Mr. & Mrs. Pukey McPukersons

So, you may have already heard...Chris and I both came down with Nolan's stomach bug.  I won't go into a lot detail here, talking about Chris and I being sick is MUCH MUCH different than talking about Nolan being sick. Let's just say we were both bedroom and bathroom bound for a good 7-8 hours. Fortunately, I was hit after Nolan when to bed. Which is a blessing in disguise, because in my condition I could not have cared for my son, but the downside was the lack of sleep. The next day was a Thursday and I woke up thinking I was so much better, but that was in relative terms. If you compared my symptoms to the ones I had the day before, I was awesome...for awhile. Massive dehydration began to sit in around mid morning. In my mind, I was still getting on a plane to Chicago the next day, so I had some errands to run before we left, but I could NOT get myself to set foot in my car. I still had a HUGE stomach ache, which meant I couldn't eat or drink much of anything. Slowly, my head started to explode...then my body started to ache, head to toe, everything hurt...and then the chills set in. I wasn't running a fever so the chills really confused me. I could NOT get warm. I finally looked up the symptoms of dehydration on the internet and I was nailing everything to a T,  much longer I would have needed an IV. I called Chris and ask him to come home early, which I NEVER do, so he knew it was bad. He brought me gatorade to help sort out my electrolytes. Then we had to cancel our trip to Chicago, which really SUCKED. I had been looking forward to it since we booked our flights back in October. Chris and I were going to have our first weekend away without Nolan. Nothing but adults and dinner out and bottles of wine. Just like the old days. Instead we stayed at home and rested. Chris took a 4 hour nap on Saturday. Finally, we are starting to feel better. Nolan still has a wicked cough, which I have to get checked out this week, but other than that we are well.  Hopefully, we can stay healthy. I hope, I hope, I hope.

Pukey McPukersons!

Nolan went to a friend's house on Saturday night. We were aware in advance that the family had just gotten over a stomach bug. Our friends, Chad and Virginia assured us they were clear of it. Unfortunately, this sickness must stick around and is highly contagious, because Nolan now has it. It's really our fault. We discussed the possibility that Nolan might get sick and to keep him home, but they had a babysitter and Nolan was going to stay at their house while we all went to a party in the city together. The idea of an evening out with adults was much to alluring for us, I suppose. Not to mention, that many of the people there were from the London office and we only get to see once or twice a year. 

So, this evening, the bug finally caught up with Nolan. I feel like such a horrible mother. I had made him fish sticks, mac and cheese and mixed veggies for dinner. He wasn't having any of it and kept asking to get down. I told him that he wasn't allowed down until he ate some dinner. Finally, after taking 2 bites, he looked at me with sheer terror on his face and threw up EVERYWHERE! Not once, not twice, not three times...but 6 times!! It's amazing how much a toddler's stomach can hold. I had to just let him sit there in his booster chair and puke it all out. So, I stripped off his clothes, put them to soak and ran upstairs to give him a bath. A quick bath later, he seemed pretty happy in PJ's and we waited for daddy to come home. I, meanwhile, had a massive task of getting puke off the table, off the booster, off the chair and off the floor (no wait, not off the floor because the dog ate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, she ate it.) So, Chris gets home and notices puke in Sophie's hair. I had to explain to him that this lovely dog of ours likes to eat puke off the floor....while the baby is still puking! Oh, the joys of motherhood. I gave Nolan a few minutes for his stomach to settle and gave him some pedialyte and crackers. I needed to know if he could keep anything down. He seemed to be enjoying both when Chris says 'Hey, are you all right?' and 'Are you going to puke again?' I bet you know the answer to that question. Chris picked him up to move him from the carpet to the kitchen, when BARF! All over Chris's front and the carpet. By the time he got to the hardwood floor all he could do was hold Nolan at chest level and let Nolan puke on him again and again. Poor dad! Oh, the joys of fatherhood. So again, a bath, PJ's and this time bed. He's puked again in the crib and we hope the worst is over.  

Chad and Virginia eventually picked it up from Ethan, that's how they knew it wasn't food related. So, the rough bit is doing absolutely everything for your baby possible, all the while knowing you are next. Impending doom. At least you know I won't be bringing it to Oklahoma anytime soon. Actually that's where Chad and Virginia think Ethan picked it up. They were in Tulsa for Thanksgiving too! And it all comes full circle, I love life's little ironies!!

Family of Sickies go to Oklahoma

So, we went to Tulsa for Thanksgiving. Of course, we brought with us a nasty nasty nasty bug from CT. I think Nolan must have picked it up in babysitting at the JCC. I've had some form of it since Halloween. Chris has had it, now my mother has it. I want to publicly apologize to anyone we might have infected. I am so very sorry, because it really SUCKS. You will feel fine for a couple of days, and then BAM you've got it again. Despite all of this, we had a nice week. We both took advantage of having a Grandmas and Grandpa around and rested up while we could. We also had some other activities such as cousin Maddox's little birthday party at Incredible Pizza and massive Guitar Hero addiction. The kids had fun with each other and we ate ourselves sick as you do on Thanksgiving. I've added some highlights from the week below, but click on the slideshow to the right and it will link you to the Picasa web album. 

A cold day for the Balloon Parade

Stamford has a balloon parade every year the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's very similar to the Macy's Thankgiving Day Parade, well except there is no Macy's and it's not on Thanksgiving. It's sponsored by UBS and it's on a more local level. We really wanted to take Nolan this year because we thought he would enjoy it. He actually like the drums in the bands more than the balloons. We didn't get to stay very long since it was a balmy 38 degrees outside, but what we saw was fun and cute. Enjoy!

Christmas Catalog HELL

I love catalogs. I love leafing through them, dog earring them and saving them for Christmas orders. I really do. But this year, for some reason....I AM IN CHRISTMAS CATALOG HELL. (insert dramatic sound effect here...DUM DUM DUM!!) They have taken over my mailbox and my house. I would usually hoard some of the ones I know I will order from, but this year they hit the recycling box quicker than you can say 'Santa Claus'. I've been complaining about this to a few of you, but that was when there were 5 or so hitting my mailbox a day. I get into the mail today and I find not 5, not 10, but 13 catalogs!! 13! Do you know how much paper that is?!?!?! It's actually a stack of mail difficult to pick up. I have noticed something quite interesting. The catalogs don't have just one name anymore...they ALL have a subtitle. So, I am going to list the ones I got today, including subtitles. Once you see it all in one place it gets quite amusing:

1. The Wooden Soldier - Holiday 2008 (this ones sounds kinda dirty, but is actually overpriced kids clothes) 

2.Wine Enthusiast - Holiday 2008

3.grandinroad -affordable style (that's not a typo but how it actually appears on the catalog, no capitals, no spaces)

4.Hearth Song - Toys You'll Feel Good About Giving - Holiday 2008 (have you ever felt bad for giving a kid a toy, any toy??)

5.Hammacher Schlemmer - America's Longest Running Catalog - Offering the Best, the Only and the Unexpected for 160 years (i didn't make this up. who gives a sh*&?)

6.CB2 - and to all a good light (what!?!?!)

7.Eddie Bauer est. 1920 - THE GIFT BOOK - The Original Outdoor Outfitter

8.CHEFS - The Best Kitchen Starts Here (so, where does the worst kitchen start?)

9.Plow & Hearth - Holiday 2008 

10. F*A*O* Schwarz - Good Play/Great Gifts - Holiday 2008

11. Bounty Hunter - Fall & Holiday 2008 - Rare Wine & Provisions

12. American Girl - FOLLOW YOUR INNER STAR (if they had done their diligence...they would probably realize that nolan is a BOY, it's not even a gender ambiguous name, nolan)

13. Foods Across America - A culinary road trip featuring America's legendary foods (who knew you could order 3 lbs of corned beef and a cheesecake from carnegie deli for $100?)

Do you see my point? Is it me they are targeting? Do they think for some reason I am the only person in America spending any money? Do I have sucker tatooed on my forehead? If you noticed, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware and Williams-Sonoma aren't even in my list of 13 and we all know how often they send out catalogs!! Like every 2 weeks. So tomorrow I expect to receive my 5th Pottery Barn catalog of the season, plus Napa Style, Crate and Barrel - Best Buys, Red Envelope, Orvis and Orvis - the Dog Book.....AT LEAST!!

Hugs and Kisses XOXO

Right now, Nolan is into hugs and kisses. Of course, I'm addicted to it. I must ask for hundreds of kisses a day. In actuality, I probably receive somewhere between 10-20. Look at that face! Wouldn't you LOVE to get 10-20 kisses from him a day? But at the same time it slowly breaks my heart, because I know the day will come when he won't be so excited to kiss and hug his mom. There will be a time when he might not want to be seen in public with his aging, uncool, clingy mother. I know it's there and it's inevitable. It's just a line drawn in the sand and everyday we get closer and closer. He won't hate me, dispise me or even blame me for messing him up, but he will have friends in high school. It won't be 'cool' to hang out with your parents anymore, let alone give them hugs and kisses. So, I soak it up and relish in the fact that right now he asks to get on the couch and in my lap, so he can declare 'HUG!' in his cute little voice and proceed to give me the most pure and honest little person hug imaginable. And for that I am thankful.

Nolan and Mommy say Hi!

PS: We had a complete and total meltdown over YOGURT mere minutes after this video was taken. You get to see the pleasant part of our evening.

Mr. President-Elect Obama (my one and only political blog)

I just like saying it..."Mr. President-Elect Obama". Soon it will be Mr. President Obama and then we can really celebrate. Chris and I were talking today and when Obama's administration is over (hopefully in 8 years) Nolan will be approaching his 10th birthday. My son will not know a world without an African-American President. He won't understand that the free world has been ran by old white men for the last 200+ years. And he will never really understand the enormity of this past election and the lengths that many went to to get Barack Obama elected. I, for one, know that JFK's assassination altered this country forever, but I will never know what my mother and father felt the moment they heard that news. Nolan will know that his mother volunteered for a campaign for the first time in her life because she felt that his future depended on it, he will know that his father and I donated money to a campaign (on numerous occasions) and that his mother and Auntie Alison travelled to Pennsylvania to knock on doors ourselves. What makes me sad is that he will not remember the night that Obama was elected. He'll never understand absolute historic nature of that day. He won't remember his mom and dad jumping up and down, looking like fools, popping champagne and toasting to his future. His mom crying at the gracious John McCain, then crying at Oprah and Jesse Jackson in Grant Park and nearly sobbing during Obama's election speech. I was watching history and what's more I was actually a part of it. I had been in campaign offices and on phones and on doorsteps. I spoke to a 70 year old republican couple in PA who ran out of their home to tell us they were voting Democrat for the first time in their lives. I spoke to undecideds who knew that it was time to change. For the first time I felt like part of something, the part of something really big. He will never truly understand, but Nolan will know that I did it all for him. And I'll do it all again in 4 years, Mr. President-Elect Obama.

Halloween Party Pics

Halloween Activities

We had a great Halloween this year. Nolan had 2 costumes. On the 30th we went to Alison's house for a babe Halloween Party. Nolan went to Alison's as a cowboy. For his birthday his Aunt Susan got him a buckaroo outfit with cordoroy overalls. I found Nolan a hat at Gymboree and added a bandana. SOOOOOOO cute! Nolan's Halloween night costume was white and I planned on taking studio pics of the kids so I didn't want him to get pumpkin innards all over his white costume. After the party, we went to an annual event called the Jack O Lantern Blaze. It's a maze of thousands of Jack O Lanterns, some set up as huge installations. I've taken Nolan 2 years now and will continue to do so as long as we are here. It's really an amazing event. On Halloween night we had a party for all of Nolan friends and had a great turn out! I put up a backdrop and took studio pics of all the kids. You will find slideshows of both events on the right. 

I feel sorry for actors in Puppet Suits...

On Friday Jackie and I took Nolan and Ava to see Elmo Live. It was as fun as watching poor actors in puppet suits can be. I really felt sorry for them. First of all, how do their mouths move to the music? They are using their hands and feet to dance, but I couldn't figure out their flapping mouths. Second of all, it must be HELLA hot in those costumes. Can you imagine being on stage, under the lights in a full-on Grover costume? What that dressing room must smell like when the show is over...whew! Third, they don't get hardly any applause. Over half of the audience is under the age of 8 and the rest are parents trying to keep their kids from running down the aisles while trying to get a picture! So, there is the big TADA moment (jazz hands included) and it was like applause at bad dinner theatre...such sweaty work for little or no reward. I guess the actors know all this going into this kind of theatre.

Despite all that, the babies loved it! Nolan sat in my lap with his jaw completely open and occasionally he would point at the stage and say MeeMo!! MeeMo!! I did get a little choked up when they sang the Sesame Street theme song. 'Let me tell you how to get...how to get to Sesame Street!' I knew all the words having grown up on Sesame Street (pre-Elmo & Abby Cadabby mind you) and there I was singing it to my son. I don't know, it was a little surreal and sweet and sad all at the same time.

After an hour and a half, Jackie and I had had enough of mouth flapping fuzzy dancing Sesame Street and left. It was noon and the babies were on a short fuze for some food and a nap. We passed another mom skipping out early and she said to us 'there is only so much Elmo you can take.' EXACTLY. Nolan and Ava could care less if they saw the end of the show, but I'll tell ya they were about to be really pissed off if we didn't feed them soon. So we hit the diner across the street just in time to sit down before every other Elmo fan came in. After lunch, we hit the road. The babies were asleep before we were out of the parking lot, which wasn't long since we missed the post show traffic by going to lunch. Elmo wore them out. 

Harvest Spooktacular

Yesterday was a harvest festival at the Stamford Nature Center. It was so cute. You can imagine, your typical fall festival things were there...face painting, hay rides, pumpkin patch, hay bale mazes, cider demonstrations and a jumparoo. Nolan and Ava really seemed to have a good time. Nolan has been interested in sheep and cows in his books and he says moo or bah when he sees the appropriate animal. He got to see those animals in person for the first time yesterday. He was nervous at first, but by the time he got to the sheep he was leaning over and yelling at them! One highlight of our day, was when a bull (a VERY big bull) reared up and started peeing EVERYWHERE! When they say cow pee splatters when hitting a rock... it is VERY true. We had to move the kids back to keep them from getting peed on! Other than that little mishap it was a beautiful fall day, with lovely changing colors! BTW, if you click on the slideshow on the right it will link to the original slideshow on Picasa and you can view the images in their original size. 

Enjoy!

A reason to Welcome cold weather...

One reason to welcome cold weather, babies in adorable hats!! Only when they are little can you get away with putting your child in a hat that you, yourself would NOT be caught dead in! We have a problem with Nolan (as most parents do with children this age), he will NOT keep a hat on. We didn't have this problem last year, but he was also only 7 months old then. So recently, knowing that the change in temp was quickly approaching, I went on a massive hunt for a hat that Nolan would keep on. It had to have a strap under the chin, so this automatically rules out 80% of the winter hats out there. After a long trip the mall, we found the one pictured. Which I would never wear, but looks so stinking cute on Nolan!! Today was our first REAL fall day. The leaves are changing and it's my favorite time of year on the East Coast. You put up with winter and snow and ice, so you can experience fall in New England. It's amazing. I hope you enjoy my #1 reason to welcome the cold. Babies in hats! It doesn't get much cuter than this!!

Apple Picking

Jackie and I took Nolan and Ava apple picking today. Apple is one of Nolan new words. So while we were there he said apple over and over again. It was so very cute. We drove up to an orchard called the Outhouse in North Salem, NY. It's about 45 minutes north of us. We had a beautiful day today...75 degrees and sunny. I'm not complaining, but it would have been nice to have a crisp fall day. Would you believe that we picked apples the size of softballs? The babies loved the apples and the pumpkins and it turned out to be a great excursion! There are more photos in the slideshow on the right!

How cute are they?!?

Okay, I know it's only more pics on the porch, but I have to show off my amazing mums!! They are so beautiful this year. The colors are starting to change in Connecticut and it's gorgeous. I will take some photos of the colors when they are in full swing and post them for you. Some things to look forward to: Apple Picking, Harvest Festival, the Jack O Lantern Blaze and Halloween night. I'll post on all those as they happen. Here are my cute kids for now!!

What happens while mom is away??

Bathtime for Bonzo

Okay, so I lied. I got these in tonight during his bath. We haven't taken any bathtime pics for awhile. So here they are. He was being spunky.

Neglected Blog

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but nothing exciting has happened lately and consequently my blog has been sadly neglected. Honestly, I've been engrossed in this election . I do have a video to post soon, but Chris has to convert it for me, so that will take some time. But stayed tuned I promise it will make you SMILE. I won't be able to post until next week. I'm going to Pennsylvania tomorrow to campaign for Barack Obama. Now you know who I am supporting. That's going to be the extent of my politics in this venue, because if you got me started I wouldn't stop. The intent of blogging is to bring up to date news about Sophie and Nolan. I know, I know...not so up to date today, but I promise to post something fun soon. Enjoy your weekend.

Nicknames

I realized the other day that we have a lot of nicknames for our kids. (yes, I'm counting Sophie as a kid!) I'll have to explain a few. 

Nolan:

NPR (Nolan Patrick Rhodes, not National Public Radio!)

Pumpkin

Peanut

Monkey

Big Guy

Nolanoscopy (Chris's not mine. I don't like it, but whatever.)

Snots McGee

Pukey McPukersons

Sophie:

The Sophers

Sopherino

Missy Smelliott

Monkey Face

Skunk Butt Poo Face

White Trash Club Foot

I know have to explain this last one. When we first got Sophie we were living in a teeny-tiny apartment on the beach in San Francisco. Chris would run with her early in the morning. One day she yelped, but continued to chase her ball. Two days later she started limping and I had to check her toes. Poor thing had stepped into someone's bonfire on the beach that had been smoldering all night. By the time I got to her foot, it was swollen and gooey and infected. Ouch! So the vet treated her by putting her in a bandage. She obviously couldn't run outside like this so their solution was to put an IV back over her bandaged foot and to tape it. Their tape quickly wore off and we had to retape the silly IV bag with duct tape. Hence: White Trash Club Foot. It paints the picture pretty well, don't you think?

Pukey McPukersons

Friday night was hard. My poor little guy has been a under the weather the last few days. First of all, we are getting all 4 (count them...4!) canine teeth at the same time. That CAN'T be fun. This is contributing to the runny nose and diarrhea. ALERT! ALERT!! If you are not comfortable reading or hearing about children's bowel movements and vomit, then you shouldn't be reading my blog!! Anyways, Friday night Chris left for his fly fishing trip for the weekend. (if I EVER get to see the pics of Chris in waders, I so promise to post them!) But, I digress...on with the story. Nolan wouldn't eat ANYTHING! He threw an entire plate of food on the floor and preceded to scream while nibbling on bread and cheese stick. You know the boy is sick, when he won't eat green peas!! Don't ask me why, but he LOVES green peas. So, we clean ourselves up and get ready for bed. I gave him 1/2 a tsp of Baby Zyrtec to help with the runny nose, it really makes it  hard  to breathe at night. Beyond that, everything seemed normal, he didn't make any unusual sounds and I had the monitor on. So, I wake up in the morning and I can smell puke down the hall from his room. When you can smell it two rooms away through a closed door you know it's bad. I went in and needed a haz-mat suit for his room! Holy Moly was it stinky and everywhere. Poor guy had slept in it ALL NIGHT LONG! It was everywhere, on the sheets, on the mattress cover, on Taggy, on Rabble the stuffed dog, on the stuffed mouse, the pillow, the blanket, the bumper and Nolan....all over Nolan. I had a soccer game to get to so I went into AUTO MOM MODE. In AUTO MOM MODE, you do things without thinking, you become a robot. AUTO MOM MODE is a defense mechanism to help prevent utter and complete chaos. We handled ourselves well and got out of the house on time. Nolan had a bath, EVERYTHING got put in the washing machine and windows were opened. I was proud of us, but not of me. I slowly realized that giving a baby Zyrtec on a virtually empty stomach was NOT a good idea. It must have bounced off the bottom of his stomach immediately. I assume he threw up in the 2 minutes after I left the room. I have learned my lesson. 

Here's the problem with all of this, his room still smells like puke. So now that we have cleared the house of both skunk and poop, we now are living with puke smell. The irony is almost overwhelming. 

Playing on the Front Porch