I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Tonight, Elaine and I decided meet at the East Longmeadow library for story time. We got the kids dressed in their pajamas and arrived on time for..... NOTHING! Turns out that this was an off week and there was no story time! Instead, we had 2 kids, in their pajamas (complete with Diego and Lightning McQueen slippers!), excited for story time, and a quiet, empty library. All parents know what that means! CHAOS! The kids ran, and played, and had a great time with each other-- had we been in a park! So, they sat for the 5 mintues it took them to color their Gingerbread Man door hangers, and we decided it was time to go. Instead of heading home, we thought that it would be more fun to take them to get ice cream at Friendly's. Here are a few shots of their first official "date":




I can call it a date because at one point, Elaine and I were talking and we looked over and the two of them were k-i-s-s-i-n-g!

Saturday! Saturday!

"This is really cool! These are the same guys that are on the ice, in white!"
Daddy and Ty hamming it up for the camera. Is he Frank's son or what?
Mommy and Ty having a Kodak moment. If you look on the left, you can see the 'Boni driver who gave Ty the puck! (His new best friend!)

For all of you out there who do not know (okay, MOST of you!), the title of this blog is named after the theme song for "Hockey Night in Canada." It is one of Tyler's favorite songs to listen to and watch on Youtube. Just in case you want to be able to sing along with Tyler, you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3QthRpZXm4

Last night, after being stuck in the house on Friday due to yet ANOTHER snow storm, we decided to make a little hockey excitement for ourselves since we are so far from Montreal and Toronto-- we headed to downtown Springfield to see the AHL Springfield Falcons take on the AHL Providence Bruins. The three of us had a great time! The zamboni driver gave Tyler a puck and made his night! He also got a set of hockey cards-- the free give away of the night. There was NO WAY to pry those out of his hands-- the only time he put them down was when Frank arrived with a bag of M&M's!

Ice, Ice, Baby!

"I'm ready, daddy, let's go!"
"How am I supposed to get over this wall? Where is the door?"
"Let's go! Put the camera away! I will help you onto the ice so yuo don't fall, daddy!"

Today was the first official day of Winter Break for Frank. He decided to spend some extra special time with Tyler, so they called in to Tyler's school this morning and played hookey at the rink. Tyler finally got to break in his new skates that Grandpa bought him at Christmas and they worked great! (They made Tyler skate REALLY fast!) After over an hour at the rink, Tyler and Frank called it quits and went and had lunch. It was a great morning for them both!

As a side note, tonight when we were putting Tyler to bed, we asked him what he wanted to listen to on the CD player. Tyler promptly said "The Motrin CD", to which we both corrected him and said "Oh, you mean Mozart?". To which our little guy quickly CORECTED us and said, "No, the MOTRIN CD!"

A Night at the Museum....

One of Tyler's big interests over the last few months has been dinosaurs. Last week, the Springfield Science Museum welcomed a new traveling exhibit-- Dinosaurs! Land, Sea, Air. We all decided that we needed to go and check it out, especially after hearing how cool it was from all of Tyler's school friends. Never having been to the museum, we had no idea what to expect. The first room we walked in to had a HUGE T-Rex model and that was enough for Tyler-- he was FREAKED! All the explaining in the world couldn't convince him that it was f-a-k-e! He had the same reaction to the African Animal exhibit and we had to carry him as we made our way to the special exhibit....


The special dinosaur exhibit was full of motorized dinosaurs. He was still a bit scared, but after awhile, he ran from one dinosaur to the next, dug for dinosaur "fossils", crawled through a volcano, and even did a crayon rubbing of a Stegosaurus. We spent hours at the Science Museum and even after we were done with the special exibit and went and saw all the other animals they had on display, Tyler kept wanting to go back in and see the motorized dinos again. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we left and our little big man fell asleep on the way out.


On the way home, we decided to go to our favorite pizza restaurant, The Pizza Shoppe. On Sunday nights they feature a singer that does only kid songs. Parents know that the best thing about going to out to eat is when you don't have to worry about 1) cooking, 2) cleaning, and 3) being in a restaurant that is louder than you know your kid can be!
"You promise that she can't get me?"
"I wonder if he knows how to play hockey? Did they have sticks when the dinosaurs were alive? Did he like Lighting McQueen or Mater? Do they have to go to the dentist?"
"How much longer do we have to dig through this sand until we get the the dinosaur? Can't we just use a vacuum?"

Open Wide!

This morning Tyler had his first visit to the dentist. He did great! When asked if he wanted to sit by himself or on mommy's lap, he chose to sit on my lap. Everything that the dentist asked him to do, he did and they were very impressed with his cooperation (now why can't he act like that at home????).

We left there armed with a few facts:

1. Tyler's teeth are healthy with "moderate" crowding (read between the lines- big $$$$$$ in the future, maybe they can recommend a good orthodontist!).

2. I was not the only IU grad in the building-- the dentist is a proud graduate of the IU School of Dentistry.

3. We had better watch Tyler better as he gets older and bigger. A quick inspection of his teeth revealed a "small" chip on one of his teeth (memo to myself-- place dentist on speed dial). I have to chuckle-- it won't be his last as long as he keeps "checking" into the kitchen cupboards and "falling" on the tile!

4. We should be flossing our 3 year old's teeth.....

5. Flouride from the dentist does not taste good, no matter if it the yucky kind WE got as kids, or the "yummy" watermelon flavor Tyler picked out today!

The picture I posted is the after shot. On our way into the office, Tyler wished for a blue Power Ranger toothbrush, but in the end settled for a orange teddy bear one (which he is displaying in the picture backwards!). He also proudly wore his Sarge sticker he got. It was a great experience and another milestone accomplished!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had the pleasure of picking Tyler up from "school" today. He was so excited, you would have thought it was Christmas! I couldn't wait to get home and help him look at all of his valentine's from his friends. (I guess the new thing this year is tattoos with them, so we will be applying them after bath!) However, I told Tyler that since daddy has a hockey game tonight, that we would have a fun mommy and Ty-Ty night. Where did he choose? McDonalds. Talk about romance! We headed over and he ate and played in the play area. It was great fun! When we came home, he wanted to smell my flowers from daddy and I had to snap this shot--

Just seeing him in this picture makes me anxious for first dates, prom, marriage-- am I getting ahead of myself? Anyways, we hope you all have a great night and we will be thinking of all our friends at 6:45PM tomorrow when the babysitter comes!

Who's the Boss?

Tonight when Frank and I were cleaning up dinner, Frank asked Tyler, "Who's the boss?" and Tyler said "You are, daddy." I then asked Tyler, "Who's the REAL boss?" and Tyler replied "You are, mommy!"

How quickly they learn!

These Boots Are Made for Walking....

While I was getting dressed this morning for my haircut, Tyler helped himself to my boots. After putting one of them on, I could not resist the urge! I whipped out the camera and snapped a quick shot. Frank was there also and he told Tyler that he should "never get used to walking in heels."

Thank Goodness the Weekend is Over!

Tyler and Cousin Conor hamming in up between laps....
Pretending to sleep-- this was the only time they sat still long enough to get a group shot!
Hanging like a monkey at Kid's Stuff.
I had to throw this shot in-- look at the room! It was a pig sty! All of the stuffed animals were strewen all about and the bed turned into a trampoline/wrestling ring!

So now we can rest!

We had one BUSY weekend! It has taken me until now to muster up the energy to want to do an auctual post. On Friday, Aunt Laurette, Uncle Jim, Conor, and Sklyar came. Mommies and daddies all stayed up until the "Wii" hours of the night bowling. We had a great time and thank goodness the kids are too young to appreciate this great invention!

HOWEVER, the kiddies also don't care that time got away from us and still got up at their normal hour on Saturday! All morning long the kids ran around, played, and caught up with each other (we haven't seen them since New Years). Us parents decided that lunchtime was as good a time as any to get them dressed (we were in no hurry!).

In the afternoon Frank had a game against the #1 team in the state and off he went. The rest of us decided that the kids had some more energy to burn off, so we packed them up and took them to the recently opened Kid's Suff. It was wonderful! A great indoor climbling area, lots of games, and more importantly, room for them to RUN! After that, it was off to the rink we headed. We got there in time for the second period and a WONDERFULLY exciting game! Unfortunately, Fermi lost 5-4 with :34 seconds left in OT. Not a shabby loss, though.

On Sunday, all the aunts, uncles, and cousins had to leave :-(.... After all, the Super Bowl was hours away! A nap was in order for Tyler and mommy had to run to the grocery store (memo to myself-- NEVER GO ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!). After we had cleaned up from the first crew's departure, Elaine, Glen, Olivia, and Derek came over to help celebrate, eat, and to watch the pre-game festivities. We had a great time!

Of course we had to stay awake for the entire game (where were the good commercials????). Getting up on Monday was very difficult even though there was an extra bounce in our step thanks to then Giants! It is bedtime early again tonight-- maybe tomorrow will bring regular strength coffee!

And to all a Good Knight......

I have to stand on my soapbox for a few minutes to pay homage to the man I wanted to father my children before Frank came along... ;-)

It is true! Robert Montgomery Knight has stepped down as head coach. I still remember the day I found out that he was fired at Indiana. Frank and I were driving back from a horrendous loss by Green Bay to Buffalo. I don't think I spoke for hours.

Thankfully he went out on his own terms. He was a great coach, a good man. He had great intentions for his players and those around him and I am lucky that I got to watch him coach. He is a great teacher and a great entertainer. I will truly miss him. I thank him for all the excitement he provided to me and all the memories I have of great games. I have watched him coach all over the country and miss that I will never see him again do what he loves.

While Some Were Watching Football......

.....we had the Stanley Cup going on!

On another note-- oh how sweet it is to see the Pats go home LOSERS!