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.