Buying Mockingbirds

Buggy Cupcakes

2010-01-08T20:36:00.002-05:00

One of the downsides of having a birthday between Christmas and New Year's is that your birthday always falls on a school holiday. Seeing that Molly has a summer birthday, I couldn't quite bear the prospect of NEVER bringing special birthday snacks into school. So, I decided that it was perfectly acceptable to bring Max's belated birthday goodies in to school during the first week of January.

This year, Grandma gave me a neat cupcake book and an awesome cupcake carrier (it holds 27 cupcakes!). I hadn't decided what cupcakes to make for Max's birthday and it was just the inspiration I needed.

I loved the Creepy Crawlers cupcake idea and, after a little discussion, got Max on board. He originally wanted to make gingerbread man cupcakes, being enamored of all things gingerbread after making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. But, he changed his mind and decided that he loved the "buggy cupcakes."

This year the cupcake production was a bit more intense, since Max has twice as many kids in his class (necessitating a double batch of cupcakes). Surprisingly, the bugs were the easiest part of the process -- the cupcakes and frosting decided to be ornery. In spite of the less-than-perfect frosting job, the cupcakes were a big hit -- Max said that nobody was scared of the bugs because, "Mama, they're just cupcakes." Max was happy to report that he ate the orange caterpillar (centipede) and Molly (who scored one of the extra cupcakes) told me ate a "yellow spider with a BIG M&M on its back"!

I'd better start planning for next year!

Conversations With Molly

2010-01-06T22:58:00.003-05:00

Molly has always had a lot to say, and lately she's been saying some pretty funny stuff. Of course, I need to write it all down before I forget it!

The other night, she asked me to play with her. I agreed and she promptly dragged out her pink princess jump rope and decide that we should have a little indoor jump rope-a-thon.

Anxious to show off my jump rope prowess, I started skipping rope while singing the old classic skipping rhyme:

Cinderella, dressed in yellow
Went upstairs to meet her fellow.
Made a mistake, kissed a snake.
How many doctors did it take?
One, two, three ... (we'll pretend I made too many successful jumps to count)

When I handed the rope to Molly, she got right into the spirit of things. Without missing a beat, she started to (pretend to) jump, while singing the following:

Sleeping Beauty, had a dolly.
Ee i ee i oh!
With a quack quack here
And a quack quack there ...

Dad and I were trying not to laugh until she'd finished, because we didn't want to ruin her ad libbed song.

Then the other day, when we were driving past one of the local motorcycle dealerships, Molly turned to me and said, "Mama, I like motorcycles. I want a motorcycle." Obviously, she's a girl after her dad's heart. I told her that when she was grown up, she could decide whether or not she wanted a motorcycle. She nodded sagely and said, "Yup, when I'm grown up. When I'm five." Yikes!

There is one conversation that we have almost every day that continues to crack me up. We received an American Girl catalog in the mail a couple months before Christmas. Since Molly tends to like to throw fits about having to use the bathroom before bed, one night I brought the catalog into the bathroom to try to convince her to sit on the potty. Happily, it worked and she's spent a lot of time perusing that particular catalog. One of the dolls in the catalog is named Molly, a fact that never seemed to please MY Molly.

One night, after we'd looked at the catalog a few times, Molly was naming all of the dolls. She had all of the names right, but when she got to the Molly doll, she declared that it's name was "Mexica." I reminded her that the doll's name was Molly, to which she replied, "No, I'M Molly. That's Mexica." And the doll has been Mexica ever since!

Resolved

2010-01-01T22:33:00.002-05:00

Well, along with the standard New Year's resolutions (making healthier meal choices and sticking with my workout routine), I'm also going to get my blogging butt in gear. I managed to get (way) behind when we had our computer problems last year and never was able to entirely catch up. And, since I didn't want to post new stuff until I caught up with the old stuff, I just didn't post. So, my resolution is to start off this year with a clean blog slate and catch up with the old stuff as I am able (I really do have lots of notes and pictures, so it really could happen ... maybe).

So, Merry Christmas, Grandma! And I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday season. We're wishing you all good things in the new year.

Trip to the Park

2009-04-03T23:11:00.003-04:00

I think we're finally getting a taste of spring! It was 60 degrees here today and I took the kids to the park as soon as I got home from work. We all enjoyed it -- after being stuck in the house for the majority of the winter, it was so nice to get outside. I think we've all missed our evening walks. Max and Molly were so thrilled that they just kept laughing and saying, "This is fun!" It seems that the slides and swings at the neighborhood park hadn't lost their appeal over the winter.

It's amazing how much the kids have grown and how their skills have developed over the last few months. Max totally rules the playground, but Molly is finally able to really climb around the play structure on her own. She needs a little boost here and there and a little monitoring, but she's able to climb and slide and romp on her own.

Since it's too early for the mosquitoes to be out, we enjoy walking through the trails in the little wood that borders the park. Max and Molly like to go on little nature hikes and see what beasties we can spy. There are a lot of logs in the woods, left over from the clearing of some dead ash trees. Max likes to pull the bark off of some of them and look at the bugs. And, of course, then whack at the logs with said bark. And, to Max's great delight, there is also no shortage of sticks along the trail. I don't know what it is about little boys and sticks, but they seem to be an unavoidable combination. Of course, my gut reaction every time he grabs a stick is to start screaming, "You'll put your eye out!!"

When it was ready to head home, everyone was happy and tired and dirty (always a successful combination). I think we're all looking forward to resuming our daily walks -- lets just hope the weather continues to cooperate! April snowstorms are especially heartbreaking after a few 60-degree days!

The Feast of the Irish

2009-03-17T23:56:00.003-04:00

We had our traditional St. Patty's day festivities here this year. Even though Mama had to work (and was fighting a cold), we still managed to scrounge up some green clothing and prepare a grand feast. Dad put together some colcannon and we made sure that we had plenty of beer on hand. We had the traditional corned beef, of course, but this year we tried baking it instead of boiling it (shocking, I know). I thought it would be fun to try something different, although I was a little worried about ruining the corned beef. It actually turned out really well and I'd be willing to try it again. Baked corned beef also has the distinct advantage of NOT boiling over all over your stove top (always a risk, especially if you never seem to have a pot that the corned beef fits in properly). Dinner was a big hit -- it seems that Max and Molly both highly approve of corned beef (or corned beef "hot dogs," as Molly calls them).

Although I ran out of time and energy for the soda bread this year, I did spend St. Patrick's Day Eve putting together a special St. Patty's Day treat. I ran across a recipe for Irish Car Bomb cupcakes and, political correctness aside, I decided I just had to make them. I'm not a fan of Guinness, but chocolate stout cupcakes, with whiskey ganache filling, and Bailey's frosting just sounded too tasty (and oh so festive!). Given that the kids would be consuming some of the goodies, I did make a few non-alcoholic cupcakes. They exceeded my expectations -- they were delicious. I could have eaten a vat of the Bailey's frosting all by itself.

After we tucked the kids in bed, Dad and I sat back with a couple cups of (Bailey's-enhanced) coffee, some cupcakes, and watched "The Quiet Man." It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.

I Hog the Ground

2009-03-13T23:34:00.002-04:00

Max and Molly (and Mama) like to watch Jack's Big Music show on occasion. I think it was the first TV program that Max ever watched. I remember sitting with him on the couch in our finished basement veerrrryyy early one morning. He was sick and fussy and miserable, so we hunkered down and watched a little TV until it was "lights on" (as the kids now say). Since that was back in my nursing days when I wasn't drinking caffeine, maybe I was hoping those technicolored puppets would wake me up a bit.

One of our favorite episodes was about Groundhog Day and this song is now one of Max and Molly's favorite. Listening to Molly belt out the words while rocking out with some serious air guitar is too funny!

Now, do you want to know why the lead singer looks so familiar? It's Steve Burns of Blue's Clues fame! When I first saw this clip, I thought I'd seen the lead singer before, but I actually didn't realize who it was until we looked this up on YouTube for the first time. He still rocks!

Wool and Copper

2009-03-11T23:59:00.002-04:00

It's a good thing that we don't usually get each other anniversary gifts, because most of the yearly themes are bizarre at best. I suppose I could have always purchased a flock of sheep for my beloved (free grass clipping and fertilizer included -- bonus!), but I don't think we're zoned for livestock. ;) I can't believe it's already been seven years. It seems like just yesterday that we got married, but then it also feels like we've always been together (in a good way).

As a joint gift to ourselves, we both had the day off of work together. We spent most of the day doing the normal stuff -- kicking around the house, feeding kids, shuttling kids on and off the potty, etc. We did have more exciting plans for the evening, however. Since Grandma and Grandpa kindly offered to babysit (the best present of all!), Dad and I treated ourselves to an evening out on the town. We had been wanting to make a trek out to Tribute, because we've heard and read good things about it, so we figured this was a good time to do it.

We weren't disappointed! We had an early reservation and when we first got there we were the only customers in the place. We both opted for the tasting menu with the wine pairing, so we were able to sample a lot of different restaurant specialties. The food and wine were excellent, the service was good, and the company was outstanding. It was really nice to have a quiet evening where we could relax and talk and enjoy spending time together. Happy anniversary, honey -- I love you!

Bits and Bobs

2009-03-10T13:09:00.011-04:00

Our computer has been working reliably for a couple of months, so I'm finally getting around to (maybe) catching up on my photos and blogs. I seem to be running about a month behind, no matter how hard I try to catch up! Since this is as much of a virtual baby book as anything else these days, I've accumulated a bunch of miscellaneous things I jotted down that don't really warrant a post unto themselves, but that I don't want to forget (you know, in case I need some handy blackmail to ensure future good behavior).

Both Max and Molly have really been giving their imaginations a workout lately. It's so fun to watch them play pretend and the things they come up with always make me laugh. Recently, one of their favorite things to do is to pretend to be soup. They take turns sitting in a "pot" made out of blankets and pillows and "stirring" each other with a toy baseball bat. Often, some throw pillow "crackers" are thrown in for a little extra flavor! Pretend flying is also still in high demand -- the other day Molly asked me to "help [her] fly in the clouds" like Peter Pan.

I've also learned that I really need to watch what I say these days, because my words keep coming back to me. The other day, Max asked Molly if she was happy and Molly said, "No, I'm not happy!"? I wonder where she heard that from ... Molly ending up having a rough bedtime a few nights ago. I had to go up there several times to try to get M&M to settle down. In between visits, I heard a conversation over the monitor that cracked me up:

Molly: Waaaaaaaaaa!
Max: Molly, are you sick?
Molly: I'm sad.
Max: Are you sick, honey?
Molly: No, I'm CRABBY!
Me: You can say that again ...

After dinner today, Max was running around, being noisy and raising a ruckus. Dad and I were standing in the kitchen when Max came tearing through, stopped on a dime, jumped in the air, and threw some little bouncy balls across the Max. We asked him what he was doing and his response was, "I'm being NAUGHTY!!!!" We just looked at each other and started laughing.

Max has pretty much given up naps. He'll take one once or twice a week if he's extremely tired, but we usually pay for it at bedtime. Max took a nap today for the first time in over a week -- now it's almost two hours past his bed time and he's still awake? I just heard him up there reciting the words to "No, David" to himself. At least he's keeping himself entertained!

Brusha Brusha Brusha

2009-03-05T23:49:00.001-05:00

I always find it amusing that Max, who should have had his fill of doctors, is always totally excited about the prospect of visiting the doctor's office. As it turns out, his enthusiasm also extends to trips to the dentists. We told him yesterday that he would be going to the dentist today. Max has been to the dentist twice before -- he did ok the first time (but got upset when they wanted to recline the chair, so he didn't get his teeth cleaned) and really well the second time. We were hoping he'd have another easy trip, so we tried to prep him for the visit and explained that the dentist would want to look in his mouth and clean his teeth. Max obviously remembered the previous visit, because he nodded sagely and said that they would use the "noisy toothbrush."

Max and Dad returned from the visit with good news all around -- no cavities, we're doing a good job brushing his teeth, and the dentist said the spacing of his teeth was good (which was NOT what the dentist thought at his first visit). Max was proud to show off his new orange Cars toothbrush (he picked the color himself, of course) and the new bracelet that he picked out of the prize box. I always laugh, because I think he's picked a bracelet out of the box every time he's been to the dentist. Molly had serious bracelet envy and followed Max around until he finally tired of wearing it and took it off. She promptly pounced on it and has been wearing it every since! Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be as interested in sharing his new toothbrush.

Darth Max

2009-03-02T23:30:00.004-05:00

Given their genetic makeup, it was only a matter of time before Max and Molly became bonified Star Wars fans. Max inherited a Darth Vader helmet from Big Brother and promptly managed to beg, borrow, and steal a permanent loan of Big Brother's old toy lightsabers. Since Max was so enamored of the Darth Vader helmet, we thought we'd break out all of our Star Wars DVDs and let him watch a few.

Needless to say, both kids are hooked. They spend their days arguing over the relative merits of "the Dark Maul one" vs. the "Darf Vader one" (I'm afraid I'm siding with Max there -- Vader will always be cooler villain). Molly, who is totally (and inexplicably) in love with Brother Bear, is convinced that Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are brothers. I am happy to report that neither child is particularly impressed with Jar Jar Binks -- in fact, they think he's a big frog. There has been a lot of talk about gooberfish around here lately, though.

I think Max took the cake for the funniest Star Wars story, though. The other night he was running around with his Darth Vader helmet on and exclaiming, "You don't know the power of the dark OUTSIDE!" I think both Dad and I are happy that our geekdom has spread to the next generation.

All You Need Is Love

2009-02-14T08:19:00.008-05:00

For me, Valentine's Day has always been a "do something nice for the people you love" day, not a "lets buy lots of crap" day. So, when February rolls around, I usually try to plan out some nice little goodies or treats for my family. Unfortunately, most of this year's plans involved my sewing machine, which was rendered inaccessible when the basement flooded. So, I decided to save those ideas for another occasion and I moved on to Plan B.

You can't go wrong with a Plan B that involves chocolate, so while Molly and Daddy were napping, Max and I did a little shopping together. Max loves to go anywhere and do anything, so he was totally thrilled to go shopping with Mama. We went to our favorite local grocery store (where we always end up buying too many things that aren't on our list) and stocked up on goodies. Max was such a good boy that he got to pick out a couple heart-shaped jelly doughnuts and some chocolate milk (to share with Molly when he got home). Max and Molly enjoyed helping me make cupcakes (and eating them!) and we had a nice, lazy day. It was so lazy, that I never got around to dressing Molly up in the cute red gingham dress I'd gotten for her (oops!).

On Max's last day of preschool this week, his class had a little Valentine's Day celebration. Max and I made some cute little valentines for him to pass out and he was all excited about them (they actually looked much cooler printed out). When I dropped him off, I helped him distribute the valentines in the little bags the kids had made -- Max was totally confused as to why he didn't need to put a valentine in HIS bag. By the time he got home from school, all he could talk about was all the "Balentines Hearts" and goodies he'd received. We put the goodies away for after-meal snacks and Max spent the rest of the afternoon begging for his "special red goodies" (which he was nice enough to share with his little sister).

After the Flood

2009-02-09T08:03:00.004-05:00

After weeks of cold and snow, the sun finally came out and it warmed up a bit. It was nice to get a break from the freezing temperatures and get rid of some of the ice that has accumulated at the end of the driveway (thanks to the neighbor who has left his van on the street next to our driveway for the past six months). We decided to take advantage of the nice weather by taking Max and Molly shoe shopping and paying a visit to Grandma and Grandpa.

We had a nice outing. Molly's feet have grown TWO sizes since summer -- she went from a 6 1/2 wide to an 8 1/2. It seems that she's also outgrown her chubby baby feet and has inherited Mama's skinny feet. We had a hard time finding any shoes that would stay on her narrow heel. The only shoes that fit were a pair of lace ups -- I have a feeling I'm going to be missing that velcro. Max is now at an 11 1/2 wide -- at least he isn't an extra wide any more! His shoe selection was limited as well, but we eventually found a pair that fit and that I could stand. After we visited with Grandma and Grandpa, we drove by Dad's work to pick up a corned beef that a co-worker had purchased for him and then headed back home.

We made dinner, gave baths, and put the kids to bed. A little later in the evening, Dad went into the basement to get something and was surprised (and dismayed) to step off the bottom step and find himself standing in about an inch of water. It seems our sump pump hadn't been doing its job and the ENTIRE basement (most of which is carpeted and finished) was flooded. Ugh! We spent the rest of the evening carting things upstairs, calling the insurance company, and sucking up water with the shop vac.

The good news is that our insurance will cover the damage -- the bad news is that the entire carpet/pad had to be ripped out and discarded. The insurance company sent over the water cleanup folks on Sunday and they've spent the last two days ripping up carpet, sanitizing the floor, and drying everything out. Nothing important was damaged or lost and I guess this will force us to finally clean up and organize all the clutter that has accumulated in the basement. What fun!

Drat

2009-02-02T22:58:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure we can handle six more weeks of winter ...

Sweet Words

2009-02-01T22:44:00.003-05:00

Max has been overtired all weekend, probably because Molly's coughing and night time waking has been disturbing his sleep (Molly, thankfully, is finally on the mend). Max is a pill when he gets tired -- instead of slowing down, he turns into the Energizer Bunny. And, as if his constant motion and constant chatter isn't enough, he also loses his ability to listen and to mind. He will purposely go and do things he knows he isn't supposed to do -- it's like he can't help himself. Needless to say, it's a bit exhausting (for Mama).

But, in the midst of the aggravation, you can't help but love a boy who comes up to you, holds your hand, and says, "Mama, you're my BEST friend." I suppose we'll put off calling the gyspies for another day ...

Sick Again (Still?)

2009-01-30T22:41:00.002-05:00

I think we've had at least one sick person in the house since before Christmas. At this point, I'm hoping spring hurries up and gets here soon, because I don't know how much more nose wiping and coughing I can take. Max seems to bring the bugs home from school, spend a few days being moderately sick, and then give his germs to Molly. Molly, in turn, gets REALLY sick and super miserable. Since right before Christmas, they've each been sick THREE times. So, since Max was sick again earlier this week, it's Molly's turn. I still find it totally ironic that the kid who spent a month on a ventilator seems to breeze through chest colds, while the kid who spent less than 24 hours on CPAP gets hit hard.

I think this is the sickest I've ever seen Molly. She's hardly eaten, slept, or moved for the last three days. All she wants to do is lie on the couch and watch TV. She's running a fever, has a lot of congestion, and a nasty cough, but the most worrisome symptom is the fact that she's totally listless and not her normal perky self. So, this evening, I decided to run her over to urgent care to get her checked out.

Thankfully, it was a quick trip. The good news is that her ears and lungs are clear -- the doctor says it's just a nasty upper respiratory bug with an ugly cough. She has some medicine to ease her cough and clear her up a bit so she can (hopefully) get some sleep. The girl is either unwilling or incapable of wiping her own nose -- for the last few days frantic cries of, "Mama! Booger nose!!" have ruled my waking (and sleeping) hours. I hope she's on the mend soon -- I want my happy, smiling, saucy little girl back!

Well Max

2009-01-20T23:03:00.005-05:00

Max had his well child visit today. We changed insurance companies at the beginning of the year, so I was finally able to his annual checkup a little closer to his actual birthday! The older he gets, the quicker and easier his appointments get. He weighed in at 39.4 pounds and was 41 3/4 inches tall -- 75th percentile across the board. He's been jumping up the height percentiles at every checkup, which makes me think there is some truth to the revised preemie rule that states that you get to add a catchup year for every month they were preemie (instead of the inane "caught up by 2" rule of thumb).

Max happily chatted up the doctor, checked out the pictures of her new baby, and examined every inch of the doctor's office. The doctor said that he checked out great and that his development was very age appropriate. He didn't pass the eye exam that the nurse gave him (he was interested in something else and wasn't paying much attention) and if we hadn't just gotten his eyes checked and gotten the all clear from his opthamologist, the pedi was going to send us over to the eye doc anyway. The doctor checked his umbilical hernia again and it is now officially closed, so no surgery for Max!

As it turned out, he was due for some shots. I had been thinking he was all clear until he was five, but I guess they do a lot of what used to be 5-year boosters are age four. He was due for his DTaP, his HiB, and his MMR (in addition to the varicella and flu shots, which we aren't doing at this point). I told the doc I preferred to not give the MMR with other shots and that I'd make an appointment for a nurse visit in a month or two. The doctor proceeded to tell me that she'd just been to a seminar about how important it was to stick to the shot schedule, etc., etc., but the MMR shot used to be given at five and it was ok to wait. She then asked me if I wanted to schedule the nurse visit now (???). I told her if it was fine to wait until five, I'd just have Max get it at his checkup next year.

I'm not sure I'll ever understand the whole vaccine and doctor thing. At least in part, I think the vaccine schedules and recommendations were put in place for both the convenience of the doctors and to make sure that kids got as many shots in as few visits as possible, to ensure that parents were more likely to get kids all of their shots. That's fine and I can appreciate that, but it just makes me roll my eyes when they kick about varying from the schedule, when I know they're more concerned about making all their records look neat and tidy than any real health issues. And then they wonder why parents don't trust the medical community's word as absolute law when it comes to vaccinations. Grumble.

So, Max ended up getting his DTaP and HiB boosters. After the doctor left the office to tell the nurses to bring the shots in, I told Max he would have to get a shot and that it would hurt, but it would keep him from getting sick. When the nurses came in, he happily laid down on the table while they got the shots ready and prepped his legs. They did both shots simultaneously -- Max didn't really know what was happening until after it was over, but it broke my heart to see him crinkle up his face, cry, and tell me that it hurt. After a few hugs and sniffles, he was fine and he got to pick out some stickers on the way to the check out desk. His legs seemed pretty sore for the rest of the day and I gave him a dose of Motrin before bed. Hopefully they'll be right as rain tomorrow! I have to say, it's a nice change only having to visit the doctor once a year!

Celebrating "Forty Six"

2009-01-19T22:07:00.002-05:00

Ever since we celebrated Max's birthday, he's been really interested in the whole birthday concept. He wanted to know when he was going to have his birthday again (and already figured out that he'd be FIVE on his birthday) and was disappointed to hear that it wouldn't be for a long time. He did muster quite a bit of enthusiasm when he heard that my birthday was next. He wanted to know how old I was going to be on my birthday, so I told him I would be 36. He apparently needs to work on pronouncing his "th" sounds, because every day since he has asked about my birthday and said, "Mama, you going to be forty six??" Sigh.

As always, I took a vacation day on my birthday (we don't get MLK day off at work) -- it's my present to myself! Dad was supposed to work the night before my birthday, but ended up being able to come home early. He gave me the best present of all -- a nice, long nap! As a combination Christmas/birthday present, I'm also going to (finally) get Adobe CS 4. I haven't ordered it yet, but I'm totally looking forward to having some updated software to use.

Max and Molly also gave me some special birthday presents -- not only did they sleep in this morning, but they both took afternoon naps ... at the same time! I was happy to get in some birthday vegging/reading before we had to pack everyone up and head off to Big Brother's basketball game. As if the naps weren't enough, Max and Molly were also very well behaved at the basketball game. We stopped at one of my favorite pizza joints after the game and had a nice birthday dinner. Max and Molly continued their good behavior streak and were little angels all through dinner. Molly was cracking the waitress up with her enthusiasm for her meal -- she kept saying, "I LIKE pizza" and proceeded to stuff her little face.

After dinner, we all went home to have dessert. Dad had made me a tiramisu layer cake and I was looking forward to sampling it. Max was more than happy to help me blow out my candles and everyone enjoyed the cake. In addition to liking pizza, it seems that Molly approved of the cake as well -- she literally licked the plate clean. All in all, I think it was the nicest birthday I've had in a while (even if Max does keep telling me that I'm "46" now).

The League of Extraordinary Snowmen

2009-01-13T23:03:00.002-05:00

I managed to have two children whose birthday timing is such that they will NEVER be able to bring in treats to school on their birthdays. But, since Max's birthday at least falls during the school year, I thought it would be fun to bring in belated birthday cupcakes (since it was our week to bring snack). I found the idea for these cupcakes in a magazines years before Max was born. I always thought they would be such a fun treat for little kids and stored the idea away. I thought a December birthday would be the perfect excuse to whip up a batch of these little guys.

It took a little longer to assemble them than I had anticipated, but they weren't difficult. The snowmen are made out of two large marshmallows, with about 1/3 of the top marshmallow cut off and squashed a bit to make it smaller than the body. The eyes are chocolate sprinkles, the nose is a slice of an orange Starburst, and the scarf is two stands of a pull-apart cherry Twizzler. Once they were assembled, the army of snowmen on my counter just made me giggle. Max was also delighted with the cupcakes (as were all of his classmates). We even saved one for Molly, who devoured it in one sitting (and then refused to eat her dinner).

The Best

2009-01-12T23:57:00.003-05:00

Max was being especially sweet right before nap time (why is it he is always the sweetest, nicest, and most well behaved when he knows he's due for a nap??). I was working on the computer and he scooted up next to me in the chair, leaned his head on my shoulder, and said, "You the best mama that ever you are." Awww! A few minutes later he put his arm around me and told me I was his best friend. Little moments like that just melt your heart ... and make you wonder what terrifically naughty thing he's trying to make up for!

105mm of Birthday Fun!

2009-01-08T23:52:00.001-05:00

Mama got a fantastic early birthday present (from her Mom and Dad) -- a new 105mm Nikkor lens! So, now I have some additional macro and portrait capability. The new lens almost makes up for the fact that my nice zoom lens is in the shop. Brace yourselves for some more portrait shots and extreme close ups!

You Down With ROP?

2009-01-07T23:39:00.008-05:00

When Max was in the NICU, he was diagnosed with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) when he was a few weeks old (around what would have been 30 weeks gestation, if he'd stayed put). ROP is a preemie condition that causes the blood vessels in the eye to go haywire, which can cause the retina to detach. It can cause vision loss and blindness -- Stevie Wonder was a preemie and his blindness was caused by ROP. Researchers think that the extra oxygen that preemies need may contribute to the condition, and since extreme preemies usually require breathing support for quite a while, it's is something that a lot of early preemies have.

Max had a moderately severe case, but thankfully his ROP regressed on its own, without the need for laser surgery to zap out the rogue blood vessels (which usually saves the vision, but often leaves scar tissue and causes some vision loss/issues of its own). He was followed by the pediatric opthamologists while he was in the NICU and he went back for several follow-up appointments after he came home. His last "big baby" eye exam was when he was about eight months old. At that point, the doctor said his vision was normal for his age and he was discharged from any additional appointments.

Since Max is now in school and old enough for routine eye exams, I wanted to take him back to see his opthamologist for a checkup, just to make sure everything really was fine. I made an appointment six months ago and, in spite of an unexpected change from PPO health insurance to HMO insurance (necessitating a frantic, last-minute referral from our pediatrician), we made the trek in to the eye center today.

Given that Max's opthamologist is notorious for running late and appointments can take a VERY long time, I took the morning off of work so I could take Max to his appointment. We also tried to get an early appointment, hopefully to cut down on wait time. We made it to the office in good time, in spite of the fact that I initially drove right past it, because they've entirely remodeled the building since the last time we were there. Max was totally thrilled to be going to the eye doctor -- you'd think he'd have had enough of doctors, but he gets excited about going just about anywhere!

We checked in and Max happily looked at the fish and checked out the cool indoor playhouse/slide that they had in the office. We were called back into the exam room pretty quickly and one of the "little dog" doctors did his first exam. Max had to look at and identify a bunch of different pictures and the doctor examined his eyes. To Max's great delight, they cued up Toy Story 2 for him to watch while they did part of the exam -- and they even had it set up to start at his VERY FAVORITE part. Then the doctor put in the eye drops to dilate his eyes (which he wasn't too happy about) and sent us back out in the waiting room while we waited for the drops to take effect.

It didn't take long for them to call us back and another doctor completed the exam. Max was a total trooper for the whole appointment -- he cooperated, was polite and friendly, listed to what the doctor told him, and minded his Mama. He was fascinated with all the exam equipment and lenses and buttons and grilled the doctor on what everything was. As it turned out, we never even needed to see our "big dog" doctor -- Max's eyes are very healthy and his vision is fine. Unless we have any problems, we don't need to go back. And, as the icing on the cake, we made it in and out of the doctor's office in under an hour -- that's definitely an all-time record for us!

Since Max was such a good boy, we stopped at Mama's favorite bagel place on the way home and got some bagels and fragels (deep-friend raisin bagels covered with cinnamon and sugar) to take home to Dad and Molly. Given the reaction to the goodies when we got home, I think we've created another generation of fragel lovers.

Can We Fix It?

2009-01-03T23:04:00.003-05:00

Yes we can! Max's great aunt stopped by with some belated birthday presents for him today. Although the musical birthday card Max received impressed him mightily, Max enjoyed the presents even more. This time, we had the appropriate dress-up hat on hand -- Max and Molly took turns wearing the "builder hat" and fixing things. Molly was especially intrigued by the toy nuts and bolts. After explaining to Molly what they were, she kept saying to me, "Mama? Please help me with my nuts and bolts!" I think Max has officially been spoiled rotten!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:58:00.002-05:00

Our little New Year's baby sees great things ahead in 2009! We wish everyone a very happy New Year and hope the upcoming year brings happiness and health and prosperity to all. Max and Molly slept through the New Year's festivities, but Dad and Mama enjoyed a quiet evening at home with some good food, a movie, and each other's company.

How Fun to Be Four!

2008-12-30T22:40:00.006-05:00

Max and I have been talking about his birthday a lot over the last few weeks and he's been getting more and more excited about it. We talked about how he would be four instead of three on his birthday and that we'd have a little party with the papas. I figured he was probably old enough to have some say in his birthday cake, but when I first asked him what kind of cake he wanted, his only request was, "CHOCOLATE cake!" When I pressed him to tell me what kind of design he wanted on his cake, all he would say was that he wanted a "Max" cake. Thinking I could get away with a Where the Wild Things Are cake theme, I showed Max the pictures of Max the Wild Thing in the book and tried to jazz him up about having Wild Things on his cake. He looked at the pictures, turned to me, and said, "No, Mama. I want a picture of ME, Max!" Vain child!

After working on the cake last night, I stayed up just a little past midnight and tiptoed in to give my sleeping boy a birthday kiss and whisper a "Happy Birthday" to him. He looked so sweet and peaceful and healthy and BIG sleeping there in his bed. I have a very clear memory of exactly what he looked like right after he was born. I was able to hold him briefly on my stomach while Dad cut the cord, before they had to whisk him back to the NICU SWAT team. I remember trying to soak him in and memorize every little detail before I had to hand him over, because I had no idea what the future would hold for him. I can look at my great big boy and still see that tiny baby -- it's funny how they can change so much without really changing at all.

Max was up early on his birthday -- bright eyed and bushy tailed. When I talked into his room, singing "Happy Birthday," he said, "Mama, is it my birthday now?" I told him it was, to which he gleefully replied, "I not three any more ... I'm FOUR!!!" I offered to make him birthday pancakes, but he wanted his normal "oatmeal breakfast." He had a nice day, since he got to rule the roost and pretty much do anything he wanted (which involved watching some videos and playing on some kiddie websites).

Max actually took a nap today, which probably made the afternoon more enjoyable for everyone. We had wrapped his birthday presents while he was napping and had them all set out in the family room. Max spotted them as soon as he got up and was dying to open them. He had to wait a little while, since the Papas were coming over for a little family party. When he couldn't stand it any longer, he'd sneak over to the pile of presents and start poking at them and shaking them. It was pretty much the perfect part agenda for a four year old -- Max got to have pizza, salad, and juice boxes for dinner, open a bunch of presents, and eat chocolate cake and "cold ice cream."

Grandma and Grandpa gave Max one of those spring-mounted ride-on horses for his birthday. Before we picked up the pizza, Grandpa and Dad put it together (with help from Max). Of course, Max's help involved him dropping a piece inside one of the bars, which Dad and Grandpa didn't discover until the horse was almost fully assembled. So, the long assembly process ended up taking even longer, but I think being able to "help" work on the horse was probably one of the high points of Max's day!

When it was finally finished, Max and Molly liked it so much that we had to set a timer and make them take turns. Of course, a true cowboy isn't complete without a cowboy hat, so Max and Molly borrowed Dad's hat (since, with all the dress up stuff they got for Christmas, they had no cowboy hat of their own). He also got some Duplo blocks, some Mega Blocks, Colorforms, a Doctor play kit, some stencils, the Snowman DVD, a kaleidoscope, a stuffed snowman, and a few other bits and bobs. So much for trying to avoid a present overload!

We ended up saving one of Molly's Christmas presents (a play birthday cake set) so she could open something on Max's birthday. Well, Max opened the doctor kit first and Molly didn't want to do anything except play with that. She opened her present, but didn't even look at it because she wanted to get back to playing with her "doctor ears" (stethoscope). I might just pack it away and save it for her birthday!

Max really liked his birthday cake and I was pretty happy with the way it turned out (especially considering I had no idea exactly what I was doing until this morning). It's was chocolate cake with 7-minute frosting filling and chocolate frosting on the outside. On the sides, I tried to put decorations that reflected things that Max liked or things about Max.

We always light an extra candle on the cake "to grow on." This year, I bought some relighting candle and Max's extra candle was one of those. He thought the relighting candle was HYSTERICAL and he had a blast continually blowing out the candle and cracking up when it lit up again.

So, it was a nice (exhausting) day. I can't believe my baby is four. And, every time we celebrate his birthday, I can't help but think of the day he was born and how amazing it is that we're where we are today.

On the Night You Were Born

2008-12-30T00:16:00.005-05:00

tears fell
world prayed
dreams lost
gave way
vain hope
brave face
last push
small face
tiny cry
dark hair
time stopped
held there
quick kiss
loving touch
whisked away
too much
empty arms
full heart
brave boy
hard start
baby mine
so dear
fought hard
stayed here.

Things Not to Do

2008-12-28T22:51:00.002-05:00

Don't have the misfortune/poor timing to be born between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Don't decide that a great idea for a child's special birthday outing would be to spend several hours outdoors in the winter. Don't believe the weather forecast when they say that we'll have unseasonably mild temperatures for said outing. Don't be surprised when, instead of a balmy 40 degrees, it's actually 30 degrees and falling with a windchill factor of "freeze your hiney off." Don't take two small children out of the house for several hours if they've both skipped their naps and are still on a sugar high from Christmas. Don't take three junior high/high school aged children with you to a museum/historical attraction. Especially don't take them if the entire trip will involve them showing off to one another by competing to see whose behavior can be the most grating.

Don't drop several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment on the pavement. Seriously, don't. Don't expect the two harried adults to be able to salvage a good mood after said dropping of camera equipment. Don't neglect to make a plan for where exactly you are going and what exactly you are doing there. Don't expect the two year old to LOVE the carousel, no matter how authentic and cool you think it is. Don't miss the trolley back to the entrance. Don't take five children into the gift shop, even if it is REALLY cold outside. Don't park so darn far away. Don't forget to check the hours of the restaurant you plan to eat at on the way home. In fact, don't bother with the restaurant at all -- it isn't worth the aggravation or the dent in your pocketbook. Don't skip the therapeutic drink when you eventually make it home.

Don't forget to try again another day, when everyone is better rested, the weather is more obliging, and a firm itinerary is in place.

Christmas

2008-12-26T10:28:00.004-05:00

Max and Molly were up bright and early on Christmas morning. When I went in to get them up, Max asked if Santa had been here and wanted to know if there were presents. I told him there might be a present for him and sent Dad downstairs to get things ready while I took over potty duty. Max couldn't wait to get downstairs to check things and he hopped around impatiently until Dad gave the ok.

It was so fun to see their faces light up when they saw all the presents under the tree. They were each allowed to open one of their presents (some little kazoos) and one of their joint presents (a Peter Pan DVD). Since Dad hadn't picked up Big Brother and Big Sister yet, we saved the bulk of the present opening for later in the morning. We did let them dig into their stockings and they were delighted with the little presents and the candy (a few pieces of chocolate were immediately opened and consumed). Molly fell in love with the little mouse dolly that Santa left in her stocking. She prompted dubbed it Angelina Ballerina (also known as the "Ballerina Guy" after Dad confused a request for Angelina the doll with Angelina the book). Max thought it was hysterical that there was a tangerine in the toe of his stocking (which was always a stocking must in Mama's family). They were happy to play with their kazoos and watch Peter Pan while Mama put the breakfast casserole in the over and finished off the cinnamon rolls.

When Dad returned with Big Brother and Big Sister, the grown ups mixed up some mimosas and we set to opening the rest of the presents. Molly opened her first present (some play cookware) and was content to play with that while everyone else opened presents. Max, however, was very much into the opening of the presents. It was fun to see how delighted Max and Molly were with the gifts they received. Since Max has always been VERY interested in Mama's camera, his big gift this year was his very own kiddie digital camera. We saved it for last and boy was he ever excited. We couldn't get it out of the box fast enough. Both Max and Molly got dress-up/pretend play gifts -- Max loved his wooden sword and shield and pirate outfit, and Molly was over the moon about her fairy dress-up trunk. Since Molly has been enjoying her birthday tea set so much, Santa brought her some more play cookware and play food. Both of the little guys also got some books, DVDs, and art supplies (who knew glue sticks were so COOL?).

It was an all-around camera Christmas, because Big Brother and Big Sister's main gifts were their very own digital cameras. Big Brother also got a practice drum pad and sticks that he'd been wanting and Big Sister was happy with her kimono (which came all the way from China). And, in keeping with tradition, there were boring gifts of clothes and socks and underwear all around (even for Mama and Dad).

After presents, we dug into our Christmas breakfast. Max chowed down two and a half helpings of breakfast casserole, but Molly decided that she only wanted to eat her cinnamon roll (they had already had oatmeal when they first got up). We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon opening boxes and playing with toys. Molly and Dad took a nap, but Max was too keyed up to sleep, so he bopped around while Mama put a few last-minute touches on the Christmas desserts. After wrestling the little ones into their holiday finery, we packed up the goodies and headed off to Grandma's house!

Grandma had a full house -- there were aunts and uncles and cousins galore! Max and Molly enjoyed playing with their first cousins once removed -- Molly's first comment on seeing the four month old was, "Oh! I LOVE babies!" Dinner was delicious and Max and Molly stuffed their faces (especially Molly). We definitely don't have picky eaters! The kids were spoiled with even more presents and the little ones especially liked the hobby horses from Grandma and Grandpa. We even managed to put together an impromptu group portrait, so we could share our holiday spirit with a family member who was unwell and not able to attend. It was hard to fit everyone into one room!

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T06:30:00.002-05:00

When I was a kid, I remember that there wasn't anything more exciting than coming down the stairs on Christmas morning and seeing all the presents piled under the tree. It looks likes Max and Molly are happy to carry on the tradition.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T01:00:00.000-05:00

Visions of Sugarplums

2008-12-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Now that Max and Molly are a little older, they're really starting to enjoy and participate in the holidays. Molly is a little young yet, but this year Max has been totally into all things Christmas - Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas trees, the nativity story, making and receiving cards and gifts, etc. Being able to experience all these things through my children's eyes makes Christmas "magical" again for me too. It is so much fun watching them get excited and curious and enjoying themselves. I remember loving advent calendars when I was little.

Early in the month I purchased a wooden advent house for Max and Molly, which has a door/cubby for each day of the month. Every day I'd hide two small chocolates in the cubby and Max and Molly each got to take a turn opening a door and removing a treat. I thought they would enjoy this, but didn't realize how much they would LOVE it. It was the first thing they wanted to do every morning when they got up (even though we never let them do it until after dinner). We also checked lots of Christmas books and DVDs out of the library and brought out our little stash of Christmas books, CDs, and toys. So, Max and Molly have had a good month to enjoy all things Christmas (and cajole us into playing "Jingle Bells" approximately 3,234 times).

This year I really wanted to make sure I set aside the time to do all the fun holiday things that sometimes get thrown to the wayside or crammed into the corners. I made sure to start my vacation on the 23rd this year, so I wasn't spending all of Christmas Eve day running around like a lunatic (I made sure to do that on the 23rd!). For the first time in recorded history, we actually started wrapping presents before 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve (we only started a day earlier, but still!). We finished up all of our grocery shopping and odd errands yesterday and had all day today to prepare for Christmas. Which, on our case, meant making lots and lots and lots of food!

Max remembered making gingerbread cookies last year and had already asked if we could make them again. I also always want to make and decorate sugar cookies, but never seem to get around to it, so I promised myself we'd make those as well. I whipped up the sugar cookie dough last night and put together the gingerbread dough this morning. After Max and Molly got up from their naps (even if, in Max's case, he didn't actually sleep), we decided to roll out some dough and make some cookies!

I always have to remember that cooking with small children is not a precision art! Our gingerbread cookies were a little smooshy, contained an awful lot of finger indentations, and tended to sport multiple sets of eyes, but Max and Molly had a lot of fun making them. I also noticed that most of the candy buttons and currant eyes that the kids used for decorating didn't actually make it onto the gingerbread cookies. Molly was also pretty adept at filching scraps of dough when she thought I wasn't looking. When we put the cookies into the oven, they kept peering in the door and anxiously waiting for the cookies to be done. The wait for the cookies to cool off was apparently agonizing, but both kids seemed satisfied with the end product. As Molly put it, "I LIKE gingerbread cookies!"

After dinner we let Max and Molly open the big door on the advent house, where we had hidden the small, wrapped presents that they had gotten for each other (of course, they didn't remember what they'd gotten for each other). They unwrapped the little presents to find two little zoom cars, which they happily played with until it was time for bed. All evening Max was talking about Santa Claus and kept asking when Santa Claus (and Rudolph) were coming to his house -- he was so excited! We explained to him that Santa only came on Christmas Eve night and only if Max was sleeping. Max and Dad spent some time peering out the front window to see if they could see Rudolph yet. Max seemed pretty convinced that Santa was bringing him a present!

When it was time for bed, Max and Molly got dressed up in their holiday pjs and we settled in for our bedtime stories. Max and Molly get a new Christmas book every Christmas Eve -- this year's book was "Room for a Little One." We read that, as well as the traditional "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." I think this was the first year that we made it through story time without lots of fussing and crying (and, of course, it was the only year that we didn't take a picture!). Max was so excited that it took him a while to fall asleep -- he started talking about how Santa and Rudolph were going to come to his house and then talking about all the things he'd say to them. We had to explain that they were coming when he was asleep and they'd have to leave before he woke up, because they had to bring presents to other boys and girls.

After the little kids finally nodded off, Dad and I enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve clam chowder and watched a good hunk of "It's a Wonderful Life" (which just happens to be my favorite holiday movie). We finished up the prep for Christmas breakfast, finished the Christmas dinner desserts, completed the present wrapping, tidied the house, and set everything up under the tree. We even had a little time to sit and enjoy the quiet house and the pretty tree before we had find our kerchief and cap and settle in for a (not-so-long) winter's nap!

I can't wait to see Max and Molly's faces when they come downstairs in the morning and see that Santa was here!

Epic Christmas Fail

2008-12-21T23:38:00.002-05:00

In an attempt to actually get all of my Christmas shopping done and out of the way early this year, I've spent a lot of time surfing the online shops and browsing through pages and pages of STUFF. I have to say, there are some toys on the market right now that take my breath away (because I'm rolling on the ground and laughing too hard).

One of my favorites is the McDonald's Cash Register. This is just wrong on so many levels. I'm all for pretend play and we have a modest stash of play food, but encouraging your kid to pretend to serve and eat McDonald's fare seems ill advised at best. I think that's a career aspiration that most of us hope to avoid. And, although it's fun once in a while, probably not something that you want to promote as healthy eating habits. I think the Cookie Monster would agree that McDonald's is also a "sometimes food."

Another toy that made my brain hurt was the Fur Real Friend Bird. How cute! A little toy bird that you can adopt and feed ... with a bottle. A bottle?? I think that might be a step backwards for lactivists everywhere when even baby birds dolls come equipped with bottles.

The dolls and doll gear is also pretty amusing. The last thing I want to do after potty training two children is buy a doll that pees its pants and needs to learn how to use the potty. And, after struggling to rid my house of baby gear that has been outgrown and is no longer needed, the last thing I'm going to do is buy a miniature version of all the ridiculous, space-eating items that come along with a newborn baby. I can deal with a dolly stroller, but dolly can sleep in the corner with the rest of the toys, because I'm not letting another Pack and Play (miniature or otherwise) cross my doorstep.

It might just be me, but the giant mechanical animals also creep me out. I wished for a horse (and a puppy) about year single year (in fact, I still do), but a FurReal Friend Pony just wouldn't have fit the bill. I also suspect that there will be a lot of expensive, animatronic clothes horses hanging around in a few months' time.

In the future, I'm afraid my poor kids might be fated to be the only kids in their class without the latest ridiculous toy. But, they'll have to take comfort in their building blocks and books and sensible play things. Or, maybe my resolve will crumble after all -- I never could stand tears. ;)

Snow Day

2008-12-19T17:53:00.001-05:00

Max and Molly have been begging me to go outside and play in the snow since they saw the first snowflakes fall some time in November (or, as Max put it, "I want to play in the snow and make footprints and make snow angels and a snow man and ..."). But, we haven't had enough snow to actually play in, so their snow pants, snow mittens, and boots have been languishing in the closet. Well, Molly's boots haven't been languishing, since she loves them and wears them around the house on a regular basis.

When the weather channels started predicting a giant snowstorm, I kind of rolled my eyes and ignored them, since they usually make much ado about nothing. But, when I heard the big kids fervently hoping that they WOULD have school tomorrow (since Big Brother had his Christmas Party and Big Sister had the last of her finals), I figured that the situation demanded that they kids would get a snow day on the one day that they didn't want it.

And, for once, we actually got all the snow they predicted and then some. We woke up to a world of white and more snow was steadily falling. I think we ended up with 10 inches or so of quality snow. Given the state of the weather and the roads, I opted to take PTO and give myself a snow day. Although the little kids had been chomping at the bit all morning to get out and play in the snow, we waited until after lunch and after naps before we ventured out into the cold.

Getting two small children suited up to play in the snow is a time consuming feat. It probably takes almost a half an hour to "put on lots of stuff" (as Molly puts it). There is always the pre-dressing potty break, since the last thing you want to do after you wrestle a two year old into full snow regalia is take it back off again when they realize they have to pee. The boots and hats and mittens always seem to wander off, since Molly likes to play dress up with them. And it's hard to convince small children to help you get them dressed when they are TOO excited about going outside to play.

We eventually all got dressed, including Big Brother, and made it outside. Molly had an easier time getting around in the snow this year, but it was still difficult for her, especially because the snow was so deep. She was also bundled up so well that she was experiencing "The Christmas Story" phenomenon -- when she fell over she couldn't get back up by herself. Max, however, was in his element and was running all over the place.

Max remembered how to make snow angels and we quickly taught Molly. While Max was running around with Big Brother, Molly was content to just plop herself down in the snow and hang out. Max was also introduced to the grand fun of a snowball fight and doggedly tried to make snowballs and fling snow in everyone's general direction. The snow was too light for packing, so it was a pretty unsuccessful snowball battle. ;)

It always strikes me as amusing that it takes 30 minutes to get everyone dressed to play in the snow, we play outside for maybe a half hour, and then come back inside and spend 15 minutes getting undressed. I'm not quite sure we're getting a good return on investment there, but the kids have so much fun. Of course, once we come inside from a good snow session, hot cocoa must be made and consumed. Max remembered that marshmallows in hot chocolate are a must and whipped cream is also a nice touch. Molly was delighted by the whole hot chocolate ritual, since she was too little to really partake last year.

It was nice to have a little snow day of my own and now we have a whole weekend of snow fun ahead of us. Max and Molly are already asking to go outside and play in the snow again!

Deck the Halls

2008-12-17T23:12:00.002-05:00

As promised, we actually managed to get our Christmas tree, set it up, AND decorate it with more than a few days to spare before Christmas. In preparation for the tree decorating event, Dad and I took all of the kids to the local Hallmark store to pick out new ornaments for the tree. Max and Molly were fascinated by all the ornaments and had trouble making their selection. This was actually the first year that Molly went along for the ride -- in previous years she was too little (and usually already in bed) and stayed home with Dad.

I had been getting both Max and Molly "age" ornaments from a certain Hallmark ornament series. I didn't realize that they were discontinuing the series last year, so I'll have to cruise around the net if I want to complete their sets (grumble). So, they had free rein this year -- Max ended up picking out a Buzz Lightyear ornament (which had a button and made noise -- his favorite!), while Molly picked out a Tinkerbell ornament. Big Brother went for a Pirates of the Caribbean piece, while Big Sister went off the beaten path and picked a pretty glass ornament. I found a Max the Wild Thing ornament and tried to nudge Max into picking that one, but when he opted for Buzz I bought it for myself.

Although we weren't decorating the tree until the following Sunday, Max and Molly HAD to open their ornaments and hang them on the tree. They love to look at them and talk about them and I think I've heard Buzz Lightyear's sound effects about a million times already. Molly loves her Tinkerbell -- the other day she pointed to it and said, "Look, Mama. It's like me. It's Tinkerbell!" After her Halloween costume, she obviously identifies with the saucy little fairy. On Max's last day of school, he brought home a Christmas gift for Mama and Daddy -- a little angel ornament that he'd made at school(with a little help from his teachers). We have another one just like it that Big Brother made when he was three!

On Sunday, Max "helped" me put the lights on the tree while Molly was napping. He had a blast, even though it probably took me twice as long to get them on the tree! This was also the first year that Molly was able to help decorate the tree and she LOVED it. Max liked hanging the ornaments on the tree himself, but Molly preferred to pick them out, hand them to a bigger person, and instruct them where to hang it on the tree. The little kids were bummed when there weren't any ornaments left to put on the tree. We played our usual Christmas mix CD while we trimmed the tree (and discovered that Molly LOVES "Jingle Bells") and then made the traditional hot cocoa. Max and Molly loved their "coffee," especially the whipped cream.

To round out the Christmas festivities, Max and Big Brother performed in the Children's Service at church/school tonight. Max and his preschool class have been practicing "Away in a Manger" for the past couple of months -- Max and I had been singing it every night before bed, so he knew it pretty well. We play a lot of games where we make up songs, so Max was more than able to make up any words he might forget! We took him to school, dropped him off at his classroom, and went into the chapel to wait for the start of the service. It was fun to watch him walk in with all the other preschoolers and line up at the front of the church. He looked so small standing up there with the other kids! He did well and behaved himself, but was delighted/relieved when Big Sister fetched him back to our seats when his song was over.

The rest of the service was a bit of a fiasco -- it had the misfortune of beginning when Max and Molly usually go to bed. So, both kids were really overtired and ornery (especially Molly) and it was a bit of a challenge to keep them under wraps for the rest of the hour and a half service. Dad and I were foolish enough not to bring any snacks or activities and to forgot Molly's "bubbie" lovey in the car. So, Molly spent half of the service mournfully telling me that she wanted to go home. Max amused himself by "reading" all the notes in the hymnal, when he wasn't being a total wiggle butt. Dad and I had originally hoped to take in the county light show on the way home, but we were all so tired and burnt out that we went right home and put everyone right to bed. Maybe we'll make it next year. ;)

A Visit to the North Pole

2008-12-13T23:55:00.002-05:00

Although Max and Molly had an impromptu visit with Santa at the tree nursery, we still wanted to take them on an official visit to the North Pole. Last year, on a friend's recommendation, we took them to an area farm that puts on a great Christmas show. And, unlike having to face the horrors of THE MALL, this place is clean and fun, the decorations are great, and it isn't overcrowded. The staff is exceptionally nice and the whole trip just gives you a warm, fuzzy, Christmas-y feeling. So, this year we decided to head back there for our visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

We told Max and Molly that we were going to visit Santa and they were both really excited. Max is now at the age where he can really enjoy and appreciate holidays, which makes it all the more fun for Mama and Daddy. He also apparently remembers our visit last year, because he was talking about what we did, what we saw, and especially remembered that he got a candy cane from Santa (and this was before we spotted Santa at the nursery). Needless to say, on a 15-minute drive, Max reminded us that he wanted to see Santa about 1,303 times.

When we got there, we had to keep Max from running across the parking lot. The building was all decorated for Christmas and they had a whole bunch of animated/singing/musical animals and decorations inside, which both the kids thought were a little strange at first, but then thought were totally entertaining. We went upstairs to see Santa, ogled at all the music and lights and noise, and stood in the queue to see St. Nick. There was one little boy ahead of us, so we pretty much walked in and walked right up to see Santa and Mrs. Claus (after physically restraining Max from running up to Santa during the other little boy's visit). Molly was a little apprehensive, but content to sit on Mrs. Claus' lap. Max was busy chatting with Santa, checking out the decorations, and doing everything but looking at the photographer (or Mama, who also brought her camera). Of course, once Santa brought out the candy canes, even Molly was all smiles.

After our visit with Santa, we headed downstairs to get some fresh doughnuts and cider (in spite of Max's protests that he wanted to see Santa again). This was apparently the highlight of the trip for Molly, who inhaled her doughnut and was soon asking for another. We walked around a bit and checked out the Christmas trees and decorations, then headed back home because it was COLD. Max and Molly have been talking about their visit all evening, so I think it was a success (especially the candy canes, which they devoured as soon as we got home).

A Little Star

2008-12-10T18:12:00.006-05:00

Do to some recent furniture rearranging in the living room (to accommodate the Christmas tree), Max and Molly have been enjoying sitting and looking out our front window. Tonight before bed, Max was sitting there gazing outside, and I asked him what he was doing.

"I'm wishing," he answered.

"Oh? What are you wishing on?"

"Just a little star."

For some reason, that just made me tear up -- I don't even know what put that into his head. Little does he know that he's a wish come true all by himself ...

In Search of a Tree

2008-12-08T21:12:00.007-05:00

Since we've resolved to actually get our Christmas stuff done early (or earlier) this year, we took Max and Molly out to find a Christmas tree yesterday. I think this makes the first time we've had a tree more than a week before Christmas ... yay, us! It was really cold (low 20s), so I bundled up the kids like Randy in A Christmas Story. They might have been wider than they were tall, but at least they were warm! Happily, it has snowed the night before, so we had just enough snow on the ground to make everything extra Christmas-y.

The nursery had some pygmy goats and a calf that the kids could visit with -- Max and Molly were thrilled to say the least. Max stared chatting the baby cow up ("Hi buddy! How are you?"), while Molly started singing the Wiggles "I'm a Cow" song to it (complete with the appropriate hand movements). The calf much have enjoyed our company, because he started lowing when we left, to the kids' great delight.

As we made our way over to the tree lot, we quickly discovered that the selection of trees is much better if you start looking more than three days before Christmas. No Charlie Brown tree for us this year! The kids were fascinated by all the Christmas trees and it didn't take us long to find the perfect one. While Dad staked out the tree and later helped tie it to the car, Max, Molly, and I ran around the nursery and oohed and aahed at all the Christmas decorations (and I think I said, "Just look, don't TOUCH" about 2,384 times ;).

The highlight of the trip was that Santa Claus was also at the nursery! The kids spotted him from across the room, shrieked "Santa!!!," and ran to him with open arms. Max chatted Santa up, as per usual, while Molly just kind of sat there and stared (I promise they aren't as traumatized as they look). Of course, the fact that Santa gave them each a candy cane as they were leaving endeared him to them forever.

We set the tree up in the living room and Max immediately wanted to know where the tree lights and the "Christmas tree toys" (ornaments) were. He even remember which light switch we used last year to turn the tree on and off. Hopefully he can wait a couple of days, because we're not planning to trim the tree until Sunday.

Gamer's Love Song

2008-12-01T20:05:00.003-05:00

If I wasn't a total gamer geek already, I think this might win me over:

Or maybe it was just the spiffy mustache ...

Ever Thankful

2008-11-27T20:10:00.001-05:00

This year, given the trials and hardship that people all over the country (not to mention the world) are facing, I'm extra thankful for all the "normal" stuff -- I'm thankful that Dad and I both have jobs. I'm thankful that we have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our back. I'm thankful for all of our friends and family that have loved us and supported us over the years (and continue to do so).

I'm thankful that my husband never forgets to tell me how much he loves me. He always lets me know that I'm still the apple of his eye and makes me feel special and beautiful ... even when I'm wearing sweats, haven't showered, and haven't had a full night's sleep in four years. I'm also thankful for my parents -- I never fully appreciated them until I had my own kids, but I think they did a bang-up job.

I'm thankful for coffee ... really and truly. And ice cream. Both at the same time is even better!

And, even though it is the "normal" stuff, I'm really thankful for my kids ... every single day. I can't ever take them for granted because it would have just taken the tiniest tip of the scale and they might not have been here at all.

It Worked!

2008-11-04T23:43:00.001-05:00

Rocker for Hire

2008-10-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

Master guitar player available for weddings, bar mitzvahs, graduations, office parties, and preschool play groups. His ultra cool style is complemented by his boyish good looks. In addition to the guitar, artist is proficient on pots and pans, LeapFrog Learn and Groove Alphabet Drum, kazoo, and tambourine, and is a master at playing on Mama's nerves. He boasts a number of original songs, including "Starfish Cool," "Runaway, Runaway," and "The Mermaid Song." Prefers to take payment in milk and cookies.

Whose Jong?

2008-10-25T13:31:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been playing a mahjong game on the computer when I want to chill out. Both kids seem to be mildly interested in it, especially because there are sound effects when you match up the tiles. Max came up to me this morning and we had this conversation:

"Mama, what are you doing?"

"I'm playing mahjong."

To which he replied, "No, Mama, it's not YOU jong, it's MY jong!"

Ahhh, to be three again and rule the world! ;)

School Boy

2008-10-23T23:21:00.002-04:00

This week marked another "first" for the books -- Max's first official school pictures arrived! They were taken in the beginning of the month and it was a pretty painless process -- we walked in, sat down, snapped a couple of pictures, and we were done. The hardest part about the whole thing was trying to prevent Max from testing out the photographer's equipment ... especially when the photographer made the mistake of showing Max the "picture" in the back of the camera (at which point Max noticed that the camera had all kind of fun buttons, just like Mama's camera!). Of course, I was checking out the photographer's gear too, although I refrained from actually pushing any buttons. I think Max looks a lot older in his picture than he actually is -- he sure doesn't look three!

Since our first day of school pictures are being held hostage by our new computer (which is in the shop), I haven't had a chance to talk about how Max is doing in preschool. To say that he is absolutely loving it is a bit of an understatement -- he only goes to preschool twice a week (for two hours a day), but he wants to go every day. He loves his teachers and every day when he walks in he goes up to them and says, "Hello Mrs. P--, hello Mrs. C--!!" He also likes to play with all the "little girls and boys" (I don't think he knows his classmates names yet). His teachers say that he's doing well -- he plays nicely with the other children, does well with group activities, and is a very friendly, huggy little boy.

The only downside to school is that he doesn't nap on the days he goes to school and by the end of the day he is one tired, cranky little boy. Usually you can get him to tell you about what he did at school, but lately his new stock response to those questions is, "Hmmmm, I don't know." Rats, I thought we had until at least middle school before had to deal with that one!

Bittersweet

2008-10-19T15:56:00.005-04:00

After two years, two months, and two weeks of nursing, Molly has officially weaned. As of Friday, it's been a full week since she nursed and it went even better than I could have hoped. Molly hadn't been doing more than comfort nursing for months, so it was more a matter of habit and ritual than sustenance for her. Dad was off for a full week, so I had him get up with her in the morning, which was one of her usual nursing times. By the time he went back to work, I just started either tucking her back in or getting up with her when she woke up and she never even batted an eye. I'd still been nursing her briefly before bed, but since cutting out the morning session went so well, we went cold turkey on the bedtime session.

The first night she asked to nurse and fussed for about 30 seconds when I tried to distract her. I offered to hold her and sing her a song and she happily climbed into my lap and asked me to sing the Dora theme song (*aye*). The second night she was uber crabby and had a 60-second meltdown when she realized we weren't going to nurse. Once again, she was placated by the offer of a song and a cuddle. After the first two nights, she didn't even ask again -- she hopped into my lap, snuggled right up, and started in on the song requests. It was pain and trauma free for Molly, which was all I ever wanted.

You'd think that after over four years straight of being pregnant and/or nursing that I'd be happy to have my body back. And I am. But there's another part of me that's really sad to lose that special bond with my baby. Who, although I hate to admit it, isn't really a baby any more! Even though I know it's ridiculous, there's a part of me that worries that she won't NEED me any more, since I don't have something special to offer her. It was the ultimate ace up my sleeve, since it was something only we could share. Now I'm just a regular, old parent, without any mama superpowers.

Nursing was one of the hardest things I've ever done (at least in the beginning), but it was also one of the most rewarding. I'm proud that I could give such a valuable gift to my children. But, now, I think I'm going to go have a glass of wine ... or two. ;)

Bad Computer Mojo

2008-10-16T23:29:00.003-04:00

Sooo, a motherboard replacement, a few hours on the phone with tech support, and much frustration later, we're still without a working new computer. We had to ship the darn thing back to California so that tech support could tinker with it. The good news is that they received it -- the bad news is that it isn't due back to us for a couple of weeks. Given that it is holding some pictures of mine hostage, I'm falling even more disgustingly behind on photo and blog posts. At this rate, I'm just going to have to start blogging sans pictures and add them in later. But, to blatantly misquote Alice, "What is the use of a blog without pictures?"

We also seem to have pinpointed the source of our computer misfortune ... me. My work laptop decided to throw it's hat into the ring and corrupted itself this week, so I'm now without a fully functioning home computer OR a fully functioning work computer. Bah! It's almost funny ... except that it's not!

"I Cannot Be-LIEVE It!"

2008-09-22T22:00:00.002-04:00

If you've seen as many Little Einsteins episodes as I have, that phrase is all too familiar, and it pretty much sums up my day. I was trying to avoid posting this entry, hoping I would have finally caught up on my back blogging/photoing by now, but it seems that the Fates are conspiring against me. I know I mentioned our computer troubles previously, and it appears that our technology woes are not yet over. Not only did was our new computer defective and the replacement that Dell sent unacceptable, but the newest new computer (that we ordered from an entirely different company) decided to go on strike after less than a month of use. I know I'm hard on my computers, but sheesh! Sooooo, I'll be posting some back blogs and back photos when/if I can wrestle them back from our sorry excuse for a souped up 'puter (that is if I survive another round with tech support). So, stay tuned to hear about Molly and Big Sister's birthday party! Find out how Max handled his first day of preschool! Learn even more about the toileting habits of my children! See what (silly, lame) thing we cooked up for International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Try to hide your excitement. ;)

It Be Talk Like a Pirate Day -- Arrr!

2008-09-19T22:08:00.006-04:00

Arrr, since pirates be part o' our day t' day life (thanks be t' Captain Feathersword and Captain Hook), we thought we needed t' recognize International Talk Like a Pirate Day, gar!

Aye, and, o' course, I had t' find out what kind o' pirate I'd make:

My pirate name is:

Iron Bess Read

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

He Has My Vote!

2008-09-10T22:10:00.001-04:00

First Day of Preschool

2008-09-04T22:15:00.004-04:00

Max had his first day of preschool today. He was so excited and talked about it all morning. I had a hard time getting any good pictures of him at school, because all he wanted to do was beeline to his classroom (and ignore that pesky Mama with the camera). He walked in, said hi to his teacher, and he and Molly made a beeline for the playdough table. Max didn't blink when we said goodbye and left, but Molly really wanted to stay and play with all the fun toys. I think Molly had a harder time of it than Max did -- while he was at school she kept asking where he was and saying, "I want my Max."

When we came to pick him up, he was sitting at a table with the rest of the kids eating snack -- he looked so big sitting there. He didn't even seem all that glad to see us -- he was too busy trying to charm another little boy's mom into letting him mess with her camera. He did have a bit of that "deer in the headlights look" when we came to collect him -- I think he was really tired. He told us all about his day and he already said he wants to go see Mrs. P- (his teacher) again. When we went to orientation, only four boys total (including Max) were signed up for Pre-3. As it turned out, the class size has already grown from the original four boys to eight kids (with at least three little girls now), so I'm happy about that.

I have to say, it was totally weird to drive away from the school, knowing that I had _left_ my little boy behind. He's never been in the care of anyone except Dad, myself, and the grandmas -- it was hard to leave and trust someone else to look after him. I'm so glad he did well and enjoyed his first day. Preschool apparently wore him out, though -- I put both kids in bed before 7 and didn't hear a peep out of them for the rest of the night. *sniff* My baby is growing up too fast! I can't believe we'll be sending Molly off to school next year!

Pre-School

2008-09-04T12:00:00.001-04:00

We'd love to stay around and chat, but ...

See you after preschool!

Big Potty

2008-08-24T23:46:00.001-04:00

Max has been doing a great job pooping on his little bear potty ever since we got back from our vacation. But, in the interest of having to deal with as little poop as possible, Dad and I have been trying to encourage Max to use the potty insert on the "big potty." Of course, Max being Max, he was quite content with his little bear potty and had absolutely no interest in pooping on the big potty, in spite of the fact that he virtually always pees on the big potty now. Even though our efforts have been unsuccessful, we'd keep trying to encourage him to use the big potty, while trying not to turn him off of the pooping on the potty business altogether (because, let's face it – poop in the little potty is far better than poop in the diaper ;). So, today, I thought I'd give it another shot, but try a different approach. Max's potty success to date has really been a result of a low-pressure approach – if you give him an ultimatum ("you have to sit here and poop on the potty") he usually resists, but if you just make him go through the motions, with no pressure to actually do something, he usually ends up doing it.

So, just like with Max's initial potty training, I just started putting him on the big potty for a few minutes at a time and just telling him he had to sit there until the timer went off. Toward the end of the day, when I knew he had to go, I got a handful of M&Ms and started bribing him to fart. Of course, where there is smoke, there is usually fire, so he ended up pooping on the big potty before he knew it. After we cleaned him up, Max peered into the toilet to inspect his work, saw the big poop and the little poop, and squealed, "Mama, look!! There's a baby poop and there's a mama poop!" Once again we made a big deal out of his potty success and he not only go to eat the remainder of the M&Ms, he also got to spend some time on Noggin. He was very proud to tell Dad about his "big poop on the big potty" when Dad woke up.

Max has been happily pooping on the big potty all weekend and enjoying his computer time rewards. Mama has been enjoying not having to clean up poopy diapers OR clean poop out of little potties. Given that we now have two kids who are virtually potty trained, this might be one of the last poop-centric post you all get to read. ;) But, since I know potty training is a subject of great interest to parents in general, I thought I'd send it out there!

Birthday Girls

2008-08-10T23:54:00.001-04:00

We usually have separate birthday celebrations for each kid, but with our vacation timing this year and school starting earlier, we asked the girls if they would mind having a joint birthday celebration (since their birthdays are only ten days apart). Molly, of course, was all for it (I think the translation of her response would be something along the lines of, "You had me at cake ...") and Big Sister didn't mind sharing the limelight with her little sis. So, right after we got back from our trip up north, it was time to start the party prep!

Although they had to share a party, each girl did get their very own birthday cake. Big Sister requested my chocolate coffee cheesecake and the extent of Molly's request was, "Cake! CHOCOLATE cake!" Since Molly's very favorite book right now is Goodnight, Gorilla, I decided to use that as a cake theme. She's also in love with the Wiggles, but I couldn't quite bring myself to make her a Wiggles birthday cake. I had to start the cake creation a couple of days before the party, especially since Big Brother, Big Sister, Grandma, and I had plans to see Daisy May (better known as Aunt May around our house) and Seth Bernard perform at a local venue. Dad offered to stay home and babysit, so I took the big kids out on the town – we walked through the campus of my alma mater, saw some of the local sites, and stopped at my favorite ice cream joint (of course, the weather was awful, so we ended up tromping around in the rain). The concert was great and we all enjoyed ourselves, although the cakes were waiting for me when I got home. ;)

We managed to get the house in order, the cakes finished, and everything ready to go before the party started. It was just a family party with the grandparents, aunts, and great aunts, but everyone had a good time. We got pizza and salad from our favorite pizza place, which made both girls happy. Molly and Max insisted that a party just wasn't a party without "party hats" – I had actually gotten some but forgotten to get them out, so it was a good thing that they remembered!

After dinner, it was time for presents. Molly had already opened her presents from Dad and Mama on her actual birthday and Big Sister's birthday present was a bedroom renovation (complete with a girly shopping expedition), but there were still plenty of gifts that needed opening. Molly was much more interested in opening presents than she was on her actual birthday, and, once again, Max was more than willing to lend a helping hand. Molly was especially thrilled with the tutu and flower headband from Grandma and Grandpa – she immediately insisted that we help her put them on and then danced around declaring she was "like a ballerina" (Angelina Ballerina has been another favorite book lately).

Max actually didn't seem to be too jealous that he didn't have a pile of his own presents to open, although he was thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa brought him his very own present – a new Elmo backpack (Molly got her very own backpack as well). Big Sister enjoyed her gifts and was a good sport about all the present opening "help" that she had.

The kids helped clean up the present opening mess and it was time to break out the cakes. Both Max and Molly loved the Goodnight, Gorilla cake and they both knew exactly what it was (Molly started saying, "Good night, good night, good night!" as soon as she saw the decorations on the sides). Molly was really excited to blow out her candles, although she did need a little help from Dad (especially when she got distracted and managed to snag a finger full of frosting). After the candles were out, we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her, while she sat there looking quite pleased to be the center of attention.

Big Sister managed her candles all by herself and after we finished singing to her, we started passing out the cake. Max and Molly devoured their chocolate cake and were slightly disappointed when their requests for "more cake!" were denied. After all the sugar was consumed, the presents played with, and the mess under control, it was time for bath and bed and some R&R for Dad and Mama. Whew, we survived another round (or two) of birthdays!

Vacation!

2008-08-09T21:06:00.003-04:00

Since we hadn't taken anything resembling a "real" summer vacation since before Max was born, we thought we owed to the kids to make an attempt to go somewhere and do something. Given that the little kids are still too little for Dad and Mama to travel with enjoyably and given that the sky-high gas and food prices are putting a crimp in our budget, we thought a visit up North to see the Papas would make for a nice little trip. Although I spent the weeks leading up to the trip making lists, doing laundry, and shopping for vacation items, the packing wasn't all too bad (of course, that might be because Dad and I left a lot of it until the morning that we left ;). As the little kids get older, we don't need to drag around quite as much stuff. We left the stroller at home, grabbed a potty insert, threw in the Pack and Play and we were good to go! We actually managed to get all six people and all of our luggage into the car without too much pain and suffering.

The kids were pretty good on the ride up, thanks to lots of snacks and the portable DVD player (although I had songs for "Madame Blueberry" stuck in my head for days). They were overjoyed when we got to Papa's house and were able to say hi to everyone, reacquaint themselves with Papa's house, and discover all the fun toys that Grandma had brought out for the occasion. We had a nice afternoon and evening, but, since neither Max nor Molly had napped all day, it soon became apparent that they needed to go to bed pronto! Unfortunately, they had other ideas.

Since both kids were staying in our room, we brought a Pack and Play for Molly to sleep in and made Max a little bed on the love seat. I figured that they'd be so tired that they'd zonk right out ... no such luck. After all of the usual shenanigans (screaming, crying, flailing, throwing lovies/blankies out of bed and then sobbing for them, etc.), I ended up having to lie down in bed with Molly until she drifted off, while grouching at Max to settle down and go to sleep. An hour and a half or so later they finally went to sleep. It would have been fine if they had stayed asleep, but Molly woke up a couple of times at night and began to fuss. Her crying woke Max up, who began crying because he was in a strange place. Molly ended up in bed with us for a while and both kids were up at the crack of dawn. Since I had been up with them in the night, Dad got up with them and took them downstairs to watch a video and let me get a little extra shut eye.

We had planned to take a day trip to Lake Michigan, but had decided to see what the weather forecast looked like before we set out. Unfortunately, Tuesday was looking fairly gloomy and rainy, so we opted to stick close to home base. Since Dad and I were wiped out after a night of crying babies, this was probably for the best anyway. We were able to visit with Aunt May and Uncle Michael, chat with Grandma and Grandpa, take a nice little walk, and even squeeze in some visiting time with my uncle, my cousin, and her husband. Although Molly took a nap, Max would not and by the end of the day he was SO tired. We gave them an early bath (which was a bit of a fiasco since Molly was so wiped out), tucked them in bed, and were relieved when they fell right to sleep.

As it turns out, they missed all the excitement. Dad was sitting around watching a movie when a bat came flying into the living room, circled around a few times, and flew out ... the bat must have been impressed by the film, because when he returned he'd brought a buddy with him. ;) After we assembled a proper bat council (consisting of me, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa) to determine how to escort the bats from the premises, we spent the next hour or so opening patio door in the room leading to the basement and creating elaborate barriers over the doorway/pass through that led to the rest of the house. We figured that the bats, having nowhere else to go, would fly out of the door during the night and go on their merry way. After all that excitement, I had to head off to bed and Dad soon followed.

The next day looked promising for a lake trip, so we gathered up all of our gear and headed over to the lake. As it turned out, the amount of stuff we deemed necessary for a day at the lake was pretty overwhelming: a big bag of snacks, the diaper bag, my camera, beach towels, a spread, a large water jug, a sun canopy, hats, sunglasses, a whole bag of sand toys, and a little hand cart to hold it all. This might not have been a big deal, except that the beach we were going to sported a 1.3 mile trek from the parking lot to the lake ... with a not-quite two year old and a three year old. It's one of my favorite beaches because there are never many people there (probably due to the hike) and I never really minded the walk. Max and Molly are both good walkers, so I thought we'd do ok.

As forgot (as I always do), that although one of the trails to the beach is only 1.3 miles, I don't think I've ever actually walked that trail. For some reason, the trail map and the actual trails don't seem to match up right and I always seem to end up on the trail that is 2+ miles. Thankfully, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Michael, Aunt May, Big Brother, and Big Sister were all along for the trek, so we had lots of extra hands to help out. Max had spotted the sand toys I bought a couple of days before we left and he was overjoyed when he saw us loading them onto the cart. He managed to make off with one of the buckets and shovels and insisted on carrying "my bucket" himself. Needless to say, this slowed him down a bit, since he kept trying to stop and "dig" in the dirt on the trail. All in all, the little kids were actually great sports -- Max walked almost the whole way himself and Molly walked more than half. We took turns carrying Molly when she started to put her little arms up and demand that "I hold you." I think Dad had the worst of the deal, since he ended up dragging the hand cart along and hand carts and sand don't play nicely together. We did eventually make it to the beach, found a nice spot, and set up "camp."

Max and Molly were so happy when we broke out the sand toys and happily started digging and playing. We dragged them both over to see the lake, but I think they were both a little intimidated by the "big water" and quickly went back to making sand castles. After a little while we thought we'd break out some snacks, since everyone was a little hungry. The little kids made a beeline for the food and were happy to eat some bananas and crackers. Max must have been hungrier than I thought, because after everyone else was finished noshing, he sat under the sun canopy and methodically worked his way through almost all of the remaining food. I guess all of that walking worked up a good appetite.

Once the resident seagulls realized we had food, they started gathering around the tent, much to Molly's delight. She spent a good part of the day running after seagulls saying, "I catch it! I catch it!" and being terribly disappointed every time she got too close and forced the seagull to fly away. Molly was braver about the water than Max and actually was willing to walk in it with us (and got her first official Lake Michigan dunking when a little wave caught her off guard (I was holding on to her)). Max liked to run along the edge and I coaxed him in a couple of times, but mostly he was content to stay on shore. He was delighted to discover that not only could he throw sand in the water, but he could fill his bucket full of water and pour it on the sand. He'd go over to the lake, fill up his bucket, and then walk very carefully back to his sand castle, holding his bucket in both hands and trying not to spill the water. It was so funny watching him walk with the bucket, because he'd hunch himself all over and walk like a little old man.

Uncle Michael was a good sport and let everyone bury him in the sand, which Max and Big Brother thought was a riot. When the little kids started getting tired, hungry, and crabby, we decided to pack everything up and head on back to the car. The walk back to the car was much harder than the walk to the beach. Max was happy to walk ... at a snail's pace. Molly didn't want much to do with walking at all and wanted me to hold her. So, we took turns with the babies and the hand cart and eventually made it back to the car -- hiking while carrying a 30-pound toddler on your shoulders is definitely one heck of a workout! We stopped for dinner on the way home and Max and Molly had their first experience with a public restroom (and, happily, both of them peed!). On the last leg of the journey we did run into a big rainstorm and I almost had to pull over a few times to wait it out. I was happy that the rain had waited until the evening and hadn't spoiled our lake trip. It was so nice to spend some time at the lake -- I love it and we hadn't been able to make it there since before Max was born.

When we got home we got everyone bathed and ready for bed, and Max and Molly were only too happy to fall asleep. After the big kids went up to bed, Dad and I sat around to watch a movie and unwind. I don't think we'd been sitting there for more than 10 minutes when a bat flew in ... followed by another bat. I have no idea how they made it past our bat barriers, but they apparently hadn't left the house the previous night. We opened up the doors again and this time we really did manage to shoo them back outside.

Everyone got a good night's sleep on the last night of our visit and we were all up bright and early the next morning. After breakfast, we all piled in the car and headed out to my uncle's house -- he lives in the country and has some nice land and a pond and Grandpa wanted to take the kids out and show them how to catch some frogs. Max was happy to be going for a walk and was very interested in the pond and the frogs. We caught a little leopard frog right away and then found a bunch of big green frogs in the pond. The kids had fun looking at them -- Molly kept saying, "I touch it! I touch it!" and trying to touch the frog's eyes. We had to convince her to pet its head instead.

We all got a good laugh because while she was petting the frog, Molly leaned right over and gave it a kiss. She must really be her mother's daughter, because when I was little, I had horrified a neighbor girl by doing much the same thing. When I was young, we used to catch frogs or toads or whatnot, keep them in an aquarium for a couple of days, and then release them. Apparently, I was showing the girl the two toads we had caught (which, if I remember correctly, I had named Starbuck and Apollo, being a huge Battlestar Galatica fan at the time), and, after picking up one toad in each hand, gave them each a big kiss. I'm not sure the girl ever quite recovered ... ;)

As an added treat, Grandpa also found and caught a little ribbon snake. All the kids got a good look at it and Max held it for a minute. He liked the snake, but thought holding it was a little weird -- he said it was "too stinky." Molly would have loved to hold it, but we couldn't trust her to be gentle enough. The kids all got to try their hand at frog catching -- Molly gave it a good try, Max preferred to watch, and Big Brother almost caught one before it gave him the slip. After the frog outing, we headed back to pack up the car and hit the road.

The trip back was LONG -- the little kids didn't sleep much and we managed to run into some awful construction that added about 45 minutes on to an already long trip. Molly pretty much fussed and screeched for the last half hour. It was a nice little vacation and it was fun to see everyone, but was good to be home. It was nice to have an easy bedtime and some sleeping babies!

Poo Poo in the Potty!

2008-08-03T21:57:00.002-04:00

I know it seems like all I blog about these days is pee and poop, but ... all I blog about IS pee and poop! With Max's preschool start date looming ever closer, lately potty business is the main focus of our day. You know all those jokes about how after you have kids, the most meaningful conversations you have with your spouse revolve around the contents of baby diapers? Those jokes are funny because they're all too true. :P I think potty training might be the most stressful baby/kid stage so far.

But, I think we're getting awfully close to the finish line. Max is doing a great job with the peeing – he's even peeing in the big potty now. We still weren't making any progress with the pooping, except for the fact that Max really didn't want to poop in his underwear. We'd catch him holding his behind, although he'd deny that he had to poop. I knew that if I could get him to poop on the potty a couple of times that he'd get over his resistance and get used to the idea. Finally, yesterday every time I caught him clutching his rear, he had to go sit on the potty. I'd put him on the potty and we'd sit and sit and sit. After a little while we'd give up and try again. He finally had to go so bad that he started to go in his undies, but stopped himself.

Since Molly was napping, Max and I set up camp in the bathroom and I decided that we were going to hang out on the potty until he pooped. I talked and wheedled and bribed and begged, but he didn't want to poop. I finally decided to sit there and read my book and ignore him for a little bit. Lo and behold, as soon as I stopped pestering him for a few minutes, he did a big poop! He was SO happy and I made a really big deal out of his potty success. We still had leftover cupcakes from Molly's birthday, so we had another potty party – Max got to blow out a candle on half of a cupcake while I sang, "Happy Poo Poo to You." Max then was allowed to play on the Noggin website, which he considers a huge treat.

Today's poop attempt was much the same as yesterday's, but it only took about half as long for a successful outcome. We had another little party and another computer time reward. Max is VERY proud of himself and I'm so pleased with his progress. Of course, now we're about to head out on vacation, which will probably stall our progress. But, at least we're finally making progress!

Birthday Fun

2008-08-02T21:05:00.004-04:00

Happy birthday to you, my Molly! As always, I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. When I look back at her birthday pictures from last year, Molly was such a chubby, dumpling of a baby. Now she's so much taller and leaner and so very much a little girl. Since I didn't get to hold and cuddle and love on my babies when they were born, I always make it a point to take a vacation day on their birthdays so I can spend the day with them. They're too little to care much now, but I think it will be a nice tradition as they get older.

When she woke up, Molly was happy (and a little confused) to be greeted with Mama's rendition of "Happy Birthday." Molly and I were the first ones downstairs, and I enjoyed some one-on-one time with my little girl. I also couldn't resist giving her one of her presents early – she loves gorillas and I found her the cutest little stuffed gorilla. She immediately snuggled it and gave it a hug and carried around her "barilla" for the rest of the morning. When Max got up, I made pancakes with fresh blueberries for breakfast (one of Molly's favorites) and Molly (and Max) thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

When Dad got home from work, it was time to open presents! Both Max and Molly had already spotted the presents on the shelf in the library and were chomping at the bit to get their hands on them. Max kept thinking that it was his birthday and his presents and seemed a little disappointed that we were making so much fuss about Molly. But, he didn't let that get him down for long and was generally happy to join in the birthday fun. The first present that Molly opened (with help from Max) was a little plastic tea set that I had gotten for her. I thought she would like it, but it was an even bigger hit than I expected – she demanded that we open it then and there and immediately set to making tea. Molly was having so much fun passing out cups and saucers (color coordinated, of course) and pouring tea that she wanted nothing to do with the rest of her presents. We let her play for a while and she eventually deigned to open the rest of the gifts, with Max assisting with the tearing of paper and opening of boxes. Molly got a Mr. Potato Head, some wooden play food, a Magnadoodle, a Bee-Bop Band set (which she was originally supposed to get for Christmas), a Good Night Gorilla book and toy, and a new Wiggles DVD. There was also an extra Magnadoodle for Max, as well as a copy of Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too (to his great delight).

Since we had big afternoon plans, I tried to get M&M down for a nap before lunch. Max didn't nap, but Molly managed to get in a short snooze before I had to get everyone up and feed them. After lunch, Grandma came over and we headed off to a local children's museum (after spending a ridiculous amount of time putting on shoes, going potty, brushing hair, etc.). A friend had given us some passes for the museum (thank you!!) and I thought Molly's birthday would be a great excuse for an outing. Although Max and Molly have been doing great on the potty training front, we haven't taken them outside of the house without diapers for longer trips. So, since I wasn't feeling terribly brave, they both had to wear Pull-Ups.

I've been to the children's museum many times, but not at all recently. They've done a lot of remodeling and expanding since I was there last and it was even cooler than I remembered. We managed to snag a great parking spot and walked right in (after I led everyone around to the old entrance, only to discover that the new entrance is now around the corner!). To say that this place is little kid paradise is an understatement -- a whole building where kids can touch everything, push buttons, pull levers, climb on things, etc. is every 2 and 3 year olds dream outing. It was a good thing we had lots of extra hands (thanks to Grandma and Big Brother and Big Sister), because Max and Molly were really good at taking off in opposite directions.

The kids were impressed with the musical stairs on the way in, but Max and Molly (especially Molly) LOVED the giant water table. They had step stools for the little kids, lots of toys, and lots of water -- the water table stretched all the way across a very large room. I think Molly would have been happy to stay there all day -- we had to drag her away from it. There were levers and gears and gadgets and buttons and even a mini tornado. Max was very impressed by the big ambulance that you could climb in and explore (although the competition for the driver's seat was pretty fierce).

When we went upstairs, there was a little climbing wall, a giant piano on the floor (think Big), an observation hive of real bees, and even a giant bubble maker. One of the big hits upstairs was the little TV studio, complete with a green screen, and the "dance studio" where you could see your silhouette on a giant screen with different funky backgrounds -- your very own iPod commercial! After a couple of hours there, the little ones started to get tired and cranky and it was time to head home. We stopped at the water table on the way out and let Molly play some more while Max checked out the train table.

By the time we got home, it was time to start whipping up Molly's gourmet birthday dinner. We thought we'd honor her late-night meal request at the drive in, so it was hot dogs, bananas, and cheeps (chips) on the menu, with birthday cupcakes subbing in for cookies (we also threw in some pickles and chip dip). To make the dinner even more special, I'd picked up some juice boxes, which are a much-sought-after (and rare) commodity at our house. Molly was so excited when she saw the juice box that she couldn't get into her high chair fast enough. She thoroughly enjoyed her meal. :)

After dinner we broke out the birthday cupcakes -- vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting (and, of course, sprinkles). Molly was a little confused about why we were all singing to her, but she seemed to enjoy the attention anyway. She blew out her birthday candles (with a little help from Dad) and dug into her cupcake. She really enjoyed her birthday treat, although she didn't finish it because she ate so much dinner (Max, however, devoured his and asked for more).

Molly and Max spent some more time playing with all the new toys before they were packed off to bed. After such an exciting day, it didn't take Molly long to fall asleep (with her new gorilla tucked in beside her). I guess being two is more exhausting than you might think! I'm sending my little girl sweet dreams -- I hope she had a very happy birthday.

Two Is ...

2008-08-01T09:25:00.004-04:00

dancing, spinning, singing songs
finally sleeping all night long
popping up to greet the day
wanting everything HER way
lost in worlds of lets pretend
willing games to never end
curled up, sleepy, in my lap
refusing, still, to take a nap
testing limits, learning how
much too big for diapers now
pudgy arms and joyful hugs
bouncing, laughing, full of love
jumping, both feet off the floor
not a baby any more

The New Computer That Wasn't

2008-07-28T23:00:00.002-04:00

Well, our exciting new computer adventure has turned into a royal headache. After receiving our new computer, setting it up, and transferring all of our files over to it, we discovered that, in addition to having the storage hard drive set up incorrectly, it had a faulty cooling fan. After HOURS on the phone will Dell tech support and some bad communication on their end, we discovered that a replacement computer was en route. Hoping that the new tower would solve our computer issues and we could get on with the business of actually USING the new computer, we anxiously awaited the replacement computer. After spending more hours scrubbing our data off the faulty computer and uninstalling our software, I wasn't really looking forwarding to setting up a new computer … again. The replacement computer arrived and we booted it up, only to discover that it had Windows Vista installed as the operating system, in spite of the fact that we had ordered and paid for a Windows XP installation. To add insult to injury, we also found that the storage hard drive had been incorrectly set up AGAIN.

To make a long and aggravating story short, after a few more hours with Dell tech support (and being transferred from one department to another and back again … several times), it seems that, oops, they goofed up with the storage drive installation again (which was fixable), but that they had neglected to inform us that all replacement PCs were shipped with Windows Vista, regardless of the fact that we didn't order and didn't WANT Vista (I told them that they had also neglected to tell us that they were shipping us a replacement computer at all – I only found out that they had when I called tech support back to check on the status of the issue). Since they could not or would not fix the operating system issue, we had the option of sucking it up and dealing with Vista (ugh) or sending the whole system back. Since I was beyond disgusted with Dell at this point, we opted to pack everything up and send it back.

So, Dell has lost a long-standing customer today and I've lost hours and hours of my precious "free" time. The only positive thing I can say about this experience is that they didn't give us much hassle about returning the computer and they paid for the return shipping (although we've yet to see our refund). That is the last computer I'll ever buy from Dell. Now it's time to start computer shopping (again)!

Going Strong

2008-07-24T22:58:00.002-04:00

After our weekend of amazing potty success, Monday didn't get off to such a great start. After being accident free all weekend, Monday was an oops-filled day. Molly started off with a double whammy – she both peed and pooped in her beloved Elmo underwear. As soon as I discovered the accident, Molly started saying, "Oh dear, oh dear! What are we gonna DO?" Although I wasn't too keen on cleaning up some dirty underwear, her commentary had me laughing out loud. While I was getting Molly cleaned up, Max was apparently having difficulties of his own. I came downstairs to find him standing in the corner with a mournful look on his face and some wet drawers. He was really bummed out that all of his "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" undies were now dirty and he had to make do with dinosaur underwear.

They both made it through the afternoon without mishap. Right before dinner, Molly was playing in the office while I was checking email. I heard the unfortunate sound of water hitting the Pergo, followed by another "Oh, dear!!" Molly was standing in the middle of the office with a lovely yellow puddle growing under her feet. When I went to grab her, she started to move and ended up slipping and sliding in the pee (it was like one of those cartoons where the character starts running and doesn't actually go anywhere). I managed to get a hold of her before she fell and, to her great embarrassment, carried her to the laundry room, stood her in the laundry sink, stripped off her "yucky" (as she called them) undies, and washed her off before putting her in clean clothes.

But, although the week got off to a rocky start, both kids have been doing great all week. Molly did have one other minor accident, but, to her credit, she told me she had to pee and I didn't believe her. She was eating dinner and had just gone on the potty before we started eating, so I didn't think she had to go and was waiting until she finished her meal. Max still won't poop in the potty, but Molly merrily poops and pees on both the little potty and the potty insert on the big toilet – you just have to make sure you plunk her on the potty often enough. Max seems to be able to hold it really well, but so far doesn't want to pee on the big potty or poop anywhere but his diaper. Potty training two kids at once is exhausting (and messy), but I think we really might be diaper free by the end of the summer.

Potty Time!

2008-07-21T23:57:00.001-04:00

Although Molly has been doing a great job on the potty over the last few weeks, Max was still showing zero interest in going on the potty himself (although he was more than happy to cheer Molly on). We haven't wanted to force the issue and have been waiting for him to show signs that he's ready for potty training, but we were starting to run out of time before the preschool potty training deadline. So, on Saturday morning, while Molly and Dad were napping, Max and I made a trip out to Target to pick out some cool, new "big boy" underwear.

Once we worked out way back to the baby section, Max immediately spotted the Curious George girls' underwear and declared that he wanted Curious George undies, but, unfortunately, they were out of the boys' version. So, he was given a choice between Thomas the Train, Elmo, and Mickey Mouse briefs. After much hemming and hawing, he declared that he wanted the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" underwear, which I thought was funny because I don't think he's ever even watched that show (we might have flipped past it a couple of times). I picked out some Elmo undies for Molly and she was also lucky enough to get some Curious George panties. I let Max pick out some animal crackers for himself and Molly, I grabbed a couple other things that were on the list, and we headed on home (after swinging by the coffee shop to pick up a cappuccino treat for Mama).

Once we got home, the Weekend of No Diapers officially began. Molly woke up shortly after we got home and was THRILLED with her Elmo undies. She happily put on a pair and proudly showed them off about every five minutes. Max was also pleased with his "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" briefs and seemed to take the "you can't pee or poop in your Mickey Mouse underwear" lecture to heart. I put some protective covers on the couch and let the kids loose. Every hour or so I declared that it was "potty time" – I'd set the timer on the stove for 3-5 minutes and M&M both had to go sit on the potty. They had to sit there until they peed or until the timer went off. Molly would sit down, pee, and be on her way in about 30 seconds. Max, on the other hand, would sit out his allotted potty time and then go on his merry way. As the afternoon wore on, you could tell that he had to pee. He'd sit there and hold his crotch, but vehemently deny that he had to go potty. We played and went to the park and goofed around and ate dinner, but Max didn't pee. When it was just about bedtime and Max was literally hopping around, I took him into the downstairs bathroom with me, sat him on the potty, and waited. We sat and sat and sat and sat until, finally, he started peeing. He peed and peed and peed and peed ... and he was sooo pleased with himself. We ran out to show Molly and Daddy his accomplishment. We cheered and danced and sang and had a "potty party," complete with "birthday cake" (half a ding dong with a candle stuck in it). Max went to bed a very proud and happy little boy.

On Sunday, it was the same thing – no diapers except for naptime and bedtime. Molly did great – pooping and peeing in the potty like a champ. Once again, Max held it. He peed while he was napping, but other than that he kept his undies dry all day. Once again, we were getting ready for bed and trying a last-ditch round of "potty time" – and he actually peed. It was time for Dad to go to work, so we ran into the bedroom, woke him up, and Max showed him his "big pee"! We flushed it and cleaned up and when we got back to the potty in the bedroom, Max said he wanted to go potty again (he NEVER asks to sit on the potty). So he sat down, concentrated, strained, and finally peed. And peed some more. And then some more. For the first time ever he was peeing on demand – it was like a lightbulb finally went off for him. We had to have another potty party before bed and Max was over the moon. We were hoping that he'd finally had the breakthrough that we'd been waiting for for the last year.

It looks like we're on the right track – today he peed on the potty three times and he does it faster every time. Yay, Max! Maybe we won't need to buy stock in diapers after all!

Drive In!

2008-07-13T21:45:00.001-04:00

As you might imagine, with two kids under the age of four, Dad and I don't get out very often. We probably only see a couple of movies a year in the theaters and usually regret going. It's always a little disappointing to spend a small fortune on movie tickets, only to spend the majority of the film struggling to hear the movie over the cell phones, loud conversations, and inane comments (not to mention the inevitable seat kicking). These days we just wait for movies to come out on DVD, Netflix them, and enjoy them in the comfort of our own home. But, since a nearby sports arena puts up a drive-in theater every summer, we thought we'd check it out this weekend.

Both Dad and I have fond memories of going to the drive in as kids. I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time at the drive in (which, of course, was a pivotal moment in the life of every aspiring geek of my generation ;). My parents have us put on our pjs, bring our sleeping bags and pillows, and we'd put down the back seats and get comfy in the back of the car. We would always make up a bunch of popcorn – remember that this was back when making popcorn at home involved heating some oil in a cast iron pan, pouring in the popcorn kernels, throwing a lid on it, and laboriously shaking the whole thing back and forth on the stove until the popcorn had finished popping. We'd put real melted butter on it, some salt, and transport it all in a brown paper grocery bag – it was the best! My sister and I would usually stay awake for the first movie and fall asleep during the second film.

Since neither Max nor Molly has even been to the theater, I guess this counts as their official first movie. We opted to see "Wall-E" and "The Incredible Hulk" – we thought both M&M would enjoy "Wall-E" and assumed that they would be asleep before the "The Incredible Hulk" started (since it wasn't really a movie I wanted them to watch). We gave the kids their baths, put them in their pjs, and packed lots of snacks and drinks. We told M&M we were going for a ride to see a "big TV" and they were VERY excited (especially Max). We got to the drive in early, hoping to get a good spot, but not really thinking about the fact that we would then have to keep M&M entertained until the movies started. We fed them snacks, let them climb around the car, and took them for a walk around the lot (until the mosquitoes drove us back to the car). We were obviously total drive in rookies, since most of the people there brought collapsible chairs, coolers, toys, etc. and really set up camp. The people in the car next to us even brought their puppy in a little portable kennel (to Max and Molly's great delight).

Right before the movie started, we brought them up front with us and let them sit on our laps (which resulted in them turning on the hazards, setting off the panic alarm, and hitting a bunch of other buttons before we got things under control ;). When the movie began, both kids were amazed by the "big TV." There was a short animated clip before "Wall-E" started, which the little kids LOVED. Max was laughing and squealing and clapping all the way through it. They enjoyed "Wall-E" – Max was intrigued by the "little robot" and the cockroaches. ;) It was a little "old" for them, however, and near the end of the movie both kids started getting crabby and fidgety (not surprising, considering it was already about four hours past their normal bedtimes). Max ended up climbing into the back seat and messing around back there for a while. After "Wall-E" ended and they started asking to watch it again, we told them they could watch more big TV, but they had to go sit in their car seats. They happily let us buckle them into their seats – both kids were sawing logs before the opening credits for "The Incredible Hulk" were finished.

Molly did wake up about a half an hour before the movie ended and decided not to go back to sleep. Dad and I managed to block her view of the screen for the rest of the movie, which didn't make her very happy. When the movie was over and the credit were rolling, Molly announced that she was hungry and she wanted to eat (this was after she consumed a good-sized dinner and huge quantities of snacks). We asked her what she wanted to eat and she thought a minute before answering, "Ummmm, hot dogs ... bananas ... cheeps (chips) ... cookies!" I guess now we know what Molly's ideal meal is! As we were driving home, Molly started waving and saying, "Bye bye, big TV. Bye bye!" We carried them home, plunked them in bed, and they went right to sleep. Although Max slept in until 8:30 the following morning, Molly was up with the sun and cranky as all get out. Thankfully, she took a nice nap, although it will probably take both kids a couple of days to catch up on their sleep. All in all, I think it was a successful outing – we might have to do it again soon!

Note: Unfortunately, this post sports a bunch of random photos, since I neglected to bring my camera to the drive in. :(

New Computer

2008-07-07T21:48:00.003-04:00

After a year of hemming and hawing (and laziness and procrastination), Dad and I finally got around to ordering the new computer that we've been meaning to buy for the last year. We originally planned to buy the computer as soon as we finished remodeling the office ... well, the office was finished LAST August, but we're only just getting around to the computer part. Since Dad got the last new computer, this time it was Mama's turn – it's hard to beat a fast processor, nice graphics card, loads of hard drive space, and a really nice 24" LCD widescreen monitor. But, getting all the data transferred and everything up and running properly is proving to be a royal pain in the hiney.

Once we got everything up and running, we discovered that, although the extra hard drive was physically inside the computer, it wasn't operable. After a couple of hours with Dell tech support, the issue was resolved (they screwed up the configuration). We then noticed that the computer was having some fan/overheating issues whenever it came out of standby or hibernate mode. After another few hours with tech support, it seems that problem is less easy to fix. And then, of course, there were the calibration issues with the awesome new monitor – so far it is really awesome, but it's not displaying colors correctly (the out of the box setting on the monitor were ghastly). After trying a slew of software calibration options, we've determined that we need to use a hardware calibrator.

So, with a color-challenged monitor and a semi-functional computer, no pictures have been processed, no blogs have been posted, and we've generally fallen off the face of the planet for several weeks. Since Dell is shipping us a new tower (I won't even bore you with all the grumbling about all the time I wasted transferring files and installing software on the defective tower), I hope we'll back in action soon!

The Fourth of What?

2008-07-04T23:34:00.001-04:00

We had another low-key Fourth of July this year. Since M&M have never been to a big fireworks display, we thought about taking them a couple of times. Of course, both times were days when they both decided not to take afternoon naps and we figured it would be meltdown city if we tried to keep them up several hours past their bedtime. We didn't even light off any sparklers, so we'll have to have some make-up pyrotechnics next year.

We had a nice, relaxing, lazy weekend and actually got some much-needed house reorganizing done. We've finally finished baby proofing the living room and office, so M&M now have the full run of the first floor (minus the laundry room and first floor bath). They're overjoyed with their new found freedom and ability to spread their toys out over a much greater area. :P

We did at least manage to don some cute, patriotic outfits and rustle up some American grub -- you can't beat grilled hamburgers and homemade French fries! We made Max and Molly some tiny little hamburgers, which they scarfed down, and they went nuts over the French fries. We don't eat out often and neither of the kids have ever had a Happy Meal – I think Max has had a French fry or two here and there, but I'm not sure Molly has ever even tasted one. They made up for lost time – wolfing down their fries and begging for more. I didn't get around to making the traditional Fourth of July apple pie, so Max and I made brownies instead! Oh well -- there's always next year. ;) Happy Fourth of July!

More Bits and Bobs

2008-06-25T21:18:00.001-04:00

Max is a major mimic – he likes to repeat things that people say ... with the same tone and inflection that they use. It's funny (and a little embarrassing), to hear him tell Molly, "No Molly, no Bob the Builder right Naaaaaaaaahhhhhooooow!" in a hassled, whiny tone (gee, wonder where he hears that?? ;). He cracked me up the other day when he and Molly were inspecting an ant that had wandered in the house and I heard him say, "Awwww, look at the little ant! He's sooOooOooo CUTE!" Then there was the other week when he was having trouble putting together one of his toys ... he started getting frustrated and saying things like, "Mama, this is not WORKING. Oh! GOSH!!!" Hmm, I guess it's a good thing that I watch what I say when the kids are driving me nuts, since I can think of a few other four-letter words that would have been quite a bit worse than "gosh."

Considering that we have one child (hopefully) finishing off his terrible "twos" and one child just entering them, we have to facilitate a lot of negotiating, compromising, and turn taking around our house. Molly is finally starting to get the concept of taking turns, and whenever she wants to do something she runs around squealing, "My turn! My turn! My turn!" Molly is also really starting to get into doing things herself (Max has been there for a long time now), whether it is walking down the stairs, taking off her clothes, or putting her cup away after dinner. But, there are still times when she doesn't want to be quite so grown up. If you ask her if she's big girl or a baby, Molly will reply, "Mahmee (Molly) a baby." And, when we're out and about and she gets tired, she'll reach up to you with her chubby little arms and say, "I hole (hold) you, I hole you" when she wants me to pick her up (we're still working on those pronouns).

Molly is really verbal and has been talking well enough to be understood and carry on conversations for months now. But, lately, I've noticed that when she gets tired, she starts talking complete gibberish -- very softly and totally incoherently. She uses her tongue to make a lot of her sleepy talk and it's very funny and very cute. I don't know what she thinks she's saying, but it definitely isn't a language that I can understand.

I took Max and Molly to the playground the other day, for our usual after-dinner walk. While M&M were swinging, Max let rip a loud fart (one of the butt-cracker variety). I looked at him and said, "What was that? I think I heard a little frog!" Max thought that was absolutely hysterical and for the rest of the day would pretend to fart and then exclaim, "A little frog come out of my bottom!!!" before laughing uproariously. He even has Molly in on the act now -- Grandpa would be proud!

Family Weekend

2008-06-23T23:58:00.001-04:00

I've always been a big homebody, but after adding a couple of small children to the mix, we rarely go anywhere these days (by choice, as much as by necessity). But, every once in a while we gather our courage and endurance (and vast amounts of luggage) and decided to go visit the "Papas" up North. Dad had to work, so Mama packed up the babies (and all their STUFF), gathered some DVDs and snacks for the trip (sanity insurance), and set off for a three-hour drive. As M&M get older, they require less baby gear, but we still end up with a ridiculous amount of stuff (Blankies? Check! Pack and Play? Check! Potty seat? Check! Baby monitor? Check! Stroller? Ooops ... forgot that one).

Max and Molly are finally starting to get a little better on long drives and the portable DVD player helps fill the gap between when the boredom sets in and the screaming begins. I told the kids we were going for a ride to see the Papas and they were really excited – they couldn't wait to get their shoes on and get into the car. As soon as we pulled out of the drive way, Max cracked me up when he shouted, "To the Papas! Yay!!" About ten minutes into our drive, we were driving past the nursery where we usually buy our flowers every spring, when Molly started squealing in the back seat. I thought she was saying, "Go pee! Go poop!" and I was trying to tell her that we weren't taking a potty break yet (she had just gone). But, after a few seconds I realized that what she was actually saying was, "Goaks (Goats) pee! Goaks poop!" The kid has a good memory – the last time we went to the nursery (over a month ago), they had a mama goat and a couple of kids in a pen. Max and Molly were fascinated with the goats, and the high point of the trip was when they saw one of the baby goats pee and poop. Max talked about it for a couple of days afterwards, but I was pretty impressed that Molly recognized the nursery from the car, while we were driving past it at 55 mph.

Max and Molly both took little naps, so we made it half way before we had to resort to the DVD player. We also had to make an unplanned stop at a rest area – and it wasn't even because of the kids! I really try not to drink much on car trips, because I hate having to stop at rest areas and it is REALLY difficult to stop when I'm taking the kids somewhere by myself. But, since it was a choice between being too tired to drive and drinking caffeine, I opted for the latter. So, we stopped, got everyone out of the car, and trudged into the building. I was delighted to discover that they had a family restroom – a large, one-person bathroom for families. How wonderful! I was able to get everyone in there, keep them safe and keep them from touching anything, take care of our business, and get back out quickly and easily. The State of Michigan has my everlasting gratitude. After our pitstop, I set up the DVD player and we managed to make it to Papa's house just as everyone was starting to get antsy.

Max and Molly always love to visit Papa's house – how can you beat new toys, new space to explore, and a whole new audience? They were more than happy to get out of the car and stretch their legs and even ate a decent dinner. Bedtime, as usual, was a bit of a mess. Both kids were overtired and overexcited, which tends to make for some fun bedtime drama. Basically, Molly wouldn't go to sleep if I was in the room and Max didn't want me to leave the room. I finally tucked them both in, kissed them goodnight, and left the room – although, unbeknownst to them, I was standing right outside of the door. Molly howled for a nanosecond before decided to go to sleep. Max cried for a few minutes more, but then he settled down and conked out too. Whew! Mama didn't last a whole lot longer – I was beat myself. I did discover that Max is a total bedhog, although at least now he's used to having Molly in his room and he'd just roll over and go back to sleep when he was woken up.

Despite the late night, they both got up bright and early. Aunt May and company were having a big family weekend gathering for all their family and friends, so Grandma, Grandpa, and I got an early started and headed north for the event. On the way there we stopped at a local county fair, so M&M could see the animals. They were amazed and delighted by the cows, pigs, sheep, horses, goats, bunnies, turkeys, and chickens that we visited. They even got to pet some bunnies and goats, which Molly thought was fantastic – she kept trying to feed the goats straw. And, as luck would have it, they got to see MORE goats peeing and pooping and happily talked about that for the rest of the day. And, Molly was properly inaugurated into the county fair-goers club when she stepped in her very first cow pie. ;) It started to sprinkle just as we were walking back to the car – we made it back just in time because no sooner was everyone buckled in than the skies opened up and it just poured.

It rained most of the rest of the way to Aunt May's house and by the time we got there the sun was shining again (and it hadn't even rained at the farm, so we were spared the mud). There were lots of families there with lots of kids – the gathering was being held on a farm and M&M were happy to have lots of room to run, a big old barn to explore, and lots of dirt, sand, and grass with which to cover themselves. For some reason, Max decided that everything he found had to be thrown, kicked, or tossed, so I spent a lot of the trip reminding him that we don't throw sticks or stones and telling him to stop kicking sand. I think the highlight of their trip (aside from the lunch that they inhaled) was running up and down the little hill that led up to the barn and climbing on bales of hay. Of course, they also enjoyed visiting with their relatives, since Aunt Anne and Uncle Michael were there, as well as Aunt May. We also got to tour Aunt May's house, which contained all sorts of fun musical instruments. Max loved strumming the "guitaro" (guitar) and both kids had fun banging on the upright piano.

By the time we got back to Papa's house, both kids were tired and filthy. After dinner, more running around, and a nice bath, both kids were tucked into bed. Bedtime went a little more smoothly this time, probably because both Max and Molly were exhausted. When the little ones zoned out, we watched the Golden Compass, which was entertaining, but kind of a "meh" adaptation of what I think is a spectacular novel. I'll be interested to see what the sequels are like (since the way they ended the movie pretty much guaranteed a sequel). After the movie, I hurried off to bed myself.

We got up, ate breakfast, packed up the car, and headed on home. I don't think we were in the car more than five minutes before Max was begging to "see Papa more!" We got caught in some rain on the way home, but it was a pretty smooth drive. Neither kid slept hardly at all, but they were pretty content to watch the scenery, eat snacks, and watch DVDs. Although it is always fun to go visit our friends and relations, we were happy to be home. I'm not sure who likes familiar spaces and familiar routines more – Max and Molly or Mama! ;)

Because Watching It Makes Me Happy

2008-06-23T11:51:00.004-04:00

There are definitely days when this career path looks really appealing:

As a salute to Matt, Max, Molly, and I had to do some dancing of our own in our living room (our dancing style is eerily similar ;). Viewed on and shamelessly stolen from Librarianne's blog.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:58:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our life. We love you!!

School's Out!

2008-06-12T23:40:00.002-04:00

It seems another school year has come to a close – it swear it was just yesterday that Big Brother and Big Sister were buying school supplies and seeing which school clothes still fit. Although we're usually all looking forward to the end of the school year come June (for entirely different reasons), this year the last day of school was a little bittersweet. Big Sister graduated from eighth grade, with very respectable marks and a nice essay award. Next year she's off to high school (*gulp*). Big Brother finished off fifth grade (also with a good report card) and will be entering the junior high grades this fall. But, he'll be switching schools and returning to the school where he attended kindergarten (and where Max is attending preschool), so both kids will be heading off to new schools next year.

The big kids' end of school program was last Thursday – every year they do a program with songs, skits, dances, etc. The big kids look forward to it less and less every year, but it's always cute to see the program. Unfortunately, the downside is that the program starts at 7 p.m., which is M&M's usual bedtime, and lasts about an hour and a half ... which is about half an hour more than the little kids can happily sit still. We came armed with lots of Teddy Grahams bribes (or "telly grahams," as Max calls them), which helped encourage some good (and mostly quiet) behavior. The only downside to the snacking and the water guzzling was a couple ill-timed burps (followed by a chirpy little three-year-old "escuse me!"). Both Max and Molly enjoyed the music – I laughed when Max identified one of the violin songs as "Little Einsteins" music (he even correctly identified the episode it appeared in). Molly really liked all the singing – she sat in her chair, clapped her hands, and bopped to the beat throughout the whole show. Unfortunately, although we have a bit of video from the program, there aren't any pictures because M&M wouldn't cooperate. :P

It is nice to have a break from the school trips and the sports practices and the last-minute "oh-my-goodness-I-just-remembered-this-is-due-tomorrow" homework assignments. I'm hoping we can schedule in some fun little outings and day trips this summer – I have a few things I think everyone would enjoy. We're not planning any big vacation this year – the little ones are too young to make any big trips enjoyable for Dad and myself, so we're going to stick close to home. We're planning to take everyone on a long weekend up north – it would be nice to visit Grandma and Grandpa and I haven't made my yearly pilgrimage to the lake since before Max was born (!). Watch out summer, here we come!

Superstar!

2008-06-04T23:06:00.002-04:00

Molly seems determined to show up her big brother and has been having some great success on the potty over the last couple of weeks. She's peed on the potty at least a couple of times a day for the last two week and even pooped on a couple occasions. What is even more impressive is that about half of the time she comes to us and tells us that she has to "go pee pee." She plunks her chubby little baby bottom down on the potty, gets a really serious look on her face, and visibly "tries." She gets so excited about the pee in the potty that she usually stops halfway through and insists that we go flush the pee. She squeals with glee as we run to the bathroom, flush, and head back to the potty. She'll almost always sit down again and finishes the job (and then we go back to the bathroom and flush the second installment).

As if this wasn't awesome enough, Molly upped the ante over the weekend. We had over 48 hours of totally dry diapers – including overnight and during naps!!! We also convinced Molly to start using the potty seat insert that fits over the real potty, saving us countless trips back and forth to empty the little potty chair. When Molly woke up on Sunday morning, one of the first things she asked for was to wear her "big girl underwear" (cloth training pants). All of the running back and forth to the bathroom is wearing Mom and Dad out, but we know that short-term inconvenience will lead to some serious long-term gain.

Molly is very proud of herself and loves all the cheers and attention. Max, instead of being jealous, is totally supportive of Molly's potty efforts. He cheers for her, insists on inspecting the contents of the potty, and always accompanies us for the flushing ceremony. After the deed has been (thoroughly) completed, we usually let Molly run around half naked (or entirely naked) for a little while. She's always loved running around in the buff and it's so funny to watch her tear around the house in her birthday suit.

So, it looks like we might have one kid out of diapers soon … just not the one that we expected! I'm still hoping something will just click for Max one day and he'll figure out this whole potty business. He's probably still up to his old preemie tricks – holding out on a developmental milestone until we start to get worried and then mastering a skill virtually overnight.

No Crying

2008-05-28T23:25:00.002-04:00

After a week and a half of crying, whining, fussing, yelling, thumping, screeching, stalling, and NOT SLEEPING (and that's just on Mama's part), Max and Molly finally seem to have sorted out their differences. Tonight was the first night that I put them both to bed at the same time and they went to sleep without any crying and without me having to go tuck them back in a bizillion times.

Of course, that isn't to say that they actually went to sleep in a timely manner, but I'd much rather listen to laughing, talking, and singing over the baby monitor than crying. It's so cute to hear them singing songs together and making up funny little games. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. ;)

Cabbages and Kings

2008-05-24T23:04:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I jot down funny little things the kids say or do, intending to blog about them later. Usually these anecdotes make it into a similarly themed post in a fairly timely manner, but sometimes they hang around and gather virtual dust. So, here are some funny little things about Max and Molly, along with some photos I never got a chance to use.

Max finally started using pronouns a few months ago, but he's still trying to get the hang of the syntax. A common request around our house is, "Need help, me!" He also still suffers from acute Bob Dole-itis and often refers to himself in the third person. Whenever he wants to do anything, he announces, "It be Max's turn!" And, of course, one of my favorite things to hear – "I make a mess!"

Molly is big on giving kisses. When I go to put her into bed now, she gives me a big kiss, gives me a little wave, and says, "Bye-bye! Night, night!" So cute!

Max and Molly usually watch DVDs instead of actually watching shows on TV. Since our stock of kiddie DVDs is limited (and we don't often buy them), I regularly check DVDs out of the public library for the kids to watch during their allotted daily "screen time." They seem to like having new videos to watch each week and I like being able to test out titles before actually spending any money on them, since sometimes my best guess as to what they'd most enjoy is terribly off (Disney's "The Sword in the Stone"? No interest. A DVD of the AWFUL "Blue's Room" show that I accidentally picked up, thinking it was the regular "Blue's Clues" show? M&M LOVED it, but Dad and I HATED it.). Today I was gathering up this week's DVDs and books to take back to the library after work. Max was eating his lunch, saw me collecting the library items, and instructed me to, "Get more videos, Mama." I told him I would and he gave me even more specific instructions – "Get more videos, Mama. Little Einsteins! Be right back? Be right back! Ok?" The kid cracks me up!

On occasion, Max wakes up in the morning or from naps to discover that he's peed through his diaper and has wet the bed. Usually this means that it is time to move up to the next size diaper, but sometimes he does it if he drinks too much water in the evening or if his pjs ruck up his diaper. This morning, when I went in to get him up, he announced that there was "pee in there." I got him up and, sure enough, he'd peed through his diaper and his pjs, blankets, and sheets were wet. Max stood up, took a look at the wet spot on the sheet and said, "Uh oh, pee. Look at that! Big pee, all wet!" Thankfully, his special angel blanket, his stuffed monkey, and his stuffed bunny avoided the deluge. As I started pulling wet bedding out of the crib, I asked Max who peed in the bed, hoping to use his confession as an opportunity to segue into some potty discussion. I laughed out loud when, instead of the expected answer, he shook his head sadly and replied, "Monkey peed." Hehehe, that naughty monkey ...

Molly is talking up a storm and has a lot of funny things to say. Whenever she wants something, she points at it and exclaims, "This! This!" When she wants to nurse, she grabs her cloth diaper lovey and wanders around forlornly muttering, "Need a bubbie two. Need a bubbie two!" Since her lovey has always been her "bubbie," the use of "bubbie two" cracks me up. Molly has also been super clingy and needy lately and wants to us to hold her, so we here a lot of "More, nup! More nup, peese!" ("More up, please"). This, of course, is a lot less cute in the middle of the night. :P

Max periodically asks me to "go flying" with him. I think watching "Peter Pan" and reading "The Snowman" has given him the idea that this is something we can go do. The other day he asked me to go flying and I asked him if we should bring Molly and Daddy – he said no ("No, Mama, no Molly go flying. No Daddy. Daddy sleeping."). I wish I could take him flying, but we usually have to settle for a walk. He's also taken to pointing at planes in the sky and excitedly declaring that the plane is Rocket (from Little Einsteins) or Super Why!.

Max LOVES it when I take him downstairs and let him play in our finished basement. We keep the "out of rotation" toys down there, which I think is at least part of the appeal. When he wants to go down, he stands by the basement door and says, "C'mon, Mama – lets go more backstairs, get more toys!" Downstairs, backstairs, what's the difference?!

Although Max and Molly aren't always the best about sharing, they are pretty good at swiping. Molly, especially, loves to snag Max's snacks when he isn't looking. I gave them both snack cups full of crackers today, and, as per usual, Molly scarfed hers down before Max finished his (Molly could not live on bread alone, but she thinks she might be able to subsist on crackers). When Max left his unfinished crackers unattended, Molly grabbed the last two crackers and stuffed them in her mouth. Max caught her in the act and, being overtired and greatly in need of a nap, started crying and howling, "My crackers! My crackers!!" Molly was a little taken aback by the outburst and looked a little upset. She then walked over to (the still crying) Max, reached in her mouth, pulled out the stolen crackers, and handed them back to him (a little soggy and the worse for the wear). Awwww!

Wanted: New Roommate

2008-05-20T21:50:00.002-04:00

Quiet, studious chap seeks new roommate to share spacious flat. Amenities include comfy furnishings, extensive board book library, a multitude of stuffed animals, and a rocking crib (complete with the latest in interactive media). Must be calm, collected, and low maintenance. Must refrain from dancing, jumping, singing Wiggles songs, squawking, disrobing, kicking the wall, crying, or calling for Mama. Deep sleepers preferred. Pesky little sisters need not apply.

Roomies

2008-05-18T09:25:00.002-04:00

Seeing as our house is short a bedroom, we always planned to have Max and Molly share a room. We figured that as soon as Molly was sleeping through the night -- oh, around six months or so -- we'd move her into Max's room. Of course, since Molly slept through the night a few times at four months of age and then refused to do it any more, this plan kind of fell by the wayside.

But, now that Molly is actually sleeping through the night on a regular basis (even though she sometimes decides that it is time to get up at 5 a.m.), we thought it was time to evict our little roommate and reclaim our bedroom. So, since Dad is off of work for the week, we thought this was a good time to make the switch. I played with Max and Molly downstairs while Dad took Molly's crib apart, moved it to Max's room, and reassembled it. Since this took longer than anticipated, it was already past bedtime by the time the room was ready.

Max and Molly were excited by the change, and Max insisted that he did want Molly to sleep in his room. Having not slept well the night before, Max was a little on the cranky side and Molly was heading towards melt-down mode. The bedtime routine was a little rocky, but we read stories and sang songs and said prayers and attempted to tuck everyone into bed. Unfortunately, Molly was having one of those "I don't want to go to sleep" nights and started howling when I started walking away from the crib. Then Max, who was definitely overtired, started crying because Molly was crying. Dad and I spent the next half hour trying to settle everyone down, but by that time Max and Molly were too worked up to sleep.

Dad ended up bringing Max downstairs to read with Mama, while Molly fell sleep. Left to her own devices, Molly promptly corked out and we took Max up to bed. I think it took three more rounds of tucking in (and lots of sniffling and whining) before Max finally fell asleep. I heard a little bit of whimpering here and there throughout the night, but nobody woke up completely. They slept in their room until 5 a.m., when Molly decided it was time to start her day. I went and retrieved her from the crib, gave Max a kiss and told him to go back to sleep (which he actually did), then brought Molly back to our room. After she had her breakfast milk, she agreed to go back to sleep with Mama for another hour or so.

While the new room situation wasn't a rousing success, it wasn't a complete failure either. I'm sure that, like anything else, they'll get used to the new setup and routine in a few days. It's just making it through those few days which is always tough! I have to say, it was SO nice to be able to read in bed or flip channels on the bedroom TV. Although, as nice as it was to have our bedroom to ourselves, I actually kind of missed seeing our little girl asleep in her crib at the foot of our bed. I won't wake up to a cheery little face peeking at me over the crib rail any more or laugh at Molly popping up and down in the crib like a little gopher as she plays peek-a-boo with me.

She is a Super Duper ...

2008-05-14T23:46:00.001-04:00

... pooper! Molly seems to be pulling ahead in the potty training race. Today she pooped in the potty for the very first time! She had just eaten and I was getting ready to change her diaper when she started tugging at her diaper/pjs and saying she had to "pee potty." I stripped her down to discover that she'd already peed (I think she only asks after it is too late), but I let her sit on the potty anyway and encouraged her to "try." So, she sat down, looked at a couple of books, let out a couple of toots, and nonchalantly pooped on the potty! Max and I were very impressed, although she didn't quite seem to understand what all the fuss was about. I'm sure it was a fluke, but I'll take it! Max was a little miffed when Molly got to do the flushing honors AND got to play on the PBS Kids website for a few minutes. I'm hoping a little jealousy on his part will motivate him to enter the potty race in earnest. ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T20:40:00.004-04:00

I hope all of the other mamas out there had a wonderful day!

Perfect

2008-05-03T22:31:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while, it's so nice to have one of those days where you feel pampered and treated and spoiled rotten. Today was one of those days. Weekends are always nice, because everything can move at a more leisurely pace, without all the hustle and bustle and time constraints of the regular work/school week. The weekends when Dad isn't working are even nicer, because I actually get to spend some quality time with my favorite person (as well as having the freedom to get things done without involving/lugging/overseeing Thing 1 and Thing 2).

When Molly woke up before six this morning, Dad got up with her and let me sleep as long as I wanted (bliss!). When I got up, there was fresh coffee in the pot and a happy family waiting for me. I got to take a long, leisurely shower and take my time getting dressed. A friend was meeting me at our house so we could drive over to another friend's baby shower. So, in addition to letting me sleep in, Dad wrangled the babies for a good hunk of the afternoon while I interacted with grown ups, ate a bunch of yummy food (which nobody threw on the floor or smeared in their hair), and swapped pregnancy and baby "war stories" with other moms.

When I got home, both M&M were napping and Dad had a surprise for me. My Mother's Day present had arrived while I was gone and Dad wanted to give it to me early. I opened the big box on the counter to discover that Dad had secretly bought me the Nikon D300 camera I had been drooling over for months, along with the 18-200mm VR lens that I had wanted for even longer. He had figured out the financing and even lined up a buyer for my beloved Nikon D70. Who knew that he was actually paying attention all those times I babbled on about cameras?

When the babies woke up, we packed everyone into the car and headed off to a street fair in a neighboring town. I wasn't overly interested in the fair itself, but had heard that Needtobreathe was performing there in the afternoon. Since I've been really enjoying Needtobreathe's music over the last couple of months (their "More Time" song was the one I used in my MOD slideshow), I really thought it would be fun to see them live. And, of course, it gave me a good excuse to try out my new camera and lens. Neither the camera nor the music disappointed -- both were rocking. ;)

Molly, ever the little fashion queen, decided that dressing up for this outing required her pink jacket, her "glasses," and her purple winter hat. Max and Molly thought the whole thing was a lot of fun, especially since there were both balloons AND puppies at the fair. Although Max was a little startled by how loud the music was, Molly was bopping along to the beat. It was fun to get outside and listen to some music with my family. As I mentioned, the new camera performed magnificently, even though I only half knew what I was doing. Any flaws in my photos from here on out are DEFINITELY not the fault of the camera.

After we went home, made dinner, and tucked the kids into bed, it was nice to relax and kick back with a cup of coffee and a slice of chocolate cheesecake (and the Nikon D300 manual) -- the perfect end to a perfect day. A million thank yous to my wonderful husband for spoiling me so much and making me feel so special and loved and appreciated – not just today, but every single day.

Marching for Babies

2008-04-27T21:02:00.004-04:00

In spite of the fact that I didn't get my act together until the very last minute, we managed to hit our team goal and raised over $500 for the March of Dimes. A huge thank you to everyone who donated to our walk, sent friendly email, or generally tolerated my yearly fund-raising messages. During Max's hospital stint and my difficult pregnancy with Molly, it was so encouraging and wonderful to know that all of our friends and family (and sometimes veritable strangers) were thinking of us and cheering us along. We're still glad to have you checking in on us!

Having missed the deadline to order team t-shirts (and having an irrational need to always do things the hard way), I had planned to make our team shirts again this year. In support of a preemie mom who had designed shirts to raise money for the MOD (and because the shirts were insanely cute), I bought Max and Molly their "Miracle" t-shirts to wear on the walk. Having run across a neat tutorial for making custom t-shirts with freezer paper stencils and fabric paint, I designed a Buying Mockingbirds logo and gathered all the necessary supplies. Unfortunately, the t-shirt making plans went awry and, since I'd left the t-shirt production until the night before the walk, the shirts didn't get made. I gave the Big Kids a t-shirt IOU and told them that we'd make shirts with the design of their choice later in the week (which they thought was cool anyway).

Although the forecast was calling for rain, the day of the walk dawned sunny and cool. Hoping to be better prepared for this year's walk, I had packed a LOT of snacks, little bottles of water, sunblock, coats, sunglasses, etc. Of course, getting two small children up, dressed, fed, and ready to leave the house ALWAYS takes longer than you expect it to, so I was running around like a crazy person shortly before we left. Dad kindly offered to help pack up the car and I asked him to grab the double stroller for me and throw it in the back of the car. He called up the stairs to ask where the stroller was, and I think my ever-so-polite response was "In the back room, underneath all of your crap." ;) Since Dad had put it there in the fall when we shuffled some things around in the garage, I figured he would find it easily enough and didn't give the matter another thought.

We finally made it all into the car and were on our way (and only running a little late). This year there was no crazy construction at the expressway exit and we managed to make it to the walk site, park, and unload before the walk even started. I had a bit of a surprise when I was unloading the stroller. I wrestled the thing out of the car and was trying to get it to unfold. I had thought the release button was on the stroller handle, but couldn't seem to find it. Meanwhile, Big Brother, who was trying to help me, was saying things like, "This isn't the stroller we used last year. When did we get this stroller?" I told him that of course it was the stroller we used last year – didn't he remember the double stroller? As I was saying that, I finally found the release latch and unfolded the stroller – only to discover that it WASN'T our regular double stroller at all! Apparently Dad had translated the stroller whereabouts incorrectly – he mistook "in the back room with all your crap on it" directions for "in the basement with all your crap on it." Dad had gone and found a large double stroller that we had stored in the basement – a friend had given it to us and we'd never really used it. It was more geared towards twin babies (it had the tandem seats), while our normal double stroller had a regular seat for the baby and a platform seat/step for the older kid. Although not quite the stroller I had in mind (and MUCH heavier), I managed to make it work, although I had to call Dad up so we could laugh about the mix up.

After everyone was squared away, we walked over to the starting line, checked in, and waited for the walk to start. Max and Molly were fascinated by all the people and dogs – Max saying, "Oh, hi!" to everyone we passed and Molly squealing, "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" at every dog in sight. I was glad I had planned out snacks and drinks better this year, because before the walk even started Big Brother was begging for food and Max spotted the small bottles of water (or "little waters," as he called them) and clamored to have one.

Once the walk started, we let a lot of the walkers get a good head start before we joined the group. Molly was content to sit in the stroller (she was already missing her morning nap), but Max wanted to walk. Since distractible three year olds tend not to walk very fast (or in a straight line), I figured that we'd be better off at the back of the pack. Max ended up walking more than half of the three-mile walk. I managed to bribe him into sitting in the stroller for a couple of stretches by offering him some snacks if he sat in his seat. There were several different checkpoints, with different things for the kids to do. We stopped for a cookie break and to let Max play at one of the playgrounds we passed (the kid goes totally ga-ga over slides these days).

We definitely weren't the first walkers over the finish line, but we made it! After the walk, we took some time to wander around the event, eat some pizza, and have some play time. I convinced Big Brother and Big Sister to take a crack at the climbing wall they had set up – it was fun to watch them give it a try (although Max wanted to "climb up" too). I used to do a little rock climbing back in the day and wouldn't have minded giving it a crack myself! We saw some people that we knew at the walk and even met a fellow preemie mom that I'd only ever previously "met" online. We let Max and Molly have some play time at the kiddie playscape before heading back to the car. Everyone had a good time, but we were happy to be heading home. Even the indefatigable Max was wiped out – I ended up carrying him piggyback the rest of the way to the car, because he was walking at a snail's pace. Molly was sound asleep before we made it out of the park. I was more than a little tired out myself – pushing a heavy stroller full of heavy babies all over the place makes for a good workout!

Thanks again to everyone for helping make our walk such a success!

Sleeping Through the Night?

2008-04-26T23:09:00.002-04:00

After the initial success of Operation Sleep, Molly promptly got sick and reverted to her old habit of getting up several times a night and demanding "bubbies" ("bubbies" refer to both nursing and the cloth diaper lovey that Molly constantly carries around). Since she pretty much spent the next couple months either sick with or recovering from colds, flus, and ear infections, we managed to get WAY off track in the sleep department. So, last Wednesday, when Dad was at work, I decided that the whole sleep thing had gotten ridiculous. When Molly woke up to nurse, I told her it was night time and the "bubbies" were sleeping. She could nurse in the morning, when we woke up and when it got light, but now it was dark and time for sleeping. Needless to say, she was not amused. She screamed and yelled and threw some royal baby fits. Since I couldn't bear to let her cry it out in her crib, I brought her into bed with me and let her express her frustration. Since I was holding her, I knew she wasn't scared or alone or hungry or thirsty (I offered her water) – she was just MAD. It was a really long night and neither of us got much sleep.

When the clock finally rolled around to a reasonable hour (I fail to recognize it as being morning until after 6 a.m.), I made a big deal about how it was morning and light out and the bubbies were up. Molly was very happy to nurse and we both zonked out in bed until Max woke up. Since Dad was home for the next four nights, he was on baby duty – when Molly would wake up, Dad would go tuck her back in and tell her to go to sleep. Since Molly knows Dad has no "bubbies," she would dive back down in bed, let Dad cover her back up, and go back to sleep without a peep. So, four nights passed by relatively painlessly, in spite of the lack of bubbies.

I was a little worried when Dad had to go back to work, since I knew that Molly was not as cooperative when I tried to put her back in bed without nursing her first. The first night she slept straight through until 2:30 a.m. Of course, when I went up to tuck her back in and told her the bubbies were sleeping, she was really upset. She didn't want me to hold her and yelled and fussed in her crib for over an hour. She finally fell asleep, only to wake up at again 5. I sat up, told her that it was still night time and she had to lie back down and go to sleep. She dived back down in her crib with a howl, but went back to sleep until 6. The next night, she woke up briefly and fussed a couple of times, but quickly went back to sleep. The third night, she slept until 2 before she woke up. I went up, picked her up out of the bed, and refused the request to nurse. I held her for a minute and after a couple of outraged yells, she asked for "more bed." I put her in bed and she went right back to sleep until morning. Last night I put her to bed at 7 p.m. and she slept straight through until 6:15 a.m. Hooray!!! It's been months since Molly slept through the night and she's only ever done it a handful of times. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to go to bed and not get up again until morning (and so had my bladder).

I'm hoping this trend keeps up and that nobody manages to get sick in the next couple of weeks. If Molly keeps this up, Max could very well have a new roommate next week. Although I've told him that Molly will be moving in his room and asked him if he wanted Molly to sleep in a bed in his room (to which he replied, "Yes!"), I have a feeling that he might not be so pleased about having his pesky little sister invade his space. But, Dad and I will be REALLY glad to evict our little roommate and get our bedroom back!

Support the March for Babies

2008-04-23T23:31:00.002-04:00

As everyone knows, both Max and Molly were born prematurely. Although my kids (particularly Max) had a rocky start, today, both of my son and my daughter are healthy, happy, normal children. It is in part due to research funded by the March of Dimes that we were able to have such a happy outcome. Needless to say, we're big supporters of the March of Dimes. To give you a better idea of how prematurity impacted our lives, please watch this video.

This Sunday we're participating in the MOD's March for Babies fundraising event. My family and I will be walking to help raise money for the fight against prematurity. Every family deserves the happy ending with which we've been blessed. Please consider making a small donation to support our walk. Your donations will help the March of Dimes support research on the causes of prematurity and treatment for premature infants, as well as fund prenatal health and education programs. The donation is tax deductible and you can donate online. If anyone would like to walk with us, please let me know. The MOD puts on a great event and we'd love to see you!

Happy Birthday, Big Brother!

2008-04-08T21:06:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe that the little boy whose diapers I once changed is turning eleven today (and will be entering the junior high grades next year). We celebrated, as we usually do, with a family party on the weekend before his birthday, complete with presents and cake. Once Max figured out that we were having a birthday party, he begged us to get out the leftover "Elmo party hats" from his birthday party, and he and Molly merrily wore them around for the afternoon. Apparently, as far as Max is concerned, a party just isn't a party without an Elmo party hat.

Big Brother's main present was a bedroom overhaul, complete with new furniture, new bedding, new storage, and new decorations (and, once Dad isn't working on the weekends, new paint). Dad and I spent a grueling weekend morning shopping for the room décor and we had all the main items set up, so it could be a surprise. Big Brother was pleased, but I think Max was almost as enthused. He thought the new "big boy" bed was really cool, and we eventually had to drag him out of the room. Max and Molly also volunteered their present opening help – it was funny watching them gasp in mock astonishment and say "Wow!" whenever something was unwrapped.

Big Brother requested a Naruto-themed cake this year, and I did my best to oblige. As requested, I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, although for a change of pace I made some 7-minute frosting and used it to frost between the cake layers. I called it a "devil dog" cake, although with the frosting on the outside it was more like a giant Hostess cupcake than a devil dog. Whatever it was, it was really tasty. Max seemed a little put out that his piece of cake didn't have any candles to blow out, so he and Molly both got to blow out their own candles before they ate their cake.

Ugh, Sick Again!

2008-03-29T20:57:00.001-04:00

After Dad's St. Patty's day illness (and subsequent sinus infection), Molly and Mama both came down with the same (extremely nasty) bug. Whenever Molly gets sick, she sleeps even worse than she normally does, so I was relieved when her cough, congestion, and snotty nose started to improve. After a couple of days, it was apparent that Molly was just about over her bug ... so imagine my dismay when I went up to get her last night and discovered that she was burning up. She was sporting a 102.5 degree fever and was tossing and turning. I dosed her up with Tylenol and put her in bed with me, but even then she fussed and cried and didn't sleep more than a half hour at a time. She'd beg me to put her in her bed and I'd tuck her in, only to have her wake up 30 minutes later and cry for me to get her. It was a miserable night for both of us.

The next day, the fever was still there – it would go down when I gave her Tylenol, but creep back up as soon as the meds started to wear off. I wasn't worried about the fever by itself, but Molly was listless and sleepless and totally pathetic. Given that this was how she behaved when she had her ear infection a couple of weeks ago, I suspected her ears might be bothering her again.

So, we called up the doctor's office and they managed to squeeze us in that Friday (thankfully)! Because our doctor's office is affiliated with the big university hospital, they often have residents at the office who are taking a turn through the pediatric office. So, sometimes before you see your normal doctor, one of the residents comes in and does a preliminary exam. It always cracks me up at how the residents are so awkward and hesitant about dealing with little kids. They're totally well meaning and don't do anything wrong, but they haven't developed the skills and the confidence (and the tricks) that ease along a child exam. The resident came in and Molly did her best to be uncooperative – wiggling and crying. When the doctor came in later, she sat quietly while the doctor did the full exam.

As I suspected, Molly had double ear infections again. We were sent off with another round of antibiotics. Happily, once again, within 24 hours Molly was much better. Now if we can only stay well for more than a week or two at a time!

Easter

2008-03-23T19:51:00.001-04:00

Although St. Patrick's Day was a bit of a bust, we had hopes that Easter would be a little more enjoyable. Unfortunately, Mama managed to catch the wretched cold that Dad had been suffering from and wasn't feeling in top form. But, we managed to enjoy all of our Easter traditions this year. As usual, Mama felt compelled to buy disgustingly cute clothes for the little ones. And, as usual, Mama went a little overboard and ended up with multiple Easter outfits for Max and Molly. And, once again, we demonstrated that the cuter everyone looked, the harder it was to get a nice picture.

We didn't get around to dying our Easter eggs until the Saturday before Easter. We didn't dye eggs last year, since Max was in a cast and Molly was too little. So, this year, everyone was very enthused about the whole process. After setting up nine tubs of egg dye on the counter, I let Max and Molly pull up chairs and "help" dye eggs with Big Brother and Big Sister. As you might imagine, I was on tenterhooks the entire time, because I really wanted to avoid having egg dye spilled on the carpet. The carpet cleaner and I have already spent too much quality time together over the last few years. Since Max and Molly were nothing if not enthusiastic about the whole venture, I spent a stressful hour trying to keep little hands in check. Both Max and Molly thought dyeing eggs was a whole lot of fun. It was a good thing I made a few extra eggs, because they each cracked a couple of eggs before they figured out what they were supposed to do with them (I suppose eggs do look a lot like bouncy balls ...). There were a few close calls, but we managed to avoid overturning any cups of dye (hooray!).

The Easter Bunny dutifully made his yearly visit and filled some small Easter baskets. Everyone got a small assortment of candy and a few sugar-free "treats" (books for the little kids, a DVD and Naruto cards for the big kids). Molly was the first one up and she was delighted when she discovered her goodies. She checked everything out and oohed and ahhed over the contents of her basket. Max got up shortly thereafter and was also happy to find his basket. Unlike Molly, Max immediately set to unwrapping and eating some of his candy (a lesson he apparently learned from the Easter egg hunt the previous week). When the big kids woke up, they took the little kids upstairs while the "Easter Bunny" hid the Easter eggs around the house. Max and Molly got more into the hunt and found more eggs than I expected. They had a great time searching out the eggs and carrying them back and putting them in the carton. We hid eggs in easy places for the little kids and harder spots for the big kids – this might have been the first year Dad and I didn't have to pick our brains to remember where he'd hidden the last, few missing eggs.

We made the traditional egg salad for lunch, although since Easter was so early this year, we had to use scallions in place of the fresh chives that we usually use. The chives in the backyard "garden" haven't even sprouted yet. Max seemed to like egg salad fairly well, but not as much as his beloved "peanut butter jelly white" (a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, on white bread). Molly, however, took one bite and then scraped the egg salad off of her tongue in disgust.

After unsuccessful nap attempts, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter dinner. The kids were treated to another egg hunt (this time for plastic eggs filled with goodies). Molly loved finding the eggs so much that after the hunt was over, she'd take her eggs, go hide them herself, and then "find" them ("I find it!! I find it!!"). It was really funny. Max quickly discovered that Grandma and Grandpa's computer could also access the PBS Kids website and we pretty much had to pry him away from it (which was almost a nice change from him turning the house upside down, like he usually does ;).

When all was said and done, the kids had consumed too much sugar, the adults had eaten too much food, and everyone had enjoyed a nice (although exhausting) day. Now we just have to figure out how to use up three dozen hard-boiled eggs before they spoil!

It's Not Easy Being Green

2008-03-17T22:16:00.000-04:00

We always like to use St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to cook up a lot of food and do a little celebrating. Since Mama has a fair dose of Irish blood, she likes to act like a goofy American and honor her (long since transplanted) Irish roots. We had grand plans – Mama took the day off of work and we had a fun-filled day of food, activities, and movie watching planned (The Quiet Man is always a St. Paddy's day favorite). Mama, Max, and Molly all got up early and made some cranberry scones together, so that Dad could have a nice treat when he got home from work.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, when Dad got home from work we discovered that he had fallen victim to the crud that was going around and was feeling poorly. He quickly went from bad to worse and was sent up to bed for the day. To add to the day's disappointments, the weather was totally rotten and Mama couldn't even take advantage of her holiday and take the kids out for a walk. So, we had to scale back our plans – we managed to throw together our traditional Irish feast of corned beef and colcannon (along with some un-Irish sourdough rolls and Cowboy Cake) and listen to a lot of The Pogues, but we gave up the movie and the hope of any outings. Dad went to bed right after dinner, so the evening was a bit of a wash. But, before the day was over, Mama at least managed to snap a couple cute pictures of the kids and their traditional wearing of the green. Maybe we'll try again next year!

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-15T22:41:00.001-04:00

We haven't had very good luck for the last few Easters. On Max's very first Easter, he was only just out of the hospital and still on house arrest (although we did risk smuggling him over to Grandma and Grandpa's for Easter dinner). His second Easter he had a nasty case of bronchiolitis and was not feeling well at all. Last year, he was laid up with a broken leg and had to endure the humiliation of having a baby sister who was more mobile than he was. So, THIS year, we definitely wanted to participate in some Easter fun.

The Saturday before Easter, the church (also home of Max's future preschool) was holding an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. Since we hadn't been able to participate before, I grabbed a couple of baskets, buckled everyone into the car, and headed over to the church for some egg-hunting fun. Everyone gathered in the gymnasium and it was packed! Of course, I quickly rediscovered how hard it is to keep tabs on a wiggly 1 1/2 year old and an energetic 3 year old at the same time. Happily, Grandma and Grandpa were there for the festivities and I was really grateful for some extra kid-wrangling assistance.

They had the egg hunt broken up into two age groups -- kids three and under had their own egg hunt in one section, while the older kids had a bigger egg hunt in a different section. It was really funny -- we lined all the little kids up around a big square of grass that was covered with plastic eggs. One the hunt officially began, all the kids wandered onto the grass and started picking up eggs. Max thought it was great fun, although his strategy could use some improvement. He'd run up to an egg, pick it up, shake it, decide that it wasn't the egg for him, put it back on the ground, and move on to the next egg. With a little prompting, he eventually started to put some eggs in his basket. Molly, on the other hand, was an egg-hunting fiend! I held her basket for her while she methodically picked up egg after egg and piled them in the basket. She eventually filled her basket up completely and we had to start putting her eggs in Max's basket! I wish I could have snapped some pictures of the actual egg hunt, but I had my hands full helping the kids.

The whole thing was over within 10-15 minutes -- once all the eggs had been found, the kids all trooped back inside to empty their eggs and check out their loot. You should have seen the look on Max's face when he discovered that all of his eggs were full of candy. He started unwrapping candy and shoveling it into his mouth as fast as he could. Not to be outdone by her big brother, Molly started handing pieces of candy to me and asking me to unwrap them, so she could get her sugar buzz going. One of the eggs ended up having a prize ticket in it, so in addition to all the candy, we took home another whole Easter basket full of toys and goodies.

We hadn't been in the car more than about 60 seconds before Max was begging to "go to Max's school, find Easter eggs more!" Needless to say, after all the excitement and goodies, nobody took a nap this afternoon!

Candy, Iron, Wood

2008-03-11T22:17:00.002-04:00

According to a couple handy websites that I found, the traditional gifts for one's sixth wedding anniversary are supposed to revolve around candy or iron (???). If you're more modern minded, you can go for a gift made of wood (can you tell that the sixth year has some total filler gift themes?). Since Dad and I opt to pick out a gift together, rather than getting each other gifts, we don't usually pay much attention to the gift traditions. This year, we're going to send in all our wedding photo negatives and get them scanned into high resolution digital files, so we order prints whenever we like and so I can stop having nightmares about something happening to the negatives! I suppose since paper comes from trees and trees have that wood thing going, that we can almost count that as adhering to the theme. ;)

All crazy gift themes aside, we had a nice anniversary. Grandma and Grandpa gave us the best anniversary gift of all – they offered to babysit so Dad and I could go out to dinner together. Alone. Being able to sit down together at the table, eat our food, and carry on a coherent conversation was a rare treat. Neither of us had to get up a half dozen times, cut up anyone else's food, retrieve utensils or sippy cups from the floor, dodge any flying vegetables, or remind people NOT to rub food in their hair. We went to a local Italian restaurant that we had been wanting to try – the food was good (although the table location wasn't the best), the service was fine, and I thoroughly enjoyed a glass of wine. We had to try the tiramisu for dessert, along with a nice, strong cup of coffee.

Of course, as usual, we ended our perfectly fine meal by agreeing that, although the food was good, the food we make at home is better. No wonder we don't usually bother to go out to eat. But, I must say, it was nice to have someone else do the dishes for a change. ;)

Double Whammy

2008-03-09T22:22:00.001-04:00

We're apparently having the Winter o' Sick over here. It seems like we've had at least one family member sick at any given time since before Christmas – I'm tired of it!! Dad and Molly have logged the most number of sick days, followed by Big Brother and Big Sister, with Max and I trailing the pack. This week, Dad caught a nasty cold and kindly passed it on to Molly. Molly had a few days of coughing and sneezing and a stuffy nose and then seemed to be on the mend. Then she woke up on Wednesday night and when I lifted her out of bed, I could feel that she was burning up. I took her temp (102 degrees), gave her some Tylenol, and tucked her back in bed. Needless to say, she didn't sleep well and ended up in bed with me for most of the night.

For the last couple of days she's been totally moping around – she won't eat, she's clingy and lethargic, and she's definitely not her usual cheery self. So, after three days of fever, I decided to drag her in to see the doctor. They managed to squeeze me in yesterday and I'm glad we didn't wait until Monday – the poor little baby has ear infections in both ears. That explains the fever and the general misery. The doc sent us home with a prescription for amoxicillin and said Molly should be feeling better in a couple of days. Happily, she was right – after 24 hours on the meds, Molly is feeling much better and is playing and smiling again. Now if we can only keep everyone else from getting sick (again).

Max and Molly Rediscover a Classic

2008-03-08T21:39:00.001-05:00

Max and Molly (with help from Mama) recently "discovered" this old Muppet Show classic on YouTube:

Max refers to it as the "little pig song" and now asks me to sing it to him before bed every night (cracking up at every "manah manah"). Ahhh, it's nice to know that true classics never go out of style!

Happy Homecoming-i-versary!

2008-03-07T23:57:00.001-05:00

Three years ago today, Max stopped being a NICU patient and started being a baby. The older Max gets and the more his preemiehood fades, the easier it becomes to forget that he spent the first couple months of his life in the hospital. Every year when this day rolls around, I'm shocked (and saddened) by how long ago his actual birthday was. It already seems like such a long time since December and it really drives home how very early Max was and how much growing and developing time he lost. Those NICU days seemed to last forever and we were overjoyed (and a little scared!) when we could finally bring our baby boy home.

So, Max, happy homecoming-i-versary! What a wonderful three years we've had!

Open Wide!

2008-02-29T20:31:00.000-05:00

Having reached the grand old age of three, it was time for Max to pay his first visit to the dentist. We were actually fortunate that we hadn't had to pay a visit to the dentist yet – a lot of preemies end up with discolored baby teeth and thin enamel, but Max teeth have always appeared to be normal. He was excited to "go for a ride, count teeth!" (I told him we were going to visit the dentist, so the dentist could count Max's teeth). He happily rode to the dentist's office, periodically practicing opening "really wide!" Of course, we got a few inches of snow on the day of his appointment, so the roads were a mess and the drive was slooooow.

We take the kids to a pediatric dentist, whose office boasts both a TV AND an old-fashioned Galaga/Ms. Pac-Man arcade game (no quarters or tokens required). Max was pretty much in heaven when he came into the waiting room to discover that "Finding Nemo" was playing and that he was allowed to push as many buttons on the arcade game as he wanted (he liked to make "pshew pshew" firing noises when pressing the fire button for Galaga – just like Mama!). When they called us back, Max happily hopped into the examination chair and checked out the Etch-a-Sketch that they had on hand. The hygienist got out all the examination tools and the cleaning implements (just in case he was cooperative enough to let them clean his teeth). He was doing great until they reclined the chair and tried to get him to lie back. Ever since Max broke his leg, he cries when he goes to the doctor's office and has to lie down on the exam table. I guess he thought the dentist's chair was a fancy version of the doctor's exam table (which, I suppose, it is), because he started howling as soon as we tilted him back.

He wasn't very happy about it, but he did let the hygienist and the dentist get a good look at his teeth. Happily, his teeth are nice and clean and healthy – we must be doing an adequate brushing job after all. His baby teeth are a little crowded in spots (especially his top middle incisors), so the dentist suggested I floss them a couple of times a week. His adult teeth may or may not have the same crowding problems – Max has a really high palate, probably as a result of his preemiehood and vent time, which may contribute to orthodontia problems down the road. So, I guess we should start the "braces for Max" saving fund now. ;)

After the brief examination, Max was cleared to go – we'll try to a proper cleaning next visit, when he's a little older. Max got to pick a toy out of the basket and went on his merry way. Of course, we hadn't been in the car more than ten minutes when he wanted to "go more ride, count teeth" again. I’m guessing he just wanted to go back and finish that game of Galaga. Like mother, like son! ;)

School Days?

2008-02-27T22:24:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I'm typing this, but Max and I went to his preschool open house last night. Max will be starting preschool in the fall, so we went to check out his new classroom and reacquaint ourselves with his teachers (who had been Big Sister and Big Brother's preschool teachers as well). He'll be going to preschool two afternoons a week, for two hours each day. Since Dad was working, Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to come over to watch Molly -- the open house started at 7, which is already after Molly's bed time. I didn't think Melt-Down Molly would add to the school tour experience. Of course, the night of the open house was snowy and yuck, but we braved the snow any way and made the 15-minute drive to school.

Max was excited to "go ride, see Max's school" (as you may have gathered, Max is pretty much excited to "go ride" and do anything). We were some of the few people who did brave the snow, so we had a good chance to talk to everyone and scope out Max's new classroom. Max made himself right at home and had a great time checking out the train table, the play house, and the "baby birds" (zebra finches) in the adjoining kindergarten room. He made friends with the third-grader who was showing us around and was very happy to partake of a cookie and "little water" (small bottle of water) when it was time for refreshments. I think he'll really enjoy preschool – we weren't in the car more than five minutes before he was begging to go back and see "more Max's school, peese!"

*Sniffle* It seems like just yesterday that I was changing his diapers ... oh, wait a minute, that WAS yesterday! One of the prerequisites for preschool is that the kids have to be potty trained, so we have work to do before September!

Potty Progress (No, Not Max)

2008-02-26T21:31:00.000-05:00

Molly has officially thrown her hat into the ring and joined the potty competition. One perk of Molly's recent streaking episodes is that she has been awfully interested in sitting on the potty. She'll plunk her little bottom down on the potty and if you ask her to try to go, she'll brace herself, make a funny face, and do some visible straining. She usually manages to squeeze out a toot or two, for which she is mightily applauded. This morning, however, she upped the ante!

I was getting ready to change her diaper and get her dressed yesterday morning and noticed that her diaper was dry. Since she was already stripped down, I thought I might as well sit her on the potty and see if anything happened. She sat down, "tried" for a minute, and then started playing with a toy that was sitting next to the potty. The next thing I know, she peed ... and peed and peed some more! She looked a little bewildered (especially because Mama was starting some low-key cheering). When she finished she stood up, turned around, and peered at all the pee in the potty. Max was right on hand to witness the whole thing and he was pretty impressed too! There was lots of clapping and cheering (Max joined in as well), and Molly seemed pretty pleased with herself. It didn't hurt that she was given a mini marshmallow as a potty treat, especially since Max didn't get one (which annoyed him mightily). Molly led the parade to the bathroom to bid farewell to the pee pee and she did the toilet-flushing honors (which Max also wanted to do).

I'm sure it is just a fluke and I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but it's nice to have SOME positive potty action going on in the house. If nothing else, maybe Max will decide that he wants a little potty recognition as well and get back with the program. He's getting to the point when he knows he has to go and refuses to sit on the potty. I know that's a good sign and that he's getting closer to being ready, but it's still frustrating. He now runs off and plays quietly in a corner when he has to load his pants (and denies that he has to poop). We're hoping that this will be the Summer of the Potty. Maybe it won't be long before we're a diaper-free house after all ...

Exhibitionist

2008-02-25T20:00:00.002-05:00

I think it is one of a parent's proudest moments when they realize that their child is gifted with a special talent. Dad and I have recently discovered that our little girl has some mad skillz that she's only too happy to demonstrate. It seems that little Miss Molly can strip off just about any type of clothing or pyjamas in about 60 seconds flat. She's better at undressing herself than Max is. We keep going to get her out of her crib after naps (or failed nap attempts) to discover that she's sitting in her crib in the buff! She also likes to take off her clothes when she's just hanging out in the family room and playing. She'll be quiet for a minute and you'll look up to see her streak past squealing, "I naked! Naked!!!"

So far, the only items of clothing that she can't remove are the onesie-type shirts that snap at the crotch. This would have been a much better phase to go through in the middle of the summer, rather than during the coldest month we've had all winter! Dad and Mama would also have appreciated it more if our little exhibitionist was potty trained. Over the course of the last few days, we've washed all the crib bedding three times. I won't even go into detail about the last naked baby episode, since it involved a fully loaded diaper.

Dad and I are hoping that this recent turn of events this isn't an indication of Molly's future career path. I suppose we shouldn't have installed that pole in her crib ...

Shades of Grey

2008-02-24T22:52:00.003-05:00

I was in the grocery store checkout lane the other day, when the cashier started chatting with me. After the usual pleasantries, she asked, "You're still in your 20s, aren't you?" with a wave to my greying hair. Overlooking my emphatic, "I wish!" she went on to tell me how she started greying prematurely in the fourth grade (my hair, at least, waited until I was 21) and we commiserated about going grey before our time. Bless that cashier for being kind enough to think I was still in my 20s. ;)

Of course, that inadvertent compliment was somewhat overshadowed by something my own son said a couple nights later. I was reading Max a bedtime story, when he reached up, patted my head, and sadly said, "Hair all grey, Mama. Hair all grey." I didn't even know he knew the color grey, since that isn't one we practice. Thanks kid!

Barack Obama Mailed Me a Valentine

2008-02-21T23:37:00.002-05:00

What did he do for you?

(Yes, I am too easily amused.)

Happily Average

2008-02-15T23:29:00.004-05:00

Max had his well child checkup today. This was his official "I'm three!" visit, since we got a little behind with our well baby visit when he was younger. He was really excited to "go ride, see doctor!" It was an even more exciting ride than usual, because we had to move his car seat to the "little car," because Dad had to drive everyone else to school in the other car. On the way there, Max remembered (all by himself) that there was a big fish tank in the children's waiting area and wanted to beeline right for the fish tank instead of checking in at the front desk. After Max said hi to the fish and played with the (germ-infested) activity cubes, we were called back so Max could be measured and weighed.

Max weighed in at 34 pounds and was 38 inches tall – that puts him at 69% for weight and 56% for height. Since he was 75% for weight and 30% for height at this time last year, that's all good news. Hooray for being average! ;) He sat very nicely and had his blood pressure taken (usually he's so wiggly that it takes them about a half dozen tries to get a good reading). His doctor is always happy to see him and he was his normal friendly self. He's doing everything on the 3-year checklist, except consistently using "he" and "she" (he likes to focus on "ME!"). The doctor proclaimed him a normal, healthy three year old and he isn't due to have ANY doctor visits until he turns four. Won't that be a nice change! Of course, the first thing Max asked to do when we got home was to "go more ride, see doctor!" You would have thought he'd had enough of doctors by now! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T23:08:00.001-05:00

From my sweeties ...

... to yours!

Big Eyes

2008-02-08T23:35:00.001-05:00

Although Mom and Dad laugh about Matt Damon, this is the type of video that Max and Molly prefer to watch:

Max constantly begs to watch the "little lemur," while Molly simply refers to it as "big eyes." When you ask them to make big eyes, these are the interpretations that you get:

I think Molly needs to work on her technique!

Things That Shouldn't Be Funny (But Are Anyway)

2008-02-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

I can't stop laughing about this, so I feel the need to subject other people to it. Apparently last week on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, Kimmel's girlfriend, comedian Sarah Silverman, "surprised" him with the following "music video." Obviously, I didn't see this live, since Molly's frequent 5 a.m. wake-up calls preclude the watching of late-night TV.

Disclaimer: Don't watch this if you're offended by profanity, crude humor, really stupid skits, or Matt Damon. I also would suggest that you avoid watching it at work or in the presence of children.

Apparently this is in answer to Kimmel's long-running gag of running out of time and pretending to bump Damon at the end of the show. Hehehehe.

A Snowman for Molly

2008-02-04T23:09:00.000-05:00

Ever since Max's snowman melted, he's been asking to make another one. Since we had a bunch of snow this week and it was supposed to warm up over the weekend, I thought Sunday would present a great snowman-making opportunity. So, when M&M got up from their naps, I dragged out all the snow gear, spent about 20 minutes trying to get everyone suited up, and bundled everyone out the door. Of course, no sooner did we get outside than I noticed a rather malodorous smell wafting up from the vicinity of someone's drawers (a quick sniff test suggested that Max was the primary suspect). Given that I was pretty sure that we wouldn't be outside more than 15-20 minutes, I decided to be a Bad Mom and wait to change the poopy diaper until we came back inside.

Max took to cavorting around in the snow immediately – he ran around, tried to make some snowballs, and was generally delighted. Although Molly was hesitant at first, she finally got the hang of things and was soon happily stomping through the snow. She fell over a few times and needed some help getting back on her feet (since she was rather well bundled), but the occasional wipe out didn’t seem to phase her.

Unfortunately, in spite of the warmer temperatures, the snow hadn't quite reached the optimum "packing snow" state. I tried rolling some big snowballs to make the snowman, but after they reached a certain size they just started falling apart. So, we opted to make a very small snowman, which we proudly displayed on the patio table. Although it was a "baby snowman" instead of the "big snowman" Max requested, both kids were delighted with it. They kept coming over to look at it and squeal, "Snowman! Snowman!" Since Molly was asleep when we built the first snowman, I guess this is officially HER first snowman.

As predicted, we didn't last long outside. Once they both managed to get snow down their sleeves and their wrists were getting cold, I dragged them back inside. To my surprise, Max wasn't the one sporting the stinky diaper – it was Molly! A couple of clean diapers and changes of clothes later, we were all nice and warm and dry. Max and Molly spent the rest of the day admiring the baby snowman through the door wall and pointing it out to anyone who walked into the room.

Daughter

2008-02-01T21:33:00.000-05:00

I had intended to make Molly a first-year slideshow, just like I did for Max, but I was lacking the necessary inspiration. The whole reason I made Max's slideshow was because I was at a concert and during one of the songs all I could think about was Max and his story. In my mind, that became Max's song. So, I made the slideshow so I could share all the pictures that ran through my head whenever I heard it.

But, Molly's birthday came and went, and, although I had plenty (plenty!) of pictures, I couldn't find the right song. I didn't want just any song, I wanted something that stood out and screamed, "Me! Pick me!!" -- it needed to be perfect. So, a few weeks ago I Netflixed "Knocked Up" and had my own little movie night. Loudon Wainwright III's cover of "Daughter" was played during the closing credits, and as soon as I heard it, I knew I had my "Molly" song.

So, in honor of her 18-month "birthday" -- here's a year and a half of Molly.

18-Month Checkup

2008-01-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

Molly had her 18-month well baby check up today. We ended up canceling our 15-month appointment after we discovered that we'd hit our insurance max for preventative care (boo, hiss to the insurance company). Since Molly was doing just great and we didn't have any concerns, we figured she could skip another reaffirmation of her pleasantly plump status. For some reason I thought she was due for a final round of vaccinations, so I've been loading her up with vitamin C all week. I happily surprised to discover that she was up to date on all of her shots (aside from the optional ones that we don't do) and shouldn't need any more until kindergarten. Hooray! I think Molly and her roly-poly little thighs were probably even happier than I was! It seems I'd loaded her up on vitamin C all week for nothing.

Miss Molly weighed in at 25 pounds, 13.8 ounces and was 32 1/2 inches tall. Her head circumference was 18 1/2 inches. We actually had to take her height twice – the first time she was being uncooperative and the measurement came back way too low. That puts her at 75% for weight, 80% for height, and 60% for head circumference – she's finally taller than she is fat! ;) The doctor's comment about her weight gain leveling off was, "I've been waiting for this to happen!" The rest of her checkup was unremarkable – everything looked great and she's doing everything on the 18-month developmental checklist and then some (except maybe sleeping through the night ...). Molly wasn't too happy that she had to sit on my lap during the whole trip – she really wanted to get down and run around and check out everything (which isn't an option when you're half naked in a germy doctor's office).

She also knows that she's a big girl now and she doesn't want me to carry her out of the office and through the parking lot – she wants "more down!" I let her walk out to the car, but she must have thought she was going for a real walk because she was not happy about having to go back into her car seat. At least the doctor's office is only about a mile from our house and I didn't have to endure the shrieks of Molly rage for very long!

Big Boy Bed!

2008-01-21T23:30:00.000-05:00

While Max, Molly, and I were out of town, Dad made some major changes around the house. Max returned to find that his crib had been moved across the room and a "big boy bed" (i.e. twin mattress on the floor) had been set up where is crib had been. And, in preparation for Max on the Loose, the Boy-Eating Dresser had been refastened to the wall (several) times, to make certain that it wouldn't be going anywhere. Max was very excited by his new bed and we tucked him in there to take a MUCH-NEEDED nap when we got home from our trip. He fussed a bit, but was fast asleep in a few minutes. Not bad for the first time!

Molly seems to like the new bed as much (or maybe more) than Max does! She'll grab a book, climb into bed, pull up the covers, and lay back as comfy as you please! The only bad thing is that she doesn't want to get out and move to her own bed. She plays possum by pretending to sleep, although since she keeps her eyes open while she makes fake snoring noises, she isn't very convincing.

But, in spite of the initial enthusiasm, Max hasn't done a whole lot of sleeping in his new bed. All week we've been letting him get used to the bed and giving him the choice of where he wanted to sleep. He's napped in the big bed a couple of times, but never wanted to sleep in it at night. So, it makes me happy to report that Max is upstairs sleeping in his big boy bed!! Tonight he decided to sleep in the big bed and he went right to sleep without a fuss. I peeked in on him and he looks so tiny curled up in that big bed! So far he's been really good about staying in bed and not getting up and goofing around, but I'm guessing that's because the whole concept is still too new. Now, if only we can have some breakthroughs in the potty department. ;)

Edited to Add: Oh, drat it all -- I jinxed myself. About 30 seconds after I hit the "Publish Post" button, Max woke up and started crying (I think he was half asleep, not sure where he was, and scared). I went upstairs to comfort him and he's now back in his "little bed."

Oh well, baby steps, right? Maybe some spiffy new sheets will help seal the deal ...