Air and Space Museum
What do you do with two sick kids and no water? You take them to the Air and Space museum!
At least, that’s what I did last Friday when we needed to be out of the house. We had a good time. The boys mostly stayed in the stroller as we walked around looking at planes. Matthew had lots of good questions, most of which I could only sort of answer.
When we needed a snack break, we went to the McDonald’s where the boys could run off their energy and I could drink some coffee.
We got some toys planes at the gift shop and headed back out to see our favorite thing,
the space shuttle!
We also liked walking under the concord, looking at the funny acrobatics planes, and checking out the SR 71.
Not bad for a couple of sick kids and their sort of tired mother.
Showers of Happiness
I got to go to Erin’s bridal shower this weekend. Her aunt Joy hosted the “Around-the-Clock” themed brunch. This led to some very creative gifts. Add in the friends, good food, cake, and general merriment and we had everything we needed for a lovely day.
Grandma Joyce looked so pretty in her pink shirt. She had a good time chatting with Erin’s friends.
Laure practiced her Maid of Honor duties and Erin practiced wearing a veil.
The cake was beautiful and also very tasty.
Joy helped keep track of the gifts,
which included household items, a coffee grinder, some very cool cocktail glasses, edible underpants, and a game night gift bag complete with homemade trail mix.
Natalie made the ribbon bouquet for Erin’s rehearsal dinner. She did a really nice job. It wasn’t even all that tacky.
I stayed for a while at the end of the party chatting with the family. I have been stuck in the house most of the week and I was just so happy to get out and talk to actual adults!
The wedding is in November. It will be beautiful. Erin and Phil make a lovely couple and I am so happy that we will get to share the day with them.
Max
We had to say good-bye to Max on Friday. The stroke he suffered on Thursday was serious. It left him unable to see or feel on his right side. The vet gave him 24 hours of supportive care to see if he might recover, but by Friday morning it was clear he would not. He could not continue to live in the frail, disoriented state the stroke left him in so we put him down.
The Boys, March -08
It has been a hard couple of days. Even though we know we did the right thing for Max we miss him terribly.
Max, April '08
Matthew was very upset. We have had tears at bedtime for the past few nights.
Max and Susie, Christmas '08
We have been reading “Cat Heaven” by Cynthia Rylant. It’s a great book about the wonderful place cats go to when they die. It’s full of butterflies and tuna fish and every cat gets to sleep in bed with God.
March '09
Max would have been 13 in September. When he was young and healthy, he loved to bat toys under the fridge. He chased bugs, yanked the legs off of crickets, and chirped at the birds who came near the screen door. Max loved bacon, pork, and tuna from the can. We always knew the warmest spot in the house – it’s where Max would be sleeping. He especially loved the warm clothes in the dryer. Even though he had been losing weight and feeling poorly this spring, he continued to catch the occasional mouse in the basement.
He could certainly be a pain in the patoot, but he could also be a very sweet kitty. He loved to curl up on an empty lap and purr. I miss hearing his yowl in the morning and his warm fur on my lap in the evening.
I hope God knows what a cool cat he has in his bed now.
Under My Umbrella
We have had a bit of rain, off and on, lately. Good news for our crispy-brown lawn, not so good news for running around outside.
Instead we decided to sit on the stoop and wait for our play group friends huddled under Mommy’s umbrella.
Matthew had a hard time deciding which was more fun, holding the umbrella,
or taking pictures with the camera.
Rolling Down the Hill
One of our favorite songs is about a wildflower who goes rolling down the hill when no one is watching. Every now and again, I catch Matthew singing to himself, “I’m rolling down the hill, I, I, I’m rolling down the hill…”
The other night, they got a chance to do it. Matthew went first.
Then Daddy took a turn.
David thought it might be fun,
but he doesn’t really like touching the grass.
He decided he’d just watch, instead.
Places to Eat
We have a few standard places we eat out as a family. One of our favorites is Aladdin’s on Monday night when Daddy has rehearsal. We pick up Grandpa at the train and then head over. We have been so many times we have a standard table and a waiter who knows our order by heart.
Matthew always gets kibbie and hummus. David gets the grilled chicken and rice.
Then we go up the hill behind the restaurant and wait for the 7:15 VRE to go chugging by.
Fishing
We brought Matthew’s fishing pole with us to DE so we could fish off the bridge in their neighborhood.
He caught five.
One for every hour we sat in the car to get to the beach.
He caught sun fish and blue gills. His favorite part was tossing them back.
David liked eating the bread we used as bait.
On the Deck
We have had great weather this week. It’s been warm and sunny, but not too hot. On Monday we got a chance to play on the deck before Nana came.
“David, don’t go in the water!”
“What?”
“Nana, look! Look! The deer ate our pasta!”
The deer ate our hostas.
Car Wash
We washed the car over the weekend. This means that Steven and I washed the car while the boys ran around the drive way getting wet. Still, we have a super clean car. And the boys got plenty of outdoor time.
Daddy washing the hub caps.
Matthew washing his lawn mower.
David washing David.
Even the car seat covers got clean.
Crackers for Quackers
We celebrated some beautiful weather by taking Nana and Grandpa to one of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Sano. Then we headed out for our favorite post-dinner activity, feeding the ducks and geese.
There were a lot of them.
David had a good time chucking crackers at the ducks,
but he couldn’t toss very far.
The ducks adjusted accordingly.
After we fed the ducks and geese, we noticed a surprise visitor.
We have never seen a turtle here, and this one was big. We figured he was enjoying the cracker crumbs left behind. He surfaced a few times, to the delight of two little boys, and then swam off. Perhaps he had to go home and read bedtime stories, too.
