And another thing...

Awwww, how cute, Benny is playing with the bus and airplane that Emma abandoned when we moved to NY. Wait, a minute!! Ben is playing with my toys. BENNY, NOOOOOO! I WAS JUST GOING TO PLAY WIT DEM. GIVE EM TO ME. NOOOOOOOOWWW.

Wind and rain...

It is very hard for me to get out of bed on a dreary day (that is why I actually hesitated to leave sunny SoCal for a split second). But the good news is Benny is just like me! It was rainy and dark out this morning and Ben slept until 7:30!! I just may be looking forward to a dreary winter. Maybe?

On a dreary CA day, we would head to the Topanga mall and play in the indoor play area and ride the carousel. Not here. The malls don't have play areas, BUT a McDonald's about 10 minutes away does! We had already eaten lunch, so I got myself a $1.00 caramel sundae and the kids played away. SWEET! And it was much cheaper (i.e. FREE) and more kid manageable than the giant indoor "Fun for All" facility that I took Benny to last week. The only problem was when we were done (i.e. BEN was exhausted), Emma refused to come down out of the top tubes. I had to threaten her to within inches of her life and denials of never watching Thomas the Tank Engine again to get her to come down. When she finally did come out, she had had a mini accident, so I was double furious with her. I steered her towards the bathroom angrily, then spooned the last bite of the sundae into my mouth. The sweet caramel and fake ice cream soon soothed my soul and we just may go back there again on a rainy day to play.

We stopped at Target on our ride home and started an instore wishlist - kind of like a bridal registry, but for the kids for Christmas. It was fun walking around with my fancy red wand scanning things for "other people" to buy my children, now I just need to figure out how to send the list to Santa Claus. Speaking of which, I need to start threatening "you'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better not shout I'm telling you why..." so I can have a less whiny Autumn around here...

Living in the desert for 12 years I learned water conservation pretty quick. I am a fan of the "if it's yellow let it mellow" slogan, unless you are in a public bathroom, then flush flush flush, please. Emma has been fine with that until recently (basically since she started school). She is now flush obsessed. Actual conversation today, "Mama, that's your pee pee in there." Yes, I know. Please go potty and then we will flush it. "NO! We gotta flush first!" She flushes and the water swirls around. I try to lift her onto the seat and she screams, "NOT YET! YOU GOTTA WAIT FOR THE SMOKE TO GO DOWN." (huh? meaning you have to wait for the tank to refill and the water to stop running.) Sheesh!

the WHY monster

While watching BABAR yesterday, Emma suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! Monkeys don't talk!" in reference to the monkey having a conversation with Babar - a TALKING elephant, by the way. Go figure.

Today's post will be short and sweet. Emma woke up at 2am last night and finally fell back to sleep at 3. Benjamin, not be be outdone, then woke up at 3:45am and didn't go back to sleep until 9:30am and then slept 'til 12:30pm. Finally at 7:30am I wandered into our bedroom and woke up Daddy and said, "Dude, it's your turn." He hadn't heard a thing all night long. Needless to say, I will be going to bed as soon as I hit "publish post."

The children are currently in bed chatting happily away with each other. Ben still isn't making any real words but I cannot get enough of his, "Aye yai yah, ooh aah ooo, ayayaya mamama." (except at 4am...)

My very first post ever was when Emma was 17 1/2 months old. The wind had blown the screen door closed and she was stuck out on the deck. She was banging on the door yelling all Marlon Brando like, "WHYYYYYYYY?" I made mention at that time how adorable it was but someday I knew I would grow to dislike that word. That day has come!! Emma asks, "Why?" about everything. Emma, get in your chair. "Why?" We are going to eat breakfast. "Why?" Because you need nutrition so you can grow strong. "Why?" or Emma, please get your shoes on. "Why?" Because we are going to the park. "Why?" Because you asked me to go. "Why?"

Mr. Mom

Daddy's hijacking the blog while mama's in LA. This is the 3rd weekend flying solo with the kids, and they're both still alive, so count that as a win.

It's heartwarming to hear emma ask for mama and say she misses her, knowing full well that mommy's on the left coast hanging with auntie cold. Although, when she's being reprimanded and WAILING for mommy, heartwarming isn't the word I'd reach for 1st.

For example:

Me - "Emma, where does peepee go?"
3 yr old - "Butdaddy, In the potty. Its ok, it was just a drip."
Me (holding underwear as damp as a wet-nap) "My name is not butdaddy. And ummm, that's alot more than a drip, and drips are not ok. When you have to go, GO TO THE POTTY!!!"
3 yr old - "Butdaddy, I want mommy."

Me - "Emma, for the 14th time, we will watch Thomas when we get home from the park!"
3 yr old - "Butdaddy, I wanna watch it now!"
Me - "It's a 4 minute ride to the park, and we'll go to the marina to see the boats and the ferry!"
3 yr old - "noo, the boats have a hurty belly. I want mommy"
Me - "Boats don't have bel-whatever, lets go!"
3 yr old - "ButDAAADEEEEEEE, noah and aiden and liam and henry and dodo and the guy across the hall, and keyser soze want to watch it NOW!!!"
Me - "You've never even seen The Usual Suspects????"

Games we play when stir crazy with cabin fever:
Daddysaurus - Emma climbs on my back and we walk around searching for dinosaurs in the house.
Species identified so far:
Bennysaurus-small dancing creature that grips wooden block which it uses as projectiles to ward off, well, sistersaurus I guess. Produces incredible amounts of poop
Dodosaurus-four legged droopy faced hairball. Also produces incredible amounts of poop.
TVsaurus-Flat faced being that can pretend to be mulitiple characters, but usually chooses a blue train and his friends.
Couchasaurus-Invariably the place where our dinosaur hunting ends.

We raced outside while ben napped, and my 3 year old beautifully innocent blond haired kewpie doll, was trash talking to me like we were on the basketball courts in the ghetto.
"cant catch me, SLOWPOKE." thanks thomas.....

We played hide and seek, which by any definition was the most enjoyable game we've played together so far. Here's the play by play:

Emma tells me to count while she hides. I close my eyes and hear her close her bedroom door.
When I say "ready or not..." she giggles UNCONTROLLABLY.
Going through each room I say "Is Emma in here, noooo. Is she in heeeere? nooo."
Until I'm finally interrupted by her door flying open and Emma running out screamlaughing "HERE ME ARE!!!"

I hide behind the bed in our room. (degree of difficulty 5 outta 10)
Emma counts "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, silence, READY OR NOT HERE I COME!"
She looks around using my exact words "here, noooo"
When she finally sees me, she's literally shaking with excitement. She then proceeds to put in me the bathroom and tells me to "hide here. I'll come find you."
She counts "10, 9, 8, HERE I COME!!!"
I hear "izzy in the bedroom, nooo. izzy in the closet, nooo. izzy in the bathroom (without even opening the door) YESS!!!!!!!"

So much excitement she totally peed her pants.

Last but not least; I'm shaving and Emma's staring at me as if she's watching open-heart surgery.
"Butdaddy, whaturrr you dooeng??"
I'm shaving Em, so that my face is smooth.
"What's that thing?"
It's called a razor.
"Can I-"
No Em, you can't play with it, it's not a toy. It's sharp and could give you a big owie.
"Butdaddy, I wanna rave too."

"BUTEMMA, I WANT MOMMY!!!!"

ps - ben has been absolutely awesome adorable the whole time. except at dinner. story for another post

Indian summer, stay a while, please?

8:45pm on a Saturday. We got back from a bbq with new friends about an hour ago. It was Emma with 3 other girls her age-ish and Ben. Poor Ben. We seem to have made friends with a bunch of families that have female offspring - not too many boys in the mix. One day, Ben, you will have the pic of the litter, don't you worry, big guy.

He didn't mind a bit though. Oblivious Ben. The girls were hanging out inside an 8 man tent in the back yard and Ben just kept circling the tent peeking in the windows and the girls just kept screaming then Ben would scream (screechier than the girls, I might add) and all would giggle and it would start all over again. It was the perfect night, adults enjoying good conversation on the deck, the kids screaming in the yard behind us. Good times.

Tonight as I bathed Emma she said, "Are you gonna go to California tomorrow and see Auntie Cold?" "Yep," I said, "but it is just a quickie trip. I will be back by the time you wake up Tuesday morning." "But, Mama, I am really gonna miss you." (*Insert sound of my heart melting here.*)

Indian summer

As the weather continues to be perfect and warm with no humidity, we try to spend as much time outside as possible - particularly at Rocketship park where Emma is constantly making new friends and Ben, well Ben just does the usual 20 month old play near kids but not really with them. This week he "rediscovered" the slide and just how much fun it is. He wore a path up the steps and down the slide on his belly backward and through the sand to the steps and over and over again. Proof (I don't know why the audio is not coming through on the blog?):




Tonight before bed Emma said to me confused, "Daddy called me Emma Sophia." (She has a new friend, Sophie and is weirded out by this.) "That's your middle name, " I replied. "What's Benny's middle name?" "His middle name is Clark. Benjamin Clark." She asked my middle name and Daddy's middle name and finally, "What's Henry's middle name?" (our neighbor) "Why, I don't know, we will have to ask him." "Hmm, his middle name is fixer. And Kim's (Henry's Mommy) is cooker, cuz she makes lunch. She is a chef." Who knew?

Preschool went well again. Ben and I got a few errands done and I was once again reminded how much easier it is to get things done with just one child at my side (not that I would change anything!!). Tonight while stalling to go to bed, Emma fessed up to some "naughty" behavior at school. Apparently she was playing at the sand table and another girl was playing with the naked dolls at the water table giving them a bath. Emma brought a shovel full of sand to the water table and dropped it onto a doll getting her all dirty. The teacher asked what happened and Emma clammed up petrified of her misdemeanor. The little girl at the water table offered her up as the juvenile delinquent but she didn't get in trouble, the teacher just explained that the sand needed to stay at the sand table. Funny how it took her all day to tell us what happened.

Parenting-r-us

Emma is back to battling bedtime. She will get out of bed at least 5 times requesting this and that, then cry hysterically when I finally threaten to take school away from her if she doesn't stay in bed. Tonight was no different. Her last request was for a tissue and while pointing to her nose she said, "Mommy. Really. I need a tissue. There's a lot of boogies in there."

Vineyards are a special place to enjoy the "land" whether you drink wine or not. There is such a peace to the layout of the lines of vines and the kids have a blast running up and down them. There were tons of large grapes almost ready for picking for them to attempt to poke at (they were behind a bug netting). This vineyard we stopped at had a live oyster bar and a live band to accompany your choice of eats and drinks. We packed a sizable (well, our friends did and shared with us) picnic and had the best afternoon sitting around socializing. Around 4pm we left the vineyards and headed across the street to a fruit and veggie farm stand with lots of wooden structures for the kids to play on and goats for them to feed. As the sun was setting and Golden Hour was upon us, I was reminded just how beautiful our beloved Earth is and just how blessed I am to be here at this time with my family.


(L pic: Emma and Liam disco dancing to the Jazz quartet. R pic: young love.)

Emmaism #127: Emma is generally still a champion when it comes to eating. She has her bad days, but all in all she is a good eater. On Monday after she ate her entire meal (and licked the plate clean - for real - she licks the plate like a dog, and yes, we let her - that's good parenting, right?) Daddy gave her a popsicle. She was very excited to eat her "poxico" - as she calls them - and likes to label them depending on the color. For example, a yellow one is a lemon tree. Daddy gave her a green one and called it a christmas tree but she was absolutely convinced he was wrong and yelled, "No, Daddy, it's a crayon!!" and proceeded to eat it like daddy did (the crayon) when he was 3.

My doctor's excuse.

Benjamin is back to keeping crazy sleep hours which are wreaking havoc on the living schedule of the rest of the family. I am so darned tired I can barely see straight. Couple that with my second 50 hour West Coast turnaround in 2 weeks and I, too, am all wacked out with the sleeps.

Daddy and I priced out health insurance for a family of four with a reasonable deductible and average copay. WOW. It was expensive. We realized it best for me to attempt to qualify for my screen actor's insurance which is extraordinarily good and extraordinarily cheap - which means I have to do these quickie trips to LA. Auntie Cold has been kind enough to house me, oh, and give me work on "Ze Brodders and Ze Sisters". Have we mentioned just how much we LOVE and ADORE and APPRECIATE Auntie Cold?

My friend pointed out to me yesterday that most mother's work 9-5, 40 hours a week plus commute averaging 50 hours a week away from their children. I guess I am lucky because I can knock that 50 hours out in 2 days and have 5 whole days and nights to play and (hopefully) sleep (BEN!) in the presence of my kiddos. It sure is strange to relax and watch football on a Sunday afternoon without the word "Mama" being shouted out every 10 minutes, and yes - I do miss it!

So, tonight I promise to post the pics from our adventures over the weekend and bring this journal up to date. The Emma-isms are flying out left and right and I definitely want to get them logged for all eternity.

Good day # 129

We spent the most amazing Long Island day exploring the North fork with friends. I will post pictures and tell you all about it once I upload them. But first, I need some sleep. Once again, kids + sunshine + fresh air + friends with kids = happy exhausted parents.

I will leave you with this image: Emma is obsessed with stickers. There are stickers stuck to just about everything in our home from the door to the frig to the rocking chair to the toilet to her bed to the sliding glass door, etc... Luckily, stickers these days are made from a less adhesive material than the stickers of my youth, so the clean up is pretty easy - but it still looks like a tornado landed inside our house on top of a sticker book and randomly scattered the pieces everywhere. And I mean everywhere:


She was kind enough to ask, "Mommy, can I put stickers on your sunglasses?" But simply didn't listen when I said, "No, sweetheart, stickers do not go on sunglasses." But how Austin Powers would I have looked if I actually wore them like that all day?

part 2

If ever you want to come to Port Jefferson to surprise visit us but simply don't know where we live, your best bet is to show up in the marina in the afternoon around 3 pm. We have been there every day this week flying our kite - which, by the way, I cried when I handed over the $12.99 for something I figured would break after one use. That is probably the best cash I have spent in a very long time. It has provided endless hours of free and relaxing family entertainment and the engineers of this particular model did such a great job that the thing practically launches itself into the air. Fun!!

What wasn't fun, but in retrospect is, is this:


Not only did she climb ever so precariously up onto the dresser, she dumped at least a third of a brand new bottle of powder all over the place. Yes, just in case you were wondering, I had on my "angry" face as soon as I clicked the picture.

TV = Good?

We truly try to limit our children's television watching time, but you would never know it by the things that come out of Emma's mouth.

Today, Daddy raised his voice at Emma for something and she later asked me, "Why is Daddy so cross at me?" (Thomas the Tank Engine)

Later, we were riding bikes outside on the front walk and she asked me to hold her arm out like a finish line. I did so and she said, "To get to the finish line first we have to say it in Spanish." (Dora the Explorer) She then said it in her version of Spanish, "Meeska, Mooska! Go!" (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

We finally enjoyed another sizable thunder and lightening storm last night. With the first rumbles we heard, Emma shouted, "The funder! I hear it!!" Then she and Daddy stared out the window and waited for the lightening to come. They weren't disappointed. It was quite a show!

It is such a thrill to watch Ben use items as they are supposed to be used. My favorite is the remote control. He will walk right over to it, pick it up, and wave it at the tv. When it doesn't turn on, he then remembers the green button is the magic one, presses it and "Wala!" couch potato palooza. I was able to steal this shot the other day of him "talking" on the phone:

Right is right.

As I spend a great deal of time pretending to be angry at the ever boundary testing three year old, I have perfected the angry face. I will have to attempt a self portrait of this face so you can see just how mean looking it is. It is so successful, that Emma actually just asked me to, "Please stop being angry with me!"

Daddy was reading books to the kids yesterday and there was a picture of an ice cream float with a straw on one of the pages. She promptly announced that she, too, would like an "ice cream juice" to drink.

While Emma was at school this morning, Ben and I decided to scope out the Fun For All down the street from our house. It is $13 for 2 and older and $6 for under 2 (adults free). I had a dollar off coupon so I figured for 5 bucks - we should get our money's worth. And we did! The place is an indoor playground on steroids with climbing things, jumpers, pits, you name it. The best part was we got there right at 10am when they opened and had the whole place to ourselves for the entire hour we were there before having to leave to pick up Emma from school.



(15 seconds of Benny funning.)

Tonight at the dinner table Emma was squirming and I finally yelled, "Emma, sit right!" to which she sassed, "How about left?"

Boston Teeth Party?

There is a chill in the air today so I just made myself a cup of tea. Emma, who desperately wants me to color FOR her (more in a minute) walked into the kitchen and asked me what I was doing. I said I was making a cup of tea. She looked at me strange so I explained to her the process. I said, "I put water in the kettle and now the fire is heating up the water for the tea." She knows from one bad burn experience a while back not to touch the gas flames or come near the oven when it is on. After my explanation she paused a minute and said, "Can I burn my teeth, too?"

I love spending quality time one on one with my children. When Ben is napping, I try really hard to find a fun activity to do with Emma that when Ben is awake we can't do too much because he isn't quite old enough. Coloring is one such activity - Ben still eats crayons, so we try not to do it around him too often. But, to be honest, I hate coloring with Emma because she is at that stage where she bosses me around and I am the only one coloring. "Do it this color!" "Why don't you give it a try, Emma?" "NO! You color here. USE RED, not PURPLE!" It drives me batty. When I finally do get her to color a bit, she actually does a great job for a three year old. And, she is definitely a righty. She used to color with both hands but now if I give her a crayon in her left hand, she will switch it over before beginning.

PRESCHOOL!!

Pssst, don't tell anyone because I don't want to hurt any feelings, but I snuck out to Los Angeles for a whole 36 hours Sunday/Monday. I was away from my family - kids and all - for 50 hours! It was incredibly surreal to be back in LA on my own, I definitely felt like a part of me was missing. Thank goodness Auntie Cold kept me busy or I think I would have really missed everyone more than I did!!

Daddy survived just fine without me. Gramma Lou was a giant help for half of it before she had to head back to PA Monday after lunch. I got lots of text messages from Daddy but my favorite said something like, "I really like our kids. They are lots of fun." It was a great opportunity for him to have Mr. Mom time with them - the only thing he failed to do was give them any kind of vegetable for dinner last night. Bad Daddy.

We enjoyed an early birthday dinner with Gramma Lou on Saturday evening at a restaurant in the port. As it was a special "party," Emma wanted to wear her Sleeping Beauty dress that Abuelita bought her. She looked gorgeous as usual, and possibly stole Gramma Lou's party thunder as everyone was paying attention to the mini-Aurora. haha

Emma started preschool today at Harborview. She absolutely loved it, did not shed a tear, and can't wait to go back. When I dropped her off, her mouth was running a mile a minute in her excitement. It was the best run on sentence / thought process ever. I am so glad she loves it and she will certainly excel there.


(If you missed these pics on facebook, click on this pic to enlarge it and see the pure joy in her eyes and an actual GENUINE smile in the middle picture - such a rare occurrence these days!)

I keep meaning to mention this, but Emma is going through a "BUT" stage. It is most funny when she is objecting to something Daddy is saying, "But Daddy, I don't wanna ___..." as Daddy always responds, "Emma I am not your butt daddy," which makes me laugh every time.