Thanks for spoiling us all week. We are sad to leave you on your birthday.
Have a wonderful day!!
We love you!!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Al rescate, amigo
Yesterday as he watched the snow fall, Ethan became obsessed with a stick that was slowly getting buried in the accumulating snow. He kept asking me if we could go help it. This would be easy, except that my in-laws have an acre of land that is all on a steep incline, and Ethan was trudging through snow up to his knees. Here he is pulling his shovel behind him. You can actually see the stick we're headed toward just in front of the stairs. 
We took the sled in case I had to pull him back up to the front of the house. I wasn't about to carry him and Colin. Here he is digging out the stick. 
And so proud of himself for coming to its rescue. 
Sadly, he lost interest in it after about 30 seconds, threw it back into the snow and trudged back up to the house. Oh, well. It was a fun little adventure.
We took the sled in case I had to pull him back up to the front of the house. I wasn't about to carry him and Colin. Here he is digging out the stick. 
And so proud of himself for coming to its rescue. 
Sadly, he lost interest in it after about 30 seconds, threw it back into the snow and trudged back up to the house. Oh, well. It was a fun little adventure.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Winter Wonderland
Grammy ordered snow for our trip and it was delivered today. She'll do just about anything to make her grandkids happy. I'm not sure how much we got, but it was more than 6 inches. Ethan was in heaven. Other than the slight dusting we got in Durham last month, Ethan doesn't really remember snow. Today was very fun. He and Grammy went out and shoveled for a while, then Colin and I joined them for some sledding and to "build" a snowman (the snow was so powdery that we ended up decorating a snow-covered rock). We took a break from the snow to drink hot chocolate and sit by the fire. Grammy and Papa braved the weather and left in the afternoon to head to a Broadway show. Although I'd never heard of the show and I did hear on the news that the Spice Girls reunion concert is tonight in Hartford, so who knows where they really are. While they were gone, Ethan and I tackled important matters at home, like clearing a path to the hot tub.
Colin played happily in his cute snowsuit in the walker on the back porch. 
Then Ethan wanted to try sledding again. He didn't like it so much this morning, because it was snowing pretty hard, but it had lightened up and almost turned into a light rain by late afternoon, so he had a lot more fun. I would pull him on the sled halfway up the steep driveway, while lugging Colin under my other arm. It made my 20-minute workout on the elliptical earlier in the day seem like a nap on the couch. After a dozen or so times, I finally had to call it quits. That hot tub is looking very appealing right about now. Here he is right before he learned to steer. That pathway on the left that Papa cleared actually froze over and became something of a mini-luge. Ethan had fun. 
Colin got a little worn out from all the excitement. About the time Ethan finished sledding, Colin laid down in my arms and immediately fell asleep. I think we'll all sleep well tonight.
We are having so much fun. It's like going to an all-inclusive winter resort with meals, nanny services, and entertainment provided. Ethan says his favorite thing is Geo (of course), and that his second favorite thing is sledding. Colin's favorite thing by far (besides Grammy's kisses and Papa's hugs) is the hot tub. He would stay in there all day if we let him. The only drawback is that Jason is not here with us. But, as Ethan told Grammy, "He had to stay home to work to pay for our trip." We miss you, Daddy!
Colin played happily in his cute snowsuit in the walker on the back porch. 
Then Ethan wanted to try sledding again. He didn't like it so much this morning, because it was snowing pretty hard, but it had lightened up and almost turned into a light rain by late afternoon, so he had a lot more fun. I would pull him on the sled halfway up the steep driveway, while lugging Colin under my other arm. It made my 20-minute workout on the elliptical earlier in the day seem like a nap on the couch. After a dozen or so times, I finally had to call it quits. That hot tub is looking very appealing right about now. Here he is right before he learned to steer. That pathway on the left that Papa cleared actually froze over and became something of a mini-luge. Ethan had fun. 
Colin got a little worn out from all the excitement. About the time Ethan finished sledding, Colin laid down in my arms and immediately fell asleep. I think we'll all sleep well tonight.
We are having so much fun. It's like going to an all-inclusive winter resort with meals, nanny services, and entertainment provided. Ethan says his favorite thing is Geo (of course), and that his second favorite thing is sledding. Colin's favorite thing by far (besides Grammy's kisses and Papa's hugs) is the hot tub. He would stay in there all day if we let him. The only drawback is that Jason is not here with us. But, as Ethan told Grammy, "He had to stay home to work to pay for our trip." We miss you, Daddy!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Taking flight
I survived my first solo flight with both boys. It was Colin's first flight and the first that Ethan can really remember...he hasn't flown in a while since we no longer make the Boston/Maryland flight regularly. It was very short, so a good way to start. I love flying out of NC. Someone from security came and helped me fold down the stroller and load everything on the belt, and there was no one behind us in line, so it was very low stress.
The boys did great. Ethan was so excited he gave me a running commentary of everything. It was obvious how much he has matured since the last time we flew...no kicking the seat in front of him the whole time, or spilling his drink, or crying/wanting to get down. He looked so grown up sitting there with his drink.
He wanted to take a photo of our drinks. Mine was the one with caffeine. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before we left.
Colin happily sat on my lap looking at his books, then fell asleep sitting up. He slept through the very rough landing and didn't wake up until we got off the plane.
Grammy was waiting for us when we landed and we were all so excited to see her! We went to lunch, then headed home. It is very, very cold here, so we've been focusing on indoor activities. We've been to the mall to ride the carousel and to an indoor playspace so Ethan could work off some excess energy, and played a lot with Geo and the other trains.
He wanted to take a photo of our drinks. Mine was the one with caffeine. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before we left.
Colin happily sat on my lap looking at his books, then fell asleep sitting up. He slept through the very rough landing and didn't wake up until we got off the plane.
Grammy was waiting for us when we landed and we were all so excited to see her! We went to lunch, then headed home. It is very, very cold here, so we've been focusing on indoor activities. We've been to the mall to ride the carousel and to an indoor playspace so Ethan could work off some excess energy, and played a lot with Geo and the other trains.Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Yumminess
We had a fun week. (Note: If you don't like food this post won't interest you.) We celebrated our anniversary Tuesday and Valentine's on Thursday. Jason was on call both nights, so we just made dinner at home and held off to go out over the weekend. Tuesday night we made filet mignon, risotto, and "extreme" chocolate pie for dessert. I never make chocolate pie because I don't really like it, but Jason loves it, so it was about time I made him one. It was extreme...brownie crust, chocolate filling, topped with dark chocolate shavings and chocolate whipped cream. It was a big hit but a little much.
Thursday we had more yummy food. I made chicken tikka masala, which is my favorite Indian dish, but I've never attempted to make it from scratch. It was surprisingly easy and turned out great. We made chocolate souffle for dessert...also a first and also turned out great. It had a yummy hazlenut fudgy center that I loved.
Friday night we dropped the kids off at my parents' for the night and went out with my brother, Mark, and his wife LaDonna. We went to eat, then went and played lasertag, raced GoKarts, and played arcade games. It was such a blast. I am not going to comment on air hockey or Skeeball, since we were not working with quality equipment (anyway it was "IceBall" and they were plastic, not wood...totally doesn't count).
The kids actually spent the night with my parents, which meant no wake up calls during the night from either kid, and sleeping in until we woke up on our own (which, because we are getting older, is not that late, sadly). It was a little hard to be away from Colin overnight for the first time but also SO GREAT. Thanks again, mom and dad!!
Today was 71 degrees and sunny so the boys and I spent the afternoon outside. It was the kind of weather that just makes you happy. We had a great day. Tomorrow we are flying to New York for a week to spend time with Grammy and Papa and Geo, Ethan's favorite engine in their GeoTrax train set. We are sad to leave Jason, but we are really looking forward to our visit!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Downhill
We started the day off great. There was no preschool, so we met up with 2 other boys from Ethan's class and their moms at a local place filled with a half dozen inflatables to bounce, climb, and slide on. Ethan was in heaven.
For the record, I am proud to announce that Ethan has some suh-weeet Skeeball skills for a 3-year-old, which he inherited from me, which I got from my own mother. That's right, I rock Skeeball. I will take you down any time. Bring your Chuck E Cheese tokens and your kleenex, because you'll be crying your way home. And if that's not enough for you, Jason will kick your butt in air hockey. Yes, we are an extremely talented family.
When we left, Ethan was exhausted and hungry. I picked him up some lunch and a milkshake. We got home and he passed up the milkshake and asked for water. At this point, I should have gone into a complete panic.
Then he said he needed to "lay down on the couch for just a minute because I'm tired." Also a bad sign. I couldn't get him to play or do much of anything besides watch TV, but he said he was feeling fine, so I chalked it up to too much activity, growth spurt, etc. Around 4:00, I picked him up to try to coax him out the door to run a quick errand. He was burning up. I took his temp...102.7. He crawled under the big down comforter on my bed and just laid there with his arm over his eyes, nodding off every once in a while. He pretty quickly started complaining that his stomach hurt, so I knew we were in trouble. At 5:30 he wanted dinner. After 3 bites of applesauce, he threw up everything he'd eaten for lunch. Poor kid. Then he was feeling better and starving, so he ate the rest of the applesauce, some banana, some toast...then threw it all up. He's been asleep for several hours and his fever seems to have broken so hopefully it's a quick bug. I turned my back on him for a few minutes to do something and came back to find him asleep spooning the tupperware bowl. Poor baby.
Jason has a massive, severe, [insert synonym of choice here] aversion to nausea (his) and vomiting (anyone's). If you've ever heard him throw up (and I imagine anyone living within a 3-mile radius of us has), then you know why. It's not pleasant. He would rather cut you open, stitch you up, or disimpact your bowels than deal with vomit. Which explains the following conversation we had earlier tonight:
Jason: This is horrible. What if I get sick? What am I going to do?
Me: You? So what if you get sick? What if I'm home puking and trying to take care of 2 puking little boys?
Jason: That's not nearly as bad as me getting nauseated. Not even a tenth.
In his defense, he was joking. Mostly.
You may be wondering what was going on with Colin while Ethan played happily with his friends and then camped out sick the whole afternoon. He was in his typical happy-to-be-here Colin mode. I know the vast majority of 5-month-olds are (1) adorable, and (2) easy, but, man, is this kid adorable and easy. He just rolled around on the bed happily gurgling at Ethan, the wall, the TV. (Don't worry...I was on perimeter duty while also manning the tupperware container.) After spending the morning with him, my friend said, "I just can't believe this kid. I mean, I can see why Mormons in Utah have 17 kids. I would, too, if they were like this!" Me, too, minus about a dozen kids (and all Mormon babies are the exact same, apparently...my friend said we must have "sedate Mormon blood"....who knew?). I didn't get any photos of him today, but here's one from last Saturday from our very fun trip to a train museum (more on that, and other less graphic details of our lives, when the vomiting stops).
For the record, I am proud to announce that Ethan has some suh-weeet Skeeball skills for a 3-year-old, which he inherited from me, which I got from my own mother. That's right, I rock Skeeball. I will take you down any time. Bring your Chuck E Cheese tokens and your kleenex, because you'll be crying your way home. And if that's not enough for you, Jason will kick your butt in air hockey. Yes, we are an extremely talented family.
When we left, Ethan was exhausted and hungry. I picked him up some lunch and a milkshake. We got home and he passed up the milkshake and asked for water. At this point, I should have gone into a complete panic.
Then he said he needed to "lay down on the couch for just a minute because I'm tired." Also a bad sign. I couldn't get him to play or do much of anything besides watch TV, but he said he was feeling fine, so I chalked it up to too much activity, growth spurt, etc. Around 4:00, I picked him up to try to coax him out the door to run a quick errand. He was burning up. I took his temp...102.7. He crawled under the big down comforter on my bed and just laid there with his arm over his eyes, nodding off every once in a while. He pretty quickly started complaining that his stomach hurt, so I knew we were in trouble. At 5:30 he wanted dinner. After 3 bites of applesauce, he threw up everything he'd eaten for lunch. Poor kid. Then he was feeling better and starving, so he ate the rest of the applesauce, some banana, some toast...then threw it all up. He's been asleep for several hours and his fever seems to have broken so hopefully it's a quick bug. I turned my back on him for a few minutes to do something and came back to find him asleep spooning the tupperware bowl. Poor baby.
Jason has a massive, severe, [insert synonym of choice here] aversion to nausea (his) and vomiting (anyone's). If you've ever heard him throw up (and I imagine anyone living within a 3-mile radius of us has), then you know why. It's not pleasant. He would rather cut you open, stitch you up, or disimpact your bowels than deal with vomit. Which explains the following conversation we had earlier tonight:
Jason: This is horrible. What if I get sick? What am I going to do?
Me: You? So what if you get sick? What if I'm home puking and trying to take care of 2 puking little boys?
Jason: That's not nearly as bad as me getting nauseated. Not even a tenth.
In his defense, he was joking. Mostly.
You may be wondering what was going on with Colin while Ethan played happily with his friends and then camped out sick the whole afternoon. He was in his typical happy-to-be-here Colin mode. I know the vast majority of 5-month-olds are (1) adorable, and (2) easy, but, man, is this kid adorable and easy. He just rolled around on the bed happily gurgling at Ethan, the wall, the TV. (Don't worry...I was on perimeter duty while also manning the tupperware container.) After spending the morning with him, my friend said, "I just can't believe this kid. I mean, I can see why Mormons in Utah have 17 kids. I would, too, if they were like this!" Me, too, minus about a dozen kids (and all Mormon babies are the exact same, apparently...my friend said we must have "sedate Mormon blood"....who knew?). I didn't get any photos of him today, but here's one from last Saturday from our very fun trip to a train museum (more on that, and other less graphic details of our lives, when the vomiting stops).
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