just for chatty cricket

I thought of Chatty Cricket when I took this! Also when it ate my 40 pence today while I was trying to make a phone call and I called it a "stupid bugger." Just because it sounded cooler.

I'm also going to say "rubbish" from now on instead of garbage. Additionally, I shall be going to the bathroom in the loo from now on. I asked for a restroom and they looked at me like I had two heads. Oh, and a skim coffee is a skinny- don't you love it!

four!

Big Ben! Parliament! Westminster Abbey! Buckingham Palace! The National Gallery! Hyde Park! It's all been stunning and fabulous and we are having the best time.

For now, though, I'm here to wish my beautiful sweet boy the happiest birthday ever! Worst mother ever, right? I went back and forth on whether or not we should be traveling over Gabe's birthday, and although I'd love to be with him today, truth be told, he doesn't even know today is his birthday. We celebrated it a few days early with cake and gifts and lots of hugs, and we'll celebrate it again on Friday, and then again in school, and then again with a small party in January. I think he'll get plenty of birthday fun, and a happy mom and dad is probably more important to him, so for now, I'll push my mother's guilt to the side.

So... onto more important things (written the night before I left for London)...

To My Dear Sweet Gabriel,

Happy Birthday!

Four years old! How is that possible? How can you be growing up so fast? I can almost believe it, though, because I see and hear the ways you are changing. Your speech is more complex, your mannerisms are more grown-up, you're getting taller, stronger, more coordinated
every day. You're wonderful and amazing and funny and the sweetest son we could ever wish for.

My favorite part of the day is when you come down the hall in the morning and climb into my bed. You snuggle up against my side and whisper, "Mama..." into my ear, and I just melt. For now, at least, you are so affectionate, so loving, so ridiculous disgustingly adorable, it just kills me. You hug and kiss me constantly, and want to climb onto my lap to snuggle with me. You love to be "comfy cozy" and we'll get under blankets and watch movies or read books, and
sometimes Josie will come and sit with us and you'll kiss her and say, "Hello baby girl!"

You love your sister to death, although since you two are interacting and playing together all the time now, there are also many moments where your screams and complaints drive me crazy. You love to run and laugh and tackle each other, and you are such an excellent big brother, teaching her, sharing with her, being (mostly) patient with her. You tell her you love her and get upset at bedtime if she won't give you your nightly besito and abrazo.

You adore your daddy too, and seeing him play with you and enjoy your company is such a treat. Last night you asked him if he missed you while he was at work, and when he said of course he did, you said, "yeah, I miss you too." You tickle each other and laugh until you can barely breathe, and you tell him stories about your day and of course, Buzz Lightyear.

What would we do without Buzz Lightyear? He is your one true obsession these days, and shopping for you has become the easiest thing ever because all you want is Toy Story All The Time. You're hilarious because you tell us complete stories about what Buzz said or did or what you think Buzz might do if he were here. You are growing up so fast and gaining this amazing imagination, it is such a pleasure to watch.

You are the most amazing blessing to us, Gabe, and I thank God every day that you're my son. You are so sweet and easy-going and happy, and I pray you stay this innocent and content forever. You are perfect and wonderful and gorgeous and brilliant. The things you learn every day astound me.

Tonight I told you that you were the most perfect Gabe to me, and I was so thankful that you were mine, and you told me you didn't want anyone else to be the same Gabe as you. You don't have to worry, my sweet boy, no one could ever be you. No one could ever take your place in my heart, and forever and ever and ever, you will be my baby.

I love you,
Mama

happy chrismukkah!

Happy Holidays everyone!

We're off tomorrow morning, well, this morning actually, and I'm proceeding to freak out over planes going down and terrorist threats and well, pretty much everything.

I know I shouldn't be thinking about all of this, but since it's my first time leaving the kids for longer than 48 hours. And definitely my first time leaving them on an overseas flight with Josh on the same plane, I am giving myself a bit of leeway to have a little breakdown. I even wrote them each letters, morbidly, just in case.

I figure if I really plan for every possibility, then it won't happen. Right? That's totally the way it works, isn't it?

Here's to a wonderful holiday season for each of you! And a happy new year too! (although I plan to update before the new year) And here is to a safe and happy trip for Josh and I! At least London has called off the snow long enough for us to arrive! Hurray! Wish us luck!

seriously Josh, go away

London! London! London!

That is pretty much what the inside of my head is looking like these days! London! London! London! I forget, and then I remember, and I'm bursting with excitement all over again.

If I manage to keep this a legitimate secret until Saturday, it'll be a freaking miracle. I was relatively safe because Josh was in Germany for his company's holiday party all this week, but still, I've already slipped on so many occasions because I want to talk about it all the time. I've already accidentally said that we are going on a non-stop flight, which totally narrows down the field. Then yesterday, he called me from Frankfurt because he was concerned his flight was going to be canceled due to snow, "Yes, I said, as a matter of fact... oh... nothing." "What?" he said. "No seriously, never mind," I insisted. "Were you going to say that the place where we're going is also closed due to snow?" he asked. "No, not at all," and then I changed the subject because that is EXACTLY what I was about to say. Ugh. Idiot.

I am very concerned about the snow situation, not because I care about being in London with snow. In fact, snow would make London more magical and beautiful, in my mind, but all London airports were closed for most of this weekend, and THAT, my friends, is alarming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in London once we're there, but I do not want to be delayed. I have pubs to be visited, changing of the guards to watch, teas to be drunk, markets to be explored, accents to be imitated.

I've rented a flat for us in an area not too far from the center of London. We rented an apartment in Prague and it worked out beautifully, so I'm trying it out again. Hopefully the apartment is as described, and the transportation is as easy as promised. I'm scouring the guidebooks for an itinerary that will work for us, and besides the must-sees, I plan on us spending lots of time people watching, relaxing, and enjoying the city.

London! London! London! Off to re-watch Notting Hill, Love Actually, and maybe The Holiday. Can I throw in any more movies set in England? Set in England at Christmas time, even better! Ack!

josh, if you're reading this, step away from the computer

I don't need to tell you that being a parent is sometimes hard. Often times, draining, even frustrating. Staying connected to your spouse can be difficult. As one of my friends keeps reminding me, "those little suckers will take it all, if you let them!" Josh and I are not immune to that strain, although we both do our best to make our relationship a priority. Still, newborns and infants and toddlers are REALLY FREAKING DEMANDING, in case you didn't know.

Florida was great, warm, exciting, and I have so many stories to tell you about Disney World, and cute children, and of course, what vacation of ours would be complete without a trip to the Emergency Room? We're working on hospital "Platinum Status." After our 10th visit, the 11th co-pay is free. While it was crazy fun, it was crazy stressful too. Remember, we went to Sarasota for 4 days, Orlando for 5 days, Sarasota for 2 days, Orlando for 2 days, Sarasota for 2 days, and Fort Lauderdale for 3 days. Oh, and except for Thanksgiving day, and the two days we spent at Disney World, Josh worked every.single.day. sometimes from 7am until 9pm at night. I was ready to tear my hair out by the end, and I think the kids are still adjusting to life at home and regular schedules.

Josh and I were bickering, a lot. Spending the little bit of time we spent together not speaking because we didn't want to continue arguing in front of my in-laws or the kids. It stunk, in many ways. By the end of the trip, I felt so exhausted by the whole situation, I started counting the hours until I was back in my house. Thankfully, THANKFULLY, things have been great since we've been home. Back in our own environment, we reverted back to our regular non-stressed selves and things are fabulous. Everyone is thrilled to be home.

But, all that bickering reminded me that we need to spend time together, sans children, just us, staying connected as a couple, enjoying each other's company. So... I asked my parents if they would watch the kids for us if I could find a deal for us to get away for a couple of days. Even better, my mom said, I'll fund the whole thing if you two will get away. And so we are.

TO LONDON!!!!

I know! I know! I'm jumping up and down over here!!!!! I've always, always, always wanted to go to London. Always, seriously, it is on my "Life List" of things to do before I die (which reminds me I need to post my incomplete list and maybe you all can give me suggestions). Anyway, I spent 2 straight days researching packages and found an impossible to refuse, ridiculously inexpensive flight to London, and so WE'RE GOING!

But shhhhhh! Josh doesn't know! I'm planning the whole thing as a surprise getaway, and all he knows is that he needs to take off of work and be ready to go. Today he told me it was "totally obvious we were going on a boat." Um, what? Apparently because I told him he couldn't work while on vacation, and that there wouldn't be wi-fi where we were going, we're going on a cruise. I guess it doesn't occur to him that I just don't want him to work while we're on a romantic vacation. Go figure.

So throw your advice at me! Have you been to London? Do you have must-see tips? Our housing isn't totally cemented, but I'm looking at the Notting Hill/Kensington area, because HELLO? I'm obsessed with the movie. Big Ben! Parliament! Double decker buses! Here we come!

happy birthday josie!

To My Sweet Baby Girl,

I find myself at a loss tonight, on the eve of your second birthday, trying to find the words to tell you what joy you have brought to our lives.

You are wonderful. Funny. Beautiful. Smart. Charming. Fierce. Stubborn. Loving. Joyful. And more, much much more. Several times every day, I wish I had a video camera to capture that look, your lilting little voice, the hilarious things you do. You are such a devil and so sweet, all wrapped up in one person.

Your brother loves you, even when you follow him around stealing toys from under his nose. He'll turn to you and say, "Oh baby girl, I love you!" just two minutes later.

Your father is utterly charmed by you, and I catch him sneaking hugs and kisses all the time.

And me, well, you make me crazy on a regular basis because you are so strong-willed and curious and busy, but I am so proud of you, it almost hurts. You are my little muffin, my Jo Jo, my Josephine Jellybean, my littlest monster, my love, my baby. I am so stinking lucky to be your mom.

You are amazing.

I love you with every fiber of my being. Remember that always.
Mommy

[Pictures to Follow]

even more of a gleek

I still walk around the house yelling "HIT IT!" to Josh, who still looks at me like I'm crazy when I bust into song.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should.

I also want those boots. And that skirt. And those legs. And maybe the hair too.

on being thankful

Remember a year ago? When I admitted I hated our neighborhood and hated living here, and felt like the house was out to get me with the illnesses and the accidents and the breaking stuff? I forget, did I tell you that part? Let's pretend I didn't actually believe that. My husband, because he is a saint, told me that if I gave it a year and I was still miserable, we would move, even if it was a crazy thing to do.

Amazingly enough, just knowing that we could move in a year if I still felt awful was enough to make me feel better. Not perfect, but better. And then I gave it time, and effort, and patience, and things actually did start to get better. Gabe stopped going to school in our old town so I wasn't driving an hour every day to preschool, and I started spending time in our own community. Over the summer I walked around the neighborhood and took the kids to the park and the beach and met people and came out of my shell and made friends. I asked perfect strangers if they'd like to do a playdate or grab coffee, and with time, I found a little circle of friends. Josie and I joined a playgroup, I started a book club, I came to love our neighborhood. I came to be incredibly grateful for the move and the house and the changes we've made.

Don't get me wrong, I still occasionally go to our old neighborhood and look at the smaller houses, closer together, right on the subway line, with sushi and ice cream in walking distance, and I feel a tiny pang of sadness, but I am positive that this move was the right thing for our family. The right thing for my children, who already have so much more than I ever had in my life.

Just remind me of this the next time I sound like an ungrateful bitch, okay?

maybe I should use the Hanukkah bush for kindling?

You guys. OH MY GOODNESS, you guys. Josh is going to kick. my. ass.

Yesterday, a friend called me to say she was ordering some firewood and it was far cheaper to just split it and pay one delivery fee, so did I want to go in on her firewood with her. Greenhouse dried, very reputable guy, popular in our town firewood, so I said, "um, sure!"

I love fires, but if I'm telling the honest to goodness truth, I only buy Duraflame-type logs. Or actually not even Duraflame, but some even more ridiculously expensive Whole Foods brand of coffee grounds compressed logs. Needless to say, these logs are so expensive, we don't burn a lot of fires.

Anyway, we have our new house which has two working fireplaces (which reminds me, I owe you some pictures) and I thought, now is the time to start buying real firewood. Our garage is also large enough to house the wood, so what the hell. We'll try it.

She said we would be splitting a cord of wood, and bless her heart, it turns out she similarly had no idea quite how much wood a cord of wood is but she assured me it wasn't much. Until 3:30pm today when she called and I answered and she said, "you're going to kill me." A cord of wood is a SHITLOAD of wood, it turns out. And half a cord of wood is really only marginally less than a shitload of wood, and we're back to the above- Josh is going to kick. my. ass. when he gets home and sees this insane amount of wood sitting in the middle of our garage. The pile literally comes up to my waist and takes up half the garage. Is this right? Is half a cord of wood really this much?

Anyway, the man who sold us the wood was lovely and kind and gave me several pointers on how to stack the wood and how to burn the wood and when I told him I'd planned to stack it on a tarp, he told me in exquisite detail why that was totally incorrect. And then we pulled out a wooden pallet from my basement and he cut it in half with his chainsaw (for free) so I'd have two firewood width pallets for the wood. I've spent 3 hours stacking it (so far) and we're still not even halfway done. I am in so much trouble. I actually considered going to my neighbors trying to get them to buy some wood from us, but it was too cold and I think I'm in denial.

I don't even know how to make a freaking fire with real firewood! I tried tonight, with the kids watching over my shoulder exclaiming over my every move, and it just puttered out pitifully. I even watched some instructional videos, and no luck. Anyone want to exchange firewood for fire-burning tips?

some firsts

I know we've discussed before that Josh is Jewish and I'm Catholic, and not surprisingly, December is a tough time of year for us. Or well, a tough time of year for me. When we were dating and it became abundantly clear very early on that this relationship was for the long haul, we agreed we would pick one religion for our children rather than have the kids attempt to celebrate both Christianity and Judaism. For many different reasons, we ended up choosing Judaism, so the kids are being raised Jewish. Since Judaism passes through the mother, they were both converted when they were a few months old with a ceremony and a party and a dunking under water at a traditional Jewish bath.

It has worked out for us, and it turns out I am an excellent fake Jew. One of my friends works at a temple and she says regularly that I'm more Jewish than most of the Jews she knows, so my kids seem to be doing just fine. The real trouble is, however, you don't realize how much of your childhood memories are tied up in religion until you can't celebrate those things anymore. No Easter baskets, no references to Santa Claus, no Christmas trees, no advent wreaths, no midnight masses. When I was a practicing Catholic, I went to church every week, did youth group, was a lector at church, participated in tons of holiday events. It has been a huge change for me to raise children who aren't Catholic.

Last year, I found myself feeling particularly sad as the holidays approached. I felt as if none of my childhood rituals were being passed down to my kids, as if I had nothing to share. It was a difficult December, especially with the multiple hits of the stomach flu and ear infections. As December came to a close, I sat down with Josh and told him something had to change. I cannot feel this way for the rest of my life, and as we often do when issues come up, we talked about what changes we can make.

After much gnashing of teeth and discussion, we are going to incorporate some of my traditions and call them by different names. Last year we colored Passover eggs with the kids, and although I suspect Josh was a little uncomfortable, it worked, the kids had fun, and I was happy. This year, for the first time ever, we are trying out a "Hanukkah bush". We will be decorating a small tree with silver and blue Hanukkah ornaments, most of which I suspect we will make with the kids. Doing something like this is controversial, for sure, and I expect to hear some negative comments from our Jewish friends and family, but I feel strongly that everyone has to do what works for their family. We'll try it this year and see whether it works or not, and maybe do things differently next year.

We'll also be celebrating Hanukkah, of course, with songs and cookies and community events and latkes and stories. I'm not too worried about the kids, especially because that's why we're here. If there is ever any confusion, we'll explain it. And then we'll explain it again. And again, if we need to. Hopefully this year will be a happier year for everyone.

gleeked out

Did you watch Glee tonight? And if you didn't, why the heck not? Holy smokes! Glee is awesome!

Well, their final song reminds me of my all-time favorite wedding moment EVER! My BFF from law school, let's call her M, was dying to dance to Umbrella as her wedding song with her husband. He looked at her like she was a lunatic, so she told her dad about how disappointed she was. Of course, because her dad is awesome, he said, "well, then we'll do it ourselves!"

So for her father-daughter dance, they started off with a regular old slow dancing dance, and about halfway through, BUSTED A MOVE to Umbrella. None of us knew, and I am not kidding you when I say, I laughed until I cried. It was awesome, on so many levels. Not the least of which both M and her dad are unbelievable dancers. It was crazy and amazing and so much fun. Just like my wonderful friend!

Ok, now go watch tonight's episode of Glee! Love love love!

at-ti-tude

Josie spilled her cereal snack on the living room floor tonight and as I surveyed the mess, I said, "Uh-oh, you need to pick up all that cereal, Josie."

She answered, "No, mommy pick up my cereal. I no wanna pick up my cereal. Mommy pick it up."

Um, excuse me? I assured her that I would NOT be picking up anyone's cereal and she could either pick it up right that minute, or go up to her crib for some quiet time. Without responding, and without making eye contact, she walked over and started picking up the cereal. But I swear, she refused to acknowledge that I'd asked her to pick it up! It was as if she was willing to do it, but didn't want to let me know she was doing it just because I was making her do it!

Oh, the teenage years are going to be SO MUCH FUN.

buzz better be on his best behavior

In other AMAZING news, we are leaving for Florida on Thursday! For 2.5 weeks! I know! Crazy! I am slightly concerned about the whole staying with in-laws for 2.5 weeks thing, not because I don't love my in-laws (because I do), but because staying with ANYONE for 2.5 weeks could be challenging.

For any would-be home robbers out there, Josh is staying here for a huge chunk of that time and then we have house guests for the rest, so don't even think about it.

Anyway, our schedule is psychotic for the trip. We are going to Sarasota for 3 days, then Orlando for 6 days, then back to Sarasota for 2 days, then back to Orlando for DISNEY (more on that later) for 2 days, then back to Sarasota for 3 days, then on to Fort Lauderdale for 3 days. And then home. Phew. I'm exhausted just writing that. I'm hoping for good weather and well-behaved kids. If I have the well-behaved kids part, it can rain every single freaking day for all I care.

Most exciting out of that whole trip is that rite of passage for parents and their children- Disney! I am ridiculously excited. RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED! I keep picturing Gabe's little face when he sees the castle, when he rides It's a Small World, when he sees BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! He may pee his pants. Seriously. We decided, after not much consideration at all, to leave Josie with my in-laws. I've been shocked, honestly, at the amount of flack we've gotten about that decision, when to us it was a no brainer. Josie would think it was fun, she definitely would, and you know, maybe she'd be great. But in our minds, we are going for 2 days, and trying to make the most out of those 48 hours. This means non-stop walking, rides, long and possibly hot days, and crowds. Josie won't remember, and she doesn't know characters and she is hesitant about rides. She isn't going to love it the way we KNOW Gabe is going to love it.

We never get to spend one on one time with Gabe, and I am looking forward to every little second I get to spend alone with him. I plan on inhaling that tiny little person, holding the tiny little hand, eating up every word he says. I cannot wait. He is at this perfect age where he is excited about everything, but scared of nothing. He doesn't get spooked by scary rides or pirates or ghosts, and he loves all characters, girly or boyish or in-between. It's going to be awesome.

I have my encyclopedia of Disney information, and we're going at what should be one of the best and least crowded times of the year (first week in December), and we're making all our final reservations and plans now, but I'm still looking for more advice. We've done Disney without kids before, but never before with little ones. Please do share all your tips! In return, I'll share any secrets I learn while we're away! In particular, did you have a favorite hotel that didn't cost a fortune? Also, is there a way to get cheaper park tickets? Those suckers cost a fortune!

Oh also, did anyone take preschoolers to Disney Hollywood Studios? We're considering it just because of the Toy Story ride, but I hadn't planned on it initially. Should we just do Magic Kingdom for 2 days?

am I going to start talking to myself soon too?

A couple of weeks ago, October 22nd to be exact, I found myself looking at opening night of Paranormal Activity 2 and no one to go with. I tried to convince my college roommate to go with me, since she and I go to all the scary movies, but she refused. Something about babies in the movie and her being pregnant blah blah blah. I asked around, but most people met my question with a horrified stare akin to me asking them if they ate puppies for breakfast.

So, I went alone.

It was my first solo movie ever, and I was a little nervous, but I'd recently seen this cute little video about learning to embrace being alone without being lonely, so I thought, what the hell. I'll try it.

It was, well, great! I did feel a little bit like I had leprosy, if I'm being honest, because of that whole ridiculous buffer we put between us and other people in movie theaters, so while the theater was packed, I had several empty seats around me because no one would sit next to me. And there were a couple of scary parts in the movie where I pulled my knees up to my chest and glanced around me wondering if anyone would try to kill me. And I did sprint, actually SPRINT, to my car afterward in case anyone decided to attack me. But besides that, it was great!

So great that I decided to do it again tonight. I was bummed because I mistakenly made plans to go see a musical with friends on the same day that I am throwing a baby shower. I know, DUH. I'm not entirely sure how it happened because I was the main planner of the musical outing, and went to pick up tickets at the theater and planned lunch with friends and didn't realize until today that the shower was Saturday rather than Sunday. The DATE I PICKED FOR THE SHOWER. I know, I know, I don't know how this happened either. Obviously the shower is light years more important, but still, I was seriously disappointed.

Anyway, I called Josh and told him about my foul mood and he suggested I go out tonight. Grab a coffee, go read a book, see a friend, whatever. I started to call a couple of people, and then remembered that I'd been dying to go see The Town, and figured, why not go see it alone? I got a cherry Pepsi, a popcorn with gobs of butter, and some fruit snacks. A dark theater, no one asking for anything, and it was PARADISE. A margarita would have helped, but this was pretty darn perfect.

I might be getting addicted to solo movies! It was so much fun! And since Josh hates movies, it lets me see what I want to see but then spend my friend time chatting with friends rather than sitting in a dark theater. Win win situation! The Town was good, too, in case you're wondering. I highly recommend.

life as I know it

This is going to sound crazy, but sometimes I look at my life and feel surprised. Isn't that strange?

I mean, I met this man when I was 19. He was more boy than man, if I'm telling the truth. I fell in love with him, and we did the typical dating/engagement/marriage by the time I'd turned 24. Twenty-four! And now it's been 12 years we've been together, 8 married, and I can't believe this is my life. In a few short years I will have been with him longer than I was without him, and I cannot imagine my life without him. I don't even remember what it was like without him, and that is crazy.

I wonder sometimes, how did I know? How could I have known that this boy would become this wonderful husband? This amazing partner? This loving father? I wonder how I could have known that we would get along so well, love to spend time together, have shared values, be able to make it work. Was it just luck?

Don't get me wrong, he drives me crazy sometimes. Sometimes a lot crazy. Sometimes I feel like checking into a hotel and taking a vacation from everything, but that feeling always passes and I'm back to thanking my lucky stars for this life. These beautiful children. This unbelievable friendship. This person who tells me all he wants out of life is for me to be happy. That he'll do anything to make sure we're all happy. Isn't that nuts? And I always wonder- What did I do to deserve this?

josie jellybean

I neeeed idea help, pretty pretty please!

I need to think of a theme, asap, for Josie's birthday. The problem is, this girl doesn't really play with toys or watch television. I know, I know, that sounds crazy, but I swear it is true. She will occasionally look at baby dolls in passing, but besides that, she floats all over the house throughout the day, not playing with anything in earnest.

My friend was saying this wasn't possible, but I narrated for her what a 15 minute span looks like:

Josie climbs on the coffee table, leans over the side, figures out she can do somersaults this way. (2 minutes)

Leaves for kitchen, drags chair over to counter, climbs up until mom takes chair away. (30 seconds)

Goes upstairs, disconnects noise machine. Brings noise machine down. Returns upstairs, retrieves cord for noise machine, brings it downstairs. (1.5 minutes)

Investigates what Gabe is doing, disrupts his play, gets yelled at by him, runs away with key piece of equipment, Gabe chases her down and steals it back. (2 minutes)

Goes into bathroom, turns on water, attempts to "wash hands" while really splashing water all over the bathroom. (1 minute)

Scales front hall closet cubbies, gets a hold of Mommy's purse hanging from high hook. Hides behind chairs in living room, removes all items silently. Distributes credit cards into the heating vents. (4 minutes)

Time out. (2 minutes)

Wait, did I already do that coffee table thing? Let me try it from the kitchen table too. (1 minute)

Time out. (2 minutes)

Seriously, this is what OUR WHOLE DAY is like. The thing is, I UNDERSTAND she is likely bored, but what am I supposed to do? Crafts aren't appealing, cooking neither, toys don't cut it, and television- don't even bother. Unless we are outside, she is causing mischief. It is lucky this little bugger is sooooo cute and funny or else she might be out on the curb.

But back to my original problem, what am I going to do for her birthday? I was originally going to do a monster theme- sort of cute and funny monsters. Mainly because I call her my little monster. I had lots of ideas for making primary colored monsters, and sewing little monsters for favors for the kids and having "me want cake" posters around the food table and stuff like that. Could be cute, right?

Then I thought, what about Sesame Street monsters? She does know who Elmo is, so I'm tempted to go with the regular old tried and true toddler theme. She only knows Elmo, though, no other characters, and really only in passing. It isn't like she'll watch him for longer than 2 minutes. She will call his name out when she sees a picture of him, so she does like him. And Elmo themes are really cute and easy with lots of cute games.

Maybe a cupcake theme? The birthday invites could say "our little cupcake is turning two" but where else would I go with that theme? Games? Decorations? I don't feel like I can run with it.

Lastly, her lovey is a mermaid. I could do an under the ocean theme with mermaids, but she totally won't get it and a mermaid party when she's a bigger kid could be super fun so I'd hate to waste it.

So what do you think?

awesomely awesome halloween

Behold! Some pictures!

This year was a crazy Halloween weekend for us, which was a change from our boring normal life. We ended up having 4 parties in one weekend, one Friday afternoon, one Friday night, one Saturday afternoon, and another Saturday night. Plus a visit with friends on Sunday morning and then a dinner with friends on Sunday evening before trick or treating. Isn't that absurd? I am a definite anti-over-scheduling person, and this weekend was beyond ridiculous for everyone involved. We were all exhausted by the time Sunday night rolled around. Exhausted, but happy, because it was a super fun weekend.















We all dressed up for our family party, and Wonder Woman and the Incredible Hulk have really expanded their family since we last saw them 6 years ago. Gabe was Buzz Lightyear, of course, and Josie (in case you can't tell) was Mr. Potato Head. Her costume was homemade, a fact of which I was inordinately proud. I initially wanted to make her costume, then with all the accidents and Josie's surgery, I finally accepted my own limitations and decided to buy her costume instead. I ordered the cutest little ladybug costume, it arrived last week and I hated it. I tried to make it work, but in the end, I made an emergency run to the fabric store on Friday afternoon and spent naptime sewing it up.




I'm shockingly thrilled with the results, and she got the most compliments of any of the kids around. As we were walking around the neighborhood on Sunday night, several women referred to her as an "adorable little tater tot". I'd have to agree.






And then we have our "angry" pumpkin that magically appeared at our house on Sunday morning. Or at least, that is what Gabe thinks. My right hand begs to differ after it took me 2 hours to carve it. We went to this fabulous pumpkin patch to purchase our pumpkins, but those stinking pumpkins are made of steel. Good lord, they were hard to carve.

Last, but not least, we had a milestone around here. Gabe carved a pumpkin! And loved it! That's my boy!


So now tell me, what did you all do for Halloween?

voting for preschoolers

Have you guys explained voting to preschoolers? I sat down with Gabe and made a good attempt, but I'm not sure the message got through.

The best I could do was that we get one day to tell our leaders who we'd like to be our leaders (i.e. the people in charge) and how we'd like them to do things. So we go down to the school and write what we want them to know on paper and turn it in (i.e. voting). Then they count everyone's votes and see what we think.

Is there a better explanation? So confusing! When we got to the school, though, he was super bummed when he realized he wasn't going to get to vote, although what the heck did he think he was voting for anyway? I told him he needed to be able to read to vote (we'll deal with the age thing later) and he cracked me up when he said, "Yeah, because I can't read the instructions now. I definitely need to be able to read the instructions."

Thoughts?

11 months to go

Gabe came downstairs to find a huge pile of Halloween decorations on the living room floor. It takes me a whole day to pull everything from the corners of the house, organize it, and then pack it all up into their orange and black containers (we have a LOT of Halloween decorations). He surveyed the pile and asked what I was doing with everything out, and I told him it was all going away because Halloween was over and wouldn't be back until next year.

"But I want it to stay!" he said sadly, "I love Halloween!"

Me too, buddy. Me too.

happy halloween!

In a moment of bravery, I took the kids out on Thursday night to a Halloween event at a cute little farm sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. It was called Tales of the Night, from 6-9pm, and was perfect for kids. We wore costumes, brought flashlights, and wandered around the dark farm on a moonlit night, exploring the different exhibits for kids.

There were owls, spiders, and scorpions on display, along with your typical farm animals like chickens and goats, most of whom were looking at us as if to say, "who are you? Why are you dressed like that? And what are you doing here so late?" The stars were out, the night was warm, and the paths were lined with carved pumpkins and white lights. Besides interesting animals, we saw old Mother Goose plays like the Three Little Pigs and Miss Muffett and Little Bo Peep. The kids LOVED it, and I had a pretty good time too.

There was even a haunted hayride, which I didn't realize was haunted until we were already on and it was too late for us to get off. Thankfully, a continuous pep talk from me kept either Josie or Gabe from freaking out, even as characters dressed in costume jumped out at the tractor and pull. Poor Josie kept looking up at me from my lap and asking, "Eees pretend? Mommy, eees pretend? Eees scary, Mommy!" It was adorable, honestly, even though I was a little worried both kids would be up at night with nightmares.

We had only one moment of worry from Gabe, when we passed one of the haunted scenes, and a girl was trapped in a spider web and a man dressed as a spider circled around her as she screamed for help. I told them over and over that it was just pretend, not real, but Gabe whispered as we passed them, "But Mommy, it's not pretend, it was MOVING." Poor little thing, it took a lot of convincing for him to believe it was a man in a costume.

Luckily, everyone had a great time, no one had any nightmares, and the whole trip was a success. As we were leaving, though, in our final moments at the farm, of course Gabe informed me he had to pee with 30 seconds of anticipation. I ran full speed with him, the stroller and Josie to the bathroom, but just as we opened the door, he said "uh oh" and I turned to see pee spreading across the front of the costume. His non-washable Buzz Lightyear costume. The non-washable WHITE Buzz Lightyear costume we went to multiple different stores to find. Sigh. I wish I could say I had a fabulous parenting moment where I totally kept my cool and didn't freak out or anything, but I'd be lying. I was, for better or worse, really pissed, and ended up yelling most of the way home. Of course, I feel horribly guilty about it now, because logically I know he is only 3, and he hasn't had an accident in months, and he was having such a great time he didn't want to interrupt it by going to the bathroom, but regardless, it was frustrating, and spending the rest of the evening hand-washing his costume and hoping it would survive didn't make things any better.

The costume survived, the night was salvaged, and lesson learned, I will force him to pee when we're doing super fun things, even if he insists he doesn't need to go. The farm was super cute, though, and definitely put us in the mood for more Halloween fun. We've been carving pumpkins, attending costume parties, and of course, tomorrow (or I should say, today) is the big day with tons of candy to be eaten and fun to be had. I'm watching my fill of scary movies, and the kids are eating their body weight in treats.

I'll post costume pictures as soon as possible!

Happy Halloween!