For Fin At Three...

My Dearest Fin,

I can't belive I'm already writing you a note for your third birthday. Where has the time gone?

We had a family celebration the night before your birthday. We had Jamie stay with Dash and Daddy and I took you to dinner at Kisho - you loved watching the "Ninja's" cook our dinner and they sang to you too. Afterwards we took you to Fin's Glowzone where they have blacklight miniature golf. When the nice lady manager found out that your name was Fin AND it was your Birthday she even gave you a free t-shirt!

Then today, on your actual birthday, we were supposed to have lunch at Johnny Rockets with all of your friends, but there's a terrible cold going around, so we're going to try again later in the week. Daddy has promised to come home early tonight so we can do something fun as a family. Tomorrow will be your birthday celebration at school and Monika is going to watch Dash so I can volunteer to help. I ordered mini cupcakes from Babe's Bakery and I hope everyone enjoys them!

School has changed our routines a bit. We still walk often with Monika and James, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays you spend your mornings at school! You've done great with the adjustment and you love your teachers. You're a tad of a discipline challenge, but I'd be a total liar if I said I didn't see that one coming. You love learning and you've made some great new friends. I'm very glad we started you when we did. Despite your behavior issues, your teachers say that you are extremely advanced verbally - which I think is code for you never shut up! You're working on writing your letters and recognizing all your numbers 1-20 (you've had 1-10 down for a while now). You're in big boy pants full time now - and you have been for a while - and you're totally accident free. I'm so proud of how well you've handled that transition!

You're incredibly inqusitive and you seem to mature more every day. Yesterday, when your father and I told you we were mad at you for misbehaving, you kept asking us every hour if we were still mad at you. It was almost funny (if you hadn't been so BAD I guess.) You're also working on cutting with scissors and you've become a pro at pedaling a bike. Dash watches you as you learn things every day and you're a wonderful big brother to him. You're extremely patient and loving and we all joke that he thinks that you two are the same age. You still love Star Wars in all it's forms. You have almost every set of the Galactic Heroes people and it's by far your favorite thing of all your toys.

Well, that's all I can think of now my darling. I love you so very much and I am so very proud of the little man you are growing into.

All my love,

Mom

We Are Thankful...

A Happy for the Holiday

What the Wii???

I loooove my Wii, loooove it. And when my mama bought me the Wii Fit for my birthday I was totally enthused. Woob was too. We Wii-Fitted until we went to bed complaining that our hips were still hula-hooping. Seriously, I had no idea how much of a workout that was! And I think I threw my shoulder out in the free-punch round of rhythmic boxing...

But the the enthusiasm waned a bit...that and it's kinda hard to move around the Wii Fit with a kid hanging on each leg.

(Note to mama friends who are thinking of investing - know that this is a naptime activity!)

I still try and Wii-Fit at least twice a week. This usually consists of me doing a few things and then supervising Fin ski jumping, soccer ball heading or penguin fishing. But when I fired up my Wii Fit yesterday I was met with an interesting exchange.

For those of you who have yet to be initiated into the world of Wii Fitting, let me enlighten you on some of the finer points...before you do anything it asks you to weigh in, tell your height etc. You're Mii is sized according to your BMI - which means Fin's Mii is a string bean compared to the rest of us. You are also asked to set goals on weight loss and fitness. Each time you fire it up, it wants you to re-weigh in so it can tell you how largely you're failing at reaching close you are to your goal. After completing the sign-in process, you can then chose your Wii Fitting activities.

Except that it didn't go like that today.

Today, instead of taking me to my activities menu, it asked me if I've seen Woobiiiii lately...

(Yes, the hubs is Woobiiiii, I'm Maggiiiii and Fin is Fiiiiin, we're THAT funny!)

So I clicked yes. The next screen sent me scrambling for my camera. I mean, I wouldn't believe you if you told me that this happened...

I was with Woobiiiii when he Wii-Fitted this weekend. So I know what the Wii Fit is getting at. I know when I'm being baited to out my husband for his Wii Fit failures. Love says click on "the same."
WHAT?!? I refuse to sell the hubs down the dietless river and you accuse me of not paying attention to him! Who was paying attention to him when I made the french onion dip? Or the homemade hot fudge sauce? I'm probably paying TOO much attention to him. At the same time, the dude does work with video game programming so I'm looking for the hidden camera he's set up. Then I get this...

First, now I know he's definitely not behind this one. Second, DID YOU JUST COMPARE MY HUSBAND TO A DOG?!?!

Note to self: Don't let the hubs on the Wii Fit this weekend. I don't want to know what it asks about me!

The Insanity of Holiday Travel

My luggage is out and ready, the "what to pack" list has been printed, and visions of wintry outfits are dancing in my head...

That's right, we're getting ready to travel again.

I'd be lying if I said that I missed flying on our whoooole month off that was October. It was nice to have a few weekends where I wasn't running to the airport and back. But all good things must come to an end, and there is no getting out of Thanksgiving travel this year (although I urge everyone considering having children to birth around the holidays as it can get you out of ANYTHING from travel to awful office parties...)

So this weekend we will be on our way to Nashville to see the hubs' fam. It's Dash's first visit there and probably the first time Fin will really remember the trip, so that's good. My fabuloso MIL has promised to make her famous sausage balls. Mmmmm... Time with family is always good and it will be nice to see all the hubs' high school friends - whom I love as much as my very own high school friends. (Seriously, I looooove you guys! Have the booze ready!)

But then there's the getting there.

With the insane cost of air travel, we're going to have to milk the lap-baby for all it's worth (I mean, if someone offered you $500 to hold a baby for five hours, you'd do it, right?) On the surface, that doesn't sound so bad. I mean, Fin will have his own seat, so that means we three will have our own row. And the two boys don't take up a whole seat even together. But see, if you thought that, you must have only one child. Or no children. Because that would sign us up for a whole flights-worth of "MOM, DASH IS IN MYYYY SEAT! MOOOOOOOMMMM!"

That's once we're on the plane.

Before we get that far, I have to pack for four people and make sure we don't exceed our baggage limit or the weight limit of each bag. Also it means reeling in the hubs who has been known to try and pack every pair of shoes he owns while neglecting, oh I don't know, UNDERWEAR. Speaking of underwear, there is also deciding whether or not Fin should go in a pull-up or undies. (I'd be more comfortable with him in a pull-up but he'd probably throw a fit. He's been totally accident free for a few months, but I KNOW he will tell he that he has to go EMERGENCY as soon as the fasten seat belt sign comes on.) Then there's the fact that our flight leaves at 7am, which means I will get up just won't go to sleep the night before...

And did I mention that half of our family is on the do-not-fly list? Yeah. And yes, I did all of the things you're supposed to do to get them removed and that doesn't so much help. Which is why the boys have passports.

I know, I know. It's wonderful that we're able to make the trek East and spend our Thankful holiday with family.

But if you're on our flight, I apologize. Did I mention that Dash has just found his inner volume button. Seriously, I'm sorry...