My Kind of Town, Chicago Is....

Well, maybe. If you are someone who likes ridiculous amounts of traffic. (I don't. And the kids really don't!) Sure, there are great sites and great eats there, but if you can't get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, what good is it? Me, I prefer good ol' Indy. Plenty to do; nice people; and a city you can get around in. And a place where you do not have to spend the equivalent of 1 months salary just to park for an hour! But anyway, I think you all already caught on to my city preference. (If not, please see Super Bowl posts from the month of January.)

Nonetheless, we found ourselves in the Windy City last week on the mission of visiting some of hubby's family. Princess Keira wanted to make an appearance to spread goodwill. She returned to the city where she became a US citizen and topped that by finally meeting her paternal grandfather, an aunt and uncle. Hopefully we'll get to see the rest of the gang on our next visit.

Besides K getting to meet some more of her family, we experienced other firsts on the trip as well....

It was our first family road trip in the new car:

and our first family swim in a pool:

It was also our first family-of-4 stay in a hotel, complete with pillow-fight:

Don't worry about the munchkin here. She looks a little tortured, but she was really having some fun. Really. And after the pillow fight, we gathered 'round to watch a movie (Cars - Q's favorite) and eat popcorn. Two more firsts for K, and a big success as well.

On the way out of Chicago, Quinn offered the following observations: This city has lots of tall buildings. Lots of people live in them.

And some have rockets on top.

He's a quick-study, eh? That preschool education is paying off.

Ladies, Start Your Engines!

Ah yes, the month of May here in Indianapolis. Race Fever abounds. Palms sweat at the though of fast cars. And, in the case of my hubby and the hubby of my best friend/therapist/sounding board, hearts race at the thought of increased estrogen in this year's 500...especially this dose of speeding womanhood:

And especially when said friend and I gloated about spotting Ms. Patrick last Friday outside Nordtrom. You didn't get her autograph? they gasped. Uh, no...we were too busy noting her fabulous sunglasses and shoes...and too busy discussing whether or not our husbands were surviving a whole day with the kids while we got to shop, shop, shop. This type of day, by the way, the ladies-only-shopping-men-home-with-kids day is known in motherhood circles as a Little Slice of Heaven.

But anyway, back to racing, cars, and fast driving.

In keeping with the spirit of the month of May, and because it was just way overdue, we bid farewell to our 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The ol' Jeep has served us well and has transported us far and wide. I think it still might have some sand in it, leftover from trips to beaches in Michigan, North Carolina, and Florida.

So last Saturday morning, with a bit of research under our belts, we piled the kids in for the last of those 150,000 miles and headed out to get some new wheels. When we stepped out of the Jeep and into the dealer's parking lot, we could hear the roar of the Indy cars practicing at the Speedway, just a few miles down the road. If you are a car salesman, you can't ask for better mood music. And we were in the mood.

It had been 12 years, nearly to the day, since we bought the Jeep.

Here is its replacement:

A 2007 Subaru Outback, made right up the road from us, in Lafayette.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can hear you now: The woman who seemingly rolled her eyes at minivans in the previous post now drives a station wagon?!! Um, yes. She does. And she likes it. Quinn says that it is almost as cool as a van. What does he know? It's like, way cooler. Right? Right??!!

And so for now, I guess I'm Kanga, toting my kids around in the new 'Ru. Toting them around for another 12 years until it's time to get this dinosaur replaced. By then, Quinn will be of driving age. And by then, I'm guessing he'll have a new definition of cool.

What's Next? A Minivan?

An alternate title for this post could be: What's With This Mom and Shoes-too-small???

Yup, you guessed it. Quinn was my victim this time. I've been saying for about a month now that we need to get him new tennies. But, time slips away. And since he dresses himself now, well, I don't necessarily look at his shoes closely on a daily basis.

So this afternoon he casually says this: "Hey look - I can see my sock through my shoe."

Huh?

And sure enough, he had blown out the toes on not one, but both shoes.

OK, ok. With a small sliver of guilt leftover from the last shoe incident, I vowed that as soon as Keira got up from her nap, we would head right over to the shoe store that so deftly fit Miss K's little tootsies just the other week.

Now, here's the part where I did something I swore I'd never do: I bought him Velcro shoes. As are my feelings for minivans, so it goes for velcro: I understand its utility and can see the benefit, but it is never something I thought I'd purchase willingly on my own.

But, as it turns out, Quinn turned up his nose at the other shoes I suggested. And the one non-velcro pair we agreed on, they didn't have in his size (which, by the way, was a whole size and a half up from what he'd been wedging his feet into [surprise, surprise!]).

And then there were these:

He claimed that he loves them and wants them.
Really?
Yes.
OK. Fine.

This is what we call, in parenting circles, "Picking Your Battles". Having already had more fights than necessary over clothing these past few weeks (hey - I might not be able to detect too-small-shoes, but I can usually spot a too-small-t-shirt a mile away!), I cringed at the thought of daily fights over shoes he hates. So I caved and bought the velcro ones.

Can a minivan be far behind????

+++++++++++++++

In other family news, here is Miss K digging the sand, literally and figuratively!

And our minature golfer. Watch out Tiger Woods!

Mocking the Goldfish? Or trying to be one with the fish?...

On a Mother's Day note, I got flowers! I was beginning to think that my hubby had the impression that their sale was banned in Indiana, but alas, my concerns were for naught.

On Tuesday, Quinn's preschool class met at a local park. Parents and siblings were invited to join them. As you can see from the photo below, it was a little windy that day!

But a good time was had by all just the same.

Happiness is.....

...a friend you can lean on....

....and share snacks with, too!

Crash Landing

Today, Quinn's preschool class hosted the mommies for a little luncheon. I've been on a high from this all day - such sweetness, cuteness, innocence. The kids met us, 2 at a time, in the hallway across from their room at noon. They escorted us to our seats (designated via lovely, kid-made butterfly placemats, at tables with little white tableclothes) and even pulled our chairs out for us! We had little gifts at our seats - a handprint plaque and a flower. And we were treated like "princesses....and princesses don't throw away their own garbage!"

Have I mentioned yet how much I love these preschool teachers? Giving the kids a fabulous sense of what this world needs: Mommies as princesses.

Anyway, we dined on little sandwiches, fruit, and butterfly cookies made by the kids. We then joined them in "circle time" and they sang a few songs, including a special Mommy song. (Several tears wiped away at this point.) The day ended with one of the teachers reading this book:

Put this on your required reading list. Any mother out there will definitely get a chuckle or two from it....although I'm not sure the kids knew why we were laughing at it this afternoon.

OK - so here's the crash. Tonight while drying off Quinn after his bath, I'm telling him what a great day it was, how I loved the party, and how I know that all the other mommies did too. He then gets a thoughtful look in his eyes and tells me, "You know, Gabrielle's mommy is different than my mommy." She is? I ask. "Yes, she's smiley." She's smiley? You don't think your mommy is smiley? "Well...I have to tell you this....well...sometimes you're smiley, but Gabrielle's mom is always smiley." Oh, OK (my voice drifts off and Quinn begins a new topic - Buzz Lightyear, I think).

Thud. That comment totally brought be back to earth. I'm not smiley. In his eyes. At least not as smiley as Gabrielle's mom. I was fully-prepared just moments earlier to hear him say that I wasn't as pretty, skinny, or as nicely dressed at G's mom. But smiley? Oh man. Nice to get your mid-year evaluation from one of your little bosses and hear this.

So, I did what any self-respecting mommy would do at this point: after putting the kids to bed, I left all dishes in the kitchen sink and ate a big, fat bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream (Edy's Slow-Churned, of course - just in case the you're-not-as-skinny-as-so&so's-mom comment is next!). And I watched TV all night long.

And now, I'm smiling. It's too bad he's sleeping through it all!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Apparently, this is how that smiling business is done:

Quinn, open those eyes! Your mommy is smiling in the next photo!

Alpha and Omega

Today was pretty much more of the same around here - Quinn at preschool, Keira getting into garbage and standing on chairs, yada, yada, yada - but the beginning and the end of the day were pretty spectacular. And here's why.

The Alpha: This morning, on the drive to preschool, I hear Keira giggling in the backseat. Apparently Quinn was making some of his hilarious faces. Her laughter encouraged him further, it seemed, and soon an all out laugh-fest erupted back there. What music to my ears, to hear them entertaining each other. A good ol' fashioned belly laugh is a great way to start the day.

The Omega: The day ended with the lovely Miss K (no, not in the beautiful dress below, but in her puppy-n-kitty PJs), sleepily patting my chest, looking up and me and saying, "Ahhh mama." Yes. She called me mama. To my face. Not when whining to her dad because she wants me back. But looking at me. Calling me mama. Yippee! She's only done this a few other times in the four months she's been home, not that I'm counting....
But OK - I am counting.
She's done it four times.
And on an in-between note, as all parents know, it is never all wine and roses (or, all juice and popsicles). You have those moments like this:

Keira constantly taking off her shoes. At home. In the car. Always in the car. Everywhere.

It occurs to me that maybe the shoes are too small. But, nah, doesn't really seem that way. Anyway, fast forward a few weeks to this week when I decide that Miss K needs nice little summer sandals. I take her to an actual shoe store. You know, to really get measured. Just in case I had, by some fluke, misjudged when I bought those very cost-effective Target sandals. So, they measure those delicate little feet and declare that she needs a size 5 1/2.

Aha! Mystery solved. I don't need Fred and Daphne and the gang to tell me that indeed, the constant shoe-removal must have been because her feet had been wedged into shoes 2.5 sizes too small.

Yeah, well, no Mother of the Year here on this cul-de-sac.

But we have happy kids (usually) and now, some happy feet.

What Do You Think Webster Would Say About This?

We have a new word around this house: Keira-tated. As in, "Keira, stop that [squealing/kicking/spitting/et al]; it is really irritating...."

Or now, thanks to my witty hubby (I know, can you believe it?!) ;-) we can say that it is really "Keiratating!"

Now, I suppose, to keep things even, we need to invent a term in honor of #1 son. Like maybe, Quinnstigating. He seems to have mastered this as it relates to stirring up trouble with his sis.

Of course, with moments like these, who in their bright mind would be Keiratated??

Four and Fabulous, Part II

The first F&F post earlier this month was to honor our birthday boy. This post, fondly referred to as F&F2, is in honor of his ever-loving sister, as today is the 4-month anniversary of the day we met Keira.

Four months ago today, hubby and I were in China, nervously and anxiously awaiting the introduction to our daughter.
This is the girl we met:

This is the girl we know today:

We hope that she is growing to feel the same way toward us, as we feel toward her. We hope that she is coming to learn and understand that she will be here forever, loved and cared for, safe and secure. Our time together as a family gets better and better. We are getting to see more smiles, more laughter, more hugs, and more kisses. We get to see more and more of her fun-loving personality. And best of all, we get to wake up to that every single morning.

Here's to another great 4 months....4 years....and 4-ever.

Long Distance Dedication

No, no....I'm not really trying to be Kasey Kasem here. BUT, I was in Ohio today visiting family and a certain aunt of mine (you know who you are!) not so subtly reminded me that, ahem, the birthday pix have been up for a while.
So, Aunt C, these are for you, with love from Indiana!

Keira enjoying the green, green grass....before it got covered with snow again!
And here, also enjoying the green grass (in the form of a mixed greens salad, apparently!)...it would seem her mom was too busy with the camera initially to notice just what was really going on!

On Palm Sunday, K actually smiling for the camera, while Q is still mad about not getting a doughnut after church:
Their first Easter Egg hunt - or as their father called it, the Easter Egg Stumble (since the eggs were everywhere!)

With the Bunny, after the egg-stumble (Keira is actually screaming at the giant fluffy white thing, and therefore the reason mom had to get in on the photo):

Easter morning, with their loot:

After church on Easter Sunday, all smiles:

You might get a kick out of Q's version of events: "Yeah, I know why we celebrate Easter, because some bad guys put Jesus in a cave and then when his friends went to look for him they found out that he had escaped! That was cool, huh?"

I guess when you are a 4-year old boy, everything unfolds like a superhero action story.

Four and Fabulous!

I've been a little late, OK - 2 weeks late, in dedicating a birthday post to our #1 son. Q turned four on "March twenty-one" (as he announced to everyone!) and is a super-bright shining star (so sayeth his parents). He's been a such a blessing to us and I feel so lucky to be able to spend more time than ever watching him grow.

Quinn was born in 2003, on the first Friday of the NCAA tournament. I knew that he'd be a smart kid right off the bat, since he had the good sense to be born during half-time of the Purdue game. (The last time they were in the tourney, by the way, until this year...the year his sis arrived....maybe the Boilers' tourney success depends on us having kids...hmm....)

Anyway, as is typical of most moms, I spend a lot of time marveling at how intelligent and insightful my son is. Like the other day, when we are playing the "Who loves you the most?" game (sorry, hubby, I make them say me!) :-) Anyway, the game starts when I say - while picking up Q and swinging him in the air: "Who loves you the most?" "Mommy does!" he shouts. "Who loves Keira the most?" I continue. "Mommy does!" he shouts even louder. But then here it gets interesting: Quinn takes over the game and adds, voice even louder, "Who loves everyone the most?"

I paused. Is he talking about me? I am supposed to love everyone, but, well....and before I even have a chace to answer, he shouts "God does!"

Oh. Wow. Well, that's right! Yippee for him!

Then, I think, Those Sunday School teachers at St. Luke's really are something.....

Nonetheless, and if you are a mom and/or a Seinfeld junkie, you know this next part: everything balances out. As in, for every fabulous oh-my-kid-rocks moment, you have a oh-my-gosh-he's-a-rascally-little-snicklefritz moment. Usually here, that takes the form of body-checking his sister into the baby-gate to prevent her from getting (insert name of toy du jour). We're working on that...and a few other in-her-face big brother habits. But all in all, he's a winner.

So, here's to you, little one. Ooops - I mean big one. Because, yes, I know (since I've been told a zillion times or so), you aren't the baby around here....

(Here he is, taking an important b-day call from Grandma!)

(Uh, what's with this Cubs hat, Dad? Isn't there a Reds hat around this joint somewhere?)

Must Love Cats and Dogs

Back in the early years of our marriage, hubby and I were often asked the ol' when-are-you-two-having-kids irritating question. Oh, we just got a dog we say - we are practicing on him.

A few years later, still no kids. But we did add a cat to the household. Same question would come our way. Same answer given by us...only modified to include the cat.

Well, fast forward to today (13+ years after the appearance of our first furry friend) and here we are with 2 real kids of our own. And we discovered recently that, after years of joking around about the dog and cat being our practice kids, our real kids are really quite like our dog and cat.

Our son is the dog of the family. And I mean this in the best possible way. Like man's best friend, he is friendly and eager to please his owners, um, I mean,uh, parents. You tell him to stop doing something and he pretty much gets it right off the bat. (Of course, he is 4 now, so there are times....)

And then there's Little Miss K. Yup - she's the cat. She's not lazy and fat and antisocial like our particular cat, but there's no telling her no. As in, No Keira - stop eating that refrigerator magnet. (Take away magnet and put back on fridge.) Two seconds later: No Keira, stop eating that magnet.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

She keeps going back for more, totally lacking that admirable dog-like obedience gene.

But we love them all, dogs and cats alike.

And, as it turns out, getting those practice kids oh so long ago really might pay off afterall.

March Gladness

OK....sometimes, it really is madness around here, but I didn't want the NCAA after me for name infringement and all. (Their headquarters are right here in Indy, so who knows who is lurking where!)
Anyway, spring is about to officially arrive and we had some nice preview days last week. We all got outside to enjoy the sunshine and Miss K thought her new swing was, to quote her brother, "A Blast!!!"


As of this past Sunday, Keira is 15 months old and has been with us for 3 months. She is starting to walk more and more on her own and she is getting her sixth tooth - hence the madness sometimes, instead of gladness. Besides mama and dada and gege, she says UP! quite plainly. I think she also said thank you at dinner tonight. Really. Ask her dad. And she loves to point and blab at our dog. I think she is saying "go go dog" or something like that....maybe because Quinn likes the PD Eastman book "Go, Dog, Go!", or maybe because the Mandarin word for dog is pronounced "go" and whenever she points to Odie I say, "dog...gou...dog...."
Or maybe she's just saying "Why don't you ever let me pull his tail!??!"

Anyway, she's doing just fabulously, I think. Did I mention previously that she's hit the charts now? The growth charts, that is. She has officially gained 3 American pounds and that puts her at the 8th-percentile for her age. She is in the 25% for her height. And despite the noodle lovefest she displayed in China, she won't touch them now. What have we done? Is she an all American girl already? She wouldn't eat them the last 2 times we got Chinese food. She will, however, eat macaroni and cheese. And she ate barbecue and danced to country music when we took daddy-o out for his 40th b-day dinner. Yup...the girl's gone country. (We don't even really like country music much ourselves, but I guess there's no accounting for toddler taste!)

Well, time to slide out of here for now. I'll leave you with a little fish-lip kiss from Miss K herself:
(She's discovered recently that instead of crying when mommy tells her no, it is much better to just crawl on over and give lots of kisses.....and who am I to argue with that??!)

The Sands of Time

My dear hubby got a 40th (yes- 40th!) birthday card last week that said "When it comes to the sands of time.....You've built yourself a nice little beach!" Find below the beach bums enjoying daddy's 40th. (Cake, it's all about the cake....at least if you're 4, and not yet 40!)


When asked to comment on their father's birthday, Keira says:
heh heh heh....he's how old?

Quinn has no comment, but dwells sadly on the thought of his dad being over-the-hill....


Later in the week, the old man proved himself still useful by taking the whole gang for a walk around the neighborhood! (Keira's first wagon ride, which she loved, of course.)


Later, in a musical b-day gift to her dad, Keira entertained.
First, a piano and harmonica concert (that is, using the harmonica to bang on the piano!).

And then, a few dance numbers!

Happy 40th B-day, Daddy! We love you!