I call him Charles

While feeding Charlie the other morning Oliver looked down and said, "I call him Charles."  Which he doesn't, but I still thought it was hysterical.  And right now one has to laugh.  Charlie loves playing outside with the kids and then coming inside and going to the bathroom - usually timed with the same time I am changing Henni's diaper and so the only thing I can do is watch from afar and then go and clean up the mess.  At times I feel I am just waste management.  

The waste management piece aside, Charlie is pretty darn cute.  The little guy tuckers out pretty quickly and so walks generally consist of snuggling.

Although Henni, Charlie and I did manage to make it two houses down yesterday morning.

Charlie has found the key to Davis' heart though.  The number of pictures of Charlie on Davis' phone now far exceed the number of pictures of Henni or Oliver (or me).  Davis also continues to sneak Charlie in to bed with him and continues to send messages throughout the day asking how the little guy is doing.  I need to sort through the bazillion pictures Davis has taken and also upload pictures from my camera, but here are a few more...as I said, he is pretty darn cute.

Bubblicious

Bath time is a much anticipated event every night.  The flotsam in the tub has gotten a bit out of hand - the sharks, boats, turtles, rays...are (seriously) two deep.  We've suggested culling, but Oliver and Henni say they prefer their crowded bath.

The other night Henni went to sleep early and missed bath time.  Oliver decided to use his solo bath time to see how bubblicious he could make the bath - it was pretty spectacular.  The bubbles were so out of control that Davis ended up having to scoop up the overflowing bubbles and fill both the toilet and the shower.  While I am not normally a fan of baths, I have to admit that this bath did look quite fun.   

A man's best friend

We have a new family member!  Charlie is 8 weeks old, 8 pounds, and ridiculously cute.  While Oliver, Henni and I are smitten, Davis is bananas about Charlie.  From the moment Davis laid eyes on Charlie he has had a grin on his face and a spring in his step.  And last night - well, last night Davis ignored all conversations we had had and ignored all reason  - Davis and Charlie spent the night curled up together in the guest bed (mind you Charlie is going to weigh in the 100 pound range when he is full-grown).

Given my inbox is full of pictures Davis has taken of Charlie, and that I have already had several inquires from Davis as to how Charlie is doing (and Davis has been gone for just a couple hours), I am guessing Davis won't be able to make it a whole 8 hours at work today.  And really, I can't blame him - I was totally unprepared for how cute Charlie is.

Look how tiny!

Playing with Henni

A happy boy (and dog)

A lovely life list

The purpose of the blog, or at least what I intended the purpose to be when I started writing, was to document what the wee crowd was doing; the blog was to serve as their baby book since.  While it does serve that purpose it also has become a place for me to share, vent, and ramble about being a mom.  In many ways a baby book would be much more accessible - Oliver and Henni could pick up their book and flip through the pages and quickly find when they got their first tooth, when they crawled... Although they can find this in the blog they will need to dig and, somewhere amongst the clutter of their mom's babble they will find whatever milestone it was they were looking for.  And who knows, maybe they will find the tales of their adventures and my chatter interesting as well.

All of this to say - this post is about me.


I have lists upon lists.  In fact, I even have lists of lists.  Almost every list contains the following line items: do laundry, put away laundry, groceries, and de-clutter (Davis has actually suggested just not putting these items on the list since they are just givens - givens like going to the bathroom (one would not put that on a to do list)).  On one of these lists is "write a list of things I would love love love to do."  The other night while reading one of my favorite blogs (www.makingitlovely.com) I saw that Nicole, the blogger, had posted her "lovely life list" there.  She described her list as follows:

This isn’t a bucket list. These aren’t things I need to cross off before I die. Will I ever accomplish everything here? Probably not, but that’s not the goal. This list exists simply as a collection of things I would like to do in my lifetime. If writing them down helps me focus, and in turn helps me achieve some of them, the list has served its purpose.  A life list should never make you feel guilty for not accomplishing something! It should serve as a compass, opening you up to experiences that you may have discounted otherwise.

Nicole inspired me to write my own lovely life list and thus be able to, finally, cross writing that list of my list of lists.  So, here it is - my lovely life list in no particular order (and with the caveat that the list will change over time):

1. Become fluent in a language
2. Have a clutter-free house
3. Run 10 miles
4. Swim 5 miles
5. Take an EMT course
6. Have an art studio 
7. Do art in said studio
8. Start something really fantastic
9. Hike to the top of something really beautiful (peak to be determined)
10. Live in a "Dwell" house
11. Spend a day at the spa and enjoy it (I spent a half day at a spa about 8 years ago and went crazy - I couldn't relax enough to enjoy it)
12. Write letters to everyone I adore and tell them why they are so special to me
13. Go to Tahiti
14. Go to St. Lucia and stay at either Jade Mountain or Asne Chasenet
15. Become awesome at merengue 
16. Become awesome at salsa
17. Get my captain's license, or at least become better versed at boating
18. Sleep an entire night (or at least more than 3 hours at a stretch)
19. Go on our honeymoon
20. Write a book
21. Become good at carpentry
22. Learn how to dress myself (as in put together an outfit (I do know how to put clothes on all by myself))

So why share the list here?  For one, research has shown when one publicly acknowledges goals one is more likely to achieve them (and hell yes I'd love to sleep more than 3 hours at a time while at the same time partaking in a spa day at the Jade Mountain resort while on my honeymoon).  The other reason is that the list can provide Oliver and Henni (and me) with a snap shot of who their mommy is and what she likes. (Being a kid myself and having a mom of my own, I know that sometimes this can get lost amist the chaos).

And here, just so there is a picture to this rambling, an oh so lovely place...

Four generations, an orca, and a sword wielding otter

Oliver and Henni have just one great grandparent - my grandmother.  Unfortunately, we don't get to spend as much time with GG (as the little ones call her) as we would like.  Therefore when I heard my mom was heading to Florida to visit GG I made the mad suggestion that the kiddos and I tag along for the ride -- we won't be too much trouble...


Our trip was quick -- too quick.  We arrived mid-day on Saturday and left on Monday morning.  It was just enough time to say a quick hello and just enough time for a freak cold snap to, well, snap in and out.  It was also just enough time for a visit to Sea World.  Now, I am not a big fan of amusement parks and the kids seem to be even less of a fan than me (see previous post where a couple hours into Story Land Oliver asked to leave), I was therefore not looking forward to a day at Sea World.  I envisioned lines, hoopla, lots of knick-knacks, and spending a large sum of money only to have the kids beg to leave an hour in.  I was also a bit worried about turning into a freezer ball as it was 36 degrees when we woke up on Sunday morning; when we pulled into Sea World at 10:30 the temperature was 41 degrees.  (A freezer ball is a term Oliver made up and it is what you turn into when you are really really cold.  The layers are: ice, snow, and then a rainbow core.)   Apparently others were worried about turning into freezer balls as well because Sea World was empty.  The empty park combined with the just plain awesomeness of the whole place was a fantastic surprise.  The day was so much fun that I was shocked when I looked at my mom's watch when we were leaving and it said 6:15 (our usual bath time).  I freely admit I was wrong- that I pre-judged Sea World.

Given the park was empty we got front row "soak zone" seats at each of the three shows we went to.  The shows were incredible.  Oliver's favorite was the orca show (thankfully none of the orca's lived up to their more common name - killer whale).  This was the first thing we did on arrival to the park and the smile on his face when the orcas did their thing - it was clear he was one happy little boy.

Henni's favorite show was one which involved sea lions, a walrus, pirates, and a sword wielding otter.  She was mesmerized for the entire show.  Her other favorite exhibit was the ray tank.  Henni is a huge fan of rays and would spend her entire visit to our acquarium at the ray and shark touch tank.  She was therefore ecstatic when she learned there was a ray touch tank at Sea World.  When she gets older we are going to have to do a Discovery Cove trip so she can swim with real rays (right now she has 4 rays she bathes with at night -- every time she has the opporunity to get a special toy at the acquarium she chooses a ray and she did the same at Sea World  -- the girl is a ray fanatic).

While everything at Sea World was pretty special, the most special thing about the day was that we were four generations spending the day together -- each one of us enjoying the day and enjoying each other.  The kids loved sharing the time with GG and she loved being able to share in their joy and to be able to watch their crazy funny little selves.  

A huge thanks to my mom who let us tag along on the adventure.  While the kids were incredibly good,  traveling with kids (and their accompanying junk and colds) is just not the same as traveling solo.  Mom was invaluable throughout the trip and I can not thank her enough for all of her help with the kids, directions, and putting up with me and my band of crazies.

Three and a half

Oliver's birthday is in July and therefore does not fall within the school year.  For friends with this unhappy birthday situation his school does half birthday celebrations.  Oliver got to celebrate his half birthday (a little late) at school this past Wednesday.

I always know when a child has celebrated a birthday because Oliver has a bit of chocolate, icing, or some other sugary crumb stuck to his cheek when I pick him up.  "Chocolate cupcakes!!!" was the first thing out of Oliver's mouth when I told him his half birthday celebration was scheduled.  Since Oliver is not always the most talkative about school I figured that given the tell-tail crumbs and the cupcake shout-out enjoying a sweet treat was the birthday celebration - I was so wrong.

On Monday afternoon Oliver told me that friends bring pictures in to share and that parents and sisters (but not brothers) join in the festivities. I pulled out my (previously unread) parent handbook and found that indeed pictures were suggested and family members were invited to join in.  I also read that a "healthy treat is recommended" and the school "asks that chocolate not be part of the celebration."  I decided I had better get pictures together, but decided to ignore the no chocolate plea as parents had been bringing chocolate in for five months.

Now my participation in the school bake sale failed miserably.  Failed in that I forgot to add water to my cake, and then I made horrible bread that was so poorly packaged that it screamed to be thrown in the trash (wish people probably did as soon as it touched their tongues).  I decided to take the birthday celebration and use it as an opportunity to redeem myself as a pre-school mommy.  So we headed to Walmart where we picked up a stack of pictures from one-hour photo, a couple large pieces of foam board, and stuff to make ice cream cone cupcakes.  Fast forward to the next morning and I successfully (thanks to a really neat carrier for the treats made by crafty Davis) walk from the parking into the school with a healthy snack for the class, the ice cream cone cupcakes, a beautifully done storyboard, and the two kids...after five months of practice I think I may actually have it down!

Enough about me.

Oliver really wanted Henni to come.  His teachers were a bit hesitant because they thought Henni might take away from the focus on Oliver.  I decided to ignore the teachers and listen to Oliver - he was expressing interest in having his sister participate in an important part of his life - I was going to support that.  So at 11:30 Henni, Hollie (new nanny who should actually be named Mary Poppins, but more on my saviour later), and I headed to school.  Oliver smiled at Hollie and I when we arrived, and then gave Henni a huge kiss and asked her to sit with him in the circle.  Oliver's teacher than asked if he wanted the sun or the sun flower and if he wanted the hugging globe or the other globe.  Oliver chose the sun and then hugging globe.  With these decisions made the celebration began.  The teacher put a huge painted sun in the middle of the circle and then lit a candle and set it in the middle of the sun.  We then looked at Oliver's pictures and found one where he was a year old.  Then the kids sang a song about the earth's rotation and life and Oliver and the hugging globe went around the sun one time.  This was repeated for years two and three.  Then the cupcakes were passed around and the kids had the opporunity to share their wishes for Oliver.  The included wishing for Oliver to come over and play, for Oliver to get 100 toys, for Oliver to get a car...Then they sang happy birthday.

The whole thing was beautiful and so special.  I felt so lucky to be a part of the celebration.  I also loved seeing Oliver interact with his friends and teachers -- getting a glimpse of Oliver's secret school life.

Unfortunately I got caught up in the event and forgot to take pictures.  But here is one of Rocket from a bit ago.

Relief

Henni is fine!

This morning Henni, Davis and I went to Children's Hospital in Boston to meet with an endocrinologist and to have her blood work from a week and a half ago repeated.  I have been working very hard to convince myself that Henni is a happy and healthy little girl.  I almost had myself convinced, but then there was that nagging fear - the fear that there was something really wrong.  This nagging fear has made the last week and a half tough.  My patience has been a bit tried, my belt has had to have been loosened, and my obsession over paint colors for the house has been bordering on psychotic (although Googling paint colors is much healthier than Googling lab results).  This morning I felt anticipation.  I knew that we'd know the results, and I wanted the results, but I only wanted good results and I was terrified of horrible results.  And then there was the drive to Boston...on the hour drive I kept thinking, what if we have to start making this drive regularly.

But fast forward a couple hours.  Henni and I are walking in the door from our trip home and the phone rings - it is the doctor saying Henni is fine.  The best guess is that we happened to have lab work done at the time Henni must have had some crazy virus.  Now that the Badger has fought the virus (and won), her levels are fine.  So now that we know she doesn't have the list of really scary things, we can go back to figuring out why she gets hives.

I must say, everyone we met with and worked with at Children's in both Peabody and in Boston were incredible.  The follow-up, the bedside manner, the attention to detail, everything - that we were working with such a wonderful team this past week and a half was very reassuring.  I know that we are very lucky to have been able to, because of our proximity to such a great hospital, work with these wonderful doctors.  A huge thank you to all of them.

And - a huge thank you to everyone who called, texted, sent emails, etc.  It was nice to know we had so many people supporting and thinking of Henni.

Poop!

Henni has been very interested in the potty. For the last couple weeks she has imitated everything I do when I go in to the bathroom. Earlier this week I asked Henni if she'd like her own potty, she said yes. So I pulled the little potty out of the basement and...tonight Henni pooped in the potty! I am hoping thus is the start of something...one can wish.

Play with me

Over the past few weeks I've noted a marked change in Oliver and Henni's relationship; they both want and try to play with each other.  I love watching the two of them in hysterics and the two of them roaring and running around the house and driving planes, cars or trains together...

Henni always wants to do whatever it is that Oliver is doing so she is so happy with this new development, except when she is not.  When she wants to read and Oliver says it is time to play trains Hennni gets mad.  When Oliver wants to play build towers and Henni wants to play smash towers, Henni gets mad.  When Henni wants to play give rasberries or horsey and Oliver wants to do something else, Henni gets mad.  And let me tell you, when Henni is mad she gets mad.  She is a pushy little girl with a big big big scream.

And Oliver, he loves his little sister.  Yes, he uses her as tackling dummy quite often, but he also looks out for her.  This week he told me to buy watermelon because "Henni loves it."  He also always wants to know what Henni is up to and often tries to tell me what Henni might want or not want.  His new phrase is "meandHenni" - this new, said as one word, phrase is constant.  When Henni hears this phrase she runs over to see what adventure they are about to embark on or what treat he has finagled for the two of them.

And just a funny story - this morning I took off Henni's jammies before we got out of bed and then left her jammies on the bed.  About a half hour later Oliver emerges over the stairs and announces that Henni must be part snake as she had shed her jammie skin and left it behind.