Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Pumpkin (and a punk!)

First... behold our magnificent pumpkin! Ok, it's not magnificent. I carved it in about ten minutes and was ready to pass out. But it's amazing for the fact that it was carved at all. So... yay!

And then, a quick picture of the littlest punk who resides in our household. Both kids were on the phone with yiayia this evening, when Maya went and got a stool from the bathroom. She'd been interested in checking out the Halloween candy all day, but had been really good about looking and not touching. So I didn't pay much attention, until Gus said, "Do you see what your daughter is doing over there?"

Yup, she helped herself to a lollipop. She even opened it properly, and ate the whole thing. The kid LOVES lollipops. But it was so funny I couldn't help taking a picture.

Anyway, I need to hit the hay early tonight... hopefully some sleep will help me fight off this bug. Prepare for photo overload tomorrow, with Halloween and all!

Spoke Too Soon

Because, of course, I woke up sick this morning. Of course! I should have known. I have been running myself into the ground lately, and am majorly stressing out about everything we have going on. And with both kids being sick, it was fairly inevitable that I would get taken down, at some point. So, here I am, completely weak and miserable. Good thing I got so much packing done yesterday!

I did manage to dig deep and find enough energy to carve our pumpkin, at least. The kids were fascinated by the whole process this year, though they didn't have any desire to touch the pumpkin guts. Nikos picked out the design from a bunch we looked at online, though I admit I didn't put as much time into the carving as I normally would. I just didn't have the energy. It didn't seem to matter, though, because they both love our pumpkin!

We also washed and filled the candy bowl, so we are officially all set for tomorrow night's trick-or-treating. I can't wait!

I should also add that our soon-to-be new house is currently under about 2 feet of snow, thanks to a freak October snowstorm that absolutely pounded the area. Fabulous! This is pretty unusual so early in the year, but it makes me glad that we will be trick-or-treating in California. It also inspired me to go online and buy snow pants, gloves, and thermal underwear. It's going to be a long, cold winter!

Life, in Boxes

So now that Nikos' birthday (and birthday party) are over and done with, the packing has has really gotten underway. We had thought we were going to close on the new house yesterday morning, but it ended up getting delayed because of one document that wasn't ready. Still, we are set to close early this week-- *knock on wood!* I would say "Monday," but the long-distance factor and the need to overnight documents adds a few days. Still! The movers are scheduled to come on November 12th. Exactly two weeks from today. So, yeah... It's time to pack. Big time.

Of course, just when things are at their craziest... Gus is gone on business. He's home now, but he will be gone again soon. So the bulk of the packing burden is on me. Add to this the fact that I am still working, and need to get report cards done, and I am STRESSED!! Thankfully, my parents came down today. My dad played with the kids and kept them busy while my mom helped me pack. And we got a LOT done! As of this evening, I have officially packed 92 boxes. NINETY-TWO. No joke. And every single one is labeled with our name, phone number, and destination floor/room. Each label has a number that corresponds to my Excel spreadsheet, where I have listed the contents of each box. Yup, I'm anal. But I am going to love myself for doing this when it's time to unpack. So, there ya go.

Just for fun... Here's the ever-growing stack of boxes along the back wall of our dining area. This is the main staging area, but there are several others, too.

And my helpers, of course! Who both have colds right now (of course!). Please, universe, don't let me catch what they have-- I just can't afford to be sick right now!

And that's that. It's amazing how much stuff one can acquire in 6.5 years of living in one place. I've already put together one big donation for the Salvation Army, and I am working on my second stack. So. Much. Stuff!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

More Celebrating...

I called a sub and left school early today so I could celebrate with my birthday boy. The original plan had been for the four of us to go out to dinner, since his actual birthday was in the middle of the week, but Gus ended up having to travel this week for work (which is MOST inconvenient, I might add!). So I figured it would be a special treat to pick the kids up early from daycare and take them to Nikos' favorite restaurant for lunch. The restaurant happens to be located at his favorite park, too, so it was a double-whammy of awesomeness. Both kids were well-behaved all through the meal, and just fun to be with. I'm so glad I decided to get a sub and make this happen!

Anyway... Once we finally got home, Maya went down for a much-needed nap, and Nikos announced that he was going to go ride his bike in the back yard. So, he did! I helped him get his helmet on, but he rode in circles out there for a long time while I focused on packing some things in the dining room. Eventually, he wanted a playmate, and I ended up going outside to watch him race his cars down the slide for a bit. And then I tried a million times to take a picture of him holding up four fingers. I got exactly one. And here it is!

Eventually, he got tired and came inside, and laid on the couch while watching a dinosaur movie on tv (of course... we are just a little obsessed these days). I packed some more. All I ever do is pack, it seems! Anyway, I made him spaghetti and meatballs for dinner (his favorite), and he blew out the candles on a leftover slice of cake.

After bath, we Skyped with Gus for a bit, and that was that! All in all, our big boy had a pretty good day!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Four Year Letter


Dear Nikos,

It is seriously shocking to think that you are four years old today. I am having major issues wrapping my brain around this, because it seems like only yesterday that you were this squishy little bundle of tears, grunts, and occasional giggles. Yet here we are, and you are most definitely not a baby anymore. Or a toddler, even. You are a full-fledged preschooler. Could we please slow down time, just for a little bit? Because this is going way too fast!

This past year has marked such huge growth for you that it's hard to know where to begin. There's the physical growth, of course! You are stretching out these days, and your once-little legs are now adept at peddling your tricycle at breakneck speeds, sprinting away from your sister, and climbing ladders and stairs frighteningly fast. You use the "big kid" swings at the park, and love to play baseball (you even have your own little lefty glove). You are reaching new heights these days-- literally. You can reach just about anything you need and, when you can't, you have no problem getting the stool and solving the problem without any intervention from us. I won't lie-- we've enjoyed your new abilities to help us out more. You can get your milk cup out of the fridge (along with Maya's) and put them away. You can put your dirty dishes in the sink, and unlock the trash cupboard to toss your trash in. You can blow your own nose, wash your own hands, and do so many things completely on your own. We love seeing you do these things, even if it means you aren't a little baby anymore.

But the changes don't stop there! Oh no! You draw pictures now that actually resemble things. You can write your name, and are constantly telling us what letters various words start with. Your memory for things is absolutely astonishing. You still floor us by recalling things that happened two YEARS ago, when we didn't even think you were remembering them! Seriously. We've always known you were an observant little guy, but your sharp eye and attention to detail are amazing. I swear that you have the eye of an artist and the mind of an engineer-- I can't wait to see how you use your gifts as you grow older!

Other things about you, at the ripe old age of four: You love dinosaurs, cars, planes, building with legos, and animals in general. Your favorite foods are pepperoni pizza, spaghetti, and chili. Your favorite color is brown, and your favorite number is, fittingly, four. Your favorite dinosaur is the t-rex. You officially love swimming, riding the ponies at the pumpkin patch (especially the one named "Chocolate Chip"), and playing with your buddies at daycare. You love your extended family, and shriek with happiness when you get to spend time with them. You look forward to our family movie night every Friday. Really, you are pretty happy with life right now, and you constantly bring a smile to our faces and hearts.

In short, you are a ton of fun to be around these days. You learn new things SO quickly, you get more and more independent by the day, and we love you to pieces. Your sister idolizes you, and you are (more often than not) a shining example of what it means to be a big brother. We love you so much, big boy, and hope that your fifth year is as great as your fourth. You are our favorite boy in the whole wide world!

All our love, ALWAYS,

Mommy, Daddy, & Maya ("Sissy")

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Party On!

Today was our big boy's birthday party. And you know what? He really is a big boy now! This year's party was a huge change from previous years, and not in a bad way. Until this year, our boy has not been a fan of parties in general, and his in particular. They were too noisy, too busy, and I think he just generally felt overwhelmed. When discussing this year's party, he made it clear that he wanted a small, family-only party. Which sounded great, considering everything else we've got going on. Perfect!

Well... Just over a week ago, Nikos started talking about how he couldn't wait for Brady to come to his party. Brady is his very good buddy from daycare. But... Brady was not invited to the party, because of the aforementioned plan. Still, he kept going on and on about it, and I finally decided to shoot Brady's mom an email (she's a teacher in my district, so I know her outside of daycare). And he came! Along with his little brother, who is a year and a half old. Bonnie (our daycare lady and next-door neighbor) also came, bringing along her grandson, Teagen. The three daycare buddies had so much fun together, and it was great to watch Nikos running around with these little boys his age, as happy as can be. They played soccer, they played freeze tag, they raced cars, etc. They were dripping sweat! But Nikos was thrilled, and that's all that matters!

Anyway... How about some pictures? Both kids should sleep soundly tonight, after the great day they had!

Daycare friends! Clockwise, starting at the top: Nikos, Brady, Brady's brother, Teagen, and Maya

The t-rex piñata that yiayia and pappou brought. Nikos LOVED watching his friends swing at it, but had no desire to try it for himself.

A boy and his dinosaur cake

Maya's new bellydancing ensemble from yiayia. It is the cutest thing ever! And yes, she got quite a few little presents herself, even though it wasn't her birthday.

Grown men playing with Lego Duplo blocks, haha!

This room was clean this morning. sigh!

Our boy on the gift we bought him-- a big boy bike! I can't believe he is old enough for this!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

HUGE News!!


I have been sitting on this little tidbit for over a week now, which has KILLED me! But... THE BANK APPROVED THE SHORT SALE! Hallelujah! Our realtor sent us an email first thing last Tuesday morning (Oct. 12). And the bank wanted to close by the end of this month, which we thought was crazy(we'll file for an extension, if not). But, in talking to the loan guy, it sounds like a very real possibility! I've waited to post about this until we could hear back from the underwriters at the mortgage company, just to get a firmer idea on the loan status. And, at this point, it looks like the loan is going to get approved! Hallelujah! However, as they say, "it's not over until the fat lady sings." So please cross your fingers, toes, etc. that this goes through and we have a smooth, timely closing. It would be a nice change of pace after the drama we've been through in the past year!

The funny thing is that a bird pooped on my head last Monday (the 11th). That, in itself, was not so funny... particularly since I was out at P.E. with my students, and couldn't leave to get cleaned up or anything. However... as the story spread (since the kids couldn't stop talking about it), I had several different parents come up and tell me it was good luck to have a bird poop on your head. Really? I had never heard that before! But I Googled it when I had the chance and, sure enough, it is a legitimate superstition/old wives' tale. And not that I necessarily buy into it, but hey... the next day WAS pretty lucky! So maybe everyone needs a little poop on their head? :)

Anyhow... things are crazy right now. Nikos' birthday party is on Saturday, and we have a house full of boxes! We're not sure when our closing date will be, or when we will be able to move... It's just pure chaos around here right now. However... I AM dreaming of a white Christmas this year! Just LOOK at that house! It is seriously a dream come true. I really, REALLY hope this works out!

And, just for kicks... My almost-four-year-old packing assistant. Think I can ship him to Massachusetts like this? :)

I Just Love Them

Seriously. They have their moments lately, especially when it comes to the Sharing of Toys. There are times when I feel like I am more of a referee than a parent, and that's not fun. But most of the time? They get along SO well together, and enjoy playing and just being around each other. Today was one of those days.

They played Ring Around the Rosie (well, their version) for nearly 30 minutes. Then they had a tickle war and took turns blowing raspberries on each other's stomachs, leading to the loudest laughs ever. And then they serenaded me on the (well-loved, fingerprint-covered) piano.

Life is good!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Just Because

We've had a lot going on lately, but this morning was all about me and my boy! I am shocked that he will be four years old in just over a week, and I wanted to get some nice portraits of him that really captured his "four-ness." I'll share some of them on his actual birthday. But then it occurred to me that I never shared the picture I used on his invitation! This year's party is going to be very, very small, but our big boy insisted on a dinosaur theme. We looooooooove dinosaurs these days. LOVE them! Everything is about dinosaurs! He knows all their names, what they eat, etc. This kid practically breathes dinosaurs. So when I told him my plan for his birthday invitations, he was (shockingly) SUPER enthusiastic and cooperative! This picture cracks me up!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Movie Night

So, this is a horrible picture, in terms of quality... but this is what movie night looks like at our house, and I love it! We usually watch a movie together on Friday nights, but moved it to Saturday this week because Maya was an exhausted mess on Friday. This is what happens when the two littlest P's watch "The Aristocats": Gus falls asleep, haha! Still we love movie night, and the kids look forward to it every week. It's a tradition I hope we can keep up for a long time!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

October is Fire Safety Month!


Which means... the fire station has their annual open house! Hooray!

It's actually been two years since the last time we went... Last year, the open house fell on the same weekend that the kids went to visit Gus' parents, so we missed it. However, we made sure to go this year, especially since the location was moved to the fire training tower facility instead of the actual station. It was pretty cool! We got to walk through the training tower, see a bunch of different vehicles, see a jaws of life demonstration, and the kids even got to spray a (small) fire hose at a target! The location was better, since there was more room to spread out, and we all enjoyed ourselves. Both kids ended up spraying the hose, though Nikos chickened out the first time (we went back right before we left, and that's when he finally did it). Still, it was really fun! And both kids are into fire safety right now, since they've been talking all about it at daycare. Just yesterday, Bonnie taught them a chant about how smoke goes up high, so they need to get down low and crawl to the exit (Nikos: "E-X-I-T! That spells 'exit,' and it means that's where you go out!").

But, without further ado... Photo overload! (October is always so photo-heavy... sheesh! Too much going on!)




And, one more... I took this as we were walking around to the other side of the fire tower for a tour, and it hit me that it looked just like a photo I took of Gus and Nikos the last time we went to the open house (link). And yes, Gus was even wearing the same jacket, haha!

Totally random note: In some of the pictures, you can see a long drain grate running along the ground. On the tour, we learned that the entire training tower facility sits on top of an olympic-sized swimming pool! When they do their training exercises, the water is pulled from the pool... and then it gets collected again via the system of drains all over the place. So they don't waste as much water. Smart!!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Pumpkin Patch!

We went to the pumpkin patch today! Yes, it's still pretty early in the month, but October tends to be a pretty busy month for us. There's really only one free weekend right now, and that happens to be the one before Nikos' birthday party. So I'm thinking it will be filled with party-related errands, and really not so "free" after all!

Anyway, our trip to Bates Nut Farm (affectionately referred to as Nate's Butt Farm by just about everyone I know) has become an annual tradition that I really look forward to. And this year was our best visit so far, mainly because the kids are getting older and they were both SO into it! We did the tractor hay ride, for the first time ever. Nikos finally rode the ponies (Maya did last year, but he was too scared). Both kids had to be dragged out of the petting zoo, because they were having such a good time (they used to get kind of scared of the animals). Really, it was perfect. My parents joined us, which is always nice, and the six of us had a nice picnic lunch in a shady, grassy area. All in all, a successful trip! And we made it home just in time for Maya's nap, so it all worked out perfectly.

Without further ado... Photo overload!









And, last but not least, the annual wheelbarrow photo! The first time we took Nikos to the farm, we took this cute pic of him sitting in the wheelbarrow with some pumpkins. Maya was there, too, but in my belly. The following year, I wanted to take one with both kids in the wheelbarrow. So I did. And then again the next year. And this year. It's so fun to see how they have grown! For kicks, please refer to the similar photos from 2008, 2009, and 2010. Where did my babies go???

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Air Show!

Confession time: We have lived here for just over eight years, and we have never been to the Miramar Air Show. It's shameful, really, considering how we live so close to the base. And one long section of the property even extends out near our neighborhood, which means that some of the big planes turn around out here. So, sure, we've seen pieces of the show... but we've never actually made the trip onto the base itself to see it up close.

However... seeing as this year might very likely be our last opportunity to see it (and the Miramar show is known as one of the best around), we loaded up the car after lunch and headed for MCAS Miramar. And... I am so glad we did! Ok, so it was a long walk from the parking area to the tarmac (well over a mile each way), and it was pretty hot, but it was still totally worth it. With small kids, we weren't planning on being there for too long. We timed our trip so that we'd be there in time to see the Blue Angels. While we waited, we took turns bringing the kids inside the various old planes sitting around for the public to explore. That was pretty cool! I would tell you the names of the planes we went in, but I don't know them, haha! One of them was the kind with the huge ramp at the back, either for quickly unloading a bunch of people, or for carrying some sort of huge cargo. That one was awesome! Then the kids got to sit in the cockpit of a much smaller, yellow plane. Again, I have no idea what they were called, except that they were really cool. Planes are clearly not within my realm of knowledge. But you can see the wing of the yellow plane in this picture, along with some airmen who had really excellent seats for the show. :)

After that, they played on our blanket for a bit, happy as can be... until Nikos noticed a little boy with an inflatable airplane. And he wanted one SO badly! He was polite about it, too, and Gus couldn't resist... So he took both kids, and got one for each of them. If you ask them what their favorite part of the day was, it was getting the airplane. They are so darn cute!

If you ask ME what my favorite part was, it was seeing the Blue Angels! They are so awesome! It's been a long time since I've seen them up close, and it was pretty amazing. I will never understand how they can fly so closely together without crashing. It literally took my breath away (wait... wait... Top Gun moment... okay, done) to watch them. I kept thinking they were going to have a horrible, fiery collision. And yes, it's happened before... SCARY!

At any rate, check them out. It was totally worth the trip to the base today!


YEAH!!