Southern Living

If you have a preschooler, you should consider running out and buying this guy. He's the "Elf on the Shelf." It's a big deal around here, and a cute idea. There's a book that goes with it. You read the book, which describes the rules (no touching the elf, you can talk to him but he can't talk to you, you have to give him a name, etc.). Ethan named him "Snow." Every night he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa on how everyone in the house behaved that day. Every morning he reappears in the house somewhere and the kids are supposed to search to find him. Ethan loves looking for him every morning. Since Ethan is more practical than whimsical, he was a little skeptical at first, trying to convince us that pretend elves can't talk or walk. We explained that he could fly, so then Ethan was freaked out and concerned that the scary elf would fly into his room at night. We promised his room is off limits. It's a little pricey at $30, but if you are more creative and have more energy than I, you could easily make one. I think it may be a fun tradition for our family.

Bronx, NY: 12:15 am, Saturday, November 17, 2007

The longer I'm a parent the more respect and admiration I have for my own parents. I have countless memories of fun road trips with my family; of my mother playing endless car games with us and singing kids' songs for hours on end, of my dad napping after lunch and all of us having to promise not to tell him how fast mom actually drove while he was asleep, of rotating who got to sit on the cooler that was placed between the two front seats of the conversion van (we were so very safety conscious back then). And all the while I was blissfully unaware that my mother was probably thinking, "Oh, please, all of you...when you fall asleep and leave me alone?" Jason and I survived almost 2000 miles and over 30 hours in the car with our two little ones and lived to tell about it. Jason took the whole week off (hooray!) and we drove from Durham to Carmel, NY, where Jason's parents live, stayed for 36 hours, then went on to Boston to visit family, friends, and our old stomping grounds. We were there for 48 hours before we headed back to NY to spend the rest of the week eating, which is what you do at my in-laws'. We worked off some of the added weight by playing with their new Wii (very fun). The kids were actually great in the car, and during the week. Colin is an angel, and Ethan was a remarkably good sport about the whole thing, though he did have to stop to use the bathroom every 45 minutes. We are so glad we went and wouldn't have missed it for anything. Still and all, it's kind of exhausting and I think next time we might fly. Ethan was reunited with Geo the train, part of the Fisher Price GeoTrax train set that Grammy and Papa own. He was so happy. I can't believe I didn't get a picture. Six months ago, if you asked Ethan who his best friend was, he would answer, "Geo." We started our Boston trip with a visit with Carter's family. It was so great to see them and the boys picked right back up where they left off last June. We wish they would come practice radiology in NC. On Monday we went to the re-done Children's Museum with Ashley and the boys. They had a great time.

This is my attempt to get them to move away from the museum towards the cars. I convinced them to be a train. Toby was the engine, Ethan was the milk train, and Ben was the caboose, by default. How cute are these boys??

I learned quite a bit about Ethan on this trip by hanging out with him and his cousins. For example, on Thanksgiving Day we were talking to the boys about what they were thankful for. Toby said his family. Ben said Ethan. (Such a sweetie.) Ethan said, "Not sharing." That's what he's thankful for. I'm thinking his love of his younger brother may change somewhat when Colin gets big enough to commandeer toys. We'll deal with that later. Another time, after watching Toby and Ben argue about something or other, Ethan told me, "When people hit me, I say, 'Don't hit me. That's not nice!'" "That's great!" I said, mentally patting myself on the back for my excellent parenting skills. "Yeah," he continued, "And then I get my shooter, and I shoot all the mean people!" Great. Conflict resolution 101. How do all boys know about guns? We've never talked about them or played with toy guns in our house. I'm not opposed to it...I grew up playing with all kinds of toys guns (and even real guns when I was a teenager visiting cousins in Idaho). He's just never shown interest. Until now, obviously. Monday we went to dinner with Jason's MGH fellow residents and their families. On Tuesday we went to Wilson farm (eggnog, caramel apples, kettle corn...yum!), Lexington, Concord, and visited the Old North Bridge, where Ethan happily threw things in the river, even though it was beyond freezing, and we were reminded why we moved south.

We went to JP to our old place, then Jason dropped Ethan and me off at the subway station and we rode the train all the way to just south of our Stoneham place. It was the best $2.00 I've ever spent. Ethan was in heaven the whole trip. It was fun for me to reminisce since I was able to relive the commute I did for years. I'm getting old, though. I remember when the T only cost 75 cents to ride. Sad.

Tuesday night Todd was off in NYC interviewing, and Jason and I left Ashley with all 4 boys and headed off to our favorite restaurant, Oleana. It was SO good, but I still feel guilty about having Ashley watch all the kids by herself. She even made it seem like it was no big deal. We owe her big time! After dinner we caravaned to NY to get the kids back to Grammy and Papa. Grammy with Colin.

The boys getting ready for dinner in the hats Ashley helped them make. Ann and Randy graciously hosted a houseful of guests the whole week with all the mess and noise that accompany small children, then fixed an amazing turkey dinner on top of that. We are so spoiled. Thank you!!