February 12, 2008

To start off, Beck said she didn't remember I had Chronic Wasting Disease - I complained about that on October 4th. Which, I might add, led to a later accusation by my father that maybe I'm just anemic. And poor Crissy called today to find out if I really have mono. No not really, like a doctor said I do. But I could.

7:15 Drop off. NOT showered. NOT awake. NOT amused.

Breakfast - bogart and oatmeal.

9:00 Went to stroller class. There was a teeny-tiny chance that there was going to be a camera crew at class from the Montel Williams show. The had approached Carolynne about it last week but it didn't pan out. Just in case, I wore my nice green fleece instead of my ratty CU sweatshirt.

But, alas, I will not be on national TV (I also volunteered to be Carolynne's "media specialist" should she need one in NY). But I did get a decent workout in.

Carolynne also bought Ariel some birthday balloons because I didn't do class in November and we had missed Ariel's birthday. Ariel was pretty happy about the balloons.

10:45 After class we stopped by Rubio's for lunch. Ariel nibbled on her quesedilla.

11:30 Picked up Adam, Ariel was asleep.

11:45 Got home, Ariel transfered to her bed.

1:30 Ariel woke up. I had combed her hair when she got to the house this morning, but her napped messed it up so I did it again, this time with aplomb. Ariel's first french braid:





2:30 Picked up Alex. We hung outside for a bit since it wasn't freezing cold or gusting wind.

3:00 Got home. Ariel had another snack - bogurt and cheddar bunnies.

4:30 Pick up.

Feb. 11, 2008

I apologize in advance if this is yet another uninspired blog. I think I traded in my SARS for mono and I'm just tired all the time. I slept 12 hours both Friday and Saturday night and I've been napping nearly every day. Or, maybe it's back to the Chronic Wasting Disease, I forgot I already had that one last year.

7:15 Drop off. And, if I may brag, I was awake AND showered.

Breakfast - oatmeal and bogart.

8:00 Walked Alex to school. Got home, cleaned up the breakfast mess, started some laundry and vacuumed.

9:20 Left for our adventure of the day - we picked up Ellen from Toyota where her car was being serviced. First, we went to the bank. Then we went to Starbucks. I got a Java chip even though I already had a coffee this morning. Ariel had 1/2 a donut. And then, I needed to return some library books and get some new ones. We are reading Ramona books now and the next one was only at the main branch, so we went there.

Ariel really liked the pish in the aquarium. And we happened to get there at storytime so we checked that out too.

Ariel is wearing her purple overalls today:



Ellen got the call that her car was done, so after storytime we dropped her off and then we picked up Adam. Too much car for Ariel, she fell asleep:



11:40 Got home, Ariel transfered to bed.

1:30 Ariel woke up, had mac & cheese and no apple sauce for lunch.

2:30 Picked up Alex from school and returned home with an extra kid - Gabriel.

The three boys played really well together and I tried to keep Ariel out of the way. She colored and then we read books and then she played with the magnet toys.

4:25 Pick up.

February 8, 2008

7:20 Drop off. Ariel seemed much happier than she had earlier in the week. For breakfast she had oatmeal.

8:00 Ariel and I walked Alex to school.

When we got home, I had to frost 2 dozen cupcakes for Adam's carnival on Sunday. I had baked them right when I got up.

9:30 After the cupcakes were done and Ariel and I were all showered, we went to a baby shower for one of the stroller moms. Here's a picture of me and Ariel and some other moms that the host took:



And a picture I took of Ariel.



Ariel enjoyed playing with Kyleigh's toys and eating cheddar bunnies.

11:25 Left the party to pick up Adam.

Got home, everyone had lunch. But I really writing this on Monday so I don't remember what everyone ate.

12:00 Ariel went down for a nap. I might have gone down for a nap too.

2:30 We all got up, picked up Alex from school.

4:00 Ariel went home.

February 7, 2008

Ah, my poor neglected little blog. No, I did not fall victim to SARS, though it was touch and go at times. I believe my bronchitis was brought on by back to back viral thingies, which the whole family also got. Ariel and the boys were sick last week again with fevers/colds and missed lots of school. Ariel did come to the house on Friday and everyone, including me, napped a lot.

Jeremy and I celebrated my 33rd birthday in Breckenridge last weekend while Grammie watched the boys. The snow was good, but we were both feeling out of it after a week of sickness. I hate to say it, but the most exciting part of our weekend might have been watching 9 straight hours of TV on Saturday. At least it was relaxing and quiet.

Ariel was also here on Tuesday, my official birthday. She was VERY crabby and took a morning nap instead of going to stroller class. She also took an afternoon nap and then woke up so crabby I asked Becky to pick her up at 3:30. She's been sick for a week so hopefully we are at the end of the crazies with her. And in case you are wondering how I spent my birthday evening, I joined 700 fellow Democrats at my local caucus. It was SUPER fun and Obama won with 80% of the vote. Jeremy did not caucus as he's a registered independent. Jeremy would also like to register a complaint of my using the word "caucus" as a verb, adjective and adverb in addition to noun.

And to make up for my lame birthday, last night we joined Melissa and her boyfriend and CB & Potts for trivia last night. We were a force to be reckoned with and Jeremy and I won our table a round of beer with our obscure knowledge of the New Order song Bizarre Love Triangle. And overall, our team came in second winning a $25 gift certificate. Our attempt for first place was thwarted by my illegal bathroom call to Dad to ask who the house speaker who retired in 1987 was. And, as good karma should work, my cheating did not pay off as Dad did not remember. But my awesome husband came up with the WWII answer Yalta (you'll have to play Jeopardy to figure out the question) and secured our second place win. I have a feeling the second half of the night would have been easier if I had not drank 18 more ounces of beer than I intended, but doggone it, it was FREE.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog.

7:15 Ariel arrived and I pried myself out of bed (see aforementioned FREE beer).

7:30 Alex informed me that he needed to be at school at 10:00 for his field trip to the Tibet Restaurant to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I had no paperwork or information about the field trip but after 2 phone calls to less lame moms, I determined that Alex DID in fact need to be at school before 10:00.

8:45 Went to the mall to say hi to the stroller moms and to give one a photo order. I missed all last week too. Since we didn't have time to work out, I just ran upstairs and grabbed a Starbucks.

9:20 Left the mall

9:45 Dropped Alex off at school. Speaking of Alex, I have to share this funny story he told us last night.

"Mrs. Young went in a cave when she was on vacation. She saw lots of rocks and spiders. And she bumped her head in the cave. And she said that when everyone in the class is yelling, her head hurts worse than when she bumped it." The delivery was perfect.

And while I'm at it, here's another cute boys story. We were talking about the Chinese New Year and Alex said China is a country on the other side of the world. Both boys have been studying Antarctica and Adam pointed out that Antarctica is on the bottom of the world so all the penguins are upside down. Maybe you had to be there for that one.

Anywho, after we dropped off Alex, Ariel and I went into Boulder for a car wash. I tried out the CA-like Puddles where real people wash and vacuum your car and I'm pretty impressed. There's no way a gas station wash was going to get off the layers of magnesium chloride that have been collecting all winter.

10:30 Got home.

11:30 Picked up Adam. Ariel messed up my plans and fell asleep in the car.

11:45 Got home, put Ariel in bed.

1:00 Ariel woke up, consented to have some yogurt for lunch.

2:30 Picked up Alex. After school, the kids watched Little Robots but Ariel wasn't interested. She said she wanted spaghetti o's but then she didn't eat them.

After the video, Alex worked on his valentines. Naturally, he picked Star Wars. There are 8 designs and they all look a lot like this:



I was telling Jeremy that I didn't see what Darth Vader and an energy beam had much to do with Valentine's Day, but then Jeremy said that was pretty much how he feels about the holiday, so there you go.

4:30 Pick up.

Ariel had a better day today, minus some mysterious crying jags involving her chococat fleece blanket.

Jan. 28, 2008

Well, I was going to post pictures from Alex's family birthday party tonight but my SARS returned this morning and I'm going to be barely able to type anything. Luckily Alex had K-Care and Jeremy was home sick too so I didn't have much to do.

I had a doctor's appointment at 11:30 and after 2 hours it was determined that I have bronchitis. I'm on an antibiotic and robitussin with codeine and I'm still miserable. I'm sore from all the coughing and I couldn't even sleep with the codeine.

Anyway, that's me, hopefully none of the small ones are going to get re-sick.

Jan. 25, 2008

7:15 Drop off

Breakfast - Ariel ate TWO of my whole grain waffles. She doesn't usually like them but perhaps we have turned a corner. Or I gave her enough syrup for dipping. Either way, it's nice to know we have another breakfast option.

8:00 Walked Alex over to school. Ariel insisted on wearing a packpack too. And I set a new precedence today, I walked in my jammies. And there were no other parents in penguin/igloo pants. Even Alex asked me why I hadn't changed yet. Because sweet boy, I am THAT lazy that I couldn't manage 30 seconds to pull on a pair of jeans.

9:20 Ariel and I left for Kangaroo Kingdom. If you are wondering, I did manage to pull on some jeans and even a shirt.

9:45 Kangaroo Kingdom with Get Fit Mommy. I forget that the type of people that bring their babies to a play gym are also the type that are interacting and paying attention to said children. I sat and gossiped with the moms and kept an eye on to Ariel to make sure she wasn't wailing on anyone. She had a great time and did everything there and was the most enthusiastic kid at bubble time.

11:00 Left and since we were just one mile from the drive-thru Starbucks we had to stop. I got a java-chip frappachino because I'm now in my sick-of-winter mode and think drinking iced beverages will bring about spring quicker. Ariel had some chocolate milk and half a donut (uh, the lunch of champions).

11:38 Got to Adam's school just under the wire before he had to go sit in the office and wait for his delinquent mom. What can I say, I highly prioritize Starbucks.

11:45 Got home, Ariel went down for a nap.

1:30 Ariel woke up, had some mac & cheese.

And my project this afternoon was making penguin cupcakes for Alex's International Festival potluck. He was supposed to bring a dish from his native country (uh, french fries?) or a meal from the country his grade was studying - Antarctica. We decided against the krill or whale blubber and went with the cupcakes.



You'll notice that 8 have frosting leftover from the Ewok cake. That's not because I'm so creative, it's because Jeremy and I got into the grasshopper cookies and their weren't enough for 24 penguins.

2:35 Picked up Alex from school. Chatted with another mom, she's also bring the same cupcakes that were so well hidden on the Family Fun website.

3:00 Alex was trying to put together some K'nex sets from his birthday and Adam and Ariel were bothering him so I put on Blue's Clues.

4:00 Pick up.

January 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Alex!

I can't believe my baby is 6 years old. Seems like yesterday he looked like this:



Someone else is getting big, Hannah came over yesterday for her 10 month pictures:













7:20 Drop off.

Breakfast - oatmeal.

9:00 Stroller class. The instructor likes giving the kids a bunch of balloons on their birthdays. It's a sweet idea but when the mean age is 18 months it doesn't work well in practice. Ariel had the biggest issue but Alex was nice and shared his balloons with her. Other than that, it was a pretty typical class. I brought half healthy chocolate chip muffins to share. That's half whole wheat, half apple sauce for oil and they're half as good as the original recipe. But they have enough chocolate that no one complains.

After class Rachel and I went to the Crepe stand for lunch. Crepes....mmmmm.... Alex and Ariel ate their sack lunches. Rachel even snagged a deformed crepe for the kids to share and they wouldn't touch it. Crazy kids.

11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Got home. Ariel was not asleep yet but soon was down for her nap.

Last night I baked Alex's cake and while Ariel slept I decorated it. Alex wanted an Ewok cake and this is what I came up with:



2:30 Ariel woke up and we went to pick up Alex. At school, we had some drama. We were supposed to pick up Henry and take him to Alex's party. But Henry wasn't outside and then we were told that Henry's mom was getting him. As we were leaving, Alex got a soccer ball to the gut that knocked the wind out of him and scared him pretty bad. I'm actually glad it hit him, Ariel was holding his hand and it would have hit her in the face.

Anyway, so by the time we got home Alex was a mess because he thought Henry was coming over to our house before the party and they've never had a playdate because Henry stays at school until 5:00 every day and Alex was really disappointed. But eventually he calmed down and the kids watched some Blue's Clues.

3:30 We left for Alex's Pump It Up party.

4:00 Super Fun Party! I took more pictures than this, but this one caught my eye. I'll keep doing Pump It Up parties, if it's for Ariel alone. This girl has game. She did all the bouncy tents with the big kid AND the giant slide AND somehow the obstacle course. And then they turned the lights off and the disco ball on and she went nuts like a cat after a laser dot.



The big kids all had fun too, Alex had Henry from school and kids from Sunday school and our neighbors and everyone got along great. Much (but not enough) pizza and cake were had afterwards.

Here's the birthday boy!

Jan. 22, 2007

Despite me having SARS, we all managed to have a good ski weekend. Jeremy was also suffering from a sinus infections so we held off going up to Breckenridge Friday night and went up Saturday afternoon instead. And Sunday, we skied and/or rode.

We dropped the kids off at ski school at 8:00 and then skied some Peak 8 groomers. When the hill started to get crowded, Jeremy wanted to try the t-bar. And to show him I'm game, I tried for my first time. On my first attempt, I almost got to the top. I got to the sign that said prepare to unload and I moved the t-bar an inch and next thing I knew I was off. I had to slide off the slope and we did a very crusty/icy/boring run to get off the hill. So of course I had to try again. The next time I rode up with a ski patroler and we made it to the top. I, of course, was proud of myself, but Jeremy was really proud, which says a lot (and possibly the only other people who will understand this whole t-bar/snowboard thing are Grammie and Pop-Pop). Here's Jeremy's handy work when I told him I wanted a picture to show I made it. And this is the best out of 3:



The runs off the t-bar were not worth the trouble of getting to them, so we went down to check out ski school and then had lunch.

After lunch we rode Chair 6 and saw that the Imperial lift was open. It didn't look too windy so we tried that. Our first run was a bit icy and crusty but we went up again and found my new second favorite ski condition, powder blown powder. Well, it beats ice any day at least.

So here's where the Imperial lift is:



And Jeremy and the annoying Germans who wouldn't move.



The second time I was up I took a big panoramic picture that I'm not sure is possible to view on the web. It's 6"x36" which is a crazy ass size but it's got a ton of detail. You can seen the ski area below us and then in the distance from left to right there's Dillon Res, Swan Mountain Road, French Gulch road, the town of Breckenridge and Bald Mountain and Argentine Peak to name a few. If you click on the picture you can see it better.



After that we did some more runs off of Chair 6 and had quite possible the most bizarre experience ever. While we were on the lift, we looked over at the trees and saw a porcupine 15' up a pine tree (Jeremy says they have to eat pine needles to stay pokey). I had NO idea that porcupines climbed trees. It's completely turned my world view upside down. I'll forever be worrying about a porcupine army launching an aerial attack next time I'm boarding OR hiking. The woods will NEVER be the same.

At 3:00 we headed back down to ski school to see how the boys fared.

Alex was walking and shuffling fine on his skies, but not going down the magic carpet hill on his own yet:



Here's Adam and his teacher going down:



Adam and his teacher again:



The boys were in different classes but were outside at the same time at the end:



Anyway, that was our fun weekend. I hope everyone had a good MLK day. As Adam says, "He's dead but we celebrate his birthday anyways."

7:15 Drop off.

Soon after drop off, Ariel told me she had pooped. She is SO ready for potty training.

7:30 Breakfast - hot cereal.

8:45 Left on time for once to go to stroller class

9:00 Stroller class. Last night when I tucked Alex in we talked about our upcoming day and Alex said his favorite part about Tuesdays are going to the mall and finding candy in the candy machines. At least I don't have to give him quarters and if he finds enough he'll even share with Ariel, as he did today.

10:45 After lunch I went to Starbucks and Alex and Ariel ate the lunch I packed them. I wish I had taken the picture, Ariel is always so cute when she knows she's doing big kid stuff. She ate her yogurt and sauce and nibbled on some graham crackers.

11:15 Left the mall.

11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Got home, Ariel was already asleep and transfered to her bed.

While Ariel napped, Adam and I played two games of memory, which I graciously let him win. When Alex isn't distracting him, he's a pretty good memory player anyway. Then he did a few multimedia paintings.

2:30 Had to wake Ariel up to go get Alex.

2:45 Got home. Ariel wanted to play with Alex's lego spaceship, which of course Alex did not want. So I got out the spaceship tent and all three kids managed to play together nicely.





Of course the harmony didn't last for long, but it was beautiful while it lasted. Then there was an equal part of screaming.

4:30 Pick up.

Jan. 18, 2008

I've decided it's not consumption. It might be tuberculosis or pneumonia. Or whooping cough. Ugh.

7:15 Drop off. I was not showered or dressed or even awake.

8:00 Ariel and I got Alex to school in time.

We spent a very boring morning watching me be sick. Ariel was a good sport though. So was Ellen, who picked me up some eggs and salmon so I can make Shabbat dinner tonight. Thanks again, Ellen!

10:30 Took a shower with Ariel. Felt a bit better afterwards. Ariel's hair looked fantastic after it dried but I was too lazy to take a picture.

11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Lunch - mac & cheese and a sauce.

12:00 Down for nap.

Adam and I tried to take a nap too but Adam wouldn't so I couldn't. But we did rest in bed for a while.

2:30 Woke up Ariel so we could pick up Alex.

Yet another herculean event getting everyone too and from school in the snow. Adam was missing a glove and Ariel wanted to carry the baby and and and I don't know what else.

2:50 Got home.

3:10 Pick up.

And since I didn't take any pictures today, I'll share what Alex brought home from school today.



See those red arrows I added? That's to point out the probe droid in the corner. 'Cause probe droid have everything to do with penguins and Antarctica, don't you know? Though come to think of it, Hoth is very similar to a penguin's home...

Jan. 17, 2008

7:15 Drop off. Becky threated to get here on time tomorrow, but I pointed out that I was naked and in the shower at 7:00 this morning. That's right people, I SHOWERED today.

Breakfast - oatmeal and yogurt.

8:45 Alex went next door for a playdate.

9:00 Dropped Ariel off for a playdate with Mae. Ok, so it sounds better to me if I call it a playdate, but really Ellen was babysitting. And Ellen is a great babysitter, she fed Ariel.

She fed Ariel churros:



And lots of pizza (which surprised me since Ariel's breakfast was bigger than mine):



And smoothie:



Ellen also said that there were no wipes in the diaper bag when Ariel pooped. I never use that diaper bag, but I thought I'd pass that info along, Becky.

And while Ariel was with Ellen, I was at stroller class. But instead of working out, I was taking pictures for Get Fit Mommy. I was actually glad not to exercise, sometime about 3pm yesterday I caught consumption (that's tuberculosis, people) and have had periodic bouts of acute full body coughing spells that leave me wondering if I'm going to puke all over myself.

Here's the torturer instructor Caroline:



Me laughing at everyone doing stairs:



Cardio:



More cardio:



Uh, feet??? It turns out that inside the mall is not the easiest place to photograph.



...stroller...



But I still think kids are my forte:






10:30 Done with class, arranged to pick up Ariel at Costco. Because yes, Ariel is a bulk item.

11:00 Got home, Alex came back from his playdate. I made him a quick quesedilla to eat in the car.

11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:50 Got home. Ariel was asleep in the car from about 10:50 - 11:45 and she decided that was her nap for the day.

11:50 Still put Ariel down in the pack and play. It didn't take.

12:15 Got Ariel up. She and Adam fought and played all afternoon.

2:00 Got sick of the playing and more sick of the playing and put on Blue's Clues.

2:30 Left to pick up Alex. We had to get very bundled up, it was only 23 degs today.

2:45 Got home. I made the kids hot chocolate and Ariel had a snack. She had two sauces (I'm back to feeding her baby food since she won't eat produce for me) a baby cheese and a cookie. Guess today is her day to eat. Yesterday, too.

3:30 Early pick up.

Of note: Library books this week:

Alex - The Lorax
Adam - The Life Cycle of a Chicken (maybe he's been taking to Ellen)

Jan. 15, 2007

7:10 Drop off - breakfast - oatmeal and yogurt

8:45 Went to the mall for stroller class.

9:00 Super fun workout. Same old same old, though we did play at the dinosaurs and Ariel left it with minor sniffling instead of a full on tantrum.

10:45 After class we got a muffin for lunch. Ariel didn't like hers but Alex ate all of his. I really need to get on the ball and bring lunch for Alex every day. A muffin for lunch seems to be missing some nutrition.

11:30 Picked up Adam, Ariel was asleep.

11:50 Got home, Ariel stayed asleep.

1:30 Ariel woke up, had some mac & cheese for lunch. Then I took this video:



Now some background, we have two of these Leap Frog toys that I generally loath because not only are they loud and electronic, but my kids don't play the games, they just push random buttons. Then Ariel came along and loves listening to the ABC song. She carries the toy around the house on her shoulder like she's old skool 1985. And she listens to her song all the way through and then pushes the button again for more.

Speaking of music, Ariel is a fan of Alex's mix CD too. I've heard her singing in the car along to Move Along and The Black Eyed peas, though she seems to like Gwen Stefani's Sweet Escape best. It's easy to sing, "ooooh-eeeee."

2:30 Left to pick up Alex.

2:45 After we got home, I loaded all the kids back in the car to go to Toyota.

3:00 Toyota - we played in the show room while my mirror was fixed. We ate a lot of popcorn and laughed at the big bear driving the yellow corvette. Some of us (Ariel) were more fascinated by the bear than others (uh, me, Alex and Adam).

4:10 Becky pick up Ariel at Toyota.

Jan. 14, 2008

7:15 Drop off

Breakfast - oatmeal and yogurt.

7:55 Ariel joined me in my mad dash out the door to get Alex to school for his first full day. This semester, he will do K-Care in the morning Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hopefully, I'll find a little more time for myself and do more photography.

8:00 Dropped Alex off just in time.

9:30 Met Ellen and Ole for a trail walk. I put Ariel in the backpack and she's gotten much heavier than the last time I tried it. Good think I'm not planning a backpacking trek through Nepal anytime soon. Actually, I do know someone who is planning to go to Nepal, but she doesn't have any kids. Hmmm.

10:30 After our walk (which Ariel enjoyed) we went to Starbucks. I should probably mention I spilled my first drink all over Ellen's pants. I have no idea what happen but I swear I didn't do it on purpose.

11:25 Got to Adam's school for pick up.

Here is my single lame picture of the day:



11:40 Got home. Ariel went down for a nap.

1:30 Ariel woke up.

2:00 Picked Alex up from school early. He said he liked K-Care but it was too noisy. It sounds like he didn't like the cafeteria but I think he can get over it since he has many years ahead of cafeteria-ing.

2:35 Dropped the kids of at Mom's house to I could go to Katie's funeral. At some point Becky picked up Ariel there, at least I assume she did because Ariel wasn't there when I got back at 6:00

Sad News

My dear friend from high school, Kim, lost her sister Katie to cancer this week. Katie was only 34 and a mother to 4 year old Mackenzie. Here's her obituary (which everyone should read because apparently the Rocky Mountain News charges an outrageous $700 to run an obit. Personally, I could deal with one more page of Dillard's bra ads.).

Jan. 11, 2007

Well, we are back. It's been a long sick week in which Ariel stayed with Grandma to keep her well. I took the boys into the doctor Tuesday to check if they have the flu, but it's just a virus and a slight ear infection for Adam. Adam stayed home from school Wednesday and Alex came home early on Thursday. If they have to be sick, this is the illness to have. They are quiet and lethargic and spend a lot of time napping.

Here they are napping within a few inches together, surely an event that's never happened before.



7:15 Drop off. I was very much asleep, and having a dream about Ariel. I dreamed that I was beading and she got black square magnetic beads stuck all over her and I was trying to get them off. Among other things.

Decided that Adam was too sick to go to school. He and Alex napped about 4 hours yesterday, NOT a normal occurrence.

Breakfast - oatmeal.

9:00 Finally got moving on the day. First I picked up and then subsequently mailed some client's pictures. Then we drove to Toyota to get my car fixed. When I look out the right side of my car, this is what I see:



Anyway, the full story is I was parking up at the house at Breckenridge and the car got stuck. I tried to unstick it by going back and forward which didn't work and made me slide toward the trees. On one enthusiastic thrust I side swiped one and still was stuck. The renter came out and eventually got me towed out with his Jeep. And, for those following along, this is the same tree I hit 18 months ago and have been driving around with a dent in the rear right panel. Yes, 18 months ago, in the middle of JULY with no snow or ice or even rain to blame it on.

Anyway, we were going to Toyota today not to fix the mirror that has to be pre-ordered but rather to get the alignment checked out.

9:30 Got to Toyota. I read Alex (and Adam) a chapter of Ramona the Pest while Ariel played under the coffee table. Then we got some free popcorn and some less free hot chocolate. The kids did really well for about 1:45 of the 2 hours we were there.

They also played with the one kid toy in the whole place:



I flipped Ariel's hair up today with the barrette and I do believe she looks quite fetching.



So we go back Tuesday or so for the mirror. And how much would you guess a passenger side mirror costs? If you guessed $368, you'd be right. Yay!!!

11:30 Finally left. Alex said he was too sick to go to school and I told him he could stay home as long as he napped.

11:45 Got home. Everyone was awake. Adam decided to nap on the futon and Alex chose to sleep on the floor under his pillow fort in the living room. Ariel had some yogurt and no mushed peaches and then went down for her nap. While they napped, I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss for bookclub, which I highly recommend.

2:00 Everyone was awake, so we ran some more errands. First, we picked up my new diaper bag purse that I ordered from the baby boutique. Then we ran inside so I could buy some semi annual bar soap from Bath and Body Works. After that we left the mall and went to Jamba Juice where the kids split an all fruit smoothie. And then on to Wild Oats for our Friday night salmon, where I also bough challah because we were running late and I hadn't started our batch yet. And a mini cookie for each kid. And finally, a stop at Michael's for more yarn.

3:50 Got home just in time to get in the door and get ready for Becky.

4:00 Pick up

PS - Of note, Ariel did not poop today.

Another Ski Weekend

Well, I must apologize for another gratuitous non-Ariel post. We had a fun weekend but the boys are sick and I won't see Ariel for a few days, so...

We went up to Breckenridge Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning, Alex had a fever and didn't feel well enough to go skiing, but Adam was very excited for his first day ever. Alex came with us up the gondola to the ski school to drop Adam (and Jeremy) off. And Adam was a trooper to be left alone all day not knowing anyone else. No tears on that boy!



Alex and I spent the day running into to trees, breaking car mirrors and getting the car stuck (me) and watching The Phantom Menace and napping (him). We came back to the hill at 2:30 to see how Adam did on his first day. First, I have to give him points for being a good sport. It was cold and snowy and half the kids were crying that they didn't want to ski at all. But Adam got right on and went down the hill several times. Here he is in line:



And going up the magic carpet (he'd be the one not in pink):



And here's Adam coming down:



And he kept going and going until finally Alex and I went inside to warm up and wait for him to be done.

Sadly, Adam had a fever on Monday too, but there was lots of fresh powder so Jeremy and I packed up the boys and took them to the lodge so we could still ski.

Here's a snowbow in the parking lot:



Since I didn't get to ride on Sunday, Jeremy let me go first. I did four fabulous powder runs, it was the best day this season!!!

(Picture, gorgeous somewhat warm (28 deg) day, and POWDER! (Did I mention powder?)



Then I went to the lodge and played with legos while the kids lethargically lounged. I will say this about that, if they have to be sick, at least they were quiet and subdued and sat (and napped) nicely in the lodge for 4 hours. Jeremy went up for a couple runs - he says quite possibly the best he's had at a resort ('cause he's snotty and has been heli-skiing) and then I got to go out again. Most of the powder had been scrapped off by then, but I still got in another two hours of better than average riding in.

Here's a picture of one of the sickies after we got back to the house:



So ends another ski weekend. Sadly, I-70 was not closed again and we were not trapped for another day of weekday skiing.