Barbeque for Grandpa Mike's Birthday

Last week was my dad's birthday, and we hadn't seen him and my stepmom in awhile, so we decided to get together and do something a little different.

So, we got together for a rather unusual barbeque. It was a special event at the Goodwill Store in Batavia, IL. You see, they had a special deal where if you brought in a bag of used goods, they'd give you free barbeque. They even had America's Chefs from Food Network's Diner's Drive-ins, and Dives preparing the food.

We had to keep Nick on his "tether" the whole time, because it was crazy busy there. There were huge lines and people carrying bags of old junk everywhere.

Nick was very active the whole time. He kept trying to go near the cars and run around. See my dad holding Henry? He's also holding onto Nick's leash. . . er, tether.

I like how Henry is looking up at his Grandpa in the picture above. I wonder what he's thinking?

My dad thought Nick's "tether" was pretty funny.

The food was pretty decent, and they had the biggest soup bowl I think I've ever seen. That's a lot of soup! I bet it all got eaten, though. The crowds were huge and it seemed like everyone in the western suburbs was in line, swarming around the food.

 

Henry took a nice long nap in the grass. He likes naps.

Hopefully my dad had a good birthday as well as some yummy barbeque.

Taking Walks With My Two Little Men

I can't drive yet. Hopefully next week the doctor will clear me, but until then, at least while Greg is at work, Nick, Henry, and I are limited to walking around the neighborhood. We've taken a bunch of walks this week.

Actually, I'm not quite ready to venture very far with two kids, at least not yet. But I know that I need some exercise, and Nick turns into a monster if he doesn't get his energy out. So we took walks this week--at least on the days it didn't rain. Considering that I just had a c-section, I'm feel like I'm recovering well; though my energy levels aren't anywhere near pre-pregnancy levels, I have way more energy than I did for most of the third trimester of pregnancy.

Shall I address the baby leash first? Well, last year Greg and I had a special tether that we used with Nick--basically it was a baby leash. We stopped using it sometime last summer because Nick started rebelling. Basically, he'd run until he ran out of leash, fall down, and cry. Then, he'd stand up, run, until he ran out of leash, fall down, and cry. Repeat fifteen times. Sigh.

But now, I have this little man to worry about. . .

. . . and after the first time Nick ran from me, I decided that a new "leash" was in order. He ran, leaving me the unenviable task of frantically setting the brake on the stroller, then chasing Nick down and tackling him before he got to the pond. I was freaking out about both boys at the same time.

A woman can only handle so many stressful moments before she decides it would be better just to stay home. Plus, I'm still not supposed to lift Nick. Yeah, right. The doctor who came up with the whole "lift nothing heavier than your baby" obviously didn't understand the realities of caring for a two-year-old. It is physically impossible to care for Nick without having to carry him.

Anyway, I bought a more appealing version of a baby leash. This one we call Nick's "backpack," and it comes with a tether. I like this one better because it has some elastic give to it. When he reaches the end, it pulls rather than yanks, so Nick doesn't end up on the floor. He heeds the warning fairly well. Plus, the tether means I'm willing to risk walking to the park.

I've been avoiding the park that Nick broke his arm at last year, even though it's the closest park to our house. Perhaps it's just superstition, but it's also that this particular park has several tall areas without guardrails. I'm not taking any chances. There are lots of parks within walking distance, and I prefer the one across the street from the elementary school the boys will attend someday. Nick was super, super excited when he found out where we were walking. Henry? He just continued to nap. Something about the stroller relaxes him.

We stayed at the park a good forty minutes or so, and then it was time to walk home. Nick didn't want to leave. "No," he said. "I just want to play at the park for a little while more." Then he repeated this, at full volume, while stomping his feet. It's not as cute while coming from a screeching child. Also not cute when Mommy has to haul you over her shoulder and drag you out of the park, caveman style. That's what I mean about doctor's having unrealistic expectations about not lifting a 30-lb. child.

I suppose I could've stayed at the park until he was willing to leave on his own, but I was hungry, and it was getting near naptime. Finally I wrestled Nick's "backpack" on and we headed home.

Did I mention that this park is farther away? It's at least a half mile away, probably more. Nick has walked way farther than that, so I didn't think it'd be an issue. It wasn't until we got about halfway back. Nick sat down on the concrete, told me "I'm ready to take a sleepy nap," and refused to move. I had to literally beg him to get up and walk home. I ended up carrying him the last two blocks because he tried to climb into a hole that had been dug to plant a tree. He refused to stay away from the hole.

Hey, at least I got my exercise, right?

Desperate times call for desperate measures

I was determined to plant some of my seedlings tonight. Nicholas was determined to prevent me from doing so. . . even to the point of stealing my shovel. This boy loves the dirt already.

I got home from work around 5 p.m., and I decided that today was the day. I have been meaning to put some plants in the cold frame and in the rest of the garden, but I Greg hasn't been home in the evenings to watch Nick. Today I figured I'd better improvise. So I had to resort to desperate measures. I got out the baby leash, and wrapped it around my foot while I planted seedlings. Is that crazy? Possibly, but I couldn't figure out any other way of ensuring that Nick didn't run out to the street during my planting.

I ended up planting (left to right) broccoli, sweet peppers, and some sort of herb. I'm not sure which one because the labels all washed off of my sticks. I learned a lesson today about starting seeds--I am never again using the plastic greenhouses. Getting the seedlings out of those little plastic squares was incredibly difficult, and I think I may have damaged a root here and there. I don't know if I planted them too closely together. It didn't seem like it when I was out there, but looking at the picture now they might be too close. I'm also not sure if I chose the right plants to put in the cold frame. Live and learn, I guess. I've been researching for months, but I can't get consistent advice on when to plant and how to correctly time plantings with a cold frame. So I guessed.

I let Nick dig in the empty spot right near me. Notice his digging technique--not bad for a 17 month old. He was a happy camper, but he did keep whacking my plants with the shovel while I wasn't looking. The first row of spinach came up, so I planted a second row. All of the books say to plant it over time, so you have a more continuous harvest. I love spinach, so hopefully it'll work. Here's what my spinach looks like now.

So I know what you're thinking now. This girl is a party animal--taking pictures of her spinach seedlings on a Friday night. Yup. That's me. Always ready for a good time.

About this time Nick started pulling on the leash, and I started hoping Greg would get home soon. Amazingly, as soon as I thought this, he magically drove up in the driveway, and I handed over the baby leash to Daddy. Relieved to be without a leash wrapped around my ankle, I planted carrots and another herb (basil? I think).  Hmm, I didn't label anyything, so I'm not actually sure what I planted.  Then I noticed that the sky was looking ominous. I do believe it's going to really rain later tonight. Hmm. Rain is good for plants, right? I suppose a raised bed garden is better for not flooding out the seeds, since it drains well. . . I hope everything makes it through the night.

I like this picture for the way you can actually see how Nick is in perpetual motion. You can even see him waving around the mini rake and shovel as he runs down the sidewalk, with his daddy close behind.

I'm still trying to figure out the best time to plant my tomatoes. They're tired of being under the lights, but it might still be too early to plant them outside, because of the risk of frost. I will keep deliberating.

Spring Break Zoo Trip

An unseasonably warm day (80 degress plus!) brought our little family to Brookfield Zoo on Thursday. We learned that a lot of other people had the same idea during our 45 minute wait in the traffic jam leading up to the zoo. It was still a great day, though. . . Nick spent all of his time pointing. He saw and appreciated nearly all the animals, and he tried to categorize them as either fishy (if it was swimming), birdy (if it was flying), or kitty (if it walked on the ground and had fur). Not bad for 16 months. The lion, of course, was a kitty.

When I say that a lot of other people were at the zoo, I'm not kidding. We actually ended up parking on the high school fields (baseball, I think) backing up to the zoo. It was crazy busy, but luckily, we have a membership to Brookfield Zoo, so we didn't have to wait in the long ticket lines. Check out the crowd, though:

Yeah, it was a little bit crowded. It's funny how being in that large of a crowd makes me strangely okay with my body. I also feel like my child is relatively well-behaved, in comparison. There certainly were lots of people everywhere. The zoo is big enough, though, that there were plenty of parts that weren't as crowded. We did have to make full use of the baby leash, though. In the swamp, Nick and Greg took a boat ride, and Nick kept trying to crawl over the benches.

Pardon the poor quality photos. I have many skills, but photography is not one of them. It is very hard to angle pictures to get both a child and an animal in the same shot. Nick was pointing at the birdies here. He really likes birds, and he'll follow them with his finger through the sky.

I am tired now, so I will post more tomorrow. I have to say, though, it is so much more fun taking Nick to the zoo now that he is so very interested in everything around him. That is one curious guy.

Signs of Spring?

I would say that walking to the park with a 1 year old is an exercise in futility. Nick never wants to walk in the direction we want him to go--he will suddenly turn around and start running the other way. Once we got him there, though, he was in toddler heaven. Greg and I sat on the see-saw, and Nick didn't want to let us stop. I think he could have bounced forever. (I, on the other hand, discovered that you can indeed get nauseous from a see-saw.) 

As spring gets closer and warmer weather appears, we've been taking Nick to the park every chance we get. He needs lots of exercise and fresh air, or he turns into a monster. He'll stand by the window, pointing and looking hopefully at us as we sit on our butts on the couch. Nick is right, though. Fresh air is good for all of us.

Yup, we have officially become "those" parents. The ones who would put a child on a leash. Nick is just so fast. Plus, he changes direction quickly and we don't want to lose sight of him. When we try to walk holding his hand, Nick is still so very short (2nd percentile for his age) that we have to hunch way over, so that's not effective either. Thus the baby harness. So far so good. I believe it's a good compromise between carrying Nick or having him in the stroller continuously and letting him run for the hills (literally).

Another sign of spring, for me, unfortunately, is allergies. As things are starting to defrost and the mold count multiplies, my allergies have become intolerable. My usual singulair pill isn't enough to make a dent in the horrible post-nasal drip that curses me at least once a year. Right now I get to choose between being drugged on Sudafed and being so stuffed up I can't breathe through my nose. The worst part is that I'm losing my voice. That might not be a big deal for some people, but I use my voice to control as many as 30 children at a time. My job is very dependent on my voice, and it is very hard to try to squeak and croak my way through a day of teaching. Can you imagine teaching remedial math to 19 fourth graders in an after school program when all you can manage is a croak? I do love spring, but I'm wishing that a fix for these allergies could be found. I want to breathe properly again!