Lion Head

Caleb's mane of hair, intensity, and stubbornness has earned him the name "Lion Head" in our house.

In PA we only had 3 binkis, so imagine Caleb's excitement when he came home to NY and found 10!!! It was simple when we decided to snatch Luke's binki. We were moving (surprise, surprise) and we told him they were all packed up in the boxes. He said, "Oh." And that was it.

Things will not go so smoothly when we finally decide to take Caleb's. He is absolutely more stubborn than Luke. Caleb pulls the baby BS tantrum...let me explain.

Luke seems to understand logic, or at least accept it (even when he was younger). He asks for a drink in the car, we tell him we don't have one and that we'll get one when we stop. He might whine for a minute, but then says "okay." Caleb will ask for a drink, we tell him the same thing, and he screams as if you'd just told him there was no water left on the planet. As if to say, "that's a bunch of bs and I know there is a sippy cup in your bag that you're to lazy to search for and pass back to a thirsty boy."

Also, we've always been able to get Luke to eat things that are good for him by promising him treats afterwards. Caleb will pitch a screaming fit and then, after determining I'm serious about not giving him the treats without bites of healthy food (sometimes up to 30 minutes later), he will simply walk away from all of it. Treats and all. Little stinker!! This would explain his slender frame. I swear we feed him, or at least provide food...

Lastly, so that you can all have a vivid picture of this determined little boy, one funny story. When my parents were visiting we toured an old mansion with actual artifacts that shouldn't be touched. Torture to any 2 year old. I was holding him because he was getting a little too friendly with some of the artifacts and he wasn't happy. He wanted "DOWN." I finally let him down because I was exhausted from carrying a struggling boy and as he was walking away from me he turned around and sort of squatted. He extended one arm with a fist at me and with a mean face he gave a big throaty growl. This happened a few more times just to make sure I really knew he was ticked with me. So funny, only because he's still 2!


The kid has spunk!! That's a good thing, right??

No More Monuments

Phew!!! I'm exhausted from touring. I've loved all of it, but I don't want to hold one more bored, tired boy through one more monument tour for a long time. We've made it back to Ithaca, but true to our style, we jammed as much seeing and doing into the days before Ben actually starts school as we could fit.

My parents came to visit us and we did all the things we did with Ben's parents, plus some (they were with us for 7 days). We added a day in NYC, a day in Doylestown, PA, a day at Sesame Street Place and we had an unfortunate day including a vomiting Luke. At least it was in the rental car! Caleb followed up a few nights later in the hotel restaurant, also not in my car or at my house.

This is Luke standing on the pier at Battery Park. Every time a wave would swoop up under the pier a burst of air would shoot up the vent. This kept him busy for at least 20 minutes.

Before packing up to come back to NY we took a mini trip down to DC and the Maryland beach.

 

Washing Monument

This is Luke at Arlington Cemetery.

 

Lincoln Monument

It was all super fun, but I'm so glad to be back in quiet, slow, Ithaca. I'm really looking forward to these next couple of months in the most perfect NY weather with all the great autumn holidays! I'm also glad we'll be heading to sunny Mexico before the weather turns devilish. For those who haven't heard, Ben is doing his last semester in Monterrey, Mexico. It's time to refresh my Spanish...my high school Spanish. I know, I think I'm in trouble.

I'm No Chef

My mother is admittedly a terrible cook - maybe not...she just loathes cooking, baking, and the like so no one really knows if she's any good. Anyhow, as a result I have no cooking abilities myself. Over the passed 7 years of marriage I've managed to go from terrible to bad with the help of Ben's annoying help and critique.

Usually I stick with the regulars...tacos, spaghetti, frozen lasagne's dressed up with salad from a bag and store bought garlic bread. I have ventured to experiment with new recipes, but 9 of 10 typically end up going down the garbage disposal.

Amazingly, just last week I had new 2 hits! Even Ben and Caleb liked them and they are the pickiest of the crew. The first was a Chicken Sausage Rigatoni Pasta dish. Found it on foodnetwork.com - it's from Rachel Ray. It was super yummy, definitely worthy of a dinner party, and I don't usually have success with her stuff.

The second was a Cheeseburger Meatloaf from Paula Deen, also found on foodnetwork.com. We don't usually like meatloafs at our house. I cook about 1 a year and it's always tolerated not enjoyed. This one was actually enjoyed and I'm sure it's due to the bag of cheese and 10 strips of bacon added to the heart clogging hamburger. Do not feed this to any husbands with a family history of heart disease. It's pretty bad, but good. I only put in half a bag of cheese and 8 strips of bacon and it was still great.

I would wager to say that these are pretty fool proof if I was able to figure them out. Give 'em a shot and let me know what you think!