Gabe's Birthday at the insane yet efficient Chuck E Cheese

CHUCK E CHEESE

For Gabe's birthday (post birthday birthday party) we went to Chuck E Cheese with about 9 of Gabe's friends.  It was like a party exploded all over the place and children were flowing out of it.  I think there were about 5 birthday parties going on and numerous other children just there to burn some energy.  However, amidst all the chaos it was a tightly run ship.  For the most part. The kids played video games and burned through their coins for one hour.  Then we were all called to our table to eat pizza and enjoy the Chuck E Cheese show.  I must admit that the show was kind of on the measly side. But my memory may be decieving me. I remember Chuck E Cheese's being HUGE! There was an enormous stage, up in front. When the lights went dim and the spotlights would start flashing and we knew it was time to run to the front to watch all the robot characters start singing. I thought it was magical! What happened to all of that? Anyway, Gabe got to hang out with Chuck E himself and I guess he was sort of excited.  The highlight was the ticket booth - Gabe got to catch the tickets as they blew all around him.  He caught the magic tickets and ended up with 1480 tickets. That got him the crazy blue ball that the boys promptly turned into a hat when we got home.  See picture of Sammy below.  All in all it went pretty well.  I didn't have to do a whole lot of work, which is what I wanted in the first place.

Burning through his coins.

Just barely letting Chuck E touch him.  I am okay with that.

Inside the ticket booth.  Very exciting.

Displaying the magic tickets.

Sam modeling Gabe's loot.

Just some of my mishmash

Ben composed a schedule for himself on Sunday and was able to accomplish everything on the list before 12:00 pm - right before it was time to get ready for church.  Gabe added his own flair to the list with sosij and pancacso - otherwise known as sausage and pancakes. FYI - Ben didn't write an entire book, merely added about 50 words to the book he is writing - "The Ninja's Quest".  You can look for it in about 5 years.

On to other mishmash. Tonight Ben let is slip that Dad is his favorite. I don't think he was trying to be discreet because it was during dinner so of course I overheard. I mentioned that I might be a little be hurt about this to which Ben responded, "I like you too Mommy, but Dad is just so awesome!" Boo Hoo. I guess it is just a good reminder that I have been a little bit too much of a taskmaster these days.

 

The trick is to remember to be silly... they love it when I am absurd and silly.  You know what one of their favorite games with me is?  I pretend like they are naughty little cats and they are not allowed in my kitchen. When the try to come into the kitchen I spritz them with a water bottle and growl "Get out of my kitchen."  This game tends go on for quite some time.  It is time to get out the water bottle.

 

Now to food.  For dinner I made another meal from Cook's Country.  For dinner I made Weeknight Spaghetti and Meatballs.  I would give it about a 6 out of 10.  I like a little bit more flavor in my sauce, but it was still pretty good. I liked that it was fast. The boys needed a little coaxing... but they loved the meatballs.  Sam, who loves pasta, gobbled up every last bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner from Cook's Country #2 and Sammy the light maestro

First off I made a yummy dinner tonight courtesy of Cook's Country again. I made Spanish Chicken Cutlets with Yogurt Sauce.  The boys wrinkled their nose at it and managed to eat all the bites I requested (or else I bring out the can of dog food). Mike and I enjoyed it very much. The chicken was nice and tender - dredged in the yogurt sauce and then panko bread crumbs, and the yogurt sauce was tasty.  I used greek yogurt which is a little richer than the average plain yogurt. I tend to prefer the Greek yogurt. On the side I cooked some quinoa in chicken broth and after it was done I added about 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice along with some sauteed zucchini, shallot, and orange pepper (sauteed in olive oil).  The quinoa was well liked by everyone.

Now on to Sammy

Going to church with a toddler is always an adventure - there is no such thing as a toddler that can sit still in his chair.  At least I have never encountered one. We tend to let Sammy wander a little bit. He usually makes his way back to us so we let him do a couple of rounds.  This is where Sammy is the politician - he likes to smile at people, inspect their items on the floor and make his farewell.  He never stays too long in one place, just enough to make the person he is visiting his friend. 

This Sunday we were a little late and ended up sitting in the back. Sam started going around the gym area (where we sitting) and we were watching him warily, ready to stand up at any moment.  Sam has recently discovered that there are some light switches that he can reach and that is a temptation too great to pass up. You can guess what happened. All of the sudden the lights were dimming. Sam had hit the light switch jackpot!  Lots of light switches in a row and he was hitting every one of them.  The speaker during church said over the microphone, "someone's little boy is playing with the light switches."  Yep, that was our little man. Mike dashed off to scoop up the little criminal (or politician - in some cases it could be interchangable).

The good thing is, that is not the most embarrasing thing that has happenend during church. Ben peeing all over the podium while giving a talk during primary was pretty good.  Or I think it was Gabe that asked loudly why his penis gets hard when he has to pee was pretty fun too.

I can't wait for whatever happens next.

Sammy and his blankie and Oberweis

Sammy loves to snuggle blankie, no matter where it is. He will prostrate himself and bury his nose in his blankie. Ahhhhh, l'amour.

For an FHE treat we drove to Oberweis, a local ice cream shop in the St. Louis area and I have discovered a most delicious treat - Hot chocolate with cinnamon ice cream mixed in. MMMMMMMMMMM!

Gabe and Ben enjoyed a game of chess.

We tried to keep Sam from eating the chess pieces.

Sammy enjoying his chocolate shake on the floor.

Sammy trying to fingerpaint with chocolate shake on the floor.

Sammy and the snow

Sammy is fairly new to the walking world - about 6 months now and he has never experienced the crunchy of icy snow beneath his feet. I love to watch him toddle around, looking at his feet as he walks letting the snow build up around his ankles. Sam also enjoyed tasting the snow, though it was a little shocking at first how cold it was. After he adjusted to the cold, he seemed to be content to stay for awhile.

Mmmmm.  Yummy

Hello Again!

Here we are! Living in Missouri - the "show me state". FYI I looked up why it is called the "show me state" and there are conflicting stories. Basically it means, "oh yeah? Well show me!" Less talk, more action. I think. Google it.

Life has been interesting since we left PA. We were living in a Residence Inn in O'Fallon. The staff was lovely and the hotel was actually a pretty decent place to stay... if you didn't have three busy little boys. I didn't blog because I was just trying to survive.

The Pros of living in a hotel was I had no other obligations and was able to spend a lot of time with the boys and just play with them. That was also one of the cons... not a lot of room to escape. Did I mention that it was above 100 degrees outside almost every day? We were on the fourth floor too so it got a little warm sometimes. Fortunately we had an indoor pool and we escaped there almost every evening.

Here are some pictures from our hotel living experience.

Of course most of the pictures are of Sammy, and rightly so - he is so dang cute and funny. Besides, his life needs to be chronicled. I will write more later!

Sam is one year old!!

I can't believe it but Sam is officially one year old as of yesterday.

I thought I would write the activities of the day -  "A day in the life of Sam".

Woke up about 7:30 am and had morning snack (a little milk). Squirmed to get out of my reach as I tried to change his diaper. Joined us for morning prayers - didn't close his eyes but was a distraction as he climbed up Gabe and mommy.

Ate cheerios and yogourt for breakfast. Clapped when he finished. Went upstairs to help with the laundry - mostly banged on the washing machine - it sounds really cool.  As mommy was folding laundry snuck into the bathroom and sampled the soap. Mommy confiscated the soap. Found the garbage and tried to eat some paper. Mommy confiscated that as well.

Time for morning nap - after getting dressed and reading some stories. Sleep for about 1 1/2 hour.

Wake up have a snack and time to go to the grocery store to buy a birthday cake. While at Wegman's Sammy enjoys the wonderful pizza - loves to chew on the pizza crust. Keeps Sammy occupied the entire grocery trip.

Take Gabe to preschool.

Come home and wrestle with mommy. Loves to jump on mommy and growl.

Another nap. While in bed, throw blankee on the floor and cry for a bit until mommy retrieves it. Throw it on the floor again - this time no response from mommy. (sorry buddy).

After a very short nap (due to blanket dropping) go get Gabe from preschool. Try to stay awake when we get home but still very tired. Make another attempt at a nap. It works.

Wake and have some milk and dinner - spaghetti and meatballs - YUM.

After dinner have about three bites of chocolate cake - not too sure he likes it.

After dinner we open presents and have a dance party. Sam bobs his head and shakes his booty.

Bath time - the highlight of the evening and then bedtime.

That is pretty much the gist of it. Sam isn't walking yet but he can crawl fast and walking isn't too far away. More adventures will ensue, I am sure of it.

He is such a fun, happy baby. He laughs easily and he is loved by him family very much.

Catching Up

So not a whole lot has been going on in the Fairchild household lately.  Lots of routine stuff - same drill different week.

However, the boys manage to keep life interesting. Gabe is always coming up with cute phrases... every day he will say to me at about 10:00 or so - "Mama, I have something I need to tell you." My heart races a little bit because generally this is followed by some kind of confession.  Not for Gabe.  After I say (calmly) "What do you need to tell me?" 

"Mama, I would like a go-gurt."  Whew.  I can handle that.

One of the morning routines is Mike chases after the boys to grab a hug and kiss and Gabe will yell (while laughing) "Why don't you pick up somebody your own side."  It's just cute.

Sammy is getting so big.  He is mushy, squishy, smiley, and oh so cute. On Sunday, during church, one of my friends, Owenna, pinched Sammy's leg and said, "Oh!  He is so soft!" It's true. He is yummy.

Halloween was fun - we went to my friend Tamara's house and had a yummy dinner and took the kids out to get loaded up on candy. Being paranoid about candy and Ben's nut allergy I remind him several times "Don't eat any candy until we get home!!" Poor kid. I'm sure he loves being nagged that whatever candy he consumes needs to be pre-approved. The boys wanted to be ninjas so we bought them some costumes.  I think I am done buying costumes. I hope to make some next year.... well I guess we'll see. Truth be told, we will probably just buy. I am inspired by some friends of ours who always make their costumes and they are FABULOUS!  This year they were Lego guys - LIFESIZED!  Blake, who is 4 1/2 (Gabe's best buddy) was dressed as Lego Indiana Jones.  It was too great!  I just have to attach the picture because it is worth seeing.



Marin is the big Lego guy and Blake is Lego Indiana Jones.  Awesome, eh?


On to our photos.

Cute Baby!

My favorite Ninjas.

Ben reading the paper in his suit.  Doesn't he look like a little businessman?  I love these pictures!

Gabe sleeping in his Santa nightcap - Naughty or Nice?

Pictures from Longwood Gardens and Ott's Mum Hill