Star Wars: The Next Generation

Adam had a new love.  I'm not entirely sure how it started.  Todd has put the Clone Wars on and a movie here and there, and he's always liked Daddy's Darth Vadar bank that was sitting in our room and talks when you hit a button and Adam has a C3PO from a Happy Meal he's liked.  (Below is the Darth Vadar bank, which got broken last week when Adam kept sneaking into our room to play it and he dropped it.  Daddy took it apart and fixed it and it now lives on the toilet in an attempt to convince Adam to use the potty.  He's had several fits about it, but is now resigned to the fact that he can only play it if he uses the toilet...it says "Impressive, Most Impressive, But You are Not a Jedi Yet" and then the light saber glows.)

 But this true love really began a few weeks ago, when Todd put on Star Wars to see if Adam would watch it with him.  Todd was really, really into Star Wars as a kid.  As a matter of fact, the top of some of our kitchen cabinets have....Star Wars mugs.  Yup.  A couple of years ago, my sister got him the latest "version" of the first three films on DVD.  He put it in and Adam was in love.  He especially loved C3PO, I don't know if it's because he already had him as a figure.  I told Todd he needed to go

into the attic over his office and retrieve a Darth Vadar Adam could actually play with.  He brought home a box full.  Seriously, Todd was a Star Wars fanatic.  The big Darth Vadar in the first photo was from that box.  His helmet was broken and for 2 days, Adam asked me to fix it until Todd brought home some super glue.  I gave him a few figures over a few days and put away the rest.  Keeping up with where they get put is hard enough with some Storm Troopers, Obie One Kenobie, R2D2, Princess Leia, C2PO and some robot.  Adam acts it all the time, turns everything into a light saber and begs to watch the movies.  He sits on the couch just looking at the DVD covers, fascinated.  I tell him that it is a Daddy thing, so we don't watch it during the day.  He loves wearing his Star Wars shirt and tries to steal our pillows....which have Star Wars pillow cases (a one year anniversary gift from me to Todd. yeah, we're just big kids.)  He's really young to be so into it....he gets the plots and discusses them.  He's most into the older ones, particularly the original Star Wars.  He likes the ones with Darth Vadar.  And The Clone Wars, which is animated.  And which we have the series ordered, too....  So I guess this obsession is a true like Father, Like Son!  

And by the way, if you were curious, Abbey does NOT care for Star Wars.  

Except to steal the figures from Adam and make hims yell.

Opening Night at the Farmer's Market

 I like the Oswego Farmer's Market.  The kid love the action, as the summer progresses, I get lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and there's always a treat to be had.  When Adam was a baby, my mom spent part of the summer there hawking her cookies in her venture "Ugly Cookie Company" so I would go to wish her well and see my Dad.  He was really excited when I would show up and sneak Adam cookies (even though he was only 9 months old!) and ask permission to take him somewhere without me (which I struggled with at the time.  Yeah, new Mom).  Adam always had chocolate on his face when returned to me :)  When I think about HOW excited that made my Dad, it's a reminder of how he was BORN to be a grandpa.  He had the perfect personality for it.  At least he got to spend a little time with the A-team.

Mostly though, the Farmer's Market has been about hanging out with Jackie and Q.  They love it, too!  "Is it bad that we mostly come here for the bouncy house and fried dough?" Jackie asked me last week.  To be honest, I mostly go for the baked goods...!  We had gotten there a little before Jackie and my kids wanted IN to the bouncy house the minute they saw it.  Abbey was all over it, it's hard to tell a bit in the picture above, but she loved it.  The picture below is upside down and I couldn't get it turned around but there's Adam having a blast below!  Abbey kept crawling in and out and I finally realized it's because the entrance looks like a slide!  Even upside down, you can tell Adam is happy.

 So, of course, Miss Abbey yelled when I puller her away, but just for a minute.  We went over to the commons area and hung out on the benches to wait.  They were pretty good.  This is Adam's look of please get the camera out of my face Mom.

 Little Abbey was actually having a lot of fun on the benches.  Then they noticed the water fountain in the adjacent area and wanted to see it.

 This kept them busy for a while.  Adam said "Bath!"  then several times started to take his shirt off to get in.  I think he knew he couldn't go in there, but thought it was pretty funny.  Doesn't Abbey look pretty in her little dress?

 Q arrives!  Adam loves this kid.  They head back into the bouncy house and Abbey seems to realize this time she's meant to stay in it.  They all have a good time and then Adam takes Q's hand to head to the market.  Prego Jackie's first stop? The bathroom.  I remember this place well from coming here when pregnant both times!  There wasn't much out yet, but we did the tour down one block and up the other.  I bought Todd a little thing of maple candy.

It's cute because Adam will hold Quentin's hand instead of mine and it's adorable.  Abbey traveled in her stroller mostly (she loves it).

Then we get to the candy store.  Somehow, even though Abbey hasn't been there since last summer, she knows what it is.  She wants IN, pounding on the door.  So I relent and take them in, leaving the stroller outside.  It wasn't too bad.  Adam's favorite thing was the little plush animals, but he eventually realized that it was "Candy Candy Candy" everywhere.  So I got them their first lollipops!  Grape.  I chose for Abbey and Adam picked it up. It was funny because when I gave it to Abbey to hold, she hightailed it to a little display table to sit.  I have her trained to sit at the table to eat!  I dragged them out of the store while Jackie paid for me, both now a little anxious to get their "candy". Abbey's dirty look is all about how long it took me to unwrap her lollipop.  She was in love at once she went at it.  A real natural, licking it.  Adam went for the bite.

 Jackie and Q stayed behind to have dinner, but it was time for us to head home.  I got them to the car and they were really enjoying these suckers!  It was REALLY cute.

 A real Adam smile!

 She finally took a bite...before I stole it from her :)  Love her smile.  But, mean Mama had to take them away after these pictures because I was driving...no hard candy while I'm driving.  So, I had some chocolate I had picked up, too.  How does a Mom get a toddler to stop crying after she takes away their lollipops?  Gives them chocolate!! And it worked, too. :)  I was really tired after...I had overdone it, still not up to par on energy levels after my surgery, but these grins made it worth it.  They should thank Jackie ...because of her they finally got suckers!

Sunday Family Day: Salmon River Falls

Salmon River Falls
Last Sunday, we had planned to go to the Rochester zoo, but Miss Abbey had been up the night before, obviously not feeling well.  In the morning when she woke up, she didn't even want to get out of bed, instead preferring to have me hold her hand.  I have never seen her like that.  Of course, we cancelled our plans.  A few hours later, Abbey seemed fine and was laughing and playing like normal.  We knew a trip like we had planned was not a good idea, in case she started feeling badly again, but we wanted to get them out of the house.  We decided to head to Salmon River Falls in Richland.  We had gone a couple of years ago and it was a really nice little walk with a view.  It was a little busy, but not to bad.  We started walking the trail and the kids just loved this first glimpse.  I love this photo of them.

Almost got Abbey to look at the camera.

Heading down the trail, Adam kept taking off ahead of us.  But Adam listens when we tell him to stop and doesn't go too far, unlike Miss Abbey!

Corralled against her will...forced to hold hands!  But she loves her Daddy.

I let Daddy think he's in charge.

This was such a cute moment...Adam saw the trail with all the trees ahead and said "WOW! Trees!"  He just kept looking up.  So cute.  I love the outdoors, too.  And the woods.

Can you see the wonder in his eyes?

Abbey wild and free.

Another lookout...Adam showing me the falls.  "Bath, Mom! Shower, Mom!"  Todd told him it was  Paradise Falls from Up.  Adam said "Waterfall!".  Don't think he was buying it.

So there's a stairway build into a hill that takes you to the water on top of the waterfall.  This is where we're at now.  At first, all was fine.  The kids were excited.

Abbey broke free and we watched, thinking foolishly that she'd stop.

Innocent little girl wading in the water, right?  Then she goes for the gold.

She TOOK OFF.  Like, scary took off.  At least she was the opposite direction of the waterfall, but I started to panic.  Todd took his shoes off and went after her. 

It was time for me to put my camera away.  Todd had to chase her, even after she kept falling.  She did NOT care.  She turned and headed towards the waterfall and I was scared though it was pretty far off.  Todd got her and we put he on a rock for timeout and she had a total meltdown.  Whatever ailed her in the morning was not gone.  I could see the future.  When she has a meltdown normally, she usually gives up in a bit when she realizes she won't get what she want.  She wasn't going to, which happens if she doesn't feel well or is very tired.  Mustering all my muscles, I carried her up that hill in two minutes flat while I told Todd to stay with Adam.  (Before all those months on the exercise bike, something I would NOT have been able to do.)


Meanwhile, Adam is doing so well.  He wades in a bit when Abbey does, but stops to take off his shoes.  He clearly didn't want muddy shoes, which is so Adam.  He stayed right with me while his sister ran wild and free and when she had a meltdown, he ignored it, clearly used to it.


When we got to the top of the hill, I started walking Abbey and she calmed down a bit.  When I started to walk her back towards the car, she was done.  I gave her a snack and some water, but nothing worked.  Todd and Adam made their way up and he offered to take her, but I told him there was no reason for both of us to to be covered in mud and silt.  At first, of course, I was frustrated.  But as we walked back and she didn't give up, I felt bad for her.  Obviously, she didn't feel well.  She would cry for me to pick her up, then cry for me to put her down.  When we go to the car, I changed her clothes and put her in her seat.  She relaxed some.  And the car always helps her calm down.


It is a beautiful place and Adam had a blast.  I love going there, but I did get some nightmarish images of my daughter plummeting off a waterfall.  We decided that we had learned a lesson that day.  If Abbey is sick in the morning, she is probably still sick later, even if she doesn't show it!  At least we were smart enough, I mused, not to take her all the way to Rochester!  And yes, we skipped lunch out, getting the kids Happy Meals.  Then we really knew she was sick...she didn't eat one french fry.  Poor kid.  

Neighborhood Friends

Erin and her kids across the street are kind of a big part of my life.  Yesterday, Jonathon (8 year old) was here for a while hanging out.  He's pretty helpful, especially since Adam was outside without a diaper and went to the bathroom in his pants....twice...so Jonathon stayed outside with Abbey while we took care of it (Yeah, toilet training is going THAT well).  Today, we went over there....my kids were bouncing off the walls and I couldn't wait to get them out the house.  Especially since Erin has a fenced in backyard with a swing set.  Or she did.

Erin has two older kids, Nathan and Abby. who stopped homeschooling earlier this year to go to the Christian School, so Erin's house is calmer.  And she's been working on making it more of a big kid house.  So when Abbey ran out the laundry room into the back yard and the swing set was gone, she was NOT happy.  Erin had been talking about getting rid of it for a while and she finally did.  So they ran around, with Abbey getting in trouble constantly for pulling at Erin's flowers.  There was a giant ball thing they liked and chasing her dogs is a highlight, but her kids weren't in the mood.  It's weird ...Daniel is Adam's age, but he acts like an older kid....probably because he is surrounded by older kids.

Back inside, Abbey was bouncing off the walls.  Finally, climbing up the pillar in their living room seem to occupy her. It was kind of hard to be there as I don't have my voice back and it hurts to keep saying NO and also, they don't listen to me as well.  So those 20 minutes where she was climbing the walls was awesome and I got a great sandwich and coffee made for me.  Lunch for my kids consisted of apples and kettle corn as they don't eat sandwiches.  In the photo below, you can see the awesome historical columns Abbey uses as a jungle gym.  She's behind Jonathon...she had cuddled him, but was done by the time I had my phone off.

Meanwhile, Daniel spends all his time "narrating" everything and tattling, which drives Erin insane.  It's pretty funny, because EVERY toddler has a trait that drives their parents nuts.  Adam was pretty good, playing with a helicopter.  Except he took it upon himself twice to shove Jonathon, once while he was up on the pillar.  Nothing like my giant toddler shoving an 8 year old!

Two hours later, I brought my kids home, Abbey screaming for the pinwheels on the porch, me going to the locked door.  I got them in the house and turned on Megamind.  Suddenly, they were fine.  They refuse to watch TV at anyone else's house, but in their own boring house, it was just the thing.  I realized how hot they were and they chilled out with some Goldfish and ice water.  Nothing like home.

The funny thing about Adam and Daniel is that they are really different and they seem to clash a lot, but they love being with each other.  Nothing excites Adam more than going to Daniel's house and if Daniel sees me outside he says "Mrs. Butler can Adam come to visit me?".  They are growing up...they posed for this photo AND both wanted to see it on my phone.  Adam just adores Jonathon, too (despite the pushing and says his name now over and over again JON-a-THON in syllables, wanting him to see whatever he does.  Love the smile.  It's the friends from our neighborhood that build our roots, I think, playing in the street like me when we lived in housing projects or when I moved across the street from Bethany.  Todd talks of playing football and hanging out, getting in trouble with neighbors as a teen.

Mother's Day 2012

I'm feeling a lot better, though my voice is far from recovered.  I try not to dwell on it.  You may wonder how have the kids been during the last couple of weeks?   Mother's Day was only a few days after surgery, so we stayed in.  By then, the kids had mostly adjusted.  Taking advantage of my lack of voice, of course.  Abbey was busy stuffing her Princess dresses in the back of the bike to ride them around.  She was very focused.  And below, Adam was busy acting out a combination of things, with Buck from Ice Age 3 and Gloria from Madagascar.

They were both fighting Kung Fu Panda, who usually won.

We ordered Canale's, but the food kind of stunk.  I was happy to snuggle with Todd and pass out after the kids went to bed.   My fourth Mother's Day.  It has a nice ring to it.

The Second Floor

We've started working on the house again.  After a year hiatus of work after the bathroom renovations while we decided what we want to do, we have to decided we want to move out to the country.  So we are starting with getting the upstairs tenant ready. 

On the left upper is a picture of the bi-fold door (next to the doorway of the main bedroom) that was taken out of the 2nd bedroom doorway, whci is currently storage for all the baby/kid stuff I can't part with.  The right hand lower picture is the new door installed next to the main door to the apartment.  Kevin did an OK job, but since he had to put in a new frame, it needs a little paint touch-up.  Todd decided to put a door there because he felt it was more stable, as the other one came off it's track easily.  I mean, I never have an issue with it :) but he does.

Kevin also started work on the bathroom.   A perfectly fine cast iron tub that has been there since the dawn of time (or at least 80 years according to our 87 year old neighbor who moved there when she was 8).  But, no shower.  We are putting one in the taller corner.  Yeah, it's for short people only.  He has started putting it in and there is currently a giant hole in the floor and some framework in.  He also found pieces of a 1893 newspaper in the floor.  How cool is that?

This is the new heater in the kitchen.  We did this in November.  We replaced an open flame gas heater with this unit, that doesn't get hot.  We also replaced the stove in the living room with one.  It is nice that no one can get burned on them.  They've kept the place quite cozy, actually.  Our current tenant Orrie seems to think so.  Let's ask him.

He approves.  He actually seems to be pretty happy these days.  We have spent a lot more time up there, using the kitchen as a playroom and most days, I slip him some cut up fruit or bread.  He's kind of my buddy now.  Here he is on my arm.  He likes it when I sing Frere Jacques to him.  Yeah, nuts.

We've been on the lookout for the perfect house for a while now, but it doesn't seem to be out there.  So building may be our best option.

Me Update

So tired.  Trying to get out of bed.  A combination of recovery and LOW thyroid hormone, I guess.

I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me the surgeon had prescribed a very low dose of the hormone replacement pill.  He kind of laughed after I told him about my blood pressure in the hospital and said that explains my low dosing...they were probably afraid of going too high and sending my heart racing again.

And, by the way, the fact that my heart is no longer racing and I'm not riddled with anxiety, is the biggest reason I'm glad I did this.  I didn't realize how often it happened until it stopped.  There is no way that was good for my heart.  And as we know, our hearts are hardly replaceable (unless you're my Dad :).

Dr. Arce was very impressed with my incision.  He said that usually, after a week, his patients come in with swollen and red necks.  Mine is one of the best he's ever seen.  I suppose I'm grateful for small favors.  Well, it does seem a little like God heard some prayers.

Getting through this week has had it's ups and downs.  But I've had a good support system.  Todd has really been supportive, more than I could have hoped for.  Bobby has been a HUGE help, taking the kids each morning and helping with the housework.  Bethany, despite her two jobs, grad classes and kids, managed to cook us a meal of homemade macaroni and cheese and chicken.  And lovely pregnant Jackie brought me the best display of pastries I've ever seen assembled in one place....as Todd called it, the five thousand calorie midnight snack.  And Tammy, Pam and Melissa, who have all checked in on me and listened to me whenever I need a shoulder to lean on with my odd fears, thank you.

Abbey is yelling for me.  Time to get myself out of bed.  I hope my energy returns....it's really hard to be a good Mama when I just want to lie down half the time.

Man Date

 Yesterday, Adam and Uncle Bobby had their first man date.  Uncle Bobby took Adam to Wade's Diner, a favorite of both our fathers, coincidentally.  My Dad loved going to diners, going every day before work.  Adam and I went to Wade's a few times with Dad and we took the kids with Todd's Dad often, as well.  It's actually the first place Todd and I went to eat after we became a couple.  Uncle Bobby was very excited that I was finally able to just let go and let him take him somewhere.  Here they are, getting ready to go.  Don't you love the toxic chemicals in the background?  I had been telling Adam since the night before he was going somewhere special with Uncle Bobby and he was ready to go!

 Poor Abbey took it hard.  She cried as they left, throwing her shoes at me.  They really aren't separated that often, come to think of it.  Poor kid was sad the whole time, sitting with her monkey, watching Tangled and sometimes going to the kitchen gate to cry or yell.  There they go!

 Getting buckled in...

 And we're off....!

Uncle Bobby sent me this photo.  Obviously, they were having a blast.  Adam ate his cinnamon toast and good helping of Uncle Bobby's home fries with onions.

 I promised Abbey when they got back, they'd all go down to the park.  Abbey couldn't get in her stroller fast enough! (Funny kid, she loves to run and be free but LOVES to get pushed around in her stroller outside!)  They had fun and she seemed to forget all about being left behind before.

 Nice but a little sad to see Uncle Bobby start to do the things with Adam I knew my that my Dad would have.  Bobby told me he thinks maybe Dad was sitting at the table with them :)  Anything to make the crazy girl not get sad!

Spicy Hot Send-off

Two Wednesdays ago, Tammy made me TIkka Masala again.  I told her it was my dying wish meal.  It was really good.  Extra spicy, but yummy.  While the kids were waiting for me to eat, they got restless to get outside.  Of course, I had to eat seconds and while the rice cooked, they went nuts.  Poor Abbey just started pounding on the door to the outside.  As I like to joke, my kids are fresh air fund kids!  Elmo on the television didn't even distract Adam.  As you can see, once we got outside, the kids had a blast.  As usual.  What's not to like about Aunt Tammy's? They get Happy Meals on the way and have a blast outside.  Abbey did have to spend some time in time out, but she's getting better.  Mr. Palmer was nice enough to fix a broken railing for them this time. Tammy says she's glad her Dad's play area is getting some use now that her nieces are a bit older.  A win-win for all :)

Stole this pictures from Tammy.  Her iphone takes good photos.  Look at this face!

Ready to go home.  Well, Abbey had to be dragged out.  But she didn't yell when I went back into the house to get stuff.  That's always a plus!  They look so OLD!! :)

I  was talking so much about my surgery being on Thursday, Tammy thought it was that week.  Poor kid waited all day to hear if I survived!