Running through the gate

I've mentioned before some of the issues that we have had with dropping Colin off at school. The best way of avoiding any scene at drop-off and the dreaded "But, I don't want to go to school" mantra is to get Colin running across the parking lot.

The other day, Bob was taking Colin to school. It started at home and was a little bit ugly. Bob basically dragged Colin to car and Colin cryed all the way to school. Once they got there, Bob said that if Colin ran fast enough, he wouldn't get wet (it was drizzling). So off like a rocket, Colin took off ... right through the gate and didn't look back.

Row, row, row, your boat ... (modified)

Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a cheez-it!

Just one of the modified verses that we sing at our house. We also row our house gently down the street, and row our car. You get the picture?

Bob just loves to modify songs and apparently Colin has developed this gift too. Colin came up with the "cheez-it" line all by himself. Bob is so proud!

Pregnancy vs. marathon training

Okay, another non-kid related post. I guess it's got indirect kid references, but it's all about me me me me. As I eluded to in some previous posts, I'm training for the ING marathon at the end of March. It's a personal goal that I've had for a long time. I started training last October with only being able to run 5 miles. In November I signed up for bootcamp which I've been doing pretty much since then as my cross training.

Bootcamp really emphasizes on eating well, like eating 6 smaller meals, lots of protein, never eating a carb without a protein. Stuff like that. So this starts to remind Bob of when I was pregnant and watching my nutrition very closely.

Bootcamp also advocates no alcohol. So I try to limit the amount I consume, well sometimes I try, sometimes not. My thing is that I gave up alcohol entirely for 18 months when I was pregnant with Colin and Nathan. I can do it, but I not giving it up entirely again. However, I can really tell when I haven't been good because my workouts will be really difficult. So I might give it up entirely for the last month before the marathon. Well, not entirely but really limit the amount. God that sounds so wishy-washy, I hate it when I sound like that!

Now as my long runs are getting longer, I'm experiencing some abdominal cramping. When I was in high school and college, I had real bad cramps during "that time of the month". Those cramps were a lot like labor pains. And the cramps I'm currently experiencing are like both. Then last week, I ran 18 miles (woo hoo), afterward I had severe abdominal cramps just like labor. This makes me a little nervous. The next long run (and last one before the race) is 20 miles. Really going to try and take care of myself, eat right, drink lots of water, and pray for no cramps -- at least not as bad as last time. So pretty much do like I did when I was pregnant minus the waddling.

Munich - Day 2

Day 2 for me in Munich and my last day. I started the day good by doing a 10 mile run along the river. After we had lunch with Dave at Ayinger. The next stop was the infamous Hofbrauhaus where I had my first Radler beer, yummmy!

Radler beer is a mixture of lemonade and a lager beer. Interesting story behind the origins of Radler beer. Radler is German for cyclist and apparently back in 1922, 13,000 cyclists were visiting a tavern. When the beer started to run out the tavern owner started diluting the beer with lemonade saying that this was done so the cyclists wouldn't have to worry about falling off their bicycles. tee hee

For dinner, Bob ordered a number of things that I would normally never even try (I can't even remember there were too many Radlers that day), and I ordered something that was described as "scrambled pancakes with apples and raisins" in English. The stuff that Bob ordered was good, I'm shocked that I ate it, but the scrambled pancakes were to die for!

Things to note from that day. We were walking through Marienplatz and there were police every where you turned. We were confused and didn't remember so many the last time we were in town (about 10 years ago). But during some conversations at the Hofbrauhaus, we found out that there was a NATO conference in town, thus all the police presence. I've never seen so many police in one place.

Additionally to note. In the airport after landing, I noticed a "No Smoking" sign that indicated there was no smoking in the airport after January 1, 2008. For a European city, I found this very interesting. Then we discovered that the whole city of Munich was no smoking!! Amazing! And very nice for us none smokers!

The next morning was my last day and travel day back to Atlanta. Upon my return I didn't get quite the running hug welcome from both boys that I was used to. Nathan was excited to see me and gave me a running hug, but Colin was asleep with a fever. Just that morning, Colin started getting sick, so I was glad that I came home to be able to comfort him during his sickness.

Munich - Day 1

Bob had a conference in Munich and invited me to join him for the weekend prior to the conference. Of course, I couldn't resist going. We lined up the nanny to stay at our place and take care of the kids and off we went! It was a short trip for me, leave Thursday afternoon, get into Munich Friday morning and get back on a plane Sunday morning. But I made the most of the trip and had a great time. Didn't get a chance to shop and replace the coat from the Netherlands that was retired during the San Diego trip. Too many beers to try!

So Day 1 begins with the plane landing at 8am or so in the morning. Check-in at the hotel, and we decided to take a little nap. Didn't really feel like it, but we figured it was better to do it then and be rested for the remainder of the day. Bob talked to the conceirge who recommended going to Kloster Andechs, a monastery brewery.

It was an hour train ride to Kloster Andechs, but was definitely worth it. Kloster Andechs is a monastery that sits atop a high hill. The church was beautiful and the beer was delicious. Unfortunately I forgot the camera so I'm stole this picture from Kloster Andechs' website. My favorite beer at Kloster Andechs was an apfelwiesse beer (apple wheat beer), and Bob's favorite was the winterbrew.


Dinner was at the klostergasthof where Bob and I watched two little girls that reminded us of our little guys. They must have been 4 1/2 years and 2 1/2 years old, same spacing as Colin and Nathan just 6 months older. Made us miss our guys, but then when they started getting restless, we were glad we didn't have to worry about that. We just smiled and nodded to let them know we understood.

While waiting for the bus back, we started talking to a family from Australia. At first they assumed we were German and started talking to us in German. Communication went much better when they spoke English! They were the coolest people, and we talked to them the whole way back to Munich. It was a family vacation for them with their daughters who were 26 and 24 (or something like that). They were so close and got along so well. They are the model of what I hope our family will be like when the kids grow up. You know, still taking family vacations when the boys are in their 20's with everyone laughing and joking and having a great time together. It takes a really special bond to be able to do that.

For dinner, Bob and I went to this little German pub that was the coziest little place. It had a table for the regulars where everyone ate together and all knew each other. I forget the name of the place, but it was probably "Cheers" in German!

Tomorrow we hit the pubs. So stay tuned for more.

Nathan's bedtime routine

When Nathan was a baby, it took a lot longer to get him to sleep through the night than Colin. But after we established the routine, it was so easy. Five minutes to go through the steps and then leave the room. Then sometime last year, it all deteriorated for me. Everyone else could get Nathan to go to bed, but not me. I struggled so much when Bob went out of town, spending hours going back into his room, calming him down. I think one of the turning points of my downfall was him learning the sign for eat. Nathan would just make the sign for eat, and I took him downstairs for a snack. Bob never did that. I was the one that was easily manipulated. I was so strong with Colin and not letting him manipulate me ... too much. But with Nathan, it was different.

So time to regroup and start all over, which means CIO or "cry it out". A couple nights of letting Nathan just cry and cry and cry (and oh boy can he cry), I think I let him cry almost an hour one or two nights. It just didn't sound like he was ever going to calm himself down. But once he realized that he couldn't push my buttons, it's been smooth sailing for me. I change his diaper while he drinks his milk, brush his teeth, he sits in the bed while I read some books -- sometimes a lot of books (I still have a weak spot for Nathan!). Then I tell him he needs to cover up, so he lays down on his bear, I cover him up and presto! Done!

Now if we could only get him to give up the pacifier at night, which for some reason he calls his "tee tee"?? I have no idea. Must be something he picked up from the first nanny. She called him Nate Nate.

Midnight snack

Last week Colin fell asleep on the couch while watching the bird movie, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. This was about 4:00pm. At 5:00pm, I couldn't wake him up. So up to bed, put the diapers on and hope that he is tired enough that he will sleep through the night. We dread and debate about doing the early to bed thing.

Bob and I went to bed, and still no movement from Colin's room. We were hopeful. At 7:00am the next morning, I got back from bootcamp (still doing that craziness) and realized that Colin didn't wake us up! He must be starving, going to bed so early without dinner.

So Bob is carrying Colin downstairs for breakfast, and their conversation went something like this:

Colin (whispering): Dad

Dad (whispering too): What?

Colin: (still whispering): I already ate.

Colin is so independent that he woke up hungry, went downstairs, got out the yogurt, ate it and went back to bed. All without waking us up! I was amazed.

Goodnight kiss

This was so cute that I just have to record it. Last week (actually it's the night that Colin went to bed at 4pm -- but that's another blog), so last week, Nathan and I are heading upstairs to go to bed. Dad is sitting on a stool in the kitchen. Nathan is running down the hall (with that cute little run of his) toward the stairs after saying "night night" to Dad. All of a sudden, he stops, turns around, runs back to where Dad is sitting (that same cute little run), and gives Dad the biggest kiss. Then back down the hall towards the stairs.

Tattoos

Colin loves tattoos, Nathan not so much. Let me explain. We received some Valentine tattoos from one of the grandmas (I know, who thinks of these things!), so Colin is putting a bunch on his arms. I'm so proud that he can do it all by himself ... and that it's not the real thing. Nathan comes up to me and says "tattoo" carrying one of the tattoos. So naturally I assume he wants me to put one on him. I completely forget about the incident in Florida, which I will explain in a minute. I put the tattoo on Nathan and remove the paper, he looks down, and complete meltdown! I mean he starts crying and turning red and acting like it hurts to have the tattoo on his arm. And I remember this very same reaction in Florida when I put a tattoo on his arm then. Quickly, get the baby oil out and remove the tattoo, Nathan is instantly relieved.

Note to self, no matter what Nathan says, don't put a tattoo on him!

No more curls

This past weekend, Colin and Nathan got their hair cut. I decided to get Nathan's cut a little shorter than usual, which resulted in cutting off most of his curls. I know, I'm a bad mom. You should have seen Nathan's expression while the stylist was cutting his hair. He looked so sad. Like one of those puppy dogs with the big sad eyes. It was like he was saying, "what are you doing to my hair?!" I kinda like it though (the haircut, not making Nathan sad).

Lots of bubbles

We have a whirlpool tub in the masterbath that has jets and everything. On this night -- which was a couple nights ago, when the jets were turned on, tons and tons of bubbles were created. At one point we were afraid of losing Nathan in the bubbles, they were getting so high in the tub, at least up to his chin! The boys had such a good time. We think one of the shampoo bottles that we let them play with was newly emptied and had a lot of residual soap in it.

Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

Colin's favorite movie (well, the only movie I let him watch) is "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill". It's a documentary about a wild flock of parrots in San Fransisco and this guy who fed them.

We are even considering going to San Fransisco for Colin's spring break to try and see the flock.

By the way, Colin is the one who took the picture of the movie menu screen. Silly guy!

Grapes

This is one of Colin's latest pieces of artwork. He calles it "Grapes".

Pieces of clouds

I'm a little late in posting this and I apologize. Last month, Atlanta had two snow falls which is amazing considering it hasn't snowed in years (at least that's what it seems like to me). Typically it snows every other year in Atlanta, but twice in one year, wow! Of course the snow didn't stick around very long.

When it first started snowing, Colin was watching it come down and said, "I think it's just pieces of clouds." He wanted to go play in it so bad, but we had to take Dad to the airport after dinner for his trip to Austin. It was so pretty, all these big huge snowflakes coming down. As soon as we got back from the airport, Colin and Nathan didn't even go inside the house. They just went straight to the backyard to frolick in the snow. Nathan didn't last long and was inside getting warm in 15 minutes, but Colin stayed out there until it was dark and time to go to bed. These are the pictures of that evening:



As a side note, because of all the snow and ice on the planes, Dad waited on the plane 8 hours for it to be de-iced. Then the crew ran out of time, and they cancelled the flight. He ended up not going to Austin at all.

The second time it snowed it was 3 days later. This time the snow came earlier in the day, so it wasn't so dark. They had all day to play. Colin spent a lot of the time collecting the snow in a big bucket.