Sorry for the radio silence lately, but after two weeks of adult only time, I'm now in North Carolina for a week with my parents, after which the kids and I will fly home. It is as hot as Hades here. Seriously. I do not kid, it's been about 100 for most of this week. Thank the powers that be for air conditioning.
But...I digress. The kids seems so much older after two weeks away, especially Jack. My dad took him to the barber. I told my parents to get him a "little boy cut" because we didn't have time to go to his usual barber before he left on his trip. My mom called to say my father had taken Jack to the barber and his cut was very short. I said "As long as it's not a 'high and tight.'" She said, and I quote "Oh, it's not, but it's a lot shorter than it was before." When I got to NC, I immediately saw that Jack was sporting a high and tight, contrary to my mother's claim. He looks like a miniature marine. Fortunately, the cut is very cute on him and I'll probably keep it that way until the fall. It also makes him look older.
The kids have been getting up to all kinds of shenanigans at Grammy and Granddaddy's house. My father has a giant Peanut M&M figure that shoots M&M's out of it's side (forgive me, but it is very hard to describe) if you crank its arm up and down. Lily "pressured" him into buying M&M's for it (she asked once) and the kids love getting a treat. In order to keep the candy consumption to a reasonable level, my father took to hiding the Peanut Man and telling the kids he had gone away. Lily somehow interpreted this to mean that the Peanut Man periodically goes away to the M&M Ball. Jack isn't as fanciful and just started hunting for Peanut Man and quickly located him in the closet. My father now hides him behind some boxes.
Now that Peanut Man is sometimes AWOL, Jack tries to get him to come back by holding his hand up to his ear and telling my father "I think I hear candy!" For some reason, this cracks me up. Lily, on the other hand, was happy in the thought that Peanut Man was having fun at the M&M Ball until yesterday, when she caught my father carrying him into his office. She ran out to the living room and told me "Peanut Man hasn't been at the M&M Ball! Granddaddy has been hiding him and moving him all along!" She was very indignant, and immediately left to confront my father. I don't know what he told her, but today she said he was at the M&M Ball again. Ah, to be a child again. Any time one of the kids discovers that Peanut Man has returned to my father's office, they run out and tell us that he's back. It's really funny.
In other big, big news, Jack suddenly started to use the potty four days ago. My mom bought him some big boy underpants and showed them to him when he first arrived. Fast forward to the day I arrived. Jack asked me to give him a lolly. I told him "You can have a lolly if you pee in your potty." He carried on and whined and then went away to play. About four hours later, however, he told my mom "I gotta pee!" and ran into the bathroom. To our surprise, he peed into his potty for the first time ever! He got his lolly, and then he told my mom "I wanta wear my big boy underwear." She let him put them on, but he refused to put pants on and asked to have his shirt off. He ran into the living room wearing only the underwear and said "Ta-Da!"
He's been using the potty one or two times a day ever since. He's also been wearing his big boy underwear for most of the day without incident. Unfortunately, he still usually insists on wearing ONLY the underwear. He did grudgingly allow me to dress him the other day when he got too cold from the AC. He still comes out and says "Ta-da!" when he first gets them on. In order to encourage his potty training, I supplmented the baseball themed underwear my mom provided with Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder. He is very serious when he picks out which pair to wear and discards two or three options before settling on a design. It's hilarious!
I'm knocking on wood that this self-training will last and become a permanent habit. I never thought he'd train this early. I feel like singing and dancing with joy, but I hold it in because I fear the potty training gods will smite me and send him back to the diaper. I'll keep you all posted. Send good potty vibes to Jack.
Showing posts with label Grandparents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grandparents. Show all posts
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Childless!
We've been without children for just over one week. So far, we have done the following adult-only activities:
1. Dinner at Mexico Lindo. I did not have a pleasant dining experience there. We've heard an equal amount of rave reviews and pans, so we're thinking there must be two chefs and we got the bad one.
2. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Excellent film! If you like Indiana Jones and/or Harrison Ford, go and see it. Really.
3. Dinner at the Boston Grille, a sports bar/video game/pool hall. The Grille was nice, the games area, not so much. I think we would have had more fun there if 90% of the video games weren't BROKEN. I did get a couple of little plastic people who will stick to the wall if thrown there. Woot!
4. Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Festival. I had lots of fun and bought more yarn, which always puts me in a good mood. We hung out for the rest of the day in Northampton, and Jim had fun, too. We had some difficulty finding a place to eat on the way home (long story...) and ended up at Cracker Barrel. Both of us ordered breakfast for dinner and both of us ate too much.
We had small group of friends over for a barbecue on Memorial Day, which was a lot of fun. There were ribs, delicious hamburgers seasoned with herbs and spices, grilled veggies, corn, watermelon and pie. We all had cocktails made with fresh fruit and mint (mine was a Mojito). The weather was just perfect, too.
Jim worked today but will be taking the rest of the week off so we can hang out, work on some stuff around the house and really enjoy the last half of our vacation without kids.
Meanwhile, the kids are having a great time at my parents' house. From what I can gather, they are eating candy and ice cream, watching awful television like "Barney" and generally having their every whim catered to. Sounds like fun! We call them twice a day. Typical conversation with Lily:
Me: Hi, Lily!
Lily: Hi, Mommy! Can I talk to Papa?
Me: (Version 1): He's at work. (Version 2): Okay.
Lily: Bye, Mommy!
Typical conversation with Jack:
Me: Hi, Jackie!
Jack: Hi, Mommy. (Version 1): I wanna talk a Papa! (Version 2): Grammy gave new shoes. Grandaddy go for walking. (Version 3): Mine plane fell inna dish washer!
Me: Okay!
Jack: Bye, Mommy!
We really do miss them, even if it is fun to have so much adult-only time. The house is clean and very quiet.
1. Dinner at Mexico Lindo. I did not have a pleasant dining experience there. We've heard an equal amount of rave reviews and pans, so we're thinking there must be two chefs and we got the bad one.
2. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Excellent film! If you like Indiana Jones and/or Harrison Ford, go and see it. Really.
3. Dinner at the Boston Grille, a sports bar/video game/pool hall. The Grille was nice, the games area, not so much. I think we would have had more fun there if 90% of the video games weren't BROKEN. I did get a couple of little plastic people who will stick to the wall if thrown there. Woot!
4. Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Festival. I had lots of fun and bought more yarn, which always puts me in a good mood. We hung out for the rest of the day in Northampton, and Jim had fun, too. We had some difficulty finding a place to eat on the way home (long story...) and ended up at Cracker Barrel. Both of us ordered breakfast for dinner and both of us ate too much.
We had small group of friends over for a barbecue on Memorial Day, which was a lot of fun. There were ribs, delicious hamburgers seasoned with herbs and spices, grilled veggies, corn, watermelon and pie. We all had cocktails made with fresh fruit and mint (mine was a Mojito). The weather was just perfect, too.
Jim worked today but will be taking the rest of the week off so we can hang out, work on some stuff around the house and really enjoy the last half of our vacation without kids.
Meanwhile, the kids are having a great time at my parents' house. From what I can gather, they are eating candy and ice cream, watching awful television like "Barney" and generally having their every whim catered to. Sounds like fun! We call them twice a day. Typical conversation with Lily:
Me: Hi, Lily!
Lily: Hi, Mommy! Can I talk to Papa?
Me: (Version 1): He's at work. (Version 2): Okay.
Lily: Bye, Mommy!
Typical conversation with Jack:
Me: Hi, Jackie!
Jack: Hi, Mommy. (Version 1): I wanna talk a Papa! (Version 2): Grammy gave new shoes. Grandaddy go for walking. (Version 3): Mine plane fell inna dish washer!
Me: Okay!
Jack: Bye, Mommy!
We really do miss them, even if it is fun to have so much adult-only time. The house is clean and very quiet.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Home Alone and Some General News
First things first. The kids are at my parents' house for 2 weeks! They left yesterday evening and (so far) they are having the time of their lives. Jack told me he was playing with Grammy and Granddaddy and that Granddaddy has a mustache. Lily told me she missed me at first but that now she was having "so much fun" playing she didn't mind.
With the kids out of the house, Jim and I are at a bit of a loss. We had to set the alarm clock for the first time in two years because Jim had a very early meeting scheduled this morning. Jack wakes us up no later than 6 am every morning (sometimes much earlier). Jim actually set his phone alarm and the alarm clock so that he wouldn't sleep through it.
I got up when Jim did and had breakfast, but decided to get back in bed around 7:30. It was nice to sleep without any interruptions and I felt refreshed and full of energy for the rest of the day. I spent about 4 hours doing heavy spring cleaning in Jack's new room (more on this later), the living room, dining room and kitchen. I also worked on my stole (see earlier post today). When Jim got home, we went to try out the Mexican restaurant that moved into Melrose a few years ago (we weren't impressed). We each had an adult beverage. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home because there was no rush, and picked up a few staples. We came home to a clean, quiet home.
It's nice, but I really miss the kids. I also feel really strange all day, like I'm forgetting something. I keep thinking I hear Jack crying upstairs. I keep planning everything around picking the kids up at school. Jim thinks that by the time we both fully realize that we can enjoy time on our own, it will be time for the kids to come home!
Now for some general news. We've been having lots of fun lately. We (well, mostly me) celebrated the Trifecta, which is what Jim calls my birthday/wedding anniversary/Mother's day weekend. Lily and Jack bought me a ball winder, and Jim bought me Wii Fit, fancy-schmancy hand-made chocolates and took me to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival, where he bought me two skeins of pretty sock yarn. The kids loved the festival -- Jack because he's fascinated by roving, and Lily because there was ice cream. Jim had a buffalo burger and we all shared french fries and kettle corn. Lots of fun.
My parents came into town last week for Lily's ballet recital. Their trip just happened to coincide with the big WEBS tent sale, so I convinced my mom to drive out to Northampton with me. We left early, had breakfast at Sylvester's, and then went to the sale.
I'd been told how big the store was, and that it was attached to a giant warehouse, but it was still pretty overwhelming to see it. I bought lots of yarn, most of which is earmarked for Christmas gifts. My mom picked out yarn she liked and asked me to make her a shrug, so that's one of the things on my list. I treated myself to some wool/alpaca sport weight which should make me a sweater and leave enough for a child's sweater as well. Anyway, it was lots of fun and VERY cheap.
The following day, we went to Lily's recital. She was excited all day. I put her hair in a bun and used hair spray, which she thought was pretty neat. I put real makeup on her (she told everyone "I'm wearing my mom's makeup!"). We bought her real flowers to give her at the end of the show.
Her ballet class gave the first performance. I've been watching them practice this dance for at least 6 months. Like snowflakes, no students have ever performed the dance alike. That being said, their performance at the recital was the most coordinated I've seen. Lily really impressed me. She followed the routine very closely and did the best I've seen her do. We thought she was the best performer, of course!
She was really excited to get a real flower and immediately put the vase in her room. We left at the first intermission and took the kids home so Jack could nap, then we went to Jim's boss' home for a barbecue with his colleagues. We got rained on, so the party continued in the house, but we still had a lot of fun. Jack apparently stole a finger puppet shaped like a whale, concealed it in his pocket and brought it home (at least, that's what Lily claims). I just now (as I'm writing) asked Jim about it, and it turns out that Jack handed the puppet to Jim, who concealed it (inadvertantly) in HIS pocket and accidentally brought it home. Oops. When I asked Jack about the puppet, he told me he "got it at the shiny house." We think he was talking about the shiny new floors in the house, which was recently renovated.
Anyway...the kids got cake, so they were in seventh heaven. We spent the next day (Monday) getting ready for the trip and they flew out last night.
Jim and I plan on doing some painting (living room and dining room), some nights out (dinner and movies, mostly) and may even take a couple of days off to drive to Montreal next week. We'll see how things go.
With the kids out of the house, Jim and I are at a bit of a loss. We had to set the alarm clock for the first time in two years because Jim had a very early meeting scheduled this morning. Jack wakes us up no later than 6 am every morning (sometimes much earlier). Jim actually set his phone alarm and the alarm clock so that he wouldn't sleep through it.
I got up when Jim did and had breakfast, but decided to get back in bed around 7:30. It was nice to sleep without any interruptions and I felt refreshed and full of energy for the rest of the day. I spent about 4 hours doing heavy spring cleaning in Jack's new room (more on this later), the living room, dining room and kitchen. I also worked on my stole (see earlier post today). When Jim got home, we went to try out the Mexican restaurant that moved into Melrose a few years ago (we weren't impressed). We each had an adult beverage. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home because there was no rush, and picked up a few staples. We came home to a clean, quiet home.
It's nice, but I really miss the kids. I also feel really strange all day, like I'm forgetting something. I keep thinking I hear Jack crying upstairs. I keep planning everything around picking the kids up at school. Jim thinks that by the time we both fully realize that we can enjoy time on our own, it will be time for the kids to come home!
Now for some general news. We've been having lots of fun lately. We (well, mostly me) celebrated the Trifecta, which is what Jim calls my birthday/wedding anniversary/Mother's day weekend. Lily and Jack bought me a ball winder, and Jim bought me Wii Fit, fancy-schmancy hand-made chocolates and took me to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival, where he bought me two skeins of pretty sock yarn. The kids loved the festival -- Jack because he's fascinated by roving, and Lily because there was ice cream. Jim had a buffalo burger and we all shared french fries and kettle corn. Lots of fun.
My parents came into town last week for Lily's ballet recital. Their trip just happened to coincide with the big WEBS tent sale, so I convinced my mom to drive out to Northampton with me. We left early, had breakfast at Sylvester's, and then went to the sale.
I'd been told how big the store was, and that it was attached to a giant warehouse, but it was still pretty overwhelming to see it. I bought lots of yarn, most of which is earmarked for Christmas gifts. My mom picked out yarn she liked and asked me to make her a shrug, so that's one of the things on my list. I treated myself to some wool/alpaca sport weight which should make me a sweater and leave enough for a child's sweater as well. Anyway, it was lots of fun and VERY cheap.
The following day, we went to Lily's recital. She was excited all day. I put her hair in a bun and used hair spray, which she thought was pretty neat. I put real makeup on her (she told everyone "I'm wearing my mom's makeup!"). We bought her real flowers to give her at the end of the show.
Her ballet class gave the first performance. I've been watching them practice this dance for at least 6 months. Like snowflakes, no students have ever performed the dance alike. That being said, their performance at the recital was the most coordinated I've seen. Lily really impressed me. She followed the routine very closely and did the best I've seen her do. We thought she was the best performer, of course!
She was really excited to get a real flower and immediately put the vase in her room. We left at the first intermission and took the kids home so Jack could nap, then we went to Jim's boss' home for a barbecue with his colleagues. We got rained on, so the party continued in the house, but we still had a lot of fun. Jack apparently stole a finger puppet shaped like a whale, concealed it in his pocket and brought it home (at least, that's what Lily claims). I just now (as I'm writing) asked Jim about it, and it turns out that Jack handed the puppet to Jim, who concealed it (inadvertantly) in HIS pocket and accidentally brought it home. Oops. When I asked Jack about the puppet, he told me he "got it at the shiny house." We think he was talking about the shiny new floors in the house, which was recently renovated.
Anyway...the kids got cake, so they were in seventh heaven. We spent the next day (Monday) getting ready for the trip and they flew out last night.
Jim and I plan on doing some painting (living room and dining room), some nights out (dinner and movies, mostly) and may even take a couple of days off to drive to Montreal next week. We'll see how things go.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Now for the Cute and Funny
I like to balance out my posts with a good one about the kids after I bore you non-knitters with my knitting stuff, so here are some cute shots of Lily modeling the new sweater her Grandma Deeds made for her. One photo also features the matching purse (somewhat stretched out by the pounds of change she poured in there from her piggy bank). Also, it's hard to see, but she insisted on posing with two of her Barbies in a couple of the photos.
That was the cute, in case you couldn't tell.
This is the funny -- here are a few things that the kids said this week that I found amusing:
Lily, talking about how God filled up the rivers and ponds: "He must have used his mother's garden hose!"
Jack's stock response when asked about school: "I play with friends, I play with fun mag-a-nets, I play outside, I have 'nack, I play with fiahfucks." Translation: mag-a-nets = magnets, 'nack = snack and fiahfucks = firetrucks.
Jack, talking about an upcoming trip to North Carolina: "I go walk with Papa to the rainmoo. Papa show me the rainmoo." Rainmoo = windmill. Of course, Jim isn't going to North Carolina, and the "rainmoo" is actually at the home of Jack's other grandparents! He's a little confused. I doubt he remembers the last time he visited North Carolina, but he sure remembers the "rainmoo" in California!
Lily, explaining why she doesn't cry when I drop her at school now: "I don't have to cry if I don't want to." Too bad she didn't feel this way for the last six months.
Finally, time to make fun of myself a bit. Remember that one time that I complained about Jim? And his scraping of cream cheese and two olives? Remember how annoyed I was? Well, I guess I believe in karma because yesterday Jim had good reason to be annoyed with me. He called me at about 8:30 (shortly after he left the house) and asked me to put the steak tips in to marinade. The catch? I was supposed to look on the internet to find a recipe and make the marinade myself.
As some of you may be aware, I am not a good cook. In fact, I can barely make macaroni and cheese from a box. Baking? Love it. Cooking, on the other hand, usually leads to me setting something on fire. Anyway...I was not thrilled about having to find a recipe and put together a marinade, but I agreed to do it and hung up.
Within about 15 minutes I completely forgot about the conversation. I'd like to blame my heart medication or lack of sleep. One or both of them probably contributed to my forgetfulness. If I'm being brutally honest, however, I suspect there was some element of a subconscious passive-aggressive desire to forget about it! Either way, I did not give the matter a second thought until Jim arrived at home and told me he was going out to start the grill. I didn't even remember it when he mentioned the grill! Then he asked "Did you remember to marinate the steak tips?"
Oops. He seemed a little annoyed and he said with a sigh, "I suppose I can try to marinate them while the grill is getting ready." He did and they tasted great.
Later, as I was telling my mom about the incident, she told me you can marinate steak tips in Caesar dressing. Umm, that would have been easy, even for me! I mentioned it to Jim and he said with a tone of annoyance "I know, that's what I ended up marinating them in." Good to know. Perhaps he should have mentioned that option to me instead of suggesting that I hunt down a recipe and make marinade from scratch.
So, seeing it from Jim's perspective, he probably has even more reason to rant about me than I have about him. Although, I would like to mention that those two olives? They're still in the fridge and no one has made a sandwich out of them to date.
That was the cute, in case you couldn't tell.
This is the funny -- here are a few things that the kids said this week that I found amusing:
Lily, talking about how God filled up the rivers and ponds: "He must have used his mother's garden hose!"
Jack's stock response when asked about school: "I play with friends, I play with fun mag-a-nets, I play outside, I have 'nack, I play with fiahfucks." Translation: mag-a-nets = magnets, 'nack = snack and fiahfucks = firetrucks.
Jack, talking about an upcoming trip to North Carolina: "I go walk with Papa to the rainmoo. Papa show me the rainmoo." Rainmoo = windmill. Of course, Jim isn't going to North Carolina, and the "rainmoo" is actually at the home of Jack's other grandparents! He's a little confused. I doubt he remembers the last time he visited North Carolina, but he sure remembers the "rainmoo" in California!
Lily, explaining why she doesn't cry when I drop her at school now: "I don't have to cry if I don't want to." Too bad she didn't feel this way for the last six months.
Finally, time to make fun of myself a bit. Remember that one time that I complained about Jim? And his scraping of cream cheese and two olives? Remember how annoyed I was? Well, I guess I believe in karma because yesterday Jim had good reason to be annoyed with me. He called me at about 8:30 (shortly after he left the house) and asked me to put the steak tips in to marinade. The catch? I was supposed to look on the internet to find a recipe and make the marinade myself.
As some of you may be aware, I am not a good cook. In fact, I can barely make macaroni and cheese from a box. Baking? Love it. Cooking, on the other hand, usually leads to me setting something on fire. Anyway...I was not thrilled about having to find a recipe and put together a marinade, but I agreed to do it and hung up.
Within about 15 minutes I completely forgot about the conversation. I'd like to blame my heart medication or lack of sleep. One or both of them probably contributed to my forgetfulness. If I'm being brutally honest, however, I suspect there was some element of a subconscious passive-aggressive desire to forget about it! Either way, I did not give the matter a second thought until Jim arrived at home and told me he was going out to start the grill. I didn't even remember it when he mentioned the grill! Then he asked "Did you remember to marinate the steak tips?"
Oops. He seemed a little annoyed and he said with a sigh, "I suppose I can try to marinate them while the grill is getting ready." He did and they tasted great.
Later, as I was telling my mom about the incident, she told me you can marinate steak tips in Caesar dressing. Umm, that would have been easy, even for me! I mentioned it to Jim and he said with a tone of annoyance "I know, that's what I ended up marinating them in." Good to know. Perhaps he should have mentioned that option to me instead of suggesting that I hunt down a recipe and make marinade from scratch.
So, seeing it from Jim's perspective, he probably has even more reason to rant about me than I have about him. Although, I would like to mention that those two olives? They're still in the fridge and no one has made a sandwich out of them to date.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Another Round of Photos!!!
This is a picture of "Princess," Lily's favorite fish in the koi pond at our hotel in San Francisco. She named it Princess because it had a sort of rainbow sheen to it. It doesn't really show up well in this picture, unfortunately.
Here are Lily and Jack riding the lambs at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They both got a kick out of the little statues.
Jack in his little fireman outfit at the children's museum in Paso Robles. He loved playing on the big fire truck they had in the first floor of the museum, which was a converted fire station.
Lily hugging her "cousint" Claire. Claire just wasn't that into a hug...I took several pictures trying to get a nice one of the two together to no avail.
Lily opening the camera Grammy and Granddaddy gave her. Do you think she liked it?
Jack eating his Christmas Munlie. Mmmmm, chocolate chips!
The kids reading Bambi with Grandpa.
Lily in front of a giant wooden propeller at the Aviation Museum. A better mom would be able to tell you where the propeller came from. Me, I have no idea.
Jack checking out the mock-up of a Blue Angels plane.
Jack pressing goldfish crackers onto his eyes at the airport (I told you he was strange). This shot gives a lovely view of the bandage covering his injury from Christmas Day, as well as the fresh bruise and scratch he picked up at the Aviation Museum.
That's it for pictures. I liked these the best of all the ones I took. You want to see more? You know where to go!
More Photos, Hopefully
Okay, I was relatively successful with the last post, so I'm going to try some more.
Here's Lily dancing on the wharf. You can see the San Francisco skyline in the background (or you will be able to if Blogger doesn't cut half of the picture off).
Here's Jack hugging Clifford (or CLIFF-oooool, as Jack would say). It was such a sweet moment, and he was jumping for joy and waving his hands in the air afterward.
Lily peeking out of the boat at the children's museum in Sausalito. I love this picture!
Lily waving from the same boat. You can see Golden Gate Bridge in the background!
Lily running up the stump steps. We really liked the outdoor features at this museum, and the kids thought they were terrific!
Jack staring at the bubble wall in one of the jumping areas at the museum. The floor of the little room was a waterbed sturdy enough to bounce around on. He really liked that area.
You know what, I think I finally beat Blogger on this post. Nothing appears to be too large or to be cut off! Yay!
Here's Lily dancing on the wharf. You can see the San Francisco skyline in the background (or you will be able to if Blogger doesn't cut half of the picture off).
Here's Jack hugging Clifford (or CLIFF-oooool, as Jack would say). It was such a sweet moment, and he was jumping for joy and waving his hands in the air afterward.
Lily peeking out of the boat at the children's museum in Sausalito. I love this picture!
Lily waving from the same boat. You can see Golden Gate Bridge in the background!
Lily running up the stump steps. We really liked the outdoor features at this museum, and the kids thought they were terrific!
Jack staring at the bubble wall in one of the jumping areas at the museum. The floor of the little room was a waterbed sturdy enough to bounce around on. He really liked that area.
You know what, I think I finally beat Blogger on this post. Nothing appears to be too large or to be cut off! Yay!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Creston Day 2
Here's a draft that's been sitting on my computer since before Christmas!
The kids slept pretty well, although Jack was ready to get up at 6 am. It was another relaxing day. The kids went for a hike in the morning and played with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jill and Uncle Steve while Jim and I ran into town and did our last minute Christmas shopping for stocking stuffers.
Shortly after we arrived, Uncle Matt arrived. Jack seemed a little confused to see two uncles looking so alike! After lunch, Uncle Jon, Aunt Marcy, Claire and Andrew got into town and we all met at the Paso Robles Children's Museum. It was built in an old firehouse. Jack loved dressing up in a fireman jacket and hat and climbing all over the firetruck. He also found a lawnmower and was content to push that around for a long time. The upstairs portion of the museum was much more fun for the kids. Lily did several arts and crafts projects at tables laid out with materials to decorate paper bags and cards. Jack like sitting at the easel and drawing with crayons. Both kids put on a little puppet show, with some help at various times from me, Jim, Aunt Jill and Uncle Jon. There was also a little market with all types of play food and a big cart with vegetables organized on one side and fruit on the other. The kids really liked weighing the fruit and putting in the shopping cart. Jack played for a long time with the cash register, too.
Once we got ready to leave, we noticed Andrew had a black eye! No one knows how he got it. Weird. It was pretty much gone by the next day though.
Lily started calling Claire "Cousint." We explained repeatedly the word was "cousin," but she told us she preferred "cousint." She would yell "Cousint! Cousint!" at Claire constantly during the visit.
I'd write more about the day, but almost a week later, I can't remember much. More about Christmas in the next few posts, I promise.
The kids slept pretty well, although Jack was ready to get up at 6 am. It was another relaxing day. The kids went for a hike in the morning and played with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jill and Uncle Steve while Jim and I ran into town and did our last minute Christmas shopping for stocking stuffers.
Shortly after we arrived, Uncle Matt arrived. Jack seemed a little confused to see two uncles looking so alike! After lunch, Uncle Jon, Aunt Marcy, Claire and Andrew got into town and we all met at the Paso Robles Children's Museum. It was built in an old firehouse. Jack loved dressing up in a fireman jacket and hat and climbing all over the firetruck. He also found a lawnmower and was content to push that around for a long time. The upstairs portion of the museum was much more fun for the kids. Lily did several arts and crafts projects at tables laid out with materials to decorate paper bags and cards. Jack like sitting at the easel and drawing with crayons. Both kids put on a little puppet show, with some help at various times from me, Jim, Aunt Jill and Uncle Jon. There was also a little market with all types of play food and a big cart with vegetables organized on one side and fruit on the other. The kids really liked weighing the fruit and putting in the shopping cart. Jack played for a long time with the cash register, too.
Once we got ready to leave, we noticed Andrew had a black eye! No one knows how he got it. Weird. It was pretty much gone by the next day though.
Lily started calling Claire "Cousint." We explained repeatedly the word was "cousin," but she told us she preferred "cousint." She would yell "Cousint! Cousint!" at Claire constantly during the visit.
I'd write more about the day, but almost a week later, I can't remember much. More about Christmas in the next few posts, I promise.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Creston Day 1
The kids woke up at 6:30, so that was pretty nice. Due to his night-time wake-ups, Jack was pretty tired. Jim took him for a walk around the house and he got to rake leaves. It was probably the highlight of his day! He also was fascinated by the windmill, and kept pointing to it and then showing us a little toy windmill he found in Grandma's box of toys.
Lily raked some leaves, too, but her favorite part was throwing them over Jack's head. They both had a great time riding on the little stone lambs in front of the house, and riding the tricycle around the driveway. Ironically, Jack took an immediate spill on the bike, just like Lily did the first time she rode it when she got it!
Lily roped Grandma into more Polly Pocket fun, and Jack took a nice long nap. I still had to wash the vomit-tainted clothing and bag, as well as run a few loads of laundry so I put Jack down for a nap in the Night Night Truck and sat on the bed to read my book until the dryer finished. Two hours later, Jim came to wake me up, so I guess I needed a little rest! By that time, Aunt Jill had arrived and could serve as a second Polly Pocket victim, so Lily had the time of her life.
We took the kids to Cambria in the afternoon to pick up a few last minute Christmas items. They had a lot of fun looking at the beautiful things made by local artisans, and we had hard work making sure that there was no touching. The kids loved looking out for cows, sheep and goats during the drive there and back. By the time we got home, Uncle Steve had arrived, so there was even more fun for the kids.
After dinner we had three desserts -- a custard pie made by Grandma, little cookies made by Aunt Jill and some cracker candy I made. Jack played his bus game and Lily worked on her top secret project for Papa's present. She also drew a wonderful picture of a princess and her two cats. This was the story:
The Princess and Her Cats
It was raining outside and the princess was sad because her cats didn't come home. But the cats really were home, and the princess couldn't see them because she was crying so much. One cat got green paint on his head, and when the princess tried to give him a bath he hopped out and his head stayed green. The orange cat was a rain cat, and he looks happy because he loves being the in puddles.
In other news, these are the things that Jack has broken so far:
1 helicopter
1 plane
2 trucks
1 plastic windmill
He was devastated about the windmill. He accidentally stepped on it. I was out folding laundry when it happened, but as soon as I came in the house, he said "Mama, Jackie BREAKing RAYMOO!" (his word for windmill). He was very troubled about it. He mentioned it a few times during the evening. Grandma tried to glue it back together, but when he played with it, he broke it again. More devastation.
Lily raked some leaves, too, but her favorite part was throwing them over Jack's head. They both had a great time riding on the little stone lambs in front of the house, and riding the tricycle around the driveway. Ironically, Jack took an immediate spill on the bike, just like Lily did the first time she rode it when she got it!
Lily roped Grandma into more Polly Pocket fun, and Jack took a nice long nap. I still had to wash the vomit-tainted clothing and bag, as well as run a few loads of laundry so I put Jack down for a nap in the Night Night Truck and sat on the bed to read my book until the dryer finished. Two hours later, Jim came to wake me up, so I guess I needed a little rest! By that time, Aunt Jill had arrived and could serve as a second Polly Pocket victim, so Lily had the time of her life.
We took the kids to Cambria in the afternoon to pick up a few last minute Christmas items. They had a lot of fun looking at the beautiful things made by local artisans, and we had hard work making sure that there was no touching. The kids loved looking out for cows, sheep and goats during the drive there and back. By the time we got home, Uncle Steve had arrived, so there was even more fun for the kids.
After dinner we had three desserts -- a custard pie made by Grandma, little cookies made by Aunt Jill and some cracker candy I made. Jack played his bus game and Lily worked on her top secret project for Papa's present. She also drew a wonderful picture of a princess and her two cats. This was the story:
The Princess and Her Cats
It was raining outside and the princess was sad because her cats didn't come home. But the cats really were home, and the princess couldn't see them because she was crying so much. One cat got green paint on his head, and when the princess tried to give him a bath he hopped out and his head stayed green. The orange cat was a rain cat, and he looks happy because he loves being the in puddles.
In other news, these are the things that Jack has broken so far:
1 helicopter
1 plane
2 trucks
1 plastic windmill
He was devastated about the windmill. He accidentally stepped on it. I was out folding laundry when it happened, but as soon as I came in the house, he said "Mama, Jackie BREAKing RAYMOO!" (his word for windmill). He was very troubled about it. He mentioned it a few times during the evening. Grandma tried to glue it back together, but when he played with it, he broke it again. More devastation.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Road Trip to Creston
It went really well! We didn't even have to break out the DVD player. We had originally planned to stop in San Jose at an amusement park/zoo and wear the kids out. I realized last night that the amusement park portion was only open on the weekend during December, and neither Jim nor I was that excited about going to a zoo. Unfortunately, there weren't many kid friendly places open between San Francisco and Creston.
Once we got everything loaded into the Gold Behemoth, we set the kids up with some cold drinks and snacks and set off at about 9:30. By the time we hit the San Jose area and got near the zoo, both kids were having a great time entertaining themselves. We decided to skip the zoo and keep going until either the kids got fussy or it was time to stop for lunch.
Shortly thereafter, Lily had to go to the bathroom, so we stopped in Gilroy (the Garlic town) at a little garlic store off the highway. They had a lot of neat stuff in there! After a bathroom break, we bought some garlic stuffed olives, garlic chips, a lip gloss for Lily, some lollies for the kids, and some terrifying hot sauce from one of Jim's colleagues called "ANALize this!" They had some other ones, like "Fire in and Fire out!" and "See Dick Burn." You get the general idea.
After our pit stop, we hit the road and headed toward Salinas, where Jim and I always stop for In-n-Out burgers. We did briefly debate eating somewhere else, since we had In-n-Out on Wednesday, but both of us knew what the outcome would be. Lily only wanted the french fries, but Jack immediately grabbed his burger and said "BIG BITE!" A man at the next table saw him and pointed him out to his buddies, because he kept saying "BIG BITE!" each time he ate some burger.
The kids started to get a little fussy about twenty minuted before we drove into Atascadero. Poor Lily got car sick and threw up into my (giant) soda cup. Jim foolishly took the cup away too soon, so Lily also ended up throwing up on her jacket and into the open carry on bag that was stored on the floor under her feet. Yuck. It was my happy job to clean up all of the vomit as soon as we arrived in Creston, of course! Fortunately, she didn't get it on the car.
The kids immediately settled in with their Grandpa and Grandma. Lily was in heaven because Grandma played Polly Pocket with her for what I'm sure seemed like hours to Grandma! Jack entertained himself with a wooden train and some foam toys, but his favorite activity was the bus that winds up and goes. He shrieked with joy every time that it ran and said "FUNNY!" I think he wore Grandpa out making the bus go about 100 times in a row.
We all slept in the rig, which Jim named the "Night Night Truck." Both kids did fairly well, although Lily wanted to go to sleep in the big bed and had to be moved later, and Jack woke up twice, and wanted to stay with us the second time. The first time he woke up, I think he was confused because he didn't know where he was. When we was in bed with us, he kept reaching his hand up and patting my cheek throughout the night to make sure I was there.
Once we got everything loaded into the Gold Behemoth, we set the kids up with some cold drinks and snacks and set off at about 9:30. By the time we hit the San Jose area and got near the zoo, both kids were having a great time entertaining themselves. We decided to skip the zoo and keep going until either the kids got fussy or it was time to stop for lunch.
Shortly thereafter, Lily had to go to the bathroom, so we stopped in Gilroy (the Garlic town) at a little garlic store off the highway. They had a lot of neat stuff in there! After a bathroom break, we bought some garlic stuffed olives, garlic chips, a lip gloss for Lily, some lollies for the kids, and some terrifying hot sauce from one of Jim's colleagues called "ANALize this!" They had some other ones, like "Fire in and Fire out!" and "See Dick Burn." You get the general idea.
After our pit stop, we hit the road and headed toward Salinas, where Jim and I always stop for In-n-Out burgers. We did briefly debate eating somewhere else, since we had In-n-Out on Wednesday, but both of us knew what the outcome would be. Lily only wanted the french fries, but Jack immediately grabbed his burger and said "BIG BITE!" A man at the next table saw him and pointed him out to his buddies, because he kept saying "BIG BITE!" each time he ate some burger.
The kids started to get a little fussy about twenty minuted before we drove into Atascadero. Poor Lily got car sick and threw up into my (giant) soda cup. Jim foolishly took the cup away too soon, so Lily also ended up throwing up on her jacket and into the open carry on bag that was stored on the floor under her feet. Yuck. It was my happy job to clean up all of the vomit as soon as we arrived in Creston, of course! Fortunately, she didn't get it on the car.
The kids immediately settled in with their Grandpa and Grandma. Lily was in heaven because Grandma played Polly Pocket with her for what I'm sure seemed like hours to Grandma! Jack entertained himself with a wooden train and some foam toys, but his favorite activity was the bus that winds up and goes. He shrieked with joy every time that it ran and said "FUNNY!" I think he wore Grandpa out making the bus go about 100 times in a row.
We all slept in the rig, which Jim named the "Night Night Truck." Both kids did fairly well, although Lily wanted to go to sleep in the big bed and had to be moved later, and Jack woke up twice, and wanted to stay with us the second time. The first time he woke up, I think he was confused because he didn't know where he was. When we was in bed with us, he kept reaching his hand up and patting my cheek throughout the night to make sure I was there.
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