Jeckyl & Hyde

I had taken a half day off of work yesterday and today. Yesterday, Patri and I had just a girls' day - slowly meandering through the aisles of shoes and racks of clothes. We refueled at a little Thai restaurant in Hyde Park before heading to work. Today was spent with the kids. Owen had decided he was boycotting the car. This made for a very long 20 mile drive to the Children's Museum with crying, screaming, shouting, and fit throwing. Once we arrived, angelic Owen returned fully - holding hands, listening, playing, smiles, the works. This place is awesome and I can't believe I haven't been here before. We spend a short 1 hr 15 min in this place when we could spend 3 hrs. The museum is actual an old train terminal that was transformed to a museum so it is quite majestic as you enter the building. After closing down the museum and an ice cream treat later, it was back to the car and off to dinner. About 2 car lengths away from the car, there was another switch and we endured more screaming, crying, and shouts of 'let me out mommy' until he decided to take a nap. Dinner was a repeat of the same and after the ride home, we decided a nightcap was desperately needed. For those who might think I'm exaggerating, Patri did capture this on tape. We could do nothing but laugh at how ludicrous it was.

let the fun begin

This year it's going to be more like Thanksgiving month rather than Thanksgiving weekend and we have officially kicked if off with the arrival of Patri & Maia. They made it to the 'Nati with minimal trouble.

If last night is a foreshadow of the rest of this month - I know it'll be a good one. The kids had their fun playing together and wrestling toys away from each other. Few tears were shed but overall there was much more laughter, smiles, and chasing each other around the house. But it wasn't just the kids who had fun...Patri and I about peed our pants off last night as well.

We had put the kids in the tub together for bath time. Both are quite proficient of undressing and hopping into the tub. Since they were so proficient, neither one of us were paying too close attention to the process. But the next things we noticed made us both laugh so hard we about peed our pants...our sharp mom eyes caught sight of a floater in the tub along with a skid mark and one that never made it into the tub. And of all things, you might wonder why we are laughing so hard at something that seems so unfunny. I think it was because it was so unexpected (we both proclaimed this has NEVER happened to me before!) and when you become a parent you learn to laugh at these moments vs being horrified by them.

Today we've started the day with some pancakes and grocery shopping. The kids were wonderful and ate their way through the store. Tonight we will add Owen's girlfriend to the mix and have some more widget fun! But for now, it's time for Patri and I to hit the stores a bit :)

enforcing house rules

Yesterday, I had a late work thing so I didn't get home until close to 8pm. By then Owen and Tom already had dinner and Owen was in his PJ's releasing the last of his energy before bedtime. Owen was excited that I was home (as he always is) - hopping across the entire kitchen like a bunny and shouting "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!". That's his new thing - not ma or mom - it's mommy. He gets all the way over to me and I ask him if I can get a hug. His answer, "No - shoes off!" It was said with gusto and the index finger pointing at my new Nine West boots I was doning.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Halloween arrived too quickly this year. I didn't have the chance to decorate or carve the pumpkins we bought. Owen was a monkey again this year - figured why not re-use last year's costume since he still fit and I figured in the future, he might have more of a say of what he'd like to be for Halloween. Til then, I'd take full advantage of getting the most miles out of the costume he has.
We had our cualdron full of candy. Owen, to no surprise, didn't want to get into his costume but after seeing a couple kids come by for trick or treat decided to join in the festivities. After seeing how it's done, he decided to participate fully - dragging either Tom or I down the street to hit up more houses. We were out there for the entire 2 hours! I think by the end of the evening, we hit more than 2/3 of our street, both sides!

practice makes perfect

As of late, owen's new favorite activity - golfing in the back yard....enjoy.

bridal shower gifts

Last weekend we attend a couple's shower for my friends Jon & Joyce, whose wedding Owen will be standing up in as a minature groom/ring bearer. Joyce is still trying to decide if she wants a 2 year old running around with the precious wedding rings.

The set up with nice and not too many shower games. Owen had a blast even though the party didn't start til 8pm. I think he ate his way through the entire party. He got to meet the little girl who he will be walking down the aisle with - Audrey. First impression he left on her is reaching over to her plate and eating off of it - she kept giving him dirty looks for wanting to eat the M&M's off her plate.

Not attending a bridal shower in over 2 yrs, I forgot how everyone usually receives 'that special gift' amongst all the other gifts off the registry. Jon & Joyce were no different. It came from Jon's grandma - Jon's dad made sure they opened that last because at he put it - it would take a while. It was 2 big boxes that within it were an assortment of stuff - christmas ornaments, halloween napkins (paper), other seasonal decor, etc. - that were all individually wrapped in tissue paper.

really?

I'm off to Altanta for the week. I had a girl's trip planned for this weekend and coincidently work had scheduled something for Atlanta on Mon-Wed next week. I've looked forward to this weekend for a REALLY long time but of course the guilt kicked in super hard so I'm running around this morning trying to do some house errands and setting up Tom for dinner.

I made it to the airport about 30 minutes before my flight takes off which is normally fine for the Dayton airport. I check in without a problem but as I was pulling my ID out for the ticket lady, I realize it is Oct. 9 and my birthday is Oct. 1 and on my birthday this year, my license expired. Needless to say, I missed my flight since I didn't have my passport. The ticket lady points me in the direction of the nearest BMV...which was in absolutely wrong direction of where the BMV really was. With help from Tom, I find it and to my surprise NO LINE! I walked right up to the counter and the lady is even friendly. As she looks me up in the system, she tells me that her computer system just went down. After 5 min, it comes back up and I now have a valid license with an blurry, ugly pic. I am now back at the airport, had to get rebooked for another flight, and waiting here for the next 2 hrs.

I called Allison and told her I think we need to head from the airport to a bar.