After a lengthy time in Sanibel, we're back home in Atlanta. Well, Marietta, specifically. The drive between the two points clocks in at about 10 hours according to Google. Back when the kids required multiple bottle feedings and diaper changing the trip lengthened to 12-13 hours, which borders on absurd - it pushed beyond the boundary which I feel comfortable driving in one day, but it's just short of the threshold for requiring an overnight stay, thus, I am forced to complete the drive in one whack.
This trip, however, seemed to fly by... the kids are (mostly) potty-trained, and must have bladders of steel as they don't require using the facilities more than once in 2-3 hours. We left yesterday morning at about 9 am and arrived in Marietta right at 7 pm - that includes stops for breakfast, lunch, gas, snacks and bathrooms. I think we made four stops total, each no more than 30 minutes and some less so.
In any event, the trip was very smooth -- great weather for driving and the kids were well-behaved. We opted not to depart at o'dark thirty, because...well, because I didn't feel like getting up early. We stayed up late to watch Survivor and I couldn't bring myself to rise at 5 or 6 in the morning after going to bed at 12:45am. So we had a nice morning breakfast (kids only) and got to bid grandma goodbye until January, when we plan to come down for great-grandmother's 90th birthday.
Oh, lest I forget. Friday night, we sat down to play the nightly games of Rummikub, and we were interrupted by a knock on the sliding glass door (the kids were sleeping on the lanai). Maya informed us that "somebody pooped". I should warn you that the rest of this paragraph is a bit pooptacular, to skip it if you can't stand schiße talk. I walked out to the lanai, and Devin was peering from under his covers, and I smelled the familiar stench. I assumed he had taken himself to task in his pull-ups. I was a bit mistaken. After consulting with Maya, who generally tells the truth in such matters, they were playing a game, in which they dared each other to poop "on the lifeguard stand", which was what they called the stoop on which the sliding glass door rests (I don't know why, that's just what they called it). Devin took up Maya's dare and dropped poop on the stoop, and then pulled up his pull-up cacare interruptus and was besmeared all up his back. Haz-mat teams were dispatched, children showered, stoop cleaned, punishments administered, and then we were able to resume Rummikub, but the night would not be the same.
Maya and Uncle Chris play a little pat-a-cake while waiting for lunch at The Island Cow.
As you might have read in my Tweet Stream from Saturday, we got a welcome respite from parenting duties for a good portion of the day. You can read all about it, as well as view some pictures here.
Yesterday we celebrated three birthdays: the twinkles (7/28), and my dad (8/1). It was a very special occasion, and I was happy that we got to do all three at the same time. I think my dad was especially happy that we got a bouncy castle for him. We started the day when the kids got up at the now-normal time of 7am. About this, I am not happy, since I was accustomed to the more reasonable 8am. I suppose I am now aging like my father and will eventually be rising at 4am to start my day. I'll probably have to start taking Metamucil and One A Day Senior at that time too. Anyway, I digress.
My folks arrived about 10am after a minor problem with the Post Oak Tritt detour signage (which, by the way, should be gone in a day or two as the roads are now paved and completed) and after the requisite screaming hellos and violent hugs, I took my parents and my offspring down to the Johnson Ferry access point to the Chattahoochee National Park. Stephanie stayed home to clean the house and get the party set up.
We had a nice walk for about 3 miles, and stopped to allow the ducks to gorge on hot dog buns while we lost a few pounds in the 88F heat and 50% humidity. The walk was good, and there was a decent breeze, so it wasn't too unbearable. We discovered that Maya will probably be some sort of cross-country or track & field athlete, as she decided to follow suit among the other joggers and ran for probably a mile total without stopping. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
After the soggy jogging, I packed the family into the van and we headed back to Firehouse for some subs and a quick pit stop at Publix to grab a 1/4 sheet cake. I got the kids back for naps by 2:30pm which was a bit late, but they were pretty tired (especially Maya). Devin, on the other hand, was excited about the impending party, and chose not to nap at all. Karyn had made her appearance and was helping Steph fill water balloons and get the house set up for the party.
Folks started arriving about 4:30pm-ish, and by 5pm things were underway: slip 'n slide, kiddie pool, water balloons, bouncy castle, sidewalk chalk, swings, bubbles and party favors! I immediately hit the grill after the kids consumed an entire bag of cheesy poofs. Silly me, I thought they'd be content with just the one bag... little did I know the appetite of the 3-year-old-to-7-year-old-set. I'm sure some adults had a few too -- you know who you are! I whipped up a batch of hot dogs (Hebrew National, natch) and my own special brand of chicken drumsticks, and contrary to my usual m.o., I allowed Mom to help me in the kitchen by basting the meat. I also prepared some homemade burgers and zucchini spears, although I think a very pregnant Kim and I were the only people eating the veg at this party.
The food consumed, we engaged the fanfare and brought out the custom-decorated (meaning, Steph wrote on the cake because the Publix folk were too busy to decorate the cake in time) Publix Cake, complete with Lightnin' McQueen and Ariel candles. Shortly after, the sugar buzz ensued, followed by the inevitable sugar crash, followed by the impending departure of our guests. Clean up was relatively easy with so many hands (thanks, y'all) and the kids went to bed without a fuss.
We wound up the night watching, of all things, the Mecum Auto Auction from Des Moines, in spectacular HD television! I suppose it didn't matter too much, because we were all just waiting until an appropriate time for bed - me especially, not wanting to go too early, and end up rising at the same time as that guy who has to go make donuts. Strangely, it all seemed to go by so fast, as good times usually do. But I'm not lamenting the fact that we can wait another year until we do it again.
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| 3rd Birthday |
Karyn and Stephanie had a great plan, after I took off for NYC, to take the kids down to the pool. Mother Nature had other ideas and started a thunderstorm as the family got packed into the car. They decided to go on down, as we had good success last time it rained - after the rain cleared we had the pool to ourselves! This time, Stephanie, Karyn and the kids had the pool to themselves and decided to experiment on the diving board. Justin, our lifeguard, took some video on his cell phone!
As far as we know, she did not learn this in her gymnastics class. I have seen her class doing "back flips" by rolling on a cushion (i.e. not real back flips). We think she picked this up watching one of the advanced classes for older kids.
Devin and Maya were baptised by Mother Elisa Harres yesterday at The Episcopal Church of St Peter & St Paul. We'll have a photo album up this evening, but thought you might enjoy this shot. Note: we explained what was going to happen during the ceremony and Maya coined the term "bathtism" upon hearing such.
Maya is uncharacteristically stoic, while Devin is gleefully giddy as the water is poured on his head. Good times!
This was Maya's first gymnastics class. She (and we) were all very excited about this, however Maya joined an established class nearing its end, with her official class beginning in two weeks. Well, not being used to the routine (pun intended), Maya found herself very tempted by all the fun, bouncy equipment she was surrounded by. This clip shows Maya after walking the balance beam, when she is then supposed to practice back handsprings on the foam octagon, but she clearly has other priorities. Andy was watching from the observation booth and there were some other people in there talking about who knows what, so just ignore the talking (it is not a narrative)...
The snow started falling around 11:30am on Sunday while we were in church. By the time we got out to the parking lot, after bagels and coffee, the snow was really coming down in big, wet clumps not unlike wads of cotton candy or cellulose insulation. The drive home was interesting as the roads were wet, but not cold so the snow melted quickly and did not accumulate. The twinkles were quite interested in the snow as one would expect, so when we pulled into the driveway we had to stop and catch some wads of snow on our tongues. After we got inside, we talked about it.
We started off the morning by enjoying omelets and blueberry muffins for breakfast, and then continued by running around in the living room. We made a midmorning snack of stove-popped corn. After that, we relaxed a bit, played Dimpa, watched about 20 minutes of WALL-E, and then decided to fingerpaint! Click the picture below to check out the morning's activities!
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| February 2009 |
