I'll Always Remember

Swim nights. We have a whole routine.

Playhouse Buby

We had the most exhilarating playdate this week. After school on Wednesday I followed Buby's friend John and his mom to a brand new bouncing facility in the area.


You should have seen the look on the boys' faces when we walked in the door. Like they had just skyrocketed to Mars. I think they had their shoes off and wristbands on in 60 seconds flat. The facility was spacious but not too large, clean, and just $10 for all-you-can-jump fun.


The best part was having the whole place to ourselves, for the bulk of two hours anyway. I guess 3:15 on a weekday is the magic time. I don't always like these places (you know... crowded, germy, easy to lose Buby and not age-appropriate for Bleu). But this one ROCKED in every way. And the company was delightful.


I realized on Wednesday that Bleu doesn't do "toddler zones." At 21 months she can handle everything the big boys can. This girl is out of her mind adventurous, strong, able. We're going back next Wednesday.

Our Love Tree

Just a few of the cutie ornaments on our Valentine's tree, which the kiddos happily decorated yesterday at lunchtime. As with the other themed trees here, some of the ornaments are handmade by us, some are made by family, and some are store bought.


Shots 1 and 4 are of a two-sided felt ornament that Aunt Mel just sent in the mail. She says it's her first attempt at ornament making, but we don't believe her. It's just TOO good. Grandma DJ's latest creations are in shots 2 and 3.


Buby and Bleu will be painting their 2010 hearts over the weekend. Today they started about four other projects at once. Ha. Stay tuned.

February Faces

2.4.10

Here. I snapped a few while the kids bedazzled their Valentine's Day tree yesterday.

P.S. Thank you Aunt Mel and Grandma DJ for the heartfelt ornaments. We love them.

In the Book Bag

I'd say one of my favorite parts of the day--three days a week--is opening up that book bag and seeing what's inside. Buby painted this stunning watercolor at his classroom easel on Monday. I love it.

Buby Loves: Empire State of Mind

One happy obsession in our house right now is Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. I can't remember when Buby first heard the song--I usually listen to country in the car--but MY OH MY he was instantly smitten with the beat and chorus. My Sweets downloaded it for us, and now it's part of our regular way-home-from-school soundtrack.


I know what you're thinking. For someone who is UBER careful about what {if anything} she lets her babies watch, there is an awful lot of language in this song. However, both "explicit" and "amended" versions are available. And for whatever reason Tom and I have not applied the same criteria to music as we do television and movies. We're a singing/dancing family, so we have equally vast arsenals of kid and non-kid music to listen to WHENever the mood strikes. So far nobody has repeated anything inappropriate.


Appreciation of music is contagious, and I dig that. Even if it means that once in a while our Buby hums around the kitchen to AC/DC's Rock 'N Roll Train, Kanye West's Love Lockdown, and Iyaz' Replay. Yes, he loves that song, too.

Bleu Loves: Stonyfield Farms

We buy a lot of Stonyfield Farms yogurt. I use the low-fat plain for my morning smoothies, Bleu has devoured one yobaby a day since she was a few months old, and Buby loves the yokids line.


Relatively new to yobaby are these 3 in 1 meals which combine yogurt, fruit and veggies. We've tried three flavors so far, and Bleu's #1 food obsession right now {along with chedder cheese and Kashi cereal bars} is apple + sweet potato. It's a tasty, no-fuss way to sneak extra veggies into her diet.

i heart

These heart-shaped nonstick pancake molds. Because my family likes pancakes on weekends. Because Valentine's Day is on a Sunday. Because I love hearts always.

Buby Loves: Seuss + Board Games

The Dr. Seuss Super Stretchy ABC Game was a Christmas gift. It's just like Hasbro's classic Twister but for the 3 and up set and with added educational oomph. Oh it's fun! Bleu even gets in on the action.

A Portrait of Cousins

Left to right: Gavin, Spencer, Parker, Grace, Nola




Cousin Parker turns the 4 on Sunday. I asked Buby if he wanted to make a card for him and slip it in with our gift. He screamed "YES!" and ran to the art bin.


First he picked up his pencil with the big triangular grip on it and wrote "To Parker" at the top of the tablet and "Love Gavin" at the bottom. At school they are working on writing the first initial of their names in uppercase and the rest in lowercase. I reminded Buby how to spell Parker and where to punctuate and that was it. He did a fabulous job, no?


Next he busted out the markers and drew himself {in blue} and then Parker {in red}. "We should be holding hands," Buby said after the fact, "but we are too far apart." His clever fix: Squeeze in cousin Spencer {in green} and add cousin Grace {in orange}. Last but not least was Bleu girl on the end {in yellow/brown}. Love how she's reaching her arm up to hold Grace's hand.

One Sock at a Time

Lately I've been in awe of Buby's brotherly love. It's doting on a whole new level. He says he misses his sister when he's at school or she's down for nap. He picks out Bleu's clothes in the morning and insists on helping her ready for the day. It's his new thing. He cracks the strangest jokes and sends her through the roof with laughter. He runs out of the room to grab something but first assures, "I'll be right back, Nola, okay? Okay? I'll be right back. I promise. Here's your baby."


He is eager to teach her everything he knows, in a nutshell. He cheers on her potty training feats and explains to her why she should eat her peas at dinner. He is sweet and nurturing and {mostly} gentle. He is much more patient and slightly less bossy, and she takes notice. I think Buby finally sees Bleu less as baby sister and direct competition and more as little sister, friend and equal participant. I always said that I couldn't wait for the day my kids stopped ganging up on each other and started ganging up on me. I meant it. I want them to feel that sense of team. And now they do. It's the coolest.


We play hide and seek and they huddle together so tight in a pile of plushies. They have their own language and humor, which luckily I'm in on... for now. They profess "love you" when I'm not looking. Buby initiates and Bleu reciprocates. They feed each other's imaginations and pretend all sorts of things. They reach for a hand in the car and give big hugs good morning and good night. Sometimes I forget there is more than two and a half years between them. When we are immersed in play--the three of us--they seem almost the same.


Of course there is always the possibility of madness and mayhem with two wee ones running around. Surely rivalry will rear its head again, as sibling relationships are cyclical, but for now I'm soaking it up. Soaking up the love. Buby and Bleu are incredibly lucky to have each other, as My Sweets and I are to have them. And I think finally, they know it.

Scenes from the Weekend

Our weekend was the right mix of sun + clouds... busy + nothing... us + the kids. I had my camera, so I took a few quick {grainy} shots along the way. Here's a peek.

T-Ball. Turns out Buby is a Switch-Hitter, meaning he can bat left-handed against a right-handed pitcher and right-handed against a left-handed pitcher. So far he prefers to hit with his left and pitch with his right. This can change at any moment.

A few weeks ago My Sweets brought home a real T-Ball set just like the hefty rubber ones we use at the Y. As expected, Buby LOVES it and hits balls all day long in the playroom.

Bleu begs to be upside down. This is how she watched Buby's practice. I kid you not. I call her our itty bitty acrobat. Her gym teacher Kelly calls her "the monkey."

Nine guys plus a coach. It's fun to watch the making of a team.

She does splits on the sidelines, which I kept missing. I was too busy giggling at Buby. When I turned around he was in the outfield doing some tap and ballet number. His head was totally OUT of the game and in some happy wonderland. My Sweets and I just looked at each other and laughed. That is sooo like Buby.


He desperately wants to pitch and bat but isn't at all interested in outfield or manning the bases. He'll profess his love for the game to no end, but when it comes time to chase a ball, race for an out or slide into 2nd, he's like "no thanks, it's all yours." We've noticed Buby will shy away from all aggressive/ competitive/ contact aspects of the sport. At least right now, at four years old.

Departing the house for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants north of here. It's kind of far but totally worth the drive. My Sweets had the craving and we all jumped on board.

Oh, and see the gash on the baby doll's head? That's LOVE. Bitty comes everywhere with us. Seriously, I feel like we have three children. Buby, Bleu and Bitty.

This is what no flash looks like in a room with candlelit glow. Anyway, it was awesome. Bleu told us we were CRAZY to even think of bringing a highchair to the table. That was definitely not happening.

Buby asked me to go camping with him on Saturday night. I'm not one to turn down a cutie pie in Scooby Doo jams, so... he and My Sweets set up a tent in the playroom. Buby filled it with sleeping bags, his top 10 or so stuffed animals and a mini mountain of books. All four of us crawled in with our pjs on and read before bed.


Before long Tom and Bleu were upstairs and the Bubster and I were whispering back and forth with flashlights. We recounted our favorite parts of the day, who we cherish most in the world, etc. Buby ended it with, "I love you Mommy because, um, you are so funny."


I like that.

Sunday we ate breakfast at home, attended 9 am church and then hit the grocery store to stock up on veggies, fruit, meat, dairy for the week. Back home I cleaned out the fridge and tackled several loads of laundry downstairs.


Tom went channel surfing and landed on Discovery. The kids quickly ditched me and joined him, animal lovers that they are. But, you see, the problem with animals is that they EAT other animals. Not pretty. So this little carpet picnic didn't last long.


P.S. That's the ginormous Sharp Aquos from my parents. I feel like we're in a theater when it's on. The picture quality is excellent, especially on channels like Discovery or National Geographic HD. We just got the cabinet this month, so we're still figuring out component placement, etc.

Happy Weekend

Buby at the dentist on Thursday. The hygienist had the TV on. She asked him to choose between Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, neither of which he's ever seen. Buby responded, "This isn't Disney. What is this?" Almost perturbed. He only knows PBS and Disney {early morning programs, such as Winnie the Pooh}.

This Week {in full}

• Bleu graduated from her Wednesday morning "Bird" class at The Little Gym and walked the stage to receive an award. I've really enjoyed watching her grow in the class since September. I tell ya, that girl lives for tip toeing high beam, somersaulting uneven bars, forward-rolling on doughnut mats. If there's a special skill to demonstrate, she's first in line. Who knew? Buby also took weekly classes at The Little Gym from ages 1 to 3, but the experience for me as a mom is like night and day. He was uber cautious. I had to encourage him to GO for it all the time. Bleu is our daredevil. She starts the "Beast" class Monday.

• Two awesome baby girls were born. Harper Grace on Monday {to cousins Debbie + Frank} and Baby Claire on Wednesday {to friends Alana + Eric}. Congratulations!! Can't wait to meet the little pretties and watch them grow.

• It shot up to 59 degrees one day and down to the single digits the next.

• Buby finally made it to John's house for a play date. These two school friends have been plotting a rendez-vous for months. Since last year, really. They are very similar. And honestly, it was kind of nice to see him play with a boy for once. All of Buby's friends are girls. Girls we LOVE, but still.
  

• Bleu got her first ever hair trim {from our girl Danielle}. I was pumped going in, and five minutes later I regretted it. I know it's only hair. I know she's only one.

• We saw Kitty {our favorite ex baker} for the first time since last summer. I called her last week to see if she'd freelance a carrot cake for Tom's birthday in February. She said for us, definitely. Then we surprised her at her new diner on Tuesday night after picking up my car. Hugs all around.

• Yes. I got my car back after a week of driving Tom's Jeep, which is a stick. Hallelujah. Now you can all sleep better at night.

• Buby had his six-month dental cleaning. The verdict: Excellent. And by the way, he was scheduled for his first set of x-rays. Have you ever seen a four year old try to hold films in his mouth without gagging or moving? Not easy. Buby loves the dentist though, so he tried his best.

• Bleu apparently is still reeling from her December cleaning. The whole time we were there for Buby she climbed up the front of me shaking her head and pleading, "Me no dentist... no dentist... not me." June should be fun.

• Buby insisted on picking out Bleu's clothes every morning after breakfast and helping her get dressed. Whether she liked it or not. This was adorable to watch, though it didn't help us get to school on time.

• We ran into Buby's old BFF Lillian outside the YMCA. They spent the better part of three years together, so regardless of how much time passes between visits now, they just click and pick back up where they left off. Lillian spotted us in the parking lot and shouted "Gavin my hero!" Before we went our separate ways Lillian ran up to Buby and declared, "Gavin my hero, I will marry you tomorrow." As we walked down to the locker rooms Buby asked me, "Why does she want to marry me, Mommy? I'm just a kid."

• The kids swam their little hearts out, as they do every Thursday night. Buby in the deep end of the pool with his {AWESOME} teacher Nina and some other independent swimmers and me in the shallow end with Bleu. We're in a Mommy & Me class, though I am the only mommy. The rest are dads with boys. The satisfaction I get from watching Buby and Bleu learn to swim is indescribable. They love swimming.
  

• Buby has been off swimming aids for quite some time. He is bubble less now and confidently swims the length of the pool. Seeing it still shocks me. I guess because we've had him in classes since he was 6 months old, and it's a slow process. Now he works on diving to the bottom with his teacher to pick up quarters, treading water on his back, and learning the different strokes.

• And Bleu. She's naturally more aggressive in the water than Buby was at her age, and she has no fear whatsoever. Lucky me. I actually wish for a lil' bit of fear, since we do have a pool right outside our kitchen. This week Bleu graduated from a 4 bubble down to a 3. She's kicking and paddling around the pool with no assistance from me, and the new bubble makes her work much harder. She's been jumping in on the count of three and submerging her head while blowing the water out.
  

• Buby + Bleu played hide-and-seek together about 4,010 times. Them against me.
  

• I got to hold sweet baby Benjamin in my arms and hear my friend Allison's exciting birth story, in great detail.

• Last night My Sweets passed by me writing this post as he headed up to bed. I said, "Wait! Come look at this picture of Nola at the hair salon." I was going to read him this list. But he cut me off and said, "Don't. Not yet. It's the one thing I look forward to on my long commute." Isn't he cute?

• Tonight is a full Wolf moon, which should send our little astronomer over the moon. Plus it's Family Bingo Night at Buby's school. I'm going solo with the two kids and bringing blueberry muffins. Yum.

Hello Harper

Looks like cousin Reagan is content as the big sis. Here she is holding the brand spanking new Harper Grace. Congrats to Debbie + Frank. Well done! Can't wait to meet her.

Sleeping in the Wild

This is how I found Buby last night. He dumped two huge baskets of animals on his bed and then climbed in and fell asleep.

Hello Benji

Photo by Benji's mama.

Just wanted to give a shot out to our brand new buddy Benjamin Peter, who will be 3 weeks tomorrow. Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? Congrats again to our friends Allison, Jon and Grace. We LUV him already.

Date Night {snapshot}

Buby ran into some friends right outside the theater.



So I'm going to bed now, but remind me tomorrow to tell you about my dad's mission to the far ends of the earth. All for Buby.

Date Night {in full}

Last weekend I took Buby on a date. Actually, I may have driven but he called all the shots. It was a fabulous four hours just the two of us. We needed it. First stop was the local AMC, because movies are a special treat. About twice a year we'll take Buby to a movie theater. He relishes every minute of the experience, from preview to final credit.


[Buby's first film on the big screen was Bee Movie in the fall of 2007. My Sweets took him to see Horton Hears a Who after Bleu was born in April 2008. I knew I couldn't go with a newby, but I was so green. It's one of my favorite Seuss titles. Buby saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs with me in 2009 and later Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with the whole fam. That's when we made a mental note NOT to bring Bleu back to the theater anytime soon. She was good, but two hours is TOO long to ask a 1 year old to be still and quiet in public. She's never watched TV or movies at home, and she's just not into it on any level. Now a rock concert... that's more her alley.]

For our date last Saturday Buby and I chose Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. My parents played the original for him over the holidays, and he was pumped for a follow-up. Usually I bring a small backpack and sneak all of our own kid food and drink into theaters. The thought of little bodies consuming that processed concession stand junk makes me cringe. But this time I made a small concession of my own. In addition to our bottles of water and healthy side snacks {granola and Kashi 7 grain}, I bought Buby a kid-size popcorn to split. He was over the moon. I mean Crazy Happy.


The theater was packed with three and four year olds laughing their tushies off. It was a fun room. The film was clever, cute and entertaining. {But be warned: I heard the word "stupid" several times. It really ticks me off when kid movies do that. So unnecessary.}


After the movie we galloped our way over to the food court to spend some quarters riding a robot. The movie theater is in the mall. We rarely ever go to the mall, but the few times we've passed those mechanical robot/train/aircraft rides--you know the filthy 75 cent ones--I've noticed Buby's eyes bug out with interest.


Indeed, he loved it.

On our walk back to the car way we passed by an in-mall Dunkin' Donuts. Buby came to a screeching halt, jerked my hand and shouted, "Mommy, Look! It's Alvin! And Simon! And Theodore!" The coffee shop had a little display of stuffed characters up high on a corner shelf collecting dust. I'm surprised Buby even noticed. So we walked in and I asked the manager where she found those. She said Build-a-Bear upstairs. I asked Buby if he'd like to take a detour. Yes, he said, as long as we could ride the elevator and not the escalator.

Build-a-Bear didn't have a single chipmunk. The saleswoman said they sold like hotcakes when the movie first premiered and they wouldn't have more in until the DVD was released, maybe around March. Bummed we were, but I was feeling pretty good that I could convince Dunkin' Donuts to sell me theirs. Because, well, my awesome kid really would love them, I never buy him anything like that, and THIS WAS OUR DATE NIGHT. Back down at DD I asked a manager if she'd sell them to me. She wouldn't do it. I asked her to name her price, and she wouldn't do it. She said Build-a-Bear donated them and it wouldn't be right to sell them. Okeedokee.

So we left. Lunch was calling. I asked Buby to pick a place. Any place. He chose "The Fish Place," which is really a sassy Jimmy Buffet-style burger joint with live music and fried pickles and fancy copa cabana pudding desserts. Buby ordered mac and cheese, steamed broccoli and milk. I consumed a huge plate of fried pickles all by myself. Not that I'm complaining. We split the dessert, which consisted of homemade banana pudding, vanilla wafers, fresh strawberries, cream, and coconut. It was really something.

We took our sweet time and caught up on everything under the sun. Buby said he missed Daddy and Nola but liked having me all to himself. While we were waiting for the check I said, "Ooh... my belly hurts." Buby said, "Not mine!" We laughed. That boy is NEVER full. Then he said, "Mom, I had a very special day with you. Thank you."


First, I couldn't believe he called me "Mom." Are we there already? Second, that is sooo Buby to show unsolicited gratitude. He notices and appreciates everything people do for him. He's big on out-of-the-blue thank yous and I love yous and doesn't take much for granted. At four years old. It's cool being on the receiving end of that... as a mama. I mean MOM.

Alas our date came to a close. We pulled up to the house and Buby offered, "I like going on a date with you. I love you very much. Lets do it again. Maybe tomorrow."

33 Things

Three is my lucky number. And since I turned 33 last month {double whammy!}, I'm starting a series of lists called 33 Things. I'll run them sporadically. Here's #1.


Thirty three things I've done.

1. I saw James Brown perform at The Apollo. AWESOMENESS.


2. I climbed the Eiffel Tower after three goblets of Bordeaux Rouge.


3. I watched the Millennium ball drop in Times Square {Y2K}.


4. I became a teenage diplomat to France at age 15.


5. I gave birth to two overdue babies {one with no medicine} and nursed each of my offspring for at least a year.


6. I swept Honors Night with 13 awards and scholarships {the most in my high school}. I didn't even think I'd get one.


7. I tried swimming, gymnastics, etc. but settled on 10 seasons of track.


8. I explored a marble quarry deep in the mountains of southeast Spain.


9. I became the youngest reporting fellow at the D.C. bureau of a big paper.


10. I sat in press boxes for President Clinton's second Swearing In and State of the Union addresses.


11. I stayed on a runaway horse.


12. I had a sea urchin pulled out of my foot on the beaches of Puerto Plata, D.R.


13. I said 'I love you' first.


14. I held the titles of Articles Editor, Decorating Editor, Managing Editor at international design & lifestyle magazines.


15. I experienced 911 as a New Yorker {it left many scars on my heart}


16. I slept on a Chelsea sidewalk during the Northeast Blackout of 2003.


17. I laid on the edge of the Cliffs of Moher with My Sweets in Ireland.


18. I swam in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Saint Tropez.


19. I looked into the eyes of the Mona Lisa and thought, "What's the big deal?"


20. I almost drowned while body surfing the Ottawa River during a rafting trip.


21. I worked at a gun club, live game farm and horse track during high school.


22. I worked at the best fashion magazine in the world before it folded.


23. I lost all vision in both eyes for 8 minutes on a subway train.


24. I couldn't deal as my mom recovered from an accident {in the burn unit}.


25. I produced thousands of successful photo shoots for the magazine and melted down in the back of a taxi cab after a few of them.


26. I danced on a pool table with My Sweets in front of a cheering crowd.


27. I mountain biked down Sabino Canyon in Arizona and flipped a Kawasaki dirt bike over a cactus in the desert.


28. I was admitted into a legendary Studio 54 party with a VIP pass {insanity!}.


29. I fought off a mugger on 14th street and survived the stomach bug on a private island with no bathrooms.


30. I taught myself how to ski but landed on crutches after snowboarding once.


31. I married my best friend in a garden with the scent of lilacs all around.


32. I temporarily resigned from my dream career to raise my babies, and I'm so happy for that.


33. I was thrown out of violin, clarinet, piano and chorus lessons.