New Year's Revisited

Just for kicks and giggles, I pulled up my blog entry from the beginning of the year with my resolutions. Let's see how I did.

1. Organize the baby room before the baby is born.

Well, the baby was born and he has a room. I think it was habitable by the time he got here, but was still partly storage. It is definitely a utilitarian room - no toys or decorations, just a couch, crib and clothes. That works for us, though, and I don't foresee it changing before he reaches a year.

2. Read only religious related materials on Sunday. Doesn't have to be from my religion, but I should take a day of rest from all the fiction I have been cramming in my brain lately. Jason points out this is going to make it more difficult for me to finish Doctor Zhivago anytime soon, but I have been slogging my way through a poor translation of that for about 3 weeks - missing 1 day out of 7 won't hurt me.

Hmm, I did hold to this one unless I was sick. When I am sick I just want to escape into a fluff novel until I feel better.

3. Hold Family Home Evening every week.

I have to give us this one. With a new baby and other craziness, we really did a pretty good job of holding FHE. Some nights were much briefer activities/lessons than others, but we did really well. Now we just have to keep going.

4. Set up a system of chores for Josh. Yep, his babyhood days are over.

Nope. Started off well, but it wasn't a sustainable system. Paper charts are going to have to be out for us - Ben eats them and Michael tears them in his excitement. We have devised another system for 2010 that involves pirate coins - how's that for boy motivation!

5. Donate some hair to locks of love. Just as soon as I can figure out what losing 10 inches of the Beast is going to look like, I am chopping it off. It is a postpartum tradition anyway. This way, someone can benefit.

Yes! I even cut it myself. I don't remember when it happened exactly, but I mailed off 10 inches of my hair. It was liberating - the Beast can get pretty heavy.

6. Take my vitamins.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Why is this one so hard for me? I take other medications on a daily basis! I even cheated some days and took the boys gummy vitamins, but it never lasted.

I will come up another list soon for next year. Hopefully sooner rather than later since next year is coming sooner rather than later! The first year with a baby is stressful and busy, so I should have better luck next year.

Christmas Morning

Oh yeah, these boys know they have been good this year. (Well, that or Santa has a very forgiving heart.) I really do have great kids and it was very, very fun to watch this age on Christmas morning. There is something special about watching kids on Christmas morning that makes it such a fun and special time. Adults are nice, but kids are hysterical.

Here is the loot. We had Nana, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Doug here with us to celebrate the morning so we had stocking galore.
The boys loved everything they got. From the intangible (lessons from Nana and Aunt Rachel) to the tangible (Wii games from Uncle Doug and Aunt Dorian). It was a superhero-train-Star Wars-Buzz Lightyear Christmas and they loved every minute of it.

But the one present that took high honors in Josh's book was Lego Star Wars for the Wii (thanks Aunt Dorian - in case you were wondering what we spent the money on). Josh was literally shaking with joy. And Jason and I stayed up until 11pm (doesn't sound too crazy unless you know that we are usually in bed by 9pm) defeating 8 levels - only 152 to go!
And, of course, this was Ben's first Christmas. Poor Ben. Poor third child. We just left him asleep while everyone else opened their presents and stockings. It was just easier that way. He didn't seem to mind much. And, of course, he loved the dollar teething ring best.
That and the tags on his toys!

Christmas Eve

As is our tradition, we spent Christmas Eve at my Dad and Diane's house. They always put together a spectacular spread and have beautiful decorations.

This is the boys favorite part - the trains! The cute one sits on top of the piano with this snowy Christmas village. They have another one on the floor that get more "love."

The tree.

Josh and Michael spending some quality time watching TV while the Christmas Eve (dinner/lunch/linner/dunch) meal is being prepared.

Ben really enjoyed his new found freedom and roamed the floors with a big smile on his chubby face. Where that other sock went is still a mystery. People often give me nasty looks in the grocery stores in the winter when my kids aren't wearing any socks. What they don't know is that we started off with socks. If I only knew how, I am sure we could track our movements like Hansel and Gretel with the socks we have left behind.

And here is one of the few Santas of whom my kids aren't scared.

A Note About Commercials

One may argue that given the fact that we have named our boys with rather common names, this was bound to happen sooner or later.

For people who only get one network station and a bunch of foreign language news channels, we watch an obscene amount of TV. Consequently, I have seen quite a few commercials lately. I noticed something odd - there are quite a few commercials on that use our names. Mostly for socially acceptable items/stores. Except for my name!

Name Product/Store

Jason Miller REI

Ben Triaminic strips

Irene SCALPACIN

Seriously!?! Seriously!?!

I can't ever find my name on cute mugs or key chains, but apparently it can be used to sell a liquid that helps with scalp itch. Yuck.

Tis the Season for SUGAR

Just to get him out of the way, here is Josh. Josh is sitting at the table during hour four of the breakfast showdown. He will continue to sit here for another two and a half hours, which means he missed out on a lot of the fun on Sunday. And that is why you won't see any other pictures of him in this post. Let us leave him now and move on to funner things.

As we were effectively snowed in this weekend, we decided to make our "gingerbread" houses. To make the activity easy and Josh-friendly (as stated above, this turned out to be an unnecessary precaution, but oh well), we used graham crackers and a regular tub of frosting. I got to use my brand spanking new Pampered Chef icing bottles, so I was happy no matter what.

Jason was the architect on Michael's house - they ran into some technical difficulties with their first design:
That didn't bother Michael one bit as he chowed down on this ill-fated piece.
Here is their finished product with the candy I could scrounge from around the house. It didn't turn out horribly festive, but...
...once again, Michael didn't seem to mind one bit!

The Snow Storm Before Christmas

Saturday morning we woke to this:

Sunday morning we woke to this:

And then they cancelled school in Jason's district for the rest of the WEEK! Yea! We get a 2 week vacation after all.

On Sunday, Jason and the boys went out to play in the snow. Ben and I made a guest appearance as well. We learned a couple of things that day:

1. This looks like a snow baby, but isn't.

2. This doesn't look like a snow baby and really, really isn't.

3. This IS a snow baby. All bundled up with his cast covered in 4 layers (let me know when they invent a waterproof cast - it will be a happy day!), he stayed outside for well over an hour as Jason dug out both of our cars.

Stages

A wise but young mother once told me that parenting doesn't get any easier, it just is different. And, with the exception of Josh's colic, she was right.

At first, I kept thinking that if we could just make it past (insert stage here), life would be better, instead of looking for the enjoyable parts of my child (back when we only had Josh). I was also keeping a mental countdown to Josh going to college and he was only 3 months old. It wasn't the best time for us. But then, that was the colic phase. At other times I have had the same thought and had to catch myself. The "easy" times have been few and far between. Not that I don't enjoy my children, but overcoming and adapting are some of the building blocks of parenting. Between the wrestling, tickling, jokes, trips to exciting places and fun times spent together there always seems to be some issue or another with which we are dealing. If it isn't potty training then it is constipation, if it isn't temper tantrums it is hitting and if it isn't food allergies then it is picky eaters.

With each subsequent child we just seem to add another issue to the mix. And then we have to start weighing the needs and problems of each against the others and in the context of the family as a whole. Of course, it gets easier to handle the different stages the more experience we have with them. But sometimes, I feel like everything is falling apart around me and sometimes I end the day feeling confident in my parenting skills and that each child got what he needed that day. This is definitely not a job that can lead to boredom.

And sometimes, a stage of life that seems to offer the promise of relief becomes one of the biggest problems in our lives. Kindergarten was such a stage for us. We have reached a point where this stage is not just different, but one that has costs we aren't willing to pay. Not a fan of full-day Kindergarten. I won't bore you with details here (especially if I have already bored you with details in person), but starting in January we are going to try home schooling Josh. I have had my misgivings in the past about home schooling, but I am actually excited about it. I am excited to work on reading, math, art, history and SCIENCE with him! Josh is at an age where he can listen, write and participate really well. We won't do very much structured "school" time every day since he is already mastered most of the content our county expects for his grade, but I hope to make it fun and give him more time to play.

Wish us luck. I'll try to keep reminding myself that it probably won't be easier, just different.

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas from the Miller Family!

And then there were five. Yes, we added another savage to the tribe this year. Ben joined us on March 26^th and has been a little bundle of joy ever since. The boys are obsessed with their new laughing, squeaking, and crying toy and have welcomed him with lots of love. Some of that love hurts, but sometimes being the third child is painful. Ben has been our happiest baby and blessedly the least mobile. But, as he sits on the floor chewing on Josh’s school papers or toys, we can see him carefully watching his brothers’ every move and taking mental notes. We can tell that this one will be crazy, too.

Michael started preschool this year at the ripe old age of three. He is attending the same program Josh did, Teens and Tots at the local high school. He loves his teachers and playing with his friends. However, when we ask him what he learned at school, he always answers, “Playing with Rescue Heroes.” We are not sure how much he is learning, but he enjoys himself and Irene gets a break. We thought for a while that Michael was not going to fixate on specific toys like Josh does, but he has developed a love for all things Buzz Lightyear and superheroes. He often dashes around the house using his “powers,” sometimes for good and more often for evil. Michael is our mischievous child with a darling smile and a propensity to bug the heck out of Josh.

Josh graduated from Preschool in the Spring and has moved on to the big world of Elementary School. He loves everything about Kindergarten; from riding the bus to doing worksheets, there is not a single part of his day there that he doesn’t enjoy. He is a great reader and enjoys spelling and rhyming all day long. He has also had a string of “girlfriends” this year; shades of Jason in his (much) younger days. We are past the days of Josh’s exclusive train obsession and now add dinosaurs, spaceships and superheroes to his list of interests. And Josh has become our resident Wii expert having logged in more hours on Mario Kart than the rest of us combined. We are very grateful for our oldest boy with his kind heart and love of learning.

Irene just survives one day at a time. Keeping busy with playgroup, various clubs and preventing the all out destruction of our house is a full-time job. Having a baby in the house has put several of her hobbies on hold and she hopes to rejoin the land of the sane about the time that Ben turns one.

Jason still teaches World History and Geography at the high school. He is getting ready to teach AP World History next year. He continues to initiate the boys into the world of superheroes and shares their love of trains, bugs and things that explode. We are blessed to have such a great Daddy in the house.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and great New Year!

Love, Jason, Irene, Josh, Michael and Ben

Drummer Boy

The only thing louder than the cacophony of colors in this picture is the noise Josh was making beating on this drum! Mom and I were singing Christmas carols to the kids the other night when Josh mysteriously disappeared. He emerged from the basement with this drum after hearing us sing The Little Drummer Boy. Smart kid.

Our Boys in 2009

Santa Train

It started with a train and this man:
(although I have my suspicions that there may have been more than one, man that is.)

This morning we travelled on the Santa Train. It is a normal train with an unusually high percentage of underage riders with the man in red and his entourage touring up and down the aisles. Of such things is Christmas Joy made. Here is Michael. He proved to be a little bit of a challenge this morning. Mainly because we struggled to find a coat for him that would fit over the cast. One of Daddy's fleece jackets did the trick and gave him full body coverage. As you can tell, he was just pleased as punch. He is getting pretty good at not letting the cast get in his way. I have had to start pulling him off of Josh when he tries to tackle his big brother. It will be a miracle if we make it 5 weeks without moving that bone out of place.

Nana came with us, too. That made the adult to child ratio 1:1 - just how we like it. Josh is always excited when a train is involved.

This was Ben's first train ride. He liked the train, but not the snow suit he had to wear in the cold early morning temps.

Last night we had a Polar Express party at our house to get psyched about the Santa Train. (Not that the kids really needed any encouragement to be excited about riding a train.) That meant lots of cookies, chex mix and bowls of candy goodies for people to put in their hot cocoa. Oh, and the movie The Polar Express. Nana bought the boys this movie a few years back and it is a huge hit every year. We had to start putting it away after Christmas or run the risk of Jason or I doing something drastic, like put it in the microwave or throwing it out of the car window. Don't get me wrong, it is a charming movie. Or at least, it is the first 30 times we watch it. I think we might make this party a yearly tradition - it was fun way to reintroduce a favorite Christmas movie and we had a lot of fun with food and friends.

Baltimore Aquarium

Last Saturday, Mom and the boys and I braved the threat of snow and traveled to Baltimore to go to the Aquarium. The Aquarium is fantastic! We went 3 years ago and loved it both times. The building is huge with a large shark tank, multiple levels of fish tanks from different ecosystems, a dolphin exhibit and Australia exhibit. But those darn fish wouldn't stay still for pictures. I didn't get very many good ones.

The shark tank is a favorite of ours. Sting rays, sharks and a turtle swim in a massive tank that is the center of the building and visible from every floor.

This was the only sea creature I could get a good still shot of. Hello whale!
Michael was also fascinated by these water tubes. As you can tell, he was not alone.
The Australian exhibit is enclosed in a glass pyramid with revolving doors to keep the climate inside...well, inside. I am not usually a fan of heat and humidity, but after our drive and walking in the slushy rain/snow, it was a welcome feeling of warmth. It didn't last long and I think I have been cold ever since.
Finally, a shark who was up for a photo op!
We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go again (maybe in another three years?). The whole experience is quite an ordeal that involves packing up the car for a long drive and day, whiny boys and tantrums. But once we get in the Aquarium, we all have a wonderful time. A special thanks to Nana for experiencing the whole day with us. That is love.

What Christmas Movie Is Your Family?

My all time favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas with Bing Crosby. I love the music, the dancing, the plot line, the grand finale - I love it all. But, our Christmas doesn't resemble that in any way. Although my children frequently sing, for Josh it is most likely to be the Transformers theme song and Michael seems to feel the need to make noise all day long (maybe he thinks he will die if he ceases to make noise? Not sure). So no smooth crooners over here. We do dance, but that ended poorly as I will soon relate. And most sad of all, I don't think we have had a snowy white Christmas since we have been married.

No, White Christmas is not the Christmas that most resembles ours. This year, it might be more like the Nightmare Before Christmas - a little quirky, but ends with a good message and love. Every activity we have done so far has turned out a little differently than I had planned.

Snowman Stamps - One of the more normal ending activities. We used cardboard and furniture pad to make snowman stamps. These turned out pretty cute, but many of the snowmen were disembodied.

Baltimore Aquarium - Snow. I cannot count how many times the weather forecasters in the DC area predict snow, only for us to wake up in the morning disappointed. So when they started threatening snow, I just shrugged it off and went along my merry way. Don't get me wrong, I love snow. Love it. And the kids love it. But, in all 6 (long) years that we have lived in VA, the worst driving day of the year is the day of the first snow. With shockingly short memories, DC area drivers can't seem to remember that it snowed last year (and the year before that and the year before that - in fact it is a statistical likelihood that it will happen next year as well) and drive like complete maniacs. They either slam on the brakes with no prevarication or drive 10 miles below the speed limit. In any case, it was not a good driving day. However, it was amusing to drive to the Aquarium in the Fall and drive home a few hours later in Winter.

Present Game - Each person gets a gift bag and has to go find an item in the house to "give" to another family member. The recipient has to express their gratitude and say one nice thing about the gift. We are hoping this game will mitigate the "gimmies" on Christmas Day. It worked out pretty well. Josh really got it into it and was practically jumping with delight and gratitude with every "gift" he received. I used my toe socks as a "gift" for Michael and it took 2 or 3 days before I got them back. He wore them as gloves for most of that time. Mom asked me why Michael's glove fingers weren't long enough for his fingers. I had to agree that would be odd, except that they were made for my toes!!

Christmas Carols - We danced to the Veggie Tales Christmas CD. When I paused the music, the boys had to freeze. At some point during the evening, one of the boys accidentally whacked Jason in the "family jewels." Jason tried to cover himself to recover. I laughed. That was a mistake. The boys love to get a good laugh from someone. So they continued to whack and head butt poor Jason you-know-where. At that point, I was doubled over with laughter and Jason was yelling for me to stop laughing. Most violent Christmas carol experience ever.

Putting up the Christmas Tree - We were supposed to do this Monday. Instead, we spent some quality time in the local ER. Seems like a fair alternative. Josh and Michael were jumping off the ottoman in the front room when Michael fell/was pushed and landed poorly. An hour late he was still crying and had begun shaking, so Jason took him to the ER. We had figured out long ago that Michael would most likely be our first broken bone, we just didn't think he would be so young. Michael was not a happy little man. Not understanding why people kept moving him and manipulating his arm was frustrating and painful. But once he had some ibuprofen and the Disney Channel, he was a real trooper. They called in an orthopedist who recommended casting him right away instead of using a splint for the first week since he is a 3-year-old boy with 2 brothers. He is doing really well, but still doesn't understand why I won't take the cast off.

We have had some fun times together as a family already during our 25 days of Christmas, but we really hope the next days bring just as much fun but far less pain.

Look What I Can Do

Littlest man is crawling like a madman (that lovely bruise on his forehead is from a little foray down the stairs). A couple of days ago, he decide to expand his reperatoire of mobility and pulled himself up. As you can tell, the little guy was more than pleased with himself. Not to mention he got access to his favorite toy - a remote control!!!

25 Days of Christmas

While at Dad and Diane's house for Thanksgiving, Diane gave me the Family Fun magazine issue for December. I have been to the website often for ideas. Josh's pirate cake came from there and they had some great costume ideas (sadly, I couldn't talk either of the boys into being a human Lego). But this magazine issue has some great ideas I have decided to incorporate into our Christmas preparations. Jason and I have always had the goal of developing strong traditions around holidays, but the implementation has always been thwarted by the quick pace of time and life in general. We have been blessed to live near family with whom we can share these days, but I still have wanted to have traditions that were specific to our family. With this magazine in hand, I have decided that this is the year for Miller Family Christmas traditions to start. Of course, it helps that Josh and Michael are old enough to participate and enjoy activities.

One of my favorite ideas was having an activity planned for every day. Our 25 days of Christmas. I spent Sunday making a list (and checking it twice) and creating a calendar of Christmas activities ranging from visiting the temple to see the lights to Christmas crafts to reading the scriptures about the birth of Christ to seeing Santa on the train. I am excited to end every day as a family doing something to remind us and prepare us for Christmas. Last night we made Christmas trees with craft sticks and tonight we are going to make snowmen stamps to make our Christmas cards. Friday we will (finally) put up our decorations.

I love this time of year and hope that my kids will grow to have wonderful memories of Christmas.

Dang Cute

I have some dang cute boys. And when I dress them up, they look even better.

Please notice the white socks and toys ready to be used as weapons at a moments notice.
If only I could get them to be STILL!!!!

Boys' Paradise

With the change in venue for the Thanksgiving weekend, we have been left with a lot of time and no plans. Which is not necessarily a bad thing since 4 out of the 5 of us are sick. It does, however, make for bored little boys.

This is a job for Super Daddy!

Wednesday night he constructed a "tent" in the basement for the boys to sleep in with their sleeping bags. As you can probably tell, we haven't had any family meals all sitting together at the table since then. And we finally got the TV out of Ben's room (I was tired of him staying up late to watch Letterman) and put it in the basement as well. The boys love playing in their tent and watching irritating cartoons in their lair.

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to Oma and Opa's house where they had their trains set up. All the grandkids (well, the boys 5 and under) loved it. There was great weeping and wailing when we had to go home and leave the trains. Super Daddy stepped up and brought out our trains on Friday.

And there was great rejoicing in the land of boys.

Black Friday

What is the origin of the term "black Friday"? Anyone? Is it because people are out driving at insanely early hours when the sky is still black (or in NoVa, a murky gray - thank you light pollution)? Or is it because businesses which have been in the red during previous financial quarters are able to make it into the black on this one shopping day? Or is it because people spend the day worshiping the god of shopping in preparation for the day of celebration of the birth of God? Okay, so that last one might be a bit extreme, but Black Friday is honestly insane.

I got bit by the bug this year. I was firmly in the "y'all are crazy and I am going to stay home in my warm bed" category. But then, some (evil) genius delivered the paper to us with the Black Friday ads. And, I just so happed to have a JCP gift card burning a hole in my wallet (thanks, Doug!). An hour or so perusal of the ads and I had narrowed down my wants into my needs and the stores down to two. Which is why I can be writing this at 7 in the morning after my shopping trips.

I woke up at 3:10am. My alarm was set for 3:15am, but Ben preempted that. I don't know how that kid knew I was about to leave the house in 20 minutes. Dang it. So, I got up and fed him. I left a little bit later than planned, but hoped that I had left Jason with a drowsy baby who would soon fall into a milk-induced sleep. I was wrong, but Jason did spare me for about an hour so I was blissfully unaware of his trials while I shopped at the mall.

I got the JCPenny's at 4:10am - a whole 10 minutes after they opened. The store was busy, but not crazy busy. However, while driving around the mall to get there, I saw the Target line. Target didn't open until 5am, but there were about 60-70 people waiting in line. Some of them had blankets and chairs. I don't know what they thought was so important and that Target would only have one of that they needed to do that, but I hope it was the best Christmas present ever. I was just delighted to get the coat I saw in the JCP ad (paid $40 for $180 dollar winter coat - YES!) and I found a Buzz Lightyear hat and gloves for Michael to finish off the gift card.

Next stop: Walmart. Walmart made JCPenny look like a group of amateurs. THE ENTIRE PARKING LOT WAS FULL (with the exception of an odd space here or there). Holy flying ants batman is all I have to say. I entered with the masses and found a lady with about 20 DVDs overflowing her arms. I asked for directions to the cheap movies and found some of the Land Before Time movies for $2. While I don't find any redeeming value in these films, I have two boys who love them and another one coming behind them who is sure to join the club. Then I made the fatal, but necessary, mistake of getting in line. I only had 3 items, so I could get in the express lane. "Speedy Checkout" is a misnomer in the best of times, but today it was just a mockery. The checker in the lane I picked had to call over a supervisor for every. single. transaction. I am not sure who I felt more sorry for, the people in line (including myself) or the poor lady checking us out who could probably feel the almost palpable ire directed at her with increasing intensity every time she flipped on the blinking light.

All in all, I am exhausted but happy with my purchases. I know that my shopping was minimal compared to most die hard shoppers today. It was interesting to hear people discuss their strategies for the entire day, and I am just thankful I was able to get what I wanted and then get back into my warm bed with Jason before 5:30am and before the boys got up. Really, I couldn't ask for anything more.

A Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa,

I haven't been very good this year. I yell at my kids too much and sometimes resent their constant claims on my time and body. My house is usually just one step away from utter disaster. My weight-loss attempt has been thwarted by stress and chocolate frosting. But, if for all that I can still make it on the "Nice" list, here is a list of things I would love to have, even though few of them will fit under the tree.

1. World Peace (okay, I just had to throw that one in).

2. Noise Cancelling Headphones. They may be the last, best hope for my sanity.

3. A new back for Jason.

4. Hair. I won't tell you where I am losing it and how much. Okay, that just sounded strange and a little weird. I have bald patches on my head - let us hope it is a postpartum effect that will resolve itself without Rogaine for Moms.

5. Sleep.

6. Sleep.

7. Sleep.

8. Michael to become potty trained. A friend called me today and told me how her son trained himself (he is a few months younger than Michael.) I almost cried when I got off the phone with her. Despite what my mom tells me, I harbor a secret fear that I am going to have the only 12-year-old who wears diapers.

9. To fit into the jeans I wore when I got married.

10. Sleep.

Love,

Irene

Things I Love

Swiffer Duster - With these I can use my boys powers for good instead of evil.

Freecycle - I scored a batman and a spiderman costume on Freecycle yesterday. I am officially the world's best mom.

All The Trend - My friend makes the cutest baby gifts. I would post pictures of the blanket I just bought from her, but I don't want to ruin the surprise for the recipient.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Read it, love it.

Birthday Cards - My family has the best (read: twisted) taste in birthday cards. And the award this year goes to my brother, Doug.

Sue's Pies - Black bottom banana cream pie. Need I say more?

Hummus - Best baby protein ever. Ben just gobbles the stuff up. Well, after he gets it smeared all over his face, anyway.

Bread Machines - Kudos to all who made bread before these babies. Mine is dying and I think I might cry when it spins its last spin.

Wii Fit Plus - Come try it out at my house if you want. I promise not to take pictures or video.

6 - 7 am - My hour of peace. Time's up!

Italy

Over Oktoberfest weekend, my mom visited my sister in Germany and they hopped on a plane to Florence (tough life, I know) for the weekend. Nice. Except, neither of them had a camera. Not so nice. So, they bought a disposable. Really not so nice. I am a digital camera elitist. Not that I have the best camera around (although I am very happy with what we have), but because I just look down my nose at 35mm cameras - WHO USES THOSE ANYMORE??? Nonetheless, it is difficult to take a bad picture in Italy, so there were quite a few good shots out of the 27. My mom really knows how to vacation in beautiful areas - both Italy and Greece (her trip last year) are perfect for point and shoot photographers because you almost always end up with a great shot. Some of her pictures from Greece could have been postcards they were so good.

I do have to say that I am proud of my mom. This is the same woman who did not fly on an airplane for about 23 years due to an utter terror of flying. All growing up, we took trains across the country. One time our train even hit a car (really, don't race trains - it is very unhappy if you lose), but that still didn't seem to dissuade her from taking the looooong way to travel. In any case, her mantra now when she flies is "The pilot doesn't want to die either." (As a side note, when I was telling my SAT students about this one time, one girl cried out, "Some of them do!! Oh! But, don't tell your mother that!!!" I would be fascinated to know what airlines she flies on.)

Udvar-Hazy

Today, Jason and I took the boys to Udvar-Hazy, better known as the other Air and Space Museum. They LOVED it. And, as I was walking around looking at other families who had the same idea for a Saturday afternoon, I noticed a disproportionate number of little boys with their daddies. Too cute.

This was the main attraction for the boys. A real life space ship (shuttle). Having seen Star Wars, I am not sure that this is what they expected to see, but they were excited all the same.

For the most part it was the airplanes and helicopters that drew the boys attention, but this case with its Mercury (I think) doll was the exception.

And I just liked this one because it reminds me of a bug.

We found this gentleman tucked away in a corner. Josh was thrilled to see him.

Our visit inspired the boys to be airplanes for the whole afternoon and evening. That made getting through a crowded museum a little dicey, but it was definitely (and blessedly) more quiet than being dinosaurs.