Two Great Tastes

I'm traveling for work at the moment so all of my anecdotes are second hand. That doesn't make them any less great. Here's one for you:

Today, Peter poured half a jug of (pure) maple syrup (expensive) into a container of Nesquik.

My poor wife was outside shoveling snow for a brief moment and noticed Pete left her sight for maaaaybe thirty seconds. She walked inside to check on him and found the amber, choco-sugary evidence.

Needless to say, a long talk was had.

I'm not joking when I say I wish I was home.

Photo of the Moment - Winter Pete

There's nothing about this photo I don't love. It's a perfect winter snapshot. The chilly, red nose that's probably running. The sleepy eyes. The flat, static-clung hair. The barely visible pacifier rash around his mouth. The partially unbuttoned PJs - a very common style in our house. Almost as common as the complete lack of clothing fad of 2004-present. And finally - the expression. One part mischievous, one part satisfaction, one part tolerance of his photographer.

The kid does so much with one quick portrait.

So We Got a Little Snow

If you're not from this area and you've heard about the historic East Coast storm - believe every word. 28" over the weekend followed by another 15" or so today. So yeah - my shoveling muscles are huge (read: painful). If you are from this area - can you believe this?

The boys haven't been affected by it too much. It was a bit too blizzardy today but we were able to play in it over the weekend. It was our own Ice Planet Hoth, complete with snow fort, clandestine searches for stormtroopers and a generous diet of snow. That's why you see the photo of Vincent with the towel. They needed something to dry off their frozen mouths following their gluttonous, icy meal.

I still kind of love it. I've always loved snow. Shoveling? Sure. Wearing a ski hat 24/7? I'm in. Working from home? Check. So bring it on Jack, we can handle it. We're tough here. Although the cabin fever is starting to get a little out of hand. I came upstairs from the basement/my home office this afternoon to the sight of Peter peeling off a Cowardly Lion costume with nothing underneath but what God gave him. Upon asking Rose what was going on, she replied, "He's Chewbacca. Vincent's Han. They're hunting down stormtroopers."

Apparently, Chewy is naked under his fur. Who knew?

Food is good

Our friend Corinne (or Lindy as she's also called by pretty much everyone but us), is writing a new food blog. If you like food, recipes and people with several names who write about such things, go check out http://www.kismetmess.blogspot.com/.

Tell her Pete sent you.

Photo of the Moment

Christmas present from Santa Mom-Mom & Grampa. A badass air hockey table. Next thing I know, the boys will go all Kelly Leek on me.

Bad News Bears reference anyone? Kevin?

Brooklyn, Brooklyn

It's funny what kids hang onto. This song by the Avett Brothers, for instance. I got into it a few months ago and started playing it while we were out and about, thinking the boys might like it. To my surprise, they started requesting it. I can see why. It's sweet and simple and above all - very clear. The sentences are short and kid-friendly. The production is simple with heavy emphasis on the voices and piano.

What I didn't expect was them to sit and listen to it in rapt attention all the way through. It's a five minute song. It's also rather melancholy. Still, I have a theory on why they paid so much attention.

First, I told them early on that the singers were brothers. You know, easily relatable to their lives. Two brothers who grew up playing music together. Vincent started asking which brother was singing which part. I showed him the video so he could put faces to the voices. Now he keeps a running play-by-play whenever we listen to it. ("That's the brother with the long hair who plays piano, not the brother with the beard who plays the drums.")

There's also significance to the song's use of Brooklyn. Though they've never been there, the boys know it pretty well. A couple of their favorite books take place there - Sara Varon's Chicken and Cat Clean Up and Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny. We also have good friends who live there that the boys chat with every now and then, who also send cool presents - including one of the aforementioned books. And finally, whenever we visit cousins Joe, Rachel & John, we drive past parts of Brooklyn, including Coney Island. They've come about as close as a 5 and 2 1/2 year old can come without actually visiting, so in their own way, they must find comfort in the song's chorus.

Finally, I can't say how awesome it feels to see my kids enjoying music. It's one thing to see them dancing along to Yo Gabba Gabba (kind of awesome in its own right). It's another thing altogether to share a song. Especially an unexpected one.

Perspective

January can be tough. Long days. Short nights. Cold. And I think it's actually 65 days long as opposed to 31. That's just been passed, I believe.

So for people like you and me that aren't big fans of January, it takes a nice little light of perspective to say, "Hey Jim. Stop it. Things are fine. Wear a scarf and deal."

This week, that perspective was coming home to Peter asking me to blow up this Whoopee Cushion again and again so he could, "make toot sounds."

He'd put it on the couch and hop on top of it, erupting in laughter. He'd squeeze it between his hands. He'd just walk around with it.

And it was great. It's the little things. Thanks, pretend flatulence device.

Reason #4,567 why I love my kids.