Up, Up, and Away!

This is how awesome I look at 5 AM.  G took one look at this pic and said, "Wow.  Sure looks like Sambo is enjoying himself."

There are very few things that would get me up and out of the sheets at dawn.  Especially on a Saturday.  However, for Christmas I had promised Sambo I'd take him to the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.  I had gone close to 17 years ago when I was in high school and had enjoyed it, so I knew it was something he'd really like.  Saturday the big day came, so him and I were up and out of the house by 5:15.  That's 5:15 AM.

We arrived just in time for the launch.  We watched them blow propane into all the balloons, then we watched as one by one they lifted off into the sky.  It was really exciting!

The balloons were all in the sky by 6:45, so next we went to breakfast.  We were done with that by 7:30 and we knew G and Buddy would be asleep at home still, so we made a stop at the park.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect an early morning park visit could be so fun. 

 

We played for awhile, then went to the dollar store.  Sambo kept talking about his brother the entire time we were on our date, so we decided to buy a couple balloons to bring home to Buddy.  Then we stopped off at a few garage sales in our neighborhood and arrived home at 9:00 just in time to start our day!

Sambo is such a great kid.  Seriously, he is an absolute delight to be with.  My heart nearly bursts with joy every day when I think of how lucky I am to be his mom.  He is learning and growing into such a big boy lately.  He still really struggles with his speech, but he tries so hard and is always willing to practice his little exercises.  He's very independent and wants to be like his older brother all the time.  Every little brother does, but Sambo has an exceptional love for his brother and mimics every single thing Buddy does. Sambo also has quite a sense of humor and is constantly trying to make us laugh and do crazy stuff to get our attention. 

Ah, I just love him!

Baby Camo

I just had to post this picture because (1) It's really cute.  (2) My little nephew Camo doesn't get enough time on this blog and he should because he's such a good little baby.  (3)  My boys love babies.  If a baby, particularly this baby, comes around they both stop what they are doing and go crazy over the baby. Sambo always wants to hold Camo and when he gets the chance he always has such a look of pride and joy on his face.  Poor Camo will probably always be mauled by my boys.  Luckily he's easy going.

Yet Another Milestone Reached by Buddy

This kid has been growing intellectually by leaps and bounds lately and it's really funny.  He's been pumping out one-liners like nobody's business.  Last night he realized that we're winging this parenting thing... and we're full of *^%# most of the time.

We were having dinner and I was trying out a new parenting technique* I learned the night before from a class I attended.  It was highly effective, by the way.  As I was following through with my new strategy, I could literally see a lightbulb go off in is head and he said, "Where are you getting this stuff?  Who taught you this?  Because I don't like it!"

A simple question.  But so loaded.  So yep-he caught on that we have no clue how to be parents.  I'm pretty sure I was about 23 when I realized that about my parents.



*The strategy is, reward good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior.  Novel idea, right!

We've been trying to get him to sit in his chair and eat his dinner with a fork.  He uses his hands, jumps out of his chair, talks incessantly and generally makes a huge mess at every meal.  We've tried EVERYTHING to get him to relax at mealtime.  But we've never rewarded him for using his fork.  So we tried it!  Every time we caught him using his fork he got a point and when he got 10 points, he earned a treat.  So simple. So effective.  The theory by the way, is that if your boss told you that if you did a bad job (made a mess, used your hands, did arm farts at the table) you wouldn't get paid (you'd lose your treat), you wouldn't be motivated in the least to perform well at work.  If you knew there was a chance you'd fail, you wouldn't even try.  But if your boss said he'll pay you for a job well done (eating with a fork), you'll perform well every time.

Go ahead and try it!  And let me know when your child catches on that it wasn't your idea.

How to Throw The Head of the Household Under the Bus

 This morning Buddy was asking me what the red bumps were on his arms.  I told him it's excema, which just means his skin is getting irritated by something.  He asked if it's the same as what daddy has on his arms.  I told him I'm not sure, but daddy has allergies too, so his skin might be getting irritated too.

Then the conversation took a turn I could never have expected:

Buddy:  Me and daddy are the same.  Except we don't look alike.
Me:  No, you aren't the same, but you have some similarities.
Buddy:  Well, we are both obnoxious.

(Then I walked away thinking you said it, not me.  And then I laughed really, really hard.)

Race for the Roses

 You'll never believe it.  I actually ran a race.

I've always hated running.  I do it just to get my cardio in for the week and I do it so I won't be morbidly obese, but I most definitely don't enjoy it and I'm not good in the least.  Plus I have developed this really annoying problem where a few hours after I run I feel sick the rest of the day.  I feel weak and dizzy and get a bad headache and if I run too long, I feel sick to my stomach.  So between not being good at running and feeling sick after, running is most definitely not my cup of tea.  But I value good health and everyone I know says running races is fun, so I thought I'd give a short race a try this weekend.  It was my very first race (besides that one race I did when I was on the cross country team in 7th grade.  The time I realized I most definitely don't enjoy running.)

I signed up for the 5k and Buddy and Sambo signed up for the 2k.  You know what's weird?  I actually kind of enjoyed myself.  I enjoyed the slight competition, even though I wasn't in it to do anything besides just run.  However, obviously you don't enter a race to come in last, so I had to keep up.  Plus the sun was out (for once this spring) and the course was really pretty.  Not to mention, 99.9% of my running is on a treadmill, so it was really nice to actually be able to breath deeply and feel the wind on my face.  What a novel idea!

Besides my extreme equipment malfunction, it was a good experience.  I got to the race 15 minutes early, parked, locked the car, then realized I had left my Ipod at home.  I always keep it in my car, but I had brought the wrong car to the race.  I had a slight panic attack right there wondering what to do.  Risk missing the start of the race, or run without Adam Lambert and Frank Black?

I made the executive decision to go home and get it and I'm not joking, I'm calling my drive home and back a miracle.  First of all, I drove like a maniac and second, somehow I didn't have to stop at any lights.  I made it back and got to the start line with 30 seconds to spare.  I had just enough to time to attach my Ipod to my pants and get in line at the very, very, very back.

 I love this picture.  You can see Buddy in the foreground and me motivating Sambo in the background.

Because I don't know race ettiquette, nor do I know anything about pacing myself since I've never done a race before and I run on a treadmill, I was totally confused about what to do.  I was at the back behind some slow people, so I was unsure how to pass them and get into a comfortable rhythm.  So that was a bit awkward, but I managed.  Just when I got into a good rhythm, I got hot and tried to take my long sleeved shirt off.  Because I hadn't properly situated my Ipod cords before I started the race, they became a tangled mess inside the shirt I had taken off.  I tried to untangle while running, but that didn't work, so I literally had to stop running and stand there on the side of the road to sort that little problem out.  Several people jogging by were laughing and rolling their eyes.  The only consolation was I knew they were obviously beginners too, otherwise they wouldn't have been that far back in the pack.  ...And I passed them all later.  So despite my pesky Ipod tripping me up, it was... dare I say it... fun!

 Buddy finishing!

The very best part of the race, though, was the kids' 2K (5 laps).  Buddy definitely has a knack for running (that's not a surprise to anyone that's every seen how energetic he is).  After he'd finished two laps, I asked him if he wanted me to run with him for a little bit.  He did, but after about 30 seconds I dropped out because I couldn't keep up.  He was cruisin!

 Sambo finishing!

G and I traded off helping Sambo around the track and honestly, I about died -- he was so cute.  He was the littlest person running and he was trying so hard to keep up with the bigger kids.  All the spectators cheered so hard for him, of course!  We called it a finish at 3 laps as soon as Buddy finished, but I'm confident he could have finished if we were willing to wait -- and hold up the next heat.  He was pretty slow, but determined!

I would have been proud of the boys for doing the race in the first place, but I was so proud of how awesome they both did!  At least all their running around the house has paid off!  So since Saturday I've tried to remember that when they turn the house upside down, they're just trying training for their next race.

Depending on How You Look at It

Last Friday was either a high-light or a low-light of my motherhood.

WARNING:  If you don't like reading about potty training, don't bother reading this.

We've been discussing and working on potty training off and on with Sambo for a couple of months now.  he was about 90% pee trained a couple of months ago, but we weren't really serious and didn't really make it a priority.  (And by "we" I mean "G.")  So, that fizzled.  He never would poop, which wasn't a huge deal because that's how Buddy was potty trained too.

However, I know he's totally capable of getting fully potty trained.  I don't believe in potty training where the parents take control and ask the child 100 times a day if they have to go.  He's not that sort of kid anyway.  Things have to be his idea.  As stubborn as our firstborn is, this little one is a lot worse.  So Friday I got to thinking that if I gave him a good enough reason to poop on the toilet, maybe he'd do it.  I know he can do it!  And really none of this matters so much because I love having him be baby-like but his diapers are FOUL. 

We had just sent Buddy off to school on the bus on Friday.  It's always a bittersweet time of day for Sambo because he LOVES school buses and looks forward to seeing it drive up everyday.  But it's really sad that Buddy goes off to school without him.  Most days Sambo gets his backpack and fills it with a snack just like Buddy.  And every day he tries to convey -- in his very broken English -- that he wants to ride the bus with his backpack and snack too.

That's when I got the idea.  I told him that only big boys ride the bus.  And if he wants to be a big boy and ride the bus he has to go poop on the toilet.  Well, wouldn't you now, he took off his backpack, took off his pants and dropped a small load right then and there in the toilet.  We had to run some errands and after the errands came a nap.  After his nap I told him that I was going to take him on a bus ride, but first he had to get the rest of his poop out.  So he sat down and went.  Got it all out.

There were cheers and there was jubilation!  We ate candy and partied like it as 1999.  But then it hit me that now I needed to pay up and take him on a bus ride.  So I looked up the public bus system online and figured out a plan.  When G came home from work we determined that he would drop us off at a transit center just outside of Portland.  I'd ride the bus downtown with the kids, get off and transfer to another bus, then we'd ride across the bridge to OMSI, the science museum for a movie (we had free passes that were expiring later that weekend.)  G would meet us there with the car.  It sounded like an adventure I was marginally willing to take on, but within minutes we were in the car.

Luckily I had just come off my vacation in NYC where we rode subways several times a day because taking my small boys by myself in the pouring rain on an outing on public transportation at night wouldn't be my usual choice of fun.  But to say Sambo had a wonderful time would be a gross understatement.  A very obese woman thought it would be fun to ruffle his hair right when we walked on the bus.  She kept calling him "fat head" and even told us how to say fat head in Spanish.  I literally had to say, "OK.  I think that's enough" to get her to stop rubbing his head.  And then the bus driver went on a 5-minute tirade to herself about how bicyclists never obey the rules of the road then they wonder why people hit them with their cars.  And then I realized I had bought the wrong zone pass.  And then we got off on the wrong stop and had to call G to come pick us up so we wouldn't have to walk a mile in the rain.  Otherwise, it was enjoyable.  Sambo kept shouting "WOW!"  and "BUS!" about 3000 times and of course this was Buddy's first crack at public transportation so he had about 4000 questions.  So based on their enthusiasm, I guess I'd  call the outing a huge success.

Except Sambo hasn't pooped on the potty since.

NYC Day 4 + the Trip Home

We woke up our last day determined to get everything else on our NYC itinerary done.  We started off the day shopping near NYU.  We spent a couple hours walking up and down the street, enjoying our last shopping hurrah.  We didn't really buy much the entire time we were in New York, but we both love to shop and we enjoyed browsing, especially without kids.  We never get to shop together without kids and it was a very enjoyable treat!

Eventually we walked over to Union Square, then back down to Stand Burger, another highly recommended food joint.  We both are big fans of hamburgers, but this absolutely was the best burger either of us had ever had.  It was fabulous.  I've always thought a burger is a burger.  Some are better than others.  But nope.  There are good burgers, and then there are Stand Burgers.  The waitress also recommended G get a shake.  She said they are famous for their marshmallow shakes, which didn't seem all that appealing to either of us.  But G decided to go off her word.  And WOW!  Is all I have to say.  We were annoyed we didn't get the big size.

 The infamous marshmallow shake.

After lunch we walked over to Washington Square because G loves the movie August Rush.  We watched some street performers for a little while.  That's one thing that surprised us is how few street performers we saw and how few homeless we saw.  We visited all sorts of neighborhoods and never saw anyone panhandling.  Can someone from the East pipe up and explain that?  Because in the West (Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and even Honolulu) there are LOTS of panhandlers and street performers.  Is it because the weather is more mild here on the west coast?

 The arch in Washington Square. 

Anyway, we then took a subway to Canal street.  We picked up a few shirts for the boys, but otherwise we only wandered around for an hour.  It was too crowded and I hate haggling.  Not to mention, everything was overpriced junk and I wasn't in the mood to go into some dark alley with a thug to look at "Rolex, Louis Vatton, Coach" (said in deep whisper).  I wanted to, but I get anxiety around people who don't make eye contact. 

So we took a subway back up to Midtown and walked through FAO Schwartz.  Unfortunatley, we just got a quick look at the famous piano because a private birthday party was starting and they were using the piano and they asked everyone else to vacate the area.  Talk about lucky kids getting a party there!

 We knew Buddy would be impressed by this Lego Chewbacca in FAO Schwartz.

After that we went and hung out on a park bench in Central Park for about thirty minutes watching people/trying to get a good picture of ourselves.  It was fascinating people watching!  We couldn't believe how many people pay a lot of money to get their faces drawn or even their caricatures done.  So crazy!  We were dog-tired by then. It was only about 6:30, but we had been walking the entire vacation and our feet litarally were so sore by that day we were taking advil to ease the pain.  For a split second we considered heading back to the hotel to rest, but it was our last day and we are party animals, so we gird up our loins and started walking.  We walked all through the park, stopping to take lot of pictures, stopping to check out the front of the Met, and stopping to rest our feet every 30 minutes or so.

G and M in Central Park.  What a beautiful place!

We spent about 20 minutes trying to get a "good" shot of the two of us.  We got some hilarious ones in the meantime, but this one turned out fairly good.  Considering the subjects.

We spent a few hours wandering around the park and emerged well after dark.  We walked over to see the Mahattan LDS Temple, which was gorgeous.  It was really impressive to see such a holy building and Angel Moroni right in the middle of all the skyscrapers.

The Manhattan Temple after dark.  Gorgeous!

We needed one last slice of cheesecake and more pizza, so we made another quick pit stop at the Carnegie Deli for cheesecake and pickles, then took the subway back and had our last NY slice of pizza at the pizza shop by the hotel. 

On the way to our room we went to the top floor of the hotel to look around.  Fortunately, we got a really interesting view of the World Trade Center site.  Seeing it from above put into perspective how big the area is and how much work is yet to be done to rebuild.  We got back to our room relatively early -- around 11:00 PM.  We made some phone calls, read through the 9/11 book we bought, made a plan to ride the subway to the airport, packed our stuff and hit the sack at 1:45 AM.

The view from our hotel room.  We enjoyed watching the boats out in the Hudson River.

Two short hours later we were out of the sack.  We came to our senses and realized that taking a subway and transfering subway lines with luggage in the dark at that hour was probably unsafe.  By 4:00 AM we were in a cab on the way to JFK.

Neither of us are morning people and there is NOTHING worse than going home from vacation at that hour.  Talk about a real downer of a day.

We got to JFK and G tried to swipe our credit card to pay for the cab fare.  The driver got out of the car and said the meter and credit card machine were broken.  We were unsure what to do, so we pulled a wad of cash out and paid him that way.  After we walked away, it quickly dawned on us that he had pulled a fast one and would most definitely be pocketing that cash.  Yeah right both the meter and credit card machine were broken.

We had stuffed all our luggage into two carry-ons each so we wouldn't have to pay to check our bags.  One of our bags was a bit overfull, so an airline employee hassled us until we removed a pair of shoes.  As soon as we were out of his sight, we put the shoes back in the bag, by the way.  Give me a break!  I'm not going to be bullied by some De.lta employee!  So then while we were in line at security, the TSA screeners let two ladies through with boarding passes from the previous day.  A few people she was traveling with FREAKED when they didn't get to go through with their old boarding passes.  The screener was maybe 19 years old and a total idiot.  Seriously, I could not believe incompetent she was.  It's hard to believe she's the first line of defense at one of the most vulnerable airports in the world.  Yikes.  Makes you feel real safe flying.  So we got through security and then continued to get hassled by two other airline employees who were really worried about me carrying one of G's bags.  You can only have two carry-ons and I was holding three (he had the biggest one) and that was just too much for them to handle, apparently.

When we got on the plane, we stowed our luggage, then had a seat.  A small 20-something girl was trying to lift her bag into the overhead compartment, but was having some trouble, so I nudged G and suggested he get up and help.  He did, and as he gave the suitcase a shove to get it in, it dislodged a rollcart in the bin.  The rollcart came tumbling out and hit another middle-aged lady in the face.  That lady freaked out when she realized she was bleeding.  She started to cry, threw a little fit, sat down in someone else's seat -- all so she could get more attention, I'm assuming.  Everyone around her felt bad -- especially G and the younger girl, but honestly, her reaction was a little excessive.  The flight attendant rushed to get her ice, meanwhile the injured lady kept asking everyone if she was going to need stitches.  She was cut and probably bruised, no doubt, but her paper towel had a few drops of blood.  Hardly any reason to rush out and get stitches. 

Apparently we aren't the only cranky folks at that hour because pretty much every single employee and flight attendant and passenger was in a foul mood all the way until our layover in SLC.  Then everyone's moods started to improve.  Luckily!

Although our vacation was amazingly fun, we were so happy to be home to see our boys!   We would like to personally thank everyone for taking care of our boys so we could have an amazing vacation.  Friends and family are the best.