To Jersey and back

A week ago at zero dark thirty, we packed up the kids and the car and got on the road to New Jersey.




We weren't even on the road for 15 minutes before Stasa started moaning that she didn't feel well. THen she started dramatically coughing.
Stasa: I'm sick.
Me: Okay, well go to sleep - that might make you feel better.
Stasa: COUGH COUGH
Me: Okay, you're fine. Go to sleep.
Stasa: I'm sick. I threw up.
Me: Stas, you're fine. You're just coughing and will be okay.
Stasa: But I threw up.

I finally asked Tom to turn on the cabin lights since it was still dark out and sure enough she had vomit in her hands. Luckily (is there a luckily?) it was mostly in her hands so I cleaned her up pretty fast. She proceeded to throw up every 45 minutes or so in different plastic bags. We finally stopped at a Target somewhere in Maryland to get more bags, Pepto for kids (did you know they even made that?), Gatorade, and to let everyone go potty. Back on the road and more vomit, but this time it was mostly just Gatorade. Ewwwww.

After six or so hours we made it to Alex and Judyth's house in Jersey. Alex had taken the day off to visit with us, so he and his son, Sebastian, met us there. And wouldn't you know Stasa was pretty much all better by the time we got settled in the house. She rested in the guest room for a bit, but Alex had also put on some TV for her. I think part of it was getting up super early (and staying up late the night before).

The weekend was so much fun. We feel the same way every time we visit friends far away - we wish we could all live closer and see each other more often. I hate all of the distance between us and people we love.

The guys had planned to make this huge Greek meal for everyone on Saturday, so they started prepping on Friday night while Judyth and I sat and watched and critiqued them. They were ever so grateful. Saturday we all got up really early, which happens when you're sleeping in a room with three small children. Tommy was in a pack-n-play and we originally planned to have both girls sleep on the air mattress but they both ended up in bed with us, so I gave them and Tom the bed and took the air mattress all for myself. So needless to say, when Tommy woke up, most everyone in the room woke up with him, but that pretty much happens at home, too. It's like the girls have a sixth sense when people are awake without them. Fear of missing out.

Where was I? Oh, right. Getting up early on Saturday. It was a good thing we were up early since the guys had to get started right away with cooking. We went ahead and fed the kids and this was pretty much the only bite of food Lexi and Sebastian had all weekend. They both were on food strikes and chugged milk all weekend.


Tom and Alex made sooooooooooooo much food. I'm not even sure I can name it all, but let me try. Horiatiki (traditional Greek salad), melitzanosalata (eggplant salad), fava, yemista(stuffed tomatoes and peppers), souvlaki (grilled pork kabobs), pilafi (rice pilaf), grilled pitas, and krasomeze (this beef stew like dish). So.Much.Food.





It felt like Thanksgiving. Lots of people, everyone eating wherever. Everyone planning their second and third plate. A few people took a walk to let their food settle before filling up on a second or third plate. I dove straight in and ate firsts and seconds back to back. After dinner we all just sat around, watching football, chatting here and there and playing on our phones. LOL

Sunday morning Tom woke up feeling ill. Same feeling as Stasa, but we figured he just overdid it the night before at dinner. Saturday night when he went to bed he had chills, but again we both thought he just overate. It wasn't until Monday that we figured out what was going on - more on that in a bit.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. We got up and had breakfast and then just hung around while Tommy napped. Once Tommallama was up we walked over to a nearby playground to let the kids burn off some energy. I made both girls go potty twice before we left the house and the minute we got to the playground Lexi announced that she had to go. RIGHT NOW. So Tom took her to a nearby cafe and brought me back a coffee and some treats. We let the kids play for awhile until all of our hands were icicles and then we headed back to the house.




We spent the rest of the day and night just lounging at the house. I took some pics of Sebastian outside and then the kids played in the backyard until one by one they came in because it was cold and dark. Each one came in crying because they wanted to stay outside. None of them cared that they couldn't see anything or that their hands were ice cold again.

We hung around on Monday until everyone had breakfast and rush hour died down. Right before we left I started feeling ill. Nausea and chills. I briefly wondered if I ate too much Chinese food the night before - or maybe my stomach was still weak from my bout of food poisoning on the previous Thursday night. I spent the entire drive home curled up in the backseat under all of our coats. When I finally woke up, still feeling nauseous, we were minutes from home. Apparently all of the kids slept the entire ride home, too so we made it back in record time. It wasn't until we were home and I was curled up on the couch that we realized that we probably all got some sort of 24 hour stomach bug. Super fun time for it to hit all of us.

We had such a blast that weekend and I hope we plan another one sooner rather than later. The last time they visited us, Stasa was just a year and half. The last time we saw them, or rather Tom saw them, they were getting married and I was 2 weeks from delivering Lexi. It's so cliche, but time flies by way too fast.

LA Babies!

Back at the beginning of the month (whoa, October seriously flew by), Tommy and I packed it up and headed out to California to visit with Jennifer and her new baby girl, Aberdeen. I was a bit nervous, as I always am, about flying with a baby and keeping them quiet and entertained, especially on such a long flight. Tommy was a dream. He happily played in my lap, ate, and napped a bit throughout the whole flight. We were lucky that our early morning flight to the west coast was nearly empty, so we had the entire back row to ourselves, which meant I could kind of stretch out, too.



As soon as we touched down and grabbed our bag, Jennifer whisked us off to a spot near a beautiful beach for lunch. At that point we realized that the babies implemented a new rule for the weekend: at least one baby must be crying at all times. It's like they chatted ahead of time to plan this out. Not cool, babies. NOT. COOL.



After lunch we headed out for a relaxing walk along the beach so we could get in some light exercise and chatting, but Tommy had other plans. I brought the Bjorn with me to carry him around the airport, but left it in Jennifer's car for the walk since she brought a stroller for us. He FREAKED out and did not want to be put in the stroller at all. So I carried him on my hip while pushing the stroller up and down the boardwalk and at one point he slumped over in my arms, fast asleep, but then immediately woke up the minute I tried transferring him to the stroller. GRUMP.


After our walk we went back to the house to settle in and figure out what we wanted to do with our weekend. Plus I got my hands on that sweet little girl.


Such a snuggle bunny - I so love the teeny tiny baby stage.

The first night Jennifer cooked a delicious lasagna for us and we just hung out at the house. We decided to get up early (as we always do when together) and head out for custom donuts, a mini photo shoot of the babes and a nice walk around a reservoir in the afternoon and then MEXICAN for dinner! Yum!

I thought it was funny to take pictures of the babies side by side in their car seats. One baby! TWO BABIES! Tommy loved it.


The custom donuts were AH-MAZING. I mean, seriously, I really hope they open a place on the east coast. We chose two donuts and some donut holes to share and they were all so good. I think my favorite was a combo strawberry, goat cheese and basil donut, though the apple pie one was good, too.


If you're in the LA area, definitely check out Donut Friend. So yum.

Now, the photo shoot of the babies didn't go as we had planned. Tommy wasn't having any of it. Remember how I said that one baby must be crying at all times? Yeah, he tagged in for the photo shoot, so most of the pictures of him look like this.


And when I finally threw in the towel on trying to get a decent picture of him, this is what he did.


LOL

After our walk we headed back to Jennifer's place to cool off. It was much hotter than we'd thought it would be and we were a sweaty mess after walking around the reservoir, though it wasn't nearly as hot and nasty as it was last summer. Tommy and Aberdeen both fell asleep when we got home and I got a chance to use my swaddling ninja skills and wrapped that baby up tight. Snug as a bug.


Tommy slept okay while we were in LA, but I didn't really push the Ferber method since we were in a new place and different time zone. I kind of just went by his signs and he was waking up a bit more at night than he usually does. And since I didn't try to get him on west coast time, he was waking up at like 3:30 for the day, though I was able to get him to relax in the bed with me until at least 4:30 or 5:00.


One baby. TWO BABIES!

Our last day in LA was packed with fun. We woke up super early (thanks, babies!), got them fed and all of us dressed and headed out for breakfast at The Griddle Cafe. That place was amazing. We split food again and got a baked potato omelet and lemon pancakes. The pancakes were huge. And by huge I mean bigger than my head. Bigger than two of my heads. It was all so good and I literally had to force myself to put my fork down so I wouldn't explode. After breakfast we packed up the kids and drove over to Olvera Street for some walking and light shopping. I ended up getting the girls fighting masks and capes, of course they were princess and Hello Kitty and not anything traditional or scary.


We ended our shopping trip with a light snack and a street show then packed it up again and headed back home, with a super quick stop at Glendale Harley Davidson to get a shirt for Tom.



Once home, we stripped the babies down and let them "play." Play time really consisted of Tommy attacking Aberdeen. He was just so excited to have another baby down on his level. He enjoyed being the one to be all up in someone's face. It's the only way he knows how to play since that's what his sisters do to him on a daily basis. He turned and twisted around to get back to Aberdeen every time we moved him away. Determined, he was.





Seriously. He couldn't keep his hands to himself. All over her.


At the last minute we decided to pack up my stuff, get the babies redressed and spend some time with Courtney before my flight home.

One baby. TWO BABIES!

The babies decided to coordinate outfits for our trip to Courtney's. Look at these two. So adorable.


And then Tommy realized that Aberdeen was laying next to him again and he just.couldn't.help.it. MUST EAT BABY.



Again and again. Then we made Courtney double up with babies and Tommy tried attacking her. He's insatiable. Crazy baby.


We walked to The Counter for dinner and  then back to Courtney's to hang out until my redeye back home. I figured that the flight would be pretty empty since it was Saturday, but I couldn't have been more wrong.


Our flight was so full that they staff were begging people to check their carry on bags at no cost. We ended up stuck in the very last row in a window seat (thank goodness), and it was so crowded. Ridiculous. I barely slept on the flight between trying to get comfortable and Tommy waking to nurse and was exhausted when we landed in Dulles.


While I was happy to be home - I missed the girls and Tom - I was sad that the trip went by so fast. I miss having Jennifer close by and hope we can make it out there more often. I promised Stasa that she could come next time.

Catching up

I've been MIA for a bit and really have no reason other than life at home and work being busy. I'm still in a bit of shock that summer is already over, though it doesn't quite feel like it when we walk outside since the air is still hot and thick and muggy.

A few weeks ago we drove out to Chicago to visit with our friends and family and baptize my handsome godson, who, by the way, didn't cry once during the ceremony. And he was pretty proud of himself, too. The girls were both pretty great during the drive there and back. We left around dinner on a Thursday night and drove until about 1:00 am - we made it over halfway there and stayed the night at a hotel, which was so nice because we all got a decent night of sleep. The next day we finished up the drive and stayed with our friends, Anne and Sean and their kids. Our first few days were busy with activities, but we had a lot of down time with everyone to hang out, too. After that we spent a couple of nights with Tom's brother's family and then headed home early on another Thursday morning. This time we drove straight through and since we took a few longer pit stops we didn't get home until after 10:00 pm.

Since our trip we've just been laying low and hanging out around the house. We got Stasa a big girl bike (FINALLY!) and she's been doing great on it and asks to ride it all of the time. Our neighbors recently moved back from Germany and now they have five kids and the youngest three are perfect playmates for Stasa and Lexi. In fact, Stasa's already had mini-playdates with them and they run over to each others houses to play outside almost every afternoon.

Tomorrow Stasa starts up dance class again. This one isn't just ballet and will have tap and tumbling as part of the curriculum, too. And yes, there will be another recital! We had asked Stasa during the Olympics if she wanted to dance, do gymnastics (because she was enthralled with the gymnasts), or play soccer this year. She immediately answered "DANCE!" So dance it is. I hope some of the other girls from her class last year are in this one. I think I remember the instructors saying that this age group class doesn't allow parents to be in the room during class. Perfect for me! I swear the kids would have been better behaved if the parents weren't in the room last year. Unfortunately I won't be able to take her to the first class, so Tom will fill in. I'm headed to a local Moms of Multiples consignment sale tomorrow morning and am already behind in making my list of what we need. I'm pretty sure our 4T wardrobe is more than complete and I should probably focus on 5T and size 6 clothes and shoes. And I'm always on the look out for Disney movies since they can be both pricey and hard to get.

Hotel morning routine



Sisters, checking each other out


Whispering sweet nothings






First day of school for the cousins


Wagon rides with daddy

We doubled our size for the holiday

Our friends and their kids stayed with us this past week which made the holiday week even more fun. Now that everything's back to normal it's kind of weird and lonely. I got used to a full house and loved having double the kids and friends around. I had been looking forward to this trip for so long and it seemed to fly by so fast, even though we had a pretty long week together. Here's how our week went:

Tuesday:
Tom and I took the day off to run errands and spend some time together before everyone arrived. Stasa was so upset that we didn't go straight to the airport when I picked her up from daycare. As we were circling the airport waiting for Sean, Anne, and the kids to come out, I was having Stas look for them. She kept asking where they were and when I explained that they were getting their bags she asked why they had bags. I told her they probably packed clothes to wear and she exclaimed "Oh yeah, Avery's bringing pants!"

Once we got home the girls were running around a mile a minute and went through a couple of outfit changes playing dress ups while the little ones played with blocks.





Wednesday:
Initially we were going to spend the entire day downtown on the mall and stay to watch the fireworks. Thank God we all agreed on a more realistic plan. We kept it low key in the morning and put all of the kids down for an early nap while the rest of us got ready and packed the cars. We ended up leaving for the Metro a little before 3:00 and at the last minute decided to head to Arlington National Cemetery to walk around before heading over for the fireworks. I like visiting Arlington and was happy that we were able to see Grandpa T's grave (and happy that it was so close to the visitor center).

The girls LOVED the train and were really good on the way there. Hell, all of the kids were really good all day and night. We spent a couple of hours walking miles around the cemetery...uphill all over the place. After the cemetery we went over to McDonald's for a quick bite to eat and then hiked over to the Iwo Jima memorial for the fireworks show with Tom's family. So, from the start of our trip to the end of the fireworks show was fantastic. The kids were cooperative, the crowds weren't terrible, the rain stayed away - it was good.

Then there was the Metro ride home. It seemed like the entire world was trying to leave through the Rosslyn Metro stop. There was a point where we were literally standing still, packed in, waiting to get through the turnstiles and we were actively sweating. Everywhere. I looked down and realized I had sweat rolling off of me onto the floor. Disgusting. The best part was getting through the turnstiles. They tried making us move over to the handicap "line" as if there were actual lines - it was like being in a herd of cattle. The strollers wouldn't fit through the regular turnstiles so we had to lift them over with the kids in them. We did all of that only to find out there was no elevator where we were and the cops wouldn't let us go down the escalators unless the strollers were folded up. Let's review: we had three strollers, four kids, one of whom was dead asleep, and more bags than I can remember. Oh yeah. And we were dripping sweat. We were finally on the escalator when this pushy lady tried to get past us. Seriously?! GET LOST LADY.

We finally got down to the platform to wait for the train only every train was jam packed. Like not even a single person could fit on the trains. Finally a cop took pity on us and promised to get us on the next train. Lucky for all of us that the next train was completely empty. HEAVEN. I think we ended up getting home around midnight. And the kids were so good. They hardly complained the entire day, even while sitting in the stagnant air of the train station. And so we rewarded them with milkshakes the next day.






Thursday:
Since we got home so late on the 4th, we kept Thursday pretty low key. We headed over to see Amy and her kids in the morning, who by the way are so adorable, then picked up lunch and the promised milkshakes. After that everyone took a much needed nap while the guys went out for a bit. After nap we went out and took some family pictures for Anne and Sean and then came home and hung out at the house and played with the kids. Oh and the girls helped Tom make pizza for dinner. After bedtime Anne and I took off to see Magic Mike. FYI the scenes at the club were fantastic - the rest was worthless. I think my favorite part was Matthew McConaughey in his practice "outfit." Ridiculous.



Friday:
We went back downtown after breakfast on Friday with plans to see the monuments, have lunch, and visit the Natural History Museum. We ended up only seeing the monuments and having lunch before heading back home. We should have skipped a couple of monuments and picked up lunch from a food truck so we could check out the museum. But with our kids melting down and Lexi wailing during lunch, we were done.

The monuments were fun and thankfully they had sprinklers just about everywhere, so we let the kids run through them to cool off from walking in the sun. Unfortunately a lot of stuff was still closed down - the Washington Monument is still being fixed from the earthquake and the reflecting pool was closed for repairs, too. We still got to see the Washington Monument and also saw the WWII Memorial and Lincoln Memorial.

After walking around the memorials we headed over to have lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill. I love the Old Ebbitt, but really should have reconsidered Tom's suggestion that we grab food from a cart on the street. The kids were tired and hadn't napped, there was a 15 minute wait, and then when we finally got to our table Lexi freaked out. And wouldn't calm down for a long time. And then we promised the older girls we'd get ice cream after lunch because we saw about a million ice cream carts on our walk to the restaurant, but then there were none from the restaurant to the Metro station. So we ended up stopping at Caribou Coffee to get them a frozen drink. Once we got home we let the kids run around outside in the smallest baby pool ever, had dinner and then put them all to bed.




(This picture kills me - I had just taken a picture of Anne and her family and Stasa was freaking out because she wanted to stand with Avery. After I took their picture she asked nicely if I would take hers. She looks so lonely and it makes me sad. I should have stood with her. Mom fail.)









Saturday:
The guys went golfing early on Saturday morning and we stayed with the kids and went to the pool for a bit. Stasa had a complete meltdown at the pool when it was time to go and didn't want to leave and cried the whole way home. Thankfully all of the kids went down for a good nap. While they napped we all got the house ready for the baptism party and then got ourselves ready to go.

Then it was baptism time! Lexi was so loud during the whole mass. But not crying loud, just sqwuaking loud. Her normal everyday pterodactyl yell. Thankfully the priest was so laid back and patient and kept smiling at her. And just like that she was baptized.
Proud and pretty godmother and Lexi:



Probably talking to her godfather during the ceremony:



Newest Catholic:


FREEEEEEEEEEEE:


Sunday:
We got up earlish on Sunday to visit with Lauren and Zoey and I'm mad that we didn't take any pictures while they were here. I got to snuggle Zoey and didn't want to give her back - she's so so cuddly. After our cuddle session and visit with Lauren and Zoey, it was time to take Anne and Sean and the kids to the airport.  I still can't believe how fast the visit flew by. The house seemed so quiet and lonely and empty after they left. But at least we'll see them soon! We're heading out their way next month.

And that wraps up our holiday week. I hope everyone else had a fun and safe time!