Thursday, September 30, 2010

BEST PART

Best part of being a parent? No one to stop you from eating chocolate ice cream for dinner!



Tuesday, September 28, 2010

15 MONTHS

This little pumpkin is 15 months old today - but don't ask us about it... we all have fevers and coughs and runny noses (and some of us are getting new teeth). Dum dum suckers make it all better.

PUMPKINS

We've harvested 4 pumpkins so far this year, and there are at least 6 more green ones growing (including one huge monster). We've managed to lose the cord to the camera this week, but once it turns up - I promise you more photos!

Friday, September 24, 2010

CASTOR BEANS

This super hot and rainy summer has done some strange things to the garden. Look at those castor beans! People ask us if they're palm trees!

Monday, September 20, 2010

PAJAMA DAY


Today is a good day to stay in your pjs.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

THE NAUGHTY STEP


I know this photo is blurry, but bear with me. Like all families, we have rules in our house. There's the obvious: no hitting, no throwing, no biting, etc. There's also the less obvious: don't take all the cushions off the couch and sit on top of your sister, don't climb onto the dining room table, etc. Obvious or not, Gus knows most of these rules. Unfortunately for him, he's two and a half years old and frequently breaks them. This naturally results in a time-out.

Before Nova moved around so much, we would carry him up to his room and he would sit in the naughty chair. Now it's impossible to leave her downstairs while I take him up to have a time-out, so instead, he now sits on the bottom step. It's name, of course, is the naughty step, and Gus spends time on it frequently. Sometimes, he even tells me when he needs to go sit on the naughty step and have a time-out.

The other day, while he was cooling his heels on the naughty step, Nova went and sat down by him with her arm around his shoulders. He told her he was sorry for hitting her, and gave her a hug. Then they both sat there quietly for a minute, looking at me like it was the most natural thing in the world. It absolutely cracked me up, and I ran for the camera. This was the best shot I got of the two of them, and even though it's blurry, it still makes me laugh.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

MAKING HIS SISTER LAUGH

Thursday, September 16, 2010

ROLLING STONE


I know that not everyone who visits twolittlemonsters also visits the website for our business (www.hymiesrecords.com) so I'm delighted to share this with you here:

Hymie's was named one of the top 25 record stores in the country by Rolling Stone. (click here)

Holy cats! We hardly know what to say! We've been walking around for hours saying "Rolling Stone! Rolling Stone!" Even Gus just said to me as I put him to bed, "Rolling Stone, Momma!"

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

GARDEN BOY



THE SCRUNCHIES


I love it when Nova scrunches up her nose like this. It's so adorable!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

PLAYING

I love it when they play together. I try not to constantly take videos of them doing this, but sometimes it's just so cute.

Monday, September 13, 2010

POPSICLES









Sunday, September 12, 2010

CHICKEN HAT


Gus found this chicken hat at his cousins' house, and walked around for half an hour singing"chicken hat, chicken hat" over and over. It's pretty cute if you ask me.

GRANDMA

Here is a beautiful picture of my mom with all four of her grand-babies. Gus has big feet!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

LITTLE DUDE

MORE COUSINS!

Friday, September 10, 2010

COUSINS!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

TRIATHLON

At the end of my pregnancy with Nova, I realized that the last calendar year in which I was not pregnant was 2006. I decided then and there that 2010 was going to be my year. I knew I wanted something big, a goal that was attainable but definitely a challenge. I had heard about the YWCA Women's Triathlon, and it seemed like the right fit for me. It's a sprint triathlon (the shortest of the tri distances) and is all women. There's a ton of support for first timers, and the YWCA is close to our house. I was set. And I had no idea what I was getting into.

By March, when registration for the event opened, I was terrified. I had tried to keep to a regular work-out schedule, but it just wasn't happening. Gus didn't like the babysitting room at the Y, and the teachers had to come get me with a sobbing toddler at least half of the time. Nova was great (because Nova is great) but it wasn't working for Gus. I confided to Dave that I was too afraid to register because I wasn't sure I would be in good enough shape to finish the race come August. I believe he said something like, "Well, if you're not ready - get ready."

Dave promised to watch the kids as often as need be so that I could work out. I did some reading online, and registered with www.beginnertriathlete.com. I went to a clinic for first time triathletes, and I chose a training plan. I held my breath when I clicked the "register" button, and knew I was going to compete, for better or worse.

By the end of April, everything had changed. The kids had got the hang of the babysitting room (and instead of coming to find me, Gus would scream "I don't want to go home!" when I'd pick him up). I was doing 9 work-outs a week over 6 days - 3 running, 3 biking, 3 swimming. We'd become a car-free family, so instead of driving to the Y, I was now biking the mile and a half with both kids: a great exercise in endurance, if nothing else. I had read over and over that the average person could prepare for and complete a sprint tri in 12 weeks. I was ahead of the game since I had something like 18 weeks to go. I was gaining confidence and dropping my times on the track and in the pool. The only thing I wasn't dropping was pounds.

After 8 weeks of training, I couldn't understand it. One of the main goals of training for and competing in a triathlon was to lose weight (certainly after my two years of pregnancy, I had some extra pounds I wanted to donate). Everyone I talked to assured me that I was building muscle, and that was the important thing. Still, it was frustrating. By the beginning of June, nothing had changed. I had gone from 12 minute miles to 10 minutes miles running, and was up to 2500 yards in the pool per week. The kids and I were biking all over town, and still - no luck. I weighed the same as I had when Nova was 12 weeks old.

Suddenly in mid-June, something changed. Over the next 7 weeks, I lost almost 20 pounds. People who didn't know I was training started to notice, and I suddenly weighed less than when I got pregnant with Gus in 2007. Clothes that hadn't fit me in years were now loose on me, and I was delighted. It inspired me to keep working harder, and continue with my training through the final weeks.

By the end of my training, I was running 12 miles, swimming 3200 yards, and biking 45 to 60 miles each week. Never in my live have I had more energy or slept better (when the kids allowed, that is). On August 15th, I completed my first triathlon, and I loved it. The swim was a blast, the bike was fantastic, and the run was terribly hard. Nonetheless, my monsters were there to greet me at the finish line.








(Nova was cranky and soon fell asleep, but she was there nonetheless. More photos of me racing are here). I'm not at all ashamed to say how extremely proud of myself I am, and how exited I am to do this event again. I tell people proudly that I did my first triathlon this year, because I will absolutely one (maybe two or three) next year. I couldn't have done it without the loving support of my fantastic husband, or without my awesome brother and his girlfriend who took the kids overnight for the weekend and let me rest up for the race.

It was fun, it was motivating, and I can't wait to do it again. Most importantly, I succeeded at the goal I set for myself some 15 months ago. As Gus said many times that day, "Yay Momma!"


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

LAKE MONSTERS










Monday, September 6, 2010

EYES

4 and a half or 5 years ago, Dave and I were at a baby shower for our friend Emily. We met an aunt of hers or of Ben's, and were talking. All of a sudden she interrupted to say, "Your children will have beautiful eyes." It was a passing remark, one we thought was funny since we were newlyweds and didn't have any imminent plans for children. It's odd to think of it now, since I don't honestly remember who she was. No matter, though, because she was right.


Friday, September 3, 2010

THE STAR WARS THING


As you may remember, we recently introduced Gus to the world of Star Wars. It started with the toys, and the handful of things we had around the house. It followed that we let him watch the movie, and Dave pulled some of his old paperbacks and comic books off the shelf. I don't think we could have predicted what happened next.


Gus loves Star Wars. LOVES. It has taken the place of dinosaurs in his heart. He no longer wants to talk, think, or read about anything else. All Star Wars, all the time. Nana gave him some of the toys that belonged to Paul & Dave when they were kids, and now he is in heaven.


He talks, thinks, and breathes STAR WARS! He plays pretend, comes up with new plot lines, carries the action figures everywhere. After we read him the Empire Strikes Back book, he went around for days hanging the Luke figure off of things saying "Ben! Help!" It's adorable and hilarious, and the only down side is that he now wants to play light sabers - carrying a stick around and challenging other kids to a duel.


When he wakes up in the morning he sneaks downstairs to play with the Millenium Falcon before his sister wakes up, and wherever we go he has to have a storm trooper with him. It's his new favorite thing, and it's fun for Dave and I to share his affection with him (particularly Dave!)