Bird Bath

Now this is not what you expect to see visiting the bird bath on your patio. It's our friendly neighborhood hawks. They just love hanging out in our yard and making a lot of noise.

Note: I was at least 10 feet away for my own safety.

Go Mudcats!

About two years ago we had free tickets to the corporate box for a daytime Durham Bulls game. That was Nicholas's first baseball game experience - catered food, all-you-can-eat cookies, box seats, and a visit from Wool E. Bull (scared the bejeezus out of him, by the way).

Now that Nicholas is actually interested in baseball we decided to give it another go the regular baseball fan way. A friend of mine takes his daughter regularly and wanted to have a group outing. Nicholas and Sophia are two weeks apart in age, and are allowed on supervised dates. After work on Friday we packed up the boys and any necessities and drove out to Five County Stadium to see the Carolina Mudcats. We met up with our friends and found our seats. They picked a good section, second level just to the third base side of home plate and behind the net. The sun was going down and a nice breeze was coming in from storms in the west.

Adrian was on food duty and rounded up hot dogs and a soda for us, nachos for Nicholas. Then they had Dippin Dots for dessert. Nicholas was excited about ice cream served in a mini helmet.

Nicholas and Sophia had a good time watching the game, clapping, and yelling "Charge!". Sophia has the routines down pat, she had to teach Nicholas what to do. When he finally clapped at the right time in the song she said, "I love you. You clapped." Meanwhile Travis sat in our laps, looked around, and bounced a little to the music. He was getting a little tired so I put him in the sling and walked around the lower level for an inning.

I didn't plan on the boys making it more than halfway through the game. And with the storms coming in we had an easy out for leaving early. As it started to rain we all went to the souvenir shop. Nicholas got a batting helmet (he's actually been asking for one for months) and a baseball with the team logo.

We made it home before major meltdowns occurred and everyone was happy with the evening out. Nicholas has his souvenirs and I set aside the ticket for his scrapbook. I hope he'll also remember the experience.

President = Super Bubble

On the way home from work, traffic westbound on 540 and both directions on 40 surrounding the airport was blocked off by various law enforcement branches. I have learned from previous experience that this means someone important has arrived at the airport and is heading out. Last time it was VP Dick Cheney going to a private fundraiser downtown. This time it is the President. He is going to a private fundraiser for the Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Nicholas being an inquisitive child wanted to know what was going on. I explained that the President came to the airport and is going to a party. And because the President is so special and important, no one else can be on the road when he is driving. I wasn't sure how else to explain the Presidential motorcade to a three year old. We went on further to discuss the current President's name, the upcoming Presidential election, and the names of the candidates. He seemed educated and satisfied with our discussion.

At school Nicholas earns a sticker if he is well behaved, i.e. a good listener, uses good manners, etc. After five stickers he gets to pick a treasure from the box. He always picks a piece of Super Bubble. He was chewing his treasured piece of Super Bubble on the way home. At a red light he sticks his gum halfway out and says, "Mommy, my gum is special and important."

I have no idea how he tied the two concepts together, the President and his gum. Is it that nothing else can be in your mouth when you chew gum? Is it that you regularly get to pick a new piece of gum? We know you can't throw out your President when you get tired of it or when it loses its original flavor.

I Did It!

The weather outside is perfect, the sun is perfect. I finally motivated myself to go out for that run I've been planning to do for the last 6 months. I had found another training regimen to start off light and posted it on the bulletin board about a month or two ago. Walk 5, Run 2 - 3 to 4 times, seems pretty doable. I changed up and went out the door. I got to the first run and actually made it three minutes without checking my watch. I was feeling great and pretty proud of myself. I got through the second run pretty easily, it was downhill. I was enjoying all the green lawns and trees, flowers, and nice smells - fresh cut grass, unidentifiable flowers. Then time for the third run. It was a little tougher and I found myself checking my watch to see if my two minutes were up yet. I wasn't close to home so I had to get the fourth run in. Not only had thirty minutes passed, but I think the temperature had also gone up about ten degrees. I did make it home in one piece. Thank goodness for air conditioning and cold water!
Now I just have to find the motivation to go out and do it again before too long.

Father's Day

Oops...I didn't fill you in. It wasn't a big ordeal around here. Adrian simply requested 2 Egg McMuffins. Well, I think every dad on our side of town made the same request. I have never seen this particular McDonald's parking lot full and the drive thru wrapped around. Insanity, I tell you. But McD's was on their game, obviously prepared for Father's Day. Or they were just prepared for the regular pre and post-church crowds. Either way, food was as fresh as it could be and hot.

The boys made gifts at school. Travis finger painted a wooden frame and had a photo of himself done. (kidding, the teachers take photos regularly to put in their school portfolio) Nicholas stamped his footprint and included a poem in his frame. The poem is as follows:
"Walk a little slower Daddy," said a child so small.
"I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast.
Sometimes they're hard to see.
So walk a little slower, Daddy.
For you are leading me."

I gave Adrian a collage print from Snapfish in a frame and a gift card to Borders. The man loves some books. Mostly nerdy computer ones about different languages.

Adrian went off to his Sunday ritual of lacrosse for a few hours. Then we grilled hamburgers for dinner. After the boys went to bed we watched "Ocean's 13". By the way, I loved it just as I loved "Ocean's 11" and "Ocean's 12". It could be Brad and George that do it for most people, really the whole cast does it for me.

I think an excellent father had just the day he wanted - nothing over the top, nothing too cheesy, just time at home with family to appreciate the real gifts of being a Daddy.

Big Family Saturday

Saturday started off with the kids packed up and a diaper bag stuffed with all the necessities. First stop was Panera in Cary to eat breakfast with another family. Adrian coached all 3 of their sons over the years. Now the youngest son is graduating from high school. The theme of breakfast was a hand-off of legendary lacrosse from one family of boys to another. This included a helmet decorated with all the teams Adrian has coached, and all the teams their boys played on. It was a very nice touch. The added bonus, I got to see how much food grown boys can eat, and I think their parents enjoyed seeing our young boys.
Next on our road trip was W-S. We arrived in town while my mom was still working out at the Y, so we made a side trip to Ken's Bike Shop to pass time. Adrian went in to "look around". I ended up having to take the boys to my mom's house before she returned. An urgent bathroom break and diaper change were needed. This left Adrian completely unattended and you know what that means. He picked out a pre-owned cross over bike (it can go on and off road). Travis and I went back to get him and left Nicholas with my mom. After the new bike was on the rack, which he also bought, Adrian leaned over to pick something up and "rrriiippp!!". The fabric in his shorts completely gave way. Not a small tear and not along a seam. Seeing as we didn't pack a change of clothes for him, an emergency shopping trip had to be done. Using my vague memories of that side of town, we found Burlington Coat Factory. I ran in, found an affordable pair of cargo shorts in his size that included a belt, and checked out. Back to my mom's house...
We hung out for a while, admired the remodeled kitchen, and went to my sister Lorre's house. She was hosting the semi-annual family gathering. A small thunderstorm delayed the grills so we ate a little later. It was still a lot of fun to see everyone and how much they have grown since Thanksgiving 2007. Nicholas ran around and played with some of the younger cousins. Travis was a typical baby, didn't want to nap, wanted to be held by his parents, and had some floor time with a few toys. Adrian and I socialized with grown ups. Nicholas and Travis got to see 11 out of 13 cousins and I got to see 6 out of 8 siblings. Not a bad tally, I'd say.
We made our way back home. The boys easily transitioned from car sleep to bed sleep (easily means in comparison to previous attempts).

Newborn Babies - Yummy

My good friend since high school and maid of honor Jennifer had her baby. Kyle David is so adorable, I want to eat him up! She was so adamant about any day except Friday the 13th. Kyle must have thought otherwise and arrived just after midnight that day. Already going against his mother's wishes...she's doomed! Just kidding, I'm sure he's an angel despite being born to Tar Heel/Red Sox parents. We are all very excited for them and can't wait to see more pictures.

Two-Thirds of a Year

Time is flying by! Travis is now 8 months old. Within the last couple weeks his personality has started to really come out. Thank goodness it's a good personality. We are having a lot more fun with him. He laughs a lot more and has become more active. This includes attempts at mobility. I expect in the next few weeks we will be chasing down a crawler. For now he rolls and wiggles to get where he wants. He got 2 bottom teeth a month ago. Now 2 top teeth are working their way in and causing some minor discomfort. The photo is him enjoying a wheat teething biscuit. It turns into a slobbery mess in the end but he just loves gumming the cracker.

A Creative Spark

As expected, I was inspired by Anilia and her link to SouleMama. There were photos of freezer paper stencil shirts which led me to an album on Flickr. It was as if the creative floodgates opened. I don't think I got carried away... but it's too soon to say for sure. You can judge for yourself. I ended up making shirts for my own kids, some other people's kids with approaching birthdays (I can't name names - no spoilers here!), and even one for a grown up. Check them out!

The Newest Heroes

I found these guys through the Grammar Guide (a blog-style commentary) on my local newspaper's website. They take a "road trip around the country to stamp out as many typos as [they] can find, in public signage and other venues where innocent eyes may be befouled by vile stains on the delicate fabric of our language." The blog entries and photos are hysterical. Almost funnier are the comments from readers commending their efforts. A lot of the comments contain typos - some intentional and some not. And even better are the comment writers who think they are correcting the handiwork, and they aren't. I hope you enjoy it. I sure did! It definitely helped kill some downtime at work today.

Note to Self

From now on remember that a 3 year old uses markers for not only coloring on paper, but also coloring on themselves. Nicholas was done writing his grocery list and decided he needed some body art. His excuse was that he wanted to be the Green Goblin.
I am in for a very long road...

Hello June

It was a pretty hum drum weekend around here. Saturday, we went window shopping and to lunch at SouthPoint Mall in Durham. We advised the waitress to correct spelling (Hawaiin to Hawaiian) on the Specials board at Rockfish Grill. In the afternoon we had plans to walk around a local lake. Once all naps were taken, a tornado watch was issued. Ugh - we opted to be lazy instead and ate pizza and ice cream.
Sunday started with my chocolate chip pancakes and home brewed coffee. Yum! I got a chance to be an average adult female this weekend - I went with my friend Jess to see "Sex and The City". I won't give any spoilers. It was a good follow up to the show's finale and a few parts made me cry.
Nicholas and Travis had a really hard time going to bed for Adrian. It's a really good feeling to know I am an integral part to them relaxing and settling in for bed. But I'm sure it's not comforting to Adrian. They'll all get there, eventually. For now "Mom Rules". :)