Saturday, July 31, 2010

Chicago Trip Part 1

Since I'm up crazy early with the kids I'll take a few minutes to blog. We
left on Monday afternoon after I got up. We made it to Dayton IN about 8
pm-we only stopped 3 times in that part (400ish miles). Once for a general
potty/stretch break. Once for a Mary poop break and once for a quick
McDonald's supper. We stayed at a motel 6 with a pool and went swimming.
The kids slept til about 6:30 and then we packed up and had breakfast at
Bob Evans. YUMM! We then went to the Air Force Museum which was fun. Mary
fell asleep in the car so I hung out with her while Wesley and Robert
looked at the planes outside.

We then went inside and I took Mary. We wondered a while, then found a
cafe and got a drink, found the guys, had lunch and hit the road. We made
it to Chicago in time for a yummy spaghetti supper made by Rob. We threw
the kids in the bathtub and put them to bed.
Wed we went to the Shedd aquarium. We had a good time there. The have a
show called Fantasea that was good (a dolphin show mainly). And a 4D movie
which actually was the first movie the kids have seen in a theater.
Luckily it was only 15 min or so but pretty cool. It actually
snowed/rained/elephant squirted us/felt the vibrations of a thundering
heard...
I think my favorite part was the sea lions. Robert liked this huge crab
thing, Mary liked the sea horses. Kavitha was going to join us but had to
work on some of her freelance stuff so she stayed home.
Thursday Kavitha's mom and brother joined us (along with Rob and Kavitha)
to go to millennium park where they were doing some kid stuff (a huge tent
with crafts, building stuff, tumbling stuff, hula hoops, interactive food
pyramid, reading corner etc). Then we had a picnic under the trees and
played in their fountains. After that we went to the lego store, to
Starbucks for snack and then american girl store. Robert got several lego
sets and Mary got a bitty baby. We came home and had a fabulous
shish-k-bob supper complete with b-day cake for me!

OK just getting this published-I started it at 6 am! more pics later

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Almost gone!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot wait for vacation! We are all super excited to be heading out soon for Chicago (well to Dayton, OH and then Chicago). This trip that we've been planing, thinking and dreaming forever is almost here and I'm sure in a blink of an eye it will be gone.

And I'm TIRED. I've worked 4 12 hour shifts in 5 days. But I'm almost done and soon I'll be off for a week! Sweet!

We've been cleaning and packing this weekend but took some time off Sat am to go swimming and had a blast. The kids are doing so well in the water. I really want to get Robert into swimming lessons soon. I think he can skip the introduction to the water part and go into the begining swimming stuff. I'll look into it when we get back. With a life jacket on he swims all over the pool (mostly kicking some hands), jumps off into the water and keeps his mouth shut and generally has a good time. Mary is starting to be able to kick around some-learning how to keep her mouth shut and head up is going to take a while and she holds hands when she jumps in. She had a ball!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Busy weekend!

We had a bunch of fun this past weekend. Thursday Wesley took the kids to the lawn party to see the tractors. Friday we went to the firetruck parade, Sat we went to costco, walmart and to the old car/tractor parade and then the lawn party. Robert really wanted to win a stuffed animal. Wesley tried and couldn't but it had a kids win automatically so we let Robert try and he got one even though he missed (balloon dart). We later let him miss and get one for Mary! Robert wanted a alligator and Mary a little dog. Robert and alligator are joined at the hip. Mary makes the dog sleep outside the door, lol. She has been going to sleep better recently (not crying outside the door) Robert and Wesley told her the Robert's alligator will protect her!

Sunday we went to Heather and Ryans to swim and eat. It was fabulous. The kids had a great time jumping off, swimming etc. Heather and I finalized plans for a marathon cooking day yesterday which went really well. There was a huge storm right before I left which knocked out the power at our house so Wesley and his dad had to get out the generator-and the big one didn't work so they had to use the small one (which we own part of). The power came back on while we were at Nanny's having supper! whew.

We made:
cheesy potatoes
poppyseed chicken
chicken broccoli quiche
chicken nuggets/tenders (5lbs each!)
lasagne
breakfast bake
chicken/pea/rice bake
stuffed shells (160+ of them!)
white pizza
pizza dough
chicken in pinapple/lemon/catsup marinade

It was a long day and I sliced my finger rather badly while cutting the lemons. Yuck. Like hold it over your head for 5 min while holding tight pressure and it's still bleeding. Blech. It kept bleeding a while but has been better since yesterday. I'm def keeping it covered at work!

I've got 1 12 hour shift done and am almost 4 hours into a second. Then a day off and 2 more and we go to chicago!!!!!!!!!! whoot!

Monday, July 12, 2010

watching them grow...

Wesley and I were talking last night about how we don't take quite as many pics as we did-for one we're running around after them and entertaining them but for another they really aren't going though the big milestones anymore. It's a shame that there just isn't a way to capture the developing imagination on film, or the subtle improvements in talking, drawing, playing... Robert has gone from scribbling a crayon across the page to coloring different parts different colors. And then the stories he makes up! Today he had Zurg (the enemy to Buzz Lightyear) attacking me and then he attacked poor little piglet.

(here's what I e-mailed Rob earlier as it was happening)
Simultaneously I'm playing the (small figurine) piglet who is being attacked by a lego Zerg (from toy story lego set). His mommy (a bear dressed up as a pea pod) is giving him a cup of hot chocolate to make him feel better but the cup was so big that he fell in and had to be rescued. Silly piglet! I'm loving Robert's imagination!

I am NOT loving the "why". I think why is a 4 year old NO. It's just as annoying. Or more so.

Well kids are going nuts.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Children

We had a great time today picking raspberries and I have the legs to prove it (all scratched). Wesley of course doesn't have a scratch on him! The kids were really good and stayed with us. (Mary is scratched up, Robert isn't!). They've been enjoying the picnics and being outside. It's really neat to see the world through their eyes-it's all so fresh. Robert's imagination is really taking off and Mary goes through life singing little songs....

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

This morning

I'm trying to write a few lines more often. This morning Robert woke up and then Mary and they all piled into bed with us where we were trying to wake up. We were woken up about 4 with Snoopy barking (who knows why?) and it took us a little bit to go back to sleep. Anyways I digress. Robert left a minute and came back with 4 matchbox cars and handed them out-one for each of us. I got a little car with a surfboard on top, Wesley got a police car, Robert a tractor and I'm not sure what Mary had (didn't have my glasses on). We had a great time for several minutes. I got pulled over by Wesley but he let me off with a warning, Robert crashed into the hill (Wesley's legs), Mary puttered all over Wesley. Then Robert got out a few more tractors and I mowed my pillow and then my tractor and his car went to Flo's (v-8 cafe) for a drink.

Then after breakfast Robert wanted to watch "pictures" so we all (the 2 kids and Daisy and myself) sat in the green chair and watched Robert's first year and most of Mary's....

I love my family! I'm on call for work-the housework is done, the appraiser has come and gone and work has asked me to work night shift on OBV instead of today on Peds. Luckily I have a meeting tomorrow so I have childcare so I think I'll do it. Now off to finish lunch and laundry and try to take a nap!

Monday, July 05, 2010

Fella(s)

there was a clapping song I learned in PE class in Jamaica
"you can do it too cintronella little fella". I can't listed to Robert talk about fella without thinking about it. Who is fella? Well a butterfly or maybe all 4. I dunno. Actually its fella and his mommy and daddy (who hatched after fella but who's counting) and some other relation that hatched later. The kids talk to them in the same voice we would talk to a baby all high pitched and cute "oooooh fella, aren't you cute, aaaaaaaaaaaaaw fella!"

Yes, we finally got around to ordering the butterflies for the kit he got last year for his b-day (oops!). On the second attempt we finally got them and even though I was doubtful they would hatch, we had 4 turn into chrysalis and then hatch into butterflies. The first one hatched Friday and then the rest on Sat and today we let them out into the butterfly bush. We had been feeding them sugar water on butterfly bush pieces which they loved and so they went straight for it and seemed happy. The kids were super excited to see them go... it was a neat experience. I really didn't enjoy the forming chrysalis on my counter part but the rest was OK-especially after they hatched!

Saturday, July 03, 2010

hiking

I can't believe it but we actually went hiking on Sat morning and had a picnic. We went to hone quarry and climbed lovers leap. It was a gorgeous day, cooler in the mountains. Robert did great-walked the whole way there and back. Mary made it about 1/2 way before needed the backpack. And then I carried her most of the way back too (she only made it like 1/8 of the way!). Robert was as sure footed as a mountain goat-we had to keep asking him to slow down and wait for us. Snoopy and Daisy had a good time too. We had a picnic at the top and then played in the 1 puddle left of the creek when we finished the hike. The wild raspberries are starting to produce so we ate a few-and are thinking of going back next week to pick! This is the first time we had been hiking since Mary was born and it felt really good. We headed home for rest time and then I went to work and Wesley took the kids to the free afternoon at the Children's museum. Unfortunately they were in the middle of the parade so that made it a little challenging but he said they had fun.