Merry Excited Days

The holidays are fun, right? The boys are NUTS and have been bouncing off the walls. I am glad Christmas is going to be over soon. Don't get me wrong, I am soooooo very excited about tomorrow. Little Man is going to have a BLAST and Squeaker is going to run himself ragged. He has already been practicing unwrapping the gifts from under the tree. But I am done. I need it to be over so I can have some sense of normalcy around here.

Examples of why I need to be done:
90% of what came out of my mouth yesterday was negative and directed at my children's behavior. I felt terrible and awful and like I couldn't get a grip. I hate yelling at them and I hate that I can't help them calm down. I should be able to do that, right. It is part of my job(s). Ah well, going to bed at 8pm helped.

Squeaker has regressed in his napping/falling asleep abilities. Yesterday, after 2 hours, I gave up. He didn't take a nap. And, he needed one.

I have been done with my Christmas shopping for a while, but I had a few returns and decided to get out of the house while my mom did her shopping at the mall yesterday. With the boys. While we strolled around, apparently Squeaker was emptying my purse. And, leaving things places. I don't know what else I am missing, but after searching the house and car, my camera was no where to be found this morning. A few calls and amazingly someone had turned it in at Macy's. Yeah for Christmas spirit!!! So, I had to go back to the mall... on Christmas eve... with everyone else... to retrieve my camera.

Whew, that is all that comes to mind right now. I am sure there was more, but I have blocked most of it (oh yah, crayon all over the furniture and pillows today). Thank goodness for cookies!

Festival of Brrrrrr

The Wild Animal Park has a festival every year around the holidays called the Festival of Lights. I remember volunteering when I was a kid doing face painting or other miscellaneous booths. That might have been the last time I attended the festival and now i am seeing it in a different light. It was beautiful seeing all the lights all over the park and trying out a couple of the free activity booths. The light magic show could have been missed. And snow hill was not a big hit with my boys... maybe next year. Squeaker would have loved it had he not been so sleep deprived and allowed to wear gloves (we couldn't find them... still packed away). Anyhow, it was fun and we might even go back.

Holiday Season

Sorry for the lack of posting, things have been a bit crazy around here... all my projects to do while watching tv are still sitting there since I haven't even been close to a tv. Well, unless it was to put on a show for the boys so I could get just one thing done in peace. :) Anywho... I started at work, and am working 3 days a week. I have only been at the elementary school and already I think I feel comfortable enough there. It is the high school, that I start right after break, that I am worried about. I am sure it will be fine.

So, on another more festive note:

Jingle Bells a la Squeaker

Jingle Bells, Jesus came
all the way,
open sleigh.
Santa go on the sleigh.
Christmas Tree.
Hey!

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer a la Little Man

Rudolph the red nose reindeer
had a very shiny nose
and if you ever saw it
you would even say it glows
all of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names
all of them except for rudolph
join um in the reindeer games.
One froggy christmas eve
santa came to say, ho ho ho.
rudolph with your nose so bright
won't you guide my sleigh tonight.
then how the riendeer loved him
we'll go down in hisTOR EEEEEEEEE

(oh, and slightly off cue.. don't think he'll ever be a professional singer)

The "letter"

My husband is the best Christmas letter writer EVER. He has written several letters that leave you wanting more. And, because they are so good, we get requests... "please write another letter this year". I am not trying to set expectations high or anything, but really, the 'letters' are clever, well thought out and fun to read. Rather than just a run down of what we did or whatever happened over the year, we have had a Lord of the Rings letter and a Twas the Night Before Christmas letter. I am sure there was one or two more (or so I am told) but those two stick out in my mind the most. Sadly, for the past two years, we have had a hiatus. My wonderful, christmas card writing, creative and clever husband basically refused to write our 'letter' for 2 years. So, we went the route of adorable photo cards. I love those, but when you have had a taste of the 'letter', you want more!!! So, finally, I convinced him that enough has happened this year to warrant a return to the 'letter'. He agreed and has completed his task with flying colors. I am not quite clever enough to figure out how to upload the letter on blogger but if you click on the image, a blurry version might pop up for you. There are some being sent out as we speak, so some of you can check your mailboxes in the next few days. It is a good read, with a hidden gem not previously mentioned here before. Check it out. :)

Crossing my fingers

Everyone join me in crossing my fingers... we have a slew of snotty noses around here that need some nudging in the direction of allergies vs colds. Little Man said that last night, his nose was so full of boogies that he had to get up and wipe the outside. Wow, that means that it was a lot... when a 4 year old gets up to wipe his nose in the middle of the night.

Monday Musings

I thought this regular posting of musings would be good... you know, to give me an outlet to post all the crazy things that come out of the boys' mouths during the week. I forgot, however, that my memory is like a sieve... so, it stresses me out each week to remember any of the 40 random comments made. So, this will be the last official monday musing and perhaps I'll throw in a couple here and there for good measure as I remember them in the future. :) Ridiculous, really... I mean, what else do I have to do but sit around and think of the wonderful things that come out of the boys mouths??? Hmmm... maybe I am just cranky because Squeaker teased us by going to sleep on the first try 3 times in a row and today... not so much.

Musing for today:

Dinnertime the other night
Squeaker: I want dessert.
Daddy: You have to finish your dinner first.
Squeaker: Okay. (pushing his food to GaMommy) Here, Gamommy, here is your dessert. I want dessert, Daddy.
GaMommy: No thanks.
Daddy: Um, nice try.
Squeaker: Okay. (and he finishes his dinner)

Glad

I am so glad we went to get our Christmas tree yesterday. It was mid 70s, we were in t-shirts and shorts, there was no one at the tree lot (in Home Depot -- we are big spenders). It was awesome. We got the biggest tree we thought would fit in the living room... maybe 9 feet?... and it looks beautiful -- laying on the floor. The Christmas tree stand was apparently not designed to hold a tree of such grandeur. We went tonight to get a new tree stand, along with everyone else who didn't think of getting a tree yesterday. Holy cow, there were a lot of people there. I am glad we didn't have to wait to get a tree wrapped and trunk trimmed... it was a line like 25 people deep. Yikes!

And, I am also glad, and thankful, that we are living with a babysitter. Daddy and I got to go check out houses during naptime and beyond. It was great. When we got home, there were two awake and happy boys and two brand new gingerbread houses. I guess I have to get used to the idea that Christmas is not that far off.

New Strategies

So, as much as I like/love the whole 1...2...3.. Magic book/strategy, for Little Man, it just isn't right. He ALWAYS gets to 2 before stopping. It is almost like he knows he has that extra chance to do it again before getting into trouble. The idea is that it is supposed to stop behaviors (or start behaviors) by giving the child consistent responses and therefore they know what to expect every time. Well, not so much. All he has learned is that if we want him to start or stop something, we have to count. Fun times. So, we have now told him that we are no longer counting to 3. We are counting to 2. So far, it is working. He stops at 1. Give us a few months, and perhaps we'll stop at 1 and then a time out. Maybe then he'll listen. AUGH. I thought it was supposed to be easy.

New bedtime strategy for Squeaker... screaming at him to stay in your bed for goodness sakes. It doesn't work. We'll keep experimenting. ;)

Daycare Status

So, once again, I have stuck my cute little offspring in daycare. Well, daycare/church preschool. And... I haven't even started working yet! Woo Hoo!!! Today was the first day for Squeaker. Little Man is just extending a couple of his days. So, from what the teachers tell me, they did great. From what the boys told me, it went well too. However, Little Man did not nap, so our evening was less than stellar. Squeaker was as happy as a lark this evening, so he must have slept well. And as we know, he doesn't require as much sleep, anyway.

I start working next week for a couple of weeks until the holiday break, then starting in Jan, I will be 3 days a week in the schools, and doing evaluations, until the end of the school year... if I make it that long. ;)

What I am the most excited about with this whole daycare thing, is that I don't have to put Squeaker down for a nap 3 days/week. that right there is awesome. Maybe I should work full time?!?!

Monday Musings

LM: Yesterday (meaning any day before today) Gavin (a friend at school) and I were fighting.
Me: Oh No! What were you fighting over?
LM: Gavin was fighting me and I was fighting Gavin.
Me: That doesn't sound good.
LM: We were using our hands to fight and he pulled on my shirt and I pulled on his. We both fell down on the ground.
Me: Oh, was this a mean fight or a play fight?
LM: It was playing. It was so we could get our exercise.

Happy Turkey Day

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and is able to enjoy being plastered to the couch in a turkey coma.  In our case, it will be a whole-wheat-pumpkin-muffin-with-homemade-cream-cheese-frosting-turkey coma.  Yummmy!  If you want some, be here at 8am.  Personally, I can't wait.



Apparently I chose the one with the beauty mark on his chin. Better than the possessed turkey that can be seen below... That was when I decided that mini m&m's were not the way to go with the eyes. Good thing I had more food coloring.

Monday Musings

LM: (Throwing legos around the room)
Daddy: Throwing legos is not a good idea.
LM: (keeps throwing legos)
Daddy: Stop throwing legos.
LM: (keeps throwing legos)
Daddy: I already told you to stop throwing Legos, that's 1.
LM: "If you are going to talk to me, I'm going in my room" (Walks off to room - probably to throw more legos around)

Wild Animals

Wild Zoo Animals - Cute lion cubs. The Zookeeper was feeding them raw meat and they were climbing up on that door with their big huge paws. They were so cute!!!

My Wild Animals - this was before they started to climb into the gorilla enclosure. A good choice, if you ask me.  

Dinner Out

Just had to report what a fabulous night out we had... oh, no, not by ourselves... we have yet to do that! We went to the mall around 4:30, kids and GaMommy and all. Despite the constant "waaaaannnntttt wwwwwaaaaatttteeeeerrrrrr" heard in the background from some random stroller left between clothes aisles, it was a pleasant trip to Macy's. (sorry squeaker, mommy can't produce enough water to quench your thirst today) We also stopped by See's* for a chocolate appetizer before dinner. Then, as the boys crash pretty quickly when their blood sugar runs low (especially Little Man), we opted for a stroll across the parking lot to Macaroni Grill. The double bonus was that we got seated quickly (at 6pm) and had Uncle Joey as our server. Woo Hoo. This might have been the most pleasant meal in a while.

Both boys ate their dinner, and without complaint (which is a rarity with LM). They colored, talked, sat nicely, entertained themselves and were easily entertained by the adults when needed. They ate dessert and then some, too. We even stuck around for a few minutes to get serenaded by the roaming opera singer with a beautiful rendition of "A Whole New World". It was awesome. We got home at 8, put the boys in bed and now we are ready to hit the hay. I just am glad that we had a nice family evening out for a change. This might be the last time in a while as I don't want to ruin it. :)

*If you live near See's... have you seen the new truffle they are coming out with after Thanksgiving???? Egg Nog Truffle... yummmy....

Incompatible

My boys are incompatible sleepers. It has been 2 years, and I have finally been convinced. They are just too different and it is not going to work out long-term. When we get a big huge house (oh, don't I wish), we are going to make sure that they can sleep in separate rooms. I don't see how it will work any other way... for my sanity, anyhow. I really, really, really want them to share a room too. Maybe when they are older??? I can only hope.

Otherwise, every naptime is going to end up with the room looking like this.

Little Man:

• Requires a lot of sleep and sleeps soundly for the most part.
  
• Falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.
  
• Wakes up at the crack of dawn, for some unknown reason, still tired.
  

Squeaker:

• Requires minimal sleep, and doesn't sleep very soundly. If he hears anything, he will immediately sit straight up and wake himself up completely instead of rolling over and going back to sleep.
  
• Takes 2 hours to fall asleep on a regular basis for naps, maybe 30-45 min or so at night.
  
• Wakes up at a decent hour, well rested and ready for the day... if allowed. But given my first bullet point, and LM's third bullet point, it is not working out so well.
  

Also not working out so well... naptime. Since it takes Squeaker a good 2 hours to fall asleep most days, LM can't fall asleep in the same room. So, he gets the boot and sleeps in GaMommy's room or our room and is usually awake before Squeaker falls asleep. this is incompatible for me. :)

Ah, fun times. So, most of our afternoon is spent with me pulling my hair out, hoping that my sleeper gets the rest he needs, and the non sleeper gets the rest he requires to grow up big and strong.

Monday Musings

We have a 2 year old on our hands. Full-blown 2 year old!!!!! Look out, and cover your ears.



Pretty much all I have for musings is a miniature contradictor. "want apples", "don't want apples", no, yes, no YESSSS, NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! WHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

FOR. THE. PAST. WEEK. (and then some) Woo hoo.

Summertime?

Dreading Naptime - mostly a rant

So, these days I am dreading naptime. It seems that after 2 years, Squeaker STILL has a difficult time putting himself to sleep on his own. In the early days, and some of you will recall this 'fun' period, it took about 30 minutes of non-stop SCREAMING and thrashing to fall asleep. Then, as he got older, it was about 1-1.5 hours of playing in his crib before he would succumb. Now that he has freedom, it is a bit trickier. He is also a bit more worn out, so that is a bonus, but really, things are never going to change for him. I can not WAIT for his naps to no longer be a requirement. It is exhausting. The problem is, he just doesn't require as much sleep as some people in our family (LM and I) so I am at a loss. How can you not want to sleep??? I don't get it!

Anyhow, he is for sure getting better on the sleeping in a big boy bed, and gets out far less frequently. We have changed our strategy just a bit. Now, he is to go to his room and read for 10 minutes before getting in bed, in the hope that that helps calm him down and gets that book-reading urge out of his system. Then, once in bed, he generally only requires a couple of reminders to get back and stay there. ;) But, is is for sure awake and playing and jumping, and banging the wall, and seriously, he is going to hurt himself one of these days. There are rare, and I mean rare, occasions where he will fall right to sleep, but in general, I am more likely to fall asleep first. ;) Any suggestions??? I can't tape him down, tie him down, or otherwise secure him to the bed without getting visit from CPS... but holy cow, there are days when I consider it!

Oh, the trip to the San Diego Zoo was wonderful. The weather was gorgeous and the timing was perfect for everyones happiness. It seems that I am on a camera strike. I took almost 1,000 pics in October, and now, maybe 20? Not even worth uploading to the computer to post for your pleasure. I better get crackin'! We've not done a whole lot, but I am sure there is a good picture or two on there. I know there is a panda picture. Oh, okay, I will do it tonight after the boys are in bed. Fine.

Monday (oops) Musings

LM: Climbs on the couch and over the back
Me: Please keep your feet on the ground, LM.
LM: climbing on the chair
Me: Don't climb on the furniture
LM: climbs on the coffee table
Me: Do. Not. Climb. On. The. Furniture!
LM: Goes to lay down on the couch.
LM: Mommy, I am not in a very good mood. I think I need to be left alone.
Me: Oh?
LM: I am just not having a good day right now and need to be by myself.
Me: Okay, then.

Moving is Expensive

So, moving is expensive. Not just the actual moving your belongings stuff, but all the 'extras' that go along with it. We are done with the actual move move... but now, all the logistics of becoming CA residents is just money money money.

Wednesday, Daddy and I spent the afternoon at the DMV getting our driver's licenses -- luckily we were able to just renew our old ones from like 6 years ago (that saved a couple bucks, I am sure). -- and registering our cars. So, registering your car in another state... pricey. You pay to register each one, you pay for a smog inspection, you pay for plates, and it all adds up to like $600 at the end of it. It may have been a lot more than that even, I wasn't writing all the checks.

Then, to get licensed to work here I have to pay $10 here to verify this, $30 there to verify that, $70 for fingerprints, and that doesn't even include the cost of the actual license... whenever I get that.

Aughhhh... when is it ever going to end. Don't get me started in registration fees for preschool... seriously $95... why? You have openings, and the application is already photocopied, what more do you need. I am the one paying the monthly fees and for the pediatrician's okay that he is caught up on immunizations. Oh, brother! Sorry, enough complaining. I am off to bed. I am tired of waking up at 5am with Squeaker.

Oh, yah, that. Did i mention that Squeaker has been waking up most mornings around 5am, oblivious to the people around him, just walks down the hall to the living room like he is on a mission. then cries because we put up a gate so he can't go in there and hurt himself when we are all asleep. And, sometimes he can't get out of bed because he is getting out of the wrong side and keeps ramming himself into the wall, which makes him really mad. :( Oh, yah, where was I??? Right, so, he has been getting up and acting strange, then going back to sleep -- but since he is loud and noisy, he wakes up his brother who has a hard time going back to sleep because his mind starts working. ("But, why is it still dark outside", "why is my light not on?", "Why can i hear birds", "why is everyone still sleeping?" -- GO. TO. SLEEP... PLEASE!!!!!). So, we are awake at that point. Fun times. I brought up this waking to the doctor this week when we went in for his 2 year check up and the doc suggested it might be sleepwalking or night terrors. His solution, to wake him up after being asleep for 30 min then put him back to sleep. Try that for a week, then come back to give us another copay so I can tell you there is nothing wrong with him. humph. I suppose I am bitter and tired and just need to not be waking up so dang early every day. So, off to bed. oooo weeee, it is past my bedtime. it is almost 10. nighty night.


** really, I am tired and this post was just a random 'get-it-off-my-chest" post, sorry for that. Maybe I will put some fun pics in next time. :)

School, Sick, and Snotty...

School has begun again for Little Man. His first day was Monday. He told me he loved school about 5 times that afternoon. I am so glad I put him in 5 mornings a week!!! He has already come home with 4 art projects, worksheets and more 'communication' than his previous preschool. It is a nice change. Also, I have enjoyed being able to go into the classroom to drop off/pick up. Last year, I thought that the drop off line (where you don't even have to get out of the car) was awesome. This year, I know get to see what goes on in the classroom and get to spy him for the few minutes until he notices I am there - that is even better. I still have concerns over the 2x/week chapel service and the bible circle/saxon curriculum differentiation... but hey, he is 4 and really, what could they be brainwashing him with, anyway?

Sick times over here. GaMommy had something, and gave a variation to me, then today Squeaker has something that appears to be completely different. My guess -- he picked something up from the doctor's office when we went in for LM's annual checkup (and shots :( ) Luckily we are going in for Squeaker's annual checkup tomorrow and can find out what is ailing him. I guess we will wait on shots for a bit to let him recuperate.

Snotty is not in reference to sick snot. My lovely 4 year old, is a snotty little guy these days. You tell him one thing, and he does the opposite. Or ask him not to do something and he does exactly what you asked him not to do, but louder and more obnoxious. Fun times. I hope that this is a phase and that we are handling it okay so we don't create a oppositional monster. Or, I hope that he is just getting sick off whatever he licked off the patient table at the doctor's office. That might be better so that the 'phase' is even shorter.

Uh, yah fun times. Catcha later. I have to go to bed. I am exhausted and plan to be up several times tonight administering some drug or other to one or both of my kids... or myself.

Monday Musings

Sorry, been busy with moving logistics and working on a newly acquired play structure (off craigslist, of course). Anywho, here are a couple of musings:

LM: I have a good idea of what we can do today.
Me: Oh yah, what is it?
LM: We can go get the play structure and set it up in the backyard so I can play on it.
Me: That is a great idea. You know it is going to take us several days to get it and put it all back together, right?
LM: Oh, well, that is okay, I can help.
Me: And, you will be so helpful too.
LM: I KNOW!

Me: How come you put the shoe on the table?
Squeaker: Because

Me: How come you want to go outside?
Squeaker: Because

Me: How come you put the carrot in your milk?
Squeaker: Because

(do you see a theme here???)

October is over

Thank goodness... We had enough excitement packed into one month that it felt like 3 months. We have some exciting things in store for this month:

• Little Man will start preschool
  
• Little man is going diaperless 24/7. (He was wearing them at night and it seemed to be a habit to use them, or laziness)
  
• Squeaker finally gets his wish and will start potty training. I know that it will probably not go as smoothly as it did for LM, but he is ready. Too bad I'm not :).
  
• I am thinking of picking up a few hours working since we have Daddy and GaMommy at home and no mortgage for the time being.
  
• Oh, and there is Thanksgiving coming up too...wow, wasn't it just January?
  

On a side note - Squeaker is doing really well with the big boy bed. It still takes him a long time to go to sleep, but we are putting him back in bed far less than we were.

I am off to take advantage of the quiet house and am going to take a nap with the boys. I can't recall the last nap I took! Woo hoo!!!

GO TO SLEEP... please.

Pretty Please. We are teaching Squeaker to sleep in a big boy bed. I know, he has been in a big boy bed for a long time... but, since there has been so much going on in our lives, we decided to hold off on the true form of big-boy bed sleeping... and opted for sleeping in a Peapod tent. (Which, by the way is awesome and we LOVE.) Anyhow, since we have been procrastinating at potty training, because we were moving and spending most of our days in the car, we have decided to finally move forward with this milestone. To potty train, however, he needs to be free to get in and out of his bed on his own... not zipped up in a tent. So, first things first, get rid of the tent. It has been about 6 days and here is our progress:

• Day 1: no tent, took 1 hour 30 minutes to stay in bed and fall asleep. Mommy and daddy alternated going in to put him back in bed, both had jello arms that evening (he does way 30 lbs, don't laugh)
  
• Day 2: tent (we had to be somewhere that afternoon). slept well
  
• Day 3: no tent, took an hour and 20 minutes to stay in bed and fall asleep. same deal with mom and dad's arms
  
• Day 4: removed brother from room at naptime. Amazingly, brother fell asleep much quicker without the distraction. Squeaker, on the other hand decided it was more conducive to playtime and emptied all books, puzzles and toys from their designated bins/shelves. Oh, and took 1 hour to fall asleep. Less putting back to bed by mom and dad or perhaps we are getting stronger, cuz our arms weren't tired.
  
• Day 5: brother out of room, takes 1 hour to fall asleep with minimal replacement into bed.
  
• Day 6: Brother out of room, takes 40 minutes to fall asleep with maybe one or two times to put back by mommy.

Woo Hoo -- progress at last!

So, now back to that potty training thing I mentioned. So, Squeaker asks to go poopie and wants his diaper changed immediately following a non-potty poopie. He also will pee and poopie on the potty if placed, pretty much any time during the day. Well, pee pee for sure. So, I feel like that these are enough for us to just go for it. We kinda went all or nothing with Little Man, so why the heck not do it again. And, because we are crazy like that, we are going to do night training at the same time. His diapers are dry pretty much all the time anyway and what is a little extra laundry. I might need to pick up a few more sheets before we start though. Just in case. And, big brother is going to do night training too. This might be a little harder since he drinks like a fish during the day, but it is really the waking to go and not being lazy part we need to focus on. It is pretty much guaranteed that he is going to wake up at night. Won't it be nice to have both boys out of diapers? Sure will. Now what am I going to do with all these extra pullups I bought for them because they were on sale???

I will keep you posted on our progress. Posting may be sparse since we are still quite busy getting settled -- there are preschools to find, jobs to locate, driver's licenses to obtain, and doctors to visit... isn't moving Fun? (that was with a capital F)

Fun and Not so fun

Fun = playing outside at the end of October in shorts and t-shirts.
Not fun= two ER visits in one weekend.

No worries... everyone is okay. all superficial and soft tissue related. no major repairs needed. ;)

Great American Roadtrip- A Trip In Review

States visited: 11

Tires changed: 2

Old friends visited: 2

Fast food playlands conquered: 7

Caffeinated beverages consumed: 4, 251

Miles traveled: 3,880

Hotels slept in: 8

National parks/historical sites visited: 6

Sick kids: 1

Markers consumed: 1.5

Vomit stops: 3

Ghost towns driven by: 2

Nights on the road: 11

People who had a great time but are glad to be done with the trip: 4

Great American Roadtrip- Days 11-12

After leaving Phoenix, we ventured north to visit Montezuma Castle. It was so cool and I wish they still allowed people to climb up to see the interior. It just amazes me that people could build something so amazing that would endure for so many years. I am becoming much more interested in history as I get older (and wiser?). Perhaps I am just now able too appreciate it. From there we headed up toward Sedona. WOW - the drive was spectacular!!! Unfortunately we were unable to get all the way to Sedona itself as the road was closed for some unknown and unfortunate (for us) reason. So, after backtracking a bit, we were back on our way toward the Grand Canyon. Before we entered the Grand Canyon we stopped at one of many small old towns along Historic Route 66, Williams, AZ. It was cute, but the boys' naps were curtailed by the slow speeds and frequent stop signs :(. Ah well.

So... The Grand Canyon... I was amazed and awestruck. It was totally worth the steep entrance fee. We will definitely be going again! For me, it was the best part of the trip. Little Man claims that the Grand Canyon was not as good as the space center but better than the aquarium. Squeaker just kept saying, "All done canon". Humph, kids.

We spent the night at one of the lodges there along the southern rim. That allowed us to check out the sunrise from Yavapai Point before our long day of driving. It was wonderful, cold, but wonderful.

The drive west on I-40 parallels Route 66, so we were able to 'get our kicks'; as well as make progress. Recommended stopping points: Seligman and Kingman. Stopping points to skip: Peach springs.

We arrived in San Diego around 8:30pm and after running around like crazy, headed off to dreamland in our new, temporary home with Ga-Mommy. Home Sweet Home... Finally!!!

Great American Road Trip - Day 10

From Las Cruces, NM to Phoenix, AZ... we drove through a lot of desert. We tried to stop at a ghost town and it was closed... I mean really closed... but it was fun to see, nonetheless. Most importantly, Little Man was so excited every time he saw a cactus. Since he enjoyed seeing them so much, we decided to take a detour out of Tuscon to Saguaro National Forest. It was really unbelievable how many of these cactuses you see. I had NO idea. Totally worth the extra effort if ever in Tuscon.

Oh, and then in Phoenix, we got to visit with another friend from OT school and ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory... boy, I love that place! Not much exciting beyond those two adventures and we are still wiped out. Short post today, gotto get some rest. The mover called and will be in Escondido bright and early Wednesday. This will curtail our leisurely drive home from the Grand Canyon on Tuesday... now we will be sprinting home! I don't know if I will have internet tomorrow night, as we are staying at the Grand Canyon. If I am, I will just be posting pictures... if not, your pics will have to wait until we get a breather later on this week.

Great American Road Trip - Day 9

We thought that a long drive through the western 2/3 of Texas would be boring... boy were we wrong.

We had a birthday boy -- Squeaker is TWO!!!

We had an almost traffic ticket. So, here is what you should not do.... when you are following someone going over the speed limit (7 miles over, mind you) you should not maintain that speed, too. Also, if they get pulled over, you should not pull over too... just ditch them. When you do pull over, the trooper will come tell you that he is going to give you a ticket as well since you were following someone who was speeding, therefore speeding yourself. Oops. Anyway, he was nice and let us go -- maybe it was the screaming two year old in the backseat because stopping woke him up from his nap and now the sun was in his eyes.

Dinner is not enough... must eat markers. Who was the dummy that put markers within his reach?



Other than that, pretty uneventful and now we are done in Texas, finally.

Great American Road Trip - Day 8

I think San Antonio is a great city. It is fun to walk around the city along the river and their famous Riverwalk. First stop was the Alamo, of course. We tried to share an audio tour, but some of us were less interested than others. Little Man really couldn't stand still... he had ants in his pants the whole time. I am thinking that this is when his medicine (for his asthma) kicked in. He would. not. stop. climbing! The Alamo was very interesting, at least in the areas we were able to see and read/ hear about. It made me want to learn more... another day, perhaps. After that, we walked across the street and took a boat tour of the riverwalk and it was quite enjoyable. The weather was perfect all day, and after walking around the old streets and buildings, we stopped in at the oldest riverfront restaurant for lunch. Little Man entertained himself by making a superman cape and a "sun going down over the horizon" with his napkin.

Naptime brought us back to the hotel and what a naptime it was. These boys sure are sleep deprived! We woke them at 5:30 and headed back downtown to explore Hemisfair Park and Tower of the Americas. We walked back to the riverwalk for dinner. Squeaker crawled into his bed as soon as we walked in the door to the hotel and Little Man was not far behind. Rest up boys, because we have a lot of driving to do tomorrow. Not much to see west of here... until we get to our next stop, of course.

Great American Road Trip - Day 7

We are now in San Antonio, TX... just arrived this evening.  The boys are tired after a long day of driving and not much napping.  We are tired after a long day of driving and not much napping. :)

Our main stop today was the Space Center in Houston.  It was everything we thought it would be, but somehow a little bit smaller. Everything we wanted to see and hoped to see was there, but for some reason, I had imagined this huge, amazing museum.  The focus at the space center is not amusing tourists, it is actually, you know, rocket science. So, we opted to do the tram tour -- at noon, after a 3 hour drive, with no lunch.  Again, we are not the smartest of parents.  But, again, the boys did well, except that Squeaker still does not have volume control or patience in small, crowded areas, when someone is talking for more than 5 minutes.   That aside, I think Little Man needs to rest his poor eyelids after that trip.  He truly loved the space center.  Everything was more amazing to him than the next.  Especially since they did such a great job of making everything so life-like.  He was so confused when we came to an exhibit where it showed two astronauts drilling on the moon next to a moon buggy.  He must have asked like five times if it was real.



After a wonderful visit and a quick drive past Houston, we were off to our next to stop, San Antonio.  Several more hours of driving took us well into Texas, were it is just as I imagined it... mostly flat, not much between the major cities, and lots of spanish names of streets, rivers, cities, etc.  It is starting to feel like home!!!

On a side note, where did all those Waffle Houses come from. I thought it would taper off as we drove west, but the are still coming up as frequently as churches in South Carolina and Georgia.

Great American Road Trip - Day 6

We are now west of the Mississippi, and the radio stations all start with "K" instead of "W" now. I always wondered where that invisible line was... guess it isn't so invisible, big body of water and all. Speaking of big bodies of water, Lake Pontchartrain is HUGEMONGOUS!

We had a slow start to the morning, then enjoyed a pleasant morning drive toward New Orleans. After a bit of traffic, we hit the French Quarter at exactly the wrong time for the boys -- hungry and sleepy. You would think we would know this by now, but we like to torture ourselves. They did amazingly well... initially. On the recommendation of a friend, we ate muffulletas, cafe' au lait, and beignets. Squeaker was more interested in eating the pound and a half of powdered sugar atop the beignets -- with a straw, and Little Man, who apparently is not related to me, wanted nothing to do with it... he asked for something "less messy". Um, sorry kiddo, and now mommy gets two!

We walked around the streets and admired the architecture, the performers, the locals whooping at the performers (cheering them on) and the plaquards all along the upper end of Bourbon Street... oops, wrong street for those of an impressionable age. The signs out front of many 'stores' were quite graphic.

Anyway, after a difficult walk back to the car with two tired kids, we managed to head of of the big easy and right into some awful awful awful traffic in Baton Rouge. There was a horrible accident and traffic was backed up pretty much through the entire city on I-10. Needless to say, the lack of movement and white noise from driving curtailed our nappers.
We stopped after naps, right around dinnertime, at a park to play, then strapped the boys into the car for dinner. Notice LM's sweaty head... those boys play HARD!

After calling about 50 hotels, I may be exaggerating slightly, it could have been 45, we had found a vacant room in Jennings, LA, which is where at least one of our wonderful little boys are snoring away to get ready for another busy day... in Texas.

Great American Road Trip - Day 4 and 5

Wow, Day 5 already? I have to include some of day 4 since I took a break for my (lack of) musings. Anyhow, yesterday we had the whole day to explore Atlanta. The first stop was the Georgia Aquarium. It was enjoyable for us all. The boys could have stared into the HUGE tanks for hours... I felt like we were constantly hurrying them along because I was bored. Bad Mommy. And, I didn't want to miss anything and then hit hungry-tired-crabby time (which we did anyway, despite my hurrying). It was an awesome place with some unique sea creatures. My favorites were the river otter and the beluga whales. Squeaker enjoys telling me that he saw a whale shark, of which there were two, but I am not sure he is actually able to point out in a crowd. He just likes saying it. Little Man's favorite part is BY FAR the diver we saw in the very first tank, cleaning the side of the tank with a brush. Man, if I had known this ahead of time, i wouldn't have spent the money on him! :)

We walked around the Olympic centennial park and then played at one of their amazing play structures. Great Fun!

After 3 hour naps, we didn't have much time to explore further than the hotel and the 1 mile radius surrounding it (it was like 5:30 when the awoke). So dinner, then playing with toys in our room, then bed.
Today was a lot of driving, but, we did get to stop in Talladega to see the Speedway. Little Man was more impressed with the pit road section of the tour than anything else... oh wait, I take that back, in the museum and hall of fame, there were racecar video games that they couldn't stay away from (even without quarters). Simple pleasures. My favorite part was the smashed up car where I could explain exactly why he was never allowed to drive a race car, but he could watch and enjoy all he wanted. He could be racing's biggest fan, as long as he does not get behind the wheel.

Now, we are in southern Mississippi, headed to New Orleans tomorrow. Should be a fun day, as long as it isn't too rainy.

Monday Musings

I had a bunch of good ones, but not being able to write them down in the car and having no memory to speak of, I only remember this one by Squeaker:

Squeaker: Hi Momma
Me: Hi Sweetie Pie
Squeaker: No Sweetie pie
Me: Hi Cutie Pie
Squeaker: No Cutie Pie
Me: Hi Marshmallow Guy
Squeaker: hahaha
Squeaker: Hi Marshmallow Mommy

So cute coming from a soon to be 2 year old!!!

I promise to add more as I think of them throughout the week! This is what I get for trying to store them up for Monday.

Great American Road Trip - Day 3

Charleston (or just outside of it), SC --> Atlanta, GA

Our trip should have gone like this:

Wake up early, eat breakfast, meet friend from OT school and head to Charleston to roam around, catch a quick bite to eat and head to Atlanta during naptime.  

Instead it went something like this:

Wake up later than planned, but no biggie because the tire place didn't open until 9.  Eat breakfast and get to the tire place to be assisted by the worlds slowest employee.  Wait 30 minutes to find out the tire cannot be repaired but they do not have the replacement tire needed for vehicle.  Finally find a place that is open on a Sunday that also carries the tire and the headed to Charleston with friend (who humored us while dealt with the tire thing) in the rain and just before our usual lunch time.  Boys did well, especially since there were canons to look at, but ate a very late lunch, drove back to pick up car, and waited another hour or so for them to finish.  We started our drive westbound through South Carolina.  As the boys slept (for LATE naps) I discovered several things:

South Carolina is pretty

There are about 3 gazillion churches

The pace down there is definitely slower -- except when driving. 

South Carolinians don't take major highways... they take the backroads.  When we were on the major highway, there was maybe 1 or 2 local license plates... but, on the 'road less traveled', we might have been the only out-of-towners.  I felt so cool. 

We stopped for dinner to burn some energy.  Squeaker learned a new word: Donalds. (Good ole Mickey D's)

We made it to Atlanta around 10:30 and we are now waiting for Little Man to follow his brother off to dreamland.  I am sure the excitement of yet another hotel combined with his recent dose of albuterol isn't helping.  :)

No pictures today as I am too tired to download them from my camera, and there weren't that many anyway since it was raining most of the day and I tried to keep the camera out of the rain.  

Up next: Adventures in Atlanta -- which will include little to no driving. 

Great American Road Trip - Days 1 and 2

Moving day itself went off without a hitch. The driver was super nice and he and the loaders made loading the truck look easy. It did take them quite a while (maybe 4-4.5 hours), but all in all, pretty painless (for us, anyway). So, after they left, we had to go back and clean the apartment, which always takes longer than you expect. We headed out of town after one last tearful goodbye and got behind the rest of Northern VA getting out of town for the "holiday" weekend. I had no idea that Columbus Day was as big a holiday as Thanksgiving... at least, that is what it seemed like with all the traffic.  I was just glad we were headed to visit Grandma and Grandpa. In the time it usually takes to drive there, we hadn't even left northern va. Yikes! Hope this isn't a sign of what is to come!

A wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Em and Uncle Will, and followed by a wonderful breakfast in the morning -- maybe to entice us to stay??? -- and we were on the road again. Traffic had greatly improved and we were right on track for our next destination. Both boys did extremely well, and we are glad that we piled on so many miles today, before they really knew what they were in for. We drove straight through North Carolina where we walked into a smokehouse, I mean McDonalds, to use the 'facilities'.  We passed through Tijuana, Mexico -- I swear, this trip just flew by.  South Carolinian's have such a great sense of humor.

 We arrived in Summerville, SC (just outside Charleston) right at dinnertime. I first checked into the hotel and when I got back in the car, noticed my tire pressure light had come on. Awesome.  So we crossed the street for dinner and I checked the tires I could hear the air rushing out -- perfect, a flat tire. I am soooooo glad it was in a fairly decent area, not on the major highway and the rain wasn't too bad at the time.  AAA came within 10 minutes and the tire was changed before our food arrived at dinner.

So, here is what we have in store:

- Squeaker and Little Man's coughs (they had colds last week) are getting worse and LM is wheezing.
- I have to find a place to get the tire repaired and/or replaced as early as possible... on a SUNDAY... so we can meet a friend of mine to explore Charleston in the morning before heading off to Atlanta.
- It is raining/drizzling, so playing and exploring outdoors tomorrow isn't going to be as fun as we had hoped -- will it let up???

Finished at last

So, now we wait. It is 11pm and we are finished packing and have done as much cleaning as we can do before the movers arrive in the morning. We are so glad that it is done and all we have to do now is relax and wait. :) And cry. Do you know how hard it is to leave all your wonderful friends and their amazing families??? Hard. Really really really hard. I think if i just say goodbye, c-ya, perhaps it isn't so sad, but then, tears still flow and my heart breaks just a little... especially with all those little ones who we have watched grow from tiny little things to big(ish) kids. Crazy emotions going on over here... forgive me. I wish I were three and could simply say, "It's okay, Mommy, we will make new friends." I wish it were that easy, Little Man.

More exciting posts in the days to follow, I promise!

Um, I need to wash my hair

Monday Musings

In lieu of musings, I am posting pics of Squeaker's week:

Oh, come on, who can resist pictures of adorable children (oh, wait, I am biased)  - I will have plenty of musings next week, I am sure-- I'll be stuck in the car with the kids for hours on end.

Decorating special boxes for our special toys that the moving truck is going to drive to Ga-Mommy's house (we have a theme going here with Squeaker):

Packing our boxes:

Taking a break from packing boxes:

Note to self

If you let your kids stay up late watching a movie, they do not sleep in. humph.

Bad Dreams

Squeaker: I awake.
Me: Okay. Do you want to get out of bed.
Squeaker: Yup. I scary.
Me: What are you scared of?
Squeaker: Monkeys get you 'Geck-a-yin' (his name in Squeaker-ease)
Me: The monkeys are going to get you??? Oh no.
Squeaker: Bite. Leg. and other leg. and other leg.
Me: It is okay. no monkeys around here to get you.
Squeaker: And, Daddy sailboat. Row row boat.
Me: Wow. those are some crazy dreams.
Squeaker: yah. nods head.

Dance Par-tay

Nothing like a dance party... and Squeaker enjoys the pantless version.

October???

Seriously.  October.  I mean, it was just April, wasn't it?  How time flies.  This means that in just a week, we are headed out of VA and will be on our way to CA.  I really can't believe it.  Especially since our house looks like we are planning to stay for another several months.  Oh geez, so much to do... so little time.  :)  Well, guess I should start with breakfast and just go from there.  One step at a time.  

Monday Musings

Me: Telling LM something unimportant, apparently.
LM: Mommy, what did you say?
Me: Repeats unimportant information.
LM: But, What? What did you say?
Me: Nevermind.
LM: Mom, you are ridiculous.
LM: You are a faker.
LM: You are a tree.
Me: What does that mean?
LM: That means you are silly.

Pin the Wheels on the Racecar

Our version of pin the tail on the donkey:

Quiet

You know what is never a good thing... quiet. Especially quiet in the bathroom. No further details... just use your imagination. I will now start being more appreciative of the noise... the never-ending, ear-piercing noise.

Where's Waldo?

We are big fans of look and find books at our house. We have a variety of them and the never loose their power. One that I can't believe we didn't have before, but do now, is Animalia... have you read that one??? It is great. The illustrations are amazing! We went to a reading and signing by the author and some of us were excited to hear about his new book, two others were not quite as excited. Needless to say, we acquired the book, so we are now good to go. And, in the spirit of look and find:

Countdown Continues

So, as excited as we are, I feel we are in need of a little reality check. We have 17 days until the moving truck moves in. Our house sill looks lived in, daily activities are pretty normal (meaning they don't include packing boxes until our arms fall off), and we are in a pretty good mental state. Although these seem like great things, I have a feeling maybe we need to get off our lazy bottoms and start packing already. That will have to wait until tomorrow... today is one last trip to the zoo. :)

Monday Musings

LM: Daddy, can we play the 'ball game'* again.
Daddy: Sure, that sounds good. But maybe we can think of a way to make it more fun this time.
LM: I got it, maybe we can put a spider in there so that it might crawl up and bite your face.
Daddy: in hysterics.... good one, good thinking.

maybe you had to be there but it was SOOOO funny!

*Ball game consists of throwing every ball in the house at a target (in this case a spiderman basket. This is not to be confused with the 'ball room' game -- where you close the door to the bedroom and throw every ball around randomly making a GIGANTIC mess!

Monday Musings

LM: I can see the moon.
Me: Yes, it is a full moon.
LM: Did it eat a lot?


Me: on the phone
LM: Excuse me, Mommy. Excuse me.
Me: Yes, what is it?
LM: Would you do me a favor?
Me: What is the favor?
LM: Could you go in the room and clean up all the cars on the floor that go in the green box.
Me: Very nice asking, but maybe you could go pick them up yourself?
LM: Okay.
(the last two lines are approximate since I was mostly hysterical with laughter at the time)

Wing-to-wing 28

Little Man enjoys making "projects" using various scraps and craft items. Here is his latest creation, which he named the "wing to wing 28". It is some sort of jet, and since his toy jets all have things written on the side (i.e., F-15), he decided that this needed a name of its own. Oh, and it is to be displayed in Mommy and Daddy's room because the two 'love' stickers are there because Mommy loves him and Daddy loves him, one sticker for each person who loves him. :) Ah, the thought that goes into these things... amazing. Oh, and the glasses are to help him see better. :)

Calm Before the Storm

I know I am jinxing myself... but things are going quite well right now. We might have figured out some of our 'issues' with the LM -- stress and lack of sleep leads to not so happy things at our house. But now that we have been home a couple of weeks with a consistent schedule and longer naps/earlier bedtime... we have had a pleasant go of things. Of course, this will last all of one week or so until we start packing up or our worldly possessions and head outta town. ;) Here is a cute picture for to remember this time by:

One Month and Counting

So, we have one month until the movers come and load all our belongings headed for CA. We are both sad and excited (mostly excited), worried and relaxed (mostly relaxed -for the moment). I would have to say that right now, it is the calm before the storm. The boys and I have settled into our new routine of being home all day without school and work. We are trying to play with our friends as much as possible and work on catching up on sleep the best we can. We have started slowly packing, but to tell you the truth, we can't do but so much at this point. Most of the things we have left to pack are our day to day things and toys... oh boy the toys... But, to make things as smooth and stress free as possible, the toys get packed LAST!

Anyway, we are still working out our route, but it appears that we will have 10-12 days to drive, which is awesome. If it could be longer, that would be even better, but we really won't know that until the end of the trip.

Monday Musings

LM was playing with his sound machine at naptime and awoke to a room full of "chimes" after being asleep for about an hour (we were hoping for about 3 on this particular day due to an EVENTFUL weekend).

Me: I am so sorry the bells woke you up?
LM: I am sorry that happened to you, Mommy. That made me crazy.

I think it is better way out of context. Yes, he is right on the nose, he was quite crazy!


------------------------------------------

Me: What do you want to be for halloween?
LM: Answer varies from day to day
A power ranger
Superman
An astronaut
A starwers (don't get me started on his fascination with "Star Wars" -- that is a post entirely its own)

Cross Country Road Trip - take 2

The Map

Monday Musings

Me: What do you want to have for dinner?
LM: Pizza
Squeaker: Pizza and HOT DOGS
Me: Didn't you have pizza for lunch at school.
Squeaker: No. (um, yah, he did)
LM: Yes, but I am a pizza guy.
Me: Yes, you are, yes, you are.

Superman

A tribute to his love of superheros, here is a shot of LM and his friend at the park:

Eating down the kitchen

Wanna know a fun job we have ahead of us??? Eating down our kitchen. We don't plan on moving food items so now we need to figure out how to make a meal out of sweetened condensed milk, pinto beans, and V8 cocktail. Fun, right? Well, it can be if the ingredients of the day include white flour and self-rising flour -- and you have a totally inspiring cookbook a friend bought for you... Oh, and the added bonus of having a 3 year old who wants racecar cupcakes for his last day at daycare. Delicious!

Stop it!

These boys are just getting older too fast. It is not good. Time is flying by too fast. Tonight, Squeaker donned a cute Cars pj set... adorable. LM wore that same out fit less than 2 years ago... but the sad part is that felt like 2 weeks ago. Where did those two years go. So much has happened! I need those years back. Right. Now. My babies are growing up.

Pool party for 1

Monday Musings

Bedtime stall tactics:

Squeaker: No, no kisses
Me: okay, good night
Squeaker: Kisses, kisses, kisses

LM: I am having bad dreams.
(after being in bed 2 minutes)
Me: Okay, why don't you dream about something else?
LM: Like rockets and racecars.
Me: Yes, like that.
LM: OK

Squeaker: Dreams, Mommy, dreams.
Me: Good night, Squeaker.

LM: What are you going to do while I am asleep?
Me: The same thing we tell you every night. Good night.
LM: But what are you going to DOOOOOOOOOOOO.......
Me: Good Night.

Squeaker: Don't like this bed
Me: Too bad. Good night.

LM: I have to go potty.
Me: No you don't, you just went.
LM: Oh.

Squeaker: Mommy, need go potty, please. Poo poo potty. Need go pee pee potty, too.
(and he did, too)

Wahoowa

So, Uncle Sean flew in early this morning and we are headed down to C'ville this weekend to drop him off for the start of his freshman year. It brings back such fun memories of college... especially those first few weeks where you stay up late, meeting all your dormmates... It was just fun! I hope he has a great first year, as I did. The strange thing is, I keep thinking about the next time I do this... for Little Man... yikes-scary thought that it is even on my radar. I sure am glad that isn't for many years!!!

Monday Musings

Sad musings, but musings

Me (to LM): Do you like our apartment?
LM: Sure I do
Me: What do you like the best.
LM: My toys
Me: Oh that is true, but what do you like about the house part of the apartment
LM: The back porch
Me: The back porch, huh, alright.
Me: Do you miss our house?
LM: Yes, I do.
Me: What do you miss about it.
LM: Playing in the backyard.
Me: Our backyard was so fun, wasn't it. We'll get you a backyard again soon, buddy, after we move.
LM: Yea! And toys too in a new house?
Me: Of course, we'll bring all your toys.

57 days and counting

Well, we turned in our 60 day notice this week at our apartment complex. So, that means we need to be out by mid October or we are homeless. We think we may leave even earlier than that so that we can get Little Man started in a preschool well before the Christmas holiday. We'll keep you posted on our ETD. Right now, the next order of business is to find someone to take a large chunk of our hard earned money to move our stuff all the way across country. Apparently we are saving some money by not moving in the summer, but honestly, it can't be much... it is still pretty expensive.

Your job is to help us with our road trip. We are accepting advice, entertainment suggestions, places to see, places to avoid, etc... come on, just do it... just comment... you know you want to... :)

Wristband Lables

Have you seen these: Such a good idea. I will sometimes place a piece of paper in LM's pocket when we go to crowded places where he might take off... this is so much more fun!!!

Monday Musings

Compliments of Squeaker... to show off his blossoming language skills:

"Cookie Monster eyes covered... cookie jar."

Translation and context: he was placing stickers on some paper and had put a cookie jar sticker on his cookie monster sticker's head.

Recovering...

Our great vacation has ended and here is the recap:

Given our late departure on day one, we decided to improvise on the route... I mean, it was late at night and would there really be that much traffic on 95 in NJ and NY at midnight??? Answer: Yes. Construction traffic. Icky, slow, sporadic construction traffic. It possibly added a good hour or two to our trip. YUCK. We left at 4ish in the afternoon and arrived at 3:30ish in the morning. not so fun. So, Daddy headed out with Ga-mommy to find parking after unloading all the stuff and awake boys. All settled in around 4:30, we dozed for a few hours. The next morning, we found a wonderful bright orange surprise attached to our windshield.. street cleaning Wednesday mornings. Ooopsy. We were thankful that it wasn't towed.

Wedding events for the next few days were wonderful and full of family. It was great. The wedding itself was AWESOME. My brother and sister-in-law chose a perfect wedding location and the weather was perfect! The boys were dancing until we dragged them to the car kicking and fighting (because they wanted to dance MORE) at around 10:30. They had a blast.

We ventured up to Maine for a picnic at the "beach". Little Man has been asking to go the beach for months. So we did... the drive up was full of traffic and the weather did not make us want to go for a swim but it was fun to ride the teeter totter and the merry-go-round.

That evening Daddy and I enjoyed watching the Red Sox destroy the A's at Fenway with some friends of the family. Baseball games are fun, even at $7.50/beer.

The rest of the time was spent exploring Boston and trying to catch up on sleep. We did catch a ride on the duck tour to get a quick overview of the city and now we have a few more places to visit the next time we are up there. We left on Tuesday and stuck to the previously laid out route, which ended up being a great idea. We didn't have any traffic all day and avoided a bunch of tolls.

Now, all the laundry is done and we are ready to head back to work and school and rest up for our next adventure.. when ever that may be.

Monday Musings

busy in boston, but can't forget our weekly musing:

Daddy, I'm going to tell you a story that is not in a book. It is about me and my friends and it is only in my mouth. If you want, you can put it in your mouth too - to tell other people. (Don't worry, the story was nothing special - something about LM and friends running).

Monday Musings

A collection of Little Man's thoughts on age:

When I am a Power Ranger, I'm going to be 25. (Apparently someone at daycare has introduced him to power rangers... I didn't know they were still so popular)

When I grow up, I'm going to be bigger and I am going to be Scooby-do.

When I'm 25, I'll be Batman.

LM: When I'm 16, I'm going to be a Power Ranger.
ME: I thought it was when you were 25?
LM: No, 16, I changed my mind.

When I'm 40, I'm going to be older to drive.

Opinions

Come out of hiding everyone and tell me what you think of this trip. Are there places we MUST see... things we MUST do... or places we should be sure to aviod??? Oh yah, and it will be in the fall, so hopefully we'll miss the worst of the hurricane season.


View Larger Map

Now is your chance to comment and comment away... please!

Monday Musings

When following in the car behind Grandma and Aunt Em...

LM: Daddy, let's pass Grandma.
Daddy: We can't. She is leading us to where we are going.
LM: You don't know where you are going???
Daddy: No, Grandma is showing me.
LM: Why don't you use your GPS?
Daddy: I don't have my GPS.
LM: You should bring your GPS next time.

Pssst

We slept through the night... for the first time in like a month! woo hoo... don't tell anyone, it's a secret! I don't want it to come back and bite me in the butt. Shhhhhh....

8 down, many, many more to go

It is our 8th wedding anniversary today and it is really amazing to think back at the start of all this craziness and imagine what the heck we were thinking. I mean that in jest, but seriously, there is no way we could have thought up all that has happened to us over the past several years. We have had many wonderful moments, that is for certain. And, looking back, really, that is all I can remember. I know that there have been some stressful and trying times, but more often than not, those are cloaked by the truly exciting moments in our brief history together. This year has been particularly stressful, but we have managed to remain each others best friend through it all. Sometimes we don't have the energy to talk to each other, but still, best friends.

Thanks and Happy Anniversary!

Bite your tongue!

I just never learn... I mean, really... when I am going to learn to keep my mouth shut. When I posted last week our successes, I was merely trying to throw out some positive vibes. I tend to mostly post about our challenges and woes, kind of like a whine fest. So, I thought perhaps a positive post was in order. Shows what I know. Things went downhill from there. Here we are, our week, by the numbers:

Contagious diseases in our home at any one time: 4
Days off work for Daddy: 1.5
Days off work for Mommy: .5
People we infected: 3, possibly one more... we are waiting for the verdict
Trips to ER: 1
Hours of sleep over weekend: 8 (if we are lucky)
Hours of sleep last night, in particular: 3
Children up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason: 2
Tissues used: 5,649
Coughing fits: 38
Temper tantrums thrown by children in home: 18
Temper tantrums thrown by adults in home: 3
Nebeulizer treatments administered: 9
Parents exhausted: 2

Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy need a date, SOON! Hopefully the boys cooperate and stay healthy and sleep well so that we won't feel guilty for heading out on the town tomorrow night for our anniversary... of course, we may just fall asleep in the car for some peace and quiet. :)

Musings Monday

LM: Mommy, I forgot to ask you something.
Me: What is it?
LM: I forgot to ask you if you wanted me to have geo trax.
Me: Oh really?
LM: I have been waiting and waiting for a long time for the geo trax.
Me: Who knew!?
LM: Yah, you're right, Mom.

Out of the Pit of Despair

So, I am happy to report some progress on some issues we have been having at home... quick and dirty like, since I need to get some cleaning done before I crash:

1. GI issues resolved for 3/4 people in the house... the 4th can fend for himself -- woo hoo
2. Shouldn't even be thinking this but -- Squeaker went to bed without getting up ONCE in his big boy bed tonight. Woo hoo woo hoo
3. Both boys did very well at school today -- hooray... perhaps our crankiness was too MUCH family time. ;)
4. Little Man decided this afternoon that all his pee should go in the potty. Horray, horray
5. Sleep still needed by everyone, but we all seem to be in better spirits (some with the help of spirits. ;) Kidding, sort of... well, coffee helps too)
6. I found the cutest tuxes for the boys today and I just need to find out how to copy the vest or tie or both in victorian lilac. -- I guess a consult with the bride and groom is in order first.

Monday Musings

Yes, we are back. I think we are back in the swing of things and catching up on sleep... for what that is worth since it could change daily. Anyhow, here is today's musing, brought to you by Little Man.

LM: Here Mommy, here is your pretend dinner.
Me: Ohh, yummy, what is it?
LM: Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese and strawberrries.
Me: Oh wow, that sounds yummy. I think i am going to eat that right away.
LM: And, when you finish, you can have the dessert I am making.
Me: Oooo, dessert, What is it?
LM: It is a surprise.
LM: It is strawberrry shortcake. (we are working on the 'surprise' concept, still)
Me: O KAY, yummy. num num, gobble gobble, gobble. I am done with my dinner. Can I have some strawberry shortcake now?
LM: No, you have to finish up all the yucky stuff first.
Me: What yucky stuff.
LM: Um, the vegetables and the bread. (FYI, he doesn't really think vegetables are yucky... must have picked that up at school)
Me: I didn't get any of that.
LM: Here it is. Finish this first, THEN you can have dessert.
Me: I love it when my words get shoved back at me.
LM: Yah, me too, ha ha
Me: HA HA HA HA HA

Grunt, grunt, boom

These are the sweet sounds that came out of Squeaker's side of the room several times today. First during naptime, then bedtime.

So, Daddy was flying solo for naptime, which apparently didn't go well, through no fault of his own. I am not even going to talk about Little Man's 'incident'. Squeaker, on the other hand, decided it was time to go full force into the climbing out of the crib thing he has been experimenting with over the past few weeks. So, today he did it... grunt grunt boom, again and again and again. Finally, we zipped him up in the Peapod and he was off to dreamland. Anywhoo... We decided that we would prefer our child in one piece, so we converted his crib to the toddler bed this evening. It is now 9:37 and the boys are FINALLY asleep. It only took about 20 times of putting Squeaker back in bed and saying "good night", a few (not many) tears, one grunt grunt boom (dunno why he tried it again, I am pretty sure it is easier to climb off the mattress than over the side rail), some back rubbing and mommy sitting in the corner in the dark twice until he fell asleep. (Twice because apparently Little Man was not asleep and when I crept out the first time, his "mommy, where are you going" woke up Squeaker... so we had to do it all over again -- smart mommy waited until BOTH boys were asleep the second time).

Still Alive...

but barely. So incredibly exhausted, but we are moved and closed and all that jazz. WOO HOO. If I were more energetic and not ready for bed at 8:30pm, I would add in a few more woo hoos, but for the moment, I am just glad I have the time and energy to post anything at all.

So, long story short, house is sold (we closed a few days ago), we moved into an apartment about 10ish miles away, we sat down to eat a family dinner tonight for the first time in like a week and a half, mommy and daddy are EXAUSTED, and the boys are 'adjusting'. :)

We have until Tuesday to be completely out of the house, which means that we still haven't completely moved out. We have a bunch of outdoor things that we need to retrieve and some (non-essential) food in the fridge, oh, and we need to clean up our big huge mess... but other than that we are outta there!

Catcha later, when I am just a little more worn down and tired, but presumably that will be the 'bottom' and it is only rest and relaxation from that point forward, right?!?! :)

S M R T

You know what is not so smart...

Moving your kitchen table and chairs (including boosters) to your new residence on Tuesday, but leaving your beds, clothes, food, dishes, etc... at your old residence until Saturday. Um, yah, mealtimes are F u n (that is with a capital F). Oh, and we left one big comfy chair at our old residence, since we were thinking ahead and all that... but moved the chair's cushion. Again, we were thinking!