A Beanie, A Ball, and Bedtime

Bedtime at our house tonight was interesting. After staying at work late to teach a class and driving home in foggy, rainy conditions, I was happy to have a little time with my guys. I recently got Henry some new clothes, since he's been growing like a weed. This little outfit came with a matching beanie that Henry was initially hesitant to wear.

We got Nick to wear the beanie so Henry would want to copy him. We bounced them around on the ball to tire them out before bedtime. Grandma Toni snapped most of these photos.  

Nick could care less about the beanie, he just wanted to bounce on the ball forever. Pictures of Nick always end up a little blurry.

Henry was never thrilled about the beanie, but he loved the yoga ball. I can count bouncing them around on a ball as a strengthening workout, right? Henry weighs almost 30 pounds and Nick is well over 30 pounds, so I'd say it counts.

Henry just wanted to stay up an extra few minutes and watch Daddy paint.

Does he look just a little too much like a rebellious teenager here? Hmmmm. Perhaps I should be worried.

I do love bedtime, especially with these little hoodlums.  :)

Climbing children, near-blizzard conditions, a very large cat, and driving in a big circle

Today has been an odd day, to say the least. I was hoping to go out and have my smashed fingernail repaired and buy the boys some new pants. Instead, the weather intervened and I ended up staying in my pajamas all day, shopping online and going exactly nowhere.

Henry found a new place to sit and play on the ipad. He looks rather pleased with himself. 

Greg took the boys outside for a half-hour or so, and they all got covered with snow and ice. It was crazy out there!

Greg's hair is all white just from the snow landing on him!

I was pretty amazed at how fast the snow was coming down and swirling all over the place. I tried to snap a few shots with my phone but I was worried about water damage, so I stopped. One arm out the door is as far outside as I went today.

Nick wasn't scared of the blowing snow. Greg was only scared of the shoveling job ahead. 

While they were playing outside, Molly rolled around on the carpet in child-free bliss. She loves it when the kids aren't around and she can get down near the floor.

We try not to tease Molly too badly about her weight problem. Our agoraphobic cat, Tubby, is never seen. We sometimes doubt his existence, until he hacks up a hairball somewhere random. 

Are those kids coming back in? I hope they stay out a long time. . . 

Poor Molly didn't get her wish. The boys came in fairly quickly, chilled and red-cheeked.

Henry needed lots of snuggles and rubbing to warm up. Then he was fine. 

We had to warm them up somehow, and thankfully, "Baby Got Back" came on the 90's Sirius Station. Good times for my dancing fools. They definitely do not "got back," but they can shake it anyway.

Poor Greg just didn't know what to do today. He had four clients scheduled tonight, starting at 5 p.m. His client contact hours haven't been as good this winter, due to obvious nightmarish winter conditions. (Greg gets paid strictly by how many clients he sees.) So he didn't want to cancel his appointments. As of 2:30, none of his clients in Hinsdale had cancelled, so he started off driving into the snowy mess. He promised to call me when he was at work. At 4:45, I still hadn't received a call, so I was worried and I called him. It turns out, he was most of the way to Hinsdale when he found out from his office that every single client had cancelled for tonight. All of them. So poor Greg turned around for home. He finally got home a little after 5:30, meaning that he spent three hours on the road for no real reason. Greg drove in one big snow-covered circle.

I had the boys clap for him when he got home safe.

We danced in joy that Daddy was home safely. Yup. "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith.

Happy Valentine's Day 2014!

Our Valentine's Day was pretty good. Greg got home in enough time to see the kids and get the Valentine Card that we made for him. Here are my boys, all smiling at the same time (A Valentine's Day Miracle!)

Nick worked hard to write "I love you Daddy" on a big red heart. 

I worked with the boys all evening to make homemade cards and pictures for Greg. I asked them to draw things that Greg liked, and they drew candy (Nick), a moon (Henry), and a bottle of wine (Nick). I even drew some pictures of my own, including one of Greg's "real" gift. For a combination gift (birthday/V-day/Anniversary), I'll be getting Greg a mountain bike and all of the accouterments he will need.

Reason #435 that I am not an art teacher.

We set up a surprise thinking that Greg wouldn't get home in time to see the boys before bedtime.

Henry had a special message for Greg, though only those who understand Henry-speak may comprehend it.

For the kids, I have a tradition where we buy them a special book for Valentine's Day, which I inscribe with a message for each boy. Henry really, really liked his book, which was a wordless picture book about a dog and his ball.

Nick enjoyed his transportation-themed book as well, though he wasn't as affectionate with it.

Lest you think that Greg forgot about my Valentine's Day present, I should show you this:

When I got home from Open House last night, I found these lovely flowers and gorgeous silver bracelet from my husband sitting on the counter. A great surprise to conclude a very long night. 

Greg is excellent at picking out quality jewelry. 

I was excited to wear my Valentine's Day-themed sweater and bracelet this morning, though you can't really see the bracelet in this picture. Henry is smiling, though. That is a rare and happy occurrence, at least when the camera is on. Dancing, for Henry, is far more common. I like their moves to "Last Dance with Mary Jane."

I have to say this has been my favorite Valentine's Day yet, even though Greg and I haven't had our official "date" yet. (We'll go out later this month.) This was the first year my boys both said "I love you, Mommy." I think they even meant it. I don't want to forget reading Henry and Nick the wordless picture book I got Henry and having them tell the story to me. Henry is sleeping right now, hugging that book tight.  :)

Block Towers and Indoor Joy

We've had to be pretty creative with the indoor activities lately. This weekend, Henry entertained himself by making block towers. Big ones. He kept saying, "Look, Mommy! I did that! It is big!"

It takes so little to make Henry happy--or sad for that matter. This time, though, he was thrilled with himself and his building prowess.

I try to remember the little times like these, when I'm happily camped out on the couch, cheering on my super-builder as he attempts daring feats of engineering. He didn't want or need my help, just my occasional snapping of a photo to show him how cool he looks. Oh, and a sympathy hug when the tower fell.

This is just before Nick did a Ninja kick and destroyed the tower. But all was well. They rebuilt the tower again and played nicely. Henry is a good sport, at least some of the time.

As I kissed Henry's fuzzy little head tonight and scratched Nick's back (he loves my fingernails), I thought about how much I love these little guys, even when they drive me insane. I noticed that Nick smells more like a little boy now (not gross, he had a bath, just boy-like). Henry still has that fresh baby smell that I love so much. He puts his arms around my neck and I never want to forget how that feels.

Snow Day Saturday!

What can one do with two small children on a snowy Saturday? Plenty, I guess. Here's our take on my day with the boys and how Henry, Nick, and I occupied ourselves during a snowstorm. (Note: this post is actually about last Saturday, when temps were warmer and keeping my kids outside for hours was reasonable. Today we stayed inside.)

I fortified them first with some snowman french toast. This was devoured eagerly by both boys, especially since I added a "snow layer" of whipped cream to dip the french toast pieces.

When you're going out into a snowstorm (intentionally), it makes sense to have a pretty hearty breakfast.

There was a lot of shoveling to do, and I definitely needed some help, though I wasn't sure about the likely success of trying to shovel with two small children.

Nick is getting quite adept with that little shovel!

First of all, I put the boys to work. I wanted to get the sidewalk and driveway clean for Grandma Toni's arrival, so I got out the kiddie shovels and told Nick to get busy. Not too shabby for a preschooler, right?

Henry wasn't quite as much help. He mostly just complained about the cold, took his mittens on and off, and kicked snow around. Henry was happiest when we buried him in snow.

To be fair, Henry did pick up a shovel and give it a try, but his stamina and attention span weren't quite there. Nick was actually helpful, though I had to keep nagging him to keep shoveling and get out of the snow piles. He liked being buried, too.

They did a nice job, I think, though I probably did at least 60% of the work.

After our shoveling extravaganza, we decided to have a snowball fight. Hey, I had promised, despite the fact that I didn't realize it'd take me an hour and a half to shovel and then by the time I was done shoveling, the front of the driveway was already covered with snow again.

The only problem is that anytime one of my sons was actually hit with any snowballs, however lightly, screaming and crying ensued. I let them hit me for awhile, since I don't mind a snowball injury.

So I came up with a compromise game: throw snowballs at the side of our house. Much less complicated, and they could leave marks.

They got pretty good at this, though I'll admit I aimed quite a few of those snowballs myself. Thank goodness it was a warmer winter day, so we didn't get too cold.

Oh, and yes, Nick actually did put a snowball in the freezer. I found it the other day and it made me laugh. We also had hot chocolate with whipped cream (we were out of marshmallows). Yum. 

There's nothing like homemade hot chocolate, made on the stove with Ghiardelli dark chocolate and real milk. Yum. 

I might be sick of winter and snow, but last Saturday had some pretty good wintertime memories, too. 

Happy 40th Birthday Greg!

My husband turned the big 4-0 today, so the boys and I went to Costco to buy him a few of his favorite things. We found two nice bottles of wine, and a huge mousse cake. I also made him a card tonight for him to find when he gets home from work. Poor guy had to watch the kids all day and then go to work until very late. To make matters more complicated, the boys were not, ahem, on their best behavior today. He deserves a custom-made card.

The boys helped me pick out the pictures and even the things to say. They made sure I mentioned the art books and the lamb burgers (our dinner last night). My husband is a man of many talents and much love. His patience grows day by day, as tested by his wife and sons.

This is the back of the card, and yes, Henry really was dancing on the cocktail table while I was making this card. This stuff is too funny to make up.

Do you doubt the dancing prowess of Henry? Check this one out. This dance is for Greg, the best daddy ever!

Greg's real present will be a mountain bike, along with helmet and accouterments, that will be a combination gift after the thaw (Birthday, V-Day, etc.). Proving, once more, that Greg looks great for 40, even in biking shorts (I bet. I have never seen such a thing in person, though I'll ensure he gets some as part of his new outfit.) This was Greg's greatest wish for a present, along with some time to ride alone. I can understand that, since my greatest joy lately has been a half-hour of shopping alone. I know Greg's actual birthday wasn't too exciting, but I'm hoping he's a little cheered by the cake and wine I left for him.

Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband and father. Forty looks great on you!  :)

An Art Show Featuring the Magnificent Nicholas

Lately Nick has been learning how to draw from his daddy. He's been picking up some pretty good techniques.

Today's post is basically an art show from a five-year-old.   :)

This is a picture of Daddy. Not too, bad, considering that Greg's hair was pretty grey at the time.

Today Nicholas had to draw a Valentine's Day picture for his teacher to display. Can you recognize anything in the picture?

Do you recognize people, penguins, hearts, and flowers? Nick also wrote his name and the word LOVE.

This snowman is named after Nick's Uncle Andy. Not sure why he has a unibrow and a skateboard. 

Nick had to make a Letter C collage. He did okay with the scissors, I think. 

Daddy showed Nick how to draw buildings. I think he liked it.

We'll end this eclectic art show with one of Nick's favorite subjects: penguins.