Out of the mouths of babes! Part 2

A few weeks ago Tyler asked me where the sun slept. As a parent, I know that I am never going to be able to answer all of his questions, but I KNEW that I could show him. So I told him that when we were in Florida, he would be able to see where the sun went when the moon came out.

After a great dinner, we headed to the ice cream shop and then the pier to watch the sun set. I was amazed at how many people came to watch! I was relaxed and calmed by such a beautiful sight. And as for Tyler, when I asked him where the sun went to sleep, he now knows "the ocean."



After dinner, the kids sat and posed for this shot on the deck of the restaurant. Many of the meals we ate, if not all, were on the water. This one was right on the beach and a really great place.
After we got our ice cream, we sat the kids on the pier and waited for the sun to go to sleep....
....right before the sun disappeared! Unfortunately, we chose the cloudiest night to watch, but it was still beautiful.
By the pier, there was a woman who made balloon toys. Here is Tyler with his sword. This was our second visit to her and the kids were pros and knew exactly what they wanted. Amazingly enough, all of our balloons made it home without any casualties!
You wouldn't know it, but this was the scene right before we walked out the door for dinner! These two PASSED OUT while watching TV. They were so tired they did not move. Some day I will have to personally thank the sun for a job well done!

Up, up, and AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must say that as I get older I am realizing that you should not wait around for things anymore, they do not always come to you. So I have had a slight change of personality and am trying to become a do-er. I have a lot of things that I want to do in my life and this week I was able to do one of them..... Needless to say, my Bucket List just got shorter.....

I went parasailing. I have been dying to go for a few years now and would always say "I want to do that!" but I never would. It always looked so peaceful and so relaxing. Whoever I was with would usually roll their eyes and pacify me for the time being. This is because I am NOT a good person around heights, I hate to fly, and I generally play it safe. There was no pacifying last week. I did it!

After talking about it all week, I went out on Friday monrning. I was nervous but very much looking forward to having at least 1 adventure/story to tell about Spring Break. After all, isn't that what the week is all about???? I chose the middle trip-- 350 feet. After all, it can't be THAT high, right? Wrong! We went out on the boat with a mother and her 10 year old daughter. The look on the girls face as she got higher was of terror! I thought for sure "this is it, I can't go!". BUT I am also very stubborn and thought "if she can do it, so can I!" and I did!

"This is the perfect height...."
I don't even think if I screamed they would be able to hear me.... Maybe next is parachuting?
I also got to take a "dip" in the ocean. How COOL!
I'm Baaaaaack!

Planes, (Trains), and Automobiles....

Getting to the airport posed a huge issue-- how do we get 4 adults, 3 kids, 7 suitcases, and 4 carry-ons into one car? Rent a limo! Also, how do you get 3 kids around for a week without a comfortable car and no stroller? Daddy's shoulders! Don't these kids know it is 5:30am and I have not had my coffee yet? I guess no one told them! Here are Skylar and Tyler hamming it up in the limo on the way to the airport. I guess the lack of sleep is starting to catch up with this little guy. He is sure loving the scenery out the window, though!
Conor driving and Skylar riding sicecar at the beack playgound!
By the end of the week, Tyler's feet were really hurting him. Judging by the angle of Frank's neck, I think his back was hurting, too! Tyler is also modeling his new shark-- Mr. Sharky. i looked all over during the week for one and found this one on our way out on Saturday! Talk about luck!
Don't let this shot fool you. Our flight left Florida on Saturday at 8p.m. Tyler was the ONLY one not to fall asleep-- until we LANDED! He fell asleep against the plane window as we taxied to the gate! (Notice Mr. Sharky!)

Do we have to come home?

Hello! After many nights of catching up on rest, filling the fridge with food, and filling the laundry basket with dirty clothes, I have no managed to find the time to post about our trip!

It was AWESOME! We all had a great time! The weather was so cooperative-- mid to upper 80's every day and not a cloud in the sky. the only time we got rain was on Sunday when we were back in New York. We spent our days at the pool (located in the backyard) and the beach (a block away). Our house was marvelous and gave everyone a place to relax and the kids room to move around and play. We will hopefully get back soon (this trip took 16 months to plan!)! Enjoy the pictures! For the first time ever, we tried putting all the kids into one room. Conor slept on the top bunk and Tyler and Skylar shared the bottom. The first night was rough, but after that, it was smooth sailing. The first night, Tyler and Skylar were on the same end of the bed and in the middle of the night Skylar woke up because "Tyler was making too much noise." I'll admit it. my 3 year old snores like a truck driver. The next night, they slept at opposite ends!
The kids had a blast playing in the pool. It was warm, convenient, and wonderful to have right in the backyard. The house even had toys to play with there. Tyler had no fear and jumped right into the pool. Skylar even practiced swimming withour her life jacket and by the end of the week was doing great! Aunt Laurette found this boat at the grocery and bought it for the kids to play in. They had a blast!
Tyler and Frank looking at the ocean. After our first day on the beach, Tyler would not go into the water. He was looking at the waves/shoreline/sand and lost his balance. He fell into the ocean-- face first.
Luckily, Tyler LOVES sand! These kids were not at all affected by the sand in their hair or mouths! They spent a lot of time building sand castles, covering themselves with sand, digging deep holes, and looking for shells.
On our last day, we took a stroll down the beach to the pier. The kids posed with one of their favorite animals on the trip-- the pelican.

Out of the mouths of babes!

We're baaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!! I am simply too tired to do much more than to write about Tyler from before we went to Florida. I promise I will get some shots up of our GREAT trip this week!

The Thursday before we left, I took Tyler to daycare in the morning. On the way there, he apologized to me for something (I don't remember what!). I told him that "it was okay, he did not do anything wrong." He replied to me that "saying sorry is good, but it doesn't take the pain away."

On Thursday night, Frank took Tyler to our friend Joe's restaurant to eat while I ran last minute errands and got a pedicure. Frank and Ty had a great time eating, hanging out with Joe, and talking. On the way home, Tyler said to Frank "I like Joe. He likes me. He makes my heart feel good."

Enjoy!

Stick it to me!

When we were at the hospital on Sunday, the doctor and a nurse had Tyler pick out stickers. By the time we left the building, he had amassed quite a collection of them. Yesterday he redicovered them and asked to put them on-- all of them! He then ran into the living room, sat on the couch and said "take a picture of me, mommy!" Of course I obliged! So here he is, modeling Lightning McQueen, Ice Age, Elmo, Transformers, and any other sticker he could fit on his 3 year old chest! The good news is the stitches come out tomorrow afternoon!

A Land Before Time....

This past weekend while we were out, Tyler and I stopped into our favorite store, Target! I was trying to pick up a few things for our trip next week. I thought it would be nice if we could get a new movie to watch on the plane. We went to the movie section and I was asking him if he wanted to get the "Bee Movie", "Dumbo", or any of the other hundred they had there. He eventually said "I want that one with the dinosaurs!" I looked down and to my shock he picked out "The Land Before Time."

To anyone else, this would not have meant anything. But working as I did in college, I babysat for a lot of kids. One of my favorites was Harry. His favorite movie 15 years ago was "The Land Before Time." I remember watching that movie and knew for sure that my son would love it!

On Sunday while we were trying to get some packing done, we turned it on in the bedroom to entertain him (Iknow, I know, the TV is not a babysitter!) and this is how he watched the entire movie!

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

A picture says a thousand words they say. Hopefully these will tell the story of tonight's adventure! Tonight as Tyler was climbing out of the tub, he slipped. I, being the great mother I am, hugged him and asked him where it hurt. I could not figure out why he was crying so hard. I didn't see any blood, his teeth were all where they were supposed to be, what was wrong? Then he lifted his chin. I. Saw. The. Gash. Immediately, Frank and I got out clothes changed, got him dressed, grabbed his milk (after all, it was bedtime!) and away we went. All Tyler kept saying when we told him he had to go see the doctor was "I feel better now." He was still wimpering, though....

We got to the hospital and we checked in. Tyler went to the children's area and in no time at all he was coloring and reading and chatting away. Another family walked in with their son who was about the same ago as Ty and you could tell he was really sick, not just hanging out like we were. Before long, the nurse took us into the triage area and tried to strike up a conversation with our son who was now keeping his chin glued to his chest. After a little bit he warmed up to her and told her "I have Cartoon Network at home." She asked "Cool! Can I come over and watch?" Tyler replied. "No." In a few years, he will be begging nurses to come and hang out with him!

When we got to our assigned gurney (bed number 1, found by Tyler) another nurse came and put some medicine on his chin and showed us all how to use the cool T.V. We fought over hockey and baseball (Frank and I were all set to order Chinese food and watch the Yanks-Red Sox tonight.... those plans have changed). The doctor finally came a took one look at Tyler and said, "That's a good one!" She numbed him up, stitched him up (five to be exact) and away we went! A nurse let him raid the sticker container and he picked out a slew and then another nurse came and gave him even more. By this time, both baseball and hockey had lost out and Ben 10 (against my better judgement) on the Cartoon Network had won the battle of programming for our gurney.

Tyler was the trooper of all troopers tonight and will get a BIG hug and a BIG kiss from the both of us tomorrow when he wakes! He hardly cried and listened to everything the nurses and doctors told him! The good news is the stitches come out Friday, just in time to catch our flight to Florida!


Coloring in the waiting room.
Showing off his cut and his Elmo ID band (they really knew he was coming there)!
Waiting for the magic medicine to work. The nurse said he looked like Abe Lincoln, but I said Santa Claus....
After the battle. All stitched up, armed with stickers, and ready to hit the sack. What a guy! We love you Ty and are soooooo proud of you!

A boy and his bug!

On Wednesday, it was gorgeous outside. When I got home, Frank and Tyler were playing outside. I decided to be a party pooper and go in and lay down since I was still not feeling well. At one point Frank yelled "Jennifer, come here, hurry!" So off I went. This is what I saw: Tyler discovered a Leaf Bug. This poor bug had NO IDEA he was getting in the way of a boy and his stick, but to our surprise, Tyler dropped the stick and continued to play with this bug. He was mesmerized by it. It brought back all sorts of fond memories for myself. Growing up in California, I used to collect snails and cart them around in my dumy truck. I was also very fond of Rolly-pollies, or Potato Bugs.
Here is a close up of the bug. I am happy to announce that when he had finished playing with it, he picked it up and threw it into a bush. (That bug had a MUCH better fate than almost every other bug who was able to be caught by Tyler!)

I was blown away..... In Chicago!

After a full week of recovery, I am finally able to write about my great weekend in Chicago with my girlfriends. Unfortunately, I became sick with the flu on Sunday night and have been pretty much wiped out all week long. But like they say, "What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago!"

We all met there last Friday and had a blast from the minute the weekend started to the minute it ended. It had been a long time since we had all been together. The last time we were able to do this we met in June, 2003 in Nashville, TN at Jennifer's place (Dewees for those of you who know her like that!). I always knew that when I moved from Indiana not only was being away from my family going to be hard, but so was moving away from my friends. But during times like these, it makes the separation all that much more manageable! We all met at Indiana Univeristy over 10 years ago. I believe it was 1995! It has been such a long time that it all kind of wizzes by! We were all part of the same sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi. And although things were crazy and chaotic in the house, we have remained friends ever since and I have a boatload of memories to thank these guys for!

While we visited last weekend, we ate, drank, talked, and caught up on a lot of needed sleep. The weather was beautiful so it made our day of shopping along Michigan Ave all that much better! We even managed to take a break on the Hershey Store and enjoy cupcakes, cookies, and milkshakes! For lunch, we met up with some other sorority sisters who I had not seen since my Baby Shower for Tyler and my WEDDING! It was great to visit with them and everyone looks great! We ate deep-dish pizza, walked the famed Rush and Division Streets, and managed to dance a few tunes late at night! I can't wait for the next weekend (by then, some of us will be pushing 40!).

Here we are waiting outside the pizza place. By now we were STARVING! Most of us are used to eating a lot earlier than the 9PM hour! From left to right: Myself, Amee, Heather, Kelly, and Jennifer.
Stopping for a picture along Michigan Ave. It was difficult to tear us away from those stores, but this was one opprotunity we could not pass up! When was the last time you hear a sorority girl say "no" to a picture? Liza and Addie joined in for this shot-- Liza is due in mid-June and Addie still has all the energy even with an infant!
The view from our room-- Lake Michigan. The weather on Saturday was beautiful, thank goodness!
The view from the front door of our room. This shot was taken blindly-- there was NO WAY I was getting anywhere near that railing on the 16th floor!
Tyler at the airport, posing with his new Blackhawks stick bought in Chicago. I surprised him with the stick and he surprised me with flowers! Made my night!

Thank you!

Tomororow I am off to Chicago for an ALL GIRLS WEEKEND! A few months ago, a few of my college friends/sorority sisters and I all decided that it would be really great to get together for a girls weekend. After a few emails we decided on a weekend in Chicago. I am excited on many different levels but most of all because I get to see my friends and hang out with them in CHICAGO! I have traveled all around the world and the Windy City is at the top of my list as a great place to visit! In the past I have gotten together with my girlfriends, but someone has always been pregnant, getting married, etc. Now there is NONE of that and we can all concentrate on relaxing!

However, the flip side to this weekend is what I leave behind. In the beginning, it did take a little bit of persuading on my part for Frank to agree to this whole thing. Me being gone this weekend means he is in charge of Tyler, by himself, for 48 hours (of which he is 100% capable of!)! That means no privacy in the bathroom, endless (but cute!) questions, hurried meals, reruns of Dino King, Turtles, Cars, Monsters Inc. (should I go on?).... But they can both sit around and do "guy stuf." I can not stress to Frank how much I appreciate this weekend, so here goes....

Dear Frank,

I can not thank you enough for this weekend. I owe
you big time. You are a great father, a wonderful husband, and a dedicated
man to this family. I love you for this and know that Tyler has an
excellent role model in you. Thanks again and I will miss you both dearly!

Love,

Jennifer

XXXOOO

How can I leave these faces? This was taken on a Saturday morning during Dino King and other assorted cartoons!