A Game of Operator

Shelagh was looking at birds outside this morning and saw a cool looking black and multi-colored bird. Joe had told her last week that it was an Oriole. We were all whispering and looking out the window and she said "Mommy, is that a cookie bird?". I took me a minute to figure out that she thinks the bird is an Oreo bird. So funny.

Just Being Kids

I came to an unpleasant realization about myself recently. I have a lower tolerance than I'd like for letting the kids just be kids. Being a generally Type A, semi-rigid person (I'm probably being generous here) who likes routines and has distress when things get out of my control are just some reasons I get impatient with the kids. In stepping back and really looking at some of the things that they have been doing that irritate me, I've come to the conclusion that some of these things are NO BIG DEAL. The kids are generally just being kids. I think I've spent so much time in my life taking care of myself, of things, of people around me and of making sure that everything is in place and things are moving forward that I forget that everything doesn't have to have a purpose; that silliness is fun; that letting loose is not only good but necessary. I'm working on lightening up. It's hard. While I like to have fun and am generally a person who laughs and likes ridiculous stuff, I have a very serious side and the two rarely mix. Thank God that Joe embraces this so easily and naturally. I need to take a lesson out of his book in this case and just slow down, appreciate the moments, and have some FUN with them. Motherhood is not all about taking care, doing, cleaning, organizing, scheduling, and manners. PLAY.

Movies: Star Trek

We dropped the kids at my mother in laws this past Saturday morning and ran off to the movies to catch Star Trek. I'm not a Trekkie, but I did watch the show at my dads house every other weekend when I was a little kid and was looking forward to J.J. Abrams rendition.

FANTASTIC. It was seriously awesome. Casting: Zachary Quinto from Heroes as young Spock - perfect. Spock - cool. Chris Pine - HOT and such a good performance as young Kirk. Sulu, Bones, Uhura, Scotty - all on the money. Eric Bana, who I think is a bit dull, was a great choice as Nero. Even was digging Winona Ryder as Spocks mom. Effects: The ships were insanely cool. The music was great. I cried at the beginning and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. LOVED IT! Joe is not that into Star Trek generally and he really loved it too.

J.J. might be a guarantee at this point...Alias, Lost, Fringe, Star Trek, for sure. I liked Cloverfield and Mission Impossible III. He must do a Star Trek sequel.

Precious Moments

When my head is splitting the other evening and without hesitation my husband leans over and rubs my temple for me. He constantly rubs my shoulders. He starts helping as soon as he comes in the door at night. He calms me if I'm agitated and reminds me to look beyond the moment and relax. Which I need often.

When I'm putting Kelly to sleep and it's dim in her room with only the light of dusk streaming in under the shade...she nurses quietly and while she lounges in my arms, her hand gently brushes my skin and caresses back and forth. She grabs my shirt now and then and then releases it, waves her arm around and settles back down. Every once in awhile she looks up at me and gives me the hugest smile, then resumes nursing. Heaven.

When I'm tucking Rory in at night I lean down for a hug and ask him "Will you be my love?". He answers "Yes, Mommy, I will be your 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, and a million Love" and he nuzzles into my neck and wraps his arms around my neck for a big squeeze.

When I'm tucking Shelagh in at night and she gives me my favorite hugs...the Pat-Pat hug is when she puts her arms under mine and gently pats my back while hugging. The Arm-Wrap hug is when she then puts her arms around my neck, plants a kiss on the lips, and gives me the best bear hug of all time. She knows they are my favorite kinds of hugs and she loves giving them.

The Journey from 1 to 5...

At her 1st Birthday Party eating cake for the first time...

Tonight on her 5th birthday so pleased with her yellow smiley balloon and her JP Licks Oreo Ice Cream Cake (which was awesome, by the way)...

Sick Kid on 2nd Day of Work

It's Murphys Law, right?
So, for my first week back at work I was in the office on Day 1. On Day 2, I had to work at home with Shelagh sick (today). She had a high fever yesterday and fell asleep at 645 last night, but she seems to be doing better today and enjoying the longest run of TV watching she's ever had. On Day 3, I have to take off b/c I have some DR appointments for Kelly that I couldn't reschedule. Nice and reliable, I am. What a great first impression for the guy I'm working for on my new project who is new and doesn't know me. Awesome.

On a funny note, Shelagh decided to put together a list of the things she needs to do to get better so that she can go back to school tomorrow. You see, tomorrow is her 5th birthday. Her best friend at school shares her birthday and she is dying to celebrate with her class on the exact day. I'm not at work anyway, but it would be such a pain to bring her with Kelly and I to Boston and then shop for balloons and cake for her when she is with me. I'd much rather surprise her.

First Day Back at Work

Is not going so bad...

1. I didn't cry when I dropped off Kelly, even though she did her first real belly laugh last night and I was so sad thinking about leaving her. The laughing was awesome. She is ticklish and was cracking up.
2. I got through all 750+ emails this morning with less than 10 not deleted. Yay.
3. I've managed to navigate all the inevitable access problems, etc after being locked out during my leave.
4. I've managed to avoid the director on my new project until now.
5. I've caught up with some friends.
6. I've not eaten any chocolate yet today which is HUGE. I'm usually non-stop into the candy at work.

It's not so bad.

Out of My Element

I went to Bloomingdales today and WOW - what a different slice of life. I wasn't close to dressed enough for the glamour that was all around me (note sarcasm). Seriously though, I left my Gucci at home and was a fish out of water in there. It's a new-ish store and it is unreal shiny. I walked in through cosmetics - scary ladies in there; along a wall of Chanel; past a frightening shoe department - several fancy boys with moustachioed smirks; and through some brand names I thought only celebrities wore.

I had to return a gift that Kelly got and DAMN there was some beautiful way-too-fancy-for-me stuff. I had fun. For 3 outfits that were too small, I got 3 more outfits off the 50% rack for next summer - brands I would never normally pay top dollar for were totally manageable marked down twice. Heaven.

SUCCESS!!!!!

SHE DID IT!!!! Thank God. I was really freaking out. She seriously just sucked down 3 bottles in minutes. Now I just have to pump like mad to build up supply before I screw everything up by trying to switch to formula. Let's hope she doesn't reject nursing later :)

Rory, the Merman

He will not like that this picture exists later on, I'm sure...I'm pretty sure Shelagh forced this on him, but he wasn't objecting too loudly. This is a first.

Stubborn Kelly

STILL won't take a bottle. Less than a week until work starts and she is holding her ground. Another mom and the kids preschool suggested a bootcamp approach, so we're staying home today and that's what I'm going to do. This woman held her ground with bottles and it took her 2 days. I'll nurse her morning and evening as I plan to do on work days, but no nursing during the day - only pumping and bottles. I'm prepared for LOTS of crying today. Not looking forward to it. She is sleeping now thankfully.

Sauteed Fiddleheads

I used to eat Fiddlehead Ferns in Burlington, VT at Sweetwaters, the restaurant where I worked during college. Vermont was into the whole "eat local/eat organic" scene way long ago and the chef at the restaurant had good relationships with some local farmers. Every April/May we'd have 2-3 weeks of Fiddlehead dishes on the specials menu.

I spotted some in the grocery store last week and decided to give them a try again. They taste better than they look. I used a very simple saute recipe from Martha Stewart online and both Joe and I liked them. They were crispy, had good texture and not too strong of a flavor. The kids liked the name and Shelagh tried them. She untwisted them and called them snake vegetables. Rory had no part of them of course.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops & Braised Potatoes with Garlic

I made these Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops from Everyday Food before Disney and they were fast and easy. I served them with the Braised Potatoes with Garlic from my All About Braising cookbook that I've been using a lot lately. Rory is now accepting all forms of potato as long as I call them x French Fries, such as "Breakfast French Fries", "Dinner French Fries", "Mashed up French Fries", etc. You get the picture. No photo of the meal though...sorry.

Operation "Rory Eat Vegetables" Take 1

I've told Rory that he could have a Bling Bling McQueen (there are a million different Lightning McQueens from CARS movie they try to sell and Rory - and I for that matter - is totally hooked on collecting as many as possible) if he tries 3 vegetables. The kid is determined to get Bling Bling so I saw the opportunity and seized it. Last night I made Honey-Glazed Roasted Carrots from Bon Appetit. The recipe calls for Carrots and Parsnips, but I had real baby carrots from Whole Foods (ie not the bags of carrots you get at the regular grocery) and Rory has eaten them once or twice before. You roast the carrots tossed in olive oil and S & P. The glaze is added at the end and includes melted butter, honey, and balsamic vinegar warmed and mixed together. They were delicious and I ate them cold out of the frig today as well. Rory, on the other hand, did not eat them, but it may have been b/c I rushed him out the door before he was really done with dinner last night. Shelagh had recital pictures and he got dropped off at the neighbors to play until Joe got home. I'll try again tonight with him - either way I'll make them again and probably with the parsnips.

Update: He screamed and refused to take a single bite...even with Shelagh and me eating pudding in front of him. Shelagh agreed to try a scallop for pudding. This kid will do anything for a sweet. Yes, I'm bribing the children with sweets. It works.

Kellys Summer Fashion Show

I forgot to post this before our trip to Disney. I had to do a little Fashion show with Shelaghs old 0-3/3-6 month clothes. What fun...I didn't think Kelly would be able to wear some of my favorite things b/c of her being born in a different season than Shelagh. She was a trooper and cooperated for a good hour. There were many more outfits, but these are the best pics I think.

Kelly: 3 Months

I can't believe Kelly is 3+ months now. Time flies. She's a sweet baby with a good disposition and lots of smiles. She is kicking a ton now so shes ending up in a different spot in her crib than she starts. She has chunked out and is getting tough to carry in the car seat! She is now sleeping in her own room on her tummy and doing great...Only up 1 time per night for about a week+ now. Unfortunately, with less than 2 weeks to go until I return to work, she still refuses to take a bottle. It's getting stressful. She's not old enough for solids yet, so it's not like she'll make it very long in the home care where she'll be without taking a bottle. Anyway, I continue to try. Here are some recent pictures of her - she really resembles Shelagh as a baby now, other than the hair.

And with her loving big sister...

We're back from Disney!

We had a wonderful trip with our friends! It was really fun, but also a bit exhausting as vacations with young kids can be. Tack on the craziness and crowds at Disney and we are wiped out. It was a nice and relaxing day at home today recovering listening to the kids sing It's a Small World and play talking about the parks and characters they saw. Despite some BLOW OUT tantrums and whining, they seem to be only remembering the happy parts :)


Overall
The weather was clear and HOT all week. The house we rented was awesome and the family we shared the house with made it all the more fun for Joe and me and for the kids. It was 2 miles away from Disney. We had our own pool and lots of space to unwind and relax when not at the parks. I'm so glad we rented a house and didn't stay on property this time. If we go back when Kelly is old enough to appreciate it maybe it would be cool to stay there and get back and forth from the parks more easily, but for young kids, it was best to get completely away from the mayhem. Air travel worked out well and despite arriving home at 11pm last night, the kids did beautifully, especially considering we were running to and through the airport to make the plane and have time to buy dinner before boarding. Imagine being on a 7pm flight with kids without time for dinner and having no food on board. Nightmare potential.

Kelly
I was nervous about having Kelly being toted around in that heat, but she was ok. In fact, I pretty much freaked out the day before we left. I mostly had her in the Baby Bjorn and a bit in her car seat snapped into the stroller. She was a trooper and just slept and smiled the whole time. The heat didn't seem to bother her too much and she managed to stay comfortable and protected from the sun. Here is Kelly in a typical shot mid-day hanging out and just being an accessory.

At the end of the day when we were back at the house and I could finally give her some attention, her smiles were huge and appreciative.


Shelagh
We lucked out and got to meet all the princesses and 3 of the fairies and Shelagh was thrilled! We also met Little Einsteins and regular Disney characters. We waited on line for 3 of the princesses and fairies and then we had lunch at Cinderellas Castle and met some others. Lunch was a fortune, but seemed to be worth doing for the excitement factor. Poor Rory hid under the table when the princesses came by - I think he was princessed out.

We saw a lot of shows and parades including the Welcome to Disney show, the Nemo musical, Disney Philharmagic in 3D, Country Bear Jamboree, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid show and the parades at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Here is Shelagh mesmerized and waiting for Malificent to appear (evil Fairy from Sleeping Beauty) and then eating an awesome rainbow popsicle watching Woody and Jessie the Cowgirl dancing.

She also learned to swim without a bubble for the first time! She did it here and there last year with Joe or I, but not ongoing swimming on her own. She kicked ass and we're so excited! She jumped in the deep end and swam to the other side all by herself. She is so pumped to tell her swim teacher.

Rory
He could not have been more patient. We didn't get to Hollywood Studios until Day 4. Unfortunately, Disney does crap for CARS movie, which is shocking to me based on the volume and availability of all that merchandise. I don't know how they don't have rides or shows or inclusion in the parades. I guess boys can appreciate Toy Story and Monsters Inc and Power Rangers, but seriously there is so much Princess stuff, you'd think they'd focus on Cars more. That's okay though b/c Rory, as he did with Mickey, kind of freaked when he was finally in front of Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. We waited in line again and he was a little better the 2nd time, but the poor kid, after all that build up, was just overwhelmed I think.

Afterwards, I got him a new Leak Less car toy and he was thrilled.

He loved swimming in the pool and is liking pirates lately so we got him a cool eye patch after the Pirates of the Caribbean ride we went on yesterday. He makes a mean pirate sound - 'ARRRR'


Disney Parks
All in all, we liked the 3 parks we visited.

• Day 1 - Magic Kingdom
• Day 2 - Animal Kingdom
• Day 3 - Magic Kingdom
• Day 4 - Hollywood Studios
• Day 5 - Magic Kingdom

If I had to do it again, I'd do maybe 1 less day at MK and have a rest day in the middle. I'd do the nighttime visit for parade and fireworks on a non-weekend and on the night before the rest day b/c it's late and the kids were a MESS before, during, and after the night visit. And, the fireworks didn't start until 10pm and we ended up aborting mission right before they started.

Magic Kingdom was the best for the kids ages. We did all the lands and repeating a few rides the kids liked. I thought we balanced well between rides, shows, and character greetings. We chose a good time of year for crowds and didn't have to wait more than 0-20 minutes for almost all rides and twice had to wait 45 minutes. The dads did a nice job of waiting on line for us and then letting us jump in towards the end which worked out well. Animal Kingdom was really nice and the kids enjoyed seeing all the animals. Hollywood Studios had a few cool things, a neat parade and was just really cool set-up wise. I'd like to hang there with older kids or just adults I think.

Anyway, here are some last shots from the trip. To family, the albums will be coming soon after I spend a million hours going through the hundreds of pics we took.

Rory is Potty Trained!

It took a few weeks, but that's really it. Conveniently, he was fully trained before our trip to Disney. It is WONDERFUL not changing 3+ year old boy poop diapers. He loves wearing underwear and it's a whole production picking out a new pair each morning. He is very proud of himself and announces what he produces each time he goes for his daily congratulations. Further, he describes the shapes his poops make - "Mommy, I made a train poop!" Shelagh used to liken hers to letters of the alphabet. Rory seems to lean more towards vehicles or animals, not surprisingly. It is astounding what comes out of little people. Where the hell does it come from???