Life on Oregon Avenue

Almost summer....

2009-05-11T20:30:00.007-04:00

... or it felt like it last weekend...

"Hey, Vasco, look over there.."

"Let's get her!!!!!!!!!"

"I mean it, guys, don't get mommy wet!""

Soundtrack to this photo: incoherent giggling on my part, which I'm sure enhanced my credibility...

"We winned! we winned!" :)

He's covered in butter!!!

2009-03-03T21:42:00.011-05:00

...or... in other words, my 2o minutes of being the world's coolest mom. Oh, you want to be sooooo cool too? Here's how. You need a dixie cup, vinegar, water, food coloring, baking soda, and random props.

Take dixie cup. Make into volcano. In other words, use some "sticky balls", cover dixie cup and excitedly proclaim that it looks like a volcano! Random dinosaur prop and, if available, wilted basil leaves, enhance the credibility of the creation.
Next, fill dixie cup 3/4 of the way with water, and 1/4 of the way with vinegar. Add food coloring. Here we start with red. Note aereal view of dinosaur and very very smartly placed giant plastic bag to catch horrendous mess that will ensue.

Next scoop a spoonful of baking soda and plop in cup.
Voila!!! A super duper sizzling fizzling special effects volcano!!
But wait, you say, what does this have to do with butter??? The answer to that, my dear people, is below:

Career day..

2009-02-23T21:10:00.004-05:00

It's Monday morning. As I am trying to herd both kids toward their clothes so that we can get out the door, the trash truck arrives. Unfortunately, the kids are now tall enough to be able to peek out the window unassisted by parents or props... Vasco, one sock on and in nothing else but his underwear, yells excitedly, "mooooooooooooooooooooooom, the trash truck is here!!" Lots of noise, lots of excitement as the trash guy shakes the trash can around, dislodges it from the truck and catapults it in the general direction of where we had neatly placed it last night.
"Mooooooom, when I grow up, I want to drive a trash truck!!! And Justine can be the trash lady!!!" Justine excitedly nods, one foot into the stockings.
Yes, dears, you can be anything you want to be....

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

2009-02-07T19:07:00.006-05:00

It was a bright sunny lovely warmer-than-the-20-degree-weather-we-had-been-having Saturday morning. I'm sitting on the couch at a friend's house, at a playdate with the kids from their "old school", and I notice something odd about Justine's hair. Namely, that there is a quite obvious bald spot right on top of her head. I call her over, and sure enough, it was not an optical illusion. So of course, I start thinking hideous autoimmune disorders that eat up your hair, and imagine Justine in 3rd grade with a lovely Barbie-style wig... until it occurs to me to start with perhaps a more simple explanation. "Justine, honey, did someone cut your hair??" Giggling. More giggling. "Um, Jenna cut it!" We all take turns rubbing the hair near the bald spot, which is just short of 1/12 of an inch and looks like stubble on a monk's head. She bolts off to play with her friends. As I fixate on the bald spot every time the sun hits her hair, I notice that she is missing a thick lock of hair on the side....

***

Vasco in the shower last week: "Mommy, I want to be a dolphin!"
Me: "But, honey, you can learn to swim like a dolphin, but you can't be one"
V: "But why?"
Me: "Because you are a little boy!"
V: "But I want to be a dolphin"
Me: "If you were a dolphin, you would have to live in the water, and you couldn't live with us!"
V: "But you have Justine!!!"

Luckily, this week he wants to be a frog.

***

Holiday Cheer!

2008-12-24T00:14:00.008-05:00

Baby, it's COLD outside! School is out for the rest of the year, and we have been housebound for two days now, after a well-intended but quickly aborted attempt to remain outside for the 10 minutes it would have taken to add on a few candy cane lights to the driveway. The kids stood outside for about 3 minutes and then marched their triple layered, hat-wearing, glove-toting little bodies into the laundry room, from which they announced they were not coming back out again.
Hence, we played school with every single stuffed animal they own:
(btw, those that were "fighting" are lined up near the couch... Um..guys? How often does this happen in real school??)

Then we did an awesome craft:
(btw, you may think of it as an inconsistency, but I see it as sheer artistic genius: note that all four seasons happily coexist in this friendly village-on-the-lake)

And all this, in the happiest holiday-est mood. Merry Christmas to all!

Angels we have heard on high...

2008-12-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

Vasco's enthusiasm is... well.. divine :)

'Tis the season to be.. tipsy?

2008-12-07T21:07:00.012-05:00

While no doubt it is the season to be the kind of tipsy one associated with bucketfulls of spiked cider, gallons of mulled wine and various warm merry beverages that leave you.. well.. tipsy, it is a different kind of tipsy that we are talking about here.

Sat. Dec 6: 10am. We set out on a mission to purchase the first live christmas tree since the kids were born. Ready for the fabulous smell of real pine trees, we head out: the kids are entirely not sure whether we have finally lost our minds when we assure them that we will bring back the christmas tree strapped to the top of our car. Convinced that the whole world has indeed gone mad, they sipped hot chocolate while the helpful people at the tree lot did exactly as we promised: strapped the tree to the roof of the car.
Once home, millions of pine needles sloughing off as we dragged the tree in, we dusted out the old tree stand and plopped the tree in. Vacuumed 4 pounds of needles. A frenzy of decorating later and half a vacuum bag more of tree needles, and we had a presentable tree.
It even snowed briefly at dinnertime, to finish creating the perfect "I'm dreaming of a white christmas" atmosphere. Books were read under the tree, a christmas carol thrown in for good measure, and happy kids were sent to bed. Happier adults stirred up something called a Hot Russian Christmas with an extra shot of vodka for good measure and settled down downstairs in front of a lovely roaring first fire of the season to watch a silly movie. Spirits flowed and spirits were high, and as Mike was trying to poke at the fire to put it out, I climb happily upstairs to find this:
Atwinkling still, it was indeed a sight to see.. I took a picture and brought it for Mike to see, handing him the camera as I said I hoped he had a sense of humor.

A few sawed branches later.....

.. and a concoction of weights, props, and counterweights, the tree is up again, 7 extra pounds of needles have been vacuumed up, crushed ornaments replaced, water mopped up, and merriment restored!

Happy Holidays!

Ahoy, Pilgrims!

2008-12-07T19:22:00.012-05:00

Work, work, work, work... mostly the reason for the lack of updates. But biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression aside, on Friday evening, Nov 21, I updated projection #321 and shut down the computer, turned on the out-of-office reply, and packed 6 days of clothes for 4 people into a suitcase in a half (thank you very much!). Sunny Caribbean here we come! And it was sunny! And it was warm!! And everyone loved the "big boat"! This is a Thanksgiving tradition we can definitely get used to.
We were thankful for being there together (all 17 of us), for the sun, for the outstanding service on the ship, for bunk beds, for the mint chocolates on the pillow every night, for the children's program, for the endless refills of ice cream (as Justine set a personal if not world record on dropping her ice cream every single time within 2 minutes of getting it), for the dolphin we got to play with in Cozumel, for the immense jacuzzis, for the spectacular afternoon on a beach in Costa Maya where the water glistened, the seven kids constructed some sort of aqueduct on the beach, and the adults drank beer. Did I mention the warm sun?

Exhausted Parents' Rant Against Standard Time (EPRAST)

2008-11-02T18:26:00.002-05:00

Let's take a trip back in history, shall we? Circa 5 years before kids. End of daylight savings time? No prob. In fact, an event not unanticipated with some degree of hope: the magical extra hour of sleep, combined (at least for some time) with not waking up to such complete darkness every morning.

Let's now shake off those memories and come back to today: the official end of daylight savings time. It goes something like this:
5:23 am. Vasco cheerily walks into our bedroom. I sob (my turn to get up with the kids today), and try to convince Vasco it is still the middle of the night (it feels like it!!! it looks like it!!), and Mike bravely walks him back to his bed. Mike returns in a few minutes, sanz Vasco, and a delicous quietness settles in, which makes me drool from excitement as I fall -- no, plummet! --back to sleep.
6:33 am. "Mommy?" I fall out of bed, decide against the extra effort of grabbing my glasses, and stumble-run-Elaine-dance over to the kids' room and flop myself on Vasco's bed. "Honey, 10 more minutes and you can get up." The stealthy surprise attack must have confused him for a few minutes (which I gratefully use to happily sleep-drool on his stuffed animals I am cleverly using as a pillow!), but then he recovers: "Mommy, can I get up?" I ask, desperation and hope intricately mixed in my voice: "You are not sleepy? There is no way you are falling back asleep?"... 2 minutes later we are in the kitchen, pouring cereal. As I set the clocks back on various timers in the kitchen, back to 6:59 am, I quietly weep.
What follows is a list of what transpired next: baking a cake layer (tomorrow is Mike's birthday), cartoons, Sunday school, a long run (me), hardware store trip, lunch, random tree/bush climbing, a long run (Mike), my pure genius potato stamp crafts (which would have been much more successful had we not run out of paint to dip them in 3 weeks ago!), run to the store for eggs, second cake layer baked. Club houses constructed from dining room chairs and blankets, the destruction of the couch, and an apparent relocation of every single book from the bookcase.

I look at the clock: it winks and it mocks me: 3:15???!!! ARE YOU KIDDING????!!!

At 5:10pm, as we are already enveloped in midnight-quality darkness, I am making dinner as Mike prepares our "comfort juice" (aka Mike's homemade ROCKING margaritas).

So here I am at 6:15, said dinner and margarita consumed, sharing a rant, and half-laughing, half-sobbing at Mike's attempt at humor: "Okay, kids, only 69 minutes till bath time".

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:40:00.007-04:00

The kids have been going full force since 7:14am...and I am not kidding.. fell asleep as soon as I turned the lights off in their room. 14 hours of Halloween! :)

Financial Markets, High School, and Pumpkins

2008-10-28T20:18:00.009-04:00

Yipes! It's been too long to even try to catch up... Financial crises have been keeping me busy at work, as our division is shrinking even as work is tripling..Today I witnessed the following conversation:

Boss 1: "I need her to work on my project for today and tomorrow full time!"
Boss 2: "But... (to me) how much more time do you need to finish my project?"
Me: "Ummm.... 40 minutes?"
Boss 2: "Can I have 40 minutes between today and tomorrow?"
Boss 1: "I guess.... but only 40 minutes!"
Boss 1 and Boss 2: "Maybe we can split her in two! Ha ha ha!"
Boss 2: "But I want the right hand! Ha ha ha!"
Me: "Help!"

And its not that I am so irreplaceable, it's just that 1) we are so crazy short-staffed, and 2) the world has gone so completely crazy. Our projections seem to have a shelf-life of exactly 243 minutes lately.

But back to the conversation that made me log on today.
We have since graduated to separate baths (which is a separate story), so while I was giving Justine her bath, the following conversation transpired:
J: "I'm going to be in Kindergarten next?"
Me: "Yes, but next year: now it's winter, then it will be spring, then summer, and only then it will be time for Kindergarten"
J: "Why?"
Me: "Because you need to be 5 to go to Kindergarten."
J: "Oh. I'm going to be 5 in Kindergarten, and 6 in first grade?"
Me: (totally impressed at her sequential ordering skills) "Yes!"
J: "And then high school?"
Me: (fainting at the concept of Justine in high school): "Um... let's not rush that yet!!"
J: "But where is high school? Long drive?"

It seems like yesterday that they were learning to walk! Today they say goodbye to me by the car at the curb as they run into school all by themselves, with their friends, and their school lunches, and their grown up language and goofy jokes (Vasco's favorite is "Why did the cookie go to the hospital?" you should ask him some time). Luckily I still get a giant juicy smack-on-the-lips kiss before they run off, but I suspect that by the time they make it to high school that will no longer be cool...

***

Banitsa

2008-09-14T17:05:00.011-04:00

Given the enormous amounts of Bulgarian feta cheese (sirene/сирене) consumed during our vacation, we needed to wean ourselves from it ever so slowly. So, despite stuffing my face with banitsa practically until they were closing the doors on the plane (Cabin crew, cross-check doors and lady in 4B, stop with the cheese already!!!), we had to just whip up another batch.
Here is the pictorial:

You'll need:

1) 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 6 oz of plain yogurt (eye of 4-year old optional)

Beat the eggs in a largish bowl. Beat the baking powder into the yogurt, holding the yogurt container over the bowl with the eggs, because the yogurt will start to seep over. Add yogurt to egg mixture.

2) 1 stick of butter or margarine, half a cup of flour, and 8-10 oz of Bulgarian feta cheese.

Melt butter, crumble the cheese. Save about 1 tablespoon of butter, and then add remaining butter, cheese, and flour to the egg and yogurt mixture. It should look something like this... The cheese should be lumpy.

3) 1 package of phyllo dough, that has been sitting at room temperature for about 30 min (if it is too cold, the sheets will not separate properly).

Separate each sheet of phyllo dough, spread a tiny amount of the reserved butter, and then spread a few tablespoons of the filling near the top of the sheet (see demonstration on the right by my lovely assistants). Then roll the sheet up, and place in a baking pan. If you have a round one, you can get all fancy and make concentric circles (click here for an example). Spread the rest of the butter on top.

Bake at 375 degrees, for about 25 minutes, until it looks nice and crispy.

Usually eaten for breakfast, but there are no rules.

First Day of Pre-K! EEEK AAAAAAAAAAAAAK

2008-08-25T21:51:00.007-04:00

I CANNOT believe our little babies are going to school!

We went to an open house on Friday, so that we bring all the supplies, see the classroom and meet their teacher:

And today we actually had to drop them off. At school. Can you believe it? :) They actually did really well: there was no crying when we left. I, on the other hand could barely hold it together. And then Mike made me drive to work by myself :) All this time when I was hoping and wishing for a day when I would have a quiet drive to work without having to referee 72 fights in the back seat over the course of 20 minutes... it was quiet all right... and today I wished it were not.. :) But all went well. Pre-K. I can't believe it!

We were on Vacation!

2008-08-21T23:18:00.011-04:00

I'd like to blame the delay in posting to the technical difficulties I experienced with my awesome slideshow last night, but that would only account for half a day of the delay. We spend 2 and half very relaxing weeks in Bulgaria, and came back over 2 weeks ago ! In the meantime, our bag was hopelessly lost and miraculously recovered, we have had cement trucks in the driveway and climbed over construction workers and through a hole in the fence to get to work while our driveway and drink-wine-at-night side porch was being built. And now Vasco appears to have croup. Which, he is dealing with with a totally angelic disposition, even though he can't stop coughing. And he melted my heart this morning when I said "Vasco, I'm so sorry you have this cough", and he replied "It's okay, mommy".
Anyway, my slideshow is cooperating. Enjoy! Part I:

Part II:

One.. two.. three.. FOUR! Happy Birthday, Kiddos!

2008-07-15T21:14:00.006-04:00

The kids are overtired and hopped up on icing. The presents have been unwrapped, the candles blown out, said icing has been hosed off. Twice. Justine is singing "Happy Birthday" to Vasco in bed. They have come a long way from the teeny tiny way-too-early babies that they were (pictures and NICU journey), and they amaze us every single day.

Speaking of amazing, remember how we discovered that 3 was not the magical age, but the magic is scheduled to start at 4- 4 and a half-ish? Well, you decide for yourself, but literally 3 minutes after they blew out their candles, the following highly mysterious things happened:
1) they spontaneously and neatly arranged the entire pile of books on the bookcase
2) they cleared out a space for their new toys, and neatly arranged the new toys in the cubbies.
3) they got undressed for a bath on the first request, and made sure all the clothes were in the laundry basket
4) in order to go take a bath, they went straight to the bathroom. As opposed to running naked past the bathroom into the living room, twice around the kitchen and back right past the bathroom into the bedroom.

I'd write more, but I'm going to go celebrate this magical new universe with a glass of wine (and my Spanish homework) (normally it is tequila that helps my Spanish along, but it IS a school night after all!) :)

A Long Long Long Weekend (Happy 4th of July!)

2008-07-06T15:56:00.015-04:00

One trip through the crowds in downtown DC. One hour-long paddle-boat trip around the Tidal Basin, complete with chasing flocks of geese through the water. One 4th of July BBQ, complete with Irish and Greek dancing. Haircuts and a quick private tour of a local fire station. A 4 and a half hour 5th of July BBQ. Lots and lots of running from the rain. All by Saturday night.
On Sunday I anticipated that we would 1) not be able to top the excitement of the previous two days, and 2) have to design some activities. Cool activity number one: craft project with sticky tape animals and my awesome rendition of a zoo, complete with waterfalls, a pond, slides (!!) for the animals, and an occasional cage. And coconut trees.

However, despite our bests efforts, the SUNDAY-AFTERNOON-BOREDOM set in... And no, those are not address labels. They are "boy-earrings for the face". Okay?
Guitar lessons started this Wednesday. Which, of course, adds two child-sized rental guitars to the mule-load of stuff we drag through the tunnel to the garage every Wednesday night: stuffed animals, remnants of half-eaten snacks, new snacks that I use to lure them to the car, backpacks, etc.. The guitars make super great picture props:

.. And this is how they sound... :) I'm hoping there will be an "after" video, where our angelic guitar duet will deftly strum out "Born to Be Wild"..

Beer, coffee, and vitamins..

2008-06-25T21:46:00.009-04:00

8:20am. Vasco's sitting on the step and I'm helping him put his shoes on, and I'm trying to multitask: one hand on his shoes, one hand swiping around for my shoes, all while I'm chewing my multivitamin (have I mentioned that I am awesome at multitasking: I can chew and put shoes on at the SAME time!). Vasco: "Mom, when I grow up, I want that (pointing to the remnants in my mouth). I want beer, coffee, and vitamins." I'm really glad he added vitamins to the mix!
And, on a related but separate theme, I know that Mike and I enjoy a cocktail or a glass of wine or two every so often, but when your kids are playing imaginary tea-party with strawberry daiquiris, it makes you wonder...Funny part, now that I think about it, is that I've never made a strawberry daiquiri. I would have been less surprised if it were a margarita-on-the-rocks-with salt party. They also seem to know about the Statue of Liberty (never been there, never discussed it!), the EXACT text of about 59 books (today I had the audacity to say "workbench" instead of "workroom" while I was reading and was severely reprimanded), can find the "author" of a book on the back cover, eagerly ask how to say words in either Spanish or Bulgarian, and are about to take guitar (pronounced kitar) lessons with Mr. Kevin next week.

We have been enjoying summer...

... the zoo, with their cousins...

..and, in other news, I am a DOMESTIC GODDESS! or at least worshipped as a minor god by Mike's colleagues, whom I supply with fancily decorated cupcakes. This one came from Family Circle magazine. I was practicing making these, which I plan to make for the kids to take to school to celebrate their birthday with their friends.

"You can't eat ONLY vegetables for dinner!"

2008-06-12T19:37:00.006-04:00

What? That's what happens when Dad is left in charge. Ivanna went to happy hour with some colleagues from work so I was in charge of dinner. Pasta and vegetables. Our crazy kids, however, prefer to eat huge servings of peas and mixed vegetables than pasta. I suppose its good that the kids don't always listen to me. At least they didn't put corn up their noses.

Bye Bye Nebulizer!

2008-05-31T16:14:00.004-04:00

After over 2 years of daily Pulmicort treatments for Justine, we have been given the okay to stop them!!!
I just read four Dr. Seuss books, so here is the summary:

All through the winter all day and all night
not a cough nor a wheeze did Justine have to fight
So we went to see Cathy at Children's to say,
"Please take that misty machine far away!"
Said Cathy, after checking a few lungs and a ear,
"I think that the time to stop it is near!
"You must wait till the end of cold and flu season",
and that, my dear friends, is a very good reason!
So today, on this very last day of May,
We did one more treatment and then said "Hurray!"

I got moves..

2008-05-15T19:48:00.012-04:00

What do you call two kids that LOVE hotels? Vasco and Justine! (Crazy part is that they can even find the room by looking at room numbers now, while dragging their rollaway backpacks like little tiny cute travelers!) We were off for a weekend at Hershey Park. Here's what was planned: kids dreamily drift off to sleep on pull-out couch, mom and dad share bottle of wine in other room, watching a movie, eating chocolate, and holding hands. Here's what happened: we set up pull-out couch, kids put pajamas on while running around the room in mad circles, brushed teeth, then ate bananas in a crazed shark-feeding type frenzy, re-brushed teeth, went to bathroom, jumped on couch, squealed with excitement that we were in a hotel, went to bathroom again, and took another 30 minutes to actually fall asleep after we managed to miraculously keep them in bed without having to sit on them. That was probably 10:45pm.. We high-fived each other, thinking that that MUST mean that the kids will sleep in. Right.... At 5:59am (NOT kidding!): "Is it time to get up?" I bolt out of bed and as coherently as possible at that hour explain that the park is NOT, I repeat, IS NOT, open yet! At 7am, the kids were wide awake. Moves, here we come! ("Moves" are what Justine calls the rides, because, well, they DO move).

A lot of fun was had by all.

* * *

On an entirely different topic, my adventures in decorating cupcakes were surprisingly successful, and earned high complements from the kids.

(the idea was courtesy of an article in Redbook magazine)

Vasco, upon finishing up the last one, "Mama, let's make more!"
Me: "okay, we can make some more this weekend. Maybe we'll make different bugs: bees, maybe?"
Vasco: "Yeah!!!! More! This weekend! Bees, mama? Bees? and maybe cockroaches?"
Me: (incoherent snorting)

The Future, through Vasco's Eyes

2008-05-04T20:55:00.009-04:00

"When I grow up, I want to drink coffee. And beer. And when I grow up, I can touch sharp things!"

When he puts it that way, how can one not appreciate anew the joys of being an adult! Especially the sharp objects! I'm going to go play with knives now, but before I do, I leave you with a ... lullabye....

Never let corn husks down the disposal and other useful tips

2008-04-27T15:16:00.017-04:00

Yes, indeed, never let corn husks down the garbage disposal, no matter how small and innocent of a piece you may think it is. They have evil powers. Evil, I tell you. On the other hand, it's a great couples bonding exercise: on account of practically rubbing my hands raw and bruising my knuckles pulling out strand by strand of wicked corn husk rope (they should use this material in space shuttles, parachutes, and bungee cords if you ask me), Mike took over valiantly, and we cheered each other along rather joyously with every new strand that we pulled out of the disposal. Current status: it drains but doesn't grind. I'll take what I can get.

Other useful tips:

Always shred important documents, and try to involve the whole family. Besides teaching important lessons such as how to prevent identity theft, it is a great activity for those you've-tried-every-other-activity-under-the-sun-and-
the-kids-are-still-bored days :)

Never ever accidentally press weird buttons on your new camera (keep all fingers under control at all times). Otherwise you will somehow mangle the recording of your daughter's very first ballet recital, reducing it to a microscopic-sized window. :( However, the pictures turned out nice, so here is the slideshow :)

While tending to infant and toddler twins may be somewhat time-consuming, try to mulch, weed and pay some minimum attention to azalea bushes every 3 years or so! .. ours were on the verge of death, until I took 2 days off last summer to try to revive them. Miraculously, they did this this year:

And, finally, the merry-go-round!

The bad news is that I forgot to put on deodorant..

2008-04-06T16:48:00.004-04:00

..the good news is that it was so cold and rainy that it hardly mattered..
Yes, indeed, the weather did not really cooperate for the annual running of the Cherry Blossom 10 mile run...but I was there: shorts, jacket, and poncho, squishing through the mud toward the start, surrounded by what sounded like the hardest-core athletes in the world. As I'm still sleepwalking at 6:50am, to my left a way-too-awake couple is vigorously discussing the pros and cons of training with running clubs versus having an individual plan... I'm way far removed from such lofty conversation, although I do contemplate whether, in such water-logged ground, the porta-potties (Royal Flush!) :) are prone to tipping over when the mud gives out...The rain stops just about when the race starts, lulling everybody (not me!) into a false sense of "let's strip down to the tiny shorts and tank tops!" Mile 3. Drizzle. Not bad: actually felt a little refreshing. Mile 5. Somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour. Mile 8, heading back up the Memorial Bridge, with the wind in our faces: downpour. And, to top of a nice flat course: a finish uphill! Waterlogged but happy to be done, I decisively throw the hood on my head (was too tired to pull it up while I was running), and promptly dump all the accumulated water over the last 7 miles onto my head. Nice.

Updated: Results are out! 1 hour, 43 minutes, 36 seconds: a whole minute and 10 seconds better than last year :) If I keep this up, I will will the race in.. 50 years! Wahoo!

http://www.cherryblossom.org/

(If you are checking the results list, my last name didn't quite make it intact in the registration process, but VLADKONA ran under bib number 13307 :)

First Movie Theater Visit

2008-03-31T23:55:00.007-04:00

And here we have another milestone.. the kids' first visit to the movie theater. We went to see "Horton Hears a Who", which, by the way, was really great fun. Even for adults.

Given Justine's "issues" with loudness, we explained it was going to be just like TV, but with a huge screen, and with the TV turned up really loud, so that everyone could hear. The popcorn that came with the movie experience was clearly a plus, but she was not excited about the darkness ("Not getting darker, mommy? No?"), nor about the closed doors. She sat in my lap, mostly transfixed by the movie, but occasionally throwing an uncertain glance at the doors...Vasco, on the other hand, ruled the place: stretched out in his own seat, hysterically giggling at some points, making rather funny remarks in random spots, and chomping on popcorn, utterly delighted at the whole thing. Here are some pictures. And if anyone tells me Justine looks like a teenager in these pictures, I am going to cry! (She kind of does.. that is the scary part!!!!) :)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T20:36:00.017-04:00

Happy Easter!

I think this is a new record for times between posts? In my defense, I was out of the country for two weeks for work, and when I came back the house was still standing, the sink was not stopped up, and the kids looked fed and happy. That my plants have wilted and the blog has not been updated is just part of the collateral damage I'm willing to live with.

The month, briefly:

Earth to Pre-School 2, do you copy, Pre-School 2?: Field trip to the Air and Space museum. Via Metro. With four of us parents in tow, the journey to the museum was seamless. I was frankly impressed that the kids knew crazy words like "craters" and "satellites", and were fascinated by most exhibits. We didn't start heading back until 11:45, at which point I was sharing panic-stricken glances with the other parents, wondering whether somehow in pre-school the laws of the universe that pertain to 3 year olds do not hold, or whether, and perhaps much more likely, we were in for a phenomenal meltdown. It was the latter. Also made more fun by the fact that by the time we had maniacally steered the whole pack of kids out of the museum and were prodding them in the right direction towards the metro stop, my two angels announced that they had to use the bathroom. Urgently. By the time we had caught up with the group again, the latter was disintegrating rapidly. To maintain morale, I performed magic tricks in the Metro by pulling out goose hair (??) lining the coat of one of the kids and making deranged faces. I was a hit. I will let you know if I will be playing in a city near you in the next months.

Swan Lake, Part II: We are back in ballet class after a one-month break. Same teacher. Same kids, plus some friends from pre-school. Same chaos. Except this time they are learning a choreographed dance. So far it has been mostly demonstrated by the teacher and one really attentive 4 year old. The rest... the rest are cute. Especially the one gracefully plopping on the floor with a crazy giggle at every opportune moment. I'm thinking we can try a wrestling class next: it's almost the same outfit, right?

Finally, I am looking for some appreciation for my creative egg-hiding skills:

Voting, Part II

2008-02-18T08:01:00.006-05:00

It's 7:37am. Kids are up, and I've herded them into the bathroom for tinkles before they get to the cereal cabinet.
J: "Are we going to school today?"
me: "No, not today."
J:"It's a special holiday?"
Me: "Yes, it's a holiday today, so no work and no school. I'll make pancakes later"
J:"It's Easter?"
Me: "No. It's President's Day."
J:"Santa's coming???"
Me: "No, honey, Santa's not coming!"
J:"But I voted for Santa...."
Me: entirely incoherent giggling sounds.
V:"J, Santa only comes on Christmas. And we can't listen to "Jingle Bells"until its Christmas time!"

********************
And a few pictures from Saturday. It's been a rough week, clearly.

February's Rituals: Voting and Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T20:46:00.010-05:00

Mike has certainly done his part in instilling civic duty in the kids from an early age. The polling place for our area is in the high school which is literally down the street from us, and the kids always accompany Mike to all election-related events.
So Tuesday was DC-MD-VA's presidential primary. On the way over, Mike asks Justine: "Justine, who shall I vote for?" Justine: "Ummmmm... Mom!" That's my girl!!! Of course, once Mike and the kids were in the polling place, Vasco insisted that they vote for Santa. I should say that both Santa and I are pretty decent choices. Santa, however, may have a better chance, rosy cheeks, name recognition, reindeer and all. Not to mention his bribe potential is slightly superior than mine!

On to Thursday... Happy Valentine's Day to all! Mike and I decided to have a romantic dinner at home after the kids go to bed, complete with carry-out Indian food, wine, a real tablecloth and candles. So Mike drives off to pick up the food, while I am trying to set the table. I start pulling out the fancy dishes from the cabinet for the occasion, and see the kids carefully watching me, entirely puzzled. A few seconds pass, and Justine ventures: "Ummm, mommy what are you doing? Is the roof leaking again?" After I practically peed my pants laughing, I tried to explain that our roof was just fine. I think they ended up convinced that the roof was fine, but their mother needed a few shingles replaced.. (side note: our roof did develop a slight leak a few weeks ago, and it leaked directly into the dish cabinet. If you haven't figured it out by now, we did have to remove all dishes and glassware from the cabinet).

A New Low (for me, i.e. Ivanna)

2008-02-06T23:40:00.001-05:00

I have officially reached a new low in my mother-dom...

So, its like 10:30 at night, I'm finishing up some work on the computer. Mike is searching for some information that is supposed to be on a back-up disk which is missing in action, and comes across an old stack of photos that were sent home with us from daycare once the kids moved to the pre-school classroom.

Looking at one particular picture, I say: "Hey Mike, Vasco really looks like Justine in this picture!"
Mike: "Ummm... that IS Justine."

Great! After being able to tell the kids apart in their NICU pictures, with nothing but a napkin-sized diaper, a CPAP in their nose and a feeding tube, I manage to mix them up in this picture. Now why would the daycare workers put Justine in a blue bib???! Really!

Here's a picture of the infamous picture: the eyes clearly say Justine, but the haircut and hair color really threw me off. (I'm fishing for excuses. Any further excuses that anyone is willing to provide me will be most welcome).
I will now go label the sleeping kids with permanent marker to avoid any further such embarrassment.

Snow, Ballet, and Highly Effective Interrogation Tactics

2008-01-26T11:46:00.000-05:00

Notice the lovely cardboard sled... We subsequently went to Target in search of a real sled, and, upon reaching the aisle where they carry sleds, both kids exclaimed: "Those aren't sleds!!! Sleds are made from cardboard!" Yipes!!!

Justine started ballet classes, which at her age, consists mostly of a pack of 10 giggly 3-4 year olds in pink leotards and tutus, swirling around in a somewhat organized fashion. More than anything, it is 5 sessions of photo-ops for the stack of parents who line the walls of the studio every Sunday. And an exercise in patience for the already very patient instructor. All in all, it has been a huge success: Justine loves it, I'm entertained, and the boys get to spend some boy time together (not sure what that really entails, but I'm picturing both in their underwear with a couple of empty beer/milk bottles lying around, watching a Carolina game on the big-screen TV...)

The "why" questions, after taking a short vacation, are back in style... I lost my work ID the other day, which is an awful inconvenience since I have to use it to get into the garage/building, and to remove the kids from the daycare facility. Not having my ID, I had to hop out of the car before we got to the garage. What followed upon the announcement of the impending change of schedule:
me: "Guys, daddy will drop you off today, since I lost my ID and have to go get a new one"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "Because I can't get in through the normal entrance"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "Because I lost my ID"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "It was an accident. I had it and now it's gone. I left it somewhere and now I can't find it"
V&J: "Why?"
me: "I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't mean to!!!!!! It was an accident!"

Wait a second.... Maybe WE should try the "Why" tactic....

What I got for Christmas, part II

2008-01-10T23:37:00.000-05:00

Couldn't pass the opportunity to share this...

We're herding the kids toward the garage this evening, and we run into some colleagues, whose daughter used to go to the daycare with Vasco and Justine, and who we haven't seen for a while. We're chatting, and Vasco volunteers that Santa came to our house on Christmas.
V: "I got Spiderman!"
Julie, my colleague: "That sounds cool, Vasco. What did you get, Justine?"
J: "I got toenails!"

And who says Santa only brings coal to the bad kids!!! :)

Just in case you are wondering, the translation is rather simple:
"I got toenails" = "I got nail polish"

Toys in Review: Best Toy Award goes to...

2007-12-31T15:06:00.000-05:00

The awesome $3.75 spaghetti ball...

No assembly, instant joy. You can pretend it's hair. You can pretend to sneeze it at someone (preferrably someone you know). You can pull it, drag it, toss it, cuddle it. It knows no limits.

Shephards and Angels and Chaos and More..

2007-12-23T20:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays!

Hark the Herald Angels Siiiing....

2007-12-12T00:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a bit of holiday cheer, V&J-style, early in the morning.

There are a few things one should perhaps note:
1) The #1 reason one should have twins is that when one child takes a break from singing to eat a mouthful of cereal, the other can, of course, finish the verse
2) The kids seem to have inherited mommy's side of the singing genes, rather than uncle George's, which is to say, well... none of us are likely to have a singing career.
3) Happy Holidays to all!!!!!

Love

2007-12-09T19:00:00.000-05:00

Driving to a holiday party. Christmas carols are playing, and everyone is feeling jolly.

V: "I LOVE Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. And pugs."
Me: "I know, Vasco, you also love the Einsteins, right?"
V: "Yes, I LOVE Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, pugs, and the Einsteins.
Me: "And mommy and daddy?"

Silence from the back seat. A few minutes later,
V: "Mommy, I LOVE Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and pugs. And also..horses."
Me: "And how about parents, Vasco? Do you love your parents?"
V:"Hey, you tried to trick me, mommy!"

Yes. Yes, I did. But, evidently, you are already way way too smart...

Tis' the Season to...bribe.

2007-12-02T14:28:00.000-05:00

After several days (weeks?) of endlessly explaining to Vasco and Justine that everyday they need to get dressed, go to school, bring their favored toy du jour with them in the car before we leave ("No Justine we can't go back home to get your toy!"), come home from school (despite the fact that they didn't want to go to school in the first place!), etc., last night we decided to try another method not too often found in those books written by the "experts": bribery. No more attempts at reasoning, we completely caved and started offering a trip to their favorite pizza place for lunch on Sunday if they behaved. This seemed to work well this morning as Vasco gladly shared his favorite "Bee" spoon with Justine when hers could not be found. There was no complaining when they had to get dressed or when they were told no more TV. Inevitably, things started breaking down as lunch time neared. Needless to say, empty threats of NOT going to the pizza place were not working as we were driving there, so we offered more (we should have been politicians): a trip to the bookstore (No more taxes and higher refunds for all!). Once again order was restored! Lunch went relatively well until we started to leave, and Mom and Dad quietly decided that a trip to the bookstore was a little too much for very tired 3-year-olds....3-year-olds with a good memory of promises to the bookstore. Hmm...maybe this bribery thing does have a downside...

Happy Holidays!

...will work for pizza...and books... and...

2007-11-28T21:39:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't been able to tell, the time between posts is directly proportional to the degree of "compliance" of the kids. And yes, it's been a few days.
I must say, I have to wonder where is that entire crowd of people who readily dispensed information on how upon the kids reaching 3 years of age, we would find ourselves in a magical era of super behaved kids, sweet as cherubims, with angelic voices and puffy clouds and warm rays of sunshine.... But I digress... That entire crowd of people appear to have taken their promises of such divine life and moved to another planet altogether. Because now, when I stumble into the cafeteria at 9:03 am, lunging for my morning coffee in a desperate attempt to somehow restore normality via a massive caffeine infusion, a whole new set of people wisely nod and with a knowing smile assure me that it is 4 and a half that is the magical milestone. I'm not sure I'm going to fall for that one again...
And it is not the case that when the mood is right (or, perhaps when the moon aligns perfectly with the right leg of a centipede sitting on a rock in the shadow of a coconut tree in Fiji: who knows!?) the kids can't be angelic and fantastic. Don't get me wrong: when that moonbeam hits the centipede just right, they are funny, amusing, entertaining, loving, and full of joy. But the times in between have really really really put my patience to the test, and so far, the score is Kids 194, Patience 2.

We had a fabulous time visiting Hershey Park over the Thanksgiving holidays with Aunt Jackie, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sue, Uncle Dave, Perri, Erin and Ella. Here are a few pictures:

I love this expression on J's face: this was during a tour of how a chocolate factory works.

Of course, a chocolate factory employs happy singing cows to make the chocolate!

In the LadyBug ride.

This one was super fast. But the boys emerged happy. Mommy might consider riding on this one, if offered a million bucks.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2007-11-22T13:46:00.001-05:00

Is 3 the new 13?

2007-11-12T19:28:00.000-05:00

I had seven versions of this post. I deleted them all. Bottom line: kids have been crazy. That's the best summary. Crazy rebellious. Crazy mutinous. Crazy argumentative. Crazy fighting with each other and us...We are hoping we survive. Patience... Breathe in, breathe out...

What do the experts say? I went to Parenting.com, for a promising instruction in "Dealing with Defiance":

1. Remove her

"This is the gold standard of defiance busting. When the going gets out of control, simply swoop in and physically leave the store, take her out of the sandbox, end the playdate, and head home. In order for this to work, there must be no hesitation on your part. "Don't do any cajoling, begging, or convincing," says Valerie Hedrick, a Concord, California, mom of three. "Pick her up and leave. Your child's banking on her outrageous behavior to score some points in the form of an emotional reaction from you. If there isn't one, then she gets no payoff." Just say in very clear language why you're taking action ("You didn't stop throwing sand when I told you to, so now I'm taking you out of the sandbox.") This is bottom-line, no-nonsense discipline, and it makes the most sense when used with obviously egregious behaviors.

Indeed. Done. Done, in fact, approximately 45 min ago, when V and J got into a screaming fight over who will sit on Chair A, while identical Chair B sat mere inches away. Playing time over. Result: even more massive tantrum. But perhaps it will take a few more times to sink in...

Keeping your cool is as important as consistency. "March out calmly, with an air of command," says Jennifer Ingle, a mom of two, in Conover, North Carolina. "This lets spectators know you have the situation in hand. It's much better than sputtering apologies." This attitude isn't lost on the child, who's also noting that you're the one in control. Removing her from any "audience" may quell further defiance as well.

Yes.... this one is a bit harder. Unless, of course, keeping my cool is interpreted as foaming at the mouth from frustration and wandering aimlessly around the house, looking for divine intervention...Maybe?

Let's move on, shall we?

2. Expand the consequences
The lesson that you don't forget bad behavior can pack a wallop. And having a way to punish that behavior without raining on a larger group's parade can come in handy. A mom of eight in Alaska has lots of experience with discipline, but sometimes even she has to get creative. Once, when her son was acting up at a party, she told him he'd have to miss the next party he was invited to. But first she took a photo of him in mid-naughtiness. Then, two weeks later when he was asked to another party, she brought out the picture and reminded him of why he couldn't go. This made it immediate to a child who might otherwise have relegated the episode to long-ago history. At the next birthday party he attended, he was on his best behavior. "These things happen," she says, "but mostly it happens only once or twice per child because I make sure — and they know — that they'll face the consequences later."

Okay, never done this, but I think I could give this a shot. In all fairness, it would be a useful counter to the "no, I wasn't", "no, I didn't" rebuttal that Vasco uses 10 minutes following a spectacular episode of..."naughtiness"... Will try and report back. Stay tuned.

To lighten the mood, courtesy of J: "I AM being careful. This is not dangerous, mom!!"

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2007-11-04T18:57:00.000-05:00

Deck the Walls with...

2007-10-29T21:23:00.000-04:00

...reddish marker la-la-la la la la la... Yes, it is so. Not only the wall, but the white bed frames. And the pillow cases. Oh, yes, and Justine's sock. I knew it was too quiet in the room. Too quiet and peaceful = collusion. Collusion occurs only in instances of wrong-doing. Hence, the new decorations.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My witch costume had its pros and cons. Pros: my witch wig and witch hat from 1999 have survived in relatively tip-top shape. Cons: my son now calls me "witch". We were driving home tonight, and I hear "Hey, witch!" Me: "Where, honey? Does somebody have a witch decoration hung up?" V: "There!" I crank my neck to see where this fab witch decoration is, and I see nothing: V, where is it?" V: "Right there, sitting next to daddy! Hey, witch!" Lovely.

Storytime Gone Wrong

2007-10-22T23:37:00.000-04:00

Its after 8pm. Kids have wiggled into pajamas, Vasco has emotionally recovered from his acrobatic and dramatic yet non-damaging slip and fall in the bathtub (which occurred 1.4 seconds after I said that jumping in the tub was perhaps not a good idea), and we are snuggled up on the couch, settling in for a few books before bedtime. Mostly what we do every night. Minus the tub acrobatics. So, I start reading an old favorite, "Goodnight, Moon" in my super special sleep-enticing story reading voice.
Me: "Goodnight moon, Goodnight cow jumping over the moon, goodnight light and the red balloon, goodnight bears, goodnight chairs..."
V: "mommy, chairs don't sleep...balloons don't sleep!!"
Me, continuing courageously, being caught completely unprepared to discuss this new development: "..Goodnight kittens, and goodnight mittens"..
V: "MITTENS don't sleep!!!"

I guess we may have outgrown that book..

On to the next old favorite: " Click Clack Moo".
8 pages of cow pictures later, Justine smacks her cute little finger straight down on the cow's udder and asks: "What's that?"
Me, smugly, because I know the answer to that one: "An udder. That's where the milk comes from."
J, looking up with great interest: "Where's the pee-pee?"
At that point, I did what I think is in technical appendix 9 of Chapter XII of any parenting book. I laughed until I almost (I said ALMOST!) peed myself.

And that concluded tonight's story time. I'll be preselecting my books much more carefully tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Mushy Pumpkins

2007-10-17T20:42:00.000-04:00

I'm tempted to say that the title refers to us these days... Justine has been sick with a lovely UTI these past two days, and the stress and 2-4am walking around with Justine on our shoulders (only way she will be consoled when she has a fever until the Motrin kicks in) has, indeed, reduced us to something roughly approximating mushy pumpkins...with mold.. slightly shriveled on one side...and with an occasional colony of ants marching through victoriously... which brings me back to my point... It is October 17th, and the one year I have actually gotten ready for Halloween with plenty of time to display my skillfully carved pumpkins, it has been 81 degrees for the past week! And, yes, my pumpkins are mushy!!!! And ant-infested!

Why are these pumpkins smiling? (besides because I did such a fabulous job carving them?)

...because they escaped the fate of their larger cousin, who was cheerfully chopped up by our guest chef, Toma, to end up as tikvenik (the pumpkin, that is, not Toma!) for dessert!
The tikvenik (derived from tikva, which.. you guessed it, is pumpkin in Bulgarian) was delicious. Toma baked it from memory, but in case you want to try this at home, I rustled up some links to recipes that sound roughly right:
Pumpkin Filled Phyllo (Tikvenik)
Tikvenik – Bulgarian Sweet Pumpkin Pie
(or you may want to ask the master chef himself--I've linked up his name to his site above)

Mommy Kisses still in Fashion!

2007-10-09T22:21:00.000-04:00

A few nights ago, Vasco comes running up to me right before going to bed and as I grab him to give him his goodnight kiss, he puckers up and goes, "Mommy, give me a big big hard kiss!" After I almost fell down laughing, I gave him a big big hard kiss and wondered how long before he is utterly disgusted with having his mommy give him big slobbery kisses...Pretty soon, I suspect..

Uncle George is Here!

2007-10-04T20:46:00.001-04:00

Uncle George is here!

The Croaking Frog, the Elephant Candle, and Murphy the Tumbling Gorilla.

Intellectual Discussion? NIMH!

2007-10-03T20:02:00.001-04:00

Not in My House, that is...

I've deleted the names and email addresses, but this is an actual exchange of emails:

____________________________________________________
From: My colleague
To: My boss
Subject: Votes virtually tied in latest poll in Imaginary Country

Mr. Boss,
I would personally agree that the "yes" vote on The Very Important Issue would rebound in the last few weeks before the vote (and discussed with my wife a similar hypothesis this morning), but it is really hard to back it up with substance in this extremely volatile political environment.
___________________________________________________

From: Me
To: Mike
Subject: FW: Votes virtually tied in latest poll in Imaginary Country

We clearly need to catch up on our intellectual discussions in the morning…. I'm ashamed of ourselves..
____________________________________________________

From: Mike
To: Me
Subject: Votes virtually tied in latest poll in Imaginary Country

Our morning hypothesis: Having beavers slowly gnaw our ears off is less painful then getting our kids into the car each morning.

________________________________________________________

And that just about sums up nicely what happened to any pathetic attempt at intellectual discussion :) Our debate skills are sharpening though. You try to negotiate underwear, clothing, and shoe selection with 2 three-year olds in under 7 minutes! (by the way, saving time and nerves by allowing them to wear multiple pairs of underwear and T-shirts does not count as a successful outcome!) I dare you!

A Dog And a Fair, and a Thomas Affair!

2007-09-24T22:37:00.000-04:00

We went to visit aunt Jackie and uncle Jeff this weekend. There was much excitement and a jolly good time was had by all (I think... Right, J&J? Gaston? Maybe???) This can only be summarized by a few slideshows, I think. Enjoy!

Behold the hippo...

2007-09-18T20:01:00.000-04:00

So, in somewhat good news, Justine has overcome her fear of hippos... It would be entirely good news unless the image of the frightening roaring hippo was not replaced with the current image, which is discussed ardently by Vasco during every car ride. Perhaps I should elaborate. We went to the zoo this weekend, and were encouraged by Justine's request to see the hippo (previous trips to zoo were accompanied by "No see the hippo? No hippo?? Mommy, no hippo at the zoo?"). So we aim to see the hippo right before we head home. The hippo was is in the outdoor area, waddling around in all his glory (by the way, these things are enormous!!!!!). As the kids were staring intently at the hippo, (warning, toilet talk) he starts doing this really weird thing with his tail, wagging it like a windshield wiper on supersonic high speed, and.... ummm ... peeing. A lot. I suppose it was an impressive sight in its own right. And it is now forever (well, hopefully not) part of our zoo experience...(V, this morning: "Excuse me, mommy?", me: "Vasco, those are very nice manners, what do you need, honey?", V:"Mommy, the hippo wagged its tail and... and... and.. peed!!!" me, "yes, honey, it did, didn't it...")

In other entirely good news, the kids are back to their happy angelic selves and totally fun to be around. Whew! They started a soccer class at pre-school this Monday. I'll try to sneak out for a few minutes next Monday morning and take some pictures.

Yipes!?!

2007-09-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

Kids crazy. Parents tired and confused.

We have no idea what has happened these last two days, but the kids have been rebelious, defiant, whiney. The tantrums are back, "No" has been uttered 72 times in 26 minutes, and we don't know how to fix it: they are normally so sweet! So, given that we are in no position to 1) write about cute things they have done nor 2) dispense parenting advice, how about some pictures?

Very recently,

Roughly one year ago (Sept 2006):

Roughly two years ago (Sept 2005):

Is the chicken half eaten or half whole?

2007-09-09T23:19:00.001-04:00

J (sitting in my lap while she's eating dessert after dinner): "Mommy, you didn't finish your chicken."
Me: "There was too much chicken on my plate. I ate most of it".
J: "Finish your chicken, mommy!"
Me: "I can't eat anymore, honey, I put too much on my plate"
J: "Finish your chicken, mommy!!!"
Mike, intervening: "Justine, you have some chicken left on your plate, you didn't finish yours either.."
J:"No talking!"

First Week of Pre-School

2007-09-07T20:42:00.000-04:00

The kids started pre-school on Tuesday, and really seem to enjoy this next level of interaction with their peers and their teacher. By the second day there, it was clear that they were comfortable in their new place: Justine strutting around the classroom like the princess-queen surveying her kingdom, and Vasco repeating the rules to the "kids that are not listening, mommy!"
She ran out of the bathroom after her shower tonight, and while we were cuddling, she giggled, waved her finger in my face and said, "You should know better!" More giggling. This is a brand new phrase, and neither Mike nor I use it, so it must have come from her teacher, no doubt in response to some crazy thing she must have concocted at school. I couldn't extract any more details, though, because my immense amusement at the phrase only encouraged her to repeat it.

Overheard:
J: "See this mosquito bite on my finger??!! I need to go to the eye doctor!"
V: "That's silly! There's no doctor in pre-school!"

J:(upon taking a bite of food): "Look, I'm growing!!!!"

The Ride Home

2007-08-27T19:39:00.001-04:00

It's not even a long ride, really: some 20 odd minutes unless traffic is really bad. Actual excerpts from our ride home this evening:

Justine has started singing the alphabet song in an infinite loop, punctuated by random clapping. Somewhere around round 8, Vasco decides to ask her a question.
V: "Justine, ummm, does Cinderella....?" (I'm really not sure what he asked, but it involved Cinderella and, if, I heard right, milk...)
J: "A, B, C, D.. (louder)
V: "Juuuuuuuuuustine...."
J:"E, F, G, H... (louder, more clapping)
V: "JU-STIIIIIINE!"
J:"I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P"
Me: "Justine, please repond to your brother"
J: "Q, R, S, T, U, V..." (in the most angelic and innocent voice she can muster)

I give Vasco lots of credit for not having a fit. Justine is clearly trying to set him off...
J continues with the alphabet song, and she occasionally substitutes "Happy Birthday to You" for the chorus.

V:"We're tipping over! Mommy, mommy, we're tipping over!"
I look back to see Vasco holding on to the half-open window glass, and realize that indeed the incline, to accomodate the winding nature of the road, is quite steep, and I can understand why poor Vasco thinks we are tipping over. I assure him the car will remain standing on four wheels.

"Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me....." J continues with the alphabet song.

Vasco then asks for his car window to be closed. Daddy closes the window.
V: "NOW can you hear me, Justine???"
J: "No."
V:"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???" (the accompanying look of disbelief on his face is priceless)

I throw in a kids' cd and, by Vasco's request, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" entertains us for a few seconds, until Vasco tries to analyze the lyrics.
V:"Mommy, where is Mary going?"
Me: "To school, Vasco".
V:(looks at me like I'm insane), "No!"
Me: "She is, listen.." I proceed, rather awfully and off-key but with great emphasis and clear diction, to sing along, "It followed her to school one day..."
Vasco shows signs of grasping that indeed Mary and her lamb are off to school, and starts giggling. Follow-up question:
V: "Mommy, the lamb was standing in the car????" Quite logical, really, given that we drive everywhere, it must be the case that the lamb rode along...How else would it get there???

We FINALLY make it to the garage.

I-Pod We-Pod You-Eat

2007-08-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

Friday night is At-Least-Attempt-to-Eat-Out-Night. It has progressively gotten better as the kids have gotten older: I suppose their attention span is longer, they are able to amuse themselves better, and I have learned to stash various distractions (stickers, pencils, random superhero dolls, loose change from various countries) in the bottomless pit which is my purse. Today, trying to spend a precious few extra moments with my margarita, I must say that I came up with a brilliant distraction: my lovely little I-Pod shuffle. It was an instant hit. Here are the kids jamming on the couch:

And, Vasco's Question of the Day (well, Question of the Evening, really):

(upon being told that it is indeed time to go to sleep, and that he needs to fall asleep all by himself in his big boy bed):

V: "But Daddy, why do you sleep with Mommy????"
Daddy: "Ummmmmmmmmmm.... Go to sleep!"
Nice work Mike!!!

Potty Mouth

2007-08-12T19:32:00.000-04:00

First of all, I have to say that we are ALMOST THERE. Just about when I was ready to start sending emails to development specialists, Vasco USED THE POTTY. A week later, both kids are mostly accident free!!!! We are so.. relieved!! (I suppose the pun is intended :) ) What GETTING THERE has done to our sanity is a whole other story... The following phrases have been heard around our house lately:

"Please understand that you cannot poop in your pants. Especially not in the car: it will squish!"
"Yeah, Mr. Pee-Pee, can you make some tinkles? We're waiiiting!!! Come on, tinkle-roonies!" (Resulting stream of pee is then followed by wild applause)

All of the encouragement and wild joy has been accompanied by a googolplex (look it up: it's a real number!) of declarations that "You are SUCH a big girl/boy!"

That latter phrase has, however, started to backfire. Giddy from their new found "big kid status", the kids have been trying to discover exactly what they can do with it. Last week, out of nowhere, the request was to sit in the front of the car, like mommy and daddy. After a short story on the different degrees of "big-ness", I thought the matter had been settled. And lulled into believeing I had indeed successfuly handled this request, I was ambushed by the kids' untiring logic just this very afternoon. We were in the kitchen, and I had pulled out a jar of cashews. It went something like this:

V: "Mommy can I have some cashews?"

Me: "Sure, honey!"

V: "Put the jar on the table, mommy!"

Me: "Okay, but can you reach the cashews if I put it on the table?"

V: "See, mommy, I can reach!" (Vasco demonstrates that, indeed, he can reach)

Me: "Wow, Vasco, you are such a big boy!"

V: "So, I can ride in the front, then?"

I also what to make a public service announcement on the Never Mentioned Details of Having a Potty Trained Child or Two. There may be a sequel, but for now, I want to share the following: You are about to go on a trip, say to the Baltimore Aquarium. Kids are halfway down the stairs when you realized they haven't peed yet that morning. Kids are rounded up and sent to bathroom of choice to pee. Carefully phrased questions are posed to make sure that they also don't need to make No.2. Based on parental assessment of environment in which answer is delivered (is there a funny smell? Is there a look of extreme concentration on child's face?) , the child may or may not be returned to bathroom to "try". 20 minutes later all clothes and shoes are back on, and trip successfuly begins. Once you arrive at destination, a family trip to the bathroom is required, with child of choice, randomize for variety. Entry tickets are purchased, with an hour for lunch before entry. Arrive at food area. Bathroom stop. 18.5 minutes later, while waiting in line to buy lunch, another bathroom run requested. Lunch is consumed. Kids are in strollers. Stroll to Aquarium. Check stroller. Mommy and kids stop at family bathroom. All items in bathroom, including tissue sticking out of trash can, are touched by both kids while mommy tinkles. Vasco tinkles. Justine tinkles. Vasco washes hands. While Justine washes hands, Vasco touches garbage can and toilet seat. Hands are re-washed. Victory!!! A 5 hour outing and no accidents!

Back from the Beach!

2007-08-04T15:28:00.000-04:00

How to Apply Lip Gloss, by Vasco and Ella

2007-07-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

Planets, Doggie-Counting and General "Where-Did-You-Learn-That!" Amazement

2007-07-24T21:22:00.000-04:00

So, we're at the playground today, and Justine and Vasco are giggling while swinging on the swings (if I let them, I think they'll swing for hours!). "Bye bye mommy, we're going high up in the skyyyyy. We're going to save the planets!"
Me: "Bye bye! What planets are you going to?"
Vasco: "Mercury". (to the tune of the "Little Einsteins" episode) "Mercury is closest to the sun...."
Now don't tell me that some TV shows can't be educational!!! In fact, after seeing that episode, the little song they sing is my new method for keeping track of planetary ordering (which I review daily, of course, just in case someone asks!)
Justine was flying to Pluto. I didn't have the heart to tell her that only recently scientists demoted Pluto, and it is no longer a planet. I don't think I knew any of this stuff when I was their age!!!!

Further in the category of "I-can't-believe-they-know-these-concepts":
Justine, last week: "Hey, look at that sunset!"
Vasco, yesterday, upon coughing, "I'm OK, daddy. It just went down the wrong way."
Vasco and Justine, this past weekend: "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco" Okay, they now know how to count in Spanish??? And people try to tell me daycare is not stimulating??? Miss Celia taught them that.

And speaking of counting, nothing helps your addition and subtraction skills like counting three very energetic pugs running in and out of our friends' Rosie and Joe's house. Justine felt it was her personal responsibility to herd them from room to room and into the yard as a group. I swear she now knows that 2 pugs in the kitchen plus 1 pug on the sofa in the living room equals 3!

Happy Birthday, Kiddos!

2007-07-15T14:48:00.001-04:00

Sometime during the most sleep-deprived nights, sometime during the 9th daily washing of 8 Dr. Brown bottles with all their useful but numerous contraptions, sometime during the stiring of the 2000th giant pot of formula, definitely during the 347th ear-piercing loose lead on the apnea monitors, we dared wonder what life would be like when the kids were the seeming astronomically far-away age of 3!

Here's a little pictorial voyage...

Vasco, a day old

Justine, day 2 or 3, on CPAP, too small to be touched without rubber gloves

Vasco, coming home! September 23, 2004

Justine, 1st hour home! October 9, 2004 (their original due date)

First Birthday, waiting for the cake :)

First birthday, with their preemie dolls (made to scale)

Second birthday, 2006, with preemie dolls

Second birthday party

And, at their third birthday:

Reflections from the Couch

2007-07-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

Justine is sitting on the couch drinking milk before bedtime. She says, "I'm a big girl. I'm growing up. When I grow up, I drive a car!" Some spend mother-and-daughter time picking out clothes, or doing their nails. Justine and I will be spending mother-and-daughter time at the Ferrari dealer!

Look how happy she looks behind the wheel!

Long Post about Many Things

2007-07-04T19:48:00.000-04:00

Potty training update: the good, the bad, and the ugly.... The good: Justine is practically potty trained! Hurrah! Clearly, when both kids were still diaper-clad, a clear interpretation of the failure to launch toilet use success would be that we are indeed clueless parents. Now that we have brought 1 of our 2 dear children to the wonderful world of toilet use, it is clear that we do at least half of something right, half of the time. Maybe. Yeah for the parents!!! The bad: Vasco has completely regressed and now just pees in his pants, 1 inch/2.5 cm away from the toilet. The ugly... well, that was just there as part of the expression, but for starters, ugly will describe the carpets in our house if this potty war continues much longer...

On fauna in our nation's capital: no, not rats, my friends (although that would have been an excellent guess, given the many sightings of such lovely creatures in this city). Justine and I were walking out of the front door when a tiny cute little baby deer jumped up from behind the little bed he had made for himself behind our bush, and started running around the house. He made one complete circle, attempted to settle back into his bed, realized that we were not going away, and decided to run across the street back into the park. Mike and I were crossing fingers/ squeezing thumbs, hoping that no cars would zoom through as the kids are happily watching little Bambi trot across the street. Here he is:

On genetics: aka "A Scientific Treatise Proving that All of the Bulgarian Genes Have Gone to Justine", or, in layman's terms, "The Battle of Peanut Butter and Jelly versus Sirene (Bulgarian Feta) and Kyufteta". After several contained expreriments we decided that the kids were not allergic to peanuts, and today THE FIRST PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY sandwich was made for the kids by Mike. Result: Vasco devours the sandwich, which Justine wanted nothing to do with it. At a bare minimum, I am now not the ONLY person on earth that finds said sandwich unpalatable (I digress to note that in a perfect test case--stranded in the desert for a number of hours with just a boxed lunch with pb&j sandwich--I refused to eat it!). At dinnertime, as we grilled kyufteta accompanied with salad and potatoes copiously seasoned with the grated feta cheese, Justine had a plateful of both meat and cheese, which she could not stop eating. From Vasco's perspective, on the other hand, the feta cheese was a culinary adventure he did not want to take. And thus, it is proven: we had twins, because the Bulgarian genes could not be convinced to mingle with the US genes...

And, finally, a really cool action picture, just because...

Miami! (aka "Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!")

2007-07-02T20:14:00.000-04:00

A mere two weeks after my whirlwind trip to Chile, I was off to the 6th annual regional conference in Costa Rica (click here if you really really really want to see the kinds of things I do. Warning: discussion quickly turns to customs unions, equity markets and income distribution). The conference was really interesting to attend, and, except for the fact that I somehow managed to coordinate one of my outfits completely with the hotel's uniform of red and black and was, therefore, stopped a number of times by lost hotel guests, all went well. The conference ended, and I was off to Miami, where I was going to meet Mike for a whole Saturday of Miami-style rest and relaxation.
I made it to Miami without incident, and met up with Mike. Beautiful! Fast forward to 2:35 am. We are jolted from deep sleep by the most horrible sound you may want to imagine, complete with flashing lights. Fire alarm! We wobble out of the room with puffy eyes only to hear someone yelling in the hallway: it's a real fire! We wobble much faster with still puffy eyes and we're out of the exit, past the pool and into the courtyard where a frazzled security guard was propping up some door to let out what did indeed look like lots of smoke. No fire trucks. 10 min later the alarm stops. Diagnosis: someone had yanked out the fire extinguisher and upon dropping/throwing it, released whatever chemicals are in a fire extinguisher, and caused the fumes. Back to bed. 5am. You guessed it: the now familiar but still horrendously awful fire alarm goes off. Back outside. We are all even less amused this time. The guard mutters some explanation which we didn't understand, the gist being that there is no fire, just the awful noise...
Luckily, the next 4 hours were peaceful, and we rose to a beautiful if slightly scorching day. The rest was pretty much your regular Miami vacation: lounging by the pool next to some highly tattooed but very friendly gentlemen with a giant boom box, a R&B play list of 700 songs and what seemed to be a 5 liter bottle of vodka and copious amounts of cranberry juice and Red Bull. At 11:47 am, Mike asks me if I'm relaxed. "Yes", I nod. "Very". "Good", says Mike, "I guess now is a good time to tell you that the kitchen sink is stopped up..."
It's now dinner time. The weather service promises a severe thunderstorm, and then promptly delivers on its promise. The sky dumps what seems like millions of gallons of water onto Miami, and then stops. We, hungry, set out for Greek Taverna which promises food, and above all, table dancing, wading through ankle deep water. 3 hours later we have consumed massive amounts of really outstanding Greek food, have indeed witnessed said table dancing complete with napkins-turned-confetti, and finished off the night with some Ouzo. Ankle deep water has mysteriously disappeared. Fire alarms do not sound even once during the night and we count the Saturday a huge success!

Tinkle, tinkle, little star...

2007-06-24T20:57:00.001-04:00

How's potty training going, you may ask?
0630 hours. Vasco trods over to our room. "I'm hungry. I want Bumble Bee Cheerios" (Honey Nut Cheerios: there is a bee on the box!) Bumble Bee Cheerios are consumed.
"Let's play with the clown!"
"Sure, honey, but we have to put on your big boy underwear first!"
0712 hours. New Spiderman underwear on. Mommy's level of enthusiasm: 100%. Vasco's level of enthusiasm: 100%.
0742 hours. Clown has been discarded, and we are playing with bubbles.
"Vasco, do you need to go potty?"
"No...."
0748 hours. "Vasco, let's go sit on the potty". Level of enthusiasm down to 91 percent, but no fight. No tinkle either..
0812 hours. Queen Justine wakes up. Now there are two. Time for Justine's nebulizer and an episode of the "Little Einsteins". Still no tinkle from Vasco, so I sit him on the wooden chair.
0831 hours. Einsteins complete their mission. I take Vasco to the potty yet again. "Moooooommyyyyy, I want to try laaaaaaaaaaater". Level of enthusiasm down to 81 percent and falling.
0832 hours. We have pee! In puddle, on living room floor! Justine perks up, "Mommy, Vasco peed on himself? On underwear? Vasco peed on the floor?" And, against all rational thought, I put her in underwear too...

It is now 2106 hours. Kids are asleep. Tally for the day:
Number of successful potty trips: 4 total (2 pees each)
Number of potty trips with no result: 184 or so
Number of potty trips where either parent races to the nearest bathroom with either child hoisted up on top of shoulder: 5 (all between 6:15pm and 6:38 pm, aka, while attempting to eat dinner outside)

Oh, no, wait, a real time update!
2108 hours. Vasco's up. He pooped. In his diaper.

So, if someone can do the math and tell me how many pairs of underwear and shorts I should bring in to daycare tomorrow, I would be most grateful. In the meantime, Mike and I are going to go eat obscene amounts of chocolate (me) and ice-cream (Mike), and finish off the bottle of wine from last night.

Can you sign a lease with a picture of a lolipop?

2007-06-19T23:16:00.000-04:00

No, seriously, can you sign a lease with a lolipop-like squiggle? Because if you can, I think Justine may be looking to move out! She picked up this Real Estate free magazine as we were leaving the diner after dinner tonight, and was leafing through it rather carefully as we were walking to the car.

Mike asked if she would consider getting a two-bedroom so we could stay with her every now and then. I think she'll consider it... How is that for having a ... what would that be... a reverse deja vu?

"Daddy, I put corn up my nose!"

2007-06-14T19:34:00.001-04:00

Vasco was so proud of himself. I was, well..I had no idea what to do. The tweezers were no where to be found and the corn was seemingly drifting upward, so I called Aunt Sue, who calmly asked if Vasco could blow it out. Indeed, he did...for a split second the tiny piece of corn turned into a rocket, which shot across the table to the humor of both kids. Although I explained to Vasco that he shouldn't put corn up his nose, I think the only lesson learned was to serve corn only on the cob!

Flying Solo

2007-06-13T21:01:00.000-04:00

Well, Ivanna is off to Chile for three days (for work). She'll be returning Saturday morning. In the meantime, Vasco and Justine have been told to take it easy on me. So far, so good. They helped make dinner (sort of), played nicely after dinner, didn't complain about taking a bath, and even went to bed relatively easy. And no, I didn't have bribe them with ice cream, cookies, or candy...wait, are chocolate chip pancakes for dinner considered a bribe?

Signed,
Super Dad

Future Soccer Champs and Big Kid Beds

2007-06-03T21:17:00.000-04:00

We were at a birthday party for one of the kids in Vasco and Justine's daycare, where we went on a nature hike through a path in Rock Creek Park. In other words, picture 15 almost 3-year olds careening downhill in a rather uncontrolled manner, with 15-25 huffing parents trotting behind them, rather fruitlessly yelling "Stop there. Stop now. Stop: this is your last warning!" until a few parents with good shoes and some degree of fitness succeeded in catching up with the wild pack of kids and more or less establishing leadership of the situation. After the hike, thirsty and hungry parents and wild kids were treated to a barbeque and cake. Being an entirely international cast of characters, a soccer match inevitably happened: here are some of the really cool pictures.

The next piece of news is more of a culmination of a 7 week effort to turn the current guest bedroom into the new kids bedroom, complete with "big kid" beds. Mike and I have been priming, painting, putting beds together and hanging shades for..well..7 weeks, and we made the final push today when we moved the carpet, dresser and shelves into the "new" room while the kids took their nap today. The good news: the room turned out really cute and we think the kids like it. The bad news: the guardrails that we got to keep the kids from rolling out don't fit: we'll have to pad the floor with pillows and keep our fingers crossed all night. They did start out bedtime with a mutiny, during which they laid down on the floor, but eventually I found them back in their beds. Amazingly, they didn't try to escape the room (with the door wide open!) and are now sleeping like little angels :)

Pictures, words, and more words

2007-05-30T23:30:00.000-04:00

We're driving to work: me and the kids (Mike had an early morning conference to attend and make a presentation at). Justine is playing with a toy HumVee, which winds up a bit and it's little pretend engine roars. It also has a white hook in the front. Justine asks "What is this mommy?" and I blank. For the life of me I cannot remember the word for "hook". I mumble something to the effect of "I don't know, honey", when behind me Vasco clarifies "Mommy, that's a hook, mommy; it pulls the car, mommy!" First, how does this kid know "hook", and, second, how humbling is it to be outperformed by your barely 3-year old at 8:21 am? On the way back from work, when we were discussing dinner, I mentioned we were having broccoli. Justine complained. Vasco says, "You need to try it, Justine!" Do these kids even need us anymore????

Finally, working on a big project:

First Question I Couldn't Answer

2007-05-20T10:11:00.000-04:00

It wasn't "Why is the sky blue?" or "Who made the universe?" As we were looking through coupons to go shopping this Sunday morning, the question of the day was "Mommy, how do you say "Beef Jerky" in Spanish?" Ummmmm. I don't know... Anybody???? Help?? :)

May 31: edited to add:
suggestion for Spanish translation of "Beef Jerky":
1. desigual de carne de vaca (according to uncle Jeff)

POWERTOTS!!

2007-05-10T21:33:00.000-04:00

Powertots is a gymnastics-inspired exercise/sports program for toddlers that is held at the daycare once a week and led by a much talked about Miss Jamie, who we had never met, but about whom we knew the following according to Vasco and Justine: 1) Miss Jamie has a ponytail, and 2) Miss Jamie says "oolala!". Powertots happens every Thursday, but today was a special show for parents. It was too cute! Here is select footage (oh, yes, and Miss Jamie does indeed have a ponytail and does indeed say "oolala!")

Bedtime on Oregon Avenue

2007-04-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

If this title conjures up images of drooley, calm, quiet and sleepy-eyed children, let me dispel any such notions from the start.
Maybe it's the Johnson and Johnson ads, maybe it's Other People's kids who happily fall asleep sucking their thumb/pacifier/ear of ragged animal of choice, but I expected to have two drooley, calm and sleepy-eyed children around bed-time. One figures a nice warm bath, muted lighting, a nice cup of milk, and a few bedtime stories should set the right mood, or at least close to the right mood, right? Well, see for yourself what 4 nights of 7, with small variations on the theme, follows the quiet reading of the bed-time books. Oh, yes, and if you happen to think you hear Vasco yelling "Moose-kaka".. ummm, yes, he is. Reference to the "Moosaka" comment in
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Long story: Mike was calling Justine "Moosy Moosaka" (???!!), and I said "huh huuhhhh Moose-kaka" but rather quietly; Vasco, of course, decided that was his new favorite word. I hope it disappears from his vocabulary by tomorrow morning, but I think that is wishful thinking. More likely than not, I will be trying to explain this one to the day care teachers :)

Suds and Sensibility

2007-04-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

So, what do your kids talk about as you are pulling into your driveway/garage/street parking spot/front door? Perhaps noting that they would like X for dinner? Perhaps talking about what they want to do when we get home? Complaining in advance about washing hands or taking a bath? Singing a song? All quite normal. You may wonder why I'm asking? What do you think Vasco and Justine energetically and repeatedly request, as we are pulling into the garage? Nope, not cookies. They want to wash the car. Again. Yup, you heard it right. On Saturday, a fabulously beautiful day, after a super nice trip to the zoo complete with a picnic by the waterfall across from the lion/tiger area, we decided to try out a fun and useful family activity, involving a bucket full of suds, oversize sponges, and a hose! Turns out that that was at least as entertaining as the zoo trip, if not more, because so far I've counted 3 requests for a follow-up trip to the zoo, and 5 requests for washing the car again. :) See some pictures below.

A brief course in how to win an argument if you are clearly losing, courtesy of Justine, circa 9:19pm tonight:

(I should say I don't remember how this particular conversation started, but let's just jump in, shall we?)

Vasco: "Grandma and Grandpa live far away" (which they do. 8 hours away. In North Carolina)
Justine: "No, Lulu and Emma live far away" (well, they live 20 min away in Arlington, not close, but not Grandma and Grandpa-style far away)
Vasco: "No, Justine, Grandma and Grandpa live far away"
Justine: "No, VASCO, Lulu and Maddie live far away (new characters. The plot thickens!)
Vasco: "NO! Grandma and Grandpa live far away!"
Justine: "Moooooooommmyy! Vasco's talking!!!"

How does one keep a straight face???? Where is the instruction manual for these kids????!!

Girliness and Hybrid Cars

2007-04-21T22:24:00.000-04:00

Albeit not a milestone that is on the checklist at the Development Clinic, a girliness milestone nonetheless it was: Justine's first painted toenails! She was so thrilled and so excited to show everyone, it was tremendously cute.

The Ryans, who we hung out with this afternoon, bought a hybrid car: Toyota Prius. Us ladies went for a spin, and I am totally fascinated by 1) the "On" button, which.. quite logically serves the purpose of turning the car on, but it's just hard to get used to turning on the car in the same manner in which one would turn on a CD-player, and 2) the information screen which, once the car is put into reverse, changes into a backward looking camera, so that one can see the entire road behind the car unobstructed.

The Twins Visit the Eye Doctor

2007-04-19T21:45:00.001-04:00

Time for the annual eye exam at Dr. Plotsky's! (The kids enjoy saying his name)
The doctor was amazed that the kids cooperated with the eye exam so well: the first part consisted of a slide show with increasingly smaller images. The kids thought it was the coolest game, and Justine was just so excited to see the picture of the "Birthday Cake" pop up every now and then on the screen, but apparently kids their age usually don't want to name the images. Add to this an exam chair that moves up like an elevator, and the kids were practically fighting to take their turn in the chair for the exam. All by themselves in the chair: they looked so grown-up. For being so super good, they got a lolipop and cool sunglasses.
Nothing notable in the exam, which is always good news. Both are slightly far-sighted, which I believe is normal, and Justine may have some barely noticable strabismus (hope I spelled that right!!), which is I suppose a medical term for being cross-eyed?? He said it was nothing alarming though. I thought I'd mention that genetics are not on their side, given my horrible vision, and the doctor was joking "Kids, you picked the wrong mommy!" In the car on the way back, Vasco's version of that statement was "Mommy is a mistake" :) At least I need to give him credit for knowing how to paraphrase...

Grandma and Grandpa's House!

2007-04-19T20:49:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we ventured down to North Carolina for our first (and long overdue) visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house. After a long drive (which could not have happened without the all-important DVD player) we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's log house. The kids really enjoyed playing in the wide-open yard, but the highlight was sitting on the neighbor's tractors. They also had a blast playing with Andrew and Megan.

Then Sunday came and it was time to go home. Of course the thought of leaving Grandma and Grandpa was met with great resistance, but that was nothing compared to the endless drive. The return home started with the interstate closed for presumably an accident. So we had to drive along a small overcrowded rural road until the highway was re-opened. Then a massive hail storm hit, followed by a heavy downpour. Eight hours later, including short stop at McDonald's to appease the restless troops (I won't go into how we tricked them into getting back in the car), we arrived home.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T13:40:00.000-04:00

The stories about the Easter bunny bringing Easter baskets for the kids that we have been discussing for days now culminated in Mike secretly dragging the two easter baskets into their bedroom while they were busy destroying the couch early this morning. The next few hours were very...sugar-infused. I had dumped out all of the pre-packaged candy in the plastic eggs, and conservatively replaced it with two mini Hersey's Kisses in each egg. The focus was supposed to be on the eggs themselves (with various cool features such as suction cups, glow-in-the dark, handy strings, etc), on the new Easter-themed books, and on the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eyore stuffed animals that joined our family this morning. The kids were each allowed just one candy before breakfast....
Ten minutes after the first candy was eaten, as I wonder why the house has been so quiet for the past 85 seconds, I see two sets of feet sticking out from behind the curtain, with the faint crackling of plastic eggs being opened.
Me: "You guys are not eating candy, right? No more candy!"
Vasco and Justine:"No, mommy, not eating candy!"
I pull back the curtain to find a delicious ring of chocolate around Justine's lips, as she tries to quickly finish up chewing... The process repeats at least twice, with the kids disappearing and reappering with new chocolate residue, until I decided this whole "I'm-going-to-trust-you-not-to-eat-the-chocolate" thing is not working, and I dumped out the remaining stuff, despite Vasco's pleas that all he wants to do is "touch the candy".
And somehow, despite all the madness, we managed to get make it to church at 11a.m, where, it seems all of the rest of DC had arrived, before us, and the single space left to squeeze into in the whole cathedral-sized church was 3 rows from the front, next to a woman who, if she did like kids, managed to hide it very well. She was less then amused when Vasco pointed out to her that the sheep in the stained-glass window scene were drinking water. While Vasco kept repeating random snippets that Pastor Meredith said during the children's sermon ("Jesus was gone!" (from the tomb), "celebrate!" , "disciples, mommy?"), Justine used the platform to yell for "PerriErin", "PerriEriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin", who were not there, but may have nonetheless heard us calling for them, as they drive up from North Carolina! :)
Happy Easter everyone!!!

Springtime in DC!

2007-04-07T09:03:00.000-04:00

Crocuses, Tulips, Hyacinths, too,
Cherry Blossoms... Flowering bushes.... SNOW???!!!

Antibiotics, a 10 mile race, and the theater

2007-04-02T21:02:00.000-04:00

What a weekend...Justine's cold seemed to get worse Friday night, and she had trouble sleeping, and with the way her breathing sounded, we decided it was worth a trip to Children's hospital on Saturday morning. Mike took her in, they gave her a chest X-ray, because her O2 saturation levels were only 93-94 percent, and based on the X-ray, she may have had a mild case of pneumonia. She came home on antibiotics, and a bagful of Xopenex. She took a long nap when she came home, and when she woke up, she insisted on helping me do the laundry: she climbed up on a step stool and put everything from the hamper into the laundry machine, and helped pour in the liquid. I honestly don't know where she gets her energy, but it was a comforting sight to see. By Sat evening, she slept so soundly and peacefully, that it was hard to imagine it had just been 24 hours since she sounded so awful..Justine is one tough lady! (she's showing off her hospital wrist-band in the picture)

With such a start for the weekend, and a gloomy prognosis for Sunday's weather, the challenge level was raised on one of my several personal goals for this year: the Cherry Blossom ten mile race loomed before me. With 3 hours or so of sleep on Friday night, and a non-stop Saturday, by Saturday at 9pm the prospect of getting up at 5:30am, tying on sneakers, and lining up for a run around the city seemed... well... challenging. Nonetheless, by 6am, in full running attire, a banana and gatorade for fuel, I set off. Standing at the starting line, I had no idea why I thought this was a good idea. But off we went, and between miles 1 and 4 I was feeling good, "Hey, I'm doing it!" By mile 5, I thought okay, "Half-way there!". Mile 6: "What was I thinking???!!!" There are 4 more miles to go, and this is the longest I've ever ran in my training runs!" 2 minutes later: "Shouldn't mile 7 be somewhere here?? Did we pass it already???" The real mile 7--the bargaining stage: "If I can just make it to mile 8, I can walk for 5 minutes". Somewhere around mile 8 a guy is standing under an overpass dressed in a red sequined skin-tight off-the-shoulder evening dress, cheering on his buddies, and handing out not water but beer cans (this was not a hallucination, just to clarify). Mile 8: "Wow, 2 miles left: everything below my waist is numb from pain, so I might as well keep running". Mile 9.5: I can see the finish line and some guy is cheering on the sidelines: "Almost there, this is the time to empty your tank!" Odd, I thought, why would I pee right here??? Then I realize he is talking about emptying a tank of fuel, or energy, giving it all I've got. Then, I hear my ChampionChip beep against the mat at the finish line, and somehow I've done it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1hour and 44 minutes. Yeah! Big thanks to Mike, for his support and for watching the kids all Sunday morning.

Some Advil, a hot shower, and a 30 min nap, and we were ready to go: Sunday evening we took the kids to their first show at the theater, to see "Go, Diego, Go!" The award for appreciation of fine arts goes to Vasco, who enjoyed the show very much. Justine insisted on leaving after the first act, so we spent the second act running around outside the Warner theater chasing squirrels while the boys finished watching the show.

"He who sings thinks no evil" (Bulgarian saying)

2007-03-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

This video may be much more entertaining to just a handful of Bulgarian relatives and friends, but it still may have some entertainment value to those who enjoy chaotic choreography and moderately-to-severely off-key singing of children's songs in strange tongues.
The kids do a much better rendition of the song when strapped into their carseats on the way home, and trying to get them organized in the kitchen with too many food and beverage distractions (plus the odd band-aid that has become a nightly object of fascination) was a task doomed to fail. In any case, enjoy!

Rain, Golden Pyramids and Puppets

2007-03-24T22:11:00.000-04:00

"It's raining, it's pouring, everything is boring!" I'm sure that this is what goes through the kids' heads on a day like that. Everything that on a sunny day is acceptable, on a rainy day becomes completely unplayable with, so that by 9:43am we cannot hope for any more play out of the 127 toys lining the living room floor.

However, I had a plan. We were going to do crafts. Super crafts, really: we were going to make the Golden Pyramid, as seen in the Little Einstein's episode "The Legend of the Golden Pyramid". Materials: cardboard, ruler, pencil, gold laminating paper, scotch tape. Skills: a bit of architectural knowledge, ability to use scissors. Assumed play time: 25 minutes. Kids' attention span for project: 9.5 minutes.

10:17am: exciting project done. Still raining! Now what???? Justine showed extreme interest in repeatedly sitting on the potty and demanding "privacy!" During said privacy time I was able to regroup and pull out two mismatched socks: sock puppets!! Hurray!

Choo choo..or is it Vroom vroom?

2007-03-20T22:20:00.000-04:00

I think it's supposed to be a train, but it could be a truck....

Where does one store such art projects? Clearly, in the kids' cubbies in daycare until the cubbies are overflowing with other art projects, and then we MUST take them home. A failure as an art curator, with nowhere imaginative to display these objects, I took a picture. So, choo choo or vroom vroom?

Justine's Developmental Appointment

2007-03-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

Today was Justine's turn to go to the Developmental Clinic. The time change has thrown our schedule in disarray, with the kids nowhere ready to go to bed at 8:30, nor at 9 pm for that matter, and, thus, nowhere near ready to get up on time in the morning. Long story short: we were a bit late, which embarrasses me deeply, but such is life, at least during Daylight Savings Time. So we were fashionably late, and oh-so fashionable, as Justine (and Vasco) are into wearing hats these past two days (see picture). Justine was in full super-cute mode, and was eager to shout out the names of all the pictures, colors, shapes and animals before the lady who was testing her could even ask her the questions! I was so proud of her! A few choice answers:

Examiner: "Justine, are you a girl or a boy?"

Justine (grinning under her hat): "Girl!"

Examiner: "When you grow up are you going to be a mommy or a daddy"

Justine (laughing like this one was way too easy): "DADDY!"

Examiner: "When you grow up are you going to be a woman or a man?"

Justine: "No man!!! Wooooman!!!"

This one probably went way over the head of the examiner, but Justine was also given a little bunny figurine to use to put on top of a cup, in a cup, under a cup, behind a cup, etc, to show, I suppose that she could understand a number of prepositions. After enthusiastically doing as asked, she said "Mommy, zayatz!! (Заяц, or bunny in Russian) in reference to an old Russian cartoon that my aunt taped for the kids when we went to Bulgaria in September. The examiner must have thought I was a slight bit cooky for laughing so hard.

I fully expect the report to arrive in the mail with some choice adjective describing her cuteness. All her medical reports do. The recent one from the pulmonary clinic diagnoses Justine as "adorable": I think that is the precise medical term.

Here it goes...

2007-03-13T23:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, we are trying to enter the modern world of blogging, and will try to use this instead of the other website. If I can figure out how to move the content of that webpage here, that would be nice.. but let's not be toooo ambitious today: I'm just starting!

It's been a long while, and there is probably much to update, but here are some recent updates. Vasco was discharged from the Developmental Clinic this Monday, as he did fantastically during his latest appointment: he even did things I had no idea he knew, like pick out the one shape in a pattern that didn't match the rest (upside down triangle, sideways square), and judge who had more blocks. "Chatterbug", as he is nicknamed in daycare, is super smart. We've taught him to say "I want to go to Harvard" (heeee heeee, I can't wait to get my "Harvard Mom" sweatshirt).

Their current most favorite books are by Dr. Seuss, which they practically know by heart, ("Big F, little F, what begins with F: four fluffy feathers on a Fiffer-feffer feff"!!! can't believe they can actually pronounce that!) and a random book that we got from the doctor's office when we went for Vasco's developmental appointment, called "Oops sorry", and is a book about manners. Their favorite page is the one where the baby ... well, it's described as making "rude noises" :)

Oh, yes, and there is Winnie the Pooh, and Piglet (which both kids pronounce "Piglick" which makes us laugh every time!), and Tigger, and Kanga, and Roo! The newest favoritist friends. This morning we marched to the daycare from the car, through the hallways, singing "Hey ho! For the life of the Bear, Hey Ho! for the expedition" (which of course, is the expedition song from the movie). And if this wasn't entertaining enough to picture, picture this as part of our "parade": Justine is carrying a teddy bear in a bridal outfit (not too bad), and Vasco is carrying a purple bouncy ball, a Spiderman doll, and... Spiderman underwear (yes, not on his bum, but in his hands).

Good night to all!