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.

Loaded Pizza

I love our pizza nights. It's the only night of the week that our increasingly picky Bleu is guaranteed to lick her plate clean. I could throw on any topping and she'd eat it. Both she and Buby {and our dog Jazzy} are huge green bell pepper fans. They eat them whole and raw, like apples.


We buy fresh dough {whole wheat when avail} at the market and simply add:

• Tomato sauce, no salt added
• Shredded mozzarella
• Grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• Green bell pepper, diced
• Red onion, chopped
• Garlic, minced
• Fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
• Turkey ham, cooked and cut into chunks
• Fresh ground pepper

I've also been known to toss on red and yellow peppers, broccoli, sweet onion, and spinach. My Sweets fancies a bit of Parmesan sprinkled over his portion, too.

Anatomy of a Playroom

It took me a while to convince My Sweets to move us upstairs into one of the three other bedrooms, but I knew it would be awesome. We had a bouncy boy and a girl on the way... I didn't want to run up/down the stairs all night long to tend to both babes, and we needed a safe and cozy romper room for us all to build, roll around, and make believe in during the day. So when I was preggers with Bleu we turned our first floor master suite into a playroom for Buby. Hurray for kid spaces!


The room is connected to a master bath and has big closets for neatly storing art supplies, crafts, games and dress-up outfits. Plus, it's the only room in the house with carpet {new super soft Berber at that}. The day we moved our bed out the Bubster went wild.


We hung some of Buby's oversize canvases on the toasty-gray walls and kept the scheme neutral-ish with punches of bright. As the children grow the space evolves--and play things rotate in and out of the mix--but one fact remains: It's where we love to be.


Every few months I spend one of Bleu's nap times photographing the kids' favorite objects du jour. When they are all grown I figure they might appreciate looking back at a collage of their various childhood spaces. I know I would. Our son is a creature of repetition when it comes to play {and he takes great pride in and care of his things}, so I imagine these pictures will someday conjure the greatest memories. Here is our playroom now.













Notes:

• The tractor was part of a make-your-own kit. It's the first toy Buby painted and put together himself. It sees a lot of love.

• The wooden pull train was a Great Aunt Mary gift from Buby's first year. It will never rotate out. I hope to have grandchildren who tinker with it.

• Bean bags and hacky sacks are a playroom staple for us. I picked up a few from Party City for Buby's 2nd birthday and another handful for Bleu's 1st. We toss, juggle, sort, hunt. The games are as boundless as our imaginations.

• These wooden puzzle pieces are called Connectagons. Santa snagged them at HearthSong two Decembers ago. I keep a bin or tray of them in every room. Buby builds amazing things.

• Pink and green IKEA stools pulled up to an old train table, which we use for much more these days.

• Animalz. Have you seen these? Non-toxic and made of organic maple. Super cute, and my kiddos love itty bitty bendy figurines. I like to keep a few in my handbag for unexpected delays.
  
  
  

I buy these heavy solid wood cubbies at Jo-Ann Fabrics whenever I have a 40% off coupon {from either Jo-Anns, Michael's or A.C. Moore}. I lay them sideways around the perimeter of the room as the perfect solution for too-tall books, puzzles, games, etc. Two-, three- and four- shelf versions are available.


The mirror is from Ikea, and we hung it sideways so that Bleu could peak in on herself while she plays.

This giraffe was a sweet gift from Tom's colleague who went to Africa to visit the fam. It's heavy and wooden and much loved around here. Giraffes were the first animal with which Bleu became enamored. The first of many.














Notes:

• Our library book bin. It's made of recycled magazines from Japan. Having a dedicated bin is the only way to keep our 9-12 weekly library books separate from our own collection and from those that Buby borrows from school.

• Russian nesting dolls. Bleu plays with these on and off all day. She used to bring them in the car, to restaurants, etc. Until we lost one.

• Basic alpha/illustration blocks. Someone gave these to me at my first baby shower 5 years ago. We play with them daily, so I'm convinced now that wooden blocks are the best baby shower gift. Ever.

• Spike Jr. I get the biggest kick out of this thing. Bleu dares herself to run up to it, hits the "on" button, and then races away. She leaps onto the playroom sofa and lets out a huge squeal. Then she'll jump down and do it all over again. 20 times again. Spike Sr. {also from Grandma + Grandpa} resides in the middle of the living room. Buby says that one is off limits to Lil' Sis.

Motorized robot built by the boys. Genius, I say.















Notes:

• Buby painted this canvas pillow {and put his picture in it} at school. He wrapped it up and put it under the tree for My Sweets and I. Can't describe how cool it is.
  

• Our hat bin. It's funky. The kids tear through it all day. We're going to start making our own in preparation for the annual hat parade across the river.

• I find these green cases at Michael's. They work for storing/organizing random wooden puzzles, like this giraffe puzzle that's numbers on one side and letters on the other.

• A ton of First Reader books from Grandma DJ. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Bleu's new girlie corner has a kitchen, pantry, high chair, crib and stroller for her beloved Bitty and friends. {Fyi: This is Buby's fave section, too.}














Notes:

• Handmade felt cookies. The chocolate chip are from Aunt Mel. Pretend hot cocoa and dessert parties are a constant here.

• Wooden cutting food we use for everything.

• A smoothie maker. Of course. {Fyi: The kids throw random veggies into their smoothies.}

• Huge pink horse for riding/snuggling.

• Two 60-piece sets of natural standard unit blocks. Best "toy" investment we ever made.

Painted rockers from Uncle B. Both kids wrestle their way into Buby's, amazingly. The sock monkeys were made by Grandma DJ. All of her grandchildren get a sock monkey on their first Christmas. We treasure ours.














Notes:

• Fabric banner I made for one of Buby's birthdays and loved so much I just left it up.

• Lego-like builders from Grace's rainbow party last year. Buby uses them All. The. Time.

• Finger puppets from Great Aunt Pat + Uncle Pete. Very popular here.

• LeapFrog Tag reader. Buby is on his third book. Loves it. So do I.

• A random ball bin. We've always had one. We always will.
  
  

Felt counting board from cousin Debbie. We've used it so much over the past couple of years that it's definitely showing some wear and tear. I heard there's a letters version. Would love to find that.

At the end of the day Buby is a book man. He puts books, people and food at the top of his interest list. Toys, games, crafts, movies all fall somewhere in the middle. Lucky for us he takes extreme good care of his things, so it's easy to buy him quality items and know that we'll have them a very long time.


Above is Buby's library corner. There are a few other bookshelves {not shown} in the room, but this one holds his bestest collection. The top display changes every couple of days, and we read together every chance we get.


In the back corner we have three large clear pull-out bins {not shown} with three drawers each. That's where we categorize/organize/store the playroom's smallest treasures. I just updated the following labels: Dinos, Music, Games, Trains, Food, Mini Cars, Big Cars, People, Animals.


The kids know the saying "a place for everything and everything in its place." And mostly they are excellent picker-uppers for their ages. That helps keep the center of the room open for dancing, dive-rolling and T-ball practice. Oh joy.

Old Photo Friday

Arizona mountains in Fall of '97.