The Boxes Are Here!

This is it! We're moving in one short week! And the boxes have arrived!

Matt and I are starting to get really excited about this move. Obviously, so are the kids! So, we are totally upgrading with this apartment, so I thought I'd do another list:

Why I'm excited about our new apartment:

• it has a dishwasher!
• it's totally renovated and 'brand new' looking. That doesn't really matter much in reality, but it feels nice. Stainless steel appliances and all that.
• there are 6 outlets at the kitchen countertop - hello crockpots!
• it's not bigger, but at least it's not smaller!
• rent is $350 LESS per month.
• there are 2 Catholic churches, 3 grocery stores, a Goodwill, an express subway station WITH AN ELEVATOR and the post office right around the corner.
• our whole building is stroller friendly - elevators all the way, no more stairs!
• 24-hr security guards and a high iron fence surround the private courtyard.
• the private courtyard has TWO playgrounds and a basketball court.
• we have an excuse to buy a new couch and bed, both of which have been killing my back during this pregnancy, plus our bed is just too small.
• if something is broken, we call the leasing office and they send a porter within 24 hrs - no more living with leaks on account of a crappy super.
• The Bronx Zoo (which we have a membership to) is much closer, as is the Bronx Terminal shopping center which has two of my favorite places - Applebee's and Target (it's like a faux America).

Hopefully I'll find some other stuff to add to this list once we get settled. Now, on to packing. Matt's already packed most of the living room - on to the kitchen for me!

No Time to Post

That's really not true, I have time to post updates about the kids, everyday something happens that I think I should write about that! But I don't. 'Cause I'd rather be with my kids. The kids are ALL napping now, so I thought I'd make writing a priority.

For the first time in quite a while, I am home, by myself, with all three kids. This hasn't happened for more than a day or two since last summer, and even then I had help coming in left and right because Max was a newborn. I was very scared about how these few weeks of summer break would go for us, but actually, they've gone really well. I'm lucky to have fantastically well-behaved children, and have been able to do the grocery store, parks/playgrounds, library, post office and all kinds of other errands with them with pretty much no problem - except that the stroller has two seriously deflated tires. The actual wheel has broken and we're waiting for replacements, which need to come hella fast, because pushing that thing uphill is no easy task as it is.

We've been doing a homeschool dry-run with Karol and Patrick, and they are having a ton of fun with it. We are finally starting to catch up to Karol's abilities in her math book, so we've been able to slow down a bit with it.

Max had his first birthday! And it was a blast. We celebrated while we were in Indiana catching up with tons of friends and family. Speaking of which - what a whirlwind vacation that was! I already feel like I need another one; Matt and I did get to escape the kids for a couple days, though, at the lovely Swan Lake Inn Golf Resort.

Karol is about two weeks away from turning FOUR. I'm just a bit disturbed about this. I'm really not ready for her to be four. It's already time for decision 2012: kindergarten. And we could not be in a harder place to make this decision. New York has a lot of fantastic options and a lot of terrible ones as well, and not much in between. But enough of that, because I'm sure I'll be writing about nothing else in about 9 months when it becomes a really serious decision.

Patrick is picking up communication skills hand over fist these days. He is amazing, to say the least. Usually when kids can't find a way to express what they're thinking, they throw a tantrum. Patrick will try to explain something, sigh, and then say "I don't know the words." And that is that. I assure him that someday he'll know all the words, and he can tell me about it then.

I am really soaking up this opportunity I've got to experience my kids through constant immersion. The apartment is looking a little worse for the wear, but amazingly I've been able to keep up with the regular cleaning stuff. It's keeping the kids' toys under control that seems to be impossible. Although it's amazing how quickly they clean up all their own things when there's money to be earned.

That's right, money. No, we aren't outright paying our kids to do what they should be doing anyway, but since Karol's been learning about pennies and nickels in her math book, we've had to find a reason to give her (and Patrick, can't leave him out) change to buy things in our 'store.' In order to drive home the whole money concept, I gave the kids some pennies and nickels (just pennies for Pat, he's working on counting 1-20) and they 'bought' some of their toys from the living room to take to their bedroom. They quickly ran out of money, however, so they withdrew some from the bank. Pretty soon I decided they needed to 'work' for their money, lest they get the idea that it grows on trees. Hence the living room pick up. Then the game could continue. I haven't taught them about saving yet, I figure I can wait until we cover dimes, quarters and dollars before I bust out compound interest and that sort of thing.

In other news...well, there's not much other news. Matt's still working his buns off, the kids will be returning to Nazareth Nursery in the coming weeks, and I'm just here, trying to keep people clean and fed.

Smith Family Reunion

Well our quick trip to Anderson for the Smith Family Reunion went fantastically. We got to see lots of family we haven't seen in a while (some K&P met for the first time!) and then I zipped back to DC to work. Matt and the kiddies are hanging with Mimu and Grandpa Plomin for the rest of the week.

Unfortunately, this means Matt will miss an ultrasound for the first time ever on Friday. I would reschedule, but 2pm on a Friday was the only appointment I could get three weeks ago, so we definitely won't be able to get this very important one in before we move otherwise.

So I've got a few days to myself in the nation's capital...and I'm trying to pack like crazy. I have been researching the best ways to pack (what order, how to pack breakables, that sort of thing) and one thing that I see a lot is to pack the kids' room last. This makes sense, especially since they'll need to use their stuff - like cribs and beds - up to the day of the move.

Lots of articles advise taking special items that the kids find important for them to take in the car instead of pack. The only problem with that is that I can't think of any specific toy or stuffed animal or blanket that either one of the kids are particularly attached to. My kids are strangely without 'loveys' altogether. So I guess I'll just leave out a couple of their every day sorts of things.

Well, back to packing. Enjoy these pics from the reunion.

Saturday with Mommy

Well Matt is getting the keys and moving the first few boxes into the Manhattan apartment today! That means I'm home with the kiddies - of course it's a free-for-all while Daddy's away!

Actually, I've done a fairly good job keeping a schedule, of sorts, today. Karol sneaked into my room a little after 7, and Patrick was just waking up in his crib at the same time, so we started the morning a little earlier than normal. But that was just as well, since the farmer's market starts at 7 and all the best stuff goes early.

The kids were dressed, fed and ready to go by 8am! But they decided they wanted to do a puzzle first. After a scuffle over piggy banks (don't ask) I managed to convince them they wanted to go for a walk to the farmer's market.

Rather than stroll, I strapped on their monkey and doggie backpacks and they walked with me. Luckily it's only one block away. We checked out all the different foods, but they were most entertained just sitting in the grass picking wildflowers and clovers.

We even got to pet a couple of dogs while we were out!

We started heading back home around 9, and Patrick demanded we stop at the courtyard for some rock pile action. Of course, they ended up completely soaked, but they had a blast.

I let them pick a flower from the landscaping in exchange for going inside and changing. Since they were already wet, I decided it was a fantastic time to brush teeth (forgot to do it this morning). Then they stripped off the wet clothes and decided to do puzzles again.

Snack time rolled around and they actually wanted cold oatmeal as their snack. My kids are weird.

After snacks, we threw in another load of laundry together.

I knew I needed to burn some time and some energy for a successful nap time, so I took the kids up to the pool all by myself. Until now, there's no way I would ever feel comfortable taking more than one kid to a pool without some back up. But I devised a strategy and I felt pretty confident I could do it. It helps that there's always a lifeguard on duty, and it's a 4-foot pool, so I can just stand.

We suited up - Coast Guard approved life jackets, sunblock and all - in the apartment. I didn't want to be stuck snapping Karol's jacket while Pat wondered off to the pool. After a pep talk about staying right next to Mommy all the time, we headed up to the pool deck. And I couldn't be more thankful we did. The water was perfect, and the kids both did a great job of holding onto Mommy, the wall, or a combination of the two. The jackets give the kids a lot of buoyancy and Karol was able to keep herself upright really well. Her big thing at the pool is propelling herself around the edge, so we did that a lot while I bounced Patrick on my hip.

The only real issue was actually the other children at the pool. There was a group of three sisters - two 8 year olds and a 5 year old - that took an interest in Karol and therefore were in my way a bit. And they were annoying. The 5 year old would take Karol's hand and inevitably she'd get a mouthful of water from losing her balance. Meanwhile, Patrick was already tired and cranky, so we needed to leave. This was simple enough, because I told Karol that we could go inside and watch Caillou. She was ready to go instantly.

Getting out of the pool was easier than I anticipated, but still no picnic. The kids were easy - I just sat them up on the edge and they walked over to our pool bag. I didn't want to be more than arms-length away for very long though, so I 'hopped' out of the pool up onto the side instead of taking the ladder, as best a 7 month pregnant lady can. I was shocked at my own ability to do it, but it couldn't have been pretty to watch.

Karol and Patrick sunbathed for a couple of minutes while I loaded up all the swimming supplies, and then we headed back to the apartment.

Caillou gave me enough time to make lunch - mac & cheese and peas - and then those kids just sat and ate. They must have been hungry because they both had two helpings of mac & cheese and most of their peas, and they didn't even talk or goof around, they were so intent on eating.

Next we caught Grandpa Shaw on Skype and then an episode of Wonderpets before stories and naps.

They are both sleeping like rocks now. Matt's already on the road back, so I'm hoping he makes it home in time to play with the kids before bedtime!

Good Times in the Bath

Karol and I wrapped up the evening (a terrible, nothing goes right type of day today) with a mommy-daughter bath, complete with facial masques, tea-tree oil foot scrubs, and an intense game of 'Spuh-LASH!' which is a lot like catch, but without the catching.

Luckily the rest of the night went smoothly with no tears from either toddler at bedtime. Unfortunately, Matt will be up late tonight working on one of two final papers that is due tomorrow at noon. I will be SO glad when he is done with all of this on WEDNESDAY.

As for me, I've been done with class for a week or two now (yay!). Now I'm going nuts about packing, going through the kids' clothes and weeding the outgrown and winter weather gear from their drawers for storage, and making big piles of random stuff to be donated. We are going to be losing a lot of space with the move to NYC (oh yeah, and adding a kid) and the extra stuff just isn't getting out of my apartment fast enough for my taste.

It's 9pm, and I think I'm going to go to bed. That's actually a little early for me. I'm hoping tomorrow starts off a little smoother than today did, but I'm not looking forward to Matt being MIA while he crams on final projects the next three days!

Montessori Mommy?

I'm back to reading Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three and back on a Montessori kick again.  I think I wrote in an earlier post that we found exactly the right school for our kids - it's a Catholic Montessori preschool - and last month we were finally able to go there for observation.

I'm even more convinced that this is where I want Karol to be next year, but alas, there's no space available.  Well, Sister Lucy, the lady that runs the place, said they may have an opening depending on if one family moves...so we're keeping our fingers crossed, but won't be surprised if it doesn't happen until the 2011-12 school year.

So what do we do until then?  I really don't see the point in sticking her in a different preschool for a year and then switching.  That just seems like it would cause undue stress for all of us.  So I'm seriously considering teaching her (as best I can) from home, in the Montessori Method.

Of course, it doesn't seem fair at all to put that kind of time and effort into Karol and not Patrick, who's nipping at Karol's heels right now, developmentally speaking.  But he's in a totally different sensitive period, so the work he should be doing is totally different from what Karol is on.

Oh, and let's not forget little Max (that's Fetus Plomin's new name, now that we know he's a boy for sure)!  I have the chance to start from the very beginning with him.  But just taking care of the basic needs of an infant is enough work for one mom.  I'm already depriving the poor little guy of much needed sleep (for mommy) most nights in order to research Montessori homeschooling, apartments in NYC and preschool options.  Do I really think I'm going to be able to teach all my kids at the same time all by myself?

Well, yes.  I guess I do.  My plan?  Be prepared well in advance.  I'm going to have to tackle this 'stay at home mom' thing (makes me cringe to type that) with a strategic campaign plan.  That's why I'm so glad I discovered this awesome blog, Wanting What You Have.  It's written by a professional 'housewife' (cringe) who's come up with what she calls a Home Management Guide.  It is the greatest idea ever.  Not that its a new one.  Basically, it's a business plan for the home.  I've already started building mine.  I've got two whole sections done, and I'm totally stoked about it.

I'm doing mine a little differently, though, since, well, every household is a little different, and in our case, a lot different.  I'm planning for all my Montessori tools and research to be a huge section of this binder.  I think I'm going to come up with a different name for mine though.  Something like, 'Jillian's World Domination Strategic Campaign Plan.'  So far I've got all my work schedules done, pretty similar to how Heather does it, and a cleaning section.  I'm going to add a food section, but I still don't really know enough about cooking yet to put it together, and Matt's in charge of the groceries right now, so I'm at a loss for a price book (I'm just going to take over his).  The Montessori section I'm going to start building tonight right after I write this post.  As for the World Domination-specific sections, that's classified, sorry.

Happy and Healthy Babies - All of Them!

Today was a 'big' day for the DC Plomins.  Bright and early this morning the whole family trekked up to our old stomping grounds, Silver Spring, for a round of doctor's appointments.

Karol - not surprisingly, Karol got a gold star for verbal ability.  The doctor was floored that she was answering questions like "how old are you?" and "are you a boy or a girl?"  I guess those are questions a 3 year old may be able to answer.  She was also impressed with the 6-word sentences she was uttering -but Matt and I know she can easily do 15-word sentences and more!
She's an expert at jumping, but hasn't mastered walking backwards yet - although that's another 3 year old task.

Patrick - Patrick is right on track developmentally, and doing especially well in the walking/climbing arena.  He's off the charts for both height and weight and a very healthy growing boy.  Patrick's language is seemingly ahead of schedule, too, but of course he was too shy to talk to Dr. Fishman at all.  He did manage a 'high five' though.
Patrick got a whopping 3 shots, one of which being the chicken pox vaccine.  The good news is that he won't need any at all at the 18 month check up.  I'm hoping we can squeeze that one in before we have to leave for NYC in July.

Baby #3 - Mommy and baby got a check up today, too.  I'm doing fine, of course, and New Baby Plomin has all the major organs and limbs and whatnot that they check for in the 20 week ultrasound.  And of course we got the opportunity to find out what we're having.  And, as I've been predicting since day 1 - the ultrasound confirmed we're having a boy!  Karol and Patrick are excited to have a baby brother and Matt and I are excited to use pronouns like "he" instead of "it" when referring to "him."

Measurement-wise he is still on track with his original due date of Aug 10, give or take a couple days.  I'm betting he'll be quite an average size, weighing more than Karol did (7 lbs 9 oz) and less than Patrick (9 lbs 3 oz).  It'll be 'fun' to get to know all new doctors just a month before he's born to deliver him in NYC, but we're getting closer to figuring out who that will be now.  Or I should say, Matt is.  I've put him in charge of finding the doc, the hospital and an apartment in NYC.  We'll see how that goes.

The apartment search is still pretty passive - it's still early - but we've got some feelers out.  We're still pretty focused on the West side, hopefully somewhere in our between the West Village and Upper West Side.  I'm not really thinking about that now, though.  For right now I'm just looking forward to tying my shoes without straining and meeting my new little boy, and thanking God we are so very lucky to have such beautiful and healthy children.

So that's the update for now!

Back Home Again In Indiana Without the Babies

Well I’m sitting at the airport, trying not to get sucked in by all the Maryland Crab paraphernalia, missing my kids already. They napped all the way to the airport, and no matter how you explain it, it’s hard to tell if they really understand. Just a couple of hours before we left I was seriously toying with the idea of taking Patrick with me. He’s still young enough to be a lap child, after all. But that would just make things more difficult than they need to be, and the last thing he needs is to have his routine disrupted.

Getting from the car to the gate literally took about 5 minutes since I checked in online, don’t have any bags to check and there was no line in security. Seriously, zero people in line. The TSA guy had to wait for me to get my ID out because I just walked right up to him. So, no kids, no typical airport hassles…I anticipate having a lot of free time.

Usually that free time would be eaten up with talking to Matt until he got home and I took off, then talking to him again from landing to destination number one. But like an idiot, I left my phone charger on the table and my phone battery is barely half full, so it’s off until it’s time to tell everyone I landed safely. That’s a very important call.

I brought Atlas Shrugged, which I’ve been wanting to read for about ten years now (it’s an intimidatingly thick book – and yes I’m aware I just made up that adverb). And I thought I could get some serious blogging done – yay! Since I can’t get online though, I’m avoiding doing any ‘professional’ blogging for now. I thought I’d write an update to the family blog instead. Because that’s what’s on my mind right now.

So here’s an update on my lovely babies.

Let’s start with Karol. She’s pretty much full-grown now. She has a shoe addiction that’s starting to rub off on Patrick. She’s obsessed with organization, which I hope will rub off on Patrick. I stopped trying to gauge where her verbal skills are, because they are so off the charts it’s impossible. I’ve known five year olds with less grammar and diction. The really great thing is to hear her correct herself, as in, “Mommy, I bringed my…I brought my banana!” I mean seriously? Irregular verbs? Like I said, I’m pretty sure the ‘books’ declare your kid as A-OK by the time they’re doing that. So we’ve moved on to watching Patrick.

Patrick, I must admit, I was worried about in the very beginning. Maybe because all the books say that communication and language skills are harder for boys to build in babyhood because of the way their brains form differently from girls. Maybe it’s because he didn’t coo and gurgle and make as many baby sounds in the first few months. And unfortunately being the second kid, I always fear we’re not talking to him enough, reading to him enough, and that sort of thing.

But recently Matt and I have been looking back and comparing his skills to where Karol’s were at this age (I know, I know, exactly what you’re NOT supposed to do!). Apparently my kids are genetically programmed to be fascinated with dogs starting around age 1 because that’s what Karol did, and that’s precisely what Patrick is doing. He is getting interested in books, but only really wants to sit still for books about dogs. He really gets into them, and then makes us read the same book over and over and over! Right now he’s stuck on Harry the Dirty Dog, Where’s Spot, and I’ll Teach My Dog A Lot of Words. I plan to take the kids to the library soon to expand the selection.

Patrick is picking up ‘baby signs’ left and right, as well. He’s been able to do ‘eat,’ ‘milk,’ ‘all done,’ and ‘more’ for quite a while, but recently he’s picked up ‘bath,’ ‘book,’ and ‘socks’ – and of course ‘dog!’ We haven’t put a lot of energy into teaching them to him, but in my experience with both Karol and Patrick, it you wait until they show an interest in those things, they learn very fast. We simply use the signs when appropriate, and then try to reinforce with the videos.

Patrick’s motor skills, too, are growing by leaps and bounds. I don’t take for granted that there’s anything he can’t do anymore. He can climb the furniture, open doors, ‘swim’ in the bathtub, and kick a ball. All pretty astounding at the tender age of 13 months, if I do say so myself.

Then there’s baby X. We still don’t know if he’s a boy or a girl, but I’m calling him a boy for now, that’s just my guess. He’s pretty laid back right now, and doesn’t say much. According to BabyCenter.com he’s about the size of an avocado.

Well, at the beginning of this post I was at the airport in Baltimore. Now I’m in Indiana. So that’s it for now.

Taking A Trip Without The Kids

So I'm leaving my entire family for the first time. I'll be flying home to Indiana to pick up my TA-50 (loads of Army gear that was issued to me years ago) and returning it to my old unit in Darien, IL, just south of Chicago. I leave tomorrow afternoon, and come back Monday afternoon, if all goes well, and I'm already stressed out about being so far away.

It's not that I don't trust Matt to take care of the kids for a couple of days, but that I'm going to miss them like CRAZY. Hopefully this time will pass quickly, and I won't lose my mind in the process. Maybe I can even take a book or something for the plane ride, wouldn't that be something? I can't remember the last time I read a book for fun. Maybe I can spend some time writing for my other ("professional") blogs. Who knows...

The up-side is that this will be a great opportunity to hopefully see some people I haven't seen in a while and hang out with my family. Maybe I'll even get to see my niece and nephew a little bit!

I'll let you know how it all turns out, I guess.

NYC, I Give You Fair Warning

Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. Matt and I are officially taking the plunge and moving to the Big Apple, the Empire State. Yep, good ole NYC. I'm not talking about living in New Jersey or the boroughs either. We are moving to FRICKIN MANHATTAN. Or at the very least, Queens.



So, we're relocating from our posh Arlington apartment right next door to the greatest job I've ever had, down the street from the best child care provider you could ever hope to have for your kids, in a neighborhood just minutes away from Costco, Pentagon City Mall, the national monuments, historic Georgetown and my beloved cupcakes, to a place where we are going to be starting all over, the taxes are highest in the country, in an undoubtably much smaller apartment. I'm getting used to the idea.



Matt's job is going to be great for him. He'll be an Associate in Institutional Asset Management for Deutsche Bank. He loves the group he's working with; they're the same one he worked with over the summer. It's what he's always wanted to do and he's gonna go far, I just know it.


As for me, it's up in the air. There's a very good chance I'll go back to political consulting (2010 is shaping up to be excellent for real Republicans), and maybe start a new thing consulting small business. The job market is rich in NYC for ad/pr, so I could always do a 9-5 again, too. After the baby is born, that is.



What? A baby? Another baby? Didn't you just have one?


Yeah, I did. And we're going to have number three sometime mid-August, probably at the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center in the Village (thank God we still have a Manning!).

My belly right now.

My belly 8 months after Patrick. *sigh* C'est la vie.

Once we made the decision that we are indeed moving, all the other decisions had to be made. Luckily, my search for the perfect pre-school (for Karol only, for now) was a quick one. There's actually a Catholic Montessori (exactly what I wanted) right smack in the West Village that is quite affordable. We haven't visited or anything yet, but I did make a call. Hopefully we can run up there sometime in March to check the place out and get Karol enrolled. I've heard how awful New York private school admissions can be, but I think this school is an exception.



That decision led to the next one: Where to live? West Village is pretty 'up and coming' we've heard, and the subway right by the pre-school goes straight to Matt's office. It's also a little more neighborhood-ish than living in East Midtown where Matt will be working. There will be (a little) more access to shops, restaurants, and other necessary places. We're hoping to find something close to Washington Park.

Another option is Astoria (part of Queens). It's more affordable, and if we stay close to the subway line it'd be just as easy a commute as West Village for Matt, but a little further down the line for Karol's school.

It's way too early to know anything though.



The giant elephant problem with moving to NYC is that it's NOT a kid-friendly place to live. And it's not a parent-friendly place to live. Everything I see online about living in New York talks about the 'awesome night-life' and great places for grown ups to go by themselves. We don't HAVE a night-life. I'm lucky to get a day-life with 2 kids 2 and under. Oh wait, make that 3 under 3! I swear if I read another article or post about how great it is to be single and responsibility-free in New York I will scream.



Oh well. Maybe Matt will get a huge bonus and we'll be able to afford a babysitter once in a while. Until then, nose to the grindstone.

Thanksgiving Day

Matt and I have an enormous amount to be thankful for. The only things I'll bother to mention, though, are our children and each other. Even though we decided not to shell out the dough for a trip home (saving that for an extra-long Christmas visit), we had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Arlington. I made the extra special effort to dress up the kids even though 75% of the time they were bedecked it was just the four of us.

Well, Karol was dressed up. Pat's 'dress up' clothes are so restricting, I gave him a break. But he did sport a nice "Baby's First Thanksgiving" bib.

Matt spent the entire day - from 7am until 4pm - in the kitchen. Our new apartment has a phenomenal kitchen compared to the tiny set up in our place in Silver Spring, and Matt really enjoyed flexing his culinary muscles. He didn't have to go it alone though - our college buddy, Dan Wanke, stayed in town (for the same reasons we did - he's from Wisconsin); we were thrilled to have him over and he helped Matt with all the side dishes, of which there were many.

Besides an incredibly juicy, flavorful, delicious turkey, we had creamed corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed spinach, chestnut stuffing, traditional stuffing, apple-topped sweet potatoes and traditional sweet potatoes (my personal Thanksgiving fave). Matt, did I miss anything? Dan brought over two pumpkin pies (I just polished off the leftovers of that while typing this, actually), I made a rather bland pumpkin bisque and a family recipe Irish coffee cake and Matt's friend Cherub brought an Indian dish (thankfully for me not too spicy!) as well.

We had a full house this Thanksgiving, since we had the honor of hosting Dan and three of Matt's friends from GWU-Anand, Ritwik and Cherub. They are from India, so not surprisingly they can't make the trip home either (and I thought we lived too far from home!). My favorite part of having friends over is seeing the interaction they have with Karol and Patrick. Karol used to be a frequent visitor to group meetings, classes, and the like, if I was on military duty, if someone was sick or if childcare fell through, so Karol is especially familiar with the GW MBA class of 2010. I love that she is comfortable playing and talking to Matt's classmates and that they are open to playing "Uncle" to K&P every now and then. And they loves the extra attention, of course!

Dan & Pat

Cherub & Karol

Ritwik & Pat

Anand & Karol

The next day we hit the Black Friday sales! I know what you're thinking, "Black Friday sales with two kids, is she nuts?" Actually, we didn't really start our shopping until after 8, and the craziness is pretty much quelled by then. We hit Target, Staples, and Guitar Center, all of which were only a little livelier than normal. Best Buy was the only place we went with any Black Friday rush left, so Matt dropped me off at the door and I grabbed what we needed while he drove around with the kids.

After that, we went to Uncle Joe and Aunt Judy's house at Karol's insistence. She absolutely loves going over there, especially when she gets to brush Dusty and give him treats!

The next day, Matt and Karol wanted to check out all the new decorations at the mall and maybe get some of our own for the apartment, so we spent all day at Springfield Mall and Tyson's Corner. The kids were both so good the whole day through (hint, hint, St. Nick) and we all had a great time. We crossed a few people off our gift list, got some cute new Christmas shirts for Patrick, and Mommy got a couple things from her new favorite store, New York & Company. Everyone except Matt has their Christmas socks for Louisville Christmas, which I'm told is a necessity. We'll have to pick up some for Daddy today.

So after a pretty packed long weekend, this Sunday we are chilling at home, writing letters to Santa, and maybe taking a long walk before Mass this evening. We are getting really excited for Advent and Christmas, and looking forward to a week and a half in Indiana. Next on the holiday to-do list: get a Christmas tree! I have no idea where we'll put it though!

I can't even count the many ways God has blessed us this year. I just pray that our good fortune continues and that we keep growing together as a family.

Happy holidays to everyone and we can't wait to see you at Christmas!

"Hold still and smile!"

Oh Blogger, I Miss You...

Well I've been a terrible blogger lately. I have about a million pictures of the kids I need to upload, there's a post in my drafts about Karol's potty training that is just waiting for a pic to be published, and only about 18,382,945 things have happened since I last updated all (2) of my loyal readers.

1. I finished my Ethics in PR class, and Monday I start an Applied Research class.
2. Matt is also starting second module, which is going to be an even heavier class load than first module.
3. Karol is potty training - dedicated post forthcoming.
4. Patrick is starting to sleep through the night in his own bed (as opposed to ending up in our bed sometime around 3am)
5. I've become addicted to the rush of good TV that's being made, including The Middle, Modern Family, and Glee, and still hooked on old faves like Biggest Loser. Supernanny returns tonight, and I'm waiting for The Bachelor to start up again. I just found out Jake Pavelka will be the next Bachelor, and that is the main reason I'm going to watch again! Sadly, TV is my secret luxury - but not when the kids are up! Thank God for DVR.

I promise I'll get that potty post up soon! But that's all for now.

Update

It's been too long since I've written anything, so I figured I'd give my thousands of readers (ha, ha) an update on the Arlington Plomins.

Matt's back in school full swing taking primarily night classes. He's also the program's Economics tutor now, so he spends some time during the day helping other students out with test prep and that sort of thing. He's probably going to get an internship as well, hopefully only working 20 or so hours a week. It's SO nice to have Matt back at home, but the night classes are rough for all of us.

Karol is talking up a storm, and is in the emotional crazy phase known as the 'terrible twos.' They are more 'terrific' than 'terrible' though so far. She is big into "loves" "hugs" and "kisses." Matt and I are both eating it up when she says "I want to hold you!" Typically what she means is 'I want to get out of my high chair,' but it's still so sweet. She always gets lots of 'loves' then. She's also taken to giving Patrick "loves," but he's none too thrilled about it. He tolerates it at best, and starts crying at worst. We generally try to redirect the 'loves' to Mommy or Daddy.

Patrick is cruisin' like he's in the Applewood parking lot (if you were from Anderson, you'd get that). And he's very good at it. He will be walking any day now, surely. He's also firmly reluctant to say 'Mama.' He's not big on talking yet, and no matter how hard I try, he just grins at me when I say "Mama! Say, Mama!" It's becoming his favorite game.

On the eating front - he is almost ready to go pro! He had a few Cheerios this morning, and last night he sucked down a good bit of pureed carrots. He's already demanding to do it himself, but he's actually not that bad with a spoon. He gets it to his mouth really well.

As for me, I'm mid-way through my second to last class before my final capstone project for my Masters. This week I attended Advertising Week DC, and it was really informative. I'm back at work now and trying to catch up on work, housecleaning, homework and parenting (sigh). I have been feeling kind of terrible lately because I have not read to Patrick nearly as much as I do with Karol. Patrick gets short-changed in almost every other aspect, too. I'd like to say it's because I don't have the time, but that's not true. The opportunity is there, I just haven't been putting forth the effort to do it (with Patrick, it's an effort - he's more concerned with eating the books right now). And since Patrick and Karol are so different, the books we read to Karol really don't 'work' on Pat.

Okay, enough complaining! So there's your update. Hopefully I'll have some new pics or videos next time.

Matt Plomin's Awesome Chicken Soup

So I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday and was whining that I was STARVING today since I hadn't eaten anything - at all - so Matt made me chicken soup out of stuff in the cupboards and fridge and it is bar none the best chicken soup I've ever tasted! He didn't write it down (he did it on the fly) so I'm going to try and capture it from his description of how he made it:

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Bisquick
Olive oil
Minced garlic
4 c water (approx)
Dried parsley
Thyme
Oregano
Onion powder
Pinot grigio vinegar
Frozen peas & carrots mix
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Slice 2 chicken breasts into small cubes.
Lightly flour with bisquick, salt and pepper.
Brown in olive oil in 2 quart pot.
Add garlic and brown garlic.
Add water.
Add 1.5 TBS dried parsley, ts thyme, 1/2 ts oregano, 3/4 ts onion powder, salt & pepper to taste, and a dash of pinot grigio vinegar.
Add 1/2-3/4 c. frozen peas & carrots
Let simmer until wife's complaining is intolerable. Serve room temp (for people who just got their teeth pulled).

Aunt Abby's Wedding!!!

Karol and her godmother/aunt, Abby, are kindred spirits.  From their mutual love for shoes to their squeaky monkey impersonations to their matching smiles, they are truly two peas in a pod!  When I hinted to Karol that we were going home this weekend, her whole face lit up in anticipation when I mentioned seeing 'Aunt Abby.'

Since Toni had been hanging out with us in DC, she flew home with us, which meant we also got to see GeeGee for a few minutes.  They helped us get all our gear and load up into Grandpa Plomin's car for the ride home to Lafayette.  I have a feeling fetching us at the airport was the easier job, because all the ladies were putting together flower arrangements at Penny's house - a task that involved hundreds of hydrangeas, 49 vases, and spray paint! 

Patrick was super excited to see he had his very own jumperoo waiting for him at Mimu and Grandpa's house.  Unfortunately it was still in the box, but Abby and I had a fun time trying to put it together (mostly without the directions)!  By Friday morning it was ready to go, though.  

After the rehearsal we all went to one of Colin and Abby's favorite places, Nine Irish Brother's, for dinner and fun.  My arms got a bit of a break (yay!) while Karol and Patrick socialized with bridesmaids (Patrick is a lady-killer) and close friends and family.  Karol was the first to spot Matt and everyone was so excited to see him!  He got in earlier than we had expected!  

Having Matt there was a huge relief for me.  Karol had had a rough time sleeping Thursday night, but in her Daddy's comfy arms she was out all night Friday.  

Saturday was the BIG DAY.  Matt and Pat greeted the guests as they came in - check out Patrick's awesome 'do for the big event - and Karol and I waited nervously with Aunt Abby and the bridesmaids in a dark entrance at St. Tom's Church.  Since the wedding was smack in the middle of nap time, lunch and naps were helter-skelter, but luckily there were grapes for Abby where we were waiting and Karol snacked on those.  

The grapes turned out to be a pivotal part of Karol's successful trip down the aisle.  I walked Karol to her starting point, handed her a grape, pointed to Mimu (mother of the bride) and said "Mimu has more grapes.  Go!" and gave her a shove.  It must have worked, because she made it all the way to Mimu by herself. Not many flowers got distributed though, ha!  You win some, you lose some, I guess.

The kids did great at the reception dinner, and Karol chowed down on mac & cheese and chicken fingers!  

Here's Karol knockin' one back for Abby and Colin.  Don't worry, it's just sparkling grape juice!  Don't you love the cake icing all around her mouth?  Yummy cake, Penny!

By the time the band started, the kids were really ready for bed, so Matt and I took them back to the hotel where GeeGee, Nana, and Aunt Toni helped them get to sleep.  Matt and I finally made it back a little after 10pm and the place was still rockin', but we had to call it a night about an hour and a half later.  We're getting too old for this party all night stuff!  All in all, the Plomin-Fogarty nuptial was a great event - I can't wait to get my hands on the professional pictures!  I think there's going to be a video, too!  Until then, though, here's some exclusive first-on-the-web footage from the reception:

Here Colin and Abby are chatting with Fr. Patrick who co-officiated the wedding ceremony with Colin's pastor, Rev. Jeff Cover.

Colin and Abby have escaped to somewhere in Michigan, and are hopefully relaxing and have lots of nothing planned!  They have lots of unwrapping gifts and finding storage for wedding keepsakes to do when they return, so they'd better rest up!

Now for the video that probably tops all videos, Karol's flower girl debut!

Did you attend the Plomin-Fogarty wedding?  What was your favorite part???

The Home Stretch

We're officially in the final stretch of this summer's New York internship for Matt. Thank goodness! We've actually learned to cope quite well, but ALL of us miss him SO MUCH.

This weekend Karol showered Matt with kisses and hugs saying "I love you too Daddy!" and "Big kiss!" and "Big hug!" It was a tear-jerkingly adorable game to play. When Matt and I had to walk out the door to take him to the bus pick-up, Matt said "Bye-bye, Karol, Daddy's going back to New York," Karol backed away and tossed herself on the couch. "I think she knows what that means." Matt said. I think she does too. The good news is, that's the last time he'll have to say it. Next weekend we are visiting him in the Big Apple - family road trip! And the weekend after that we are meeting up in Indiana for Aunt Abby's big day!

Patrick is funny and always the upbeat, optimistic, happy-go-lucky baby boy. About a month ago, Patrick started saying dada (well it sounds like 'dar dar dar dar,' really) when Matt was home one weekend. He pretty much stopped saying it until Friday. On Fridays I start to make a big deal that "Daddy's coming home!" So when the phone rang and it was Matt, Pat started saying his 'dar dar dar dar!' He was ecstatic to get his fill of active play over the weekend; plenty of upside down, topsy turvy, nerve-racking for Mommy stuff. If you don't believe me, take a look at this video:

Sunday nights are the worst for me. Even though he's only here for two nights (one and a half, really) I get used to having Matt to talk to and fall asleep listening to ELR with. After Matt leaves and the children go to bed on Sunday, there's an erie quiet in the apartment. I find myself turning on televisions and doing chores to drown it out.

Funny People

MATT AND I SAW A MOVIE LAST SATURDAY!!! Believe it or not, this is a momentous occasion. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a movie with my husband. And we were really pleased with Adam Sandler's new flick "Funny People." It's a semi-serious movie that revolves around the lives of comedians. "Funny People" has a great cast and includes some stellar cameo appearances - one of which was none other than our absolute fave former sit-com star, Ray Romano!

We weren't sure what to expect at first, because the Wall Street Journal gave the movie a lame review, but I thought it was a thought-provoking inside look at the famous LA life.

As we were leaving the theatre, I overheard the people behind me criticizing Sandler's choice to make a "bad" (a.k.a. not stupid-funny) movie. Then I turned around to look at them. They were fifteen, at best. So, not shocked with their review.

Anyway, the movie could have been an entire waste of time, and that would have been okay too. I was just glad to be alone with my Matty :)