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I was at Baby Gap yesterday, and they have these new onesies that have astrological signs on them with descriptions. Here are the ones for the boys: Noah-Scorpio Oct. 24-Nov. 22 (I hate not being a Scorpio on certain charts!) I’m wise beyond my years. I will be a leader. Love to win. Magnetic, intense, creative Caden-Sagittarius Nov. 23-Dec. 21 I am a free spirit. I will be optimistic. Love to travel. Independent, honest, happy I couldn’t agree more! My good friend, Liz, is a mommy for the third time! I actually called her this morning because I was thinking about her, not realizing that she was getting prepped for a second external version (that silly baby was butt down!), with the potential for a c-section. She didn’t answer, and I was a little suspicious. When she called a few hours later, my suspicions were confirmed-she had her baby today! Here are the specs: Elijah Michael 6 lbs, 14 oz Born at 11:15 am (Massachusetts time) He joins big sisters, Isabella (4 1/2) and Sienna (2 1/2). Liz and I have been friends for a very long time-I think it’s been almost 25 years!!! (Yikes!) I guess I have a little ESP-type thing when it comes to my close friends! Congrats, Petro family! I can’t wait to meet the little man! Last Wednesday night, we finally made it to the Lion King. It was freezing, but we made it! We found a great parking spot across the street and were there in plenty of time to pick up our will-call tickets, grab a booster seat for Noah (cool, huh?), hit the bathroom for one more potty break for Noah (and the rest of us), and find our awesome seats. We upgraded (for a price) to better mezzanine seats, and we really upgraded! We ended up in the front row of the mezzanine, the section just behind the orchestra section, smack dab in the middle of the section. I couldn’t believe our luck! We watched as the drummers were checking their equipment on either side of the stage, and reinforcing to Noah that we had to speak quietly once the show started.  Noah also needed reminding that it wasn’t going to be like the movie theater, but with real people on the stage. Just before the show started, we noticed an unusually tall man sitting right in front of Noah in the back row of the orchestra section. Great. But Noah didn’t seem to mind. I’m not sure he even noticed him! Noah was instantly engaged from the first note of “Circle of Life,” recognizing Rafiki and mesmerized by the animals starting to parade into the theater. Being the emotional person that I am, I had a hard time not crying, watching Noah’s face. And I was so excited to be there myself! The story followed the movie almost perfectly, adding a few extras here and there. The costumes are amazing, and the performers take on the mannerisms of their particular animal so realistically. Every second of the show was terrific. Noah was great through the whole first act. At intermission, Denise and Lizzy took Noah down to their seats (3rd row in the orchestra section) to check out the stage. I initially was jealous that their seats were so close, but they admitted ours were probably better for seeing the entire stage. I smuggled our friend Amy down from her seat in the last row of our section to sit behind us in one of two empty seats for the second act. The second act was a little slower, with parts that were added or extended from the movie version, and Noah asked at one point if the show was almost over. Mind you, the show started at 7:30 and runs for about 2 hours and 45 minutes! But he rallied, enthralled to the very end. We all were. The costumes, colors, songs, acting, stage design, music-I could go on and on-were fantastic. I’ve been to my share of musicals, and I think this one takes the cake. For a very long time, not one show was coming close to my obsession with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond (Liz P. knows what I mean!). But it’s been edged out by The Lion King. I knew about 15 minutes into the show that I wanted to see it again. And again, and again. I’m so glad we took Noah. I can’t wait to take Caden to see it. I’m so glad we didn’t take him this time. He never would have made it. But maybe in two years, like his brother, he’ll be ready. Andy even enjoyed it, and he’s definitely not a theater-goer! On the way home, we asked Noah what his favorite part was. “The hyenas.” Really??? That’s the part I think I should fast-forward through when we watch the movie! Whatever. Or should I be concerned? It was an amazing experience. I wish I could have taken pictures of Noah watching the show. I hope he remembers this for a long time. I know I will! My parents now have a one-eyed dog. No, they didn’t get a new dog. Callie is still around. She just has one eye now. Over the past few months, we’ve been noticing her left eye has been looking cloudy. It truly just looked like cataracts. She is 13, after all. My mom would mention it to the vet, but the vet never made much fuss. On Monday, Callie was coming down the stairs at my parents’ house and was leaning heavily to the right, almost hugging the wall as she came down. My mom thought it was unusual, but Callie seemed fine once she got down the stairs. My mom took Callie out for a walk, and when they got back inside, Callie was walking funny, leaning to the right, and sort of convulsing a little. My mom called the vet and got her there within 10 minutes. They realized that Callie was sensitive to someone touching the left side of her face. The vet looked at her and discovered Callie had an ulcer in her eye. She referred my mom to a animal ophthalmologist (seriously!) and told her to get Callie in first thing on Tuesday. My mom had the boys on yesterday while I was at work, so she trucked them off to the Animal Eye Specialists to drop Callie off. He told my mom Callie needed surgery to remove calcium deposits and it would cost $1100(!). (My mom now wishes she had pet insurance!) After checking with my dad, they agreed. Callie is still very healthy otherwise, and this eye condition is painful for Callie, so it was really the only option. That afternoon, when I went to pick up the boys after work, my mom delivered the news-Callie had to have her entire left eye removed because the calcium deposits were too extensive, and they could possibly come back, causing Callie to need surgery again. So my mom made the decision, called my dad to let him know, and then called my brother (who is still bitter about the fact that 13 years ago, my parents put our old dog, Jordie, to sleep before he had a chance to say goodbye. Okay, I would still be bitter, too!) to inform him as well. All I could do was cry when my mom told me. My mom was able to pick Callie up yesterday around 6:00. Callie’s eye is stitched shut, and her hair is all shaved around it. But we’re still able to chuckle, because for the next couple of weeks, she’s wearing one of those goofy cones around her head! It’s funny, but also a little pathetic, because she seems to forget about it, or at least has a hard time figuring out the circumference of it. She keeps getting stuck places-under the table, behind the chairs, even just walking through a doorway! And going outside, she scoops up snow in the cone! The poor thing. Ultimately, this was the best thing for Callie. She shouldn’t be in as much pain as she was before, and her right eye is just fine. It’s going to take some time for her to adjust, especially her depth perception and her peripheral vision. But she’ll manage. I’m sure in a few weeks, she’ll be prancing around like she does. But for now, she’s taking it easy, and taking advantage of my mom and dad! She’s always been the queen of the household, but now I’m sure it will go to even greater magnitude. I’m just glad she’s still around. -that’s how I’d describe this winter. February always feels like the longest month to me, since it’s just winter, snow, slush…crap. Andy’s outside shoveling right now for about the 50th time this winter! (I very rarely shovel-not my thing!) When will it end???!!! It’s time to accept the snow that has blanketed our lovely area. There’s almost 2 feet of snow on the ground, and we’re supposed to get some more tomorrow. This snow is here to stay for a while. Probably until May. Ugh. So Andy and I decided to bundle up the boys and head to a local sledding hill after Noah’s karate class this morning. It’s a really sunny day, which makes the snow a little more acceptable. As we were in the car in the parking lot by the hill, getting all of our gear on, a large van pulled in and 5 kids (3 boys and 2 girls, all red-heads!) piled out, followed by their father and, I assume, their grandfather. Trekking across the field to the hill from the parking lot takes a while with a 4- and 2-year-old while carrying our sleds, so the red-heads all got there much quicker than us. As we were walking across the field, I was talking to Noah about “sled-iquette.” You know, the basics. Don’t walk up the hill in the middle. Watch for people at the bottom before you start down the hill. Take turns. Well, apparently nobody had ever taken the time to talk to the red-heads about this. As we were carefully walking up to the right of the sledding area, I watched as each of the red-heads (one on a scooter/snowboard type thing, others on plastic sheets that could be rolled up) went down the hill, then walked back up right in the middle. I thought the father or grandfather would say something, but they didn’t. Maybe they’ll figure it out as time goes on. Not so much. Noah and I got ready to go down the hill and sat at the top of the hill for much longer than we should have, because we were waiting for one of the kids to get out of the way. While we were waiting, another kid started down the hill, pushed by a sibling who laid in the middle of the hill after giving one last shove. Great. Finally, we had our turn, and had a blast. That sled is really fast for something so basic and cheap! Andy and Caden quickly followed, Caden’s pink cheeks flanking the huge smile on his face. Awesome! Back up the hill we trudged. And we waited again. Then had our turn. We climbed back up, trading kids, Caden with me, and Noah with Andy. This time, as we waited, again, one of the girls was shouting down for her sister to move. The grandfather said, “Just go. They’ll move.” HUH????? Nice lesson to teach your grandchildren. Now, maybe I’m too much of a push-over, but I really think the lesson that should have been taught is to walk to the side to let others enjoy a turn. I really wanted to just go, take out a couple of the kids, and teach them the hard way, but I’m teaching my kids by example. So we took 4 or 5 runs down the hill. On the last run, Noah was with me, and we were waiting yet again, and he said, “This is annoying.” You said it, kid! At least he caught onto the importance of “sled-iquette.” Check that lesson off of the list! While we were waiting for our table last night at TGIFriday’s, a little boy (younger than Caden) walked up to Noah. Noah was wearing a sweatshirt with a soccer ball on it. It looked like the boy was going to reach for the ball, but instead he hit Noah! The boy’s mother was right there, and quickly grabbed her son, told him “No!” Then she hit the boy’s hand! I wonder why that boy hits? Well, I think we’ve weathered the worst of it, but it’s still coming down. We were in the process of deciding whether to brave the roads to get downtown to the Lion King when we were notified that it was canceled. Yipeeeee! Because Andy had already decided he didn’t want Noah going out in a car in the weather, and I was really bummed. The people who had been out driving in it (Andy and his parents) were trying to talk some sense into those of us who hadn’t been driving in it (myself, and my parents). My feeling was that if the show were still going to happen, I was going to be there, come Hell or high water-or snow drifts in this case! Now that the show has been canceled, they’re allowing those of us with tickets to exchange them for another show on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. Right now, they only have the seats in the top balcony or the side mezzanine available. No thanks! Tomorrow morning, they’re releasing the “emergency tickets” or something like that, so I’ll be working my magic tomorrow, trying to get some good seats. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, check out some pictures from our stint outside. I can’t believe the boys stayed out there as long as they did! It was really windy at times, and the snow just stung your face! But it was fun! It should be even better tomorrow! Click on either picture to get to my Flickr page to see a few other pics!
Today, I fill in the blank with “snow”. Last week, I would have filled in the blank with “cold”. I could also add the word “wind” to either day. In about six months, I’ll be using the word “humidity”-but actually humidity works wonders on my hair! Anyway, I can pretty much find anything to complain about when it comes to the weather. It’s the storm of the season! We’re holed up in our house, waiting for the 14+ inches of snow to fall today. This is the second Wednesday in a row that school has been canceled. It’s also the second Pajama Day at school that’s been canceled. So we’re having Pajama Day here at home. It doesn’t look like it’s snowing all that hard, but it hasn’t stopped since I woke up this morning. And it’s not supposed to stop for a few more hours. When will winter end?!?!?!?! To top it all off, we have tickets to the Lion King tonight downtown. Downtown Milwaukee, where they’re predicting 20 inches of snow before it’s all said and done. But we’re going to the show. Andy, Noah and I will leave at 4:00 if it means we’ll make the 7:30 curtain time. Because I will not miss this show. This show is the reason I got the season tickets to begin with! So enjoy some pictures I took out my front door. I didn’t feel like bundling up to fully brave the elements. Besides, I don’t want to ruin my camera! I’m just bummed I missed my chance at a picture of my crazy neighbors returning from a BIKE RIDE! Yep, it’s true. I saw it with my own two eyes!
Okay, here’s a link to some pictures that I finally got uploaded to Snapfish. Enjoy! http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=100931202067658069/l=343449793/g=6092655/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB |
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