Unexpected Gifts

I received a call today from a friend of mine whose son went to the daycare with the boys. She told me that her son wondered if we’d like to drop off Jack and Dean at their house to play for a couple of hours so Tom and I could have some alone time together.
Why, yes Frank thanks for asking!

So, we dropped off the boys and we went to the movies! We haven’t been to a movie together since the late 1900s so this was a great gift. We saw “Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.

What’s black and white and red all over? Sweeney Todd. I love me some Johnny Depp and he didn’t disappoint. The production design was amazing – black, oily London filled with corrupt characters, the only color the splash of red when Todd works his blade on his unsuspecting customers. Helena Bonham Carter was equally good and Alan Rickman plays a perfect bad guy as the judge who ruins Todd’s life.

Three hours later, we were picking up the boys (to their disappointment) and heading home. I’m glad we took them up on the offer and that all our shopping, cleaning and laundry was already done. I’m not very good at taking advantage of these kind of opportunities. Even today, my first impulse was to say no. But with no pressing chores nagging at me, what reason was there to say no?

As we drove to the theater, I felt almost giddy. I am so excited about Christmas this year, thrilled to be done with all the shopping and wrapping but looking forward to seeing the boys’ faces as they open their gifts. I feel so lucky.

 

A Haiku for the final

A Haiku for the final day:

Internet is down
On NaBloPoMo’s last day
Disappoints blogger.

 

Meet Kate

The newest addition to our family . . .

She joined us today. She’s a purebred, AKC registered Border Collie. She is gorgeous and very, very sweet. Her owner couldn’t keep her anymore and we just happened to see her ad on craigslist right after she posted it. Lucky us.

Besides being super sweet, she’s also really affectionate and very smart. She fetches and can catch a frisbee. She loves to play. She also did fine by herself while we went to Uncle Peter’s and Uncle Julian’s for dinner.

We’re pretty happy.

 

Twist and Shout

This has been such a nice weekend that I’m actually disappointed that tomorrow is our last day. In the past, 4 days off in a row might have made me a little crazy. But this time, even with all the whining and bickering, I am really enjoying our time off together. Maybe it’s because I am letting the chores go a little. Yes, I have noticed that the floor needs sweeping and mopping – I just don’t care about it right now. I would much rather spend that time playing a game with Jack or watching a movie with Dean.

I played Twister with the boys today. Nothing will tell you you’re getting old like a good old fashioned game of Twister. Really.

We spent a lot of the day in the backyard kicking the soccer ball around and watching them climb the peach tree. They also helped Tom trim the lemon tree and gather oranges from the orange tree. Then Jack made orange juice.

We cut Tom’s hair, then Dean’s and Jack’s. For some reason, despite Jack telling me yesterday that he needed a hair cut, they did NOT want to get their hair cut. They each turned out really cute, in spite of themselves.

We had a very late lunch today so when Tom left this evening for a basketball game, we just ate cereal for dinner. Then we settled in to watch March of the Penguins. Jack was asleep almost instantly and after I put him in bed, Dean and I curled up on the couch and fell asleep.

I know, this post is all over the place but I’m in a little sleepy haze so, to me? it makes sense.

 

Leggo my Legos

Hey you know what? Legos are really fun. I’m not even being sarcastic right now, which is rare for me. The boys got 3 different lego kits for their birthdays. The first one I put together for them was a Star Wars Startrooper ship. Then I put together a fire truck and fire helicopter. Tom caught me this morning putting together the fire helicopter. The boys kept asking me why I wasn’t letting them help me. Truth is, I was having fun doing it all by myself. I’m a little disappointed that they only got 3 kits – only because I wanted to put more together.

Of course, Dean has already taken apart the Startrooper ship because he’s way more interested in making his own creations. He makes very intricate ships with a lot of detail. Jack builds solid, square structures, tongue hanging out of his mouth while he concentrates.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day with temps in the mid-70s. I’m listening to the Ditty Bops and the sound of Legos rattling in their plastic bin.

Another great day.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m sitting on my couch in a triptophanic coma – I just made up that word and I like it.

We had a great day. We spent the day at the Sullivan’s. The kids played really well together, Colleen and I cooked, and the men watched the game and smoked cigars.

I’m too tired to be clever.

I will write more tomorrow.

 

Recharging

To say I was tired last night is an understatement. It’s a good thing I posted when I did because I was doing a little surfing after that and I was dozing off then! I laid down with the boys when they went to bed – me spooning Dean and Jack spooning me. Next thing I knew, Tom came in when he got home and I got up. My intention was to chat with him a few minutes so I followed him into our bedroom where he was changing clothes. But after snuggling up with those two little boys, I was a little cold so I slipped into bed just so I could warm up a bit.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning. Makeup still on, hadn’t brushed my teeth, still in my clothes. It took me a minute to figure out what had happened. My foggy brain finally figured it out and I looked over to see that the alarm hadn’t been set. I turned it on and dozed for a few more minutes then got up and met my friend for a run.

I really needed that sleep. And that run even if we only did a few miles, it was nice being outside in the early morning fog. So peaceful. I can breathe today.

 

At My Age

Well, after trying for several years to lower my cholesterol level to a more acceptable number, my Doctor and I finally came to the conclusion that I can’t do it consistently without going on medication. Hello, my name is Kelsi and I am now an official member of the crestor family.

Why do all the cholesterol medications end in -OR-?

Anyway, despite my best efforts at eating a diet low in fat and exercising regularly, my numbers prefer camping out in the 240 range and my Doctor said that AT MY AGE I need to go on medication to bring the numbers down.

At my age, you can’t be too careful.

 

Disneyland

I was planning to write about the surprise AAA guest to the boys’ birthday party but instead I think I’ll write about how fun it is to take two brand new 5 year olds to Disneyland 3 days before the Thanksgiving holiday. We went on a Monday because, you know, it’s less crowded.

HA!

We left at 7:00am because we wanted to beat the traffic. Luckily, it being a holiday week and all, traffic was lighter than usual. But, oh it was crowded at the park. Despite having snacks in the car, the boys were still starving and I had a caffeine withdrawal headache so we stopped in at the bakery. I insisted that the boys eat their chocolate chocolate chip muffin and some of the cinnamon roll before they could have their Mickey Mouse cookie. you know, ’cause I want to make sure they’re eating right. After we got them hopped up on sugar, we went to Tomorrowland and went on the rocket ship ride, which ended up being Jack’s favorite ride. Then onto Fantasyland and the Mad Hatters Tea Party which was Dean’s favorite.

After that, we went into Toon Town and let the boys play in Goofy’s house and Chip ‘N Dale’s treehouse. They had a ball.

We left the park before the parade because I wanted to miss the traffic (still took us 2 hours to get home!).

Jack fell asleep at dinner and Dean fell asleep on the way home from the restaurant.

I think it’s safe to say they had fun.

Grandma goes home tomorrow and I know the boys are going to miss her very much.

So am I.

 

FIVE

The house is a mess. We have 40 cupcakes left over, 5 huge bags of chips and a case of soda. I am beyond tired – we all are.

The party was a success and I have a few stories to tell like about the Persian mafia and why AAA was a sudden party guest but it will have to wait until tomorrow when my mind is more clear.

For now, let me just say that my precious little babies are now five years old.