Onse upon a tyme

Christian brought home both of these stories that he wrote at school (click on each image to get a better view).  In the first story I like how he spelled 'vetaneryin'.  The second story he writes is about feeding his 'pets'.  I like his description of purchasing food at the supermarket and how his pets (the bird and hermit crab) point their fingers to and pay for the food they want.  No, his animals do not sleep with him on his bed.

Columbus & Other Adventures

American gothic turned on its head at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

A couple weekends ago I visited Mike in Columbus.  The boys stayed with my parents, so we had a very nice weekend.  We enjoyed all the samples of ice cream at Jeni's and it was hard for me to choose one exotic flavor, so I picked two (vanilla mixed with lilac).

One of the more charming neighborhoods to visit is German Village.  There were pubs, cobblestone streets, parks, and lots of walking areas.  I especially enjoyed The Book Loft and could have spent hours in the many little nooks, crannies, and corners viewing those wonderful books. 

The whole downtown area is great.  Here's the beginning of Short North.  The Ohio State University is located between Short North and Old North. What a huge campus! 

Mike surprised me with a fun evening at the Cloak and Dagger murder mystery dinner theatre. I felt better about the move after visiting the city and found that sense of peace that I was searching for. Below are some photos that Mike took of different places we'll visit in Ohio once we move.

Hocking Falls

The past month and a half has been a little tough:  My mom was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and soon will begin treatment once the results of the tests are released.  She had a lumpectomy almost three weeks ago and is doing real well.  It seems the cancer only spread to one of 16 lymph nodes removed, and according to my brother's friend who is a pathologist and who reviewed the report from my mom's surgeon, it was an aggressive cancer. Mom is determined to get through the treatments (radiation and/or chemo) to help us when we move to Columbus this summer, so as to exactly when we'll move remains to be seen. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
 

Mom doesn't slow down!  She and Dad took care of the boys when I was gone and she even cleaned my house (much to my embarrassment). She never worries about the future; her strength and good attitude have always helped her through any bump in the road. And she has lots of friends who give her support and that makes a difference. 

Downtown Columbus the night of the Big Moon

When I left for Columbus my parents told me to have an open mind.  I've been sick with worry all this time with the move, Mike's traveling, and now Mom that I was upset about leaving. Sometimes we want things to stay the same, but nothing is static.

Cincinnati

Mike's co-worker always reminds him that everything is temporary.

Let nothing trouble you,

let nothing frighten you.

All things are passing;

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things.

He who possesses God lacks nothing:

God alone suffices.

St. Teresa of Avila

There's Smart...



All dressed up for his 5th birthday last month! His chose his outfit himself. Gaby wanted a Batman tie for his birthday, but, alas, it is a difficult article of clothing to find.

 This morning Gaby reminded me that a special show was going to be on March 29th.  I asked him how he knew that, and Gaby said that he had seen it on television. I told him he was smart.  Gaby replied, "There's smart, and there's Kmart smart!" 





A Batman cake that stained our fingers and teeth blue. The first non-truck cake Gaby has chosen - ever.

This Makes Gaby Giggle

Uncle Pecos always made us laugh when we'd see him on Tom and Jerry after school. Gaby got excited when this episode came on today.  "Hey, that funny show is on! Watch it with me, Mommy!"  Gaby loves how he plays the guitar, taps his boot, and blows his whiskers as he stutters through the 'cram-bowl' song. Where have all the good voice actors gone -- the ones who played those with disabilities with such heartwarming sweetness? 

Bittersweet

Mike finally found a job -- in Columbus, OH.  It's a bittersweet ending to 2010 to know that I have a short time left here in Albuquerque, but I'm getting excited about our new adventure. I really haven't been able to wrap my mind around it, though. I thought we were here to stay after eight years of roaming around on the other side of the country.  My cousin Sherrie called the other day and mentioned the lack of news on this blog and was wondering if it was true that we were moving.  It will be good to live close to her family in Michigan.  We'll also live close to Mike's family in Tennessee, Indiana, and Michigan.

I'm so proud of Mike, though.  He weathered through a tough year and we made it to the other side.

Mike started work this week and will be able to come visit once a month until we leave in June. Before he left last week we sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".  He stopped in St. Louis and took advantage of going up to the arch the day the tornadoes swept through Arkansas.  Just as my dad called me with concern about Mike's whereabouts, I received a text message from Mike telling me that he was on top of the arch but that they were being instructed to go back to the bottom because it was swaying.  "Because there's a tornado headed your way!!!" I wanted to shout.  In the meantime, the Weather Channel was saying that a tornado watch was in effect in St. Louis until 3:00 PM.  But he was able to leave quickly before the city was shut down and head east to Indiana ahead of the storm as it continued northeast.

I feel like everything is whirling by so fast like a twister -- the children are growing so fast and I rarely have a video camera handy to capture their voices, their songs, their sweetness through the lens.  I feel the clock ticking and I worry that I will miss too much.  I want more time.  Time stands still when I focus on the now.

Time stands still

I'm not looking back

But I want to look around me now

See more of the people

And the places that surround me now.

Freeze this moment

A little bit longer

Make each sensation

A little bit stronger

Experience slips away.

I turn my face to the sun

Close my eyes

Let my defenses down

All those wounds

That I can't get unwound.

I let my past go too fast

No time to pause

If I could slow it all down

Like some captain

Whose ship runs aground

I can wait until the tide

Comes around.

-Rush

Time Stands Still

Here's One for the Boys

The other day I took the boys to the library. Christian got his own card so he can play on the computers.  Then we lugged home a bunch of books and a 'Flushed Away' DVD that Gaby was craving.  I guess the theme was potty humor.  Christian and Gabriel are into superheroes, and Christian checked out several 'Captain Underpants' comic-books-within-chapter-books while Gaby found a Spider Man comic book with the green goblin.  Jojo ran around wildly in the library touching everything and removing books from the shelves as the librarian who was re-shelving politely glared in our direction. 

I was not familiar with 'Captain Underpants'.  I once told my friend Michelle that she has the soul of a teenage boy because she tries to get away with teaching the kids how to do 'wet willies' behind my back and other nefarious acts that she has taught her nephews. The author of this series of 'Captain Underpants', too, has the soul of a teenage boy.

So tonight we began 'Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People'.  I had planned on reading only a couple chapters and call it a night, but 60 pages and nine chapters later we had to stop laughing and put the book down.

The two protagonists/antagonists are George and Harold who write their own comic strip about Captain Underpants, aka their Principal Mr. Krupp.  They are naughty, dislike school, and the teachers are not very bright.  For instance, the two friends changed the sign on the teacher's lounge from 'Push Button to Open Door' to 'Push on Butt to Open Door' and the illustration of the teachers doing just that is, well, preposterous.  George and Harold go into the Purple Potty time machine and end up in opposite land where they meet their evil twins.

A few weeks ago I had forgotten to send Christian's lunch with him to school and on that infamous day my picky eater had to consume cafeteria food.  He told me he cried when he was told by the duty, "You have to eat everything on your plate."  He missed recess "and everything" he informed me.  Even the chocolate milk did not taste like chocolate milk! Christian never wants to eat cafeteria food again. We laughed until we cried at the following excerpt:

The two friends walked to the cafeteria and took a whiff.

"That's weird," said Harold. "It doesn't smell like dirty diapers, greasy dishwater, and moldy tennis shoes in here anymore. It smells like -- like food!" (p. 44)

Michelle would be oh so proud that I am reading this book to the boys.

Faster than a Rolling 'O'

Christian: You're not allowed to wear the Darth Vader mask at the Balloon Fiesta.


Gaby: Yes I am, but you're not allowed to wear that cape at the Balloon Fiesta.



Nana and Papa came for the Balloon Fiesta in October. We saw the Glo-deo one evening and then came for the Mass Ascension one weekend.

The boys dressed up in their new Halloween costumes to see the Storm Troopers with the Darth Vader balloon.

The latter half of the month Gaby stayed home from preschool because he had his tonsils and adenoids removed.  He got to stay one night at the UNM Children's Hospital, which is a very nice place for children.  They have a special family room and a rooftop playground.  Plus, Mother Goose came round to read a story to Gaby who was very groggy and sore after the surgery.

Gaby gives tonsilloadenoidectomy surgery a one thumb rating.

One thing that was stressed to me by the numerous nurses and doctors:  make sure Gaby drinks plenty of fluids!  That first weekend home he hardly ate more than a bite of a popsicle or taste of yogurt or sip of juice.  We resorted to feeding him fluids with a medicine dropper.  The second item stressed:  keep ahead of the pain by giving him medicine every 4 hours the first few days.  The worst part was right after the surgery when Gaby came out from under anesthesia and I had to calm him as he kept waking/crying and passing out.  Although Mike stayed with him before surgery, he was unable to be there afterwards and Gaby remembered!  "Where's Daddy?  I want Daddy!" he would ask before he'd pass out.  It was the same scenario when he had his ear tube surgery a few years ago at the age of 17 months.  Only this time, I was prepared and not pregnant or hormonal when I had to see him like that. 

Since he's had the surgery, he no longer snores at night and sleeps well.  And he seems to have so much more energy and is less cranky, too.  He'll have another sleep study in January to see if the apnea has disappeared.  Gaby had an ear infection soon after the surgery, so he'll have his ears checked next month.  Only this time, he didn't have a sore throat and that was a relief.