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Monday, March 24, 2008
March 20th-22nd Easter Weekend
 Thursday night we found out Loida was going to be closed for Good Friday. We forgot she swaps MLK day with that day. So Erin
was nice enough to take off the CWS day she normally takes off. She was trying to work a day ahead for going up home home
but I need to make up 7 hours so I went in.
The boys made Easter Eggs at
Loida’s that matched their new Tye Dyes or Bow Tye shirts has Liam calls them. We all made the shirts last Sunday with Mommy.
That was her present from the boys and we all enjoyed doing that. It had been a long long time since I had made them but we
have made a few in our day.
Erin prepared a bunch of packages
that needed to be mailed in the morning. They came and got me and we all had lunch at Arbys. Erin then stopped by to see her
co-workers with the kids and they went home and napped. After napping Jax played in the yard while Erin raked and Liam drew
inside. Jax is an outdoor boy and Liam likes to be inside. I can see those traits already. Jax likes adventure and tinkering
where as Liam loves role play, imagination, and art.
Friday we had Joe Corbi’s pizza
and Erin and I watched the movie Across the Universe and we both liked it. I usually don’t go for musicals but with all the
Beatles music it was pretty cool.
On Saturday I raked the rest
of the yard up in the back while Erin burned leaves. I used my Gift Certificate to Lowe’s Dawn gave me to get top soil for
the Garden. Thanks Dawn. We also bought seeds for the minimal garden we are doing this year. The two items that worked last
year were Green Beans and Tomatoes. Also after doing some reading and research and consulting our gardening friend I have
decided to give corn a try. The last thing I got was gloves. My cheapie from last year is falling a part. I thought my bill
was high and I had paid 14.97 for the gloves which was 5 more than I wanted to pay. Looking at the receipt I paid 30 so I
went back in and exchanged them for some 10 dollar ones.
We
decided to go to Nicolletti’s for dinner. We had not been there for a bit and caught up with James who works there. We also
ran into my Boss Mark and his wife Suzanne and the boys played with their daughter Erika.
When we got home we played for
a bit as Erin blew bubbles for the kids and we laughed as Cleo would snap at them to eat them. Liam also got in a round of
Spiderman play before bed.
 
Erin and I played the Wii the
rest of the evening with bowling, golf, sharpshooting, cow races and many others.
This year Easter was as early
as it had ever been in our lifetime or will be. Between our Birthdays and Easter almost every weekend for a month has had
something special.
The Easter bunny had came and
left the boys some small baskets of candy.
We enjoyed playing with the
kids and Erin did some sewing projects making pants of knights for Jaxson and Batman for Liam.
Liam and Erin had a conversation
about God and I thought I would put Liam's thoughts:
Liam: Does God wear a circus
hat?
Erin: I don't know, maybe.
Liam: Like, a black, hat with a rabbit coming out of it?
Erin: You mean like a
Magic Hat?
Liam: Yeah
Erin: Maybe.
After naptime
the kids went on an Easter Egg hunt in the backyard as the Easter Bunny stopped by again. Liam was totally into it but it
took Jaxson a little while to catch on.
 
 
We had steaks for dinner and
I cleaned up while Erin put the kids to bed. We watched a movie called Dan In Real Life with Steve Carrell. It was a dramedy
that was predictable and honestly not nearly as good as the hype. Next week is a five day work week and then the following
week the boys will be with their Grandparents while I am in training in Rockville and Erin in Alexandria commuting to Rockville.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Simply put, it was a Birthday weekend. Most of the week was a fog because I was so excited to celebrate Liam's birthday
with him. He wanted a Knight theme (it's funny because it seemed everyone I told this to, immediately said, "oh, he's having
a sleep-over?"). So, I'd ordered a few things from a party place online. Cups, Plates, Napkins etc with a Jolly looking Lancelot
on a Horse. I also ordered this cardboard castle that we could put together for the kids to color and play in. I thought it'd
be a nice thing for the daycare kids to do on Friday as a sort of pre-party prep.
Around 3:00 on Friday, Russ and I went to daycare. I'd dropped off the Coloring Castle the night before, and my friend
and co-worker, Melanie, had already made Liam a castle cake. We arrived just as most of the kids were waking up from afternoon
naps. I got to take a couple of quick pictures before the castle was infiltrated! The kids donned Knight Helmets and had fun
blowing noise makers. Then, since it was about 65 degrees out, we all went outside to play and continue coloring the castle.
Liam's daycare provider, Loida, gave him a really cute Play-Doh set, that be BEGGED to open as soon as we got home.
 
  
Fortunately, we planned an easy birthday dinner by ordering a pizza. After pizza, Liam was allowed to open his gifts. We
tried not to go overboard, but he made out pretty well. Some of his favorites included a pair of swords, some art supplies,
a football kicker, batman, hot wheels cars, a musical triangle, and some Playmobile knights with a fortress. Jaxson had as
much fun as Liam did, but had a hard time sharing despite our attempts of distracting him with little presents of his own.
  
Russ and I were pretty worn out by the time everything was over, but unfortunatley, the large doses of sugar that had been
injested earlier were not making a speedy departure out of little boys' systems. Getting to sleep was not an easy feat. After
they were in bed, Russ and I watched Farce of the Penguins, but I was drifting off before the end.
The next morning we all slept in a little bit. Liam was excited to play with some of his new toys. The weather outside
was sunny and warm despite the rainy forcast. Around 10:00, our friend, Rick, came over to take Liam out to lunch. I used
to work with Rick, and he and Liam have a nice friendship. Rick took Liam to a couple of TOY hotspots, and then to Burger
King for lunch. When they returned, Liam was very excited to show me the Octopus Prime (Optimus Prime) helmet that "Mr. Rick"
had gotten him. He also was spoiled with a bunch of sugary goodies, an awesome Indy Car T-shirt, and some Hot Wheels cars.
I would dare to guess that Rick had just as much fun as Liam did! While they were gone, Russ and I had the chance to do some
things outside. He chopped up a bunch of wood, and I raked a few leaves while Jaxson wandered around the yard and entertained
the dogs.
After the boys had a nap, Russ took them out to run a couple of birthday errands for Mommy and get a few groceries. After
a nice crab dinner, he helped to clean up and get the boys ready for bed. Russ and I then played a few Wii Games before I
headed upstairs to go to bed myself. Unfortunately, Liam was still awake, so I let him come into my bed for a little while
so he could wind down. That's all it took. I think the time change is also negatively affecting Liam's sleep habits too. When
Russ came in later, he put Liam back in his own bed.
Jaxson was up early on Sunday. For some reason, right around 6:45 he was fussing. So I carried him downstairs, changed
his soggy diaper, and then let him snooze with me on the couch while the sun came up. After about an hour or so, Liam joined
us. I got the boys a light breakfast because I knew that Russ had it in the birthday plan to take us to brunch at Bear Creek.
He still had the Gift Certificate that Dawn gave him for Christmas, so he figured today would be a good day to use it. After
we'd had a small bite to eat, the boys and I headed to the basement to do a little cleaning. We've been doing this a lot on
weekend mornings, and it seems to help keep the chaos of the playroom under control. The reward is a clean floor that we can
set up the race track on and do a few laps.
About the time we got the Shake & Go Raceway set up, Russ came downstairs and reminded us that we'd need to get around
if we were going to brunch. So, we did. Though the day wasn't quite as warm as the day before, and a little more dreary, it
still was dry and sunny at times, and it felt good to get out. The brunch was great. The kids were pretty good, but Jaxson
wanted to explore the place, so it was difficult to keep him from bothering the other patrons… good thing he can use the "cute"
excuse.
After brunch, we picked up a couple of fresh items for that evening's dinner, and headed back home. The boys and Russ gave
me their presents. I got a really nice BIG card from the boys, that they had made with a little of daddy's help. It has all
sorts of stickers and sparklies all over it, and Russ told me they had a blast making it. I could tell they were pretty proud,
and so it is now hung on the wall by my computer at work. I also got a couple buttons with the kids pictures, and a Tye-Dying
kit. I thought that was a great idea, because I LOVE to give things like that that involve the boys, but never think to get
anything like that for myslef, so it was perfect.
  
As soon as the kids got up from nap, we set up a work area in the basement, and started making a few colorful T-shirts.
It was messy, but a lot of fun. I just love getting the chance to be creative like that, especially if it involves my family.
Oh, and I also got a couple of really nice pots of flowers, some Hyacinths and some Daiseys, so they'll go in the ground in
a few weeks. Russ also got me a cake of my own, so we had to cut into that too.
 
It was a great birthday weekend. I think Russ is pretty "spent" in a variety of ways, but I just hope he knows just how
much we love him, and just how special he really is.
Monday, March 10, 2008
March 7th-9th, 2008
Thursday night we watched our favorite
shows, Survivor and Lost. It is cool that this season they come on back to back.
On Friday we decided to get an early start
and get the kids to Daycare so we could go to Waldorf. I got around and got us
some breakfast together. We needed to do some birthday shopping for Liam, who
will be four next Friday. Where has the time gone?
We drove up to Waldorf so we could see
the new Will Ferrell movie called Semi-Pro. The internet said it would be at 1:00 but when we drove by the actual start time
was 1:50 so we went back into the mall and window shopped a little while longer.
We arrived at the mall before the stores
opened so I got a diet soda and Erin got a coffee at McDonalds. We walked around
the mall with the Senior Citizens. Once the stores were open, we scouted out for things for Liam and got some lunch. We then
walked across the parking lot to Toys R’ Us and got his birthday stuff.
In the theater lobby Erin and I cut up,
and played a couple of video games - racing cars and Artic Cats. Once in the
theater we thought we would be the only ones until right before it started, another couple came in. So the four people were
treated to a not so good comedy. I was excited about it because of all the ABA references and I was such a big Kentucky Colonels
fan. Well fan or not the movie just wasn’t that good. Erin and I did chuckle a couple of times but Will tried way to hard
on this one - and missed.
After the movie we went home and got the
kids. We were all pretty tired. Erin and I had a big lunch, so she just made
the kids some spaghetti with meatballs, and we kept the evening low key.
That night we watched a completely different
movie from Netflix. It started off slow but soon it captured both Erin and I. It was directed by Sean Penn and called Into
The Wild. Soon we were immersed into this movie based on a true story.
Erin and I both find that if a movie has
you thinking the next day, stimulates conversation, and makes one want to research further, it has entertained us. So the
next morning I find Erin researching the character from the movie. Tragically he could have been a lot smarter than he chose
to be about his environment. We both watched a few clips of things but we had to get around.to leave.
Liam and Jaxson were invited to a birthday
party. Erin’s co-worker, Lindsay, was having a party for her son, Ethan, who
was turning 3. She held it at the One Stop Family Adventure Center. We were thinking
of getting a load of wood from another of Erin’s co-workers, Greg, as he has kept us pretty stocked this year in Oak. The
downpour of rain nixed that idea.
 
Once up there we found the party area (among
half a dozen, it seemed) and saw Lindsey. Ethan was having a Cars themed birthday party. Liam and Jaxson dove right into all
the inflatables. They both enjoyed going down the big slide.
 
We ran into Greg, who was at the party,
and joked about not getting the wood in the rain. We also saw Steve and Carla who were having a date day. I watched them race and Erin saw them at the Air Hockey table.
 
The kids at the party all got a spin on
the Go-Karts prior to the Birthday time. I took Liam around the track as he was doing his best Dario Franchitti imitation.
Once the kids were rounded up, everyone,
including the big kids, got pizza and soda from Four Star. I like their pizza. After that Ethan blew out the candles on his
big Cars cake. It was really a neat cake. There was plenty for everyone. The kids also got to take tries at the Lightning
McQueen piñata. It was a really fun party and the kids had a great time.
On the way home we stopped at the annual
Library sale. They have it at the fairgrounds now. I got a couple of Time Life Civil War books, A Time Life book on Alaska,
A Sporting News book on the Washington Redskins history, A biography about Pretty Boy Floyd, and a book on the 25th
anniversary of TV Guide. All that for only 11 bucks. Erin got a big bag full of children’s stories and a Hot Wheels video
all for under ten bucks. It started pouring rain so I slung Jaxson and as soon as we got a break we took of towards the van
to watch a video while Erin looked a while longer with Liam.
We then stopped by the grocery and restocked
the shelves and went home right about time to make dinner.
We started to watch the Terminal with Tom
Hanks while we ate dinner but switched gears and watched Heroes on Netflix view instantly on the computer after the kids were
in bed. We have now watched 14 of 24 first season episodes.
On Sunday Erin took the dogs to the dog
park in the morning. We puttered around and played with the kids including a hilarious session of blowing bubbles. Jaxson
said bubble for the first time. He can now say Cleo, Mama, Dada, Ima (Liam), Ita (Rita), Shes (Ashy), and Doe (No). He can
shake his head yes and no and knows about a dozen signs so he is definitely making communicative progress. We finished watching
the Termonal before dinner and I watched the last 27 laps of the NASCAR race.
Sunday night after the kids were in bed,
Erin and I watched another End of the world show on the National Geographic Channel. It was VERY much like the one on TLC
last month. Odd that two shows so similar would come out at almost the same time. The odd thing is in both shows is where
did the humans disappear to? I watched one of my old NFL games after that of the 1977 Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams.
Next weekend is the big birthday party
weekend for Liam and Erin. On Friday Liam will be having a birthday party at Miss Loida’s and Melanie, another of Erin’s co-workers,
who always makes our cakes will be making a castle cake. We are going with a knight theme. Erin is a definite to go and I
might stop in. On Saturday the boys and I will go shopping for Mommy a little gift or two and then we will take her to Nicoletti’s
on Sunday for dinner.
Monday, March 3, 2008
On Wednesday we celebrated Russ's birthday. It was a small affair, but the boys and I got him a few things
to make it special. He said he had a nice evening, and we all enjoyed sharing the cheescake!
Friday night was fairly normal. We had breakfast for dinner and got the kids to bed as usual. Russ and I
did a few games of Wii Bowling, and turned in around 11:00.
Saturday morning, I was pretty tired, but once I got the kids some breakfast and myself some coffee, we all set to work
on cleaning up the toys in the basement. Once again, nearly every bin had been overturned, and it was just one big pile
of "fun."
It was otherwise a pretty lazy morning. Once we got the toys picked up, Russ joined us for some Spiderman Target
practice with the webdisk slinger Mr. Rick had gotten Liam for Christmas. It's a gadget that you put on the inside
of your wrist. Then you pull a lever with your two middle fingers, and out shoots a disk about the size of a quarter.
We'd put of some bad guys, and all took turns wiping them out... even Jaxson.
With the good old-fashioned fun, we also worked in a few games of cow racing with the Wii. The boys enjoy this
game even though they need a little help. It creates lots of giggles, to say the least.
After lunch, I was feeling pretty beat. Guess the stressful week, and the late night bowling caught up with me.
Once I got the boys down for a nap, I ended up crawling in bed myself for a little over an hour or so.
Once we all got up, I decided to run to the grocery store to get a few things for Games Night with the Hoffmans.
Both boys wanted to come along, so I let them.
As we entered the store, we happened to see Sue and Jenna Hoffman outside selling Girl Scout cookies. So, we chatted
for a bit, figured out who was bringing what, and headed inside. I actually had fun shopping with the boys. Liam
enjoyed helping me put things in the cart. He was excited when I told him we could get the rainbow jello and the jellybeans
too! Jaxson was just happy to ride along in the cart and hold the shopping list.
While we were gone, Russ had a chance to have some time to himself and get a shower.
When I got back, since the boys still had their coats on and it was really sunny outside, I sent them out to play for
a little bit. Liam was asking to come in long before Jaxson. Cleo, the boxer, had a dandy time running laps around
him and waiting for him to throw the ball for her... even if it was only for a few feet at a time. So cute.
I got out the chocolate fondue fountain and started getting things ready for our fun night with the Hoffmans. We
hadn't seen them in a while, so we were all looking forward to a fun night. We ordered pizzas around 6:00 and they arrived
shortly thereafter.
The evening was full of snacks, catching up, board games and Wii fun. I put the boys to bed a little after 8:00,
but the rest of us went on playing until about 1:30 in the morning! Obviously, we all had a grand time.
Luckily, the boys let me sleep in until about 7:30 on Sunday. I was surprised that I wasn't more tired than I was,
but I think the nap I had the day before had lasting effects. The boys had some Lucky Charms (Liam loved them, but Jax
just enjoyed smooshing the marshmellows) while I had some leftover coffee. They played really well by themselves in
the basement while I watched the news and got the laundry started. Russ slept in for a while and around 9:30 got up
to start in on doing our Taxes.
After he'd gotten a bite to eat and I'd gotten a shower, he dove into Turbo Tax and our Tax folder. All in all,
the deed went pretty smooth. We didn't get back as much as we thought we would this year, but at least we didn't have
to pay anything, so that's good.
While the boys napped that afternoon, I got some laundry put away, and Russ and I got to share some time together.
We looked up some interesting footage on Clinton and Obama on YouTube. Soon, it was time for the boys to get up, and
I hauled out my babywearing stuff to give a mini-lesson to my friend Lindsay.
Lindsay came over around 3:00 with her son, Ethan, who's almost 3. The three boys had a great time playing in the
basement while I showed Lindsay how to wear the sling I gave her at her shower last weekend. We'll see them again next
weekend when we go to Ethan's birthday party at the Go-Kart place.
After Lindsay left, I finished up the laundry. I planned to make a pork loin for dinner, but Russ wanted to order
out, so we did. That made for an easy Sunday evening, but by the time I got the boys to bed, I found myself quite weary.
I stayed up with Russ for a little while, but excused myself even before 9:00 and crawled in. I was surprised that I
fell asleep so easily.
We've got a short week this week and it has been a beautiful, sunny Monday - about 67 degrees.
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