Attack of the Forty Foot Virus!

This has been the year! Both Mad Dog, Lex and I have found ourselves in the capable hands of the folks at St. Vincent's Hospital  . Not that I don't love the nurses in the emergency room, but I don't need to see them anytime soon. 


This morning Mad Dog woke with extreme back pain and he was pretty sure it was a kidney stone. For anyone who hasn't had one, from my understanding it hurts like hell. Because of this pebble Mad Dog made his way to St. V's at 5 AM this morning on his own, leaving me with the Monkeys to get to school. He spent the day in emergency room 19 (the one I spent December 19th in) with the fine emergency room nurses of St. V's (all of which I love) and was released this afternoon with the stone still waiting to pass and handful of prescriptions to fill. 


He's doing much better now. Still waiting and watching his meds, making sure to take the next dose before the last one wears off.  Right now he is trying with all his might to make a chart/schedule of what/when he takes stuff. If only Loki didn't want to be his nurse. She is crawling all over him. 


On a separate note regarding the Health Care Industry, I was talking with my Daycare Provider today about the H1N1 vaccination. Yes, Mad Dog and I are getting Lex and Loki vaccinated. I have heard the argument that the FDA rushed the vaccination through and there are concerns about the use of it, but lets think about this logically. This is not a new radical type of vaccination, it is based off previous vaccinations. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but in the case of Mad Dog and I don't see a reason why Lex and Loki shouldn't have the shots. Also, with both of us working where we do, Mad Dog with the public and me in a corporation that has people coming and going from places all over the US/the World, we can't guarantee the environment the kids will be in.  Also, I can't count on the fact that the other kids attending Day Care will be getting them either. Lex and Loki are usually healthy kids, and with the cases of H1N1 in healthy children is on the rise, I don't want to worry. If you want to see what the virus does/spreads check out NPR's Flu Attack! Lastly - if Mad Dog (one of the Tin Foil Hat Brigade) thinks its okay, with all his research, I feel okay about it. 

People can send out all the information on the virus, the proper way to wash your hands and how to cough into your arm, but if people don't take personal responsibility for their health and themselves it doesn't matter what they share with this friends, families and coworkers. I have have finally caught the cold/cough that the kids and Mad Dog have finished with. I'm 2 weeks behind them. I think part of my luck in fighting off the sickness in our house is my new diet and focus on health. 


Or maybe I'm full of it and it's all an amazing marketing scheme by the health industry to sell more anti-bacterial gel, vitamins, cold meds and tissues. Oh, shoot did I clean the keyboard with Lysol . 

Pumpkins Are Not Just for Throwing at People's Heads!

Most nights we have some idea of what we are having for dinner, but with Mad Dog and I it can change like the wind. Tonight I believe Mad Dog has taken out ground beef, and we were going to improvise when we got home, but on the drive home Mad Dog had a different idea. Last week I made a recipe from the Parents magazine I get. It was to help get veggies into you kids.

The recipe was for Pumpkin Penne. It was very yummy and everyone loved it (even Lex). I posted that I was waiting for Mad Dog to bring home the ingredients and a few people posted that it sounded good, so I'm going to post it here. I know when I cook I tend to tweak things, this time it was unintentional. When we were at Stop & Shop last week they had like no canned pumpkin on the shelf, so I grabbed what they had. I grabbed Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix. My bad! It calls for canned pumpkin. Personally I think the Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix is sweeter, but also has more spices already. I think if you pump the spices up a little it might give it more flavor. Anyway here is the recipe:

1 12 oz. box whole-wheat pasta
1 Tbs., Olive Oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup fat free evaporated milk
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice (I didn't have any and just did 1/2 cinnamon and 1/2 nutmeg)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly chopped parsley
1 1/2 ox Parmesan Cheese, grated

10 Minutes
Cook pasta according to package direction. Drain and return to pot, covering to keep warm.

8 Minutes
In saucepan, heat oil on medium. Add shallots; cook and stir until tender, about 3 min. (Do it fast: skip the shallots and stir in 1/2 tsp. onion powder along with the rest of the sauce ingredients.) Whisk in broth, evaporated milk, pumpkin, spice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for  4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2 Minutes
Toss pasta with sauce. Spoon into bowls and top with parsley and cheese. Makes 6 cups.

Nutrition per cup: 308 calories, 13g protein; 6g fat (2g sat. fat); 51 g carbs; 2 g fiber; 188mg calcium; 3mg iron; 287mg sodium.

Snot! It Happens!

Regardless of the dates on the calendar or what anyone says we are in WINTER! People are fighting to hold off putting on their heat, putting on sweaters or hiding under blankets. Putting the plastic up on the windows and cooking heavy fall soups on the stove. This past Friday we had a dusting and we (personally) are currently up to our eyes in SNOT! 


Lex, Loki and Mad Dog are all fighting colds. I have somehow managed to avoid it so far, doesn't mean it not going to happen, but I can always hope. I think Loki has it the worst. Though Mad Dog didn't have a good day last Tuesday, he is getting better. Though they all don't feel good, they are all good humored about it. All three of them have received their Flu Shots, with Loki going for her second shot in a few days (fingers crossed she'll be well enough to get it). I on the other hand am still waiting on my Flu Shot, which they are doing at work in early November. We're hoping that this season will be a healthy one. The kids are only the waiting list for he H1N1 vaccinations.  

In regards to the snot-factor that has arisen in our house. Everyones nose is a faucet! The think I hate most of all is, that the sleeves of my shirts are always rolled, because they have been receptacle for said snot. Don't say YUCK, because you know you do it too as parents. Kid has snot running from both nostrils, dancing on the edge of their lips and you have nothing to wipe it with but the cuff of your shirt. You do what you have to do. Then you roll the cuff over and go on your way, until the next snot explosion. The cycle goes on and on, until you find that your sleeve is rock sold with the natural epoxy that our bodies produce in our nasal cavity.  


I would like to say I'm one of those parents that uses the antibacterial gel, but I'm not. We make sure that the kids wash their hands, and I have tried to limit the kisses at bedtime, but the truth is part of the reason Lex and Loki have not been overly sick in their short lifetimes, is because we expose them to the world.

I know far too many parents that practically keep their children in a bubble, and then get surprised when their children catch something. Their bodies don't know who to fight the germs, because they haven't had the exposer to the germs. Then their are those parents that think every little degree in temperature is a reason to run to the emergency room. I admit we have been at the emergency room with Lex and a fever, but his fever was 104.9. We know are children, and we trust our judgement when it comes to their treatment. There are reasons why the Health Industry costs are sky rocketing, and I'm sure every nervous parent who ends up at the emergency room with a sick child that could have been cared for at home isn't helping things either. Also, an overreaction to the simplest things also breeds it behavior in the child. 


Gigi is the perfect example of this. When she visits with us, we find that her symptoms are not what we are told they have been and the sickness that has prompted multiple visits to the doctor or emergency room are nonexistent here. We thing more often than not she is told her symptom and she plays them up, or thinks she has them. That doesn't happen here. Is it because we don't play to them, or acknowledge the over dramatics and because of this her body (or mind) doesn't react the same way?

With this winter I'm sure we'll be more cautious about the kids and their sniffles, but I doubt we'll change the way we handle things.

From Baltimore with Love!

For the past three years we have made the trek down to Baltimore for Baltimore Comic Con. This started when Lex was 9 months and nothing has stopped us, not even taking both kid. Its something we look forward to each year and I think in some way we think about it as our one true vacation.

To not put miles on our cars (more than we already do), we rent a car from Enterprise and drive down. It's only a 6 1/2 hour drive, but with the kids and stops it's more like 8. This year we got a white Kia Rondo, it was cute and the trunk space was a blessing, since we had to take: a double stroller, pack-n-play, a cooler, books for signing, 2 suitcases and case of bottled water. We also packed our trusty DVD player, which poor Loki couldn't watch since she is still facing backwards, but Lex loved. After picking up the car and packing it we started on our way. I am very proud to say that we did manage to leave before 9AM, without a trip to the T-Mobile store like we has last year. We picked up some Dunkin Donuts, making everyone happy and hit the road.

The drive wasn't that bad and I did all of it, though Mad Dog asked a thousand times if I wanted him to take over. I like driving, plus I can't keep doing the turn around thing with the kids, because I get carsick, so to drive is the lesser of two evils for me. Loki slept much to the trip and Lex slept NONE of the trip going down.  We try to set little goals for ourselves, we'll drive this far and stop, etc. We find that we usually stop in the same exact places each year. We made our first stop in New Jersey on the NJ Turnpike as usual, to eat a bit of lunch, change diapers and let them out of the car for a bit. The NJ Turnpike rest stops are crazy, and I always forget how much I hate their food courts until were in them. Mad Dog and I had slices of pizza, and Lex had Burger King, which he actually ate most of. Diaper changes were a hand off process. Mad Dog taking them, while I watched the other. Then we were back on the road.

The rest of the drive was easy enough with only a little traffic as we left NJ and entered Baltimore. When we arrived at the Hotel (Days Inn), I checked in and took Loki up the the room. Lex "helped" Mad Dog bring the stuff in on the luggage cart. This trip to Baltimore is always planned as a cheap trip. We stay outside Baltimore and we try to rent as cheap a car as possible. Also, this year we brought some food, since we were dieting and plus it can get expensive eating out all the time. Now anyone who selects a hotel online, doesn't know where it is and the area it is placed in. It was recently pointed out to us, by a new friend from the area that where we are staying isn't the best area. It's something we might take into consideration next year, if the trip takes place or it's something we might just leave alone. After getting settled, we ordered some Chinese food from a local place and ate. Lex and Loki explored the room, played and watched TV before bedtime. Lex slept with me in a double and Loki was going to sleep in her pack-n-play, however for the first time ever we had trouble with her to the point where Mad Dog took her for a drive to put her to sleep.

The next morning we were up bright and early, which worked out since the city of Baltimore were nice enough to schedule their Running Festival the same day as Baltimore Comic Con, which meant streets would be closing around 8AM. We drove into the city and managed to find a parking garage right before the streets started to shut down. Walking to the Convention Center we watched the runners and all the craziness of set-up. We detoured ourselves down to Camden Yard where we believe the runners were checking in or they had some kids stuff going on. Once we got to the Convention Center Lex, Loki and I got in line with the true die-hards and Mad Dog went to wait for tickets. Lex mad friends with everyone around us, managing to get the nice gentlemen next to us to play him Batman Theme on his phone, and even asked him if we could take his picture. When the line started to move at 10AM, Alanna (Mike's Assistant Manager) and her boyfriend Jeff joined us in line.

Our game plan was to hit the big names first. This year that was George Perez (see photo), to start with. We tag team lines and the kids, moving from table to table getting books signed. We mainly bring graphic novels with us now, leaving the single issue comics at home, with one real exception. We Lex and Loki were born Mad Dog went out an bought the comics that came out the week they were born. When we can, we get their "Birthday Comics" signed, asking the artist or writer to sign them "Happy Birthday" When the kids are older we plan on giving them this very special gift. The Birthday Comic Idea always gets a comment from the signer. Along withe the Birthday Comics and Graphic Novels we bring around The Artist Within by George Preston. The book always brings a story from the artist about the photo, or experience.

Along with getting books sign we check out the Artists Alley, where we have purchased art in the past for the kids, or as gifts. This year we played it low-key. The only purchase we made this year was for Loki. We purchased her very own piece of art from Franco, of Raven. He also did her a quick sketch of Kid Devil. we managed to get more everything we had signed, with a few exception. The highlight for me was J. Scott Campbell. It was my longest wait of the Con, and completely worth it. He wasn't doing sketches, but when I presented him with our Artist Within book, he did a sketch of Abbey Chase from Danger Girl, making very Fan Boy in line completely jealous! Mr. J. Scott Campbell was our last stop before leaving the Con at about 2ish. We were done. The kids were done and it was time to have some quiet time.

Hotel time as free time for the kids. Running/crawling all over the room for a few hours before got dressed again and went to visit a fellow Lego Manger friend of Mad Dog's Tony and his family. They were kind enough to invite us over for a little adult chat and play time with their kids, Noah and Cloe (who is 2 like Lex). The kids had fun and some cake before we headed back to the hotel for bedtime, which came very easy for everyone tonight. The next morning we were up and on the road early after Mad Dog organized everything for our field trip up to PA to the Crayola Factory. Lex of course had to help with packing and play on the cart, which might have been the highlight of his trip.

The Crayola Factory was nice. Nice if you lived within an hour of it, it would make a great CHEAP, activity with the kids. Having said that it was not worth the 2 hour detour we took to go, also I think Lex is still a little young though he did enjoy painting and cutting with their supplies. From their we got lost making our way home with the help of my two brothers directions. We ended up in Manhattan for 2 hours, and finally worked our way home to New England. We got home just about 7 PM. Everyone in the house and in bed not long after. It was nice to be home and in our own beds.

Hero in Training

Mad Dog and I don't make any excuses for ourselves, we are comic book geeks. Our son Alexander was named, so he could be called Lex after Lex Luthor and if Mad Dog had his way he might have been called Hal. Because of this there was no surprise when Lex's third word was Batman (Momma, Dadda and yes Batman!). Amazingly he is just learning his colors (to say them), but can rattle off the names of the Justice League with out thinking twice. 


Tonight while we were putting Lex to bed, he picked as one of his three bedtime books an early reader book called Wonder Woman's Book of Myths. It's part of the DK Readers series, which I believe we own the collection of DC Superhero books. For a little more back ground Lex has watched the old Adam West Batman movie and even a little of Superman The Movie, but as far as we know has never seen anything of Wonder Woman the television show which feature Linda Carter. Our son who amazes us every single day, points to Wonder Woman and then walks to the middle of his room and (I am not lying about this) starts to spin like Linda Carter did in the series to change from Diana Prince into Wonder Woman. He even kind of posed at the end of his spin.

Mad Dog and I just looked at each other shocked. I asked Mad Dog if he ...and before I could finish Mad Dog said he had no idea where this came from. We went on with the book, and he would name other Heroes as we turned the pages, acting out their actions (like Aquaman swimming). I asked him what Wonder Woman does again. He stopped went to the middle of the room and did the spin once again. We're not really sure if we should be proud or scared. He on the other hand was very proud of himself. We can only hope that Loki is as enthusiastic about learning her heroes as Lex. For know we're just going to believe it's in the blood and all our geekness has been pasted on.

Puppy Boy

I no longer have a son, but a puppy. Lex is playing puppy right now. He is down on the floor on all fours and fetching a ball which he keeps asking me to throw. He barks as he crawls across the floor to retrieve it. Loki is finding it very funny. I can't say I don't blame her. I told her she should get in on this, but she would rather watch him. This is a big difference from about an half hour ago, when I couldn't get him to wait 5 minutes for pudding to set up.


I know I'm lucky that both Lex and Loki know how to amuse themselves unlike other children out there. For the most part he can keep himself busy if he needs to, playing cars and superheroes. Recently we have seen the spark of imagination I was hoping he and Loki would inherit from me. I don't know how much an imagination Mad Dog had as a kid, but I had a huge one. When I was very little, I didn't have many if any kids to play with when I was at my Grandmother's. I had to make up my own fun. Lex has started to tell us there are monsters or dinosaurs in the kitchen and now the puppy play. Should make things interesting as he is able to communicate more and more.


He always amazes me. Like tonight I was completely expecting him to not eat dinner. Tonight I cut come corn off a cob, which we picked up at the farm yesterday. Cooked it up with a bit of butter spray and then set it aside. I heated up my griddle and put on some turkey bacon, before chopping up some scallions. I then mixed up a little pancake mix (yes, from a box). I added the corn, scallions, salt, pepper, chili powder to the mix. When the bacon was done, I chopped that up and added that too. I then cooked the corn cakes on the griddle. Once cooked I served them with a little Corn and Black Bean Salsa which we had picked up at Target. Lex ate it up. He loved the black beans in the salsa and didn't think twice about the pancakes. When he finished I made him pudding for a treat. 


We're about to get baths done and then bed time. We'll see if Lex is back or if I'm giving a bath to the little puppy that found it's way into the apartment. 


(A side note on bath time: I don't recommend giving a bath to two children (age 2 1/2 and 10 months) when you are alone. Especially if said children get excited about bath time and feed off each other's excitement.)  

Day Five: Home Sweet Home

Magical Express was scheduled at 6:50 AM, which put us up EARLY, even of us. Everything but the PJ's were were wearing and friends (Jimmy, O'Brien and Iris) were packed. Both Lex and Loki got to eat before the airport and Mad Dog and I held off until then. We said our good-byes to Uncle Sean and Aunt Tiffany, leaving them with the things we couldn't pack to ship up to us. 


After arriving at the airport we waited in line for our boarding passes and to check our bags from there we made our way up towards security, but not before stopping at the Universal Studios store to buy Lex and Loki "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" T-Shirts (which we saw when we first passed through the airport). Security was a lot more stressful, since the stroller wouldn't fit through the x-ray machine in the family line, but once through we had a short wait. 

The two flights were uneventful compared to the first leg of our trip. Lex keep asking if we were going to Disney, something that has continued on since we've gotten home. He made a few new friends along the way back to Boston, like the woman who played peek-a-boo with him in Baltimore. Also the little girl that was crying in Baltimore, that he gave a sticker to, to cheer her up. 


Landing in Boston was wonderful. Though we all loved the vacation, I think we were all thankful to be home. Comfortable and unpacked we have managed to get back to normal, with the occasional question of "Disney?"

Day Four: Epcot!

Mad Dog joined us on Friday for Epcot. Since he was joining us, we let Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Sean sleep in while we went for breakfast and headed to the park. Once in Epcot we headed for The Seas, which was once called The Living Seas. Mad Dog thought Lex would enjoy Nemo movie inside. Mad Dog and Lex went off in search of fish and Loki and I took a walk in a few of the shops to keep cool. Once out I was informed by Mad Dog that I rank above fish in Lex's world, but sadly sharks rank above Momma. I guess there are somethings that are just cooler than dear old Mom (maybe I need a bigger boat). 


After talking with the first we visited Imagination, which I remember as a kid. Figment became a beloved character to my Mother and my brother, Kevin. I think we went on the Journey into Imagination several time on that trip. Of course like so many things in Disney it has been redone. They have added Eric Idle to the ride. It is still cute and the song doesn't get stuck in your head like it did before. I don't think Lex cared either way for it to be honest. Loki, I think on the other hand was just happy to be out of the stroller. 


Sean and Tiffany joined us after Imagination, and directed us to Spaceship Earth (a.k.a. The Big Ball). Tiffany and Lex rode together, leaving Mad Dog and I with Loki and Sean on his own. We offered to have Loki ride with him, but he said no thank you. (He doesn't know what to do with her.) Sean and Mad Dog rode Mission: Space, while Tiffany and I watched Lex play in a water feature with other kids. Then Mad Dog and I rode Test Track while Sean and Tiffany watched the kids (oh, and shopped). By this time everyone was hungry. 


We grabbed burgers and chicken nuggets at one of the pavilions and then said good-bye to Sean and Tiffany for awhile. We attempted to make our way through the World Showcase with Lex and Loki. Not something I look forward to doing ever again. It was very hot and my sunburn (which I had managed to get over the past 4 days) was on fire. Lex didn't want to ride in the stroller and didn't want to listen. Our only real mission in World Showcase was to got the France and pick up something for Gigi. We had asked her where she wanted something from and she asked for something from France. Once that was done Mad Dog and I gave up and headed back to take the kids swimming in the pool and start packing.


That evening Sean and Tiffany watched the kids so Mad Dog and I could have some us time in Downtown Disney. We traveled to the Lego Store, Disney Store and had dinner at Paradiso 37. We enjoyed Central American Crazy Corn: fire roasted Corn-on-the-Cob with Spicy Pepper Sauce with Cheeses; Caribbean Crab & Fish Fritters: Crab Meat, Shrimp, Fish, Peppers & Cilantro Fritters fried to a golden brown. Served with a coconut lime dipping sauce; North American Potato Pancakes: Prepared with a hint of chives and a special spice blend and sautéed to a golden brown; Mexican Quesadillas: a sampler of corn tortillas stuffed with braised chicken, grilled steak and BBQ pulled pork. I also indulged in a  Mango Margarita, which I don't usually have. With the exception of the potato pancakes, which had not real flavor, everything was amazing. 


By the time we got back, the kids were sound asleep and Sean and Tiffany were ready to go get something to eat.