Spending some time in PA

Last Saturday morning at 1 AM we packed up both kids and Sophie and hopped in the car, destination Pittsburgh, PA. David wanted to leave in the middle of the night figuring that both kids would sleep at least the first half of the trip. Once again, the joke was on him. Christopher pretty much slept the whole time (despite coming down with the croup Friday night). Madeleine slept for a whole half hour. Yep, 12 hour ride, 684 miles, left by 2 AM and she slept for 30 minutes.

I figured with the grandparents keeping the kids occupied I'd have more time to blog, but we have been pretty busy. Sunday we went to go see a Rockettes Christmas show. Madeleine really enjoyed herself and was really well behaved, even though she had no nap.

Monday we hit the Children's Museum. At 3, she was just on the cusp of being too old to be with the younger kids in what they called The Nursery. She was also slightly young to be with the older kids in the rest of the museum. She had a good time but I think she was a bit intimidated by some of the older kids, although she did tell one he needed to take turns.

She is having a blast here and we'll have a lot of deprogramming to do when we get home. I have a few pictures to post but the camera batteries are recharging at the moment. Going to do a little bit of shopping tomorrow, but wondering how we are going to get everything home. Downside of the van - the extremely small trunk.

Sigh ... 40

I turned 40 at the end of September but kind of forgot about it. Yep, it was that memorable. Actually, that was Christopher's first fever (and a high one at that) and I spent about 4 days with a cranky infant who felt like he was on fire. Trips to the doctor and the ER that weekend.

Truth be told, I don't feel 40, although admittedly I don't know what 40 is supposed to feel like. I spend most of my days yawning but then again I have a 5 month old who doesn't seem to need to sleep.

Perhaps I didn't find it too bad since so many people I know turned 40 this year. Yep, courtesy of Facebook, I am *friends* with about 20 people I graduated high school with and 2 I graduated college with, all who have turned or will be turning 40 this year. Add to that the 4 or 5 *friends* who graduated a year behind me and turn 40 next year ... well everyone seems to be doing it!

So, to put into perspective exactly how long ago 40 years was, here are some notable events of 1969:

• Richard Nixon Becomes President of the United States
• 250,000 march on Washington in protest at the Vietnam War
• Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon
• PBS established (and Sesame Street debuts!)
• Chappaquiddick
• Charles Manson
• Woodstock
• Creation of ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet
• The Beatles' last public performance

Hmm, maybe 40 years WAS a long time ago!

Halloween 2009

So I'm a little late with the Halloween pictures, but my laptop was out for repair and came back with a stuck space bar and a dead battery. Sigh.

We've indulged and ordered lobster quite a few times this year. In fact, if you scroll down to the bottom of The Lobster Guys website, you'll see that Madeleine is one of his biggest fans. So it seemed a given that Christopher would be a lobster for Halloween:

I finally found the costume, in stock, online at Target. They only had a 12-18 months, but I figured if it was a little big, that was OK. I was lucky I could zip it shut and he just had pajamas on underneath. There is a reason I call him Tank. :)

Madeleine was very receptive to being a chef. She loves helping me in the kitchen, so it wasn't a stretch:

It was about 6 o'clock when everyone was dressed and ready to go. Unfortunately, Christopher thinks 6 o'clock is his bedtime:

Of course, he had to wake up right after this picture was taken ...

I piled them both in the wagon and we went next door and across the street. I had to keep stopping to set him right in the wagon (he was sound asleep and leaning) so we brought him home. Madeleine and I went back out to hit the rest of the houses on our street before going home. She did well - she was the first trick or treater our neighborhood saw, and one of 3 for the night, so at every house we went to (all 7 of them) she got several treats.

As we were walking home, she complained that her bucket was too heavy for her to carry. I offered to carry it for her, but she declined. I don't think she trusted me!!!

I have my laptop back!!

Now the battery doesn't hold a charge - even when plugged in. Dell is just awesome. All I have time for before I once again lose power ...