A 4 day weekend is always hard to sit around and do nothing on....so this 4 day weekend we planned to head out to Fort Worth and spend the night- because lets face it....my kids don't enjoy anything more than staying in a hotel- I think all kids love that....at least I know that my brother and I always loved it when we were kids.
So on Friday morning we asked the kids if they wanted to go to the zoo- but we never mentioned we would spend the night. So we headed to Fort Worth and went to the zoo. And for some reason this visit I noticed a huge difference in the boys at the zoo....they have both grown so tall that neither of them needed help to see the animals- they could stand on the ground and see the animals over the barricades all on their own. They were also more observant of all the animals this time. They LOVED the monkeys- they normally ignore the monkeys all around, but this time they had fun watching them. The Orangutans were really fun to watch- they had these burlap bags that they would drag around and cover themselves up with them and go to sleep- I told the boys that the Orangutans reminded me of them with their blankies....they loved that. We were at the zoo for nearly 4 hours- we closed the joint actually and it was the most perfect weather for it too....great day at the zoo.
So after we left the zoo we drove to the hotel- only we didn't tell the kids. We pulled up to the hotel (one we had never stayed in before) and Josh said- "Is this a HOTEL!?" and Jake was like "Oh it IS a hotel!!! Are we staying in a hotel!!!????!!!" I asked them why they thought this was a hotel (there wasn't many markings on the building) and Jake says "There are so many windows on the building!"...smart kid....so we checked in and luckily this hotel had an indoor swimming pool....so we went swimming....and I loved it too- because the pool was 3 feet 3 inches all around- even the hot tub....and the kids could stand all around- it was so great for me!
After we dried off, we headed to the stockyards to go see the Rodeo (or as Josh called it, the Radio). Im not sure if that was a hit or not.....the first cowboy out of the gate got his hand caught up on the bull and couldn't get free- he was fine in the end, thanks to the clowns, but I don't like seeing that.....then during the calf roping as one of the horses was pulling back on the caught calf the horse fell backwards and I was scared it got hurt- but it got up and got on its feet again.....but Jake turned to me then and said "I know Uncle David does this, but I don't like this part"....I think it scared him to see the horse go over like that (and scared me too).....Josh on the other hand couldn't get past the clowns- he HATES clowns and he was in my lap the entire time because he was scared the clowns were going to come get him....we tried to explain to him that the clowns are not there to entertain him but to help the cowboys- but he wasn't buying that. But the next few days they played rodeo together- and they both said they enjoyed it...so who knows....
The next morning we went for breakfast and another swim before checking out of the hotel (oh- and we had a pillow fight too! That was fun)....then we headed for the new Fort Worth Science Center. It was great actually. We were there for nearly 4 hours too....the kids got to dig for dino bones, play with water and trains, ride a horse or two and build fantastic flying machines. That was a huge hit....we probably built 6 flying machines for them (see video for what Im talking about)....Im convinced that the boys will do something mechanical when they grow up. Another very cool exhibit there was the energy exhibit.....where we used different forms of energy to power different aspects of a city.....Very cool museum if you are ever in Fort Worth and looking for something to do....
And as if that wasn't enough, after the science center we headed to 6 flags over texas for holiday in the park. It was on the way home and we have seasons passes and the weather was amazing- so we might as well huh...... We only spent about 3 hours there and I was getting tired......I can tell you though that the kids slept GOOD on Saturday night.....all in bed by 7:30am and slept until 7am the next day......it was good!
I love Fort Worth- I could live there if work wasn't over on this side of town. I always have fun when I go there and this was just the right trip for us to help pass the 4 day weekend!
Oh I just LOVE Glee....it just makes my week to watch that show and to listen to the genius music that comes out of it. Like this weeks Ballads episode. Did they really do a mash up of the Police and Gary Puckett! The Police! One of the hardest songs ever to cover- "Don't stand So Close To Me" and Mr. Schue did a BRILLIANT job of it....I LOVED it- and I have never said that about anyone covering a Police song. Or Artie singign "Dancing with Myself"...The new spin on that song is amazing. And its not just the musoic that is amazing, the stories ar so good. Im completely addicted and obsessed with this show. I think I own every song that they have released now on iTunes....Call me a gleek......
On a side note, why do i like Lady Gaga- I HATE that i like her....I so dont want to like her....but her music is just so damn catchy.....
Ok ok.....so Thanksgiving is still a week away, but its starting to feel like Thanksgiving around here (oh who am I kidding- with all the lights up in the neighborhood, its actually feeling like Christmas....but that doesn't go with my story now does it). Yesterday at Spanish Schoolhouse Josh had his Thanksgiving Party. They made pilgrim hats and turkey hats and had a huge turkey feast and made fun things.....then last night Primrose had their annual Thanksgiving day family supper- where they supplied the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and desserts. That was a nice thing.....it was such a nice night out too that we walked down to Primrose, and Josh's friend J walked home with us. Before we left I took this snap of Josh and Dad in the costumes Josh made at Spanish Schoolhouse yesterday.
Now if it would stop raining this weekend I can get my Christmas lights up too like the rest of the neighborhood! Of course, Im off of work all next week so I can always do it next week....HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ME!!!!
Saturday was the most gorgeous day here.....the temperatures were nearly 80 degrees F and sunny. A friend of Josh's asked us to go to the park on Saturday afternoon so we loaded up the car with every type of park toy going (bikes, helmets, balls, cars, action figures) and we met them at the park at 3:30pm.....the 3 boys played so well for a good hour or so, going between the school park and the community park. Then around 4:30 or so a friend of Jake's showed up. That was a nice treat because Jake went off and played with his friend A, and Josh and his friend J played and Js mom and I got to visit for 2.5 hours! We stayed at the park until it was nearly dark and the kids were complaining that they were hungry (it was 6pm!) so we drove J and his mom home and went home. I can't even tell you how perfect that afternoon was.
Fast forward to this morning. We woke up to 40 degrees F with a west wind. Now I know my Canadian friends are thinking that this is balmy, but when we were at 80 two days ago, this is shocking. We are now wrapped up in winter jackets, mits and toques. Well- most of us are. Josh refuses to wear his winter jacket- he doesn't like it.....Im not sure why but I need to take him to look for a new jacket pronto or that kid is gonna freeze this winter. At least its sunny. We walked to school today, Jake and I, and Jake was complaining the whole time- "I wish it was never winter....it's so cold...why do we have to walk".....I told him he should consider himself lucky that he doesn't live in Canada- there is no way he can understand what cold really is.....Of course that's not to say that Im not starting to look for a job in the Cayman Islands......40 degrees is still too cold for me!
Yes, we went to see Monster Trucks this weekend. They were appearing pretty much down the road from us in a town called Allen in a pretty small venue. That made it both good and bad. Good in the sense that we got up close to these beasts- and we got to smell the diesel first hand (is that a good thing?). It was also tremendously loud (that was a bad thing). It was also a close drive, relatively inexpensive and free parking. The bad part was that the venue was really small- so these beasts had little room to really run free- their "free style" was limited and there wasn't mush room to race each other, like there would be in a larger arena like the AAC or something. Still, it was very enjoyable- for me at least. We got there and got seated and got all our ear protection on (which Im soooo happy we had- it would have been unbearable without ear protection and I would have worried that my kids' ears would be damaged). The kids were really excited at first, until the first monster truck fired up its engine, and Josh landed in my lap! He got scared. Terrified actually.
The start of the show was motorcycles doing jumps and stunts- that was sort of scary to me. Seeing these 2 teenagers 100 feet in the air doing a stunt that could kill them if it went wrong....it's one thing to watch that on TV- where you know its not live and therefore you know no one will be killed (they just wouldn't show that)....it's another thing to see it live and wonder if the kid is gonna land safely.....but it was entertaining in the end (once I knew I wasn't going to witness broken bones). The boys were fine for the motorcycles....but once the monster trucks started, Josh asked to leave.....so I left with him for a bit and eventually he asked to go back in.....he sat on my lap then entire time, but he did watch them, and I think eventually he started to enjoy it a bit. Jake was a little scared at first too, but he came around much faster than Josh did.
All in all I was so proud of the kids. They sat through the entire 2.5 hour show and they seemed to really like it. Johnny said he really enjoyed it too. So Im glad we went as a family. And I was definitely in the minority there. My friend Melinda and her family came with us and her daughter was the only little girl I saw there and only a handful of women....it's definitely a thing that dads and sons seemed to do- but Im glad I went with my family. I also noticed that extreme ice racers were coming in February....might be something we need to check out!
This video was shot in the dark in Josh's room at the hospital (so not much to see). It was about 12:30am and I had just said to Josh "Guess what today is? Its my birthday!". He looked at me and said "Its too bad no one else is here to help you celebrate! Looks like we will be having a hospital party for you!" and then he started to sing me my birthday song- which I caught on tape....the red light floating across the screen is his little finger that has the oxygen monitor in it. I just love to hear him sing.
For my birthday Johnny bought me a few cookbooks that are centered around kids and cooking. I was so excited to get these since the kids just love to cook and these books are very specific to little kids. So on Sunday, when Johnny was at the races, the boys and I decided to pick a few items in the cookbooks and make them. We started by making a trip to the grocery store (becuase I hardly had any supplies). Then we started making pizza dough (in my new food processor that I also got for my b-day). Then we moved to making Pixie Wands. We rolled out dough and made an egg wash for them with food coloring. We colored 4 different bowls with orange, pink, green and purple food coloring and we painted up the sticks.....into the oven they went and we moved onto our Lilo and Stitch Tropical Smoothies....In about 15 minutes we were sitting down to a carb filled meal prepared by the boys......it was fun. A little later in the day we rolled out our dough, and put on cheese and pepperoni and baked up our mini pizzas- which to me were very good! Im looking forward to doing this again someday (although the mess of my kitchen took nearly 30 minutes to clean up- so maybe not in the too near future!).
Friday night my mother in law came over and she and I went to a tennis match. That was a really fun night for me. I got to go for drinks with her and a good visit, then we got to go watch Pete Sampras play a gentleman's match against Todd Martin. And I should have known that things would go downhill from there- because they always seem to when I go out without the kids. We had just got home and were visiting with Johnny and all about to turn in for the night when I heard it. This terrible bark from Josh's room. I went into his room and he is sitting up in his bed and barking and gasping for air and crying and scared, then barking again and gasping again. He couldn't drink, he couldn't talk and he was struggling for air. It scared the shit out of me. I grabbed him and yelled to Johnny that I was calling 911- handed Josh to Johnny and with a minute 8 paramedics were in my dining room looking at Josh (on a side note, I was SOOO impressed with my cities paramedics). After 10 minutes or so of them monitoring him Josh was breathing again fairly normally but when he coughed he was still barky and I knew something was wrong. The paramedics said that they recommend having him checked out at the hospital and that they could take us in the ambulance or we could go ourselves. I opted for the ambulance (I figured I would be a wreck trying to drive and worry about him). So the paramedics strapped Josh onto a gurney and I sat in the jump-seat beside him in the ambulance and Johnny followed us to Children's. Once we got to Children's they diagnosed him right away with croup and gave him a breathing treatment and a steroid. We waited there for 3 hours to make sure the steroid kicked in and they sent us home. At 3am we were finally all in bed.
I know it could have been worse. I know that I may have have overreacted in calling 911- but I was seriously terrified. I was so worried that he was dying honestly. And as for the ambulance ride, I guess i could have taken him myself but I know that we got preferential treatment once we got there (i.e.- we got right into a room) and that to me is worth the deductible Ill have to pay for the ambulance ride. Im just thankful the doctors and nurses and paramedics were so great with Josh- he never ever seem scared even when 5 paramedics were carrying him to the ambulance while I scrambled to find shoes, a jacket and my purse. Josh even said to me when we were waiting at the hospital to be discharged "that was pretty cool getting to ride in an ambulance".....but I have to say, Im not anxious to do it again anytime in the near future.
At Jake's school they have been studying nursery rhymes now for the last few weeks. Humpty Dumpty, 3 blind mice, Jack and Jill....all the oldies but goodies. This week they end their studies with a Nursery Rhyme Kindergarten Hoe-down. The idea is that the kids dress up as one of the characters in the nursery rhymes that they have studied and have a big party. The only guidelines were that the school said "This is not an opportunity to get dressed up in halloween costumes and if the kids aren't dressed appropriately, they will be asked to remove their costume". I racked my brain on what to do for this. Little Bo Peep? Too girlie.....Itsy Bitsy Spider? To icky.....Jack and Jill! Perfect! I told Jake that I would give him a pail, write the name Jack on it, and send him in tattered clothes and draw scrapes on his arms and face- he HATED the idea......I finally got him to agree to be "all the kings men" from Humpty Dumpty.....now to find a knights costume.....So I found a shield and a chest plate and a helmet for $4 at the halloween store (After Halloween when everything is 75% off). Yesterday Jake said "I don't want to get dressed up- what if no one else is"....So I asked him to check with his friends to see what they were going as. Last night he told me his friend Jack was going to be a Knight too.....so I thought I was golden.....then I realized last night that the directions from school said "NO HALLOWEEN COSTUMES" and Jake's really is a costume.....And i never even thought to hand make this- Im just not that artsy....so now I have sent Jake to school and Im figuring he will be told he cant wear his 3 pieces...I hope not....but Im really worried...I wish I had of thought to be crafty! Have I mentioned that Im not a big fan of this here hoe-down!?!
If you could only drink one beverage for the rest of your life (not including water), which one would you choose?
DUH! WINE! Of course I would be a drunkard......The question says to not include water, so Im assuming that I could also drink water along with my wine....I would be a very happy gal! And I would have variety too! Red, White, Pink, and I would argue Champagne woudl fall into this category.....What did you think I would pick? Juice? Milk? Gatorade?
