Bob the Builder Birthday Bash

Saturday was Bobby's 32 birthday and his sister Melanie's 29th birthday (weird, isn't it?), a momentous day that was overtaken by Jameson's huge Bob the Builder Birthday bash. I was having a tough time planning his party and, after weeks and weeks of procrastinating, settled on the 26th...and sent out e-vites on the 22nd. Saturday afternoon, we had 45 people over to celebrate three years with our little man. Not bad for four days' notice, eh?

Days later, Jameson is still talking about his party and wondering when we will do it again. I'm so drained I can't even think about what I'll do when Madelyn's second birthday rolls around. I've been saying for a while that the birthday party circuit is getting out of hand, and I believe that it's just that: you throw one big party, attend a few others, and you think to yourself: top that. (In the past few months, we've attended a party with a bounce house and popcorn machine, a cowgirl party with a real pony that the kids got to ride, and a firetruck party with--you guessed it--a firetruck!) I think that that was part of my hold up with planning this shindig, but I'm also quite certain that Jameson would have been thrilled to have his friends over for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a splash in the kiddie pool.

Well, thanks to a few hours' research on the internet and the help of some wonderful friends, I was able to plan a pretty cool day. We filled up two kiddie pools and rented a pretty sizable bounce house, chairs, and tables. The new backhoe was displayed with pride in the side yard so the kids could crawl up there and check it out. When all the kids had arrived, I passed out child-sized aprons (donated by Lowes) and each child got a toolbox to decorate with paint, stickers, and foam letters. I later filled them with candy and sent them home as a party favor. Then, we enjoyed a nice lunch of hot dogs, potato salad, pasta salad (with "tractor wheel" pasta), tortellini salad, fruit salad, watermelon, strawberries and midori dip, and seafood salad. Next, the kids got to paint and "fix up" a cardboard house that Bob and Chad constructed of 8' x 6' panels earlier in the day. They loved it! I gave them all brushes and their aprons and they had a blast painting the house and later, each other. After a quick dip in the pool, they were cleaned up and ready for cake. The cake was gorgeous; a Bob the Builder look-alike made with love and hours of dedication by my wonderful friend Amy. Jameson opened up his presents (which he finally enjoys doing...last year, this activity was an absolute disaster!) and the kids all spent some free time running around the yard, playing with toys, and jumping in the bounce house. That thing was a huge hit. I think next year we'll have to get a larger one that the adults can jump in after hours. Emily did get a few minutes' jump time in, but I'm certain that I exceeded the weight limit. As my Grandma said, it was an awesome day. Bodhi was quick to point out that there was no pinata and that we forgot to take pictures in the backhoe, but I think I'll save that for the next time we host playgroup. Perhaps a touch a truck event? I think I'll go schedule that right now...

Nimeout! Hands Up! and Wake Up!

Nimeout!
Although her tiny stature and sweet, laid-back demeanor are two of my favorite things about our little girl, they seem to be causing her some problems. For the past few months, she has bared the brunt of all sorts of frustrated toddler behavior. She gets pushed, hit, bitten, and pulled around on a pretty regular basis and, until now, had never retaliated. She cries and shakes her head, huge tears rolling from the corners of her blue blue eyes as she points at the culprit. Last week, she started putting people in time out.

Me: "Did you get hurt?"
Maddie: Dramatic Defined Head Nod, pointing at her brother. "Hit!"
Me: "Jameson hit you?
Maddie: Dramatic Defined Head Nod, pointing at her brother. "Brother, NIMEOUT!!! GO!!!"

Later in the day, I brushed her hair and put those golden blonde curls into pig tails that spring up Cindy Lou Who style.

Maddie: "Owww. Head...Hurt. Nimeout."
Me: "The brush hurt your head? I'm sorry."
Maddie: "Nimeout you, mama. Go." She held the top of her head with one hand and stared at me with a deep crease forming across her forehead, pointing to the bottom stair where I often send my children to do their penance.

Hands Up!
While getting the kids dressed, I always tell them "hands up" when I take off their shirts. They obediently put up their hands, and I pull off their clothes. Apparently, Madelyn has generalized this phrase to mean "take your clothes off." She's going through a bit of a nudist baby phase and often yells "hands up!" as she furiously tugs at her clothes or diaper.

Wake Up!
A few months ago, Jameson started to yell "Wake Up!" at the top of his lungs, hands on his cheeks, and a smile on his face...just as Madelyn's eyes started to flutter and she was seconds from sleep. She caught on pretty quickly and, after weeks of sleepless car rides, started wailing "Brother! Wake Up!" when he was right on the brink of a nice midday nap. She thought it was hilarious (which it kinda was) and, in the interest of sibling amicability, they seem to have settled into some sort of unspoken truce. We haven't had a problem since.
Flash forward to last night. I was fast asleep in my bed when I was jolted into consciousness by a bright-eyed baby girl who thought it might be morning. "Mama!!! Wake up!!!" She was on top of me, inches from my nose, smiling ear to ear. How do I get in on that truce???

Losing Ourselves at Eight Mile

July 15 (from my journal)

8 Mile is a movie about Eminem that my father, oddly enough, had a thing for a few years back. When my parents chose 23 Pinecrest as our family retreat and clocked the distance to Loon as eight miles, the house quickly became "* Mile." Three years later, the name has stuck. It was adorable to see Jameson's face light up yesterday as he yelled "We're here, it's eight mile!" and pointed at the blue house.

It's Tuesday afternoon and we're on day two of our relaxing seven day New Hampshire excursion. I find myself sitting on the sofa, looking around at pictures from my childhood and feeling a bit sentimental. This house is an anything goes, everyone's welcome sort of crash pad which, in the last three years, has accommodated all types. It's seen happy vacationing families, newlywed couples, sick people on retreat, depressed runaways from life, fed up adults, excited budding skiers, tired hikers, and smiling swimmers. And, I think, that's exactly what mom and dad had in mind when they bought this place.

Today, we went into town and took a stroll down the strip. We got the kids a lolipop at the candy store, got ourselves a coffee at Cascade Coffee Shop, and walked down to Cascade Park where Jameson splashed around in the puddles. He is working himself up to sliding down the falls like the big boys do some day. He was totally impressed by all the water falls and has put in a request to return when he has his bathing suit. We'll have to make another trip.

Tomorrow, I think we'll drive over the Kancamangus to Glen where the Dirkes cousins are camping. Mom and dad got us a tent as the Russell family birthday present, but I don't think I'm ready to camp with two toddlers yet. I'll made a concerted effort to do that next year. For this trip, I think we'll go and hang out at the campground and catch up with our cousins. Jameson's the ring bearer in Robbie's wedding, so if nothing else, I think I should acclimate him to the family a bit. (We've been having him practice being the ring bearer in the long hallway upstairs, holding a pillow. He does a great job, so we'll see in October how he does in front of a crowd!)

Chad and Amy will be joining us with the kids on Thursday and Jameson is really excited to show Bodhi the lay of the land. He's been making a list of all the things that he needs to share with him, including his Buzz Lightyear sheets. We'll see how the four kids do under the same roof for four days!

Hurray! More Surfing, Please!

July 10 (from my journal)
I never would have taken my husband for a surfer, but after his first lesson, he's hooked! Thursday night, we cruised on down to Narragansett beach to meet up with Amy, Chad, Bodhi, and Dharma. Chad took Bob out on a surf board and pushed him into some waves while we watched from the beach. He thought it was great and so did the kids. Jameson chased seagulls around while Madelyn kept a vigilant eye on her father from her post on the sand. She got really excited for him every time he got up onto his knees (which is as far as he's gotten so far) and clapped her hands, saying "Hurray! More surfing, please!" after he dumped off.

Bob can't wait to get back out there with Chad again, so I think we'll be spending a lot of time at the beach chasing waves this summer.

Jameson's Third (sniff, sniff) Birthday

July 12 (from my journal)






We'd been telling Jameson about his birthday for weeks, so he was thrilled to wake up and find that it was here. We had planned on going to NH to start our vacation a little early, but decided in the end to make it a Rhode Island beach day at Jameson's request. We made the day all about our little guy and followed his lead wherever it took us.

Early in the morning (by my standards, anyway--it was probably about 8:30 that they left) Bob took Jameson for a ride in "Daddy's Truck." He had a great time eating munchkins in the cab, pointing out "bee cars" aka pt cruisers, "mommy red cars" aka ford tauruses or red cars, "daddy trucks" which are trucks of any size or shape, and "nana cars" which are usually convertibles.

When they came back, we loaded up the car and headed to "our beach" to meet the Parks. Bodhi and Dharma gave the birthday boy sunglassses, flip flops, and a boogie board--three of his favorite things. He spent the rest of the day enjoying his presents and having to decide between them--to be in the water with the boogie board or on the sand with his flops and glasses. The trials and tribulations of a three year old! He still hasn't figured out how to comfortably walk in flip flops, so he has this hillarious waddle, but it's tough to get them off of him! (the kicker is that they're matching Buzz Lightyear glasses and flops, so he really is in his glory.) Bodhi got a "surf board" too, which made Jameson feel even more grown up. The boys both love their new boogie boards and quickly figured out how to kick their legs and go out way too deep. We'll really have to keep our eyes on those two--they have no fear!

Later, we went back to the house for a bbq, cake, and a fire outside. The cake was a "white cake made out of cake--not ice cream with white frosting and red letters that say Happy Birthday Jameson number three" exactly to Jameson's specifications. That's a boy who knows exactly what he wants!


Jameson had a wonderful day and went to bed feeling very special and loved. He's really looking for his birthday party which we pushed off for a few more weeks until after our vacation. We'll see what I pull out of my sleeve for that one!

Winding Back Down...

What an amazing couple of weeks! I don't know where to begin. Bob and I spent last week in New Hampshire with the kids and really enjoyed some down time (and a great many adventures). A glorious time was had by all and, although I kept diligent journal entries and took lots of pictures while we were gone, the journal and camera have not made it out of the pile of packed things. Let's face it; I'm not good with piles and I just haven't gone there yet. Perhaps tomorrow, I will have recuperated to the point of unpacking and will be able to blog about my week away.

We've been home for three days and are just now starting to wind down. I abandoned my policy of staying in and relaxing after a busy week and went out for play group at Emily's on Monday and to the beach and play group at Gretchen's on Tuesday. This morning, after discussing his atrocious behavior at yesterday's play date, Jameson politely asked if we could stay home and play with his toys. We did just that and really enjoyed decompressing. Brandee even came over and played with the kids for a while wile I cleaned the house. Jameson was still in his pajamas when Bob came home at 5:30. I was hesitant to leave the house at all, but when Brandee called and offered to cook us dinner, we were out the door in a flash. It really was a day without effort.

We've been seeing so much of the Parks family lately that my children seem to be baffled by the fact that we did not see them today. Madelyn wandered around the house with her shoulders shrugged, palms up asking "Bodhi...where is it?" then "Dharma...where is it?" over and over again. Jameson wanted to call Dharma as soon as he woke up to apologize for hurting her yesterday (the aforementioned atrocious behavior at playgroup) and asked me a few times if Dharma was mad at him when Amy didn't answer the phone.

Now, it's time to focus my efforts on Jameson's birthday bash that is scheduled for Saturday. It's a Bob the Builder theme, and our little man is really psyched to be able to show off the new backhoe. This birthday party stuff is a lot of work!

My "Little" Boy is Growing Up!

At 1:20 this morning, Jameson turned three. I was awake, still tackling that mound of laundry that, although dwindling, is still more of a mountain than a mole hill. I sat there thinking how fast it was that we got here--how it feels like only yesterday that I was carrying him around in the baby carrier. It's incredible. He's potty trained, he can dress himself, he has sleep over parties at Brandee's house. All of a sudden, he's this big kid and, although I've been here the whole time, I really feel like I missed something. Three years--it's been THREE YEARS? NO WAY! I get stopped by complete strangers on an almost weekly basis who feel that it is their job to remind me how fast it goes.

"Enjoy it, It goes by so fast!" or "Don't blink, They'll be 18 before you know it!"

I always smile and nod. Yes, I know. But, to my amazement, they're right! It does go by quick. I was in the midst of getting caught up in a whole sad "where did my baby go?" moment when, at 1:25 Jameson started crying, screaming "Mommy, I want my mommy!" from his bed. I gave him a hug, wished him a happy birthday, and tucked him in. As I left the room, he whispered "I love you, mommy..." I guess my little baby boy is in there somewhere.

Sharing

Madelyn just walked into the kitchen and announced, "Cracker, Please!" So, I gave my smiling girl a peanut butter cracker and she walked to the living room with it. Within moments, she reappeared, hand outstretched and again announced, "Cracker, Please!" Thinking she was storing them somewhere under the sofa cushions, I followed her as she toddled into the living room with her second cracker and sat down next to her brother who was quietly nibbling the peanut butter cracker that Madelyn must have given to him.

They've been getting along swimmingly these days, and Jameson is growing to be the protective older brother that Bob has always hoped for. In and of itself, this is a wonderful thing, but it's wearing on me a bit that I have to constantly remind him that Madelyn is her own person and gets to do what she wants to do (mostly.)

He screams and drags her back into the house when she goes out on the deck, screaming "I don't want my baby to fall down the stairs!" He pulls her away from strangers who stop to talk to her when we're out, yelling "This MY BABY!" He constantly reminds me not to forget her when we're leaving the house (which he's been doing since he was 19 months old.) He won't let her near the water at the beach. He goes after other kids at play group when he's afraid she's being picked on. Every once in a while, he makes me put all the windows up in the car because he's concerned that something she's holding will blow away (which I think stemmed from a balloon incident a few months back, but no matter how many times we explain the physics and chemistry behind a helium balloon blowing away, he's still very concerned!)

But with the bad comes the good. He shares his drink with her when she says she's thirsty. He tells her "it's okay, we're almost there" when she cries in the car. He translates for her when I can't understand what she's saying. He asks her, "Are you sad, baby? Do you want me?" when she's hurt. He reads her books and plays tea party and dolls and dress up with her. He tells her she's pretty when I finish putting in her pig tails or getting her dressed. He listens for her to wake up in the morning and yells "I'm coming, baby! " as he runs up the stairs toward her room to save her.

He has somehow burdened himself with Madelyn's well being and feels totally responsible for her happiness. While I hope that he loosens up a bit, (preferably before he gives himself an ulcer) I'm thrilled that they love each other so much. I can only hope that the special bond they share will remain intact into their adulthood as it has with my brother and sister. What a happy family!

My Great Big Pile Up...

I'd have to say that my greatest defieciency as a wife and mother is laundry, which in the great scheme of things, is not such a terrible thing (I think.) I won't try to blame it on the kids and their multiple watermelon-stained outfit changes or my husband and his massive t-shirt "collection," although those things certainly have compound the problem.

I've been a procrastinator when it comes to laundry since I was about twelve and started washing my own clothes. And, I'm embarassed to say, that after five and a half hours washing 17 garbage bags full of clothes at the laundrymat on Saturday, I'm only about half done. I've been meaning to get to it for months now, and only after I recently met my match when it comes to clothes-washing blunders did I finally find the motivation to do something about it. And for that, I thank you, Amy. Who would have thought that there was another human being out there just like me?

Without any judgement, Amy and her laundry accompanied me and mine to spend an incredibly warm day in what has got to be the hottest place on earth. And, walking away that afternoon, having encountered snide comments from astonished onlookers, admonishment for ignorance of laundrymat ettiquette, burned hands, and tattered egoes, we were victorious. Well, almost. I still have those other 15 or so loads of clothes upstairs to contend with. Progress, not perfection...right?

Weekend Recap

It was another very busy summer weekend in Rhode Island and the Russells are exhausted! We crammed a lot of events into three days and the warm weather and lack of sleep have really taken their toll. Bob is currently asleep on the sofa "working from home," Madelyn is upstairs napping, and Jameson is passed out on the floor on his Winnie the Pooh couch. Aaaaah, the sound of silence!

Friday was a lot of fun. I spent the day with Brandee, who is all done with school for the summer and the kids were thrilled. We all went down to Gooseberry Island Beach to meet some friends. They really enjoyed showing Aunt Brandee how far they could go into the water. It's a remarkable change from last year, when Jameson would start screaming and squirming out of my arms as soon as my feet hit the sand. It was great and the kids had a blast until it started raining and we packed up and headed home for naps.

Later, we joined a bunch of other families from the mom's club at Narragansett Beach for the air show preview and it was awesome. I've lived in Rhode Island all of my life and somehow never knew about this, but the entire air show practice is on display over the water, kicked off by paratroopers landing on the sand! Jameson was in absolute awe and was adorable pointing out the planes to his little sister, who was glued to Brandee the whole time. (It's really cute; she's been waking up from her naps screaming "Brandee! E!!! Odin!!!!" over and over.) Anyway, both kids got soaked and sandy but were very very happy.

Next, we capped the night off at Amy and Chad's house where the kids ran around and played while Bob and I enjoyed some adult beverages and conversation. We left way too late, but it was a lot of fun. I love having so many friends with kids to hang out with; it's an awesome support system and they've all really begun to feel like family.









On Saturday night, we took the kids to see Water Fire in Providence, and as always, it was a remarkable experience. This one was especially fun because APC was sponsoring and had a corporate tent where we were served food and drinks and there were games for the kids to play. It was wonderful to get a chance to hang out with my friend Renee, a fellow APC wife, especially since Bob was bopping around talking to "work people," leaving me with two kids! Jameson missed Renee's son Ian, who was home with his Grandma, and spent the rest of the night asking me where Ian and Ian's mommy were. Madelyn, as always, acted like a starving child and devoured everything in sight--including a huge cone of cotton candy that my mom gave her (thanks, mom!) She kept taking off for the cotton candy machine and begging the guy for more. She stayed up in her bed talking for about an hour after we got home (after midnight again). It would have been really cute if I wasn't absolutely exhausted. (As a side note, I just wanted to add that Madelyn learned to RUN today and I am very very scared...)

We tried to have a mellow day of R&R on Sunday, but that, of course, did not happen. I did get to sleep in, but we were off to the beach again before lunch time, and as always, I'm glad that we went. Jameson became quite the dare devil in the water and will now wade in all the way to his neck! (He and Bodhi helped each other out on this one, playing a game of who can go out further with each other.) Madelyn spent most of her time eating and raiding Amy's food bag. I feel like half my day is spent shoveling food into this girl's mouth. Can you say growth spurt? Bob, who refused to wear sun screen so that he could get a "base tan," (and I'm not saying that in an I-told-you-so kind of fashion, just stating the facts) got absolutely roasted and could barely move by night time.

Next, we were off to Ryan and Rachel's welcome home party in Warwick and got to meet their adorable son Zachary for the first time. It was really nice to catch up with that group a bit; we haven't seen much of our Coventry crew in a while! Everyone is starting to catch up with us and there were babies (and thoughts of babies-to-be) all over the place!

Strawberry Shortcake, Anyone?

Yesterday morning, the kiddos and I went off on our first strawberry-picking adventure of the year with the Hip Mamas. We did a lot of picking last year. I'm pretty sure it was about once a week that Kristen and I were taking the kids to one farm or another to pick a fruit of some sort. I have wonderful memories of our many trips to Sweet Berry Farm in search of strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, raspberries, and blackberries. The kids got to know which path led to which fruit and made a game out of reading the arrow signs with pictures of the fruit we would be picking that day. Haley made up songs and got the boys to sing along with her while they walked. Something about the drive over the bridge and down the dirt path that leads to the farm stand seemed to lull us into a state of serene bliss.

Months after we started making the trek "all the way to Middletown," we brought some other friends there with us who, for whatever reason, just didn't get what was so special about that place and made some comments about the drive, the scarcity of peaches at that time of the year, etc etc. So, I think it may have been the journey that hooked us, and our walks from the car to the orchards were probably an eye catching glimpse into the wonderful world of walking meditation which we have since discovered. I remember coming away from there thinking aloud to myself, "Wow, this is the life..."

Anyway, strawberry picking today at Schartner's didn't have that same happy, relaxing tranquility to it. I wouldn't say it was better or worse, but our day just had a totally different tone. We met up with a big group of people that ended up being a bit scattered across the field, so it was fun to walk around, pick berries, and bump into friends...kinda like a cocktail hour minus the drinks.

Jameson and Maddie were happy to be in the presence of play group pals. Both kids were hungrily picking strawberries and stuffing their faces like they hadn't eaten in years. I brought two big containers to fill and had grandiose plans of strawberry shortcakes, strawberry bread, and strawberry ice cream. The first container was about a quarter of the way full before Jameson had to pee and tried to pull his pants down in the middle of the field. So, we had to pack up and leave before the newly discovered art of peeing outside was showcased for a group of fifty onlookers who would probably be none too pleased about urine in the strawberry patch. I did see a port-a-potty on the way out, but no way were we going there again.

More Boats, Please!

I had really been looking forward to Tuesday--the first summer concert of the year at the town docks. (We frequented this series last year with the kids and it was great; Jameson ran around and danced, we attempted to feed him picnic dinners, and we spent some nice quality time with my Grandma who really enjoyed showing the kids off.

That was back when Madelyn was still in the sling and Jameson was still in his hitting phase, so I'm really looking forward to her being able to dance and for him to have fun without getting put in time out every ten minutes.) So, I had us all packed up, dinner and all when Bob got home at 6:00.

Unfortunately, the weather had other plans and we found out when we arrived that the concert had been canceled. Jameson was bummed because I told him earlier that there would be music and friends, so we sat and watched the HUGE clouds passing by and all the boats racing back to the dock before the storm and ate our dinner.

Bob hopped out for a few minutes and took some pictures of the clouds. It was actually a pretty spectacular site and I'd say that we had just as much fun watching boats as we would have watching a band. After each one passed, the kids would both yell "More boats, please!" as if we could control the ebb and flow of the town docks. I'm pretty certain that they think I have super powers and can make just about anything appear--milk, peanut butter and jelly, the bathroom...

Next Time, Won't You Sing With Me?

Jameson sings the ABC's to his sister, who eats it up!

Too Early

Madelyn woke up at 5AM (for the second time; I brought her into our bed half asleep when she woke up the first time at 3AM.) She kept saying water over and over again and, when I didn't respond, she slid down the side of the bed, walked to the stairs, and was halfway down them when I caught up to her. Apparently, she was resorting to self service!

My Sweet Little Girl

For the past few weeks, Madelyn (who has always been very lovable) has been really affectionate; hugging, kissing, telling us she loves us, wanting to hold hands with her brother, and just being downright adorable. She goes off and plays by herself a lot, but all of a sudden will break away from what she is doing and run at me at a pretty fast clip with her arms up, screaming "hug!" with a huge smile on her face. She wraps her arms around me, gives me a kiss, and goes back to what she is doing. I call it her emergency hug, and I just love it.