We moved! Sorta...

It's been a busy week here around the penthouse. But before I tell you about it, let me start off with some funnies:

On Christmas day, while we were at Aunt Lisa's, I offered Ben a mini sausage from the cheese and cracker appetizer plate by saying, "Hey, Benny, do you want a mini hot dog?" He looked at me in horror and replied, "I don't wanna eat Dodo!!" (i.e. Dodo, or Apollo, our dog!)

On the rare occasion (not so rare these days) when we stop at Wendy's (the only fast food I will allow my children - and that is simply because In n Out is not to be found in NY!) Emma always requests their Junior Bacon Cheeseburger and I always order a 5 piece Chicken Nuggets for Ben - sometimes he eats them, sometimes he doesn't. Today we were late coming home for lunch from an outing to Home Depot and Target so Wendy's it was for 2 hungry kiddos. As we were leaving the drive thru window, I handed off the eats to the babes and Emma said with all sincerity, "When Benny grows up, can he have a cheeseburger?" - as if little kids can only eat nuggets and big kids (like her) get the burger.

So, as you may deduce from the blog title, things are a-changing around the 'ole penthouse. Daddy and I had an awesome heart to heart on Tuesday, and as much as we are itching to buy a house, we have decided to stay put in the penthouse until Spring 2013. We have been able to save tons of money by living lean here and want to max out our emergency fund and have at least a 40% down payment on our next home. To do that means one more year at good 'ole Fairfield Falls (happy, Kim?) and that I delete the Redfin app on my iPhone to stop tempting myself with great local deals from Grandma's looking to head south.

It also means this Mommy needs to find some Mama space in the Penthouse where she can go and close the door and sit in a chair and decompress and fill her Mama bubble head with thoughts of non-Mama things so she can come back out the door when she is ready and be the great Mommy she was destined to be. You following me? I know the Mama-readers are...

Well, all of the above paragraph has been accomplished with BUNK BEDS!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, bunk beds from my favorite store, BJs, for $299 plus two mattresses for $99 each. Now that Benny has outgrown his crib, and was easily ready to kiss the toddler bed goodbye, we felt it was a chance to get the kids bunk beds, move them into the smaller room, move Daddy and I into the master bedroom with all it's SPACE to give us parents more room, less clutter, and most importantly, the rocking chair that I have been neglecting for 18 months now, a real home and my butt a reunion with it's old pal - the chair I, funnily enough, nursed my kiddos in!

I also bought a can of paint and spruced up some walls that were looking a bit dingy after a year and a half and VOILA!! We feel like we have moved!  It has only been one night, but the kids SLEPT through the night last in their new beds - slept in until 7:30am this morning - certainly Divine intervention telling us we made the right provident choice! : )

Daddy and I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is that we don't feel cramped and cluttered and claustrophobic in the smaller room. Those of you who have seen the penthouse won't recognize the bedrooms. It really does give a whole new dynamic to our space and was exactly what I needed to remind myself of the bigger picture of why we are doing what we are doing. We sadly said goodbye to the crib that was home to both our babies for 4 1/2 years, but the sadness was fleeting when we saw the joy in the kiddos faces as they climbed up and down and up and down and slipped here and there and fell on their butts only to keep practicing climbing up and down and up and down perfecting their new "home" - our awesome bunk beds... (Did I mention they came with 2 GIGANTOUS drawers that store all the crap that wouldn't ever fit in drawers??? Tidying up even more clutter? - I LOVE THESE BEDS!)

As you can see from this picture, the whole Batter bunch loves 'em:

Even Dodo loves them!

365 days until Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas the Batter way this year, exchanging all immediate family gifts on Christmas Eve, then opening the rest Christmas day. Gramma Lou was scheduled to work Christmas morning at the hospital, so this worked out perfectly and she got to enjoy the kiddos opening the gifts she gave them. (She then got put "on call" Christmas morning and didn't have to go to work. Even better!!)

Family time / 2 Rapunzel dolls!

Ben woke up Christmas morning at 6:45am asking about Chuggington, the train set Abuelita gave him Christmas Eve. It did not register with him that Santa had come to town and he could have cared less about opening more presents! We went into the living room, saw all the other gifts, and he went right to Chuggington and played the morning away until his sister woke up after 8:00.

Em sleepily came out of Gramma's room, saw the gifts and immediately found all the ones with her name on them and went to town for Christmas part two! She was very happy with all the "Alex Little Hands" arts and crafts projects she received (I secretly love them more. I am craft challenged and these buys have given me great ideas for do it yourself projects for the future.) and also enjoyed the smaller stuff in her stocking.

When we finally pried Chuggington out of Ben's hands and put unwrapped presents into his, he slowly "got it" and opened a few (with help!). He then wanted to play with each gift before moving on to the next. It made the unwrapping experience long, but it was super cute to see him enjoy his gifts.

Thomas ABC puzzle!! / Daddy getn in on Chuggington action.

Arts and crafts in action!

 We moved onto Christmas part three around lunchtime at Aunt Lisa's house. Emma scored with a ballerina leotard and money for dance lessons! (We signed her up and she is starting in January.) I purposely made Ben leave Chuggington at Gramma's (a monstrous feat resulting in tears, let me tell you), but the payoff was worth it because he received a bunch of wooden trains that go with his Thomas collection and he spent the afternoon coupling and buffering and riding them on the rails he built on Aunt Lisa's kitchen nook ramp.

The ballerina and the conductor.

Christmas part four, the final hurrah, came when Grandpa and Grandma Nancy came over with their presents. I had requested "sporty" gifts that will get the kids moving and grooving and they received junior sized tennis rackets, a nerf football, all kinds of board games, clothes and countless other toys that should keep them busy until Spring!! All in all, a very successful two days of giving and family - Emma even said the prayer at Christmas dinner! It was super awesome and surprisingly very appropriate for the occasion.

Wile away the hours, waiting for Santa.

Emma rockin' wii Dance for kids.

Ben engrossed with the iPad.

Christmas Travels

We made it PA to be w family in good time. I think the best part of owning your own business is choosing when you want to work and when you want to be with family! We left after Emma's school Christmas party Thursday and were relaxing at Grandpa's by 3pm - very little traffic!! Woohoo!

I am always grateful for an uneventful drive. About half way here Ben started crying pretty hard and squirming in his chair which is very unlike him in the car. We kept saying, "What's the matter, buddy? Use your words!" he finally spit out, "My butt! Dere's a poop my butt!" We pulled over at the next exit and I got him out of his seat. There was no poop in his diaper so I assumed he was constipated and maybe needed to walk around a bit to get the blood flowing. We circled the minivan holding hands. He was walking bow legged and slightly crouched over like an old man - again me thinking constipation. Finally he looked up at me with this look of seriously Mom stop being a dumbass and demanded, "Mom, change my diaper!!" I thought his diaper was fairly dry but because he had been sitting for a few hours the pee had collected all in the front and it was a good five pounder! I changed him and he was happy as pie the rest of the trip. Potty training him is such a challenge because he lives in opposite land when it comes to toilet words.

He is getting big boy underwear in his stocking. My plan is to start the training when we get back to NY. Wish us luck. Yesterday when he did have a poopy diaper, he came into the kitchen and demanded yet again, "Mom, change my diaper!" It's time, dear readers, it is time...

A&C

The Penthouse has become one giant art gallery these days. All Em wants to do is "play arts and crafts" and since she didn't really request anything specific for Christmas, we got her a ton of Arts and Crafts projects to do. Not wanting any last minute surprises from her, while standing in line waiting for Santa I specifically told her to tell Santa she wanted arts and crafts. Nothing like playing a Jedi mind trick on your kid and being successful!!

Pictured below are some examples of my afternoons these days!

 

And I feel as though I have neglected to tell you about or visit with Santa! Our mall has THE BEST authentic Santa ever. He is super sweet, too. Ben cried hysterically and Emma tried to escape as I grabbed her and put her on his lap with Ben. The pictures were hysterical - I did not buy them, opting for Daddy's video off the iphone and capturing some screen shots:

Ben cries  Em runs / sadness ensues!

Ben warms up first / Em relaying the wish for ARTS & CRAFTS

A few weeks ago I had the cabin and air filters changed in the minivan. Ever since, there has been a slight strange odor emitting from the engine. Em nailed it the other day on the way to school. I laughed so hard I was crying and almost ran a stop sign. "Why does this air smell like the beach? Is there a fish in there?" she said pointing to the dashboard...

Edible arrangement, anyone?

We've been enjoying some fun holiday crafting with Ben's speech therapist. Thursday we made a Winter Wonderland out of marshmallows and whatever else I had laying around the house using frosting as the "glue". Ben, who isn't usually fond of sweets certainly enjoyed eating the sprinkles we used but definitely not the marshmallows! Too mushy for this kid.

Not really sure how much building he really did...

Achieving the impossible

It is impossible to get Ben to wear a coat let alone a hat. Today we needed fresh air, so I got both kids outside in the 40 degree temp to go for a walk. Ben screamed bloody murder for the first 20 minutes because he didn't want to wear a hat. Finally he realized I wasn't giving in and decided to have fun in the fresh air. Phew. The before and after shots with his new Elmo hat.

Snip its...

Last week while I was away, Daddy was watching "some princess" movie with Emma and when it was finished, Emma asked him, "Did you like the kissing part?" My guess is that because Daddy is not shy with his affection for me and vice versa, she constantly encounters our smooches - i.e. "Did you like the kissing part?"

Benjamin LOVES the library. He has a class every Friday from 10-11 while Em is in school. If we happen to drive by the library on another day and not stop, he always requests, "Mommy, stop library! Back up! Back up, Mommy. Go library!"

The other morning I dressed Benny in a Ralph Lauren button down oxford courtesy of Abuelita. I must admit, I didn't purposely put the shirt on him. I simply rotate his clothes and it was the next shirt in line. When Emma saw him all "gussied up" she asked rather incredulously, "Why is Benny wearing his handsome shirt????"  - as if after we dropped her at school we were off to tea with the Queen and didn't tell her...

Benjamin continues to be a giant pain in my ASS when it comes to meal time. How this kid is growing and thriving on milk and V8 fusion and freaking Eggo Nutra Grain waffles is beyond any mother's comprehension. In a desperate attempt to get him to simply taste a piece of PORTERHOUSE steak the other night (which he used to LOVE if you remember), I literally held his face and shoved a small chunk into his mouth (am I actaully publishing this on the internet??). He took one chew, spit it out at me and yelled, "NOOOOO, MOMMY! MY MOUTH! MY MOUTH!" I wave the white flag...

Ben is more proficient on the iPad2 than I am and I have been a Mac user since 1998. He would spend the day playing on the apps and watching Peep on youtube if we let him... But we do not let him. Really, we don't. But when we don't, all we hear is, "Play 'Day of de Diesal' on iPat, Mommy? Play ABC train on iPat?" etc etc. We love that he calls it the iPat - too cute - but how much technology should a two year old have? Oh, wait, all of our apps are educational and the kid can point out his ABCs and already count to 20... Not to mention draw and color BETTER THAN his older sister, and trace - quite nicely - all his letters. Go Apple.

Saturday morning is my regular "I get to be an adult and interact with adults!" morning. We (Jen and I) hire the awesomest baby sitter to come in for three hours and hang out with the Awesome Foursome.  Ben is always excited to play on Sat mornings, but this past Saturday he was very emotional, and very needy. As I walked to the door, he cried through the biggest "I am going to break my Mama's heart" tears ever, squeaking out, "No, Mommy. No out the door. Come on! Come play!" He kept saying this over and over and it took everything I had to close the door behind me! Of course, the babysitter reported that within 30 seconds he was his usual happy go lucky self... But, knowing that I was once an exaggerating babysitter and knowing Ben as well as I do, I truly belived he cried for at least 45 seconds after I walked out the door with my bleeding heart.

Like sands through the hourglass...

Wow! A week since I journaled. Bad Mommy!

I do have a semi-excuse. I made a last minute quickie trip to LA to work 3 VO gigs. The best part of the work was not only did I get to see and stay with my b4f, Auntie Colt, I got to see my old Lake Balboa double stroller pushing walking pal, Afton, on the Paramount Lot!!! Hooray! I love that there are certain friends you may not get to see very often, but when you finally get together it is so natural - as if you hang out weekly!

While I was gone, Daddy and our pal Unkaloo (Jen) did an awesome jobs looking after the kiddos. I left around 5am Monday morning. Ben woke up around 7am and Daddy got him into his usual morning routine. He kept saying to Daddy, "Mommy sleeping," assuming because I wasn't getting him through the usual morning fun it must be because I am taking a morning off and sleeping in. I wish!!! Daddy reported that when Ben finally realized I wasn't home and would be gone for a few days, he found my pajamas on the floor, curled up with them wrapping them around his shoulders and sniffing them longingly. How's that for Mama's boy love? : )

I took the nasty red eye home Tues/Wed arriving back in our neighborhood around 9:30 - just enough time to shower, wait for Em to finish school, take her to the dentist, then teach a class Wed night at the office! I was beyond exhausted but it was well worth it.

Dentist, you ask? How'd that go? I'll tell you how that went. Daddy picked her up at 11:35am. She immediately peppered him with her usual, "What are we gonna do today?" question. Daddy said that Mommy was home and was going to take her someplace special. Because she has a mind like an elephant and I happened to mention it 5 days prior, she sadly said, "To the dentist?" She then proceeded to cry hysterically at the top of her lungs, "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE DENTIST! IT'S TOO SCARY!!!!!!" for the next 90 minutes. When we pulled into the parking lot of the dentist she was beyond exhausted and still crying and cranky. I was at my wit's end and said, "Emma! You gotta get tough! The dentist is our friend! Take a deep breath! and STOP THE MADNESS!" She must have sensed my red eye flight four hours of sleep and about to crackedness because she took that deep breath and pulled herself together and was THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A PATIENT EVER letting the hygienist do her job and then letting the Dentist get in there afterwards and scope her out.

Seriously?

Afterwards because she was such an excellent example of the ideal patient, the Dentist let her pick 3 gifts from the toy bin. She (after looking through every last toy - seriously?) chose a pink sand hourglass timer for her, a blue one for Benny, and some dumb annoying whistle that I think has already found it's way into the garbage on "accident." The sand timers are awesome because they are supposed to last the amount of time she should take to brush her teeth. She took it to bed with her Wed night, waking in the middle of the night wildly upset because she couldn't find her "Santa Claus." It took me a good 3 minutes to realize that through her tears she was saying "sand clock". OI!

Tom Petty R Us

Ben was coughing up a storm in his sleep Tuesday night so I snuck into his room to slather Vicks on his feet and put some socks on him while he was sleeping. He was sleeping deeply even with the coughing yet he STILL giggled when I was rubbing the soles of his feet and said, "Dat tickles!" The coughing ceased within minutes and he slept through the night peacefully. We love VicksVaboRub as much as we love kids talking in their sleep.

Friday evening we went to the community center for the Toys for Tots train exhibit. It cost us an unwrapped toy to get in the door and the exhibit was "off the hook!" Emma was running around to the different miniature train holiday themed exhibits like she had just eaten a pound of sugar cookies, and Ben, well Ben immediately spied a Thomas and friends exhibit and stayed in front of that one the entire time we were there! (surprise surprise)

Mesmerized.

The best part of the evening was when Daddy saw Benny was chewing on something and said, "Hey, buddy, whatcha eating?" To which our son who still will not eat more than one meal a day and is pretty much down to waffles and raisins only replied, "I eat da booders, Daddy." Do I need to translate that one for you? (Hint: he is at the end of a cold and there are dry crusties in his nose...)

Saturday mornings are always hectic trying to get all four of us out the door by 8:50am. It is the ONE day the kids always seem to sleep later (versus Sunday when everyone can sleep in so they get up at 6:45 without fail - argh), and as per usual getting the female one to focus long enough to complete a task usually results in my blood pressure raising from about 8:30 onwards. Yesterday was no different. Em decided it was her day to be a superhero running all over the penthouse using her deep "I'm a superhero voice." At one point she needed her hair brushed and wasn't responding to my requests so I scooped her up, stood her on the toilet seat and had at the blond rat's nest that is the back of her head in the morning. With her usual comedic timing, Em diffused my anger with the cutest Mom-you-are-such-a-buzz-kill voice, "Mom, Superheroes don't get their hair brushed!"

And just to prove how musically diverse our daughter is, when Daddy was playing the guitar for us as he often does on a Saturday evening, Emma requested, "Hey, Daddy, play 'It's Good To Be King,'" a song by Tom Petty that is not generally in the catalog of songs a typical four year old knows by heart...

medicine

With all our travels in the past few weeks, Ben missed a few speech therapy sessions that we got to make up this week. Emma took the "make up" part literally and was extraordinarily disappointed when Miss Kathy did not show up to the lesson with lipstick, blush and mascara...

The now talking Benjamin is learning the ways of his sassafrass sister. Yesterday as we were leaving the playground, I said, "Let's go buddy. Mommy needs to go home and get dinner started." He didn't miss a beat before replying in full voice with serious attitude, "NOOOOO! We play playground!"

Tonight while I was preparing dinner I was singing a lovely holiday song when the little turkey ran into the kitchen and said, "Mommy. No! Be quiet!" I looked at him in mock horror, which he found super funny and ran down the hall giggling hysterically. I purposely started singing again, he came back to the kitchen, "Mommy, be QUIET!!" Mock horror from me again, giggling Ben again. Repeat for the next 5 minutes while I bread the pork chops and get them in the oven.

These kids make us laugh. A whole lot.

66˚ on Nov 26 in NY = happiness!

We met up with Grandpa, Aunt Lisa, Cousins Lean and Frank Friday morning for breakfast at the local diner before heading back to NY. The return trip was uneventful - unless you call needing the Heimlich maneuver "eventful." Yep, Daddy busted out the Heimlich on a McDonald's cheeseburger eating Emma. So, I guess our trip home was actually "eventful."

Note to self, make sure your kid while eating a fast food cheeseburger and exclaiming, "Ooh, pickle! I love pickles!" actually does a better job of chewing the pickle before swallowing... Turns out, Emma, accomplished a once in a lifetime feat of chewing the pickle but somehow only swallowing the center of the pickle, leaving the outer ring to get stuck in her throat like a long piece of fettuccine gagging her and rendering her choking and breathless! Daddy reacted with lightening Daddy skills, Heimliched twice, she coughed out the intruder pickle and started breathing again. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my husband???)

She was pretty shaken up by the scare, but not enough to NOT finish the burger. Go, Emma.

So, just to clarify... TWICE we have stopped at a McDonalds on the return trip from PA to NY, and TWICE we have had Emma eating drama. (If you recall, she once choked on a french fry and vomited all over our fancy new-used minivan...). Perhaps we should stick to Wendy's... Em prefers their junior bacon cheeseburger anyway. I mean really, BACON!

Speaking of bacon, Saturdays are pretty busy around the penthouse. So busy I usually forget to remove a protein from the freezer in time for it to thaw for dinner. Today was no different so Em ended up with leftover turkey for dinner (no complaints), BUT not Benjamin. He ate FOUR pieces of center cut bacon and a few plates of Auntie Annie's Mac and cheese. Seriously, I went into the village to do some Christmas shopping ("Black Saturday" - shop LOCAL and support the Mom and Pop shops!!!) and came home to Daddy giving me the play by play of Benjamin requesting, "Want more, Daddy?" as if to say, I WANT MORE and if I am all cute about it I know you'll give it to me.

(FYI, I purchased ONE awesome gift shopping local for my husband. I came home, we got the kids to bed, and then my husband OPENED the gift!! Yes, once again, this is why I shop on Dec 24th or order from Amazon and have it shipped to wherever we are celebrating Christmas. IT'S ME!! I can't delay the gratification of giving! HAHAHA!)

This afternoon we enjoyed the "Santa Parade" in our village put on by our local Chamber of Commerce. I teared up watching my kiddos enjoy the firetrucks and boyscouts and local dance school kids and the Dickens Festival characters all costumed up, etc. marching by. It was cheesy and small town and a wonderful example of WHY we happily left the big city to settle in our little seaport village where on a daily basis we run into someone who truly does "know our name".

Proof of the FUN:

click on me to blow up

What I LOVE about this pic is Emma and George covering their ears as the firetrucks let the sirens go, Ben being a silent observer, and my pal Jen getting the kiddos in the spirit of the whole parade magic by waving at all the folks marching by.

Today was another one of those GOOD days.

Gobble Gobble

Now that Ben is talking more and using catch phrases at appropriate times, my stellar parenting skills are becoming increasing obvious. For example, yesterday in the car I raised my voice for some reason and he said, "Mommy, zip it!" which is a phrase I have been known to use when Em is whining and whining and simply won't quiet down. *oops!*

Thanksgiving was a great day with family. We cooked some good eats (have I mentioned lately how awesome of a chef Daddy is? - his maple syrup chipotle deviled eggs stole the show!), "We" minus Ben. That kid is seriously missing out. Gramma's turkey was juicy and yummy and the sweet potatoes were to die for. Did I mention apple pie? Pumpkin pie? Whipped cream? NOPE. This kid pooh poohed it all. Silly rabbit...

Also since his trip to Denver where perchance he thought I abandoned him for the weekend, he has been increasingly needy in a bigtime Mama's boy way. He constantly wants to sit on my lap, especially at mealtimes, which we need to nip in the bud asap (easy to do in our own home, not so much in a restaurant or at Thanksgiving dinner where other people are trying to enjoy their meals). He screeches like a dieing baby pterodactyl piercing eardrums across the land. *ouchie*

Homeward bound today... Wish us luck for an uneventful journey. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Turkey day 1 of 4

We snuck out of town a day early to head to PA for our Thanksgiving celebration with family. About 10 minutes into the drive Em realized she forgot "Melmin" her stuffed giraffe and the flavor of the week (day?) toy. We were not turning back, especially for a toy we knew she didn't really play with, and she bawled for a good 20 minutes...

Once she got that out of her system, she was quite a pleasant traveler, even in a bit of construction traffic at the Water Gap. She only requested 2 potty breaks and we made the trip in a little over four hours. Ben made the trip without a fuss and pulled into Grandpa's driveway after four hours with a dry diaper. This kid is ready to be potty trained. Anyone wanna get on that for me? Girls, I know how to train. Boys, not so much!

The kids slept in the same bed last night and slept well - waking at about 6:45am. I am hoping we can make this permanent so i can get rid of the toddler bed in their room and just have the one full size bed! (How very other-country of us!) Seriously, that would be awesome! Although when I asked Em this morning how she slept, she announced without hesitation, "That was the worst night ever!" It flowed out of her mouth so naturally that I thought she had been practicing that sentence over and over and finally had an opportunity to use it!

new workout

I dislike working out. It's no secret. I love power walking with a friend around a lake pushing double strollers (Afton!), I love running / walking with a gaggle of girls training for our fake 5 ks (Kim, Lori!), etc. What I dislike is working out on my own (running solo!), doing Wii fit (video games bore me - they remind me of how much time I WASTED in my youth), etc...

I would much rather sacrifice something I LOVE TO DO to lose weight, which is exactly what I did this past year. I now weigh 136 pounds - I haven't weighed 136 pounds since I was in junior high school. Yes, the placement of the pounds is very different at age 40 then it is at 14, but the point is, for the first time in a very long time, I actually enjoy putting on a pair of pants and looking in the mirror to see the results. Hooray! (PS, I simply sacrificed calories. That simple. 1400 a day...)

That diatribe is leading me to this. Sunday I was in charge of the Awesome Foursome for about 3 hours and let me tell you, those kids worked me out! My favorite part was this:

That's right, folks. This caboose was sporting about 160 pounds of KID and this mama was the conductor! But, I gotta tell ya, this is the kind of workout I actually LIKE!!! On the hills, Georgie was encouraging me, "You can do it!" I was trying to set a good example by tugging and tugging saying, "I think I can, I think I can..."


So, exercise Gods, feel free to throw a little bit more of this stuff my way. I will still count calories to maintain, and I promise, I will never ever ever work out solo ever again. :)

Let the Holiday parties begin!

Thanksgiving Feast at PreK

Em's PreK class had their Thanksgiving "feast" at school on Friday. All the parents were invited to witness the festivities and we were cracking up. They were dressed as pilgrims - as you can see above - and each recited what they were going to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. Em was one of the only kids to "get it right" saying she was going to eat "Turkey", one girl said turkey pie, the Italian kid said Pasta and pastina, some kids said pizza, the Asian kids said noodles - it couldn't have been more stereotypical.

The "feast" consisted of mini bagels, fruit salad, apple juice, and popcorn bagged in their cornucopias. You know, just like the first dinner with the Pilgrims and the Indians. YUM!

Catch up once again!

At the mall with Ben a few weeks ago he noticed all the Christmas decorations in every store. He said at least 20 times, "Look, Mommy, it's Christman!" He cannot for the life of him say Christmas! He even calls our friend, Christopher, Christman.

On Wednesday I was in desperate need of a BJs run after being away all weekend. It was pouring down rain and I had both kids with me. I have gotten so spoiled going with just one kid or no kids now that Emma is in school!! Well let me tell you, my kids can be angels or they can be rotten little monkeys. They were the latter that day, fighting in the cart, yelling and screaming over who gets to hold what, etc. People were staring but (patting myself on the back) I did not "lose it" in the store. I actually calmly talked to them about the proper behavior in public. Yay, me! I guess having 3 kid free days can do that for a Mommy.

Since then, I have lost it my usual 2 or 3 times a day. But hey, one good day is a start, no?

After dropping Emma off at school Thursday morning while driving home, Benjamin said, "Hey, Mommy, bagel?" I said, "Sorry, buddy, we don't have any bagels. How about a waffle?" "Nope! Howbout bagel?" "I said we don't have any bagels. How about a waffle?" "Nope! Howbout bagel?" We repeated this about 10 times, each time Ben voice got higher and higher and sweeter and sweeter. The final straw was when he said unprovoked, "Palaaaaaaaze, Mommy? Palaaaaaze?" Needless to say we ended up at Dunkin Donuts buying the kid a bagel with the change in my ashtray...

While trying to get reacquainted with the East Coast time zone, Ben woke up at 3:30am the other day and was awake until at least 5:00 (I heard him talking to himself). Miraculously he stayed in his bed the entire time!! It didn't help me to get any sleep because I kept waiting for him to get out of bed, but at least he stayed in bed!

Home Sweet Home again

The Batter Bunch was scattered around the states this past weekend. Ben had a blast w Gramma Lou visiting Aunt Miki and Uncle Sean. I got lots of texts w pic/videos attached of them playing here and there (Denver Zoo, around the house, etc). But it you ask the 2 years & 10 month old all he talks is the trains and riding the airplane. As per usual, he was chauffeured around in the hand me down pink umbrella stroller - what is new is that he now refers to it as his "bike" and has a fit when it needs to go through the security X-ray machine or when it is taken from him at the plane door to be gate checked. Other than those times, Gramma reported he was an absolute stud on the planes, napping, playing, and sitting quietly with little or no struggle. Woohoo!

Daddy and Em are currently on an airplane flying back from FL where they were visiting an ailing Grandpop. It was a challenging 3 1/2 days, but Em also was on her best behavior and enjoyed solo attention from Daddy. They hit up a few parks in the area and each time Em was confident in her ability to make new friends easily. I think I am most proud of that skill in her! I can't wait for us all to be reunited under the same roof at midnight.

As for me, I was on the early flight Sat to CA so I could attend the wedding of our dear friends and colleagues, Jef and Laura. It was a great "family reunion" really - so many of my pals from my restaurant years were in attendance. Sunday was childfree football with Auntie Colt - always a special treat - with lots of cross country skyping going on through out the day. I worked Monday and caught the red eye back to JFK. Then drove 2 1/2 hours to Gramma's house to retrieve my kiddo - always an AWESOME heart melting reunion w that kid (I swear he grew at least 3 inches over the weekend!). Took a 90 min power nap, then hopped back in the car w Ben and drove 4 hours back to NY to get our dogs from the sitter. It was a very long day, but Ben was so easy in the car - Daddy's car, so no DVD player. We simply chatted and played eye spy and snacked and talked Thomas et al, and the time flew by. What a rare treat to not be sidetracked w electronics - I think I rely on them too much...

I just set my alarm to wake me in an hour to go pick up Daddy and Em at our local airport (30 min away vs JFK an hour away). Hopefully I can transfer Ben without waking him. Kim, if u read this before 10pm, can u monitor my son so I can keep him in his bed? :)

Bowling!

Emma and I went bowling w our pals today. Let me tell you, when you are a man down kiddie bowling is much much easier!

All of the kids were 3-6ish, most lost interest by the 8th frame. But not Emma! Our stud played through to the end winning the game with a score (that sadly) rivals mommy!! Yes, she is the E.

Come on, Mommy!

Dropped Benny at Newark airport this afternoon for his trip with Gramma Lou to Denver. It was a two hour drive via NYC and the kid was a stud in the car watching Cars2 on the DVD player. We breezed through security (kids under 12 no longer have to remove their shoes which used to be the cause of a Benny meltdown) and made it to the gate (pitstop for a slice of pizza for him) meeting up w Gramma who flew in from PA. Ben was happy go lucky the entire time and when it was time to board, he hopped into the umbrella stroller and said, "Come on , Mommy!" We walked together to the boarding podium, then Gramma took over the stroller. Ben smiled at me as I kissed him goodbye but the smile did not last once he comprehended that I was not coming with him. He said, "Come on, Mommy!" over and over each one getting progressively more desperate. Then the bottom lip jutted out and the big tears started rolling down his face, "Come on, Mommy!" he squeaked for all the passengers to hear. They all looked at me with that "this kid is adorable" look sympathizing with my breaking heart as Gramma wheeled him down the gateway.

Gramma just called to say he fussed for a bit as they were getting settled, then passed out for 45 minutes. Then happily watched movies and drew on his magnadoodle as the plane descended. Phew!

We miss Benny already! It's way quiet around here. Enjoy him, Aunt Miki and Uncle Sean. May he fill your long weekend with as much joy as he provides us on a daily basis. Feed him good food, potty train him, and send him home with clean laundry! Xoxo!

Bday fun

Emma was invited to a "sleepover" birthday party last Friday. The Mommy, a good friend of mine, was super smart and *asterisk* the "sleepover" to say, "Wear your favorite PJs and bring your sleeping bag! Party from 5-7pm only!" All the girls wore jammies and tons of fun was had, and all the kids went home in a timely fashion sufficiently tuckered out and already dressed for bed!

The Mommy had tons of fun activities  but my favorite was the Mummy game. When she first announced it, I thought she said the "money" game - I was equally excited about that! It turns out the girls were split into groups of three, handed a roll of toilet paper, and the race to make one of the teammates a "Mummy" was on! It was heaps of fun and Em had a blast. Mommy, too.

Em is also a stellar FREEZE DANCE player. Who knew?

Mummy game / Freeze dance

Ben happily did not attend the all girl party. He was at our pre-school pal's house wreaking havoc on their playroom for two hours. When I dropped him off the Dad, in Mr Mom mode, looked fresh as a daisy. When I picked Ben up 2 hours and 15 minutes later, the Dad - with two young sons of his own plus Ben - looked as though he could use a six pack. Go Benny!

Afternoon delight

Friday afternoon, Henry's Mommy suggested we follow through on an idea we had been bandying about for over a year. She even researched it on the internet, got the scoop and we headed out the door!

Train ride!!

That's right, folks, we took our kids on a train ride! As our station is the end of the line, when it pulled into the station it was completely empty and we had our pick of the seats.

There were tons of musical chairs going on!

The plan was to go two stations, hop off and catch a train immediately back. Fingers crossed the trains were running on time, because 6 kids four and under near train tracks could equal disaster. What we didn't realize was that it was Friday afternoon and the first stop is a giant university with 1000s of students heading home for the weekend. The train became sardine city, but we only had one more stop to go and it was actually kinda fun for the kids to be surrounded with so many faces to watch. The best part of the trip was handing their ticket to the conductor to punch - they felt like they were riding the Dinosaur Train!

We saw lots of fun things out the window. Emma: "I see plants! I see a house! I see a pool! I see horses!" Benny pretty much parroted everything his sister said...

"This is AWESOME!"

The trains were on time (phew!) and we only had about five minutes of down time at the station in St James. Of course, just to keep it interesting, in that five minutes Ben made a full speed break for the main street. Super Henry saw it happen and chased him down grabbing the hood of his coat stopping him about 10 feet from the road. Good save, Henry! We had snacks on the return ride home and the kids continued the musical seats game on the empty end of the line train. They were pretty noisy and I am pretty sure we annoyed the heck out of one commuter in particular, but the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and it was a short enough ride. A good way to spend $5.50 round trip and our new favorite way to enjoy an afternoon outing!

Happy Halloween!

How have I not posted Halloween pics yet? Slacker Mama!

They both wore their costumes the entire day. Surprisingly Benny wore the hat! Whenever he encountered a person out and about he would point to his head and announce, "Woody hat!" Daddy took him to the store during the day to get himself a knit hat for Winter and informed me when he got home that our kid is a chic magnet. Apparently all these women, young and old, were googley eyed over our handsome little Cowboy. Ben loved the attention, so did Daddy. : )

We went trick or treating with George and Christian in their neighborhood and had a pizza party afterwards at their house. It was a fun night out! Considering I missed Halloween last year because of my commute to LA, this year's fun more than made up for it. Happy Halloween!

My favorite pic of the day! Waiting for the goods...

PIZZA!

Family pics

Remember those family pics we tried again? Well, these were the best two of the bunch. Emma, who has a beautiful smile when not asked to smile, cannot for the life of her smile beautifully on cue. Benjamin was just getting over a tantrum... (click on pic to enlarge)

My hubby is so handsome!

I was able to crop this cute pic of Benny (either Daddy was squinty or Emma wasn't looking...).

CarniVAL!

Em had her preK back to school carnival last Friday evening. Gramma Lou hung at home with Benny and Daddy and I got some two on one time with Emma that was super perfect and deserved and FUN.

They had all sorts of "carnival" games to play, ring toss / bean bag toss / knock down the tin cans, etc. Em got her face painted and received a clown nose, amongst other fun giveaways, to fit in with the atmosphere. I am not sure who rocked the nose better - Daddy or Emma. They are both so AWESOME!

Photo credit to Gramma Lou.

I love my husband.

Case Study #2

This photo, when studied in depth is another case study of a "day in the life of the Batter Baby Bunch."

1) Mommy busted out the Winter coat bin and is ecstatic to know that all Winter coats and snowpants and snow boots will work again for this Winter!! (Miserly Mommy bought too big sizes last year. GIGGLE.)

2) Ben is watching his favorite TV show on PBS, Peep and the Big Wide World.

3) Ben has both his hands shoved into the back of his diaper holding onto his butt cheeks. Yep, it feels good, admit it, you'd do it too if society didn't look down on you as an adult.

4) The plastic chewy dog bone on the floor behind Ben probably has only been used by the dog two times in the past 16 months, yet I continue to vacuum around it every other day... (or push it here and there with the vacuum. Shoosh! You do the same dang thing. Stop pretending you don't.)

5) There are three pumpkins hanging in the window above the tv. There is also a pumpkin in the kitchen window, on the closet door, and at least 6 hanging on the front door of the Penthouse. Pumpkin shortage, my arse...

6) The cottage in the background gets much more play now that it is in our living room versus the kids bedroom. (Versus when we first bought it and had it on our deck where the birds ate all the mulberries off the trees around us then pooped purple poop onto the roof of the playhouse!)

7) Paper book covers on books for kids are an environmental JOKE.

8) I love the "new" stickers that are plastered all over my coffee table (versus old school stickers that were impossible to peel back off any surface - the new ones come up so easily! Thank you inventor with children! Surely you were a female... Don't be offended, male readers. Simply admit you never would have come up with this idea!!)

Did I miss anything?

Tents R us

When it is cold and rainy out, Mama and Daddy have to get creative. Over the weekend we busted out the tents and had various activities in and around them. Mama's activities tend to be nurturing and relaxing - you know, reading books or coloring in the tent. Daddy's activities are, well, you know, Daddy things - like zipping the kids up inside the tent, then shaking and quaking the tent until the seams want to bust to make the kids laugh and scream and expend tons of pent up stuck indoors energy.

YEP, Daddy's version is much more FUN for all involved.

APB out on daddy

It's been way too long since daddy posted anything, and honestly, I'M EMBARRASSED.  The both of you have grown up so much, your personalities are becoming more pronounced everyday.  Truthfully, it's so much fun simply coming home and "wrethling" or playing Tunnel, Monster, Snugglehugging  or letting you jump into my arms.

I remember each of you fitting into the crook of my elbow,  your toothless grins, your cries, your 1st colds, your pouty lips, and how you both identified your worlds through the people you saw everyday: dodo, casseeee, mommy, daddeee, nobennie, EMMMAAA!!! (the aforementioned names being the most used).

As I type, you're both asleep in your room (you sleep like champs in the same room). Ben wouldn't go to bed, but Emma was out cold which is kinda opposite since she's usually like me and takes forever to fall asleep.  Ben, you are just outrageously cute, funny, tough, and a TOTAL mama's boy, and your mom absolutely LOVES every minute of it.

You've become great friends with Georgie and Christian who are the most quality buds any kid could ask for, in fact, you go to asleep many nights talking about how your next day is going to revolve around their schedule/backyard.

Ben, you've started counting, reciting the alphabet, asking "whyyy??" and all of this in pretty much the blink of an eye.  Em, you're the best example I've seen of someone who's more concerned about the welfare of others over their own.  On multiple occasions, you've asked to make cards for your classmates, whether they had a cold or even a broken arm.

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the work your mom does keeping our home in order and you guys in a winning environment.  Not to mention the simple fact that she actually writes in the blog!  The words that come to my mind are inadequate to express how much I love her, but let me say it for anyone to hear (or read...whatever) I am eternally grateful that we met and that she KNOWINGLY chose me!

One day you're going to read this, and hopefully this post will remind you that we love you ALWAYS! I'm so proud of you both!  My heart swells with joy every time I think about our family, the silly moments we've had together, and for all of the times we'll spend together from today on! 

Cock a doodle doo

We had lots of fun while Gramma Lou was in town. Thursday we hit up yet another pumpkin patch and found a good one that Daddy carved into "Peep and the Big Wide World." It was windy but sunny so afterwards we tried to explore Wildwood State park, but the beach was closed due to mass erosion from Hurricane Irene, so we ended up just playing on the playground there.

We are now calling the color of Emma's hair: Dried Cornstalk.

In the car coming home that afternoon, Em was yammering on about this and that and she said something about something and I said to her, "How do you know that?" "I know everything," was her reply. Gotta admire the confidence!

Sunday after our semi-failed mission to get family pictures, we gave Gramma the quickie tour of where Daddy grew up on the south shore of the island. While driving along the beach in the Robert Moses / Fire Island area, Emma noticed all the signs that ask you to please NOT feed the deer. "Why can't we feed the deer, Daddy?" "Because then they will want to hang out near the road and they might get hit by a car and die." "Oh," she said contemplating his answer. Five minutes later, "Why can't we feed the deer, Daddy?" "Because, as I just said, then they will want to hang out near the road and they might get hit by a car and die." "Oh," she said. Seriously, not TWO MINUTES LATER she said again, "Why can't we feed the deer, Daddy?" and proceeded to ask this question at least 5 more times until we got off the island! The whole get hit by a car and die was just not resonating! I think she wanted a happy ending...

Ben, when accomplishing anything these days will exclaim, "I did it! I win!" As in, getting up the stairs fast, or drinking all his milk, or brushing his teeth. It cracks us up!

What doesn't crack us up is after two months of Ben staying put in his toddler bed until we come and get him in the morning, he has discovered that he can take charge and wander out into the hallway to rooster us awake at 6am... I don't like 6am. What is going to happen when we change the clocks back and 6am is really 5am? HELP!

Family pictures...NOT

We tried our yearly Autumn family picture at the portrait studio today. Ben did not cooperate. I really think he may have, but he got his hands on my iphone, hit the youtube app and found himself a Peep and the Big Wide World episode to watch. When I realized he had done this I KNEW the pics were not going to work out. You see, Benjamin LOVES PBS's Peep and the Big Wide World. I think he may even love that show more than his beloved Thomas. (Reminder the kid is 2 years 10 months and can work an iphone / ipad better than most adults. I should probably get him a job at the Apple Genius Bar so he can start paying for the diapers he is STILL using...) When we removed the phone from his clutches he cried and cried, "My Peep! My Peep!" reaching out his arms all longingly for the entire time the poor photographer was trying to get that "one" shot.

We did get one semi decent shot... I will pick the pics up next week and post it for all your viewing enjoyment. In the meantime, just so you have a comparison, the pic doesn't look much different than this silliness Grandma snapped in the pumpkin patch last Thursday.

Just to let Benjamin know how much we LOVE him and his predictable photo shoot ways, Daddy carved another pumpkin today Peep and his pals, Quack and Chirp. I think it looks freaking awesome, and as you can see from the pic, so does Benny.

Van Gogh lesson

It is still hard for Emma to take the time out of her busy social calendar to color nicely and not "scribble scrabble." I know she can color in the lines, I have witnessed it with my own eyes, but usually she is in a giant rush and it comes out like a three year old. I was rather impressed with this self portrait from school. She even got the yellow hair and blue eyes and red lips in the right place...

She does love arts and crafts and is constantly requesting we do a craft together. Now all she needs is to FOCUS and take her time...

Grandma Lou is visiting. Of course, we have jam packed the schedule. I hope to catch up here soon. Hopefully this heavenly image will hold you over. Photo credit to Grandma!

Time out has returned!

Daddy was on kid watch yesterday morning and was in full force play mode. At one point Em shoved Ben pretty hard so he put her in time-out. He made her count to 100 before she could get up, which she did, awesome. As soon as she got up and approached the play area, Ben retaliated and gave her a shove. Daddy, trying to be the fair cop, then put Ben in a time out. He sat in the chair and immediately started counting! Except his counting went something like this, "One. Two. Three. Ready or not! Here I come!" a la hide and seek!

I forgot to post this pic last week. Em was roller skating out on our front sidewalk. She bores of the activity pretty quick although she has improved remarkably since the beginning of Summer. She took off her skates and helmet and left them laying by the front stoop. Benny picked up the helmet and put it on his head, then handed me the skates and said, "Help, Mommy!" As they are the adjustable over the sneaker kind, I figured what the heck. Let me tell you - this kid is a natural athlete. I held his hand for about 30 seconds, then he was - peace out, I got this - and skated over to the bicycle rack. He was wobbly, but not one iota scared. Yes, this pic may haunt him and he probably won't get to run for President because it is now all over the internet, but how cute is he? It's a good thing Em wanted a black and red Cars bicycle for her birthday...at least one of his hand me downs will be gender appropriate!

My manly man.

Emmaism of the day:  As she runs and hops ahead of me, "MOM! Why is my shadow stuck to my feet?"

Not a Scratch and Sniff

Take a good look at this picture. Really. Click on it to blow it up and look real hard. There is so much you can learn about my happy family from it. Come on. Don't cheat. Click and make guesses. Then read my list below.

CLICK ON ME!

1) Benjamin refused to eat ANYTHING for dinner AGAIN, but he had no problem eating the Cheerios off the Cheerios Book frustrating his sister because she wanted to play the "game" properly.
2) Ben is still train obsessed. Note the Gordon battery operated train on the table, and the miniature Henry on the floor next to the table.
3) Yes, Emma is sitting on the coffee table. That's how we roll, people!
4) The clippy I put in Emma's hair at 8am has slowly worked it's way south for the Winter. This picture was taken at about 6:15pm, minutes before it fell out for good.
5) Emma will only drink milk from her Sippy cup if I have shoved a straw into the spout rendering the non-spill plastic useless. If the cup tilts or ends up on it's side, I am cleaning up milk drips.
6) The plastic water bottle on the table is not a familiar object in our home. I am environmentally obsessed and believe these bottles are a giant waste of money and detrimental to Mother Earth. But, Hurricane Irene left us with little choice but to buy a few cases... The penthouse is small, I am trying to make space by consuming them. And, yes, I take them to the recycling vending machine at BJs so the world can have even more plastic bottles...
7) In the pic on the right you can see a Lands End catalog free shipping postcard laying on the couch. I always save them with big ideas of ordering something nice for myself, but then realize I can get the same dang thing at the Thrift store in Selden for one tenth the price!

If you see anything I forgot, feel free to comment! : )

Get Low and GO

We went to a Blue Grass festival at one of the wineries on the island on Sunday with some friends. The kids played with hula hoops and danced and generally had a blast enjoying the amazing weather and equally awesome music. Ben was not his usual chipper self. He was in a mood, a Mommy-only mood, and sat on my lap pretty much the entire time we were there. Now, I love to snuggle with my boy, but I really was hoping to kick up my feet and enjoy good music and adult conversation with our pals. I got a little of it here and there and certainly laughed a whole lot at the girls going wild, and at daddy who got sucked into the spin me around vortex by 5 girls age 3-7. Daddy woke up the next days with raging biceps and chest muscles, who knew airplane spinning little girls was such a good workout?

Cell pic:  How awesome is Emma?

Burn those calories, Daddy!

As the Mama of a pretty young thing, I often try to stress it's what is on the inside that counts. It is quite a challenge because strangers and friends are always saying, "Emma, you look so pretty today!" or "You are such a beautiful little girl." I try to counter all the outward beauty praise with phrases like, "Em, you have such a big heart!" or "You are such a good friend to ____" etc. Anything to take her mind off of the "beauty" aspect of life. I often feel I am winning the battle because she will regurgitate my phrases when talking to Ben or other friends, but yesterday she said to me, "Mommy, can I wear my fairy dress the next time I see Georgie so he will think I am pretty?" Argh. It was super sweet and innocent, but I am definitely not winning the battle.

Ben regurgitates things he hears often, too. Apparently he has been watching too much tv lately because this morning he heard an announcer say PBS kids and Ben immediately yelled, "Dot org!" If you watch any PBS kids, they always talk about going to the website to play games or view missed episodes... HA!

Then this afternoon as we were leaving BJs, it was a bit misty out and the parking lot was busy. Em was walking all willy nilly next to me and I said (for the millionth time), "Em, we are in a parking lot! What do you have to do?" I was hoping for the reply, "Hold hands." or "Be safe." NOPE. She happily shouted, "Stop! Drop! and Roll!"

Needless to say if there is ever a raging fire in the middle of a parking lot you won't have to worry about Emsadoodlydoo.

busy beavers

It never ceases to amaze me what a good eater Emma is. The other day she was eating thin sliced raw onions from Daddy's bbq chicken salad. (I hate raw onions...) Today, Daddy treated us out to dinner to celebrate our best month ever in business and she was chowing down on calamari and spicy broccoli and shrimp without hesitation. Ben, who's food intake has been beyond terrible recently, actually ate two chicken fingers, some broccoli and calamari! At one point Em picked up a breaded shrimp and proceeded to eat it tail first. We said to her, "Don't eat the tails!" She replied, "I like the tails." "You're just going to poop them out," I offered. "What?? I don't have a poopy mouth!" she exclaimed!

Speaking of Ben, we have been enjoying a toddler library class together every Friday morning while Em is at school. Last Friday they had a guest speaker in the class, a nutritionist, and I was all over that poor lady. She asked what he ate, gave him the once over and said, "He's perfect. Stop worrying about him." Basically, she said, a two year old need the equivalent of 10 tablespoons of food a day, preferably broken down into 5 small meals a day. She then showed us what a typical snack should look like, a tablespoon of bananas and a tablespoon of cheerios and I realized that I really should stop worring about him, he's eating fine!

Our stud at the library class.

Ben has started to "name" his friends at the class, as in, "Mommy, butterfly girl play ball," and "Thomas boy crash frain (train) on frainfracks (traintracks)." Basically what you have on your shirt is your name for the class! His speaking continues to improve daily and this morning I was trying to finish up some work and he wanted me to get him some juice. I told him he needed to wait one minute and he looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "Please, Mommy?" Needless to say I got him the juice immediately - that kid knows I am a sucker!

At the park this morning Ben kept calling the monkey bars "Hold On Tight" because that is what I tell him to do when we are playing on them. I was over by the swings and he came running over saying, "Mommy, Mommy! Play Hold On Tight!" grabbing my hand and pulling me over to them.

We were out of the penthouse more than we were in today enjoying the 80˚ weather. We started out the day at Rocketship Park, then hit up BJs where Emma had the biggest meltdown she has ever had. (We were birthday gift shopping for a friend, she also wanted the gift we bought for the girl. I said NO, it was for Hailey's birthday, she freaked out and CRIED like crazy for 25 minutes. It was ugly. In the end I told her I threw the gift in the trash and she wasn't going to the party unless she behaved like an absolute angel for the rest of the week. - She was pretty dang good the rest of today!) From BJs we came home for lunch, then headed over to Heritage park to see the flags of the States festival. We played there for about 45 minutes and then decided to head over to the beach. The water was freezing, but that did not stop a fully clothed Ben from splashing and rolling around in it. I did not have any towels or spare clothes, and the child rode home in his car seat with only a clean diaper. He wasn't complaining whatsoever.

Emma "reading" about the flags on the left.

Cedar Beach goodness!

Both kids behaved impeccably at dinner. Seriously, the waitress was very impressed! I didn't even once have to bust out my iphone to entertain either kid because they were getting rowdy. Thank you, kiddos!

Why I love kids...

Short and SWEET story:

I was at a playdate today with about 8 parents and 14 kids. It was a beautiful Autumn day and we had an absolute blast running amok.

The best part of the day was me walking in on pure innocence / love of a 4 year old's FUN:

I wandered into the kitchen to find Em and her best bud, George, laughing hysterically in the hallway by the half bathroom. "What's going on over here?" I happily inquire? What I see / find is this: another 4 year old pal had just taken a poop on the potty. He was standing outside the bathroom door with his pants around his ankles trying unsuccessfully to wipe his butt. Finding his failure funny, he had turned to George and Emma bent over, grabbed his butt cheeks and was making them 'talk' a la Jim Carrey saying, "Hi! I just took a poop. I should wipe!" over and over.

I'm not sure how I did it, but I contained myself from falling into a heap of laughter on the floor of the kitchen, somehow found the parent of the kid in need of a wipe, and wrangled George and Emma out into the yard changing the subject quickly.

Life is good, my friends. And POOP will ALWAYS be funny to me.

Twofer Tuesday

What's more fun than taking one 2 1/2 year old boy to BJs while his sister is at school? Taking TWO! Meet Christian. Ben's best buddy, and my kidswap pal. They behaved like champs, even though the deli line was ridiculously LONG. Ben hardly even fussed when Christian was stealing his beloved pretzel Goldfish. : )

After lunch we headed over to Christian and Georgie's house for some Picasso practice. Thankfully their table is on linoleum, not carpet like mine!

Guess what Grandma is getting for Christmas? hahaha