Marketing gone too far

Is it just me, or does it look like Lightning McQueen is sporting an afro here?:
These shoes are actually part of a recall because the little wheels can come off and become a choking hazard. Anyone who knows Reece will understand why I checked this out as soon as I saw it listed. However, we do not own this particular shoe type, and after seeing the picture, I know why. Even I have limits as to what lengths I will go for my children's happiness.

Bathroom topics

Ever since we had boys and they started potty training, Dan has been unofficially in charge of teaching the intricacies of "standing up to pee". He was well taught by his father to do things like clean up after oneself (ie mop up the dribbles) and put the seat back down (I cannot thank my father-in-law enough for that one). So last night, Reece was getting into position and Dan reminded him to aim. Apparently, Reece is nearly fully recovered from his illness, because his response was to give Dan a smirk and then purposely put his hands behind his back. Dan reiterated the command as Reece continued to do as he pleased, and then once he was done, he actually did a little dance and sang, "I don't have to listen to Daddy...I don't have to aim". I, of course, had a hard time not laughing, and Dan had a hard time keeping the steam from coming out of his ears.

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I am all for saving energy, but I think my place of work has taken things too far. The lights in the women's bathroom are now on a motion sensor. However, apparently they are not sensitive enough to detect small movements, and they are also set to very short time intervals. The result of which is that if only one person is in the bathroom and not moving much for about 15 seconds, the lights turn off! Then said person must waive her arms or make some other silly movement to get them to turn back on. I just hope there are no cameras tied into the sensors...

Trip, interrupted

I took the boys to DC to visit a good friend and her husband this weekend, since Greyson had spring break last week. Turns out, it's only a 6 hour trip including stops, which for us (and our trusty DVD players) is not bad. We left Thursday afternoon, and the plan was to go downtown Friday morning to see the monuments and cherry blossoms and avoid the heaviest crowds, then something away from downtown that afternoon. Saturday we were going to the Udvar-Hazy Center (part of the National Air and Space Museum, near Dulles Airport in Virginia) in the morning and then to see a children's theater production of Heidi in Bethesda in the afternoon. Then we'd come back home Sunday during the day. However, both weather and kids' illnesses changed our plans somewhat. Here's what we did instead:

Friday am: It rained, so we saw the Monsters and Aliens movie (cute, kids liked it, just OK for adults).

Friday pm: After lunch the weather had cleared up enough, so we headed downtown on the Metro and walked around near the tidal basin (saw the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial from a distance - even on a cloudy and very windy day the blossoms are beautiful) and walked around in the WWII memorial (Greyson is doing a power point presentation on D-Day, so we got some great pics for that). Reece was acting droopy and felt warm by then, and by the time we got back he just wanted to sleep. He woke twice in the night and ended up sleeping with me.

Sat. am: We all slept late Sat. morning and missed the chance to do both things in the time frame we had. Reece was still not feeling well, and I was tired from interrupted sleep. So we decided we'd leave in the afternoon to head home rather than try to drag Reece places while sick. The Tylenol had kicked in enough that we went to a playground to get some exercise and fresh air (it was sunny and 65, although very windy still).

Sat. pm: Had a yummy pizza lunch and then packed up to leave. Turns out it was the right choice, because every time the drugs wore off Reece, he was hot and lethargic again. We got home about 9pm, and Reece ended up sleeping with me but still woke twice and was inconsolable for a while both times. Dan let me sleep in this morning, and we had nothing planned for today anyway, so we were able to have a relaxing day. Reece even got to eat lunch on a tray in the living room.

Even with only one day between drives, I'm glad we went. We're hoping to get back soon to see more of the DC sights when it's not peak visitor time. And maybe next time we'll plan far enough in advance that Dan can come, too!

Signs of spring

I would like to apologize to anyone who is currently buried in snow, but here it REALLY feels like spring. It is 60 degrees and sunny today, and we're going to grill dinner (pork tenderloin) this evening. The crocuses are up, and we saw a rabbit in the yard last night. I do realize that since Dan has tickets to the Indians' home opener a week from Friday, there will most likely be a blizzard that day, but for now I'm just going to pretend that the current weather will continue for the next month. However, the true indicator of spring is, of course, when the gardening gear is broken out:
Two hours after this was taken, I had two boys covered in mud and a lovely moat near the swingset. It's very freeing to not care about a dug-up, muddy backyard, since it will be much worse in two months when the house renovations start.

Why I have at least 20 more gray hairs

Yesterday morning, Greyson had already left for the bus stop and Reece was ready to go, but I still had to get my shoes and jacket on. Reece asked if he could start walking, and I've let him do this before because 1) he's quite a slow walker, so it's easy for me to catch up with him, and 2) I would be out in less than one minute - usually about the time he would be in front of our next-door neighbors' house. So I told him "Yes" and that I would be right out. I'm sure you're already anticipating where this is going, if you know Reece at all. I put my stuff on, grabbed keys, locked the back door, and walked at my usual pretty quick pace to the end of the driveway. There was no sign of the boy. Then I looked up the street toward the bus stop, and he was RUNNING and about one house away from the corner. I took off running, yelling his name and for him to stop. He turned around, looked at me, and KEPT RUNNING. I lost sight of him, immediately heard a honk, and saw my two neighbors, who had been at the bus stop with their kids already, running back across the cross-street. My thoughts - he's been hit and is dead and I wish I had learned to run much faster. Turns out the bus was already at the corner and saw him running and honked while simultaneously telling the other moms what she could see but they couldn't - Greyson's little brother running toward the road. He actually stopped at the stop sign, which he is 75% of the time very good at doing, but of course no one knew he would do that for sure.

So he and I had a very serious talk and he is no longer allowed to go out ahead of me. And I'm still trying to get my heart to stop beating out of my chest.

25 Reasons I love Cleveland (the first 10)

Have you seen all the "25-whatever" lists going around Facebook? I like the 25 Random Things About Me one, because people get very creative and you can really learn interesting things about people you thought you knew. But some of the list topics are not so appealing. The whole first childbirth one? TMI, and some strange questions. So I decided to create my own (listed in no particular order).

Trashing Cleveland is considered fun times in some circles, and I know some people are not living here by choice. But those of us who are and who genuinely enjoy being here and appreciate its many attributes should be touting it to one and all. Just getting morale up could do wonders for the entire northeast Ohio area! Hopefully, those who actually read this blog might learn some interesting and positive facts about Cleveland here. I also welcome any additions to the list.

1) Lake Erie.
Boating, swimming, fishing. Granted, Lake Erie hasn't been the cleanest in past times. But here's a testiment to how far things have come: the Monterey Bay Aquarium lists Lake Erie Yellow Perch as its best choice for perch in its Central US Seafood Watch guide! It beats out perch from both Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. Sorry Alpena!

2) The Cleveland Orchestra is in the top tier of orchestras in the country.
Supposedly no one actually ranks orchestras, but if you ask anyone who plays an orchestral instrument as a career, they know which ones are considered the best. And ours is one. I had no idea until I met someone who moved here specifically to play in it. They offer great children's concerts, many of which we've attended.

3) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Affectionately knows as the Rock Hall around here, the place is awesome even for those who are not rock music aficionados. And it was designed by I.M. Pei to look like a record player from the air (bet you didn't know that - or if you're young enough you don't even know what a record player is). If you want to see for yourself, go to google maps and type in "rock and roll hall of fame", then zoom in.

4) Accessible, reliable public transportation.
The Greater Cleveland RTA won the "America's Best Transit System" award for 2007.

5) Great Lakes Science Center.
This is a terrific place to take kids of varying ages. Until Greyson got too old for it, our favorite part was the Polymer Playhouse for kids age 7 and under. We discovered by accident that this is the best place to watch the Cleveland Air Show as well. If you have a child who gets scared of loud noises, you just let them play inside and you place yourself by a window that looks out over the lake.

6) The weather.
Yes, I said it. I love the changing seasons and the variety within each season. Probably March-April is the only yucky time, and that doesn't even hold this year because today it's going to be 60 and sunny! And summer and fall are terrific - we spend 3/4 of our time outdoors then.

7) West Side Market.
Fresh produce, every meat you can think of, pastries, cheeses, and pierogies with pretty much any possible filling. It makes every famous foodie's list for good reason. And it's right on the RTA path, so you don't even have to worry about parking - just making sure you don't buy so much you can't carry it home!

8) The Cleveland Museum of Art.
It just recently reopened after a 3-year renovation, so now is definitely the time to go. I took two art history classes as an undergrad at Case, and we met AT THE MUSEUM, which was awesome. Every period is represented, and major tours come through all the time.

9) Little Italy.
I know other cities have larger and more well-known little Italies, but this one fits everything you'd want into a small area and has survived many changes in areas surrounding it. A wide variety of Italian restaurant options in a span of about 5 blocks, awesome pastries, the Feast of the Assumption celebration, and Cleveland cassata cake (not to be confused with true Italian cassata cake that is somewhat like spumoni).

10) The Cleveland Playhouse and Playhouse Square.
Yes, it's confusing at first that there are two separate theater areas that sound so similar and are only a few miles down the same road from each other. They both have a wide variety of shows, although the Playhouse seems to do smaller and lesser-known plays and has an association with Case's fine arts master's program, and the Playhouse Square theaters get the Broadway plays and bigger productions.

I'll post the next 10 in a few days and then the last 5 after that.

Silliness on the 2nd floor

Reece decided on his own to create his own "headphones":




UPDATE: I don't know why it stops suddenly, but you can watch the whole thing by moving the arrow just a little each time it does that. I'll see if I can fix the problem, but don't hold your breath.

UPDATE #2: Now it's working fine, and I didn't do anything but wait a day. Probably a life lesson right there.

Finally, photos

I actually had all the necessary pieces together at the same time: disk from the camera, cord to attach to the computer, and the computer itself. I don't know how I make it out of bed and into clothes every day.

Here are two pictures of the Ikea-ized basement:
It has already passed the 4-boy blizzard test (2 sons, 2 nephews, all under age 9, who believe every toy in the room must be moved from its location to somewhere in the way of everyone else's movement). After a few hours of playing, it looked like a disaster. But we managed to get it all back into this condition with no whining or complaining. My behavior is improving all the time.

And here are two somewhat random ones of the boys. They now have bunkbeds, but the bottom bed is a full size so they usually choose to share that one. This is how I found them one night when I checked on them on my way to bed:

It's hard to see where one ends and the other begins. And Mickey Mouse somehow got involved. How they continue to sleep is beyond me.


This last picture I took this evening. Reece is looking a little droopy because he has a cold and even had a mild fever at school today. But he's still dressed in his finest! What every classy 4-year old is wearing at bedtime these days:

Prius envy

So we didn't end up buying a Prius (or any other car, for that matter). Financially, it just wasn't the right decision considering the house renovations we hope to embark on this spring. But now, every time Dan sees one go by, he has to point it out to me and say something like, "We could have had one of those". Which is funny, because I was the one who really wanted that car in particular. He would rather have something "sportier", although compared to our current two vehicles (2004 Toyota Sienna minivan and 1999 Nissan Altima), I maintain that the Prius IS sporty. I have a love-hate relationship with the minivan: it's awesome for long trips and transporting nephews & kids' friends but feels like a big boat when I'm in it alone going to work or running errands, and I'm not the best at parking it (see various small scrapes along sides and back for proof). I'm actually driving the Altima right now because my parking situation is tighter than Dan's, and since driving various Priuses (Prii?), I'm noticing all the things that probably need to be fixed - soon. So neither option is ideal, in my book, and new(er) Prius would be.

It doesn't help that it seems every 10th vehicle I see on the road is a Prius. Why do people in my area have to be so environmentally conscious?! I'm pretty sure that we will be buying a Prius whenever the Altima bites the dust, but until then I'm left pining after them. I know, I know, everyone should have my problems.

Catching up

There hasn't been anything that struck me as blog-worthy lately, so I've been avoiding putting up a new post. However, we have actually been busy around here. It just seems like it's all our everyday activities. And then I realized I should at least write some of those down so we can remember them accurately later. Unfortunately, my photo-taking has lagged along with my blogging, so I don't even have any new photos to post. Again, it's all just been routine and so I forget I should be documenting that as well.

Greyson is on a basketball team in his aftercare, which has amazed us. Basketball has been the one sport we haven't at least suggested to him, for somewhat obvious reasons, but he's really loving it. His coach is very patient with the kids and includes those of all abilities. They practice two days a week (and I've been instructed NOT to come too early to pick him up on those days), and they've played one game (and won - against another elementary school's aftercare team). I missed that game because I didn't realize it was happening until too late, so I'm determined to make the second one this Thursday. Apparently they also have cheerleaders, which I've GOT to see. I also have to remember to bring the video camera, because Thursday is Dan's late work night and so he'll most likely miss all the games.

Reece went to his 4th friend birthday party today and had a great time. For the last two, we've been given the option of staying or leaving him there, and both times he encouraged us to go. So different from how Greyson was (and, really, we were) at that age. The second child definitely gets more freedom than the first. After the party, we discussed all the different places he'd been for friends' parties and where he might like to have one when he turns 5 next year. Memphis Kiddie Park is out, since it's not open in the winter, and the Lake County Farmpark is also mostly an outdoor place. The other two were at his friend Annika's house and at Chabam (today), an educational music, art, and movement facility. So he decided he'd like to have his party at Annika's house. I have such a hard time keeping a straight face and dealing seriously and respectfully with these kinds of comments when he makes them! But I think I've convinced him that probably won't work.

Our other activities have been looking at used Priuses to possibly buy so that my brother can have our Altima, and revamping our house renovation plan to fit into our revised budget, courtesy of the loan people at the banks. We're getting so good at compromises! Oh, and I took a day trip to the IKEA in Pittsburgh last weekend to get new shelving for the basement. Unfortunately, I didn't take a "before" picture, but I hope to post an "after" one soon. Maybe I'll also have a picture of a new car (to us) to add!