We were awoken this morning to the sweetest little voice calling out, "Hello? Hello? Mommy? Daddy? Benny stuck, can't out. Hello?" It made us laugh out loud and I gotta tell you, it's a great way to start out your day.
The reason Benny was stuck is he still can't crawl out of the crib. And I've watched him try! I figure I can get another 6 months of him in there if he doesn't potty train first. Oi, such a trade off - and a selfish dilemma for me. I want him locked up so he stays in bed at night, but I'd also like to toss out my four year old diaper genie!
The kids did great during the hurricane. We watched a ton of tv expecting the power to go out. I wanted to "save" the crafts I had planned for a few days of no power, but amazingly we never lost power!!! And the kids were in heaven. It is supposed to be sunny and clear all week so I am unplugging the tv and getting them out into the fresh air. The locals are predicting an early end to Summer this year which means the colder temps are coming. Boohoo. But thankfully Irene spared us and our penthouse made of bricks which leads me to my favorite Emma quote of the weekend, "Hey, Mama, our house is made of bricks so the storm can't blow it away!" We act out the little pigs story often and it was fun for me to see her make that connection!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
New couch game for your kids!!
As I type this, my children are standing on the couch facing the wall looking at their shadows making them "talk" to each other, then falling onto the cushions laughing hysterically at their antics. They are bored with their toys, want to watch tv all the time, and barely want to go outside to play. It is safe to say that I am excited for Emma to start 5 days a week 1/2 day pre-K on September 6th so we can have a change up in our routine. Daily playdates are the only thing keeping this mama from going insane.
We are in full hurricane preparation. All the food supplies have been bought and we still have our earthquake backpacks filled with tons of emergency goodies from CA. Tomorrow afternoon, Daddy and I are going to cook up a bunch of meals that can be eaten as "leftovers" for the next few days to get us through should we lose power and gas. Our gallon sized ziplock freezer bags are filled with water and turning into giant blocks of ice should we need them to keep our perishables cold. Our cars are gassed up and extra dog food has been purchased. We plan on filling up the bathtub so we have fresh stuff to flush toilets and use for cleaning up. Not much else to do but hang out and see what happens!
Ben is talking up a storm. He still has a ton of jibberjabber but when he speaks he uses phrases and even full sentences instead of just one word here and one word there. For example, he just handed me an empty sippy cup and said, "Here you go, Mommy." The other night we were watching "Balto" on dvd and he said, "Oh, no! Down the hill, man fall down, hit head!!" in reference to the dogsled driver who did exactly that. I still think he will benefit from speech therapy so I am not going to cancel it, but as I always expected and was never truly worried that his speech would come, it did!
Cuteness alert: I can't get enough of when Daddy is disciplining Emma and Ben runs up to me, "Emma naughty. Crying. Daddy naughty." I am guessing Daddy is "naughty" because he is using "the voice" and making Emma cry. HA!
We are in full hurricane preparation. All the food supplies have been bought and we still have our earthquake backpacks filled with tons of emergency goodies from CA. Tomorrow afternoon, Daddy and I are going to cook up a bunch of meals that can be eaten as "leftovers" for the next few days to get us through should we lose power and gas. Our gallon sized ziplock freezer bags are filled with water and turning into giant blocks of ice should we need them to keep our perishables cold. Our cars are gassed up and extra dog food has been purchased. We plan on filling up the bathtub so we have fresh stuff to flush toilets and use for cleaning up. Not much else to do but hang out and see what happens!
Ben is talking up a storm. He still has a ton of jibberjabber but when he speaks he uses phrases and even full sentences instead of just one word here and one word there. For example, he just handed me an empty sippy cup and said, "Here you go, Mommy." The other night we were watching "Balto" on dvd and he said, "Oh, no! Down the hill, man fall down, hit head!!" in reference to the dogsled driver who did exactly that. I still think he will benefit from speech therapy so I am not going to cancel it, but as I always expected and was never truly worried that his speech would come, it did!
Cuteness alert: I can't get enough of when Daddy is disciplining Emma and Ben runs up to me, "Emma naughty. Crying. Daddy naughty." I am guessing Daddy is "naughty" because he is using "the voice" and making Emma cry. HA!
Monday, August 22, 2011
MonFun
Last night's hearty storm brought us the most beautiful of days today so we headed out the door early and spent the morning at the beach. We started off on the swings waiting for the air to warm up a bit and for our friends to arrive so we could hit the low tide tidal pools that are home to tons of crabs and minnows and all sorts of miniature sea creatures that are fun to observe. The water was warm and the sun felt fabulous - not a % of humidity in the air, which is my kind of day! Benny, usually the first one in the water and the last one out, was not a bit interested in playing, he wrapped himself up like a burrito in his towel and curled up at my feet on the rocky beach and just relaxed. I have a feeling he was up partying again last night for a while but since he doesn't cry out and settles himself back down on his own I never really know just how long he is awake in the middle of the night. But that didn't stop Emma from playing and taking advantage of all the beach has to offer (mud/sand castles, crab hunting, splish splashing, etc). Before we knew it, it was 1pm and I hadn't packed a lunch thinking we would be home by then, so we headed home, chowed down, grabbed Daddy who was home for the afternoon and headed into the marina for some kite flying and bubble blowing and all around afternoon delight. Today was the perfect day and a great reminder of how happy we are to have made the move to the Island. : )
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| Every Monday should start this way! |
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| Benny beach burrito |
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| Daddy showing off his mad kite skills. |
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| A walk along the waterfront. |
Summer is winding down but we aren't!
Daddy picked us up from the party at 4, we dropped the car back at our house, met up with pals and walked up the road to the giant Greek Festival that has been rocking for the past 4 days. We rode some rides, played some carnival games, and chowed some Greek eats, then headed back down the road to our house just as a GIANT storm hit the island.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Summer goodness just keeps getting better.
The last few days in review:
Thursday we had a swimming playdate in a freezing cold pool. Of course, all the other kids were like, nah, I'll just play on the swing set and with the toys. My kids? NOPE! Get in the pool, Mama Polar Bear, we wanna swim!
That evening after dinner, Daddy suggested a Summer time jaunt into the village for ice cream - YUM! Emma decided for the first time ever to try soft ice cream, Ben decided that soft ice cream actually looked appealing... The result, the kids actually sharing this:
Friday am: Rocketship park with pals. Friday afternoon: me kidsitting the usual 4 at George's house. Home for dinner.
Saturday am: Back to George's house, this time with an actual babysitter so Jen and I can go to the office. Saturday afternoon: hiking at Avalon with the family. Seriously, it was the perfect family outing. Sunny skies, lots of trees to block the heat. We took a longer route than usual and Benjamin was a complete stud - even with seven owie falls to his knees. Emma did great but tossed in a whine every 50 feet for authenticity.
Highlight of my day (Yes, I teared up!): Ben was watching a Thomas movie and was actually SINGING ALONG with the lyrics of one of the songs (with purpose! Of course no one would have been able to make out his words but me but WHO CARES! Me, that's who.). My baby boy is growing up!!
Thursday we had a swimming playdate in a freezing cold pool. Of course, all the other kids were like, nah, I'll just play on the swing set and with the toys. My kids? NOPE! Get in the pool, Mama Polar Bear, we wanna swim!
That evening after dinner, Daddy suggested a Summer time jaunt into the village for ice cream - YUM! Emma decided for the first time ever to try soft ice cream, Ben decided that soft ice cream actually looked appealing... The result, the kids actually sharing this:
Friday am: Rocketship park with pals. Friday afternoon: me kidsitting the usual 4 at George's house. Home for dinner.
Saturday am: Back to George's house, this time with an actual babysitter so Jen and I can go to the office. Saturday afternoon: hiking at Avalon with the family. Seriously, it was the perfect family outing. Sunny skies, lots of trees to block the heat. We took a longer route than usual and Benjamin was a complete stud - even with seven owie falls to his knees. Emma did great but tossed in a whine every 50 feet for authenticity.
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| rare photo of that person two call "Mama." |
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Winning the lottery
Ben qualified for the speech therapy! Woohoo! Of course, he continues to add words daily, but who cares! This kid is going to be a motor mouth like his sister sooner than later! (WAIT A MINUTE! What have I done???)
My favorite of his new phrases is, "Emma naughty!" when she is misbehaving or crying. Yesterday Daddy was disciplining Emma in a louder than normal voice and Ben came running over to me and said, "Emma naughty. Daddy naughty."
Late yesterday afternoon, Emma, wanting to watch tv and not play just said, "But Mom, playing is bad for me! I always get tired playing." *sigh*
Monday afternoon I looked out my window and saw some elementary aged kids playing with a lighter trying to light a pizza box and a realtor plastic sign. They had it burning pretty good, so I called Henry's mommy and told her to look out her window. She agreed we should intervene and we headed out the door and across the street. The kids immediately stood up straight and said, "We're just making a campfire!" trying to down play their pyrotechnics. Henry's mom suggested they hand over the lighter and queried them if their Mama knew what they were doing. They honestly answered no and we casually walked back to their place with them and narced on them to their Mom. You could tell she was a bit embarrassed, they had just moved in last week and already her kids were yucking it up! We told her kids will be kids and welcomed her to the 'hood. I was quite proud of the way we handled it and thought to myself, "Wow, I am actually an adult. When did that happen?"
Yesterday's playdate was fun! Poor Ben is always the "little kid" in the mix, but he loved the "Ben's the monster!" play and chased the girls back and forth all over the house. At one point he had a poop in his diaper, came out of the room, pointed to his butt and said with his face all scrunched up, "Yucky!"
Oh, I almost forgot!! Ben woke up after a 12 hour sleep with a dry diaper! Then he had a dry diaper again before his bath when I had changed him 3 1/2 hours earlier. I tried to get him to sit on the potty and pee but he would have nothing of it. I didn't want to push it too much so I put him in the tub and he danced around for a minute like he was "holding it" then finally peed the biggest most powerful stream across the tub. I said, "Ben, that's pee pee! Pee pee goes in the potty!" His face got all quizzical and said, "Pee?" as if he was making the connection about urinating. Can I cancel my diaper subscription soon??? *fingers crossed*
My favorite of his new phrases is, "Emma naughty!" when she is misbehaving or crying. Yesterday Daddy was disciplining Emma in a louder than normal voice and Ben came running over to me and said, "Emma naughty. Daddy naughty."
Late yesterday afternoon, Emma, wanting to watch tv and not play just said, "But Mom, playing is bad for me! I always get tired playing." *sigh*
Monday afternoon I looked out my window and saw some elementary aged kids playing with a lighter trying to light a pizza box and a realtor plastic sign. They had it burning pretty good, so I called Henry's mommy and told her to look out her window. She agreed we should intervene and we headed out the door and across the street. The kids immediately stood up straight and said, "We're just making a campfire!" trying to down play their pyrotechnics. Henry's mom suggested they hand over the lighter and queried them if their Mama knew what they were doing. They honestly answered no and we casually walked back to their place with them and narced on them to their Mom. You could tell she was a bit embarrassed, they had just moved in last week and already her kids were yucking it up! We told her kids will be kids and welcomed her to the 'hood. I was quite proud of the way we handled it and thought to myself, "Wow, I am actually an adult. When did that happen?"
Yesterday's playdate was fun! Poor Ben is always the "little kid" in the mix, but he loved the "Ben's the monster!" play and chased the girls back and forth all over the house. At one point he had a poop in his diaper, came out of the room, pointed to his butt and said with his face all scrunched up, "Yucky!"
Oh, I almost forgot!! Ben woke up after a 12 hour sleep with a dry diaper! Then he had a dry diaper again before his bath when I had changed him 3 1/2 hours earlier. I tried to get him to sit on the potty and pee but he would have nothing of it. I didn't want to push it too much so I put him in the tub and he danced around for a minute like he was "holding it" then finally peed the biggest most powerful stream across the tub. I said, "Ben, that's pee pee! Pee pee goes in the potty!" His face got all quizzical and said, "Pee?" as if he was making the connection about urinating. Can I cancel my diaper subscription soon??? *fingers crossed*
Monday, August 15, 2011
Play play play
Being the glutton for fun that I am, I have once again booked us for two weeks solid of playdates. It is exhausting but fun and we love being social, I am simply tired x20 at the end of the day. I am glad I waited until I was older to have children - hey, I have traveled the world! - but I wonder if my energy doesn't seem to last as long these days because I hit the 40 mark? : )
That being said, many of the play dates we have are with Moms my age or older (!) so really - I have no excuse! But I must tell you, for the past few evenings I have needed a 10 minute power nap on the comfy sofa while Daddy is bathing the kiddos. Tonight was no different. I swear, I heard him turn on the water and next thing I know he is asking me to come put jammies on a clean kid. 10 minutes - POOF!
Today was especially busy. Ben's early intervention interviewers came by this morning. I tucked Emma away on her bed with the portable dvd player and some headphones and closed the door behind me. We never heard a peep out of her. Ben was his usual quirky self playing along with the interviewers on occasion and trying to do headstands on the bean bag chair on occasion. At his quirkiest of moments, the psychologist was trying to get him to point at objects in a book, "Ben, can you point at the ball? Can you point at the kitty cat?" etc., he simply looked at her like, "I hear you but I'd much rather play with these puzzles you just tested me on." She kept turning the pages of her book in attempt to interest him when something caught his eye. It was a picture of a cookie. He looked at the picture (not pointing) and said, "Cookie!" The psychologist said, "That's right, Ben, point to the cookie. Point to the cookie!" Benjamin picked up the book, put it to his face and said, "Cookie, um um um um um um," as if he was eating it. The interviewers gasped and said, "Wow, we've never seen that before!" They proceeded to finish out the book with Ben identifying all the objects by pretending to eat them! It took every ounce of discipline inside me (and all of my back up tanks) to not burst out laughing. I ENJOY THIS KID SO MUCH!
After about 45 minutes of "testing" they left wondering how they were going to get this kid to qualify for the program. He is obviously so smart, he just needs a little nudge from someone who is not his parents. They said they would attempt to tweak the test scores - he needs to be deficient in 2 of 3 fields (he was only deficient in speech, and even then it was borderline) - but the whole not pointing upon request may be the "cognitive" skill that he 'lacks' that will get him in the door. I should hear their results in the next week...
After lunch, Emma's preschool friend, Sophie, came over for a play date. I didn't really know her mama much more than exchanging pleasantries during drop off and pick up, but she seemed like my kind of gal and I was correct. We had a lovely afternoon getting to know each other and I am glad I connected with someone that potentially I will be seeing at school for the next 14 years (pre-k thru 12).
After that play date we excitedly noticed our neighbors were home from their 3 week vacation and playing outside. We went out to play with them for a while to try and catch up and see how their trip was. Luckily we were getting a break from the rain at the time and the kids were able to work out some of their we've been inside for 48 hours wiggles.
Some Benisms since we last met:
1) Ben, frustrated with me for vacuuming while he was watching TV, said in a commanding voice to me, "ALL DONE, MOMMY! ALL DONE!"
2) Ben, frustrated with the dogs for laying on his beloved train tracks when he is playing with them says, "Cass move!" to both dogs as if the name is interchangeable. (Never, "Dodo, move!")
3) When Ben bonks his head which is often, he grabs his head and says, "Hurt head. Hurt head." It's so dang cute!
That being said, many of the play dates we have are with Moms my age or older (!) so really - I have no excuse! But I must tell you, for the past few evenings I have needed a 10 minute power nap on the comfy sofa while Daddy is bathing the kiddos. Tonight was no different. I swear, I heard him turn on the water and next thing I know he is asking me to come put jammies on a clean kid. 10 minutes - POOF!
Today was especially busy. Ben's early intervention interviewers came by this morning. I tucked Emma away on her bed with the portable dvd player and some headphones and closed the door behind me. We never heard a peep out of her. Ben was his usual quirky self playing along with the interviewers on occasion and trying to do headstands on the bean bag chair on occasion. At his quirkiest of moments, the psychologist was trying to get him to point at objects in a book, "Ben, can you point at the ball? Can you point at the kitty cat?" etc., he simply looked at her like, "I hear you but I'd much rather play with these puzzles you just tested me on." She kept turning the pages of her book in attempt to interest him when something caught his eye. It was a picture of a cookie. He looked at the picture (not pointing) and said, "Cookie!" The psychologist said, "That's right, Ben, point to the cookie. Point to the cookie!" Benjamin picked up the book, put it to his face and said, "Cookie, um um um um um um," as if he was eating it. The interviewers gasped and said, "Wow, we've never seen that before!" They proceeded to finish out the book with Ben identifying all the objects by pretending to eat them! It took every ounce of discipline inside me (and all of my back up tanks) to not burst out laughing. I ENJOY THIS KID SO MUCH!
After about 45 minutes of "testing" they left wondering how they were going to get this kid to qualify for the program. He is obviously so smart, he just needs a little nudge from someone who is not his parents. They said they would attempt to tweak the test scores - he needs to be deficient in 2 of 3 fields (he was only deficient in speech, and even then it was borderline) - but the whole not pointing upon request may be the "cognitive" skill that he 'lacks' that will get him in the door. I should hear their results in the next week...
After lunch, Emma's preschool friend, Sophie, came over for a play date. I didn't really know her mama much more than exchanging pleasantries during drop off and pick up, but she seemed like my kind of gal and I was correct. We had a lovely afternoon getting to know each other and I am glad I connected with someone that potentially I will be seeing at school for the next 14 years (pre-k thru 12).
After that play date we excitedly noticed our neighbors were home from their 3 week vacation and playing outside. We went out to play with them for a while to try and catch up and see how their trip was. Luckily we were getting a break from the rain at the time and the kids were able to work out some of their we've been inside for 48 hours wiggles.
Some Benisms since we last met:
1) Ben, frustrated with me for vacuuming while he was watching TV, said in a commanding voice to me, "ALL DONE, MOMMY! ALL DONE!"
2) Ben, frustrated with the dogs for laying on his beloved train tracks when he is playing with them says, "Cass move!" to both dogs as if the name is interchangeable. (Never, "Dodo, move!")
3) When Ben bonks his head which is often, he grabs his head and says, "Hurt head. Hurt head." It's so dang cute!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
regression
I don't know why, but it seems like every time we go away when we return home Emma regresses to a newly potty trained 3 year old. She had 5 accidents yesterday - 3 of which were more than just drips (and 1 was all over the carpet at our friend's house! AACK!) I can't get it through her head that if she has to go, stop doing what she is doing, go to the bathroom and go, then return and resume playing. She is so afraid she is going to miss out on 30 seconds of fun, she simply holds it until she no longer can resulting in a pissed off Mama. Needless to say she went to bed without any of her dollies and I told her if she doesn't do better today I will take away her precious deeit (blanket). She didn't like that much but I am at my wits end! After every accident she would sweetly say, "I'm sorry, Mommy," but seriously, that doesn't cut it after 5 sorrys.
We did have some fun play dates this week. Tuesday our house was the Island of Sodor and yesterday we transformed it into Fairy land complete with dressing up and a tea party! It was good fun minus the accident where I walked into her bedroom and she hands me a diaper wipe and says, "It's okay, Mom. I cleaned it all up." "Cleaned what up, Emma?" GET IN THE BATHROOM! Yep, she was soaking wet and tried to hide it, but hasn't figured out how to lie just yet. I love her ingenuity. I don't love the accidents.
We did have some fun play dates this week. Tuesday our house was the Island of Sodor and yesterday we transformed it into Fairy land complete with dressing up and a tea party! It was good fun minus the accident where I walked into her bedroom and she hands me a diaper wipe and says, "It's okay, Mom. I cleaned it all up." "Cleaned what up, Emma?" GET IN THE BATHROOM! Yep, she was soaking wet and tried to hide it, but hasn't figured out how to lie just yet. I love her ingenuity. I don't love the accidents.
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| The fun she simply couldn't pause... |
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Back to reality
We had a smooth trip back to to LI yesterday and I spent the day unpacking, supermarketing, and laundrying. We were back to normal today having 2 playdates at the penthouse, luckily the mother/daughter who live below us work long days and didn't hear the thunder up yonder from kids running amok!
Ben had his 2 1/2 year well visit. He pretty much tantrumed the entire time there and we were absolutely "that family." As usual, they were unable to complete an eye check with their Star Track-esque machine, and when they administered the blood test to check for iron levels and lead poisoning you'd have thought they were killing him. His face was beat red and his little neck veins were bulging as giant crocodile tears streamed down his face. It was heart breaking and frustrating all in one. We did manage to weigh him (31 pounds 14 oz - 75th percentile) and measure his height (37 1/4 tall - 95th percentile). Amazingly his blood work came back with an excellent iron level of 15.5 (considering he does not eat!) and no sign of lead (phew!).
The speech therapist and psychologist come next Monday to interview him. Today he told the dogs to "MOVE!" when they were in his way. Don't tell the specialists though, I'd really like some free speech sessions for the kid!
Ben had his 2 1/2 year well visit. He pretty much tantrumed the entire time there and we were absolutely "that family." As usual, they were unable to complete an eye check with their Star Track-esque machine, and when they administered the blood test to check for iron levels and lead poisoning you'd have thought they were killing him. His face was beat red and his little neck veins were bulging as giant crocodile tears streamed down his face. It was heart breaking and frustrating all in one. We did manage to weigh him (31 pounds 14 oz - 75th percentile) and measure his height (37 1/4 tall - 95th percentile). Amazingly his blood work came back with an excellent iron level of 15.5 (considering he does not eat!) and no sign of lead (phew!).
The speech therapist and psychologist come next Monday to interview him. Today he told the dogs to "MOVE!" when they were in his way. Don't tell the specialists though, I'd really like some free speech sessions for the kid!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Welcome Home
Daddy and I have been away since early Wednesday morning for our convention in Las Vegas leaving the kiddos and the doggies in the capable care of Gramma Lou. Thanks to my iPhone, we were able to skype one or two times a day making the distance seem not so far. When the gang picked us up at the airport and I slid open the door on the minivan, Benny covered his face with his hands in his excitement, then said in the sweetest voice ever, "Mommy!" He then hooked his arms around my neck and gave the heart meltiest hug ever that last for a good 30 seconds and I loved every minute of it. Em was equally happy to see us, but its just very possible that Daddy and I were more excited to see them... I broke the law the entire way home from the airport sitting on the floor between the kids unseatbelted just so I could hold their hands and see their faces for the 30 minute trip back to Gramma's house.
While we were away Ben added about 15 words to his vocabulary, "castle, horse, come here, stars, downstairs" and a bunch more. My guess is he wants to make a fool of me when the therapist comes by for his screening next week on Monday. : )
We are heading home first thing tomorrow morning. Fingers are crossed for a trafficless trip through NYC out to the island. The kids have been so great in the car - thank you again, Mr DVD inventor.
Emmaism alert: The other night in her exhaustion after her bath while we were trying to wrangle her into her pajamas, she screamed in her hysteria while running away from us, "I'm allergic to pajamas!!"
Last Monday the kids were playing in the backyard at Gramma's with Daddy when the most unfortunate of incidents happened. They were chasing each other and dropping to the ground as children are wont to do, when they plopped onto an old gopher hole that house a massive yellow jackets nest. Emma jumped up screaming and slapping at herself and Ben was howling in pain. Daddy reacted quickly scooping them both up, racing them into the house pulling off their clothes. I caught the aftermath of bloody murder screaming and in one of the most heart breaking moments of my parenthood to date, tried to console along side Daddy two children that were beyond traumatized at the wicked experience. Ben was stung 6 times and Emma 3 that we could see (Daddy 2). Ben kept crying, "Bee! Bee! Bee!" and Emma could seriously have won an award for the most dramatic performance by a 4 year old. It took a good 20 minutes to settle them down, then for the rest of the afternoon and evening when Benny recalled the incident, his bottom lip would jut out and quiver and tears would roll down his face, "Bee stung. Bee stung. Bee." It broke my heart and I, too, kept welling up with tears. Luckily it seems that neither child is allergic, the stings barely swelled and they both woke up the next day in good spirits. Phew! Tragedy averted...
While we were away Ben added about 15 words to his vocabulary, "castle, horse, come here, stars, downstairs" and a bunch more. My guess is he wants to make a fool of me when the therapist comes by for his screening next week on Monday. : )
We are heading home first thing tomorrow morning. Fingers are crossed for a trafficless trip through NYC out to the island. The kids have been so great in the car - thank you again, Mr DVD inventor.
Emmaism alert: The other night in her exhaustion after her bath while we were trying to wrangle her into her pajamas, she screamed in her hysteria while running away from us, "I'm allergic to pajamas!!"
Last Monday the kids were playing in the backyard at Gramma's with Daddy when the most unfortunate of incidents happened. They were chasing each other and dropping to the ground as children are wont to do, when they plopped onto an old gopher hole that house a massive yellow jackets nest. Emma jumped up screaming and slapping at herself and Ben was howling in pain. Daddy reacted quickly scooping them both up, racing them into the house pulling off their clothes. I caught the aftermath of bloody murder screaming and in one of the most heart breaking moments of my parenthood to date, tried to console along side Daddy two children that were beyond traumatized at the wicked experience. Ben was stung 6 times and Emma 3 that we could see (Daddy 2). Ben kept crying, "Bee! Bee! Bee!" and Emma could seriously have won an award for the most dramatic performance by a 4 year old. It took a good 20 minutes to settle them down, then for the rest of the afternoon and evening when Benny recalled the incident, his bottom lip would jut out and quiver and tears would roll down his face, "Bee stung. Bee stung. Bee." It broke my heart and I, too, kept welling up with tears. Luckily it seems that neither child is allergic, the stings barely swelled and they both woke up the next day in good spirits. Phew! Tragedy averted...
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Snuggle bug
Grandpa and Grandma Nancy came to visit us in Long Island for the first time since we moved this past weekend. Grandpa had just gotten knee surgery and wasn't up to much sight seeing, so we hung around the penthouse playing. We did go out for dinner Sat and Sun which is a nice rare treat. The kids behaved well (Phew!) and Benny actually fell asleep in the car on the way home Sunday and didn't wake up when I removed him from his car seat, carried him upstairs, changed his diaper and put pjs on him. We had one tired munchkin on our hands! Emma, never missing a moment to display her comedic timing, leaned over towards Ben as we pulled into our driveway, saw that he was sleeping and announced, "We have a winner!!"
The best part of that carry up the stairs was the snuggle into my neck. Those moments although still plentiful, are getting less and less as the kids grow... I will never deny my kids or me that moment and am glad I can freeze it here in internetland for all time.
The BEST part of the weekend was the arrival of a package that had the wooden Annie and Clarabel and Harold the helicopter inside. Ben flipped out and hasn't put them down for 5 days now!!
The best part of that carry up the stairs was the snuggle into my neck. Those moments although still plentiful, are getting less and less as the kids grow... I will never deny my kids or me that moment and am glad I can freeze it here in internetland for all time.
The BEST part of the weekend was the arrival of a package that had the wooden Annie and Clarabel and Harold the helicopter inside. Ben flipped out and hasn't put them down for 5 days now!!
Daddy and I are in Las Vegas right now for our convention. Grandma Lou is watching the kiddos and the dogs... More stories to come.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Scooby!
Every night as I put Emma to bed she asks, "Mom, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Whatever I tell her when she wakes up in the morning the first thing she says is, "Mom, are we going to ____ today?" No, good morning. No, can I have breakfast. The girl is all about making sure her social calendar is filled. Priorities!
Yesterday was event filled. I needed to make a return at Sears and then hit up Victoria's Secret to use my bra coupon before it expired. I had told Emma Tuesday night that we needed to go to the mall in the morning and she demanded to know exactly why. I told her I needed her help to pick out a nice bra and she looked at me as if I was introducing a new word into her vocabulary, "Mom, what's a bra?" A bra is what holds my boobies in place under my shirt. "Oh, yeah." When we got to the mall we hit up Sears first. We parked by the tool department and made our way into the store. As we walked through the doors Emma stopped, looked around, and promptly observed in a very loud voice to all the men waiting in line to purchase their manly goods that, "Mom, this does not look like the bra store!" (Yes, she really does start every sentence with "Mom." EVERY SENTENCE. EVERY. When she first started talking, cute cute cute. Now? Not so much...)
Before I continue I must mention that a milestone was reached during this visit to the mall: NO STROLLER WAS REMOVED FROM THE CAR. (We go to the mall about 4 times a year. Basically when I get my quarterly coupon for a free pair of underwear and $10 off a bra at Victoria's Secret. No joke. I hate malls.) Benjamin didn't quite know what to make of the whole "Hey, I'm not strapped in at the mall" adventure. He was walking on his tippy toes taking the tiniest of steps through the tool department. Emma had to continually encourage him to move forward - and by encourage I mean she would go behind him and give him a big shove.
Challenge #1 with no stroller was waiting in line at the returns counter at Sears. Luckily only 2 people were in line in front of me, but it was still five minutes of waiting with two kids that have no patience. Ben kept wandering off when I turned my head, but his internal gps always brought him around the cosmetic counter and back to me. Emma, not so much. She thought it would be fun to play hide and seek until my blood pressure was about to increase to an unhealthy limit. (Cuteness side note, I was returning a pair of Lands End boots that were in a box about the size of a pizza box, but much deeper in depth. I was holding the box like one would hold a pizza box in my left hand. From Ben's perspective down below he kept pointing up at the box and trying to crawl up my legs to get at it and open it saying, "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" [the way he pronounces it is more like Pisa Pisa Pisa] Everyone in line was thoroughly entertained. Me included.)
We made it out of Sears and head toward VS, of course all the way at the opposite end of the mall. Ben now had his wings and was a good 10 paces ahead of me while Emma lagged behind a good 20 paces. I was a broken record of, "Em, pick up the pace!" and "Ben, wait. Slow down, buddy." When we got to VS, we walked in the store and Ben immediately burst into tears. What is it about that store that makes the male species so uncomfortable? It's just under garments! We were in and out of the store in about 7 minutes, Ben fussing the whole time. We walk out the door, he immediately stops crying. Boys.
On the way back to the car we stopped and played on the pay to ride toys. At $1 a pop, I am glad I didn't have any cash on me. The kids were perfectly content to pretend until some girl actually put money into one and it moved. Emma immediately said, "How'd she do that?" And I immediately convinced her it was too nice of a day to play inside and we should head over to New Park and see if we can make some new friends. It worked.
At the park Ben was using his new phrase, "Excuse me!"over and over. And yes, it does sound like he is saying, "Scooby." *giggle* Em spotted a little girl running around in a bikini and said, "Mom! That girl is wearing a BRA!"
Evidence of our busy day:
Yesterday was event filled. I needed to make a return at Sears and then hit up Victoria's Secret to use my bra coupon before it expired. I had told Emma Tuesday night that we needed to go to the mall in the morning and she demanded to know exactly why. I told her I needed her help to pick out a nice bra and she looked at me as if I was introducing a new word into her vocabulary, "Mom, what's a bra?" A bra is what holds my boobies in place under my shirt. "Oh, yeah." When we got to the mall we hit up Sears first. We parked by the tool department and made our way into the store. As we walked through the doors Emma stopped, looked around, and promptly observed in a very loud voice to all the men waiting in line to purchase their manly goods that, "Mom, this does not look like the bra store!" (Yes, she really does start every sentence with "Mom." EVERY SENTENCE. EVERY. When she first started talking, cute cute cute. Now? Not so much...)
Before I continue I must mention that a milestone was reached during this visit to the mall: NO STROLLER WAS REMOVED FROM THE CAR. (We go to the mall about 4 times a year. Basically when I get my quarterly coupon for a free pair of underwear and $10 off a bra at Victoria's Secret. No joke. I hate malls.) Benjamin didn't quite know what to make of the whole "Hey, I'm not strapped in at the mall" adventure. He was walking on his tippy toes taking the tiniest of steps through the tool department. Emma had to continually encourage him to move forward - and by encourage I mean she would go behind him and give him a big shove.
Challenge #1 with no stroller was waiting in line at the returns counter at Sears. Luckily only 2 people were in line in front of me, but it was still five minutes of waiting with two kids that have no patience. Ben kept wandering off when I turned my head, but his internal gps always brought him around the cosmetic counter and back to me. Emma, not so much. She thought it would be fun to play hide and seek until my blood pressure was about to increase to an unhealthy limit. (Cuteness side note, I was returning a pair of Lands End boots that were in a box about the size of a pizza box, but much deeper in depth. I was holding the box like one would hold a pizza box in my left hand. From Ben's perspective down below he kept pointing up at the box and trying to crawl up my legs to get at it and open it saying, "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" [the way he pronounces it is more like Pisa Pisa Pisa] Everyone in line was thoroughly entertained. Me included.)
We made it out of Sears and head toward VS, of course all the way at the opposite end of the mall. Ben now had his wings and was a good 10 paces ahead of me while Emma lagged behind a good 20 paces. I was a broken record of, "Em, pick up the pace!" and "Ben, wait. Slow down, buddy." When we got to VS, we walked in the store and Ben immediately burst into tears. What is it about that store that makes the male species so uncomfortable? It's just under garments! We were in and out of the store in about 7 minutes, Ben fussing the whole time. We walk out the door, he immediately stops crying. Boys.
On the way back to the car we stopped and played on the pay to ride toys. At $1 a pop, I am glad I didn't have any cash on me. The kids were perfectly content to pretend until some girl actually put money into one and it moved. Emma immediately said, "How'd she do that?" And I immediately convinced her it was too nice of a day to play inside and we should head over to New Park and see if we can make some new friends. It worked.
At the park Ben was using his new phrase, "Excuse me!"over and over. And yes, it does sound like he is saying, "Scooby." *giggle* Em spotted a little girl running around in a bikini and said, "Mom! That girl is wearing a BRA!"
Evidence of our busy day:
 |
| Astronaut - Acrobat - Roller Derby Queen. All in a day's work. |
Monday, July 25, 2011
Pinky Pie
We got a solid break from the heatwave today and spent the entire afternoon outdoors at Heritage Park with some new friends. Ben came home with a black eye - it turns out if someone is using the monkeybars, you shouldn't walk in front of their forward motion or they may accidentally kick you in the eye socket. As per usual, the kid stumbled a sec, touched the owie spot, and simply moved on without a whimper. I saw the whole thing go down, tried to stop him, but didn't realize the severity of the injury until dinner when it started to discolor. Ben, if you are pained, you have to let us know!
Ben had a fascinating meltdown tonight. I blame it on the no-nap let's meet new friends at the park scenario. He ate dinner awesomely, but when I plucked him from his booster seat to toss him into the bathtub, something clicked and the "terrible twos" escaped. He was a bawling tantrumming mess for a good 25 minutes, 5 of which were in a bath which meant slippery wet kid and potential for conking his head on the tub. It took every ounce of energy I had to keep him from injuring himself. I finally got him washed up, out of the tub, dried off and into a diaper - him fighting me every step of the way. I then grabbed him a milk and squeezed him so tight into my bearhug before he succumbed, drank his milk, then spent the next 10 minutes snuggling and smooching me as if asking for forgiveness. Of course, he fell right asleep at 7:30 when I put him into bed. Such a trade off!!!
But, we did bust out the kite at the park today for it's first 2011 appearance. All the kids loved it and I am so darn relaxed when flying that kite - I imagine it works the way fly fishing works for some people.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tropical heat wave
So the other day I was in the car all by myself driving to the store (whoopee!). About 10 minutes into the drive I realized that I had been rocking out singing full voice to Elmo and friends. I promptly hit the radio button and found a good Pink song to recover with.
Ben has been extraordinarily clingy to Mama the past few days. We have had some solo time together and had tons of fun - I wonder if he is now at the age that he is recognizing that not having big sister around hogging up the attention means he gets the attention, and now when she is around, he simply smothers me wanting that attention for himself. (Does that make sense?) He is uber loving wanting to constantly crawl up into my lap and hug and snuggle and lay kisses on me. I gotta say, I am not complaining one bit! Soon enough the day will come when I am the last person he wants to be near! The funny part is when he is in trouble for doing something he knows he shouldn't be doing, instead of running away to hide, he crawls up into my arms bawling and rubs his face (hot tears streaming down his cheeks) all over mine - partly to silence me disciplining him and partly, in his own way, to apologize.
He will also come running right over to me and smother me with kisses if I am singing. You know, to shut me up. At least he is polite about it...
Friday afternoon was 103˚ with 80% humidity. Needless to say we swam all morning in a friend's pool to cool off, then spent the afternoon and evening watching our AC work it's butt off in the penthouse. (This is how hot it was - I actually dove into the 78˚ pool getting my hair wet!! Vanity lost to the heat wave!) By 4pm this is how bored my children were: I was in the living room reading a book and they were wrestling on my bed. Next thing I heard was, "Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!" which is the sound Ben makes when he kisses you. My crazy kids were wrestling and pinning each other then kissing each other! Hey, at least they like each other!
I love recognizing new words that Ben is using. This morning he was playing with his trains on the track and purposely smashing and derailing them. He would then make amends by saying, "Sorry!" and fixing them back to the track. He did this over and over!
On Thursday we exchanged our books and dvds at the library and escaped the heat by playing in the children's area for over an hour. They have a good collection of legos and puzzles as well as books and dvds. There were a few other families enjoying the free AC, too. At about noon I said to Emma, "Help me clean up, we gotta go and get some lunch." One of the Moms we were sitting next to said, "What are you going to eat for lunch, Emma?" She replied matter of factly, "Chocolate donuts and pizza." Really? I thought. As we checked the books out I thought to myself, Hmmm, pizza does sound kind of good right now. So we walked a block to main street where we had our choice of 3 pizza parlors to grab a slice from. We settled for the one with air conditioning and a sitting area. Well AC in a small pizza parlor with 3 ovens going strong is kind of pointless, but the pizza was YUM so, what's a little sweat? The kids enjoyed every last morsel of their pepperoni slice... At one point Emma had to pee but Ben was only mid point of the slice and covered in sauce and pepperoni grease. I left him sitting at the table chowing and took Em to the unisex restroom. I made her go in and do her business solo so I could stand at the door keeping one eye on Ben and the other on her just inside the door. We made it back to the table safely and I don't think Ben even realized we were gone. Hey, the only vegetable he eats is the sauce on pizza!
After our slice, we wandered around main street. There was a good - albeit HOT - breeze coming from the marina. The mom and pop toy store had their wind chimes and twirly whirly gizmos out and the kids stopped to play with them while I sweated all the pizza out. I am happy to say, pizza calories consumed on a day where the heat index is 115˚ simply do not count. Hooray!
Ben has been extraordinarily clingy to Mama the past few days. We have had some solo time together and had tons of fun - I wonder if he is now at the age that he is recognizing that not having big sister around hogging up the attention means he gets the attention, and now when she is around, he simply smothers me wanting that attention for himself. (Does that make sense?) He is uber loving wanting to constantly crawl up into my lap and hug and snuggle and lay kisses on me. I gotta say, I am not complaining one bit! Soon enough the day will come when I am the last person he wants to be near! The funny part is when he is in trouble for doing something he knows he shouldn't be doing, instead of running away to hide, he crawls up into my arms bawling and rubs his face (hot tears streaming down his cheeks) all over mine - partly to silence me disciplining him and partly, in his own way, to apologize.
He will also come running right over to me and smother me with kisses if I am singing. You know, to shut me up. At least he is polite about it...
Friday afternoon was 103˚ with 80% humidity. Needless to say we swam all morning in a friend's pool to cool off, then spent the afternoon and evening watching our AC work it's butt off in the penthouse. (This is how hot it was - I actually dove into the 78˚ pool getting my hair wet!! Vanity lost to the heat wave!) By 4pm this is how bored my children were: I was in the living room reading a book and they were wrestling on my bed. Next thing I heard was, "Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!" which is the sound Ben makes when he kisses you. My crazy kids were wrestling and pinning each other then kissing each other! Hey, at least they like each other!
I love recognizing new words that Ben is using. This morning he was playing with his trains on the track and purposely smashing and derailing them. He would then make amends by saying, "Sorry!" and fixing them back to the track. He did this over and over!
On Thursday we exchanged our books and dvds at the library and escaped the heat by playing in the children's area for over an hour. They have a good collection of legos and puzzles as well as books and dvds. There were a few other families enjoying the free AC, too. At about noon I said to Emma, "Help me clean up, we gotta go and get some lunch." One of the Moms we were sitting next to said, "What are you going to eat for lunch, Emma?" She replied matter of factly, "Chocolate donuts and pizza." Really? I thought. As we checked the books out I thought to myself, Hmmm, pizza does sound kind of good right now. So we walked a block to main street where we had our choice of 3 pizza parlors to grab a slice from. We settled for the one with air conditioning and a sitting area. Well AC in a small pizza parlor with 3 ovens going strong is kind of pointless, but the pizza was YUM so, what's a little sweat? The kids enjoyed every last morsel of their pepperoni slice... At one point Emma had to pee but Ben was only mid point of the slice and covered in sauce and pepperoni grease. I left him sitting at the table chowing and took Em to the unisex restroom. I made her go in and do her business solo so I could stand at the door keeping one eye on Ben and the other on her just inside the door. We made it back to the table safely and I don't think Ben even realized we were gone. Hey, the only vegetable he eats is the sauce on pizza!
After our slice, we wandered around main street. There was a good - albeit HOT - breeze coming from the marina. The mom and pop toy store had their wind chimes and twirly whirly gizmos out and the kids stopped to play with them while I sweated all the pizza out. I am happy to say, pizza calories consumed on a day where the heat index is 115˚ simply do not count. Hooray!
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