CONGRATULATIONS MIMI!!!

Today is my mom's LAST DAY AT WORK. FOREVER!



After 34+ long years, mom is retiring from her job at the hospital. I would say the name of the hospital, but I'm not sure what it is anymore! It has merged and changed names so many times in the last 34 years that I've lost track.



Tomorrow morning she is hopping on a plane to come spend a week with us, and then going back home to finish packing up. She has sold her condo, and on June 7th, she will leave Vermont to join us here for the next chapter of her life.



We can't wait to have her!!!

Milestone Part II

So this week it was Evan's turn to go to the dentist. I prepped him, showed him Tyler's picture so he would be prepared for the big chair, and we practiced opening his mouth wide.



But there's prepping, and there's the actual experience.



He was not a very happy camper! Did not like the big chair, and DID NOT want to let anyone into his mouth! He clamped shut tighter than an oyster holding onto a pearl. The good news is, this is a pediatric dental practice, so they're used to this kind of thing. The hygenist even told me at the beginning not to worry if they couldn't do the cleaning - that this is a very difficult age for this sort of thing. And alas, there was no cleaning. But he did eventually open wide enough to let the dentist count all his teeth and quickly check them for cavities. She also did a quick and crafty application of flouride!



Here he is, with Dr. Davis, looking none too happy!




He was much happier after he got his balloon!!

Milestone

We had a big milestone this past week - Tyler went to the dentist for the first time!



I was pretty nervous about how he was going to react, but he did very well! It helped that there was a huge Thomas the Tank Engine play table in the waiting room, and a big fish tank in the wall next to where he had his exam. It was one of those colorful tropical tanks, complete with a Nemo, a Marlin, and a Dory, so that was a big bonus!



He survived the teeth cleaning, the flossing, and the exam by the very nice dentist, Dr. Shingler. And he was very happy with the balloon and other treats (Diego toothbrush, SpongeBob toothpaste) he got when we left.



Evan is going for his first appointment this week. I keep mentioning it so as to prepare him. I said to him yesterday "Evan, on Tuesday, you're going to go to the dentist." His reply: "Yeah, I gotta get my balloon!"

Hey - do my boys smell bad? Because they're a little spoiled.....

Well, the weather on Saturday was beautiful, if a bit chilly, so the installation of the boys playset went off as planned!!!





The doorbell rang just before 9:00 a.m. I opened the door, and there stood Tom from Creative Playthings, ready to work. Mitch met him out in the backyard, and I soon followed. We wanted to make sure it was placed in just the right spot, so as not to overwhelm the backyard, and also to allow room to add on to it in the future.







After we settled on a plan, Tom got to work.







He unloaded, unpacked, and strategically placed the parts all over the backyard.

Geez! I thought I had a lot of hardware to deal with when I put Tyler's furniture together!

And this is how the next 3 hours unfolded:

OK, I have this super cute video of Tyler watching at the window. I have uploaded it, but for some reason, I CANNOT get it moved into this spot where I want it. So, in order to watch it, you will have to scroll down to the end of this post, and then come back. Or wait until the end, whatever you prefer. Sorry, sometimes Blogger just won't cooperate!!!!!

And then it was finished!!!!!

And so the fun begins....

Even Maddy is able to get in on the fun!!! We got a special swing just for her that we can switch out later when she's older.

My little monkey!! Tyler LOVES to swing on things!!!

Underneath the tower there is a picnic table. This will come in handy when I won't be able to get the boys back inside for lunch - I'll just bring lunch out to them!!!

Action shot!!

After about an hour, we were actually able to coax the kids inside to take their nap. But when naptime was over, the fun continued.

With the sun setting, and a chilly wind settling in, they were still unstoppable!!!

Mitch even found a couple good places to keep his beer.....

So, it was quite a Saturday!!!

And then, Sunday was here to bring another adventure.

Is everyone familiar with Nick Jr.? Dora the Explorer? The Backyardigans? Wonder Pets? Ni Hao Kai Lan? Well, lucky for us (well, the boys anyway), they have a LIVE TOURING SHOW, and it came to Washington DC this weekend. It's called "Nickelodeon Presents Storytime Live!" (www.nicklivetour.com).

And we got tickets!!! So on Sunday morning, we packed up the van, dropped Maddy off at Fammy and Granddad's house, and headed downtown.

Waiting for the elevator in the parking garage:

Walking around the block to kill time (we were early!):

Standing in front of the marquis:

Finally, they opened the doors. Now it was time to do more waiting, but inside the lobby where it was much warmer!!!

I could NOT get them both to look at the camera at the same time!! :)

And then it was time to go to our seats and wait some more....

I took a picture of the stage, but it didn't come out very well. It also got me scolded by some minimum wage usher....

We had no idea how long the show was going to be. I had packed snacks thinking they would want them on the way home. Luckily I had them because the show had an intermission!! Thanks to some pretzels and goldfish, the boys remained calm, and in their seats the entire 15 minutes!

The show was fun - very entertaining for the kids, and amusing for the adults. It was the first thing of that type that the boys have been to, so it was pretty fun to watch them react! They had a good time, and it tired them out too.....

The ride home was very peaceful! :)

So overall, I would say these boys had a pretty good weekend!!!!

And here is that video:

A Change of Plans...

Here is our empty backyard...





and the dark sky...

and the evidence of rain on our front stoop...

All this to illustrate why we are NOT getting the playset installed today as planned. :( Due to the inclement weather, our installation is being postponed, and thus our surprise "opening ceremony" with the boys this evening will have to be postponed as well.

They have rescheduled us for Saturday, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. So, instead of the boys being surprised by coming home to a playset in the yard, we are instead going to let them watch in awe as it gets assembled before their eyes. That oughta be just as fun!

Wrapping up the Easter Posts

Ok, so I've already covered the day after Easter, now it's time to cover the day before, and the day itself.



Last Saturday, the day before Easter, the boys' school had activities from 10:00 a.m. to noon. There was a moon bounce, egg decorating, an egg hunt, and playground time.



There were a lot of people there, which was fun. The bigger kids blasted the grounds when the egg hunt started and got the majority of the eggs, but our boys didn't even notice. They got their few eggs a piece and were happy.

Here, Tyler is trying to transfer the jelly beans he found inside his eggs into his jacket pocket....

And here he is pointing out to me the eggs he found:

Evan's bucket:

After the egg hunt, all the kids just played on the playground for an hour. The toddlers (Evan's class) are usually confined to a different part of the playground, so Evan had a great time playing in the bigger section with his brother!

Of course, Tyler took his bucket everywhere he went!

Before we left, the boys wanted to hit the moon bounce.... there was a line!

Maddy and I waited patiently on the sidelines....

They finally made it in.

On the way home, we were all hungry, so we decided, since it was Saturday, to treat the boys to McDonald's.

Tyler even took a few bites of his cheeseburger!!! Amazing!!!!

After lunch, it was nap time for everyone - except Daddy. Mitch used the opportunity to go to Lowe's to purchase a wheelbarrow. Luckily, by the time he was ready to assemble it, Tyler had woken up and was ready and willing to assist.

I think he's going to end up being very mechanical.

He does get distracted though.... like when he discovered this toad on our front steps.

He came running into the house "Mommy! Mommy! Frog! Frog!" (he insisted it was a frog, not a toad). Here is a close-up:

Blech!!!

When Evan woke up, he wanted to help too.

He insisted on wearing his rain boots.

Aren't they cute?!?!?

Finally, after all the "help", the wheelbarrow was finally finished!

And then it was time for rides!!!!

Sunday, of course, was Easter. Here are the boys enjoying their Easter baskets (and of course Tyler has no pants on *sigh*).

The baskets were pretty lame. I bought them because they had cars and trucks and M&Ms in them. The cars were extremely cheap though, and fell apart on impact the first time the boys drove them off the table. But they didn't care. However, I have made a vow that I will never buy these pre-fab baskets again. I will buy and assemble all contents from this day on. Mitchell has proclaimed me "best Mom on the planet" and I cannot risk losing that status over sub-par Easter baskets!!!

The rest of the day (which was BEAUTIFUL, much like the several days preceeding and following it), involved outdoor play,

and lunch on the front stoop.

Easter 2010 - that's a wrap!!!!