Rolling on

Well it was Groundhog Day yesterday, Phil saw his shadow and started the clock on 6 more weeks of winter. I'll say though, so far it's been mostly dry, minimal snow and rain, and averaging in the 30's. I can definitely handle it. In fact, my mind is already on summer, I signed Ashton up for a June Lego camp yesterday and have to fill out registrations for a few more. And beyond that, I've had to focus on the fall! I had to personally drop off Ashton's kindergarten papers last week, and just got the notification this week that Alex was admitted to the preschool at the same elementary school (Lilja - did I already talk on here about how we were redistricted? I really overreacted haha). But turns out the preschool is full day, all week, which is more than we need. As much as I would have loved to have both boys at the same school, it's not happening. I just sent a check to Community Nursery School of Wayland to enroll Alex on MWF 9-1 in the fall. So that's all set. (Fun fact: I've never even been there haha. But my friend's son is going and I have heard nothing but wonderful things, so I don't anticipate not loving it once I finally go for a tour.)

So. On the homefront, a few very exciting developments. First, way back when I complained that we had all kinds of mismatched doorknobs and hardware in our house (silver, gold and vintage clear). We had two of our ten old downstairs doors replaced last week (Phase 1) and they got nice new nickel doorknobs and hinges. Knowing that the rest of the old ones will also be replaced, I told Jason for the millionth time I would love to switch out the gold knobs and hinges upstairs and everywhere else...well he did it! He took off every door to put on new hinges and even replaced the little latch thingys on the door casing. We officially live in a zero-gold household and Jason and our door guy both think I'm nuts. Woot! 

Another awesome project...we have a built in closet in our bedroom that looked like this.

Considering we have two other closets and a big dresser, we hadn't really had the immediate need to make this area functional. But it's a ton of space and things have piled up since we moved. Jason hit Ikea and basically retrofitted drawers from their closet products into this cabinet!

He even lined them with cool contact paper.

It looks super custom and I can't wait to move some stuff into it! Our problem is we have tons of hanging space but not so many drawers so this will really help. 

What else...we have all the wood for our board and batten project, Jason painted the guest room and all the trim and downstairs ceilings...WHEN did he have time for all this you ask? Well, lucky duck that he is, last weekend I went up to Vermont to meet my new nephew and I brought the boys with me. Jason was left at home with a lonnnnng list and he checked almost every box :) You are amazing honey!

Back to my new nephew though. My sister was visiting from Colorado so I couldn't wait to get up there and meet Holden and see Callie. We had so much fun - we slept at GG's, we jumped at GetAir Trampoline Park, we went sledding at Catamount and we swam at the Edge. The boys each slept for two of the three hours on the drive home. I call that a MAJOR win.

Here is my favorite picture from the trip:

Ok that's two. I couldn't decide ;) 

Our train is going south next week - we are heading to Florida on Monday! Lots of things planned, not the least of which is two days at the Magic Kingdom! I've suffered a bit of Disney mania, it's a LOT of planning (who knew?) and since I've never been, there are a fair number of unknowns. But overall we are so so excited. See you on the flip side!

Back after a small break!

Well I haven't written anything for the past few weeks. I've kind of had the blogger blahs lately. Butttt, I never officially wrapped up Christmas did I.

I have about zero enthusiasm to post this considering December feels like a decade ago, but my future self will be annoyed with my current self if I don't.

Generally it was a wonderful holiday - the boys were as you would expect on Christmas morning (video of Ashton showing Alex their loot) and of course got (mostly) everything they wanted. Alex got a lawnmower. In fact all Alex asked for was lawn equipment "to help Daddy". In his letter to Santa he requested "a lawnmower, a rake, a wheelbarrow, a flower pot, a watering can and a teddy bear." Ashton's list included two Lego sets, the Blaze Racetrack, a striped monster machine (?) and a stuffed animal likeless of Pete that he could actually touch and play with.

Last year we took our letters to the library to mail them because they have a special box that goes to the North Pole and a couple weeks later you a personal reply from Santa (actually from a nice old lady in Natick, but the boys don't know that). I missed the deadline this year and was more or less panicking when I thought, Um, I can write and mail letters too! Duh.

Which is exactly what I did.

Here's me reading Alex's letter to him. And then, what was maybe the cutest thing, they both suddenly took their letters and rushed over to show Pete that Santa had written to them.

Let's see what else. We made Christmas cookies at our neighbor Alina's house, Ashton had a surprise solo in his school concert (which of course, my phone was at capacity and I couldn't record), the boys met Santa as I think I already posted...so, yeah, it was a December full of merry making!

I have literally 3 pictures from Christmas morning. First, a sweet picture of Ashton helping Alex (no hidden agenda there, no sirree!):

Remember how I told you I had swapped the boys' pajama bottoms by accident and Ashton was wearing Alex's and vice versa. A clear illustration:

Lastly, my favorite coffee mug.

Here's the footage of Alex opening his lawnmower. Incredible, isn't it? Get your popcorn.

After we said goodbye to GG and Uncle Erik, we packed up and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's in NY. There we had another gift tornado and then dinner and spent a nice couple days hanging out before heading home.

And that, my friends, was Christmas 2016!

Brae Burn is officially closed for their 3 week shut down, Jason's off and things are definitely happening around the house! Our guest room is getting spruced up, crown molding and board and batten is going in everywhere, our door guy comes Thursday to start replacing all the old crappy dated downstairs doors that either stick or don't close, my new piano room rug should be on my doorstep tomorrow...woo!

I'm heading up to Vermont to meet my new little nephew this weekend, of course Ashton has decided to throw me for a loop and not feel great/stay home from school, and don't even get me going on all the drama about our neighborhood being redistricted from Ben-Hem to Lilja...never a dull moment :D

Into January

You guys, I don't even know where to begin. It's very overwhelming to have a few weeks go by with no blog post, especially when so much happens that you need to cover! And especially when the minute you get back from the holidays, you *BAM!* get hit with summer! Like I have been consumed this week with finding a house on Block Island for the last week in July, scheduling who will be there with us and when, booking ferries and all the associated paperwork and check mailing. THEN, we decided to join Longfellow for the summer to use the pool, which led me to realize that all the summer camp registrations are open there as well (AND Alex can go this year, he will be 3) so we've been all calendar-crazy with those weeks. LASTLY, we go to Disney in a month, and I have just decided to see about planning that, but it turns out people prepare for their trips for years and it's such a massive undertaking to make sure we hit the rides and reservations and restaurants and all the things in the right time frame and I have to have a master schedule with the fast passes and AHHHHHHH IT'S SO MUCH!! TICKETS COST $632 AND THAT'S JUST THE TICKETS!!!

So you see, I've been a tad on the frazzled side and have already completely moved on from Christmas. I'm also now obsessed with furnishing our front room and in addition, literally in the middle of the night, it comes to me that in order to make the house feel newer I need to swap out all our old crappy downstairs doors that have original hardware and don't even close properly. I'm not sure Jason shares my urgency here but this needed to happen yesterday as far as I'm concerned. Instead of blogging, I have been researching doors, getting a guy to come do the work (the frames and jambs or whatever need to be redone as well), picking knobs out and searching for baby grand pianos.

I'm quite busy. Oh plus I have to work. Heh heh.

I'll post Christmas in short pieces, which should be easy because I took zero pictures. I mean, very few. In the past I document like crazy so I can post it here and this year I did not feel like doing that.

I'll start with a funny story and that is that I bought the boys matching pajamas. I washed them and on Christmas Eve morning of course Pete had left them for the boys to wear. I helped them get dressed and ready:

All through the next morning I kept saying to myself gosh Ashton's pj's really shrunk. Well if you look at their bottom halves, you'll maybe see Ashton is wearing size 3 pants and Alex is wearing size 5 pants. Whoops. Alex's were far too long and Ashton's were far too short. Oh well :D They didn't notice.

Also funny is that last year's Santa picture didn't look much different from this year's.

2015

2016

Alex hasn't really gotten in tight yet with Santa, just like zillions of other toddlers out there. Luckily he had no issues on Christmas morning when he saw all the presents ;)

Lego-gate

I didn't think it could happen but it has. We are experiencing market saturation with Pete the elf and he is losing his effect.

On Monday afternoon, I let the boys play in my room with their Legos while I got ready for Jason's employee holiday party. They scattered the pieces everywhere, I mean threw them all over the place. Because I was desperate for 5 minutes to do my hair, I allowed it but repeatedly warned them that pretty soon it was going to be time to clean up.

When that time came, I said, "Ok! Let's pick all this up! Get the bucket, start scooping..." Ashton hemmed and hawed and let's just say, over the course of 15 minutes, I asked him multiple times. Then I started to threaten.
"If you don't pick up your Legos, ________________". Blank was anywhere from "I won't put a show on" to "no snack" to "you won't be able to play Legos anymore" to "I'll tell Pete" and eventually "I'LL TELL SANTA MYSELF!"

Nothing. Not even an attempt. I dropped Pete's name like ten times too. I started to help Alex because he was really trying (we're talking a thousand pieces here) and Ashton just sat and stared. After another several minutes, I finally started to yell and sent him to his room. I stomped downstairs and loudly said "PETE! Wait until I tell you what just happened!" and then grabbed his little elf body, shoved him in the cabinet out of sight and went back upstairs. I flung open Ashton's door, more upset than he was, and said "Well! I hope you're happy! Pete just left and I'm not even sure if he's going to come back!"

At that point Ashton started to cry. YES, finally! I was getting through! [I mean, not that I LIKE when my kid cries! But the balance of power was so clearly off track in this situation that something needed to give!] I left Ashton in his room and when Alex and I had about three pieces left, Ashton poked his head in, wiped his tears and said he was ready to help. I said that would be great, thank you, and life was back in harmony.

But then a curious thing happened. Jen arrived, and I casually whispered to her to ask Ashton where Pete had gone. She did, and Ashton made up a story that was completely not what had happened, a story that of course placed no blame on him whatsoever. And then a little later on, her boyfriend Mike asked the same thing, and Ashton said it was because of Alex!

You can probably guess: Pete did not come back the next day, which was yesterday. I told the boys Pete was very upset by what had happened and Santa probably hadn't decided what to do about it yet.

I did also tell Jason to ask Ashton what had happened to Pete, because Jason was at work when this all had gone down. Ashton's answer was "Oh, Daddy! I don't remember."

&#(!@#$%^&**@%&!!!

So there we were, Pete was gone and Ashton seemed unfazed, despite my repeated overdramatic reminders that the Christmas situation was now dire. Truly jeopardized! Like coal-in-your-stocking, no-presents-at all danger.  All I wanted him to do was admit that Pete was gone because he didn't pick up his Legos. But even when I pressed him, he would not. *#&$(&%~!

I know defeat when I see it and this was definitely that. Pete came back out after the boys went to bed. Sigh.

But then...this morning the boys came running in to our room when they woke up, asking if Pete had returned. I said I wasn't sure. I told them Santa had called me last night (at which point Ashton's eyes went as wide as dinner plates) and Santa said he was very upset that Ashton had not helped to pick up his Legos. I said, "Ashton, Jen, Mike and Daddy might not know the real reason Pete left, but Santa does." Ashton looked down at his hands and said, "I know Mommy. It was because of me." And then, very resolutely, "It will not happen again. Santa really called? Yes he must know. I'm sorry."

Sometimes you gotta bring in the big guns. My next strategy was to actually have my boss call him and pretend to be Santa, but at the moment there is no need (still 4 days to go though- keeping that in my back pocket). For now, Christmas is back on!

The finest fir in all the land

Let me tell you the story about the swashbuckling good times we have had this year as they relate to our tree.

First we went to Home Depot to find it. It was Monday night last week and they had about 4 little guys laying around helplessly. It was clear our tree was not going to be there so we left pretty fast and headed over to Tilly's, a local farm stand type joint where a lot of people get their tree around here. It was such a cute spot, and we picked out a huge one! Look at this puppy! It was a 10 footer and this is Jason realizing we waaay overestimated our ceiling height.

So we had to cut it. We laid it out on the coffee table and out came the tools.

Alex's saw really made a difference, as you'll see in this video. I mean, thank goodness for the safety helmet.

How many Nills does it take to set the trunk?

All Ashton and Alex knew was that Daddy was underneath there doing something and they felt compelled to "help". That happens a lot.

We got the tree all situated and the next night we went to put the lights on and...half of them were out. So Jason went out to Lowes and we decided to upgrade to LEDs. My friends, I hated these lights. They were like, so ugly. Look, my phone couldn't even register them to take a picture.

 But I didn't say anything and we got all our ornaments on and I just stole Jason's phone to document :D

I mean it wasn't perfect.

A little beach trip gone bad. Poor bear.

In fact we have another smaller tree in the front (just with plastic balls on it) that I let the boys decorate 100% themselves. The ornaments are all globbed together but I have not moved a single one from where they placed it.

In the middle of the night, we frequently hear balls falling off and bouncing across the floor lol. The boys, they aren't the most secure ornament hangers the world has ever seen.

Back to the other tree. You can guess what happened. I couldn't hold it in and eventually blurted out that I thought our tree was ugly. To my surprise, Jason agreed! You're going to think we're crazy but...we took all the ornaments off, changed the lights, and put all the ornaments back on ha!

So much better. The light is a lot warmer and it just looks better. If you're going to do a tree, do it right. Speaking of, how do you know if you got the right tree to begin with? It can be intimidating walking on to a big lot with all kinds of sizes and shapes. We interviewed one tree and it went like this.

Me: First of all, you realize you cost 25% more than your Home Depot counterparts.
Christmas Tree: Well, I have 25% more body. Do you like it scrawny or do you like it brawny? Ask yourself.
Me: Where are you from?
CT: Page 11 in the Polar Express.

Me: So you're not afraid of the dark? What about the lean wolves on the previous page?
CT: I just stay really still and they don't bother me.
Me: How many ornaments do you think you can hold?
CT: I bench at least 160.
Me: Angel or star?
CT: Star.
Me: WRONG! The answer is neither. You get a Santa hat.
CT: You are sooo tricky.
Me: I know.
Me: Describe your thoughts on being hog tied and roped to the top of a car.
CT: A nice warm up to having my undercarriage clipped and then being squeezed to death by dozens of strands of lights.
Me: Does it bug you that you were 10'3 and we cut you down to 9'1?
CT: No but I will now ooze extra sap and drop a bunch of pine needles just as you have finished vacuuming. Heh heh heh.
Me: If you could be anything besides an evergreen, what would you be?
CT: A lean wolf.
Me: What do you say to the reports that claim you are infested with 25,000 bugs?
CT: Google "how much bacteria is on a human body" and get back to me.
Me: What will you do when you see Santa?
CT: Probably just stand there.
Me: Do you know that people have been decorating trees for Christmas for hundreds of years? It seems kind of a silly thing to do, doesn't it?
CT: So does ear piercing.
Me: What do you get when you cross a Christmas tree with an apple?
CT:
Me: A pineapple!
CT:
Me: Ok last question. Where are you going after this?
CT: You tell me.

Overall this tree was not hired. Sarcasm and condescension are not attractive qualities when it comes to balsam firs. Luckily the next one was a delight, talking about her hopes and dreams for Rockefeller Center and her love of being dressed to the nines. She is in the corner this very minute twinkling away. Not *really* twinkling, I don't do flashing lights, but you know what I mean :)

We clean up nice

This is just a quick post so I can look back when I'm 80 and remember that at one point, Jason and I still had it ;) We got all dressed up for the Brae Burn gala last weekend and I think we turned out pretty good!

Rewind to a month ago and I said, "If you want me to go to this, it's realllllly gonna cost ya! I'm talking hair, nails, dress, dress alterations, jewelry, MAYBE new shoes, and also Jen for 8 hours..."

And so it was. Hair (low side bun thing, horrible picture attempt):

Nails (gold, to match my shoes, naturally)

Dress (I barely let the boys touch me, see the broom there on the side? I was ready to use it.):

Ashton said "I hope you don't get any mess on your dress Mommy!" while Alex gawked at me wondering where his mom went. 

Yes, we were very fancy for a night. I thought I had achieved the impossible in getting out of the house in one piece, until I got to Brae Burn and these acrobats were hanging in the staircase!

Three flights up. You can't even do it justice with pictures! The party had a cirque de soleil theme, hence the acrobats ;) The night was full of things I definitely don't do every day and there's nothing like a fun holiday party to get you in the spirit of things. 

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Off to the races

IT HAS BEGUN. Pete the elf has arrived safely from the North Pole, our tree is up, our mantel is decorated, outside lights are strung, the holiday crafts and activities are in full swing and Amazon boxes are arriving by the truckload. Welcome to December!!

Technically we kicked it all off November 30. Kayleigh and Ariane came over and we decorated gingerbread houses.

We left them on the table that night where Pete could see them.

Let's talk about Pete the elf. He is a huge presence in our house and I would be lying if I said I was not ridiculously excited for his arrival. A lot of parents are like "oh we don't like to hold good or bad behavior over our kids' heads at Christmas, just make it be a fun thing" blah blah blah well screw that!! Most of the time the boys don't listen to what I say or do what I ask. But with Pete around? Stark raving obedience, that's what.

"Better pick up your Legos." OK MOMMY!
"Please come wash your hands before dinner." OK MOMMY!
"Can you get ready for tubby?" OK MOMMY!
"Let's get your shoes on." OK MOMMY!
I don't even have to add "Pete is watching" anymore! And it's not limited to my requests. The other day the boys started to argue and wrestle over something and Ashton instantly stopped, sheepishly looked up to where Pete was perched and said "NO Ow-wex (Alex), we can't do this right now!"

I love Pete. For the month of December, I deserve this glorious gift of Santa's scout elf. He arrives on December 1 and this year he brought a Lego advent calendar (thanks Papa and GG!) and a christmas book. See him there on the left? In the light?

Here is the video of the morning of December 1 of the boys discovering him (if you care, lol). The night before, they knew Pete would be coming and while Ashton was out of his mind with the thrill of it all, Alex was scared stiff. I mean, almost crying. He kept saying "I don't like Pete" "I don't want him to come in my room" etc etc. He clearly dealt with his feelings the next morning by calling him "poopyhead" or some variation of it. They are friends now.

This is the letter Pete left.

It launched a full on obsession and Jen told me the next day that she actually made Ashton take a break from talking about him.

If you'll recall, Pete goes up to report to Santa every night and each morning is resting in a new spot. He periodically brings back a gift or a craft. (Last night in an attempt to get the kids in bed, I said "Maybe if Pete likes our tree enough he will bring back something special from Santa! Let's go to sleep so Pete can leave for the North Pole!" They settled down well enough and while we did remember to move Pete, I did not leave out the holiday pajamas as I intended to. This morning Ashton bounded downstairs, located Pete but looked around and said, in the most forlorn voice, "I don't see anything. I guess Pete didn't like our tree." My heart very nearly broke. I'll have to save the day with a note tomorrow.)

So that's the tour de force that is Pete. Between all his drama and excitement we went to the Home Depot Kids Workshop and made an ugly "candy dish" where the main instruction was simply to get paint everywhere.

I even had paint under my chin by the time we were done. Thanks Home Depot!

Next up...all about our Christmas tree. We have an intense selection process and I'll be sharing all of our interview questions, physical requirements and performance capabilities that a fir must meet to stand tall in our house. Oh yes, it's that serious!!