Last week, Neil and I took a mini-vacation/house-hunting trip to Boston. We picked Ann up at the airport, said good bye to the kids, and waited for our plane to leave. We waited for another few hours until they cancelled our flight going in to Boston. Fortunately for us, there was a flight with space for us the next morning to Manchester, New Hampshire. Renting our car in New Hampshire saved us $100 in taxes and fees compared to what we would have paid in Boston. That paid for the hotel we stayed at in Raleigh when our flight was cancelled. While we waited in the airport and for the hotel taxi (they forgot to tell the driver to come get us), I was repeatedly reminded of how stressed I would have been during the wait if I had my four children with me.
We visited some homes in Belmont, MA once we got our rental car and then drove back to our B&B in Danbury, NH. My thought on the houses in Belmont is that if the house has a trash compactor in the kitchen, it's time to update the appliances. The Inn at Danbury is a quaint, family-owned place with authentic German food. I tried Wiener Schnitzel, which, due to a five-year old-esque aversion to the name, I never thought I would eat. Instead of the traditional veal, I substituted pork; I am not that adventurous. Who knew that this crazy sounding dish was actually breaded pork tenderloin. Yum.
I consider myself a fairly low-maintenance girl, but as we prepared for this trip, I was adamant that my snow clothes had to be cute and matching. This stubborn streak drives Neil insane; however, in my defense, I should be allowed one high-maintenance eccentricity. Waiting for cute clothes to go on sale rather than dropping money on clothes I will hate sounds reasonable to me. We had to drive to Raleigh to find snow boots for me. Neil could not understand that I wanted super cute pink and black fashionable snow boots instead of hiking boots. Unfortunately for me, REI does not carry such stylish boots. I ended up with brown and maroon hiking boots; I am pretty sure that Neil planned this all along. Neil's trip to the desert/mountains provided all the cold weather clothes he will ever need. My new Fayetteville friend, Adriana, and my mom loaned me clothes and mittens, and we were ready to go.
If you know me well, I would guess that you are already laughing at the prospect of me on a snowboard. If you have seen Neil's video of me snow boarding, you are still laughing. I have discovered that the "Thrill-Seeking McMullin Gene" is not inheritable through marriage.
Example 1: I never thought I was afraid of heights until I rode on the ski lift. All the way up to the bunny slope. I would have had an anxiety attack if Neil had not been there to remind me to breathe. It is true that I would have felt better with at least a bar keeping me from falling to my death, but I could not manage the bar with my snow board. Needless to say, I about had a heart attack watching some kids practically wrestling in the lift on the way to the top of the mountain.
My rental snow board stuck to the snow, which made my life difficult, but I had a great instructor and great, warm clothes. The sun was out and we were sweating as we rode down the mountain. I even had to put my hand warmers in my coat pocket because it was too warm for them. Snow boarding, even when you go slow like me, is exhilarating. It is also an incredible work out. At first, my legs were thanking me for all of the squats and lunges I did in January. By lunchtime, though, my legs were shaking.
Example 2: Once you fall backwards on a snowboard, there is only one way to get up. You cannot turn over and rest on your hands and knees. You just have to point yourself down the mountain to take advantage of the gravity, and stand up from a deep, deep squat. I did not think my knees would last. Another problem I had standing up was when I was pointed down the mountain and started sliding downhill before I had finished standing up. Going down the mountain while attempting to stand up was more than I could handle.
Example 3: One other thing I had not anticipated were all of the small children crossing my path. When those little kids on snow boards and skis lost control around me, I had to crash myself to avoid running them over. Other times it was humbling to watch them zoom past me. Those little kids on skis, especially, had no fear. They never fell. They just snowplowed down the mountain. The little kids on snow boards fell more often, but they never crashed and burned. It was more likely that they could not control where they were headed, so they just sat down. Sometimes they would stand up and then fall over forward. But none of them fell more than I did.
The first time I fell forward, I felt the jarring from my fingers to my shoulders and I was grateful for Kristen's suggestion to wear rollerblading wrist guards under our mittens. The time I fell back and landed only on my tailbone and head, I was grateful for my helmet. Apparently the snow in NH is less powdery and more icy than Colorado.
Example 4: I did not try snow boarding backwards down the mountain like our coach suggested. Big surprise there. Instead I just shifted which foot would lead down the mountain. That sounds like a much more sane idea.
Example 5: Did I mention that I fell every time I got off the lift? Yeah, you have to snowboard right off the lift down a 80% incline hill to get to a landing where you can actually strap your boots into the bindings. Needless to say, I usually just slid down the hill. Luckily, they never had to stop the lift for me. That would have been more than humiliating.
Notwithstanding all my crazy crash stories, learning to snow board was a blast. The first time I actually went down the hill and turned and kept going was cool. It is difficult to explain what it felt like. The morning was made even more amazing with the combination of snow and beautiful blue skies.
That evening, though, Sydney asked me on the phone if I had broken my leg yet. Apparently I had previously remarked that I was thought it might happen. I do not think I was such a fraidy cat when I was younger, but oh well. This is to be our family sport for the next three years. I have the pants, I have the hot pink coat. And Neil bought me some snow board boots on sale yesterday. They are hot pink and black and exactly why I would never settle for anything less than amazing. With my pink boots and some wax to keep my snow board moving, I am ready to try again. I am still looking for my pink snow boots, though.
In case you were wondering, Neil, of course, was great at snow boarding. He said something about skate boarding when he was a kid and all of the exercising he did in Afghanistan making it easier. That still doesn't explain the ten year-olds passing me on the mountain.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Updates and Halo
Sadly, it has been weeks since I have written on my blog. There are many things that I would like to write about, ideas floating around in my head, but my schedule is different now that Neil is home. While I would not say that I actually have a life now, at least I have Neil around to run errands with me or watch my favorite tv shows at night. I easily spend an hour every time I write on my blog and typically find that uninterrupted time after the kids go to bed, so there are things I'd rather be doing now that Neil is home. In fact, Neil is at Sydney's basketball practice tonight and my dishes are already done. Not that I would put off writing to do the dishes.
Picking Neil up from the airport was amazing, but I did not think we would ever get there. We got lost following the google map directions on my iphone, we hit every red light and we got stuck behind every slow car and old truck. Finally we pulled up to the airport, and it was as if I was picking Neil up from the hospital after work. (We only had one car for most of med school, so I spent a few years picking him up at the end of the day.) It did not seem that he had been gone for six months.
The first few days after Neil got home were surreal. I would look over at him while he sat next to me on the couch and get confused. It felt normal to see him, but unnatural to have anyone actually sitting there. Unfortunately for Neil, he had to spend the first three days checking Army boxes on Post. While I understand the need for post-deployment Psyche evals, all of the appointments and waiting do not sound to me like a great way to encourage reintegration. Fortunately we have spent plenty of time together since then because Neil's department gave him a lot of leave. At this point, he has almost two weeks of leave left. I could get used to this.
Everyone I talked to was concerned about the reintegration process and how Neil would adjust to being home. Neil and I have spent time talking about his deployment and the things crossing his mind as he got used to being here. If I had to guess, Neil's occupation as a surgeon allowed him to form coping mechanisms in advance of deploying that allow him to deal with some issues regular Army guys experience upon returning from war. When we were in Boston, it seemed to blow his mind that he had been in the middle of war a short while ago.
BTW, currently Zach and I are sporting our wireless XBox headsets and are pretending to play Halo. Did you know that in our pretend world, that if you push the button on the left you get a bazooka? Syd and Neil just walked and Syd made 4 baskets! Off to have Girl Scout Cookies for dessert.
Snowboarding stories can wait for another day.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Snow Day Pictures
You can see our fun neighbor, Elise, who came out to play with everyone. Then Zach makes snow angels and gets caught in the act of pelting Ainsley with a snowball. Audrey poses right before eating that snowball. We have so many pictures of all of the kids eating snow that day.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Neil and Audrey
While Neil was deployed, Audrey spent many afternoons sitting in my lap,"typing" him letters while we chatted on Skype. While Audrey would regularly talk with me about Neil, she did not want to talk to him very often. For a while, Neil felt on par with Audrey's current imaginary friend, Harry Potter. We were not sure how she would react to seeing Neil at the airport. As you can see, she had no trouble welcoming Daddy home.
Neil's Homecoming, Part I
Monday was a great day, if not a little hectic. I had visions of matching outfits and beautiful hair in bows, posters and a professional photographer. As expected, nothing went according to plan that day except for the most important part: Neil made it home safely. Everything else was, or would have been, a bonus.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Obama 2 / Sin City 0
Oskar Garcia from the AP wrote an article about Obama's recent unfavorable comments directed towards Las Vegas. Props to him. It seems that Obama remarked last February that federal bailout money should not be used for trips to Las Vegas. I am not sure what, if anything, Obama expected to result from his seemingly reasonable comment. But casino officials, whose image in my mind is that of the polished and gorgeous Italian mobster-type from Ocean's Eleven, reported that companies simply rescheduled their meetings at other destinations. Obama took heat for costing Vegas much needed tourism income. Surely those business leaders were not so dense as to understand from Obama's comments that their choice of destination was offensive to taxpayers. What is wrong with our society when the President's unscripted remarks aren't registered as the warning they should have been for companies to trim the excess in their budgets financed by taxpayers?
Fast-forward one year to a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. The White House transcript reads, "When times are tough, you tighten your belts...You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices." Again, what does it say about society when the President of the United States feels it is his job to teach fiscal responsibility to private citizens? Should not their parents and even grandparents have taught them this years ago? Of course Obama is right. In response to Harry Reid and other Nevada government officials' criticism, Obama issued a letter which stated, "I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun." What a concept.
Similarly, the restaurant industry raked Oprah Winfrey over the coals last year for her counsel that families avoid eating out. Suze Orman often appears on Oprah's show to discuss debt-free living; Oprah emphasizes living without debt because of the peace that lifestyle can potentially bring to her viewers. It makes more sense to learn from Oprah and Suze about the benefits of personal fiscal responsibility rather than from the President, who has far more pressing matters to deal with.
It is difficult to listen to the President speak of tightening our belt, cancelling company training retreats, saving for college, and making hard choices when he is absolutely unwilling to do any of these things on a federal level. No wonder the bail-out business execs simply changed the venue of their convention rather than pare down the event or cancel it all together. Obama and the Dems campaigned on getting rid of fraud, lobbyists, and waste. Obama promised to cut the budget with a scalpel, cutting 100 million dollars here and there because, even in Washington, that adds up. That sounded reasonable until Obama's State of the Union and his new budget. He promised an almost free college education to everyone, so why not blow our cash on family bonding in Vegas rather than save for college? Under a budget that assumes passage of the cap and trade plan, energy rates would "necessarily skyrocket." This money will subsidize energy producers that are less than profitable in a normal market. It begs the question as to whether or not these energy companies will use consumers'/unwitting taxpayers' money to finance their company conventions in Vegas. We cannot afford medicare/medicaid as it exists today. Nor can we, or should we, afford the prescription drug plan that Obama abhors. Yet Pelosi is, in her own creepy words, planning to pole vault over dissenters in Congress, over the will of the people, in an ends-justifies-the-means attempt to pass her healthcare bill. I've heard that the financing for the new budget includes the projection that $.42 of every dollar spent will have been borrowed (from China for sure) or printed. If that is not the mother of all bailouts, I do not know what is. Obama is the biggest hypocrite we have ever encountered in a President, even bigger than the definition of "is" himself and bigger than the cowboy that brought us the idea that we need to put aside free market principles in order to save the free market...I have decided that I would rather watch the remarkably talent-developing, physically fit, educationally- ambitious, service minded young women competing in the Miss America pageant than watch Washington screw up.
Fast-forward one year to a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. The White House transcript reads, "When times are tough, you tighten your belts...You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices." Again, what does it say about society when the President of the United States feels it is his job to teach fiscal responsibility to private citizens? Should not their parents and even grandparents have taught them this years ago? Of course Obama is right. In response to Harry Reid and other Nevada government officials' criticism, Obama issued a letter which stated, "I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun." What a concept.
Similarly, the restaurant industry raked Oprah Winfrey over the coals last year for her counsel that families avoid eating out. Suze Orman often appears on Oprah's show to discuss debt-free living; Oprah emphasizes living without debt because of the peace that lifestyle can potentially bring to her viewers. It makes more sense to learn from Oprah and Suze about the benefits of personal fiscal responsibility rather than from the President, who has far more pressing matters to deal with.
It is difficult to listen to the President speak of tightening our belt, cancelling company training retreats, saving for college, and making hard choices when he is absolutely unwilling to do any of these things on a federal level. No wonder the bail-out business execs simply changed the venue of their convention rather than pare down the event or cancel it all together. Obama and the Dems campaigned on getting rid of fraud, lobbyists, and waste. Obama promised to cut the budget with a scalpel, cutting 100 million dollars here and there because, even in Washington, that adds up. That sounded reasonable until Obama's State of the Union and his new budget. He promised an almost free college education to everyone, so why not blow our cash on family bonding in Vegas rather than save for college? Under a budget that assumes passage of the cap and trade plan, energy rates would "necessarily skyrocket." This money will subsidize energy producers that are less than profitable in a normal market. It begs the question as to whether or not these energy companies will use consumers'/unwitting taxpayers' money to finance their company conventions in Vegas. We cannot afford medicare/medicaid as it exists today. Nor can we, or should we, afford the prescription drug plan that Obama abhors. Yet Pelosi is, in her own creepy words, planning to pole vault over dissenters in Congress, over the will of the people, in an ends-justifies-the-means attempt to pass her healthcare bill. I've heard that the financing for the new budget includes the projection that $.42 of every dollar spent will have been borrowed (from China for sure) or printed. If that is not the mother of all bailouts, I do not know what is. Obama is the biggest hypocrite we have ever encountered in a President, even bigger than the definition of "is" himself and bigger than the cowboy that brought us the idea that we need to put aside free market principles in order to save the free market...I have decided that I would rather watch the remarkably talent-developing, physically fit, educationally- ambitious, service minded young women competing in the Miss America pageant than watch Washington screw up.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Snow Days
We have all enjoyed our first ever snow days! This will be our third four-day school week in a row. And then we get President's day off as well. School-shmool. It is amazing to look out at the beautiful blue sky reflecting on the brilliant white snow in the back yard. This combination makes for a less dreary winter. It might as well be summer, it's so bright outside. Maybe that's why I have so much energy. Or it could be that Neil arrives in one week. Either way, the snow sparkling in the sun is such a welcome change from the brown leaves, brown pine straw, and grey sky. Apparently I will change my mind when this turns to slush and mud. But truly, there is something in the snow in our backyard that is sparkling.
My kids' bodies have acclimated to the colder weather. It's forty degrees outside and they're hot. They have been running around the neighborhood with their friends, sledding down the conveniently located hill that is in front of our house, and having snow ball fights. I love Deb's neighborhood: the families are so great and there is so much to explore. Our neighbors have lent us boots and some gloves-I was not prepared for how wet everything would be! I do laundry on the weekends, but somehow my piles have grown instead of getting smaller.
I rented Twilight from the library and stayed up late Friday night to watch it with Sydney. Of course, I fast-forwarded the one "part." For a PG-13 movie, the one love scene is tame. But as much as I enjoy the movie and love the books, Sydney does not need this image in her head. In the book, the main character is wearing raggedy pj pants and a tank top; in the movie, she sports a t-shirt and underwear. Surely the mental picture Sydney has from reading the book is not what she would encounter in the movie. Can I not have just one or two more years? On the other hand, we watched Shrek 2 last night. The girls picked up on the line where Pinocchio was told to lie about something crazy like wearing women's underwear. His pink thong made the girls laugh. Great. I got them to be quiet before Zach started wondering why they were laughing so hard.
I read the Duggar's book last week. Wow. Compared to that lady, I am the laziest and most selfish person on the planet. Somehow wanting to relax and read a book seems so frivolous. Regardless of how you feel about the size of their family, you should read their book. It provides great insight into their lives. I love this family even though I do not live my life the same way that they do theirs. I read comments all the time about their kids. My opinion is that their kids will go in one of two ways: either they will be responsible adults and productive members of society or they will rebel and go off the deep end. Isn't it amazing that each of our children, regardless of our family size, will go in one of those two directions? It turns out that their oldest boys have chosen the first route. They run a used-car dealership together, one of them is married and has a baby.
Also, I love the idea of a home laundromat. If I remember correctly, the Duggar's have 4 washers and 3 dryers. I would love a second washer and dryer! And then, the idea to keep all the clothes stored in one room, categorized by gender, size and color makes putting laundry away so much more efficient. This is a unique idea that most people think is weird, but my friends tell me all the time about their clean clothes sitting in piles waiting to be put away. Having an upstairs laundry room makes a huge difference at our house, but still the piles sometimes collect. I was amazed to read that the only debt they have ever had was for their first home which cost $19,000. The next house they paid $65,000 in cash that they had saved over five years. And they didn't sell their first house to put the cash towards the price of the second house. Who does that? With four or five kids. I guess they didn't pay for internet service, tv and cable or cell phones. But over five years, that would be $20,000 at the most. Amazing.
Zach also loves this family! He happened to watch an episode with me where they hung a homemade Robot pinata from the balcony for one of the boy's bdays. When Zach saw all those boys scrambling around, he thought he had found heaven.
Sydney decided to cook a few times this weekend while I was upstairs doing laundry. Seriously, I have done about 11 loads of laundry. Anyway, she attempted blueberry mini-muffins on Saturday. She couldn't find the milk, so she used water. Today Syd started chocolate chip cookies. I caught her before she used 3/4 cup of Smart Balance spread instead of butter, but I missed her use of Kosher salt instead of table salt. Luckily for her, both the muffins and cookies turned out fine.
Neil should be home by this time next week. It is crazy to think that, but it will not sink in until he calls from Georgia. Up to that point, there are many ways that his trip could get postponed. My friends have volunteered to help me clean before he arrives. I am getting the laundry and straightening done so that we can knock out mopping, dusting, washing windows, and vacuuming. Oh yeah, I still need to clean my room. Wow, do I hate cleaning my room. If you have ever wondered where my kids get it from...It is even worse now than when I was younger: I have such a big family that I do all kinds of housework, but do not clean my room. It's a great excuse.
Neil and I are taking a short vacation after President's Day, and Ann will be staying with the kids. We are going snow-boarding in New Hampshire and neighborhood/school scouting in Boston. It will be an adventure! Don't laugh. I am trying to be at one with living in a cold climate. Neil bought me some snow pants that are water-proof, lined with fleece, have something called internal gators, and extra lining on the knees and bum for when you "spend time in the snow." AKA wiping out. So I bought a jacket that is supposed to be good to -5F. You can online chat with people from Land's End, so I asked them about all of their jackets. The lady tried to convince me that maybe a -15F rated jacket would be good. Seriously. Who goes outside when it's -15F? Many years ago I told Neil that I would only move to a cold climate if he would spend the money to buy me cute winter clothes that kept me warm. It looks like it is time for me to say "Show me the money."
In some ways, I worry about Neil coming home. For six months, he has been used to adults. Mostly quiet, never getting in his personal space, grabbing his cheeks between their hands to get his attention, never running around in front of his tv, or making a ruckus at the dinner table. I've tried to warn the kids that they are going to have to dial it down a notch when he gets home. We'll see how that works out.
PS-I just revised this post, so if you read it before, I apologize for saying that someone would grab Neil's face between their cheeks. That sounds a little off. Of course, I meant to say that someone (read: Audrey) would grab his cheeks in her little hands to get his attention. As I think more about this, it wouldn't be overwhelming to Neil. I think Neil would probably give her whatever she wanted because she is so darn cute. Audrey has even been practicing how to give Neil eskimo and butterfly kisses when he gets home. Imaginary conversations as follows: Dad says to Audrey, " You want pink heart marshmallows for breakfast? Sure. You want to watch Mickey Mouse for the forth time this morning? Sure. You want to keep my side of the bed? Sure...Wait, what did you say?"
If you wonder where Audrey learned to do this, it is from watching me and Zach. When he doesn't want to do what I say, he pretends not to see or hear me. So I take his little face in between my hands to command his undivided attention.
My kids' bodies have acclimated to the colder weather. It's forty degrees outside and they're hot. They have been running around the neighborhood with their friends, sledding down the conveniently located hill that is in front of our house, and having snow ball fights. I love Deb's neighborhood: the families are so great and there is so much to explore. Our neighbors have lent us boots and some gloves-I was not prepared for how wet everything would be! I do laundry on the weekends, but somehow my piles have grown instead of getting smaller.
I rented Twilight from the library and stayed up late Friday night to watch it with Sydney. Of course, I fast-forwarded the one "part." For a PG-13 movie, the one love scene is tame. But as much as I enjoy the movie and love the books, Sydney does not need this image in her head. In the book, the main character is wearing raggedy pj pants and a tank top; in the movie, she sports a t-shirt and underwear. Surely the mental picture Sydney has from reading the book is not what she would encounter in the movie. Can I not have just one or two more years? On the other hand, we watched Shrek 2 last night. The girls picked up on the line where Pinocchio was told to lie about something crazy like wearing women's underwear. His pink thong made the girls laugh. Great. I got them to be quiet before Zach started wondering why they were laughing so hard.
I read the Duggar's book last week. Wow. Compared to that lady, I am the laziest and most selfish person on the planet. Somehow wanting to relax and read a book seems so frivolous. Regardless of how you feel about the size of their family, you should read their book. It provides great insight into their lives. I love this family even though I do not live my life the same way that they do theirs. I read comments all the time about their kids. My opinion is that their kids will go in one of two ways: either they will be responsible adults and productive members of society or they will rebel and go off the deep end. Isn't it amazing that each of our children, regardless of our family size, will go in one of those two directions? It turns out that their oldest boys have chosen the first route. They run a used-car dealership together, one of them is married and has a baby.
Also, I love the idea of a home laundromat. If I remember correctly, the Duggar's have 4 washers and 3 dryers. I would love a second washer and dryer! And then, the idea to keep all the clothes stored in one room, categorized by gender, size and color makes putting laundry away so much more efficient. This is a unique idea that most people think is weird, but my friends tell me all the time about their clean clothes sitting in piles waiting to be put away. Having an upstairs laundry room makes a huge difference at our house, but still the piles sometimes collect. I was amazed to read that the only debt they have ever had was for their first home which cost $19,000. The next house they paid $65,000 in cash that they had saved over five years. And they didn't sell their first house to put the cash towards the price of the second house. Who does that? With four or five kids. I guess they didn't pay for internet service, tv and cable or cell phones. But over five years, that would be $20,000 at the most. Amazing.
Zach also loves this family! He happened to watch an episode with me where they hung a homemade Robot pinata from the balcony for one of the boy's bdays. When Zach saw all those boys scrambling around, he thought he had found heaven.
Sydney decided to cook a few times this weekend while I was upstairs doing laundry. Seriously, I have done about 11 loads of laundry. Anyway, she attempted blueberry mini-muffins on Saturday. She couldn't find the milk, so she used water. Today Syd started chocolate chip cookies. I caught her before she used 3/4 cup of Smart Balance spread instead of butter, but I missed her use of Kosher salt instead of table salt. Luckily for her, both the muffins and cookies turned out fine.
Neil should be home by this time next week. It is crazy to think that, but it will not sink in until he calls from Georgia. Up to that point, there are many ways that his trip could get postponed. My friends have volunteered to help me clean before he arrives. I am getting the laundry and straightening done so that we can knock out mopping, dusting, washing windows, and vacuuming. Oh yeah, I still need to clean my room. Wow, do I hate cleaning my room. If you have ever wondered where my kids get it from...It is even worse now than when I was younger: I have such a big family that I do all kinds of housework, but do not clean my room. It's a great excuse.
Neil and I are taking a short vacation after President's Day, and Ann will be staying with the kids. We are going snow-boarding in New Hampshire and neighborhood/school scouting in Boston. It will be an adventure! Don't laugh. I am trying to be at one with living in a cold climate. Neil bought me some snow pants that are water-proof, lined with fleece, have something called internal gators, and extra lining on the knees and bum for when you "spend time in the snow." AKA wiping out. So I bought a jacket that is supposed to be good to -5F. You can online chat with people from Land's End, so I asked them about all of their jackets. The lady tried to convince me that maybe a -15F rated jacket would be good. Seriously. Who goes outside when it's -15F? Many years ago I told Neil that I would only move to a cold climate if he would spend the money to buy me cute winter clothes that kept me warm. It looks like it is time for me to say "Show me the money."
In some ways, I worry about Neil coming home. For six months, he has been used to adults. Mostly quiet, never getting in his personal space, grabbing his cheeks between their hands to get his attention, never running around in front of his tv, or making a ruckus at the dinner table. I've tried to warn the kids that they are going to have to dial it down a notch when he gets home. We'll see how that works out.
PS-I just revised this post, so if you read it before, I apologize for saying that someone would grab Neil's face between their cheeks. That sounds a little off. Of course, I meant to say that someone (read: Audrey) would grab his cheeks in her little hands to get his attention. As I think more about this, it wouldn't be overwhelming to Neil. I think Neil would probably give her whatever she wanted because she is so darn cute. Audrey has even been practicing how to give Neil eskimo and butterfly kisses when he gets home. Imaginary conversations as follows: Dad says to Audrey, " You want pink heart marshmallows for breakfast? Sure. You want to watch Mickey Mouse for the forth time this morning? Sure. You want to keep my side of the bed? Sure...Wait, what did you say?"
If you wonder where Audrey learned to do this, it is from watching me and Zach. When he doesn't want to do what I say, he pretends not to see or hear me. So I take his little face in between my hands to command his undivided attention.
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