On My Way (or am I?)

Schiphol Airport @ Gate - June 6, 2011

Starbucks booth located.  Caramel Frappuccino ordered.  Paid fortune.  Seriously.  For EURO 4.80 I would expect at least a neck rub to go with it, though a foot rub would have been acceptable too.  The plan: go to gate, drink coffee, enjoy music on iPod.  Sounds like a sound plan, right?  In theory it was.  And then there was the reality.  Found seat, sat down, took 1^st sip and there is the voice announcing that we have to start going through security.  Being number 2 in line meant a quick check, first seated again and enjoyment.  Nope.  Wrong.  (My glass is seriously starting to look half empty at this point).  No can take Frappuccino with me.  No can do.  I knew that you can’t bring in drinks from the outside, but this one was bought right outside of the gate.  I honestly thought that the guy at the scanner was pulling my leg, but alas, he was serious.

Down I sat, next to the scanner, downing my Frappuccino.  The one that wasn’t even as good as it was supposed to.  A few minutes later my tummy was filled with sugar and caffeine and I was ready to go through the scanner, exposing once again my female bits through X-ray to some stranger with a mustache.  Contrary to exiting the USA, this time my lip gloss had to be bagged up.  I understand.  I mean, all the harm you can cause with some bright pink lip gloss.  Not containable.  Any more liquids?  Nope, that’s it.  Chapstick is still in solid form, thanks to the climate control here.  Boots off?  No, not necessary according to the guy who had me drown my stomach with Frappuccino.  Belt off?  No, not necessary.  Items go through scanner, I’m about to step into the X-ray vision machine as a voice says “Boots off!!”  What?  I’m confused now.  First I can keep them on.  Then I have to take them off.  Okay, I’ll strip myself of my knee-highs.

Once determined that my bones are all still in place and that I have no lip gloss or other dangers strapped to myself,  I get pulled aside as my carry on suitcase apparently still contains a liquid.  WHAAT?  Huh?  Totally confused now.  Really, this morning isn’t going so well at this point.  I open up my suitcase only to realize…SH*T!  Damn, I TOTALLY forgot!!  The Father’s Day present I had bought for David.  Crap!  Really, that only happens today.  Had it been any other day, I would have had to foresight to remember.  Not today.  Good thing is that the amount still fell within the allowed amount, but if I could open it up.  You mean, tear the sealed bag open that they put it in when I purchased it right before boarding in Los Angeles?  Sure, whatever.  If I could open the package.  Why?  It still has the cellophane wrapping around it, sealed and all.  Professionally done by Hugo Boss himself!  Okay, whatever, just don’t even think about taking this from me because you will experience someone throwing a fit in a way you have never experienced before, nor will ever experience again.  Bottle got opened.  Hey, while you’re at it, why not spray some on to test the smell?

Finally, I was able to put the bottle back and take it with me.  Thank you.  Can’t say the glass is filling up again, but at least it’s not going down more and more.

So, here we are: with way more people than there are seats in the waiting area, waiting to board our plane.  To the people standing I say: hey, you get 11 hours to sit, so enjoy the standing while you can.  At the same time I am happy to be seated, jealous of the guy next to me who just whipped out an iPad.  Now whereas I don’t necessarily want an iPad, I do suspect that he is not as paranoid about its battery dying as I am about my laptop’s battery – after all, there are no electrical outlets here.


Now, I do absolutely ADORE the iPod David gave me for Mother’s Day.  In the synching process with the iTunes content that my computer at home holds, it also moved over the little recordings we have made of Kai.  Just now I was surprised by hearing his voice saying the alphabet backwards, followed by “I love you mommy”.  [melt]  Glass is filling up at a rapid pace now.


Boarding is starting. Let’s hope the level of my glass’ content remains.

Going Home

Schiphol Airport, June 6, 2011, way too early in the morning.

When you have a scheming plan and things aren’t quite working out, it’s sometimes hard to stay optimistic and continue to consider the glass “half full”.  Despite things not quite working out the way I had hoped, I do still have a smidge of optimism left – though it’s getting less and less by the minute. 

After my lovely flight experience on the way coming, I decided to try my luck again for my return flight.  After all, this flight will be an hour longer (due to wind direction) and thus, some extra legroom would be a detail that would make the trip oh so much more comfy.  Given that the Dutch people are known for their punctuality, I figured that I should make sure to be at the airport 4 hours prior to departure (as opposed to the 3 that is being suggested).  Seriously, that would increase my chances of finding a (preferably male) KLM rep, who would be able to provide me with a seat by the emergency exit in exchange for a cute smile, right?  One small detail: flight departs at 9:50AM.  It doesn’t take a math expert to figure out that this means being at the airport friggin’ early.

So, alarm goes off at 3:30AM, Mommy is at Schiphol airport at 6:00AM.  Lovely.  (This is pre-caffeine.)  In an attempt to appear more “futuristic” – but honestly, I think it’s due to budget cuts – there are no more humans who do the check-in process.  Only "ATM machines".  There goes the cute-smile-to-cute-guy-behind-the-counter-idea.  I could smile all I wanted, but the ATM machine didn’t provide me with the anticipated (and desired) response.  All emergency exit seats were taken.  How?  I was one of the first people there for God’s sake!!!  Turns out that in the country where you have to pay EURO 0.50 (that’s almost $1!!) to use the bathroom in a department store, you actually can pay extra for the emergency seats, the day before when you check in online.  Well, we all know where the online check in got me the last time, so instead I spent my day in Amsterdam.

So, here we are: it’s 7:00AM, I have a boarding pass for seat 38D.  At least it’s an aisle seat.  Yes, my glass is still half full.

After check in and going through customs, my plan included some sort of caffeinated drink and a Belgian waffle.  Yes, Belgian.  I know, this ain’t Belgium, this is The Netherlands, but despite that small detail, the Belgians did once come up with the genius idea to sell their overly-delicious-sooo-to-die-for Belgian waffles in their neighboring country.  Turns out: no waffle to be found here.  Should have had one yesterday.  BUT…the glass’s still half full people.  I refuse to let that get me down.

Off to my gate to sit back and write.  Lovely.  Some peace and quiet, some reminiscing, some looking forward.  Perfect.  Gate – Check.  Chairs – Check.  Peace & Quiet – Check.  Outlets to plug my laptop-without-any-battery-life in – [nasty buzzer sound].  Not an outlet to be found.  Seriously.  I looked on each pillar, alongside the wall, around the seats, in the waiting areas.  People probably thought I was up to something.  No outlets to be found.  Not one!  Really?  I ask a Schiphol employee.  Yes, there was one behind the luggage trolleys; I could move those and sit on the ground.  Really?  You gotta be kiddin’!  Surely the benches and tables around in the restaurant area have some sort of electrical supply for my antique Powerbook?  Indeed, they had.  Sit down.  Open laptop.  Peace.  Quiet.  Bliss.  Glass still half full.

Did I say “quiet”?  Oops.  Wrong!  As I got 2 sentences written and for the first time mentioned the glass being half full, a "gentle"man positioned himself next to me.  Obviously in desperate need for a source of electricity as well.  No problem.  Yes problem.  He plugs his iPod in and starts playing music through this laptop.  Right next to me.  I can write, I can listen to music, but if I want to do either one of these well, I certainly shouldn’t do them at the same time.  Especially, if it’s not my music.  Seriously, at this point my glass was starting to become a little less “half full”.  Me move.  Me find other outlet.  Me sit down and me start writing.

In the meantime “moppie”, a German Shepherd mix of some sort, came by with an agent, checking every passenger and their belongs for (I assume) either drugs of explosives.  Awesome.  Love that and have so much respect for those dogs.  Unfortunately “moppie” (as the agent called him and which is Dutch for “sweetie”) got a little distracted with the backpack of the lady sitting opposite of me.  She apparently had packed her lunch (as Dutch people do) and given that we are the Cheese Mecca of the world…well, you see where that went.  Very funny.  No, “Moppie” didn’t consume the sandwich, but it certainly posed as a short-lived distraction.

I remember enjoying my “last” Frappuccino at LAX airport a week ago when I was about to embark on this awesome journey.  I remember thinking that I wouldn’t get one for a whole week.  Well, the American coffee culture has also penetrated our little coffee-obsessed country and though I doubt that Starbucks will ever take over the coffee culture as we know it here, they do exist and there is one branch here at Schiphol airport.  No Belgian waffles, but hey, there’s Starbucks.  I’d prefer a Belgian waffle though.  Unfortunately I am slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that it is what it is and my chances of getting a Belgian waffle here are as small as me ending up with a seat next to the emergency exit on my 11-hour flight.  I think my glass is still somewhere close to half-full, but I am not as sure as I was earlier this morning when I woke up.  I think I am going to treat myself to my Caramel Frappuccino.  I have a feeling that might help fill the glass a bit more.

SURPRISE!

Monday, May 30 2011 (Memorial Day)

About a month ago, I returned from work one afternoon and was welcomed by David telling me he had talked to my parents.  Now, whereas there’s nothing strange about that, he continued by saying that he “needed to ask them for advice.” About me. Huh?  After 8 years of marriage?  Really? If I could sit down, because he needed to talk to me.  Now, I ceased being able to keep up with the speed at which my brain was working: did I shop (too much)?  Did I forget something?  Did I say something?  Did I not say something?  Maybe I did shop too much.  This cannot be good.

Then he told me: had had wanted to surprise me and didn’t quite know how to go about it.  My best childhood friend (for 30 years) is getting married in my hometown in The Netherlands this Wednesday and he wanted to surprise me with a ticket to attend the wedding to surprise her.  The thing he needed advice from my parents on: should he go ahead and pack my suitcase? Then, have me come home from work one day, only to inform me that that very evening I would be flying out to Europe?  Or, should he tell me now, so I could prepare?

Luckily, my parents (and David too) knew me well enough to know that I am graced with an A-personality and figured that therefore I would appreciate the heads up, so I could arrange someone to cover me for work, get a dress, get accessories, pack myself and shop.  (Notice the recurring element here?)

And here we are.  Approximately a month later: at LAX, enjoying my last Frapuccino (with extra caramel and whipped cream – when you have one, you gotta do it right) before getting on a plane and not be able to have another one until a week from now when I return.  Frappuccino, time and a laptop to write.  Heaven.

This will be my first trip alone – without David, without the children (other than my so-much-enjoyed Mom’s Weekend Out from last year).  Between booking my ticket and yesterday I was ecstatic: a week for myself.  Surprising Saskia, attending her wedding, spending time with my parents, seeing my 2 best friends from college and my “Oma” and playing tourist in my home country.  Not having to keep the boys from bothering each other, from expressing their dominance and from stealing each other’s toys.  Ahhh, peace and quiet.  Even the plane ride: I get to sit back, watch movies, eat, drink and sleep.  That sounded pretty good to me.

Then came yesterday.  I packed and got everything ready for this week’s trip.  And then it hit me: I was also leaving the hugs and kisses, the giggles, the tickles, the bright faces and the “I LOVE you Mommy” behind.  The mixed feelings set in and the excitement was joined by some sadness, melancholy and a small dose of emptiness.

The goodbye at the airport was quick, but left me with watery eyes.  The time I had, waiting to check my luggage, was just enough to once again realize how blessed I was for having such an amazing husband such cool sons.  Life is good.

When I made my reservation I had selected that I preferred an aisle seat.  With legs that are part of a 6ft. body, I desperately need to be able to stretch them – especially on a 10-hour flight.  Imagine my surprise when I checked in online yesterday and I was assigned a middle seat.  Huh?  What had gone wrong?  A phone call to the Delta customer support center didn’t yield much.  I was able to get an aisle seat for the way back.  Dear young, simple soul at the call center:  Please don’t make it sound like you were able to help me out a great deal.  You simply gave me 1/2 of what I should have had to begin with.  That is nothing to be proud about! 

And there he was: the man who was going to make my day (other than my husband and my 2 boys).  He was the KLM employee behind the check-in counter with whom I was going to try my luck.  And lucky I got, at the KLM check-in counter.  I got the last emergency exit seat.  Ya know, the one with extra legroom.  ChaChing!  Yes Baby!  Mama got lucky and Mama’s LOVIN’ it.  It’s the beginning of a beautiful thing.
Being 3 hours early is paying off in abundance: dropped my suitcase off at the TSA checkpoint without waiting.  Security check: no waiting.  And then: the body scan!  Oh yeah! Complete strangers got to see parts of me that neither my husband, nor I have ever seen myself.  Now, I completely understand the procedure and it certainly provides a certain sense of security, but all I’m saying is “I’m happy I’m not in that particular week of the month.”  You know, when they see what type of feminine hygiene products you use.  AWKWARD!

And here I am.  Judging by the line at the gate that is longer and longer, I think we’ll be boarding soon.  I never really get the reasoning behind that.  Why wait in line, standing, when you will be called to board by row?  There is absolutely no use being in front of the line, when you’re going to be called last anyways.

On that note, let me sign off and pack up here.  Let’s get the party started.

NOTE: due to the surprise-nature of my trip the publishing of this post has been delayed.

Surprises, Growing Up and Catching Up

I love surprises.  LOVE LOVE LOVE surprises.  Good ones, fun ones, cool ones,that is.  I love surprising and I love being surprised.  The hardest part when I am (part of) the "Surpriser" (as opposed to the "Surprisee" - spell check tells me there are no such terms known in the English language.  I say: "As of now there are") is to not let anything be known.  To the Surprisee that is.  Keeping my mouth shut is do-able.  [Strike that.  No, it's not.]  Not mentioning anything directly is do-able, not writing about it, or eluding to it is challenging.  Hence me not having written for a while.

We surprised David’s dad with a visit over Easter weekend.  David’s Stepmother had arranged for us to fly out to visit them, so my Father-in-Law was made to believe that family from Canada was coming.  Awesome surprise.  My in-laws had seen Ryder when he was just born.  The giant baby they got to spend time with during this visit was a completely different phenomenon than the (still substantial) infant they had met just over a year ago.  Kai was super excited about the prospect of flying.  He – on purpose – did not get to talk to his grandpa in the weeks preceding our trip as he was obsessed with the fact that he was “going to fly in an airplane to visit grandpa in Texas!”

With the California weather warming up and in anticipation of our trip, we decided that the moment had come.  The moment that Kai needed to get a big-boy haircut.  No more trimming attempts from Papa.  Real haircut.  The place where this momentous event was going to take place?  A salon called Little Rock Star.  I mean, c’mon, the name itself exudes confidence and coolness.  Perfect for my Little Dude.  My Little Dude who would enter as Little Dude and exit as Cool Rockstar.  The chairs are cool cars, and thus, perfect for toddler dudes.  Armed with a snack cup with Goldfish, David took Kai on his little make-over excursion.  Here’s what followed:

Before:

Ready (not so much)...Set...

Go!

Finished:

I will never forget the feeling that consumed me when he came running in and exclaimed:  “Mommy!  I have spikes!”  I cried.  Yes, I cried on the inside and I had a hard time holding back the tears.  My toddler had walked out the door earlier that afternoon and a boy returned.  I lovingly renamed him my Cool Rockstar Dude.

So, armed with spiky hair, his own suitcase and a painfully overpriced chocolate croissant, Kai was ready to conquer the sky.

And he did.

Ryder on the other hand...what shall I say...made me not want to return to Los Angeles.  The thought of taking him onto a plane again, without being able to make it understood that I will get him (pretty much) anything his heart desires if only he can make sure as to NOT to cry during the flight, was not something that appealed to me very much.  A 3-hour flight isn’t that long, but it is LOOOOOOONG if you have a very unhappy baby on your lap.  Let’s leave it at that.

We had a lovely time in Texas:

The kids got up to mischief

Beautiful Sunsets

Going for walks and being able to run without being worried about traffic

Making new friends at the playground

Going out for dinner and having a vat ‘o Margarita

Going on an Easter Egg Hunt

Opening Easter Eggs

And lots of cuddles

In other words, we had fun.

The way back...how do I put this?  The first 45 minutes were AWESOME:

After that...let’s just say that we were "that" family.  Yes, the family that oh so many hate as they seem to be incapable of soothing their screaming baby.  Yes, that was us.  And to those people, I say: You obviously don’t have kids.

In other news:
Over the past few weeks Kai has been on an eating strike.  “I don’t like __________” was the evening catch phrase for several weeks.  Even to foods that until recently were categorized as “Favorite”.  I really try not to let it bother me, but for a foodie the “I don’t like _________” is like nails on a chalkboard.  Fast forward to last Thursday when some TV character ate an apple.  Don’t remember the God who consumed the precious fruit, but a God (s)he was.  From that moment on: apples, pears, bananas, blueberries, humus, broccoli and carrots.  The other day he just ate raw broccoli and carrots for dinner. Didn’t touch the meat and home baked sweet potato fries.  Just raw veggies, all the while announcing “I LOVE broccowee and cawods Mama!”  Now, I am seriously considering buying stock in local broccoli and carrot farms.  Happy Mama.

As far as Ryder and food are concerned: Match made in Heaven. Ryder just eats and eats and eats.  I already need a bigger fridge, simply to store the food, which that child consumes.  There is almost nothing that he won’t eat. (Except spinach and lettuce.)

And then there was Mother’s Day.  Ever since 2008, when he missed the fact that his wife was now a mother too, 3 months after she gave birth to Kai, David has been on it with every single Mother’s Day, making up for this mistake that (nonetheless)  will haunt him for the rest of his life.  (Mama will make sure of that.)  This year was no different (no, I didn’t bring up the 2008 Mother’s Day.  HE did!).  It started out with sleeping in.  A 10am “Happy Mother’s Day MAMA!!!” wish and a big hug and kiss from Kai, followed by a beautiful breakfast in bed.  A drawing from Kai contained an iPod and accessories for Mama’s new car!  A beautifully wrapped gift from David contained a gorgeous necklace to go with a new dress that I had bought.  2 hours later I left the house to go for a 1-1/2 hour massage.  1-hour massages I am familiar with (OH YES, I AM), but I had never had a 1-1/2 hour massage and it was awesome.  Now that I have drank the 1-1/2 hour massage “Koolaid”, I am hooked.  Seriously, that was indulgence.  The rest of the day was spent with hugs and kisses from all my boys.  An easy and lovely dinner finished the day.

Unfortunately, that night the boys (the little ones) decided that since it was past Midnight, Mother’s Day was over and Mama could resume her duties.  Kai was up from midnight – 3pm with “growing pains” in his legs.  Massage and cuddles helped him.  Me, not so much.  I have decided that the child needs a bigger bed, so that I can fit in it on nights like these.  At 3:30 Ryder decided that sleeping during the night was severely overrated.  He was up and decided to let us know.  Somehow I ended up with him falling asleep on my chest in the glider.  Lovely at first, truly, but after a while my body started to get sore and stiff.  As comfortable as the glider is, it’s not an ideal sleeping location.  I snoozed on and off for an hour with Ryder in my arms, until I woke up at 5am, in desperate need of another 1-1/2 hour massage.  Ryder relocated to the crib (and slept through the relocation) and mama tiptoed to her bed, where I was able to catch 1 hour of sleep, before my alarm went off at 6am.  Seriously, I vote for a Mother’s Day at least every quarter.

In the last week Kai came down with his first ear infection.  Both kids battled a cold that lingered around for a good 2 weeks.  They are both over it, Kai is done with his antibiotics and it seems like we can move on again.  I suspect that Ryder is doing some serious Molar-Growing as the fussiness levels have reached insane heights over the past few days.  Did I mention that it should be Mother’s Day more often?  All I say is Mommy Timeout is a good thing!  It’d be nicer if it came with a cocktail and a shoulder rub, but I will take any timeout I can get.

All of Ryder’s eating has allowed him to outgrow his changing table.  The boy is 15 months old and he is longer than his changing table is wide.  Combine that with his strong dislike of getting his diaper changed and it makes for sometimes frustrating and sometimes amusing scenarios.  When it was time for the inevitable diaper change (you know, the one that happens approximately 8 times/day), this afternoon, he wasn’t having it.  Kicking, thrashing and kicking.  Did I mention kicking?  Unfortunately for him, Mama (for now) is still stronger and wins the battle, so on the changing table he goes.  He gets mad.  Kicks in the air and in his movement down hits the wooden end of the changing table with his heel.  Screams.  Gets mad.  Puts his heels against the end of the changing table.  Pushes.  Pushes so hard that he pushes himself up and hits his head on the (other) wooden end of the table.  Gets madder.  Wants toy.  Gets toy.  Doesn’t want toy and throws toy.  Toy obeys the laws of gravity and comes sailing down as mama is unable to catch it in between wiping butt and changing diaper.  Toy lands on chin.  Baby now livid.  Takes toy and angrily starts waving it around – to teach damn toy a lesson.  Waves so hard that knuckles hit the side of the changing table and toy, once again, follows gravity and falls to the ground.  Baby madder than mad.  Wants other toy.  Gets other toy.  Doesn’t want THAT toy.  Yes, does want THAT toy.  No.  Yes.  No.  Yes.  Aaaaah, we’re done.  Finally.

So, that’s where we’re at in this house full of testosterone.  We’re happy.  We’re blessed.  We’re fed.  And...exhausted, but, we go on and try to enjoy each step of the way.  Yes, I said we “try”.  I just need to remind myself of that at 4 o’clock in the morning.

It's 2011!

So, where was I?  Oh, that’s right...September 30th...oops.  Is it really 2011 already?  What happened? Oh yeah, I remember...I enjoyed my life.  That is not to say that I don’t enjoy writing.  Believe you me, in the past 3 months the desire to pick up pen and paper, uhum, start typing, has manifested itself pretty much daily.  Why haven’t I?  Let’s see...

There is work (and all that that entails: grading speeches, reading, plowing & suffering through outlines that are written in English that sometimes can hardly be called ‘English’, listening to excuses that really aren’t creative and so on).  I will leave it at that.

The boys are absolutely delicious.

  

I cannot get enough of them and I absolutely love love love every minute with them.  (Except when they are whiny, demanding and don't let me cook).

6 days after I last wrote, on October 5, Ryder started crawling.  My life as I knew it was over.  Bye bye to plopping him down with a toy and being able to go make some tea.  No, nothing of that anymore.  Mr. The Explorer went everywhere and was in to everything.  Especially into those things that Kai is playing with.  And vice versa.  Need I explain?  With Ryder’s ability to crawl, brotherly rivalry had started as well.

My parents came out from Europe for a month to celebrate their 35th anniversary.  We went to San Diego and had some family time.  Visited Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, the harbor, and in short: had tons of fun.  Seeing Opa & Oma enjoy the boys was such treat.  With them in living in Europe and us living here in SoCal they really only get to see them twice a year, when they visit.  It was the first time they saw Ryder after their visit in February when he was born.  They had some time to bond and of course, Kai LOVED having Opa and Oma around.  He has been asking about them practically every day after they left; very sweet, but sad at the same time.  The little man just doesn’t understand why he cannot see them, just like he goes over to our friends’ places to go spend time with them.  Yes, we Skype, but his attention span isn’t long in front of the computer.  It’s about connection for him.  If the connection isn’t there it isn’t “real”.  Though he understands Dutch, he doesn’t speak it much, so he can’t connect through the computer.

And then...(drum roll please)...what seemed like the impossible, happened...Kai is potty trained!  The day that we were at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego, he decided that it was of the utmost importance to share with every one (including those who didn’t want to hear about this) that, if “Kai sit on the potty, he get MMS” – which translates to M&M’S.  Seriously.  Every.Single.Person.  So, when we got home, I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty.  And the rest is history.  He was potty trained 3 days later, although it took me a bit longer to be convinced.  He has only had 3 accidents since the beginning of the training.  Did pretty much everything by himself.  It was awesome.  I guess they were right (whoever ‘they’ might be) when they said “he will do it when he’s ready”.

On another note, on October 27, I became a US citizen with about 5,000 other people in the same room.  Yes, that’s right: 5,000.  Oh yeah, and...it’s a monthly event.  Seriously, no kiddin’!  Anyways, after having had my green card since we got married, I finally applied for my US citizenship, so now I am the proud owner of 2 passports.  Dual citizenship.  Pretty cool huh?

  

Then there was Halloween.  Ah, the beloved holiday in our neighborhood.  When we moved in, the house was a heavy fixer-upper.  And read: HEAVY.  We fixed most of it up, except the front yard.  It just hasn’t been a priority, but it does allow us every year to go all out with Halloween and turn our front yard into a haunted cemetery / maze / heart stopper / scream inducer.  And oh, what fun it is!!  Every year we have a group of friends who come and help out and every year we do something different.  The thing that remains the same is the idea of the maze and the fact that you’ll be scared crazy.  Wonderful.  People come from other neighborhoods to trick-or-treat in our street, just for that.  But hey, no pressure to make it fun again :-0 

  

It was wonderful.  Let’s just say that we had people rolling over the sidewalk laughing (resulting from being scared), others lost their wigs as they practically jumped out of their skin, screams echoed through the neighborhood.  Fun times.  Fun times.

Before we started our haunted ‘house’, we took Kai (and Ryder) trick-or-treating.  For the first year, he really enjoyed it, however the fun was short-lived;  a few days into November, he had forgotten all about his candy.  I think I still have his basket with candy in the closet here.

A few days after Halloween, my friend had her beautiful baby girl Haven.  She is absolutely precious.  Sweet and tiny and perfect.  It seriously makes me want to have another baby, though I swear that Mother Nature makes you forget the sleepless nights, or at least how they felt, and the fatigue exhaustion.

At the beginning of November David and I were invited to a wedding of our neighbors’ daughter.  I don’t remember when the last time was that he and I went out on a date together, let alone, when we were able to dress up.  Wait, yes, the last time I wore an evening gown was for the wedding of our neighbors’ other daughter, 2 years ago.  2 years ago...I do have a life you know.  Just not one that involves dressing up much.  Nevertheless, it was great to go out, all dolled up and pretty. 

  

We had so much fun.  I’d almost say “they have to get married more often.”  Wait, that sounds wrong.

Kai started his co-op preschool class.  With a group of mommy friends we have started a co-op preschool.  Awesome!  One morning a week, the kids have class from 10-12.  It’s great.  Every class has the same structure, but around a different theme.  A class is taught by 1 mom, 1 direct assistant and 2 moms are around to wrangle, clean up and help out where ever needed.  Kai absolutely loves it.  He is so proud of all the art that he brings home and every time he sees it hanging on the fridge he announces that it is something he made with his friends at school.

I hardly dare to write this (as I fear I may jinx it), but it truly seems like Kai has left the terrible two’s behind him.  Now that he is better able to communicate he seems so much more relaxed.  Maybe his mood and state of being is affected by me being more relaxed, but I am certainly more relaxed because he is in so much better spirits.  He is loving, gives hugs and kisses spontaneously, gets really excited about things, loves having conversations, is a lot more inquisitive , shares his toys better, is more accepting towards Ryder, has fewer tantrums (don’t remember the last time he had one), helps out a lot, and I can go on.  It’s almost like I have a new toddler.  And I am LOVING it.  The simple “Good Morning MOMMY!!!!!” when he wakes up and comes running in to give me a big hug and kiss in the morning is just heart warming and it made up for the fact that Ryder was getting up at 5am.  Yes, 5am. Pretty much every single day.  That was one of those details that wasn’t working out so well for mama.

Leading up to Christmas, Kai and I were busy with Holiday arts & crafts projects.  It was so much fun and we both LOVED doing it.  It was definitely the beginning of some serious family traditions and childhood memories.  One night, after Ryder went down, I asked him if he wanted to make the gift for his god-daddy that we had been talking about.  “YES Mommy, YES!  Let’s DO IT!!!  Kai make a present for god-daddy Michael!”  We had a blast.  I stripped him down to his T-shirt and underwear and half an hour of laugher later, the present was done, he was covered in paint, and ready to get into the bath.  Snuggles, milk and a story followed and that was our evening.  A precious memory was created.

Ryder is doing great.  He cut his 3rd and 4th teeth a couple of weeks before Christmas.  He started crawling on October 5, 4 days after he turned 8 months, walked behind his shopping cart on Thanksgiving morning and started walking for real on December 16, at 10 1/2 months.

He is absolutely loving it and is motoring through the home like there is no stopping.  The fascinating thing is that after he started walking, he started sleeping better.  Coincidence?  Hmmm...  In pretty much everything, Kai is his example and he (Ryder) is hard at work catching up with the 2 years that he lacks behind.  He is loving his solids.  When Kai was his age, I made organic home made baby food.  Everything home made, as organic as it came.  With Ryder, I simply do not have to energy to do that, so at 9 months I decided it was time for him to start eating table foods.  I was sick and tired of spending small fortunes on jarred baby food that smelled (and tasted) like card board.  So, he’s eating table foods with us.  Occasionally I will puree things, but most of the time, I just give him small pieces to feed himself.  He loves broccoli, cauliflower, meat balls, chicken, fish, cheese, yogurt and pasta.  Fruits are winners as well and Mama cannot be happier.

Just to get an idea of the size of this boy, at 9 months (that was in November) Ryder:

• weighed 25.5 lbs.
• measured 31"
• wore size 5 diaper
• wore size 18 month clothes

Yep, I make big babies, and oh my goodness are they cute.

In December we often went out for walks around the neighborhood.  The leaves had turned beautiful colors and after the rain we had one weekend, they had started falling.  We live on a street with deciduous trees, but unfortunately we don’t have any in our yard.  They start next door.  One of our neighbors across the street had been so sweet to rake all the leaves together in 1 big pile.  1 big pile that was waiting for an almost-3-year-old toddler.  1 big pile that lent itself PERFECTLY for some good Fall fun.

  

  

When Ryder was 9 months old he signed for the first time.  He is seriously suffering from the 2nd-child-syndrome; I started signing with Kai right out the gate, I only recently started it with Ryder, not even being very consistent.  After only a few times of signing ‘All Done”, imagine my surprise tonight when this happened:

I wasn’t sure if this was waving or signing, but given his response to the food, I think he was trying to make a point.  Pretty cool huh?  Ryder is just an amazing little man.  He is such a happy and content baby. 

I am just enjoying my boys so much.  They are a delight and I just want to spend every minute that I can with them.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have a break some times, but even after 2 hours of me-time, I cannot wait to return home, see those big smiles and twinkly eyes and give those boys the biggest hug and smother them with kisses.  These days, when they are awake, I spend my time with them.  The other work has to wait until they are asleep, resulting in just less time to do the other things that I would enjoy doing, such as reading, watching TV, or...writing.  Nevertheless, this year I am making some changes.  While still spending as much time with my 2 monkeys, I am planning on setting aside 1 evening per week to write, 1 evening to read, 1 evening to spend on arts and crafts projects / hobbies and 1 evening for date night with the hubby.  Yes, that leaves me 3 other nights, which I am sure, I will be able to fill in without any problems.

Christmas was a great day.  We spent the day relaxing, being a family and it was AWESOME.  The kids took pretty much the whole day to open their gifts: they would open one, play with it for an hour, then open another one and play with that for a while. 

  

  

  

We actually ended up opening the stocking gifts on New Year’s Day!  How’s that for some stretching?!?!  David and I watched our traditional “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Every Christmas we watch this.  Every Christmas it gets to us.  Such a beautiful movie, such a heartwarming story.  Truly inspiring.  New Year’s Eve was spent with neighbors and friends playing games, laughing, eating and drinking.  Can’t be much better than that, can it?

The New Year has started and it feels like I’m starting with a clean slate.  It’s a great feeling.  I feel energized, motivated, enthusiastic and happy and I’m excited and looking forward to making this year an amazing year.  So many new experiences await us, so many memories are going to be made.  The mere thought if that is inspiring and exhilarating.  May 2011 truly be everyone’s Best Year Yet!