Friday was our 5th anniversary - 5 wonderful years and 2 wonderful children. You can't just celebrate that one day - so we celebrated all weekend. Friday night we went out to eat (with the boys) to start our celebration with good quality time. On the way home, we rented a movie then put the boys to bed and watched a movie together for the first time in a long time without the boys. That was great - the movie was pretty good, too, The Bounty Hunter.
Saturday morning we lazed around then went to pick up lunches to deliver to the Habitat for Humanity build that Lexmark is sponsoring. The off to get my haircut before going to Aunt Eileen's house for a few hours yard saling (during which time, we made more money with only 5 items in that sale than we made in the yard sale at our house a few weeks ago in which we had 20 pairs of shoes, mass amounts of clothing and several other items). The boys got some quality time running around then Ethan got some quality learning time helping Jonah with the lemonade stand while Alex napped. Then homeward bound with a short stop for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery where we were treated to ice cream by the employee whose paycheck Steve & the boys had found lying on the ground when they were feeding the ducks on Friday. That's right, being a good samaritan and returning the guy's paycheck and he rewarded the whole family. Steve tried to pay (I mean, the guy was a college student and we knew how much his check was, not much) but he said no and then rang us up and paid the bill himself. Class act really. I was impressed. After dessert, we got dinner and headed home (well, I told you we celebrated all weekend - Saturday's celebration was in the form of dessert first, dinner later).
However, that dessert first dinner later thing haunted me a bit as I went to bed with a slight stomach ache but thankfully the boys slept in a bit Sunday. That, of course, meant we didn't quite make it to church. Steve then had a great idea. "Want to take a ride?" "Where?" "Well, I've never been to Lake Cumberland." "OK, let's go." Yeah, lots of planning goes into our adventures. I was confused though when Steve gave the boys baths first and yelled down to me to get underwear for Ethan. I asked why when he could just put on his swimming trunks. Going to the lake to me means going swimming. Apparently, Steve just meant to go take a ride to the lake and come home - no, thank you - let's swim instead. Alex has my mindset on it.
We had, of course, told the boys we were going to play in the water. We found a place to swim and got suited up (aka lifejackets on) much to Alex's chagrin as he wanted in the water right then and had no time to wait for a life jacket. Poor kid, we won out on that one. This spot wasn't ideal though as the rocks were pretty harsh as the waves from passing boats rocked us into them so we decided to find another spot. To say Alex wasn't thrilled is an understatement. We assured him though that we would find a better spot and play some more and he calmed down. We went around the lake about 30 minutes really to a better spot and found the dock but no place to get out there so started to pull away and you'd have thought I took Alex's favorite blankie and paci and sippy all at once at bedtime - he FREAKED. Steve then told him if he didn't stop, we were going home. He empathically said "uh-uh!" and then started saying "NO NO, BAD BOY, Bad, Bad, Bad, No NO!" Ethan then told him, "Owix, you betta hush or we have to go home. We can pway if you stop" and oddly, Alex mellowed out a little. Long enough for us to make it around the corner to a perfect spot to swim. This time Alex couldn't wait to get his life jacket on as he knew the quicker he did, the quicker he'd get in the water. My favorite part of this was when Steve, Alex & I were in the water and Alex was saying "Mon" (as in "come on") to Ethan telling him to get in with us. While Alex loves the water and everything about it, his brother isn't so sold. When he realied though that he could walk about 10 feet out and still only be at his knees, he, too, warmed up. Not enough for me to take him any further though as each time I tried he whigged, Alex laughed and Ethan went back to shore. Oh well, at least we have one water baby. When it was time to go though, this water baby had a total meltdown. I conned (aka - lied to) Alex to get him to come to me in the van so I could strip him and diaper & change him. He then pouted and didn't talk to me for a while on the way home. We've promised him more water fun at the end of the month and promised Ethan he can play in the sand at the water's edge as much as he wants (at the beach of course) and both have been appeased for the time being.
We really had a wonderful weekend. Quality family time all weekend - no chores of any kind. That, of course, meant that Steve did lots of work at home today so thank you, honey, for playing catch up today while I was work so I didn't have to help when I got home :)
Showing posts with label outings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outings. Show all posts
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wet Fun in the Summertime
Here at the Waters household, our summer is off to a great start. Some of you are probably thinking "but the summer is half over, why are you just starting?" It's not that we are just starting; it's more that we are planning to make it last a long time. We loved the cold weather or more specifically snow but we love the warm weather just as much.
Most of our fun has involved playing in water is some form or another so far. I think I already mentioned how the boys played in the water at the Memorial Day picnic in order to rinse all the sand off. That was only the first of many water adventures for this summer. The next one was playing in the sprinklers in the backyard. It's been so hot & humid out that the boys don't get to play outside much during the day without water at some point so sprinklers are our friend.
Alex is fearless when it comes to water of any kind. Ethan is older and more methodical in his actions - he requires more convincing. No problem, Mama can handle that. I went in to change clothes and came out, took both boys by the hand and we ran full force directly into the fountain. Oh yeah, that was fun; a little brisk maybe but a welcome relief from the heat. Alex had been checking the fountain out before but now that I'd gone through it once, that's the only way he wanted to do it after that. I'd go back to the porch and Alex would come over and grab my hand for another run. Ethan saw how much fun that was and despite how much he says he didn't like it, he kept coming back for more as well. It was great fun.
Our next big water adventure was on the 3rd of July when Lexington had our big Independence Day festival. You are right, there isn't much water in Lexington. But knowing how hot it would be and how Alex doesn't handle heat all that well, we had plenty of water bottle along for the day. When both boys seemed to be about at the heat breaking point, I poured a little water over their heads. This was an insult to Ethan; Alex, however, decided it was the most fun game ever.
Our next big water adventure was on the 4th of July and this was BIG water fun. We went to my cousin Andy & Laura's house for a get together to see my Aunt Audrey who was in town. They had a huge inflatable pool with water slide in the backyard. The perfect way to make the boys eat? Show them the pool and tell them they have to eat first...maybe cruel but it worked. This day had 2 of the boys' favorite things - water (even though Ethan is skeptical, he still loves it) and other kids. Several hours of playing here and they were exhausted.
Most of our fun has involved playing in water is some form or another so far. I think I already mentioned how the boys played in the water at the Memorial Day picnic in order to rinse all the sand off. That was only the first of many water adventures for this summer. The next one was playing in the sprinklers in the backyard. It's been so hot & humid out that the boys don't get to play outside much during the day without water at some point so sprinklers are our friend.
Alex is fearless when it comes to water of any kind. Ethan is older and more methodical in his actions - he requires more convincing. No problem, Mama can handle that. I went in to change clothes and came out, took both boys by the hand and we ran full force directly into the fountain. Oh yeah, that was fun; a little brisk maybe but a welcome relief from the heat. Alex had been checking the fountain out before but now that I'd gone through it once, that's the only way he wanted to do it after that. I'd go back to the porch and Alex would come over and grab my hand for another run. Ethan saw how much fun that was and despite how much he says he didn't like it, he kept coming back for more as well. It was great fun.
Alex checking out the fountain, while Ethan runs the other direction.
Just after we ran through the sprinkler Ethan took off but Alex held on to my hand to run around. I'm pretty sure he fell on his butt right after this was taken.
Mama decided Ethan wasn't getting wet enough, so I held him in the sprinklers - he's laughing, not crying, I promise.
Finally, we stopped running through the sprinkler long enough to slide down the now wet slide. It's MUCH faster that way.
Our next big water adventure was on the 3rd of July when Lexington had our big Independence Day festival. You are right, there isn't much water in Lexington. But knowing how hot it would be and how Alex doesn't handle heat all that well, we had plenty of water bottle along for the day. When both boys seemed to be about at the heat breaking point, I poured a little water over their heads. This was an insult to Ethan; Alex, however, decided it was the most fun game ever.
Here you can see Ethan is considering doing the same thing. Notice his shirt is much more dry than Alex's at this point. It soon got just as wet.
Our next big water adventure was on the 4th of July and this was BIG water fun. We went to my cousin Andy & Laura's house for a get together to see my Aunt Audrey who was in town. They had a huge inflatable pool with water slide in the backyard. The perfect way to make the boys eat? Show them the pool and tell them they have to eat first...maybe cruel but it worked. This day had 2 of the boys' favorite things - water (even though Ethan is skeptical, he still loves it) and other kids. Several hours of playing here and they were exhausted.
So we left the pool party exhausted but not too tired to go wait for some fireworks.
I just wish Ethan liked his brother more - you know? Alex just wants to sit and relax, but Ethan just wants to hug him. Love that kid!
And here's big brother make sure little brother doesn't miss anything.
This pretty much says it all - don't worry, he was awake for the big show.
Our latest water adventures have been at the area pools. We've tried a couple of them out and Alex is again proving he is fearless when it comes to water. Ethan wades in to about his belly button, beyond that he is not happy about and he'd actually prefer to stay within 3 feet of the side of the pool. Alex, on the other hand, walks till he's past his belly button and then plops down to sit going all the way under the water. We'll pull him immediately up and he's sputtering and laughing at the same time. Ethan freaks when his head is under the water but Alex may break him of that. A few times of seeing how happy Alex was going under water and Ethan was asking me, "Mama, can I go under water?" Me: "Sure, babe. Go ahead." Ethan then proceeds to stand stoically still and then bends rigidly at the waste and puts his face in the water and immediately jerks back upright. He smiles and says, "I did it!" and then does it again, a little less rigidly this time.
At the pool we went to last weekend, there was a very small kids slide that both boys could do without going all the way under the water. We'd still help Alex back up but Ethan was thrilled that he could do it all alone without going under water.
As you can see, after the first pool experience where Alex kept going under water, we got him a new bathsuit with the built in life jacket. This may seem like a good idea but not so much for this particular kid in this kiddie pool environment. It actually proved to be more difficult for him to get around and easier for him to get under water. When he would go under or more to the point, lose his footing so his feet came out from under him, he'd spin & spin at the top of the water so basically under water because he couldn't go down to get his feet back on the ground. Thankfully, I was standing right there close enough to grab him. What upset him most about that whole experience? That I moved him farther away from the slide to make sure he was ok - as soon as I let him go back to the slide, he calmed down. Fearless. This was on the slightly bigger slide in the slightly deeper part of the pool - 1.5-2 feet instead of just 1 foot. Ethan slid down once with me at the bottom to catch him and the next time he told me not to catch him and was so excited when he stopped himself from going all the way under all by himself. "I did it all by mesef, Mom! I did it!" So excited.
So that's it so far. What's next for us? We've got another pool we've heard about that we want to try out this weekend if the weather permits. All this fun in the sun time is getting us ready for the biggest water adventure of all...Myrtle Beach at the end of August. We can't wait! Since that will be the end of our summer, this really is only the middle and we're just getting started. I promise to give you more updates before we make it all the way to the end.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Spring has sprung in Kentucky
I got home from work today and promptly had Ethan open the window while I opened the backdoor and proceeded to get both boys dressed and shod (I think that's the word) to go enjoy the beautiful weather. Ethan went out back and immediately said, "MAMA! The fwowers growed!" (he totally had to repeat that 3 times for me to get 'the flowers growed' out of what he was saying). Alex's shoes were not totally on yet when Ethan went outside with a ball in his hands which made that process take longer. Alex freaked totally thinking 1) his brother was leaving him & 2) he was going out to play without him. Ethan actually had to come back in and sit with Alex so I could finish getting his shoes on.
The boys had so much fun. Alex was just wandering around checking out the different balls that had spent the winter in Ethan's play house which were now spread out since Ethan's first order of business was to clean out his house. Ethan proceeded to ride his "mococycle" (big wheel) and showed me that he is now big enough and strong enough with enough coordination to actually pedal - such a good boy. Then he remember the important thing - there's sidewalk chalk inside the seat of the bike. YEAH! Both boys proceeded to write all over the patio. To be honest, Alex kept coming inside to try to write on the table and kitchen floor as well. Ethan & I finally convinced him the chalk was better OUTside. We have 2 old sponge mops outside the backdoor - mostly because we forgot we had one when we bought another and put the first outside and forgot to throw it away and then noticed a nasty odor in the laundry room and discovered it was the 2nd mop - then forgot to throw it away as well. Not to worry, the boys put them to good use as erasers for the chalk.
They continued to play while I started dinner. All of a sudden I heard from the backyard [no they weren't unsupervised; I could see them out the window, the door was still open and the backyard is fenced and locked with a padlock - they were trapped], "MAMA! HELP!" It wasn't a panicky "help" but empathic none the less. I went to see what he needed as he seemed fine in the window - turns out he was trying to get in the swing and it kept moving on him. OK - no biggie. I helped him get in and tried to push him but only got 1 small push in for him before Alex planted himself in front of the swing and refused to move while he tried to either pull Ethan out or climb in with him. Since this is definitely a one person swing, Ethan agreed that he would let Alex swing for a bit and Ethan would swing later.
He had alterior motives - he wanted to push his brother. They both enjoyed this immensely as you can see in the pictures below. In the video, Alex has just stopped laughing and Ethan was going to push again but was trying to pose also (a habit of his when cameras come out) so I had to tell him to go ahead and then he needed to make sure his brother understood what was going on so said "laugh Alex" at the end. It would be a longer video but I had to delete pictures off the camera which I've now done so won't have this problem if the situation presents itself again tomorrow.
Ethan, as you an see, proceeded to slide when he wasn't pushing his brother on the swing. They both played until dinner was ready and apparently worked up an appetite as they then both ate their dinners without much coaxing. Popsicles for dessert in the backyard and Ethan's turn swinging rounded out our relaxing evening. It was really wonderful. So glad for Spring and a backyard in which to enjoy it!
The boys had so much fun. Alex was just wandering around checking out the different balls that had spent the winter in Ethan's play house which were now spread out since Ethan's first order of business was to clean out his house. Ethan proceeded to ride his "mococycle" (big wheel) and showed me that he is now big enough and strong enough with enough coordination to actually pedal - such a good boy. Then he remember the important thing - there's sidewalk chalk inside the seat of the bike. YEAH! Both boys proceeded to write all over the patio. To be honest, Alex kept coming inside to try to write on the table and kitchen floor as well. Ethan & I finally convinced him the chalk was better OUTside. We have 2 old sponge mops outside the backdoor - mostly because we forgot we had one when we bought another and put the first outside and forgot to throw it away and then noticed a nasty odor in the laundry room and discovered it was the 2nd mop - then forgot to throw it away as well. Not to worry, the boys put them to good use as erasers for the chalk.
They continued to play while I started dinner. All of a sudden I heard from the backyard [no they weren't unsupervised; I could see them out the window, the door was still open and the backyard is fenced and locked with a padlock - they were trapped], "MAMA! HELP!" It wasn't a panicky "help" but empathic none the less. I went to see what he needed as he seemed fine in the window - turns out he was trying to get in the swing and it kept moving on him. OK - no biggie. I helped him get in and tried to push him but only got 1 small push in for him before Alex planted himself in front of the swing and refused to move while he tried to either pull Ethan out or climb in with him. Since this is definitely a one person swing, Ethan agreed that he would let Alex swing for a bit and Ethan would swing later.
He had alterior motives - he wanted to push his brother. They both enjoyed this immensely as you can see in the pictures below. In the video, Alex has just stopped laughing and Ethan was going to push again but was trying to pose also (a habit of his when cameras come out) so I had to tell him to go ahead and then he needed to make sure his brother understood what was going on so said "laugh Alex" at the end. It would be a longer video but I had to delete pictures off the camera which I've now done so won't have this problem if the situation presents itself again tomorrow.
Ethan, as you an see, proceeded to slide when he wasn't pushing his brother on the swing. They both played until dinner was ready and apparently worked up an appetite as they then both ate their dinners without much coaxing. Popsicles for dessert in the backyard and Ethan's turn swinging rounded out our relaxing evening. It was really wonderful. So glad for Spring and a backyard in which to enjoy it!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wishing
Yesterday we spent some time in Louisville. Steve had gotten a speeding ticket just across the river from Louisville in Clarksville, IN, the last time we went to Illinois. He opted to go to traffic school and was scheduled to go yesterday. [Side note: if you have to do traffic school, do it on Superbowl Sunday - a 5 hour class was 3 hours 45 minutes because the instructor wanted to go to a party.] The boys and I didn't want to just stay home so we dropped Steve off and went to play at the Malls in Louisville.
With our brand new Sit 'n Stand Double stroller, we first headed for Oxmoor. We ate lunch, got Alex his first pair of tennis shoes courtesy of Stride Rite, checked out the Disney Store and then ventured around "just to see" what was there. We happened upon an indoor water fountain and Ethan asked why the money was in there. I told him you can throw pennies into the fountain and make a wish. He thought this was a GREAT idea.
I happened to have 2 pennies. Ethan threw in the first one and I asked what he wished for. He mumbled several times before I could make out what he was saying. You see he was so excited that his wish would come true; his wish "to be a Superman" was going to come true because his penny went into the fountain. He was sooo excited. I said, "you want to be Superman." He said with eye brows bouncing and sheer joy on his face, "oh yes! I wish to be Superman."
He immediately asked for another penny to make Alex's wish. Since Alex was fully enthralled in his dried mangos in his new snack cup, I didn't think he'd mind. Ethan threw in Alex's penny and then told me that "Owix wished for a princess." Me: "He wants a princess?" E: "He wants to BE a princess." Me: "Oh. OK. Well, let's see what else the mall has." E: "But wait. What's Daddy gonna wish for?" Me: "Well, I don't know. I guess Daddy will have to make his own wish because we're out of pennies." E: "OK. I'll tell Daddy to make his wish."
We window shopped a bit more and headed for the car to go check out what the Mall at St. Matthews had to see. First stop - the cleanest family restroom I've ever been into and I've see pretty much every family restroom in Lexington and several others. This bathroom was cleaner than well, a really clean person's bathroom (not mine, because I don't clean nearly as often as I should.)
What did we find when we ventured a bit further? That's right, another wishing fountain. Ethan was downright giddy. We had reloaded on pennies - somehow we only 2 again but that's enough. I asked Ethan who he was wishing for. He was wishing for himself again. Me: "Ok. What did you wish for this time?" E: "I wish to be Superman again. I want to be Superman two time." Me (chuckling at his excitement): "Ok - you can be Superman again." E: "Now I need to wish for Owix again." Me: "OK. But this is our last penny." E (throwing the penny): "Owix wishes to be another princess." (He is only 3 - he doesn't quite understand the difference between a prince and a princess - they are all the same to him.) Me: "OK - Alex can be a prince again, too." E: "But what about Daddy's wish again?" Me: "Daddy will have to fend for himself again, I guess." E: "Yeah, I guess, too."
After a bit more strolling around, we left, picked up Steve and headed for home. We went out to eat back in Lexington and Ethan remembered to tell his Daddy one important thing. "You'll dust have to make your own wish, Dad. We dinint have another penny."
With our brand new Sit 'n Stand Double stroller, we first headed for Oxmoor. We ate lunch, got Alex his first pair of tennis shoes courtesy of Stride Rite, checked out the Disney Store and then ventured around "just to see" what was there. We happened upon an indoor water fountain and Ethan asked why the money was in there. I told him you can throw pennies into the fountain and make a wish. He thought this was a GREAT idea.
I happened to have 2 pennies. Ethan threw in the first one and I asked what he wished for. He mumbled several times before I could make out what he was saying. You see he was so excited that his wish would come true; his wish "to be a Superman" was going to come true because his penny went into the fountain. He was sooo excited. I said, "you want to be Superman." He said with eye brows bouncing and sheer joy on his face, "oh yes! I wish to be Superman."
He immediately asked for another penny to make Alex's wish. Since Alex was fully enthralled in his dried mangos in his new snack cup, I didn't think he'd mind. Ethan threw in Alex's penny and then told me that "Owix wished for a princess." Me: "He wants a princess?" E: "He wants to BE a princess." Me: "Oh. OK. Well, let's see what else the mall has." E: "But wait. What's Daddy gonna wish for?" Me: "Well, I don't know. I guess Daddy will have to make his own wish because we're out of pennies." E: "OK. I'll tell Daddy to make his wish."
We window shopped a bit more and headed for the car to go check out what the Mall at St. Matthews had to see. First stop - the cleanest family restroom I've ever been into and I've see pretty much every family restroom in Lexington and several others. This bathroom was cleaner than well, a really clean person's bathroom (not mine, because I don't clean nearly as often as I should.)
What did we find when we ventured a bit further? That's right, another wishing fountain. Ethan was downright giddy. We had reloaded on pennies - somehow we only 2 again but that's enough. I asked Ethan who he was wishing for. He was wishing for himself again. Me: "Ok. What did you wish for this time?" E: "I wish to be Superman again. I want to be Superman two time." Me (chuckling at his excitement): "Ok - you can be Superman again." E: "Now I need to wish for Owix again." Me: "OK. But this is our last penny." E (throwing the penny): "Owix wishes to be another princess." (He is only 3 - he doesn't quite understand the difference between a prince and a princess - they are all the same to him.) Me: "OK - Alex can be a prince again, too." E: "But what about Daddy's wish again?" Me: "Daddy will have to fend for himself again, I guess." E: "Yeah, I guess, too."
After a bit more strolling around, we left, picked up Steve and headed for home. We went out to eat back in Lexington and Ethan remembered to tell his Daddy one important thing. "You'll dust have to make your own wish, Dad. We dinint have another penny."
Saturday, January 30, 2010
P.S. I think I learned how to upload videos
f this works, you'll now see some snowday videos. If not, you'll see a bunch of garbled stuff.
For those getting this via email, you'll like get the garbled stuff and will have to go to the blog to see the real thing.
For those getting this via email, you'll like get the garbled stuff and will have to go to the blog to see the real thing.
A Perfect Day!
Ethan & I awoke this morning on the couch where we'd fallen asleep watching Aladdin after I put Alex to bed last night. Steve had come home while we were sleeping but I couldn't wake Ethan to get him to go upstairs with us so just rolled over and went back to sleep with him. What did we see when we woke up? A winter wonderland was all around us. It was a bit early to wake Daddy & brother up though so we watched Aladdin again. Then it was still too early to wake them up - brother needs his "west" and Daddy got home after midnight.
Mama had an idea - let's make cinnamon rolls out of the crescent rolls we have in the fridge. Ethan was totally excited to make a "tasty tweet" with Mama. One of the shorts on Disney is something about making Tasting Treats with Z Frank. I melted some butter and rolled out the crescents. I brushed the butter on the rolls and Ethan took our shaker that had cinnamon & sugar mixed in it and gave each roll a very generous coating. I then rolled them up, put a little more butter on top and shook a little more on top for good measure. As I brushed on the butter, Ethan said, "that makes the cimonim stick" - such a bright boy.
We put the rolls in the oven and loaded the dishwasher which we hadn't done last night. Now that the kitchen was clean, we set about making icing. A little warmed up cream cheese, a little confectioners sugar, a little milk and Ethan mixing it and tasting as he goes. Clean 3-year old fingers made it taste just right. The timer went off and the excitement level in the kitchen rose at least 10 fold. "They done, Mama. The ciminim rolls are done! We gots to put icing on dem!" He helped put the icing on and immediately said with eyes glistening with glee, "now let's go get DADDY!" So we took 2 rolls up to wake Daddy. Alex was already awake & playing in his crib so he helped us wake Daddy up, too. I'd bought enough time to let Steve sleep till almost 10.
Downstairs, the boys both at 2 ciminim rolls and yogurt and then watched a movie while I took a shower. Then we set about getting geared up to go play in the snow.
Ethan: long johns, pants, turtle neck & hooded shirt with gloves, hat, snow boots (socks of course), heavy coat & a burp cloth tucked in to cover most of his face since the scarves were mia.
Alex: long johns, cotton pants, sweat pants, turtle neck, & sweatshirt with a pair of Ethan's old shoes (can't find the snow boots that would be his size), hat, mittons (which he took off at every opportunity), coat & a burp cloth tucked in for him, too.
Mama: cuddle duds, jeans, turtle neck, hooded sweatshirt, coat, gloves, scarf
Daddy: snow pants, t-shirt, heavy coat, thick gloves, hat (though this is a shorter list - his stuff was all heavier than ours so he was probably the warmest)
Ethan has snow pants - they are too small. Alex has snow pants - he can't really walk in them and since that's what he seems to enjoy the most, we just tripled his layers and that worked because his legs were still warm when we stripped him down afterwards.
Off to the ballfield about a mile away with a perfect hill and excellent snow. Here's some pictures of the fun:
Mama had an idea - let's make cinnamon rolls out of the crescent rolls we have in the fridge. Ethan was totally excited to make a "tasty tweet" with Mama. One of the shorts on Disney is something about making Tasting Treats with Z Frank. I melted some butter and rolled out the crescents. I brushed the butter on the rolls and Ethan took our shaker that had cinnamon & sugar mixed in it and gave each roll a very generous coating. I then rolled them up, put a little more butter on top and shook a little more on top for good measure. As I brushed on the butter, Ethan said, "that makes the cimonim stick" - such a bright boy.
We put the rolls in the oven and loaded the dishwasher which we hadn't done last night. Now that the kitchen was clean, we set about making icing. A little warmed up cream cheese, a little confectioners sugar, a little milk and Ethan mixing it and tasting as he goes. Clean 3-year old fingers made it taste just right. The timer went off and the excitement level in the kitchen rose at least 10 fold. "They done, Mama. The ciminim rolls are done! We gots to put icing on dem!" He helped put the icing on and immediately said with eyes glistening with glee, "now let's go get DADDY!" So we took 2 rolls up to wake Daddy. Alex was already awake & playing in his crib so he helped us wake Daddy up, too. I'd bought enough time to let Steve sleep till almost 10.
Downstairs, the boys both at 2 ciminim rolls and yogurt and then watched a movie while I took a shower. Then we set about getting geared up to go play in the snow.
Ethan: long johns, pants, turtle neck & hooded shirt with gloves, hat, snow boots (socks of course), heavy coat & a burp cloth tucked in to cover most of his face since the scarves were mia.
Alex: long johns, cotton pants, sweat pants, turtle neck, & sweatshirt with a pair of Ethan's old shoes (can't find the snow boots that would be his size), hat, mittons (which he took off at every opportunity), coat & a burp cloth tucked in for him, too.
Mama: cuddle duds, jeans, turtle neck, hooded sweatshirt, coat, gloves, scarf
Daddy: snow pants, t-shirt, heavy coat, thick gloves, hat (though this is a shorter list - his stuff was all heavier than ours so he was probably the warmest)
Ethan has snow pants - they are too small. Alex has snow pants - he can't really walk in them and since that's what he seems to enjoy the most, we just tripled his layers and that worked because his legs were still warm when we stripped him down afterwards.
Off to the ballfield about a mile away with a perfect hill and excellent snow. Here's some pictures of the fun:
There are more pictures from today as well as some video which I haven't figured out how to post here yet, on my Facebook. All in all, we had a fantastic time playing in the snow as you can clearly see from the faces in these pictures here (for those receiving this via email, you might have to check the blog to see the pictures).
After sledding, we did a quick trip to Walmart where I ran in since Alex was already sleeping and Ethan was sitting sans pants & shoes covered with a blanket so as to not let his snow covered outer layer chill him to the bone. Then we went to Wendy's where Ethan got a Frosty because he had been extra good today and he doesn't like hot cocoa usually cause it's "too hot" - so why not go for some cold ice cream? Then home where I shoveled most of the driveway and sidewalk while Steve got the boys ready for a nap. I actually wanted to do this and 5 minutes into I realized I must have had a bad blow to the head or something to not remember how much I dislike shoveling snow. Anyway, back in the house, I can hear Alex crying. Why? Because he didn't want to go to sleep until I put in his crib because if I'm home, he wants my kisses laying him down apparently. So I obliged him and then was going to head downstairs to blog but was coaxed into taking a nap with Ethan & Steve instead. Ethan wanted to snuggle with both of us and who was I to deny him?
90 minutes later, Steve had to get up to go to work and convinced Ethan to go back to sleep. Another 90 minutes later, we started waking up and finally after a good 3 1/2 hour nap, Alex started talking in his crib so Ethan & I decided to get up as well. I haven't had a nap like that in a LONG time and boy, did it feel good. Downstairs, I had planned to make pork chops and veggies for dinner but needed to start that around 4:30 and as it was now 5:30, we had pizza rolls instead which both boys gobbled up. Then, for dessert, ice cream! Needless to say, both boys ate dinner and dessert with no problems. Then a bit of play time & Monsters, Inc. which we hadn't seen before while I posted pictures and video from today on facebook.
Finally bedtime for the boys and blogging for Mama. Alex, exhausted, even after his really good nap today went right to sleep while I've bellowed to Ethan a few times to stop playing in the hall or the bathroom (he had to pee 6 times since going to bed in a 30 minute timeframe....no, I don't think so). I do believe, however, that he finally caved to sleep about 30 minues ago. Now that I've told you about our truly perfect day, I think I'll head to bed myself. Hope you all enjoyed your day today as well.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Snow Day...FINALLY!
So yesterday we finally got the snow everyone else in our family (ok, those in Illinois & Eastern KY & Virginia anyway) have gotten and bragged out. We didn't get nearly as much as they've had but it was enough for us. We hadn't asked for much anyway, just enough to go sledding.
I knew Ethan liked snow and sledding because from the time the very first flake fell this year, he's asked us to go sledding. Every morning he wakes up and looks outside and comes running to say, "Mama, it's snowing. It's snowing again, Mama," at which point I've usually had to break it to him that no, it isn't snowing - it snowed already and it's still out there. We got a little bit of ground cover but not enough to sled even for someone as light weight as Ethan and each time he sees that remaining snow on the ground, he thinks it is actually snowing. He even tried to argue the point with me one day saying, "Yes, it is, Mama - look, see, snow." I had to tell him yet again that it was not snowing - it snowed already and that was still on the ground from last time and had to stand at the window with him to show him there were no flakes in the air. That all changed yesterday.
I was getting ready for work and it was snowing. Ethan came downstairs and did the usual, "Mama, where's Daddy?" Me: "He's in bed sweetie." E: "Where you going, Mama." Me: "I've got to go work. But guess what." E (sleepily & rubbing his eyes): "What?" Me: "It's SNOWING!" E (not at all sleepily): "It's Snowing?" (runs to the window) "It's snowing a lot, Mama!" Then he started doing the pee-pee dance and since he hadn't been yet, I knew he meant it so I broke his heart and made him leave the window and go pee. Then he came out of the bathroom smiling and said, "Can we go sledding now, Mama?" I told him we would when I got home from work and he'd need to be good for Daddy and then we could go sledding when I got home. He promised he'd be good and was so excited he giggled behind his hand as he watched the snow.
Fast forward to lunch time - Steve & the boys came to see me for lunch cause we had errands to run and bills to pay and Steve had the day off. One of the errands was Walmart and Steve checked-out while I took the boys back to the car. I put Ethan in the car & shut his door and then turned back to the cart to see Alex sitting there smiling at the snow and waving his hands through the flakes that were falling on him. Until that moment, I had no idea that he liked snow until that moment. The look of sheer delight on his face as he waved through the snow flakes that were falling was so cute and funny at the same time. I picked him up and he laughed and laughed as I put him in the seat and buckled him in and he kept just staring at his hand as he flipped it back and forth looking for the snowflakes that had already melted. Then I went around to buckle Ethan who asked me if I wanted some snow. I told him I had enough and he asked if I was sure cause he had some right there in his cup holder - then he looked and so "Oops, it melted." Too funny.
Fast forward again to after work. Even though I left on time (for once), everyone was going about 10 miles an hour to get home so it was dark when I got there. Steve wasn't daunted by this - he was still determined that we should go to Shriner's Hospital where there's a nice hill to sled rather than in the front yard. So while I proceeded to put my cuddle duds and jeans on, Steve put the snow pants & boots & gloves & coats on the boys. He did Alex first and he truly looked like the boy from A Christmas Story - he kept taking a few steps and falling over - he could get back up but he had to roll over and waddle a little...too funny. I have a picture I'll post later. All of us bundled up, we loaded the boys in the car. Steve packed out the sled my dad made for me (all wooden) when I was little, which we learned last January is still excellent for sledding and I can still fit on it, and Ethan's tobogan (which I can't spell so not sure if that's right) & the rubber tube and loaded the trunk. We went first to blow up the tube at the gas station and seeing how dark it was, Steve said when getting back in the car, "maybe we should just sled at home,"...so back home we went (I personally think he should have just listened to me in the first place but oh well, it was snowing - who cares).
We went home and the boys were so excited. Ethan got out and went right over to the yard and waited, impatiently, for his tobogan. I got Alex out and we put a scarf on him. I sat him down and he started walking straight out into the yard. A few steps later he toppled over and started fussing. Turns out when he bends over or looked down, the scarf covered his whole face and that ticked him off. I took the scarf off and he went walking down the hill and made it halfway down before he fell. I went to help him up and turned him over (he was face first in the snow) and he was smiling ear-to-ear and laughing - had no problem with a face full of snow. Back up the hill, I went down first on my old sled with Alex on my lap and he laughed from top to bottom and couldn't wait to get off when we stopped so he could walk around more. I rounded him up (Steve was taking pictures) as Steve headed up the hill to try to help Ethan with his tobogan. With the wind Ethan couldn't quite get on it right (it's flimsy little thing and wasn't very cooperative for a 3 year old to deal with). I headed up the hill with Alex and then handed him off to Steve as I helped Ethan get on the tobogan good. Then down the hill he went and promptly turned sideways and stopped...I followed and turned him back around and gave him another push and he zipped down the little front yard and jumped right up to go again. But at the top of the hill, he decided he'd rather push Daddy than sled again himself. Steve tried to go down on the tube but the hill wasn't steep enough and the snow not deep enough for a tube yet so he gave up and played in the snow with Alex a little as I tried to get Ethan back on the sled. He was not interested though - he just wanted me to get on my sled and let him push me. Hey - I couldn't deny him his only wish so I had to go down the hill again...such a pain - oh well - I tried not to like it too much but wasn't very successful. Ethan followed all the way down and I asked if he was ready to sled now and he wasn't so I asked if he wanted me to pull him up the hill. He did want to do that but was trying to stand on the sled. When I told him he'd have to sit down, he decided he didn't want to. So instead he helped me pull it up the hill where Steve got on and rode it down the hill (possibly with Alex but I don't really remember). At some point, we put Alex inside the tube to keep him corralled a bit.
At this point, both boys were pretty cold but not interested yet in going in - it had been about 10-15 minutes outside by now (seemed longer but it wasn't really). We wanted to get the boys to go down together so we put Ethan on the tube and then put Alex on his lap - they ended up basically laid out flat with Alex laying fully over Ethan. I got beside them as they went down the hill to be able to see Ethan as well as Alex in the picture cause from the front, you only saw Alex. Then I ran down and got a good picture as they stopped of both of them. I'll post this, too, but Alex's expression is priceless - he absolutely loved it and laughed all the way down the hill. As Steve pulled Alex off Ethan, I got a good one of Ethan, too, and though you can only see a small piece of his face due to his hat & coat, you can see the total glee on his face, too. They had such a good time. As we walked back up the hill, Steve went ahead to open the door so we could usher both boys in. Ethan didn't quite realize that was the plan until we got right to the door. He had no intention of going in but sadly, it wasn't his call. Inside, we started peeling off layers and any piece of skin that was bare on any of us was bright red. We quickly warmed up the boys and yes, with us all being sick either now or recently (cause Ethan is much improved as is Alex already and Steve but I'm still coughing my head off daily), we probably shouldn't have gone out but we don't get many chances and the boys had so much fun, I couldn't deny them of it.
And the adventure seems not to have done too much damage. Alex's face is slightly chapped but otherwise, neither one is any worse for the wear. I am pretty sure I made myself worse but I can take it - the expressions and laughs from both boys made it all worth it. We had planned to go out again today but when I got home, Steve & Alex were still napping so I laid down while Ethan watched Dinosaur Train on KET and the next thing I knew it was 4:30 and Steve had to leave for work a little later so we have decided to wait and try again tomorrow. I realize, too, that it's going to be extremely cold tomorrow but Steve plans to get the boys face masks after work tonight to ensure they get full coverage and again, we'll make it a short outing. They enjoy it far too much to deny them so I'm going - cough or no cough (and there will be a cough). I can't wait! I love snow!!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
So far behind....let's try to catch up
I'm so far behind in blog posts now I think I'll never catch up. We've had a very hectic few weeks and I'm completely exhausted. I'll have to skip the specifics on several things I was going to go into detail on but here goes:
1) Our trip to Illinois on Black Friday to see Steve's high school win the state finals in football. The boys had fun visiting with Grandma and Richard & Jewel and a few of Steve's other friends from Morrison. Alex wasn't too thrilled with not having naptime on time - that boy really wants his sleep and he has told us when naptime and bedtime should be and is none too please when the schedule isn't met. At one point I took him out of the stadium area into the snack area to warm up a bit (really windy and very cold - thankfully we had plenty of layers & gloves & hats). There were TVs showing the game in the refreshment area and 3 likely high school boys were laying on the ground watching one of these sets...until we came in. Barb (Grandma), Ethan & I were all with Alex who was thankful to be running around instead of strapped into the car or stuck in seats in the stadium. He had a small football and went right up to the boys and tossed them his ball. He then grunted at them until they got the point and played catch with him for about fifteen minutes while Ethan helped, giggling his little head off. Ethan went back in with his Daddy after a bit and then I took Alex back in and went to get hot cocoa. When I got back, Alex was done with Daddy...apparently because Daddy can't put him to sleep in a sitting position. He can rock him in the recliner or lay down with him but when it comes to sitting straight up, Alex wants me to put him to sleep cause I can recline him better into myself and sort of hum and rock him to sleep. I have to assume that really was the problem because 5 minutes of me doing that and he was out and Steve had been going longer with Alex fighting it the whole time. Totally rotten. But we all had a great time, went for good Chicago pizza after the game and then headed for home where we arrived safely, if exhausted around 1:00am.
1) Our trip to Illinois on Black Friday to see Steve's high school win the state finals in football. The boys had fun visiting with Grandma and Richard & Jewel and a few of Steve's other friends from Morrison. Alex wasn't too thrilled with not having naptime on time - that boy really wants his sleep and he has told us when naptime and bedtime should be and is none too please when the schedule isn't met. At one point I took him out of the stadium area into the snack area to warm up a bit (really windy and very cold - thankfully we had plenty of layers & gloves & hats). There were TVs showing the game in the refreshment area and 3 likely high school boys were laying on the ground watching one of these sets...until we came in. Barb (Grandma), Ethan & I were all with Alex who was thankful to be running around instead of strapped into the car or stuck in seats in the stadium. He had a small football and went right up to the boys and tossed them his ball. He then grunted at them until they got the point and played catch with him for about fifteen minutes while Ethan helped, giggling his little head off. Ethan went back in with his Daddy after a bit and then I took Alex back in and went to get hot cocoa. When I got back, Alex was done with Daddy...apparently because Daddy can't put him to sleep in a sitting position. He can rock him in the recliner or lay down with him but when it comes to sitting straight up, Alex wants me to put him to sleep cause I can recline him better into myself and sort of hum and rock him to sleep. I have to assume that really was the problem because 5 minutes of me doing that and he was out and Steve had been going longer with Alex fighting it the whole time. Totally rotten. But we all had a great time, went for good Chicago pizza after the game and then headed for home where we arrived safely, if exhausted around 1:00am.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Our Weekend
Yesterday Steve worked a split shift so shortly after he left for work at 10:30, the boys & I headed out for some errands. First on the list was to go to the Party Store where the Police Department was again doing the free Kid Print Ids. We had told Ethan we were going to go let the police take his picture which he thought was really cool. Since it was at the Party Store, I thought I could get some supplies for Alex’s birthday party next weekend as well….”thought” is the operative word there.
When we arrived, there was a big sign out front saying it’s their anniversary (15 years I believe) so they had several things going on. This sign sported a giant dragon which I somehow missed while trying to park. Not Ethan…”Mama! Look! A dragon.” Me (not enthusiastically as I was trying to park and as per usual, he’d been talking since we left the house anyway so I barely even registered what he was telling me to look at this time): “Yes, honey.” Ethan (not amused by my lack of enthusiasm or the fact that I hadn’t actually looked): “NO, Mama! LOOK! It’s a dragon.” I have now parked so I looked, sure enough, there’s a dragon. I become slightly more animated and say, “Yes honey, it is a dragon. That’s where we are going to the Party Store.” E: “For the police to take my picture?” Doesn’t miss a beat that kid. Me: “Yep.” E: “I don’t want to the police to take my picture, I dust want to see the dragon.” Me: “How about if we see the dragon while the police take your picture? They’ll give Mama a picture card to have for you and for brother just in case we ever need it. Will that be ok?” E: “Well, ok. But I dust wanna see the dragon.” Me: “OK, we’ll get the picture, see the dragon and get stuff for brother’s birthday party.” E: “OK, we’ll get stuff for my birfday party, too.”….that’s a whole other argument we’ve been trying to explain so I just pretend I didn’t hear it this time.
When we arrived, there was a big sign out front saying it’s their anniversary (15 years I believe) so they had several things going on. This sign sported a giant dragon which I somehow missed while trying to park. Not Ethan…”Mama! Look! A dragon.” Me (not enthusiastically as I was trying to park and as per usual, he’d been talking since we left the house anyway so I barely even registered what he was telling me to look at this time): “Yes, honey.” Ethan (not amused by my lack of enthusiasm or the fact that I hadn’t actually looked): “NO, Mama! LOOK! It’s a dragon.” I have now parked so I looked, sure enough, there’s a dragon. I become slightly more animated and say, “Yes honey, it is a dragon. That’s where we are going to the Party Store.” E: “For the police to take my picture?” Doesn’t miss a beat that kid. Me: “Yep.” E: “I don’t want to the police to take my picture, I dust want to see the dragon.” Me: “How about if we see the dragon while the police take your picture? They’ll give Mama a picture card to have for you and for brother just in case we ever need it. Will that be ok?” E: “Well, ok. But I dust wanna see the dragon.” Me: “OK, we’ll get the picture, see the dragon and get stuff for brother’s birthday party.” E: “OK, we’ll get stuff for my birfday party, too.”….that’s a whole other argument we’ve been trying to explain so I just pretend I didn’t hear it this time.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Wizard of Oz
This was the best date I've ever had! I'm almost positive.
For those who don't know, yesterday my wonderful boss told me that she had tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the Lexington Opera House tonight but wasn't able to use them and offered them to me cause she thought Ethan would enjoy it. So I called Sarah, my wonderful cousin, and she agreed to watch Alex so Ethan & I could go as Steve had to work. So when I got home from work, I told Ethan about it - that we were going to see a play today and it had a scarecrow and a lion and a wizard and a tin man and a witch and even a little doggie, too. He thought that sounded like a great thing to do.
This morning I'm giving kisses as I'm leaving for work and Ethan says, "I want to go to the play Mama." I told him that we would go later tonight. He said, "but I want to go now, Mom. I want to see the scarecwoe." I said, "Honey, Mama has to go to work and you are going to go to Kay's [the babysitter] and then Mama will pick you up and we'll come home and eat dinner and Sarah will come and watch Alex and you & Mama can go." E: "But I dust want to go now, Mom. I don't want to wait." I told him we couldn't, that it wasn't on now, it would be later tonight. E: "They are closed?" Me: "Yes, honey. They are closed but they will be open later tonight."...This is apparently what I should have said in the beginning cause now he was fine and gave me kisses so I could go to work.
For those who don't know, yesterday my wonderful boss told me that she had tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the Lexington Opera House tonight but wasn't able to use them and offered them to me cause she thought Ethan would enjoy it. So I called Sarah, my wonderful cousin, and she agreed to watch Alex so Ethan & I could go as Steve had to work. So when I got home from work, I told Ethan about it - that we were going to see a play today and it had a scarecrow and a lion and a wizard and a tin man and a witch and even a little doggie, too. He thought that sounded like a great thing to do.
This morning I'm giving kisses as I'm leaving for work and Ethan says, "I want to go to the play Mama." I told him that we would go later tonight. He said, "but I want to go now, Mom. I want to see the scarecwoe." I said, "Honey, Mama has to go to work and you are going to go to Kay's [the babysitter] and then Mama will pick you up and we'll come home and eat dinner and Sarah will come and watch Alex and you & Mama can go." E: "But I dust want to go now, Mom. I don't want to wait." I told him we couldn't, that it wasn't on now, it would be later tonight. E: "They are closed?" Me: "Yes, honey. They are closed but they will be open later tonight."...This is apparently what I should have said in the beginning cause now he was fine and gave me kisses so I could go to work.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Week in Review
I already told you about the fun game of “rotten boy” Ethan & Alex enjoyed Monday evening. Here are a few things from the rest of our week.
I got a very sweet voicemail this week from my guys. Steve was on his way to drop the boys off at day care and as usual, they called me on their way. I hear Steve saying “tell her, Alex. What did you want to tell Mama?” Then there’s Ethan saying “he wants to say Ma-ma-ma.” This action repeated twice and then as Ethan said “ma-ma-ma,” I hear Alex chime in “Ma-ma Ma-Ma-Ma.” The cutest thing – I love hearing his little voice through the phone. As I did when Ethan was that age and started to talk, I saved the message so I can replay it at my leisure.
The boys got a package from Grandma on Wednesday. The UPS guy is kind enough to hide them for us and leave us notes as to the location. Ethan was expecting this particular package cause “Ammaw” had told him a few weeks ago she had a Diego book she was going to send him. So when I saw the note from UPS, I put Alex down and before Ethan could get his shoes off, told him to come help me find it. I took him over to the side of the house (it was behind the big blue recycling can) and asked him to look for it. He looked around at all the items right in front of him…he hasn’t yet learned to look behind or under things without prompting, something I’m hoping he grasps soon as it’s about to kill me. “I don’t see it, Mama. It’s not here.” “Yes, it is honey. Just look, you’ll see it.” “No, Mama. I dust don’t see it. It’s dust not here. It didn’t come yet.” I’m standing right beside him and looking at the package in the clear plastic bag which is right behind the can that is RIGHT in front of us. I said, “stand right here with Mama and look…I bet you’ll see it.” As he moves, he says, “Mama, I dust don’t think it came yet. It’s dust….OH!” He found it. Such excitement in that little “oh.” “I dust didn’t see it but it did come, it is here. Look Mama it’s my package from Ammaw. Let’s open it.” (said while walking with said package to the front door).
We get inside where Alex was still patiently waiting for us and I’m barely in the door when he’s begging me to open it. I asked him to wait just a minute so we could take our jackets off yet and I could get Alex a bottle. He’d been patient while we found the package but usually when we get home if I’ve picked them up from day care after work, he’s more than ready for a bottle and if he can get it in before dinner, a 30 minute cat nap to get him through till bedtime. Tonight the nap wasn’t going to happen but he did need the bottle. Ethan not so patiently waited while excitedly showing Alex the package and then as Alex took his bottle and started guzzling, I started on the package. I had Ethan throw away the wrapping as I cut into the tape on the box and he comes running back, “is it my book? Is it my Diego book? Ammaw sent me my book.” I, by the way, had completely forgotten we were going to get a package much less what it was supposed to contain (other than something for Halloween) but Ethan has a mind like a steal trap. If you want to surprise him with something, don’t say it to him ever or even whisper it in his presence cause he’ll hear you and he’ll remind you, repeatedly. Package open, sure enough it’s his Diego book – Diego’s Halloween Party. And a book for Alex about his first Halloween and a couple of other things which I can’t remember right now but I’m certain if I woke Ethan up, he’d tell me what they were and exactly where they are right now.
So now that Ethan has his book and other items and Alex is trying to eat his book because the bottle is gone, I head to the kitchen. Ethan and Alex play well in the front room while I cut up hot dogs for beanie weenies (which both boys love). Steve should be home shortly as he is only working 4 hours this day because a very nice co-worker traded 4 hours Wed for 4 hours Saturday so that Steve could be home for Trick-or-Treat. Dinner is ready when I hear Steve come in but I need to cool Alex’s and get it on the table so need about 5 more minutes so I told Steve to read the book that Ethan was excitedly telling him about. I now know why I read to the boys more than Steve does. He doesn’t seem to have the patience for it and I put more animation into it. Then again, he had just gotten home and wasn’t even fully in the door when both boys ran to him (and then as he walked past Alex to put his badge & phone on the shelf, Alex cried cause he didn’t stop to pick him up first) … so I guess that could have played a part in his lack of enthusiasm for the book.
Thursday I was scheduled to work a half day as a co-worker from our Cebu, Philippines, office was visiting not just the Lexington office for the first time but also the United States for the first time and so we planned to go to Keeneland for the afternoon to give her a taste of Kentucky Horse Racing. She’s the Admin Assistant my group works with in Cebu so the other AA that works with her a lot and I had planned this afternoon out. Steve & I had an errand to run before I headed to Keeneland so he was on his way to meet me and called to tell me Ethan had asked if he was going to get to go to the horse races again and Steve had explained he’s have to wait till the Spring season. But I thought about it and realized I could take the boys if the other two AA’s didn’t mind. I asked and they didn’t mind and thought it would be fun so I let Steve know the plans were changing and called daycare to let them know we wouldn’t be bringing the boys that day. This time I told Ethan all the possible colors for the horses and then asked which one he liked since he does get to pick the color from now on….he still said green for him and purple for me and there was no budging off that. The first race we won $4.80 on one horse; the second we won $15.80 on one horse … all in all, we bet a total of $44 for the day and won most it back as we were only down $27.50 for the day and that includes admission and food (I did the math – we lost $21.50 to food and admission which left only $6.00 we lost on bets). Alex ended up spending most of his time in the stroller because he wanted to walk EVERYWHERE and as we were on a bit of an incline, he couldn’t do that very well and I didn’t particularly want him to crawl. I think the other girls enjoyed Ethan & Alex’s company – they were fairly well behaved considering neither had a nap. Ethan was especially excited when he got to pet some of the Keeneland work horses a few times between races when they’d come to the rail. Alex seemed to enjoy most playing with his brother’s sippy cup. Another good Keeneland day and both boys passed out in the car on the way home.
Friday’s entertainment is compliments of Steve’s status updates on Facebook. The first one he posted said something to the effect of don’t leave big brother’s old sippy cup lying around – Alex had picked it up and from the look on his face it was sour milk in it and that was enough to make Steve dry heave (he has a very bad gag reflex). Apparently, it was one of the sippy cups we hadn’t found in a day or two and it was nice and curdled. I think Steve may have had a worse reaction to it than Alex. The funny thing is though that Alex has his own sippy cup but will have nothing at all to do with it. He takes great pleasure in picking up his brother’s cups to enjoy them but if we give it to him, like with something he should drink in it, he doesn’t want it at all. This doesn’t bode well for the years to come – I can see him now doing exactly what we tell him not to do and if we do give permission for something he wants to do, not doing it just to spite us. A later status update from Steve said that Ethan & Alex were entertaining themselves at the coffee table my dad made for me. Ethan was filling cups (not sure if they were real or pretend cups) with pretend stuff to drink and both boys were drinking it. Alex, not even a year old, will pretend like this with his brother simply because Ethan tells him to. One day a while back, Steve & I were in the kitchen making breakfast or dinner (don’t remember which) and Ethan and Alex were at the gate. Ethan had a wooden spoon and was pretending to feed Alex who was happily eating whatever Ethan had on the spoon…happily that is until he realized he really was hungry and that pretend food wasn’t very filling.
Boys are such fun and they have so much fun together. Stay tuned for our trick-or-treating fun next.
I got a very sweet voicemail this week from my guys. Steve was on his way to drop the boys off at day care and as usual, they called me on their way. I hear Steve saying “tell her, Alex. What did you want to tell Mama?” Then there’s Ethan saying “he wants to say Ma-ma-ma.” This action repeated twice and then as Ethan said “ma-ma-ma,” I hear Alex chime in “Ma-ma Ma-Ma-Ma.” The cutest thing – I love hearing his little voice through the phone. As I did when Ethan was that age and started to talk, I saved the message so I can replay it at my leisure.
The boys got a package from Grandma on Wednesday. The UPS guy is kind enough to hide them for us and leave us notes as to the location. Ethan was expecting this particular package cause “Ammaw” had told him a few weeks ago she had a Diego book she was going to send him. So when I saw the note from UPS, I put Alex down and before Ethan could get his shoes off, told him to come help me find it. I took him over to the side of the house (it was behind the big blue recycling can) and asked him to look for it. He looked around at all the items right in front of him…he hasn’t yet learned to look behind or under things without prompting, something I’m hoping he grasps soon as it’s about to kill me. “I don’t see it, Mama. It’s not here.” “Yes, it is honey. Just look, you’ll see it.” “No, Mama. I dust don’t see it. It’s dust not here. It didn’t come yet.” I’m standing right beside him and looking at the package in the clear plastic bag which is right behind the can that is RIGHT in front of us. I said, “stand right here with Mama and look…I bet you’ll see it.” As he moves, he says, “Mama, I dust don’t think it came yet. It’s dust….OH!” He found it. Such excitement in that little “oh.” “I dust didn’t see it but it did come, it is here. Look Mama it’s my package from Ammaw. Let’s open it.” (said while walking with said package to the front door).
We get inside where Alex was still patiently waiting for us and I’m barely in the door when he’s begging me to open it. I asked him to wait just a minute so we could take our jackets off yet and I could get Alex a bottle. He’d been patient while we found the package but usually when we get home if I’ve picked them up from day care after work, he’s more than ready for a bottle and if he can get it in before dinner, a 30 minute cat nap to get him through till bedtime. Tonight the nap wasn’t going to happen but he did need the bottle. Ethan not so patiently waited while excitedly showing Alex the package and then as Alex took his bottle and started guzzling, I started on the package. I had Ethan throw away the wrapping as I cut into the tape on the box and he comes running back, “is it my book? Is it my Diego book? Ammaw sent me my book.” I, by the way, had completely forgotten we were going to get a package much less what it was supposed to contain (other than something for Halloween) but Ethan has a mind like a steal trap. If you want to surprise him with something, don’t say it to him ever or even whisper it in his presence cause he’ll hear you and he’ll remind you, repeatedly. Package open, sure enough it’s his Diego book – Diego’s Halloween Party. And a book for Alex about his first Halloween and a couple of other things which I can’t remember right now but I’m certain if I woke Ethan up, he’d tell me what they were and exactly where they are right now.
So now that Ethan has his book and other items and Alex is trying to eat his book because the bottle is gone, I head to the kitchen. Ethan and Alex play well in the front room while I cut up hot dogs for beanie weenies (which both boys love). Steve should be home shortly as he is only working 4 hours this day because a very nice co-worker traded 4 hours Wed for 4 hours Saturday so that Steve could be home for Trick-or-Treat. Dinner is ready when I hear Steve come in but I need to cool Alex’s and get it on the table so need about 5 more minutes so I told Steve to read the book that Ethan was excitedly telling him about. I now know why I read to the boys more than Steve does. He doesn’t seem to have the patience for it and I put more animation into it. Then again, he had just gotten home and wasn’t even fully in the door when both boys ran to him (and then as he walked past Alex to put his badge & phone on the shelf, Alex cried cause he didn’t stop to pick him up first) … so I guess that could have played a part in his lack of enthusiasm for the book.
Thursday I was scheduled to work a half day as a co-worker from our Cebu, Philippines, office was visiting not just the Lexington office for the first time but also the United States for the first time and so we planned to go to Keeneland for the afternoon to give her a taste of Kentucky Horse Racing. She’s the Admin Assistant my group works with in Cebu so the other AA that works with her a lot and I had planned this afternoon out. Steve & I had an errand to run before I headed to Keeneland so he was on his way to meet me and called to tell me Ethan had asked if he was going to get to go to the horse races again and Steve had explained he’s have to wait till the Spring season. But I thought about it and realized I could take the boys if the other two AA’s didn’t mind. I asked and they didn’t mind and thought it would be fun so I let Steve know the plans were changing and called daycare to let them know we wouldn’t be bringing the boys that day. This time I told Ethan all the possible colors for the horses and then asked which one he liked since he does get to pick the color from now on….he still said green for him and purple for me and there was no budging off that. The first race we won $4.80 on one horse; the second we won $15.80 on one horse … all in all, we bet a total of $44 for the day and won most it back as we were only down $27.50 for the day and that includes admission and food (I did the math – we lost $21.50 to food and admission which left only $6.00 we lost on bets). Alex ended up spending most of his time in the stroller because he wanted to walk EVERYWHERE and as we were on a bit of an incline, he couldn’t do that very well and I didn’t particularly want him to crawl. I think the other girls enjoyed Ethan & Alex’s company – they were fairly well behaved considering neither had a nap. Ethan was especially excited when he got to pet some of the Keeneland work horses a few times between races when they’d come to the rail. Alex seemed to enjoy most playing with his brother’s sippy cup. Another good Keeneland day and both boys passed out in the car on the way home.
Friday’s entertainment is compliments of Steve’s status updates on Facebook. The first one he posted said something to the effect of don’t leave big brother’s old sippy cup lying around – Alex had picked it up and from the look on his face it was sour milk in it and that was enough to make Steve dry heave (he has a very bad gag reflex). Apparently, it was one of the sippy cups we hadn’t found in a day or two and it was nice and curdled. I think Steve may have had a worse reaction to it than Alex. The funny thing is though that Alex has his own sippy cup but will have nothing at all to do with it. He takes great pleasure in picking up his brother’s cups to enjoy them but if we give it to him, like with something he should drink in it, he doesn’t want it at all. This doesn’t bode well for the years to come – I can see him now doing exactly what we tell him not to do and if we do give permission for something he wants to do, not doing it just to spite us. A later status update from Steve said that Ethan & Alex were entertaining themselves at the coffee table my dad made for me. Ethan was filling cups (not sure if they were real or pretend cups) with pretend stuff to drink and both boys were drinking it. Alex, not even a year old, will pretend like this with his brother simply because Ethan tells him to. One day a while back, Steve & I were in the kitchen making breakfast or dinner (don’t remember which) and Ethan and Alex were at the gate. Ethan had a wooden spoon and was pretending to feed Alex who was happily eating whatever Ethan had on the spoon…happily that is until he realized he really was hungry and that pretend food wasn’t very filling.
Boys are such fun and they have so much fun together. Stay tuned for our trick-or-treating fun next.
Trick or Treat
Ethan was a dinosaur and Alex was a lion but what was Mama going to be? I had originally planned to be a clown because Ethan liked Ronald McDonald so much but then last week at Walmart, Ethan started seeing costumes and telling me I should be that. So I kept asking what he wanted me to be. He had it narrowed down to a ghost, a scarecrow, a clown (with pink hair) or a witch. I told him I didn’t have a hat for the witch so he kind of dropped that one and then slowly the ghost stopped being mentioned also. But he kept waffling between scarecrow and clown. So today we finally head to Walmart to get whatever I’ll need to do whichever costume it is to be. For a scarecrow, I needed some hay which I had planned to use the Alfalfa we get to line the rabbit cage (which he eats also) since I could use it for the rabbit later. For the clown, I need the white make-up and spray for my hair. We’re in the aisle and Ethan is still waffling…until he sees a clown wig with pink, green, blue & orange hair. “You gonna be a clown, Mom.” OK that’s settled. What color hair? Orange, Blue, Green, Pink? “Green, Mom. You need green hair and I need green hair, too.” No baby, you have your dinosaur costume, you don’t need green hair. “But I do, my dinosaur needs geen hair.” OK, we’ll color the front of your hair green for your costume. “OK” We got the glow lights Ethan wanted for he and Alex and off to home for naps.
Ethan, Alex & I took a good nap together in my bed (a rarity these days) and Steve slept in Ethan’s bed. Alex woke up before I was ready as I had a massive headache and Ethan was still out, so like a good Mom, I put him off on his Daddy (smile). I took him into the other room and deposited him with Steve so I could come back and lay down. My plan wasn’t really to sleep for another hour as I thought Ethan would be up any minute. I just needed to lay down on my other side to try to aleve the headache which pounding. However, since Ethan did sleep another hour, I did, too. This put us a bit behind when it came to getting costumed up but who cares – naps are awesome.
Ethan, Alex & I took a good nap together in my bed (a rarity these days) and Steve slept in Ethan’s bed. Alex woke up before I was ready as I had a massive headache and Ethan was still out, so like a good Mom, I put him off on his Daddy (smile). I took him into the other room and deposited him with Steve so I could come back and lay down. My plan wasn’t really to sleep for another hour as I thought Ethan would be up any minute. I just needed to lay down on my other side to try to aleve the headache which pounding. However, since Ethan did sleep another hour, I did, too. This put us a bit behind when it came to getting costumed up but who cares – naps are awesome.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Keeneland & Carving
Keeneland
It was a gorgeous day to go to Keeneland so we decided to treat ourselves. We're on the way there and Ethan tells us what horse he likes best..."the green one." When asked what horse was Mama's horse, "the purple one"...Daddy's horse? "the green one like me."...ok then, now we know what horses to bet. Honest to God, betting the 5 horse, which was marked by the green blanket under the saddle, and the 10 horse, which had the purple blanket, in every race (we were there for races 4-9), we won money in every race except one and we actually came out a few dollars ahead I think. Or I should say, Ethan did. In the last race, we even had the win, place & show horses. If we'd bet them to win, we'd have been a bit more ahead but we're not greedy. Ethan, for future reference, will be choosing the color of the day before each adventure to Keeneland. It was great.
So the parents had fun cause we won the races. Ethan doesn't really know much about that but he still had a ball....there were tractors on the race track and he got to pet a horse. What more could a 3 year old boy ask for? Alex, you may ask. What about Alex? Oh yeah, he had a big time....he got to walk around and try to run away and play with the rope (the rope behind the handicapped seating in the reserved section) and flirt with all kinds of people (a favorite passtime of his) and he got to eat....all day...he thanked us for this by puking down my leg, an indication he was a bit too full cause he did it while laughing and continued right on. Oh well - they were blue jeans and I had wipes - no biggie. He also puked on his Daddy while Mama took Ethan to the bathroom...since Daddy doesn't handle puke very well, this was fun for Mama, too. I'm evil, I know.
Carving Pumpkins
Home from the races - time to eat dinner and carve the pumpkins the boys & I got a Walmart last night. I had to leave them and the carving tools in the car last night to try for the "out of sight, out of mind" aspect for Ethan. From the time we picked up the carving tools last night at the beginning of our shopping trip (a mistake I won't make again), all he wanted was to open them and dive in.
So dinner is done and Mama has straightened the kitchen (I definitely didn't clean it - it's been a long day and Ethan can't wait another day to do the pumpkins so straightening to make space to carve, is about all we've got time for). I tell Ethan to tell Daddy it's time to carve the pumpins. Mr. Excited tells Daddy, "I'm gonna get my knifses and make faces on the punkins...I just gotta get my knifses...come on Daddy, we gotta get my knifses." So now we're in the kitchen flipping through the book to see what we should carve. Daddy is going to help Ethan and Mama will do Alex's pumpkin. Ethan decides his pumpkin should be the ghost that says "boo" and Alex's pumpkin should say trick or treat. No matter how hard Mama pushed for the skull (which looked much easier), he was adament that Alex's pumpkin should be the trick or treat pumpkin. So now to the carving...
Alex is sitting in his high chair with a couple of nilla wafers watching the action. Ethan is content to hold the "scraper" tools while Mama & Daddy first punch holes to be able to do the connect the dots carving technique then do the actual carving because "the knifses are sharp? I might hurt myself?" Yes, they are dangerous. "Daddy, those are dangous. Caresul, you don't hurt youself." (spelling errors on purpose for pronunciation effect). Ethan is quite litterally running from one side of the table to the other monitoring our process. Alex is less enthralled and, as it's now 8:00 (bedtime), less and less willing to sit patiently.
Finally the carving portion is done and it's time to scrape the inside of the pumpkins. This is the part Ethan has been waiting for, right? Steve tells him to stick his hand up in there and grab that stuff out and put it in the bowl. The look on his face was priceless....he looked at Steve like "you're kidding right?" and Steve said, go ahead, put your hand in there. E: "no, it's yukky" S: "you want Daddy to do it?" E: "uh huh." Mama is still carving at this point. Steve says ok and starts to do it. Ethan wants to get on the table (a no-no) and so Steve continues to try to tell him to get the guts out in an effort to keep him off the table. There is now a huge pile of gunk in the container on the table. Steve tries to show Ethan that inside the pumpkin is harmless by telling him to stick his hands in that bowl and feel it. Ethan tries to use the scraper and dig around. Steve tells him no, do it with his hand cause he can't feel it with the scraper. Ethan gets this look I can only describe as a prissy little girl on the playground at school who has just been showed a really disgusting spider or lizard or possibly has just had a worm put down her shirt and does that full body shake....it was so funny we were almost in tears...he said (almost in tears himself), "it's dirty, Daddy, it's yukky"....this from the boy who has never met a mud puddle, dirt pile or anything remotely dirty outside that he didn't like and try to jump into with his whole body. Knowing this, Steve put some of the guts of the pumpkin on Ethan's arm - you'd have thought he wiped puke on Ethan....he almost melted down...but when assured it would come off with soap, he calmed down. Priceless.
Alex, at this point, has given us all the patience he had in his tiny little body and is done with the "I'm almost done" promises. He's now whining a tone that says, "I don't care if you are almost done, it is past my bedtime, I've been good all day, get up, get me a bottle and please, if you love me, put me in bed." We didn't respond as he was hoping - Daddy did say "I'm almost there, Aggy, Daddy's going to get you a bottle." However, Alex saw no movement on our part so the "please" left his tone entirely and the whine did, too, replaced by a demand in the form of outright crying. Ok, we got it...Daddy was done anyway so he got up and started making the bottle. The fact that Alex didn't have it yet, though, made the cry not stop. I think he thought if he stopped, we wouldn't think he was serious. I had finished carving around the time Ethan made the face that had us all in tears and had begun scraping. Daddy is almost done with the bottle (had to find one first) and Mama is done scraping but I had to wash my hands first - Alex got louder because I had the audacity to get up and walk past him without picking him up. I washed my hands and redeemed myself by picking him up from the highchair just as Daddy finished the bottle. He gave me the look of "finally, it's about time and don't do this again" as I put the bottle in his mouth and rocked him a bit.
I continued to rock Alex who was sleepily drinking his bottle as Steve found candles but....where's the aim 'n flame? It's upstairs on the shelf in the boys' room from when candle aroma therapy became necessary after an especially explosive poopy reaction to a new medication Alex was taking. So I take Alex up, deposit him and his bottle in the crib and get the lighter. Back downstairs, we head outside with Ethan, both pumpkins and 2 candles. We took some really cute pictures of Ethan sitting on the step between the 2 pumpkins saying "cheese pizza" (Happy Halloween is apparently unexceptable to him). Pictures done, it's bedtime.
We really had a fantastic day. No one really got in trouble - considering Ethan had no nap, he listened very well. Don't read that as he listened all day; he didn't - but considering the lack of nap, he did really well. The pumpkins turned out great (as usual, pictures to be posted later) and tomorrow we'll try to get some with both boys. Though I didn't actually try, I'm pretty sure Alex would have said "absolutely not" had I tried to get him involved in that tonight. All in all, a great day was had by all.
It was a gorgeous day to go to Keeneland so we decided to treat ourselves. We're on the way there and Ethan tells us what horse he likes best..."the green one." When asked what horse was Mama's horse, "the purple one"...Daddy's horse? "the green one like me."...ok then, now we know what horses to bet. Honest to God, betting the 5 horse, which was marked by the green blanket under the saddle, and the 10 horse, which had the purple blanket, in every race (we were there for races 4-9), we won money in every race except one and we actually came out a few dollars ahead I think. Or I should say, Ethan did. In the last race, we even had the win, place & show horses. If we'd bet them to win, we'd have been a bit more ahead but we're not greedy. Ethan, for future reference, will be choosing the color of the day before each adventure to Keeneland. It was great.
So the parents had fun cause we won the races. Ethan doesn't really know much about that but he still had a ball....there were tractors on the race track and he got to pet a horse. What more could a 3 year old boy ask for? Alex, you may ask. What about Alex? Oh yeah, he had a big time....he got to walk around and try to run away and play with the rope (the rope behind the handicapped seating in the reserved section) and flirt with all kinds of people (a favorite passtime of his) and he got to eat....all day...he thanked us for this by puking down my leg, an indication he was a bit too full cause he did it while laughing and continued right on. Oh well - they were blue jeans and I had wipes - no biggie. He also puked on his Daddy while Mama took Ethan to the bathroom...since Daddy doesn't handle puke very well, this was fun for Mama, too. I'm evil, I know.
Carving Pumpkins
Home from the races - time to eat dinner and carve the pumpkins the boys & I got a Walmart last night. I had to leave them and the carving tools in the car last night to try for the "out of sight, out of mind" aspect for Ethan. From the time we picked up the carving tools last night at the beginning of our shopping trip (a mistake I won't make again), all he wanted was to open them and dive in.
So dinner is done and Mama has straightened the kitchen (I definitely didn't clean it - it's been a long day and Ethan can't wait another day to do the pumpkins so straightening to make space to carve, is about all we've got time for). I tell Ethan to tell Daddy it's time to carve the pumpins. Mr. Excited tells Daddy, "I'm gonna get my knifses and make faces on the punkins...I just gotta get my knifses...come on Daddy, we gotta get my knifses." So now we're in the kitchen flipping through the book to see what we should carve. Daddy is going to help Ethan and Mama will do Alex's pumpkin. Ethan decides his pumpkin should be the ghost that says "boo" and Alex's pumpkin should say trick or treat. No matter how hard Mama pushed for the skull (which looked much easier), he was adament that Alex's pumpkin should be the trick or treat pumpkin. So now to the carving...
Alex is sitting in his high chair with a couple of nilla wafers watching the action. Ethan is content to hold the "scraper" tools while Mama & Daddy first punch holes to be able to do the connect the dots carving technique then do the actual carving because "the knifses are sharp? I might hurt myself?" Yes, they are dangerous. "Daddy, those are dangous. Caresul, you don't hurt youself." (spelling errors on purpose for pronunciation effect). Ethan is quite litterally running from one side of the table to the other monitoring our process. Alex is less enthralled and, as it's now 8:00 (bedtime), less and less willing to sit patiently.
Finally the carving portion is done and it's time to scrape the inside of the pumpkins. This is the part Ethan has been waiting for, right? Steve tells him to stick his hand up in there and grab that stuff out and put it in the bowl. The look on his face was priceless....he looked at Steve like "you're kidding right?" and Steve said, go ahead, put your hand in there. E: "no, it's yukky" S: "you want Daddy to do it?" E: "uh huh." Mama is still carving at this point. Steve says ok and starts to do it. Ethan wants to get on the table (a no-no) and so Steve continues to try to tell him to get the guts out in an effort to keep him off the table. There is now a huge pile of gunk in the container on the table. Steve tries to show Ethan that inside the pumpkin is harmless by telling him to stick his hands in that bowl and feel it. Ethan tries to use the scraper and dig around. Steve tells him no, do it with his hand cause he can't feel it with the scraper. Ethan gets this look I can only describe as a prissy little girl on the playground at school who has just been showed a really disgusting spider or lizard or possibly has just had a worm put down her shirt and does that full body shake....it was so funny we were almost in tears...he said (almost in tears himself), "it's dirty, Daddy, it's yukky"....this from the boy who has never met a mud puddle, dirt pile or anything remotely dirty outside that he didn't like and try to jump into with his whole body. Knowing this, Steve put some of the guts of the pumpkin on Ethan's arm - you'd have thought he wiped puke on Ethan....he almost melted down...but when assured it would come off with soap, he calmed down. Priceless.
Alex, at this point, has given us all the patience he had in his tiny little body and is done with the "I'm almost done" promises. He's now whining a tone that says, "I don't care if you are almost done, it is past my bedtime, I've been good all day, get up, get me a bottle and please, if you love me, put me in bed." We didn't respond as he was hoping - Daddy did say "I'm almost there, Aggy, Daddy's going to get you a bottle." However, Alex saw no movement on our part so the "please" left his tone entirely and the whine did, too, replaced by a demand in the form of outright crying. Ok, we got it...Daddy was done anyway so he got up and started making the bottle. The fact that Alex didn't have it yet, though, made the cry not stop. I think he thought if he stopped, we wouldn't think he was serious. I had finished carving around the time Ethan made the face that had us all in tears and had begun scraping. Daddy is almost done with the bottle (had to find one first) and Mama is done scraping but I had to wash my hands first - Alex got louder because I had the audacity to get up and walk past him without picking him up. I washed my hands and redeemed myself by picking him up from the highchair just as Daddy finished the bottle. He gave me the look of "finally, it's about time and don't do this again" as I put the bottle in his mouth and rocked him a bit.
I continued to rock Alex who was sleepily drinking his bottle as Steve found candles but....where's the aim 'n flame? It's upstairs on the shelf in the boys' room from when candle aroma therapy became necessary after an especially explosive poopy reaction to a new medication Alex was taking. So I take Alex up, deposit him and his bottle in the crib and get the lighter. Back downstairs, we head outside with Ethan, both pumpkins and 2 candles. We took some really cute pictures of Ethan sitting on the step between the 2 pumpkins saying "cheese pizza" (Happy Halloween is apparently unexceptable to him). Pictures done, it's bedtime.
We really had a fantastic day. No one really got in trouble - considering Ethan had no nap, he listened very well. Don't read that as he listened all day; he didn't - but considering the lack of nap, he did really well. The pumpkins turned out great (as usual, pictures to be posted later) and tomorrow we'll try to get some with both boys. Though I didn't actually try, I'm pretty sure Alex would have said "absolutely not" had I tried to get him involved in that tonight. All in all, a great day was had by all.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Ethan's best friend....Ronald McDonald
Since Ethan enjoyed Ronald so much the first time and keeps talking about him everytime we pass the golden arches, I had promised to take him to McDonald's around the corner yesterday cause Ronald was supposed to be there. I was exhausted as it was a really long day at work yesterday, but I promised, so I did (not that he remembered cause he knew we were going but doesn't know what the days are so I could have just not mentioned it but I did anyway). So this McDonald's went all out....this place was insane and VERY crowded.
Ethan couldn't wait to see Ronald again. He did wait until I could get Alex in a high chair to make it a bit easier and then he snuck through the people to get up there to see Ronald again. Then he saw an empty chair in front of me and came back and climbed up so he could see over everyone.....then it changed....Grimace showed up. I, myself, don't think I've ever seen Grimace before. I mentioned before that we weren't sure how Ethan would take to Ronald because he usually doesn't do meetings with "characters" well. Turns out Ronald is awesome cause he's an actual person who just looks weird....Grimace on the other hand was this big giant thing in a big costume and not at all "person-like."....he was petrified....he started climbing out of the chair and I thought it was to get a closer look. Nope. It was to get more people between he and Grimace...he came around behind me and that wasn't far enough; he got in the corner (right behind where we were) and pulled Alex's high chair in front of him so Alex was like a shield....by this time, Grimace had gotten to the front of the room. So now what?
I tried asking if we could go get something to eat until Grimace left. NOOOOO ... didn't want to be near Grimace but didn't want to leave Ronald either. So the manager started taking pictures of each kid with Grimace & Ronald. I tried to get Alex out to do this - Ethan almost had a meltdown, as if I were handing his brother over to a monster (which in retrospect, I guess Grimace kind of is). So now I'm trying to get the manager's attention because Ethan won't move until he can talk to Ronald and get a picture. I tell her the issue; she asks if we could just come back another time when Grimace isn't there. I explain, I've tried that and can't get him out of the room. She understands completely....most of the crowd has now had pictures and have dispersed a bit to get food and tables...she gets Ronald's attention and let's him know there's another "friend" in the back of the room. Ronald looks up and says, "Oh that's my friend! We've met before last week." (what a GREAT! Ronald) I tell Ronald, yes, but that he's afraid of Grimace. Ronald looks at Ethan (who is grinning ear to ear now) and asks, "really? you don't like Grimace?" Ethan shakes his head and the fearful eyes return. Ronald has an idea. He says very loudly to Grimace: "OK Grimace. I'm going to go over here for a minute with my friend and you're going to stay right here out of trouble, ok?" Grimace shakes his head yes....all is well with my world.
Ronald comes over and says, "I remember you, you've got a motorcycle - a Harley" (Ethan had on the Harley coat at the last visit and both boys had the Harley do-rags). Then he says, but help me remember the names Mom. I said, this is Ethan & Alex. And Ronald on purpose reversed the names. I say, no silly and put the order right. Ronald looks at Ethan and says, "what's your name?" Ethan - now smiling again - says "it's Ethan". R: "and you've got a motorcylce, right? a Harley?" E: "yep" All smiles now - couldn't be happier and buddying right up to Ronald. I get Alex out of the shield, I mean highchair, and stand him up next to the now crouching Ronald in front of Ethan. Ronald is amazed: "wow, he can stand now, huh?" E: "Yep, he takes steps, too"....I'm standing trying to ensure Alex doesn't hit this hard floor so didn't get to take the picture on my camera but will go back and get the copy the restaurant has.
Picture over, Ronald tells Ethan that Grimace is just funny, isn't he. Ethan looks over at Grimace (on the other side of the small room) and starts giggling, hand over his mouth almost sheepishly and says yes, still giggling. Too cute. Ronald then says we should eat (thank you, Ronald) and he's going to draw some prizes. We go get food and then find a table where Ethan can pretend to eat while watching every move Ronald makes....Ronald moves to a different area and Ethan catches sight of Grimace and proceeds to watch him like a hawk from the safety of his spot between Alex and the bench where Grimace can't get to him. Dinner is now over (we've been at McDonald's for roughly an hour and 15 minutes), Ethan has played with other kids a bit and it's time to go. Ethan goes over to Ronald and tugs at his pocket saying "Ronald, Ronald" but Ronald doesn't hear cause it's very loud, Ethan's tug isn't very forceful (and he's probably used to kids tugging on him) and he's talking....so Ethan goes around front of Ronald and stands there staring up at him saying "Ronald"....Ronald looks at him "well, hi there Ethan" and Ethan says "bye Ronald, I have to go" and gives him a hug. Totally cute. I love that kid. We then are leaving - it's still insane in there and Ethan wants another picture. I had to break his heart and tell him we just can't and that I promised I get the one we took earlier from the manager another day.
Things I learned on this adventure:
1. Do not under any circumstances take both children to McDonald's to see Ronald without 2 adults. Without help from the manager and some other employees, I couldn't have maneuvered both of them in that crowd in that small area
2. It's time to start getting Alex his own chicken nugget happy meal. He ate 4 of my 10 nuggets, almost all of Ethan's fries and some of mine as well. He'd have continued to eat if I'd let him...another reason it was time to go. We really do feed him but he can't seem to get enough things in his mouth. I kept checking the floor and his seat and nothing was there, it was all going in his mouth. He almost go Ethan's cheeseburger a time or 2 as well.
3. Before attempting to go to any other Ronald showings, call ahead to confirm if any other characters will attend as they don't go over quite as well.
4. Ronald McDonald is awesome - he really did remember the boys - maybe not their names, but he remembered without prompting the Harley jacket and do-rag (he asked Ethan where his Harley hat was). This made Ethan feel like the most important kid in the world.
Ethan couldn't wait to see Ronald again. He did wait until I could get Alex in a high chair to make it a bit easier and then he snuck through the people to get up there to see Ronald again. Then he saw an empty chair in front of me and came back and climbed up so he could see over everyone.....then it changed....Grimace showed up. I, myself, don't think I've ever seen Grimace before. I mentioned before that we weren't sure how Ethan would take to Ronald because he usually doesn't do meetings with "characters" well. Turns out Ronald is awesome cause he's an actual person who just looks weird....Grimace on the other hand was this big giant thing in a big costume and not at all "person-like."....he was petrified....he started climbing out of the chair and I thought it was to get a closer look. Nope. It was to get more people between he and Grimace...he came around behind me and that wasn't far enough; he got in the corner (right behind where we were) and pulled Alex's high chair in front of him so Alex was like a shield....by this time, Grimace had gotten to the front of the room. So now what?
I tried asking if we could go get something to eat until Grimace left. NOOOOO ... didn't want to be near Grimace but didn't want to leave Ronald either. So the manager started taking pictures of each kid with Grimace & Ronald. I tried to get Alex out to do this - Ethan almost had a meltdown, as if I were handing his brother over to a monster (which in retrospect, I guess Grimace kind of is). So now I'm trying to get the manager's attention because Ethan won't move until he can talk to Ronald and get a picture. I tell her the issue; she asks if we could just come back another time when Grimace isn't there. I explain, I've tried that and can't get him out of the room. She understands completely....most of the crowd has now had pictures and have dispersed a bit to get food and tables...she gets Ronald's attention and let's him know there's another "friend" in the back of the room. Ronald looks up and says, "Oh that's my friend! We've met before last week." (what a GREAT! Ronald) I tell Ronald, yes, but that he's afraid of Grimace. Ronald looks at Ethan (who is grinning ear to ear now) and asks, "really? you don't like Grimace?" Ethan shakes his head and the fearful eyes return. Ronald has an idea. He says very loudly to Grimace: "OK Grimace. I'm going to go over here for a minute with my friend and you're going to stay right here out of trouble, ok?" Grimace shakes his head yes....all is well with my world.
Ronald comes over and says, "I remember you, you've got a motorcycle - a Harley" (Ethan had on the Harley coat at the last visit and both boys had the Harley do-rags). Then he says, but help me remember the names Mom. I said, this is Ethan & Alex. And Ronald on purpose reversed the names. I say, no silly and put the order right. Ronald looks at Ethan and says, "what's your name?" Ethan - now smiling again - says "it's Ethan". R: "and you've got a motorcylce, right? a Harley?" E: "yep" All smiles now - couldn't be happier and buddying right up to Ronald. I get Alex out of the shield, I mean highchair, and stand him up next to the now crouching Ronald in front of Ethan. Ronald is amazed: "wow, he can stand now, huh?" E: "Yep, he takes steps, too"....I'm standing trying to ensure Alex doesn't hit this hard floor so didn't get to take the picture on my camera but will go back and get the copy the restaurant has.
Picture over, Ronald tells Ethan that Grimace is just funny, isn't he. Ethan looks over at Grimace (on the other side of the small room) and starts giggling, hand over his mouth almost sheepishly and says yes, still giggling. Too cute. Ronald then says we should eat (thank you, Ronald) and he's going to draw some prizes. We go get food and then find a table where Ethan can pretend to eat while watching every move Ronald makes....Ronald moves to a different area and Ethan catches sight of Grimace and proceeds to watch him like a hawk from the safety of his spot between Alex and the bench where Grimace can't get to him. Dinner is now over (we've been at McDonald's for roughly an hour and 15 minutes), Ethan has played with other kids a bit and it's time to go. Ethan goes over to Ronald and tugs at his pocket saying "Ronald, Ronald" but Ronald doesn't hear cause it's very loud, Ethan's tug isn't very forceful (and he's probably used to kids tugging on him) and he's talking....so Ethan goes around front of Ronald and stands there staring up at him saying "Ronald"....Ronald looks at him "well, hi there Ethan" and Ethan says "bye Ronald, I have to go" and gives him a hug. Totally cute. I love that kid. We then are leaving - it's still insane in there and Ethan wants another picture. I had to break his heart and tell him we just can't and that I promised I get the one we took earlier from the manager another day.
Things I learned on this adventure:
1. Do not under any circumstances take both children to McDonald's to see Ronald without 2 adults. Without help from the manager and some other employees, I couldn't have maneuvered both of them in that crowd in that small area
2. It's time to start getting Alex his own chicken nugget happy meal. He ate 4 of my 10 nuggets, almost all of Ethan's fries and some of mine as well. He'd have continued to eat if I'd let him...another reason it was time to go. We really do feed him but he can't seem to get enough things in his mouth. I kept checking the floor and his seat and nothing was there, it was all going in his mouth. He almost go Ethan's cheeseburger a time or 2 as well.
3. Before attempting to go to any other Ronald showings, call ahead to confirm if any other characters will attend as they don't go over quite as well.
4. Ronald McDonald is awesome - he really did remember the boys - maybe not their names, but he remembered without prompting the Harley jacket and do-rag (he asked Ethan where his Harley hat was). This made Ethan feel like the most important kid in the world.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Pumpkin Patch
It was a gorgeous weekend and perfect weather to visit the pumkin patch. We decided this year to try a different one I'd heard of from a friend so started out around 4:30 this evening headed to Baldwin Farms in Richmond. This place was perfect for little kids and all of it is free - you only pay if you buy a pumkin or something else and those prices are pretty much the same as any other patch I've visited.
Ethan had a ball - they had huge round hay bales made into spiders (which Ethan now thinks are really cool) and even a giant caterpillar of hay. There was a haybale along the driveway with legs sticking out and Ethan said "he got stuck, Mom?" Too cute. Wegot there and Ethan wanted to take off instantly - there were ducks running around afterall. He checked out the ducks, then noticed the pen with goats. The lady let Ethan and a couple of other kids in the pen to pet the goats with her - Ethan even fed them. Then out to check out the pumpkins. Not sure where they grew the pumpkins cause all we could see were pumpkins EVERYWHERE - not piled in one little area but spread out all over this really pretty farmThey had a couple of hay bales in the field made into characters as well - another spider, red plastic on one that we assumed was a tomato, orange on another - the giant pumpkin. We took pictures on the spider then put the boys in their costumes and got some great pictures on the giant pumpkin and in among the scattered pumpkins as well. Even a shot of Alex walking in his little lion costume through the pumpkins. Ethan still gets so excited when he see Alex walking - "he's taking more steps...Owix is taking more steps" in the most excited voice you've ever heard. Ethan didn't want to take off his dinosaur costume until we reminded him that he might get it dirty back up where the goats were. Then he decided he would take it back off. 
Back up where the goats were is where the caterpillar was as well as some cut outs to put your faces in - Ethan had fun with all of those as well. There was even a haybale maze perfect for Ethan. He guided me through it and then decided he's go again, backwards (he wasn't bothering anyone else as we went in the evening and it was pretty slow). We really had a great time - even though Alex does have a horrible mother who let him fall off one of the haybale spiders when we were trying to get a picture. Ethan broke his fall for the most part and there was no blood involved and Mama was able to sooth him so overall he was fine and since he sang to us all the way home (litterally from the time we got in the car until we got home, he hummed a little tune only he knew the words for), I'm sure it didn't leave any permanent damage. He's my child - it's not the first time he fell, nor will it be the last.
I'll add some pictures to this tomorrow because words can't describe the cuteness of those boys or the fun they had which their faces clearly demonstrate. In the pictures when you notice Ethan (or me) talking in the shot, it was usually to say "Happy Halloween" while the picture was taken. All in all a truly fantastic fall weekend.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
McDonald's
Fast forward to today...I was late leaving work this evening so picked up the boys at about 6:00 and rather than go home, cook and have us eating dinner at 7:00 (& fighting through it cause if we try that late, he's too tired to realize he really is hungry and likes what's on his plate), I opted for the easy choice...McDonald's - yes there are healthier options and if you'd like to bring them to me or sit with Ethan to get him to eat them, have at it...I wasn't in the mood...So we're sitting in the world's longest drive-thru line because Alex was sleeping (in the 3 minutes it took to get from daycare to McD's) and the unstoppable questions of the 3 year old begin....E: "Is Ronald here?" No, he's not here. It says he'll be here next Monday though. E: "He's at his house?" Yes, he's at his house. E: "With his Mom?" Yes, with his mom. E: "Where is his Mom?" I don't know, honey. E: "I want to see Ronald's Mom. Can I see her?" I don't know where she is babe. E: "She's at Ronald's house?" Probably. E: "Let's go to Ronald's house so I can see her.".....ok so how do you argue with reasoning like that....you change the subject....What do you want to eat - chicken nuggets or a hamburger? E: "A hamburger. You get a hamburger too Mom?" No honey, I'll get chicken so Aggy can have some of mine. E: "I'll get a hamburger and you get one for Daddy and Aggy will eat your chicken." No honey, Daddy is eating at work. E: "He's at work?" Yes, Daddy's at work. E: "He's eating his hamburger at work?" No honey, I think he has something else to eat. E: "So you'll get my cheeseburger with pickles" (statement, not question) OK honey, I did, I got pickles on your cheeseburger. E: "OK, pickles and mustard." Well I didn't get mustard honey, just pickles. E: "Well I need mustard." (note: we haven't gotten to the pay window yet - I mentioned the long line, right?) Well honey, I just got pickles. E: "Owix's sleeping." Yes honey, he is - don't wake him up. (apparently, he'd just noticed) E: "OK, well I need Ketchup with my cheeseburger." (I'm now paying so didn't respond right away) ... "Mom? I need ketchup?" Honey I only got pickles. E: "OK, will I get a dragon?" (current toy is some sort of dragon transformer type thing or a guy that goes with them or this ball that transforms...a better mom may know what they are called, that's not me - I know Disney & Sesame Street & PBS and these things don't qualify) We'll see honey. If they don't have a dragon will a ball be ok? It'll be ok, don't you think? E: "Yeah. That's ok. A transformer ball." OK good. E: GO MOM! (note: car in front of me not moving yet) Honey, I have to wait for the car in front to move first. E: "Oh...did I get a dragon?" I don't know yet honey. E: "Oh, now we can go?" (the car was moving) Now we can go (get food from server) E: "My dragon?" Let's see....no honey, sorry it's a ball. E: "Oh - they didn't have a dragon so I got a transformer ball" (again, a statement and note: apparently, Mama doesn't call it the right thing - it's not "just" a ball....it's a transformer ball). You'll have to eat your dinner first. We'll eat when we get home. E: "Ok. I got a cheeseburger with pickles and mustard." No honey, Mama didn't get mustard. E: "Oh, just ketchup?" No honey - just pickles (yes, this is a repeat - such is the life of a mom with a 3 year old or probably a 4 year old or just about any age I'm guessing). You can eat it with just pickles. E: "yeah. but I need mustard." Well honey, we have both ketchup and mustard at home so if you need it, we can add it there. E: "Oh, Ketchup has a home?".....at this point I'm 1/2 mile from home and about to turn a few times and as, I have to pee already, I'm thinking laughing at this point could pose a problem so I had to be honest....Honey, Mama really needs you to be quiet for a couple minutes cause I really can't drive well right now with you talking. E: "Oh. OK Mom.....so, we're almost home now." ......so much for "OK Mom"
Last note: While typing this and explaining to Steve, he tells me...oh yeah, he wants mustard now. I said, yeah, well that would have been good to know before. So he says from now on, instead of pickles only - it's just no onions on little man's burgers. Good to know....
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