One should not play Angry Birds on one's iPod when one is supposed to be making sure one's toddler does not fall off a step stool, or there may be blood.
The skin under one's lip is highly vascularized, and while it may bleed profusely if one's tooth bites through it, it will heal well without stitches.
Lucy is now able to handle car trips of up to 9 hours quite wonderfully (this would have been even better if one of our car trips hadn't lasted 10 and a half hours).
I don't know why I ever disrespected the idea of DVD players in cars. I apologize, I was wrong. This is a MUST HAVE. With two screens.
Life would be perfect if we could travel from house to house and provide our kids with other people's toys everyday. They would require very little supervision and interaction.
Both Finn and Lucy absolutely LOVE their baby cousin Josephine (JoJo).
Stink bugs in Massachusetts look different from stink bugs in Maryland. But both must die.
Next time we drive somewhere for Christmas, our gifts to the kids will not come with us. We will open them at home first.
On a related note, there is no reason to give each child ~4 gifts from us, when Santa, two sets of grandparents, and various aunts and uncles will also be giving gifts. TOO MUCH STUFF.
It is quite challenging to schedule, coordinate and capture a professional picture of a family with a pre-schooler, 4 toddlers, and an infant. But it can be done.
If you weigh an SUV down with enough luggage and gifts, it can drive through a blizzard even without four-wheel drive.
Also, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is much, much better at clearing roads than the state of Maryland. It would be beneficial to arrange for some kind of exchange program to spread the knowledge.
It is really, really hard to parent when said parent has succumbed to a debilitating toddler-generated illness of some sort. Particularly when the partnering parent is in the same boat.
It is wonderful to be around family, even when it is loud and crazy and driving ME crazy.
A few pictures - note that there are many, many more, but I had to stop somewhere. Also, I swear M. was in attendance during our vacation, despite his lack of appearance in most of these photos. Click any or all of these to make bigger:
What it looks like when a toddler has devoured a Friendly's Conehead Sundae
M. assisted Penny and Lucy in playing dress up a couple of days before Christmas
Lucy and Penny lounge on the couch, ready for Christmas Eve to get on with it already
Ned and Finn play with the Polar Express model train my mom and brother set up all around the Christmas tree and through present "tunnels"
Ned and Finn model Christmas PJs
Baby JoJo love from both of my kids
Lucy was sick for most of our trip, and spent a lot of time looking pathetic like this (she is very good at looking pathetic):
Waiting outside the closed family room doors to see if Santa had come (the same way my siblings and I did when we were kids)
Finn was super excited to get his very first "shooting gun" (gee, thanks, Santa)
More Baby JoJo love
Well, someone has a little snowball, doesn't he? About 10 seconds after this picture, he was crying because he shoved the whole thing in his mouth and froze his teeth
One of the proofs from the big family picture photo shoot
photo by Keith QuenzelResting up for our big car ride home
Home, and finally, relatively healthy (Note that these photos in no way capture how desperately ill most of us - knock wood, with the exception of Finn - have been)
Allie, what fun to see these pictures. . .the kiddos are adorable and we only wish we could have been there. . .we sure were in spirit! Thank you. . love, Mimi
ReplyDeleteTis the season for illness. I second the traveling (albiet to houses that are CLOSE) to play with other toys.
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