Just Keep Swimming. Keep Swimming.

Drew started swimming lessons with a new teacher (Miss Cindy) in a new location today. He also got to wear his brand new swimsuit that Grandma bought him last weekend. It's a little big on him, but he insisted that he had to wear it today. He still looks like he needs to eat a sandwich, doesn't he? We do feed him, I swear!

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Yesterday was Adam's 36th birthday. Yep, he's just a youngster.

This is how he got to spend part of his birthday. We were supposed to have another ice storm, but it turned out to be just a regular snow storm. Unfortunately, it was enough snow to keep my family away from his birthday dinner, but I think he was just as happy to take a nap on the couch after shovelling snow.

Drew went out to help and wound up making snow angels and getting his picture taken by Grandma.

We did have a very nice dinner, and we'll be eating the leftovers for the next week! Of course, you can never have too much pork roast or mashed potatoes as far as I'm concerned.

Something Fishy

Grandma (Adam's mom, Pat, for those of you not in the know) came to town yesterday to spend a few days and to celebrate Adam's birthday on Sunday. Today, we had a big outing to the National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. We ate lunch first at Johnny Rockets in the Light Street Pavillion which was a great choice for Drew, but probably not the most exciting choice for Pat since she usually eats there when she goes to Mohegan Sun. I was tempted to buy some baked goods at Vaccaro's too, but I managed to resist. I figured we could stop in Little Italy afterward if I still had a craving.

It was pretty chilly walking around the Inner Harbor, but it was a beautiful sunny day. That's about as good as you're going to get in February around here. The Aquarium was wonderful as usual even if we did have to deal with Drew saying "Let's get out of here" about every 5 minutes or so. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to see the Dolphin show and walk all around (it was my first time seeing the Australia exhibit) so I guess I'm not surprised that he lost interest along the way. The rest of us enjoyed the tour, but I think we were all whipped by the end of the day.

Weekend Visitors

This weekend was so busy with visitors, and I can't believe I didn't take one picture of anyone. I'm having problems with the camera, and I need to take some time to figure out which settings to change. Sue and Brian came over for dinner on Friday night (they were going to visit with Tom but that didn't work out). Sue brought these amazing cookies that she makes every year for Valentine's Day that look very similar to the ones in this picture.

Brian brought his new cell phone to show us (it's very similar to this one)--he was really excited about it. He had recorded his aunt telling saying "Brian, you're getting on my nerves. Get away from me", and he enjoyed playing it over and over for whoever would listen. I'm sure she'd be very happy about that.

Charlie and Judy showed up around 10 pm on that same night for their whirlwind 24 hour visit. We called them when we found out that Tom wasn't going to make it, and it turned out they were available! Judy brought some presents for Drew including a harmonica and this Duck Hatch 'Em Egg. You put the egg into water, and it hatches in a day or so, and then the duck grows and grows until it looks like the picture below. Then you have a slimy plastic duck in a bowl. Sue told me I could forward to more toys like this as Drew gets older. Brian was always growing something slimy in a jar when he was younger.


We did enjoy a delicious dinner from Smokey Hollow BBQ before Charlie and Judy went home on Saturday night. I don't think we had a speck of food left after the meal.

Private Shaughnessy Reporting For Duty, Sir!

We decided to take definitive action here, so the hair had to go. So far, no signs of bugs and Drew seems to like his new 'do.

Since schools were closed again today, we decided to go on an outing to Port Discovery. Adam had the brilliant idea of asking if Hailey and Alex want to go along, and Carole was more than happy to hand them over since she wasn't feeling well anyway. Our first stop was for lunch at Red Robin which is always a favorite dining spot for these kids. I really wish the wait staff would stop asking if this is our first time at Red Robin. It's really getting old.


After lunch we headed into Baltimore to Port Discovery. We all had a great time (especially Adam). It wasn't too crowded, and we got to check out almost all of the exhibits. Everyone gets a wristband when entering, so no one can leave with anyone but the adult who brought them. Good thing for us, because we only saw Alex sporadically the whole time. Luckily, he was wearing orange so we could spot him from a distance. Hailey was good about sticking with Drew most of the time, and Adam tried to scare everyone in the Egyptian Adventure Expedition. We'll definitely be going back.

Happy Valentine's Day!

These are the beautiful flowers I received for Valentine's Day. Apparently, Drew had to pick (and smell) each one individually. Unfortunately, schools were closed today due to the ice storm that we had yesterday so no Valentine party was enjoyed by the preschoolers. They were supposed to exchange valentine cards and eat ice cream at school.

Drew did receive Valentines from Dad and Melva (we had a very quick visit on Sunday), Pat and George and Aunt Pattee. He's always excited when he gets mail.

Lousy Week

We've been having a rough week. On Saturday, I was blow-drying Drew's hair after his swim lesson when I noticed what looked like some kind of bug in his hair. Yes, he has lice! We've spent the last several days working on the eradication process which has been loads of fun (lots of laundry, pesticide shampoo, vaccuming, and pesticide spray have all been involved.) From my research on the Internet, these little buggers are not easy to kill. Many have become resistant to the pesticides that are on the market (sort of like the other kinds of bugs that have become resistant to antibiotics) so they keep coming back. Drew is REALLY not enjoying the process of having his head examined (!!) everyday to see if any new Pediculus humanus capitis have appeared. We're thinking seriously of a buzz cut.

On top of that little problem, Drew has also been experiencing some gastro-intestinal issues which just adds to the general enjoyment around here. I'll spare you those details.

Also, we were supposed to have a visitor this week. Tom was supposed to arrive around noon today, but weather in Baltimore and a mechanical problem posed a problem for his scheduled flight, and, after spending the day in the Detroit airport, his next flight was cancelled also. Since a big storm was due to hit the Detroit area within the next 24 hours, he decided that he would try to re-schedule for next month. Drew was very upset about the change in plans (as were Hailey and Alex), but it may have been a blessing in disguise for Tom since he gets to avoid Lousapalooza.

The picture below is Drew's sad face because Grandpa Tom wasn't coming to visit.

On a more positive note, Shrek is doing very well. To the best of my knowlege, he does not have lice, but he does look like he could use a haircut. He's really reminding me of the the guys in the Geico commercials.

The Groundhog Was Wrong

The weather continues to be frigid here (although not as cold as Michigan as everyone up there keeps telling me), but we have to get out of the house to avoid cabin fever. Wednesday was our usual library day, and, for whatever reason, Drew decided that he needed to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume all day. School was closed so we didn't have to fight the battle about wearing his costume to school. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to his attire at the library.

Drew got a card in the mail Thursday from Adam's cousins, June and Ken Lachler. They sent him a baptism card with some money inside, and Drew wanted to put the money in his bank. He was confused about how to fit a bill into the little coin slot, but I helped him out. He's very excited whenever he can put money in his bank. It's fun because he doesn't understand the difference between a penny and $100--it's all great. Too bad that won't last.

Drew loves wearing Adam's Lifeline hat.

Here's another picture taken by Drew. I had to push him arm up a bit, otherwise you'd just be looking at Adam's backside.

Super Bowl Sunday

We have hair! I'm not sure that this is such a good look for Shrek--I don't think the sideburns do anything for him at all. Drew has completely lost interest in him; I keep saying "Look, Shrek has hair!" and he pretends to look and goes on with whatever he was doing.

Last night we had a sleepover with Hailey and Alex. We hadn't attempted any sleepovers since our bad experience in September, but things went a little better last night. We still had to segregate Drew because he was just too wound up and wouldn't quiet down, and Alex couldn't get to sleep as long as he was in the room. Adam put Drew in our room, and, after he made the bathroom sink overflow and took off all of his clothes and went screaming back into his room, he managed to get settled down and everyone was asleep by about 10. Yes, this was an improvement over last time.


This morning, I made pancakes and Alex told me that they were awesome and he at 4 of them. That's really a compliment from him since he hardly ever eats anything I make. After breakfast, I took all three kids to church which went pretty smoothly believe it or not. Drew had a great time; of course, he had to protest when we took Hailey and Alex home. He thought we should have another sleepover tonight. I don't think so.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl. As a Baltimore girl, I had to root against the Colts, but as I mentioned on some other post, I don't really care. I did think that Prince was less than inspiring at halftime, but I guess that the network is just happy with another boob-free year.