Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We drove up to Connecticut for dinner and even despite hitting some serious traffic, the ride was uneventful. The boys had a great Thanksgiving. Colin had a wonderful time playing with his cousins and Owen fell in love with a toy kitchen.

I managed to snap a few pictures before we left on our journey. I do have some pictures from Connecticut, but none turned out well. Unfortunately they are like moving targets and it's hard to get a decent picture.

The boys!





See Colin's foot on the gate. He kept using his foot to close the gate, making it almost impossible to take a picture.



Why yes, he does have product in his hair.



Happy Thanksgiving!

All Dressed Up....

This is a story of how the best laid plans sometimes go awry. Tonight we were supposed to go to a Gingerbread House Decorating Party and dinner. We've been planning on it for weeks. We had our reservations, paid for the gingerbread house and decorations, the boys had new cute outfits and we had talked up the event with Colin.

On Thursday night Colin started coughing. Lately it seems that when Colin gets a cough, it gets worse quickly and I start watching him very carefully. We went to the pediatrician on Friday and came home with an inhaler and some Albuterol to help with his breathing.

So today Colin's cough was still there, but not terrible. We gave the boys later naps so they could stay up for the party. Chris fed the boys a quick dinner and I went about the task of getting ready. I actually blew dry my hair, straightened it, put on make-up and was wearing a new outfit. When I got downstairs Chris had the bags packed and Owen dressed up in his new little dress shirt, pants and sweater vest.

Chris ran upstairs to throw on his clothes and I started to get Colin dressed. Just as I had his shirt off to put on his dress shirt, he started coughing and told me he had to throw up. We ran to the bathroom and he proceeded to BARF and BARF and BARF. This was literally five minutes before we were about to walk out the door.

So Chris and Owen went alone. Colin and I got on pajamas, I hung up my new clothes and Colin's new outfit and we turned on some cartoons. I grabbed a headband to hold back my hair and sat down with Colin. It was at that moment that Colin looked at me and said "Mom, you look so pretty".

Sometimes it's the unexpected moments that mean the most. Our evening wasn't even close to what we expected, but hanging out in pajamas with my boy turned out to be just as special as what we had planned.

Fun With Bubble Wrap

Our bedroom tv was recently on a long sojourn to the repair shop. It was returned today wrapped up in a big roll of bubble wrap. After the tv was set up and as the repairmen were leaving, they handed the bubble wrap to Colin.

I set it up on the living room and let the boys go crazy. It was some serious bubble popping fun. Here is a video. You will notice after Colin continuously praises his popping skills "was I great, OR WHAT?" he gives Owen a chest bump. Colin knows he's not allowed to "push" Owen so this is just him being creative.



I also just had to add that exactly one year ago today I started this blog. Happy anniversary!

Sousaphones

Colin is so curious lately that we are learning new things together. His interests are so specific that I have no basis of knowledge about a lot of them so we figure things out as a team. One of the best examples of the past few weeks is the difference between a Tuba and a Sousaphone.

Colin has a book that Chris reads him most nights before bed called "Bats on Parade". One page has a reference to the bats marching with tubas and calls them sousaphones. So one morning Colin asked me the difference between a sousaphone and a tuba. Naturally, I had absolutely ZERO idea. We sat down with the computer and googled it and looked at the difference. He now proudly says "a sousaphone is a tuba that you wear!" or "A sousaphone is like a daddy tuba". or "A sousaphone is a KIND of tuba, but like a circle". He went to a basketball game with Chris on Friday and came home and the first thing he told me was "Mommy, there were sousaphones there!"

I think I could have easily gone the rest of my life without knowing the definition of a sousaphone. But thanks to Colin, we now get to talk about sousaphones constantly.

And for posterity, I present a Sousaphone:



And a Tuba:



And now you know the difference too.

Movie Party

Yesterday was a dreary rainy day. I picked Colin up at school and the process of getting both boys in and out of the car in the pouring rain left the three of us soaked. So on the way home I decided we would have a "movie party".

We went upstairs, got on sweats, grabbed a bunch of blankets and set up camp on the living room floor. I made some popcorn and gave both boys a little bowl and we enjoyed a couple episodes of Tom and Jerry.

It was a really cool moment because I had an idea and they both went with it. Owen sat with his bowl of popcorn like a little boy. He was VERY careful not to spill any. Colin, of course, ate his too and really liked watching Tom and Jerry. So the "movie party" was a success and a really nice alternative to being out in the rain.

Din-O

Here is a cute video of Owen playing with dinosaurs. He learned how to make the growling noises and how to make them eat eachother from his big brother.

Why I Support Barack Obama

I wrote this for another website, but I thought I should post it here too. If anyone who reads this is undecided, maybe this might sway you. If you support Obama, do not forget to vote tomorrow! Find your polling place at www.voteforchange.com

Why I Support Barack Obama

Dear Colin and Owen,

In just a few days we reach what is in my opinion, the most important election of my entire lifetime. It will be a historic election for our country. I wanted to sit down and tell you two a little bit about this moment in time, while we are living it. Just in case you ever want to know.

Colin, you are 3.5 and Owen, you are 15 months. You are both filled with boundless energy and endless laughter. You are blissfully unaware of anything going on in our country. Colin, you know the Presidential candidates, but your opinions of them are formed more by the colors associated with their parties (you prefer Barack Obama’s democratic blue to John McCain’s Republican red). You also judge them by their faces and think that Obama has “a nice face”. You are a very wise little one.

Your Dad and I have kept you sheltered, as every child your age should be. You know nothing about the two wars we are fighting or about the state of our economy. You don’t know how much we worry about the world we are leaving for you both. But, I think one day, you will look back and this time and realize that it really was scary for a lot of people.

In 2004, your Dad and I watched the Democratic National Convention. A man stood up and gave a speech, one that we both only vaguely knew. We heard that speech and listened in silence. Your Dad turned to me and said he wished someone like him was running for President. At that time we were divided about politics. Your dad voted for George Bush and I voted for John Kerry. We had spirited debates about it and both stubbornly waited two hours to cancel out each others votes. As much as we both cared deeply about that election, neither of us realized how much our choice and the choice of our fellow Americans would effect our world.

So, today, we are just days away from making another choice. Unlike four years ago, your dad and I are united in our choice for President. We both firmly believe that the last eight years have been bad for our country. That as much as we have been lucky in life, not everyone has been. And that knowledge, that our fellow Americans are hurting, and hurting badly, drives me to support Barack Obama. Because we can not afford eight more years of trickle down economics or eight more years of endless war.

There are countless ways I agree with Barack Obama over John McCain. The war, health care plans, the environment, foreign policy, taxes, women’s rights are some. But, I also want you both to grow up in a united country. I do not believe that some parts of our country are better or more patriotic. I do not believe that we are that different. You will grow up, just as patriotic and just as real as children in small towns. I know that. I do not want this type of politics to continue because I do not want you to ever have to feel that people in our own country look down on us for where we live.

I also want you to know an America that is respected and liked in the world. When I was a little girl, I knew that I was in the best country in the entire world. One that worked for the greater good and one that people in other countries respected. Today, that has changed. We are not as liked by the rest of the world. But they are looking at us, in this moment in time, hoping that we can make the right choice. That we can elect a President who believes in diplomacy and believes that wars should be the last option, not the first.

But, I do not vote for people in other countries. I do not vote for people in our country, as much as I care about them. I vote for you two. My two little boys who I want to have a better world. That is why I vote and that is why I care so much. Because you two deserve an America that is as great as it can be. You deserve an America with Barack Obama as President.

I love you,

Mom

Our Mama is For Obama

The boys and I went to an Obama rally yesterday, here are some pictures.

Before we left (with the Obama pumpkin):



They were amazed by all the cheering people and honking horns:



Colin getting a balloon from the clown. He requested a shark, but was satisfied with a "rocket ship", which was just a balloon that the clown threw into the air.



That would be the rocket ship and a cool Obama balloon that Colin loved.:



Colin with his sign, his "Kids for Obama" pin and Obama tshirt.:



And what happens when I get posterboard and some markers. I go overboard.

Happy Halloween

The boys in their Halloween tshirts:



Colin in the parade at his school. He was hilarious. He walked around waving the entire time. When a teacher asked him if he needed some peanuts he answered "no, it's just a pretend elephant".





The blue monster! Or as Colin called him "monster baby!!!" The reason he is walking around with a lollipop (his first) before trick or treating is that it is the only way I could convince him to wear his costume without screaming hysterically.



And of course Colin needed a lollipop too:



Attempting to get a front porch picture:



Trick or Treat!:



Owen loved this sign in our neighbor's yard.



Happy Halloween!