Otto-Mettic

Moving

2011-09-14T08:28:00.001-04:00

otto zxczxcvbnmasdfghm vvvvgg

intro by Otto

I talked about wanting to do this earlier, but I have now done it. I moved to wordpress. Here is the link.

I still have some site setting up to do but for the most part it is all there. I have to set up my feed reader (rss) and hope to have that up tonight. I am polishing the category cloud, sidebar and other items, and suppose I could wait until it was all perfect. But I didn't. Blogger annoys me too much these days to put up with more.

So it's off to wordpress we go!!

Let me know you made it there and comment on the new layout over at the new blog so I know you are following the move!

-p

Hi Ho Hi Ho, it's off to school we go

2011-09-13T21:19:00.000-04:00

For the record, I am not that much of a slacker in getting these pictures up. Otto was SUPPOSED to start school last week, but that didn't happen. It started raining here and did not stop. Not only was it raining here, but it was raining all over the East Coast, including North of here. And in the 'burg, that can only mean one thing. Flood. And flood it did. On both a large and small scale we were spared the worse. Despite having firemen knock on our door in the morning of Thursday to tell us to consider evacuating, we did not take any water here at the house, though many neighbors did. And, our town as a whole did not get the brunt of the waters like some unfortunate towns around us. Many people here were flooded, some homes are not livable now and countess freezers and basement contents have been carried around more than they should have, but it could be much worse. Towns close to us are still under water in parts and many families are still without homes. We are very fortunate.

Otto was all geared up to start school on Wednesday but in the house before we were supposed to go, schools here were canceled here due to flash flooding. A very real and scary fear in our town. Thursday and Friday were spent with large parts of the town under water and nothing really open, including schools. That meant school would start Monday, and it did.

I managed through taking about 30 pictures here to get ONE where they were both looking at the camera. Miracle.

Eric came home from work at lunch (Otto's school is from 12:30 to 3) on Monday to see the little dude off, and get some shots of us all ready to go. Truth be told we were a little worried how Mette would do with all of this. She really likes the idea of school and knows about the dress-up closet in the back of the room so we were prepared for tears from her when she found out she couldn't stay. Luckily, things are going ok in that department so far.

The dude, leading the way.

Otto settled in right away and, not surprisingly, found a costume to wear right away. He LOVES dress-up and goes through many outfits and roles everyday so a well stocked dress-up box was a big draw for him.

Day 1 for Otto was a huge success. Day 2 was a bit more difficult. I don't think it was entirely his fault though. His allergies have all of the sudden gone haywire. The allergist predicted this might happen and we even have an appointment with him tomorrow morning that was made last spring, but it still caught me off guard. His eyes have been itchy and swollen, his throat a mess and now his ears are itching him. He hasn't slept well and is tired and cranky. All of this together with a new routine was a bit much for him. He was in tears by the end of the day and ready to be done with school. I talked to his teacher and it sounds like he was just overwhelmed and not feeling great. I am hoping tomorrow we can get him some better medicine to get him through the fall and we get back to good days fast. I gave him some benadryl to help him sleep tonight and got him to bed early. I wish there was more to do, but I don't think there is right now. After the doctor tomorrow hopefully we can have a nice relaxing morning so set him up for a good afternoon at school.

He still seems excited about school which is great. I think this is just a speed bump on our way to better days.

Mette has been handling the whole school thing quite well. She is enjoying the chance to be her crazy little self all she wants. Yesterday she spent most of the time naked carrying piles of material out of my sewing room to make a nest in the dining room. All while singing to herself.

What ever floats your boat!

When it rains

2011-09-08T15:12:00.000-04:00

It pours.And here that means it floods.Which it is doing A LOT of today. I woke up to flood sirens at 4 AM this morning. My usual Thursday workout routine at the gym was put on hold because I wasn't sure I would make it home if I went. Eric moved the Lotus to high ground early this morning. Despite the fact that our house has not flooded in the past, the fire department knocked on our door this morning to ask us to think about evacuating. We only live four doors from the river and they wanted to be safe. Until early this afternoon the National Guard was directing traffic away from our street and the bridge due to flooding. We are fortunate to not be taking water, but that is not the case for many friends.It is times like this when I am really thankful to live where we do. Sure, there are no great museums here, the lack of exciting restaurants makes dates less exciting (though not so much that I want to open another restaurant any time soon :) ). The cultural diversity leaves much to be desired, but the people who are here, they are good people. I spent the better part of today walking or riding my bike around town falling in and out of groups of friends and neighbors who were knocking on people's doors to see if they needed help. "what's that, you need a freezer from your basement carried to your neighbor's lawn? Sure! We are here to help." Everyone was checking on everyone else. Even people whose own homes were taking water went out to see if other's needed help as soon as things stabilized for them. Our whole town is like one big block party today.I keep thinking about a few weeks ago when Hoboken was flooding from the hurricane. My brother-in-law who lives there was worried not about the flood waters, but the looting that would take place. Here, everyone is clearing their homes of all their furniture and possessions and stacking them in the street or someone else's lawn, leaving them unguarded while they go in search of neighbors who might need more help. There is no fear of looting. People are serving drinks, having pot luck dinners and making the best of this wet day. We may not have the night life of Hoboken, or the proximity to New York that they do, but honestly, you can't put a price on good neighbors and community. I will stay where I am. Knowing we can visit the city when we want to works for me!

yesterday and today

2011-09-07T19:26:00.002-04:00

(for you Jack)

The end of summer (ssh, don't tell Belinda)

2011-09-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

Everyone has their own ideas about seasons and lifestyles, as they well should, but really, everyone should agree that fall is the best season. I know some of you will disagree, it's ok, but for me, the cool crisp air, smells of cider and leaves rotting, it's bliss. I am not a hot weather person so the coming of cooler days is heaven to me. Sorry Belinda, I know you are holding on to each warm day we have. But you also think it should be hot at Christmas and we should all eat mangos with our stockings and go swimming after presents, so clearly we take this whole "season" thing differently. It's ok, you are still awesome and maybe someday I will experience an Oz Christmas and I will be a changed woman.

Along with the smell of cider and leaves, for most the years I can remember fall aslo brought with it the new school supplies, pencils, pens and of course clothes and shoes. Let's not forget the shoes shall we. It has been a few years since I was gearing up for school and even with a professor husband where our lives revolve around the school year and school days, I have been left out of that circle for quite some time. That however is about to change. Otto starts pre-K this week and next year, duh duh duh, Kindergarden. He has a new backpack, new sneakers, long sleeve shirts and pants that fit his ever growing limbs, he is ready. On Tuesday we have a meet the teacher day and on Wednesday he is off. He seems super excited to go every afternoon to see his friends and do school work, Mette and I are a bit hesitant. What are we going to do without him? Mette is convinced she is going to school as well which will be a whole other issue to deal with I am sure. Really, it is only 2.5 hours in the afternoon, but we are such a team the three of us, it is going to be tough. Mette is starting gymnastics to help ease the pain. We will see how that works. Don't even get me started about next year when he will be gone all day, every day. I am not ready for that. Then Mette will also be going to school in the morning. It will be so lonely.

It's is just like everyone said. When they are tiny and literally touching you ALL DAY LONG you long for time away from them. Just and hour here or there. "Can I run that errand by myself" you find yourself asking your partner. Suddenly the most boring of tasks are lovely peaceful excursions if you get to do them by yourself. And then, in the blink of an eye, they are heading off to school. Little bits at first, but soon gone for the whole day, every day.

Where did the time go? How is he this big? How can the boy who was so unsure last year, be so ready this year? Will he been even bigger next year? Why don't I seem to grow as well to adjust?

I love them growing up. I love independence. Even when it means that it takes Mette 5 minutes to climb into the car because she "does not need help!". Or that twice as many drinks are spilled during dinner while they maneuver non-sippy cups.

I love it when they can do things for themselves without me, but I hate it when they don't need me to do things.

This is what being a parent is all about. Getting pushed to your limit so you crave the next break though to the next level all with selective memory due to sleep loss and anxiety that makes you crave the past. It's a beautiful, blissful world filled with fear, anger, frustration and extreme joy.

And to help make it all seem worthwhile I share this great story Mette told eric this weekend:

Daddy, I want to tell you a story about a bug. There was a hawk that ate a pig. The End.

Penguin Suit No. 2

2011-08-30T22:01:00.000-04:00

I am giving an advance warning, this is a photo heavy post. I am still working though the mounds of photos from this last trip, color correcting, cropping etc... but if I don't get a post up tonight it will be a while before I do. What follows are some highlights of last week's adventures in Chicago. The kids and I headed out on Tuesday to spend some time with Yiayia and Papou before Kristin's wedding. Despite Irene doing her best to stop him, eric made it out on Saturday for the big wedding and by the skin of our teeth we made it back to PA on Sunday. 18 hours after eric got to Chicago he was back at home. It was a crazy but wonderful week.

Wednesday we spent most of the day at the Aquarium. The kids (and me truth be told) had a wonderful time.

We did everything, we saw the Dolphin show, the 4D Dora/Diego show, Jellyfish, everything!

We of course hit up the local water fountain park for some fun in the sun!

Complete with neighbors grandchildren to play with we had a s'mores party in the back yard.

Mette loved the outdoor painting area at the local children's museum.

She was also the master of the check-out aisle at the grocery store.

The big day approaches so we did a little size checking in preparation for this...

Otto carried the Stefana (Greek wedding crowns) on a big silver platter with total seriousness and control!!

Mette rocked her same dress from Ben and Shannon's wedding, I just dyed it light purple/pink. She loved it and looked adorable!

Dare I say it, this is a really nice photo of eric and I!

Working hard on picking up all the flower petals.

Here is the beautiful bride (eric's cousin) and her groom leaving the church. Notice Mette's nice first shot with the rice! Photo credit: Uncle Ben

Here's the whole gang. Dee (eric's step-mother), her sister and brother and all their respective children and in the case of Otto and Mette, grandchildren.

As soon as the band fired up the kids ran to the floor. They had been begging to dance from the moment we got it there! They can really cut it up.

All our dance parties at home have paid off!

Letting loose!

Newlyweds Ben and Shannon taking Mette for a spin.

Ben was quite the dance partner.

Mette danced and danced until she could go no further. At once she stopped and asked to be picked up. She promptly fell asleep on my shoulder. It was time to make our rounds saying thank you and head home. A great night was had by all.

I have a bunch more photos to share but I know there are some of you out there waiting to see these so I thought I should get in gear!

On a side note, Otto starts Pre-K next week!!!! How did that happen??

And it goes on...

2011-08-17T21:22:00.001-04:00

Ha ha Blogger, I tricked you into uploading more photos! I win!! (today of course)

Alright, so back to the summer of amazing events, where were we?? Yes of course, eric's birthday. So we have the coolest tradition ever for the boy who refuses to acknowledge his birthday. Eric has a serious soft spot in his heart for cereal. Specifically sugar cereal. Then he married me. Don't get me wrong, I like cereal too, but not the same kinds and not with the same frequency that he does. We do however have some wonderful friends who share eric's deep love for the "good stuff" and every year we hold a little party. We go all out. The kids are allowed free reign in the cereal aisle to get whatever they want. We bust out the wedding china, champagne and fine china and FEAST!!!! All year long when the kids ask for a cereal that is not on my very short approved list I say, "yes, but not until dad's birthday" which helps to make this day THAT MUCH BETTER. The build up is year long.

This year was a fine example of what a year of longing will get you.

There is an Amish grocery store in the next town over where you can buy bulk bags of Lucky Charm marshmallows For the record, eric says adding them to Frosted Flakes is next level. I wouldn't know because that is WAY out of my league. I can't hack much beyond Fruit Loops, though I will admit they are pretty tasty.

Marcy, being the awesome person that she is, crafted this awesome contraption so we could put candles in eric's cereal out of an old jug and florist foam. She rocks! It gets pretty smoky these days :)

After eric's birthday we headed to D.C. to enjoy some lovely 105 degree weather. Actually we went there to hit up some museums and hotel living. Eric had to do research for a few days so the kids and I crashed his sweet hotel room and took in the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Zoo. I will be honest though, we spent a LOT of time at the pool.

I don't think I ever have seen a panda as close as this. We watched him eating and I swear "smiling" for at least half and hour. The Zoo was wonderful but very very hot and we could only handle being there for the morning before we beat a hasty retreat to the A.C. and pool at the hotel.

Have you ever heard of the services where you get "flocked" and someone plays a prank on you and fills your whole yard with pink flamingos. I secretly wish I had a front lawn and that someone would do that do me. I think flamingos are such cool animals. I have never seen a whole flock of them sleeping before but we did on this trip to the zoo. How that is comfortable is beyond me, but it sure looks cool!!!

The National History Museum has an entire interactive level for small kids in the basement and we spent most of our time there. Otto was over the moon to discover they had a whole corner filled with Legos and K'Nex.

I sat over in the block area with Mette knowing he wasn't going to run off anytime soon.

Mette found some great colored blocks to build with,

and make glasses out of.

Together they worked on building runs for the marbles.

But really what we did was hang at the pool. It was such a great pool, how could you not? The entire thing was 3 to 3 1/2 feet deep which is perfect for Otto. He can just stand but it is enough to really push him to swim as well. Plus they had a little baby pool to splash around in. See the table with the umbrella on the left? I kid you not, we had dinner there EVERY night we were in D.C. We had all the grand plans of going for Ethiopian and wonderful other culinary events but when the kids are so happy in the pool, it cools off to a chilly 99 degrees in the evening and the pool is willing to deliver drinks and dinner.... yeah, it was a pretty easy decision. Heaven is watching your kids frolic in the pool drinking a cold beer knowing they will sleep well tonight!!!

This is also the famed pool where Otto overcame his fear of going under the water and turned into a fish. There he is, under the water, having a blast. I am really hoping eric needs to do a lot more research at the Library of Congress every summer because I could get used to this!

Arg, it's not just for pirates

2011-08-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to get these pictures up for days now. Blogger and I have not been seeing eye to eye. Something has to change. I have a bunch more, but these are up and I am going to post them quick before they float off into the intertubulars again.

A few weeks ago we took the kids to an air show at the Selinsgrove Airport. This was a HUGE deal for Otto. He was so excited I thought he was going to explode on the way there. We were listening to the radio on the way there and every time they mentioned it (which was a lot, this was a big deal around these parts...) he just about lept out of his car seat. We got to tour some really cool planes, sit in helicopters and see some amazing air show acrobatics. I had never seen anything like this in person and I was really impressed. We all had a great time. It was a wonderful Saturday.

Otto in the cockpit of the helicopter. The guy told eric he could touch what ever he wanted. To quote him "if it isn't 4 year old proof, then our country has a lot to worry about". Well said, but has he ever seen a four year old pushing buttons????

The whole airport was filled with beautiful old planes. This one actually fired up it's engines and did a few flybys. It was beautiful to see.

Otto explaining to Mette that what she is looking at are bombs. Nice, thanks Otto.

Telling her how it all works.

Watching the fun start.

This summer has been filled with amazing adventures, but somedays it is nice to slow down and enjoy how beautiful it is here. Life is good, milkshake in hand overlooking our river from The Fence.

We have made it to Knoebel's a few times this summer and I hope we get one more trip in before the season is over. This picture sums up Otto's take on it.

Off they go....

Together.

Otto starts preschool in just a few weeks, eric starts classes next week, this was a summer of wonderful memories. I have many more to share, lets see if blogger lets me!

For the record

2011-08-14T20:51:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to post pictures and stories for two hours and nothing is working.

Blogger is in a funk. Wordpress is looking better and better.... wonder how much eric wants to help with the merge?? :)

I hope to have something up soon.

I would like to share that Otto spent ALL DAY today in an apron cutting wooden food in our play kitchen pretending to be a Japanese chef. It was beyond awesome. I have eaten in his restaurant for about 7 meals so far today.

LOVE!

Swim

2011-08-06T15:51:00.002-04:00

Level 1 COMPLETE

2011-08-05T16:05:00.000-04:00

I know I said I would back to blogging and then was silent for a few days.

Sorry about that.

See, my dear sweet husband wanted to make my day and put the great internet to work for him and scored me season 4 of my show, Doc Martin. While I intended to keep it as a treat for myself when he is in L.A. later this month I couldn't stop myself. I bawled my way through the whole thing and only now that I have seen the whole thing can I relax. He took pity on me, sweet guy. I was all set to have vascular surgery on Wednesday and at the last minute they are postponing it so the doctor can fill our more paper work prior. UGH!!! Needless to say I was a bit frustrated and shaken.

In addition to having my favorite pass time to make me happy, I also have great news from Otto. He passed Level 1 swimming today!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. He has been so hesitant around water and so scared. Washing his hair up until a year ago resulted in blood curdling screaming EVERY TIME and forget getting his face wet at the pool. He is now a fish. He goes under that water and swims like it is nothing. He is working on strokes. As of now he can kick and do some freestyle type thing with his arms. He needs form work and practice, but that is just details. The important thing is he is doing it AND LOVING it!!!!!

I am so excited for him. One, the thrill of swimming is so liberating and two, conquering a fear is such an amazing boost of confidence. I was on the swim team for years growing up and I loved it. I consider myself an athletic person, but no sport ever came as easy to me as swimming. Watching him frolic and enjoy the water makes me so happy. We have some wonderful video which I will make eric cut together so we can share, but for now I had so share the good news!!!

Behold, my fish, in all his under water glory!!!

Total ReCap

2011-07-31T20:59:00.000-04:00

Remember those books that people used in Middle School when they were doing reports and were too lazy to read the actual book, what were they called?? I can't remember, I don't think I ever used them, I am a sucker for reading books, even crappy ones, but you know what I mean. Well, this post is going to be the blog post equivalent of those books.

Man, this is driving me crazy that I can't remember what they are called.

I have some great shots and stories to share from this summer and while together they make for a jumbled post, if you think of it as a "recap" it sort of holds together.

First, the bunk beds. With a summer of traveling and leaving for London at Christmas time we felt it was important to move Mette to a big girl bed sooner rather than later so we didn't have to think about cribs and where she would sleep etc... Being in a post diaper, post crib, post stroller (almost) world makes traveling about a million times easier. The kids still share a room and really seem to like it. The plan is to keep them together for as long as they like which hopefully will be for a while. They have a big room but bunk beds really seemed like a fun idea. I found some online that I liked but were crazy expensive. Luckily we have Grandpa and he was willing to make a version of them for us at cost. They of course are even cooler than the super cool ones I found online and the kids LOVE them. Together with the furniture they already had and fun sheets the room looks fun and cheery. It makes me smile every time I go in there.

Eric installed lights under Otto's bunk so at night we all pile into Mette's bed and read stories.

The bunk beds arrived a few days before we headed to Chicago which was perfect because the kids sleep in bunk beds there. So far Mette has been doing a great job of staying in her bed. I even took off the side rails a few days ago and she has only fallen out of bed once. I will count that as success!!

I mentioned briefly that while in Chicago after Ben and Shannon's wedding eric and I celebrated 7 years of marriage. We spoiled ourselves with and AMAZING four hour dinner at TRU in downtown Chicago. If you follow the link they are still showing the menu we ordered from. We did it all. Eric got the chef's tasting menu, the big one, and I did the pre fixe with additional items from the chef's menu. I couldn't let him get 7 courses while I only had three!! The only thing we didn't do was the caviar staircase. We thought about it though! The service was perfect. There only when you needed them, not stuffy, willing to talk and enjoy themselves, in a word, perfect. Normally I am not a fan of having my picture taken in restaurants or really anywhere where it looks touristy but this meal was so wonderful and the evening so perfect I didn't even mind.

One of the main reasons I ordered the pre fixe menu was for this dish. It was simply described as Rabbit with a melange of Spring. How can you pass that up?? What is a melange of Spring? Or any season for that matter. It was fantastic. Light, delicious and as you can see here, beautiful. It was all amazing but the soup from the chef's tasting menu that was the inside of an English Pea, that was out of this world. There were crumbles of lavender scented homemade marshmallows scattered along a chilled soup bowl into which table side, they poured the greenest pure pea soup I have ever tasted. The combination of the cold marshmallow with the warm pea soup was amazing.

In addition the the courses we ordered there were many more that arrived which we did not order. There were no less than three desserts, only one of which we picked. Everything was wonderful. When eric made the reservation he mentioned it was our anniversary (sly thing he is) and this....

arrived to finish off the night. It was lovely. When we were seated our menus said Welcome Faden Party and Happy Anniversary and when we left they gave us a printed menu of everything we had that night which was also personalized. The menu is now framed in the dining room, inspiration for dinner parties to come.

After Chicago we were home for about a week before we headed off again. Eric was lecturing at a summer camp in Conn, at Choate High School. Since it isn't far from where my grandparents live and the beach the kids and I tagged along. It was fun taking the kids to the beach where I clocked in many hours every summer growing up.

Otto living the good life got to eat lunch in a special cabinet left available for kids to play in. There was even a lantern since he was pretending to be camping.

My grandfather managed to get a great shot of the four of us, a rarity to be sure!

Despite being crazy hot, later that week we went downtown to hear Averie (she was the house band at my restaurant for a while and sang at eric and I's wedding) play. The kids had a great time. Mette was cutting the rug!!

We went to three birthday celebrations in one week. Mette has mastered the art of eating cake while actually not eating the cake at all. She just sucks off the icing. It is the best way to get in all the sugar!

Mette, somehow managed to find time to decorate herself. That is a butterfly she drew on her dress, in washable markers luckily!!!

We were also here for the sidewalk chalk festival which is always a lot of fun. Our kids aren't really old enough for it yet, but it is great fun walking around seeing what everyone else is doing. It is one of the events downtown that really gets a bunch of people out. Strolling market street on a friday night in a crowd is a special treat here!

There are many more pictures and some amazing videos that we are getting together. The summer is winding down but I hope my blogging to pick up again!

more soon!

Cliff Notes, that is what they were called!! I was just about to google it when it came to me. Ah, I can rest now.

Summer Days

2011-07-29T14:17:00.001-04:00

I have taken a bit of a blog vacation this summer. We have been traveling all over, swimming at every chance and generally enjoying life. I will be up and running soon with stories of all our adventures.

For example:

Setting up astronauts on lobby tables....

Napping in strollers under crystal chandeliers.

It's a tough life, but somebody has to do it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bumpy, Grumpy, Frumpy, Crunky

2011-07-05T14:08:00.000-04:00

This is how Mette describes herself or anything she does not like when she is in one of her "moods".

Offer her a snack, be prepared to get a "too frumpy!!" If she doesn't want to do what you are proposing she will tell you she is too Crunky. I don't know where any of these words came from or what they are in relation too, but they are quickly becoming part of the Faden lexicon. I have to say, when you use the little kid whinny voice they really do a good job of conveying the emotion she is feeling.

Ah, Mette. She is almost two and a half. Whew. We are half way through the twos. Thank GOODNESS!!! For Otto two wasn't nearly as tough as three, for Mette, if three is worse I am not sure if I will make it. This little girl rules with an iron fist. Mind you, that fist is pink with sparkels and has a fairy wand, but don't let looks deceive you. If she decides you have wronged her, be prepared to pay the price.

On the flip side, she can be the sweetest thing ever. Showering you with compliments and love at every turn. If it wasn't such a role of the die to see which one you were going to get there would be much less anxiety in my day.

She has had some major breakthroughs lately. Shortly before our big trip to Chicago she was really wanting to sleep in a nightgown. Because I knew that if she wasn't in zip up jammies she would take off her nighttime diaper I was hesitant to let her sleep in them. I told her they were for big girls who either kept their diaper on or wore big girl underwear to bed. She declared herself ready to wear big girl underwear to bed and hasn't gone back since. That was it. Done. No more diapers in our house. It still seems a bit too good to be true. We drove to and from Chicago without even using pull-ups in the car. It has been amazing. She will proudly tell you that a nightgown is a dress you can sleep in.

Speaking of dresses. That is all she will wear. She REFUSES to wear anything else other than a dress except for two skirts that are super frilly and full of tulle and have matching shirts, making them in a sense, dresses. She picks our her outfits every day and has a few wardrobe changes throughout the day to suit her mood. She literally stands at her closet and leafs through her dresses and picks the one that suits her that day. It is both hilarious and terrifying at the same time. She also has a strong opinion about what matches and cares deeply that things match. Not that I wear things that don't match (though I did for most of my early childhood) but this whole dressy matchy matchy thing is really funny. Where does it come from???? Not me, that is for sure.

She is so girly I get nervous until I see her sock anyone who she thinks looked at her the wrong way, runs faster than some of the boys, screams "don't look at me" to people she doesn't want looking at her, is generally fearless of all things BOY. As Racer says, she is a "rough and tough creme puff". That's my girl.

We are members of the local pool this summer and it has been a huge hit. Both kids took swimming lessons starting when we got back from Chicago. Otto is still working on getting his face wet and is very hesitant in the water. We are going to switch to private lessons with him because he seems to be getting braver and we want to encourage that. He really loves going to the pool so it seems like a good idea to roll with it while we can.

Mette, has NO FEAR!!!

The scariest part of taking her to the pool is her lack of fear. She wants to jump into the deep end "all by herself". She passed her swimming class in the first session. We have some video to post later but you will see the little fish that she is.

Speaking of pool time. It is crazy hot today and I think the kids and I are going to hit up the pool this afternoon to cool off.

More soon.....

Chicago Part 3 of 3

2011-06-24T13:44:00.001-04:00

Here we go again. More pictures from the trip.

Papou and I took a trip out to the Brookfield Zoo along with a million other school groups and the hot sun. The kids were a bit hot and whinny, but who could blame them, but we had a good time anyway. We did find this small children's zoo in the middle of the regular zoo that was air conditioned and filled with cool exhibits. Including this one where the kids got to pretend they were birds and sit on eggs. They both really got into it.

Mette backing up to land on her egg.

Landed!

Otto waiting patiently for his egg to hatch.

Otto made a friend fast and they all got together to hatch eggs.

Checking out some other nests.

They had a room filled with plants and spray bottles for the kids to water the plants with. Brilliant. Otto would have been fine here for hours.

Mette found a table with some natural blocks and started building.

"Mommy take a picture of me with the Nunicorn", that is mette speak for unicorn.

"no, see, it's a nunicorn, look at it's horn" Of course, silly me!

They even had story time!

Share misters with Mette at your own risk.

Rhino sighting

After the zoo daddy was retrieved from the airport after his trip to L.A.. We meet him at the sushi restaurant for dinner. Otto did not disappoint. That boy packs away the fish and roe like it is his job. He is amazing!!

Roe.

On Saturday we went to the Botanical Gardens which are nearby and really beautiful.

Mette, catching up with Otto. I love how she still has the head down running technique. Otto has mostly grown out of that already...

This is the best picture of the four of us we have had in a while.

On Sunday our trip was almost over. My brother who has been living in Chicago for the last six years has decided to come back to PA to work on his portfolio and prepare for grad school. Since we were there with a car and an extra seat we offered to bring him back with us. On Sunday eric and I picked up a U-Haul trailer, headed downtown and loaded him all up. Monday morning the five of us set out for home. This was my view for 13 hours as we made the trek. Eric driving, Racer and his long legs up front while I manned the computers, toys and snacks. Mette slept for 25 minutes in the morning when we got going and Otto was up the entire 13 hours!!! Otto was an angel, Mette had her moments but they both hung in there and were in good spirits when we rolled into home at 10:30 monday night.

The view out the back.

It was a wonderful trip, even if the road home was long.

Chicago Part 2 of 3

2011-06-22T21:40:00.000-04:00

Really, I have WAY too many photos from this last trip. But when you are having fun it is hard to stop snapping away. Since before I really only posted wedding photos, here are a few more of the whole trip, with more to come.

First of all, on the way out we drove the trip in two days. We spent the night in Toledo, OH at the Crowne Plaza which was a lovely hotel if you are ever in Toledo fyi. We got the kids totally excited about Toledo by chanting TOLEDO, TOLEDO, TOLEDO with rock star fists pumping in the air. Why, because they are two and four and if you tell them something is cool, they believe you. And that kind of power totally rocks. And truth be told, Toledo did rock. As we pulled into our hotel we noticed it was located a few blocks from a minor league baseball stadium and the team was out warming up. The valet told us there was a game starting at 7. SCORE! We hit up the hotel pool to burn off some car energy, found a local restaurant that served a strange Hungarian menu with hot dogs of sorts, dumplings which were like spaetzel and relishes then headed to the game. As we got to the gate some woman offered us two free tickets. It was meant to be. We got some ice cream for the kids and sat down to watch a few innings in the lovely 100 degree weather. It was a huge hit, especially when between innings some girls came out with big canon things and fired balls into the audience. Otto LOVED that part!!

We arrived in Chicago on Thursday and had dinner with YiaYia, Papou and Uncle Matt which was of course wonderful.

Uncle Matt teaching Otto mad skills.

There are a few more pictures from the rehearsal. I just really like this photo of eric!

Mette snuggling with YiaYia

Here are the kids in their trial run down the aisle.

This picture of Otto just before the wedding is so great.

Here are the kids with YiaYia and Papou before we left for the church.

Otto with his love, Kristin.

Getting coached by aunt Pitsa before walking down the aisle.

Mette is one of the slowest walkers in the world, Otto was making her keep up :)

Again, a great shot of eric, with brother Matt in the background.

Another great attraction in Chicago is the children's museum. We had a blast here with the kids.

We also hit up the Museum of Science and Industry which is always a great experience.

I wish I had the camera at this point of the evening. It was in eric's pockets downstairs. People were sitting down for dinner and the band was playing jazzy music, the dance floor was open. Otto spent the entire time doing the worm and rolling all over dancing and jumping. It was fantastic!

On Sunday before heading out of the city, we took the kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It is a really great zoo, I had never been there before. We of course had to ride the "ponies that go up and down and play music".

Eric headed to L.A. for work on Tuesday while the kids and I were spoiled by grandparents. We even had a fire in the backyard and roasted marshmallows.

Papou took us to the Field Museum where we saw an amazing exhibit on whales and checked out all the dioramas

We also took a trip to see Papou's new plane hanger and plane paint job. It looks amazing!

Otto was super excited to sit in the plane!

Remember, there is no minimum age for a pilot's license.

Watching jets take off and land.

Trying their flying skills at home.

I have more photos to post later, plus stories and updates but this will have to hold you for tonight.

Gratuitous Cuteness

2011-06-14T23:44:00.000-04:00

This post is of course for everyone, but especially my mom and Rachel who have been asking for pictures of the kids in the wedding. I have axp. a million pictures but will spare you all the gory details. Below are some of my favorites along with a few of the man and woman of the day.

The kids did amazing. They followed direction, walked down the aisle and thanks to the beauty of iPhone's and iPads they stayed quiet for the ceremony. The rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception were all beautiful and wonderful. Mette got a quick power nap in from 6 -7 pm which allowed her to stay up for the fireworks at 10:30. Yeah, that was awesome, :) At 10 she was still wide awake with the babysitter and crying to go to the party and dance. So Eric went down to relieve the babysitter and I took Mette upstairs to the party. It was midnight until she went to sleep. Despite that, she was up at 6:28 wanting to go back and dance.

Despite all of that, we had a wonderful time.

Here they are getting ready to get on the bus to the rehearsal. I made their matching outfits. Mette has a new seersucker dress and Otto has fully lined, flat front seersucker pants. Cuter than cute.

The best picture I managed to snap while getting them to walk down the aisle. It was a great practice run.

Otto macking it up with eric's cousin Kristin (he is in her wedding this August). He would follow her to the ends of the earth. On thursday we are going to watch one of her baseball games and have dinner at her mom's house. He is pretty excited.

Here is where it gets good. Mette all dressed up with hair curled (yes, I braved all my fears and took a curling iron to her hair) and in her party dress.

Getting on his penguin suit.

I love this photo. It would be better if there wasn't a huge light over eric's head, but in a small hotel room you have to take what you can get!

Biding time....

Hey, Mette, what is in your hair?

Rarely do I do the whole posed photo thing, but this seemed like a good chance. That's me rocking my new dress I made for the wedding. More pictures to come later of the dress....

Serious discussions about how flower girls act in a wedding.

Because I had to "catch" the kids as they came down the aisle I had a hard time getting action shots of them in the church but I will get more soon. Here is the best I have.

Trying to hard to be quiet.

The lucky man as his soon to be bride walked in the door.

Here she comes!

In between the ceremony and reception I took the kids up to the hotel room and got them a room service dinner. We had a picnic W style with hotdogs, french fries and a veggie platter.

This is pretty much what the kids looked like during the cocktail hour.

Dancing

As I sit here at the table posting this YiaYia is working on narrowing pictures down to 200 to fit in an album so to say there are more photos would be an understatement. As the week goes on I will add more along with other shots of the kids and grandparents on our adventures this week.

Last night eric and I celebrated seven years of marriage with an AMAZING dinner at TRU complete with personalized menus (good job eric!) and possibly the best meal I have ever had. More on that to come as well.

Summer is Here!

2011-06-05T06:12:00.000-04:00

Let's not think about why I am up this early in the morning listening to the birds chirping outside my window and instead go to Knoebel's. We are so lucky to live so close to such an amazing place. Every time we go it is just a little bit cooler. The kids are getting older and more and more able to go on rides which makes it that much better. This whole past week Nona Jen and baby Harry were visiting. Since they had never been there before and Thursday was about the most perfect weather day you could imagine, it seemed like a great thing to do.

It was.

Eric was out of town for work so he unfortunately missed the first trip of the year, but that just means we will have to go more with him later in the summer.

Otto definitely remembered it all from last year, but I am not sure Mette did. She hung back in the stroller with Harry when we first got there while Otto ran ahead eager to check everything out.

When we made it to the Kiddie rides section Otto found one with planes with blasters. He of course wanted to go on that. Mette, still hesitant at this point, chose to watch from the stroller. Despite my warnings, Otto chose to ride backwards. I don't think he was too down with that and wanted to get off early. The beautiful thing about going to the big K before school lets out, you have the place to yourself. The kids didn't wait in a single line and often had the ride to themselves. Getting off early is not a problem.

Next up, the cars. Mette was swayed to ride after spotting a pink car. She was buckled in to the pink car while Otto picked out a shiny red sports car. Then he saw Mette and wanted to ride with her but to get to her he had to pass a tank. Just after buckling him on the tank he said he really did want to ride with Mette,

So off they went.

And that was it. From then on they only wanted to go on rides together. They did everything together for the rest of the day. It was adorable. Picking rides, taking turns, sharing. It was one of the days when you are so happy they have each other and you get to watch them grow up together.

Of course, a Merry-Go-Round needed to be found for Mette. And of course, upon seeing it up close she was a bit hesitant. Then she spotted the bench where she could ride with "her big brother" as she insisted. Works for me.

I squeezed in and around we went.

It was a huge hit with everyone.

It was so empty, they even got the bouncy house all to themselves. I was a little jealous over this. That looks like a LOT of fun!!

These helicopters are really cool. They have an arm that you pull back and it makes the helicopter go up into the air. Otto totally remembered how to do it and was pulling the arm back before the ride even started. I took a million pictures of this, but couldn't get any good ones. It is really a cool ride and they both had a great time with squeals of delight.

That is them heading up to the trees!

They didn't even want Jen or I to go on the antique cars with them. Together again.

Seriously, how cute is this?

Perfect.

This water spray gun thing is a hit every year. At some point they will figure out how it works, but for now they love it just the same. Otto was getting the hang of it by the end.

Working hard.

I am a huge Dippin' Dots fan and have to get some every time we go to Knoebel's. Mette picked out Rainbow, no surprise and Otto chose Cookies and Cream. I chose Mint Chocolate Chip, because we all now that is the best flavor.

When you are only 12 weeks old there aren't a lot of rides for you to go on, but you do get to watch which is sometimes pretty cool.

And then your mom takes a picture of your chunk in front of the Fudge Kitchen!!

I wasn't sure if the big Carousel was going to be too big or loud for the kids so we went to check it out and decide for ourselves.

A girl bonding with her favorite kind of ponies. "The kind that play music and go up and down."

We had to ride it.

Seated together of course, this time ON the ponies.

Heading back to get a little tank action. Where does Mette sit when Otto picks the tank? In the back seat.

Someone needs to know where we are going.

We spent about four hours at the park which was enough to exhaust us all. Mette fell asleep in the stroller on the way to the car and I was able to transfer her to her car seat and buckle her in without her waking up. She was a little on the tired side! Otto even snoozed on the way home.

The whole week was great and I will get more pictures and stories up soon, but I wanted to start with these. It was such a great trip.

The kids should be waking up any minute now. We have a big day ahead of us, the new bunk beds are arriving this morning!!!!

4 A.M.

2011-05-30T05:02:00.000-04:00

Sleep in our house with children has been a long struggle. Otto took about a year to start sleeping though the night, though he is now a super champ!! Mette still can be known to have bouts of crying in the night though she is getting much better. You would think my body after four years would be craving long hours of straight through sleep, but here I am, at 4 A.M. writing to you because I am WIDE awake and have been for hours. And, while I am wide awake, everyone else is snoozing away. Including my baby brother tucked in a crib at the end of the hall outside the guest room :)

It may be the medicine I am taking. I had a strange allergic reaction to something not yet determined and broke out in strange hives that would not go away. Not wanting to look like a freak at Ben and Shannon's wedding in a few short weeks I reluctantly am taking a round of steroids. For those of you who know me well enough to remember my last experience with this drug you should know I am as scared as you. Last time I gained 15 pounds in two months and was MEAN and CRAZY. I heard circus music in my head non-stop all day and yelled at the slightest thing. That time I had to take a higher dose and for much longer but still, I warned all close to me I was taking this drug and told them to be sure to put me in my place if I start acting weird again. I also explained this to my dr. when she suggested the meds. She put me on a much lower dose and said if the hives went away (they did within hours!!) and I started feeling strange she would help me taper off them faster. So far I don't feel crazy, and I am trying really hard to stick to a celery only diet!! Ok, that may be a bit extreme but I am going to up my weekly dose of yoga, pilates and walking for sure. I am however not really sleeping.

I am going to say that this is just a phase, like teething, or yelling "don't look at me" every time someone as much as glances at you (Mette) but in the back of my head I can't help thinking that medicine aside, I am not the first person in my family to experience this. The flip side, maybe I can get more blogging and reading done. That would be a nice bonus. Now that the kids are sleeping better I have been able to read books again which is really lovely. I could get used to this.

Speaking of the kids, they are doing great. Grandpa Chris and Nona Jen are here this weekend with baby Harry and we are having a blast. In the dark and being quiet I couldn't find the camera and cable but I will get some great photos up tomorrow. Eric is also working on some more videos.

Otto continues his complete love of all things Lego and Star Wars. We have also been watching the CARS 2 movie trailer A LOT these days. He can't wait to see it. This is going to be his first time going to the theatre and he is really excited. It has also meant that he has been playing with his CARS movie cars more these days. I have to say, it really warms my heart to see them get action again. For so long they were such an important part of his day, seeing them sit all day in the drawer was a bit sad. There were so many naps and bedtimes that he feel asleep clutching The King, or Boost or someone else, it makes me smile to hear their names again. In a stroke of marketing genius this time around they are making Lego Cars 2 toys. Yeah, we are going to need some of those. Some amazing Canadian company even make a version of the trailer out of legos in stop motion. It is awesome, watch it here, it has been high on our rotation for sure.

Speaking of watching things, Mette has fallen in love with the Little Mermaid. Eric brought it home from work for her to watch this week and she has seen it at least 7 times since then. She LOVES it. It is the first movie that she wants to watch over and over again. I remember going to the theatre with my brother Racer when he was two and it had just come out and him loving it as well. We had it on VHS the moment it was released. I forgot how well I knew the movie until I watched the first scene again and the whole thing came flooding back to me. We have been singing "Under the Sea" a lot here. She is also still in love with My Little Pony. I am starting to wonder if my jeans are going to have pony leg marks on the back pockets since she often want me to carry one around as well.

We have starting just putting her in her crib at nap time despite her screams of protests, and I mean SCREAMS. The screaming last for about 5 -10 minutes and then she is dead to the world. She wakes up for the most part in such a better mood that it is totally worth it. I may have let her sleep too long yesterday and paid the price with a MOODY little girl, but for the most part it has been getting better.

She also now insists on wearing a dress everyday. She also has to pick them out herself. It is really cute. She likes them as full and "party like" as possible. I have been working on sewing her some more because when you change your outfit three to four times a day on a whim but manage to get each outfit a little dirty you better have a stocked closet to choose from. For the last three nights she has also been sleeping in a nightgown. This is huge to her because it is a dress you can sleep in. She had been in the habit of taking off her diaper at night if you did't have her in a straight jacket but she has been convinced that if she keeps her diaper on, she can sleep in a night gown and it has worked. We didn't really have any nightgowns for her so I have made a few from old t-shirts with ruffles and flowers. She loves them and they look super soft and comfy. I am going to try and dye a few a light shade of pink to make them that much better. For the first two nights she woke up totally dry. She has been getting close to this for a while, tonight we are trying sleeping in underwear for the first time. So far, so good. I went in and checked a while ago. We will see how this goes. It is sounding like the kids will be getting new bunk beds soon and it seemed like a good time to make the plunge to diaper free sleeping.

I am super excited about the bunk beds, Grandpa is custom making them for the kids and they are going to be so great. I got an old dresser from a friend which I am going to clean up and paint and I am going to make some floor cloths for their room as well. With Otto's allergies I don't dare any rugs in his room but they have to much empty floor that this will be a great way to add some color and still have it easy to clean.

We are in high allergy season for Otto with trees and grass but we just changed his medicine and are handling it better now. He is on Allegra twice a day and now has added a once daily nose spray. He is fine with me doing it and it has made a HUGE difference. Let's hope this continues to work for a while.

Well, this has been and epic post as eric would say and I didn't even have any pictures to break it up. Thanks for hanging with me, if you did, I will try to get soem good eye candy up soon! Now I am going to try reading....

Ok, I lied, I did have a few winners I recently transfered from my phone.

Here is Otto and Mette enjoying muffins at hot chocolates at our local coffee shop. A popular outing around here! Muffins are best eaten with a knife and whipped cream with a crazy tiny straw for those who were wondering.

The kids and I planted window boxes for Rachel as a welcome home gift from her Mom. She sent the boxes to us and we filled them with flowers and took them over. It was a fun little project.

I don't know why, but I love this shot too!

Life in the Burg

2011-05-24T22:37:00.000-04:00

Sentences and full paragraphs seem to evade me now, how about some random thoughts?

Some things that are making me happy: (in no particular order)

The dish drain next to one of the kitchen sinks is filled with little crocs and sandals of varying sizes all lined up drying after scrubbing days worth of mud off them earlier this evening. The look so colorful and cheery.

Rache is home!!! And she brought her two adorable children with her. Her husband came as well, but I haven't seen him yet. The youngest of her two is fantastically chubby and I want to eat her up.

A few nights ago I made myself the most fantastic pair of jammy pants ever. It was a spur of the moment project after the kids went to bed and I LOVE them. Must make more soon.

I finished a new dress for Mette which she wore today. At the local coffee shop the server told her how much she liked her dress and Mette responded "my mommy sewed it and I was SO happy". Pretty much sealed the deal that I will make her a million more. This one is just ever so slightly short which on her is so cute. Only at 2 can you get away with that, though the undergrads sure do try.

I bought a box of fudgesicles at the store a few weeks ago and every once and a while I treat myself to one. They are so good.

Tonight is the last night that I have to be on bat (the animal) duty all night long. Eric has been out of town for a few days and the first night he was gone there was a bat downstairs when the kids went down for breakfast. Thankfully the cats had is stunned and on the ground but it was PISSED and I had to get it outside. Catching the bats is ALL ERIC. He has a butterfly net and his years of playing badminton have served him well. He can catch them with amazing grace and ease. There is nothing graceful or easy about how I deal with bats. I normally have to "check on the kids" aka, hide in their room with them to keep them safe. He will be home tomorrow and I am going to sleep so much better.

I painted our back deck, we got new chairs, planted more flowers, got hanging baskets and made a tablecloth and now our deck which has always been lovely seems like a magical garden. On saturday after the kids went to bed eric and I sat outside and had a few drinks and got to enjoy the glow from our little solar lanterns I always admire from the window. It was so lovely. I only got two muzzy bites and only one swelled up so much I had what looked like two knees until yesterday so I count that has a huge success.

Life is good.

Frame of reference

2011-05-18T21:20:00.003-04:00

Every time someone says "you made that!?" or "you fixed that?!" in disbelief, part of me rolls my eyes. Yes, I make some clothes and curtains (and small children), I have been known to take apart toilets and tile bathrooms, if I need something my first thought is "how can I make that?" - really this is nothing.

Truth of the matter is, yes, I am somewhat handy but my real secret is I have good people to learn from, who will help me when I get in over my head. I spent many an afternoon and evening as a child holding tools, flashlights, mortar buckets, finding hammers, remembering where the box of nails was last, but mainly watching. You can learn a lot from watching. Most importantly you learn that things CAN be made and fixed at home. Creating things at home, and by things I mean walls, stairs, bathrooms, kitchens, floors, paintings, sculptures, clothing, musical instruments, silicone molds, tiles, furniture, whole buildings, worlds if you really get down to it, is possible and wonderful. Sure you can call a plumber to fix a leak, but it feels so much better when you do it yourself and have the dirty hands to show for it. I have a lot to learn but I look forward to each project and every chance I have to watch, help and learn.

The concept of actually being able to make things is disappearing. So many people can't make things anymore. We live in a culture where people buy everything. I try hard to make or fix as many things as I can. I take great pride in stocking a freezer and pantry with homemade foods from local sources. More and more of our clothes are being made in my sewing room each day. There are some house projects I am just not physically capable of doing, but everything else I tackle myself. It seems totally normal to me that way. I can't imagine NOT doing that. I hope that Otto and Mette grow up with that same attitude. They see me working and enjoying what I am doing and visiting my grandpa Chris and nona Jen where walls are plastered and the furniture made by grandpa Chris, then at the cabin where the building was built by grandma and grandpa and is decorated with grandma and uncle racer's paintings, I can only hope it will sink in to them as well.

To debut some of insane talents my family sports I am sharing a few links to their brand new websites:

My mom's new painting can be found here. There are a few new directions shown. I am working on scoring a few for our dining room!! You may want some too.....

Grandpa's out of this world custom banjos deserve some of your time. While you are there, be sure to click on the videos page. Speaking of being able to make things, Eric shot and edited the two videos for the website, you can see some of his non-kid home movie work.

Then if you are interested in the family business you can check that out here

I think you will quickly see I am not nearly as talented as many of the other folks I hang out with. Still I am very nice and who knows, maybe if I keep watching and learning I will get there.

Oh, while you are checking out their coolness, give a looksie to my brother's page. His stuff is wonderful as well.

Cabin in tilt shift

2011-05-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

People, please, if you like the videos, show eric some love. Leave a comment or two. Makes the boy smile!

Blueberries

2011-05-10T22:31:00.000-04:00

There is much more to come, but this is priceless.

Off the grid

2011-05-10T22:19:00.000-04:00

We spent the last few days off the grid at the cabin with Grandmom and Grandpa. Due to really crappy weather and insane work schedules (eric) it has been forever since we have made it up there. Since our last visit the kids have grown by leaps and bounds. Otto now finishes his meals in a hurry, hops up from the table and rushes back outside to play. Followed by his ever faithful dog companion, Hugo. Gone are the days of constant supervision and worrying he would get lost. He knows to stay close and since there is a limitless amount of things to explore close to home, he is set.

When we were in New Orleans in March and the kids were here in grandparent heaven the seed was planted about having a camp fire and s'mores. Grandmom and Grandpa held true to their promise and when we got there the camp fire was already set up along with chairs for everyone.

Hero of the weekend no. 1, Grandmom!

Tied for no. 1, Grandpa!

Living the good life.

There really aren't words to describe how dirty the kids were by the end of the weekend, however the amount of "stuff" that came out of Mette's hair when I gave her a bath this evening was rather impressive.

Not only had the kids never been to a real campfire cookout, eric had never had s'mores. Happy to continue on my campaign to fill in the gaps in eric's life education I sat them all down for a sticky sweet treat.

They were very popular.

With everyone!

No trip to the cabin is complete without banjo music!

Otto working on the fine art of cooking over a campfire and NOT dropping your food in the coals.

Our take on Easter:

Fluffy, sugary pink bunny on a stick

Enter, Fire!

Delicious. Isn't that what all the hype is about? Bunnies at the stake, or am I getting something confused?

Cementing their super cool status, Grandmom and Grandpa had a tarp and sleeping bags so the kids could stay up late and enjoy the fire.

While they were all snuggled up I read some of The House at Pooh Corner.

Really this is nothing more than admiring a beautiful setting for breakfast and great light.

A little good cabin air and lots of running around can really wear a girl out. Mette crashed out with Grandma on the hammock for a little pre-lunch snooze.

Otto LOVES the "Tarzan/Luke rescuing Leia" rope swing as he likes to call it.

It was a really wonderful few days and now all I can think about is how soon can we get up there again. The kids both had a wonderful time. It is so great to have a place where they can learn how to just fart around in the woods. Otto went on walks with Grandpa and learned how to identify deer poop which he thought was REALLY cool, we all went exploring and everyone ate well.

These pictures are really great, but wait until you see the videos eric is cutting together right now. Seriously, we are sitting side by side on the couch both plugging away on editing on the computer.

We are so romantic.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:53:00.003-04:00

I have a backlog of about a million blog posts that I have been wanting to get to but haven't had time (really sorry about that) but I had to share one quick story on Mother's Day.

Today, eric was extra kind and let me sleep in, despite Mette getting up at 5:30. He even brought me breakfast in bed at a much more humane hour. I was still snuggled in bed with my coffee when Mette came bounding into our room.

She came running up to me and said "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!!!"

How cute, I thought, eric must have sent her up. Then she got all excited and said, "I have a special present for you" With this, she attempted to climb on the bed to show me her "special present".

Special is one way to describe it. In her hand was the instruction manual for Otto's new booster seat, proving she this was a mission of her own design. She was so excited to give it to me. She snuggled into the bed next to me and asked me to read it to her.

So I did. We made it five whole pages before she lost interest.

I am guessing it is going to take a long time before any gift tops that one!

Hoping you had a wonderful Mother's Day, or just plain great Sunday.

I now have my dress for the wedding made and eric is finally done teaching and final projects have been delivered. Let the blogging begin again. Including pictures of my dress which is awesome!!!

Jedi Training

2011-04-26T20:47:00.003-04:00

I just got out of the shower. The entire time I was washing my hair I couldn't figure out why my arms and upper back hurt so much. We have been walking a lot more the past few days, but that wouldn't effect my arms.

Then I figured it out. For the past few mornings Otto and I have been doing Jedi Training on the Dagobah (aka the third floor). I am usually Luke (it is the only time he relinquishes control of the Luke character) and he is Yoda. As Luke I do a lot of push-ups and plank position with Yoda (otto or, if I am lucky, mette) on my back.

I see a work out video in the works.

When they don't sleep...

2011-04-25T21:27:00.007-04:00

To be fair, it is only Mette who isn't sleeping. Otto is still a champ in that department. Mette is still holding strong with the whole "I don't take naps anymore" routine, so we are countering with the "we will run you ragged and you WILL sleep" approach.

These first two photos are actually from a few weeks ago, but they are too cute not to add.

To start, Mette has taken to falling asleep in the shopping cart at the grocery store. One moment we are cruising the produce aisle and she is chatting away, the next she is bobbing her head and coming darn close to creaming into the handle with her head.

From now on, car carts are the way to go. Luckily they both LOVE them!!
We are fortunate to have a University which kindly supplies us with a Field House where we can take the kids and run them hard regardless of the weather outside. Racquet ball courts are fantastic for kids. They can hit the ball anywhere they want and not break anything and there is a door to keep them in. Genius!

Like I said about the door.... Remember to close it all the way!

Otto is actually getting much better at hitting the ball back to eric. All of the sudden he started making contact with the ball.

Power Shot

Mette ran in circles for a long time, then decided to rummage through my bag and found the tissues. Tissues are like empty boxes, hours of fascination.
While it is at times tempting, I promise we don't just line them up and beam them with frisbees.
Otto is getting pretty good at throwing the frisbee. Catching it is still a bit scary, but he gets some great throws in.
So much that he was all sweaty and had to relax with some water.
Better check out your knees. Otto falls full speed on his knees all day long. They are one big bruise. It hurts just thinking about it.
Today was crazy beautiful. We were outside from 11:45 this morning on.
We had lunch at a place just outside of town with lots of room for the kids to play and explore after lunch.

Today was one of those crazy light spilling from the sky, every tree and flower is blooming isn't life amazing kind of days.

Complete with bunnies

and chickens.

To top it all off, I took Mette to the doctor so they could tell me I was paranoid and crazy but yes, they could look in her ears again. Wouldn't you know she has a double ear infection!!! Now they are putting her on an old school medicine for 20(!) days three times a day. Aren't you jealous. The appointment with the ENT can't some soon enough.

Wait, where were we...

2011-04-20T20:43:00.005-04:00

I don't even know to be honest.

Things have been a bit crazy here and I am tired so bare with me. Let's see, where to begin. Perhaps a list to start.

1. We had a great visit at the end of last week and again at the beginning of this week from YiaYia and Papou to and from their way to New Jersey.

2. Mette gave her beloved Pink to the Pink Fairy for which she received a My Little Pony per her request. Rainbow Dash now escorts us most places.

3. Mette stopped taking naps. Done, no sign of going back.

4. I don't remember what 4 was going to be. See #3

5. Eric has had a guest speaker visiting for the last two days, today he did an info session on the London trip and he is filming with students until late tomorrow night.

6. I got food poisoning.

7. A dear friend under went a mastectomy yesterday and while she is home and doing well, the scariness of it all still is shaking me to the core.

8. Otto has a sinus infection because it will NEVER be spring here!!

So, yeah, I am feeling a bit scatter brained. I have been trying my best to keep us full of fun projects and trying to keep the kids from being too bored. I would like to say our days are filled with fun educational games fun frolicking, but that might be going a bit far. We are all eating good homemade food, the house is as clean as it usually is, the laundry is clean and in the case of the kids, put away and I even made Otto some light saber pants the other day. These are normal jammie pants that have a long pocket on the side for him to put his light saber. I made them out of some robot material he picked out a while ago. Our heads are above water and once the sun starts shining I will have a much more positive spin on all of this.

Well, the sun needs to start shining and I need to come up with something to do with the kids that in some way shape or form resembles the glorious quiet time Otto has perfected while Mette napped. Because the free for all that has been the past three days will wear me down real quick.

So, let's move on to some pictures shall we. Lighten it up a bit.

Here is Mette at playgroup last week in a sea of pink. I wonder where she gets her pink obsession and then I think about Lindsey's house. Mette LOVES Lindsey who is Otto's age, largely I think because she actually plays with Mette and is very sweet to her. But she has the greatest pink room you have ever seen. Complete with bins of dresses to try on, and shoes, tiaras, and fairy wands. Really, why do I wonder why she likes pink??
I only managed to get pictures of the grandparents and the kids with my phone and ideally there would have been more light, but still these are some cute shots. We have finally gotten to the point where having visitors is totally exciting for the kids, but they don't loose control. They keep their cool, have a fantastic time and really get to enjoy the extra attention.
This summer we are heading out to Chicago for the BIG WEDDING and afterwards we are staying to hang out for a while. I am really looking forward to it. We will be museum hopping and just hanging out with family we don't get to see as much. Otto hasn't stopped talking about the box of Legos, Matchbox cars and STAR WARS toys that YiaYia said she found in the basement.
Remember how I said I am trying to keep the kids occupied and somewhat engaged? Well we made homemade pretzels on Monday. I think it was Monday, might have been tuesday. I can't tell anymore. Not only were they a ton of fun to make with the kids, they are really yummy. Otto helped measure out all the ingredients and they both helped roll out the "dough worms". I let Otto help sprinkle sea salt on them which I was really scared was going to turn out bad. He was great. He carefully sprinkled just enough on each one. I was foolishly not anticipating Mette getting a fist full of salt and helping. Good thing it can just run off!

As I mentioned before, this is the summer of weddings. First in June Uncle Ben is getting married. Mette is to be the flower girl and Otto the ring bearer. Otto has already been fitted for his tux so he is good to go. I had planned on making Mette's dress along with mine but not anymore. Yesterday I found a dress, tights, shrug and headband all for about the same price as I would have spent of the materials. It fits perfectly and she LOVES it. I won't ruin the surprise but I couldn't help post this photo. I am a bit nervous about having the kids behave in a big church, it is a catholic wedding, but seeing her in the dress made me realize, it doesn't matter what she does, she will be too darn cute for anyone to care!
As if all of this wasn't excitement enough, Otto has a new passion. Photography. Wonder where he gets that?? His dad, my dad, my step father.... who knows :)

I got a new camera for my birthday so we decided to give Otto my old one. He, no lie, takes about 100 photos a day. A lot are of nothing, but way more than you would expect are great. I am getting a post together with some highlights of what he is taking. Because he is showing such an interest, eric brought home his big camera to show Otto.
He took to it immediately. He doesn't want anyone else touching him and right away was moving it around lining up a shot he wanted to take. He is more interested in being behind the camera then in front of it which is a huge change for him.

Of course, anything Otto does, Mette has to try.

Speaking of Mette, let's go back to the whole Pink and napping thing. I have been thinking for a while that maybe it was time to be done with Pink, but I wasn't sure how to do it. Then this weekend happened. On Saturday night Mette was up until 10 p.m. (bedtime is 7:15 in these parts) screaming and pulling a full on two year old power struggle. It was awesome. Ugh. At some point she bit a hole in a new Pink. I was really frustrated with her for not going to sleep but when I realized we had to take Pink away I actually felt really sorry for her. I explained that she couldn't have a Pink if she was going to bite holes in them, it was too dangerous. I explained that we could box up the Pinks and leave them for the Pink Fairy and she would come and leave her a present. She knows about this concept because we have talked about the Nuk Fairy who came for Otto. Right away she told me she wanted a pony. Luckily I knew what she meant. When we go to CVS to pick up prescriptions, which lately is all the time, the kids play in the little toy aisle while I wait for the meds. They have a few My Little Pony's there and Mette always wants them. She looks at the ponies and the PINK phone while Otto looks at the light sabers, TRANSFORMERS, and cars. It keeps them entertained so I don't have a problem with it. A little pony seemed like a fair trade for her Pinks so I said I would let the Pink Fairy know. She was still up for almost another two hours, however she never once asked for Pink. It has been amazing. The first few times I put her in bed she would say "where is Pinkie" but when I told her she didn't have Pink anymore there was no crying or even sad face. She just snuggles up with Bibi and is fine. The day after she gave up Pink when she woke up from her nap there was a present waiting for her from the Pink Fairy. She was so excited and still is. Rainbow Dash is her new best friend.

It is a little strange how well she has handled it, but in a good way. It makes me feel good that this was the right time to do it.

That being said, I would have been really happy if she had decided to keep napping for another year or so. I have been saying for a while now that next fall when Otto goes to p.m. preschool Mette would stop napping, just to spite me. Well, she beat me to it. Granted she was starting to be a total bear to get to sleep at night so this will hopefully be for the best, but still it is hard on me. I count on quiet time each day. It is my chance to get stuff done, or do nothing at all. Both of which make me feel better about things in general and in turn helps me to be a more patient mom. Because she is so young it is going to be hard to make quiet time work the way it did with Otto but I have to come up with something. Bedtime has been getting a bit better. I am hoping that in a few more days her body will fall into a new routine. Like giving up pink though it is going far more smoothly than it should. When Otto gave up naps it was a long and difficult transition. He would some days, wouldn't other days. The days he did nap he would stay up late, the days he didn't he would crash in the evening and be a total pill. Eric can't even tell if she has had a nap or not from her behavior. Sunday she wouldn't go to sleep so I brought her downstairs and she hasn't look back since.

Think kind thoughts for me. It is only wednesday and it has already been a LONG week.

Dance Party!!

2011-04-09T21:06:00.003-04:00

There are many reasons that I love eric, but him making great videos of the kids like this is definitely one of them!!

Mettezilla

2011-04-09T20:10:00.004-04:00

There has been a lot of talk of Otto here these days. It always seems to work in ebbs and flows. For a while Mette takes the stage, then Otto, back and forth. It feels like Mette is up for some news.

Mette, what to say about her? She is crazy. Like, really crazy. Shake your head and wonder if it is all going to work out ok crazy. It is, I think. I hope. No, it will.

They say that one of the reasons they call two the "terrible two's" is because children have the same hormonal swings that puberty will bestow on them later in life. This is SO true with Mette. You can literally watch the emotions and hormones course through her veins. She is sweet as pie, funny and charming one second, then screaming, crying and PISSED the next. Despite the fact that she has been talking in complete sentences for almost a year, these fits of rage leave her unable to form words let alone sentences.

She asks for a drink, juice to be exact.

You give her the juice.

She takes a sip and likes it.

She takes a second sip, decides it is poison and screams bloody murder with real tears and extreme angst until you are able to get it out of her that, in fact, she would like a straw, please.

"oh, thank you" and the moment has passed.

She is totally over it and you are left trembling with adreniline from trying to fix or deal or ignore the problem (all depends on how far into the day we are).

This goes on from 7 a.m. until late into the evening. Every day. So yeah, she is one of the funniest kids to be around and she is beyond cute. Doing and saying things that crack you up and melt your heart numerous times a day. But that is because otherwise she would be in the alley with a free sign around her neck. I am kidding, sort of. Like my mom always says, babies are cute for a reason. Otherwise we would never keep them!!

Here are some of the reasons she is still around:

Sporting a Jem wig at Leo's house

Last weekend one of the preschool's in town hosted their annual kids sale to raise money for the school. I scored a few cute outfits for Mette and this wonderful tutu. She has a few books on ballerinas and has been wanting an outfit like the girls (or mice in the case of Angelina) have in the stories.

Showing me her MOVES!

Not sure what move this is, but I like it!

You are in luck, Eric is just finishing a new video of the kids! I better stop hogging all the internet so he can get a uploading!

Insurance

2011-04-06T22:07:00.001-04:00

Every once and a while I like to reassure myself that we will have good blackmail material for their teen years.

Word on the Street

2011-04-05T20:59:00.004-04:00

The word on the street is that any day now (though not this week according to the weather forecast) it will start acting like spring outside. As I type this it is 34 outside and going below freezing tonight. Tomorrow will be a balmy 50-something and rainy.

I keep reminding myself of that one gorgeous day we had a few weeks ago where the sun was shining, the kids were playing in the yard and the doors were open. I even treated the kids with popsicles which they insisted on eating while sitting together on the steps. Apparently that is the only place to eat them.

Of course, since Otto took off his shirt, Mette had to as well.

I promise, I don't dress them the same on purpose. Maybe now that Otto is helping pick out his clothes more they won't match as much.

Warmer Times

Pictures Please

2011-04-04T21:14:00.002-04:00

Goodness I have been blabbing for days without any pictures. I will get some more up soon, but now, feast your eyes on this.

Otto getting fitted for his tux for Uncle Ben's wedding. With any luck his hair will be that long again for the wedding so we can recreate this look :)

I did buzz it last week though so it has a ways to go!

Third Time is the Charm?

2011-04-04T20:59:00.002-04:00

I took both of the kids to the doctor today. Otto had a bad bout of fevers which is unlike him over the weekend. Yesterday, after sleeping on the couch for and hour in the afternoon at 4 he went upstairs and went to bed while I was in the kitchen getting him a snack. That alone was enough to merit a trip to the dr. Mette was due for a three week follow up after her last battle with an ear infection. One month ago she got an ear infection which we treated with the usual round of pink medicine. When the doses were done though she didn't seem really over it. Back to the dr. we went. Her ear was still red and swollen so this time she got a new dose of a stronger medicine.

Since then whenever she sneezes she cries and says her ear hurts. She has also bit a bit of a pill, to put it nicely. The doctor looked in her ear today and it is still red and infected. Damn thing won't die!! So, now she has a white strange smelling medicine which thankfully she will take and a referral to an Ear Nose and Throat specialist.

I am pretty granola about most things, as eric would say. We eat organic local food, no extra sugars for the most part. I cook from scratch. I nursed the kids forever, we watch what they are exposed to and I am sure I worry about all of it more than I should. But that is my job. I don't like giving them any more medicine then I absolutely have to. Normal colds, even green snot will usually clear itself up. Luckily our dr. also agrees with me on this. However ear infections are not something I mess with. My brother has serious hearing loss most likely due to ear infections as a child and I want to avoid that at all costs. That is why I didn't hesitate to put Mette on the third antibiotic in four weeks. Needless to say that girl will be eating yogurt and kefir for quite some time. Good thing I make our own :)

Still it kind of makes me mad that I do all of this to be healthy and poor Otto ends up having a pic line to his heart with antibiotics for three weeks and now Mette is on her third big dose. I would like to be done with the yucky meds thank you very much. I really hope this dose of drugs makes her feel better and I hope the ENT dr. will be able to advise us the best plan of action. Our dr. says they most likely won't do anything right away, but it will be nice knowing they are watching her ears closely for additional signs of trouble.

Breakfast

2011-04-03T08:38:00.001-04:00

Otto is still sick today so he and Eric opted for a little Return of the Jedi for breakfast. I think I may need to come up with something for mette and I to do while they enjoy their day of Star Wars.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Breakthrough

2011-04-02T20:06:00.003-04:00

Today we took a giant leap forward in this house. As every post for the past many months now have had some reference to STAR WARS you know how important a topic it is in our house. Otto lives and breathes it. He spends all day playing Lego STAR WARS, reading STAR WARS books or acting out scenes he makes up with his action figures. Up until now he has not actually seen any of the movies. He knows every character and plot twist, but only from books and what we have told him.

That all changed today. Well it started yesterday afternoon. Otto has been on a streak of being so nice and kind it makes you wonder who the other child we had here last year was. Yesterday afternoon we were both a little bored from being stuck in the house so much with yucky weather I asked him if he would be interested in finding some Ewok speeder bike clips on YouTube. He has seen the Ewok song and thought it was very cute so I thought this would be a good transition. From there we slowly felt our way around more clips. A few seemed a bit scary to him so I would turn off the sound. A trick I learned from Papou and Uncle Matt. That eased his fears. 30 minutes after we sat down he was watching the battle scene over Endor followed by the Hoth battle scene. When eric got home he watched the light saber duel between Darth Vador and Obi Wan where Obi Wan dies. Because he knows the stories so well he can ask to see scenes he knows about.

Today eric brought home the first three movies. Once you are on a roll you might as well go for it. Plus, today is one of the first nice days we have had in a while (by nice I mean in the 40's cloudy and windy, it's all relative) and poor Otto has almost lost his voice and has a fever of 101.6. He needed to lay low and movies seemed like the perfect way to do it. He watched half of the first movie before wanting to go and play and a lot of Return of the Jedi. I am sure there will be more. The best part, he isn't scared at all, in fact he loves them! He gets so excited to see all the characters he has read about. He points out all the obscure droids in the background and knows all of their names.

This is a huge breakthrough for Otto. Not just because he loves STAR WARS and now he can say he has seen the movies, but because he can be very fearful of things and the movies were something he was really scared of. Even though he plays with Legos all day long and dreams of going to the Lego store, the first time we took him he went screaming out of the store and refused to go back in, not even to pick out a toy, because they have small tv's playing bits of Lego STAR WARS movies. He was TERRIFIED. This past time when we went to the store he talked a lot about the tv's before we got there, but was fine with them once we were there.

I can't begin to explain how much he has been changing over the past few months, but something is happening. Eric and I were saying that just in the past two weeks he has grown by leaps and bounds. I am sure there will be many more difficult hurdles to leap over further down the road, but right now we are in such an amazing place. For so long everything seemed like a battle with him. He was struggling to go against the grain with everything that everyday felt like a battle. The frustration was mounting between the two of us where I know I felt like I needed a break and I am sure he did to. Right now he is an absolute joy to be around. We are all having so much fun together.

I can see a real sense of pride in himself for finally conquering something he was really scared of. He did it all on his own. We weren't pushing him to watch the movies, he is the one who asked to see everything he watched. It has been pretty amazing to watch the transformation in him. Almost makes you feel like your hard work is paying off in some small way.

He-Looo is there anybody out there?

2011-04-01T20:13:00.004-04:00

Forgive me for being so quiet lately. It is not in my nature.

I blame my mother.

Ok, that isn't really fair.

I blame her for taking me shopping for my 30th birthday and helping me find my new love.

Seeing as she shamelessly set me up with eric, it makes sense she would have a hand in this too.

This pretty little baby found it's way into my life thanks to her this past February and we have been courting ever since. It is serious. This is a committed relationship. BIG. She is wonderful to me. She purrs and never even thinks about wobbling. She has yet to jam in any way (knock on wood) She has beautiful little cubbies for all of her wonderful feet and attachments. She is such a pleasure to work with.

I love blogging and telling stories here. I love being able to look back over the past four years and remember things I otherwise would have forgotten. But it is something I do in stolen moments when children are sleeping and chores are done. That time has been taken.

Since February I have made:

New curtains for the kitchen

New curtains for the quest bathroom

Re-did the curtains in the dining room

New curtains for the living room

Made Otto three pairs of pants

Made Mette two pairs of pants

Made myself one pair of jammie pants

Two shirts for myself

pair of shoes for myself (yes, shoes!! they were a bit small but a GREAT first attempt)

Three small coin or make-up purses

I am most of the way through making pants for eric

A Darth Vador cape for Otto

plus a few other small projects and some mending

On my list of things to make is:

More shoes

A new purse for me now that I am post diapers

A dress for me for Ben and Shannon's wedding

A dress for Mette for the same wedding

A few more jammies for everyone

A few cute shirts and skirts for me

New pillows for the couch

Seat cushion for the rocking chair

Long curtain for the basement stairs

...that is all I can think of off the top of my head, but there is for sure more.

So, I am sorry that is has been so quiet here, but I promise to get back in gear soon.

The kids are growing like weeds. Literally. I measured them yesterday and in the past month they have both grown about an inch, or more. CRAZY.

Otto has turned into the sweetest thing ever. He has manners and is kind. I think he may have been swapped in the night.

Mette, well, growth spurts do not make Mette happy. Let's just say that. There has been A LOT of screaming from her. She seems to be a bit better these last few days, but it has been a little rough.

I will post pictures and stories soon. This post, if nothing else, is my best attempt at a good excuse.

thanks,

-p

Introducing Baby Harry

2011-03-27T20:49:00.005-04:00

This weekend we made it down to Philly to meet my new baby brother, Harry. He was born two weeks ago, just a few hours past my birthday actually so he is still pretty new and tiny. We choose this weekend partly because a good friend of Grandpa Chris and Nonna Jen who happens to live less than two blocks away from them was going to be out of town and very kindly offered her house as a place to stay for us. Not one to pass up a private guest house, we took her up on her offer. It worked out well because we were able to visit and see everyone a lot, but having our own space to retreat to for bedtime and naps allowed us not to be in the way as much. We sill managed to cover the dining room table with legos and the living room with books, but I like to think it could have been much worse.

Before we get to baby pictures I have to share this photo. We tried a new sleeping arrangement this weekend with the kids and it worked great. Both kids slept together on the air mattress. Normally eric and I split up, he sleeps with Otto and I sleep with Mette. This time the kids shared the air mattress and eric and I got to sleep on a bed in the spare room. It was awesome. The kids really loved it and were super excited at the idea. Even better, they both slept through the night each night. I was worried they would wake each other up, but they didn't. It was really kind of like camping out. I climbed in bed with them and read stories and stayed until they were asleep and then snuck out while they slumbered. Knowing that they can share a bed while traveling is awesome!

I brought them each their pillow and comforter from home. Otto with STAR WARS, and Mette with Hello Kitty.

So, here is the one you really want to see. Somehow eric managed to have clean hands faster than anyone when we got there and got first shot at holding him. He talks a big game about being glad we are over the baby phase, but he sure likes snuggling the little ones!!

In an attempt to not have the kids destroy all of Baby Harry's things and house we took them on a trip to the Lego Store and the Hello Kitty store on Saturday morning. Mette scored an amazing pair of sunglasses which she loves to wear.

When we got back Jen's parents were visiting. Mette got to play some great games with Jen's mom. They were all sung in Italian and Mette loved them.

I got a chance to snuggle the burrito baby while Jen napped a bit in the afternoon.

Mette was very interested in all the stuff he had. Every time she saw Harry she would say "Hi Cutie". Otto was totally not interested in Mette when she was born but Mette is very interested in Harry. She is the same age now that Otto was when she was born. That is a scary thought!!

He may not have been into babies two years ago, but he is now. Otto was clamoring to hold Harry the whole time. He got a few chances. He does very well. He sits really still and is very calm. He really seems to like him.

Big Sister...

There are a lot more pictures on other people's cameras which once I get I will post as well. I have more to say about the weekend but I am running out of steam. It was an action packed weekend and I am whooped. This morning alone we went to Whole Foods, Men's Warehouse and IKEA.

more to follow soon....

Questions for cousin John

2011-03-21T22:03:00.003-04:00

Just before eric and I headed down south for our little get away a special package came in the mail for the kids. As you know, STAR WARS rules the waves here these days. Mette has taken to calling herself Luke at all times. When the cashier at the grocery store who thinks she is cute asks her what her name is, the reply is "my name is Luke". It gets some strange looks but I don't bother explaining. She is often dressed head to toe in pink by her own choosing, so either they think she is a cross dresser, or they think she is coming up with strange names for herself. Either way, they can work on that. I have other things to do.

They still have not seen any of the movies. They get all of their knowledge, and let me tell you, it is a LOT, from books and asking eric and I a million plot questions daily. Otto knows every character, what they do etc... it is amazing. What I most like though is the way even though he is so interested in the plot, how his role playing of the stories follows his own narrative paths. Luke and Darth Maul have lunch together etc... He knows they can't exist at the same time, he will even tell you who is from the prequels, but that doesn't stop his imagination.

This past weekend we did have a bit of a break through. Eric cut a scene together where you see Anakin in the pod race. Otto and Mette have both watched it and LOVE it!! I keep telling Otto we should get daddy to make a scene with the Ewoks since I think he would really like that too. Despite the fact that he is all boy in the sense the every stick, lego, spoon etc.. is a "blaster" aka gun, he doesn't actually want to see any fighting. Something I am very thankful for.

So back to the package. My cousin John recently moved to a new house and in getting ready for the move found a bunch of his old STAR WARS toys. Like Uncle Racer, he thought they might be well loved in the hands of Otto and Mette and kindly send them our way. My Aunt MaryAnn said we could give them all at once, or in pieces. I thought about spreading out the joy, but then the big box arrived and it looked like too much fun to pass up.

So, I let them open it themselves.

It was so much fun to watch then unwrap each well cared for and loved toy.

John, here is where I have a few questions for you. There is no doubt in my mind that you loved these toys very much. So much you may have even jumped for joy when you saw them the first time.
Perhaps you even hugged the battle droid and told it how much you loved it. Which by the way is what Otto did when he saw it.
But did you immediately feel that the light sabers were the right size to battle with Jenny (John's younger sister) with? Otto did. He was kind enough to arm her first.
They also make great drumsticks, fyi.
But I am really wondering, did it ever cross your mind to ride the Tauntaun? Because Otto saddled that bad boy up immediately upon seeing it.
Then, of course, Mette had to have a turn.
So, needless to day, the gift has been a huge hit. A welcome addition to our already full family. It seems the Tauntaun in partial to jelly toast with his tea, in case you were wondering.

Nawlins'

2011-03-15T21:27:00.009-04:00

Well, we did it. We finally got away, just eric and i for a little vacay. We survived, grandma and grandpa are still talking to us and the kids had a great time. I was not worried at all that the kids would have a good time, that was a no brainer, I was more worried that the craziness of two small, "high energy" as my mom so lovingly called them today, children would be more than any sane grandparents would want to deal with. Turns out they all had a great time. Not too surprisingly, as soon as we were gone Mette turned her allegiance to the new givers of snuggles and cookies and didn't look back. Otto was a bit more affected by us going away and had bursts of crying and sadness over us not being there. He did however recover each time and now when he talks about the weekend it was all fun and games.

One thing that is really nice about having my mom stay with the kids, the house was cleaner when we came home than it was when we left. They even cleaned out the espresso tamper box! I am still finding evidence of their stay in places which is a lot of fun. Today Otto stumbled upon a perfectly drawn STIG in a coloring book. He gave the drawing credit to eric, but, honey, I love you, but there is NO WAY you drew that STIG. My bet is with grandma. Luckily grandpa was kind enough to email the rules to the game "potato ball" because there is no way I was going to figure that out without some help!

We are settling back into our normal routine here. Eric is off to NY for a few days to drool over new cameras and lenses and I am up to my usual "move all the furniture before he gets back" routine. I am also catching up on about a million loads of laundry. Tomorrow it is supposed to be warm and sunny so I am really hoping to get the kids to the park to air them out. Otto is a bit sad eric had to leave again so I am trying to think of good ways to keep him distracted.

So, now, what you really are here for, pictures of the trip.

No, wait, there is more...

First I should say the whole trip was really great. I could have just stayed in Harrisburg and read and taken naps for two days and been happy but spending it in sunny New Orleans with wonderful food and eric all to myself was quite a luxury.

We arrived in New Orleans on Saturday night and after checking into the Ritz Carlton (thank you SCMS for holding your conference there!!!) we headed out to what eric has long told me is the best burger joint EVER.

The walk there took us through the French Quarter at night. Why have I never heard more about the amazing light from all the gas lanterns? There is something magical about the light as it reflects off the bottom of the porch where the lantern is hanging and the side of the building it is illuminating. It creates this tunnel of flickering light that is truly magical. It also sets the stage for believing in voodoo.

There was a two hour wait for a table but bar seats were first come first serve. We decided to split a house specialty Monsoon and lurk for a bar seat. The Monsoon is basically a kick ass hurricane and delicious. The lurking paid off and we scored two seats at the bar. I should add that the mere fact that we were able to say yes to a two hour wait for a table was proof of vacation to me. With the kids, that never would have been possible. I wouldn't have cared if it took until 11 for us to get a table, I was happy. That could have also had something to do with the enormous drink....

The wait was worth it. They do not mess around with their burgers there and they really are as good as eric says they are. Port of Call was just what you want in a burger joint. Loud, with GOOD music, not really as clean as you might want when you look hard, staffed by fun and quirky people and frequented by local regulars. There is a special place in my heart for a good dive bar.

Sunday morning eric had a breakfast meeting with his editors followed by his presentation. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he went downstairs and brought me a cafe au lait, a croissant and the New York Times to keep me company while he was gone. He also invited my to breakfast and the talk, but I passed on those!!

(btw, I know I could have thought this through but that many academics in a hotel with nothing to do but talk and drink is totally scary! It makes for some interesting elevator rides!!!)

After lounging for a while I went off exploring while eric delivered his presentation. Not having a stroller to push or schedule to keep was very lovely. The sun was shining that warm low southern light and I got some great shots while waiting to meet eric at Court of Two Sisters for an AMAZING brunch.

This is so beautiful and so New Orleans that after being there for half a day you almost forget how NOT PA this house is. I had to remind myself to take a picture of something like this.

The porches, the iron work, the floor to ceiling windows (with original glass) and shutters wowed me at every turn.
Nestled right next to the grandest houses were barred up and peeling homes. A juxtaposition that seems so much the story of this city. Quiet homes with walls lined with books shelves half a block off one of the loudest party streets I have ever seen. How do they make that work??

I can assure you that every member of this band is cooler than you are. Trust me.
I love this sign. I can't really even say why but there is something wonderful about it.
This street seemed familiar and I had to turn down to see more. Only after walking half a block back did I realize that it was one of the streets I "walked" down on google maps to get a sense of where we would be. Funny to then see it in person...
There are those amazing gas lanterns again.
Sunday was a day of good food. Court of Two Sisters for brunch, an impromptu gin and tonic in the afternoon at a delightful gay bar, drinks with a friend of eric's from grad school on the gorgeous patio court yard of the Ritz Carlton topped off by dinner at Arnaud's. I like a restaurant that requires the men to wear jackets. It means that I get to wear a really fancy dress and fit in! Dinner was lovely and eric and I gabbed the whole time about how wonderful our lives are. As an outsider you may have been a little ill.

Nothing a little garlic butter and pastry topped escargot can't fix!
Before heading to the airport on Monday we had breakfast at a little place I found on Sunday morning while exploring. It seemed like just the place for a coffee before catching a cab.
They did not disappoint.
YUM!
After breakfast we headed home to our little smiling faces. I even napped on the plane and finished a book. A great vacation through and through.

Getting Ready

2011-03-11T20:31:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day. Eric and I are heading out of town for a long weekend without the kids. They will be staying here with grandparents while we head south to warmer weather and bathrooms with doors that close and aren't immediately opened by children. I am pretty sure I am the only one excited about the bathroom, but I am REALLY excited about that. I am writing important things on post it notes and sticking them everywhere. I have lists of numbers, friends and social security.... I am trying to think of everything that could happen and prepare for it. I am driving myself a bit crazy. There just isn't that much to do anymore and as a result I am spinning in circles. Eric suggested I have a gimlet and try to chill.

All that is left is to pack my stuff. I can tell the whole situation is a bit overwhelming because this is the first time in forever that I can pick out and use a purse that does not need to be big enough to carry snacks, drinks, a potty seat, change of pants and undies for Mette, a pull-up for Mette, epi-pen and benadryl and goodness what else I take everywhere I go, and I haven't even started going through my options. For the flight tomorrow I need something small enough to feel cool and big enough to hold the iPad which I am bringing to read on the plane. Hold on, I want to say that again, to READ on the plane. I have been SO JEALOUS of every other person I see reading on flights for the past few years, this is honestly one part of the trip I am most excited about. I get to sit on a plane for a few hours and read what ever the hell I want. No kids books, no kids games, no singing songs to keep them happy, just me and my book. Hell, I could even sleep if I wanted to. That just seems to crazy to even think about.

Eric has every meal planned for the whole time we are going to be there and I am very excited. Someone else will make my bed and I don't have to do dishes for three days.

Ok, I might be getting excited now.

I have some great pictures from this week that I will post when we get back. Including some awesome shots of extreme joy when a package arrived from Aunt MaryAnn and Cousin John.

Some advice

2011-03-10T12:56:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, Monday was my birthday. Not just any birthday, but my 30th birthday. Now that I am older and wiser I would like to offer a few suggestions for how NOT to celebrate a major life milestone, like turning 30.

1. on the afternoon of your birthday, do not opt to spend it with a lawyer going over you will. Especially if you wish to have a living will, the questions get pretty morbid and are not at all uplifting. Trust me, I know from experience.

2. On the first morning after turning 30 try REALLY hard not to do anything to totally throw out your back. Not only is it really painful, it also makes you feel like total crap. It doesn't help when your husband makes lots of jokes about how you are falling apart now that you are getting old.

3. Arrange to have someone come in and cook you dinner and make something with large amounts of sugar that you can put candles in. This should not be made by the birthday person and should be presented on the actual birthday. This is a bit tricky as it requires work from people other than yourself, but perhaps you can drop hints. Like writing a blog post about it... hint, hint, hint.

A large part of the reason there was no mention of my birthday on the actual day is because eric and I are going to New Orleans this weekend to celebrate. It will be my first time away from the kids for more than a few hours unless you count the overnight stay I had at the hospital when Mette was born. Which I don't. Eric is delivering a talk at a conf. in New Orleans on Sunday and I am tagging along for the ride and a free stay at the Ritz. Grandmom and Grandpa are coming down to spoil the kids rotten. In theory this all sounds wonderful but I will admit to being a bit stressed about it. I am trying not to cover the ENTIRE house in post-its and chill out.

I'll let you know how it goes when we get back!

BABY!!!!

2011-03-10T12:51:00.003-05:00

Check it out!! I am a big sister again! Monday night, just past my birthday by three hours, so really tuesday morning, little baby boy Storb was born. Today Grandpa Chris and Nona Jen as they are known around this house, are taking home their new little bundle of joy. I can not wait to meet and kiss this little package of cuteness. Sounds like we are making our way down there at the end of the month. Otto and Mette need to meet their new uncle and teach him the ways of the world!

Four!

2011-03-07T12:50:00.006-05:00

Otto is four. And is he ever. If he does something tricky or cool and you tell him, he says, "yeah, that's 'cause I am bigger now, I am four". It seems totally corny, but I swear on his birthday last Monday he woke up bigger. I keep looking at him trying to figure out just how to put into words what makes him look and seem older and I can't figure it out. He is growing out of clothes at a lightning fast rate, but he often does that. I just bought him some new pants and shorts and I ordered size 5/6. The kids legs go on forever! His ability to sit quietly and play with Legos gets longer everyday. We now spend most of our time at home building with Legos, reading about Star Wars or dressing up and acting out scenes of fantasy having to do with Star Wars.

Otto still continues to be a wonderful big brother to Mette. He really cares about her. He is often sad when she has to take a nap and is so excited when she wakes up. Having her around to play with really is an important part of his day. They are still playing really well together. He is getting better at explaining with whole sentences how he wants Mette or I to play with him. Instead of just "Mette, follow me!" I am trying to help him tell her why he wants her to follow him. And where they are going. If she catches wind that he is too eager to play with her she shuts down and won't play anymore. Just to piss him off. She is a little stinker this one. But, if he can sell and exciting adventure she still idolizes him enough to want to follow along. With Otto I feel like I am giving him good life skills for dealing with women and people in general. With Mette I am not at all worried that I am setting her up to follow along with the program. Mette is never going to be a person who just goes with the flow. Of that we can be very certain.

We are establishing quite a lovely tradition of quietly celebrating birthdays at home with just family. Eric, the kids and myself and grandparents who can make it. I am really hoping we can keep this up for many years to come. It is so relaxing and much more fun than a big party. Next year we will be in London for the kids birthdays so it will be easy to do there!

We celebrated Otto's birthday last Saturday with presents and cake with Grandmom and Grandpa. Otto was just a LITTLE excited!!

You may notice there was a bit of a STAR WARS theme. Legos, dishes, sheets, books. He got it all.

Just talking about cake and ice cream got this:

Actually seeing it come through the door:

Getting closer....

Here it is. The Hoth cake. A buttercream winter wonderland.

Making sure those are real Lego guys.

Tasting a bit of the icing.

I love this shot.

Complete with a Wampa in the background.

Happy Birthday Otto. Four years, they are flying by. I am looking forward to this next year coming up. We have a lot of adventures in store for us. You really are turning into a wonderful little boy.

Much love,

mom

Teaser

2011-02-27T21:48:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Otto's birthday this weekend because the actual day is tomorrow and eric will be at work all day. This way we could do family stuff all day. Plus, he has no idea what day his birthday is, so what difference does it make?? There are many more great photos and stories to share but I will leave you with this...

There was a LOT of this:

Then this:

Followed by this:

How many four year olds get a Hoth cake?

Dinner and a Movie

2011-02-23T20:43:00.004-05:00

Otto is on the verge of turning 4. Just a few more days now. Coming up with the right way to celebrate for him is tough. He doesn't really like big parties and he REALLY doesn't like them if he is the center of attention. The last thing I want to do is to have a party that he doesn't enjoy. Two of his best buds are away this semester, one in California and one in Australia. They were not going to make it back to celebrate with us. Luckily, a very good friend and fellow birthday buddy (his was a week ago) is here. He is also not a fan of big parties so his mom, Megan and I hatched a plan. The boys have been talking for a long time about wanting a playdate where they could stay up late so this seemed like just the time. Last Saturday we took just them, no siblings allowed, on a special dinner date and then back to Megan's house to watch Wall-E. The whole week leading up to last Saturday Otto was looking forward to his "dinner and a movie date". It was pretty cute. Who knew the Friendly's just south of town was THE PLACE to be at 5:00 on a Saturday night. We had to wait for a table (remember, around here, there aren't enough people to make waiting for anything a necessity). Due to the crazy amount of people there we had to wait forever for our food. The boys held up really well, but they were starting to get pretty antsy towards the end. Dinner was fine, what you would expect, the fun part was the ice cream for dessert. Otto chose a cookies and cream sundae. It was quite popular. So much so that Otto, who is always happy to share food, gave me the evil eye when I sneaked a bite.

"I will lean in close, but I am not taking my eyes off the sundae".

Good to the last drop.

After dinner we headed to Megan's house to watch an abbreviated version of Wall-E since we left the restaurant when they are both normally going to bed. Megan even had cute little popcorn containers. Of course, she is cool like that. Because the night wasn't decadent enough, There was hot chocolate too.

Making himself at home.

Around eight Otto actually said he was ready to go home. Not being one to push my luck, we packed up and headed home. It was a wonderful evening and a fantastic date. He is quite the ladies man this little dude.

LegoLand

2011-02-21T20:59:00.005-05:00

Lately you may be noticing a trend with us. There is a lot of talk of STAR WARS. Let me tell you, it is NON STOP. All day long I am fielding questions about plots and dialogue. Grandmom and Grandpa, if you want to know what to do to get ready for your big weekend with the kids in a few weeks, brush up on your STAR WARS :). Otto has never seen the movies as he insists they are too scary. He is super sensitive to movies and songs so I am sure he right. Eric cut together (because he is cool like that) a short series of clips of just droids and Luke talking but he won't even watch that. He has however seen this commercial and we all think it is roll on the floor funny.

All of his STAR WARS knowledge comes from asking us a million questions about the movies, reading his LEGO STAR WARS dictionary and looking at eric's old STAR WARS cards. Aside from some crazy Lucas freaks out there, he has a better understanding of the movies than most people I know. Along with the total love of STAR WARS is a love of LEGOS. He plays with LEGOS all day long. I am not kidding. We have moved furniture around in the living room to give him a large dedicated space for building. The stuff he makes is really cool.

Otto is defiantly a kid who finds something that interests him, tries to learn everything he can about it until, maybe years later, he has satisfied his curiosity on the subject and moves on the to next thing. It is actually a very good way of learning. Complete immersion. Eric says he remembers entire phases of his childhood devoted to space, snakes, sharks, cars, STAR WARS and girls. In that order pretty much. He claims to still be interested in the cars, STAR WARS girls, snakes and sharks, not so much. You can see why him being an academic is really a good job for him. The only toy he really remembers as holding his attention for long periods of time were LEGOS. He is, I would say, equally as excited about the LEGOS and STAR WARS as Otto is. They sit together for hours and build, build, build. We need more LEGOS just to keep up with what they are making.

Eric has been a bit crushed that I have not shared with you some of his better creations over the past few days. Luckily I can since he took pictures of them before Otto started playing with them.

Exhibit A: Tie-Fighter Notice the corner turning and dots on both sides. "that's a big deal" to quote eric.

Exhibit B: Slave 1 (is now the time where I can mention the fact that this represents the only time I ever knew a STAR WARS trivia question that eric didn't. What is the name of Boba Fett's ship? Slave 1. I mean, COME ON, who doesn't know that? :)
I also thought I would throw in some cool pictures that Otto and Eric set up with the toys. Here they are doing crazy flash blocking, red eye using "mood lighting"
And this is just too cute.
So there you go. A glimpse into the world of life with STAR WARS obsessed boys. Mette is fast on their heels though. Today she came running looking for me calling "where is my Padawan Ashoko". You would know from her calling me her Padawan that this makes her Anakin, of course. And you sure as Hell better call her the right name, or it gets messy.

Out we go

2011-02-21T20:27:00.005-05:00

Into the land of the white stuff. With any luck there may not be too many (if any!) more big snow falls this season so it seemed wrong not to take the thirty minutes to bundle the kids up in snow pants, boots, jackets, mittens and hats and get out there and eat some snow. Or play in it, whatever suits your fancy. Otto is getting pretty good at getting his gear on himself which is super awesome. He can put on his snow pants and his boots and he can do the cool lay your coat on the ground, stick in your arms and flip it over your head trick. As long as I am there to keep him on task and help him do it in the right order (snow pants BEFORE snow boots, etc...) he can get ready himself. I do the mittens as that is really hard to do yourself. Mette needs me to do all of it but providing I can catch her and aren't foolish enough to let go of her before she is geared up, she is pretty easy too. Then I just have to throw some boots and a jacket on and we are off. Do you have to pee yet? At this point one of us usually does.

Mette is old enough and big enough to get out in the snow and play this year, however with all of the snow gear it still seems a bit like she can't really walk. A light breeze would blow her over. As a result she does not LOVE it like Otto does. But I can't really blame her. Otto can now plow through anything all geared up.

Also, I know I am a bit biased, but seriously, is he not the handsomest kid ever?? WOW. He is going to break some hearts this boy. This mama better raise him right because I have the feeling he could and will do some serious damage.

Like I said, not entirely pleased with the whole operation.

Still very cute though.

Today was the first day we were outside in our own yard long enough to entertain the idea of a snowman. Usually we are out exploring. The snow was good snowman snow, but not awesome. I had hopes of a HUGE figure towering over the yard, but that was not in the cards today. I can't wait until the kids start reading Calvin and Hobbes so we can have some really good snowman inspiration. Until then, this will have to do.

I was putting the scarf and hat on with Otto and turned around to find Mette without a jacket or mittens. I guess they were getting in her way so she took them off. She was cold a minute later so she headed inside for a snack. Super attentive parent that I am, I gave her a snack and headed back out with the camera to Otto and the snowman.

Since she has a pink scarf she is obviously and girl snowman. Since she is a girl she is one of two people (in the world of Otto) Princess Leia or Ashoko Tano. I suppose this snowwoman had a royal presence as she is was named Princess Leia right way. Otto did a lot of posing with her and telling me stories about their time together.

Here he is holding her hand.

And this is just to remind you, me, anyone who is reading that spring will be back and Friday was not just a dream. It is and will be a reality.
Tomorrow I will be back with stories of why Mette is now going to sleep in jammies that are zippered in every direction and why we might consider putting them on backwards!

Off to watch Top Gear with my boy.

SPRING!!

2011-02-21T10:17:00.002-05:00

Friday it was 62 degrees here, by some accounts it was even closer to 70. It was glorious. After naptime the kids and I walked, all of us, without a stroller or carrying Mette, to the hardware store and Rachel's house to make and deliver keys. We were literally skipping down the sidewalks frolicking in the warm sunshine. Upon returning home the kids played outside while I worked on making dinner in the kitchen with the door open letting in the warm breezes and the squeals of delight as the children squirted each other with water bottles. It was glorious. Visions of afternoons playing outside and windows open filled my head. I swept the deck and thought about the garden we will be starting soon.

This is the view out of the kitchen window this morning:

Spring may be a little further off.

It is after all still February, but it stings a bit more on the heels of Friday.

I decided to embrace the coming season change by making new curtains for the kitchen.
They are so bright and cheery. It helps deal with the snow. Which is quite beautiful. I'll admit, reluctantly.
Today we are making homemade granola bars and eating marshmallows. Really, how can you not?

Sidetracked

2011-02-17T19:56:00.002-05:00

I had plans for today, there was sewing to work on, clothes to be washed and put away, food to cook, and buy for that matter, packages to mail, phone calls to make, in a word, LIFE. Most of that was pushed to the back burner for the day, for a very worthwhile reason.

A few weeks ago we learned that a dear friend and colleague of eric's was diagnosed with breast cancer. She and her family are currently living abroad but the diagnosis and plan of attack is brining them home sooner than planned. I am sure there will be a line of people who want to give all of them a HUGE hug. I know that is all I have wanted to do since learning the news. While they have been away they have rented out their house, common practice here in university town. Them coming home early makes for a bit of a pickle. The people who are now renting their house have become friends of ours as well, they even have a child in school with Otto. They are happy to move and give the house back, but a family of 5 with two dogs can't just go anywhere on a few days notice...

Enter our amazing town. They have been looking for a place for a while, and even are about to buy a house, but they need a place starting RIGHT NOW for about the next three months. Today was the day they needed a house. Many phone calls were made, discussions about how allergic people really are to well cleaned, post dog house we had and by lunch time today they had a house. My partner in crime Rachel and family have been generous enough to lend their house while they are away. I took the new family there this afternoon and it looks like it is going to be a great fit. Keys are being copied, logistics are being nailed down. It is done, children will be tucked into clean warm beds each night and life will continue to go on as seamlessly as it possibly could in this situation.

There are many things we give up living here. There are no great museums, or stores, or live music. The diversity is a joke and EVERYONE it seems goes to church, which is fine until you are someone who doesn't, or *gasp* Jewish or *double gasp* Muslim. The closest airport that functions is over an hour away and "functions" is a stretch. But, it is beautiful, the houses are amazing, the area provides wonderful local food and the community is fairytale-esque. People here will drop everything to help someone else. They are truly kind and thoughtful. This family coming home will not have to cook for months. It will all be taken care of. There have been massive emails all day today discussing airport pickups, who will be stocking the fridge, etc..

I am happy do without all the fancy big city advantages. Family and friends who in a moments notice are willing to go so are far more satisfying than any museum or restaurant.

Now we can all focus on the task at hand, and I quote one of the main rally leaders today

"help us tell cancer to FUCK OFF!"

Our little Peanut

2011-02-15T20:59:00.003-05:00

16% for height and 27% for weight, peanut status for sure.

Today was Mette's 2 yr. appointment. Because she is Mette it was all roses and lollipops and laughter. She clocked it at a whopping 24 lbs. Which is the first time she has tipped the scales higher than 20.6 at the dr.'s office, so that was huge. She stands a towering 33" high. Well, towering in her mind. Her head is a perfect 50%, but we knew that! Being as neither eric or I are giants of any measure the dr. said she looked to be right on target. When Mette entered the exam room she turned to me and said, about the nurse, "she wants to give me stickers". yeah, she has the gig down. Be sweet and cute and they give you stickers and lollipops. She started asking about the treat shortly thereafter. She was pulling out all the stops with "may I have a treat, please?". It was a quick answer to the "does she have 6 words?" that is part of the developmental questions you have to answer. She has six different ways of telling you she doesn't like what you have to say, thank you very much.

She also eats better than her big brother with a fork and spoon so check there.

She mastered stairs a long time ago, check.

Potty trained, check

Knows her colors, check

can scribble, check, circles, check

can point to (and tell you all about) her ears, eyes, mouth, nose, belly and feet

undress herself, check, sigh

put clothes back on, shows NO sign of interest in that!

It was a quick visit with a lot of "yup" coming from me. I am sure there were questions I should have been asking, but I can never preform in situations like that. Normally there are not shots at 2 years, but she was sick for her 18 month appt. so she got those two today. It was no big deal. They had Hello Kitty bandaids. Need I say more?

She did a fantastic job of charming up all the nurses and old ladies in the waiting room. That girls is trouble. She is so stinking cute and sweet, until things aren't going her way, then watch out!! Eric was always worried about her dating but he is starting to change his tune. The past few days she has been flexing her "I am 2" muscle quite a bit. She had a COMPLETE meltdown at dinner a few nights over what we think was the wrong drink being offered, but we aren't really sure. She had to be removed from the kitchen and stood in the dining room yelling "I screaming!" just in case we weren't sure. Eric thought perhaps we should just video tape it and when possible dates came by show then the video and casually mention, "hope you picked a good restaurant...". I think it might work very well.

I suppose I should be gushing about my BABY and how she is growing up so fast, but that just doesn't feel right. I love to hold and snuggle teeny tiny little creatures, don't get me wrong, but I really love little KIDS. The kind you can talk to, and believe in some magical world that you are reasoning with. Kids who tell you stories, and have opinions. Even if sometimes those opinions seem like they will take over your life. Right now Mette and Otto play together all the time. It is amazing. Having them so close in age is paying off big time right now. I am sure that won't always be the case so I am trying to be thankful for each day we have.

Besides, weighing a whopping 24 pounds, I can still sling her up on my hip like it is nothing, making her still seem like my little baby.

Mette's Birthday Monologue

2011-02-08T20:17:00.004-05:00

What follows is what I believe to be a good view into the inner workings of a sassy now two year old's mind.

Bitches, step back and no one gets hurt. I have been asking for these balloons for three months at the grocery store and I am NOT sharing.

(note: we bought the balloons as promised for her birthday but gave them to Otto to take upstairs to her in the morning and he got all the credit for giving her the balloons. Parenting FAIL)

Is it not the greatest thing you have ever seen!!! Look, they float in the as if suspended by magic.
Damn straight they are having breakfast with me!
I will even share my cereal with them. So there.
Oh boy, presents!!! I will tolerate sitting on Daddy's lap if he gives me presents!
uuuuhhhhh, (low guttural growl of pleasure) Teeny Tiny Hello Kitty!!!!!
(Otto, who has done an AMAZING job of watching Mette get all the presents and attention while waiting for his birthday three weeks away, did score some amazing STIG presents from friends in Australia. One of the gifts was a STIG encased in soap. He now is the cleanest almost four year old boy you have ever seen. He wants to get that STIG out so badly!)

Dr. Mette here to take listen to your lungs and give you 500 shots/day. If you are lucky I will also take your temperature. It is a special experience.

(Mette loves to smell my coffee every morning. She is totally interested in the ritual that is the morning Java. When I saw this wooden espresso machine, I knew it was perfect for her.)

JAVA, now I don't have to try and sneak mama's, i can just make my own.

(stopping in the middle of present mayhem to read a new book.)

(Ever since Nonna Jen's baby shower Mette has been asking for this little computer. It has been a huge hit ever since. Otto really wants to play with it as well, but somehow he has controlled himself and lets her play with it. The dance moves they have been doing to the music was worth the price alone!)

My puter! They really do listen to me. Now I can check my email and sing songs all day long!
We had a really great day at home, just the four of us on Sunday celebrating her birthday (which really was on Monday). There is of course a long post about how much she has grown and how crazy it is that she is two, but I am saving that for next week when we have her stats on how much she actually HAS grown after her dr. visit.

Rainbows

2011-02-06T13:14:00.001-05:00

As I sit here I am slumped on the couch with Mette while she watches Sesame Street in a post cake sugar coma. The espresso machine is chugging in the kitchen as eric makes me a cup of the only substance capable of helping me make it through the afternoon.

For the past few weeks leading up to this weekend Mette has been requesting a rainbow cake for her birthday. A rainbow cake sounded like a fun treat to make, so off in search of good saturated food gels i went. I found them! Organic, natural and local went out the window today. Well, mostly, the eggs were local organic, and the butter organic, but all of that pales in importance when you see these colors.

Cake batter divided for the four layers of the cake -above.

Pink in the pan, ready to be baked -below.

All four layers, stacked and ready for icing.

Mette requested sprinkles for the top and picked green, pink and purple edible flakes. She wanted black but I convinced her to stay with these three. I am all for black most of the time but this didn't seem like the right application. For a little extra "two-ness" I used a paper cut out of the number two to create sprinkle dimension.

Working hard on blowing out the candles.

Got it!

Cutting into the cake was the best part!

This pretty much sums up Mette's feeling on cake!

We were supposed to be celebrating with grandmom and grandpa but the roads between here and there are coated with a thick layer of ice so they were not able to join us. It of course would have been more festive with them here, but there is rumor they might come down tomorrow, which is really Mette's birthday so we will just have to keep celebrating!

More photos of the birthday girl to come.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mette's Ice Festival

2011-02-04T19:28:00.003-05:00

In special celebration for Mette's birthday weekend, the burg is holding an Ice Festival. Market Street is lined with small ice sculptures and the park downtown has three large sculptures. There will be the requisite pancake breakfast tomorrow followed by children's games and a polar bear plunge in the river tomorrow afternoon. We may or may not participate in all of tomorrow's activities, but we did go downtown today and check out all the ice sculptures. Otto touched each and every one of them, they are all cold. Just in case you were wondering. I didn't think to bring the camera, but managed, thanks to some great light, to get a few good shots of the kids with my phone.

Otto was really excited to watch them carving the big ice castle.

Cold hineys on the ice throne made for a quick but cute photo opp.
Tomorrow we are off to get provisions for the "rainbow cake" Mette is requesting. She is pretty darn excited about the big day coming up!

Wahoo!

2011-02-02T19:58:00.003-05:00

LONDON

Today we recieved the great news that this time next year we will be living in London. We will be there for the entire spring semester of 2012. The official reason we are going is for Eric to teach a group of students he takes for a study abroad program but really this is just an amazing opportunity to live in an exciting city on someone else's tab! I am pretty sure "preschool at the British National Museum" will knock the socks off what the burg has to offer. It will be sad to be far from our wonderful friends here, but we are very much looking forward to the new adventure.

I am totally psyched about London, but I will be honest, the fact that we will be SO close to Denmark is what really has me excited. I see a sumer cottage on the beach near Kobenhagen and a trip to the REAL Legoland with Otto in our future.

Let the google maps "street view London stalking" commence.

Empowerment

2011-02-01T19:43:00.004-05:00

Kitchen Sink (twice)

Master Bath Toilet

Guest Bath Toilet (after being Frankenstein'd to fix master bath just before bed)

Master Bath Sink

This is the list of plumbing problems (mainly drips) I have fixed in the past week. I will admit, there is a certain sense of satisfaction I get from fixing things around the house. I grew up never seeing a contractor and living in a series of historic homes always under construction or reconstruction. I learned a lot by watching. Enough to try some things on my own or to ask an endless stream of questions... depends on the project. That being said, I would be totally fine with not getting the pipe wrench out for a few days.

Still, I wouldn't give up living in our beautiful 1916 Colonial Revival in the heart of town for anything. Goodness knows I need something to keep my busy!

Blogland

2011-01-31T19:20:00.003-05:00

do you miss me??

maybe, maybe not. But I promise I will be back with more fun stuff soon. Things have been crazy here, in a good way. I will say, that while I do really love blogging, life always does and will come first. Lately, life has been front and center. I have been cleaning out closets and freecylin' and donating like crazy. If it isn't nailed down and I haven't used it in the past two days, gone. I am taking the quote "have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful", (William Morris) to heart. Unfortunately, useful must include eight million small toys and clothes, but trust me I have purged my fair share of them as well. Then, last week we installed (with the help of contractors) a new ceiling in our back bathroom and I painted it, again. It looks awesome, but now needs new curtains. Tack that on the list of stuff to make. I was doing good at digging out and getting somewhere I felt good about until I decided to take apart my sewing room, drag furniture up from the basement and down from the third floor (have I ever mentioned how much having a renewable pool of undergrads who will work for $20 and homemade cookies rocks!!!) and totally rearrange it. I now have a cutting table AND a sewing table, and new fabric storage. Yeah, it rocks. I will say that in the past few days things like the floors and the bits of the kitchen eric fails to notice to clean have suffered. But I am still on top of laundry and the rest I promise to catch up on soon. Then, let the sewing projects commence!!!!

Boba Fett...

2011-01-24T20:33:00.001-05:00

...Has landed in our house. Otto is super in to all things dress up, he has been for a long time. What i love best about his dress up games is how he takes regular toys, or objects and turns them into costumes. Hooded towels become Jedi robes, too small winter vest, Han Solo outfits (even better when you add the snow boots). For his birthday i have been toying with the idea of making him a Jedi cape, but I don't want to undermine his creativity. I had settled in the idea of making him some rocket boosters for when he is Bobo Fett and then he declared the backpack I made for him to take to school to be rocket boosters. I wasn't quick enough. While the backpack does make good rocket boosters i felt it could use a little more. With his permission I added flames. $2 worth of tulle later....

Making his best serious bounty hunter face.

- posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I don't do it on purpose

2011-01-24T19:54:00.001-05:00

Remember a few weeks ago when i mentioned we added additional heat to our third floor? Well, it couldn't have come at a better time. First we were stuck in the house for what seemed like weeks on end (really just a week or so, but it felt like more to me!) in a failed attempt to avoid the stomach bug. We held it a bay for a long time but eventually fell, as I knew we would.

Now that we have all recovered from the firm grasp of nausea and all that goes with it the temperatures have plunged to the negative numbers. Cold, even for a winter lover like myself. This morning it was a whopping 1 degree, at half past nine. I am all for taking the kids out in cold weather, with the decree that "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing" but even I couldn't muster the strength to get us out today. Just to prove how cold it is, you will see in the following photos that otto is actually wearing slippers. Otto, the kid who doesn't admit he is cold when he is trembling with blue lips. He has also taken to sitting on the heat vents under chairs like a cat. So, yeah, it is cold. So, Belinda and Rachel, with your sunny weather, while i miss you both dearly, you don't want to come back just yet!

What do you when it is too cold to go out and the small folk in your group are LITERALLY (did I mention I can't wait for preschool tomorrow?) bouncing off the walls?

You crank up that new heat on the third floor and have a dance party. Today we were kicking it to Duran Duran, Girls on Film. When otto asked who they were I told him they were a band from the 80's. To which he replied, "what is the 80's?". When i told it was a time period twenty years ago he gasped and said "oh my gosh, that was before the dinosaurs!!!". No, but you are making it feel that way.

***Disclaimer**** I would like to say, that while i seem to do this all the time, with every member of our family, i did not mean to dress the kids in matching jammies. However, once i realized what I did, i knew i had to bust out the camera.

Rad moves:

This also qualifies for the promised third floor rubber playroom photo series i promised. Complete with chalkboard wall as seen here.

While the third floor was lovely escape today, i am very much looking forward to school tomorrow, playgroup on Wednesday and getting out of the house in general.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A little video action

2011-01-18T19:57:00.002-05:00

Just before eric went down with the stomach flu he managed to get this little number cut together. Enjoy!

Me too

2011-01-17T22:10:00.001-05:00

After a month long winter break otto goes back to preschool tomorrow. His teacher sent a postcard saying they would be studying animals and he was to bring in a favorite stuffed animal. We have been talking about who would make the trip to school for the big day. At first Baby Alligator was the chosen one, but after careful consideration it was decided that he is too special to take to school and should instead stay home and guard Otto's bed with Blankie. Otto has a small stuffed bat who became very popular after there was a real live bat flying around in the living room this past fall. He seemed to be the strong second choice.

Today i was getting things ready for school tomorrow and i asked Otto if he still was sure he wanted to take Batty. He agreed that was his first choice. He seems very excited to get back to school and see his friends which is really great. We haven't been out of the house much lately in our failed attempt to not get sick and the kids have turned into quite the home bodies. It was pretty hard to get them out the door to CVS this morning. I was a bit worried otto wouldn't be excited about school and would resist going in the morning.

What I wasn't anticipating was when i asked Otto if he was still set on taking Batty, Mette responded with "I am going to school too and I am taking baby crocodile." Not only is she not going to school tomorrow but we don't have a baby crocodile. I think we are going to have to have a girls date at Cherry Alley for hot chocolate after we drop off Otto tomorrow if i am ever going to get her out of there. She usually wants to stay, I can't blame her, it does look like a lot of fun, but she really is set on the fact that tomorrow she is going too.

****And just for a good family update, eric fell hard as victim to the stomach flu tonight and from the sounds of it, I am RRALLY hoping this passes me by!*****

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I knew we were related when she kicked me in the head

2011-01-16T13:46:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year. Time for colds, runny noses, coughs and the dreaded stomach flu. Since having children, well since Otto was almost 2, we have had a bad case of the throw-ups every winter. This year I am very thankful that it didn't cause me to go into labor early (or that i am not pregnant for that matter) and that we didn't wake up in the middle of the night before Christmas to sick children and mommy.

Last night around 10, just as we were thinking of heading up to bed, over the monitor i heard the dreaded strange cough and whimper combo that means a child has thrown up. I went up to check on Mette and the smell as i entered the room confirmed my fears. I carefully removed Mette from her bed and carried her to the bathroom and drew a bath. Eric came up and started stripping sheets and starting what we knew would be a night of laundry.

Mette was beyond sweet and charming. She cheerfully told me how good the bath felt and how much she loved me. After a goos scrub and some potty trips we had her back in clean jammies and ready for bed again. Always trying to learn from the past we thought it would be smart to prepare for otto to get sick soon since when one goes, usually the other is just behind. It was decided that Mette and i would sleep in our bed covered in towels and eric would pull out the sleeper sofa in the library and get that ready with towels and wait for Otto. Mette was wide awake at this point so we brought up a laptop and she and i had a little movie hour in our bed. I finally convinced her to go to sleep 30 minutes later. It was then, laying in my bed about to fall off the side because mette insists on sleeping sideways and kicking you in the head that i started to reflect on the situation. While no one likes being sick, stomach flus are in the grand scheme of things not that bad. Especially since at this point eric and i have not gotten sick (though i am sure it is coming), not being sick while taking care of kids makes it so much easier. It is also nice to know that Mette prefers sleeping in beds the proper way, sideways taking up as much room as possible.

Sure enough, two hours later Otto was sick. Luckily we were prepared. I don't really think any of us got any sleep last night but we are making up for that by spending today in bed watching movies and snuggling.

The biggest bummer about all of this, we had a babysitter lined up for tonight and were planning on a super fun feast with good friends. We will reschedule, but i was really looking forward to it.

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Less Talky, More Showy

2011-01-14T20:19:00.003-05:00

In response to eric's comment about all the chatter and no photos, I will provide only limited captions here. What follows are some highlights of 2011, so far.

Mette found a pair of flip flops she got a gift and insisted on wearing them around the house. The photo is blurry because she DOES NOT STOP MOVING EVER some days. She is also sporting her outfit of choice, undershirt and undies. It works well with the flip flops, very summery. The only draw back being our house is a very chilly 66 degrees, which does not seem to phase her at all.

I could do an entire post of photos taken at Otto's request of him posing with Star Wars toys.
Before we headed off to Philly last weekend I deep cleaned the house so it would be nice when we returned. This included clean sheets for everyone's beds. The kids hear me putting clean sheets on our bed and they come out of the wood work to roll around on the bed and mess it up.

The sheets by the way were a Christmas gift from me to eric. He is always cold so I broke down and got flannel sheets (I was worried I would be too hot) for the bed. They are actually really great. I made the duvet cover out of a flat sheet from another set and the flat sheet from this set. It is white cotton on one side and the snowflake flannel on the other. It is very cute and a simple winter pattern.

While wondering the Alice in Wonderland exhibit at the Please Touch Museum Otto was on the look out for Alice.
He was so excited when he found her. He wanted to stay and hang out with her for a while.
Otto REALLY, REALLY loves dress-up. He goes through about 6 outfit changes everyday as he imagines he is someone else. Vests for Han Solo, cape (hooded towel) for Jedi Master, cooking apron for Darth Vader, drivers suit for race car driver or astronaut and countless others. I spend the majority of my daily mental power remembering who he and Mette are at any given moment.

He was the only kid there who was putting on the gear and he had it all on, the shirt, the goggles, the gloves and the tool belt.
Mette found a small space with a bed and needed to pretend to be sleeping and waking up for a long time!
Getting Otto out of this outfit was much harder than getting him in it.

Love.

The very serious scientist.

Mette had a great time at the baby shower but the highlight was likely the chocolate covered oreo I let her eat in a total bribe to keep her in the highchair longer.
This year is off to a good start.

Snow Day

2011-01-14T19:31:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been seriously cleaning and organizing this week. On Wednesday while a beautiful coating of snow fell outside I tackled the kitchen.

The espresso machine found a new home around the corner making way for a new vegetable area.

I even painted the inside of the pantry. That by the way represents the bare minimum of cereal selection around here. It gets pretty dicey when the selection gets low.

I moved the rest of my cook books to the library making room for jars of dry goods and bowl displays.

Aaahh, this makes me feel so good.

The espresso machine in it's new home.

In addition to the kitchen i have tackled the third floor playroom. We had electric baseboard heat installed up there on Monday and it has made a huge difference in how much we use the room already. Pictures to follow soon.

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Peer Pressure

2011-01-13T19:42:00.004-05:00

Is it really peer pressure when I am the peer? I guess not. Still, I said I would have more to offer you tonight, so here I am, computer in hand.

To start, all the photos are uploaded and edited on the iPad which has run out of battery. Yes, I could run it off an USB cable from the laptop but that require getting up, and to be honest, I don't feel like doing that. So there will be pictures tomorrow.

How about a recap to start the new year?

First, Grandma Bah came and stayed with us for the weekend of New Year's Eve. It was a cold weekend for her, but a winter heat wave for us with temps in the 40's. There is precisely nothing open in the burg for the holiday weekend so we did a lot of playing in the house and enjoyed some home cooked meals. I made Choucroute Garne for New Years day and it was amazing. It is a tradition in our family to eat this Alsatian version of pork and sauerkraut for good luck but this was the first time I had made it without my mom. It was delicious. Even the cats ate it!! Nurkel was climbing up on the table for leftovers the next day. Grandma Bah seemed to have a nice time visiting with the kids and they got to open even more presents which is always popular.

Later that week eric, the kids and I headed up to the cabin to visit with Uncle Racer who was home for a week. It was great to see him. It is always too long between his visits. I am really hoping we get a chance to hang out with him in Chicago this summer when we are there. Otto got to see the great giver of Star Wars toys and Uncle Racer even showed Otto how the X-Wing makes noise. Otto had an amazing time playing in the snow with Grandpa and had to be lured in with the promise of hot chocolate and marshmallows. It was a short and action packed visit filled with good food and lounging by the wood stove. Pretty much what every winter cabin visit should be!

We had a quick overnight at home where I madly cleaned the house before we headed out again, this time to Philly. We decided that a good way for the kids to run off some steam before heading to Grandpa Chris and Nona Jen's house would be to go to the ever popular Please Touch Museum. It worked out great. The kids had a great time and really ran off some steam. The only part that was hard was getting Otto to stop playing long enough to eat. He insisted he WAS NOT hungry and then proceeded to inhale a hot dog. Ah, three year olds.... While visiting we took advantage of the food offerings of the city and feasted on Vietnamese food the first night and real Philly Cheesesteaks the second. I have been craving a cheesesteak for so long, it was amazingly good. There are many places here that serve them, but no one makes them right. This was perfect. On Sunday while visiting we went to the baby shower for Jen and soon to be here baby Harrison. It was a big fun introduction to Jen's extended family. There were mimosas and bloody marys for mommies and french toast and chocolate covered oreos for kids. Everyone was happy. Mette also managed to score a chance to play with a small pretend laptop that belonged to one of the little girls at the party. She has since then told me every day that she wants a computer for her birthday. Amazon is taking care of that and sending one our way.

Eric also asked her who she would like to have come to her birthday and she replied "santa". Smart little girl that one!!

Before heading back to the burg we made a stop at the LEGO store to see what goodies could be found for Otto. They had tv's playing LEGO movies and he was really scared they were going to start showing Star Wars things that he would be scared of so we didn't stay in the store for long. It worked out well though because I took him and Mette two doors down (we were in a mall) to the Hello Kitty store and eric went in and stocked up with guys for his birthday. Otto was so cute in the Hello Kitty store. He kept picking things up and showing them to Mette saying, "oh, Mette, look this has Hello Kitty on it!!!". Seriously, I don't think there was a single thing in the store that didn't have Hello Kitty on it, but he was going to help her find it all. We did score a really cute backpack that is just Mette's size so she can go to school just like Otto.

We managed to get the kids fed and in the car just after noon which meant that Mette took her first nap in three days on the ride home!!! She was starting to get a bit manic in the evenings with the thrown off sleep schedule and this was key. Every day we were in Philly the kids were so excited they got up at 5:30. Since we were all sleeping in one room with Mette and I on one bed and the boys on the other, when they are up, we are all up. That combined with no naps was making us all tired. It was worth leaving a little early to have her sleep on the way home.

All of this excitement combined with some quality time needed to play with the new toys from Christmas has kept us more than busy. There have also been stomach flus and sinus infections circling our group of friends so spending a few days just us in the house has worked out to be just fine.

I have been cleaning and reorganizing like a crazy person. The kitchen and third floor have been tackled and closets and dressing rooms are next. Watch out!

I will be back with more pictures and funny stories soon.

***note*** eric just looked over my shoulder at this post and said "shit, baby, that is epic. Throw the readers a bone and put a picture in." I had to explain that the laptop doesn't have any pictures and the iPad is dead. Sorry again.

Holidays

2011-01-12T22:35:00.001-05:00

The great thing about the holidays is that while Eric still goes to work everyday (though I have to say he was home for almost a week, home sick, but still home) the biggest difference is he doesn't work in the evenings. We actually do things like talk and watch movies together! It is crazy! Because of this my blogging suffers. I won't lie, while I love writing here, the chance to hang out with my husband pretty much trumps all.

Have no fear though. He is insanely busy with meetings of great importance right now and any day now he is going to start on getting his classes ready. Who knows, maybe he will even order some books. I really should be sharing with you fun stories of family visits and LEGO adventures but I have been too busy reading my New York Times Cookbook.

I will be back tomorrow with good stories and photos to back them up. Our holiday break is a out to end.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Time makes you bolder edited

2011-01-04T20:07:00.004-05:00

Children get older. I'm getting older too.

Yes, I'm getting older too

I know, Fleetwood Mac. See, I really am getting older, and cornier.

Was that possible.

Guess the answer is yes.

In the last few months, and really in the last few weeks, days even, it has hit me, where and who I now am. I don't really think it has to do with the fact that I am turning 30 in a mere 9 weeks (but who is counting?) though I am sure on some level it does. 30 as a number and age doesn't really scare me. Not being the youngest anymore though really seems to get under my skin.

I have always been the youngest. In college most of my close friends were older. Which sucked because they could drink legally. Truth be told though, I don't think I was ever carded until I was 22 or 23, and it wasn't because that was my first time out drinking.... I was always the baby. In age, but I always felt like if I wanted to hang out with people who I liked, they had to be older and smarter. Especially boys! Case in point, my husband is 12 years older than me and I believe he needed those extra years. Granted, he is one of the smartest people I know, provided you don't measure intelligence on the ability to find things, remember things that he is not interested in (like how the car seat is installed) or notice if I painted an entire room while he was at work, but in pretty much all other area, he has it covered. That has a lot to do with why I like him so much. Well that, and I really think he is cute!

Somehow this need to be around people who had their act together, were interesting and frankly I just enjoyed more has meant that I have always had friends who ranged from at least a few years older to 5, 1o or 2o years older. And I was fine with how that worked.

Then a few months ago I started reading the bios on some of the blogs I really enjoy. These are mostly design blogs written by hip women whose lives I will admit to envying. They have great taste, live in cool places, know cool people, go to cool parties, wear great one of a kind clothes, and are of course older than me.

Except, they aren't. Some of them are 5!! years younger than me!! When the hell did this happen?? I realize, I have been busy making babies and I think that is very important but still!! This kind of shook me up a bit.

Then a few weeks ago I was for a few drinks with a good friend (who is of course older ;) ) and two (TWO!!) of her friends who we were hanging out with who had big jobs and cool lives, were 3 and 5 years my junior!! Did I mention that I am always the baby! UGH! Not cool.

The reality is that I don't really care whether or not I am older or younger than someone, if they are cool, I will like them. It is more a sudden shift in the greater forces that I wasn't expecting and came at what can only be described as a fragile moment in my birthday process.

To top it all off, in a few short weeks I will be the proud mother of a four year old and a two year old which is beyond crazy.

And, this past October marked the fourth anniversary of when we sold the restaurant. Which means, not only am I old enough to have HAD and SOLD a restaurant, but I did it all more than four years ago.

I know, whine, whine, whine. I am 29, what do I have to complain about?? Right! I know. I will stop now. It's is just a lot to deal with at once.

Did I mention how much my knee hurts.....

****** It has been brought to my attention that I really shouldn't feel old at all. After all, I am going to have a new baby brother in just a few short weeks!! So there age! HAH! For the record I am hoping that he is born on either on Otto's birthday or mine (both within the window of possibility) because my dad is going to need as much help as he can remembering stuff :)!!!*******

She would be so cool in middle school

2011-01-01T19:44:00.001-05:00

Tonight in the bath:

Otto: Mette, what kind of creature is Yoda?

Mette: uhmmmm, a Jedi Master.

Keep in mind she will not be two until Feb..

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Sometimes ignoring them is the best thing you can do

2010-12-31T14:16:00.002-05:00

Otto stopped napping a few months ago. I have mentioned before how we are working on "quiet time" while Mette naps. It doesn't always go like planned, but more and more it is working. I have found that a few sweet nods of "if you can play for a while by yourself, I will work with you on something when I am done with my work" does wonders. After a little he is so busy with his own imagination he stops asking me for input. Today he is making the round off all his new toys while singing Christmas carols. A little coloring with Mette's new markers, a little rescuing Hello Kitty from the stormtroopers and some LEGO building have kept him pretty busy.

He just needs a little time to enter into his own world. Watching him play and listening to the stories he tells is such a wonderful background for my own time to get things done.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and safe holiday.

The big day

2010-12-27T14:35:00.001-05:00

Eric has commented, and i agree with him, that most of these do not need words. There will be much thoughtful stories later when children are sleeping, for now, enjoy the show....

digging in....

Some of the best $5 I ever spent is in her hand right there

Hello Kitty house!

Happiness is Hello Kitty chapstick, a Hello Kitty purse and a light saber.

Battling through the carnage.

Rudolf, note the red nose, styling in his new jammies.

Have I mentioned how awesome the blocks are?

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Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T20:51:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was quite an exciting day around here. From the moment the kids woke up and had the last piece of advent chocolate with breakfast the started asking when grandmom and grandpa would be here for the feast and presents. It was a LONG wait until 2, but somehow they managed.

I will admit to letting them watch some tv to help pass the time. We might have all gone crazy otherwise!

When finally the backdoor opened announcing their arrival, both kids took off like a flash.

Since Mette was up from her nap there was no need to hide presents and it was decided grandpa would bring the car around front to make unloading easier. The kids had their noses pressed to the window waiting for him to park.

Since they had been waiting as patiently as a three year and one year old can all day, we decided to open presents right away. Otto scored some awesome 6" STAR WARS guys which have been a huge hit.

Grandpa also made them a ton more blocks to go with the ones they already have which were actually uncle Racer and I's when we were little. He also made a big wagon to hold all of them that looks nice parked downstairs which I am very grateful for and the kids think makes an awesome ride. The blocks were put to use right away making cities and buildings for Luke and pals.

Mette's big gift was from grandmom, grandpa, eric and I. She got a big wooden dollhouse. It took has a custom stand with castors but I have the wheels locked and would prefer they didn't figure out that it can move. :)

It also makes a great seat for eating cookies, bonus.

After presents we feasted on the traditional English dinner of standing rib roast, yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and roasted veggies. There was an amazing chocolate pie that my mom made for dessert along with a cranberry and pomegranate sorbet that I made. The whole meal was wonderful and honestly, quite simple. The kids were happy to run around and play with their new toys which allowed us to sit and veg for a while after dinner which was quite lovely. We eventually cleaned up and packed them into bed.

Once they were off to slumber land we got to play Santa. I remember being so excited for Christmas morning as a kid and i will say, i think i was equally excited last night. This was really the first year they got what was going on and it was really a lot of fun to be a part of all their excitement.

Christmas morning was a big hit and I have lots more photos to share but right now my bed with it's clean new sheets and a good book are calling me.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, or just a peaceful winter day. Everyone here is tuckered out and ready for bed.

See you tomorrow....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Good reads

2010-12-22T22:36:00.001-05:00

I thought i would point out two new blogs on my sidebar.

The first, jennanddave to be honest I thought this was already there. Jenn's writing is laugh out load funny and always a good read.

The second is the Bergin Piggott family stories. This is the story of a good friend here in the burg who is home (for her) in Australia for the next six months. If nothing else you should read her story of flying there with her three kids by herself. Yes, you read that right. But if anyone could, Belinda could.

Thought you might like a little light reading while you are home for the holidays.

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Santa's elves

2010-12-22T22:12:00.001-05:00

I am really getting excited for the kids and Christmas. Tonight Eric and I wrapped all the presents and even gathered everything for the stockings. We were both commenting on how much fun it is going to be seeing them on Christmas morning.

This is the first year I ever got around to wrapping presents earlier than the night before they were to be given and i have say, it feels really good to have that done. That being said there is still a ton to do around here tomorrow. In order to finish all of the holiday crafting I was doing I gave up cleaning the house well over a week ago and it shows. There are dust kutzels blowing like tumbles weeds down all the hallways and everything could use a good scrubbing. Guess what we will be doing tomorrow.

There are also the last minute errands to run and a roast to be picked up. We also can't forget to make cookies!! We managed to eat all of the cut out cookies we made earlier and we need to make more if there are going to be any to leave for Santa. Eric is actually staying home from work tomorrow and the plan is to divide and conquer.

Even with all the cleaning and cooking to do, I am still enjoying the very festive atmosphere this year. Tonight after dinner we got in the car, stopped at dunkin donuts for a treat and drove around and looked at Christmas lights. It was a blast.

I hope you are a enjoying the holiday lead up, I be back with loads of pictures and tales of joy.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The First Chop

2010-12-19T09:42:00.001-05:00

The reason we needed to cut mette's hair for the first time....

No matter what i do, she always has hair in here face. It falls out of pigtails and she won't tolerate clips for more than a minute or two.

So tonight after dinner while she was eating a bowl of peaches i got out the spray bottle and went to work.

She was mildly interested in what was going on but as long as i didn't interfere with the eating of the peaches, she was fine.

There was no squirming, no tears, it was amazing.

I even got the bangs in without drama. I went a bit short with them so they don't need to be trimmed next week. I evened up the back a fair amount because while you're there and it is going so well, you might as well go for it.

All of that good behavior was rewarded with some mini M&M's.

Showing off her freshly washed new pixie cut.

The little bit of curl in her hair makes it so forgiving.

We waited until she was almost two to cut her hair for the first time, if only that kept her smaller longer. I can't even go down the "my baby is getting so big" road, because i am not ready for that. She is still my baby. Right?

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She Bangs

2010-12-17T07:58:00.003-05:00

Help Needed.

The time has come to address the mop that is Mette's hair. It is always in her eyes which I feel bad about and if I pull it back half the time she takes it out right away. Plus, it is now hat season and pigtails and hats don't really mix. My long term goal is for her to have long hair because that seems easier to deal with but it think we need some shaping and while I am not a huge bang fan, I think she needs bangs.

What do you think??? It should be said that I am the hair stylist in the house. I cut eric and Otto's hair along with my mom's and lately I have even started cutting my own hair. Cutting their hair and even trimming my own hair is really easy. Cutting bangs in Mette's hair and shaping the rest will be a new challenge.

I am sure though that no matter how much she screams it can't be worse than cutting Otto's hair. I am grounded enough to know that it might be AS bad, but I have seen Mette loose it and I know while it may be tough, Otto still has her beat in the "freak out" ability. My hunch though is the required hair cutting lollipop will go a LONG way with her and I won't have too much of a problem.

That being said, if you have experience with this sort of thing, please send me your advice. I am looking for all the help I can get.