We had a wonderful Thankgiving visiting Nana in South Carolina. The boys had lots of fun playing, particularly with these golfing toys, which happen to also make excellent sword and axes! Thanks Nana.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Yes you! Nice and slow now. Hand over the turkey and nobody gets hurt!
We had a wonderful Thankgiving visiting Nana in South Carolina. The boys had lots of fun playing, particularly with these golfing toys, which happen to also make excellent sword and axes! Thanks Nana.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
The nine lives of Benji...
Last Friday morning Benji was playing in our upstairs hallway with the gate securely latched while Su was a few steps away in a bedroom. She heard a "boom, boom, boom" and running out to the hallway, for a moment couldn't figure out where he was as most of the other doors were closed.
Then she heard him crying and COULD NOT BELIEVE IT when she saw him at the landing at the foot of the stairs. Thank all the stars in heaven, he was absolutely fine. Scared, and crying but fine. (She checked him for injuries and carefully monitored his pupils before and after he went down for his nap.)
She remembers racing down to him and assumed he'd managed to unlatch the white baby gate and somehow squeezed through.
Later that night though, we decided to do a controlled experiment with him and were shocked to see that what most likely really happened is that he stepped through the permanent black railing and dropped more than a foot before tumbling down down our wood steps.
You see we have some plants on a shelf on that staircase that he loves to grab for when we carry him up or down. Apparently he REALLY likes this plant. In our little reenactment, he eagerly (seriously, he was delighted to do this) demonstrated how he could reach through, step over the small bar at his feet and, well, reach until he couldn't reach any farther (but this time we were there to catch him.)
Needless to say, a large barrier has now been affixed to that railing.
We are still thanking our lucky stars that our sweet boy did not get hurt. Word to the wise? Check out your railings if you have little ones folks. If you don't, they will. -M
Then she heard him crying and COULD NOT BELIEVE IT when she saw him at the landing at the foot of the stairs. Thank all the stars in heaven, he was absolutely fine. Scared, and crying but fine. (She checked him for injuries and carefully monitored his pupils before and after he went down for his nap.)
She remembers racing down to him and assumed he'd managed to unlatch the white baby gate and somehow squeezed through.
Later that night though, we decided to do a controlled experiment with him and were shocked to see that what most likely really happened is that he stepped through the permanent black railing and dropped more than a foot before tumbling down down our wood steps.
You see we have some plants on a shelf on that staircase that he loves to grab for when we carry him up or down. Apparently he REALLY likes this plant. In our little reenactment, he eagerly (seriously, he was delighted to do this) demonstrated how he could reach through, step over the small bar at his feet and, well, reach until he couldn't reach any farther (but this time we were there to catch him.)
Needless to say, a large barrier has now been affixed to that railing.
We are still thanking our lucky stars that our sweet boy did not get hurt. Word to the wise? Check out your railings if you have little ones folks. If you don't, they will. -M
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Candle surgery
This fall I picked up some really cheap Halloween candles which Danny thought were awesome. When one broke, he assisted Mama in performing surgery to repair it.
He does say he wants to be a doctor (and about 1000 other things) every day. ;-)
He does say he wants to be a doctor (and about 1000 other things) every day. ;-)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Happy Eleven months Benji
Well, I wasn't sure we could do this, but Su set up our computer that was holding all our pics hostage, so we are able to post this little slide show. Whew. Just under the wire--one hour til midnight. Can't wait for your birthday party on December 17th!
Love, your moms
P.S. Here's a little teaser from the show.
Love, your moms
P.S. Here's a little teaser from the show.
Eleven months old today!
Good morning Benji! I know that today is the day that we are supposed to post an adorable slide show of your eleventh month but, oh no!, we have a problem!
You see with the office renovation our home computer, (you know, the one with all of your pictures on it) is not set up. So we are sadly pictureless. I promise the moment that it is up an running again, we'll make you a slide show.
In the meanwhile, this cell phone photo taken this morning will have to do. Clearly, bibs have no place any more in your life! Love you baby! -Mommy
You see with the office renovation our home computer, (you know, the one with all of your pictures on it) is not set up. So we are sadly pictureless. I promise the moment that it is up an running again, we'll make you a slide show.
In the meanwhile, this cell phone photo taken this morning will have to do. Clearly, bibs have no place any more in your life! Love you baby! -Mommy
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Apparently I am not a Super Hero...
Have you ever heard of a Super Hero getting hurt while saving the world? Me neither. That's how I know I am not one.
Well, come to think of it I was not actully saving the world. But I was doing the next best thing--rushing to the aid of my little boy.
This time it was baby Benjamin getting in a jam. He got his fingers caught in a grate that is part of a small door that houses the controls to our gas fireplace. There was no danger of him being able to actually operate any of the controls, so when I'd seen him playing with the door, I wasn't too concerned. We were all down the basement on Saturday night enjoying our first ever Movie Night (it was so much fun!). Our Disney flick was just about over when Benji started to shriek.
Su and I both jumped up, but I unfortunatley jumped up right into a very heavy coffee table with bare feet. You could say I stubbed my toe, but that would be a bit of an understatement. I hopped on my good foot to get him as I was closest to him and was relieved that he was okay. I handed him to Su and then realized that not only was my toe hurting, it didn't look so good either.
You see, I struck it so hard, I not only broke the bone in my big toe through and through, but I managed to sort of make the tissue round my toe nail sort of, well, explode. It's actually called an avulsion, and believe you me, it is VERY PAINFUL. Imagine throwing an orange against the wall as hard as you could. The skin would break and the flesh of the orange would pop out. Yeah, it was like that.
After seeing a doc in urgent care I've spent the past few days hobbling, resting, taking pain medication and now antibiotics. The podiatrist I saw yesterday predicts I'll be good as new by Christmas.
The antibiotics were just perscribed yesterday as this toe continues to bleed no matter how careful and ginger I think I'm being with it. On the bright side, today for the first time, my toe actually feels better. Or at least not horrible. One of those two.
But, looking on the bright side of life, Benji was absolutely fine. And movie night was fun. And next week is Thankgiving. Oh, and resting is not an entirely bad thing. ;-)
Onward and upward! -Monica
Well, come to think of it I was not actully saving the world. But I was doing the next best thing--rushing to the aid of my little boy.
This time it was baby Benjamin getting in a jam. He got his fingers caught in a grate that is part of a small door that houses the controls to our gas fireplace. There was no danger of him being able to actually operate any of the controls, so when I'd seen him playing with the door, I wasn't too concerned. We were all down the basement on Saturday night enjoying our first ever Movie Night (it was so much fun!). Our Disney flick was just about over when Benji started to shriek.
Su and I both jumped up, but I unfortunatley jumped up right into a very heavy coffee table with bare feet. You could say I stubbed my toe, but that would be a bit of an understatement. I hopped on my good foot to get him as I was closest to him and was relieved that he was okay. I handed him to Su and then realized that not only was my toe hurting, it didn't look so good either.
You see, I struck it so hard, I not only broke the bone in my big toe through and through, but I managed to sort of make the tissue round my toe nail sort of, well, explode. It's actually called an avulsion, and believe you me, it is VERY PAINFUL. Imagine throwing an orange against the wall as hard as you could. The skin would break and the flesh of the orange would pop out. Yeah, it was like that.
After seeing a doc in urgent care I've spent the past few days hobbling, resting, taking pain medication and now antibiotics. The podiatrist I saw yesterday predicts I'll be good as new by Christmas.
The antibiotics were just perscribed yesterday as this toe continues to bleed no matter how careful and ginger I think I'm being with it. On the bright side, today for the first time, my toe actually feels better. Or at least not horrible. One of those two.
But, looking on the bright side of life, Benji was absolutely fine. And movie night was fun. And next week is Thankgiving. Oh, and resting is not an entirely bad thing. ;-)
Onward and upward! -Monica
Thursday, November 04, 2010
I am NOT a hypochondriac!
Really, I’m not a hypochondriac! Or am I? Maybe it’s like the Kinsey Scale-- everyone is somewhere on a spectrum. Sigh. I don’t know, but I do know one thing. Several times a day I think that I am having a catastrophic breakdown of my central nervous system.
That is until I remember, yet again, that when I put my cell phone on vibrate and then carry it around in my back pocket, well, it will vibrate when I get a call. And then I am absolutely convinced, for at least one second, that I’m dying.
Well, at least it’s not as bad as the 5 second ordeal I suffered once. I’d lugged our two cats in to see the vet, and as I sank down in a chair in the waiting room, a painfully warm and almost slimy sensation began in my right hip and quickly spread to my thigh! I was on fire!
I jumped up, terrified that I was having maybe an embolism/stroke/allergy/cancer/dermatological attack of some sort when I spied a huge stain spreading down said leg.
I jumped up, terrified that I was having maybe an embolism/stroke/allergy/cancer/dermatological attack of some sort when I spied a huge stain spreading down said leg.
Apparently I’d put a travel mug of hot coffee in my shoulder bag that morning and forgotten all about it. It managed to stay upright and covered until that fateful moment when I sat down.
Oh, and I wasn’t really on fire. In fact, our "awesome" travel mug had rendered the coffee tepid by the time it attacked me.
Oh, and I wasn’t really on fire. In fact, our "awesome" travel mug had rendered the coffee tepid by the time it attacked me.
Good thing I’m not melodramatic or anything! -M
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Happy Halloween!
Curious George and The (Little) Man with the Yellow Hat wish you all a very happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thoughts on being an older parent...
First and foremost, I think being an older parent means at times being mistaken for being a grandparent. This is my least favorite part of being an older mom.
I am definitely more financially secure now than I was when most of my peers were becoming parents, and that makes me feel good.
A friend who also became a new parent in his late 40s told me “no one ever told me it would be this hard”. He then followed that up by saying “and no one ever told me it would be this much fun”. Well said.
I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about this, but statistically, my chances of dying before the boys are grown is higher now than when I was younger. Me no like this thought. (Susanne doesn't either).
I am more tired now than I was when I was younger. I have memories of running around and playing with my nieces years ago—what fun it was I remember. Now I am happy that I have younger friends and relatives who love to run around with our boys. (Point of clarification: I do play a lot with the boys, but find myself eyeing my armchair way too longingly!)
On the bright side, being older means being being wiser (or so I’ve always been told.) Jury is still out on that one I must say.
Let’s see? For me being older means having to wear glasses. And we all know that snatching (and can I say crushing?) glasses is more fun than just about anything in the world to growing babies.
And last but not least, if one of the boys has kids when he’s only 20, I won’t be able to say “oh, no, I can’t be a grandmother yet! I’m only 67!) ;-) -Monica
I am definitely more financially secure now than I was when most of my peers were becoming parents, and that makes me feel good.
A friend who also became a new parent in his late 40s told me “no one ever told me it would be this hard”. He then followed that up by saying “and no one ever told me it would be this much fun”. Well said.
I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about this, but statistically, my chances of dying before the boys are grown is higher now than when I was younger. Me no like this thought. (Susanne doesn't either).
I am more tired now than I was when I was younger. I have memories of running around and playing with my nieces years ago—what fun it was I remember. Now I am happy that I have younger friends and relatives who love to run around with our boys. (Point of clarification: I do play a lot with the boys, but find myself eyeing my armchair way too longingly!)
On the bright side, being older means being being wiser (or so I’ve always been told.) Jury is still out on that one I must say.
Let’s see? For me being older means having to wear glasses. And we all know that snatching (and can I say crushing?) glasses is more fun than just about anything in the world to growing babies.
And last but not least, if one of the boys has kids when he’s only 20, I won’t be able to say “oh, no, I can’t be a grandmother yet! I’m only 67!) ;-) -Monica
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Drumroll please...
Ten things I’m grateful for:
10. That Danny now asks “Is this a school day?” and if it is, he says “Yeah!” (Better than the September morning sob festivals).
9. That my mom is improving, and even though these past 2+ months have been a real roller coaster in terms of her health, she’s upbeat and walking with a walker on that darn broken hip. Go mom!
8. That Benji (like his brother) is generally such a happy little guy.
7. That in two weeks I get to move to a new office building that is a 15 minute bike ride from home.
6. That we’ll be in that new building for at least five years (our current building is being renovated). Five years from now puts me at almost the age I could retire. Not that I probably will, but it’s nice to know I COULD. ;-)
5. That we are heading into the cool fall weather and the wonderful holidays that follow. Benji’s second Christmas is going to be so much fun this year. Being a week old for the first one made it pretty unmemorable for him I'm guessing.
4. That Susanne still puts up with my occasional messiness/forgetfulness/silliness/laziness and anxiousness. More than just “put up” with these traits, she still seems to actually love AND like me!
3. That we have such a great mix of friends. Old friends, new friends, borrowed friend, blue friends… oh wait. I’ve messed that up again right?
2. That our little boys still think we are the “end all be all”. Spent some time with my wonderful 13 year old niece last weekend and was shocked to learn that not only am I not cool, I’m actually quite embarrassing! ;-)
1. And last but not least, that we have our health, our families, our beautiful boys, our jobs, and each other. Yes, very grateful indeed.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
It's okay?
Time: Yesterday afternoon.
Location: Unloading Danny and his favorite neighbors out of the car after school in front of the house.
Josie and Callagh's mom said, "Bye now. Say...we're going to make some chocolate chip cookies and we'll bring a plate over when they are done."
I said, "Oh don't go to any trouble. I know you've got a lot going on today, so no need to come by if life gets too busy."
Out of the blue, Danny suddenly blurts out "No, no! It's okay Mommy. It's okay. It's okay for Josie and Callagh and their Mama and Dada come to our house and bring cookies."
He was so earnest. We couldn't really tell if it were a question or a statement. (And yes, Melissa and I both burst out laughing).
An hour or so later, Danny answered the knock at the door he'd been waiting for! -Monica
P.S. We love our neighbors!
Location: Unloading Danny and his favorite neighbors out of the car after school in front of the house.
Josie and Callagh's mom said, "Bye now. Say...we're going to make some chocolate chip cookies and we'll bring a plate over when they are done."
I said, "Oh don't go to any trouble. I know you've got a lot going on today, so no need to come by if life gets too busy."
Out of the blue, Danny suddenly blurts out "No, no! It's okay Mommy. It's okay. It's okay for Josie and Callagh and their Mama and Dada come to our house and bring cookies."
He was so earnest. We couldn't really tell if it were a question or a statement. (And yes, Melissa and I both burst out laughing).
An hour or so later, Danny answered the knock at the door he'd been waiting for! -Monica
P.S. We love our neighbors!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Again--shock and awe
So why the big shock? Well our little dude just turned 10 months old today. And yes, this tradition of growing older each month still manages to catch us off guard.
You know, for Danny we did one slide show a month until he hit one year and we promised ourselves when Benjamin was born that we would do the same for him. But of course when Danny was a baby he was our only child and the star of virtually every pic we took. With Benji, well, let's just say he doesn't get as much camera time what with Danny mugging for the camera at every opportunity. The reason I say this is that it seems much harder to come up with dozen or so slides for Benji than it ever was for his big brother.
That all being said, without further ado, we offer Benji's ten month slide show.
How very sweet he is! -Monica (and Susanne)
P.S. Sneak peak--
You know, for Danny we did one slide show a month until he hit one year and we promised ourselves when Benjamin was born that we would do the same for him. But of course when Danny was a baby he was our only child and the star of virtually every pic we took. With Benji, well, let's just say he doesn't get as much camera time what with Danny mugging for the camera at every opportunity. The reason I say this is that it seems much harder to come up with dozen or so slides for Benji than it ever was for his big brother.
That all being said, without further ado, we offer Benji's ten month slide show.
How very sweet he is! -Monica (and Susanne)
P.S. Sneak peak--
Saturday, October 16, 2010
What a difference two years makes...
Danny and his favorite neighbor Callagh shown in 2008 and again in 2010. They are in Pre K together and and I can't help but hum the tune "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof, a bit wistfully (yet oh so proudly) as I watch them grow. And yes, I do know that I shouldn't be humming that until they are teenagers or something, but gosh they grow so fast! -M
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
When Benji wouldn't keep his shoes on...
Yes, last week at the zoo we could not keep Benjamin's socks nor shoes on him and it was COLD in Minnesota. So we did the next best thing. Sort of looks like a double snouted elephant calf right! ;-)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Of Mice and, well, Apes...
Being the mom of two little ones, I will admit that I do watch some children's television each week, and if truth be told, I actually love snuggling with the boys as we tune in. We tend to watch public TV and free Video on Demand so I feel pretty contented in the fact that we avoid an overabundance of commercials (aka Satan's siren call).
This all being said, I do have a few questions and thoughts for my fellow children's TV watchers. First of all, why does Micky Mouse insist on asking kids to point to/choose items throughout the show? "Hey hey kids...can you see a clue that Donald is hiding somewhere nearby?" Which I have to say only encourages my very excitable three year old to jump up and point (very literally by touching the TV screen) at whatever Mickey wants--in this case a feather floating around on the screen. So Danny knows he's not supposed to touch the TV but Mickey keeps telling him to. And we all know who has more clout around here. (Darn mouse!)
My second observation of the day goes to the Curious George Show. Do you know that a person actually gets credit for being the voice of George? Seriously. For those unfamiliar, George's speech consists of "uh huh!", "uh uh" and "ooooohhhh". Man what I wouldn't give to get that gig! Do you think the actor gets a royalty with every show? Because they play the same episodes of CG over and over again on all the PBS stations. I totally missed my calling!
And last but not least, this might be a little picky, but if you haven't noticed, Curious George does not have a tail. I think this makes him technically an ape and not a monkey. Mickey on the other hand has quite a long tail, which for those of us who sort of have an aversion to mice, is a little disconcerting.
Just my two cents on some clearly very important subjects! Have a great day everybody! -Monica
This all being said, I do have a few questions and thoughts for my fellow children's TV watchers. First of all, why does Micky Mouse insist on asking kids to point to/choose items throughout the show? "Hey hey kids...can you see a clue that Donald is hiding somewhere nearby?" Which I have to say only encourages my very excitable three year old to jump up and point (very literally by touching the TV screen) at whatever Mickey wants--in this case a feather floating around on the screen. So Danny knows he's not supposed to touch the TV but Mickey keeps telling him to. And we all know who has more clout around here. (Darn mouse!)
My second observation of the day goes to the Curious George Show. Do you know that a person actually gets credit for being the voice of George? Seriously. For those unfamiliar, George's speech consists of "uh huh!", "uh uh" and "ooooohhhh". Man what I wouldn't give to get that gig! Do you think the actor gets a royalty with every show? Because they play the same episodes of CG over and over again on all the PBS stations. I totally missed my calling!
And last but not least, this might be a little picky, but if you haven't noticed, Curious George does not have a tail. I think this makes him technically an ape and not a monkey. Mickey on the other hand has quite a long tail, which for those of us who sort of have an aversion to mice, is a little disconcerting.
Just my two cents on some clearly very important subjects! Have a great day everybody! -Monica
Friday, October 08, 2010
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Our perfect 10...
Now, I don't think of myself as particularly superstitious, but maybe on some very deep level I am.
So can I just tell you on this 7th day of October 2010 the following trivia?
Ten days from now, in the tenth month of the tenth year of the century, our little Benjamin will turn ten months old!
Okay, okay. It would have been cooler if he actually turned ten on 10/10/10, but we were not having babies back in the year 2000, so this will have to do.
Have a great day everybody! -M
So can I just tell you on this 7th day of October 2010 the following trivia?
Ten days from now, in the tenth month of the tenth year of the century, our little Benjamin will turn ten months old!
Okay, okay. It would have been cooler if he actually turned ten on 10/10/10, but we were not having babies back in the year 2000, so this will have to do.
Have a great day everybody! -M
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