March and April at the B-Hive

I can't believe that it is practically May and this is only my second entry of the year. Wow, this year is going by SO fast. So far I have spent the majority of it trying to balance coping with extreme exhaustion and morning sickness while still maintaining an attentive and caring presence with my kids. That has been more than a little challenging, and more often than not I found myself turning to the TV for a little help when I just couldn't muster the energy. I felt a little guilty about that, but when it allowed me to get 15 minutes of shut-eye mid-afternoon it was totally worth it. It is tough being pregnant with two active little ones to attend to! Anyway, I am finally over the morning sickness and I am getting my energy back, so there is hope that we might just make it to September with our sanity intact (what happens after baby #3 arrives is a different story...)

So, obviously after 2 months I have a lot of pictures to post. Where to begin...

Near the end of February our poor kids were struck with the miserable stomach bug. I guess I should feel fortunate that I made it 3 yrs and 3 months into mommyhood before discovering how unpleasant it is to watch your beloved kids suffer from such agony and distress (not to mention the agony and distress Paul and I suffered from cleaning up the messes they left behind).

Poor Max. He told me when he woke up that morning that he didn't want to go to preschool because his "toe hurt". My response of course was, "Whatever, buddy. You are GOING to preschool". When he puked in the parking lot on our way into his class I decided that in the future I will definitely listen to the red flags associated with Max and a hurt toe. When we got back to our house he was cheered up a little by the fact that he got to camp out on the couch with some "green soda" (aka Sprite), soda crackers, and a PBS marathon. He threw up a couple more times that day and in the middle of the night for like three more nights and had diarrhea to boot. Amazingly, for the most part he was very good to make it into the bucket and to the bathroom (sometimes it didn't make it into the toilet, but at least it made it into the bathroom).

And poor Sam. We knew that it was just a matter of time before he became sick, but we definitely weren't prepared for how violently it would affect him. Doesn't he look so miserable in the pictures? This poor kid started by throwing up every 20 minutes--first his food, then bile, then just dry heaving. It was one of the saddest moments I think I have experienced as a mom--I felt utterly helpless. This continued for hours and hours...

...then fast-forward a few days and they're feeling good as new!

Max enjoys painting and will often ask me to get the supplies out so he can work on creating another masterpiece.

Of course Sam always wants in on whatever Max is doing, but when it comes to painting that scenario tends to get a little messy. So, I seek out all kinds of ways to distract Sam...

I put him to work! He loves to help me with any household chore, especially if there is water involved. He definitely makes a big mess, but it entertains (and distracts him) for more than long enough. Sometimes I can't get him away from the sink!!

He also loves the vacuum. He has a toy replica Dyson which he usually runs alongside mine, but he still will always ask to "try... try" the original--of course I give in even though it is a struggle to get it back once he has his hands on the wand. He really is a good little helper.

And when he is finally finished with the household chores, Sam can be found either on his blackberry, texting and emailing his buddies...

...Or taking a nice, relaxing bubble bath in the kitchen sink.

Both boys know that if they sit down and eat their dinners in sufficient and satisfying amounts they are rewarded with a treat. While Sam typically has a healthy appetite and adventurous palate, Max is the one who has shown a tremendous gastronomic improvement from this tactic. Where before he would hesitate if not flat out refuse to try something new, now he has discovered that he kind of even likes some of the new tastes, textures and flavors. There are still a couple of things he won't eat, however: Grapes (which he won't even try for some unfounded reason) and anything with seeds in it (cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, etc...). But, generally both boys do an acceptable job finishing their meals and are rewarded with a yummy treat.

There were a few really nice and warm days in March, and the boys and I enjoyed picnics and parks and having a lot of fun outside.

I even filled up the water table and let them splash and get wet--two things they both love.

One evening in mid-March was so warm and beautiful we decided to grill steaks and eat outside...

...The boys loved this almost as much as they loved their steaks, grilled to medium-rare perfection by Chef Paul.

Giving the boys a bath is one of my least favorite tasks. I would almost rather do anything than have to suffer thru the montage of annoyances that come with bathtime. They splash each other and splash for fun and squirt their toys and I end up soaking wet, they scream and whine and complain and fight me when I rinse their hair, they constantly argue over who gets to sit in the front, and at the very end neither wants to get out. It is torture. It is Paul's job. The boys prefer him. He handles it all so much better than me--the bathroom never gets as soaked, I never hear any whining or complaining, and they both emerge from the bathroom happy and clean.

Since we have had so many nice, warm days, Max has had a lot of opportunity to ride his bike.

Not only is he really good at it, but he absolutely loves it. Every time we walk out the garage he beelines for his helmet and bike.

Paul has been conditioning both boys to love motorcycles. They LOVE to put his helmet on...

Max is watching a motorcycle race on tv while wearing dad's helmet! What a funny kid...

And of course both boys love it when Daddy takes them for a dirtbike ride around the yard.

The boys are still loving their swingset.

Last weekend Mimi came for a visit and wouldn't you know it, both boys (and then mommy) came down with the stomach bug AGAIN! The irony of this is that in both cases this bug just so happened to coincide with Mimi's arrival. Sorry, Maggie--I know that it was not much fun for you...

But we all really enjoyed having you here! These pictures were taken just before bedtime on the last night of her trip--Storytime!

The boys were really humdrum when she left and the house felt a little lonely and quiet. If only we didn't live so far from family...

New Year, New Haircuts, New Rooms and NEWS

Happy New Year! I can't believe that it is almost March and I am just now getting to my first post of 2011. Well, to start things off, we are expecting Baby Blane #3 in mid September, which puts me at almost 11 weeks pregnant right now. While we are very excited, we have also experienced a fair amount of "what the #*!$ were we thinking" moments. I blame the latter on my overwhelming exhaustion and the miserable morning sickness that hits late every afternoon and persists thru the evening, sending me to bed with my head spinning. I don't think I felt this lousy during the first trimester of my other pregnancies. My theory for the increased misery?--I was able to take a 2 hour nap every day and put my feet up once in a while the last two times; this pregnancy I am constantly chasing two active kids and my only down time comes when they are finally both asleep (at which point I feel so sick that I can't even relax). Fortunately, my first trimester is nearing an end and I am optimistic that this yuckiness will be over. I am sure my family is hoping so, too, as they have not had many home-cooked meals lately. Since the smell of almost anything is agony for me, my kids have been persisting on Cheerios and poor Paul has had to pretty much fend for himself.

In this picture we have not yet discovered that I am pregnant. We are on our way to Morton's for what would be the absolute BEST steak of my life, sort of a late New Year's date--just the two of us. We had a lovely, if not gluttonous, time.

My little cowboy!

Sam loves horses, and walks around with the toy versions saying, "Heeee." Sometimes he can even hoist himself up onto this rocking horse, and then he rocks it like crazy--I sometimes think the thing is going to start moving around the room he is going back and forth so fast.

After much pressure from Paul, we finally took our blonde mullet-baby in for his first hair cut. I think part of my resistance stemmed from not wanting to wrestle Baby Rambo into holding still while some stranger wielded scissors at his head. I just figured that to even attempt such a thing was a futile waist of energy, since Sam does not like to sit still for anything--and he is nothing if not headstrong. The other reason I resisted?--I quite liked his long blonde locks. Ultimately, Paul won the argument--but only after he agreed to accompany me on the mission.

And guess what? Much to my jaw-dropping surprise, Sam was a CHAMP!! It couldn't have gone any smoother.

He held so still, barely moving a muscle throughout the entire procedure. I was beaming with pride.

He does look very handsome (and very grown-up) with his new 'do.

I think that part of the reason Sam did so well is that he watched Max's perfect mane-trimming behavior. Max has always been good for haircuts.

Too bad the woman gave Max a "monk cut". His bangs were hideous, and I eventually had to fix them. Even with the priestly 'do, I must say these boys are a super cute pair!

When Max was Sam's age we practically modeled our entire day around his nap schedule. We always made it home for his nap. Poor Sam, he just has to nap on the go...

We were at Target, and it was actually kinda early, but the poor guy must have been exhausted. He didn't even wake up when Max was in his face yelling and laughing at him.

When we moved here not quite 2 years ago, people told us that we were going to love it here because the winters are so short and it "never snows". Liars. For both our winters out here, the snow has been insane. What makes it worse? They don't know how to handle it. A lot of the back roads don't even get plowed until days after a storm has hit. And I can't even remember how many days school has been canceled for even the most minute amounts of snow. It seriously amazes me that this whole area can shut down for a couple inches of white flakes. I am not even exaggerating. If the weather forecast even includes the possibility of snow, the school district cancels school, and everything else follows suit (including Max's preschool and my gym).

So, we've just had to play in it. The boys love to be outside--they don't care how cold it is. Too bad their mom is a wimp and can only take extreme temperatures in very small doses.

Sam is so stinking cute. There are so many pictures of him that are just so good, it is hard to narrow them down.

Max, on the other hand, does not like his picture taken. He pretty much tries to hide whenever he sees a camera. Hmmm... reminds me of someone else I know.

So, not a lot of pictures of him this time. He is stinking cute, though, too.

We took the boys to a museum in Philadelphia called "Please Touch". We had been here once before for Max's 2nd birthday when Sam was just an infant.

The highlight of the day was the carousel ride...

Sammy was happy because he got to ride on a "heee".

We have also been busy with some renovations. With the near completion of our basement (we are about 90% finished), we were able to move all the toys down there and reclaim our dining room. We feel so grown-up now. Here are some before pictures of the room as a playroom...

and after moving all the toys to their new home...

We have a dining room (albeit one that is screaming for a new paint job).

We had to have some friends over (the Impriano's) to commemorate. How fitting that Max is seated at the head of the table.

Also, after much persuasion on my part, we finally eliminated the biggest eyesore of the house...

That horribly HUGE and UGLY fluorescent light had been plaguing my quality of life in the aesthetic sense since we moved in. So, it just had to go...

I think the final result is a huge improvement. The kitchen desperately needs paint, too... So many things to do, so little time.

As I mentioned, our basement is 90% complete. If we ever finish, I will post pictures. It is in a livable state right now, and we are definitely enjoying it. However, the few tasks that still need to be completed will be very obvious and will totally stand out in any photo (holes in the ceiling, etc...), and the end result is going to be so amazing that pictures are just going to have to wait.