co-sleeping

Last night about 10:00pm Sam started crying. Pat went in to help him relocate his missing pacifier. He immediately walked back out and told me to get into the room and look in Sam’s crib. Expecting the worst of the worst, I run in and see this:

!!

These two have separate rooms, down a little hall from one another. We’ve noticed that Ryan is REALLY out of it in the night if he gets up to pee around this time, and often needs help finding his way back to his room. Apparently last night he took a wrong turn and ended up here. Pretty much THE most adorable thing I’ve seen in a long time. I kind of wanted to just let him stay there all night, but thought he’d freak whenever he woke up and didn’t know where he was.

segovia, the sights

One of the things Jen and I were most looking forward to during our trip to Spain was visiting Segovia. Back in 1998, Segovia was the town that we called home from January to May of that year. Thankfully it’s a quick and easy day trip from Madrid. We chose to take the bus, which was a comfortable and scenic ride of about an hour and fifteen minutes.

I had butterflies in my stomach as the bus pulled into town, so excited was I to be back! We stepped off the bus into bright sunshine, puffy white clouds, and a bit of a chill in the breezy air. We stopped here first- la Iglesia de San Millan- to catch our figurative breaths and try to process the fact that we were actually THERE.

We then continued up the street, pointing out every single insignificant thing and place that we remembered. Such as this conveniently located cafe…

By this time we had a terrific view of the acueducto, and we proceeded to gaze upon it from every possible angle.

Over this way is the neighborhood where Jen and I lived with our host families.

After getting up close and personal with our acueducto, we strolled past the doorways of our host homes, and then came back down to the aqueduct to try and get a reservation here. It was Spain’s Labor Day that day, so there were scads of people everywhere. Thankfully we were successful in reserving ourselves a table for lunch. More on that in a future post.

After our lunch date with el cochinillo, we wandered up Calle Real…

[Pit stop at La Luna, our favorite bar from '98. Unfortch it was locked. (Trust me, we were SO ready for a cuba libre and a little Mmm Bop.)]

At the Plaza Mayor we looked around a bit,

and then toured the catedral.

Next we stopped at a fave park, soaked up some rays, and Jen did some yoga.

We continued on to the Alcázar, where we climbed up a narrow twisty stairway with other tourists to check out the view from the top. Awe-inspiring, still.

We were freezing by this point, so we took a break at a cafe for some warm beverages and pasteles. We also walked to our old school, took another rest there, and then checked out the acueducto from the other side before wandering back to the bus station for our ride back to Madrid.

I’m aware I’m redundant and quite unoriginal with my adjectives, but the day was awesome. Such fun to wander the streets and remember study abroad times.

madrid, the sights

{{This is a re-posting from a post I did on Jen’s blog. If you want Jen’s re-cap of the food we ate in Madrid, check out Madrid, the food.}}

¡REINA!

There is the Reina Sofia art museum, where the famous Guernica is housed…

(We went here on our first day in Madrid, the day our flight landed at 7:00am and we were at our hotel by 9:00am, but unable to check in until 1:00pm. In our grungy, up-all-night stupor we walked zombie-like through a couple galleries to see the Dali and Picasso works.)

Then there is la Reina Sofia herself, Queen of Spain, who officially resides at the Palacio Royal in Madrid (but in reality lives somewhere else- the Palacio being used only for state ceremonies.) Our second morning in Madrid, in between rain drops, we strolled to the Palacio Royal.

Some lovely gardens and wooded paths stretch out in front of the Palacio. And next door is the Catedral de Almudena, a very ‘new’ cathedral as far as Spain is concerned, as construction began on it in 1879. While not as impressive as the gothic cathedrals in some of Spain’s other cities, it’s still a church to behold.

And somewhere in the midst of all this is ¡REINA!, the macho compliment, shouted across a crowded market and directed at none other than Jen and I. Yes, at the ripe ‘ol ages of 34 and 35, respectively, we’ve apparently still got what it takes to be the object of Spanish catcalls, or piropos. Sadly, I do not have a photo of the guapos working the fish stand at the market where these piropos were shouted. But here is a picture of the market, some fish, and a different guapo bartender.

Madrid is an awesome city. It’s easy to get around by foot or metro. And with so many different, fun neighborhoods, bars, museums, parks, shops…there’s something amazing to see or do around every corner.

Puerta del Sol

I don’t have any great wide angle shots of the whole Puerta (next time- new camera lens purchase!). In true Spain fashion, two of the main buildings comprising this square were covered in scaffolding for renovation, AND the Tio Pepe sign was gone, but it was still abuzz with activity. And by activity I mean Mexican mariachis (we were mystified by this), street performers, a gala parade, and, days after we left, 22,000 protesters.

(that’s me in line at a tabacos stand, waiting to buy my pack of Lucky Strikes postcard stamps.)

Sol metro station

We went to el Corte Inglés at least three times. They have an awesome grocery store.

Plaza Mayor

Mercado de San Miguel

This wasn’t the open air produce market we were expecting. Turned out to be the fine-dining gold standard as far as markets go. You could stroll around to the different food stands with your glass of wine or cocktail, order food, and eat standing at a table or wandering around. We ate some delectables there, including oysters (Jen), empanadas (me), and overpriced sangria (las dos), and then picked up cheese, bread, and fish salad for a picnic at Retiro Park.

El Parque del Buen Retiro

Madrid’s version of Central Park.

This was our picnic location. I was too busy noshing to get a shot of the actual picnic.

y mucho más…

Plaza de Santa Ana (lots of great bars and restaurants in this square, and the surrounding neighborhood)

ham museum, directly across from our hotel (this is a chain, but a MUST if you’ve never been!)

even the metro stops are beautiful

First thing the morning of May 2, as we were leaving our hotel (well okay, it was probably noon or later), we walked out the door and smack into this parade in celebration of the festival day of the community of Madrid.

I love these buildings right near the Palacio. I would like to live here:)

I love Madrid; I think it’s a beautiful place. So much more I could post, but so little time!

 

españa, a preview

My trip to Spain, in a word, was AWESOME.

Many adjectives come to mind when I attempt to describe how incredible this trip was, but words do not do justice to the experience that I was so lucky to have with my friend Jen in Spain. So many things miraculously aligned to make this vacation possible for me. I still feel in awe that it happened! I must extend my thanks and gratitude to the following people, because without them I never could have pulled this off: 1.) Carrie B., for doing a TRIATHLON in Mallorca; 2.) Jen, for being muy spontaneous with me; 3.) my parents, for spending three days at our house to ease the blow of me being back home; 4.) my boys, for adjusting so well to nine days without mommy and having a blast with daddy, and, most importantly; 5.) Pat, for agreeing to me going on this trip, willingly taking a week off work to be home with the boys, and just being a great person all around. Love you!!

So, I took a lot of pictures between my SLR and the iphone. The next time I go to Europe I will most definitely be purchasing a wide angle lens because the 50mm just does not cut it for travel photography. I’m really pleased with the quality of the pictures from the iphone. One could definitely travel with just that and return with plenty of beautiful photographic memories. I have some posts in the works for Jen’s blog, which I’ll probably just repost here. In the meantime, here is a little preview of the trip.

(Jen, no doubt sighing.)

(There were a lot of mirrored elevators. So we have many a borracha picture like this. There was a LOT of laughing going down on this viaje, an amount of laughing that I had not experienced in a very long time.)

five is nigh

During those first overwhelming hours and days of new life, it is impossible to imagine that this tiny infant

could EVER be a five year old child.

And yet,

here

he

is.

Easter/Sam’s bug birthday party

Easter morning the boys woke up to a note from the Easter bunny, a chomp taken out of the carrot that was left out, and two hidden baskets. (This year, the Easter bunny brought socks and underwear, spiderman plates, applesauce, crunch eggs, malted milk eggs, peeps, jellybeans, and yogurt raisins.

Sam was all about the candy. He would have eaten it all in one sitting if we had let him.

We hosted an Easter brunch at our house, which doubled as Sam’s birthday celebration. It was a bug-themed 2nd birthday Easter party! (And on the brunch menu was a kale/butternut squash bread pudding, ham, Baker’s wife rolls, fruit, salad, and mimosas).

A little Mighty Machines viewing while waiting for the party to start…

a little mimosa (sans the champagne) in a sippy

playing with Brynn

bug cake!! that would be chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, crushed chocolate teddy grahams as the dirt, and plastic critters

my handsome birthday boy. Sam loved being the center of attention and hearing everyone finally singing Happy GOOEY! to him.

he also did great at blowing out his candles.

…and opening his gifts

that booster seat was one of his gifts

Next up was an egg hunt (and family photo!)

Oh, and later Pat tried explaining to my mom what apps are. I had to break the news that you can’t walk into a store and buy an app:) [[ETA, this woman just bought an IPAD.]]

A couple more cute ones of the birthday boy…

Happy birthday, Sam! Your Easter/Bug/2nd Birthday fiesta was a fun success!

catching up…

Man, it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. I need to get back into it, as I really do enjoy having all these posts to look back on. I was just going back to May 2009 to read about what Ryan was like as a new two year old, and I was already trying to potty train that kid right when we turned two! I was apparently insane back in 2009.

Anyway, there has been a lot going on around here recently. Sam turned the big 2 on April 6th so we had fun celebrating that day, and then two days later we hosted Easter and had fun celebrating some more. Next week Ryan turns five. He’s having his first ever kid party this Saturday at a nature center near our house. He’s invited some friends from preschool, both sets of grandparents, and cousins Max and Vivi. We’ll be having lunch there and then the kids spend one hour with a park naturalist who leads a scavenger hunt/nature walk thing. I’m slightly nervous for this grand event, but I know it’ll be fun for Ry to have all his favorite people around. Let’s just hope for nice weather. That same evening we’re having all the family over to celebrate his birthday. And then next Wednesday Ry gets to have a little birthday celebration at school that Pat and I (and Sam) get to attend. I guess when you turn five there’s a lot of partying!

More Ryan-related good news…we found out yesterday that Ryan got into our first choice school for kindergarten next year. It’s a Montessori/public school hybrid, which I am very excited about for him. He’s had a wonderful experience this year in Montessori preschool. Cannot even BELIEVE that I have a child who’s starting kindergarten in the fall!

We’re in the midst of a redesign project in our living room. My wonderful brother in law Jim has been using his own time to help us with everything. We’ve already had our hideous gold-doored fireplace and floating hearth demolished (this provided a lovely afternoon of entertainment for two small boys!) and are eagerly awaiting a marble fireplace surround and hearth, new fireplace doors, and custom cabinetry and mantle to cover one wall and corner of our living room. I’ve been meeting with painters to get bids on having the living room, dining room, foyer and back hall painted when everything’s installed. This is one very small and relatively minor project in the design world, and I feel like it’s keeping me VERY BUSY. I cannot imagine ever building a house!

And last, but definitely foremost in my mind right now, is my upcoming trip to Spain. In a mere ten days I will be on a trans-Atlantic flight to Madrid. I can’t put into words how excited I am. I can’t even believe that I am going. Truly, I can’t BELIEVE that *I* am actually going to Spain. IN TEN DAYS. My friend Jen and I are traveling together and we’ll be spending four days in Madrid, with hopefully one day trip to Segovia, the town where we studied abroad in ’98. From Madrid, we’ll be flying to the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean where we’ll stay in this little town called Colonia Sant Jordi to watch our friend Carrie (who also studied abroad with us) race in a triathlon. I am quite the un-seasoned traveler these days so I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what to pack and how to pack and WHEN to pack (because gone are the days of propping open my suitcase a week or two ahead of time and packing little by little, because now I’d have the Children ripping everything apart that I tried to pack). I despise the word surreal but I can’t think of a better one right now, so all I can say is, the fact that I get to travel to Europe for eight days right now, while my husband takes a week off to stay with our boys, is SURREAL.

And with that, I’m off to bed.

****************

Jen and I, at the MSP airport waiting for our flight to Madrid. January 1998.

Sam’s 2nd birthday

Sam turned two on April 6th. It was an exciting day because Daddy had the day off, the sun was out, and we got to hang out as a family all day! The day started off with haircuts for Sam and Ryan, and then a trip to Triangle Park.

Sam loves climbing and going down slides now, so he got in a lot of that action.

He got some swinging in too.

The park was a lot of fun, and then we decided to go out for a birthday lunch. It was a sunny day, we were seated outside, the food was good, but the service was sLoW and the kids’ meals were NINE DOLLARS and the whole experience just wasn’t that, ahem, fun. So no pictures exist of the birthday lunch itself (sorry Sam), but here is a picture of the birthday boy waiting ever so patiently for daddy to pay the bill. This is a famous Sam face, showing that he’s about to say NO to something.

Later that day after nap we hung out in the yard and Sam opened his presents from us. Mommy and Daddy gave Sam two books- ‘Maisy Cleans Up’ and a spider book,

a stuffed tarantula, which Sam immediately petted, hugged, and called “ipsy fider” (and then made everyone else lovingly hug as well),

and a motorcyle. Which as you can see from this picture, was a huge flop for the birthday boy. I think he’s sat on it about 5 seconds total since he’s had it. I wanted to return it, but Pat said he’d rather swallow the $19.99 price to NOT have to take it apart to return it.

The boys played outside while I made tacos for dinner (a meal that sort of seems like one of Sam’s faves?).

(the ’2′ shirt- same one Ryan wore!)

After dinner the big moment had finally arrived- the singing and cupcake eating! Sam of course wanted to scarf a cupcake the minute he saw them upon waking up from his nap, so this had been a long-awaited moment for the new two year old. He LOVED it when we sang happy birthday to him- and he sang right along of course- and REALLY loved blowing out those two candles. So much so that we had to do the whole thing TWICE!

Here are some shots of him in the midst of singing happy birthday to himself.

(the banner- recycled from last year’s birthday decor. I just swapped out the pics for more recent ones. This banner also doubles as bedroom decor!)

It was a great birthday day, Sammy! I think Sam had a great time on his 2nd birthday. He adored all the attention, presents, singing, and cupcake eating. Can’t believe he’s TWO.

last day of one

This little squirrel turned two last Friday. At dinner the night before I realized I hadn’t captured a ‘last day of one’ picture, so I took a few right then and there. (And, since receiving a new booster seat for his birthday, he’s ditched that high chair and hasn’t looked back.)

I did a similar post for Ryan when he was on the eve of 2.

Ryan: things he’s said

This morning, lying in bed with me: “Mommy! My hands are bigger than they were yesterday. Look how big my hands are! See, they’re bigger!”

After watching a slideshow of his preschool: “E (girl in his class) is really cute. But Y (another girl) is cuter! E is cute but Y is the cutest one in the class!”

While discussing yoga poses based on animals, Ryan gets on his hands and feet with his bottom in the air, makes a PPPssSSSSssssss noise, and exclaims, “that’s the skunk pose!”

After our old fireplace and hearth were demo’d the other day, Ry stares in awe at the gaping hole in our wall and says “This just…SEEMS…like it’s all a dream! I can’t BELIEVE it!”

After finding his bike helmet in a parking lot after days of it being lost, he exclaims “daddy is going to be SO IMPRESSED that I found my bike helmet!”