Nuts

The only way I can think to describe today is "totally nutty". After another late night last night (my bad) we rushed this morning to get out the door in time for school. This preschool stuff will be an interesting adventure. Jeff took Oliver to school, and left just after story time. Oliver did such a good job all by himself today. Hooray!!

Emma also did super fabulous at her first day of gymnastics! The class is just perfect for her. She even attempted a forward roll all by herself. It kind of ended up looking more like a face splat, but she tried! Her favorite was the "tumble track", which is a long, narrow trampoline. A super duper runway for two year olds. (They must really use it for gymnast tricks, but today it was occupied by a mob of tots.) Emma loved to jump and do cannon balls on it. She is quite talented at doing cannon balls.

Although I am so proud of my wonderful kids, I can't say my day, personally was super fab. It was AHHH! At least the first half. After dropping Jeff and Ollie off in Harvard Square, Emma and I went to Target to pick up a few things. I opened the trunk to get out the stroller, grabbed the wheel to pull it forward, and @%^#*!!! My middle finger got smashed in the folding mechanism. (Metal frame stroller, finger stuck in hinge = extreme pain) For 5-10 LONG seconds I could not get my finger unstuck. The weight of the stroller had dropped out of the car, closing down on my finger, and my heroic left hand isn't so handy at getting right hand unstuck. Apparently. I honestly, not even kidding, thought my finger was being cut off! Ok... my finger is out, deeply cut at the first knuckle and totally numb. I'll be honest, I sat there on the bumper of the car for a few mins cursing and crying. At that point I was wondering still trying to figure out how bad this bad was. It sucked, but I sucked it up, got Emma in the stroller and went to get some first aid stuff. (went home with nothing from my list - darn it!) After a bit of panic and a band aid, Emma and I headed on to her gymnastics class.

I talked with the nurse on the phone and she requested that I come in. She ordered an X-ray (find out results tomorrow)and said that it could take a couple of weeks for the feeling to come back in my finger, due to nerve damage. Great. I now have a finger that feels like it has been sitting in a dentist chair too long. I suppose there are worse things though. I could have lost that fine digit to the mighty Phil and Ted. (brand of my stroller for the not so stroller savvy.)

The tides shifted this evening. We had a lot of fun at Naomi's 3rd birthday party. I was so happy to see Emma and Oliver playing really well with all of the kids and having a ton of fun. Other than Oliver getting into too many things that he shouldn't, and Emma getting beat up by a one year old (hit her with a plastic shovel and slapped her around a lot- totally shocking to her, super sad to me) the evening was a total success.

For once, I am hoping tomorrow will be totally uneventful. Boring would be perfect.

Ollie's first day of Preschool

I wish I had more than a moment to write right now, but I wanted to post a couple of photos of Oliver on his first day of preschool. It was really quite hilarious today (the parents were allowed to stay to observe the school program.)For a minute here and there I thought my son was going to be leading the preschool rebellion. Those nice preschool teachers are certainly going to have their hands full! During a rather quiet moment, Oliver decided to protest circle time, by shouting out "I do not like singing songs at all! I only like space ships!" He was very nicely told by his teacher "maybe some of the other friends here like to sing, and you might learn a new song that you will like to sing during circle time." His response was "it's not circle time! It's square time!" All things considered, Oliver did so well. I am so proud, and in total and complete denial that my little guy is not so little anymore. Tomorrow Jeff gets to go to school with Ollie for a bit. We'll try to report back if circle time went a little smoother the second time around :)

Back to Beantown

Well, we are back home in Belmont, MA after a totally wonderful Gritton Family vacation to California, followed by a week in Utah. Since getting back we have been trying to unpack and get things organized before school starts for both my boys on Wednesday. It was a perfect summer day today, perfect for an afternoon trip to the farm, and an evening walk to the playground. As we walked around the Beaver Creek reservation (where the playground is) we were completely in awe. What a gorgeous, HUGE, park! And this beautiful oasis is right down the street from us! As we walked through the large fields and over the quaint bridges, all I could think of was the pictures that were waiting to be taken of my kids playing here. I am so excited for this new discovery. Jeff and I already have plans to start up our running program there again tomorrow. (We'll keep you posted on that.)

Oh Sunny Day...

HOORAY for sunshine! I actually am one of those people who likes nice cool overcast days, but after 2 solid weeks of thunderstorms nearly every day, it was sure nice to get the kids to the playground! I had nearly forgotten how adventurous Ollie is on climbing structures. I was close to having several heart attacks as Oliver insisted he was big enough to climb to the top of an 8 or 10 foot jungle gym, and then could climb down all by himself. Maybe I'm a tad bit paranoid, but YIKES! I would have been scared at the top of that thing. He did it though. Who am I to question this boy? I just wish that every once in a while he would accept that he is 3 and not 10.

Waverly Square

As you may know, we recently moved across the Cambridge line to Belmont. Initially I was a little sad to leave Cambridge, where we have been for so long, but excited for our new place. Now that we are most of the way settled, and a little more familiar with our new location I have to say I love it! It has been rainy almost every day since we moved, and when the sun broke through the clouds today, I took the opportunity to get my grouchy kids out of the house. We are right smack in the middle of Waverly Square. What a great place to be!! We walked over to the grocery store to get some lunch things, then to the bank, then crossed the street to the post office to mail off a package. The errands that used to be impossible for me to do with my kids are now much more enjoyable. Instead of getting in and out of the car, everything is right out our front door. Hooray! Now all we're missing is family close by. We have plenty of room now, so hopefully we'll have lots of visitors this fall!

Pickles and The Milky Way

I have to admit that today was a real downer. Quite frankly, it sucked. Emma decided that she was going to cry and whine non-stop for 3 solid hours while I had my friend Jessica and her two girls over for a play date this morning. I am strictly forbidden by Emma to hold any other little children. She totally freaks out. It's not fun. Let's see... then there was a moment where Emma and Ollie decided to squirt their cups of lemonade all over the couch. Oliver tried to tell me he was "just trying to fix the couch." Uh-huh. Yeah right.

Then there was the trip to Target to get emergency binkies for Emma. Somehow our new apartment swallowed up every one of Emma's binkies, minus one really old one that she rejects half of the time. Target was the real low point. In a moment of complete insanity I decided it would be good for the kids to blow off some steam and walk, and left the stroller in the car. We were there aprox. 7 1/2 minutes when the brawl broke out in toy aisle #6 over some stupid game. I dragged both the kids to another aisle to distract them but Ollie stormed off to find his game again. When I firmly requested that he return to his mother's side he (very loudly) responded while shaking his finger at me "LEAVE ME ALONE MAMMA." Great. I am now that Mom in Target that other Mom's stare at and shake their heads because I am dragging two screaming children by the hands out of the store. "BUT MAMMA! LEAVE ME IN THE TOYS!" It is a giant snowball effect with Oliver and Emma. Emma could be the happiest girl in the world, but the moment her brother melts, she starts wailing too. The worst part of it is, that I had to ditch the binkies I had grabbed on our way in. We left sans emergency plugs. I will have to go on a major binkie hunt tonight.

Ahhh... the whole story is not just storm clouds. There is a flicker of light here and there. As I was putting Emma in her car seat leaving Target I said to her "Emma are you a sour little pickle today?" Of course she only responded with her grumpy little grimace. However, a few moments later as I was starting the car Oliver announced "Mamma, Emma is not a sour little pickle." I said "Of course not. You're right. What is Emma then?" He thought for a second and then proclaimed "well...she's just a girl." How sweet! My kids are sweet! Woo Hoo! Alright.... things are looking up now. (Maybe)

We get home from our Target dragon slaying nightmare, and sit down to read some books. There's nothing like a bit of quiet time reading books with the kids. That is... until they start fighting over books and Emma is yelling "MINE!" As if I am floating above my own body, I hear myself once again telling the kids "Hey! You know what's fun about this?? We can do it together!" Why don't they buy it?? It never works. I end up feeling like I am trying to sell someone an awful timeshare in flood country.

Finally we read Emmma's choice "Goodnight Moon" and then follow up with Ollie's choice - one of his space books. We are looking at a page with pictures of galaxies and clouds of gas. He says "that's the Milky Way Mamma." And it is. I told him that was the Galaxy that we live in. He gets a sad look on his face and starts to whimper a little bit. When I ask him what the matter is, he tells me "Ahhhh... but Mamma, I don't want to live in the Milky Way. I want to live in another Galaxy!" I just wasn't sure how to respond to that so I changed the subject and we had a nice conversation about Buzz Aldrin and his friend Neil.

I completely adore Oliver's mind and his love for space. He wakes up every morning with something spacey as his first words. Every day he tells me he is a big boy, and just wants to be big enough to blast off in a real space ship. I don't doubt for a single second that one day he may very well be walking on the moon. I guess I have things bigger than meltdowns in Target to worry about.

Space Commander Diego

For the last couple of months Oliver has been very into anything "space". He is a self proclaimed Space Commander. In fact, he calls himself "Space Commander Diego". If I call him Oliver, he corrects me. "No Mamma, I'm Space Commander Diego!" I have been labeled "Space Commander Mommy" Jeff is "Space Diego Daddy" and Emma is sometimes "Space Cadet" and sometimes "Space Dora" depending on Ollie's mood.
It has been quite an adventure. Regular stuff has turned into space stuff. "Space shoes, space pants, space food, space bike, car = space shuttle..." the list could go on all day. The point obviously is, everything has some affiliation with space or rocket ships at our house lately. Quite fun.
Yesterday, we were out getting Oliver a new set of sheets for his bed (space sheets as Oliver pointed out to me)and both Ollie and Emma were riding in the stroller. Out of nowhere Ollie yells out "Mommy watch out! There's a meteor ahead!" I jumped a bit, and then felt a little silly as it processed in my mind. Of course there's not a meteor ahead. We're at Bed Bath and Beyond, not Outer Space. Of course I played along though. I thanked him for the warning, and steered a different way to avoid a terrible collision with a meteor in the bedding aisle.
Oliver seriously has the most amazing imagination I've ever seen. He astounds me every day. It is also funny to see Emma playing along and following everything big brother does. She is talking more, and growing up before our eyes. I am the luckiest Space Commander Mommy in the whole entire universe!!

Today I love Cambridge

I guess there are quite a few days that I love Cambridge, it's a wonderful place. However, today I love Cambridge almost as much as I do in the fall. It is currently partly sunny, not too hot or humid, and there is a nice breeze. Perfection. Oliver, Emma and I went on a walk this morning to Fresh Pond, and wandered around the newly re-done wildflower trail. It was a wonderful morning. I feel so incredibly grateful to have my children. They have given me some gray hairs, but they're worth it! They're my best buds.

Road Trips With Kids: Not Reccommended

We got back late Sunday night from a good ol' road trip with the kids. We left Austin, Texas after we picked Jeff up from work on Friday, and had to be back to Boston in time for him to go to work Monday morning. Probably not the funnest thing in the world. In fact, at times during the hours and hours trapped in the car (16 hrs a day)I thought I may be suffering some kind of slow, miserable death reserved especially for those who have done something really bad. Really though, Oliver and Emma were total troopers. They did so well for being confined to car seats. Other than the time or two when Oliver decided to unbuckle himself, and Emma throwing all of her binkies then immediately demanding them back with violent shrieks.... all went well. On our way we saw a couple of very serious semi truck/car accidents that were heart wrenching and obviously fatal. I am just so grateful that our long journey home was a safe one, and that we are in one piece -and sane.

SeaWorld!

June 15 was Oliver's third birthday. I can't believe it! How have 3 years passed since my precious son was born? At the same time it feels like we've known our boy forever...
Oliver got some really fun gifts for his big #3. He got a space module play tent from Mommy and Daddy, a set of building blocks from Papa Bob (who was here to celebrate with us) and a trip to SeaWorld on his birthday from Gramma Lou and Papa Ray. So, on his actual birthday, off we went to San Antonio for our first big amusement park adventure with the kids and Papa Bob! SeaWorld was great!! It was a very hot day, but we had a blast. We saw dolphins, alligators, sharks and all kinds of fish, attempted a 4D pirate movie, cooled off swimming in the lazy river and kiddie pool, refreshed our taste buds with frozen lemonade, then finished off the day with a Shamu killer whale show. Oliver got to go on his very first roller coaster ride, Emma rode the tea-cup ride, and Mommy, Daddy and Papa even got to go on a couple of big rides. I would totally do SeaWorld again! What a fabulous family adventure! Thanks Gramma Lou and Papa Ray!

Where does he get it??

Ok, something Blogworthy... Actually, there have been many blogworthy things lately, just no time to write. Tonight Oliver, Emma and I were playing "pirates" downstairs and out of nowhere Oliver declares "I'm adopted Mamma." He was very matter of fact, although I don't think he knew what it meant. I responded "No... actually you're not bud." He continued the conversation by saying "Yeah, I'm adopted Mom." And I said "Well, it would be special if you were adopted, but I gave birth. I was there, and saw you come out. Sorry to disappoint you bud, you're mine." He just looked at me blankly for a moment, followed by a big "Aargh!" ... and back to pirates.

On that note, I am so in love with my babies, and so grateful that they are mine. Oliver astounds me every day, and Emma is my sunshine. Thank heaven for my babes. (including you Jeff!)

Hooray for Meatloaf!

Hooray for good old Meatloaf! I'm not talking about the dreadful singer, (sorry to any of the one or two Meatloaf fans out there) I'm referring to the wonderful, easy to make comfort food. My kids have been such picky eaters for the last week or so, and I have begun to wonder if they are getting enough in their little bodies to keep going! They are keeping hydrated with water and gatorade, and bits of food here and there. Last night we tried our last resort never-fail - oatmeal. It failed. Jeff thinks it's a phase. WELL... today I made meatloaf and baked potatoes for lunch. I crossed my fingers that it would be consumed by the little food snobs. HOORAY!! Oliver ate every single bite of a generous portion of meatloaf, and an entire baked potato! The jury is still out on Emma since she is taking her nap, but she is not as tough a critic as our little man. I just hope that Oliver wasn't purposely stocking up his reserve tanks to pull another Gandhi fast on me.

Deep Eddy, Space Commander and Garbage Bandits

I have 3 blogs in one today. Each special in it's own way, and it wouldn't be right to not report on one of them.

#1)DEEP EDDY POOL: There are only so many ways to beat the Austin Heat, and we have heard around town that the Deep Eddy Pool is one of the best ways cool down. It is a pool fed by natural spring water, and the temperature stays around 68 degrees all year long. A little chilly at first, but refreshing. After about an hour long hum-ha session with Jeff, we settled on taking the kids to the much anticipated "Deep Eddy". It was the best decision! What a wonderful place to relax with your family, and it is super kid friendly with a giant shallow wading area - perfect for Oliver and Emma. The pictures are from our outing there today.

#2)SPACE COMMANDER: Oliver's imagination has developed by leaps and bounds over the last month. It is such a wonderful thing to witness. He is growing into such a "big boy" before my very eyes. (He is always the first to remind me that he is a "big boy" should I happen to forget!)Lately, his favorite make believe game is "Space Commander". He shouts out that he is "space commander Oliver" and Emma is his "space cadet." He has collected all sorts of odds and ends that he pretends are his space controllers, and "stethoscopes" (he actually means telescope, but gets it a bit wrong.) His space ship is a big Ikea cardboard box in the living room, which he travels to space in regularly. As he is blasting off he proclaims with total exuberance "I'm going to Mars! Where no one has gone before!" I love this boy. I love his zest, his excitement, his intensity, and his pure belief that he can do or be whatever he darn well wants.

#3)GARBAGE BANDITS: Ok, we've covered fun and we've covered heartfelt. I'm not sure what to call this next little ditty, but I'm pretty sure I've saved the best for last. There are no photos to accompany the story, so just go ahead and use your imagination. Or not. It's honestly borderline humiliating. In our neighborhood the garbage collectors come very early Monday morning. I'm not sure how, but last Sunday night we forgot to put the garbage can on the curb. Jeff rushed out right when he woke up, but they had already come and gone. This sucks. It sucks even more than just ordinary suck because here in Austin you have to fit all your garbage in one can. In Cambridge you can just line up garbage bags the whole way down the street if you want - they'll take it all away.
The problem gets worse because our can was full last Sunday night. AHHH! What to do, what to do? "Well, let's just put the garbage bags in the garage and figure it out next week" Jeff and I decided. Next week is here my friends, and it wasn't pretty. The garbage can did not magically eat all the bags from last week. As Jeff and I stood in the garage wondering what we should do, that stupid can sat there mocking us, laughing an evil kind of laugh. "I'll get in there and jump a bit to try and compact the bags so we can fit more in" I suggested. At this point I am thinking anything is better than the alternative. There I was in our hot garage standing in the can trying my best to squish the bags down a bit. We got about an inch out of it, and Jeff muscled in another bag or two. "We're just gonna have to do it" Jeff said. I just died inside, because I knew he was right. We pressed the button on the wall, and up went the noisy garage door. I was just hoping that our neighbors were all sleeping. Jeff pointed out that it was after 11pm, and was more than likely no one would see us. We crept over to the neighbors can and shoved in a couple of bags. They wouldn't all fit. Crap. What now? Jeff then tried to stuff more in our own can. No go. Back to our garage to re-evaluate. I stated that we "will just have to wait and hope it all fits next week." Jeff's response??? "You realize that is admitting total defeat?" DEFEAT?? We are garbage bandits!! Is there anything worse in the whole world? Ok, probably. I just didn't want to be the couple who goes creeping around before garbage day stuffing our trash bags in the neighbors can!!! Wait. Too late.
Anyway, Jeff went back out to the same neighbors can and shoved all but one bag in her can. I hope she doesn't have any more trash to go out.

The Slammer

This morning for some reason I was so tired I could barely speak. I got 8 hours of good sleep last night, but still, for a hour or two I felt like an old Tom and Jerry episode where Tom is trying to keep his eyelids open with toothpicks. After we dropped Jeff off at work, I feared being pulled over by a cop and falsely being thrown in the drunk tank to sober up. My mind was wandering, preparing myself with what I would do should this actually happen. Would the kids come to the drunk tank with me? I'm sure Oliver would think it was fun - a trip to the jail, and seeing all of the police officers. Emma isn't so easily won over though. All ridiculous thoughts on my part. Surprisingly, it woke me up a bit.
After day dreams of being thrown in the slammer with my 1 and 2 year old children, I decided I could make up for their jail time with a nice trip to the park. Off we went on an adventure to discover new playgrounds. We went driving through a neighborhood we have been to 50 times before, looking for the "kids playscape" that we have heard so much about. It is like the lost city of Atlantis for me. I have driven around looking for this darn playground again and again. I have used a map, GPS, verbal directions, followed my instincts, all ending in miserable failure. This morning I figured it was worth another shot. I really owed it to Ollie and Emma for putting them through such hardship in my day dreams. After about 10 minutes of driving around various neighborhoods, and passing one or two shrimpy little playgrounds, we hit the pot of gold. It wasn't the much anticipated pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but good enough. Metropolitan Park. It boasted a nice sized playground, and lots of soccer fields and open grassy space for the kids to run and stretch after being in a tight little jail cell for so long.

Maybe we'll find the lost playground of Atlantis tomorrow.

Hobo Signs

While Gramma and Grampa Gritton were visiting last week, they bought the kids a kiddie swimming pool to try and beat the heat. Inside the packaging a small, very important set of instructions was included. Here is what I think it could possibly represent:

1.) Watch out for edge of pool when diving in.
2.) Enter pool head first only.
3.) Place head in pool.
4.) Big person may transform into little person upon getting wet.
5.) Big person wants to go under rainbow with little person and birds.
6.) If sick, barf in pool.
7.) Head will bounce off side of pool.
8.) If you fall in the pool, you will be eaten by babies and birds.
9.) Or the more obvious, watch your kids while they're swimming.

The picture reminded me of an exhibit at the Boston Science Museum that has different "Hobo Signs" for you to try and solve. Here is a website with Hobo Signs for y'all to take a look at. (3 weeks in the lone star state and I'm already speakin' Texan.)

www.slackaction.com/signroll.htm

Country Mouse or City Mouse??

Ok, so we are in great big ol' Texas trying to figure out whether or not we could actually live here -happily. There are definitely pros and cons to Austin, and I'm not sure whether to put the heat on the pro or con side yet. It will be REALLY nice come winter when it is still 60 degrees outside. Possibly the one big thing that I am hung up on is that it doesn't have the same "feel" as Cambridge. Duh. Of course it shouldn't, since it's NOT Cambridge. But, I feel slightly like a city mouse who has been dropped off in the country, with plenty of tacos to eat but no pad thai. How do you possibly decide between the convenience, culture and excitement of the city and the lifestyle, space, and comfort of the burbs? It may very well be the eternal question. I am hoping an "a-ha" moment will resolve this all for me.
On another note, I took the kids on a little adventure this morning to San Antonio, which is an hour from Austin. We went to the Alamo, the San Antonio Children's Museum and then walked along the "river walk". It was wonderful! The river walk is one of the most beautiful places I have been. Lined by restaurants and little shops (with a mall at one end) it was a lovely place to take a stroll and snap some photos.

Our Warm Welcome

For those of you who have missed a beat or two with the Brown/Gritton clan... we are now in AUSTIN! That's Texas. After a 3.2 day journey with the kiddlie-bops we arrived to the warmest of welcomes from the lone star state. In fact, today's forecast on accuweather.com stated that it would be 100 degrees, followed by the one word description "sunshine". Not "hot as *#%$", or "warning: people standing in direct sunlight are at risk of instantaneous combustion." Perhaps I could open up a roadside breakfast shack and fry some eggs on my face. You get the point. It's HOT!!

I've had some mixed reviews from the local folk. Some say it's unseasonable "warm" for May. This morning while waiting at the Quick Lube for my oil change, an older gent told me "ya ain't seen nothin yet darlin. Summer still ain't here yet." (Meanwhile, a few miles away, a freaky drugged out creep armed with 5 knives was sitting outside our house, insisting to cops that he lived there. Fun. -We actually live in a really nice neighborhood. Just random apparently.)

My one year old, Emma, has learned the word "hot" in the last few days. It sounds more like "awt", but she says it while waving her hands every time we get in the car. Thank heaven for AC in the car and central AC in the house.

Ok. Enough of the hotness. But, did I mention...? This place is pretty hot. Tomorrow should be cooler. A high of 93. Yippee!!

General Choas

Chaos is too much a part of my life lately. I envision Chaos as a miserable little man that wants everyone to suffer for his inadequacies. He likes to shut down brain function, torpedo your house, feed your kids too much sugar, and send secret agents to wipe out all communication between you and your spouse. He leaves you with never ending loose ends, and ten thumbs to tie them up with. What a guy.

This last week has been just crazy. We have given our notice for our current apartment, found a HUGE new place to move into August 1st, posted our car on Craigslist and sold it that day, Jeff finished classes and started pulling late nights to study for finals. We have started packing for Austin AND are packing to move a week after we get back from Austin... I could keep going, but I'm getting another Chaos induced headache just thinking about it all.

On the bright side (literally) it is beautiful weather today! Finally the rain is gone and the sun is shining. With some of the big "what are we gonna do about it" things behind us, I can breath a bit and take a sec to open up the windows and let in the sun.

An Unwelcome Guest

What would you do should a rather irritating person keep showing up on your doorstep uninvited? This person turns up again and again on my doorstep unannounced and stays for a week at a time. (Sometimes MUCH longer without my approval.) They put me in a terrible mood, and aren't Jeff's favorite person either. I have asked them to leave and only come to visit when invited, but they just ignore my request. The person I am referring to is Aunt Flo.

The women reading this know who I am referring to. For the men... it is code for period. Menstruation. I will not go into too much detail about my run-ins with the feisty lady for fear of losing the faint of heart. I don't worry about the married men, however, since I know they have found themselves wandering and perplexed in the "feminine hygiene" aisle on an errand or two for the wife, and I extend my sincere sympathies to you. I have a hard enough time finding what I need when I need it.
Let me just say, that the uterus is certainly an interesting organ, for which I am truly grateful. Without it, I would not have my two beautiful children. And should we want more, it will definitely come in handy. At this very moment however, I would like my uterus to take Aunt Flo on a long, very far away vacation. I could use a rest. She could send postcards if she liked, and I would send her a telegram when we were ready to have her back. It could really be a nice arrangement.

During my recent month long menstruation adventure,(I had my period for over a month) I was poked, prodded, had every test possible (most of which I can't remember or even spell for that matter) and finally, much to my chagrin, the Gynecologist prescribed "the pill" to try and regulate things a bit for me. I was on the pill once before, right after Jeff and I were married. Jeff would describe that few months as "not fun". I was moody to probably say the least. So, needless to say, I was not excited about taking it again. After the first day on the Ortho Tricyclen, Aunt Flo went on her merry way. This could have been a coincidence, since her bags were already packed and sitting at the door- I think she just needed a final boot in the pants.

Day two on the pill brought on a whirlwind of dull headaches, and I never get headaches. They were much like the sensation after you stub your toe - only imagine stubbing your head. Again and again. In the same spot. On day ten, after having been seasoned with stubbings, a giant house landed on my head. Or so it seemed. Out of nowhere WHAM! Migraine. All I could do was sit on the bathroom floor, a weepy shell of myself that couldn't open her eyes. Every once in a while Oliver or Emma would wander in and see if I was still sitting there. I could only tell which one it was by the sound of their voices (Oliver speaks, Emma kind of grunts.) After a few mumbled texts to hubby, he (literally) ran home to save the day. At that moment, I swore off the pill. I have a hubby in law school, and two children at home. I don't have time for pill induced migraines! At the sight of my incapacitated state, Jeff heroically announced that there would be no more "pill". I had just barely vowed to never even look at it again, so I agreed. Two days later... there's a "knock, knock, knock" at the door. Aunt Flo showed up again. Darn it. And she brought her friends Crampy, Bloated and Backache. What a party. I suppose it had to come down to choosing the lesser of two evils. Aunt Flo won over Migraines. That doesn't say much for Aunt Flo, does it?


*Over the next several months I will be attending mediation with Aunt Flo in order to come to an agreement over visitation rights with the uterus. I will keep you posted on the outcome*

Time to Brush Up...

I think Jeff and I are going to need to brush up on our soccer skills. By the looks of it, both Oliver and Emma are going to be quite athletic. That means... by my calculations, Jeff and I have approximately 2 years to perfect our (currently hibernating) sporty selves again.

Mission to Mars

Recently, we went on an adventure to see a "real" rocket ship. I've been telling Oliver for a while now that Sam and Eliza have a rocket ship in their backyard, and finally, a couple of days ago we went to see it in person. Oliver was totally beside himself, and Emma was chattering with excitement. They weren't quite sure what to do with themselves! Oliver was pleased to inform me right away that "it's a real rocket ship Mamma." They cracked open the door and climbed on in for their very first voyage on such a vessel. Oliver checked out every nook and cranny, while Emma was just happy to be along for the ride. As Oliver looked about, he focused on the window for a moment, and proclaimed with complete certainty, "look guys! There's Mars!" My response to such an appropriate observation on his part? "Yep Buddy, there it is!"

I never cease to be amazed.

Zamboni

Oliver: "Are you a Zamboni Mamma? heehee!"

Me: "No Hun, I'm not. But do you know what a Zamboni is?"

Oliver: "Uh huh. It cleans the hockey ice"

Me: "Oh! Really? Do you know how it cleans the ice?"

Oliver: "Yep. It squirts water on the ice and makes it shiny."

Me: (dumbfounded) "That's right Bud."


*this conversation occurred about a week after Oliver watched his first hockey game, and saw the Zamboni cleaning the ice afterward. I'm guessing Auntie Jessie told him what it was, since I've never had the conversation with him.*

The Mountain

The other day, the kids and I spent a couple of hours at Raymond Park enjoying the wonderful sunshine, the playground, and the sandbox. Oliver and Emma don't have hours worth of stamina for anything but a sandbox. It's amazing how long they can be entertained with a shovel, bucket, truck and a little patch of sand.
While at the playground, Oliver made friends with a boy named Felix (a friendly 5 1/2 year old.) He was playing by himslef near them in the sand, and as Oliver went over to him, touched his back and said "Hi I'm Oliver" I truly almost cried. The tears welled up. I have been a tiny bit worried that Oliver might have a hard time making friends because he hasn't shown much interest in playing with other children in our Gymboree class. My heart leapt out of my chest and shouted hooray as I sat and watched him play with his newest acquaintance. Felix had been building a "mountain" in the sand and Oliver was intrigued. He leaned over to Felix and asked him "are you going to teach me to build a mountain?" Again, I melted completely.
No sooner did they start building, then Emma came over to join in. I noticed Emma mimicking everything that Oliver did, and was even nodding her head pretending to speak full sentences. Unfortunately, it became pretty clear that Emma was knocking down the mountain. Oliver and Felix announced that she was "ruining the mountain" and Emma was banished to the other side of the sand pit. She was quite content with a bucket and the sand, but it made me a little bit sad that she has already filled the role of the little sister who the boys don't want to play with.
As we got ready to go, Oliver thanked Felix for playing and said goodbye. I was so pround.

The Stick

The weather in Boston has been nothing short of magical the last week or so. With unseasonably warm weather, (in the low 70's) Oliver, Emma and I have found ourselves outside as much as possible. A few days ago we had an "adventure" (as Oliver likes to call our outings) to Drumlin Farm with my friend Jessica W. and her two girls Naomi and Annika. Oliver and Emma have been very interested in farm animals recently and this seemed like the most perfect place to spend a lovely spring afternoon.
As soon as we arrived inside the farm gates, Oliver found a stick and started waving it about. I asked him to be careful, and he waved it more softly, this time at people passing by accompanied by the word "abracadabra!" I watched him for a few moments before saying anything else, just to see what he was up to. He continued to wave his stick at people saying "abracadabra". I knelt down and asked him why he was using magic words and waving his stick. He quickly corrected me. His stick was a "magic wand" and he was saying "abracadabra" to "get people out of my way!"
A few minutes later, after many conversations about not chasing people with his magic wand and YELLING magic words at them, Oliver's stick quietly transformed into a "digger." There we were, surrounded by the farm animals that Oliver had been dying to see in person, and he had his head to the ground digging. "Hey Oliver!! Look at this Owl!" His response? "No Mamma. I'm digging." Later..."Hey Oliver! Come and look at the cow!" Again he replied "No Mamma. I'm digging." After missing most of the animals and not seeming to really care, I asked him why he was digging everywhere we went instead of looking at the animals. He told me that he was "a farmer" and he "needed to dig holes for the animals". How can you argue with that? When a boy needs to dig, let him dig.
As you enter the farm, there is a generous downward slope that turns into a "giant mountain" as you leave. Oliver started up the "mountain" enthusiastically, until about the halfway point where he had to abandon his stick to make it to the summit. He told me that his stick was "too heavy" and he would leave it at the farm until next time. It was not the fate I had expected the stick to face, but probably the most wise.

My little Gymbugs

Today the kids and I had "Gymboree" class. It's a teacher supervised, parent participatory play and music class and is my attempt at having the kids get their wiggles out. I am also hoping that it gives Oliver a little taste of a semi-structured class before preschool rolls around this fall. Otherwise, I fear that my little guy would be in complete and total shock that someone is telling him when he can play, when he can eat snack, when he can read books etc... With me by his side all day long, we make it all up as we go along.
It turns out so far, that Emma is the superstar in Gymboree. She runs and plays, dances, slides and jumps without a second glance at me. Oliver on the other hand, is fairly shy for the first little bit, and likes me to do most everything with him. When it's time for the big parachute to come out, an activity that I would think Ollie would LOVE, he disappears with a few other kids to try out other things. He's the master of the balancing board, and a pro at shooting hoops into the 2 foot high basket.
Well, even if this particular play class is over priced, too far away, and not quite long enough... we're having a blast!