Tuesday, July 29, 2008

July has been a little bit busy!

I can't believe it's been over three weeks since I've last written anything. Since I get long winded at times, and have been bitten by the writing bug the last couple of days, I'll do what I can to organize this and keep it concise.

  • July 8th: I come down with a stomach virus, that we think is a 24 hour thing. Bounce back very quickly the same day.
  • July 9th: The boys and I pack up and hit the splash park for the greater part of the morning to hang out with the Alich's, who were in town for the week. We have a blast playing with all of the kids. There were 11 kids between 4 families. It was a little crazy, but definitely fun. Dan's parents arrive late that afternoon, and babysit for Dan and me, as we head in different directions.
  • July 10th: Stomach virus is apparently NOT over, and I end up in bed the whole morning and part of the afternoon. It appears that Matthew has a touch of it as well. Not the best way to start out a weeklong trip with the grandparents.
  • July 11th: Everyone seems okay, but we decide to take it easy and hang around at home all day.
  • July 12th: Nicholas comes down with the bug, and I get my first experience with a kid who is throwing up. Not fun at all.
  • July 13th: Matthew and Nicholas are both sick. I'm finally better.
  • July 14th: Everyone seems better, but we still stick close to home...just in case.
  • July 15th: The day the grandparents go home. This happens to be the only day everyone seemed well enough to go out for a while. So the boys and I took the grandparents to the bowling alley. It was the boys second trip to the bowling alley, and they seemed to have a good time. They definitely had a better grasp of what was going on this time, and insisted on carrying the ball. So funny.
  • Somehow manage to pass the bug on to my mom and dad! Sorry! :-(
  • July 18th: MOVING DAY!
  • July 19th-today: Unpack boxes, try to arrange the house, try to corral kids in rooms that are safe for them to play in.
There's a quick glimpse into what life has been like these last three weeks. Here's to hoping life has settled down a bit...

Monday, July 7, 2008

Airport Food...

Since the topic of the month is food, I feel it only appropriate to write a bit about what I had for dinner in the Newark airport last night.

Last night I was dropped off at the airport after a quick weekend trip to visit my dear friend Jenn and her amazing husband Daniel. I elected not to pack a snack to take, knowing I would be at the airport two hours before my flight and would have the opportunity to get something there. Plane travel and me eating don't usually work well, hence the reason I said no. Although my flight wasn't leaving until 8:50pm and I would be arriving quite late (Midnight), I had planned to just deal with being hungry, should that happen. That is, until I saw that my flight had been delayed by 40 minutes. And then delayed again by another 33 minutes, putting me at a projected departure time of 10:03pm.

It was then that I began scouring the airport for a little dinner. Now, for some perspective on the time, keep in mind that it's 6:45pm, which gave me plenty of time to eat and digest my dinner so as not to have an upset stomach on the way home. I passed a Caio Bella, which was seriously calling my name. Boy did the gelato look good. But I ignored the cries from the stand (and my tummy) and looked for something more substantial. I looked and looked. And looked some more. The airport had your standard fare. Starbucks. Miami Subs. Manchu Wok. McDonald's. Nathan's Hot Dogs. The Grove. It even had two different diners. Nothing, and I mean nothing, sounded appealing.

I had given up hope of finding something appealing, and then I spotted the Ben & Jerry's. I jumped in line thinking that if nothing else, I can get a smoothie. So I waited. It seemed like forever that I stood there in line, watching everyone drool over the Phish Food and the Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch. Eventually I gave up the wait and settled on McDonald's. Shocked? Yes, so was I. I haven't liked (or even eaten at) a McDonald's since I was 4 years old and they tricked me by putting minced up onion on my burger and letting me think it was rice! But I remembered their trickery and ordered my cheeseburger with no onion. I also got the smalled fry and drink possible. (In retrospect, I could have ordered a kid's meal for less money and I would have gotten a prize!)

It wasn't the worst meal I've ever eaten, although I did only eat 3/4 of the burger and 2/3 of the fries. Based on some of the food coming out of other restaurants (Ben & Jerry's and Caio Bella excluded) it wasn't even the worst looking food. It probably wasn't even the worst for me food. And when my flight finally took off (at 11:30pm!!!!), I was definitely glad I decided to bite the bullet and try Mickey D's again. After all, who wants to eat dinner at 2:30am, when their flight finally arrives at their destination? Not me!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

My awesome twin mama friends!

The real icing on the cake for this weekend was getting to meet in person some amazing women; Nisha and Kristin. Nisha and Kristin are friends of Jenn's, both women she initially met online years ago. They both have twin boys who are older than Matthew and Nicholas, and have been such a blessing to me in the last year. In particular, Kristin has sent me two huge boxes of clothes for the boys, with another one coming soon it sounds like! They are both such neat girls, and it was so fun to put voices with names, faces and lives. We sat together during the shower, sharing twin stories about the various gifts Jenn was opening. Although Jenn and Daniel are going to leave the greater NYC area soon after the birth of her babies, I am so thankful she has such great women so close to her.

Here we are, four great moms of twins! :-) Thank God for the Internet, because it brought us all together!
(Left to Right): Kristin, Nisha, Jenn and Shannon :-)

Saturday, July 5, 2008

My second baby shower in as many weeks!

Just a few pictures below of the event today. Jenn's mom (Linda) bought all of the decorations and made all of the favors. My part in the day was helping prepare all of the food (and boy was there food!), helping with the decorating and keeping track of the gifts.

A long view of the table that some of the guests sat at. In the background is the amazing cake we were served!

Another view of the table with the second on in the background. (Jenn and Daniel live in a great 1 bedroom apartment on the Hudson river with a neat view of Manhattan! For the size of this place, we were able to fit a lot of people in here!)

A close up on one of the place settings. Linda went all out for the decorations, including fresh flowers and flower garland, several shower favors, place cards and confetti. For an added touch, Daniel made giraffe and elephant chocolate candies for everyone, which were placed in a flower pot filled with Double Bubble bubble gum.

One view of the amazing cake. It was a giant cupcake, made with a mold from Williams Sonoma. The cake was a lemon bundt cake, complete with chunks of crystalized lemon peel. It was frosted with buttercream icing, and was so delicious!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Off to another land...

I've said to several people that I am "off to another land", as the title says. Most people think I'm flying off to Europe or some other far away place. Let me set the record straight and say that I am off to Newark, New Jersey. And on purpose!

My friend Jenn, who currently lives in West New York, NJ with her husband Daniel is having a baby shower tomorrow. I am so excited to be a part of her shower, and part of her special day. I will be helping her mom pull the event off, and am hoping for a great day for them both. Jenn is just under 25 weeks pregnant with twins after quite a rough road to pregnancy. Her pregnancy went amazingly well until 19 weeks, when she found herself on strict (only get up to go to the bathroom) bedrest. She's been in and out of the hospital since bedrest began, and endured a cerclage two weeks ago. But the babies are doing great, and growing like crazy.

So, say a little prayer that the flight goes well, and the event goes smoothly. More from NJ!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Give me a little credit...

So June has 30 days in it. I'm happy to say that while I didn't blog every single day in the month of June like I had hoped, I did post 23 times. Pretty good, if you ask me, especially considering how crazy the month turned out to be.

July's theme is "Food", and I haven't decided what that looks like for this blog. Maybe I'll post recipes. Maybe I'll come up with witty stories to share about feeding 18 month old twins. Or maybe I'll be satisfied with just writing something every day. Who knows! :-)

But for today, here's a picture that my friend Kim took of the boys on Sunday. It captures their love of food and their love of Snack Traps, and it's a pretty cute picture to boot!