Early Halloween

I wasn' t kidding when I said these are days to remember.

When both kids are up BEFORE 5 a.m. (yup, you read that right), what else can you do but make the world's biggest pot of coffee and put the Dora episodes on auto-pilot?

I think Ellie has a little bug. A cold? Hopefully not the dreaded you know what (of course my mind shoots to swine flu). She's alternatively whiney, snuggly and playful. So hopefully it's not too serious.

And what's Leo's excuse? Who knows. Except that I think we can all agree he has enough energy to run a small planet.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need more coffee.

These Are Days to Remember

This is one of those moments that makes all the aggravation and tears and whining and exhaustion worthwhile.

Epic Fail at 31 for 21: Will Pictures Suffice?

I have not been the best 31 for 21er this year.

Once again, I will use these people

as an excuse.

Speaking of those people, it's been a while since I posted any pictures of substance. That's because my camera died. I had to wait until my new one was ready.


I think it's fair to say

that I love my new camera.

Or maybe I'm just crazy about my subjects.


In case you couldn't tell

we went apple and pumpkin picking last weekend.

There was also a hayride. It was pretty much kid heaven.


The day with nature wouldn't be complete without a little junk food.

Neither Leo or Ellie had ever had anything like this before (still not sure what to call it--it's a chocolate dipped marshmellow thingy, I guess).

They obviously both had no problem figuring out what to do with it. But Ellie definitely took a beating with hers.

We came home and played in the backyard. Ellie had so much fun she didn't take a nap.

We ended the day with a game of "Red Rover."

This is my new favorite picture of Leo-this is quintessential, ecstatic, happy, stubborn and nearly omnipresent joie de vivre Leo. This just captures him, completely.

The “Cat” Turns Cuddly

It’s a stereotype that people with Down syndrome are affectionate and cuddly and always smiling. While Leo certainly has his share of unpleasant moods, I’ll concede that he’s more likely to be happy than upset. Yup, Leo’s “default setting” is definitely happy.

And yes he’s quick to hug the waitress, the parking attendant, the doctor who administers the shot, but in terms of real physical affection, I’ve always thought of Leo as similar to cat in that he decides when to be affectionate. And when he's done, he's done. He'll arch his back, swat with his hand and turn up his nose (the only problem with this comparison is that I am not crazy about cats).

Leo loves to give hugs when he wants to. But he’s never been much of a cuddler, he’s too much on the move. Except for when he’s sleeping, eating, or watching his beloved “Dora” or “Diego,” Leo is in almost constant motion. He’s squirming in his chair. He’s flapping his arms. He’s kicking his legs. He's jumping from the coffee table to the couch (and no, he's not allowed to do this).

But there’s a new development in recent weeks. Leo has become a cuddler. Gone (mostly) are the days of him shooing you away when you go to rub his back or put your arm around him. He’s hinted that he was moving in this direction for a few months now but he never “tolerated” that closeness for more than a few minutes. Now, he’ll cuddle for book after book.

Last night, as I read one of Leo’s favorite Mickey Mouse Little Golden Books, he jumped onto the bed, crawled into my lap and proceeded to arrange my arms where he wanted them, which happened to be wrapped around his little warm body. He squirmed a little (I told you, he is always in motion) but he was quieter than I think he’s ever been for a bedtime book reading.

I am fascinated, challenged and yes, sometimes frustrated by the amount of energy Leo has. He definitely does have a certain kind of joie de vivre. But I can't tell you the simple joy there is in just sitting with Leo, holding him and listening to his raspy little breath, feeling his chubby little hands on my leg, watching him flip the pages of another and another Mickey book.

This is my kind of milestone.

Om Shanti

Today dawned early, 5:30 AM to be exact. It's as if Leo wants to make the MOST of his weekend days, and that he does.

There are upshots to being awake before the sun comes up. Let's just say we were one of the first families to arrive at the
apple/pumpkin orchard this morning. It was a picture perfect fall day. Crisp temperatures, sun, leaves at peak. Who needs New England when you have New Jersey (kidding, guys). Pictures to come.

We returned home with happy memories of hay rides and cider donuts and strange marshmellow/chocolate/sprinkle dipped concoctions, along with bags of apples (don't ask me what we're going to do with them) three perfect pumpkins, and two tired children. As soon as Leo announced he wanted to "play outside" (Ellie's room overlooks the backyard), I knew there would be no Ellie nap. And that was really OK. Because while Erin and I raked about 70-million pounds of leaves and Leo undid a good amount of our work (we piled, he jumped and unpiled-yardwork with Leo brings new meaning to the expression "exercise in futility), the kids really had a grand time.

They've recently discovered "Red Rover," ---Do you remember it from your school days? "Red Rover, Red Rover send--fill-in-the-blank-right over!" So there was a good hour of them bounding towards me, collapsing into my lap, laughter, breath, sighs of satisfaction.

They LOVE it. Leo could play it for days. And it seems that we did. And I even said to Erin tonight, close to bedtime, do you ever feel like your day is really three days in one? Or at the very least two? That we pack that much into it? Of course it doesn't hurt when your day STARTS at 5:30 AM.

So it's now barely 7:30 PM. Ellie and I skipped books and went straight to "Om Shanti," my go-to lullabye. It's funny, I have no memories of my mom singing to me but plenty of memories of my dad. He sang "Om Shanti" and "Eastside, Westside." To wake me up there was music too--Pachobel's Canon in D. Not a bad way to start the day.

Tonight when I sang, Ellie rested her head on my shoulder as I swayed. She's a big girl, but still loves the baby things, like being rocked and lullabyes (who doesn't?).

I lay her down and rubbed her back and gave her the usual speech (where we run through the litany of immediate and extended family who love Ellie). Tonight's repetoire was admittedly abbreviated: "Mama loves you and Mommy loves you and Leo loves you and Ruby loves you....Goodnight Ellie."

And with that I prepared to leave the room.

"And Grandma!" piped up an exhausted, small voice.

And Grandma. Of course. Yes, Ellie. Grandma loves you.

Big Foot in Training and a Day Off

I had the day off today. But a day off is really a day on for me, in that I'm able to get all the things done that I can't do when I'm, you know, working.

I did get to spend two luxurious, blissful, decadent hours at Target, All. By. Myself. Really to me this is a birthday and Hanukkah and Christmas, all wrapped into one, even when all I did was buy thrilling things like paper towels and toilet paper and Pull-ups. Trust me though, it was sheer heaven.

Then it was on to Costco for even more exciting things like milk and cheese and bananas and seltzer and that ever important half and half (for weekend coffee). THEY always get up early on the weekends, it's as if they are AGAINST us or something. So I must steel myself and be prepared and coffee is the best and least I can do.

Finally, it was home to unpack the disaster of a car and squeeze in one (of the hundreds, it's seems) of the backlogged DVRed shows--so much for my grand plans about fall TV, turns out I'm hopelessly behind on everything--Top Chef, Project Runway, Glee...don't even get me started on this sad topic. How will I ever catch up?

There was other stuff too. Laundry, then putting away last week's clean laundry, vacuuming, loading the dishwasher, baking soda-ing the kitchen sink, de-dog pooping the backyard (See, I told you it was exciting!).

And then before I knew it was 3:30 and time to fetch Ellie to go get her flu shot.  I know! Do the fascinating tasks EVER end? The sweet little girl was so brave. She didn't shed one tear for the shot, but limped dramatically out of the pediatrician's office, saying in a pathetic, small voice, "I got foo shot. I have owey."

We circled back to get Leo (I avoid taking two to the ped's office if I can help it). The final stop of the day was Nordstrom, to get new shoes for Ellie. You can say what you want about Nordstrom but I happen to think they have the best shoe department for kids. Or maybe it's just because that's where my mom took me. In any case, they give out balloons, so there's that. Leo was so exhausted by the time we touched down at the mall that balloons were my only hope.

We settled on these and believe it or not they were almost $30 CHEAPER at Nordstrom (than online). I know! When's the last time you uttered that sentence?

But. Ellie, the poor girl, at age 2.3, is...a size nine. Kind of shocking, to me at least. Her foot girth only means one thing. That she is following in the footsteps of my horrifically large feet. And so I pity her. And hope that at the very least she is prepared for the shoe woe that she will face her entire life. When you're fourteen and you ask to see a cute flat (that's displayed as a 5 1/2), it's not so cute when it comes out in a size 11. Just trust me on that one.

So, I'm sorry Ellie. I'm sorry in advance for your large feet.

And I still can't get over the fact that Ellie outgrows her shoes in three months, whereas Leo can wear the same size for a year. I swear his shoes wear out before he outgrows them. To this I can only say, thanks Down syndrome and your accompanying tendency for slow growth! You are saving us TONS of money!

Oh and also? Ellie is quickly closing in on Leo, who at age five wears a sizw 10 1/2. Scary.

We came and had apple juice and milk and wine (you can guess who had what). I made dinner (not from a box or frozen, but this), along with sauteed tofu with my aunt's amazing seasoning mix. It was lovely, if I do say so.

Really, the whole day was lovely. I had a great day "off."

Quote

"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug."
--Og Mandido