Some Catchin' Up

A bit's been happenin' around here. First, i've neglected to make any mention of the fact that our entire family and my father drove down to the Northern Virginia/DC area to experience the Inauguration! As you may know, my father's house in Virginia is still around, so we had a place to stay. Had some difficulties with the heat working (poor Dad was frozen). We arrived around 4am Monday morning and came back Wednesday afternoon.

We spent Monday taking Sam to a children's play center in Columbia, MD (an hour from our house in Springfield). He. Had. A. BLAST!!!!




Then at 4am on Tuesday morning (a popular hour for this trip), I dropped Ron off at the Metro station near our house. None too soon, come to find out: that station had some garage and traffic issues and soon they were closing off roads to it and the surrounding areas! Ron had a good time in DC for 14 hours! Check out his blog for some video. Also, click on the photo at the top for further amazing pics from boston.com (thanks for the link, Dad)!

On Saturday, Jan. 17th, my friends and I celebrated Girls Night Out (a monthly occurance) with playing Nintendo Wii Sports. We tried our hands at tennis, bowling and boxing, featured here in a short video. We had a ton of fun! Later i tried a brain game and really enjoyed that, too. Ron and i will cave at some point and treat ourselves to this game system. Tax refund time? We'll see.

A Family Fun Favorite!

It’s time, once again (long overdue, in fact) for some more Sammy-isms.

In the car:
“Hey Mom… what makes white?”
“Wow Sam… um… well… white is actually an anomaly. Can you say that word? White is the closeted fourth primary color.”

“Sammy… now you tell Mommy a story.”
“Um… Thomas. The end.”

Sam watching me get ready for work in the morning:
“Mom… you don’t wanna go to work but you hafta?”

… and, relatedly:

“Sam… I want you to help Mommy and pick up all these toys and put them in the blue bucket. Thank you.”
“Nope. I don’t wanna and I don’t HAFTA! HA HA.” (the “ha ha” at the end is said quite mockingly and quite “end of story”ish)

“Mom… someday I’m going to play baseball and you and Nanny and Pop-Pop and Daddy and Tommy and Beegsley and Zappy and Red Fish and Blue Fish are all going to come!”

“I have this many babies in my belly.” (holds up all 10 fingers)

Me, driving, avoiding a minor accident: “WATCH IT LADY!”
Sam: “No… if someone stops in front of you and you don’t like it you say “C’MON DUDE!” (that, in reference to previous outbursts from me about bad drivers.)

“Mom, I have a undea (read: ‘an idea’ – which I’ve since gotten him to say correctly)
“What’s that, Sam?”
“Cookies are yummy.”
Or
“It’s snowing.”
Or
“I went to the potty yesterday. You proud of me?”

“Food makes poop.”

“Hey Mom… you remember my friend Bock O’Bama?”

... more to come!

Not Unless I was REALLY Hungry...

Would you buy a hot dog from this kid?

A Challenge

I dare you not to smile while watching this... ;-)

You'd never know that just seconds before i snapped this picture, Thomas was cryin' his fool head off. The kid does not like getting wet. At least not yet. Sam was the same way, and now we have to slip him a $20 to get outta the tub.* I'm not stating anything unique when i say that one of the greatest smells on earth is a little baby, and especially fresh out of a bath. I'll nuzzle in and take great big sniffs off his fuzzy little head!

*okay... not a $20. Just a 10 spot. ;-)

Photo Du Jour

1 In, 1 Out

Ringin' in 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Our New Years Eve was a quiet one spent at home with my Dad. Ron and I were in a bit of a ‘funk’ and just not that into the evening. At one point Ron was doing a puzzle in the kitchen (Luke Skywalker, finale pics forthcoming for sure!) and I was on the computer while Dad watched Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve – with Ryan Seacrest (I wonder if Dick is pi$$ed about that). The ball dropped, we kissed, and I was in bed shortly thereafter. Quite frankly, I would have gone down by 10:30, but every year I feel this obligation to stay up.

New Year’s Day, however, was another story. Ron and I had a blast with a visit from his childhood friend Chris and his wife Miwa and daughter Nina (5) and Cane (3 in Feb.). The three kids had a ball!; Thom chose to sleep most of this time, making a brief appearance to smile and eat. The kids did a number to the whole first floor, but I didn’t mind cause they were all getting along so well and running from one toy to the next. I loved that every toy I shove in Sam’s playroom was getting USED! The adults hung out in the kitchen chatting and eating and the kids ran in from time to time for hugs, consoling (a tear here and there) or snacks.



After Chris and his family left, Ron and I were able to catch a movie at the Palace Theatre with the help of our friend Teresa to watch the kids. Sam lately has been jealous of our going out, crying and wanting to come with when we leave. But last night, he said, “Mom… you going to the movies?”
“Yes Sam.”
“What you going to see?”
“A movie called ‘Valkyrie.’” (very good, btw)
“Oh. Can I come with you?” (inflection high at the end, eyebrows raised, head cocked to the side).
“No sweetie… but listen… Mommy would love it if you could stay home to keep Teresa and Thom company – ANNNND… you can show Teresa all the toys you played with Nina and Cane today. How’s that sound?”
IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM. I think he WANTED to stay home at this point. Teresa said he was a lot of fun, and Thom was his usual charming self. Ron and I really look forward to ‘date night’ and I’m thrilled the kids are easy for whoever watches them, which is usually Shirley. She’s headed to FL for the winter, so we have to be resourceful from now on. Maybe my Dad will brave both kids one evening… dum dum DUMMM…


On a related note: I have not made any New Years Resolutions. I never keep them anyhow, and the whole “lose weight” thing gets old quick. That said, I have decided to be more WATCHFUL in what goes in my pie hole. Ron, on the other hand, has a very fun and interesting project in the works, using his new Flip digital camcorder I got him for Christmas. Check it out here. I think you’ll want to bookmark it for future enjoyment!!!