so, it snowed.
9 hours ago
Monday, October 12, 2009
How do you spell...
SLACKER? Because, well, that would be me. Everything's been fine on the Borrelli front, I've just been in big time vacation mode. I just couldn't get back into the regular program until, oh, this week. So, we've been good. Ed was laid off, again, but I had a good postpartum job for about a month, and then a bunch of birth clients, so it's been working out. I attended 3 births last week, and all of the babies were nice enough to have their mamas labor during daylight hours. 2 out of 3 of them arrived in time for me to get home for dinner even! I love those kinds of babies! Keith is in 1st grade now, and just turned 7 on Friday. Where did the time go??? I swear I just had him! Next thing I know he'll be driving! Henry is doing fine. He started preschool and absolutely loves it. He goes in, puts his backpack and lunch box away, then comes over and says "bye mom!" and gives me a kiss goodbye. Once in a while he asks if I'll pick him up, but more in a 'I'm trying to make conversation with you and don't really care' tone. Caroline does pretty well with daycare one day a week. She gets to see Henry, and she's a little social butterfly, so she's got it made. Last week, however, the teacher told us that she stripped down naked TEN times. Hopefully she's just getting this out of her system now. It's cute when you're one... She's been going on the potty when she's home (WHO DOES THAT???? She's 14 months old!!!!!! Henry won't even pee on the potty!!!!), and she says a few words. When the bus comes by in the morning she toddles over to the door saying Bye Keith, Bye Keith. She's growing up too quickly, too! So yeah, we're good. And since I flaked on the vacation post, here's some pictures. My parents are leaving this weekend, since it's been snowing for about a week and the temperature the other morning was -10 degrees. I am so glad I'm not there right now!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
VACATION: Traveling, part one.
Ed and I have taken, oh, three vacations now since we got married. We just got back on the 17th from the third! We went to Wyoming to join Keith up on a mountain at my parents' cabin. It was quite the adventure. We left here on the 7th, flew to Chicago, then caught our connecting flight into Billings, Montana. I should mention here that I HATE to fly. Hate it. We're talking almost hyperventilating. Gin gets me through flights usually. So anyways, we're flying. Because it's a 3 day drive to Wyoming, and that's with one kid. Not two. Henry had his own seat (which he sat in his carseat in... the same carseat we had to drag through all the airports in order to get it into said airplane seat)
(see the carseat on the back of the stroller?)
but Caroline got to sit in our laps. She doesn't sit still very well. and I don't cope well with a baby who wants to look out the window.
I mean, we're pretty high up! I don't want to look, but I can't not pay attention to her, because she's not too steady on the feet. Ed usually ended up looking out the window with her, while I dug holes in the armrest with my fingernails. So we're on the connection to Billings. That was an OH SO FUN flight. It's one of those small planes - not a propeller plane but the next size up. So small that Chicago's airport doesn't use one of those tunnel thingys to get to the plane. INSTEAD, they make everyone gate check their carry ons which are bigger than, oh, a purse and THEN make everyone walk down some steps and out onto the tarmac. Oh, it was pouring when we were in Chicago. Especially while we were on the tarmac waiting to board the plane. And there were some issues, so we couldn't board the plane. Instead we enjoyed the rain for 20 minutes. Caroline was screaming, Henry was shivering, I needed a drink... you get the picture. So we get on the plane, the plane takes off, Henry falls asleep, Ed takes Caroline, and I order a gin & tonic. It was only a two hour flight, so fortunately it went by pretty quickly. That is, until the pilot said we were starting our descent into Billings. And then, a few minutes later, the pilot came back on and said that there were severe thunderstorms right over Billings that he wasn't going to fly through, and we only had enough fuel to circle Billings for 20 minutes so we might just be diverting to Bozeman. THAT announcement almost put me into cardiac arrest. So we fly for a minute or two (I swore it was more like 19, but Ed says it was just a couple) while I try to figure out how exactly the pilot knew that we only had 20 minutes of fuel - was there a low fuel gauge up there? Were their calculations right? What exactly happened if we ran out of fuel 10000 feet above the ground? All of this was running through my head while we were flying in some nasty turbulence. It was not a fun time. I think I told Ed that I was going to be moving to Bozeman, or Billings, or wherever the hell the plane landed because I was D.O.N.E. done. Then the pilot came back on and said that we were, indeed detouring to Bozeman to get fuel. So we go to Bozeman, land, get some gas, take off again, and fly the hour to Billings. I still haven't figured how a quick detour because we only had 20 minutes of gas turned into an hour return flight, but whatever. We landed, TWICE, in one piece. I was pretty impressed. I was also impressed that *I* was not the poor person who's final destination was actually Bozeman, which is about 3 hours by car from Billings. I overheard that poor soul at the baggage claim on his telephone. He was, how should I put it, not a happy camper.
Finally, we were off the plane. My mom's friend who had been staying with them was leaving in the morning, so she had driven their car up to Billings to meet us. We dropped her off at her hotel and then got on the road to the mountain. Fortunately the kids were exhausted (it was about 8pm Mountain time - 10pm Eastern! They go to bed around 7pm!) The road from Billings to Sheridan (I-90) is long, and straight, and boring. And the radio stations don't come in too well, and if they do you usually end up driving out of range pretty quickly. So we drove, and drove, and drove. We took highway 16 out of Buffalo, and then had to start paying attention to the directions. The directions said something like this:
Drive 27.4 miles out of Buffalo.
Turn onto state road 123.
Drive until you see a dirt road.
Drive down the dirt road 1.2 miles.
Don't drive through the fence, but instead go through the gate.
That last bit of directions is important. I'll get to it in a minute. So we're driving down highway 16, which is a windy highway up the mountain, and all of a sudden there's a tornado warning on the radio. And said tornado is in the county we're in. According to the radio, the tornado was outside of Story, and was going to be at mile marker 212 on highway 25 at 10:20pm, mile marker 224 on highway 25 at 10:23pm, mile marker 234 at 10:27pm, and so on. I know, you're thinking where in the hell is Story and all these mile markers? Don't worry, we didn't have a clue either. We were just crossing our fingers it was nowhere where we were! Fortunately, it appeared we were nowhere near Story or any mile markers on highway 25. We finally found the road we needed to turn on off of 16, and then found the dirt road. They weren't kidding - it was a dirt road. And dirt roads don't have streetlights. About this time (which was about 11pm), the skies decided to open up. No, it wasn't a rain storm, but instead a hail storm. So I'm driving down a dirt road with no light in the mountains of Wyoming in a hail storm looking for a fence and a gate. AND, the odometer on the car doesn't appear to have tenths of a mile on it, and we need to go 1.2 miles. After we drive what I'm guessing is just over a mile, I see a fence. And then we look, and it's a gate! So I stop. Ed's staring at said gate, I'm staring at said gate, and we're both thinking this can't be the gate. So I drive through the fence and keep going. A little while later Ed and I are discussing just how far we think we've driven, and he says he sees lights that look like a cabin, but they're behind us. So I turn around. I drive BACK to the fence and the gate. And I stop with the headlights pointed at the gate, and we stare at it. After a minute or so, I say "Ed, I think that's a horse corral."
(The daylight version of said horse corral, complete with horses. See the gate? I almost drove through that!)
So we decide not to drive through the gate, but to go through the fence again. I start down the road again, and Ed says "oh look! They sent help!" A car was coming down the mountain to find up - I guess they were watching our headlights going back and forth and my cousin's husband decided someone needed to rescue us. We drove toward the lights, and lo and behold, there was a fence. AND A GATE! And it was a serious gate - no horse corral here. Keith and my dad and my cousin's husband were there to greet us, and send us up to the cabin. Finally, a little after 11pm, we had made it! Stay tuned for the next installment :)
(see the carseat on the back of the stroller?)
but Caroline got to sit in our laps. She doesn't sit still very well. and I don't cope well with a baby who wants to look out the window.
I mean, we're pretty high up! I don't want to look, but I can't not pay attention to her, because she's not too steady on the feet. Ed usually ended up looking out the window with her, while I dug holes in the armrest with my fingernails. So we're on the connection to Billings. That was an OH SO FUN flight. It's one of those small planes - not a propeller plane but the next size up. So small that Chicago's airport doesn't use one of those tunnel thingys to get to the plane. INSTEAD, they make everyone gate check their carry ons which are bigger than, oh, a purse and THEN make everyone walk down some steps and out onto the tarmac. Oh, it was pouring when we were in Chicago. Especially while we were on the tarmac waiting to board the plane. And there were some issues, so we couldn't board the plane. Instead we enjoyed the rain for 20 minutes. Caroline was screaming, Henry was shivering, I needed a drink... you get the picture. So we get on the plane, the plane takes off, Henry falls asleep, Ed takes Caroline, and I order a gin & tonic. It was only a two hour flight, so fortunately it went by pretty quickly. That is, until the pilot said we were starting our descent into Billings. And then, a few minutes later, the pilot came back on and said that there were severe thunderstorms right over Billings that he wasn't going to fly through, and we only had enough fuel to circle Billings for 20 minutes so we might just be diverting to Bozeman. THAT announcement almost put me into cardiac arrest. So we fly for a minute or two (I swore it was more like 19, but Ed says it was just a couple) while I try to figure out how exactly the pilot knew that we only had 20 minutes of fuel - was there a low fuel gauge up there? Were their calculations right? What exactly happened if we ran out of fuel 10000 feet above the ground? All of this was running through my head while we were flying in some nasty turbulence. It was not a fun time. I think I told Ed that I was going to be moving to Bozeman, or Billings, or wherever the hell the plane landed because I was D.O.N.E. done. Then the pilot came back on and said that we were, indeed detouring to Bozeman to get fuel. So we go to Bozeman, land, get some gas, take off again, and fly the hour to Billings. I still haven't figured how a quick detour because we only had 20 minutes of gas turned into an hour return flight, but whatever. We landed, TWICE, in one piece. I was pretty impressed. I was also impressed that *I* was not the poor person who's final destination was actually Bozeman, which is about 3 hours by car from Billings. I overheard that poor soul at the baggage claim on his telephone. He was, how should I put it, not a happy camper.
Finally, we were off the plane. My mom's friend who had been staying with them was leaving in the morning, so she had driven their car up to Billings to meet us. We dropped her off at her hotel and then got on the road to the mountain. Fortunately the kids were exhausted (it was about 8pm Mountain time - 10pm Eastern! They go to bed around 7pm!) The road from Billings to Sheridan (I-90) is long, and straight, and boring. And the radio stations don't come in too well, and if they do you usually end up driving out of range pretty quickly. So we drove, and drove, and drove. We took highway 16 out of Buffalo, and then had to start paying attention to the directions. The directions said something like this:
Drive 27.4 miles out of Buffalo.
Turn onto state road 123.
Drive until you see a dirt road.
Drive down the dirt road 1.2 miles.
Don't drive through the fence, but instead go through the gate.
That last bit of directions is important. I'll get to it in a minute. So we're driving down highway 16, which is a windy highway up the mountain, and all of a sudden there's a tornado warning on the radio. And said tornado is in the county we're in. According to the radio, the tornado was outside of Story, and was going to be at mile marker 212 on highway 25 at 10:20pm, mile marker 224 on highway 25 at 10:23pm, mile marker 234 at 10:27pm, and so on. I know, you're thinking where in the hell is Story and all these mile markers? Don't worry, we didn't have a clue either. We were just crossing our fingers it was nowhere where we were! Fortunately, it appeared we were nowhere near Story or any mile markers on highway 25. We finally found the road we needed to turn on off of 16, and then found the dirt road. They weren't kidding - it was a dirt road. And dirt roads don't have streetlights. About this time (which was about 11pm), the skies decided to open up. No, it wasn't a rain storm, but instead a hail storm. So I'm driving down a dirt road with no light in the mountains of Wyoming in a hail storm looking for a fence and a gate. AND, the odometer on the car doesn't appear to have tenths of a mile on it, and we need to go 1.2 miles. After we drive what I'm guessing is just over a mile, I see a fence. And then we look, and it's a gate! So I stop. Ed's staring at said gate, I'm staring at said gate, and we're both thinking this can't be the gate. So I drive through the fence and keep going. A little while later Ed and I are discussing just how far we think we've driven, and he says he sees lights that look like a cabin, but they're behind us. So I turn around. I drive BACK to the fence and the gate. And I stop with the headlights pointed at the gate, and we stare at it. After a minute or so, I say "Ed, I think that's a horse corral."
(The daylight version of said horse corral, complete with horses. See the gate? I almost drove through that!)So we decide not to drive through the gate, but to go through the fence again. I start down the road again, and Ed says "oh look! They sent help!" A car was coming down the mountain to find up - I guess they were watching our headlights going back and forth and my cousin's husband decided someone needed to rescue us. We drove toward the lights, and lo and behold, there was a fence. AND A GATE! And it was a serious gate - no horse corral here. Keith and my dad and my cousin's husband were there to greet us, and send us up to the cabin. Finally, a little after 11pm, we had made it! Stay tuned for the next installment :)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Keith's Wyoming Trip
About two weeks ago, Keith left for Wyoming with his grandparents. I've talked to him, oh, twice since then, so I think he's having fun. Fortunately, every once in a while I get a few pictures in my email box.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Conversations with Henry
Me: Henry! Be careful! You just poked me in the eye!
Henry (approximately 3 inches from my eye): I poke your eye? I see your eyeball. Open your eyeball.
Me: No Henry.
Henry: Open please your eyeball. Open please your eyeball. Open please your eyeball.
Me: Fine, Henry. Don't poke it.
Henry (approximately 1 inch from my eye): MOM! A baby is in your eyeball!
Yes, Henry was amazed by his reflection in my eyeball. It's the little things, huh?
Henry (approximately 3 inches from my eye): I poke your eye? I see your eyeball. Open your eyeball.
Me: No Henry.
Henry: Open please your eyeball. Open please your eyeball. Open please your eyeball.
Me: Fine, Henry. Don't poke it.
Henry (approximately 1 inch from my eye): MOM! A baby is in your eyeball!
Yes, Henry was amazed by his reflection in my eyeball. It's the little things, huh?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Didja miss me?
I've been busy! School got out, and all the kids have been home, and it was Ed's 40th birthday, and people have been having babies, and.... I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. So, where to start? Caroline is almost 11 months old! There's a birthday coming up pretty soon!!! She's cruising like a champ, and took her first step yesterday. I promptly knocked her down and duct taped her to the floor, so we should be good around here for a little while longer. Oh, for those of you who don't know me too well, that was a joke. I just said 'no no no Caroline!' and she sat down and hasn't taken another step. Yet. She's getting so big! Keith still loves her to death - he was taking her 'shopping' the other day...
She was having a blast, until he almost dumped her out onto her head. She wasn't a fan of that. Fortunately he caught her. How, I don't know, but I'll take it. We got new storm doors, and she loves looking through the glass at what's going on in the world. She also loves to smash her face against it and smush her nose up. It's pretty funny!
Henry's been, well, Henry. After shoving the lego through his eardrum, we were good for, oh, maybe 2 weeks. Then, he decided that he should jump off of the fort part of the swingset while holding onto the swing chain. Unfortunately he doesn't have a great grasp on the mechanics of gravity, and didn't let go of said swing chain until gravity decided maybe he should. Fortunately nothing was broken, but he managed to dislocate his shoulder. Guess where we went! That was a quick trip, too. He's talking up a storm, and will reenact the whole swingset fiasco for you if you ask. On the ground, though! We've appeared to have adopted my parents' dog, Kona, and Henry just loves her to death. He helps us feed her, takes her on walks with us, and tries his hardest to get her to play fetch with him. Unfortunately, she can't see too well, so she can't see the balls that he continues to throw for her. He gets a little irritated about that, and yells "KONA! Go get ball KONA!!!!' at her, which probably confuses her even more. So, that's what we've been up to. Keith leaves on Wednesday to go to Wyoming with my parents for six weeks, so Henry and Caroline and I will have to find something to do! I think I'm going to realize quickly just how much Keith does to help out with the little guys!
She was having a blast, until he almost dumped her out onto her head. She wasn't a fan of that. Fortunately he caught her. How, I don't know, but I'll take it. We got new storm doors, and she loves looking through the glass at what's going on in the world. She also loves to smash her face against it and smush her nose up. It's pretty funny!
Henry's been, well, Henry. After shoving the lego through his eardrum, we were good for, oh, maybe 2 weeks. Then, he decided that he should jump off of the fort part of the swingset while holding onto the swing chain. Unfortunately he doesn't have a great grasp on the mechanics of gravity, and didn't let go of said swing chain until gravity decided maybe he should. Fortunately nothing was broken, but he managed to dislocate his shoulder. Guess where we went! That was a quick trip, too. He's talking up a storm, and will reenact the whole swingset fiasco for you if you ask. On the ground, though! We've appeared to have adopted my parents' dog, Kona, and Henry just loves her to death. He helps us feed her, takes her on walks with us, and tries his hardest to get her to play fetch with him. Unfortunately, she can't see too well, so she can't see the balls that he continues to throw for her. He gets a little irritated about that, and yells "KONA! Go get ball KONA!!!!' at her, which probably confuses her even more. So, that's what we've been up to. Keith leaves on Wednesday to go to Wyoming with my parents for six weeks, so Henry and Caroline and I will have to find something to do! I think I'm going to realize quickly just how much Keith does to help out with the little guys!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I scream... you scream...
We all scream for ice cream! Make another mark on that mother of the year tally sheet for me - I made ice cream from SCRATCH today! Chocolate chip ice cream even! And it was GOOD.
Back to the mint...
Hey, did I mention I have mint coming out of my ears? I made mint jelly with it today! From scratch! As in, I picked the leaves, boiled the mint, added the sugar, added the pectin (what, exactly, IS pectin??), jarred it, and sealed the jars. For real. I actually succeeded in my very first attempt at canning! I'm going to make pickles next.
Making the jelly...
Warming the jars in hot water so they don't break when I pour really really hot jelly into them.
Sealing the jars. It worked!!
Mint jelly!!!
What happens to your stove when you don't use a big enough pan. Think sugar, burner, smoke, fire alarm...
Making the jelly...
Warming the jars in hot water so they don't break when I pour really really hot jelly into them.
Sealing the jars. It worked!!
Mint jelly!!!
What happens to your stove when you don't use a big enough pan. Think sugar, burner, smoke, fire alarm...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
No fair!
I had to take Henry to the ER yesterday, seeing as he shoved a lego through his ear. We went to the pediatrician, and she recommended we go to the ER (since, you know, it had been a month since the last time we were there). We came home to drop Caroline off with Ed, and got home a few moments before he did. I put Caroline down for a nap (she was D.O.N.E. done) and Henry and I took Kona for a walk. We were walking along the driveway, and Henry saw the swingset in the backyard.
Henry: I go swingset.
Me: No - we have to go to the doctors.
Henry: I go swingset.
Me: Not now Henry. We're leaving.
Henry: NO FAIR!
Who taught him that??????
Henry: I go swingset.
Me: No - we have to go to the doctors.
Henry: I go swingset.
Me: Not now Henry. We're leaving.
Henry: NO FAIR!
Who taught him that??????
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Henry! Don't stick legos in...
What's that? I know you're asking yourself that. Well, THAT is a lego ax for a little lego man. I took a picture of it next to my hair band to give you an idea of its size. It's pretty skinny. So. Henry. Wait, let me first remind you of Keith's experience with a lego. Ok, you remember that incident? Well, fortunately, this lego was cheaper. Mostly since we haven't gone to the doctor yet lol. Anyways, I was watching tv and Henry was playing in the foyer. I look over at him, and he's sticking that lego ax into his ear. Stick side first. I say "HENRY! Don't stick legos in...." and he goes WHAM and slams it into his ear. And then screams hysterically. I almost threw up lol - it really looked like it hurt!! Ed came running over and pulled it out - about an inch of the lego ax was in his ear. Fortunately it wasn't bleeding or draining any fluid or anything, so we'll be checking in with the pediatrician tomorrow morning. He keeps telling me "my ear hurt bad" and insisted on a band aid for it, but it seems okay. He's been complaining about the toenail he ripped off (unrelated incident) more. I'm pretty sure I see yet another gray hair.
Caroline and the baby
My friend had a baby on Saturday, and we went to see her today and give her a present (which would be a mei tai from Divas N Babes). Caroline was absolutely in love with the baby. She'd crawl over, look at him, then turn and smile at us. She was a bit confused by the socks on his hands to keep him from scratching his face, and kept trying to pull them off. She looked so big with him!! I told her that he was her future husband so she better be nice!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Keith made breakfast this morning!
See what I woke up to?
Keith made breakfast for me and Henry! He set the table, put out bananas, cherries, grapefruit, and spaghettios. Yes, spaghettios. He said we had to have soup, but I only had cream of mushroom in the house and I'm not a fan of cream of mushroom, especially at 7 in the morning. So he settled for Spaghettios. He opened the can and heated them up on the stove (with a little help from his mother!). Henry was THRILLED. Henry thinks spaghettios are God's gift to Henry, so he was on cloud nine. Unfortunately for me, they needed more so I had to give up my bowl so Keith and Henry could have seconds. Bummer. But, my coffee and grapefruit were good! And it's the thought that counts!!
Keith made breakfast for me and Henry! He set the table, put out bananas, cherries, grapefruit, and spaghettios. Yes, spaghettios. He said we had to have soup, but I only had cream of mushroom in the house and I'm not a fan of cream of mushroom, especially at 7 in the morning. So he settled for Spaghettios. He opened the can and heated them up on the stove (with a little help from his mother!). Henry was THRILLED. Henry thinks spaghettios are God's gift to Henry, so he was on cloud nine. Unfortunately for me, they needed more so I had to give up my bowl so Keith and Henry could have seconds. Bummer. But, my coffee and grapefruit were good! And it's the thought that counts!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Remember the mint?
It's coming out of my ears. So I picked some more, and made mint iced tea. From scratch, I might add.
It is officially summer!
Because there is corn. And fireflies. But this post is about the corn. Last night we had the first corn on the cob of the season. Of course, there were a few glitches in the preparation of the corn, but once it was cooked, it was good.
See that thing floating in the pot of corn water? The thing on the left? I had the water boiling and was just about to stick the corn in when I looked (thank goodness) and said "what the hell is that?" Henry piped up "A cracker." Oh, of course. Crackers. In the corn water. Who WOULDN'T put crackers in the corn water? Anyways, I wouldn't, so I dumped it and started all over. Fortunately there were no crackers in the second batch of corn water. So we cooked the corn, and some steaks and some rice. The kids really enjoyed the corn and the rice - steaks, not so much. Oh well, more for me and Ed!
See that thing floating in the pot of corn water? The thing on the left? I had the water boiling and was just about to stick the corn in when I looked (thank goodness) and said "what the hell is that?" Henry piped up "A cracker." Oh, of course. Crackers. In the corn water. Who WOULDN'T put crackers in the corn water? Anyways, I wouldn't, so I dumped it and started all over. Fortunately there were no crackers in the second batch of corn water. So we cooked the corn, and some steaks and some rice. The kids really enjoyed the corn and the rice - steaks, not so much. Oh well, more for me and Ed!
Monday, June 1, 2009
My little entrepreneur
Did I spell that right? Anyways, Keith has decided (with a little help from his mother) that he has too many toys. So he cleared out his room, put a whole bunch of toys in boxes, and announced that he was going to sell them. And once he sold them, he would be rich and buy the Lego Death Star (retail value $399.95). I said "if you sell $400 worth of toys you can buy whatever you want." I'm wondering if those might just end up being famous last words. So last night, Keith was bugging Ed about wanting to go sell his toys. He wanted to have a yard sale, but impatience was getting the better of him. He finally wore Ed down enough who said "fine, go outside and sell your toys. Just stay in the driveway - I don't want you near the road." Henry went out with Keith, and Keith set up shop out towards the mailbox. Henry hung out on the steps waiting for Keith. Not five minutes later Keith yells "DAD! I got FIVE DOLLARS!!!" Ed goes out, makes sure he didn't sell Henry, and says "What? You sold something?" to which Keith replies "Yeah! Someone was walking buy and bought a toy for FIVE DOLLARS!"
So, apparently, you CAN sell toys out of a box in your driveway at 5pm on a Sunday. Who would have known. Now if he just sells $394.95 more, I'll be buying a Death Star. And I have a feeling he's going to want to spend every waking hour outside selling toys, now.
So, apparently, you CAN sell toys out of a box in your driveway at 5pm on a Sunday. Who would have known. Now if he just sells $394.95 more, I'll be buying a Death Star. And I have a feeling he's going to want to spend every waking hour outside selling toys, now.
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