Roger's Birthday and Cookies with Mom

We had a really nice birthday celebration for Roger on Sunday, Dec. 9. We went to Wahoo Grill. We went there last year as well.  The front section provides a nice view of MARTA trains passing by every 15 minutes or so. Sidney enjoyed that very much.  Wahoo Grill provides a free dessert when it’s someone’s birthday and Roger selected the chocolate cake.  Roger and I had a little and Sidney ate most of it. Cleo was not in the mood for cake. She’s not a big baked goods eater but she does love doughnuts.

Cleo and I surprised Roger with Avengers themed party ware. He enjoyed it - Sidney probably enjoyed it even more since the Hulk was pictured on the cups, napkins and plates.

Thursday, Dec. 13, we attended Sidney’s daycare/Cleo’s aftercare’s holiday show. It was at a nearby elementary school, not Cleo’s.  Sidney did very well. He sang Feliz Navidad and the Christmas Song. The Christmas Song entails the kids singing a word that represents each letter in the word “Christmas.”  Sidney and his classmates all wore big sombreros. I was unable to take good pictures (see below); next week I will try to insert a video link in a blog entry.

Sidney with his teacher Ms. Barrett.

Cleo’s aftercare class recited a speech about the Christmas traditions in Madagascar.  I know her shirt is riding up, the girl keeps growing!

Cleo with one of her aftercare teachers, Ms. Shereef.

Cleo getting a candy cane from Santa (aka Mr. Bob who drives the van to pick her up from Deerwood Academy and is also one of her aftercare teachers).

This past weekend we ran errands.  Cleo confided in Roger and me on Friday that she made a list for Santa at school that included (1) doll, (2) bike, and (3) new coat.  She told Roger she wanted a “bed doll” (whatever that means.  I showed her the cute rag doll on her bed with a purple dress and “Cleo” embroidered in white on the dress but she said that she wanted something different.  So, Saturday, December 15, we took her and Sidney to Toys R Us so that she could show us what type of doll that she wanted.  After walking around a bit she said that she was happy with the dolls and stuffed animals she already had.    When pressed regarding the doll, she said that she actually just put down things on the list that she could spell and she could not recall the other things she actually wanted.  Five year-olds can be perplexing.

Sidney’s ability to print his name is improving vastly!  His lowercase “n” is really coming along.

Like most people, I have been incredibly affected by the murders of the 26 people in Newtown, CT. On Friday, my initial desire was to leave work and go pick Cleo and Sidney up in order to see them and have proof that they were fine and remained intact.  But, instead, I stayed at work and I read new stories on-line until it was time for me to leave to pick them up from daycare.  

In the car I listened to coverage on NPR and just let myself cry for the entire trip to the daycare.  I was so happy to greet, hug, and kiss Cleo and Sidney who knew nothing of the day’s events and remain ignorant of it all.  Although, in the car ride home yesterday from daycare, Cleo informed me from the backseat that when you die it means you are gone and never coming back. I asked her why she said that and if anyone was talking about death recently with her and she said, “no, it’s just something I thought of.”  I wonder if she’d overheard older kids at her school talking on Monday.

On Saturday, I couldn’t watch TV coverage because the TV was monopolized by Cleo and Sidney’s programming choices.  Occasionally, I snuck in a quick read of an article on MSNBC and Roger asked me why I was torturing myself. I wasn’t able to properly answer him then. All I knew was that over the weekend, I was just hungry for information.  I kept hoping that the motivation of the shooter would be shared and there would be some way to put the events into some sort of rational packaging.  Right now, it’s just so baffling. Instead of obsessing too much, I allow Cleo and Sidney to distract me.

Cleo and Sidney having fun on Sunday, Dec. 16.

Yesterday, I attended Cookies with Mom at Cleo's school. It was a lot of fun. It was from 9am-10am. I went to work immediately afterward. It was a very well-attended event.  It cost $3 per mom/daughter pairing.

The girls got to decorate the boxes that held the cookies.

Cleo and her pal MiAngel. She's in a different kindergarten class; they attended Kids R Kids for preschool.

Cleo's million dollar smile. :-)

This week, I was looking through articles and came across an article about the text from Noah Ponzer’s (he was 6) mom and uncle’s eulogies from Noah’s funeral.  At first I didn’t read it because I knew it would make me cry. But then I read it and it did make me cry and I am happy I read it. I finally realized why I am poring through the information and reading about the events and the victims. It’s because the least I can do is read about what those poor kids and women went through, and what the families are currently going through. I have the luxury of not reading an article or changing the station.  The families cannot change the television station or shut off the computer; they are living the terrible truth of losing their loved ones.  I choose to honor them by reading about their pain.

All weekend and this week (and every day from now on), I have taken every opportunity available to kiss, hug, and just adore Cleo and Sidney. I will never, ever take for granted the little, walking miracles that they are. Cleo receives my hugs and kisses without a fuss; Sidney will tolerate it only so long before he wiggles free from my loving clutches or wipes off my kiss from his cheek.  Cleo and Sidney may not have noticed an uptick in my affection since I am normally very grabby, huggy, and kissy. But I am more conscious of being able to do it and appreciating every kiss, hug, and adoring gaze I am able to send in their direction.

Today, Roger and I attended Cleo's class holiday party. It was a lot of fun. We didn't take any pictures, sorry.  It ended at 2:30pm and we took Cleo home. Cleo watched some Disney tv and let me nap a little. Roger did some work on the computer. The three of us picked Sidney up from daycare and we went to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse; we had a gift card that we received last Christmas and never used. Then, we went to a  neighborhood that has a lot of lights up. Jacksonville and Brooklyn take their house decorating much more seriously but the kids enjoyed it.

Today was Cleo's last day of school until school resumes on Jan. 7.  Cleo will attend Kids R Kids Thursday and Friday.  

We head to Jacksonville, FL on Saturday, Dec. 22 and return to Atlanta on Dec. 29.  Have a great week and winter holiday! I will write a blog entry when we return from FL.

Angry Birds Shapes Project

Cleo's class is learning about three dimensional shapes. Cleo and Roger created an Angry Birds scene using the shapes she's learning about, e.g., prisms, cones, cylinders.  Below is the awe-inspiring result of their hard work. Cleo turned the project in on December 7.

Beautiful, smiling girl.

This is an earlier Needs vs. Wants school project.

Tree Trimming and Christmas Plans

On Sunday, Nov. 25, we decorated our tree.

Cleo, Sidney, Roger and I head to Jacksonville, FL on Dec. 22 to spend Christmas with Linda, Robin and Kaelin. We return to Atlanta on Dec. 29.  Cleo and Sidney will go to daycare on Dec. 31 and I am going pantsuit shopping. I intended to find some last year but never made the time.  This year, I am going to Lenox Mall which houses the best Macy's in the Atlanta area. I really need pantsuits.

Sunday, Dec. 2, Roger took Sidney to church. Cleo did not feel 100% so she stayed home with me. She and I did some shopping for Roger's birthday, which is Dec. 9.  We had such a nice morning. We went to Publix, Target and Old Navy. I let her put on my purplish Aveda lip gloss which she really enjoyed.

This year we are getting Cleo and Sidney fewer toys. We are not getting Cleo any dolls because she got a lot last year and nearly never played with them.  This year, we got them both some board games and Cleo some jewelry making kits. We got them both Innotab games cartridges for their Innotabs - at home, we call them "iPads" because they're like iPads for toddlers/young kids.

I rejoined Weight Watchers in earnest and lost 3 pounds this past week. I fell off the wagon hard since May 2012 after my company's weight loss competition ended. I have not had a chance to make it to the gym as often as I would like but I will continue to try to fit it in. My work slacks do not fit and that is very demoralizing.  Roger said he would do my P90X DVDs in January. He said the same thing last year but this year I am going to hold him to it.

My company is shut down Dec. 22-Jan. 1.  I return to work on Jan. 2.

Have a great week.

The Wynns Don't Take Manhattan; Thanksgiving in NYC

We left for New York on Friday, November 16, 2012. At the airport, we noticed what we thought was just a dry, super chapped section of Sidney's lower lip.  By Monday, Sidney was running a fever and he threw up while we were out to dinner with Ook, Aalea, Rebecca, Daniel, and Stephanie. None of them have kids and I am sure that witnessing Sidney throw up on himself, Roger, and the table made them decide to either wait a little longer to have kids or to not have kids at all.  Thankfully, the restaurant is owned by Ook's friend and it was not very crowded.  Our dining companions were super understanding and took Sidney's illness in stride.

By Tuesday, I started to suspect it was Coxsackie's Virus. This is a virus that manifests itself in a few ways, one of them is painful sores in the mouth, a rash on the hands and feet, super sore throat, fever, and nausea.  On Wednesday, I took him to an urgent care center in Park Slope.  The nice, young doctor confirmed my suspicion.  Since it's a virus, it had to run its course.  Sidney developed painful sores in his mouth and on his tongue. He didn't have the rash.  The sores on his tongue caused him the most pain, which was terrible.  The virus is highly contagious.  We were able to treat his symptoms with children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen.  He would wake up in the middle of the night in pain and cry. It was awful.

Sidney was in so much pain on Thursday, that we canceled Thanksgiving dinner with our mom. We were planning on going to Chat N Chew near Union Square.  The four of us stayed home and had leftovers from the Wednesday Thanksgiving that my dad hosted. We had it on Wednesday because on Thursday Ahnya flew to El Salvador to attend her friend's wedding.

On Friday, Gabriel, Arlene, Cybele, Christian, Roger, Cleo and Sidney met my mom at Five Napkin Burger near my mom's apartment in Manhattan.  After that, we took the train to 8th Avenue and W. 36th Street to hit the awesome souvenir shop we go to every trip. We got the kids' teachers souvenirs and then headed back to my dad's apartment in Brooklyn.

We returned to Atlanta on Saturday and by then Cleo started developing symptoms. Sidney returned to daycare on Nov. 26. Cleo missed 6 days of school.  She really suffered and had terrible mouth sores. Sidney's gums are still sore. Cleo's mouth is still sore but she returned to school on Dec. 4.

Here are some photos from our visit to New York Nov. 16-23.

Glamour Girls, Auntie Vivian and Cleo, posing on Court Street in Brooklyn.

Cleo and Uncle Isak tickling Sidney.

Hanging with Noma at Barnes & Noble at Union Square.

Silly faces with Roger in Barnes & Noble.

Cleo with Rebecca and Stephanie at Nana (Pan-Asian restaurant where Sidney got sick).

 Lily (Fran's daughter), Cleo, Hunter (Rachel's son) and Matthew (Fran's son).

Cleo and Sidney on the swings at the playground near my dad's apartment.

 

Cleo, Sidney and me in the really nice children's section of the library near the playground.

A sick little Sidney playing with my phone on Auntie Cybele's lap.

Sorry Gabriel, Ahnya, Dad, Liz, and Christian that I didn't get any pictures of you with the kids. I promise to take more pictures next year.

Ambitious Shopping Plans and Madison's 3rd Birthday Party

I am sorry it has been such a long time since I blogged about the exciting adventures that Cleo and Sidney have been up to for the past few weeks. I am going to start with today and then do an update about our trip to New York for Thanksgiving.

Today, Cleo, Sidney and I attended my friend Cindy's daughter's, Madison, 3rd birthday.  Weeks ago I got Madison a $25 gift card to Target. When I showed it to Cleo last night she commented accurately that, "you always get Madison a Target gift card for her birthday." I did get Madison that last year and a $25 Target gift card is usually my typical gift for kids because it's what I would sometimes prefer Cleo & Sidney receive so that we can get stuff they need, e.g., clothes - since they already have enough toys that they do not play with.

So, instead of giving Madison the gift card, I decided to take Cleo and Sidney to Target and let them pick out what we should give Madison.  We headed out of the house around 9:45am.  Madison's party started at 12pm and her house is a 50 minute drive from our house.  First, I returned something to Shopper's World. Then, I picked up a gift for Roger that I knew was at the Ross Store near us but not at the Ross Store near my job. I had to run those two errands because I normally run those types of errands during their naps but I knew I needed to write some blog entries while they napped. At Ross, Sidney located a miniature Disney Cars car holder that was shaped sort of like a train car and pleaded with me to buy it. I told him that he could ask Santa for it. I reminded him firmly that we were shopping for Daddy at this store and at Target we would be shopping for Madison.  He started crying. I got him to calm down.

We finally made it to Target.  At Target, I generously let them select some Christmas cookies placed strategically in the front of the store so they catch all shoppers' eyes.  In the toy aisles, Sidney kept pointing out things he wanted. He told me he wanted to go to the, "train island" to get something for him.  I told him it was "aisle" not "island." We got Madison a battery operated Belle train but Sidney kept crying that he wanted to get her a Diesel train. Diesel is black and Belle is a nice royal blue.  Diesel is not a nice train and Belle is a nice, helpful train - you would all know this if you watched as many Thomas the Train Movies as I have.  I tried to talk some sense into Sidney and he hit his head on the interior of the shopping cart and started crying harder.  He didn't hit his head hard.  Cleo covered her ears during Sidney's crying jag.  I got them some space shaped Goldfish and Sidney calmed down. Maybe he was just hungry. Normally, I never shop with the both of them and this experience was an excellent reminder of why I will never, ever do it again.

At Target, I noticed a woman shopping with her two-year old triplets who were calmly accompanying their mom on her shopping expedition. I recognized her because the last time I saw her in Target, she had these little plastic wagon cars latched together and each triplet had his/her own little car in which the triplet was riding in. I asked her that first time how old they were and she informed me that they were 2. They were well-behaved then too.  When I saw her today she commented that things had not gotten to the point at which Sidney was at but she was sure it was heading there soon.   Ah, mommy commiseration, I love it.

While I was talking to Sidney and calming him down, I told him that he is acting like the babies we see crying in the carts at stores.  Cleo told me that it was not nice to make fun of babies. I told her that it's true that babies cry and that Sidney is acting like one. She's such a sweet protective girl defending the honor of babies.  I thought she was going to say it's not fair to compare Sidney to a baby but at that moment she probably agreed that he was not acting very nice or acting his age.

We selected some other nice gifts for Madison, went to the bathroom and made our exit.  We got to Madison's party a little after noon and had a very nice time.  Madison's little brother Matthew turns 1 at the end of January so we will be seeing them again soon. Madison's mom, Cindy, and I used to work together. She left her manager of human resources job in March to be a full time stay at home mom.

Here is Cleo and Sidney blowing bubbles - Madison is next to Cleo in a purple sweatshirt.

Cleo holding a bubble on her bubble bottle.

Sidney about to catch a bubble on his bubble wand.

Sidney managed to spill some bubbles on his head that then got into his left eye. I took him inside and washed his eye.  After that, he decided to play with a blue balloon which he had a great time chasing around.

Here are some posed pictures in front of Cindy's yard inflatables.

Sidney wanted a picture with the reindeer, not Santa.  Sidney is very into the holiday spirit right now. He loves Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. He sings holiday songs when he hears them.  He wants to constantly watch a new, amateur,y digital animated movie that we DVR'd called Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys. It's not the first, awesome one that looks like puppets or claymation.  The new one is very strange. Sidney LOVES this movie.

The kids are napping right now. I am not sure what we will be doing the rest of the evening. I told Cleo we could wrap Roger's birthday gifts. She's a very good present wrapping assistant.