We're Baaaaack!

Yesterday we got home from our Disney World vacation. It was fabulous.

The flights both there and back were the most eventful flights in forever, for me, simply because they both took off and landed ON TIME, and they took us WHERE WE WANTED TO GO. Imagine that!

The photo above is Nick and Nate with Wall-E. We SAW Mickey, who was in the same room, a living, breathing Mickey, who was meeting with children and having photos taken, but our kids took one look at this cardboard cutout of Wall-E and ran over to him instead. We had a hard time with the characters, because both boys wanted to LOOK at them, and it was tough getting them to turn and face the camera. Cardboard Wall-E was no exception.

I have tons of stories and much to say, and photos and posts will stretch out over the next week.

Packing Up

I've gone on quite a few trips with the boys, ranging from a few nights to a couple of weeks. But this vacation to Disney is the first where we won't have access to a washer.

It wouldn't matter, if we were all grown ups. You figure you're gone for five days, pack five outfits, right? But wrong. Because the boys are not grown ups. There have been times I've packed what I thought was an appropriate number of clothes, and only half of them got worn. There have also been times I've packed what I thought was more than enough and had to do laundry within 48 hours.

And there is only so much room. I can't shove everything into a suitcase. I also have to pack toys, books, sunscreen... favorite stuffed animals to sleep with, bathing suits, camera... it gets very full and very heavy very quickly. A week's worth of stuff is a lot to begin with.

The thing is, I don't know if I'm packing too much or too little. I guess by the time you are reading this, I will know, because I'm pre-publishing a week's worth of posts. This one is scheduled to publish the day I get back!

Playing Dress Up

I hate clothes shopping. For the life of me I can't find what I'm looking for. And I'm not just talking about size. I'm talking about style. I'm talking about clothes that I look OK in. Instead of a nutjob. Not only am I horrible at knowing what looks good, I'm not the best when it comes to matching. Sometimes I get dressed and I know that I look funny, but I can't tell what it is or how to fix it. The shoes? The socks? The pants?

Next time I'm taking someone with me to be my clothing advisor.

WORD GIRL!

I really like finding TV shows I can watch with my kids, especially kind of quirky ones, like WORD GIRL. It really makes me wonder why people spend time watching Dora and Diego, because quite honestly, Dora and Diego are quite boring, annoying, and it's gotten to the point where I want to steal Dora's map and see if she makes it over Chocolate mountain and through Letter Forest or wherever she's getting to today. Of course someone would find her. She shouts all the time, and her head is so big it looks like she's about to topple over. Word Girl, on the other hand, is funny, and smart, and has a sense of humor. Dora has a monkey as a sidekick. Word Girl has a chimp. But Word Girl can fly, and fights bad guys obsessed with food simply by using good vocabulary.

I Scream etc.

Curious Andy

Hmmm, what's this over here?

Japanese Robot Men

Steve brought Nick and Nate Robot Action Figures from Japan. When you press the buttons on the back, they make noises like gurgling drains and laser blasts. The boys love them. They just had to learn that robots need to get along, and not bonk their brothers in the face. Both boys began crying at the same time. But Nathan's nose began spurting blood both from the outside and the inside, and the lip Nick was clutching seemed fine. Nate got better quickly. Hence the band-aid making him look like a boxer, and the slightly timid expression.

Peek A Boo

I still see you!

He's My Brother

I know I've mentioned Nick's imaginary friend, Mario.

Steve has finally gotten a copy of MarioKart for the Wii. It's fun! And it can be played online, too! So anyone that has a Wii, get MarioKart, and we can play together, even if you're say, in New York, Seattle, LA, etc.

Nick and Nate love to play, too. But ever since playing the game, Nathan has adopted a new "friend" of his own.

The other day I heard him yelling. "No! Stop! I mad at you!" and I caled out "Nathan, why are you angry? What's going on?" to which he replied "I'm not talkin to you! I talkin to Puigi!"

Yes, we've told him it's Luigi, with an L, but he doesn't seem to get it. Puigi it is. Mario's brother.

.

Good News

I love getting news about my friends, especially good news! So... you know, send it in as soon as you get it. Or I'll send Nathan after you.

The Cure

On a day where I am feeling kind of down and frustrated and hopeless, one look at this smile and I've got one of my own.

How Things Go

Just in case I haven't mentioned it, we are taking a trip to Disney World in the near future. One might say I am excited.

So it should come to no surprise that with our departure date fast approaching, Andrew has come down with a cold. Not just ANY cold, but a cold with a rash. A speckely rash, which the doctor assured me was normal, and would go away in a few days.

And in a perfect world, a world where luggage showed up on the conveyor belt and flights took off when they were supposed to and landed where they were supposed to, this cold would be a non issue. It would infect Andy for a few days, then fade away until, one day, we noticed there was no longer a steady stream of snot running from his nose.

But we live in THIS world, the Anti-Traveling World, where, when one kid gets sick, he stays sick for TWO WEEKS, and then his BROTHERS get sick, and they get HIGH FEVERS and maybe even THROW UP for NO REASON. And all this might happen ON THE PLANE because I WILL NOT let this illness interfere with my vacation. The boys might be feverish zombies, but they will be dragged around the Magic Kingdom regardless.

The worst part about all this is that I am very tired. Andy is probably tired, too. But he can try to sleep whenever he wants, and no one expects him to shop or make dinner. So being up half the night doesn't seem to get to him the way it does me, Little Miss Snappy.

PS - Steve woke up with the kids this morning, by himself, with no prompting from me, just so I could have a little extra time. I cannot tell you how great this was. But I am also still snappy.

Andy Has A Cold

So I didn't get anything done today.

Getting Dressed

You would think getting dressed would be simple. How many issues could possibly arise?

Well...

With Andrew, it's a matter of... well, he's mobile. And there are always other things he wants to do besides getting his diaper changed. So getting him into a new diaper, let alone a new outfit, requires placement, replacement, distraction of several kinds, and finally good timing.

With Nicholas, it's a matter of supervision. Because he is MORE than willing to pick out his own clothing and dress himself. But sometimes he chooses inappropriate clothing, such as long pants when it's 90 degrees, or dress shoes with his gym shorts, or a t-shirt he outgrew two years ago. I might also find his discarded PJ's in the toy bin, or stashed under the bed.

But either of the above is actually fine. Even together, I could get through it with few problems.

And then, there's Nathan.

Nathan will wander into the room to get dressed, and I will find him in there reading a book. He will refuse to get dressed because he is reading a book. I ask him to get undressed. I take the book away. He then tries to get ME to undress him. But I am trying to get him to do these things himself. I tell him he can do it himself. Then I tell him he's right, he CAN'T because he isn't a superhero. Then he says he IS a superhero, and undresses in ten seconds. Then he is naked, and gets distracted, etc. I help him get dressed, but he stands three feet away and I feel as though I'm chasing him around the room. When I finally start helping him, he shouts that he wants to do it himself. He insists on wearing his underwear backwards so he can "see the picture" of batman that is supposed to be on his bum. He can't find the waistband of his shorts. He gets his sleeves tangled up. Overall, it takes five minutes to get the other two dressed, and twenty for Nathan.

I love this boy. But he is a handful.

I need a case for my basket

I am a hormonal basket case.

I know people tend to use this term loosely, especially me. I blame practically every mood, argument, and accident on hormones. But this time, I know it to be true. Not only because I have been a little down in the dumps. Not just because I find myself gritting my teeth while I'm trying to get Nathan into his clothes, or out of them, or to do anything (this deserves it's own post, so check in tomorrow.) No, I know I am a victim of hormones because I have been breaking out like a teenager. Specifically, my face has decided to act the way it did when I was in middle school.

If you met me in college, or after college, you might be surprised. Because when my skin cleared up, it cleared up. I was very lucky that way. But some of you knew me in middle school. If you are one of those people then you know that I had a LOT of zits. For years. I was very embarrassed and tried a number of things to get rid of them, and also to hide them - make up, combing my hair in front of my face... Until... well, I don't know. It all cleared up my senior year, I think.

But now... well, I'm back to having pimples all over. I haven't changed any of my habits to cause it. I have no idea what's going on. And I'm very cross about it.

One, Two, Skip a Few...

I skipped posting yesterday because my computer had to be taken back to the shop to get fixed - same problem, but like anything else, it takes at least two trips and fourteen people in line ahead of you with Ipod questions before anything useful happens. Lucky for me, Steve went and took care of it, and all I had to do was wait here at home.

Yesterday evening Pam and Larry came over, relatives of ours who live close but we never see because I am horrible at keeping in touch. It was so good to see them. And the boys had a great time, even though they got confused and were calling Pam "Larry" and Nathan insisted Larry was "Pam." Which is, when you think of it, kind of funny.

And Andrew... Andy cooperated by taking three consecutive steps for the first time. I can see him balancing, his little body swaying, and I know it's only a matter of days before he's unstoppable.

She's So Bad

I am NOT a political person. I usually avoid political banter at all cost and I don't think I have ever made political commentary on this site. It's not what it's about, and I recognize the fact that my readers (all four of you) hold different political views, and have the right to. Personally, I find politics confusing and boring, and kind of like a game of "Responsibility Hot Potato" where they take all of it if it's a good thing and none of it if it's a bad thing, and it's hard to tell who did what because our system is practically built on red tape. I usually find that one politician is much like another, which is why I marginally supported Obama over McCain in the elections, and mostly because McCain seemed closer to what we already have.

Then McCain chose a running mate.

At first I thought it was a joke. It had to be a joke. I simply couldn't take it seriously and joked about it because not only did I think Sarah Palin was a poor choice, but she seemed to keep getting poorer and poorer by the day. By the HOUR. And I smiled and shook my head and wondered why McCain was throwing the election.

But at the playground today I overheard some women talking and I realized... those crazy screaming people on TV? They aren't being sarcastic. They are simply deluded. And McCain and Palin? They might actually run this country.

I am not sure why I hate Palin so much. It's not that she's a woman - I like women. I am one. I disliked Clinton, wouldn't have voted for her, but Clinton simply left me with the feeling that she was lying to me, and not the "Run Away!" feeling I get from Palin. And I know I stay at home but I feel that is a choice I was lucky enough to have, not an obligation, so the fact that she has an infant at home, one that requires special care, that's not it either. Not even knowing that no one with a Toddler can be 100% sane. I can't even say for sure that it's becasue I disagree with her on every single issue, even though I probably do, because I haven't been able to watch her for longer than two seconds without being overcome with nausea and panic. All the quotes I have read are either bashing Obama for bashing her, or explaining that she's super excited her seventeen-year-old is going to be a mom. I seriously wonder how the seventeen-year-old feels. Did she want to have the kid? Keep the kid? Get married? I don't suppose any of the politcians care. After all, she's not old enough to vote.

I just couldn't understand why someone in their right mind would think Sarah Palin would be a good choice to run our country. Because as the VP, that would be a major job function: running our country if the president can't, i.e. in a time of crisis. And I can't fully explain it, but I feel like I'm in that movie, all trying to warm people "Soylent Green is PEOPLE!" and "The Pod People are taking over! They're everywhere!" I'm terrified, because I've just realized that there is an actual possibility that enough people will get brainwashed into voting for McCain and Palin, and when that happens Palin's head and her pink suit will crack open, and her true Evil Spider self will crawl out, her huge red eyes flashing, and she will eat McCain, and then she will laugh maniacally, and move on to destroy the rest of this country, and while she's at it, the Earth.

Once Upon A Time...

Andy took his first step today.

Oh, don't get TOO excited. He didn't exacting stick the landing. He lifted his foot and immediately began falling forward, and his foot hit the ground a moment before the rest of him. But the point is this: he knows what he wants to do. And he knows how to do it. He just needs the balance.

Strike

The other day we took the kids bowling.

First of all I must clarify the term "Bowling." Where I am from, bowling pins are kind of curvy and look a little like bottles. The bowling balls are about the size of a head, and have holes in them for your fingers. Here, in New England, bowling pins are shaped like two plastic cups taped together at the open ends, and bowling balls are the size of... well, a small heavy cantelope. Everyone I've met from here insists this is "Real Bowling," and apparently ignores the fact that all TV shows and all movies with bowling in them has what they refer to as "Big Ball Bowling." Apparently they just think the balls are bigger because they are props, like fake money in a play. I think the "Big Ball Bowling" should be called "Bowling" and that the other kind, the candlepin kind, should be called "Imposter Bowling." And I can't explain how I ever developed such string feelings about bowling in the first place. Except that I know I'm right.

Anyway, we took the kids Imposter Bowling. Not just regular Imposter Bowling, but Glo Bowling, which is apparently bowling in the dark, with loud music and disco lights flashing. They gutters were blocked off, so you couldn't loose. But it was still kind of hard for the boys to roll the balls. While Steve and I would fling those suckers down to the pins, Nick and Nate would roll them, and then we would all watch as the ball slowly, slowly rolled, rolling... still rolling... Other people bowling would finish entire turns, throwing the ball six times, and we would still be waiting for Nate's ball to reach the end of the lane. And finally knock over a single pin.

As soon as a pin fell over Nate would turn and do a victory dance that would make a football player proud.

Because the boys took so long, it took us over an hour to play one game. But it was lots of fun. I'm glad I at least know another place we can go when things get snowy and cold.

House Rules

We're all sitting on the couch watching Sid The Science Kid, and since it's cool here in the mornings, we've got the blankets pulled up on our laps. Nate is snuggled next to me, and Nicholas has crawled next to Nathan. Nicholas leans into his brother to get warmer, and he gently puts his arm around Nate's shouler in a brotherly sort of way. Without taking his eyes from the TV screen, or even moving away, Nathan says" No hugging in the house."

I am pretty sure this was not one of MY rules.