Ugh...Monday

I woke up at 4:30am this morning and couldn't really get back to sleep. I got up at 5:50am to go to the gym and came home about 7:15am. "Good morning!" I shout to everyone eating breakfast in the kitchen. No response. It's Monday. Everyone has a bad case of the tired grumps. But, it's 7:48am now, and Nolan is off to school and Thomas will be soon. Once everyone is where they are supposed to be, the grumps should vanish, I hope.

We had a nice weekend. Saturday, both boys had their first baseball games. They both did great. I thought Thomas would be unsure about it and shy, but I was wrong. He wasn't sure at first, but he really got into once he decided it was okay. He has a really good arm. Nolan's team seems really on the ball too. Nolan is really working on his swing and keeps getting better at it. Sunday, we didn't do much of anything and it was great. We all hung out at home, did various little projects and just enjoyed each other's company. I'm amazed at how much older the boys seem.

This week, we have baseball pictures to take, PTO meetings, baseball games and practices. I start my second class on Thursday, Sacramental Theology. I'm supposed to have read 6 chapters by then, but I'm having trouble getting the book. Hopefully I'll have it by Tuesday so I can at least read some. And then my folks come Friday and our friends, the Reeds (Nolan's godparents), come Saturday to celebrate Nolan's First Communion. Talk about growing up! Can't wait to see everyone-

April 23rd

Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you're having an extra special day. We'll call you tonight.

Yesterday Thomas had his 5 year old check up. He's very healthy and was very brave with the 2 shots he got. Of course, he was really into the drama of it and limped out of the doctor's office, saying he couldn't walk anymore because of them! He is 35 pounds and 39 1/2 inches. So tiny! He is in the 10th percentile for weight (meaning only 10% of children his age are lighter than him) and 4th percentile for height! So he's really short! But that's not comparing him with just other Asian kids. I think the percentiles would be different then. He is proportional and growing in his own way, so it's just who he is--short and lean. We celebrated afterwards by going to ToysrUs to spend the money Aunt Kimmy and Uncle John sent him for his birthday. He bought 2 HotWheels Crashers. Today he goes to preschool and plays at his friend Leo's house afterward.

I work at the church today and then have some errands to run. Nolan wants to try to learn tennis after school today, so we're going to the park (if it doesn't rain) to figure it out. I have no idea how to play either, other than hitting a ball over a net, so it should be interesting!

Ahhh...Solitude

Chris just brought Thomas to preschool, and I am alone in a quiet house--heaven! Don't get me wrong, I love it when we're all together. But it is SO LOUD when we are all here! And men are messy. So I need to get my butt in gear and do some serious cleaning. But just a few thoughts-

We finished out our spring break by seeing a lot of friends and playing outside in the beautiful weather. We've had a couple baseball practices, and we'll have a couple more this week before our first games on Saturday. I've gotten all of our summer clothes out and put away the sweaters and corduroys. I hope I'm not jinxing it! I found Nolan and I were lacking in a lot of clothes, so I went on a shopping spree Saturday and had fun spending money we don't have (Please hurry rebate check!). We are so excited to be wearing shorts and thinking about summer.

This week, besides baseball practices, Thomas has his 5 year old check up and Mom has a birthday. Nolan's first communion is the following weekend, so I have some planning to do with that. We also hope to start some gardening and plant some peas.
The dust bunnies are calling me and I only have 2 hours to get Thomas, so I have to fly-

Burlington Photos

Here's a slide show of our trip to Burlington...

Birthdays and Burlington

We are finally done with birthday celebrations and our Burlington trip, so I can fill you in on the last week.

Thursday, Thomas' actual birthday, went just as he planned. He did have Reese's Puffs, watch TV, go to McDonald's with Leo and have a great party with his cousins and Aunt Mary Ellen. We are definately in Webkinz mania here. He has 9 Webkinz altogether now. He is a happy camper about that.

On Friday, it was early dismissal day for Nolan. I had both boys get their portraits done at Sears. Okay, this was not so much fun. But in the end, they both took great pictures. What can I say, I have 2 great looking boys!

Saturday was CRAZY! Both boys had swim lessons in the morning, and then there was a carnival at the YMCA. Chris took them to that so I could go to the bank and get ready for the kids party. I wasn't quite ready when 1 kid showed up 15 minutes early (note to self--don't invite him next year! :) )! It was fine. They all started showing up and we began our craft of gluing Scooby Snacks to wooden picture frames (It was a Scooby Doo party). After that, Chris played games with them while I made lunch. They ate, played more games, had cake and opened presents. The party was only 1 1/2 hours and it was the perfect amount of time. My favorite game was the Mummy Game, which consisted of the kids wrapping each other in toilet paper. It was just a nice, homespun party. The only down side was Nolan had a hard time letting Thomas get so much attention, and Thomas was overloaded on too much attention. So I don't really know how much my own kids actually liked it, but everyone that came seemed to like it. I was a little miffed to have done so much work when I really don't know how well Thomas enjoyed it. But maybe he will in retrospect, and really, shame on me for not being a cheerful giver. Anyway, Thomas is now 5 and absolutely loves it. Right after the party, Chris took poor Chester to the kennel, took Nolan to baseball practice and then we all went to church. Whew! After quickly cleaning up the party and packing, we slept happily and woke up early to head for Burlington.

We had a great time in Burlington. It's probably not the most popular spring break destination. For one thing, it was COLD! It was sleeting and snowing as we entered Vermont. The directions we had took us through the middle of nowhere and up a twisty mountain--we had no idea where we were headed for a little while. Then we saw Mad River Glen ski area and realized yes, we were on top of a mountain in the middle of somewhere. We went straight to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory and said good-bye to healthy eating for the rest of the trip. For my cone, I got a new flavor--Cinnamon Buns. MMMMM! Then we headed for the hotel and the pool there. Burger King for supper was a hit--a huge play area and Spongebob toys--what a treat.

The next day the boys woke up at 5:53am. Ugh. So we wasted time until 10am when the Echo Aquarium and Museum opened. It's a cool place, although not as much aquarium as I hoped and a little too much science that was above the kids' heads. But they liked the turtles and frogs. There was a cool bloodsucker area. There was a seat with a blow up tick attached to it. When you sat on the seat, the tick blew up to simulate it drinking the victim's blood. What will they think up next? We got good pics of that. After 2 hours, the kids were sick of the museum, thus began our quest for buying souvenirs. The boys were each given money that they could buy whatever they wanted. I was hoping for something with a Vermont theme. But of course, they want Webkinz! After 2 malls, they found the Webkinz album and trading cards they wanted. We ate at Pizzeria Uno for supper and called it a day.

Today was our last day. Sleeping went a little better, except for Chris. We woke at 7:10am which is actually sleeping in for us. We headed to Lake Champlain Chocolates for a factory tour. This was clearly the highlight of the trip for me. It is the best chocolate I have ever had, bar none. There is nothing like eating chocolate at 9am. After that tour, we moved on to the Vermont Teddy Bear Company Factory tour. By now, I'm realizing this is the most educational vacation ever. Next year, we'll have to go someplace more action-packed and no brain activity. But the kids liked the teddy bear factory the most, I think. The tour guide seemed to get a kick out of Thomas and his little antics. We decided to forego our directions home and took the ferry back. It seemed to go a lot quicker and it was beautiful. The whole High Peaks region in the distance with Lake Champlain in the front. No sign of Champy, the lake monster.

Thomas fell asleep in the car on the way home--a peaceful end to a fun family trip (This would be the only time Thomas stopped talking the whole trip!). We couldn't wait to see Chester, who is happily sleeping on the couch now.

So Chris goes back to work tomorrow and we will enjoy the rest of our spring break at home, seeing friends and playing with all of Thomas' new toys.

Whew! We are birthday'd out!

A few hours ago, Nolan asked me why it wasn't dark outside yet! We are all exhausted and pooped out from partying. I am in the middle of packing for our Burlington trip so I can't write for long. But I just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful gifts. Thomas had a great time turning 5. And mom and dad never want to do another birthday party again!!! Well, give me a week and I'll think about it.

Tomorrow's the day!

Thomas cannot contain himself. He has the whole day figured out. When he wakes up, he gets to have Reese's Puffs for breakfast (They get to pick whatever they want for breakfast on their birthday, even if it's chocolate.). Then he can watch TV which he usually doeesn't get to do in the morning. That's good for me because I have to get supper ready for that night. At 11:30am we pick up his best friend Leo and go to this cool McDonald's Play Place in Clifton Park. Chris comes home from work early and then all of Chris' family comes over for dinner. This is especially exciting because he adores his cousins AND his Aunt Mary Ellen (or Aunt Mississippi, as he calls her) will be here from Kentucky. So it will be a big day for him.

Yesterday was a big day too. He got to practice riding on the bus. His future class met at the library and watched a bus safety video. Then we pile into thebus. He wasn't sure about getting on without mom, but then he got sucked on with the rest of the kids and was okay. I rode the bus too but I was in the back with the other moms. Then the bus drove around to where everyone's house was. When we got close to our house, Thomas yelled, "That's my house! It's right there!". So the busdriver stopped and I was glad I raked the lawn the day before. I think Thomas liked it and is happy to be turning 5.

Nolan is not quite as happy about it. They are fighting like cats and dogs lately. They usually play so great together but not lately. I guess they are getting older or it's a phase. Maybe Nolan doesn't like the attention of Thomas' birthday. Whatever it is, it's exhausting! I try to ignore most of it, but it takes effort to stay out of it! And when it gets physical, then I have to get in there. The other day Thomas took the basketball away from Nolan and wouldn't give it back. So Nolan decides to rip it out of his hands, which causes Thomas to fall and clock his head on the pavement. They both screwed up in that scenario, so I made them apologize, no blood loss so they went back to playing. Good times.

So wish me luck getting ready for party #1. I have to figure out how to make a cake look like the Mystery Machine today.

Early April Activities

Here are some photos from our busy April so far...Nolan and his basketball coach at their basketball pizza party, Nolan receiving his Bear badge at the Blue & Gold Dinner and Thomas and I at the dinner. As you can see, Thomas is anxious to be a Cub Scout too. He already knows the salute!

We're a Bear Cub Family...

I cannot wait for spring break! Even though it will be more work with the kids home all day, we won't have a list of things to do and places to go. Yes, I know. We're off to Burlington for half of it. But Chris will be there and it's a different place. I can handle the sibling rivalry and getting out of the door in new surroundings. I might need a glass of wine or two.

Chris has been up until 2am most nights this past week, getting the video ready for Nolan's class presentation and then another one for the Blue and Gold Dinner for Cub Scouts. He's been stressed and tired, but they came out great. Friday night I went to get groceries because it was getting to look like Ol' Mother Hubbard's cupboards over here (I did buy Chester a bone). Saturday, Nolan had his first Communion retreat. I was excited about it because I was in charge of the bread making station and finally, it was something Nolan and I could do together. Having 2 boys, sometimes I feel left out when it comes to activities. Chris can be the den leader or the coach but I cramp Nolan's style if I am. So church I can handle. Nolan did not share my enthusiasm. He had a rough start because he wanted no part in making bread. I'm trying to show the kids about how to knead and why we eat bread in church and Nolan is stomping his feet and sighing heavily. Ugh! We moved on to a scavenger hunt in the church and things improved. When it came time to practice, he wouldn't have any part of drinking the wine. We'll see if he does it on the big day.

I spent Saturday afternoon shopping while Chris held down the fort and Nolan had a friend over. That night, Chris went to a reception with the communications department from SUNY Plattsburgh. He said it was fun and he liked seeing some old friends. We slept in Sunday and went to a later mass. Nolan was off to another friend's house. Last night was the Blue and Gold Dinner. It was at the Hibernian Hall and it was really nice and fun. The kids sat at their own table and the parents sat at another. Thomas thought that was the best thing ever, sitting with all the big kids while they laughed at his every move. He was in heaven. The food was good and all the kids did skits--it was cute. Then Nolan walked across the little bridge and went from Wolf Cub to Bear Cub. He was, again, really proud of himself and all of us were too. Chris handed out the awards with Thomas' help. Cub Scouts seems to be a real family commitment for us, and it's fun. We all went home and happily went to sleep.

This week will be filled with getting ready for Thomas' birthday. 3 more days! And tomorrow, Thomas gets to practice riding the bus for kindergarten in the fall. They are just getting so big so fast!

Okay, 7 days now!

Thomas wakes up and does the countdown first thing. He's just a little excited about his birthday! I hope he doesn't work himself up too much before the day gets here. I sat down yesterday and came up with 10 games to play. I'm hoping the weather is nice and we can play them outside. Otherwise, we can play shortened versions of them in the basement. We're having cheesy quesadillas, strawberries and grapes. Cupcakes and ice cream for dessert. I'm not sure the decorations yet. But everything is Scooby Doo. I have to go shopping tomorrow and go crazy in the party store.
So the good news is Chris finally has a contract where he works! This is such a relief. After so much time has gone by and failed negotiations, management and union have come up with something that they can both live with. So no one is celebrating, because some concessions were made, but I think there is a big sigh of relief.
In other good news, Nolan has had a great week. He finished his basketball clinic with a pizza party. He was very proud to walk up to the coach, get his T-shirt and shake his hand. He loves baseball but I think he has a real love of basketball too. And with his height, I think he could be really good at it. And yesterday, he had his Zoom Time at school. This is a 15 minute presentation where he gets to be the teacher and talk about whatever interests him. So he chose Cub Scouts. He had a cue card to read from, and then presented a video that he and Chris worked on together. He did all the script for it and Chris edited the pictures (until 2am for a few nights--he's tired!). It turned out great. Then he had a handout and showed the kids some of the Cub Scout moves (the salute,...). But the best part was he took questions at the end. He seemed so confident and answered all their questions. He was so proud of himself! It was really cool. Maybe he'll be a teacher someday. Just like Grandpa!
So with all of these happy things happening, it leaves me feeling really grateful for all we have. Today is a rainy day. Nolan is off to school and Thomas will be shortly. I'm off to exercise and then go to the dentist. We have a full weekend so I'll write again soon to fill you in.