Gus, Briar, & The Littlest P. (x2!)

Catching Snowflakes

2012-02-16T17:31:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, it started to snow! It came down pretty consistently for over an hour, and we decided at one point to bundle up and go out in it. The last time the kids attempted to catch snowflakes on their tongues, it was hilariously bad. They mostly just ran around the yard, identifying flakes and then chasing after them, never actually making contact. Today, though, Nikos and I discussed proper flake-catching technique ahead of time. I told him to stand still, look up, stick out his tongue, and wait. And he did, much to our amusement!

Maya was still a little wild child, but she's a cute one, at least! :)

At any rate, Nikos was so proud that he was actually able to taste a snowflake. When asked what it tasted like, he said. "Like a... a... a monster! (insert giggles)" Silly kid. And I'm not sure whether or not Maya actually tasted any snow, but she claims that she did. And, according to her, "It tastes kinda like SNOW!" That's a safe answer, ha! Still, we had fun!

Yiayia is Here!

2012-02-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

Gus' mom flew in yesterday! She actually got in at around 5:30am and, after a brief stop to get coffee and some Valentine goodies for the kids, she and Gus arrived at the house just before 8:00. At that point, we were all up and eating our breakfast downstairs. The kids had NO idea she was coming, since we wanted it to be a surprise. Actually, we told them that they would get a really BIG Valentine's Day surprise if they were good, but their guesses were way off! Maya was convinced it would be something edible, and kept asking me what the surprise would taste like. Nikos was just mad, demanding I tell him what the surprise was because he NEEDED to know. Mwahahaha! Nice try, kiddo!

Anyhow, Gus walked in first, which was a surprise in itself. The kids had thought he was at work, so I think they thought that he was the surprise. So they ran over to hug him, and then yiayia stepped out from around the wall. Ack! They were SO surprised! And laughing. And I won't lie, I cried a little. The whole thing was so sweet!!!

But yes. She and Gus took Nikos to preschool, and then came back to hang out with Maya while I went to my doctor's appointment (just a physical-- more on that in a bit!). The appointment ran long, so I picked Nikos up from school and then we picked everyone up from the house so we could go out to lunch. Then we just hung out at home, and had my first-ever homemade heart-shaped pizza for dinner. The heart turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! Greasy? Sure. But tasty! And the section without pepperoni is for Maya, our little cheese pizza lover.

And then we had goodies. The kids and I had made chocolate cupcakes, and then peanut butter cookies with heart-shaped Dove chocolates on top. SO YUMMY!! I could eat the entire plate of cookies all by myself, seriously.

Today was a much more quiet day. I spent most of the morning cooking and getting various things done, while Yiayia ironed all of Gus' work shirts (since I am horrible at ironing and super impatient). Really, we were sticking around the house in hopes that Nikos' new bedroom furniture would arrive, but it never did. sigh!!! I am guessing it will be here tomorrow. And then I will have the pleasure of assembling it all. Prepare for many pictures!

After lunch, we left a note on the door for the delivery guy, and then went out back for a bit. I snapped this photo for my mom... it's Nikos wearing the new hat she made and sent him for Valentine's Day. The Massachusetts Brown Bear, hehe!

And eventually, I got frustrated with waiting for the furniture, and it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Not wanting to waste the entire day, I left another note on the door and we all headed into Worcester to show Yiayia the closest Greek Orthodox church. And then we checked out a nearby Mediterranean grocery store, where we stocked up on feta, phyllo, and all sorts of yummy things that she will turn into goodies for us while she's here. On the way to the car, Yiayia's arms were overloaded with bags... so Nikos grabbed her purse, unprompted, and marched to the car with it! I grabbed my camera out of my purse as fast as I could, haha!

And that was basically our day! Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment, and I will pick up our long-overdue Massachusetts license plates from our insurance agent. It's so nice having family here and being able to leave the kids for a bit to get things done. As it was, my bloodwork turned up some interesting results at my physical yesterday: my cholesterol is AWESOME (go me, haha!), but my vitamin D and iron levels are almost nonexistant. No joke. The doctor showed me the normal ranges for an adult, and then the normal ranges for a child... and mine were waaaaaaaay below that, even. To the point where a regular over-the-counter supplement won't even do the trick-- I need prescription meds. And hello! No WONDER I am tired all the time! So I am happy to be getting treatment. And I am super optimistic that tomorrow's dental visit will be uneventful. I don't really want any cavities, thank-you-very-much!

How 'Bout Some Pictures?

2012-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

I finally hooked my camera up to the computer, so here you go! These were all taken since the last time I posted pictures...

On the frigid mornings, when it's really way too cold to go outside, Nikos has started getting really creative with building things out of blocks (Jenga blocks, in this case), haha! His puzzle skills are also amazing, but no picture of that!

I've also let Nikos do something I never thought I would do: let him ride his bike in the house! Ack! But honestly, our house is huge, and we have entire rooms that still don't have furniture. So we really have the space. Plus, the floors are old (some are ~200 years old!), and they are FAR from perfect. And hey, he gives his sister rides, so everyone's happy, haha!

And when it's not AS freezing, we go outside! It's really not as much fun without the snow, since we don't have a swingset (yet) or a deck (yet). But hey, pine cones are really interesting, right?

I've also been feeling crafty lately. I made these Valentines for Nikos' classmates at preschool (the bags are filled with Teddy Grahams and a few gummy bears):

I also bought a package of Valentine's Day scrapbook paper from the dollar section at Target, and hand enough to make this paper heart chain and a few others (they're in the dining room)

This is just a picture of our girl yesterday afternoon... She NEVER naps anymore, but crashed on the couch. I just love her sweet, sleeping face!

And then last night, I met up with a bunch of moms from my online group, and we had SO MUCH FUN! Seriously, I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time! Most of them live in Massachusetts, but one drove up from Rhode Island and the other came down from Maine. Such a great time! Plus, we met up at "THE" mall-- it's the biggest, fanciest one in the state, just outside of Boston. It was such a blast! I hope to hang out with them soon, but will definitely be seeing the two on the far left because they live closest to us. My friend Caryn is the redhead, and we have a standing playdate with her and her kiddos every week! :)

And that's that! Now I feel adequately caught up! :)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

2012-02-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

Nikos has been really into baseball lately. Really, he's been into it for a long time now, but his interest sort of comes in spurts. Over the past few days, though, he has rarely been seen without his lefty glove and UCLA baseball cap on! He also has a soft bat and ball that we let him play with inside the house. And he's been watching this one episode of the TV show "Arthur" (based on the books by Marc Brown) that is loosely based on the Red Sox and "The Curse of the Bambino". Anyhow, it made me think, "I wonder if there is baseball around here for a kid his age?"

Five minutes and a quick internet search later, I had my answer. Yup! Our town's Little League offers tee ball for kids ages four to six! The price is very reasonable, too! So I knew I had to sign him up. Only one problem-- the deadline for registration was back on January 30th. Doh! I read a little further on, though, and found out that the deadline had been extended-- to today! Long story short, I managed to eke enough ink out of our printer (by literally dripping water onto the dry ink cartridges!) to print the forms yesterday morning, and took them to the post office in the afternoon. The mailing address is a P.O. box at our local post office, so it's not like it had to go far, haha! And as it was, the postal worker told me she would just put it straight into the Little League's box-- NOT the normal protocol, since they usually send mail out to be processed, but she was super nice. Small town mentality strikes again!

Anyway, Nikos is VERY excited! Me too, though I am also nervous! The schedule hasn't been posted yet, so I really don't know exactly what I've signed up for. I'm assuming there are weekly practices and games on the weekends. I do know that all the games and practices are at the schools here in town, which means they are all less than a five-minute drive away. I get nervous, since I really won't know ANYONE... but then I console myself by thinking that there are certainly other parents in the same boat-- especially if this is their kid's first year doing it, and they don't have older children. Plus, I know it is going to be really, REALLY funny to watch. I will definitely be posting videos, haha!

And so, now we wait! Nikos says he wants to be on the red team and be the number 10, but I keep explaining to him that it doesn't work that way. Silly boy!

A Little Update

2012-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

I have photos and fun things to share but, sadly, my camera is all the way across the room and my legs just don't want to move anymore! It's been a busy day. I have a playdate here tomorrow, my two mommy friends coming over on Saturday (we're going out to dinner-- Girls' Night Out!), and then Gus' mom will be arriving on Tuesday to stay with us for just over a week. Lots of exciting things! But things which require cleaning and whatnot. So, that's what I did pretty much all day today. I'm tired!

Anyway, it was so funny today... I went to pick Nikos up from preschool, and the kids were all playing outside. He came running over to the gate, and then I got him into his carseat. I was about to open my door when this little girl ran to the fence, gave me a big silly grin, and yelled, "BYE!" I laughed a little and said goodbye to her. And as soon as I sat down, Nikos said, "THAT'S HALEY!" To which I replied, "Oh? Haley's wearing a purple coat and a purple hat? That's her?" He sighed and said, "NO, Mom. Haley's hat is purple and WHITE. And she has pink mittens, too." hahahaha! At any rate, I now know who this little girl is, and I already think she's funny. She's certainly not shy! She actually strikes me as this little force of nature. I don't even know if Nikos WANTED to be friends with her, but she didn't give him the choice. It's so cute!

Now I just need to stalk her parents in the parking lot and plan a playdate, haha! Easier said than done!

Haley this, Haley that

2012-02-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

So... Nikos has a little friend at preschool! Awwww! His very first day there, I asked him if he talked to anyone. He said that there was another boy with a Spiderman backpack, and there was a girl named Haley "who just kept talking to me." Fast forward a few weeks... He came home today and basically shared Haley's life story with me. He told me her brother and sister's names, that she has a grandma and grandpa who live nearby, etc. And they apparently played tag outside today, "but Haley got tired of running, so she took a rest." Seriously, it was ALL about little Haley today! He capped off the conversation by saying, "Haley wants to know if I can come over to play at her house sometime... if it's okay with you!" (yes, he really said it like that) Awwww!!! His first friend from preschool!

Anyway, I have no idea if Haley's mom even knows about the invitation, and that's fine. But I think it would be fun, if this really does turn into a playdate! I may just invite them over myself! :) What's funny, too, is that the one "parent" I've actually chatted with at preschool so far happens to be Haley's grandpa. We both pulled into the lot at the same time last week, and he noticed the California plates on the car. He was super friendly! And then, that afternoon, we both pulled in at the same time again. And it turned out that I had actually been following him most of the way there, and that he'd seen me pull out of our driveway. So apparently, Haley lives down the side street right by our house. And she also has a newborn sister, which is why her grandpa is helping out with preschool pickup and dropoff.

At any rate, I know all this stuff about Haley, but I don't even know which kid she is! Haha! Still, I am just happy that Nikos appears to have a buddy at school, and that he's happy there. Hooray for friendships!

On a semi-related note... Maya cracks me up with the things she says, but I keep pretty busy all day and tend to forget the funniest things. At least, until she says them again. But this morning, on our way to drop Nikos off, she saw a school bus and shrieked about it. Funny, since this was on Main St., right before school started, and we passed like eight of them. Not exactly a rarity! Still, she was excited, and said, "Look, Mommy, a school bus! Up the head!!!!" That means "up ahead," in case you couldn't figure it out. She says this one a lot, and it makes me giggle every time! I think I am going to start using it myself!

And on a completely UNrelated note... Tonight's episode of Property Virgins (on HGTV) will feature one of my internet mommy friends and her family. I am so excited, haha!!!

Family Day

2012-02-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

We decided that we needed to get out of the house today and do something as a family. This area has so many amazing family-friendly places and activities! Sadly, most of these places close down during the winter. Boo! Still, the mall was open, and it has quite a few fun indoor things. So we ate lunch, loaded the kids into the car, and headed out.

We started by playing some miniature golf with the kids, for their first time ever! This particular place is indoors, and it's "glow golf." The holes weren't especially fancy, but they were very... neon! Lots of black lights! And honestly, the difficulty level was on par with the kids' abilities. Well, if you factor in the (unintentional) cheating, haha! Both seemed to enjoy it, and Nikos even got a hole in one! It was very inexpensive, too, so that's good to know for the future.

After that (and a potty break), we headed down to the carousel at the other end of the mall. We had the entire thing to ourselves this time! Maya insisted on riding the black horse, and Nikos chose to ride in the little car that spins around (think: tea cups at Disneyland). Both of them loved it, and Maya cried when we got off.

We consoled our sad girl by heading to the mall play area, which gave Gus and I both a much-needed opportunity to sit and rest while they ran around.

Then, we actually decided to get some shopping done. Gus and I each got some new shoes, and then some new pants (jeans for me, "nice" ones for him). While we were at Old Navy, we realized that they had something we hadn't seen before-- a "sidewalk chalk" area! Gus sat on the bench and watched as they both colored to their hearts' content... and I got to look around in peace! Brilliant move, Old Navy! And when I came back, Nikos was so excited to show me his snowman. And hey-- it actually looks like one! His hand is covering the head, but it even had a little hat. I love that his artwork is starting to become more recognizable!

And that was our day! Oh, we made cake pops, too. Maya's been asking for a while, so I figured we'd make them as an early Valentine's Day treat. Aren't they pretty?? We made pink ones, too. AND they're delicious! :)

On a side note... it's funny just how different our kids are, despite their many similarities. Case in point: public restrooms. Nikos was kind of scared/disgusted by them from day one, so he would basically hold it until we got home. We managed to avoid using a public restroom for a very long time. With Maya, it's the exact opposite. Everywhere we go, she has to go potty. I have learned a lot about the locations of restrooms over the past few weeks. And half the time, she doesn't even go! I think she just likes seeing the different restrooms. Oy!

Bubbles!

2012-02-03T18:24:00.001-08:00

In case you can't tell from the previous posts, I am on a spree tonight! I could have written one massive, pic-loaded post, but was too lazy to try and make it cohesive. Three separate posts sounded a lot nicer!

Once I got the first coat of paint on in the office, we had a quick lunch and then went outside to run around for a bit. The kids needed the fresh air, and fresh it was! Hovering right around freezing, it was very chilly indeed. It was beautiful outside, though. Bright blue skies and hardly a cloud in sight! And once we were out in the sunshine and running around, it felt quite a bit warmer. My hands started to get numb, though, even with gloves on. So we didn't stay out too long!

As silly as it sounds, the kids wanted to play with bubbles today. So we did! Why not, right? They chased them all over the yard while wearing their mittens and hats. It was such a funny sight! But they really enjoyed themselves, and were out-of-breath and rosy-cheeked when we came back in. They do have plenty of room in the house to run around like crazy people, but it's just different to be outside. So I try to get them out and run them around for a bit at least once a day, unless the weather is really awful. And it was nice that they didn't have to wear their snow boots or anything. As you can see, it's almost entirely melted in our back yard.

The rest of our afternoon consisted of cleaning up, dealing with some potty training regression (ugh) and wrapping it all up with family movie night on the sleeper sofa. Let the weekend begin!

Home Improvement

2012-02-03T18:18:00.001-08:00

I painted the office today! I did the math, and I have painted out seven out of seventeen rooms in this house. Yes, seventeen. Front room, office, powder room, mud room, kitchen, living room, dining room, laundry room, four bedrooms, small misc. room, two full bathrooms, and the playroom. Not counting the loooong hallways and, of course, the two stairwells (one of which will require a very tall ladder perched precariously on the stairs). Ay, ay, ay! This house is huge. But seven rooms is a pretty good start!

Anyway, our office is now "Churchill Hotel Olive," and it looks great! I might actually finish unpacking in there someday! Here's (sort of) a quick "before" pic-- of my helpers, who sat there and gave a running commentary most of the morning. Until Nikos announced that it was Bear's birthday, and the two of them disappeared into the playroom to bake him a cake and have a party. So cute!

And here's the final product!

I also painted our guest room earlier this week, though I never posted a pic of that. So, here it is. I LOVE this color! I will definitely be using this elsewhere in the house. It is one of my favorites!

Groundhog Day

2012-02-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday was Groundhog Day! It was very gray and cold, and we didn't get out much. And apparently, the groundhog saw his shadow and we will have six more weeks of winter. But everyone at Nikos' preschool was laughing about it, saying that they would gladly take six more weeks of this mild weather! Snow? What's that? :)

Anyway, our boy had a special pajama day at school. Here he was before we left in the morning. He got to bring a stuffed animal with him, so he chose Bear (of course!). And it cracked me up... I guess the kids all sat in a circle and "introduced" their lovies. I asked him what he said Bear's name was. I mean, he calls him "Bear" all the time, but he also knows that his "real" name is Sugarbear. But no... He told them that Bear's name was "Bearie." Um, what? Silly kid!

While he was gone, Maya and I were busy making miniature blueberry pies. They were so cute! I made the dough, rolled it out, and then used a biscuit cutter to cut out circles. Then I filled them with blueberry pie filling, crimped the two crusts together, brushed the tops with egg whites, sprinkled them with sugar, and baked them. Success! I thought they were really pretty. :)

Once the kids were home, we decided to work on Valentines. I started assembling the ones for the kids at preschool while the kids colored. Nikos decided that he wanted to make a special card for Charlie, so he did! He asked me how to spell Charlie's name, but he wrote it all by himself. And then he delivered it to his kitty, who was only mildly interested. So cute!

And that was our day. It was dark and menacing outside, though it only sprinkled a little in the evening. Oh well!

Small Town, U.S.A.

2012-02-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I gave in and went to the doctor this afternoon. I really, REALLY didn't want to, since I had both kids with me, but my throat was hurting even more than before. It still hurts. To breathe, talk, swallow, everything. And it's really the only obvious symptom I have. So, off to the doctor I went.

My friend had given me her doctor's information, but he was a good 20-25 minute drive away. I decided to look on our health care company's site to see if there were any providers here in town. And there was exactly one-- less than a mile away. I figured I would give her a try, knowing that our plan allowed me to switch later on if I wanted to. So I called the office, and she was the one who answered. That threw me off a little, but she later told me that her husband is actually her "office staff," and he had the day off for whatever reason. She was SO nice and fun to talk to on the phone-- I had a great feeling about her from the start. And sure enough, she was awesome. It turns out that she really is the only doctor here in town, and she lives here, too. The UMass lab (for bloodwork and whatnot) also happens to be located inside her office, which is good to know. AND, she answers/returns calls at all hours, and will see you even if it's after hours (assuming she is available and it's urgent). On top of all that, she knew her stuff. I seriously can't believe how I hit the jackpot on the first try! Bonus: the office is exactly two minutes away. It's right by Nikos' preschool. It doesn't get much more convenient than that!

Anyway, she said my ears both look really bad, which is something I hadn't noticed. So it's possible that this could be related to an ear infection. Or I have strep throat, which we'll know about tomorrow. Either way, I'm on antibiotics and a nasal spray for the next 10 days. Here's hoping they work fast, because the swallowing thing is making my meals miserable-- especially dinner tonight. Oh, and forget reading bedtime stories or engaging my children in conversation. ugh!

So, the next step was to actually get my meds. The doctor recommended the pharmacy right down the road (literally about a 15 second drive), which I'd never been in before. Honestly, it looked like a tiny little thing, so I figured it was JUST a pharmacy-- and I'd never had any reason to go in there. Well, looks can be deceiving. It was pretty good-sized, and had lots to offer besides just medicine. Great to know! Plus, it's independently owned (hooray for small businesses!), and the pharmacists themselves were super nice and friendly. I feel like I keep saying that, haha! But seriously. I know this is a gross overgeneralization, but people here are so nice! Everyone I've talked to has been really friendly, and people actually seem to care about others. I hate to say that it's different from California, since I (obviously) know so many wonderful people there, but it seems like the mentality is just different. Maybe it's the small-town thing. But the people here have been just great!

Anyway, I was pleased to find a wonderful doctor and a great pharmacy within a two-minute drive. Not bad, if I do say so myself! It helps make me feel like I'm part of this community, if that even makes sense. Happy dance!

In other news... it was above fifty degrees today, which felt downright toasty in comparison to the temps we've been having. The kids and I made a supermarket run, and it dawned on me that I hadn't held their bare hands in a while-- they always have mittens on when we're out! It was just lovely, aside from being sick. And then it started to sprinkle on our drive home, which meant that we HAD to go outside when we got home. Why? Because I bought them each umbrellas the other day, and they have been dying to test them. Of course! So we did. And I took pictures, because that's what I do.

That was our day! Tomorrow I am charged with making something for Gus to bring to his office party on Friday. That should be fun-- assuming my throat feels better and I can taste-test the results!

Yesterday

2012-02-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

I meant to blog about our day last night, but my throat was really hurting and I decided to go to bed. I am not sure what is up with me! My only theory is that I have actually been sick now with two different things, back to back. Fun! The good news is that I do have a doctor recommendation from my friend, so I have a number to call if I decide to go in and get checked out. I'm feeling a little better today, so I'm not quite at that point yet!

Anyway... Despite feeling under the weather, yesterday was busy! After doing some research and making some calls, I decided to sign up for automatic delivery and a service plan with a local oil company. This means a few things. One is that we should never run out of heating oil again (yay!)-- they are responsible for checking our levels and keeping us topped off. Another is that we will be covered (parts and labor), if anything ever goes wrong with our boiler. And finally, it includes an annual cleaning and efficiency test, which occurred about 2 hours after I signed up. Talk about speedy service! The tech said that our burner was pretty filthy, but that the boiler was otherwise in good shape. He said that the cleaning improved its efficiency about 3%... Not a ton, but I'll take it! He also said we're going to see more of a difference by putting more insulation in the attic. I can't wait! (is it sad that I am so excited about insulation? Does this mean I'm a grown-up?)

While all of this was going on, Nikos was at preschool, having a great time. When we went to pick him up, we learned that there is a pajama party at school on Thursday, in celebration of Groundhog Day. They apparently have a whole slew of special Groundhog Day activities, and they will find out whether or not Puxatawney Phil sees his shadow. They also get to bring a stuffed animal! Nikos is SO excited, and so am I. I don't have to get him dressed, woohoo! Well, aside from shoes and a jacket, of course.

Anyhow, we got home, had a quick lunch, and headed out to the local library for the first time. Nikos was very interested in looking at and picking out books, but Maya made a beeline for the small play area in the children's section. We had to pry her away from the play kitchen when we were ready to go! It was a very nice little library, and was basically empty today aside from the senior volunteers working there. We came away with my arms full of books, and my name added to the mailing list for children's activities. Success!

As we were pulling out of the library parking lot, I noticed this cemetery. All the towns around here have lots of cemeteries, but this is one of the oldest I've seen. It's right off of the town center, so I am thinking this must date back to at least 1722 (when the town was incorporated), if not earlier. I happened to have my little camera on me, so I took a picture. Is it morbid that I think these old cemeteries are so cool??

After we pulled back onto the main drag, it became evident that we all needed a donut break. Dunkin' Donuts happened to be right there... so we went in and I got a box of Munchkins (AKA donut holes) for the kids and an iced latte for me. Hey, it was almost 40 degrees! Oh, and this face cracks me up!

So, that was our day. Not sure what we will accomplish today. It's very gray outside, but "warm" (already 43 degrees at 8:30am). It may or may not rain. We were going to meet up with my friend and her kids at a shopping center, but I cancelled, as I'm not feeling so great. I may take the kids to the grocery store, since we need to make something for Gus to bring to his office's Superbowl party on Friday. I need to paint the office, but am not really feeling motivated to do that. I have a feeling it'll going to be a laundry-dishes-vacuuming sort of day. Super exciting. Stay tuned!

Wheels

2012-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

Our boy, for as long as we can remember, has loved all things with wheels. I remember watching him "vroom" a car across the ottoman in his bedroom, shortly after he learned how to pull up on it. And so it began! Cars, trucks, motorcycles, bikes, wagons... you name it, he loves it. And recently, he added roller skates to his list of wheeled obsessions.

Gus' parents sent each kid a pair of skates for Christmas. Maya was pretty good at using hers, because her pair had a speed control on it-- basically, we could make it so the wheels didn't spin as easily, making it less likely for her to lose her footing. Nikos' skates, however, did not have this feature, and he really couldn't stand on them for more than a minute before his feet flew out from beneath him.

Fast forward to yesterday... he figured them out! To quote him: "LOOK MOMMY! I got my balance now! I'm SKATING!" haha! The rest is history. He has barely taken them off since then. He wears his skates at the dinner table, to the bathroom, etc. All day long! After lunch, I suggested we all go outside for a bit so the kids could run around. Nikos was so excited! Why? Because he could skate on the porch! That's right, our son roller skated on the porch when it was 35 degrees outside. With his snow jacket and mittens on. It was hilarious!

When Nikos said he wanted to skate outside, Maya instantly decided that she wanted to ride her tricycle outside, too. Gus went down to the basement, got it for her, and set it on the porch. "Nooooo! I want to ride it OUTSIDE!" Commence crying. Just so we're clear, the porch IS outside. It was freezing! But Maya wanted to ride her tricycle on the grass. And whatever, it doesn't hurt anyone... so I let her do it. I think she was a little disappointed in her ride, though, haha!

Back inside, our boy continued to skate around, and really had a great day. Made even greater by our new arrangement! Back up for a second to Friday morning. We were heading out on our playdate, and Nikos threw a fit about getting dressed. This has become a frequent battle for us, and I was sick of it. He was also complaining, saying he didn't WANT to go to this friend's house. He wanted to go to our OTHER friend's house because her son had a toy he wanted to play with (a racetrack, of course-- in keeping with the "wheels" theme of this post!). That's when it hit me: marble jar! I'll set up a jar, let him put a marble in it when he listens well or does something generally good and sweet and nice. Then, when he gets enough marbles, he can earn that toy. Everyone wins! Sounds great, right?

Except... I didn't have any marbles. I thought I did, but I couldn't find them. And he was continuing to misbehave throughout the day-- I was desperate! So, on a whim, I wrote "Niko's Points" on the kitchen chalkboard, and put a tally underneath when he helped me clean up the living room. The effect on his behavior was IMMEDIATE. The next time he earned a point, he asked if he could write it on the chalkboard himself. Sure, why not? So... not only is he behaving better and working toward a goal, but he's getting some (very limited) fine motor practice! Win!

I took a picture of the chalkboard to show where his points are. And to show how much neater I wrote out this week's menu, hehe! Funny thing is, Nikos does NOT understand why I put the diagonal one in there. I tried to explain that we were grouping them into fives, and how the diagonal line means that we have a group. He mostly just thinks I messed up. And, if you ask him, he will argue that he only has four points. sigh!

One final picture. This one has absolutely nothing to do with wheels, but it's exciting nonetheless: our dining room light! The old light was in the strangest spot, and we were constantly bonking our heads on it. This is much, much better! We had to run the wiring through some electrical conduit, because we didn't feel like cutting into the ceiling, but I think it looks pretty good! Let there be light!

Odds and Ends

2012-01-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

We had an energy audit today! After some Googling and a phone call yesterday, I learned that every homeowner in the state of Massachusetts is entitled to one free energy audit per year. It's actually paid for by a tax on everyone's utility bills. Sweet! Our heating costs have been pretty high, so we wanted to see if there was anything we could do. I have to admit, I was terrified... I thought for sure he would tell us that the walls were poorly insulated, etc., and it would cost thousands of dollars to repair.

Well... I looked through the infrared camera myself, and our wall insulation is great! Woohoo! Really, the only issue he saw was our attic. But attics are MUCH easier (and cheaper) to insulate than walls are, so that was fantastic news. Even better news was that the work to completely insulate both our attics (front and back) and "air seal" them will only end up costing us a few hundred dollars out of pocket. That's because this same program helps subsidize some of the cost for energy improvements. 75% of those costs, in fact! So, we will definitely be having that done. He also went around and switched out all our lightbulbs with the compact fluorescent ones... Well over $100 worth of light bulbs, all paid for by this program! I am so, SO glad I called!! We will also call out an oil company to do routine maintenance on the boiler, and make sure it's not "running rich" (sucking too much oil). But that's a routine sort of thing, and not terribly expensive-- our boiler is in good shape. WOOHOO!!

Anyway, that was most of our day. Gus finished getting our dining room light fixture installed, I vaccuumed the whole house, Gus installed weatherstripping on the door to the garage, and is now out getting his table saw set up properly. It was over 40 degrees today! Still chilly, but definitely bearable. The energy auditor was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, haha! Maya and I also made butterscotch brownies this afternoon, and now the kids are relaxing and watching a little TV before I start dinner (yummy pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans... a big hit with both kids!).

Oh, and on a random side note... I learned from Pinterest that if you save the bottom part of a green onion and put it in a cup with water, it will regrow. So you can have never-ending green onions! I used two green onions in a salad last Friday, and decided, on a whim, to give it a go. I put the bottoms in this lovely Zion shot glass with a little water. Um, wow!!! It's true! This is only a week's worth of growth. I will definitely keep doing this. I might even get something nicer than a shot glass to put them in, haha!

And, some daffodils. Daffodils and tulips are my favorite flowers of all time, and I bought this pot of mini daffodils at the supermarket a week or two ago. I love them! I can almost pretend it's springtime! Hey, there's no snow! That means it's spring, right?? :)

Playdates, Preschool, and Projects-- Oh My!

2012-01-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

Actually, the subject of this post sort of sums up my entire life right now. Well, maybe add in some playing outside, and of course the neverending cooking and cleaning. But still, that's pretty much it!

Our playdate yesterday was a lot of fun! We had a lovely drive up to the New Hampshire border (about 40 minutes), but I didn't end up crossing over. So, I still haven't actually been there. But I was pretty darn close!

This friend that we met yesterday is another person from my mommy message board. When we first started looking at houses here, she suggested we meet up with her mom, a realtor in the area. So we did-- and the rest is history! We spent many hours driving around and checking out houses with her mom... but I had never met her daughter in person until yesterday. She was super sweet, which I expected, and our kids all got along really well. Nikos cried all the way home, because he wanted to continue playing with the little boy's toys. Really, I think he was just tired. Once he stopped crying, his thumb went straight into his mouth-- which ONLY happens when he is really tired or stressed about something. Meanwhile, Maya was conked out in her carseat. A sign of a successful playdate, for sure!

And then today was another preschool day. Maya and I ran some errands while Nikos was at school, and we got back into town just in time to pick him up again. I was so excited to see that his backpack contained his first-ever "report card"! Ok, it's really not a report card. But this preschool is nationally accredited, and part of maintaining their accreditation means that they have to do annual assessments. And we got here just in time to participate, apparently (they did the assessments last week). It was so fun to see all the things he can do listed in front of me. They tested gross motor skills like balancing on one foot, jumping, etc. They looked at his fine motor skills (tracing, writing his name). They assessed his behavior in class, social skills, and self-care things (getting his jacket/shoes/mittens on, etc.). And our boy is a rock star! He did awesome at everything on their (long) checklist, with the one exception of "alternating feet when going down stairs." He alternates feet when going up, but is very cautious when going down... I attribute this to the fact that he has never really had to deal with stairs until recently, haha! So really, he did fantastic. The teachers' comments said that he's really friendly, loves to participate, and is starting to make some friends. YAY for such an awesome transition into his new preschool! He loves it there, and so do we! :)

The afternoon was spent making another quick trip to the store, and working on my project. What project is that, you say? My super duper chalkboard project! It actually sort of morphed into this whole wall of stuff. But I think it looks pretty good, even though it's not completely done yet. I am loving it!

Basically, the chalkboard is where I will write our weekly menu (nicer than how I did it this time, ha!), reminders, etc. The boxes at the bottom will be for sorting mail, though I haven't decided exactly how I'll do that yet. And then there are the hooks up top for keys. I'm going to add some more of those. Then, the curtain rods on the left are going to be for a gallery of the kids' art projects. I have lots of them in a box that I can't wait to display! I just need to get some clip-on curtain rings.

And that was our day! We have another playdate tomorrow, but I am hoping to paint either the office or the guest room in the afternoon. We'll see how much motivation I can find!

So Long, Snow!

2012-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

For a few days, at least!

It was WARM today! Nearly 50 degrees, which felt downright balmy after some of the days we've had lately. We didn't even wear jackets outside-- just sweatshirts. The high temperature, plus the fact that it rained almost all last night, meant that the snow was disappearing rapidly when we woke up. You could practically watch it receding during the day. As of this evening, our entire front lawn is visible again, along with most of the back yard. No sledding today!

We took this opportunity to go exploring, though. Nikos had preschool this morning, but as soon as he was home and everyone had eaten, we headed out to hike in the woods. Honestly, I just wanted to take pictures of them where they weren't all bundled up in their snow gear! They weren't super cooperative, though they DID enjoy our explorations! Here are a few photos I got. I had hoped to get something I could use on a Valentine card, but I don't think I did. That will be a mission for another day, I suppose! Still, I thought these were cute! They had to wear their snow boots, since there was still some on the ground (especially in the woods):

After our adventure, I spent the afternoon doing the usual: cooking, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... and then cleaning some more. This house is HUGE! I also, on a whim, decided to paint the long wall in the kitchen. I am in the middle of working on a cool chalkboard-thing (like this) for the kitchen, but realized that I should probably paint the wall before I put it on there. I will eventually paint the rest of the kitchen, of course, but this wall was sort of imperative for my little project. I also painted the chalkboard, and will get some molding to go around it, too. It's going to be so cool!

Anyhow, the kids kept themselves busy playing while I was spontaneously painting-- because clearly, they have gotten used to my impulsive home improvement projects! They were giggling and running around and reading books. Then, next thing I knew, they scooted through the kitchen like this, giggling like fools:

So, obviously, I grabbed my camera. I love love LOVE this picture! It's so "them"!

Tomorrow, we have our playdate with some new friends, which should be interesting! We'll be practically at the New Hampshire border-- I am tempted to go across and do some tax-free shopping! But we'll see!

Dirty Job

2012-01-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't have any fun playing outside today. Or even running errands, for that matter! Last night, I told Gus that we were running low on oil in our tank. I thought we had about an eighth of a tank left, which isn't a whole lot. And, as it turns out, I was reading the gauge wrong. Oops!! We must've been running on fumes, at that point! We managed to make it through the night just fine, and Gus even got a hot shower this morning. It got cooler towards the end, though. And then he went downstairs for breakfast and realized that there was no heat. Not good! The house is insulated reasonably well, but it's winter. In Massachusetts. And it's pretty darn cold outside!

Anyway, he called and scheduled an oil delivery for today, which was great. Even better was when the delivery guy arrived at 9am. Nice and early-- hooray! We had kept warm by hanging out in the living room with lots of blankets and the space heater turned on. But really, it was in the mid-fifties throughout the house, and that is just too cold to be comfortable unless you're wearing a jacket.

So the delivery went off without a hitch, which was to be expected. But then came the fun part... I needed to get the boiler started up again. Which meant that I needed to bleed all the air out of the system. And, let me just say, that really, REALLY sucked. It will be a thousand times easier, if I ever have to do it again. It would probably only take a few minutes. But I had no idea what I was doing this morning, and it took forever. Lots of hunting for various wrenches, looking at internet tutorials, talking to Gus on the phone, etc. But... I DID IT!

Sure, I ended up getting oil all over my hands, but I did it! ha! And really, that was my big accomplishment of the day. I spent the rest of the day trying to get the stench off of my hands (it's really awful), and then doing my usual chores (washing dishes, doing laundry, cooking, etc.). Actually, my smartest move was to make orange cookies. I used the leftover orange zest, and scrubbed it all over my hands! It got rid of most of the smell! And, bonus: the cookies were excellent.

Tomorrow is another day! Let's hope it doesn't involve any dirty work!

Sickies

2012-01-22T17:29:00.000-08:00

So... Gus was sick first. Then it became clear by yesterday morning that Nikos had joined the club. Today it was my turn. Maya seems okay for now, but she was particularly cranky this afternoon and I fear she's next. Ugh! It's just a cold, at least. I'm actually surprised we haven't really been sick before now! I think the kids and I probably have pretty awesome immune systems, after all our exposure to germs (them in daycare since they were babies, and me teaching elementary school for a billion years). *knock on wood!*

Still, we didn't let our stuffy noses stop us from enjoying the beautiful powder left by yesterday's storm. Gus inflated our new innertube-style "sled," and we took it out back after lunch. I can't get over how much fun it is to just walk out into the yard and go sledding. No driving anywhere... it's, like, right there! Super fun!

Anyway, both kids loved the new tube... to the point where they were hogging it, and Gus and I were only allowed on the other sleds. Fine with us! Gus loves zipping down the hill head-first on the blue sled, seeing how close he can get to the dropoff (he was actually hanging over the edge at one point... brilliant). I was content to slide down on Maya's zippy pink sled and just throw the powder around, making it "snow" on the kids. It really was fun to throw/kick around. It was horrible for building snowmen or making snowballs, but amazingly light and sparkly in the sun!

At any rate... Here's a video of the kiddos on one of their first rides down the hill. Maya loved stretching out on it and pretending to sleep as she glided down. Silly girl!

And look! I am actually in a photo! Me and my babies:

One more... Nikos sitting on the remnants of our second snowman, may he rest in peace.

Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and quite a bit warmer, so all this lovely powder should turn into quite a slushy mess. I doubt we will be getting outside to play, so maybe I will go run errands instead. Boo!

Ice Ice Baby

2012-01-21T17:28:00.000-08:00

So, it snowed today. I should probably stop reporting this, since it looks like winter has finally arrived and, well, the snow is here to stay. But it snowed nearly all day, and it was such pretty snow! Light and swirly, but constant. I could almost hear the sleigh bells outside! It was nice to watch, even if we didn't get out to play in it today. It never even got warmer than 20 degrees out there, and the kids would have turned into popsicles!

Anyway... we have a few spots on our roof where a previous owner installed warmers, to prevent ice from building up and causing damage. These need to be turned on during any significant snowfall, so I went down to the basement and flipped them on this morning. No big deal. But what I didn't realize at first is that the parts of the roof with the warmers get awesome icicles! The snow melts off, and freezes again before it hits the ground. These were on our side porch this afternoon. They had kind of a gnarly shape, and I thought they were so cool! I was not dressed to be outside in sub-freezing temperatures, so I only took a few photos, but I can't wait to grab my macro filters and try some more.

And one more photo, just for kicks. Gus gets bonus points for going grocery shopping today. He didn't even clear the driveway, he just drove through it! There's no way my car would have made it. This was him, clearing his car off before he left (he's actually hidden by the car, but he's there!). He was so focused that he forgot the shopping list. Doh!

Oh, and we also put up our new dining room chandelier today. Let there be light! We also removed the old, strangely-placed light that we repeatedly bonked our heads on. The wires aren't completely covered yet, so stay tuned for a photo of the fininshed product! But it is SO much nicer eating in our lovely, bright dining room now!

Friends

2012-01-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

So we had another playdate with my friend and her kiddos today, and we are all officially wiped out! It was fun, though, and I always enjoy getting to have some adult conversation. We actually have another playdate with a different new friend and her three kids next week, so our social calendar is starting to get a little busier. I love this place, haha! :)

Anyway, they had a blast, as always. They all played with Play-Doh for a bit while my friend and I had coffee and chatted in the kitchen. And they were playing so nicely together that we were able to actually have a conversation! Crazy!

The boys eventually disappeared upstairs into the playroom, where Evan (the other little boy) was very excited to see that Nikos had the Whack-A-Mole game. So guess what they played? Meanwhile, the two girls continued to play peacefully with the Play-Doh, compensating for their wild big brothers.

Eventually, we got all our snow gear on and headed outside. With four small children and two mommies who needed to get into snow pants, snow boots, snow mittens, hats, and jackets, it was quite a production! We managed it, though.

The two boys grabbed the sleds and took off! We just stood and watched them as they slid down the hill over and over again, running into each other and racing and just generally having fun. Maya went down once with me, but was more concerned with "finding a snowball." Sadly, last night's snowfall was very powdery, and didn't stick together at all. So mostly she dusted snow off of the back steps and hung around her friend Paige, who is younger and even more wobbly on the snow. They didn't seem to mind too much, though.

And that was the majority of our day! It's pizza-and-movie night tonight, and we don't have any firm plans for the weekend, except that we want to go to the library and get library cards. Sounds good to me!

Trouble in the Tundra

2012-01-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

That sounds like the title of a mystery novel or something, haha! But seriously, yesterday kind of stunk. We woke up with great plans of how we were going to spend our day: Gus would fininish plumbing the sink in the laundry room, I'd touch up the living room paint, and we'd go play out in the snow. Except... I went to get Maya from her room, and it was FREEZING! The back of the house had been comfortably warm, but not her room... The thermostat was set to 65, but it was in the mid-fifties. Brr! Then, it was the same story downstairs. The front of the house was freezing, and the back was warm. Not good.

After scouring the internet and trying everything we could think of, we finally gave in and called an HVAC guy. He was going to come around 4:30, which meant we still had time to work on our projects. Except... he managed to come just after 1:00. And, shortly after he arrived, so did all the new mattresses we bought. Chaos!

So... A few hours and $160 later, we had functioning heat again. It turns out that the hot water lines had frozen! You read that right. Our house is heated by a hot water baseboard system. Basically, the boiler gets messages from the different thermostats, heats up water, and sends it to that zone... As it passes through the baseboard, the heat rises and warms the room. I had NO IDEA that they could freeze. And normally, they wouldn't-- the hot water takes care of that. And our basement is pretty warm, thanks to the boiler that dominates the room. But our heat was set low enough overnight, and it was an especially cold one at that (below zero). There are a few spots where there are vents/openings in the basement wall, and the icy air was hitting the two pipes that bring heat to the front of the house. So the guy ended up using a heat gun and slowly warming the pipes until the ice broke up. Crazy! And after that, Gus went to the hardware store to get pipe insulation. So we should be good to go now. We're just lucky the pipes didn't break!

Anyway, that ended up consuming our entire day. We didn't play outside or complete our projects. Boo!

We did, however, get a guest bed out of it. The room isn't done yet (I need to paint, get accent furniture, etc.). But there is a bed! We just need some guests! :)

We also had some more snow last night. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Gus to need to clear the driveway for me, since I don't have four wheel drive or snow tires. It was fine by the time I had to take Nikos to preschool. And what was left on our driveway had melted by the time we had to go pick him up.

Funny story... I walked in to get him. Usually, his class is sitting there, reading a story. But today it was just Nikos, doing a puzzle with one of his teachers. I thought maybe this was one of the assessments they're doing this week, but nope! I also thought I might be late or something, though I had no idea how. Nope! He was the only morning program kiddo who showed up today! Crazy! I guess the schools were delayed for two hours because of the snow, and most of his classmates have older siblings in school... so their parents just decided to keep them home. There were still other kids there from the full-day program, so he wasn't alone or anything, but he was the only one who went home at 11:30. It was so weird!!

Anyway... We came home, ate lunch, and then our new desk arrived. In about five billion pieces, requiring assembly (obviously). I was tempted to start working on it, but the kids were really getting stir crazy from being inside... so we got our gear and played in the new snow! It was so nice and powdery and perfect for snowball fights and snowman-building. So, that's what we did!

Then I came back in and built the desk. It literally took me four hours. It looks good, but my knuckles are all scraped and raw and my muscles ache. Insanity! And it's not like this is my first time assembling furniture, either. It just had SO many pieces! Ugh!

Anyhow, it's bedtime now. I am wiped! Tomorrow I get to assemble the lateral file cabinet. Here's hoping it's not quite as bad as the L-shaped desk!

More Snow Fun

2012-01-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's because snow is still such a novelty for us, but we have so much fun playing in it! Today was made even more fun by the fact that Gus was able to join us. As soon as we were done with lunch, we piled on the snow clothes and ran out to the back yard!

We haven't had any real snowfall since Thursday's storm, so the snow that's still out there is getting a pretty thick crust of ice on top. This means two things. One is that it is a lot harder to walk on, particularly if you are a little girl who doesn't weigh very much. Maya wasn't heavy enough to break the crust, so she was sliding everywhere! The second thing is that the sleds go a lot faster when it's a little icy. Wheee! I'm not sure who had more fun-- Gus or the kids. Gus actually got up so much momentum at one point (going headfirst down the hill) that he had to stop himself from going over the dropoff. When we eventually came back in, he said he wanted to go back out by himself later. haha! He didn't want to share the sleds! He also confessed that he wants it to snow some more so he can devise some sort of elaborate luge run that winds down the hill. It sounds fun, as long as he's the one making it and not me!

Anyway, I took pictures, since that's what I do! The kids were so happy to have Daddy back in town, and loved playing with him. Can you tell?

Oh, and I totally bribed my kids to come inside by offering them cupcakes. I am pretty sure I am the Mother of the Year. But look at Maya's face! Totally worth it! (and Nikos has MAJOR hat hair, haha!)

Once we were frosting-free, we decided to go and run some errands. This took longer than expected, and we ended up going out to dinner, too! I am pleased to report that Maya did not have a SINGLE accident today. Not one!!! This is a first! She's typically had at least one accident a day so far, though she certainly has a lot more successes. My one complaint was that she told me she had to go potty like five times during dinner. She actually went one time. Thankfully, we were seated near the restroom, but sheesh! My dinner was cold by the time I got to eat it! Even Nikos went to the bathroom twice, which is unusual. Our waiter would laugh when he came by, because the four of us were hardly ever there at the same time. So, yeah... we've had better dining-out experiences. But that's life with a newly potty-trained kiddo! We will survive!

Adventures in Sledding

2012-01-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to report that, while it snowed on and off through the night, there was no additional accumulation on the ground this morning. Our driveway didn't require clearing, which is great considering my entire upper body is sore-sore-sore from yesterday! Between operating the snowblower, doing some shoveling, and playing outside with the kids... Well, I could barely move this morning. Fun!

Anyway, today's agenda included cleaning, baking cupcakes, and sledding! Sledding was originally just "playing in the snow," but Nikos was adamant about trying out the other sleds they got for Christmas from Uncle Grant and Aunt Melissa. We used one sled yesterday-- the one big enough for two people, so I could ride with them and sort of steer. I was nervous about them using the other sleds, since they are kind of for older kids and they go a little faster. My fears were unfounded, though. They had SO much fun! And they both got the hang of the sleds really quickly. I think this video was taken on Maya's second time down, but she was doing a lot better by the end:

I even set up two different runs side-by-side so they could race. Nikos kept cheating and leaving early, but Maya didn't seem to care. I suggested other things we could do outside (build a fort, build another snowman) but nope! They just wanted to sled. Good thing we have the perfect back yard for it. Seriously! I was originally worried that they would zip down the hill and right over the small dropoff at the bottom, but it turned out to be a non-issue. It's flat enough for a long enough stretch that they naturally come to a stop well before the edge. Perfect!

Anyway, it was a fun day, except for the part where Nikos threw a tantrum about going inside. Maya was cold, but he did NOT want to go in. Seriously, I haven't seen him throw a fit like this in a long time. Screaming, crying, throwing himself on the ground in protest, etc. Fun times! He calmed down very quickly once I carried him inside, but wow! Major meltdown! I think everyone was a little bit tired from all the playing, but sheesh!

The good news is that Gus is home now for a three-day weekend, so he can help lighten the parenting load a bit. Mommy needs a break!

Oh, and a few pictures from our sledding adventures! Look at poor Ned's face! He got rained on last night, resulting in some facial disfigurement.

REAL Snow

2012-01-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

So... Gus has been gone this week on business, and I've kept a very careful eye on the weather forecast. And it was very unexciting, which was fantastic! No snow in the forecast. And then, yesterday morning, it changed, saying we could expect from two to four inches overnight. Not too bad. And by the time I went to bed, they had downgraded the storm, saying we'd get maybe half and inch and there would be "no significant snow accumulations." Perfect!

So... Imagine my surprise when I woke up to this:

I took a video, too. This was actually after the storm started to ease up. It was what they call a "wintry mix." Sounds lovely. Except it's snow mixed with rain and, sometimes, ice. It was wet and heavy and coming down non-stop.

Oh, and did I mention that today was a preschool day? It was. I took one look at our driveway and panicked. I have never shoveled snow before. And our driveway is LONG. And we have a snowblower, but I was majorly stressed and couldn't figure it out. So... I called Gus, at 4:45 his time, in tears because I didn't know what to do. He walked me through how to use the snowblower. The rest is history! I cleared the driveway just fine. It was definitely a learning experience, though. I am sure I provided good entertainment for the people driving by as I got blasted in the face a few times. But it was kind of fun, once I got the hang of it. I was completely drenched and covered with snow by the time I was done, but I wasn't at all cold. My new snow boots (Christmas gift from Gus' parents) were awesome! Success!

Once the driveway was cleared, I had to load the kiddos up and take Nikos to preschool. It was a scary drive. The traction control light kept flickering on and off, letting me know that it was slippery out there. I don't think anyone was going over 15mph. Luckily, the preschool is really close, and it was still a quick drive. Once I got there, there were no parent cars in the parking lot-- I was worried that school was canceled (even though it didn't say so online). Nope! The teachers were all there, and most of his classmates ended up arriving at some point. We must've just been the first ones... probably since we live so close, ha!

Anyway... I had to clear the driveway again before picking him up, because it had already filled in again. I am pleased to report that I was much more efficient the second time, and didn't get as much snow blasted in my face. Maya found the whole process very entertaining, as she watched me from the living room window. The drive to get him was also a lot better, as the actual storm had died down and the roads had been plowed numerous times. Much, much better.

Once we were all home for the day, I was able to relax. More so once the storm stopped. That was when it was time to actually ENJOY the snow. And enjoy it we did! We got all bundled up in our snow gear and spent an hour and a half out back, doing every snow-type thing we could think of. They made snow angels. We sledded down the hill (fun!!), we threw snowballs, we ran around, and... (drumroll please!) we made a snowman! The kids' very first one, ever. They named him Ned, after the snowman in the book Snow, which we've been reading at night. And both kids have said, repeatedly, that he was the best part of the day. They love Ned! Can't you tell?

Ned also happens to be the first snowman I have made as an adult. I am kind of proud, haha!

Anyway, I am bone tired, and am hoping everyone sleeps well tonight. And I'm grateful that we don't have to leave the house tomorrow, if we don't want to. If my muscles aren't totally sore, we might attempt to build a snow fort. And I might bake some bread. Stay tuned!

Busy Busy Busy

2012-01-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

Today was a preschool day for Nikos, and it was another great day! The more I talk to the different teachers at his school, the more I know it's the right place for him. And listening to him go on and on about his day as we drive home is my favorite part of the day. Today, they made letter W's using "the things you put in your ears" (q-tips). They learned about penguins! They played with SAFARI ANIMALS! And, like the other two days, it was the BEST DAY EVER! haha!

Anyway, Maya and I were busy while he was gone, whipping up a batch of banana bread (with bananas expertly smooshed by my favorite girl) and folding four loads of laundry. I also cleaned up our laundry room, which is still a "work-in-progress," took measurements, and drew up some plans for the storage that I need Gus to build. I also removed the painter's tape that had been up for over a month. I knew it would be tough to get down, so I brought an Xacto knife. I don't even know why it was still up, since we usually remove the tape as soon as we're done painting. But Gus did it just before the kids and I arrived, and I think it just sort of got forgotten in all the shuffle. Still, it's down now! And my dream laundry room will be a reality sometime in the not-too-distant future!

We took a break to get our boy and eat some lunch, but then I got back to work... I put the living room back together, after painting it yesterday. I finally put some things on the walls! It's starting to look like we actually live here!

Then we played outside for a bit, until Maya got too cold. But I took this picture for my grandma (Hi, Grandma!). She had this wooden bear forever, and now it's moved across the country to live with us in the forest, hehe! Both kids think it's an Event to go onto the deck and see it. Nikos is a little scared of it, but Maya actually got down on her knees and was patting it on the head. Once she confirmed that it was not real and didn't talk, of course!

After that, it was back to home improvement. I worked on getting the blinds up in the guest bedroom. I bought all the blinds for the bedrooms and bathrooms a month ago, but hadn't put them up in this room yet. Why? Because I hate doing it! It's miserable, trying to screw brackets into woodwork above my head. I can't tell you how many times I jabbed myself with the screwdriver (regular AND electric). And working with your arms up like that HURTS! At any rate, I am embarrassed to say this, but I finally figured it out. Drill the holes first using a drill bit slightly smaller than the screws. Yes, I am a genius. I got all four blinds up in less than half an hour, compared to the hours I spent in the other rooms. I felt really, really dumb!

But, speaking of the guest room... We will actually be set up for guests soon! I ordered this queen-sized bed a few days ago, along with a mattress and some bedding (please note that this is the catalog photo... our room will be better!). I am so excited! Who wants to come visit first?

Anyway, it was a busy day! I'm tired! Tomorrow, we have a playdate in the morning, but then I'll probably try to sneak in some more home improvement/decorating. It's a never-ending process!

Potty Training: Days 3 and 4

2012-01-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, so technically, the method I use is called 3-Day Potty Training, but I forgot to post last night and we didn't go anywhere today... so four days it is!

I just have to make one observation about potty training. It is SO hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on the first day. I remember that with both kids. I thought I'd be spending weeks or months cleaning up accidents all the time. And I wanted to just forget the whole thing and go back to using nice, convenient diapers. However, now that I have potty trained two kids, I can say that I'm glad I stuck with the three-day plan. Hallelujah! I survived!

As for Maya, she is AWESOME! She had two back-to-back pee accidents yesterday morning, but then that was it. She was dry all day, and made lots of successful visits to the potty. And most of the time, she used the real toilet (not the little plastic potty).

Today, though, we were technically "done" with the three-day training. Which meant that I didn't need to stay glued to her side all day, like I did the previous three days. I had to trust her to tell me when she needed to go, and it was SO hard! I don't LIKE cleaning up messes! So I chose to distract myself by painting the living room. Most of the time, Maya was upstairs in the playroom-- not exactly by my side! But she DID it! She'd call to me, and we'd make it to the potty with time to spare! She had one "oops" where we almost made it in time (but not quite). And that was early in the day. After that, it was smooth sailing. She'd announce she had to go, we'd run through the house to the nearest bathroom (with her giggling the whole time), and the rest is history. GO MAYA!!

Tomorrow will be our first "road test," since we have to take Nikos to and from preschool. It's only a 5-minute drive, but I am still worried that she might have an accident. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she stays dry the whole time!

And although the big focus lately has been potty-training, we HAVE done other things. Like painting the living room, yay! I can't wait to see it in the morning light. And we played outside quite a bit, in short spurts since it was pretty cold. Both kids love collecting pine cones from the forest behind us and stacking them in a pile (a "nest," according to Nikos). Actually, it was funny. Nikos was very concerned last night that a moose would come and ruin the nest. I told him that moose were shy animals, and besides, I would protect it. That seemed to appease him. Still, he ran shrieking across the yard when he spotted his "nest" this afternoon, ha! Silly! And yes, there are moose here, but I have yet to see one!

OH! But then he announced he was a Power Ranger, and the pine cones were bad guys. So he took a stick and knocked them all down. And Maya cried. So much for worrying about the moose, sheesh!

Anyhow, here are a few pics from our outside time yesterday and today. This yard will be so awesome, once we get a swingset for the kids. Just having all this open space is amazing! And can you believe that we still have semi-green grass? In Massachusetts, in JANUARY? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it's so weird!

And, for fun, here's a pic of the back of the house, from the far end of the grassy area. We eventually plan to put in a patio/deck around the back door. And the porch off to the right needs new screens, but will be a lovely place to sit on spring and summer afternoons. And if we ever get any real snow, we are going to have the most awesome yard for sledding, ever! And please note the little white potty next to the door, haha!

Ok, one more, I swear! I debated whether or not to share this, since Gus is difficult when it comes to posting pictures of him. Still... too bad! I LOOOOOOVE this picture of him and our baby girl. I only wish I had taken it with my "good" camera. Love!!

Potty Training: Day 2

2012-01-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

Day two went pretty well, all things considered!

She didn't go to the bathroom as often, so there weren't as many opportunities for success. She did have a few accidents earlier in the day, but she (again) showed improvement after lunch. Actually, today marked a few milestones! One was that she use the "big" potty, without a training seat or anything. That was mostly a matter of timing and proximity, but she thought it was funny and clung to me for dear life while she did her business. She also pooped in the potty for the first time-- woohoo!! And, I'm pleased to report that there were no poop accidents today. Hallelujah! Finally, she impressed me tremendously by announcing mid-bath that she needed to go. With no prompting or reminders! Gus put her on the potty and, sure enough, she went. Yippee!!!

Anyway, I am proud of our little Potty-training Princess (she likes when I call her that, haha!). She even took an unexpected two-hour nap on the couch this afternoon, and woke up dry. Progress, my friends! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

And, just because I think it's adorable... our Sleeping Beauty during her nap. *sigh* I love her!

And yes, she is sleeping on top of a waterproof bed pad and underneath an old towel. The joys of potty-training, haha!

Potty Training: Day 1

2012-01-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

I know I said I was going to paint the living room today, but I totally forgot that I was planning to potty train Maya this weekend. It's amazing how many times I have forgotten, actually. Perhaps because I was trying to block it out? At any rate, it was time. She's the right age, she shows lots of interest and, well, we have to do it eventually. So today was the day. The day I've been dreading, after our failed attempt back whenever-it-was (April?). sigh.

Anyway, the morning was full of, well, messes. Lots of pee. It's kind of funny, actually. The 3-Day Potty Training booklet recommends keeping kids in just their undies (no pants) for easy access and clean-up. That wasn't really an option for us, since it's cold here and Maya gets cold more easily than her brother. So she wore leggings, which were just as easy to get on and off. Bonus: the leggings kept most of her pee accidents from ever actually reaching the floor or furniture. That was a lovely surprise, haha!

But the morning was a nightmare. She'd tell me she had to go after she'd already gone. No good. She was visibly upset every time she had an accident, which was an improvement over our last potty training attempt, and I KNEW it was only the first day, but I couldn't help wanting to throw in the towel.

Fortunately, though, I kept on going! After lunch, she had two more accidents and SIX successful potty visits!!! I was SO proud of my little girl! The day isn't even over yet, but I am optimistic that this attempt will be "the one." I can see everything starting to click in her head. Amazing!

I won't lie, though-- I am exhausted! I have been glued to her side all day long. I need a nap!

Our 'Hood

2012-01-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

You have been warned: this post will contain a lot of pictures. I was feeling inspired today, haha!

Anyway, today was Nikos' second day of preschool, and it was another big success! It was warm enough for them to end the day playing outside, and it was so fun to see him running around all rosy-cheeked with the other kids. And as we walked to the car, he kept saying, "I sure love this place! I'm going to miss it so much!" And in talking with one of his teachers, it sounds like he's transitioned really well into the group. Hooray! I couldn't be happier!

While our favorite boy was at preschool, Maya and I met up with my friend and her daughter for some coffee (for the grown-ups) and pastries. It was nice to just sit and chat, and Maya had fun sitting with her little buddy on the couch and watching the cars go by on Main Street. It was a lovely way to spend the morning, and we might just do it again next week!

After our coffee date, we still had a little time before going to pick Nikos up from school. I drove by the house to get my camera, and then Maya and I went on sort of a photo-taking tour of our neighborhood. Have I mentioned just how beautiful it is here? Well, it is. Allow me to show you the neighborhood, hehe!

Where we live is essentially an old farming community. One minute, you are surrounded by dense forest... the next, it opens up onto these sprawling New England farms. Or lakes. There are lots and lots of lakes (though the locals seem to mostly call them ponds. They're lakes to me!). Our town's population is very small... under 10,000 people. All the kids here go to the same elementary school, middle school, and high school. And yet we have a good-sized city only about 20 minutes away, with all the conveniences that affords. Not bad, I say!

Anyway... the pictures! We live on a corner, and this is the road on one side of our house. No joke.

If you keep driving along that road, these are a few things you'll see... a frozen creek:

A horse farm (along with several other farms)

The "pond" that is less than a mile behind our house

More farmland, with a stone wall. There are stone walls EVERYWHERE!

And much more of the same! It really is so rural and peaceful. I just love it!

A little farther away (a few miles), there is a really cool-looking old farm that I couldn't get a decent photo of. I did, however, hold up my camera and snap a quick photo of the Highland cattle they raise there. Highland cattle are furrier than standard cattle, and do well in the cold climate. I think they're cool! And they like to hang out right by the road. :)

Anyway, that's all I was able to get for today, but thought I'd share. I'll have to do it again in the spring/summer when everything is green again. And there's plenty more, too... lots of neat farms, huge old houses, churches, cemetaries, etc. I can't get enough!

Back to our day, though. We got Nikos, came home for a quick lunch, and then headed out to run some errands. And on the way back, it really started to snow. We'd seem the occasional flake throughout the day, but it started to really come down. It was light and fluffy and swirly, and very exciting! As soon as we got home, we ran out in the back yard to try and catch some on our tongues, haha! The kids were a little amped up and somewhat unclear on the concept, so they mostly ended up running around like chickens with their heads cut off. No real snowflake-catching occurred. But they had fun! And I did catch one picture of my crazy-happy boy. With a snowflake on his head. Yay!

So, then I got the kids inside and grabbed my macro filters. I love trying to take pictures of snowflakes, but BOY is it hard! I have an incredibly shallow depth of field to work with, and the slightest movement of the camera sends everything out of focus. Factor in the wind, the cold, and the weight of my camera (it's heavy), and getting a decent shot is really tough! These aren't perfect, but I like them nonetheless!

And one last one for the night! I just thought this was funny. Maya was whining at me for a while, and I couldn't really hear what she was saying. I told her I'd come up in a minute (figuring she was upstairs in the playroom). I walked around the corner and saw this. And no, she wasn't stuck-- she can work the gate just fine. Just lying on the stairs and whining, haha! She wanted me to help her find Boots (Dora is on the steps there). Funny girl! And yes, these stairs need carpeting... one of these days!

And that's it, for today! Tomorrow's mission: paint the living room!

Brr!!

2012-01-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

After we got up, ate some breakfast, and I'd had a cup of coffee, I checked the weather website this morning. It looked positively beautiful outside-- bright blue skies, not a cloud in sight! So imagine my surprise when I saw this:

Thank goodness for central heating, is all I have to say! I had no idea it was so cold out there!

Anyway, I had planned on a trip to the home improvement store, but the super-coldness, combined with the fact that Nikos did NOT want to get dressed, made me reassess my plan. I realized that I had everything I needed to paint Maya's bedroom, so I sucked it up and finally did it. I want to say that I hate painting, but the fact is that I don't. I despise all the prep work, and edging, and inside corners. Oh, and cleaning up. But the part where I use the roller to slap some paint on the walls? That part is kind of fun! And seeing the end result is the best part of all.

Maya chose her room color, just like Nikos did. I was unsure of her choice. She loves purple and pink, but I had hoped she would pick something that was either "more pink" or "more purple." As opposed to a purply-pink, which she made a beeline for. But, in the spirit of "it's just paint," I bought a gallon of "Politely Purple," and the rest is history. And honestly, I think it looks good! It doesn't really go with her bedding and whatnot, but it's given me some ideas of how I'd like to do her "big girl" room. Maybe for her birthday!

Also, while I was painting, a package arrived on our doorstep. Don't laugh at me... but we bought an electric fireplace! hehe! It's essentially a decorative space heater. This house is enormous, and we turn the heat way down low once the kids are asleep. We thought it would be nice to have a heater just for the living room, where we watch tv (and blog!). And, well, we liked the idea of one that looked like a little wood stove, hehe! So we used some gift cards, and it arrived today. I love it!

Anyway, tomorrow is another preschool day, and Maya and I are going to meet up with my friend and her daughter for a "girls-only" coffee-and-pastries date while the boys are at school. Should be fun!

First Day of School!

2012-01-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Well... it was a huge success!! Our day started off on the early side, with Nikos climbing into bed and then chattering on and on about different preschool-related things. What if he didn't know the words to the songs they sang? What if he didn't want to eat the snack? How would the other kids know his name? etc. It might have been annoying if it wasn't so sweet. He was SO excited! He was even excited to let me take his picture on our front porch, wearing his warm jacket and backpack. I wish he'd taken his hood off, but the fact that he posed willingly was a miracle-- so I didn't push it!

I hadn't planned on sending him in his big jacket, but this morning ended up being one of the colder ones we've had. By the time we left at 8:45, it had warmed up to a toasty 20 degrees. With icy wind. So the big coat became a necessity, though they ended up not playing outside today, anyway (too cold).

The drop-off went really smoothly. We walked in, Nikos found the little card with his name on it, and put it in the rainbow bucket. The director walked us over and showed us where Nikos' hook was in the coat room, and that's where he left his backpack and outerwear. And then he gave me a hug and a kiss, and we left! Piece of cake!

Maya, however, was a MESS. Let me just take a little detour here to talk about Maya. She LOVES her big brother, and she is always making sure that he is being taken care of. If she comes and asks me for a snack, she inevitably gets one for him, too. If she gets her milk from the fridge, she brings him his. Last night, when Gus and I had to cut Nikos' fingernails and he was crying because he hates it? She was climbing on me, crying, attempting to rescue her brother. She is just always looking out for him. And when we left him at preschool this morning, she fell apart. I think she thought we just ditched him or something, because she kept saying, "We can't go without Niko! Mommy, go back right now! We need to get my brother!" all while the tears were streaming down her cheeks. She cried for a good 15 minutes! I took this picture as she was finally pulling herself together in the supermarket parking lot, but you can still see how sad she was. And then she was fine the rest of the morning, but she LIT UP when I told her it was time to get her brother. The whole way there, she was talking about how she was going to give him hugs. And how he was very brave for going to preschool. Seriously? She is just about the best little sister ever. Nikos has no idea how lucky he is!

Anyway, we popped in to get him, and he was just full of smiles. He LOVED it! They sang songs he knew! They knew his name! He even talked to some of the other kids, and they played with cool toys! He didn't really like the snack, but that was okay. The list goes on and on, but the end result was that he is very excited to go back on Thursday. And I am thrilled that he had a great first day!

On a side note... I got there a little faster than planned when it was time to pick him up, so Maya and I drove around for a bit. I snapped this photo just to show you what all the roads look like around here. Seriously, they all pretty much look like this. I think it's so pretty, even at this time of year when there are no leaves. Just imagine what it looks like in the spring/summer! Or the fall! I am constantly amazed by just how beautiful this place is!

First Post of 2012!

2012-01-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

And I am pleased to report that 2012 has been just fine so far, haha!

We celebrated New Year's Day yesterday morning by cutting our vasilopita after breakfast. The kids were very excited about it, but then Nikos got mad that his designated slice didn't have a number "2" on it in red icing. I actually got out the red icing and put one on there for him, but it wasn't enough. He had a bite or two and declared that he was done. Meanwhile, Maya finished her piece, and then took care of his, too! The girl loved her vasilopita!

After the kids were served, Gus was cutting his designated slice in half when the knife landed right on the gold coin (wrapped in foil). It looks like Gus is going to have an especially good year! And that is great, considering he is our sole provider now. A little extra luck never hurt anyone!

Once we were done with cake-eating (and subsequent vacuuming around Maya), we got dressed and hit the road. We went to the home improvement store, and bought all sorts of things (replacement breakers for the electrical panel, cabinet pulls for the kitchen, paint samples, etc.). Then we decided to go furniture shopping. The thing about having a house three times bigger than our old one is that we literally have empty rooms right now. At this point, we're looking for sitting room and guest room furniture, but we also need office furniture. And I'm really wanting to get Nikos a real twin bed for his room. So that's a lot of furniture! And we're trying to save money, too. So yesterday's plan was to look and see what's out there, and get an idea for prices. We didn't really see anything we liked, though the kids loved the indoor koi pond at the store, haha! We had to drag them away!

We did make one more stop before heading home, and came away with a new area rug for our bedroom. So we were at least partially successful!

Anyway... today was spent mostly cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And going to lunch while Gus' truck got new tires. And putting the pulls onto the cabinets. It's weird, but NONE of the kitchen cabinets or drawers had any hardware. No holes for it, even. And they are kind of hard to get a good grip on without them, so it was just silly! At any rate, I am a little over halfway done at this point, and I am loving them. It's the simple things, right??

Tomorrow is a Big Day in the P house, with our big boy starting preschool. He's excited, though he told us at dinner that he doesn't want to make new friends or talk to anyone-- he just wants to play with dinosaurs. I am sure that attitude will change once he's there. In a lot of ways, our boy is a stickler for rules and routines... so I bet he is going to do just fine! I won't lie, though, I am nervous. I feel like it's MY first day of school! So silly!

At any rate, there will be lots of pictures... worry not!

Goodbye, 2011!

2011-12-31T17:27:00.000-08:00

365 days and 3,000 miles later... we're a world away (practically!) from where we were last New Year's Eve! It's crazy to think just how much our lives have changed this year. In the past few months, especially.

Anyway, we spent the last day of 2011 being very productive in our new house! Once I woke up and had everyone fed, I went about making my very-first-ever vasilopita. Vasilopita is a cake or bread (in this case, an orange sponge-type cake) that you eat on New Year's Day. There's a really specific way that you cut it, by first making the sign of the cross. And then you use a knife to score the top, designating each slice for a family member or important item (house, job, etc.) that you'd like to have good luck in the new year. Then you eat the slices. One will have a gold coin hidden inside, which is supposed to be extra lucky. Anyhow, Gus' mom has always made vasilopita for us, but she sent me the recipe the other day. I hope I did it right!

After that, it was work-work-work all day. Gus spent the majority of his day in the garage, finally sorting through the mountain of stuff. All the kids' outdoor toys went into the basement, and a ton of stuff went up to the attic for long-term storage. Our exercise equipment came inside, too, so our bedroom now boasts a little gym, haha! Our bedroom is really long, and it definitely has the space. So the elliptical and treadmill are now in there. And I got my exercise for the day by helping Gus wrestle them both up the stairs. Not fun!!

At any rate, the main things remaining in the garage now are Gus' tools (which will eventually move to the workshop we plan to build on the back corner of the property), my car, and the basics: trash/recycling bins, snow blower, backup generator, and lawn mower. It looks a thousand times better! Hallelujah!

While Gus was busy in the garage, the kids and I got to work on taking down all the Christmas decorations and getting them up into the attic. Our house is officially de-Christmased, which is both sad and somewhat freeing. Now we have to figure out what to do in the front room! The tree was the main attraction in there, but now there is literally not a single piece of furniture, other than the piano. I'm continuing to check CraigsList daily in hopes that I will find something "just right." But time will tell!

While we were cleaning, I also came across the solar system mobile kit that my parents got for Nikos. I thought it would be a fun project to do with the kids! Then I realized that the planets were completely unpainted. And, knowing that the mobile would be up in Nikos' room for a long time, combined with my Type A need for the colors to at least be somewhat scientifically accurate... I painted them all myself. And then completed the delicate task of hanging them all with the provided fishing line. All while two interested kiddos watched and commented on my every move, ha! The end result was pretty awesome, though, and they both spent a lot of time sitting in Nikos' room this afternoon, admiring his solar system. And the colors look good with his dark brown walls, which sort of gave me some ideas on how I want to decorate his "big boy room." I'm excited!

The rest of the afternoon, I cleaned, did laundry, and got Nikos' things ready for his first day of preschool on Tuesday. It should be a big week for us, since he's starting preschool and I'm also planning to start potty-training Maya. We have big, exciting things ahead of us in 2012. Now, let's just see if I can stay awake until midnight, haha (Gus is already asleep on the couch!).

Oh... and here are two more funny pictures I pulled on my camera today. Gus' parents gave the kids roller skates for Christmas. They are hilarious!!

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Proof I Love My Kids

2011-12-30T18:07:00.000-08:00

Not that I need to prove it, but here you go: I let Nikos choose the paint color for his bedroom. And as much as I wanted to say "No! That's too dark!" or "That doesn't go with the color scheme," I refrained. Sure, I tried to suggest other colors (even lighter versions of the same color), but he had his little heart set on a DARK BROWN room. And when he makes up his mind, he really makes up his mind. He's actually been saying this for months, but I was crossing my fingers that he'd forget about it. No dice! The kid wants what he wants. And in the spirit of "it's just paint," I abandoned my Type-A tendencies and bought the exact shade he picked out. And today was painting day!

It started out like this... pale blue. Not bad, but pretty boring. Maya's room is currently the same color (but will be "politely purple" soon-- but that's another post for another time!).

And after a million coats and countless touch-ups (because painting with such dark paint is horrible!), here's what we have:

It actually looks better in real life, since my cheapie camera makes the floors look really orange and yucky. It looks pretty modern! I was surprised! I still need to do more touching-up, but it will have to wait until I have some natural light in there again.

But yeah... I painted his room DARK BROWN. If that isn't love, I don't know what is!

Mall Morning

2011-12-29T13:10:00.000-08:00

We had a fun morning at the mall with our new friends! We had talked about getting together, and I thought it might be fun to venture out someplace different. And when it's this cold (today's high? 29 degrees!), indoors is really the best option. So the mall it was!

We met at the new play area this morning, which kept the kids occupied for maybe 20 minutes. They liked it, but there just wasn't a ton to do there. They were more interested in jumping around on the floor-screen-thing just outside the play area. This picture was actually taken when there was an ad showing, but most of the time there were cute little games on there that they enjoyed. Whatever! Free entertainment is entertainment nonetheless!

After that, we made a brief pit stop at Starbucks, where the kiddos enjoyed pastries and apple juice.

And then it was on to the pet store, which was... not in business anymore. Doh! That was a small disappointment. But it faded VERY quickly when they learned that there was a MERRY-GO-ROUND at this mall! Hooray! So all four kiddos piled on, and enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

We did a little shopping, ate some lunch, and that was pretty much our outing! It was a lot of fun, and it was entertaining to see Nikos and his new friend really getting past their initial shyness and starting to play together. They raced each other and, at one point, suddenly started wrestling on the floor of a department store, giggling hysterically. They are totally cut from the same mold, personality-wise, and it is so weird to think that they will eventually be in the same high school class together. They disagree on the awesomeness of Star Wars (Nikos isn't a fan), but are otherwise two peas in a pod. So cute!

Anyway, I realized once we got to this particular mall that we were only about 10 minutes from Gus' office. I hadn't yet met any of his coworkers, and neither had the kids, so we called him up and popped over for a quick visit. We met a lot of people, all of whom were incredibly friendly, and the kids loved exploring Daddy's new office. But the highlight, by FAR, was when we went down to the company's warehouse, where all the shipping/receiving takes place. The guy who works there is really friendly, and he let the kids take turn playing with the styrofoam peanut dispenser (AKA "the snow machine!!!!!!!"). They couldn't get enough, and we had to practically drag them out of there. Nikos is already talking about going to visit Daddy again so he can "make more snow." Maya also declared it her favorite part of the day. Silly kids!

Speaking of snow... We should be getting the real thing tonight and tomorrow morning, but with no real accumulation (still!). The weather website says it is currently 16 degrees outside, but that it "feels like 2 degrees." It's COLD! Brrrrr!!!

Our Day

2011-12-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it was a relatively quiet holiday for us this year, seeing as how our family and friends are all 3,000 miles away. But sad thoughts aside, we actually had a lovely day at home in our pajamas. And Santa was VERY nice to the kids this year (as usual), so they were over the moon. And that is really the best part of Christmas, to me-- seeing their happy faces!

Anyhow... it started off on a great note, with Nikos coming in to wake us shortly after 7am. That is LATE for him, so we got to sleep in! He quickly checked the monitor and went to get Maya, and the four of us snuggled in bed for a while until Maya started petitioning for breakfast. NOT presents, mind you! I think she actually forgot. The girl just wanted some food!

Once Gus and I were up and ready, we all went downstairs. Maya's desire for breakfast evaporated the second she realized that Santa had visited! And left PlasmaCars! They both loved zipping around the house on their new "motorcycles," as Nikos called them. Power Ranger motorcycles, to be exact. haha!

But they soon settled down and dug into their stockings. Maya played dress-up with her new fairy wings and Nikos worked on his Spider-Man puzzle while I assembled breakfast and tossed it in the oven.

The rest of the morning, we opened presents slowly, pausing to open/assemble/play with everything. And there were a LOT of things! We took a break to eat breakfast, then kept right on going until it was nearly lunch time. The whole time, it was snowing outside, which was so pretty to look at. I even stopped the festivities at one point to grab my camera and macro filter to get a snowflake picture before it all melted. And, it's not perfect, but it's pretty cool nonetheless!

And then we resumed the unwrapping, of course! Both kids received so many presents that they could name as their favorites, but this cookie set was one of Maya's, and Nikos loved the police helmet we got him (which is actually really fun... we all took turns playing with it. It even has a microphone function where you can amplify whatever you'd like, such as "Please pull over! Remain in your vehicle!" haha!).

Anyway, it was a nice morning. The kids had a wonderful time. After lunch, we watched "Cars 2," which was one of Nikos' gifts. We talked with family. We hung out in our pajamas. We played with toys. It was that sort of day! We capped it off with a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and pumpkin pie. All in all, a lovely, quiet holiday.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

We had a nice day today, spent mostly relaxing together as a family! We had lunch at a restaurant, complete with ice cream sundaes. We ran a few quick errands. We almost locked ourselves out of the house. You know, the usual!

Actually, the almost-locking-ourselves-out-of-the-house nearly ruined our day. We realized halfway through lunch that neither one of us had brought our house key. We had left through the garage. But the thing is that the garage remote needs to be reprogrammed, so we closed it by hitting the button and running out quickly. So we were really out of luck! Or so we thought. We were already contemplating the pros and cons of breaking into the house vs. calling a locksmith when we got home. And-- hallelujah!-- the back door was unlocked. That's not normally a GOOD thing, but in this case, it was wonderful! I promptly grabbed my keys and we headed to the hardware store to make a few more copies of it. And we need to get that remote figured out this weekend! This afternoon could have been VERY un-fun!

But, as I said, it all worked out. The kids got to open their Christmas Eve gifts (new pajamas), they watched some Christmas movies, and just generally had a nice time. I decorated the table, and Gus helped me iron the lace runner I like to put on top. We had our typical Christmas Eve dinner of chili and cornbread, a meal that everyone in the house likes. The kids bathed and got into their new jammies, and then they got together the plate of goodies for Santa. Maya was seriously eyeing that carrot. Silly girl!

After that, we all snuggled together and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Nikos was concerned that Santa was actually going to come into his room, but I assured him that Santa goes straight to the tree/stocking area and that's it. I also told him to listen for the reindeer landing on our roof, and then Santa would be here. His eyes were HUGE! Not in a scared way, but in an "Oh-my-gosh-it's-really-happening-TONIGHT!" kind of way. It was adorable. Honestly, they are both at such GREAT ages to enjoy Christmas. I'm just as excited as they are for tomorrow morning!!!

Brown Christmas

2011-12-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

So, the ground looks exactly like it did yesterday, haha! It snowed for nearly two hours, but it was too warm for anything to stick. It melted shortly after hitting the ground, and gone completely within a half-hour or so after the snow stopped. It amazed me, though, just how "big" the snow was this time! Last time, we had these individual tiny flakes that swirled around all over the place! This time, they were more like clusters of snow that sort of plopped down all around us. It was a lot slushier, too. Kind of disappointing, since I finally got my macro filters and there weren't any "pretty" snowflakes!

But we didn't let the pathetic snow stop us from enjoying it! Of course not! We are "snow newbies" around here! As soon as the kids finished eating their breakfast, I began the process of trying to get them into all their snow stuff (with their PJs underneath). In retrospect, it probably wasn't necessary to have them bundle up so much. But to my California brain, snow means you wear snow clothing. At any rate, one of the two small people (*cough* Nikos *cough*) was less than cooperative, and everything took three times as long as it should have. And as this was happening, I could see the snow starting to slow down. By the time we actually got out there, there were just random flakes falling every few minutes. Nothing like when I filmed that video earlier! I had wanted them to try catching snowflakes on their tongues, and was disappointed that we didn't get out there in time. I know we will have plenty more chances, but still! I was a little sad. And irritated. Oh well, next time.

Even though there was hardly any snow on the ground, the kids still seemed to enjoy the experience of getting their gear on and running around the yard. I was the one who had to drag them in, because I slipped and my rear end was soggy (and cold!!). This is what happens when you wear your pajamas in the snow. Sadly, I am not joking. :)

Anyway, it was very fun (and festive!) while it lasted, and we should get another "dusting" on Monday, according to the forecast. No white Christmas this year! But at least we have something to look forward to!

And, on a TOTALLY unrelated note, I added drawer pulls to the bedroom dresser we got off of CraigsList. I think they make the dresser look so much nicer! Our room is starting to look more "put together."

Look!

2011-12-23T05:22:00.001-08:00

It's been snowing since about 7am, and hasn't stopped yet!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2011-12-22T18:04:00.001-08:00

Check it out!

It shouldn't be a big storm, but 1-2 inches will be fun for the kids... and the fact that it is supposed to snow during the early part of the day means that we might even be able to go outside while it's still falling (something Nikos really wants to do)! So after dinner tonight, the kids and I gathered up all their snow gear in preparation for a morning snow adventure. I'm kind of giddy about it! It should be fun! Especially since I bought an inexpensive set of macro filters for my camera that I am eager to play with. Snowflakes, here I come!

Strangely enough, we were hit by a huge thunderstorm last night, and I thought for sure we would get at least a little snow out of it, but nope! It was too warm. In Massachusetts. In December. Go figure!

But back to our day... It was actually on the warmer side (high-40s) and clear, so Gus took his motorcycle to work and left the truck with us. We ended up going to a lab so that Nikos could get a lead test done (it's a state requirement for preschool). He was NOT a fan of the finger-stick, but it was over with pretty quickly, and I was able to placate him with a blue Power Ranger action figure. After the test, we went to the store to get a few things, and stopped by the bank to make a deposit. By the time we got home, it was lunchtime... and both kids were sound asleep! ha! They perked up pretty quickly after having some food, though, and were back to their normal crazy selves within a half-hour or so. They helped me do laundry, dishes, and basically clean up around here.

Then, this afternoon, we baked cookies! Nikos and I have had sort of an ongoing discussion about which cookies Santa likes best. I insist that he likes peanut butter cookies, and he is certain that Santa prefers chocolate chip. Nevermind the frosted sugar cookies, which are long gone, haha! Anyway, we decided that we will make both. So we made a (very small) batch of chocolate chip cookies today, and will make the peanut butter ones tomorrow. I have to say, chocolate chip cookie dough is the BEST!!! I didn't let the kids eat any (because of the raw eggs), but I managed to sneak quite a few spoonfuls for myself. And wash it down with eggnog, since I was on a raw-egg spree! It was quite delightful. Meanwhile, the kids were dancing to holiday music and doing puzzles on the new rug in the front room. It really felt like Christmas!

After dinner, we all went to pick up my car from the shop, because it is finally fixed!!! Nearly two weeks to the day after it died on me, it now has an entirely new engine. It's practically a new car! And it was all covered by the extended warranty, thank goodness. I am officially glad we decided to purchase that warranty, now that it has more than paid for itself. And I am SUPER happy to have my car back. I like being a homebody, and don't have a need to go out all the time. But knowing that I COULDN'T was making me crazy! I'm glad to have my freedom back. Hallelujah!

Take THAT, To Do List!

2011-12-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

Booya! In case you couldn't tell, I felt sort of productive today. :)

I started my morning with an early wake-up call from our darling son, who had to use the potty. Luckily, Gus was already up and showering, so he got to handle that one. Then Nikos came out and wanted to talk to me. I convinced him to sleep. It actually worked! Score one for Mom!

We got up at around 6:30, and quickly ate and got dressed. I also threw dinner in the crock pot so that it could work its magic all day while we were out and about. By 8:15, we were out the door and on our way to preschool. I turned in all the paperwork to enroll our big boy, and the director walked him around to see the various rooms. The school doesn't start until 9am, but they also provide before/after care-- so there were a few kiddos already there. Nikos clung to me for dear life! Maya did, too, to a certain extent. I don't think they said more than two words combined to the teachers, but I'm sure that will change soon!

As expected, Nikos talked about this visit almost non-stop for the rest of the day. Of course! Because even though he was SO shy, he was noticing every minute detail of that school. And I think he is pretty excited about it. They even had his little cubby labeled and ready to go. :) He'll start on January 3rd. I think he is going to have a blast there!

After that, we made the drive to our new pediatrician's office-- the one my mommy friend had hooked us up with. And I am so glad she did, because we had a fantastic experience there. For one, the drive there was really easy. It's actually in "the city" (Worcester), and I despise driving there. Lots of one-way streets and confusing intersections that meet at weird angles. But there is an easy little back-roads way of getting there, that is super direct and skirts the congested part of the city entirely. And it's beautiful! Lots of rolling hills, farmland, and trees... and then BOOM! you hit the city, and the pediatrician's office is right there. In an amazing old Victorian home, complete with turrets and everything. So the drive and the ambiance are great to begin with! Not that that really matters when choosing a pediatrician (ha!), but it sure put me in a great mood!

Then, everyone was just incredibly nice. I chatted with the receptionist for a while, and left feeling like I had made a new friend, hehe! The entire office staff was really friendly and down-to-earth. And the doctor! She was wonderful! She was so great with the kids, and even had Nikos giggling by the end of the appointment (unheard of!). It was such a great match. She is one of the owners of the practice, too, and really knows her stuff. By the time we left, we had everything we needed for the preschool AND both kids got their flu shots. Nikos never even realized he got a shot. And both kids were loaded up with lollipops and stickers as we left. We will definitely be going back! Nikos even announced in the car that he liked getting his check-up. His words: "Check-ups don't hurt in Massachusetts! They only hurt in California!" Whatever, kid. But I'm glad he was happy. And the verdict? We have a healthy four-year-old! 50th percentile for height, 75th for weight. I knew he'd been eating bricks!

Anyway... Since we were in the city, I decided to find the mall. I'd never been there, but I wanted to buy an area rug and knew the mall had a few good stores for that. We actually need a lot of them (the entire house is hardwood), but I was determined to get ONE today... so we could sit on it to open presents on Christmas. I dragged the kids a few places, found one that I liked, and then a very kind store employee actually carried the whole thing through the store and out to the parking lot for me. He really didn't need to do that, but I sure appreciated it. And the kids love the new rug! It's actually going to go in the living room once Christmas is over, but it will be perfect in the front room for now. Hooray!

At that point, it was lunch time, so we stopped by McDonald's (my bribe to Nikos for going to the doctor) and got some food to take home. And just as we got home, the clouds decided to dump buckets on us! It rained pretty much all afternoon. Which was fine, because I got to actually hang some things on the walls and make this place look more homey. All while smelling dinner in the crock pot, and watching the kids dance to silly songs on the new rug. It really was a great afternoon! I actually snapped this really quickly when they were out of the room. Behold, my new rug! And the insanity that is the gift pile under our tree, as things continue to arrive from various relatives. These kids are going to go bananas on Sunday!

Also, I was too tired to post last night, but the kids made ornaments yesterday! We wrapped them up and they gave them to Gus when he got home. I haven't taken photos of the final products yet, but they were salt-dough ornaments. Each kid made one of their handprint, and I wrote their name and the year on there. Once they were done baking, the kids painted them with acrylics, and I sprayed a clear gloss on top to seal it all in. They turned out really cute, and the kids had so much fun! Here are a few photos from the painting stage. Hard at work!

I also spent the day yesterday unpacking as many of the remaining boxes as possible. I've reached a point where we really need some office furniture, and an organization system for the dining room closet. But we're almost there! Time to really get moving on the painting (ugh!).

Hair!

2011-12-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

(by the way, you know I am actually singing the song after typing out that title. And now it will be stuck in my head for days!!)

Maya has a full head of beautiful hair. It's amazing to think that this little girl, who was born with a head covered in short, dark hair, now has this shaggy mane just 2.5 years later. I was looking at it in the sunshine this morning, and admiring all the colors in it. It's definitely brown, but she also has a lot of red/gold highlights. It is SO gorgeous. And wavy, with these lovely curls at the end. Of course, I might be biased, being her mother and all, but she is just so pretty it takes my breath away. And smart, and sweet, and HILARIOUS... but today, the focus is on the hair.

I mean, just look! A "before-and-after"-- 2.5 years of growing it out!

And last night, she even let me attempt to French braid it. She's letting me play with it more and more, which is giving me the chance to practice actually doing little hairstyles. I do nothing to my own hair, other than straighten it or put it in a ponytail, so this French braid was a HUGE challenge. Especially given the fact that my only previous practice at French-braiding was on my Rainbow Brite doll as a kid, ha! And it's far from perfect... but the fact that it's there at ALL is somewhat amazing!

Oh, the joys of having a little girl!!

White Christmas?

2011-12-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

It snowed again today!!!!!!!

It really only lasted for about an hour, and nothing "stuck," but it was SO pretty to watch. And a complete surprise, since today's weather forecast was completely wrong. Even AS it was snowing, the weather website said it was just "partly cloudy." Not exactly! At any rate, the kids went bananas. This was the first time they had ever seen it actually falling from the sky, and they were thrilled at how it swirled around in the air. And, I won't lie... so was I! I loved it! I tried so, SO hard to get a decent picture of it, but was unsuccessful. And cold, since I was in my pajamas. :) But here's a picture of a few flakes on the rail of the deck. I love how they are ACTUALLY "snowflake-shaped." I mean, sure... they're snowflakes. But I've never SEEN one that really looked like that before! It made me realize that I need a macro lens for my camera. Soon!

Anyway, that was a high point of our day. We didn't go anywhere or do anything terribly exciting. We ate French toast in our pajamas. I made a giant pot of beef vegetable stew in the afternoon. And I cleaned, and baked cookies, and made a shopping list. Totally domestic.

At one point, though, Nikos discovered a dreidel in the front room. My new mommy friend is Jewish, and her kids celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. Her son brought a dreidel to show Nikos when they came yesterday, and forgot it here. Anyway, Nikos wanted to know what it was, so I did my very best at explaining Judaism. It fell on deaf ears until I mentioned that the game of dreidel is usually played with chocolate coins. Chocolate, you say??? Nikos was suddenly VERY interested. So much so that later on, he walked into the room, heaved a huge sigh, and said, "I wish I could be Jewish!" hahahahaha!!! I just about died. And soon, Maya started asking me if SHE was Jewish. Sorry, kids, no chocolate coins for you. Since that's the entire meaning of "being Jewish" and all. Sheesh!

Later on in the day, Maya cracked me up again. She walked into the kitchen wearing Nikos' shoes, and insisted that she as Nikos. So I said, "Okay, then say something Nikos would say!" She looked surprised, then deep in thought... and a minute later, she said in a lower voice, "I WANT SKETTI AND MEATBALLS!" Oh my gosh! I died. Several times over. It was so, SO perfect. She doesn't even like meatballs, so she really did put some thought into it. Hilarious!

Oh, and this was them at around lunchtime. I was sitting in one barstool, so there was only one other one. Maya was in it, but Nikos wanted to get up. Maya said, "It's okay, Niko, you can just sit in my lap!" So... he did! No complaints! It was so... unusual, haha!

(and yes, Maya is wearing water shoes. One of about 10 pairs of shoes she wore throughout the day)

Finally, I just wanted to share that Maya's favorite Christmas song, by FAR, is "Santa Baby." The Eartha Kitt version. She called it "Baby Santa" for a few days, but has now figured it out. She sings a lot of the words and does this little shimmying dance move. I've been trying to catch it on video, with no success so far. But rest assured, it is the CUTEST THING EVER! ack!

Official!

2011-12-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

So I got my Massachusetts driver's license in the mail today, complete with a horrific photo (which is to be expected, of course!). So I guess this means I am officially a Massachusetts resident! I also received my ATM/debit card for the account we recently opened with a local bank. We're assimilating... ack! :)

In other news... my mommy friend came over this morning for a playdate, and I had a lot of fun showing her around the house while the kids ran wild together. AND she brought me a vanilla chai from a local coffee place. This might not sound like a big deal, but I have sort of a Starbucks problem. I have been spoiled for too long, constantly receiving gift cards from students, and having not one, but TWO Starbucks right along my drive to work. I literally salivate when I think about having one of their chai lattes (my usual order). Pavlovian response? Perhaps. But the truth is that I have never had a chai latte that even compared to Starbucks. Until this one, which was (gasp!) even BETTER! It was so, SO delicious! And made even tastier by the fact that it comes from a small, locally-owned, non-chain place. That is less than ten minutes away. AND they apparently sell amazing pastries that are to die for. Best. Discovery. Ever. haha! And yes, I just devoted like half of this post to chai lattes. Nummy nummy!

Anyhow... the kids had a fabulous time together, and I am hopeful we can do it again soon. Yippee!

On a totally different note, I was domestic yesterday. Actually, I was in full-on "Pinterest Mode." I find so many amazing ideas on Pinterest, and I made my shopping list this week with those things in mind. I found a great new pork chop recipe, which was SO easy and SO tasty (Nikos at two whole pork chops!). I tried baking potatoes in the crock pot for the first time, too, with amazing results. How did I not know about this before?? I also made my own strawberry fruit leather and chocolate chip granola bars for the kids-- both were hits! Then I made some pizza dough to store in the freezer. And, I am pleased to report that tonight's pizza (made with said dough) was INCREDIBLE. Best pizza I have ever made. Finally, I made up a batch of this Cream of Something Soup powder to have on hand as a healthier substitute when a recipe calls for a can of Cream of (Whatever) Soup. At the end of the day, I was feeling pretty darn accomplished! And tomorrow, I am going to make a few more batches of pizza dough, because it was just awesome and super easy to work with-- and it froze/defrosted really well.

Hooray!

Science! And Christmas magic!

2011-12-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I spent most of the day finishing up the paint job in our master bedroom, and it looks great! The kids were so cooperative. They either sat and watched me, or played nicely together in the play room. It was hard work, though, and I am glad to be done. One room down, several thousand more square feet to go (ugh!). But I won't think about that right now!

Anyway... Backing up... Last night, I went holiday shopping with my new friend, and it was so nice to just hang out and get shopping done without kids in tow. She showed me a really nice outdoor shopping center that isn't too far away, and I look forward to going there again. And they had a Starbucks!!!! I know that sounds silly, but MA is the Land of Dunkin Donuts. And while DD coffee is okay (and cheaper), it just doesn't taste the same. So that was a nice treat. :)

At any rate, I made dinner for everyone before I left, and that included chopping up some celery. I was thinking that this bunch of celery was particularly leafy, and that it would have been good for the demonstration I did with the fifth graders every year. On a whim, I grabbed a couple of cups, filled them with water and food coloring, and tossed the tops of the celery in there. And, after lunch today, the kids and I "did science!" Yay!

I had them make observations before we cut into the celery, and they both noticed splotches of blue dye on the celery leaves. And they were SO excited to see the colored "stripes" inside the celery. I told them that the stripes were little tubes that sucked up the water from the cup, but I don't think they were really paying attention, ha! They did, however, love using the butter knife to chop up the celery. Whatever! It was still fun! :)

Then, this afternoon, Nikos did something. I don't remember what it was, so it couldn't have been that bad, but it was something "not nice." I should backtrack here and say that we've been doing the whole Elf on the Shelf thing. The link explains it well, but basically... we have a "scout elf" that visits us every day and reports back to Santa at night. Nikos has named him Max, and today he was discovered to be lounging in our Christmas tree.

Anyhow, Nikos did something, and I said, "You know, Max is watching everything you do. Do you really want him to tell Santa you just did that?"

Not two seconds later, Maya was TEARING across the room to get to the tree... so she could tell Max that Nikos was being naughty. Nikos followed suit, rushing over to defend himself. It was like they were pleading their cases before a judge. And... in their Halloween costumes, no less, because they were in the middle of playing dress up.

I love these kids! haha!!

Odds and Ends

2011-12-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

Not too much to report from these parts!

We had a lovely weekend with Gus actually home (he's traveled for business a lot lately). Yesterday, we went to the tractor supply store to price out pellet stoves. It was in a neighboring small town, about twenty minutes away through beautiful countryside. Seriously, Massachusetts is SO beautiful. There are lakes everywhere, thick forests, and then areas where it opens up into beautiful rolling farmland. And there are a LOT of farms in the area... many within our town itself, actually. So we really enjoyed the drive. And the kids loved stopping to see the cows and sheep that were grazing by the road. It was very rural and just lovely. And it's winter! Imagine it when the trees are all green! SO PRETTY!

Anyway, we didn't come home with a pellet stove, but we did end up with two kids who thought the tractor store was the coolest place ever. It is pretty neat, if not kind of redneck... But they sell all sorts of things, including the largest selection of tractor toys I have ever seen in one place. Nikos wanted all of them. We told him "maybe for your birthday." So now he's going around telling people that he will go to the tractor store when he's 5, ha!

Oh, and it was pretty cold yesterday... Like today, it hovered in the upper 30s all afternoon. So we went to get dressed to go, and both kids insisted on wearing the hats that my mom made for them. Maya has always loved her hat, but Nikos wouldn't wear his (despite its awesomeness). But he officially loves it now! Even if he resisted my photo-taking. So this one's for you, Mom!

I spent yesterday afternoon making sugar cookie dough with Nikos, then installing our new window blinds. I still have six more to go, and have lost all desire to do them. Maybe tomorrow. But my shoulders are still aching from the first seven sets. Not fun! They look great, though!

This morning, my girl and I made a spontaneous trip to the home improvement store to pick up paint for the master bedroom. It's funny... I had agonized so long over what color to choose, but then just went with my gut. And I'm glad, because it looks great! While Maya was napping (or not... more on that in a sec!), I taped up the longest wall in the room (the one where all the furniture is), spackled, and then painted it. And, since I was on a roll, I painted the wall next to it, too! I could easily finish the room tomorrow, but we'll see if I get to it or not. At any rate, here are some before/after photos of that wall! The "after" pic was taken as it was getting darker, so the color looks a little different. It's "Interesting Aqua," by Sherwin Williams. It still needs to be touched up, but I love it!

Meanwhile, Maya was very quietly removing every single wipe from the package in her room. When I went in to get her (thinking she had napped), I didn't even notice them at first. But when she said, "I take a nap with wipes today," I looked down and realized that, yes, my child's bed was piled high with wipes. And when I asked her WHY she had done this, she (very innocently) said, "I just wanted to blow my nose!" hahaha! It was good for a laugh, at least! Love that kid!

After I cleaned up the wipes, we went downstairs and decorated our sugar cookies. We'd baked them after lunch, so they were cool and ready to go. And then, after dinner, we consumed many of them. I love Christmas! (and yes, Nikos never got out of his pajamas today. It was that sort of day, ha!)

Tomorrow promises to be a productive day. More unpacking, more painting, more cleaning, more blind-installation. Followed up by an evening shopping trip with two new friends. I am excited! It should be a good day!

Terrible Day... And a Video!

2011-12-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

So, today was kind of terrible! I don't really feel like reliving all of it, but the lowest point was when my car died as the kids and I were on our way back from the RMV. Gus left work right away so he could get us, since the kids could not legally ride in the tow truck. And the tow truck operator was incredibly nice, waiting for Gus to get there before hooking the car up to the truck so that the kids could stay inside, where it was warm. And luckily, this all happened fairly close to our nearest Mazda dealership-- and my car is still under warranty. So it could have been worse. But when the AAA lady asked me where I was, and I wasn't even sure what TOWN I was in? Yeah. I cried. And I just felt emotionally drained after the whole thing.

On the plus side... we had a lovely breakfast at a cute local breakfast place with my new mommy friend and her kids. And Gus picked up a dresser on CraigsList for $50, which is EXACTLY the right color/size for our bedroom. And it's in great condition! Furthermore, my wonderful husband picked up a bottle of wine for me on his way back from getting the dresser. Which is no easy feat here in Massachusetts, since most grocery stores do not carry any sort of alcohol. You have to visit what the locals call a "packey," or "package store" (liquor store). But he went to a packey and got me some wine. Good man!

Also on the plus side, I made a video tour of our house this morning! I thought you might like to see it. Remember that we have a lot of projects planned, and the house is nowhere NEAR unpacked. Or painted/decorated, for that matter! This is sort of a "before" video. And feel free to tune out my dorky narration. Still... there you go! Enjoy!

(and if that doesn't load, try this link)

SNOW!

2011-12-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it snowed! Just a little bit, and it's almost completely gone now, but the kids were SO excited this morning. Nikos woke me up extra early, wanting me to look outside with him. And this is what greeted us:

It was really only an inch or two deep at most, but it was very pretty. And as soon as we were done with breakfast, we threw on our jackets, boots, and mittens and ran outside to play in it. It was actually nice that it was such a light dusting, because the kids didn't sink down into it or anything. They just ran around on it like banshees, enjoying the satisfying crunch of the snow underfoot.

Nikos even tried to make a snow angel. More like a grass/dirt angel, but I appreciated the effort, haha!

And really, it was just a cold, but beautiful day. No more rain or snow, after a storm that blasted us for nearly 24 hours straight. This was the view of the sky from the kitchen window after we came inside and warmed up. I'll take it! (by the way, the tree on the right is a HUGE weeping willow that is SO pretty when it leafs out. I can't wait!)

Anyway, the rest of the day ended up being filled with mundane activities. No cookie baking, after all. Gus got home from his business trip at around 11am, and we promptly walked across the street to the bank, where we set up a new account. Our existing bank account is basically inaccessible, seeing as how the closest bank branch is in Hartford, Connecticut (an hour and a half away). So we will be closing that one!

After that, I made some phone calls and got Nikos an appointment with a local pediatric practice, who came highly recommended by my new mommy friend (her mother-in-law is a nurse there). They weren't actually accepting new patients, but my friend had greased the wheels for me and they let us in. Hooray! Our boy is as healthy as ever, but he needs a check-up before he can begin preschool in January. And that is now on the calendar-- hooray!

THEN, I made my way to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (they call it the RMV, not the DMV) and attempted to get my new license, since Gus was able to be home with the kids. I was unsuccessful, because I didn't have enough forms of identification. Grr! So dumb. But I will be able to bypass the line when I go back, since everything is already in the system except for that one piece of ID. They even took my picture, and it was HORRIBLE! But I guess that's pretty typical for a driver's license. sigh!

Oh, and I forgot! Gus went to turn on our new dryer before he left, and it wouldn't heat up at all. It was under warranty, so the repair guy came out today. After completely disassembling the dryer, he figured out that the power outlet was the problem-- it wasn't producing enough voltage. I guess there was a loose wire inside, and it took Gus about 5 minutes to fix it when he got home. But we can do laundry now! HALLELUJAH!

Anyway, that was our day! Tomorrow, we have a breakfast date with my new mommy friend and her kiddos, and then we may or may not attempt the RMV again. Or perhaps we will bake cookies. Only time will tell! :)

It's raining, it's pouring...

2011-12-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

And soon it will be SNOWING! ACK!!

Up until now, we have been enjoying what the natives describe as "unseasonably warm" weather. As a native Californian, and one who has lived in Southern California for my entire adult life... it's still pretty cold, for the most part! But definitely bearable. And the skies have been beautiful and blue, up until yesterday afternoon when it rained for a bit.

And then I woke up to this view of the back yard. I actually took this picture later in the morning (around 8:30am).

When Nikos got me up at 7, I thought it was much, much earlier-- because it was so dark! And for a while, it wasn't raining at all. There was just really dense fog all around us. It was kind of cool and eerie, actually. Despite the fact that we live on Main Street, it felt like our house was the only one in the entire world. It reminded me of the movie "The Others," where the house is surrounded by fog (and the ghosts never pass that line). Spooky!

Anyway, it was neat. And then the rain began, and hasn't stopped since. It was in the low 50s when we were out and about this morning, but it's supposed to drop below freezing tonight. They're predicting we will get one to three inches of snow! That's a nice, manageable size for me. I'm mostly excited and not scared. More than that, though, and I am pretty sure I will be terrified. For a little while, at least!

Now, living in California, I would have avoided going out at all costs on a day as rainy as today. But I figured that this is a fact of life here in Massachusetts, and people don't put their lives on hold when it rains. Plus, I really needed to run errands. So we all put on our raincoats and had a very successful outing! We went to the post office to mail Christmas cards, went to Target to get some more necessities, AND went to the grocery store to buy a lot of things. As a side note... it's amazing how many things you need to properly stock a kitchen! I thought I'd gotten "everything" last week, but continue to realize I am missing essential things, like flour and sugar. Or baking powder. The list goes on and on! But rest assured, we WILL be baking Christmas cookies tomorrow!

At any rate, our trip out in the pouring rain went great, and made me feel confident about doing it again. And the kids actually seemed to enjoy the adventure! Hopefully that novelty doesn't wear off too quickly!

So that's that. I hope to have a nice snowy picture to share tomorrow, but we'll see! In the meantime, I will share this picture of yesterday's art project: a gingerbread train! My mom bought the kids this kit when she went to the grocery store with me last week. It turned out pretty well, despite some initial structural issues (and a few precarious moments, ha!). My dining room table is slowly being taken over my gingerbread creations. I love it!

Up tomorrow: Cookie-baking! YUM!!

New Friends!

2011-12-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

I mentioned this a few days ago, but we had our very first Massachusetts playdate this morning! On day five of living here! Not bad, if I do say so myself. :)

Anyway, I just love my online mommy group. That's an understatement. I've been a member of the group (in all of its various incarnations) since I was first pregnant with Nikos, and it has proved to be an invaluable resource. Not only are the people on there all very friendly and respectful and a wealth of information, but we just have so much in common-- even though we're spread out all over the place. I have formed so many legitimate, real-life friendships on there. And when we bought the new house, I was excited to realize that one of the girls lived less than ten minutes away! Over the past few weeks and months, she has been SO helpful, giving me all her best advice and whatnot on the area. She's been my native guide, so to speak!

At any rate, she was hosting a playdate this morning for a few kids from her son's preschool, and invited the kids and I along. She was just as nice in person as I knew she would be, and her kids were so sweet! All the kids had a blast decorating gingerbread houses, then eating lunch and wreaking havoc on the basement playroom. I had a great time talking with her and the other three moms, who were all super friendly. And after lunch, it was warm enough to go and play outside for a bit without jackets, so they all ran around like banshees. By the time we left, Nikos was going on and on about how he really liked his new friend, and how he wanted to come back and play some more. I'm thinking we will need to have them over to our house, next time! Either way, they literally live ten minutes away, and it felt great to make a new connection. I'm not alone! I have a friend!!! :) :)

I didn't take many pictures, but I did get this one of the kiddos working on their gingerbread houses. They LOVED that, and kept admiring them on our dining room table all afternoon. The little boy sitting next to Nikos is his new buddy.

And this one I stole from Facebook, but it was taken by my mommy friend when the kids were running around outside. They seriously had SO much fun today, and it was such a great break from unpacking. Hooray for new friends!

On a side note, one of the other moms there was originally from the Bay Area. Small world!!!

More Photos

2011-12-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

So... there are still a billion boxes waiting to be unpacked, but we are functional, at least! And I got the Christmas decorations up this morning, which made the whole house seem more cheerful. To be totally honest, the holidays came especially fast this year. Yes, I am fully prepared (I bought the kids' gifts in October!)-- but it doesn't seem like December already! We have just had too much going on. But I am going to force myself to slow down and try to get into the holiday spirit. Snow would probably help, but it scares me at the same time. I just want this Christmas to be super special for the kids, as their first one in the new house.

Anyway... I actually got out the "good" camera and snapped some pics today. First, my little helpers decorating the tree! My boy did NOT want to get dressed today, and I didn't push it until lunchtime (when we were expecting someone from the insurance company to come look at the house). Hence the jammies!

And then, a picture of the back yard. Well, really this is off to the side... I just think it's pretty. During the spring and summer, this whole area is lush green forest-- it is GORGEOUS!

And a few shots of the Christmas decorations. Notice that I had to put the tree in the section of the sitting room with the exposed beams because the tree was too tall. 200-year-old house = lower ceilings! I don't notice the lower ceilings, since I still fit just fine. :) But the rooms in the front end of the house (the original house) have very low ceilings. It's kind of cool, when you think about it. It adds to the historical intrigue!

Finally... this evening, I unpacked the dining room things (china, etc.) while we were listening to Christmas music. Nikos thought it was LOADS of fun to throw around the wadded up pieces of newsprint. Whatever! I was just thrilled that he was keeping himself entertained!

Up next... it's the weekend! Woohoo! Gus is going to finish up the laundry room, we're going to attempt to take a family portrait for our Christmas cards, and then we're going to shop for a pellet stove. And on Monday, we already have a playdate with one of my online mommy group friends! I am so excited! She only lives about ten minutes away, and her son is the same age as Nikos (her daughter is almost 2). The kids are going to make gingerbread houses, then play outside. I repeat: I am so excited! Hooray for new friends! :)

We're Here!

2011-12-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

Four words: I AM SO TIRED!

Still, things are going well. I am taking a break to blog, since Maya is asleep, Nikos is relaxing here on the couch and, well, my feet are throbbing from being on them nonstop. But let me back up, since it's been a few days!

On Wednesday morning, we loaded into our rented minivan at about 10am, and made the drive from my parents' house to the San Diego airport. That part was completely uneventful, though the kids really enjoyed the van itself.

Once we got there and had to unload all our stuff, it was crazy! My mom's job was to stand on the sidewalk with the kids while my dad and I unloaded things. He took care of the luggage while I unhooked and removed the carseats in record time. Then, my dad went to return the car while I wrestled the carseats into their travel bags (that was an adventure in and of itself!). Once we got that squared away, I rented a cart and got as much stuff on there as possible. I still ended up carrying my backpack, camera bag, and one carseat while pushing the precariously top-heavy cart with my other hand. My mom's official job was Kid Wrangler, so she held their hands and followed me as we (slowly) made our way to the baggage counter. Miraculously, we made it there without losing any luggage or children! I got our stuff all checked in, and we waited for my dad to come back. We made it through security with no problems whatsoever, and then had plenty of time to eat a nice lunch before the plane took off. Really, after we got rid of the luggage, life was good!

Anyway... the kids were SO excited as we were waiting in the terminal. Their seats were right up against the window, so they watched the planes come and go the entire time. Nikos was even making up songs about JetBlue, one of which I recorded (I'll upload it later!). They couldn't wait to get on the plane!

We got on board without incident, and it even worked out that my dad was able to switch seats with someone so we weren't all split up. The kids absolutely LOVED it when we took off-- they both cheered and clapped and had the biggest grins on their faces! After that, though, it was less fun. I had to take Nikos to the bathroom several times, which was an adventure. And he kept asking if we were there yet. And then there was Maya, who was wiggly and wild and would NOT stay seated. I think this was probably the only time she looked like a nice little passenger. The rest of the time she was a monkey!

To his credit, Nikos was a pretty awesome little traveler. He snuggled and colored and played with stickers and ate snacks. And used the yucky airplane bathroom (*shudder!*). Still, he looked like this most of the time:

Neither kid slept at all the entire flight. Maya, in particular, was WIRED. She was SO excited to see her Daddy again, and was incredibly silly the whole time. Even when we got off the plane in Boston, she was running through the airport and yelling, "Daaaaaddyyyyyy, where aaaaaare you??? Daaaaaddyyy, I'm heeeeeeere!" It was cute, if not exhausting! We collected our luggage fairly quickly, got it out to the curb, and both kids flung themselves into Gus' arms! And then promptly fell asleep in the car. Silly kids! We tried to wake them up a bit so they could see the new house, but they were OUT.

They both slept like logs all night, but I did not. New house = new sounds, and I kept thinking that every little sound I heard was Nikos getting out of bed. I was so worried he wouldn't be able to find us, and would panic! As it turned out, he slept in late and the adults were all up before he was (now there's a first!). He just stood at the top of the stairs (behind the gate) and said, "Hey guys? Could someone come get me please?" haha! Maya slept even longer. As soon as they were up and dressed, we drove a few blocks down the road to Dunkin Donuts for some breakfast (since the fridge was basically empty). Maya was a big fan!

After that, I showed my parents around the town, and then we went back to the house. The kids got to go and run around in the back yard for the first time, which they seemed to love! It was cold, though, so they weren't out for very long.

They came back in and proceeded to unpack all their toys in the playroom with my dad, while my mom and I went on a massive fridge-stocking grocery shopping trip. And the rest of the day was consumed with getting things more livable. I unpacked a lot of the kitchen, got the dining room functional, and made sure the bathrooms and bedrooms were somewhat organized, at least. My dad helped me hook up the TV and all that, so we have a way to relax now. And this morning, my focus has been mainly on getting the Christmas decorations up in the front room. Even if the rest of the house is still in boxes, we can feel festive!

So, that's it for now. The bookcases are calling me. Time to get back to work!

Last Day in California!

2011-11-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

It's finally here... tomorrow is the big day! By bedtime tomorrow, my little family will be back together under one roof. And as much as I am going to miss our family and friends here (and I am, terribly), I am looking forward to the next adventure. And really, it has been hard for us to be split up for so long... it will be so nice to have everyone together again! I try to just stay focused on the positive. We can do this!

Tomorrow is essentially a travel day, so today was really our last day living in California. It was a pretty normal, uneventful sort of day! I spent a good chunk of time packing our bags, and deciding how I was going to arrange our carry-on items. Nikos and I will be sitting together in one row, and Maya will sit behind us with one of my parents. My other parent (whoever that is) will sit in the center seat across the aisle from them, because that was the best configuration of seats we could get for that flight. I'm hoping we can convince someone to switch seats so that both of them can sit with Maya, but we'll see!

Anyway, while I was figuring out the luggage thing, Nikos dragged the kiddie couch into his room and insisted that Maya have a slumber party with him. So, she did. haha!

Later in the morning, my dad and I took the kids to the park. They had fun, as always. And at one point, they ran over and posed SO perfectly together on the white bench I am always trying to take their picture on. But did I have my camera? Of COURSE not! So that perfect picture will just have to live in my memory. sigh!

After lunch, my dad and I drove to the car rental agency to pick up a minivan. They don't have a car big enough to hold three adults, two kids in carseats, and a bunch of suitcases, so we decided it would be smart to rent one to get us to the airport tomorrow. When we returned, Nikos was very impressed with the minivan's automatic doors, and declared that he liked the minivan even better than my car. Sorry kid, but it's just a rental!

Anyway... we spent a lot of the time before dinner playing with bubbles in the back yard. Bubbles are experiencing a resurgence in popularity after the party we went to on Saturday-- the kids can't get enough! Case in point:

And I just thought this one was cool. Photographing bubbles is pretty challenging, actually!

At any rate, that was basically the day. Tomorrow morning, we will eat, get dressed, finish up the last-minute packing, and then hit the road. I may not be able to blog for a few days, but we do have internet at the new house and I WILL catch up soon... so stay tuned!

P.S. Gus says it's supposed to snow there next week. Not a joke. I am so not ready for this!!

Musings

2011-11-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

No photos tonight (gasp!), just some miscellaneous thoughts and observations!

Maya misses her daddy SO much. Nikos does, too, but Gus' absence is really starting to take its toll on our baby girl. It breaks my heart! Most of the time, she's fine. She's always been stuck to me like glue-- totally a "mommy's girl." But lately, when she's really tired or upset about something, she starts wailing that she wants her daddy. Tonight, she bonked her head on a chair, and was sobbing uncontrollably about her daddy. Thankfully, it's just a few more days. But really, when you think about it... the kids have seen Gus for a grand total of about an hour in the past three weeks. They've never gone that long without their dad before, and of course it's got to be hard on them. Poor babies!!

On a happier note... Maya cracks me up. Nikos has always woken up in kind of a grouchy mood, which wears off after a bit. Maya, on the other hand, wakes up singing. Every. Single. Day. She sits in her bed and sings about her family members, her stuffed animals, whatever pops into her head. Her songs include such lyrics as, "Dora's climbing the bed, waaay up high! And now she's falling! Oh no, Dora! And here is Boots!" or "I love my Moooommy and Daaaaaddy and Niiiiiikos! And Chaaaaaarlie and Cooooorky!" haha! It is pretty much the cutest thing ever. She sings "real" songs, too, but my favorites are the ones she makes up on the spot. I don't know anyone else on the planet who wakes up as happy as she does!

Also, the kids are killing me with their pretend play. For about a week, Nikos insisted that they were X-Men, and they went around fighting the bad guys. He was Wolverine, and she was Rogue. Now, he is Spider-man and Maya is Firestar (one of Spider-man's friends from one of the many incarnations of the TV cartoon). Nikos loves to run around shooting webs, calling for Firestar to come and help him. Maya, to her credit, gets into her role and really becomes Firestar-- which Nikos LOVES! They are so funny!

Anyway, that's it for tonight. We're approaching our big travel day, so preparations are underway for that. We are all excited to see Gus again!!

Bubbles!

2011-11-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

We went to a super fun birthday party this afternoon! The kids generally enjoy themselves at parties, but this one was seriously one of the best they have been to. It was a bubble party, and they were SO into it!

During the first part of the party, the kids got to play with giant bubble wands out in the back yard. They both had a blast, but Nikos really developed a knack for making the big ones. Maya tended to move her arm too quickly, flinging bubble solution on innocent bystanders. But she had fun nonetheless!

Then it was time for the bubble show. As we were driving to their house this afternoon, Nikos had insisted that he wanted nothing to do with the bubble show, and that he was going to be shy. Wrong! This kid had me rolling on the floor. He was the bubble lady's number one fan, cheering and clapping louder than anyone else. And he shouted out the answers every time she asked a question, which was pretty impressive since a lot of her questions were about science. That's my boy! (proud mommy moment!) And then, when the bubble lady wanted volunteers, Nikos was the first person she called on. He looks just miserable, doesn't he? :)

Maya thought about getting into a bubble, too, but was in sort of shy mood this afternoon. She loved watching the show, but was content to sit on the sidelines.

Anyway, it was a TON of fun, and something I'm sure the kids will be talking about for a long time. What a great idea for a party!

Moving Day: The Sequel

2011-11-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

Our stuff made it!!! While I obviously have yet to go through things and see if they are in good condition, the truck itself made it to the house early this morning. They got everything unloaded and put in the right place, and they reassembled all our furniture. Gus was a nice husband and humored my request for a photo... so here it is, for posterity! (I like to document these things... can you tell?)

And yes, the entire massive moving truck fit in our driveway, with plenty of room to spare behind it. That is a long driveway!!

Sadly, there is no way our bedroom armoire will fit upstairs, so it is currently in the living room until we can decide what to do with it. We knew this was a possibility, since that thing is massive and had to actually go in/out through the window at our old house. And this house, being so old, has some narrow hallways and lower ceilings (in parts). And... basically ALL of my clothing is in the armoire-- haha! So I will have to move it to the closet, I guess. Luckily we have a lot of closet space! And I'm thinking we will probably sell the armoire and get a low dresser. But only time will tell!

Anyway, this is one more thing to cross off the list. Gus, the pets, our cars, and all our belonging are currently there. All that's missing? The three of us! Five more days!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

What a day! Having two small kids keeps things interesting, but adding a newly-mobile third one into the mix can get a little wild! The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousin, who seemed to find them endlessly entertaining and fascinating. Colton was constantly trying to follow them around, and they loved it! Both kids were so sweet with him, and it was really fun to watch as Maya shared her balloon, or Nikos held his hand to walk with him. They really do love their cousin!

And their aunt and uncle, too, of course! Nikos thinks my brother is just about the greatest thing since sliced bread, and was thrilled to show off for him all day long. Funny kid!

Anyway, it was a nice, low-key Thanksgiving, though we definitely missed Gus. I told him we will make up for it next week, with our own mini-Thanksgiving with the menu of his choice. Poor Gus celebrated the day by rescuing the cat from the crawlspace of the new house (he crawled through the opening in the laundry room floor where Gus was working on the drain for the washer), then giving him a bath to clean him up. Oh, and then having some good old mac and cheese from a box. Very exciting times! On the plus side, the moving truck should arrive tomorrow, so he will actually have a bed to sleep on again. Something to be thankful for!

And another thing to be thankful for: these two incredible kids. They have been coping with a lot of changes in their lives all at once, and handling it SO well. They have their moments where they want their daddy, or they want to go "home" to the old house, or they are extra clingy to me, but they are still, for the most part, rolling with the punches. I just love these two little monkeys, and can't imagine my life without them!

Pillow and Playtime Pics

2011-11-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

First... the pillow! I went to pick up the kids at Gus' parents' house yesterday afternoon, and I think we must've left Nikos' pillow there. I didn't realize it until bedtime, though, at which point it was most definitely too late. So he slept with a different pillow... and was totally fine! I seized this opportunity to be done with his ratty old pillow, and I have to say that the operation was a success! We went to the store this morning and bought him a new pillow, along with some cool dinosaur fabric to make a few pillowcases (which my mom sewed ridiculously quickly... thanks, Mom!). Anyway, the boy loves his new pillow! He's been snuggling with it all day!

That took up most of our morning, actually (buying the pillow and finding dinosaur fabric). In the midst of all that, I took the kiddos for a little snack break at Starbucks, which they always enjoy (soon to be replaced by Dunkin' Donuts, I suppose!). I always love taking them out to eat, because they behave so well and we have such fun little conversations! I love those kids!!

Anyway, we came back just before lunch. The kids helped my dad hang Christmas lights. And after lunch, we drove to the "other" park in my parents' development (the one that's farther away). They both had fun playing on the equipment, especially the little four-wheelers. And the huge grassy hill was just too tempting! Maya took a great nap after all this running!

At any rate... my brother and his family should be here soon, and the kids are looking forward to some quality time with their aunt, uncle, and cousin. Should be fun!

Playdate!

2011-11-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

We went to my friend Sara's house today, to hang out with her and our other friend, Alicia! I actually met these girls a few years back through my online mommy group, but we've all become friends and it's just nice to sit and chat. They both live fairly close to my parents' house, so we definitely needed to hang out while I'm here!

I actually did family photos for Sara yesterday, and I saw both her and Alicia last month at Alicia's daughter's birthday party. Still, it's really nice to be able to corral all the kids in one room and have the chance to enjoy some grown-up conversation. The kids had a lot of fun, especially Nikos and "New Brady" (as opposed to just "Brady," his daycare buddy).

And, the closest thing to a "group shot" that I could get... I know that the photo quality is horrible! And it REALLY bothers me, but this camera is tiny and way more convenient to toss in my bag than my "good" one. sigh!

Anyway, we got home just in time for lunch, and Gus' mom showed up shortly afterward to take the kiddos for a few days. I'm sure they will enjoy being spoiled by their other set of grandparents, and I am looking forward to sleeping in, for a change! Everybody wins! :)

Adventures of Super Cat!

2011-11-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

Well... he made it! And, in a shocking turn of events... he did GREAT! Hallelujah!

We began our morning by waking up at 2:45 to get ready and get out of the door by 3:15-ish. We had to drive to LAX, which is about an hour and a half away. We wrapped Charlie in some towels like a little burrito, and my dad held him tightly while I drove. Once got to LAX, we pulled into the cell phone lot, gave Charlie some love, got his jacket on him, and placed him into his carrier. I was so, so worried that he would "let loose" once inside his carrier, as he usually does, but it was just a quick drive over to the terminal... and he was fine!

Despite all my paperwork telling me to be at the airport BY 5:30, it turned out that 5:30 was actually when the office opened. Of course! So I sat on the floor with my kitty for a good 20 minutes, talking to him and letting him sniff my hand through the door. He didn't meow or act panicked; instead, he just laid down and stared intently at everything going on around him.

Once the office actually opened, the check-in process was easy. Thorough, though! They really checked everything, including the ground temperatures, so I was glad we rescheduled him to today. I was just thankful that he didn't defile his carrier while we were waiting, because that would give them reason to deny shipping him. I was fairly certain that he would, at some point, make a mess... I was just glad not to be there when it happened!

However... I WAS WRONG! While Charlie was acting traumatized and was curled up in a ball at the back of the carrier, he was otherwise completely clean when Gus went to pick him up at the Cargo Terminal in Boston! And he still had his jacket on! :) He continued to do well on the hour-plus drive from the airport to the new house, and was quickly ready to explore his new surroundings. He's never been in a house with stairs before, so our house is like a kitty jungle gym. Gus enjoyed following him around as he checked out his new home. I think he's going to like it there!

All in all, our kitty traveled for nearly 12 hours today, and did AMAZINGLY, SHOCKINGLY well! Way to go, Charlie! That's one more thing off the giant "To Do" list! :)

Charlie

2011-11-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted much about our feline friend, but the truth is that he has caused me the most stress throughout the whole moving process. You see, our kitty is a horrendous traveler. The WORST. Within minutes of being placed into a carrier and then into a car, he... lets loose. Without going into graphic detail, let's just say that plenty of things that should stay inside of him end up coming outside. YUCK!

Anyway... The bird went across the country with Gus in the car, and that was no big deal. She just sat in her little cage and enjoyed the scenery. But we knew that would not be a viable option for the kitty. We needed to minimize his travel time as much as possible. Nor did it make sense for him to travel in the airplane cabin with us, since he would certainly meow and yowl and stink up the place. So... I have booked him a direct flight from Los Angeles to Boston tomorrow (flying as cargo). Which means that my dad and I need to bring the little booger to the airport no later than 5:30am tomorrow. I feel tired already!

As it turns out, sending a pet as cargo is pretty complicated! For one, they can only fly when the ground temperatures are between 45 and 85 degrees at all stops along the route. This isn't an issue on the west end, but Boston is pretty chilly this time of year. We were actually going to send him today, but tomorrow looks more promising. The high is supposed to be in the high 50s, with the low being 44. He'll be landing at around 2pm, though, so we should hit the higher end of that range. Fingers crossed that we are able to send him!!

In addition to that requirement, we also had to get a health certificate, rabies certificate, and a letter of acclimation (saying he can withstand temps between 45 and 85 degrees) from a vet. And a lot of warm, absorbent bedding for his carrier. The carrier requirements are also pretty specific, and we had to label the top and two sides with the words "LIVE ANIMAL" (with letters at least 1" high). I bought him a jacket, too, which was one of the vet's recommendations (he hates it). And the vet also suggested giving him just a small dose of Benadryl to help calm him.

Still, we don't want to risk him making a mess in his carrier before we get to the airport, so my dad is going to wrap him and carry him in a towel for the entire (1.5-hour-long) drive there. At 4am. Then we will get his jacket on (ha!), put him in there, and we will be good to go, I hope. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, we love our kitty, even if he can be a pain, and we want him to make it safely. Good luck, little Charlie! We'll see you in a week and a half!

My Babies

2011-11-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

I just love them! This was from the park today (just down the road from my parents' house... convenient enough to walk to every day!). I think they were having a meeting here to discuss their next superhero plan. They love pretending to be Spider-man and Spider-girl, or Wolverine and Rogue (Nikos' favorite X-Men). It is ridiculously cute to see them playing pretend together, and they do it a lot!

He Made It!

2011-11-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

After driving nearly non-stop since Saturday afternoon, and stopping for a good 18 hours in Chicago to attend his uncle's funeral (may he rest in peace), Gus finally made it to the new house. He's tired, the house is dirty, and he will basically be camping for a few days... but he made it, and that's one thing I can stop worrying about. That is quite a drive... over 3,000 miles in four days. I am guessing he probably won't be wanting to do that again anytime soon!
(side note: I put in San Diego as the starting point, and it looks like he started in Tijuana. haha!)

Meanwhile, we spent the morning at a dinosaur museum that's not too far away, in the town where my grandparents used to live. I can remember that this huge reservoir was in the process of being excavated years ago when I visited them there. Well, it turned out that they uncovered all sorts of ice age-era fossils when they were digging! Lots of mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and giant sloths. So this museum was built next to the reservoir to house all the cool artifacts. They have actual dinosaur stuff, too, even though this whole area was underwater during the cretaceous period.

At any rate, the kids really enjoyed it! There was a fun simulation game where you were randomly assigned a dinosaur, and then you had to keep it alive by avoiding predators, finding appropriate food, etc. I kept our triceratops alive, thankfully, though my dad reported that the t-rex was more challenging. :)

Both kids also enjoyed the replica t-rex skull, which they were allowed to touch. Maya got really close and touched its teeth, but Nikos was actually a little scared. And the t-rex is his all-time favorite dinosaur! Still, it was pretty big, so I can see why it might be frightening for him.

After that, we went into a room with all the skeletons. Maya was having a blast, but Nikos got pretty quiet. They both, however, loved this one station where they could "dig for artifacts" like an archaeologist. They also made their own clay "fossils" using the molds provided, and did some crayon rubbings. Really, it was pretty neat and totally kid-friendly. Nikos cried when we left, though I think it might have been mostly because he wanted toy dinos from the gift shop. Crazy kid!

Anyway, it was a good day, and I am tired... not as tired as Gus, though! Here's hoping he gets a good night's sleep and has a productive day tomorrow!

Catching Up

2011-11-14T20:47:00.000-08:00

So, I have been busy these last few days! While the most stressful part (for me) is over, in some ways my work has just begun. We are currently living at my parents' house while Gus drives across the country, but this is definitely not a permanent situation! We've gotten from point A to B, but now we need to get from B to C. And that is a lot of work!

I have spent the last two or so days working like a madwoman, trying to knock things off of my To Do list. I bought a new washer and dryer, picked out paint, tile, and grout, scheduled all sorts of deliveries, bought plane tickets, worked on securing a separate flight for the cat (HUGE source of stress, by the way), took the cat to the vet to get all his paperwork, looked into buying a television, figured out how to get medical records transferred, and looked into various cleaning services to come and clean the new house. Oh, and I booked a night in a hotel for Gus, who is driving across the country as we speak (he's made it to Chicago already!).

Thankfully, my parents have been a great help with the kids, who are having so much fun living at Grandma and Grandpa's house, even for just a little while. They've been to the park twice already, and have spent lots of time riding tricycles in the back yard. They got a new one for Maya, and had to put tape on the pedals to give her a little more traction-- a feature she just loves to tell you about! They are both sleeping well, and are happy to be reunited with Charlie, who they missed quite a bit for the few days they were apart. And honestly? Charlie seemed to miss them, too. So everyone is good at the moment, including Gus, who is tired but still going strong.

Anyway, how about a few pics? I have my nice camera with me, but have mostly been tucking the little one or my cell phone in my pocket... so that explains the difference in picture quality!

First, some pics of the kids playing!

And a picture of Charlie, wrapped up burrito-style after his appointment today. My Dad was my cat-wrangler. Thanks, Dad!!

And finally, a picture from Friday night... I took the kids out to dinner on our last night at the old house, and was admiring the sunset as we got into the car. I think it was so pretty because of all the clouds that were moving in... the same clouds that would dump buckets of rain on us the next day! Still, this was our last San Diego sunset... bye-bye, SD!

Moving Day!

2011-11-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

We survived!!

I am beyond exhausted right now. But today was moving day, and everything successfully made it onto the truck and is now headed east. Hallelujah!

I should start by saying that Gus got back from Colombia (as in, South America) after midnight last night. He was supposed to be home much earlier, but his first flight was delayed by an hour and then he got held up in customs, missing his connection. He finally made it to bed at around 1am, and was up at 5:45, thanks to a snuggly little boy who was just excited to see his daddy again. We quickly got up, got dressed, got the kids dressed and fed, and tried to get as much last-minute stuff done as possible. My parents arrived at around 7:15, and I got the carseats installed in their car and the suitcases stowed away. It was a good thing they arrived when they did, because the moving truck arrived at around 7:45-- a full 45 minutes early! Ack!

Did I mention that it POURED rain all day? Because it did. It was a pretty miserable day for a move, and the house definitely needed a good cleaning afterward, but the rain didn't faze the movers for a second. Thankfully!

We got off to a rocky start, with our driver (the head moving guy) being somewhat lacking in the people skills department. He was up in arms about the glass shelves in our entertainment center and china cabinet, and demanded that we pack them. And then there was an issue in that Gus' motorcycle wasn't on the list of special items to move. For a while, we weren't sure if they would move it at all, but it ended up working out in the end. And honestly, the guy was just sort of gruff. By the end of the day, I didn't mind him so much, knowing that this was just his personality. He really wasn't so bad.

Still, the beginning of the move was SUPER stressful! I practically threw the kids into my mom's car in the pouring rain, as I stood in the gutter and let the water flow through my Converse. Gus eventually came out to say goodbye to them, since he won't see them for a few weeks. And Bonnie ran out to say goodbye to them, too, which was incredibly sweet. It was so chaotic at that point! But they got out of there at that point, driving back to my parents' house an hour away.

Luckily, things began to calm down and the movers got into their groove. Gus and my dad spent a lot of time loading up his truck and my car, and getting my car loaded onto the trailer hitch. Still in the pouring rain. Seriously, it rarely rains more than 10 inches in an entire YEAR here, and it chose today to dump buckets on us. Figures! I like to think that San Diego was crying for us today. Anyway, it went a lot more smoothly from that point, and all our stuff eventually made it onboard. I was shocked at how little space our 170 boxes and tons of furniture took up. It was about a quarter of that truck, and they still have several stops after ours! Amazing!

Anyway, they finally finished up at around 2pm, and Gus left at around that time. He's driving across the country with both our cars and the parrot, hopefully making a pit stop in Illinois to go to his uncle's funeral. Meanwhile, I put my dad on sweeping duty, while I used Bonnie's vacuum to clean up the house. I won't lie, I cried when I returned their stuff to them. And then coming back to the house, seeing it so empty and full of echoes... I think it finally hit me. I was fighting back the tears for quite a while after that. And I'm pretty sure they will hit me again a lot over the next few weeks.

Now, the kids and I (and the cat) are comfy and warm at my parents' house, our home for the next two or so weeks. It feels good to have survived moving day, and to have taken a nice warm shower. It's not over yet, by any means, but we've overcome the first hurdle. Pillow, here I come!!

Goodbye, Pacific!

2011-11-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

So, we took a break from packing (which is almost done) and said our farewells to the Pacific Ocean this morning. My coworker planted the idea, saying I needed to get photos of the kids standing on both coasts. Despite living in California my entire life, and in San Diego (land of beautiful beaches!) for the past 8.5 years, we really don't go to the beach that often. Still, we needed to make our little pilgrimmage and say adios to our ocean.

Really, I have never lived more than 30-40 minutes from the Pacific Ocean. And while I haven't taken advantage of it nearly as much as I could have, the thought of it being there is kind of reassuring. Not to mention the fact that my whole "mental map" of California is based on having the ocean over there on the left. I feel like, no matter where I am, I can tell which way is west. Part of the reason I get SO turned around in Massachusetts is because the ocean is on the wrong side! It's going to take some getting used to, I guess!

Anyway, here are a few pics from our trip. We played in the sand until they got tired of it, then we went and got scones at Starbucks. All this before 10am! It was fun, though, and I look forward to taking matching pictures by the Atlantic!

Little Helpers

2011-11-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Today, I literally packed all day long! My main focus was the kitchen, which is now 100% packed. And I was able to do all of this with both kids home, because they were (for the most part) SUPER well-behaved today! Yes! Times like this, I am thankful for the fact that my kids generally get along and genuinely enjoy playing with each other. They played together for hours and hours, with only occasional refereeing on my part. I even let them play in the yard for a long time without me, which isn't super common (though I should say that our yard is completely fenced in and padlocked, and I can see/hear them at all times). They loved it! And I was happy to get so much done! And, because I am sort of ahead of the game, this means we can go do something fun tomorrow. YAY! I need to return my (former!) coworker's microwave in the morning, but then we're going to go to the beach. Another friend suggested taking pics of the kids at the Pacific Ocean, then following it up with pics of them at the Atlantic, after we move. Easy enough! And a fun excuse to head to the beach, provided the weather stays nice. I am looking forward to it!

Anyway, I grabbed these snapshots of the kiddos today that I thought I'd share. First, the boy helped me pack... though he promptly unpacked it all, haha!

Then, the kids pretended that the step stool was a motorcycle, which they "drove" for a while...

And then Nikos walked around with this box, declaring that he was a robot... ha!

After lunch, I treated them to ice cream sandwiches, since they totally deserved them and the weather was beautiful!

And, between me packing boxes and hauling bags of trash out to the curb, that was basically our day! I am looking forward to a little break tomorrow... I think I deserve it! :)

Last Day of Daycare

2011-11-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today was the kids' last day at daycare, and it was bittersweet. Of course, I am thrilled beyond belief to be a stay-at-home mom! But Bonnie has been like a second mom to these kids since they were each about ten weeks old. And really, she's known them each since they were days old. She's come to all their birthday parties, too, and has been a great next-door-neighbor in general. It's the end of an era around here! Not to mention the fact that the kids have made some good friends over there... friends who they probably won't remember five years from now. Still, these were their "first friends," and it has been so sweet to watch these relationships develop over the past four years.

Anyway, Bonnie let the kids (mostly Nikos, since he's more opinionated) choose their "last meal" for today. He chose hot dogs, strawberries, raisins, and ice cream sandwiches. Oh, and blueberry muffins for breakfast. The other kids helped make each of them a goodbye card with their handprints, and they sang some goodbye songs. Then, when I went to pick them up, I took a few pictures of "the gang." Some of the kids were asleep, but these are the ones that Nikos and Maya play with the most, anyway!

First... Look at those smiles! Maya was a little overtired and told me she didn't want to smile. So, she didn't!

She did, however, give her best friend Matthias a hug. He's about six months older than her, but they just love each other. So sweet!

And the gang, with Bonnie. They are sure going to miss her-- we all are!

Anyway... The packing frenzy continues here. The end is in sight! Charlie (the cat) has already gone to my parents' house, so he won't be underfoot on moving day. The last Salvation Army pickup is scheduled for tomorrow. We've set up all our utilities at the new house, and cancelled things here. It's really, truly happening. Insane!!

Life Among the Boxes

2011-11-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned yesterday, Gus took the kids with him to visit his parents today. As a result, I had an entire day of uninterrupted packing! As of right now, both kids' rooms are completely packed, minus their bedding and a few favorite toys (which already have a box waiting for them on moving day). Our bedroom is almost entirely packed, too-- the closet is empty, the nightstands are empty, and everything under the bed has been hauled out, dusted off, and put in its appropriate place. The master bathroom is well on its way to being done, too. The china cabinet and bookcases have been empty for a while now, as has the entertainment center. And the kitchen is about 60% packed-- I really need to start in on the dishes and utensils.

Anyway, I got to a good stopping point earlier where things actually looked sort of CLEAN, for once! I vacuumed the floor, which was amazingly satisfying after living in squalor for a while (packing will do that to a house!). I was compelled to take photos, for posterity. And here you have it-- life among the boxes (about 140 of them, at last count!):

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

2011-11-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

That was a David Bowie reference, in case you missed it. And now that the song is in my head, I am going to be humming it for days. ugh! Poor choice!

Anyway, I am officially a stay-at-home mom now! My replacement has been hired, and he spent the day with me in the classroom yesterday, so that I could fill him in on everything and "pass the torch," so to speak. The whole day was completely surreal. For one, it was pouring rain, which never happens here. So things were odd to begin with. Then, the kids were kind of wild. They are a really good class, so I think it was a combination of the rain plus the whole losing-one-teacher-and-getting-another thing. Still, so many of them brought me little presents and cards, which they kept sneaking onto my desk throughout the day. I really did feel loved by those little boogers, and I won't lie-- I got a little misty-eyed on more than one occasion. The craziest part was right before the bell rang at the end of the day. They had already packed up, and were waiting for me to dismiss them by table group. I started to say a little something-- you know, my final farewell. Before I knew it, they had all rushed the front of the classroom and were crushing me (literally) in this giant group hug. ha! The new teacher helped me pry them all off, and then I hugged everyone goodbye in a more orderly fashion. Still, it was really sweet. Even if it made my ribs hurt.

But yes. I am no longer a teacher (well, in the professional respect... I don't think one ever STOPS being a teacher). It feels really strange to think of myself that way, after working so hard to get hired into this amazing school district where job openings are so rare, and then being at the same school for seven and a half years. I have been a teacher for ten and a half years, which is almost a third of my entire lifetime! It's just so strange to think that, come Monday morning, school will continue as usual, and I won't be there! I think it's going to take a while to really sink in.

At the same time, I am so, so, SO excited for what the future holds. Being a stay-at-home mom is something I have gotten a taste of every summer, and I LOVE having the time to be "teacher" to my own babies and watch them grow. We are going to have such an amazing adventure together in the Frozen North, haha! I look forward to meeting other moms when Nikos starts preschool, setting up playdates, and volunteering at school. Not to mention hopefully spending more time on my fledgling photography business, so that I can really get it going once both kids are in elementary school.

Anyway, I think it is going to be an adjustment, and I have no delusions about staying at home being "easy." Running the household and raising the kids will become my new job. And cleaning that sucker will take a good chunk of time, too, because it's huuuuge! So I know I have my work cut out for me, and am excited. But still, it is weird. I can't think of a better word than that, haha!

At any rate, it's time for bed. I have been packing all day, and need to do the same again tomorrow. Gus took the kids up to his parents' house this evening, since his dad's birthday is tomorrow (Happy Birthday, Nick!). I've been taking advantage of the kids being gone to get their rooms all packed... which has, in turn, made me very sad. I am going to miss this house, and all the memories we made here. sigh...

On a happier note, here are some pics of me and my babies from dinner tonight (we went to McD's... super healthy, I know. There's going to be a lot of that this week, I'm afraid!):

P.S. I meant to talk about my two "moments of weirdness." One was yesterday when school ended. I finally managed to pack my stuff up and was all set to leave (to go to the Happy Hour in my honor)... but the new teacher showed no signs of leaving. It totally hit me that this was HIS classroom now, and he wanted to stay to really look through things, get his bearings, etc. SO WEIRD! Then, this morning, I realized I was out of ink in my printer. I need to print out some more labels for the moving boxes. I thought, "Oh, I can just do that in my classroom..." Um, no. I can't! I don't even have the keys to get into the school anymore. I repeat: WEIRD!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

...and what a happy one it was! In a huge change from previous years, both kids LOVED trick-or-treating tonight. We went all around the neighborhood and could have easily kept going, except that we happened to be back at our house. Plus, they were perfectly content to pass out candy to our own "visitors," as they called them. It really was so much fun this year!

The Pumpkin (and a punk!)

2011-10-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

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!

More Celebrating...

2011-10-25T21:42:00.001-07:00

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!

Four Year Letter

2011-10-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

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")

Party On!

2011-10-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

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!

HUGE News!!

2011-10-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-19T21:56:00.001-07:00

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!

Just Because

2011-10-15T21:09:00.001-07:00

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!

Movie Night

2011-10-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

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!

October is Fire Safety Month!

2011-10-08T14:23:00.001-07:00

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!!

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

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???

Air Show!

2011-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

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!!

Weekend in Review

2011-09-27T20:21:00.001-07:00

I didn't mention it before, but Gus and I spent most of this past weekend in Palm Springs (well, technically Indian Wells, but it's all the same area)! We found an amazing deal on a hotel for one night, and decided it would be fun. On Friday, we drove up to my parents' house and spent the night there. Saturday morning, we left at around 9am and made the drive up and over the Pines to Palms Highway. It really is aptly named! And, honestly, it was one of my favorite (albeit scariest) parts of our trip. It just reminded me how many different climates there are in California, and how many different kinds of places you can see in just a few hours' drive. Massachusetts is beautiful. But, from what I've seen, it's very consistent. The entire state is green and forested and relatively flat. You don't get these incredible cliffs and rock formations and dramatic views! So, I tried to soak it in and etch it into my mind forever. And, just for kicks, I took a picture of my car's navigation screen. What this DOESN'T show you is how high those curves are, and how scary it can be, as a passenger!

I realized, too, that there is actually a sign near the top of the highway that says "Entering Big Horn Sheep Area." I had no idea that they lived in the wild in California. Not even the faintest clue! I have only seen them in the zoo before! Of course, that remains the only place I've seen them, as I didn't spot any. But you better believe I was scouring the terrain the entire time!

On the way there, just before the descent, we stopped at the observation area to stretch our legs. It was crazy to see just how abruptly the desert ended and became the oasis that is Palm Springs. And, can you see the winding road down the mountain? Crazy, I tell you!

Anyway, our time there was lovely. The hotel was amazing, and made more so by the $49 price tag (it's still considered the "off season"). We basically sat by the pool all day, went for a swim to cool off as needed, and enjoyed the quiet time. This hotel also had poolside drink service, which made it feel even more luxurious. It was definitely nice to have some down time.

We got back to my parents' house just as Maya was waking up from her nap on Sunday, and had time to walk the kids down to the park while my mom cooked dinner. And it was SO COOL! While they were playing, this massive hawk landed in the tree right above us. It was HUGE!!! The kids loved it, and it stayed there for quite a while, checking us out, before it swooped off over the community clubhouse and alighted on the chimney for a bit.

I took a bunch of random pics of kids at the park, and tried to convince them for the longest time to go and sit on the nice white wooden bench so I could get something a little nicer. But would they listen? Nooo... until, of course, I was distracted by the hawk! Next thing I knew, the little boogers were both sitting on the bench! This is the best photo I was able to snag...

...though this one is far more typical. Oh, Maya. She always has to do her own thing!

Anyway, it was a relaxing weekend for us, and I know the kids had a blast hanging with their grandparents. I just hope I can keep that feeling of relaxation with me over the next few weeks!

This is the song that never ends...

2011-09-26T21:44:00.001-07:00

Do you know that song? It's one of those annoying car songs that little kids enjoy terrorizing their parents with on long rides. And as annoying as it is, it feels completely appropos right now.

sigh.

Long story very, very short... we clearly didn't hear back about the house we're trying to buy. We had hoped to maybe hear back by the end of last week. But now it's looking like we are at least three weeks away from an answer, possibly longer. Repeat after me: UGH!!!!!!!!

At the same time, we are still optimistic. We have a strong offer, and we are both head over heels in love with this house. It's "worth the wait," so to speak. Plus, the most uncomfortable part has already happened: I went back to work, after everyone thought I was moving. I've settled right back into my groove, and am in a really good place now. Test scores went up last year, and my current group of students is a really nice one. Truthfully, it went really well-- despite being a less-than-ideal situation. So I can keep on teaching for as long as I need to, now. I've already jumped over the biggest hurdle!

Anyway... November 1st marks the one-year anniversary of when we put our house on the market. We had decided beforehand to make the move, but we waited until after Nikos' birthday party to make our first official move. It's hard to believe that this process has already taken about a year, but I have to believe that things will work out, in the end. I just wish I knew when the end would be, you know?

I repeat: sigh...

Feeling Proactive!

2011-09-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted about our move in a while, mainly because there's been nothing to post! And really, we have no update, though we've been told that a negotiator has been assigned to the short sale, some "good dialogue" has been happening, and we should hear something "soon." All nice, vague terms that we have heard before (back as early as May, even!). So... We're trying not to get our hopes up too much, though it's really hard not to!

In any event... At this point, if everything goes through, we will likely be moving to Massachusetts RIGHT as winter settles in. And, as you know, winter in New England is pretty different from winter in Southern California. Yes. Different. How's that for the Understatement of the Year? ha! Anyhow, it's okay... we can deal with it. We'll have central heat and lots of blankets. We will definitely fare better than the Pilgrims did during their first winter.

However, with that being said, we are woefully unprepared for cold weather when it comes to clothing. I'm not even worried about Gus or myself. He and I both have down jackets, and can deal with everything else. But the idea of my babies being cold is 100% NOT okay! So, after talking with a bunch of experienced cold-climate moms on my mommy message board (which I love!!! what an amazing resource!), I decided to bite the bullet and start stocking up on warm clothes for the kids. Worst case scenario, I will keep all the receipts and return them... But if we DO move, then we will at least be prepared!

Over the past few days, I've bought: a bunch of long-sleeved waffle-weaved shirts for layering, multiple pairs of jeans (some fleece-lined), snow jackets, and a few pairs of thick cotton tights for Maya (to wear under clothes as an extra layer). Both kids already have warm pajamas that should still fit. I just need to get them some snow pants, boots, mittens, and knitted beanies. But most of those things can be bought at discount/big box stores. Plus, a girl from the message board lives near where we are trying to move, and she says she knows of a great children's consignment store that is less than a 30 minute drive away.

In other words... We can do this! And my babies won't freeze! In fact, they are in greater danger of melting, since they both enjoy wearing their new snow jackets in the San Diego heat (though Nikos ran off before I could snap a picture). Crazy kids!!

He Writes!

2011-09-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Attention everyone: I think we are on the brink of a developmental explosion! For the past few weeks, Nikos has been coming home from daycare with various papers (mostly art projects) that have his name written on the back. Only the name hasn't been written in Bonnie's typical handwriting-- this writing was distinctly childlike. Still, I didn't know if Nikos had been doing it himself, or if Bonnie had been doing it with him hand-over-hand. Nikos said he was doing it himself, but resisted all my requests for a repeat performance. And, knowing my boy, I didn't push the issue. I knew he'd do it when he was ready.

And he was ready today, apparently! He sat right down at the counter and proceeded to write his name quite a few times! The first time, he wrote it too big and ran out of space. I took a video of the second time (below). He did better with his letter "K" the third time. But seriously? This blows me away.

Add to this the fact that the kid is getting seriously good at sounding words out, and is starting to draw more and more elaborate pictures, and I am just stunned. It's like everything is clicking in his mind all at once. He drew Gus a picture this afternoon of 5 different cars, all of which are easily recognizable and more complex than what he's drawn before. Each one is a different color, too, creating sort of an Andy Warhol pop art vibe. Amazing! Where did this kid come from, anyway? He's going to be writing novels by the end of the month, just you wait and see! :)

Sunday Fun Day

2011-09-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, in case you couldn't tell from the title of this post, today was a fun day! I always forget how many great family activities there are around here in September. Last weekend, our little city celebrated itself and our country in its annual parade (which has since been renamed the Patriotic Parade, since it tends to fall right around September 11th). We were out of town at Colton's birthday party, but not to worry! The fun continues for weeks around here! Yesterday was the classic car show, of course, and today's featured event was a street fair.

So, of course, we had to go! We didn't stick around for too long, since it was close to noon and there wasn't much shade, but the kids had a blast nonetheless. When we got there, we headed straight for the fire truck. Both kids hopped right into the driver's seat and loved it. Such a HUGE change from the last time we went, almost two years ago. Just to compare, look at at my post from September 13, 2009. That was as close as Nikos would get, and he wouldn't let go of me! How times have changed! And now BOTH kids are really looking forward to the big fire station open house in a few weeks-- yay!

Shortly after they disembarked (which involved prying Maya's fingers off of the steering wheel and dragging her out), some high school kids came over and handed them some balloons. Balloons!! Something so simple, yet these balloons were ALL the played with for the rest of the day. Whatever makes them happy, right?

And that was our big event of the day! We spent the rest of the time playing inside the house and out in the yard, and both kids were in good moods all day. The house is clean, everyone is asleep, and life is good! Here's hoping for another speedy work week ahead!

Oh, but one last thing... Both kids have shown interest lately in seeing photos from when they were babies. They just love to snuggle up in my lap as I show them pictures on the computer, and I love telling them about what they were like. This morning, Nikos and I came across a picture from his first Christmas-- a picture of him with his beloved Bear, who was brand-new at the moment. Nikos almost didn't recognize Bear! This bear was fluffy and white, while the current bear is... well-loved, to say the least. Still, he thought it would be funny to "re-create" the photo of him holding Bear's paw, so here they are... Two photos, taken almost four years apart, of a boy and his (now-ragged) Bear!

I Love Saturdays!

2011-09-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, Saturdays! I love them so! Sundays are nice, too, but they are always slightly marred by the thought of an impending Monday, so Saturdays definitely win out!

Anyhow... both kids stayed in bed until just before 7am, which was a lovely start to the day. After a leisurely breakfast and some quick housekeeping-type chores, Bill and Maria came for a visit! They were in town for a wedding, but wanted to stop by beforehand to see the kiddos. The kids were completely amped, as they often are when they see their aunt and uncle-to-be! Seriously, they were WIRED. And hilarious. It was so much fun to watch them!

We all went out to lunch together, then to go to a car show that Bill and Maria had spotted on their way to our house. It was the perfect activity for two kids who love cars (especially Nikos). Nikos declared that "the brown car" was his favorite, but I happen to know that he paid special attention to the red racecar and the hot rod with the flames on it. Maya loved the purple car, of course, as well as the one that looked like Doc Hudson from "Cars." I think we all enjoyed it, actually, and it was a fun, quick activity just a few minutes from home.

After Bill and Maria left for the wedding, I went to a local specialty market to track down some vanilla beans (our regular market didn't have them). Inspired by Pinterest (of course), I wanted to start up my own neverending batch of vanilla extract! Really, it's just two vanilla beans and vodka in an old soy sauce bottle that I cleaned out thoroughly. Everyone who posts about homemade vanilla extract says it's definitely the way to go over the store bought stuff, because it's cheaper and more flavorful. I will let you know in 6-8 weeks! Today, this is what my extract looks like. Mostly just vodka, ha!

Anytime I work in the kitchen, it's only a matter of time before one or both kids wander in and ask me about what I'm doing. For a while, Gus kept them distracted by offering them rides on his shoulders...

But really, they couldn't help me with the vanilla extract thing. However... when Nikos plunked himself down on the barstool, I was suddenly inspired to do some "supermarket science," (to quote my old Mr. Wizard book, which I practically have memorized!). First, we made clouds in a jar, talking a little bit about the water cycle (which I'm teaching right now to the 5th graders!). Nikos was mesmerized! Maya came and went, but was a little cranky from skipping her nap...

After that, we dropped the ice cubes into the water and used salt to raise their melting point and pick them up with pieces of yarn (this was very well-received by both kids). We mixed oil and water. We played with pepper floating on top of a (clean) cup of water, then breaking the surface tension with dish soap. Mostly, I just dug through the cupboards and showed them whatever popped into my brain! Maya was still pretty out of it, but cute as ever!

Finally, I busted out the food coloring, which is ALWAYS a popular activity 'round these parts. Both kids love watching the droplets of dye diffuse into the water, then stirring them around until they, ultimately, create a murky mess.

All in all, it was a pretty great day, with beautiful weather to boot! I wish every day could be like today! :)

2.5

2011-09-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

I have talked to so many people who have said "it's the half years that are the worst," but I will admit-- I didn't really buy it! Why should being 2.5 be any different from 2 or from 3, in terms of behavior? But I would officially like to retract that opinion right now!

I have to say... Our kids get along amazingly well. They really do love each other, and they are close enough in age that they can play together (which they enjoy doing, thankfully). But oh. my. goodness. Maya, my sweet little girl, has apparently been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a little gremlin. Ack! She is still as adorable and endearing as ever, but she is finally asserting her position as the two-year-old of the family. She doesn't throw tantrums or anything... Oh no! Instead, she knows how to push Nikos' buttons better than any other human on the face of the earth. And push them she does. Nikos will be peacefully playing with his toy cars, when Maya will come along and join him. No problem. Until she starts chucking them across the room, or grabbing a few and running off with them. Which she finds hilarious, while her big brother flips out. Ay, ay, ay!

I'm posting this because today was particularly brutal. From the time I got home from school until bedtime (sweet bedtime!), Maya was very intentionally driving her brother crazy. And spending a lot of time in time-out. Really, she's still a great kid, and I know it's just a phase... but my goodness. Mommy needed a glass of wine tonight! Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day...

Colton's Party

2011-09-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

My adorable nephew won't turn one for a few more days still, but his birthday bash was yesterday! The four of us made the three-hour drive up to my brother's house, and the kids had a TON of fun. There was another little boy who was a few months younger than Maya, and both kids enjoyed running around with him. Not to mention seeing their cousin, their aunt and uncle, their great-aunt and great-uncle, and (of course) grandma and grandpa. I took a ton of pictures, and just finished editing my sixty favorite shots, haha! But I'm thinking sixty photos is a bit much for a blog post, even for me! Still, here are a few from our fun day...

The kids kept the birthday boy entertained while he waited for his cupcake

And then they sat nice and close to watch him open presents (so they could play with them as soon as he went down for his nap... haha!)

Colton liked the ride-on toy we got for him... I hope he gets years of use out of it (since Nikos and Maya both still play with that very same toy)

And, my one-and-only, super adorable nephew!

Despite being a very LONG day with a lot of driving, I have to say that it was a really fun one. Both kids were pretty much independent all day, and I had time to sit and talk with my family, including my aunt and uncle who I hadn't seen in a while. We ended up leaving just before dinner time, grabbed some fast food to eat in the car, and the kids fell asleep minutes after they were done eating. A successful trip!

A Little Adventure...

2011-09-09T14:13:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday started out like any other day, but quickly headed south as soon as I got home from work! I was talking to my mom on the phone when the line went dead. I didn't think much of it, because our phone does that from time to time (and it's really irritating, by the way!). Still, I sat there for a bit, playing with the kids and waiting for the phone to start working again.

After sitting there for about 10 minutes, I suddenly realized that I couldn't hear the soothing hum of the air conditioner. And with the temperature hovering right around 100 degrees, that was a VERY bad thing! It then hit me that everything was off-- clocks, refrigerator, everything. It was so quiet without that constant electrical buzz we're so accustomed to!

Anyhow... Our next-door neighbor knocked on the door shortly thereafter to say that they had lost power. I started seeing other neighbors walk out into their driveways, as well, so I knew it was not just our house, at least! I made an executive decision to load the kids up in the car and head for the store. I figured that a store on the complete opposite side of town would SURELY have power. Right?

Wrong. I realized the outage was a little more widespread when all the stoplights were blinking red (and some were out completely). It took me three times as long as it should have to get across town, and then the store was dark. People were milling around the exit looking confused. Meanwhile, while all this was going on, I had been trying and trying to get through to Gus and my parents on my cell phone. I finally got through to my parents, who looked it up on the computer and informed me that at least 1.4 million customers were without power, starting in northern parts of Mexico, extending all the way up into southern Orange County, and going from the coast all the way to Yuma, Arizona. Basically, the southernmost chunk of the state was in a complete blackout!

Thankfully, my parents weren't affected (nor were Gus' parents)... but right then and there, I decided to hop on the freeway and drive up to my parents' house for the afternoon/evening. At the very least, we'd be able to feed the kids a decent dinner. At home, I didn't want anyone to open the refrigerator/freezer at all to (hopefully) keep the food from going bad. It was also nice to be able to watch the news coverage, look up information on the internet, etc.

Anyway... We drove back home at around 8pm, since the kids didn't have any of their lovies and wouldn't have slept well without them. After all, our original plan had just been to go to the store for an hour... it wasn't meant to become an overnight trip! So, we drove home. It was kind of a surreal experience! All the well-lit downtown areas were pitch black and completely lifeless. The stars were amazing, because there were no city lights to wash them out! Once we turned into our neighborhood, we saw that there were TONS of people outside, sitting in their driveways around fire pits, lanterns, etc. It ended up being this really neat sort of community-bonding thing! Even on the road, people were driving very slowly and carefully, stopping completely at all the dark traffic lights. Amazing!

At any rate... the County Superintendent of Schools announced that all public schools in the county would be closed today, though I only heard this "through the grapevine" and couldn't find anything out about my specific school district. Plus, the power finally came back on at 2am, so I wasn't sure if the plan had changed. I still figured we'd probably be closed today, but decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I drove to my school first thing this morning, and was greeted by this lovely sight:

(that's my principal by the way, hehe! I took this with my cell phone so I could send it to a few of my coworkers as evidence.) Three words: Three day weekend!!! And we had power, so I've used today to deep-clean the house so I can enjoy the next two days without worrying about chores. So exciting! Yippee! (and yay for power, too!) :)

Life Without Kids

2011-09-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

We are currently childless, as the kids managed to get well enough to spend the weekend at yiayia and pappou's house. We know that they are having a blast (and most likely getting spoiled rotten), and it's been nice to have a little taste of freedom-- though we still miss them terribly. It's just that having kids is an entirely different lifestyle. You are constantly working things around their schedules (naps, meals) and their attention span. I could never spend more than 15 minutes shopping for clothes or shoes with them both around, because they would be DONE after that long. So, today has been sort of luxurious!

We started the weekend by attending Gus' coworker's wedding. The guy is very shy and kind of reclusive at work. So imagine our surprise when there were 500 people at the wedding! They are apparently very active in their church (they met in Bible Study), and so they invited pretty much the entire congregation. It was a lovely wedding, despite the repeated emphasis that the man is in charge of the woman, and that a wife should always submit to her husband's will, etc. That was a bit much. But, like I said, it was otherwise a very nice wedding. My favorite part was when the six flower girls and six ringbearers had to walk down the aisle, and half of them erupted into tears and wouldn't go. I think everyone had a good chuckle at that!

Anyway... After the wedding (which was in the morning), we spent the day working on various projects at home. Then we went out to dinner and a movie. We saw "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which was really, really good! It was definitely a "Gus choice," but I have to admit that I enjoyed it. :) This morning, we both slept in (a rare, rare treat!), and I spent a few hours going shopping. Oh, the luxury of trying things on! It was fun. I also did our weekly meal plan and grocery shopping, which was less exciting, but at least all of my weekend chores are done. The kids are coming home tomorrow morning, so we'll be able to focus on family time all day. I can't wait!

Oh, and I also worked on an art project today! Not too long ago, I discovered the wondrous site known as Pinterest. It's basically a site where you can save/organize your computer favorites. It also saves a picture with whatever link you've chosen, and then you can write a little comment about it ("Must try this slow-cooker recipe!" etc.). Meanwhile, your friends (and really, everyone) can see what you've pinned... so the ideas are just flying all over the place. I am constantly getting amazing ideas from there, most of which I am saving up for when we move. I have, however, tried a ton of new recipes because of Pinterest. And I've found some winners, too!

But I digress... A few weeks ago, I saw this idea on there for an art project: get a canvas, paint it however you'd like, and then paint onto it the lyrics from your "first dance" at your wedding. While I don't plan to put this up until after we move, I wanted to make it now-- while I still have access to the awesome LCD projector in my classroom! So, that's what I did today. I'd already painted the canvas, but I went into my classroom for about an hour to do the lyrics (I had them in a PDF file). It's definitely not perfect, and my arm still hurts, but I love it!!!!! Behold my art project!

So, there ya go. This is what a child-free day will get you (along with a new shirt and some cute shoes). I sure do miss my little boogers, though, and can't wait to see them in the morning (after I sleep in). Yay!

A Whole Week?!?

2011-09-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Seriously, have I ever gone that long without blogging before? How did that even happen??

Well, I suppose the answer is pretty obvious. I'm working again, and teaching always takes a lot of time and energy-- particularly at the beginning of the year, when I am still getting to know my students, and they are getting to know me and understand my expectations. Setting yourself up for a successful year is a lot of work. Oh, and then there's Back to School Night, which is incredibly exhausting. It's funny. I have no problem speaking in front of the entire 5th grade (~90 students), but put me in a room full of about 30 parents, and I get SO nervous!! I think that's why I am always so tired afterward. I literally run out of steam! It went smoothly, though, and the parents had a lot of nice things to say about the class so far. So, yay for crossing another big thing off the checklist of major school events!

In the meantime... my return to work has meant, of course, a return to daycare. And germs (from both daycare AND school). Maya has already had croup (earlier this week), and Nikos seems to be experiencing a much milder form of it now. And Maya's still sick, with a fever that comes and goes, a nasty cough, and general fatigue. This, combined with the fact that Gus had an important meeting at work today, meant that I had to put in for my first substitute of the year-- in the second week of school! Yikes! It's never easy to have a sub, but it's especially hard when our classroom routines are still being established. Not fun, not fun.

Anyhow... The little sickies both seem to be doing a lot better. Just look at the photos from today! We'll start with the low point of the day. After her nap, Maya was completely inconsolable for about 30 minutes.

About five minutes after I took this, she decided she wanted to pretend to be a puppy, and she was happy the rest of the day. And really, they did alright for a couple of sick kids! They stayed in their pajamas and had a pretty low-key day, but Maya had fun playing the piano (safety first! I'm telling you, she's crazy) and both kids had a blast jumping on our bed for a few short minutes before they got winded and had to rest.

Maya's still coughing a lot in her sleep tonight, but the fact that she remains sleeping is an improvement! Here's hoping tomorrow brings happy, healthy kids who can enjoy the fun weekend planned for them. Fingers crossed!

Oh, and just for fun... Another one of Nikos' drawings. This one is a car, presumably with eyes (like the ones in "Cars," his favorite movie of all time). It amazes me that he can draw things now that are recognizable. To me, at least! I knew what this was the second he showed it to me. Go Nikos!

Sooooooo tiiiiiiiired

2011-08-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

I just looked at the clock, thinking it had to be close to 10pm (my usual get-in-bed-and-read-for-a-bit time), but it's only 8:30! So I guess that basically sums up this entire post. I'm tired! There you have it.

Yesterday was the first day of school. It went great, but I literally have ZERO energy left. I think I have a really good class, and the questions about why I was still here were really minimal. My standard answer (which is the truth!) is that we had planned to move this summer, but that the house we had been trying to buy since February ended up not working out. And that we have an offer on another house, which is also a short sale, and we have no idea if/when that will work out. Everyone has seemed content with this answer, and the feedback I've already gotten from the parents has been overwhelmingly positive (their kids are so happy I'm back and they get to have me as their teacher, etc.). No mention whatsoever of the teacher who was all set to replace me, though he was certainly well-loved by this group. Long story short, I was INCREDIBLY nervous (sick to my stomach, even) yesterday morning, and it was all for nothing. So... I can do this!

In the meantime, my own little darlings have had a BLAST this week! Despite Nikos initially wanting to stay home with me, he has quickly realized how much he loves spending time with his buddies at daycare! I practically have to drag both kids home now, because they are having so much fun over there. They've really grown up a lot this summer, and it becomes a lot clearer when I see them run to their friends, play these elaborate pretend games with them, etc. And I love listening to Maya tell me about her day, especially when she makes a scowling face and tells me about kids who were naughty and needed a time-out. She even tells on her brother, haha! But honestly? They are having so much fun, and it's made the transition back to work a lot easier on me. I am so thankful for that.

Oh, and the fact that there's a hurricane currently headed straight toward Central Massachusetts. Right now, I am glad we are still here. Yikes!!

Anyway, we are here, and we are mostly alive! I just have to make it through tomorrow, and then I can rest for a few days. This weekend calls for some serious sleep!

The End.

2011-08-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it! Tomorrow marks the end of my summer vacation, and then it's back to work on Monday. In some ways, this has been the best summer ever. Both kids are old enough that I really do enjoy their companionship and conversation. And, since I hadn't planned to return to work, I really, truly left all of that behind this summer and just lived in the moment. Yes, there was (is!) all the moving drama, but the nice thing is that I didn't have to spend the summer packing. Right?? Always look on the bright side of life (insert Monty Python whistling).

Anyhow... I've been kind of depressed the last few days, and haven't done as much fun stuff with the kids as I normally would have. It just weighs my heart down so much, having to go back to work on Monday when it wasn't in the plan. Nikos keeps begging me to stay with him. He loves going to Bonnie's house and seeing his buddies, and I know he will readjust quickly, but he does love spending time with his mommy. And that just breaks my heart!

At any rate... I decided to get my act together today and do fun stuff with them, before our long days together are over. We played, we went to Home Depot and Costco (always fun!), and we did a messy art project after nap. I have also decided that I really need to focus on my photography again. When I'm stressed/depressed, I don't focus on growing in that area, and I find that the quality of my pictures actually starts to deteriorate. I can see it and point out what's wrong, but I don't have the energy to correct it in-camera. At the same time, photography (like blogging) is a HUGE outlet for me and my sanity. So I NEED it! Yesterday, I decided to reacquaint myself with my super-awesome flash. I used it to take all of these pictures today, and I have to say I am pretty pleased with my improvement. Having cute subjects always helps, though. :)

Without further ado, how about some pictures?

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Costco was selling superhero costumes? And that Nikos has said for MONTHS now that he wants to be Spiderman for Halloween? Well... Guess who got his costume today? And guess who has it in bed with him tonight? :)

Rock On!

2011-08-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

This is sort of a drive-by post, but I just wanted to quickly share these three pictures from yesterday! The first two came about because Nikos announced that he wanted to "play rock 'n roll!" And, on a whim, I thought it would be entertaining to dust off my old Guitar Hero guitar and show him the video game. And of course, Maya wanted in on the fun. They couldn't play the game to save their lives, but at least they looked cute trying! And in their jammies, no less! :)

We also made a trip to the dollar store, and Maya came away with this little baby doll "food" set. Total junk, but it was what she picked out, and she put it to good use (assembly-line style) when we got home, hehe!

Accepting My Fate

2011-08-11T21:13:00.001-07:00

So... We (the kids and I) went to my classroom today! I'd been feeling kind of sick about the whole thing lately. I hadn't planned to come back to teaching this year, and a very good teacher (a friend) was hoping to take my position. But because of our house situation, I simply need to keep working for the time being. And I do, in fact, love my job, and I love the kids... but I had just wanted to make a clean break, you know? A lot of my coworkers already know what's going on, but I still feel... I don't know. Embarrassed? It's hard to describe. But going back today was actually kind of therapeutic. I left my classroom in great shape, and there is something satisfying about handing out textbooks, etc. And it was made even better by having the kiddos with me, who LOVE my classroom. Maya was singing songs on the microphone, Nikos helped me pass out books, etc. It was fun to have them there. And I got a lot done, too! It's pretty much all set to go now. We were done by 11am, at which point the kids got to play on the awesome kindergarten playground. And then we went out for a celebratory lunch at In-N-Out, which was fun. I have to say, I love their current ages most of the time. Both of them are pretty independent and well-behaved most of the time, and they were delightful lunch companions. So, yay for that!

Anyway... Blogging has taken a major back seat lately, which is sad! And unhealthy for me, since this is one of my outlets for stress (and Lord knows I have enough of that going on!). I have so many pictures that are piling up and may never make it on here! So, without further ado, here are a few from the past few days.