2009_04_30 Thursday

Jonathan slept until 11:30 today. I'm so worn out, though, from the hectic past few weeks that I didn't accomplish anything on my ToDo list while he was sleeping. oh well.

The contractor & team arrived around 8:30 and got to work. I think I pissed off the electrician since we made some modifications after he finished his work. Wanderly smoothed it over, I guess. But the town's inspector is off until Tuesday, so we can't move forward until then. ugh. gotta roll with it, though.

We walked into town since it's a nice cool day and stopped by the pet store to get the cats ID collars and flea collars. They weren't too excited for me to put them on, though. Now I can sleep better with the contrators constantly having the doors and windows open.

Our appliances arrived at 4 today. I'm in heaven!!!

I was able to motivate myself enough to write another article for Patch.com. This one is on a local kiddy band of dads, called Starfish. They sound pretty cool. I sent it to their press person for approval, not even really needing to talk to the dads in person! waiting to hear back from her now.

We also went out to dinner at our local Irish pub. I was craving a salad, and none of the pizza joints seem to have them! Jonathan didn't do well at first, but I changed his diaper (no changing space there!), and his food arrived, and he was much better. Dave had to actually take him outside -- twice -- for a talkin' to. We also splurged with a beer each, but mine was no better than a Bud Light, unfortunately. :o(

2009_04_29 Wednesday

The contractor, crew, and electricican were here at 8am. Electrician left around 3 and isn't quite done yet. He'll be back tomorrow to finish up. The only real excitement so far is that the flooring in the 'addition' part of the kitchen is a real mess. They'll have to pull it all up and maybe replace the beams as well, all due to water damage. I suspect it's from the leaky refrigerator pooling water in that area. We'll know more tomorrow.

Jonathan had his nature class this morning too. We had to do breakfast on the road, since he slept too long! Today's theme was Arbor Day and trees. We took a nice walk through their forest, did a tree rubbing, made a frame, and got a tree to plant. Then, we stopped for lunch on the way home to stay out of the workers' way. 

For the first time, he pointed out Alanya's house, saying just that. Also, at breakfast, he saw the two candles, called them by name, and then sang "Happy Birthday." Later, at lunch, my sandwich had two toothpicks with yellow crepe paper on the end, and he thought it was a candle and sang again!

Nap time was tough because of all the banging. But, he finally did fall asleep. I'm hoping he's up by 4 because we have a date at the local school playground with two of his buddies: Alanya and Marco!

2009_04_28 Tuesday

Jonathan slept in; he's back on schedule again. But, we missed our friend's sing-along (infact, two of them!). But, the contractor & crew showed up around 9 to continue demo work, so I opted for breakfast with Betty and Donna instead of getting in their way. Good call on my part, except that Betty wasn't there. The whole way there, he kept yelling out "pancakes," "apple sauce," and "coffee." Not sure if the later is a good one. I thought my banana pancakes would be a hit, but I guess he likes his bananas whole. He also met a new waitress, Haley, and called her by name by the end of our visit.

We walked past the little brook near our house and saw a pair of ducks. So, I thought we'd feed them after his nap. When we went back, they were gone. So, we walked all the way to the duck pond in town to feed the ducks. We bumped into Marco and Sharon there, so that was fun. We ran around the pond and over the 'bridge'/dam a few times. Then we watched for 'woofies' and wrestled on the hill while we waited for Dave's train to arrive -- my luck that it was delayed! I also saw our neighbor -- Jonathan calls "Joshua's House" when we drive by -- who told us their car was stolen from their garage while they were on vacation! That's scary stuff.

Dave installed the window AC units when he got home. Of course, it was only unbearable Monday night.

2009_04_27 Monday

The contractor and his crew showed up at 9am, as expected, to start the demo of our kitchen!!! How insanely exciting!!! They got all the cabinetry and counters out into our backyard. Watch Photobucket's "house" file for updates!

I also had an interview to be an author of a book for my county. I'm not 100% sure I want to do it, though. I think there's a lot of work to do with little pay. Have to mull that over more. J2 went to play with Alanya, so they seemed to have fun. The interview was nearly 2 hrs long; twice what I had anticipated. yikes. 

I am constantly amazed at the words and phrases Jonathan knows. He can nearly sing all of "Happy Birthday" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep;" he knows much of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," including the hand motions. He can string adjectives to nouns with little problem. He constantly makes basic subject-verb sentences. 

Today was unbearably hot, and it sure didn't feel like it cooled down at night either. Sleeping was pretty uncomfortable.

2009_04_26 Sunday

While enjoying our last day in Atlanta, Dave got a text from our contractor: he wants to start demo tomorrow!!! Whahoooo!!!

We enjoyed an ice cream social and storytime at a local firehouse before Jono and Jeffrey drove us back to the airport. Our flight back to Newark was completely uneventful. Jonathan didn't sleep a wink, although it was waaaay past his bedtime. 

We got home around 11, tucked J2 in, and rushed to the kitchen to pack it all up. At bit frenzied, but we managed to get it all into the dining room in about an hour.

Happy Birthday to Auntie Shannon!!!

and

Happy #6 Anniversary to D/Pat!!!

2009_04_25 Saturday

We spent the morning at the ATL zoo with the Borse's. It's a nice zoo, and they accepted my zoo's reciprocity. We saw lots of monkeys and turtles. And, we even ventured into the petting zoo for a bit. 

Then, we spent the afternoon/evening poolside at Jono and Heather's. What a great day. The kids all got to hang out and play, and the parents got to relax. Jonathan slept like a champion at Jono's, so he didn't get as much playtime, but he also freaked out when I finally got him into the water. I think he's just not a pool kind of kid...at least not yet.

2009_04_24 Friday

We got up at 6am for our flight to ATL. Poor Jonathan was so unimpressed. I put him in a sweat suit and his slippers, hoping he'd be comfortable enough to fall back asleep. Wishful thinking, mom!

So, this was his first flight! I was petrified that he'd be that kid, but of course, he was angelic! I'm not even sure other people knew he was on the plane! I had a ton of cheepy Target toys to keep him focused/occupied, and that seemed to do the trick.

We kept the day pretty unstructured, just hanging out with Nicole and Jack until Doug got home. We did venture out to a local park for a bit, but it was pretty hot in Hotlanta.

2009_04_22 Wednesday

We stayed at the Barony until early afternoon. Jonathan got to play with the chickens. He now thinks that they make eggs and golf balls! Oma had a lunch-time meeting, and Opa needed to do some work. So, we pulled out of station around 1. I made good timing and got home around 5.

From there, I had to dump our suitcases, do laundry, and repack for our Friday AM departure to ATL! 

no rest for the weary!!!!

And, to close the circle, Dave caught Biggles in the raccoon trap this morning. Everyone is safe and sound back home. I spoke to the vet today, and she didn't seem too concerned about them being out since they don't have any fight marks...although fleas could be an issue!

2009_04_21 Tuesday

We left CHI after a leasurely breakfast. I drove while Oma and Jonathan sat in the back.

Everyone did an amazing job in the 9 hrs +2 breaks that it took to get us to The Barony. Just amazing. The only downside was that the wx was awful for most of the ride.

On another positive note, Mustafa came home today!

2009_04_20 Monday

Shannon and mom spent some time hunting down black-out curtains. I believe Shannon called it "a wild goose chase." But, in the end, it was a success, and she and mom put them up. Jonathan tested them out for his nap, and they worked exceedingly well! 

I put away most of the gifts and helped organized her space -- hard to believe. And, I can't for the life of me remember where Jonathan was (napping??).

I also got horrible news from Dave: both cats escaped last night into a torrential storm!! And, Dave was unable to retrieve either of them!!!  

2009_04_19 Sunday

We got a late start to the day but were able to spend some time strolling around IKEA. what a great, kid-friendly store. Jonathan found lots of stuffed animals to play with. And, we had lunch there (also a great deal!). The whole reason for going, though, was to find black-out shades and closet organizers for Baby Puri's room. Former was completely unsuccessful; the later was a hit.

2009_04_18 Saturday

Today was Shannon's baby shower. The other woman who was involved, Sandy, did 99% of the work. She was incredible. The shower was lovely, and I think Shannon was really happy. She got a ton of things, and I was happy to finally have my car unpacked.

Plus, Raj got a little one-on-one practice with a certain, perfect toddler. Jonathan also got to hang out with Sandy's son, Milan, who he called by name by the end of the shower!

2009_04_17 Friday

We spent the day at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Impressive zoo; it's enormous. Jonathan was able to identify the strangest animals: bison?! Their monkey exhibit -- well, all of their exhibits -- are amazing. Jonathan actually yelled out "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" when he saw the monkeys!!! I couldn't believe it; that's 8 syllables!!!! Of course, we couldn't stop having him repeat it over and over. They didn't accept my zoo reciprocity, which sort of stunk. Parking was absurdly rediculous.

Then, Jonathan had his first dentist visit with Uncle Dr Raj. Both did great!

Then, we went out for a joint birthday dinner to the Schnitzel Haus. The musicians even sang Happy Birthday to us. Jonathan wasn't great there, but we had enough people to occupy him. It was a really nice night out.

2009_04_16 Thursday

We are in IL. can't even remember what we did, but Shannon and Raj had to work, so Oma, Jonathan, and I spent the day recovering. We did find a local park/playground and then explored a small pond with geese. 

2009_04_14 Tuesday

We woke up this morning in NY. I babysat Steve/Vicky's kids again for about a half-day. We had a nice time. I was hoping to go on a nature walk with them, but we ran out of time. Jonathan actually slept until after 9, amazing since it wasn't his environment. I'm guessing Cathy/Bob made it around 2.

We've arrived safe and sound at The Barony at 4:30. We made it in about 4 hours...at about 80mph. As soon as we got here, we had to turn around to get to our dinner reservation (so my timing was pretty good). We went to Cafe Laura on campus. It wasn't exactly a kiddy-restaurant, but our awesome, incredible, wonderful son did amazingly well. He was pretty excited when the Easter Bunny hopped by our window! Then we stopped by the Creamery for dessert, and Jonathan had a bite of all of ours (we all had the same Death by Chocolate). He seemed to like Opa's the best. We rushed home for poor Gambol, and it was getting late for J2 anyway. I built up the crib in the bathroom (which may or may not be a great idea) and he went down fairly quickly. He's still not used to this pack-n-play, so it takes a little longer.
It's cold here...like 10 degrees colder than NJ. A little surprising, and I'm guessing I'll have to borrow a layer once we get to Shannon's!

2009_04_13 Monday

The JDHs hustled up to NY at noon to babysit Steve/Vicky's kids for the next 24 or so hours. Their nanny's husband is having heart issues, so I took care of them today. It was a bit chaotic until I got my groove with three kids and Djuka. I found out that Jonathan likes bologna, which is also Catherine's favorite lunch. He had a bit of a hard time with his nap. I had him in S/V's room, which wasn't all that dark. So, I tried putting him in their bed (which Dave had done before). The next thing I knew, there was a rattling at the door. He had slid down the bed and was trying to escape. So, back into the p-n-p with that escape artist!!
We colored Easter books from PopPop, we went on a short walk, and we played for awhile in the backyard (not sure that was a good idea since it was fertilized earlier that day). That helped get some energy out. I threw dinner in the oven, Steve got home, and Vicky wasn't too far behind him. After dinner and dessert, the kids went to bed, and the adults split a bottle of wine. Boy was that nice. Then we all retired. I slept on the sofa rather than pulling out a bed for one night (Steve built up an anti-sun fort for us). Slept totally fine.

2009_04_12 Sunday

Happy 6 Year Anniversary to us!!!

...and Happy Easter. I spent the morning packing up the car for our upcoming, lengthy adventure. Once Jonathan woke up and ate, he ran around the living room and den to find Easter eggs from the E. Bunny. That was pretty funny. I wasn't sure if he was going to enjoy it or think he was cleaning up someone else's mess. He loved it. See our photo album for some pix.

Then, we spent the afternoon and evening at Cathy/Bob's. Jen/Chad and family were there too. Jonathan really enjoyed chasing his cousins around. It really was a nice day. The drive home was 2x as long as it should be, but we weren't really in any rush.

2009_04_08 Wednesday

We've decided that Jonathan needs to be up earlier because he has been having a really hard time going to sleep for the night. We can hear him around 11pm chatting away. So, today was the first in this experiment.

I woke him up at 9am. Today was our first Essex County Environmental Center activity, and I was very excited. En route, I saw snow flakes falling. ARG! But, we got there right on time. The project today was to plant a pansy from start to finish. Jonathan got to suck up some apple juice through a straw -- just like a plant sucks up water through its roots. clever, I thought. He wasn't too big into the actual planting process, although he was very interested in shoveling the dirt around. Then we did a quick nature hike because time was short and it was cold.

Got home to have lunch. Jonathan went down for his nap around 1 today, although I could hear him goofing around for some time. I managed to clean the bathroom -- ick -- and mop the kitchen floor too. AND, I scored a pump for Shannon. Opted to try for a nap later. We picked up some swimmy diapers for our upcoming trip to ATL and the pump for Shannon. We also stopped by the grocery store. Then, he took his nap, and I had some quiet time (made cornish game hens in the slow cooker for dinner!).

I woke him up at 5 so as to avoid the up-all-night thing he's been doing for the past few days. He's getting really good at throwing balls where he wants them to go. Now, we're working on catching them. Not quiet as easy. Then we took the stroller down to pick up Dave. I got a free white spruce; a woman was passing them out for Earth Day. Like we don't have enough trees! We stopped by the elementary school playground on the way home to get some extra energy out. Jonathan wolfed down a huge dinner (noodles w/ tomato sauce, sweet potato, breaded/fried eggplant, cheese, fruit)!! And, the boys are having boy-time (aka bath and bed) right now, while I ready up dinner (hens and potatoes) for us.

2009_04_07 Tuesday

Indeed, today was far more exciting than yesterday. The weather was actually tolerable, for starters. It's cold, but it's not raining.

Dave arranged for a gutter guy to come out today to clean them and install leaf covers. So, I was home waiting for him; two hours later he finally called, lost about 3 blocks from here. Then he had to check things out. He returned around 3 to start working. What is it about contractors that lets them be so off on their timing?!

Talked to JennyB for awhile this morning about her new engagement. How exciting!! Looks like we'll be visiting Buffalo in June 2010, and I'll finally get to see Niagra Falls!

Jonathan didn't go back down for his afternoon nap like normal. So, we walked into town for a pizza lunch. Of course, that lasted longer than anticipated since the owner decided to chat me up. From there, we hit a local shoe store that was having a rediculous sale. I got Jonathan two pairs of sneaker-types: one has balls on it, and the other has flashing lights (it's a half-size too big for now). The owner also gave him a display case ball, which he loved. Once we got back home, I put him back down to see if it would stick this time.

2009_04_06 Monday

It's raining, it's pouring...what an ugly day. It's been raining consistantly. It's actually a remarkably boring day...for once!

We did manage to get our taxes mailed in with a delivery confirmation and to the grocery store for some staple items. After lunch, Jonathan went back down for a nap. 

2009_04_04 Saturday

NY Vicky drove down this morning to pick me up. We are off to Baltimore for Melissa's bridal shower/bachelorette party. And, if you can believe, it's without boys. This is the first time -- EVER -- for me to be without Jonathan overnight. It's about time, I know.

We had a rediculously, amazingly, wonderful time. The comedy club was side-splitting funny, and Melissa was a real sport to be pulled up on stage. 

The boys visited Steve, Bobby, and Catherine for the day. Sounded like they really had fun...so much so that Jonathan didn't seem to miss me all that much. ouch.

2009_04_01 Wednesday

Happy April Fools' Day!

It's been pretty dreary all day, either actually raining or threatening to. I'm not sure if the mommy & me program was being held this morning at Whole Foods, so we skipped it. I ran out of time to call in advanced. oh well. 

Instead we explored a few stores in search of bridal shower and baby shower goodies. 

And, poor Finn got sick, so our afternoon playgroup fell apart too. Luckily, though, Aylin asked us to meet at the local school playground. Alanya fell in a puddle, so we opted to meet them at their house instead. Good choice, since it started raining as we walked over. But, that way, I could also deliver a large bag of baby clothes to her. It was really nice to see her; she's looking pregnant. The kiddies had a good time playing, although I think Jonathan was off his game.