Welcome to the Neighborhood

Florida Part 2

2009-05-14T17:31:00.001-07:00

Florida

2009-05-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Easter

2009-04-23T09:44:00.001-07:00

All I can tell you is that it's hard to get both kids in a picture, without one of them making a silly face...

Catching Up

2009-04-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

Cherry Blossoms

So, yeah - it's been months. I'm going to blame it on the weather and say that we haven't done anything photo-worthy in a a long, long time. But, now I have some pictures to share.

He actually got in trouble from the Park Service for trying to pick these...

Every picture of Mia from that day is the back of her head, running away from me...

Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum has an annex in Virginia, by Dulles Airport. The original hangar is the size of 3 football fields and has another hangar attached, just for the space stuff. The space shuttle enterprise is there - it looks fake, it's SO big. So is the Enola Gay - among lots of other examples of flight. One of the docents was telling me that this is the only museum where you can see the exhibits from all angles - top, bottom, left and right.

The pictures are mostly of the planes and not the kids, but I thought it was pretty cool.

This is Tommy getting to "fly" a Cessna.

The Enola Gay

Mia, at lunch

Happy First Birthday Mia!

2008-12-24T08:48:00.001-08:00

We tried to have a party for Mia, but she thought otherwise - and had roseola. So, we just had some cupcakes on the evening of her birthday. She liked them, but got stuff her in her eyes eventually and had a nervous breakdown.

And just because...

Vacation!

2008-11-04T08:05:00.001-08:00

We spent a week at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

On the way there, we stopped in Williamsburg for lunch. It was homecoming. It was very weird to have my kids at the place where I went to college.

Here's Tommy eating bread ends and house (well, he didn't eat the house dressing) from The
Cheese Shoppe.

And Mia showing her school spirit with a crazy clip.

Typical Williamsburg weather:

It was cold for a few days. Tommy rode his trike A LOT.

And not so cold for a few days.

In anticipation of Halloween, we made GREEN GHOST CUPCAKES!!!!!! These do not look like what they looked in the book. Martha Stewart, I am not. Especially with the help of a 3-year-old.

The day of Halloween was really warm. We spent hours playing on the beach.

Neither were very cooperative for costume pictures. Mia still hates the idea of a ballerina and Tommy (excuse me, Thomas the Train) was too excited to stand still. This is the best I could do.

Halloween Sneak Peak

2008-09-25T07:26:00.001-07:00

Someone doesn't like being a ballerina...

It got a little better...

But, the other one had a blast...

Poor guy. So much blackmail for the teen years. He's really going as Thomas for Halloween (go figure).

Emergency Room!

2008-08-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

Turned out to be nothing. Tommy fell, banged up his foot and I took him in (Daddy stayed with Mia) to get some xrays just in case. He wasn't bearing any weight on it at first. He was a trooper in the ER - a little freaked by the xray machine, but good. And they got us out of there quickly - under two hours. So, it's just bruiced and they gave us this setup to try to help it heal (but it hasn't been on him since he woke up from his nap that day). He's still limping, but better.

Catching Up - Some Pictures

2008-08-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

Those are some pictures from T's 3rd birthday party. He wouldn't stop moving, so we don't have a lot of pictures of him :)

This is Mia sporting one of her new hair bows.

.
Over the weekend, we went to a butterfly garden (that T wasn't all that interested in) with his little friend Megan. Isn't this cutest thing ever? Megan's Daddy was none too thrilled :)

Fourth of July

2008-07-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

It was HOT, so the kids look a bit wilted...

This is what M thought of the parade :)

Father's Day

2008-06-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

M's a food fiend. We went to brunch and she grabbed food (including strawberries) off of Tom's plate This is a piece of toast. Look at how well she's doing in the high chair.

I love how she's looking at him in that last one...

Memorial Day Pictures

2008-05-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend - we spent a lot of time outside. On Sunday, we went to the playground on the top of Federal Hill in Baltimore. The weather was absolutely perfect.

This is looking toward the Inner Harbor. You can see the big guitar for the Hard Rock Cafe to the left of T's head. The triangle to his right is the aquarium.

You can barely see T in this one, but I thought it was appropriate for Memorial Day weekend.

See how M is almost sitting up by herself?

We got home and wanted to give them baths. I had been bathing them together, but T wanted a bath "all by myself", so I put M in the ducky tub. He helped me bathe her and then I took her out to dry her and get a diaper on her in the other room. This is what I came back to :)

More pictures, just because...

2008-05-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's M's sunhat :)

Here, she looks like she's struggling, but he's actually doing a wonderful job.

Too precious :)

This was the box that my Mother's Day gift came in. It was filled with peanuts and I told T to hop in. Of course, he wanted Mia next to him. I've had enough of his goofy cheese-face, though. That box amused him for a couple of hours today. It eventually became a train, and I think an airplane as well. Goes to show that you can spend 1000's on toys, but cardboard boxes are the best.

Beef Stir Fry

2008-05-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

I like it when I make something up and not only is it really easy, but it's a hit.

I bought stir fry meat at the grocery store - I have no idea what cut it was, but it was already sliced into strips. Then, I bought a bag of "stir-fry" veggies - carrots, mushrooms, snap peas, peppers, baby corn, and water chestnuts. I knew Tom wasn't going to like the last two, but that was the only mix they had and I was too lazy to chop my own fresh veggies, so I figured he could pick around them.

I sauted the meat in canola oil and added the veggies. Then, I made up the sauce, which "made" the dish. Really, it was a no-brainer. About 1/4 cup of soy sauce, a splash of sesame oil, some siracha, garlic powder, and ground ginger. It would have been better with fresh garlic and ginger, but I was too lazy to chop the former and didn't have the latter. I added about a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken it and stirred it. I added it to the beef and veggies and heated it through. Served it with rice.

Tom said, "This is better than some Asian restaurants I've been too." And, yes, he did pick around the water chestnuts and the baby corn. They were "plehs", to paraphrase T...

A Day Out With Thomas

2008-05-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, was T ever so excited! Thank goodness we had a beautiful day and he had a great time.

Showing off his Thomas tatoo.

We got to ride the "big Thomas". Thomas was attached to some old commuter cars (and really, didn't do any pulling - it was pushed by a big engine at the back).

This was in line for photos with Thomas.

And, finally, a family photo (minus M - she stayed home) with Thomas looming the background. It's a little creepy.

There was lots more to do there - moon bounces, scale model trains, face-painting, train tables. In fact, the B&O Railroad Museum would be a fun place to visit, even without Thomas.

Some big firsts

2008-05-06T10:00:00.001-07:00

Mia tried rice cereal for the first time last week. She really liked it.

This was a couple of days later. By then, she was grabbing the spoon and shoving it in her mouth. I guess she was ready for solids :)

Later that same day, she had a bath in her new duckie tub. Think she enjoyed it?

She's starting to enjoy the exersaucer now too.

Pictures from M's Baptism

2008-05-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

M's just a little doll. She was so good the whole day. T was not at his best - overtired and too much stimulation.

Enjoy the pictures!

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors

2008-04-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank goodness everything we've gone to the doctors first is minor. But I still feel like we're getting to know them all on a first name basis.

I'll start with M. She had her 4-month well-baby checkup this week. She's great. 14 lbs 10 oz (50-75th percentile) and 26 inches (90th percentile). She's 4 pounds less than her brother at this age. She's developmentally great and can start cereal whenever I want her to - which will probably be next week.

Then, there's T. Boy, does that child like his medicine. On top of his allergies, he got a cold, with a lowgrade temp for a couple of days. I took him back to the doctor today because he was messing with his ears. But, no ear infection, thank goodness. Just more allergy meds.

My back's been killing me since I was pregnant with M (well, before that, but definitely since last spring). I finally went to my primary care about it and she sent me for an MRI, put me on a muscle relaxer, and sent me for physical therapy. The MRI results came back normal today. Well, there are signs of "early degenerative arthritis of the spine." That's going to suck in 20-30 years, but there's not much I can do about it now. The PT gave me some exercises to do and I'm going back twice a week for the next two weeks.

While I was at it, I had another CAT Scan of my sinuses. Also clear. I'm following up with an ENT in June, which was the earliest I could get an appointment (which is silly, but that's another post).

Tom had a physical too. We're waiting on the bloodwork results.

Pictures soon to come - Mia's christening is this weekend - lots of grandparents in town!

Mommy says I have a sinus...

2008-04-12T08:15:00.001-07:00

Remember that commercial? It's for some kids' medicine.

Poor T. He has apparently inherited my horrible allergies and sinuses. He was up on both Wednesday and Thursday nights coughing, on Thursday it was hard enough to make him throw up. So, we took him the the doctor and he has "allergy-induced asthma".

He's on Zyrtec and liquid albuterol. The hope is that the zyrtec will kick in and the albuterol will help his lungs in the short-term, so that he won't need a nebulizer. When he's older, he'll probably get a rescue inhaler for allergy season.

He's a trooper though - and likes his medicine. Weirdo. He rallied and we went to the National Aquarium yesterday, which turned into a great hunt for Nemo. Who thankfully was there :)

Easiest Dinner Ever

2008-04-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Of course, you have to like the ingredients. Which, in the case of chicken and my husband, you can never be sure.

I'll call it Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese. I'm sure it's not original, but I didn't follow a recipe. I pounded a few chicken breasts flat and spread some herbed goat cheese on them (I just bought a little log of it at the grocery store). Rolled them up, stuck them in a baking dish, and covered them with some canned tomatoes with garlic and basil. Baked them for about a half an hour in a 350 degree oven. I served them with asparagus. They'd be good with rice too - with some of the sauce.

Tom loved them. And he doesn't really like chicken. It took about 5 minutes to do. Highly recommend!

But I like to hop...

2008-03-27T16:25:00.001-07:00

On top of Pop. Hop on Pop. That's our latest book obsession (when I said I was going to talk books, I bet you didn't think they'd be Dr. Seuss books, did you?).

I think Dr. Seuss was a sadist. Really. I never realized how hard these books are to read. T laughs at me when I mess up too.

So, now he really wants One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I'm not sure how he knows about this book - daycare maybe. He keeps asking for "Red Fish, Blue Fish!".

Finally, we went on Amazon and ordered it today - along with Green Eggs and Ham and few other books to round out our free shipping. He thought he was going to get it NOW. I explained to him that the mailman was going to bring it and it would take a few days.

About a second later, lo and behold, the doorbell rang. He screamed "MAILMAN! RED FISH BLUE FISH!!!" Turns out, it was FedEx and it was some adorable bathing suits I had ordered for M.

Poor T. If only everything could be that instantaneous.

Testing...Posting a picture

2008-03-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

I think T fits better in the Bumbo now than he did 2 years ago!!!!

Better Late Than Never

2008-03-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

I fully admit to falling way behind the technology bandwagon, but I've been curious about starting a blog for a long time. Then, I start thinking - "Gee, what do I have to write that anyone would be interested in?"

Basically, it all falls into one category. The kids. At the very least, the grandparents would love to read about them, right? T is 2 1/2 years old. M is 3 months old. They're great. What else can I say? But, I decided that this is a great place to showcase them and share photos - I'm tired of posting to dropshots. Now I can label them and everything - even include funny stories when appropriate. Of course, I don't have any pictures on this computer, so I'll some more later when I this blogging thing figured out.

I also think I'm going to mix some foodie posts in with life from our family. Tom has always wanted to do restuarant reviews, so maybe he might add some insight. Unfortunately, I think our days of eating at fine dining establishments may be behind us for awhile, so look forward to some reviews of kid-friendly places that are still tolerable for their parents. I'll post about food that I make too. Somehow, on several days of the week, I still find the time to get a fairly decent dinner together. I guess I cooking is one of my hobbies, so I work hard to make some interesting dinners.

So is reading, now that I think about it. Book reviews. I can do that too. When I find the time to read, I'm a voracious reader. To be honest, I make the time to read. I couldn't do without it.

Kids. Food. Books. I guess that's not so bad.