over and over, coloring, playdoh and lots and lots of wrestling. Oh, and hide and seek is still a big winner here in the Penthouse. Yes, the Penthouse. I have been struggling to come up with a name for our NY pad and it finally hit me today that we live on the top floor of the building so it is the Penthouse!! (Yes, it is only a two story building but...)

Our absolute favorite way to enjoy the time as a family is to look through old photos and video. Both kids LOVE to watch themselves on video, but Benjamin gets the biggest gas out it - especially if he is being naughty on the video. The following 30 seconds is proof that our son loves to watch himself as Benny the destroyer.

Daddy wants me to go through the toys and get rid of the ones we don't play with. Trouble is, we play with them all - there are 12 hours of fun to fill! He said, "We never play with those blocks." Yes. we do, Dad, here is proof!

And finally, further proof that we may possibly break the record for "Most Viewings of Rudolph in a Holiday Season" today when we were coloring, Emma asked me to draw a picture of Rudolph. She then demanded I give him a red nose. Then she made me draw Clarice - complete with purple bow on her head. She went through the whole cast of the show even commanding me to make Yukon Cornieljes' dogs... When we were done, she roared around the house as the Abominable Emma with her claws out. She finally ended the show turning "nice" and calling herself a "Humble Bumble."

And, yes, I am well aware I missed my calling as a Metropolitan Museum of Art worthy artist...

Dr Emma, please report to Pediatrics.

My journaling seems to always fall off this time of year. It's not that nothing exciting is happening - it's that too much exciting is happening and I don't have time to write about it. Which saddens me because if I don't write about it, I will forget about it!! I love looking back over my blog books and seeing how my children have grown - and how I have grown as a parent, too!

I got the best text from Daddy on Monday when he was playing Mr Mom. They had stopped at a local pizzeria and picked up a pie for dinner. Emma kept calling it the "pizza store" and Daddy kept trying to correct her and teach her a new word. Finally Emma decided that it should be a combo of both and that it would from now on be called a "pizzaSTORia" (with the emphasis on the 'stor' syllable).

She is also is Dr Emma mode keeping a good eye on her snot nosed brother. "Hey Mom, Benny's got something yucky on his face." - referring to a giant booger that landed on his cheek during a good old wipe my nose on my sleeve swipe. Awesome.

Daddy has taken to making up his own stories at night time instead of reading the books we have for the 842nd time (hint hint, Santa Claus!). The other day he was telling our children as they were lying in bed this awesome continuous story about a little blond girl who travels places on a big red boat. This particular day she landed on an island filled with monkeys. All of a sudden Ben, completely unprovoked, added his own sound effects going, "Oo oo, ah ah ah!" which reminds me once again a) how freaken cute this kid is, b) how smart he is, and c) that he is not deaf, he is just a man with selective hearing.

Emma continues to thrive at preschool. When we picked her up the other day her teacher told us that whenever she asks a kid in the class who is their best friend, they all say, "Emma B!" How sweet is that?

a post for mommy

Daddy's hijacking the blog tonight. 


Don't expect anything grand or witty, I think this video should stand alone.

And don't dare question my claymation mommy...

The Santa chronicles 2010

This morning a friend of our family posted a picture of their children (3 years and almost 2 years - sound familier?) of the kids sitting on Santa's lap. I showed the picture to Emma NEVER expecting the response I got. She thought about it for awhile, then said, "Mom, we gotta make a list." "A list, for what?" "A list to give to Santa. I gotta give it to him so he knows what to give me for Christmas." "Okay, I will be happy to make you a list. But do you want to go and see Santa and give it to him?" "Yes, Mommy. I wanna go today!"

It is amazing what a bit of peer pressure can do!

I gave her a few different outs as we were getting ready to go and as we were driving there, but she was adamant that she wanted to see Santa. We waited in a fast moving line and she didn't even flinch when it was her turn. She walked right up to him and gave him her list and sat on his lap without hesitation. I don't think she actually said anything to him, but he did a nice job of reading the list back to her and she didn't show any signs of being afraid. When it came time for the photo op, I tossed Benny real fast on Santa's lap so we could attempt a nice picture, but that was asking too much and we got this:

The best part is this short shaky video that I was trying to take while attempting to get Ben to look at the camera:

I never expected this day to happen and I was SO PROUD of Emma as we were leaving. She was petrified of Santa up until she saw Kayla sitting on his lap in a FB picture. Then, something clicked and she got the courage to do what she needed to do. It was AWESOME.

And just so we have a quick comparison from the last 3 years...

 Yesterday I was helping out in the preschool so Ben went to the office with Daddy. Look at this cute little professional in training!!

For dinner last night Ben had some applesauce. We usually feed him this as he likes to make a giant mess if we don't. Well our babysitter Wednesday night didn't know this and she let him feed himself and apparently he did a great job, so we decided to give him another shot at it. Looky looky, Ben acting like a big boy at the dinner table!

Emmsa-doo

6 months ago when we moved here from a two bathroom place, I was slightly concerned about downgrading to a one bathroom joint with 3 out of 4 of us now using the potty.  To my surprise it has only been a problem a couple of times - and one of those times was yesterday.

Daddy was occupying the WC when Emma announced, "I gotta go poopy!" She ran to the door and knocked on it hurriedly and Daddy speedily finished up lighting a match to cover the stink. Emma walked in, took a whiff and proclaimed, "I smell a private!" (Huh??)

Later that afternoon the exact scenario happened again, this time Daddy did not light a match and when Emma entered the bathroom she in a grossed out manner said, "Hey, I smell a poopy!" - make up your mind, kid!

This morning Emma woke from a bad dream at about 5:50am and wandered into our room. I pulled her into bed with us for a snuggle and then decided I may as well get up and get my day started. I left her and Daddy and went into the kitchen and unloaded the dishwasher. About five minutes later, she wandered out and saw me moving around although it was still dark outside and asked, "Mommy, are you waking up?" Yep, I said. "Umm, can I waking up, too?" Sure, I said. She was so thrilled with my answer she flew across the room and gave me a giant hug! I am pretty sure she figured it was the middle of the night and didn't think I would let her play...

Emma's word of the week is "actually." And I love the way she pronounces it. She was walking around with my purse around her neck and I said, "Oh, Emma, I like your new purse!" "Axshully, Mama, it's your purse." She uses it often in her sentences. "Em, do you want milk?" "Axshully, I want juice." "Axshully I wanna take a bath." "Axshully I wanna wear my sneakers." The best part about it is you have to imagine her saying it in her best "Valley Girl - gag me with a spoon" accent! You can take the girl out of the Valley, but you can't take the Valley out of the girl!

Finally, after preschool today we headed over to a school buddies house for a playdate. We had never been there before so I had looked up the address on mapquest and showed Emma where we were going. As we were driving there, I told Emma, "We have to look for the yellow house with the number 26 on it." to which Emma replied quite forcefully, "No, Mommy, Georgie's house is near the letter A." What?? "Yes, Mommy, you showed me, his house is near the letter A." I then realized she was talking about the map. (See picture!!)

If I could save time in a bottle...

For the 2nd day in a row, Ben was up and ready to play at 5am. I don't know why this throws such a monkeywrench into my day - oh, yeah, sleep deprivation! - but I am not myself and it takes me even longer to get out the door with the kids in the morning when I have an extra two hours!

Granted, when he is up this early we have some good one on one time. We have spent the past 2 mornings singing songs snuggled on the couch. He is getting so big, but he still loves to curl up on my chest and for me to rub his back while I sing. He also continues to love the "moutsa" game (thank you Kai Lan) where he puts objects on my head, looks me in the eye, and laughs at how silly I look. By the way, Ben has THE BEST laugh. You can't help but laugh when this kid is laughing! Daddy and I were also remarking that we love the sound of his voice, too. He is such a bruiser of a boy, but has this delicate sweet speaking voice.

Emma continues to blow us away daily. She has an elephant's memory and uses it to her advantage often. Last night after dinner we wandered around Main Street. Our village was hosting their 15th Annual Charles Dickens Festival. Lots of folks were walking the streets in vintage Dickens era costumes bursting into Christmas carols randomly on the street corners. It was only 38˚ out, so we tossed Ben, who refuses to wear gloves, in the stroller, popped Emma on Daddy's shoulders (she loves wearing hats and mittens, phew!) and did a 20 minute power walk around the village enjoying the people watching and the lights. We even toasted marshmallows on the street with a family that provided the fire and free marshmallows - the perks of living in a tiny village! I forgot my camera - argh - but here is a bad cell phone pic of Emma all wintered out (knitted cap compliments of Henry's mama - isn't it cute???) getting her free ride.

And another thing...

This amazingly handsome little man spoke his first real word today. At Target he walked up to a bin of bananas and tried to grab one saying, "Nana!"

We've been practicing all afternoon to make sure it wasn't a fluke. It's not!

poop-doh

How does a toy bring our daughter so much joy yet is the bane of my existence?

Parenting 101

When we dropped Emma off at preschool this morning it was only 37˚ out. As we were cooped up inside the entire day yesterday due to torrential rains (and late evening blackout), I wanted to give Ben the chance to RUN.

So we headed to South Setauket and our favorite indoor playground, Target!

"Target?" you ask? Yep, Target. Poor Ben is ALWAYS delegated to the shopping cart seat when we are there because usually I have 20 minutes and 2 kids and I need to go fast. But not today. Today we had 2 hours to kill and nothing to buy, so I didn't get a cart and let big bad Ben go on his own.

At first he was incredibly timid. He was walking gingerly on the shiny floor as if he were walking on ice. He was screaming like he was in pain and straightening out his body with crazy discomfort. I was laughing so hard because I truly thought he thought he was going to slip and fall if he walked on the floor.

Finally after about 5 minutes of the fuss, he relaxed and took off running. I am pretty sure we went down every single aisle and you could hear me often say, "Hey, I didn't know they sold that here!" as we went down aisles I had never seen! My favorite part was when he turned the corner into the toy aisle - the train aisle to be exact. He stopped short and just stared in awe. Then he tip toed up to a box and touched it ever so softly as if they were crystal and he didn't want to break them. I squatted down next to him and he turned and gave me the biggest hug ever! He was so happy - as if he were in train heaven. We sat there for a good 5 minutes just looking at the pictures on the boxes. He didn't necessarily want me to buy them, although I am sure he wouldn't have complained if I did, he was just enjoying the moment - a great lesson for us all.

He also had a ton of fun running all around the men's overstuffed department. They had more clothes than space so it made for good hide and seek. I am sure the guys in the security department were wondering what this crazy mama was doing letting her kiddo run wild throughout the store... We ended up buying some pan spray and 2 bananas for a total of $1.70. I don't think I ever spent so much time in a Target and got out for so little!!

Oh, and here is the good parenting part. As I was paying for the goods I scooped Ben up so he wouldn't run away. He STUNK so bad. Turns out the fussing and gingerly stepping when we first arrived was INTESTINAL DISTRESS not a fear of walking on the floor...

Bad mama. Bad mama. Bad mama.

Happy Benday

Benny and I had the best day today. First of all, he has slept through the night for 3 straight nights (his sister, on the other hand, has not... but that is for another post). Then this morning after we dropped his sister off at preschool, we decided since it was in the high 40s, to get some fresh air. So we headed down to the marina for about 40 minutes of play. As you know, Ben is train obsessed and he had a blast playing with this Christmas present from last year on the rickity old boat on the beach.

When the wind started to kick up, we headed over to the library to wreak havoc on their children's section. Ben did not disappoint - running up and down the stacks of books and playing Godzilla with the lego towers that the other kids had already built on the lego table. He played with the magnetic puzzles and even looked through one whole book.

This afternoon after his nap, he and Emma were laughing hysterically chasing each other up and down the hall and in and out of their bedroom. I was in awe at how quickly their play would go from laughter to tears and back to laughter again. I've noticed lately that he gets crazy jealous if I am playing with Emma solo or hugging Daddy. He wants to be my center of attention when before he was happy to do his own thing. I know I should discourage his jealousy, but it is so stinkin' endearing.

Tonight just before bed, he snuggled into my chest and I sang a bunch of Christmas songs to him. He laced his tiny fingers with mine and my heart melted. I said to him, "I love you!" to which he replied as he often does, "aye-oo-oo" which I am telling you people is Benny speak for I love you.

We're back!

We had an awesome visit in PA for the Thanksgiving holiday! Ben slept good the past 2 nights, so I have no clue what was troubling him for 4 nights in a row. I have new dark circles under my eyes, a few new wrinkles and probably some new gray hair, but he is worth it. : )

We made it home potty accident free. Emma told us twice she had to go and then held it both times until we could find a rest room. That makes me feel as though the trip out was not a fluke and the kid has finally figured out the on and off mechanism! Yippee!

We are having fun enjoying the all the holiday special cartoons on tv. I try to be interactive with the kids and ask them questions about what they are seeing, but all I get is, "Mommy, be quiet, I can't hear!"

Ben saw his first snow fall on Thanksgiving and Emma had a blast making mini snowmen and eating snow. She was properly schooled on only eating WHITE snow - I just tested her and she remembered the lesson, so hopefully that won't be a problem. Now if only Benny can comprehend it!

Happy Friday

The Lost Boys saga continues.... Ben...won't...sleep... at... night... (or eat... for that matter - yet he is happy and healthy so don't worry!!! We parents, and Gramma Lou, too, just have a few new bags under our eyes...).

But tonight as we were getting the kids ready for bed we were wrestling on the couch. We "pig piled" on Daddy saying that we were making an Emma sandwich. Emma said, "No, we are making a burger! Daddy is the burger, Emma is the cheese, Mommy is the lettuce, and Benny is the bacon."

No more Wendy's for Emma!! xoxox Happy days to you all!

a picture is worth a 1000 words

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is generally a reason specific reason when I haven't blogged for 5 days and that reason is sleep. Or lack of it.

I did a super quickie LA trip this weekend - a whopping 28 hours on the ground before flying back east and then driving in a car with 2 dogs, 2 kids and a husband to PA for the holiday. Jet lag / little sleep? Check.

Also, the past two nights here in PA, Vampire Ben has been visiting. Not the blood sucking one, just the Lost Boys one who sleeps by day and plays all night. Well, not all night, I did get 4 hours of sleep last night, but that is only because I went to bed at 8:30pm and was woken up at 12:30...

I can only imagine what is going on with this little kiddo. He may be hungry as he eats so little? He is not in his own bed so he can't get comfortable? He is having crazy dreams because he wakes up screaming bloody murder? If only he would speak...

The good news is the drive to PA was uneventful. A ride that should have lasted 3 1/2 hours took 4 1/2 hours - 30 minutes of traffic in NYC and 2 pit stops for Emma. I am happy to report she had NO ACCIDENTS the whole ride which - knock on wood - makes me feel like she has finally reached a milestone (the one where she announces she has to go and ACTUALLY holds it until we find a toilet). HOORAY!

"Turn on it! Turn on it!" is Emma's new chant when she wants something turned on...

Despite the lack of sleep, we have been truly enjoying being with family the past two days. Cousins Leah and Frank are so good with entertaining their considerably younger cousins which gives us a bit of a break. We are very thankful for them and wish we lived just a wee bit closer...

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Emma's incredible imagination. She makes up these awesome pretend scenarios when she is playing with toys. And not just toys. She made me turn these squash into our family last night and played with them all evening. I hope she doesn't have a heart attack when I slice them up for cooking this afternoon!!

Junkie

Further proof that if you want your kid to like something talk about it in a positive excited tone for weeks then make it happen. For example, I cleaned out the kids drawers getting rid of all the under 2T stuff of Ben's and pretty much all of Emma's summer stuff (she certainly won't fit into it next summer and it is useless to us now that the 50's are upon us). Emma kept asking me, "What are you doin', Mom?" And I told her I was taking her old clothes and getting ready to give them to other kids to wear. She wasn't too keen on losing her favorite shirt until she found out she could get new clothes for herself. (And by "new" I mean "new to her".) You see, I've become a thrift store junkie. (The thrift stores here are so much nicer than what I am used to in LA. And the clientele makes for some GOOD people watching!)

Yesterday I scored 3 pairs of jeans for the kids and 2 pair for myself for a total of $17, all 5 pairs look like they have been worn maybe twice, if that! We dropped off all the bags I had and Emma said, "Are the odder kids gonna wear my clothes now and I can wear their clothes?" Yep! "Hooray! Let's go get some to share." It was a very sweet moment.

Emma has a birthday party at a Tae Kwan Do joint this afternoon. Should make for some interesting stories...

And the winner is...!

Not one to be defeated by a bad experience, I packed up the kids AND the DADDY and the STROLLER and some SNACKS, and drove over to that same hiking trail that almost killed me yesterday. This time with my reinforcements in place, we struck out to conquer that 1.6 miles x 2.

And, we DID IT. The WHOLE thing. We almost didn't finish it - not because of the kids, because of the creaky old parents. At one point Daddy was wondering if we should turn around and head back, but I said, "We've come this far. We should at least try to make it to the end." Then about 10 minutes later I said to Daddy, "Okay, we can probably turn around now." to which he replied, "We've come this far..." With us pushing each other we completed it - and the kids did great, with the help of the stroller and the snacks. (Remember, this is a VERY hilly path and the kids in the stroller adds a good 100 lbs to the workout.)

I must admit, I am kind of addicted to hiking now. I am already trying to figure out where we should go today. It's great exercise and the kids sleep so good at night!!

Before the hike Emma had preschool. As the school is a co-op, a parent is scheduled to be in the classroom every session to help out the teachers. My turn was yesterday - it was fun, but tiring! There were 16 kids and 3 adults and we all had our hands full. I got to change one #2 accident on a kid (gross enough when it is your own kid, but when it is another kid's - yucko), and one pee pee accident (not nearly as gross). As they are in full Thanksgiving prep, we got to make a cool corn craft with bubble wrap and paint, and build a teepee in the back room for the kids to play in. We also practiced their songs for the party on Tuesday and did various other crafts and open play. Being in the classroom reinforced to me how much I like this school. There is no rigid structure to the "lessons" - the kids are 3, they don't need structure just yet! But there was plenty of "coaching" on sharing and waiting your turn, etc., which I thought was great.

Emmaism of the day: Mommy used to have quite a potty mouth in her youth, but the minute Emma was born some kind of switch flicked in my brain and I have maybe said 3 curse words in 3 years and 4 months. Good thing, too, because - as expected, this kid is a parrot. Today's brilliant example: I got a text from Daddy while I was at the supermarket. He was playing play doh with Em making a cupcake for Aunt Lisa's birthday party next week. Daddy was not making it to her rigid standards and she was exasperated. The text said, "YOUR daughter just told me, 'you're killing me dooot!' What do you have to say about that?" You see, when Emma exasperates me I may just kind of once in a while always say on a daily basis, "You're killing me, dude." Oops. That's not sooooo bad, is it?

Lesson 56

We had such great success hiking with the kids over the weekend that I thought, "Hey, I can do this with the kids on my own!" Right? WRONG.

We hopped in the car this morning at about 10am and drove over to the tiny parking lot of Gnarled Hollow Road. The trail is actually a bike path, beautifully paved, winding through the woods for 1.6 miles. The problem is, it ends at a point 1.6 miles away, so you have to turn around and walk the same route back. No big deal for an adult, BUT INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO TODDLERS!!

We were having such a good time kicking leaves, and picking clovers, and seeing squirrels and lots of dogs on leashes passing us by. I knew just over what I gauged to be half way through the course that I was working with little kiddos here and I should probably turn around because 3.2 miles round trip probably wouldn't fly with their little legs.

Guess what didn't fly? THE WHOLE TURNING AROUND THING. Emma went bonkers refusing to believe me when I said that we need to go back the way we came because our car was waiting back at the parking lot where we started. She was convinced I was lying and planted herself firmly on the ground refusing to move unless we continued forward. I scooped Ben up and started walking back figuring she would follow after a minute, but NOPE, cheeky little princess sat right there and I am the one who had to go back for her with Ben SCREAMING THE WHOLE TIME in my left ear.

I pretty much had to bribe her with a promise that if she stood up and walked back with me we would stop at the "hamburger store" and get her a cheeseburger to eat in the car. She accepted that and made her move.

But that didn't console Ben. I had absolutely no clue what his problem was as he still doesn't speak. He was "saying" (crying/screaming) the same thing over and over and over though. After hearing it about 100 times I finally convinced myself it sounded like he was saying "all done." I had to carry him THE WHOLE WAY BACK. Every time I even tried to put him down to give my bulging biceps a rest he screamed even harder. The kid was EXHAUSTED by the time we got back to the van, and not because he was tired from hiking!

I took some of the cutest pics of us walking before it all went to Hell in a hand basket, but I don't even feel like uploading them after the exciting denouement. Maybe tomorrow...

So lesson learned. If I do that trail again - and I will because it was AWESOME, I will take the double stroller with me. That way they can sit on the return hike and stuff their faces with raisins and watered down V8 fusion (blueberry/pomegranate).

This afternoon after naps, and by naps I mean me and Ben, we all headed over to the mall to wander around as a family. I knew Jolly Old Saint Nicholas was there and I was hoping Emma would want to chat with him and maybe get a nice picture. NEGATIVE. We chatted about him on the ride there and she was excited, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of him (and he was a GOOD one, too - real beard and all!!!), she hid behind Daddy's leg and got all quiet. We didn't push her and gave her a few more chances passing him another couple of times, but each time was the same reaction. I am going to keep "talking him up" and hopefully the next time she sees a Santa, she will be braver.

She did request to watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" after dinner though, so maybe that is a good sign. hahaha

New adventures continue.

This morning was the kind of morning that if I weren't careful we would still be in our PJs eating lunch. I knew I needed to get the kids out of the house but I wasn't feeling very inspired. I called my neighbor and asked her if she had any fun plans for the morning we could crash, and she suggested we all go to Middle Country Library as they have a massive children's area with toys, puzzles, a train table, a giant doll house, a big ship and, of course, BOOKS! I thought it was a great idea so we all got dressed and away we went.

I had heard about this library but I am so fond of our local library that I never really considered making the trip. I am so glad we did! We were there for about an hour and I literally had to rip Ben away from the train table - he cried hysterically all the way out of the library! Emma had a blast playing in the giant doll house with Henry, and playing with the magnetic letters, and the kitchen set, and jumping on the boat. She did everything - except READ BOOKS, because hey, we have books at home.

Needless to say when it gets too cold to be outside, this place is going to be one of our new haunts. (How big does Ben look in this pic! The kid is growing like a weed defying all science as he still doesn't eat - must be some truth to the "Drink your milk so you can grow big and strong." as that is the only staple in his diet!)

Hiking at Avalon, Stony Brook

We had the best day yesterday. It began with a trip to Stony Brook for some hiking. A mom at the park told me about these hiking trails through the woods that were kid friendly and I figured why not give them a shot. There were 5 different trails that were very well marked and we chose the one that would circle around for a 0.8 mile journey figuring if we ended up having to carry one or both kids we could do it for that distance, at least.

I carried Ben the first 100 paces into the trail to give him a feel for what we were going to do. When I went to put him down he freaked out and scampered back up into my arms. He was terrified of the woods and his tears upset Emma who all of the sudden decided she was afraid of the woods, too. It was a beautiful Fall day, lots of color still left on the trees - these city kids had nothing to be afraid of! So we carried them for a few more minutes until we came across a little workout area that doubled as a "playground" in the woods. This erased all their fears and they jumped around on the play area for about 10 minutes before we were able to tear them away and get hiking.

Once we were back on the trail the kids had a blast. Ben RAN the whole time (nothing new there), tripping on trees roots, falling down, hopping back up and running more. Emma started hugging trees and talking to the bushes and making up stories about this and that as we walked. All in all it took us about 45 minutes to complete the circle with one final stop at the "playground" to finish us off.

I can't wait to get back there and do it again! Ben napped for almost 3 hours and Emma was pleasant all afternoon. Fresh air is my friend.

For your eyes only...

Dear benjamin,

I thank God daily for bringing you into our lives. You COMPLETE our perfect family and you bring unexpected joy at every opportunity. Your sister, who is a beautiful THREE years old and constantly feeling out boundaries, is always BEGGING for 100% attention - but you, you Benjamin, somehow realize this and smile and nod your approval when she is needy, only to succumb to our LOVE when she is not paying attention and you have PURE daddy and mommy time.

You wake up HAPPY, you go to sleep HAPPY, you take a bath HAPPY, you marvel in nature HAPPY. YOU ARE SUCH A HAPPY KID (when you are not eating...).

Just so you know, Ben, The favorite part of our every day is BENJI SANDWICHES, which is when Daddy and I sneak up on you either side and load you up with kisses. We think you like it, too, because you pretend to protest, but, do nothing to wiggle free from the LOVING. (P.S You REALLY are HAPPY in this picture...??...)

Autumn beauty

We had 2 playdates yesterday and the children were in heaven! I was also in heaven just staring at the backdrop to the fun!!

 #1 took us to the other side of our village to our pre-school friend Christopher's house. He has a 12 month old little brother so we parents had plenty of stories to share. The weather was a beautiful 60˚ and sunny. We hung out outside while Emma and Christopher had a blast driving around on the Gator, and Benny was racing through every lawn's leaf piles, strewing them everywhere. The best part was the kids were playing in the street and not a single car passed by. That is the kind of street I want to buy a house on. We had only planned on staying for an hour, but we had so much fun it quickly turned into two. On the drive home Emma was whining the whole way, "But we have to go back to Christopher's NOW. He misses me!! And, I want to play with his toys." When I asked her if we could invite Christopher to our place next week, she replied, "NO WAY! I wanna go HIS house and play with HIS toys."

Playdate #2 was about an hours drive away in Huntington. We went to Daddy's college friend's house. She has a little boy Liam who is two and Thomas crazy. He has a whole ginormous train track set up and my kids were in Thomas heaven. Especially Ben!! He was playing the part of Sir Topham Hat jibber jabbering away at all of the trains to do this and do that. He was non-stop and we couldn't even pull him away from the track for dinner - not that that is any surprise... He still doesn't eat. (I am thinking of patenting the BEN-DIET for the new year craze when everyone makes their resolutions. "Eat only what my kid eats and you are guaranteed to lose 5 lbs a week or more!") The best part about BOTH playdates today was Emma had to go potty on the way home from each one and she was able to HOLD IT - yes, you read that right, no accidents in the car until we got home. Could we be reaching a milestone?? (I would say that with a straight face if only I wasn't folding laundry on Tuesday - a mere 4 days since I last washed and folded laundry - and there were SIXTEEN pairs of little girl underwear in the pile. I asked Daddy what the heck went down while I was away and all he could do was shrug his shoulders and say she had a leaky washer. Ugh!)

Catch up time

It has been a busy couple of days. Lots of silliness to report. You'll have to excuse my lack of journaling, I seemed to have caught the plague from flying Jetgerm this weekend - today is the first day I feel I am beating whatever it is that I caught.

As I sit here on my sofa gazing out the window I see lots of orange, yellow and red leaves. They are falling fast to the ground and my children are in heaven. Emma loves to sweep them up into piles and Ben loves falling face first into them, then covering himself up with them. This, my friends, is one of the main reasons we pioneered East and landed here in LI. (click on pic to enlarge the cute factor.)

The sun is out today and we enjoyed the morning at Rocketship Park. The usual struggle ensued when I tried to put a winter coat on Emma and she refused, but then I got the bright idea to just let her freeze and when she was ready to put it on she would. Guess what? No stress for Mommy and about 4 minutes into our play she was ready for her coat. Imagine that. As it is a national holiday lots of kids were playing at the park. Emma wanted to use her sand toys so I busted them out fearing a sharing war, but blondie amazed me yet again by inviting children to play with her saying, "Hi, I'm Emma. You want to share my sand toys with me?"

The sun was not out yesterday morning - in fact it was quite cold and cloudy, perfect for a quickie trip to walmart. As we were driving there, Emma said, "Hey Mama, I see a shining thing." "You see what?" "A shining thing! What is it?" I looked in the rearview mirror and found her pointing at the sun behind the clouds. I said, "Em, that's the sun!" to which she replied, "I can't see it good. What's it doing up there?" "It's playing hide and seek with the clouds." - an explanation she found perfectly acceptable now that hide and seek is her favorite game.

While I am away, Daddy gives me the play by play with text messages that make me feel like I am right in the thick of the action. My 3 favorite from this past Monday were: "Ben is DEEEstroying everything right now. Books, Em's drawings, the blankets. He's laughing and RAMPAGING!" and "Ben just picked up the phone from d house, put it right to his ear and said, "aHOOO?" Awesome." As it was pretty cold that day and he couldn't get Emma to go outside and play, he was struggling to come up with ideas to entertain her while Ben napped. I thought this one was the best: "Each time the plane landed she had to add more color to make it FLY HIGHER."(click on the pic to enlarge it and see her mad coloring skills.)

We busted out the holiday DVD pack and watched our first of surely many viewings of Rudolph the Red nose Reindeer. We are hoping to impress upon our young padowan that if she doesn't behave she will get no gifts from Santa Clause. All four of us snuggled in on the sofa and watched it together. I am happy to report that Ben was not petrified of the abominable snow monster like last year, but slightly amused that every time he came on the screen, Emma would hold her hands up over her eyes to block him from the screen and say, "I don't like monsters!" We tried reminding her that Monsters were our friends - ala Monsters, Inc - you know, Sully and MIKE WAZOWSKI!, and she seemed to make that connection and was fine for the rest of the movie. We'll see if that holds over to viewing #2...

meat popsicle

I've become convinced that ben is really a college age boy trapped in a 22 month old body. How so you ask? It's become apparent that he will only eat PASTA, (he's even poopooing steak!) which other than its ease of prep and ability to adapt to many sauces (his preference is, wait for it, no sauce) is very inexpensive. So, mom and her sodium limits be damned, I'm gonna go buy a case of Top Ramen for $2 and feed the kid for a month. At least that way I can be sure that tofu wont get smeared into his scalp. Although, the dogs would be severely disappointed since the creases of bens pants wouldn't be loaded with crumbs/slices of bread/pieces of steak/raisins/grains of rice/or pancakes. Tonight, after watching Ben take 45 minutes to eat/swat a Trader Joe's chicken sausage (usually the true standby) brown rice (grain by grain the dogs were fed) and a slice of bread, I picked him up and saw what seemed like a box of croutons fall out of his pants. Needless to say, the dogs have carb-loaded for the next 48. Too bad they aren't running the 5k our champion neighbor ran today.

Also overheard at dinner, "there's a worm in there...I can't do it, there's a worm in there!!!" That would be Emma, who stopped eating halfway through her meal b/c her index finger was two knuckles deep in her nostril. Sidebar that is pertinent (and a legendary story of my childhood): When I was Emma's age I became adept at making corn niblets disappear...into my nose. The limit my schnoz held was 5 kernels, as documented by my two brothers, mom, and dad. The corn of course got stuck, and I kept groaning "Da doze, da doze!!" Only my brothers knew what was going on, and so they ever so lovingly smacked the back of my head to knock em out. So when Emma was tickling her cerebellum, I immediately thought that the apple hadn't fell far from the tree. Yet, there was no corn for dinner (we actually had a slow cooked pork loin in milk and herbs, raw red peppers, and brown rice. SEE WHAT BEN'S MISSING???) It turned out that she just had the teeeniest nose bleed, most likely caused by her own finger, and the trickle in her nose could only be described by her as a worm.

Hide and seek is now the national pastime in our house, with benny slowly figuring out that he can play too. The best part is watching him bolt down the hallway looking like jim carrey fighting the chef in the kung fu restaurant scene from dumb and dumber. Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCP1-I2DCOw




Ben, you are one funny diaper wearing dude.

Let the Good Times Roll

As winter is nearing I am in a constant search for indoor things to do to occupy and inspire the minds of our kiddos. Yesterday, Daddy took Benny with him to the supermarket leaving the girls at home to play. I had the sudden thought that maybe, just maybe Emma was old enough and coordinated enough to give the 'ole Wii a go. I popped in Wii Play and we tried some cow racing and fishing, then I found the wii sport thinking that she may be able to do the bowling. Well, I am happy to report she had a blast WATCHING me using the Mii we designed in her image to play the games. She couldn't quite grasp the controller idea, though, and got frustrated when left to try it on her own. Daddy came home in the midst of the bowling and thought it was a great idea for her to learn. He jumped in as Master Trainer but didn't have much more luck than I did. I love this picture because it looks like Daddy and Emma are the spectators and Ben has just tossed the ball down the lane. He even has the perfect post-toss form!


We spend a lot of time building with blocks in this house. Ben is still Godzilla when we get more than 20 or so pieces rocking, but he is more and more often participating in the building process than the demolition process which makes for happy big sister. She was especially proud of this castle we built for her princesses:


And finally for today, I LOVE candid photos. This one was so unexpected that Emma and I are sitting around in our underwear (Yes, I photoshopped some shorts onto my legs!! hahaha!). I love this pic because it is a true depiction of my happy life. The half of an Easter egg that I am sporting on my head is compliments of Ben. He LOVES to dress me in all sorts of "hats" regularly. Emma and I are yapping about princesses, Apollo is standing guard - my Great Protector (some things never change), and it looks as though Ben is giving Cassidy a delousing. The floor is littered with toys, there are scary looking things growing under the couch, and the Hoover in the background is broken yet stills sits there as a constant reminder that my carpet smells like kids and dogs. LIFE IS GOOD, my friends, life is good.

muscle madness

I didn't post yesterday because I couldn't move. It turns out that when you haven't seriously exercised in about 4 years, and you do a hardcore pilates session at the park while your kids are playing, you will be immobile for a good 24 hours while your muscles attempt to repair 4 years of non-use. I am still incredibly sore today and wince at every movement, but at least I can bend down and tie a shoe without bursting into tears. The challenge is to work through this pain and keep up the exercise for some gain. I can do it!

Speaking of the park, it is fun to see Emma get braver and braver every time we go. That particular park that we LOVE has a lot of climbing contraptions that she is slowly figuring out. She was so proud of herself when she made it to the top of this one. Problem is, she is now brave enough to jump from the top of them, too, and it makes my heart skip a beat with every leap. I know it is part of learning and developing her motor skills, but it doesn't help any more to ease my anxiety as she Super Grover's from the top. Ben is still cautious when climbing the stairs but he has no fear whatsoever at the big drops and I have had to lunge to catch a kid more than once from a big opening where there is a climb up and into the jungle gym spot.

This morning at 4 am we had a 30 second power outage. I happened to be awake when it occurred and hoped it wouldn't be a long one. The blink sent all our clocks a-blinkin' and Emma said this morning when she noticed them, "Hey! This clock is acting all silly. Where are the real numbers?" She said this because she knows that when the digital clock reads eight zero zero, she can turn on the tv and watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Ha!

P.S.

There is nothing cuter than Benjamin digging with his little fingers into a raisin box trying so very hard to reach those last 6 raisins that are stuck together on the bottom of the box. He gets so frustrated and shakes the bejesus out of the box but still they won't budge. That's when he walks all forlornly over to us with those big giant eyes and says, "Aba gijew bee aduu zo lanka?" And we give the box a giant adult shake, releasing the captive dried grapes for my son's digestive pleasure.

That's Entertainment!

As Emma slowly makes her way through the Halloween treats, I am having flashbacks to my youth and my own Halloween fun. Tootsie pops were my absolute favorite candy and I loved watching Emma open the wrapper, stick the pop into her mouth and crunch straight to the tootsie bit in the center in three bites. I think that may have been my record, too.

We have been spending every possible non-freezing cold minute at this park:

It is so much fun for the kids there and the surface is that good spongy stuff that I realized today is good for Mama to do lunges and squats and yoga on without getting all dirty.
I am already feeling it in the gluteus maximus and am excited to get back there the next sunny day and continue the work outs. I have officially gained 15 lbs in 5 months - the last 2 times I did that I was pregnant and had a good excuse. I ensure you there are no babies in my belly this time, just a lot of good NY pizza and pasta and heroes and chinese food...
As you can hopefully see from the pic, this play area goes on forever and the kids are so excited when we pull into the parking lot. Today the slides still had some hefty morning dew on them, but that didn't stop Ben. He went down every one - his sweatpants drying them up for Emma who was right behind him. Luckily they were that quick dry material and he didn't even blink at the discomfort as there were too many other things to accomplish to take his mind off the wet.

Tonight we were reminded how much we LOVE to have friends over to the house for dinner and play. My friend's husband was out of town on business, so I invited her and her daughters, aged 2 and 5, over for an early dinner. Daddy took over the kitchen and made his new found soon to be famous Chicken Parmesan recipe. It was a huge hit with the adults - not so much the kids, but not because it wasn't DELICIOUS, but more so because the kids were so excited to PLAY that they simply couldn't take the time away to fuel their engines. Benjamin was the MOST excited of all to have guests - he SQUEALED like a stuck pig the entire time playing with the girls. The following video is a touch long, but worth the watch if only for the PURE JOY of Ben's bleats.



After our friends left, Emma finally sat down at the dinner table and finished eating her dinner. As our beautiful little hostess surveyed the table she suddenly got very sad and said, "Why didn't Sadie and Ellie eat their dinners? Don't they like us?" It was so stinking sweet! We explained to her that they simply were having SO MUCH FUN - just like her and Benny - that they didn't want to stop and take the time to eat. She accepted that explanation, ate up a bunch of pasta, asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, ate that, then asked for a cheese stick. She obviously worked up quite the appetite! Good times, my faithful readers, good times.

boy and girls

As the parent of a 21 month old boy who has yet to utter a word, I publicly say, "Hey, I'm not worried, his sister is so darned articulate that she doesn't let him get a word in edgewise." or "He's a boy, he doesn't take the time to stop and learn the names of things. He is always GO GO GO!" But, being the parent of a 21 month old boy who has yet to utter a word, in private I sometimes worry, "Is there something wrong with my kid?" Well, today I was given a little glimpse into my future. And, NO, there is nothing wrong with my kid. It turns out that his sister really is so darned articulate that she doesn't give her brother a chance to speak and that he is a boy who simply is GO GO GO and hasn't taken the time to stop and learn the names of things.

Because today, my pretties, today I was tossing a ball around with the kiddos and Ben said, "Yaba daba doo doe doe doe BALL." And yesterday Daddy was carrying Ben up the stairs to our apartment and Ben saw our old girl dog and said, "Cassassae!" as in Cassidy, the dog. I know, I know, ya'll think I'm crazy, but Daddy and I have both been saying that this kid is about to explode - speak wise - as his babble seems more and more specific to the circumstance.

Then just to confirm this all, Ben was standing about 3 inches from the TV watching a cartoon and Daddy walked into the room and said, "Ben - back up. Back up from the TV." And Ben took 4 steps back from the TV. Then tonight after dinner, I was sitting on the floor in the living room and I said to Ben, "Hey, buddy, go get a ball. Let's play catch!" Ben ran into his bedroom, grabbed his toy story ball and ran back to me with a giant smile on his mug.

I really am amazed on a daily basis the difference between boys and girls. And, I am so very blessed that I was given the opportunity to watch one of each GROW.

birfday party fun

We had tons of fun at Detmer Farms again yesterday for a 5 year old friend of ours birthday party. They had lots of those air jumpy bouncers and tons of wooden trains to crawl all over and those battery powered jeeps for the kids to drive. Since we were last there 2 months ago I feel the need to report that Emma's driving skills have not improved at all. In fact at one point she was attempting to steer the car using the jeep's rollbar and not the actual steering wheel. Huh?

Ben wanted ever so desperately to enter this one particular bouncer but it had some evil looking clown's on the inside that scared the crap out of him. He kept going up to the bouncer and peeking in, then running away in terror, only to repeat the act once again 30 seconds later hoping the clowns had moved on. He may just be scarred for life...

We took the smelliest diesel engine tractor hay ride near the end of the party. Emma was bored out of her mind and kept asking, "Where are we going?" We are just riding around the farm. "But why?" Why, indeed, little lady...

I'll post some pics when I return from the longest commute ever. xoxo

Kidding!

Proof of my seamstress skills, minus the sewing machine and only using the shears:


Our fabulous sleeping beauty in her warm and toasty pajamas minus the feet. She is just so darn sweet and adorable - when she is sleeping...

Anticipation

As per usual, most days I have nothing specific planned to do. I wake up, get a feel for the weather and make decisions from there. On the occasion I have a playdate planned a few days in advance, I rarely tell Emma because I never hear the end of it. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? over and over. Yesterday I made the mistake of telling her that her friend, Ellie, was having a birthday party tomorrow. That was yesterday - two whole days before the party. And let's face it - Emma is a party girl. All day yesterday and all day today it was, "Let's go to Ellie's birfday party, Mom," or " MOM, WHEN WE GONNA GO TO ELLIE'S HOUSE FOR THE BIRFDAY PARTY AND EAT CAKE AND PLAY WIT ALL DE KIDS?" I though I could keep her at bay today with the whole trip to the toy department to purchase the present and go home and wrap the present, but we were done with all that by 11am and still had another 8 hours of questioning whether I got the date and time and location of the party correct. The only good thing is I seemed to have been able to use it to keep her in bed tonight. Fingers crossed! She ate every last bit of her dinner with no complaints, too - which is generally the case, she is a GREAT eater - but not even a struggle to get her to drink all of her milk. We just may need more birthday party invites.

Ben... what can I say, my smiling bundle of joy is so much FUN - until dinnertime, or lunchtime for that matter. The kid simply will not eat. He is now down to an egg and a dry waffle for breakfast (sometimes a pancake). Then for the rest of the day he may eat steak, chicken sausage, pasta and bananas. That is about it. He will only eat about 4 or 5 bites of rice before he starts spitting it and throwing it, and the tofu that he once LOVED, he will only eats 4 or 5 cubes before he starts playing with it and smooshing it in his hair. He is getting crazy skinny, but he still drinks about 18 ounces of whole milk daily so I am not going to worry too much. I am just going to be more annoyed than anything at the mess he makes. Little turkey...

Genetics?

Genetics are a funny thing. When I was a kid I HATED feetie pajamas. My Mom always had to cut the feet out of them or I could not sleep. To this day I still cannot wear socks to bed or I feel claustrophobic. Well guess who excitedly put on her new footy PJs from Abuelita tonight then immediately freaked out because of the feet. 'Ole Emsadoo, that's who. So, out came the shears and OFF WITH THE FEET. The tears stopped instantly and she snuggled into bed. Oi.

Problem is, she didn't stay in bed. She has been 'go to sleep' challenged the past few weeks. Every night we put her to bed praying that just this once it will be easy. No such luck. Even as I write this she is yelling at me from her bed... She makes up every excuse in the book to stay up. She has to pee. She has to poop. She needs her baby monkey. She wants a cheesestick. She needs some juice. The monsters are going to get her. She is sooooo afraid and her room is soooo scary. Just when you feel like you have won the battle and she is asleep, she comes out for something else. Ben? He just flops around in his crib and takes it all in - nary a sound from his pretty little head.

Today was Emma's preschool Halloween party. It is always a kick to see so many little kiddos dressed for the occasion. Emma wanted to be - of course - Sleeping Beauty, so we were able to score yet one more occasion for her fancy dress. Hooray! Here are a few shots of her and the kids at school.

I love how Sheriff Woody is hugging on our little princess in the last pic.

If you recall, poor Benny has been wearing the same sandals day in and day out for six months now. The are the kind that velcro in 3 different spots and grow ever so awesomely with a kid's feet. Best part about them is they were barely used hand-me-downs. As his toes were curling out and over the edge of the shoe I figured it time to purchase him a pair for winter. But I misjudged the size and got him one size too big - no problem, he will grow into them. But he looks so silly in them, almost like they are clown shoes. And, when he walks he has a deliberate high step - almost like he knows they are too big and he is trying not to trip. Check out his tootsies in the pic on the right (click on the pic to enlarge it). Luckily, after lunch a box was delivered from Abuelita - or should I start calling her, "Abshoelita" as she always saves the day when it comes to our children's footwear. In the box were 2 pairs of shoes in the proper size for Ben. SWEET! And, thanks, Abuelita!

All you need us love.

Today was rainy and weird. We were stuck inside all day and if it weren't for an unexpected drop by of a friend this afternoon to entertain me and my children and to take our minds off the fact that we were stuck inside all day, I may have jammed a fork through my eyeball.

But once again, the world was made a better place by the quick witted articulation of my comedian daughter:

Picture this, Daddy had just walked in the door and saw me in a frazzled state of disarray. The kids were bathed, Ben was in his pjs, Emma had a jammie top on but was naked from the waste down. She was jumping all over the couch in her usual "you can't catch me" so I could finish getting her dressed. I was frustrated and said, "I am so tired. WHY AM I SO TIRED? You kids!! That is why I am so tired!!"

Then daughter with perfect timing said, "No, Mommy, that is why you are so happy."

Yes, daughter, YES. You are absolutely correct and I would not EVER change a minute of it.

Halloween prep

On Saturday our village had their first annual "Fall Festival Spooktacular". It was a gorgeous day so we headed into port with Gramma Lou in tow and walked around the town. There were some silly events like a dog costume parade that we got a kick out of, and the usual bobbing for apples and pie eating contest. We did not participate in those two but the pies sure looked yummy... The town was decorated with scarecrows on every light pole - very festive and a fun afternoon. (As you can see my Joovy Caboose stroller is still getting a good workout and Ben still hasn't let go of that dang cheeky engine.)





Benjamin spends a good deal of time sitting right here when we play outside. He has moved into the toy truck and bulldozer stage. This particular dozer belongs to Henry and Ben always wants to play with it. Santa will need to add one to his list for Benny! What is funny though, is Ben will push the dirt with the dozer, then pick up the dozer in one hand, grab a handful of dirt with his other hand and put it in the plow. Then he will dump the plow OVER HIS HEAD. Wait, did I say funny? It is a guarantee that Ben needs a bath whenever he is done playing with the bulldozer...

We carved pumpkins this weekend as the weather has been cool and they should survive the week up to Halloween. It was such an awesome afternoon weatherwise, that we all congregated out front of our building at the Tinkerbell table for the yearly carving fun. Ben wasn't too interested. He was more concerned about figuring out how to set the poor doggies free as I needed to tie them up to the bike rack so they wouldn't run out into the street. Emma did a great job pulling the guts out of the pumpkin, but as you can see in the first pic - she wasn't so sure about it at first.

Cold and cranky

Today was a challenge. It is 8pm on a Friday and I will probably turn in for the night as soon as I post this.

We had one of those mornings around here. The 3 year old woke up all sunshine and rainbows, but turned into a walking mass of tears and whines and exhausting behavior about three hours later. Why? Only the universe knows. We were headed out the door to meet our neighbor buddies at another new park that I had seen last week. It had an awesome looking playground and a walking path around the park where I was planning to get in a little exercise pushing the stroller. We arrived at the park in good spirits, but as soon as I opened the doors of the minivan, that u-g-l-y switch flipped in Emma's head and she freaked out. It started with, "I DON'T WANNA WEAR MY JACKET!" Escalated to "IT'S FREEZING OUT! I DON'T WANNA PLAY HERE!" and ended with her screaming as though she was being beaten, "I WANNA GO HOME! I WANNA GO HOME! I WANNA LAY IN MY BED WITH MY DEEIT!" Because she was so inconsolable, Benny got sad and he started crying. I gave up after about 7 minutes of convincing her that Henry was going to be here any minute now - she simply did not want to be at that park and she wasn't afraid to voice that opinion to everyone within earshot.

All the screaming exhausted me so we simply went home and spent the morning reading books.

If both kids hadn't behaved so well last week in the dreary cold every day we were out, I would have blamed it on the cold and windy weather this morning. The only difference was the sun was shining today - I think that threw Emma off. The sun should equal warmth to her! I spent a great deal of time this afternoon explaining to her that the warm sunshine was going to go away for a while and that the cold sunshine was here to stay. She asked me if it was going to get "more colder" when the snow came and I told her, "Yes, it would." I watched her freckled nose crinkle as she contemplated this new information, not sure if her excitement for the snow was going to help her through the frigid days...

Fingers crossed it was just one of those days.

(P.S.) Daddy took the best video of Ben laughing at himself going down the slide from yesterday's post. He must have watched the clip at least 15 times, cracking up at himself sliding and falling every time. Our son has the most infectious laugh - he made the morning go far far away. I will post this new video as soon as I upload it.

Field Trip!!

Emma's preschool had their first field trip today to a pumpkin patch about 40 minutes from our house. I had to drop her off at the patch and then pick her up there 2 hours later so it made no sense for me to leave and come back, the other parents felt the same, so we all just hung out jibberjabbering and chasing the siblings of the class while the kids played the morning away.

It was a heap of fun, albeit cold and windy. The place was called Windy Acres Farm (no joke) and had a huge play area, a giant corn maze, and a hay ride out into the far fields to pick pumpkins. I did everything I could to avoid the giant corn maze - my kids would have split up into different directions and we would have had to call in a chopper to rescue them. Emma seemingly enjoyed the hay ride with the kids to get her cute little pumpkin but she couldn't wait to get back to the playground when the ride was over. Ben was NONSTOP cuteness the entire time we were there. Poor kiddo has a hearty cold right now, but that did not slow him down one bit. He was running and jumping and sliding and falling and smashing and crashing like his usual rough and tumble self with nary a tear in sight. Case in point: watch this short video. But be forewarned, don't be drinking anything while watching it as you just may snarf liquid all over your computer screen.



You will need to watch it a few times to get all the nuances, but our favorite part is the butt grab adjustment as he runs back for more!

Both kids went to sleep without a peep tonight, so the fresh air once again did it's job and tuckered my little darlings out...