Without naming any names....

SOMEBODY

was getting into something that he shouldn't have, which meant that

SOMEBODY ELSE(who happened to be wearing mis-matched socks in this picture, which should be ignored by all readers...)

was left unattended and also got into something he shouldn't have...



But, don't worry, because

SOMEBODY ELSE

immediately got on the phone with the cleaning lady to ask her to come and help clean it up - oh, and to please bring Mommy some olives and wine. Mommy's not quite sure where that last request came from, but she liked it...

Our own little Beckham and Phelps

This last weekend, Avery played soccer for the first time and Alex had his first swim lesson at the YMCA. We signed Avery up for the "Mighty Mights" – a program that runs for 8 weeks and each week, they focus on a different sport. This last weekend was the first class and it was soccer. Josh was so proud. So proud that he spent all week preparing Avery by teaching her how to “trap” the ball and to dribble the ball and most importantly, to do all of these things with just her feet (that was very tricky for her to understand). Anyway – she did very well and seemed to have a great time.

Until…..she realized, on the way to see Alex in his swim class, that she was not going to go into the pool with Alex. Man oh mighty. She was not a fan of that idea and let us know about it the rest of the morning.


Anyway – while Avery was playing soccer, Josh took Alex to the pool ( I conveniently couldn’t find my one piece suit, so Josh got pool duty for week one). By the time we got there, everyone was just standing around with the babies – not really what I had in mind for $75.





Josh confirmed that, for the first 25 mins, they did songs and dancing (which I would have paid money to see Josh do), but after that, it was kind of a free for all. Which, looking back, was somewhat comical actually because all of the mothers were doing things like lifting the baby high into the air yelling “Wee!!!!” and taking them around the pool on their bellies saying, “kick, kick, kick!!! Good job Johnny!!!” Or, holding them and saying, “splash, splash splash!!!!” You get the picture. The dads? Just standing there. Maybe every once in a while, there was an occasional bob in the water, but really? They just stood there. And, they didn’t even talk to one another. Just stood there. I suggested to Josh that maybe he take Alex around the pool for a bit of a swim and he looked at me as though I was crazy.


The rest of the weekend was a rather productive one for Josh and I – I cleaned out Alex’s “junk drawer” in his dresser, which consisted of onesies ranging in size from 9 months – 24 months as well as every pair of socks he has ever owned (most of which only fit his big toe at this point), every bib he has ever owned (most of which were pink) and every hat he has ever owned (which, again, cover one ear at this point). I also cleaned out all of this clothes that have been piling up in his closet since he was 7 lbs. (that was 18 lbs ago…). Josh painted a wall in the kitchen, which he thinks is too dark and I think is too blue, but knowing us, it will stay that way (including the blue edging tape) for a good couple of months (we’re prompt like that). I also finished planting the hydrangeas around the house – pictures of that to come.


Oh – exciting news! I was so consumed with my productiveness, that I nearly forgot - Alex took his first 3 steps this last weekend. He walked inbetween Josh and I a couple of times, which was very exciting. We were so proud of him. And then…..he crawled into Deacon’s kennel…..

This next weekend, Josh and I are going to Six Flags New England for our 6 year anniversary (wow – that sounds kind of WT, but it is something that we love to do together and haven’t done since pre-pregnancy days) and we are staying there and having a nice dinner.

Grammy and Grampy will have the kids all day on Saturday and then Saturday night. This means that they are in charge of the YMCA class schedule on Saturday morning. Somehow, I have a bad feeling that Alex will show up on the basketball court and given a basketball to dribble and Avery will get her wish and will end up in the pool…

We're walking, we're walking...

This last weekend, Lexi and I participated in our 5th MS Challenge Walk. Most years are 50 miles, but this year was 50 km’s (which is 30 miles – don’t worry, I had to look that one up as well), as Rash Hashanah????? fell on the Friday of the walk. So, we walked for 20 miles on Saturday (actually, 21.4 to be exact) and then 10 on Sunday. During the actual walking part of it, we were relatively thrilled that the second day was only 10 miles, but looking back, it would have been fun to have it be the 3 day walk that it typically is. 2011’s Walk is back to the 50 miles (and I’m sure, on day 2, mile 30, I’ll be wishing it was over, but whatever…).

Mom and Dad flew in on Thursday night, so we did our traditional pizza and boxed wine (because we are fancy like that) at our favorite pizza place in Providence that night. Lexi got in around lunch time on Friday, so we picked her up and hit Legal Seafood for lunch (where Alex had his second lunch of the day – and, we wonder why he is in the 90th percentile for everything?)

and then went to the Cape to get settled before the big day on Saturday. That night, we had Chinese food for dinner and realized one very sad thing – my youngest does not like Chinese food. I mean, one would think that a child who eats meat, veggies and fruit every day for lunch and dinner would enjoy meat and vegetables doused in gravy? But, nope. Avery on the other hand, enjoyed the Chinese and even liked the tea (does that stuff have caffeine in it? I guess I probably shouldn’t have given her any, but then again, she also shouldn’t have had the donuts, hot dogs, clam chowder and fried fish that she had that weekend, but she did – it was vacation, after all!).


The walk was great. It started with Lexi carrying the coveted TX flag during the flag ceremony. This is easily the highlight of the walk every year for Lexi ( I haven’t gotten the nerve to explain to her that she is probably the only one from TX doing the walk, which is probably the only reason she is asked to carry the flag every year – we’ll just let her continue to think she is special…).

I will say that I was impressed – there were 22 states represented at the walk – pretty cool.

We were definitely sore after the 20 miles, but overall, we were in decent shape given that we hadn’t really trained (oh, and, given that Lexi is 5 months pregnant!).

In order to help eliminate some of the pain, I took advantage of the free massage afterwards.


This may sound like a great idea, but there were a few things wrong with this – a) it was a massage therapy student who must have enrolled the day before, as I could barely feel what he was doing, b) I was sweaty and nasty after walking and was slightly embarrassed when I realized that he was being forced to be up close and personal with a sweaty, nasty person who just walked 20 miles, c) he massaged my butt. Typically? In the privacy of my own massage room when I’m paying $100? I’m ok with this. On a table surrounded by 20 other walkers (and, an obnoxious sister taking pictures), it was awkward, d) I was wearing shorts. He was doing crazy stretching with my legs. It was awkward. Enough said.

Opa and Grandma took care of the kids during the day when we walked. They ate at a restaurant and played on the beach – two of Avery’s favorites. They kept Opa and Grandma busy, but overall, they were reportedly well behaved.

Overall, it was a successful walk and a great family weekend.

We raised nearly $4,000 as a team, so thank you to all of you who donated – we really appreciate it!

Love, Team Sweetpea

Could whoever stole our sweet Avery, please return her?

So, daycare had this great idea. They taught the kids manners for a week and then, on the Friday of that week, they had a tea party at daycare so that all of the kids could practice their manners. It was really a cute thing – all of the tables had table cloths and centerpieces and all of the kids had a cup and saucer. They were all told to dress up, so the girls were in dresses (most in princess dresses except for Avery because it was too itchy) and the boys were in suits and ties. And, then the teachers walked around with trays of food and served them all. Josh and I went to watch it – it was really adorable. Until…….about 2 weeks ago. Because, you see – now that Avery is a pro at manners? She thinks that she is all that...

She thinks that she knows all about everything and not only that, but that she can explain all about everything to Josh and I while using a not so pleasant tone. My lord! She has been taken over by this snotty, bossy child. Ok, well, she has always been a bit bossy, but never snotty...until recently.

Needless to say, she and I have had numerous conversations about her tone and she has had one or two situations where she has been sent to her room. I’m hoping this is just a phase and that it ends soon, because if she is like this at 3, what is she going to be like at 13? I will say that, even though she has this tone, she does say a few things here and there that make you laugh. For example, the other day, I handed her something and she said:

Avery – “Thank you, Mommy.”
Whitney – “Sure.”
Avery – “No, Mommy – you don’t say ‘sure’ after someone says ‘thank you.’ You say, ‘you’re welcome.’ Now, let’s try this again…”

She had me! I mean, she was right! And, was hilarious with the “Now, let’s try this again” comment. So, I just had to play along with that one.

I did just have lunch with a friend who told me that her 3-year-old son is having the same type of tone every now and then, which makes me feel better. However, she followed that comment with “You and Avery are going to kill each other before too long” and I had to agree. Having two Whitney’s, one who is 3 and one who is 33, living in the same house is not a good combination. Wish me luck….

Dear Mommy and Daddy....

Can you PLEASE stop leaving all of my jackets at daycare?????

And, a crown???? Really? A crown? Now, that's just cruel....



Love, Al

QT

This last weekend, both Avery and Alex got some quality time alone – Avery with mom and dad and Alex with Grammy and Grampy. Friday night, we were given tickets for the luxury box at the Pawsox game (New England’s minor league baseball team), so we decided to take Avery.

Which, in hindsight, may not have been the best plan, as Avery will now think that all baseball games are spent in a suite with free food. Kind of like the first time that I had to fly in coach – after flying for free in first class the majority of my life, I did NOT like being back with the common folk – I thought that I deserved much better than that. Anyway – she had a great time and was amused by the entire experience. And, Alex had a great time at the pool with Grammy and Grampy.

Saturday afternoon, I took Avery to a bday party and Alex went to stay with Grammy and Grampy. Josh was in Boston with friends and there was no way I was going to try to deal with both of them at a party - Alex is at that "crawl everywhere and get into everything that I shouldn't" stage and I just didn't think that I could deal with that on my own.

We were a bit late to the party, but made it just in time for “Happy Birthday” and for Avery to play with the water toys for a while.


She had a great time and LOVED the grab bag goodies, as she got two more silly bands – do you people know about these? They are the new in thing – bands that are basically jelly bracelets (remember those??), but that are the shape of whatever (animals, flowers, etc) when they are not on your wrist.

Avery received 2 dinosaurs, which she very creatively named “Dino” and “Saur.” And, as we were leaving the party, she asked me if I would like one of her silly bands. The conversation when something like this:

Avery - “Mommy, do you want one of my silly bands?”
Whitney –“Well, sure! Thank you.”
Avery – “What do you say when you want something, Mommy?”
Whitney – “May I please have a silly band, please.”
Avery – “Yes, but you will need to wait until we get to the car.”

My lord, we’re in trouble.

Sunday, we went to the beach (yes, I did this on my own until Josh got back, which actually wasn’t that bad, but did take a decent amount of mental preparation)

and then that afternoon, we went to a magician show! And, we even let Alex come along (were you beginning to think that we never let him participate in the fun??)!!It was a good show, although, his tricks were strange – 90% of them were pretty mediocre and then he busts out with a balloon that pops and out comes a dove and then a pot that he lights on fire and out comes a rabbit.



Very cool, but very “above” all of his other tricks, so it was kind of weird.

Avery enjoyed it, but was probably a year too young yet. And, Alex actually did pretty well – was active, but did well in our laps overall- although, the church floor was covered in cheerios and goldfish after about 5 minutes of us being there, which probably wasn’t great.

Don’t worry, I realize I’m not religious, but even I know that leaving cheerios all over the floor of a church is probably pretty disrespectful, so I did clean them up before I left. Ok, ok, I'll admit it - the clean up effort was partially for selfish reasons. I mean, let's be honest - surely somehow someone "up there" would have noticed this cheerio incident and as a result, the Holland kids would have been black listed from St. Phil's next fall, so being the good Catholic school mom that I am, the cheerios were gone by the time we left...

Who invented 2-day weekends, anyway?

Seriously – have you ever wondered why the weekends are only 2 days? I mean, who decided that? Why doesn’t everyone work 4 days and then have off for 3 every week? Or, why isn’t the week 8 days and then we can work 5 and then have off 3? Surely that one has to do with the moon, stars, etc. , but whatever…it bugs me.

One of the things that I like about living in RI is Victory Day. What’s that, you ask? First of all, it used to be called Victory over Japan Day, but as you can see, that wasn’t too PC, so someone decided to change it to Victory Day. Regardless, it is a holiday that only RI has off. I’m not sure why, but we do. And, I embrace it. So, not only did we have Monday off for Victory Day, but my boss decided that Friday would be a great time to take advantage of “flexible summer hours” and he told us all to leave at 12:30. So, I practically got a 4 day weekend out of it.

After this weekend, I’ve decided that I need every Friday afternoon off. I can’t believe how much stuff I got done. I got my car washed, got the tire fixed on the stroller (which cost me 8 $@%#@ing dollars for FIVE minutes of work), went to Petco and spent way too much money on bird seed and dog stuff, went grocery shopping, went to the liquor store and then came home and cleaned the entire house. Can you imagine what I could have done had I had the ENTIRE day off? My lord.

So, because I got all of this stuff done on Friday, the rest of the weekend was spent playing! Saturday, my friend Natalie came down from Franklin, MA with her son, Ethan and we all went to the beach, which was great.

The kids all had a great time. Then, miraculously, we got home and put all of the kids down for a nap at the same time. It was fabulous. Natalie and I were able to enjoy a nice glass of white wine on the deck and actually have an adult conversation. When the kids got up, they played in the yard for another couple of hours (which allowed for another nice glass of white wine) – it was great!


(nevermind the look of "why are you playing with MY toy?" on Alex's face in this one...



Oh – I had also made this fabulous homemade salsa recipe that I found, so we were able to enjoy that on the deck as well (I would highly recommend this).

Sunday, back to the beach and then over to Lindsey’s house for dinner where she made these fabulous ribs with this fabulous bbq sauce (which I would also highly recommend).

Monday was kind of a lazy day, as the weather wasn’t all that great, but we did venture out and get to Target in the afternoon as a family (which I believe is a first). While I enjoyed having my husband there, I will say that his idea of Target shopping (i.e., get in, get what you need, don’t look around, and leave) is not really as pleasant as mine (i.e., get in, wonder around, look at everything we don’t need, but I really really want and end up buying it anyway, then wondering around some more and then, an hour and $100 later, leave).

However, the most exciting part of the day!!!???? There is a Babies R’ Us going in right across the street from Target, so I will now have one that is 20 mins away vs. an hour and 20 mins away!!!! If THAT isn’t reason enough to have another, I don’t know what is!!!! :)