Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Norah News: Tattoos
Norah got all "tatted' up for the pool party we went to last night.
Seriously, when I picked her up from school her arms were literally COVERED with tattoos! I was NOT impressed. Even less so when they did not come off after several hours in the pool and less so again when we had to fight with her to scrub them off before bed, overtired and overstimulated from the pool party.
Still made for a good picture, no?
Friday, July 22, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Norah News: The Duplicity of a Preschooler
This past weekend we went camping with a couple of other families. We don’t know either one very well (in fact, one not at all) but between us, there were 3 little girls Norah’s age, and one who was approaching the wise old age of 6, plus Roddie and yet another little girl who was only a little older than him. We had 3 adjacent tent sites that bordered on a small open area, so it didn’t take long before the little girls were actively exploring their world and getting to know each other.
The girls were moving freely between all the sites and it wasn’t long before there wasn’t much differentiation between us parents – at least as far as snacks, potty, safety and fun go. It was really the first time we’ve let Norah have the freedom to hang with her peers without a pretty close eye on her. This was in part due to the circumstances, and in part due to her just getting a little older. It was hard at first, not to be aware of exactly where she was at every second, but as we grew more comfortable with the set up, I was able to sit back and be proud of my girl! Until the inevitable over-tired-overload coupled with the “sad-to-leave” syndrome, she literally had a blast!
I also learned that pre-schoolers can be a lot like teenagers - Apparently the whole girls going to the bathroom thing starts at an early age, as three preschoolers accompanied me to the bathroom. They also insisted on getting together with their jammies on to brush their teeth – and compare and share toothpaste (Dora was a hit, Sponge Bob a close second)
So while I was at first nervous and then happy for her with the camping arrangements, the duplicity was really apparent to me at the beach. Norah has long been comfortable in the water, but this time, she walked right out, up to her chin – ON HER OWN, with me watching from the shore with Roddie. The first time, I wasn’t sure how far she’d go and was shocked she went so far. I was petrified, but also so very proud of her! Of course we followed up with a conversation around the ground rules at the beach, but I’ve never felt such competing emotions before – so scared and so proud at the same time. I’m guessing there will be a lot more conflicts like these for me before the kids are grown!
The girls were moving freely between all the sites and it wasn’t long before there wasn’t much differentiation between us parents – at least as far as snacks, potty, safety and fun go. It was really the first time we’ve let Norah have the freedom to hang with her peers without a pretty close eye on her. This was in part due to the circumstances, and in part due to her just getting a little older. It was hard at first, not to be aware of exactly where she was at every second, but as we grew more comfortable with the set up, I was able to sit back and be proud of my girl! Until the inevitable over-tired-overload coupled with the “sad-to-leave” syndrome, she literally had a blast!
I also learned that pre-schoolers can be a lot like teenagers - Apparently the whole girls going to the bathroom thing starts at an early age, as three preschoolers accompanied me to the bathroom. They also insisted on getting together with their jammies on to brush their teeth – and compare and share toothpaste (Dora was a hit, Sponge Bob a close second)
So while I was at first nervous and then happy for her with the camping arrangements, the duplicity was really apparent to me at the beach. Norah has long been comfortable in the water, but this time, she walked right out, up to her chin – ON HER OWN, with me watching from the shore with Roddie. The first time, I wasn’t sure how far she’d go and was shocked she went so far. I was petrified, but also so very proud of her! Of course we followed up with a conversation around the ground rules at the beach, but I’ve never felt such competing emotions before – so scared and so proud at the same time. I’m guessing there will be a lot more conflicts like these for me before the kids are grown!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Photo Update
I don't really have anything to say about these pictures.. they're from the past week or so and I just thought they were kind of funny... the third one is Rod "Crab Crawling" which is preferred mode of locomotion outside - I guess he doesn't like getting his knees dirty?? I guess his partner in crime at school (a little cutie named Kendall) does the same thing.
Adventure Chronicles: Sesame Place
I figure I'd better document our last adventure before the next one begins! As a part of our month of chaos, we visisted Sesame Place, outside of Philadelphia. We didn't tell the kids (well, Norah) beforehand, so when we asked if we should visit Elmo's house, she was at first a bit confused.... Rod, on the other hand was very exicted when he saw the life sized (?) cut out of Elmo in the hotel lobby!
Part of the them park is a replica of Sesame Street itself, here we are on the steps of the iconic 123 Sesame Street!
Ultimately, we didn't really take that many pictures, but just focused on enjoying our day! Both kids did really well, despite the heat and humidity. Norah absolutely loved the rides and ran frantically from one to the next - she was not intimidated by any of them! Rod, on the other hand, having puked several times the day before spent a fair bit of time watching the fun (That, and he was too small for some rides) He went on a handful of rides and seemed to enjoy them, but as you can see he was happy to take it all in. I think the highlight for Roddie was the Elmo show... they have several small theatres, and the show we made it to featured a 5 or 6 foot dancing Elmo. Roddie nearly went out of his mind, screaming "MoMo" and laughing and clapping.
Nanny and Papas Visit
Just getting caught up with some updates, because, you know with a camping trip coming in 2 days, I have nothing else to do :) The blog must go on!!
In actual fact, I've been meaning to do this update for a while and really want to make sure it gets done. We had an especially nice visit from my mom and dad this year and I think they enjoyed it as well. They stayed with us in the basement grandparent den for two weekends and got to enjoy some one on one time with the kids in the week in between (and one day of rest LOL!!) As usual, we benefited from parenting coaching that can only come from ones own parents! We also put them to work, having Mom take Norah for her haircut and babysitting while we went out on a long overdue anniversary (Accessory Day!) dinner.
Nanny and Norah enjoyed some "fancy time" together. As I've written before, Norah is big into Fancy Nancy, and Nanny didn't disappoint when she arrived with two new books for her. I'm not sure, but Nanny may have regretted her purchase after the 15th or 20th time she read them.
In any case, I think she enjoyed some girly time with Norah, having her hair done and trying on jewelery.
All in all, I'd have to say it was one of the better visits we've had with my parents. They are easy to have around any time, but I particularly enjoyed this visit.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Norah News: Where's Mine?
Last night, Norah was looking at a book with Matt that showed a shadow along one of the character’s spine. Norah saw it and asked Matt about it, and he gave her an appropriate explanation, which included getting her to feel her spine at the top of her neck.
Later, when I was tucking her in, she asked me if I had a bump on my back too, and we both reached around and felt our spines. Then, she pointed at my chest and said “what’s that?” I wasn’t sure what she was pointing at, but as near as I can tell, it was my cleavage (what little there is!) So I told her it was called cleavage and hoped to leave it at that. She pulled out her own shirt and took at look at her chest and said “I don’t have one of those, maybe when I am bigger?”
Oh boy, I really thought I had quite a few more years before this started!
Later, when I was tucking her in, she asked me if I had a bump on my back too, and we both reached around and felt our spines. Then, she pointed at my chest and said “what’s that?” I wasn’t sure what she was pointing at, but as near as I can tell, it was my cleavage (what little there is!) So I told her it was called cleavage and hoped to leave it at that. She pulled out her own shirt and took at look at her chest and said “I don’t have one of those, maybe when I am bigger?”
Oh boy, I really thought I had quite a few more years before this started!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Just in Case
Just in case you were wondering why I haven't been doing many blog updates the past few weeks, I thought I'd give you a brief update of what we've been up to the past 25 days or so...
Day 1: Nanny and Papa arrive for a visit and take up residence in the basement. They had some good time with both of the kids. Norah and Nanny and then Papa and Roddie especially seemed to enjoy a special bond.
Day 10: Nanny and Papa depart for Toronto to see Hartleigh, and I leave for Texas… get to my hotel room around 3am EST
Day 11-12: Training all Day, fun work dinner at night, 3am thunderstorms prevent the illusive full night's sleep
Day 13: Training all Day, travel back from Texas - around 1am
Day 14: Work at home all day, do a little laundry and unpack/repack. Leave for PA around 6pm. Oh yeah, Roddie Power Puked 3 times that afternoon. Arrive in Philli around midnight.
Day 15: Had a great day at Sesame Place! The day wrapped up with a perfectly timed thunderstorm, naps in the car and we arrived at Oma and Opa’s around 5.
Day 16: Puke-o’rama continues. First Rod, then Matt feels like he was hit with a truck. We bail on that evenings plans and head home. Norah joins the fun about an hour into the ride. Good times.
Day 17: Laying low, Matt and Rod still off, Norah and I are OK. Roddie starts to spike a fever.
Day 18: Fever continues, off to the doc. I stay home.
Day 19: More fever. Matt stays home.
Day 20: Fever breaks, Rod heads to school. I feel like crap and join the pukefest, after which I feel better. No one mentions the rash covering Roddie’s trunk to me.
Day 21: Rod ‘s rash is worse than yesterday!! I join a conference call in the car while he naps on the way back from dropping Norah off then take him to the doc, (yes, second time this week) where he is cleared to return to school (apparently he had Roseola) Aunt ‘Zie, JM and Hartleigh arrive!!
Day 22: Lay low and visit with Hartleigh. Spinners game at night.
Day 23: Lay low, unsuccessful attempt to walk to the lake. Not sure if we were all burned out and road weary or what, but we couldn’t seem to get naps and mealtimes co-ordinated. Although, I must admit I did manage to get both of MY kids napping at the same time this day and the previous day – no small feat!! Lots of laughs with the Ladies of OWR at night
Day 24: Beach Day! We managed to get everyone out the door by 10 or so and off to the beach. It was probably the worst beach day of the long weekend, as it wasn’t really sunny, but it was really nice nonetheless – and perhaps it was better as we managed to last three whole hours!!
Day 25: Sox Game Day – this seemed like a lousy idea to me at first, but turned out pretty well. We had standing room tickets for Fenway, and ended up getting 4 real seats at literally the last minute! The only problem was that it was blisteringly hot and sunny, and we had two small kids plus one bigger kid with us. Plus we had walked about 2.5 miles to the park from the subway stop so as to see some of Boston on the way (Yes, Norah walked all this herself!!) Susan and I ended up taking the kids into a pub and letting Matt and JM stay for a few innings. We managed to get home without event, and surprisingly less wiped out than the day before!
Day 26: A sad day… Everyone left this morning, I had to wake Norah up because she has swimming lessons. But I had time to update the blog.
What will tomorrow bring???
Day 1: Nanny and Papa arrive for a visit and take up residence in the basement. They had some good time with both of the kids. Norah and Nanny and then Papa and Roddie especially seemed to enjoy a special bond.
Day 10: Nanny and Papa depart for Toronto to see Hartleigh, and I leave for Texas… get to my hotel room around 3am EST
Day 11-12: Training all Day, fun work dinner at night, 3am thunderstorms prevent the illusive full night's sleep
Day 13: Training all Day, travel back from Texas - around 1am
Day 14: Work at home all day, do a little laundry and unpack/repack. Leave for PA around 6pm. Oh yeah, Roddie Power Puked 3 times that afternoon. Arrive in Philli around midnight.
Day 15: Had a great day at Sesame Place! The day wrapped up with a perfectly timed thunderstorm, naps in the car and we arrived at Oma and Opa’s around 5.
Day 16: Puke-o’rama continues. First Rod, then Matt feels like he was hit with a truck. We bail on that evenings plans and head home. Norah joins the fun about an hour into the ride. Good times.
Day 17: Laying low, Matt and Rod still off, Norah and I are OK. Roddie starts to spike a fever.
Day 18: Fever continues, off to the doc. I stay home.
Day 19: More fever. Matt stays home.
Day 20: Fever breaks, Rod heads to school. I feel like crap and join the pukefest, after which I feel better. No one mentions the rash covering Roddie’s trunk to me.
Day 21: Rod ‘s rash is worse than yesterday!! I join a conference call in the car while he naps on the way back from dropping Norah off then take him to the doc, (yes, second time this week) where he is cleared to return to school (apparently he had Roseola) Aunt ‘Zie, JM and Hartleigh arrive!!
Day 22: Lay low and visit with Hartleigh. Spinners game at night.
Day 23: Lay low, unsuccessful attempt to walk to the lake. Not sure if we were all burned out and road weary or what, but we couldn’t seem to get naps and mealtimes co-ordinated. Although, I must admit I did manage to get both of MY kids napping at the same time this day and the previous day – no small feat!! Lots of laughs with the Ladies of OWR at night
Day 24: Beach Day! We managed to get everyone out the door by 10 or so and off to the beach. It was probably the worst beach day of the long weekend, as it wasn’t really sunny, but it was really nice nonetheless – and perhaps it was better as we managed to last three whole hours!!
Day 25: Sox Game Day – this seemed like a lousy idea to me at first, but turned out pretty well. We had standing room tickets for Fenway, and ended up getting 4 real seats at literally the last minute! The only problem was that it was blisteringly hot and sunny, and we had two small kids plus one bigger kid with us. Plus we had walked about 2.5 miles to the park from the subway stop so as to see some of Boston on the way (Yes, Norah walked all this herself!!) Susan and I ended up taking the kids into a pub and letting Matt and JM stay for a few innings. We managed to get home without event, and surprisingly less wiped out than the day before!
Day 26: A sad day… Everyone left this morning, I had to wake Norah up because she has swimming lessons. But I had time to update the blog.
What will tomorrow bring???
Friday, July 1, 2011
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