Saturday at the Pool

Today is Saturday, March 24th and my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Ma! I went to bed last night at about 11pm and woke up this morning at 9:10am. That is the longest I have slept in a long, long time. I guess my body was really tired. I probably could have slept longer because the reason I got up was from a knock at my door to clean my room. I forgot to put the "do not disturb" sign on my door. Duh! I was actually glad she woke me up because I might have missed breakfast.

Breakfast for me was just a lot of bread products because my stomach has been hurting since about 8pm last night. I'm okay just ate something that didn't agree with me. I'm drinking lots of water so I don't get dehydrated if you know what I mean. Lunch was also a Clif Bar because I was nervous to eat anything else. I brought Clif and Luna bars to eat every day :)

This morning there was a bride and groom taking pictures around the hotel. It was neat. The bride was amazing in a typicaly wedding dress and the mom (I think) was dressed in this beautiful African Dress with a big, beautiful head piece. I wish I had my camera. I wanted to sneak a pic.:)

I went to the pool today and did a little reading and work. It was nice. The pool is really beautiful. Here is a pic (at Becs' request):

As I was sitting by the pool I was thinking how disappointing it was that there are no lizards here. At the last hotel I stayed at (La Palm) I saw several walking around the pool. Not to be out done by the La Palm lizards, a Labadi Beach lizard showed it's face as I was leaving the pool.

Tonight I have been invited to have dinner at a work colleague's house. She invited me over at 6pm and I plan to take a cab. Don't worry Ma, I asked the driver who has been taking me around during the work week if it was safe and he said "yes" and it should cost about $3.

My hotel has it's own private area on the beach as well. It's actually pretty nice. There is a bit more litter than I care to see but its not too bad and there are little sand colored crabs running around on the beach...like the ones we saw at Virginia Beach.

Tomorrow I plan to work more - maybe go to the pool and maybe tomorrow I will go to Global Mamas, the shop Rebecca recommended. Even if I don't go tomorrow I will definately go sometime next week. On Thursday, I am going to Cape Coast to visit staff at the University and I think there is a shop their too.

That's about it for Saturday. Still looking forward to getting home!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Russ

Ooops! We meant....

 We love you and hope you have a super great day!!!

THANK YOU Auntie Rushell!!

Auntie Rushell sent Leo a package with his birthday present. It came in a gigantic Disney box and Leo was so excited to get it. We couldn't torture him by not letting him open it. So even though it was a little early (his Birthday is on Tuesday) we let him open it. Inside the box was a Disney Cars tool set (did you know Leo loves Cars?) with an electric paint sprayer and electric drill with different drill bits. He was so excited he said, "This day just keeps getting better and better" and "I love it so much." He has also been walking around the house saying, "Now I can fix our car." I don't think we will let him at the Saturn any time soon as it is our only car but maybe, just maybe, he will grow up knowing how to fix cars and other mechanical things. We should be so lucky as no one else in his immediate family is that talented. Let's just say the car repair shops love it when the Holma family drives up!

Leo is so excited for his birthday it has been hard for him to contain the excitement. He is also very anxious for it to arrive. The other day he started crying a little bit saying "It take so long, it take so long." It's tough being almost four. Aidan is having a little bit of a tough time with all of the Leo Birthday talk but he is managing very well also. Originally we planned on staying a night or two at a hotel for his birthday. He wanted the hotel instead of a party. I told you...the boys love staying in hotels as does their Mama! But given all the snow and the weather issues past and possibly in our future we just didn't think it was a good idea so instead we have put together a little impromptu birthday party of very kind and wonderful friends. We will have a little brunch and cake and ice cream. Leo picked out an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins that has Iron Man on it. He loves Iron Man. We also picked up a few Spiderman plates and we got a few balloons. I hope he likes it.

Auntie Rushell also sent the boys two totally awesome t-shirts from Hawaii. She got them at an ice cream shop and they are super cool. The boys tried them on immediately after opening and wore them for the rest of the day. THANK YOU Auntie Rushell!

Pa's Birthday Weekend

Happy Birthday Pa! We hope you have a super great day. Burgers and fries with Crow, H, Ethan, Riley, and the Fosters sounds great. We wish we could celebrate with you but know we are thinking about you.

We don't have much going on this weekend. We had dinner with Doris on Friday night. Doris and I picked up take out from Hamburger Hamlet on our way home from work and we went to our house to eat. We all got really yummy burgers and fries. It was a day off the diet for me but I am back on the wagon.

Yesterday Jason worked in Leesburg and the boys and I hung out at home in the morning and then we went to Tyson's Corner I and II with Doris. Doris was getting her haircut and so we went with her. Jason met us at the mall after work at Tyson's I. The boys used their gift cards at Barnes and Noble (thank you Pa and Crow!). Aidan got a book on UFOs and Aliens and Leo got two books about Space. I also got two books with my gift card. After that, we went to Gordon Biersch for dinner. Aidan had a cheeseburger, Leo had a grilled cheese, I had a seafood Cobb salad, Jason had fish and chips and Doris had Mahi Mahi. It was great especially the locally brewed beer.

Today we went to the Dulles Expo Center for a train exhibit. Leo loved it and Aidan could have done without it but he was a good sport. Jason is at a magic lecture at the magic shop tonight and I am trying a new recipe from cooking light. I have no doubt that the boys are NOT going to like it but I'm trying it anyway. It is called Lombo di Maiale Coi Porri (Pan-Roasted Pork Loin with Leeks). If I like it, I will put it in the recipes section on the left of the blog but if you are interested just click on the link.
I am trying to update the recipes section of the blog and I have also added a few new pictures to the left. They are pictures of places we have been over the years and that I think are extra special. In this case, Jason is probably correct that he took them (except for the Palace picture which I took) but let's be honest any more these days the pictures were taken by me, with my new camera (thanks to Jason!).

We're still waiting for Jason to write his movie review. Let's see how long it takes (wink, wink). I'm also trying to really clean out my closet and get rid of clothes and other stuff that I have not used for a long time or know, deep down, that I am not going to use it or wear it any more. I see this as a long term project with me starting with my closet and extending to every floor of the house. We need to down size. Too much stuff stresses me out. Of course it doesn't help that I just bought a few (okay well maybe more than a few) things from Stampin' Up and CM but this is what I love so how could that stress me out?

Tomorrow is Monday. Now that stresses me out. Aidan has the day off. Lucky Dog!

Happy Birthday Oma!

Happy Birthday Oma!

We hope you have a wonderful day and have a delicous cake, cupcake or treat! It is the focus of my day!

We love you lots and wish you a happy, happy birthday and wonderful year.

Love,
Amy, Jason, Aidan and Leo

Happy Birthday Opa!

Happy Birthday Opa! We hope you have a wonderful day. We are thinking about you and wish we were with you to celebrate your special day.

Love you lots!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Wow Riley-pants! We can't believe you are three! What a special age. We can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks (two weeks today). We will bring your birthday present with us!

Love you so much!

Happy Birthday Grandma Joan

Happy Birthday Grandma Joan!!!

We hope you have a very special day! Eat chocolate, have a drink and let someone else cook for you or go out to dinner. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you. We love you very, very much!

Today is also Aidan's last day of school! He was excited that today was his last day and that he only had a half day today. We are going to pick him up at 12:35 and take him out to ice cream. I can't believe he will be in 1st grade next year.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy Birthday Crow!! We hope you have a super great day!

We wish we could be there to celebrate with you. I fully expect you to watch Alias now! No excuses. I think you will LOVE it!

We love you Mom!!

How Experience Changes Us

If you would have asked me only a couple of weeks ago whether I thought it was appropriate to give gifts to the sibling(s) of the birthday child I would have said "no way!" I always thought this was such a silly thing. Surely, I thought, kids could manage adequately, even successfully, to be happy for their siblings on their birthday. These were my thoughts until Leo had his 3rd birthday on Monday.

Aidan was deeply bothered that Leo would get presents, receive special attention and treatment all day on his birthday. I tried to reason with Aidan and tell him that on his birthday Leo would not receive any presents either. We even talked about how Leo's birthday was a day to celebrate Leo and be thankful that he was born and that he was a great little brother who loved Aidan and looked up to him and wanted to do everything that Aidan did. As much as Aidan new all that was true he couldn't get past that Leo would get all of these special presents and attention and Aidan would not. Aidan asked days before if he could use the money that he saved to buy something special for himself on the day of Leo's birthday. (He already bought Leo a special birthday present).

I thought about this for a while. Was Aidan capable of understanding or learning a lesson that sometimes it's not always about us or that sometimes we have to think of other people first and watching other people happy is what makes us happy? Giving is better than receiving and giving a gift that you are excited to give and that you know the other person will love is more fun and important than getting gifts? Or at this age is he really incapable of learning that lesson? Watching Aidan for a week worrying (maybe that is too much of an exaggeration maybe just preoccupied) with Leo's birthday changed my mind. I let Aidan spend his own money on Leo's birthday and buy something special for himself. Do you know what Aidan wanted as well? He wanted me to buy something for Leo too because he didn't want Leo to feel left out or not have something special.

This whole experience has changed my mind about buying gifts for siblings on the birthday child's special day. I don't think it is good idea for other people to buy gifts for the siblings but I do think it is not a bad idea for parents to have something special for all their children on a child's birthday. Of course this does not last forever but 5, 6, or 7 is probably about right but I guess I will have to wait and see.

So that is what I learned over the last week or two.

Happy Birthday Leo!

Happy 3rd Birthday Leo!

Today is Leo's 3rd Birthday. He had a weekend long celebration. We celebrated his Birthday yesterday--all of the Holma's were here and Doris--and today. Yesterday, Aidan and I took Leo to a little shopping area and we went to Starbucks, Hallmark, the Toy Store and Whole Foods. Aidan and Leo both got a webkinz(c) for Valentines Day and Aidan is now really into them. He was feeling pretty bad that Leo was getting all the attention on his birthday and all the presents so he asked if he could buy a toy on Leo's day. He spent his own money so I thought that was fine and he bought a new little webkinz(c) a bald eagle. He wanted the bald eagle because it was "from the US". I'll write more about that parenting dilema on my next post...so anyway...While we were at the store Jason and the in-laws decorated. When we got home Leo opened presents and ate pizza and cake and ice cream. Leo had, you guessed it, a Cars birthday cake and themed party. He had a great day.

Today Leo opened presents in the morning and at about 10:30am we went ice skating. Once we got there Leo didn't want to go and Aidan tried it but didn't like it so Jason and I enjoyed the ice skating the most. After that we went to the big Smithsonian Air and Space Museum out at Dulles Airport. Leo loves, planes, trains, cars and polar express so of course he loved it.

On our way home from the Museum Aidan pulled out a loose tooth. It is one of his front teeth so he looks very different and very cute. He was pretty excited and is excited for the tooth fairy to come.

School's Cancelled: Snow Day!

We woke up this morning to a burst of white all over the ground, the trees, the cars and the sidewalks. At 6:15am it was just a dusting and Jason turned on the news to see if school might be delayed an hour or too. He was very surprised to see that school was cancelled. I think he was secretly disappointed because Aidan was home yesterday for teacher in-service day and he was hoping to lounge around and eat bon-bons all day with Leo. Unfortunately the federal government was not cancelled and I had to go to work. They never cancel the federal government. It totally stinks but I bet all of you are thinking...Amy should go to work...I want to see my hard earned tax dollars at work. Well let me tell you...they were hard at work. I had one of the worst mornings I have had in a while but I am getting off point.

It continued to snow off and on for most of the day. In the afternoon the boys geared up and went out to play in the snow. They had a good time taking a walk in the snow. Aidan seemed to spend more time on the ground than actually walking around. They threw snow balls at each other and went down to the little creek to throw snow in the creek.

As you can see Leo is feeling much better. The 24 hour flu bug seemed to have lasted longer than 24 hours and it seemed to affect him at both ends but now he seems to be feeling much better. He played in the snow and was running around the house last night and bit tonight. He still isn't eating very much but it's not exactly clear if it is related to the flu or the fact that he just doesn't like to eat and would prefer to drink his meals instead of eat. He would much rather drink chocolate milk, juice or water than eat anything.

Tuesday swimming classes were cancelled but on Sunday Aidan went to William's birthday party at Chuck's his-house (a.k.a Chuck E. Cheese, Chez Chuck). Here are two pictures of Aidan at William's birthday party. I think the plan was for the parents to drop the kids off at the party but Aidan wasn't having any part of that. He stuck pretty close to Jason until Jason told him he was going to stay for the entire party so Aidan could go run around with his friends. After that Aidan seemed to warm up and feel a bit more comfortable with his surroundings. The place was really packed with kids so it is not a surprise that Aidan felt a little nervous and uncomfortable at the party. Leo and I hung out at home as Leo still was not feeling that great.

William (the Birthday Boy), Aidan and Kentaro

Aidan and Kentaro enjoying their pizza.

Happy Birthday Pa!

Happy 60th Birthday Pa!

We hope you have a super awesome Birthday today! We are so sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate your very special day. You still look young and healthy as if you were 30! We love you very much. Have a great day!

Love and Miss You,

Amy, Jason, Aidan and Leo

Happy Birthday Jason

Today is Jason's 36th Birthday. We celebrated his birthday yesterday. We opened presents in the morning. The boys and I got him a sound dock for his ipod (we put it in on the shelves in our kitchen) and a new game for the Wii (party games 2). It has all kinds of games like skeet ball, lawn darts, shuffle board, trivia and a bunch of others. He also got the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon movie and his brother Marc always gets him a fun gift from the year he was born. This year it was a plate with a calendar from 1973-it is really pretty and from it we noted that Jason was born on a Friday. He also got money which he is saving to buy a new ipod. We went out to lunch--he wanted a gyro--and then Jason went to get his haircut. Later that evening Doris came over for dinner and to celebrate Jason's birthday too. Doris brought a yummy birthday cake and we had cake and ice cream. We also exchanged Christmas gifts since that was the first time we were all able to get together after the holidays. After dinner we played games. Doris took on Aidan in tennis (Doris won) and Aidan, Jason and Doris played bowling and Aidan won! He scored a 204! Since I am trying to get over a cold I skipped out on the bowling and Leo and I played trains. All in all I think it was a great day. I hope Jason did too.