Caroline's Creation

Pretty much every morning as I shower and get ready for our day Caroline heads into her room, shuts her door, and recreates some recent event in her life. She might set up an ice skating rink, create a camp site, or build a stable full of animals. Her creations almost always include a huge amount of props, an incredible attention to detail, and elaborate costumes. If William is lucky, he is allowed to participate, too. We know she is ours and we are biased, but Steve and I are amazed by her creativity and imagination.

Here's today's creation:

And a close up of the top:

Can anybody guess what she has built? I'll tell you in the comments. :)

He Hearts Thomas

We are in the stage where his trains have to go everywhere. A minimum of 7 were necessary to accompany us the 5 steps from his bedroom to the bathroom for teeth-brushing last night. He was so tired that he kept dropping them and had to stop every half inch to pick them up. I may have to buy the kid a man-purse.

PS - Is there anything more adorable than a little kid in footie jammies? I say no.

The Best Laid Plans...

The first rule of blogging: never promise to post pictures the next day. If you make that promise, you will surely break it.

I promised in yesterday's post to blog about our day at the Aquarium and Chuck E. Cheese. Unfortunately, I realized about 3/4 of the way through our morning that my camera had no memory card. It was a shame because our trip to the city turned into a real comedy of errors that included missing a train, a spare set of car keys in the same pocket with the other keys, and a two hour delay. I could have captured some pretty funny moments, I guarantee. Thankfully all of the children were beyond well behaved, and the other mommy has a great sense of humor. I think she may not ever let me plan an outing again, though. :) And the party at Chuck E. Cheese? Cancelled.

So no pictures today. I'll blog again...soon. Sometime before 2011, I promise.

Withdrawal

Just a quick update on my pledge to quit talking on my cell phone while driving. I know it's a boring post, but I'm writing it for two good reasons. First, to force myself to keep it up; if I post it on the Internet and then get caught talking, it would be pretty embarrassing. Second, I'm so hopeful that at least one other person will be convinced to make his or her car a "no phone zone."

So how's it going, you ask? I won't lie. It's been tough. Every time I get in the car for a longer drive, I struggle not to pick up the phone and use those minutes to catch up with a friend. There have even been a couple of times it would have been really easy to justify using my phone. But I didn't and I'm so glad. I think I've learned that if I didn't need to talk and drive during quasi-emergency times, I really don't need to use it at all.

I have three important reasons why I am no longer talking on my phone while driving:

1. I would never forgive myself if I caused an accident while using my cell phone.
2. I would never forgive another driver for injuring someone I love while driving and talking.
3. I know my kids will be driving before long, and I want to set a good example.

I bet most of you would agree with those reasons. So please consider giving up your phone while driving! And at a bare minimum, at least pledge to yourself never to text and drive.

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Did you see Erin's pictures from our visit last week? Kind of makes it hard for me to even blog about it when she does it so beautifully, both with words and pictures. :)

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I promise there will be a real post tomorrow, with pictures! We have a huge day planned: a trip to the Aquarium in the morning and our very first visit to Chuck E. Cheese tomorrow afternoon. Hold me.

BFFs

We just wrapped up a 4-day visit from Erin and Sarah - check out The Pigbear for some of the stories, and of course for the beautiful pictures. As always, it was a wonderful visit. The girls just click so nicely and had an absolute blast playing non-stop. Erin and I had lots of time to drink tea and catch up in a way that just isn't possible over the phone. We had some yummy meals, explored more of Boston, and watched some trashy TV.

William desperately missed Ephraim, but he was easily won over by the wonders of Miss Erin's iPhone:

These two became pretty good buddies on this visit. Of course Erin spent most of it trying to convince William to give her "passion" (William's word for kisses) and he denied her every time. :)

We love you, Cobbs. Can't wait to be together soon.

Thank you, Brent and Ephraim, for sharing your girls with us. It wasn't the same without you.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I'm breaking up with my cell phone.

Yep, that's right. I'm committing to no longer talking on my cell phone while driving. And I'm hoping that by posting it here the extra accountability I'm creating by making my pledge public will make me stick to it.

So why now? I've been talking on my phone while driving for years. Well some of you may have seen Oprah this week - she is leading a movement to make cars "no phone zones" and her show this week about talking and texting while driving was shocking and horrifying. But I'll tell you a secret - it wasn't anything I didn't already know. There's been a little voice in the back of my head for years telling me it's not really safe to talk when I'm driving. Seeing all of those moms, dads, brothers, sisters, sons ,and daughters talking about how impaired drivers (that's right - talking on a cell phone is equivalent to being legally drunk and texting is twice as bad) ruined their lives on Oprah this week finally convinced me it's time to stop. I know that if I ever hurt somebody because I was talking and driving I would never forgive myself for making such a careless choice, and I also know that if another driver hurt someone I love because he or she was talking or texting I would agonize over the pointlessness of that mistake. Plus, I know that I usually have two little monkeys in my back seat who see everything I do, and I want to set the right example for them; after all, it really won't be that many years until they are on the road (big sigh). So now, finally, I'm quitting. Truthfully it's not that easy but I'm going to stick to it because I know in my heart it's the right thing to do.

Won't you join me?

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

Daddy and Caroline are at "work" today. I use that term extremely loosely since Steve keeps emailing me pictures of them ice skating at the frog pond and looking out the top of the Prudential Center. I've always suspected that Steve spends most of his days in the city riding the Duck Tours and shopping on Newbury Street. For all of you who are wondering if Steve is, in fact, the most fun Daddy ever, the answer is decidedly "yes."

William and I are having an equally fun-filled day. I took the kid to the gym, the grocery store, AND to get his haircut. Super fun, right???

William decided he had to amuse himself with some of his sister's accessories.

I can already see his future in gangsta rap.

And then he finished our photo shoot up with this lovely mug: