Social calendars

We had a great day today but spent a lot of it shuffling kid schedules. What are we going to do when we have one more? Zone defense apparently since man to man is not going to cut it. We started at Nicholas's birthday, hit Uncle Mikey's pool and then Jeff took Ethan to Joshua's 5th Birthday party in the evening at Bounce U. My day planner needs more lines. :-)

Jason has really started getting brave with his swimming and will jump in and even dunk his head and try to take a few strokes himself. He is a bit like lead so we need to work on floating and buoyancy.

It is also my birthday tomorrow so Michael and his parents were nice enough to have an ice cream cake for me. My favorite boys helped me make my wish. Jason wished for a baby sister and a dump truck. I wished for patience, more time with my kids and a healthy baby. Could I be so bold as to ask for that much?

Simon

Jason has a best friend at pre-school that means everything to him. They have been together since the baby room and are born only a week apart. It was his birthday this weekend and Jason was more excited to buy him presents that to get any himself. The relationship is very love and hate oriented with them arguing one minute and loving each other the next. Some of the funnier stories come from school regarding Simon being Jason's muscle and protecting him from the other kids. Now why is this of interest? Check out the size difference

Jason's 3rd Birthday

Birthdays in our house seem to go on and on. We do a family event on the day and a friend party on a weekend close to the event. This year was no exception. We had a small cookout with my parents, Susan, Aunt Rosie and Uncle Roy. Maw Maw and Paw Paw couldn't come since they were sick and we missed them terribly but they came the next weekend and kept the festivities going. We also had to celebrate early with the Zanchelli clan since they made plans to be away for his birthday.

My mother and I made homemade cakes and my Dad decorated them all with amazing artistic ability I never knew he had. It was easier than I thought with the cool forms she borrowed from a friend. For fun activities, we set up a little pool and the kids had a blast splashing and running wild. All Jason had asked for were green race cars and Legos and Aunt Jean took the cake with the best green race car of the day! Mom and Dad got him and Ethan some retro Big Wheels like what we had when we were kids.

Some of my favorite moments were watching him open presents. He shared each one with Ethan and said it was more fun to open them together. They also had a huge amount of fun with the cards...especially the ones that sang. They were perfecting their dance moves all morning. Of course Jason needed little persuasion to blow out his candles....as soon as we got to the last sentence of the song he was blowing. And telling us how old he will be next year.

Roy actually predicted that I am having a girl. We will stay tuned on that one but I am still thinking boy. Everything feels the same as my other pregnancies except for all the pimples. Now the boys agree with Roy and had already been telling everyone that Mommy has a baby sister in her tummy. Jason already wants it to come out. Imagine how impatient he will be by October!

To finish the day we played the new Monkey Ball game on the Wii. I don't think I ever laughed so hard. The three main men in my life spent their evening pumping their arms up and down to get hot air balloons over the birds that might pop them. The kids loved it and Susan, my parents and I just couldn't get over it. I loved the bob sled runs myself but I am also a bit of a child at heart.

NY bound

I need my head examined. We drove with my parents and kids to NY on Friday and back on Sunday to attend my cousin's first communion. We are so isolated from most of the family here so when we have an opportunity for the boys to see their cousins and to have a little flavor for where I grew up and the type of family festivities we had, I jump. I think I had the heardest time with the trip being pregnant and needing frequent stops to stretch and use the rest room. It also appeared that I was at the height of my nausea and Wheat Thins were my best friend.

The kids on the other hand were so good in the car! We watched DVDs, played Leapfrog games, stopped for food and even took some naps. We first visited Aunt Marge and took the boys to a cute neighborhood pub in Queens. We ordered grown up food for them and fruity drinks with cherries so we could enjoy the feel. I think they liked watching the Yankee game the best. They did amazingly well in the retirement home being squeezed and kissed and were so wonderful to my Aunt. I know it breaks Mom's heart to be reminded of Grandma and aging and it wears on me too since it seems an entire generation is coming to a close.

Next, we headed to Westchester to the hotel and had the communion the next day. The boys were so charming and just loved seeing everyone. They danced with all the beautifully dressed little girls and were so social at the restaurant, we barely saw them!

After the luncheon, we went back to Danielle's house and the kids played in the yard. Jason slept most of the time in the car with Jeff sitting in there with him keeping watch. Ethan was being driven around by his cousin. He tried to drive the car as well but that didn't end well as he nearly went over an embankment. I never saw Shawn and Danielle run so fast and was so grateful they were able to get there and stop him. No more motorized vehicles for my kids! I think bubble wrap is in order.

Easter

This year was a bit more laid back on the Easter eff decorating front. Jeff and I had just returned from an amazing trip to Italy on Good Friday so had to hurry and get some eggs decorated with the boys and plan some church and family activities. One thing I did do was bring back tons of different sized Kinder eggs from Italy. I was on a mission and and as Jeff was in search of the Ferrari store, I popped into every grocery and local market until I found the treasures. I wanted the boys to have the thrill of a little candy and a fun toy or surprise on the inside. I think it helped make me feel a little less guilty for leaving them and doing such more prep for the festivities. The cute Italian lady in the grocery gave me a basket to carry all my treasures to the register and I couldn't help but think how fun it would be to share this piece of my childhood and journey with them.

Here are a few shots of the boys decorating their eggs and searching for them as well. Note that Ethan took the picture of Jason and I where our heads are cut off. I laugh when I see the pic of Jason using crayon on his egg...he almost looks like he is praying.








The first look at their Easter baskets. It is like Christmas in April for them....and Jason doesn't even LIKE candy or sweets much.





Mommy hid the eggs this year and was quite dastardly in my opinion. And I need to stop here and admire the grass we will definitely not have come July 1st. Either it burns up or the weeds take over. I am seriously bad at the entire green thumb thing.







We did the immediate egg hunt at the farm in our jammies and of course had to do another at Mom and Dad's. Man, that Easter Bunny is a busy bee. After playing for a bit and helping Grandpa in the yard (note the sprayers full of water and lovely hats), we headed to Uncle Mikey's for dinner. Jason was NOT pleased at his outfit and gave me quite the screaming fit about it. You will notice the lovely look on his face for the obligatory family photo. Apparently, the terrible twos have finally arrived. And gosh forbid the napkin is crooked, has a wrinkle or is dirty. Look out world!

Jasonisms

So this morning I was cleaning up from breakfast and noticed Jason doing something I would prefer he not do. Me: "Jason, what are you doing?" And he replied, "Picking my nose" very matter of factly. Then, I had to go farther. "Why are you doing that? It's yucky", I said. He quickly responded, "There are buggies up there and they are yucky too."

Getting dressed in the morning we sometimes sit on the dryer while I put on his socks and shoes. After we are done, he wants to jump off into my arms. He calls it the "big dump".

Meals are still fun with Jason insisting on "big ones" or "top on" or "I want lots of them". We are now dealing with the fact that he screams orders at me instead of asking for things politely. I'll let you know when that starts working out in my favor.

Picking Jason up from preschool is one of the highlights of the day. You can't be glum when a child sees you from across the school or playground and drops everything to come running while yelling "Mommy!" and arms are outstretched so he can jump into yours.

Tonight I was putting him to bed and we laid together for a bit talking and cuddling. "Hold me tight, Mommy", he says. Then he wanted butterfly kisses on both cheekbones, right below his eyes. He smiles so brightly and makes me do both sides, just like Ethan used to. He tries to do it back to me as well and then puckers for kisses. He begs me to lay to hold his hand and I tell him I love him to the moon and back.

Then, it was time to leave and put him in his toddler bed/crib. I put some Christmas music on for them (classics for JT and the Chipmunks for Ethan) and leave. A few minutes later, Jason was hysterical. I run back up the stairs and ask him what's wrong. "Dinosaurs" he gulps out in between sobs. "Did you see some?" I ask. "You don't SEE them, Mommy...you hear them. And I heard their footsteps." Okay, so now I am somehow the idiot who didn't know you can't see dinosaurs? Or is it even worse and I ate too many brownies this evening and now my footsteps sound like a dinosaur?

I did my part and pretended to usher our the dinosaurs since the previous night when he awaoe, I tried the "there are no such things as dinosaurs" approach which went over like a ton of bricks. Tonight, I chastized them for making too much noise under Jason's bed and told them that they needed to go outside and play. I did cave in and told them all that they could sleep in the garage. I'm such a softie.

Family Portraits for Thanksgiving

Having all three boys, I called in every favor and bribe I know of, and got them all together for a family pic. The little ones insisted on having one taken with their "babies" and then we did some of the 3 boys and the entire family. They got us in and out of there in 20 minutes which REALLY helped and even Jason smiled and warmed up. He is so shy and Ethan is normally a big ham with funny poses. They even did a little collage with some of the holiday shots for us.