{bed question}

Quick question (I already posted this on Facebook, but I thought I'd ask it here for those of you who aren't on FB)....

Should a kid's bed have a boxspring? We're shopping for "big girl" furniture for Morgan and a lot of the beds I come across don't accomodate a boxspring -- they basically have some sort of board for support under the mattress. Should that be a deal-breaker?

{vacation}

Our trek across the world is nearly over. OK, it's only across a couple states, but it sure feels like we've driving to Japan and back. Is that possible?

We had a lot of fun at Nani and Poppy's and I'm sure they're going to need time to recuperate now that we've left. Actually, the kids did pretty well while we were there. There wasn't a whole lot of DON'T TOUCH THAT, IT'S BREAKABLE or STOP RUNNING IN NANI'S HOUSE or DON'T USE CRAYONS IN THE LIVING ROOM! They kept themselves pretty busy. Uncle Randy and Aunt Jo-ann came for dinner one night, too. Gerard and Morgan were both pretty tired by that time and unfortunately there was more than the usual SIT DOWN WHILE YOU EAT and DON'T MAKE THOSE NOISES and EAT OVER THE TABLE! Overall it was a very nice visit, and well worth the trip. I'm just sorry I didn't take any pictures with Nani.












We left Nani and Poppy's on Wednesday morning and had a chance to meet up with Lynn and Mary K. Lynn had the brilliant idea to meet at a McDonald's Playland. Not my favorite cuisine, but the kids sure appreciated it and had so much fun. It also gave us a LOT more time to sit and chit chat. The kids were so happy to be out of the car and running around, we probably could have stayed for hours. Wait. We DID stay for hours. We could have stayed for MORE hours then. I brought my camera in, but was totally preoccupied with all the gossiping and catching-up, that I totally forgot to take any pictures. Bummer.

Both Lynn and Mary K gave the kids presents that were PERFECT for the car. Gerard spent some time "writing his book" in the notebook from Lynn and Morgan loved the Dora dress-up book from Mary K. My favorite kinds of gifts -- ones that keep them busy and quiet! (Oh, the Teddy Grahams helped a bit too!) THANKS!!



Since we were already there, we decided to take a slight detour and drive past our old house. Yup, still there. It needs a good lawn-mowing and the landscaping needs some work, but it's still there. We even stopped across the street to say hi to Mrs. S but she wasn't there. She would have loved to have seen Gerard and meet Morgan. Oh well. Next time. I left her a note...




From there we drove to Granpa G and Mima's house where we also got to see Aunt Elizabeth and eat some pizza. Gerard was sad that their cat died... he was really looking forward to a good chase. He got over that quickly, as Mima and Granpa G had some cool toys for him to play with. Of course, I think Mima ended up putting the race car together after Gerard had given up. Something about a zillion unmarked pieces must've intimidated him.

Thursday was one of our busier days. We first went to see Patti and Dick. Of course Gerard was excited to see the fish, play their piano and play with the magnetic thing in the family room. (What would you call that, Patti?) They had presents for the kids, too. Nothing like a good tiara for our little princess and some Bendaroos for both of them. THANKS!! Gerard promptly made stuff out of the Bendaroos, like a fire for roasting marshmallows. Very cute. Patti took these pictures (Patti, I got them from my mom, thanks!)




It was nice seeing them, and luckily I remembered to take some pictures. I figured Arleen would kill me if I didn't take any.



We left Patti and Dick's and went to Wegmans. HALLELUIAH. HALLELUIAH. Can't you just hear the bells from heaven? We picked up the necessities, like a half dozen bottles of Salamida's State Fair Spiedie Sauce. The cashier thought Gerard was a bit nuts, but who cares!

Then we went to Stephanie and Craig's house for some good food, good friends and good swimming. As expected the kids played wonderfully, even though it's been YEARS since they've seen each other. In fact, Natalie was ONE when we saw her last, and Morgan wasn't even born yet!

Morgan and Natalie enjoyed the sandbox. Or should I say mudpit. Natalie dug her way to China and Morgan was kind enough to jump into the hole. I think the pictures will speak for themselves. And Morgan's bathing suit that I worked so hard to get clean (thanks for the OxyClean, Jayna!) is now a filthy mess again. Ahh, to be a kid again.







Ethan and Gerard fell right into a routine like it was old times. They swam in the pool and Gerard even jumped off the diving board and then they spent a lot of time in the hot tub, chit-chatting like old men.





From Stephanie's we all headed over to Laura's for dinner. It was a bit chaotic with 6 adults and 7 kids under the age of 7, but we had fun nonetheless. It was nice to see Laura, Derek, Christian and Noah, but it was especially nice to meet baby Grace finally. I can't believe this is the only picture I took!



Today we hung out with Mima, Granpa G and Aunt Elizabeth. The weather didn't look promising at first so we stayed at their house for a while, but once the sun came out we went to Godfrey's pond for some lunch and fishing. BOTH kids caught fish and had a blast, and I took lots of pictures, but I'm too tired to post them all now. I'll do it soon, I promise! Goodnight for now!

{i need friends}

Stalkers. Lurkers. Peeping toms. Show yourselves! Leave a comment on my blog. Please!? Pretty please? It makes me feel special.

I know you are out there. I know that the 12,000+ blog views aren't all from my mother. OK, maybe half of them are. And another quarter I can attribute to Debbie, Robyn, Patti and Arleen. That leaves lots of readers unaccounted for!

Come out, come out wherever you are!

{on the road}

Day 4 into our trip. LOTS of driving, of course. The kids have both been surprising well-behaved in the car. On Friday we were in the car for about 8 1/2 hours, including a dinner break and a few bathroom breaks.

Saturday was more of the same. We got a late start because big Gerard had to visit Steelers heaven, aka The Steelers Outlet Store. He has been DYING to go to there since he found out about its existence. Several hours and several dollars later, we hit the road. We lost another hour when we hit this:

It went on for about 4 miles.

I’d rather be stuck behind this accident than IN it. We saw the car getting carted away -- it hit and slid under an 18-wheeler and a girl was pinned in it for 90 minutes. Not a pretty sight.

Once again, both kids were great in the car.

Once we got to Nani and Poppy’s house, it was late and past their bedtime. Gerard kindly read to Morgan before they hit the hay.

The next day we jumped in the car again and drove to Aldine and Jeff’s. Gerard asked if we were going to drop him off for his playdate with Eliya and Noah. He was shocked when I told him that it was actually MY PLAYDATE because I was friends with Aldine before he was friends with Eliya. The look on his face said “WHAT? MOMMY HAD A LIFE BEFORE ME???”

The weather was pretty crummy when we first got there, but as soon as the sun broke free we headed to the pool. Morgan had fun in the little wading pool and Gerard had fun watching Eliya jump off the diving board into the deep end. He was so impressed!

They were probably most excited to get ice cream after swimming. Nothing like Spiderman and Dora on a stick to brighten a day!

Eliya had fun dressing Morgan up. Morgan had more fun GETTING dressed up.

We had a very nice time visiting them. Thanks for lunch and dinner, guys! Of course I waited until the last possible moment to try to get a picture of all the kids. Not too smart waiting until they were all too tired to keep their eyes open. Nothing like asking 4 tired and cranky kids to pose nicely on the couch and SMILE!

{vacation}

Start spreading the news. We're leaving today. We want to be a part of it, New York, New York!

We'll be out of town for 10 days to see Nani and Poppy, Mima, Granpa G and Aunt Elizabeth, and a few friends if we can squeeze it all in. (Patti, if you're around Thursday the 30th we'll PROBABLY be in Buffalo that day and we would love to stop by to say hello!)

My postings may be limited -- I'll have my laptop but I don't know if I'll have internet access everywhere. I'll at least post lots of pictures when we get back!

{the answers}

Gerard was truly upset about not going to the park and having to cancel his playdate today. He was initially very sad about not getting a popsicle. But he was MOST upset that I made him clean his room. His WHOLE room. And that does NOT mean pushing everything under his bed. Or in his closet. Or hiding it behind his pillow. And YES, I will check under his bed, in his closet, and behind his pillow. I am SO mean!

And while Morgan was amused that someone got to stick a large Q-tip down Gerard's throat, was interested in the feet passing by the window in the door, and enjoyed coloring on the exam table and eating MOST of her ice cream, she is ALWAYS most excited about her pretty princess shoes. She is such a girly girl!

{poor dude}

Gerard was still sick today. His fever was down to around 100 this morning but he complained of a sore throat. His glands were a bit swollen and his tonsils were red and swollen, so I took him to the doctor.

The rapid strep test came back negative, but we'll have to wait a day or so to find out about the throat culture.

Time for a pop quiz. Gerard was most upset today about:

(a) having to get his throat swabbed

(b) the doctor's office being out of popsicles

(c) having to cancel our park playdate today when Luke was supposed to come into town

(d) having to cancel his playdate tomorrow

(e) having to clean his room


Morgan was most excited today about:

(a) watching someone stick something down Gerard's throat

(b) watching people through the window in the door at the doctor's office

(c) coloring on the exam table paper at the doctor's office

(d) her pretty shoes

(e) getting ice cream since the doctor's office was out of popsicles


I'll leave you to ponder....