Fat Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras!  It has become somewhat of a tradition (2 years in a row) for us to travel down to Shreveport with catlady and her family to enjoy one of their many Mardi Gras parades.  This past weekend we braved the pouring rain to catch beads and footballs and cups from parade members.  It was drenching but GREAT!  The rain actually held off until the parade got to us so we only stood outside in wet conditions for about 30 mins.  Otherwise we enjoyed family, friends, and fun outdoor activities with the wonderful addition of a private port-a-potty (a must for any crowd with kiddos!).

We ended up with SO many beads and cups that we took some to big sis' school for her Mardi Gras day.  She won the Mardi Gras Kindness Queen award at their "non-party" and enjoyed telling everyone about her weekend of adventures. 

Disco took this picture of all the beads that made it back to our house. We have a ton of beads that the kids collected if anyone needs to borrow some....  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

A Little Baby Love

Little man just couldn't get enough baby love during the Mardi Gras parade this weekend.  Maybe if big sis and her pal don't work out as a "couple" then these two will give us some hope.  Although I can't say that little man held baby C's attention nearly as well as the rest of the crowd surrounding us :)

Mini-Reunion

My best friend from college came to visit recently.  It was a WONDERFUL mini-reunion!  I really miss having her nearby.  The last few years we have been unable to connect very often - busy schedules and family commitments as well as limited time/budget for traveling.  Oddly enough, the ability to text each other and skype has facilitated keeping up a little bit better lately.  Technology can be a quite useful!  ;).

Both Disco and I adore my best friend - and now we have had the chance to get to know her new hubby (whom we also adore).  The kiddos, well, some word that exaggerates the term adore would be the best way to describe their reaction to our friends.  The excitement and chaos from the kiddos during our skyping sessions is a treat as well.  Most of our time is spent laughing at silly children!

It feels like the weekend visit was so long ago already - which it isn't b/c it was just last weekend (February 19-20). But between little man's health issues and trying to keep up with a few deadlines at work it has been a busy time since then.  Here are some pics of our mini-reunion adventures at the river - can't wait to see our friends again soon!  BTW - I love that my wonderful hubby included jpgs of pictures with silly facial expressions.  Comedian.

Love this pic!

A little worn out

We had a wonderful weekend . . .the weather was beautiful and we visited all weekend with old friends.  I have plenty of pics to share later this week.  :)

But today I am feeling a little worn out.  I really think it is a combo of tiredness, sadness, and possibly illness.  The whole family is a little tired from the weekend.  It was too pretty to stay inside and we pushed the sleep boundaries because I didn't want to miss out on our limited time with my best friend from college.  It really was a great visit!  I also really missed my friend today.  We don't get to see each other very often and spending the weekend with her and her husband reminded me of really good times and a strong bond.  Both kiddos were also missing our friends and mommy and daddy today as they went back to their routine.

And finally, we are concerned that little man may have strep again.  He acted kind of funny Sunday night and his breath was stinky.  No fever today but we set up an appointment with the pediatrician Tuesday just in case.  This strep stuff is getting very old and is so distracting to me because it makes me anxious and worry.  I just want my baby to be healthy again.  I really hope we are worried for nothing - we will see tomorrow.

So now I am heading off to bed early.  All those chores I needed to do tonight will just have to wait.  I am hoping some extra zzz's will help kick start me back into a happier state of mind tomorrow . . .

Spring Time Silliness

These two kiddos always crack me up when the get together - so silly! 


Say Cheese!





Why aren't you smiling??!!







I don't know . . .



Whatever . . . I'm off to eat CANDY!



Crazy Rabbits!



Welcome Friends!

OMG - we love these guys.  Meet Syphilis and Listeria . . . and yes, the kiddos know them by name. 

Dr. A really gets this household.  She sent these giant microbes to the kids as a present from Boston recently.  Of course Disco and I, big old science nerds, loved these great big bugs just as much as the kiddos.  Ok, lets face it, we probably loved them MORE than the kiddos.  Disco even set up "studio time" to take pics of these awesome bacteria as you might see them under the microscope.  We dig science around here!   

For those of you who are wondering, Syphilis is the spirochete (it is the pink spiral one) and Listeria is the bacillus (rod-shaped blue guy with purple flagella or hair-like tails if you will).

The Pittsburgh Adventure #3

The wedding!  It was in a beautiful chapel on the University of Pittsburgh campus.  The ceremony was a traditional catholic wedding mass . . . with the addition of a white haired priest playing the ukulele.  Awesome!  I heard later that the bride did not wish for the ukulele solo but it screamed "camp" and Tracy and I couldn't stop giggling about it.

OMG - this couple is in LOVE!  They just ooze love, joy, and happiness and it was truly wonderful being there to view their nuptials.  To watch our friend glide through the crowd in her yummy dress with her new husband by her side - priceless.  Many happy years to the lucky couple!

The Pittsburgh Adventure #2

Once in Pittsburgh we got to see a lot of old friends.  It was wonderful!  My best friend from college and her fiancee came down from Boston to spend time with us and get some extra kiddo love by taking care of big sis and little man during the wedding festivities.  Several of the camp gals made it for the wedding (we missed you big dutch baby momma!).  And in general we found our limited time wandering around Pittsburgh pretty fun - if we had more time I am sure we would have enjoyed a lot more adventures in the city.  I am posting the pics of us wandering near the hotel today and will post the wedding pics tomorrow:

Lets Go to the Mall!

Big sis' best bud (and his little brother) came over to our house Sat night. This is our first attempt at a tag-team approach to parents' night out with our friends. We take all the kiddos one night so they can grab dinner and then they do the same for us another night. Who knows how often we can get this to work out with everyone's crazy schedules. But the kids LOVE it!!!

Of course the little ones, aka "The Buffy Boys", were perfect. They sat on the playmat, giggled, and had a grand time. The 3 and 2 year olds were the usual laughable handful. They both like to pee and poop at the exact same time, there is a lot of wrestling and running, and in general they take it upon themselves to do a little redecorating around the house.

Tonight they decided they were "going to the mall". So they both got dressed up and announced they were leaving us. Although I was VERY tempted to make suggestions, there was no coaxing on our part concerning their attire - these were their choices. I can't wait to see what they pick out to wear to the mall as teenagers!!!

Missing genes

Today I had to give my first lecture since graduate school. Last year I made the leap from immunotherapy (of ovarian cancer) to molecular epidemiology (of breast cancer). More or less I moved from immunology to genetics. I love immunology. I loath genetics. It was a career move that made me think twice for sure. But I actually really like what I do - I spend more of my time managing details than talking about genetics.


I gave a speed lecture, a term I use to describe the result of my nerves mixed with my already fast speech pattern and the strong need for this lecture to be OVER - surprisingly no one had time to ask me questions. Score! I know it will get better - I am still getting used to the language of my new field and my new role.


On my drive home I thought of one of my favorite professors - an awesome mentor, teacher, fellow beer drinker, and friend. He passed away just after little man was born. I met him in college when I needed help starting my independent research project - and yes, it involved genetics! Little did I know that he would be a part of my future graduate school experience - a collaborator of my advisor and a large contributor to my project. We always laughed about the fact that his sheer enthusiasm for an experiment was what made it work! He had so much energy and was incredibly bright and creative. His sense of humor was priceless - he took the photo below at a meeting in Montreal we all attended. It took me a minute the first time I saw this to see the humor in it!
His perspective made him a good photographer and researcher. And his life was much too short. He was there when I began my research "career" (if you can call a college independent project such). And now I am moving forward. I am sure I could get all sappy and talk about how he is "watching me from above". But if that was the case, he would have a cigar in one hand and a beer in another cracking some joke with God. I miss his genes.

Traveling to the Big D

We are back from Dallas! It was a fun trip and the kiddos traveled VERY well. Little man only protested the last 30 minutes each way - I think 4.5 hours of happiness and peace is pretty good for his age!!!! And big sis never protested - she happily played, sang, talked and giggled. On the way home she even kept a dry pull-up on the whole way and willingly went to the potty at each stop!

Friday night we just settled at the hotel. Big sis saw some ice skaters and was intrigued by their "skipping". It took a lot to convince her that they would be back the next day!

Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast with the "skippers" by the ice rink, and found out that there was an exhibition around lunch time. Big sis was so excited! Little man was his usual smiley self and enjoyed all of the activity until we got back to our room. Then he promptly took a nap!

By lunch time, Granmother, Grandad, and Aunt V made it to the room to play with the kiddos and give us a chance to run to IKEA! It was the first time Aunt V met little man and of course big sis was EXCITED because she regularly talks to Aunt V on the phone. So it was a treat for both kids! And they saw the "skippers" again for the Halloween exhibition - big sis even got a balloon.

IKEA was AWESOME!!! We wandered around forever taking it all in. Disco bought big sis a huge realistic looking hippo. I bought little man a huge whimsical alligator. I found the choice of gifts a funny reflection of how we each view life! And we bought furniture for the new addition to our house. We were so worn out by the time we left the store and I was way past the breastfeeding schedule and had to pump in the car. But it was so worth the effort!

Later that evening Grandmother and Grandad came back for round two so that Disco and I could go to the real reason we made the trip - a wedding for a previous co-worker of mine. It was a beautiful night and the ceremony was outside by candlelight at this historic hotel in downtown Dallas. And of course the bride was gorgeous!! We didn't quite make it through the 8 course meal following the ceremony (breast feeding schedule strikes again!), but it was good to catch up with some old friends and share the special occassion with the bride and groom. Little man was wide awake when we got back but big sis was down for the count!

Everyone slept late on Sunday morning. After we finally got packed up we visited Miss T for breakfast. It was nice to see another one of my camp friends - that makes two weekends in a row. Sorry big dutch baby momma, no way we can make it three - but I wish we could!!! Big sis was so cute and loved visiting another camp friend. Little man felt so comfortable with her that he fell right to sleep on Miss T's shoulder. Disco corralled the kiddos as best he could so we could catch up - Miss T looked fabulous by the way! I hope both kiddos brought a little bit of sunshine her way that morning.

And for the final whirlwind visit we made it to a college friend's house. They have a cool backyard swing set and a 3.5 year old - so big sis was super excited! The kids played and we visited and it was all a lot of fun! Big sis was fascinated with a climbing wall and after a couple of attempts was climbing up all on her own. The first time she got to the top by herself she proudly shouted "I'm big and strong!!" Only recently has she been more adventurous with climbing, etc. For the longest time she was much more hesitant. But that phase is over! There is a reason she has a fabulous first name which means strength - she is such a big girl these days!

The trip home was fairly uneventful - we were all ready to get out of the car and settle. Disco started putting together our new furniture when we got home. Big sis and I enjoyed some wedding favors from Sprinkles. But soon after the kiddos fell asleep we crashed!

We owe Grandmother and Grandad a huge thanks for helping us with this trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We definitely would not have been able to manage the shopping or wedding without them! And I know Aunt V was happy to see the kiddos and Grandmother and Grandad were able to make that happen as well. So THANK YOU!

So another good anniversary weekend - one of these days Disco and I will be able to go on trips alone again. But for now we are just enjoying any chance to get away and celebrate - kiddos and all!

Camp

Wow, Saturday was a busy day - I am STILL posting from Saturday, October 18th! In addition to all of our other activities we also took time to visit with some friends from Camp Aldersgate. I spent all of high school and half of college working summers/weekends there. I worked with Miss K and big dutch baby's momma and Miss T - we all still attempt to keep up with each other even after all of these years!

Big sis took immediately to Miss K and her boyfriend Mr G! Little man warmed up quickly as well - as long as there is an exchange of smiles before I hand him off he is good to go! We got to visit with them Friday night and then again at another camp alum's wedding reception on Saturday.

I have to admit, I actually had a small anxiety attack on the way into camp. I remember the same feeling most times I arrived at camp - it was home for many years but each time I went it meant a new week, with new kids, and new volunteers. Obviously being an extravert is hard work for me at times!

Big sis, little man, and I were able to walk around camp while waiting for the wedding guests to arrive. I had a hard time trying to explain to my 2 1/2 year old why we were there and what camp means. Finally I just put it in the simplest terms for her. We were there for a party with cake. And camp is where mommy grew up. She finally got it - and so did I!