Goodbye for now

I am sure most of you have guessed by now, but I have taken a hiatus from the parenting blog to focus on my fiction writing.

I am happy to report I am gaining some traction with my work and will let you know more when I know more.

Ta ta for now!
Linda

The Happiest Place on Earth

Since the last time I posted a month ago, Nate graduated preschool, my basement flooded causing serious mold, and we took the kids to Disney World for a whole week.

And the only thing, I really want to share is that Jacob asked Matt, "When I'm a grown-up will the hair on my head grow out of my face, too?"

He is SO fuuny, especially when he doesn't try. When he does try he uproarious also.

Both boys will be in camp starting Monday, and I hereby dub this the Summer of Writing! I plan on having a good chunk of my novel completed by August. Wish me luck.

Mother's Day- the nice version

In my rant below, I neglected to mention that my boys gave me lovely, handmade pieces of jewlery. I proudly wore both large pins on my blouse today. Now, objectively, I could look at each pin and recognize that they are no David Yurman pieces, but to me, they were the most beautiful treasures in the world.

Too special to wear just any day. So I will pull them out just once a year on Mother's day to wear happily.

Happy Moms Day

Aaaah, Mother's day again. A day to lie in bed, have breakfast delivered on a tray with a rose, and get pampered all day. Oh, wait, that's on TV, not my life. Got my usual 6:30 wake up, everyone snuggled in bed till after 7. Nice. Shuffled downstairs to make breakfast.

Matt- totally jetlagged and in severe back pain. I let him sleep in.

Got downstairs to see that the house was a disaster zone of Hurricane category 3 proportions. Yikes- family coming at noon for lunch.
Clean, clean, clean. Break up a few fights between cranky toddlers.
Make breakfast. eat it.
Clean, clean, clean.
Negotiate a peace treaty between two warring and violent factions.
Set the table.
organize an art/painting project for reconciled countrymen..
Clean said paint project.
unload and reload dishwasher.
Toss a salad
Clean, clean, clean
Settle territorial dispute over TIVO
Get dressed
Wake up Matt and send him to Whole Foods for breadand soda.
Come back downstairs to see coffee table is once again covered in art supplies. F-it. It's just family.
Ding Dong- family arrives.
Eat, eat, Eat.
Chat, chat chat.
Bye, Bye, bye
Clean Clean Clean

Oh, and did I mention Jacob wet his pants twice during that time.

Happy Earth Day

My family's gone green this year. Some of you may think we're trying to be trendy and jump on the bandwagon. I say great, let's all be trendy and jump on this bandwagon together- much better than the skinny-jean bandwagon.

Jacob's happy about going green, because green is his 'favoritist' color. Not to say we've gone Ed Begley-vegetable oil-powered car- green, but, we've made a few small changes that help reduce our footprint. Here's a list of some things we've done in a hope to inspire even the laziest environmentalist.

1. We sold Matt's car and became a one car family. Yes- it is a huge SUV like car, but when we bought it, there were no hybrid/fuel efficient cars with a 3rd row. Unfortunately, Matt still racks up tons of airline miles for work, but when he's not in the air, he's hoofing it to work. (ok, this is not an easy thing) Try something below:

2. We took a local summer vacation. Instead of the San Diego trip, we wanted, we went to Baltimore, a 45 minute drive from our house. (Yes, we could have taken the Marc train, but it seemed silly to lug suitcases etc.. on the Metro, then through Union Station, then on the train). Here in DC, there are a variety of local trips that still feel like a vacation- Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh (yes, Pittsburgh- Great zoo, Children's Museum, Andy Warhol museum, & KennyWood), I bet most of you could find a destination close to you that the family would love.

3. We stopped using plastic & paper bags- not just at the supermarket. By keeping the reusable, cloth bags in our car, we remember them more easily. I also keep a tiny foldup bag in my purse to use for other purchases. (see link http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=13814563&itemIndex=1&CATID=255&PRODID=74340

4. And speaking of other purchases- we have reduced our shopping, and try to think in terms of "need" versus "want"

5. We bought a rain barrel. Though many of you have been laughing at me going out in my PJs on rainy days to adjust hose settings to prevent floods. 50 gallon barrels fill up VERY quickly as I've learned.

6. We replaced our chemical cleaners with natural ones. I found a website that lists tons of homemade cleaning products. Matt found spray bottles made of recycled plastic at Home Depot. The boys & I filled them with concoctions of vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch & water. Voila- chemical free cleaning products. The best part is I hand spray bottles & rags to the boys and tell them to get busy cleaning. They LOVE it- they lover to spray the bottles, and I have no worries they are exposed to toxins.

7. We freecycle. Find the local Yahoo Freecycle group and prepare to clean your basements!

8 And the Number 1 thing we've done to green, that the boys are most excited about is our Bat House. We hung a bat box in the hopes of attracting bats to our yard. It is the single most effective mosquito repellant since each bat can eat up to 600 mosquitos per hour. Cross your fingers that the bats find our Craig's list ad. "Apartment Offer: 15 Ft. High Bat house- Pine Floors and walls, solar heating, Rent $0, Utilities included. Avail Immed."

We've done quite a few more things too,but we still have the following goals:

1. Composting- so far, the composters are too pricey for me to get one.

2. Take the bus to school at least one day a month and go car free.

3. Recycle more- We still produce a lot more garbage than recycling. I want to balance it out more.

4. Solar panels on roof- way out of our price range still.

5. Air conditioning & heating- I like it warm in the winter- I set my thermostat to 71 instead of 69.

So.. This Earth Day, what have you done, and what else will you do to help our planet? This is not just an environmental issue. It is the ultimate parenting issue. Love your children enough to give them a cleaner, healthier planet.

-Linda

PS If I sound pedantic, I'm trying to be. I feel passionately about this issue, and want more people to live a greener life. Green building products and other items will be more affordable if more of us demand them. Every little thing you do will make a difference. Start today!

I'm not saying this aloud, but...

I am whispering this in case Jacob hears and gets the wrong idea. For the last 3 days, he has not gone in his diaper and uses the potty all by himself! The key with Jacob is that he has to be in control. As soon as I showed him how to pee standing up and left him alone in the bathroom and to go whenever he chose- he is being really good about going. As soon as I remind him or ask him if he needs to use the potty- he rebels and refuses to use it.

So this method is working so far at home. I haven't figured out what to do in public since he can't just run to the mall bathroom on his own, but for now, I'll take what I can get. And some pee in the potty is better than no pee.

Now, I need to stop talking about it in case he decides to rebel. Anything that makes mommy happy is not in his agenda, so I need to totally ignore his diaper/potty usage.

Horrible Parenting spotted at Potbelly in College Park

I would desperately love to point the finger at someone else's parenting, but I'm afraid Matt and I get all the credit for the worst 15 minutes in parenting we've done in a while.

Granted, everything is relative- our children were not physically abused, left alone or mauled by wild animals due to our negligence. So in perspective, it's really not totally horrible- just mildly embarassing.

On Saturday, Matt and I took the boys to Ikea. I wanted to get some cheap flatware for Passover. (Why I was shopping for a new kosher flatware set on Shabbas, remains a mystery). Nevertheless, we decided to eat at the Potbelly sandwich place after our shopping. I took the boys over first while Matt was checking out of Ikea so we could get a headstart on ordering food.

Food ordering went fine, if albeit complicated. Why are the servers there mystified when I order 3 sandwiches for myself. If they would just lower the damn counter there, they would see I'm not alone. Anyway, I digress..

So, food was ready and paid for. We turned around to find a table. All indoor seating was full. Nate happily suggested we sit outside. I made a move to go outside, when Matt spotted a man getting up from a small, bar table. He grabbed it. Nate started to complain. He wanted outside. MAtt succumbed and agreed to sit outside with Nate. I protested- I had a very complicated system to ordering food. 3 different sandwiches with different halves for everyone. Plus, Nate and I were splitting a bottle of water. So separating did not work. Nevertheless, Nate and Matt made a move to exit outside.

Jacob then decided to flip out about the high table. He wanted a booth. At that magic moment, a booth opened up. So I sat down, with a slick move involving a full tray of food. NOthing hit the ground. Jacob emitted more shrieks. "NOT THIS BOOTH!!! I WANT A SOFT BOOTH!"

WTF?!?!?!?!

Matt, who has no tolerance for Jacob's shrieks, was busily trying to arrange the sandwich halves so everyone got what they wanted. Suddenly, a different booth opened up. I stupidly got up to sit there. Was this the freaking 'soft' booth? Nope- More shrieks from Jacob. All eyes in the restaurant watched us. "What else would the lame parents do to appease their whiny brats of kids? How long would they keep up the game of Musical Tables?"

"Jacob, if you don't stop shrieking, you will lose your milkshake!" (Potbelly makes awesome milkshakes)

At this point, I was so angry and embarrased that my family could not do something so simple as pick a table, sit down and eat lunch, I shoved the tray into Matt's hands, picked up Jacob and stormed outside. Nate happily followed. I grabbed my salad and started to eat, ignoring Jacob's full-blown tantrum.

Matt can't ignore shrieking. He grabbed Jacob and went into scary dad mode. They he caved completely and told Jacob he would take him inside and eat at a booth with him. My protests that he was caving to a 3 year old fell on deaf ears. They went in; Nate and I ate outside. My salad might have been delicious, but "fuming" is not a good dressing. It was tasteless.

Why did our toddler have any say at all, let alone, the say in where we sat? Whew, normally tantrums don't bother me in public cause it is not my fault, and I usually handle it pretty well. (I have lots of practice thanks to Jacob). BUt this time, I was so embarassed. We handled ourselves and the tantrums so poorly, we got what we deserved.

Busy little bees

I hate the whole concept of overscheduled kids. Childhood should be playing outside, building forts out of every chair and sheet in your house and just hanging out. In fact, NPRrecently ran an article about free play for children. See it here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514

So, with all this, I managed to undo 5 years of hanging out in one semester. Currently, my boys have the following schedule. (If you are a stalker, please know I am a fully certified Krav Maga instructor).
Monday- free play!
Tuesday-My Gym (Jacob) & Swimming (Nate)
Wedneday- soccer (Nate & Jacob)
Thursday- Physical Therapy (Jacob) & Art Class (Nate & Jacob)
Friday- Playgroup (Jacob & Nate) & play therapy

I had signed up for a Sunday morning t-ball class, but I cancelled it. It would be too ridiculous to add that on top of everything else. I look at each thing and wonder what we could lose. Clearly all of it, other than Jacob's PT. In a generous move, Nate says he would give up swimming. I can't let him make that sacrifice since it is important to me he learn to swim.

This summer I am dropping it all other than the Therapy. We will hang out in the sprinkler in the backyard and eat popsicles.

Story Retirement

The other night I went out for drinks with some other mom friends. I found myself telling a funny anecdote and had some deja vu. The story is pretty funny, so I've toldit often in the past few years. My friends around the table politely laughed- even though they may have heard the story before.

So, this is my call to myself and others. Retire the story. Yep- tell it one last time, then make a vow to retire it. Find a new story to tell. I happen to like this particular story, so I am going to tell it one last time on my blog then retire it. If you are ever in my presence and I tell it please just hold up 2 fingers so I know I have broken my retirement clause.

the story goes like this: I usually tell this in a crowd of women comparing most incompetent husband stories. When I went into labor with Nate, Matt drove me to Sibley hospital at 6 in the morning, and we checked in to a L&D room. We were just settling in when my OB/GYN arrived and poked in to see how we fared.

Before I could say a word, my darling husband, however, held up his hand and told the good Doc, "I'm ok, but I got a bad splinter on the way here. Can you take a look?" So, my Dr SCRUBBED up, got a needle and tweezers and removed Matt's splinter. ON MY PREGNANT, LABORING BELLY!!! We have the pictures to prove it.

Matt's favorite part of the story is that Dr. H didn't even charge for his services. No insurance claim forms- nothing. I guess OB/GYN forms don't have the correct code for splinter removal.

I've got the vomit

Welcome to my little corner of Hell. Friday night I felt a bit nauseated. Saturday morning, nausea turned into full fledged vomit. It is now Wednesday, and I am only just beginning to hold down solid food.

Thank goodness for family, specifically my mother in law, who showed up fearlessly (the threat of vomit contaigion was strong) and took care of the boys. Despite the hours she put in, I still had to drag my ass out of bed and help with finding missing jaguar stuffed animals, changing diapers and preparing meals when she was not here. Matt, of course, took a flight to Vegas for the week. He assured me it was round-trip, but I have my doubts.

Cause honestly, if I had the opportunity, I might not return to a house full of the vomit. Again, how do single parents do this? And I don't even have to leave the house to go to work. Please, please, whoever wins this endless election, DO something about childcare in this country!!!

When words come back to bite you in the ass

This past week I have had a few conversations that have come back to bite me in the ass. A new babysitter came to watch the boys Sunday evening. When we arrived home, she complimented us by telling me the boys stayed so nicely in their beds. She'd was not used to kids staying in their beds.

Of course I shrugged it off by joking that we trained them by using shock therapy. Inwardly, I was smug. My boys are great; I'm the best mom! Of course, hubris gets you every time. Last night (Monday), the boys were jack-in-the-boxes. Jacob kept appearing around corners informing me he could not possibly sleep without company. He finally fell asleep, but showed up in my room at 2:30 am.

Another conversation came back to haunt me early this morning (and I mean early), like not more than 15 minutes after I finally fell back asleep after Jacob's visit. I had been discussing nightime potty training with some friends, and I mentioned that I took Nate to pee at 10:30 pm while he was basically still asleep. "Just one pee is all he needs, and he stays dry the rest of the night."

Bad, bad mommy. At 3 am I was roused by a tiny voice calling me to change his sheets and pj bottoms. There are few more painful things than changing sheets in the dark in the middle of the night. I pulled Nate into my bed instead. (Matt is in Seattle). Around 4 am, he decided he wanted to be back in his own bed. I think he remembered he would lose computer time if he did not sleep in his bed. Despite my invitation, he worried. So he left, and I ended up remaking the bed anyway.

Needless to say, I'm a little tired today. (Yawn)

Making the grade

Do you ever have those days when you feel you are swimming against the current and slipping further and further from your destination? I am having one of those weeks, possibly months.

The problem is that Alpha parenting Bobo style comes with a lot of rules and rigamarole. I seem to be missing all the baselines.
-4 servings of vegetables per day? not even close. Do green apple jacks count?
1 hour of exercise or movement per day? Well...I run up and down the stairs at least 87 times daily. My kids, not so much.
Less than 30 minutes of tv per day. Ptyaw whatever!
Grooming: Jacob's hair is so long, one might call it a mullet.
Potty Training: He wore underwear for 10 days before I gave up and put him back in pull-ups. I just could not keep up with the laundry, or deal with his tantrums, and I quote, "I will NEVER use the potty! I HATE going potty!" Arrgh, he might be the urban legend kid who does actually go to kindergarten, if not college, in his diapers.

I could deal with all of the aforementioned stuff if I could point to my boys and say they are sweet well-adjusted darlings. But, lately, I feel like I am raising two spoiled, whinining boys with too much sense of entitlement. My goal for the new year is to raise the respect in the house and give the boys the opportunity for gratitude. I have no idea how to do this and am open to any ideas.

Still fuming in DC

We got back from Barcelona last week and headed straight to Miami for Thanksgiving where we spent the last week. I will highlight more about our Barcelona trip, but now I need to write about an incident that happened today at the airport.

Jacob and I sat down on the floor in an open space by the gate of our airplane this morning. There were no seats left and a nice big open space by the window to see planes. Nate came and sat down near us and the boys had one of their silly conversations, this one about birthday presents. Something Nate said angered Jacob, and he shouted, "NO!"

An older man (late 60s) sitting on a chair in front of us, talking on his cell phone was startled and yelled back at Jacob. In a mean voice with an angry face. This I could tolerate, since Jacob did shout quite loudly and startled everyone in the vicinity.

What shocked, hurt and angered me, was what the man did next. He never got off his phone and continued making call after call. In his normal, speaking voice less than 2 feet away from me, he described my "awful" child who "keeps screaming," (Jacob wasn't) and "the mother..." this part, I honestly did not hear, but I am sure it was something less than flattering about me.

There were many, many young children on the flight, and he started complaining that the flight was full of children. Sadly for him, he did not get the memo that the rest of us got, telling us parents of young children to always fly the Monday after Thanksgiving, never the Sunday after.

I was so tempted to engage him in a debate, but I knew it was a lose-lose conversation. Instead I caught his eye and gave my best glare that let him know I could hear him perfectly and knew he was speaking about me. Honestly, what is worse, a screaming two year old or a fully grown adult with no manners? Jacob will outgrow his screaming. This man will never outgrow his intolerance or rudeness if he has not done so yet.

Plus, now I feel a bit bad for the man. He obviously has no grandchildren, since every grandparent would have sympathized with a child who had to be worken up for an early flight. It must have been a lonely Thanksgiving for him and a bleak future Christmas.

An easy day in Barcelona

We took it easy today and stayed in pjs for brunch in the apartment. Everyone needed a day respite from our hectic touring schedule. Around noon, we headed to a playground a few blocks from our apartment. The boys played for an hour, while we chatted it up with another American family on holiday from an army base in Germany. Nate was delighted to have an english-speaking playmate.

After the playground we headed toward Passeig de Gracia for lunch. Panicked by the boys increasing whinging, I made the very poor decision to eat at the Chicago Pizzeria. They had a kids menu and it was very casual. Well, despite the crowds of locals, the food was inedible. In fact, the lump of greasy cheese is still sitting in my stomach several hours later.

To digest properly, we walked across the street to a Gaudi designed building. Formally known as Casa Mila, nicknamed La Pedrera, for its stone/cave-like appearance. The boys protested, but once we were inside, their imaginations were caught by the undulating walls and mosaics. We had to circle the roof deck 3 times, after which, I was a bit queasy. The replica of a 1920's apartment particularly struck them. "Mommy, look at the kitchen! I found the old toilet! Is this the kid's room? We have a tricycle like that!"

By the time we exited the building it was time for siesta and afternoon snacks at the local patisserie. Jacob tried one of every pastry. Nate had nothing. "So there!"

Mom has a bit of an eye infection, and my cheesy dinner and lunch are still sitting heavy in my stomach, so we will see what is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Days 5-7 in Barcelona

Matt started Tech Ed so he has been escaping with the laptop before I wake up and returning after we sleep, so blogging has been on hiatus. He got back early tonight so here goes.

I can't remember where we left off, but on Sunday we took the Bus Turistic up to Parc Guell, a Gaudi fantasy. The boys wanted more hiking, but they loved the mosaic Salamander fountain. It was a lovely day, and the rest of Barcelona joined us in Parc Guell. It made the people watching fun, but it was quite crowded.

Jacob is getting used to the time zone so we are able to pack more into our days now. On Monday we wandered over to La Rambla and wandered the streets of the Barri Gotic. My parents had recommendations for a certain restauarant in the neighborhood. My dad got his roast chicken and the boys had french fries. We played hide and seek in Placa Reial and found a playground in the middle of Place Sant Michele. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any of the markers of the Jewish Ghetto. I think you need a tour guide, and we just can't seem to get out of the apartment early enough to make the 10 am tour.

After lunch we headed over to the Richard Meir designed Contemporary Art museum. The building was fabulous, like walking in a sculplture. The art was a bit modern for my taste. The boys were downright frightened of several of the installation pieces. Though, one large, brightly colored Miro sculpture caught Jacob's attention. He sat on the ground for 15 minutes and sketched it. Nate was very helpful and stood over him, making comments such as, "That looks nothing like it." or "That's the wrong color." Like a true artist, Jacob ignored the critics.

Dinner that night was an exercise in frustration as we are finding most nights in Barcelona. Dinner at 8:30 is just too late for my boys. Tapas bars offer very little in the way to eat for the kosher minded and the toddler inspired. After wandering the street near our apartment for 20 minutes with whining boys, I gave up and made them scrambled eggs and cheese in the microwave in the apartment. I had bread and Nutella (no complaints on my end!)

Tuesday was Picasso day. We were up and out of the house after stopping in a cafe for some of the famed Barcelona chocolate drink. Jacob was covered in chocolate much to the amusement of the little old ladies sitting next to him. It was a true eating day for him as he spent the whole day complaining about being hungry. At each stop (every 30 minutes or so,) he ate a Clementine, apple or chips. In total today, in addition to his meals, Jacob ate 4 clementines, 2 whole apples, 1 bag of potato chips, 1 cube of cheese, 1 croissant and 1 Kinder egg. He is the very Hungry Caterpillar.

We toured the Museu Picasso. The paintings were nice, but I was most impressed with the building. The Museu is housed in 3 ancient homes connected. The outside facades look postively medievil, but the insides were 100% modern. After the Museu, we headed to Parc de la Ciutadella. The boys enjoyed this more, though Nate was determined we should rent a row boat and row the pond. I put the kibosh on this plan, as it has been more than 17 years since I have rowed a boat, and I could see us stranded in the middle, and Jacob in the dirty water. We found a playground and the boys played for an hour while the grown-ups basked in the sun and made dinner plans.

The Parc is next to the Born neighborhood, which is ultra trendy and hip. As such, the restaurants correspond. Since it was only 4, we had to kill some time. A choice had to be made between the Museu de Xocalata (chocolate!) or Museu de Zoologica. It was a tough choice, but we went for animals. I think we were the only visitors to this musuem in a long time. It is a dusty old hallway with loads of taxidermy animals. The boys were thrilled! They spent a long time examining the animals and skeletons.

Then it was time to go search the circuitous streets of the Born looking for an Asian restuarant called Wushu. Despite the guide book's assurance, Wushu was closed till 8 pm, a disappointing discovery after a long time wandering around lost. No worries though, we found a cafe for croissants and cappucino. Then we wandered the streets killing time before dinner at Udon a noodle bar we found in our rambles. Udon was great, similar to Wagamamma in London. The boys were THRILLED to have edamame and soba noodles after a week of tomatoes and cheese.

Now we are back at the apartment, and the boys collapsed into bed.

Today's kinder egg sorpresas were: a tiny yellow car and a silly yellow bat eraser.

Day 4 in Barcelona

The jet lag is wearing off, and the fun is beginning. We took a tour bus up a hill to Montjuic today. Some believe the juic in the word stems from the ancient Catalan word for Jew. Makes sense, as there is an ancient Jewish cemetary up there.

We stopped at the Fundicion Joan Miro. The boys played in the sculpture garden then Nate and Grandma toured the art with sketch pads and colored pencils in hand. I am biased, but Nate is a talented artist. He was able to sketch one of Miro's sculptures quite accurately.

When the boys were done with culture, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the ports. We got off at the Aquarium, which was wonderful. The hands-on kids area was just what my boys love. The climbed on giant turtle sculptures, drove a submarine and slid down a water tube.

In fact, they loved the aquarium so much, Jacob had a MAJOR tantrum on the way out. Picture a sobbing, kicking, rolling on the ground tantrum, yelling, "I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE! LET'S GO BACK TO THE QWARUM!"

We ignored the tantrum and the stares from the horrified onlookers and found an all-you-can-eat buffet for dinner. It was on par with CiCi's pizza, but the Haagen Dazs after was wonderful as always. Though, in the US HD is $$$ enough, add in the lousy exchange rate from dollars to Euros and ice cream cost more than dinner.

On a sad note, our trusty Maclaren stroller strap broke rendering it nearly unpushable. Matt, our trusty handyman does not have proper tools to fix it. We may suck it up and buy a second stroller at Le Corte Ingles. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that Nate whined so much about walking yesterday, we ran into the department store and spent 50 Euro on a umbrella stroller.

It was not in our budget, but we may have to go spend another 50 for another stroller if we cant fix this temporarily. zoiks.

Tomorrow the zoo.

Oh, also I am going to start a kinder egg tally at the bottom of each day. Today I will catch you up on previous Kinder egg toys:

Day 1: Nate- Oscar boy, Jacob- Ana girl
Day 2: Nate- flying helicopter, Jacob- race car
Day 3: Nate- another flying helicopter, Jacob- strange double log faces
Day 4: Nate- computer guy, Jacob- a rocket car

Hola from Barcelona!

I am posting today from Barcelona! On Monday, Matt, Nate, Jacob, my parents and I hopped on a plane (ok, 3 planes) and flew to Barcelona where we wil stay for 10 days. The boys were marvelous on the plane. It was a night flight, and they played for an hour or so then fell asleep for the rest of the flight.

Now that we are here, I am rethinking the whole trip. Jacob is not handling jet lag well. It is 11:30 pm now, and he is still up singing in bed after sleeping in the stroller through dinner.

Nate is not handling culture shock well. Today at the playground, he complained the swings here don't work as well as at home. He whined about the food choices. He whined about the lack of toys stores selling Go Diego Go products.

I am not handling the whining very well.

Once the jet lag wears off, I am sure we will have some fun, but right now the 10 days are stretching rather endlessly in front of me.

Keep checking back in for more updates and a travel log.

Adios and Lilah Tov! or "Boker Tov, Good Night!" as Jacob would say.

Brows

I can't stop looking in the mirror; embarrassing but true. A few weeks ago, I was getting a bikini wax before my Costa Rica Trip. I confessed to the aesthetician I had never waxed, shaped, plucked or in anyway touched my eyebrows. Silence filled the room for a few seconds, then she roughly pushed my head back on the table and got busy with her tweezers.

Ten minutes and a few tears later, she announced, "There! Happy Anniversary," and shoved a mirror in my face. Now I had never had gorilla brows or tweezers would have met my face a while ago. So, I was underwhelmed by the difference she had made. I thanked her and went on my merry way.

A few days ago, I noticed a stray eyebrow hair. Then another, and another. I booked it to Elizabeth Arden where I shoved my head back on the table and endured some more reshaping. Now I am addicted. The subtle arch and thinning of my brows makes such a difference in the feminity of my face. So I keep passing mirrors and peeking at my brows. You can be sure that plucking/shaping will now be an integral part of my beauty routine.

Got Milk?

This little anecdote should really go on my friend of a friend's blog, Mamma Knows Breast, but its going on mine. So Hah!

Last night while reading bedtime stories, Jacob reached over and put his hand down the collar of my shirt to squeeze my breast. Before I could stop him, he removed his hand and announced, "Mmmm, I want some milk!" Then he made his little fist into a cup and pretended to drink.

Now, the reaching for my breast was pretty funny, but when he made the cup with his hand and pretended to drink... well that just did it for Nate and me. We lost it and giggled for 10 minutes.

Even the best laid plans.

If any of you were at Imagination Stage today for the 12:30 production of Jungle Book, the shrieking, crying kid was mine. Matt is out of town (surprise surprise) so I decided to treat the boys to a day at the theater seeing the Jungle Book. Nate is really into the jungle, so I figured it would be a great first play.

Well, I was right about Nate. He was excited and so happy when the show began. I neglected to take Jacob into account. Usually Jacob saves his tantrums for home and can sit on my lap quietly when in public. Not today.

Oh no, today Jacob began to yell as soon as the lights dimmed. Before the first line of the play could even be uttered, Jacob stole the thunder by shouting, "I HATE THIS. THIS IS SCARY!!! LET"S GO HOME!!!" Jacob has some speech articulation issues, but let me assure you everyone in theater understood him perfectly.

Nate was a champ. He desperately wanted to stay, but willingly followed us into the little soundproof glass room Imagination Stage has for just these cases. You can hear the actors, but they can't hear you.

Unfortunately we were not alone in the glass room. A women took her 2 grandchildren to the theater. Now even Nate knows that there is no talking during a play. I guess this women forgot that rule, because she felt the need to paraphrase and act as narrator for EVERY line in the play. I shushed her twice to no avail.

After twenty minutes we gave up and left the play. The theater was so nice and exchanged our 3 tickets for 2 tickets next Sunday. Jacob will stay home with a babysitter.


Oh well, so much for my special date with the boys.