While We Were Gone...

As recounted by Babi 

DAY ONE

Day Three is really Day One in that Chelsea and Derek left late last night. The kids all slept until 6:45 which is 7:45 Chicago time...so I felt like I got to sleep IN on a weekday!

Easy day: Liv went to preschool while we took a trip to Home Depot.

Then the boys fell asleep in the car so G drove them around the Costco parking lot while I shopped for food. They woke up in time for story time again at the library,...but someone smelled poopy so to speed up that ordeal, I told G to change Carter and I'd change Camden. I scored the poopy one...G said Carter wasn't even wet but since he opened the Huggie diaper and tried to reclose it, about halfway through story time, Carter's diaper was falling off...not a problem, Super Babi to the rescue. Then we headed to get Livie. It's a drive-in preschool...you just drive up to the back door and they bring you your child. Can't get easier than that!

Weather couldn't be nicer so the kids played in the backyard most of the day.

 I was tossing a dog toy that landed on the roof. G pulled out a ladder to get it, and found a treasure trove of toys and goodies up there!

Neighbor kids came by which Livie loved...actually entertained her probably better than we could.

Boys took a full 2 hour nap in the p.m....piece of cake!

Derek's parents brought over a great dinner and all the kids enjoyed their visit. We took the kids for a wagon ride around the block and after a tub full of three kids and bath paints from Babi, and Papou, the kids went to bed without a hitch. Doesn't seem like my kids were this easy! 

And we were rewarded. Some neighbors brought some homemade treats for Derek and Chelsea and when they heard we were watching the kids for them so they could go to NYC, the neighbors gave us permission to eat the treats. I sent a photo to my daughter.

Late tomorrow night, my son Nathan drives up from Vegas to help over the weekend. Blessings to him for that one!

P.S. And I remembered to get the end of month staff timecards done for work over the internet! A successful day all around.

DAY TWO

OMG! Not sure I'll remember all the semi-disasters today.

Disaster One:

The first is the grossest...so it's early a.m., kids are calm and happy...slept late (7 a.m.!). I got breakfast for Liv and got both boys in high chairs for their breakfast and left G to feed them while I tried to grab a quick shower. I knew Chelsea usually showers while the boys are asleep but what the heck; George was here. And I confess, the quiet in the shower was keeping me there probably longer than I should have stayed. George came and got me...Camden threw up all over himself and the high chair...barely missing George...so, George cleaned that up, while I kept the other kids distracted, and Cammie seemed fine after that.  Glad Chelsea warned me that he sometimes does that. Whew! Disaster 1 over.

Disaster Two: We're really conscientious about putting the dog water up when the boys are in the backyard, but Camden in particular is very observant and knows when we miss a beat...we caught him drinking the dog water today, out of the dog bowl.

 I'm not going to worry about it; I don't think he was there but a second when we stopped him. I'll bet it's happened before. 

Disaster Three: Chelsea has removed the dining table chairs to keep the boys from climbing on the table. She has folding chairs that she moves aside until it's time to eat...every so often, we forget to move a chair, and SCORE, the boys (yes you guessed it, Camden first) is on the table. We're getting quicker about moving the chairs.

Disaster Four: This was not a disaster for us but I hope it won't be a disaster for Chelsea and Derek when they return. Livie has a battery operated Barbie car with pedals for the power and steering wheel etc. We took it out front and let her drive up and down the street (where she had more room to maneuver).

George gave her driving instructions and I pulled the boys in the wagon. Come to find out, Livie was quite adept and could actually drive on the narrow sidewalk. Amazing for 3.5! Sorry Chelsea and Derek about the street part!

Disaster Five: This wasn't so bad either...we took the kids to the Provo Rec Center where they have the coolest indoor climbing structure in an enclosed room. There's a 4 and under structure that Camden and Carter could manage all by themselves, and of course Livie climbs the big kid one all the way to the very top.

 All of that went just fine but it was the water fountain outside that was a near disaster. It's one of those hopping water things.

 Luckily the boys couldn't climb up where the water was, but Livie could, and did...and of course, she got soaked...but no biggie. It was sunny and warm outside, AND she brought along her Queen Elsa dress to wear after she was done at the climbing structure so VOILA!  a dry change of clothes! Yeah!

Disaster Six: Camden carried a glass measuring cup outside. Luckily G spotted it right away and took it away, setting it by the door to go back in the house. Along came me, carrying Carter, and I didn't see it and yes, glass everywhere--and I did it! I fended off the three kids from the area while G swept it up. 

Disaster Seven: One of Livie's princess high heels (plastic) cracked in half (or maybe that happened before we arrived). If I had a chance, we'd go shopping at Target, but I'm not sure we will.

[So the above was entered at 3:30 p.m. while the boys were napping. I shutter to think what post nap will bring. :)]

The afternoon sailed by without additional disasters! Yeah!  I even managed to cook a lamb chop dinner with corn on the cob (the kids gobbled up the corn), two left over salads and fresh fruit.

We took a wagon ride around the neighborhood and lucked out that one of the neighbors I know and love were home. They let us play on their trampoline in the backyard for half an hour, insuring that all kids will be tuckered out and sleep well.

The house is quiet, George is watching the hockey playoffs in peace, and I might get a visit again from my dear friend Gayla. Hope so!

I just have to say that George is Super Papou! The kids adore him. He's so good with them. And he's SUCH a help with this visit! I couldn't ask for anything more. And on top of all that, he assembled some backyard furniture for Chelsea and Derek, with a gazillion nuts and bolts -- without any disasters!

Nathan (my son from Las Vegas) arrives around midnight...he's done this routine before. He lets himself in and finds the empty bed. So excited he's coming and really glad to have yet another adult to even up the adult/child ratio!

What a day!

DAY THREE

Mission Accomplished #1: It's nine p.m.. I got the dirty dishes washed, George folded the laundry, Nathan is strumming his guitar which is soothing, and all the kids are asleep. I would enjoy this quiet time if I weren't so tired! :)

MIssion Accomplished #2: We have one more day before Mom and Dad return. It's probably time. Tonight Livie got a little sad at bedtime and was crying for Mommy...but I distracted her talking about how brave she was today at the Provo Rec Center pool. 

Mission Accomplished #3: We had a 1:1 ratio today so we ventured off to the Provo Swimming Pool.

George was in charge of Camden. I had Livie and Nathan was going to hang on to Carter. Well, we entered the swimming pool area and Livie took off like a lightning bolt!  I knew immediately that George and I would have to do the babies and Nathan would have to chase Livie, which he did with excellence.

Honestly, I think Livie is braver than me! They have a huge tubular slide that is REALLY tall and windy. Fortunately (or unfortunately) Livie was just tall enough to be allowed down it. I got Livie back from Nathan when she needed to go potty and when we returned, she wanted to do the big slide. And guess who had to go with her...actually, they don't allow two to go at once but I just broke the rules and put her on my belly and held her. I could hear the guy yelling..."ONE PERSON AT A TIME!!!!!" but I just ignored him. No way was I gonna let her go down alone. I was totally freaking out and using my feet to try to slow down our speed, to no avail. The fricken tube had water running down the bottom and I was powerlessly out of control. At the bottom, there's a big splash. I was sure Livie would HATE that part. Well, first words out of her mouth were "LET'S GO AGAIN!"  Oh geez...

BUT, I am resourceful. I found Nathan and sent him with her. I decided that it was OK for her to go alone (really, the water is very low on the bottom of the tunnel and Livie truly loved it); Nathan would follow her down. I would wait for her at the bottom, trading to watch Carter (George had Camden). She LOVED it even more!  She wanted to go again but then we ALL lucked out. After an hour or two at the pool, doing the lazy river (especially with the boys who finally relaxed and liked it) and all the other fantastic stuff, they announced that everyone had to get out for 15 minutes for routine cleaning. Thank goodness...that was our chance to get Livie out...I'm sure she would have never wanted to leave. 

Mission Accomplished #4: We are, somehow, managing to make it through each day. It's basically feed them, wear them out, cuddle with them, and put them down for nap (Livie will relax watching Little Ponies or by painting or today she was playing Crazy Eights, Old Maid, Go Fish) then repeat, over and over. And get this, Livie won EVERY game we played...I mean, she just did...we didn't help her (much).

 Nathan got the Old Maid, just for the record.

Mission Accomplished #5: We ARE all eating, somehow. Tonight for dinner, I used some of Chelsea's homemade frozen spaghetti sauce...sorry about that Chelsea, but you did suggest it. We also drove through McDonald's after the pool...that helped one hungry car full. 

Mission Accomplished #6: So I told you that Livie's "glass" slipper broke. With Nathan AND George around, Livie and I made a run to Target. We found some "glass" slippers two sizes too big but hey, they are for dress up and she LOVES them. I also got her some sandals because I have yet to find the second one that she has somewhere around the house...maybe it's on the roof. She also was complaining that one set of slip on shoes hurt...they were too tight, so we walked out with 3 sets of shoes and some more shorts for the boys.

Mission Accomplished #7: In the 1990's, we were moving from LA to Vancouver Canada. We packed a car and a moving van to the brim...stuff was tied on the top of the car...there wasn't another inch anywhere but we still had the rocking horse. It just wasn't going to be. We gave it away to the Church friends that helped us to pack. I hated to give that up as the kids loved it...but what goes around comes around. Livie and I were driving home from our target shoe shopping trip and low and behold, I see a garage sale and there's a rocking horse! I figured they must want $25-$30...and I wasn't feeling like popping for that but I stopped and took a look anyway. They priced it at $5.00!!!!! And it is fully functioning! On a whim, I got help tying it to the back of the open van and VOILA!!!!


They boys and Livie are in heaven...and guess what?! Today just happens to be Kentucky Derby Day!  SO, kind of cool.  But, if Chelsea finds it to be too much of a hazard (I could see that...it's already requiring MORE supervision), our friend Elizabeth Childs saw the photo on FB and already commented that if we don't want it, she'll take it. Her sons LOVE rocking horses and they wore theirs out!

Mission Accomplished #8: I really can't keep track of the sports George watches or which day is what but it seems he's managing to fit in both soccer games and Blackhawks playoff games.

Mission Accomplished #9: So, I think I said I couldn't find pancake mix, and when I talked to Chelsea she said it's because she makes it from scratch (something I have never done). So, Nathan's new year's resolution is to make something he's never made before once/week. HOORAY...he's going to make tomorrow's breakfast, and actually Livie requested waffles instead. 

Mission Accomplished #10: I'm going to bed by 10 p.m.!!!! (I hope). Too tired to edit...

DAY FOUR

(Short insert from Chelsea: Thorsteds picked up Liv for church and sent me this pic to let me know they got there)

(And my Mom and Nay took the boys to the park while Liv was at church)

Back to Babi:

  Good day...and our privilege to care for the grandkids while the parents got a little R&R is just about over. Chelsea and Derek arrive tonight. We fly out at 11 tomorrow morning.

The only hitch is that Livie fell asleep while riding on the back of the wagon with her brothers as we pulled them around the neighborhood.

That was 6:30 p.m. and her bedtime is 8:30 p.m.. We tried to wake her after a little snooze but she was out.

 So, we'll see if I have one more round of bedtimes when George is off to get Chelsea and Derek at the SLC Airport. Otherwise, it could be a very early morning, but hey, the parents will be back! :)

So grateful for George and all he did to help with this...thanks to Nathan too.

The New York 10 Year Anniversary Trip

Thanks a million to Babi and Papou who flew out to watch our kids so we could go on the most amazing trip together.  We celebrate 10 years at the end of this month and a vacation sans kiddos was much needed.

Babi and Papou flew in on Tuesday morning.  The kids and I picked them up from the airport and proceeded to Lily's house of a delightful vegetarian lunch.

 Then, we all went to the zoo together.


On the way home Camden puked all over himself and his car seat.  It was an awesome eye-opener of Babi and Papou.

Wednesday morning,

Babi and Papou took the kids to story-time at the library (I hear it went pretty good except for the part where they sort of lost Camden and found him at the front doors about to walk out)

and then they walked to the park

 I met them after I got a humongous rock chip repaired on our windshield (received way back on the road trip to AZ for Gram's B-day and had been threatening to crack further with all the changing weather this fall, but I had not been brave enough to get it fixed with all the kids in tote).  That afternoon, I worked while Babi and Papou had their first go alone with the kids

 Then I came home, packed, finished the vinyl on my kitchen wall, and then D and I were off to the airport for a red eye flight to New York.

The red eye was awful!  I felt like I didn't sleep a wink although I must have slept a bit because I felt somewhat energized for the next day in New York.  Derek didn't even attempt to sleep and just watched movies the whole way there and made fun of me flailing around trying to find a comfy position to catch some Zzzz's.

Thursday we arrived and were able to check into our hotel.  I took a quick shower and then we rushed over to make brunch reservation at Norma's.  Derek got a breakfast casadilla and I got Crunchy French Toast.  All of it was delicious!

Then it was off to the Museum of Natural History (Derek's choice).  Loved the dinosaurs (so fascinating) and the view of the city and Central Park from the top floor otherwise I was kinda bored.  D may have enjoyed it, but was also rather sleepy.  We made a stop at Levain's Bakery to try their cookies and boy was I glad we did!

 Then, we went back to the hotel for a bit so he could take a little nap, then we went out to dinner at a Korean BBQ place called Don's Bogum.  It was the most interesting and fabulous food I have eaten in a long while.  We absolutely loved it, had no idea what we were doing, but loved it nonetheless.
 Then, we called it a night as we were both exhausted from little sleep.

Friday we were off to do a session at the Manhattan Temple.  We grabbed a quick breakfast near by and it then went to the temple.  It's true what they say that you can walk right past it and not even recognize it's a temple.  We literally were looking around at all the buildings and couldn't see it and then looked way up and low and behold one of the buildings had an angel Moroni on top.  It was so nice to go to the temple without feeling the need to rush home to relieve whomever we had finagled into watching our kids.  And, perhaps that is the reason that I some very profound thoughts in the session that I've never been able to piece together before.  After the temple we went to the theater when Newsies was playing and scored the most amazing tickets.  They were technically "obstructed view seats", but we found them hardly obstructed the were front row and center of the upper balcony.  They were $30 each!  All other tickets we were looking at were $90 a piece!  Tickets secured, we went down to the Flat Iron District to eat at Eataly.

The restaurant was hidden in the middle of the coolest Italian markets with every cooking ingredient I could ever wish for.  The food was good, but I was actually more enthralled with the market surrounding.  Then, Derek and I walked the length of the Highline

 and then went to Ellen's Stardust for a little pre-show show.  We got the dessert nothing to really right home about this place was all about the atmosphere.  The waiters are all "struggling actors" and all take turns singing various tunes while you eat.  Kinda fun.  Oh and right outside there was a street vendor selling purses.  Found me a new purse to replace the old one I've had for years that has a hole in it!

Newsies was incredible!  I loved it and our seats were amazing especially considering the fact that a large portion of the play was elevated and while there was a light box hanging off in front of us it didn't seem to obstructed at all in my opinion.  (This is a pic from our seats...SERIOUSLY!!!)

We had decided on Newsies because that was the first movie we ever "watched" together way back when we were dating.  It was a great show.  I love all the music (and D does too) and it was actually quite different than the movie.

Saturday morning we had brunch at Sarabeth's.  D had the most amazing Salmon Eggs Benedict- best Eggs Benedict I've ever eaten.

I got Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (I honestly felt like Blue Lemon makes them better).  We also got a side of chicken sausage with apple preserve- that was delicious too and a different way to eat sausage than I have ever had.  Then, we took the subway to see a Yankees game.

 D of course had to get a program to keep score and get a hot dog and peanuts (although I think he prefers sunflowers seeds, just harder to find).  Then, we went downtown and saw the 9-11 Twin Towers Memorial.  It was very sobering.  We then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge


and waited in line forever to get pizza at Grimaldi's.  Despite the wait, it was pretty darn good pizza.

Sunday was our last day.  We went to Jacob's Pickles for brunch.  I think Derek fell in love with Chicken and Pancakes.
 
 I got an omelet- also delicious and.  Then, I made Derek walk almost the whole of Central Park.  I love that place!  The most beautiful blossoming trees.

We discovered the North Wood which honestly made me feel like for a second that I had escaped the huge city and was hiking somewhere more remote.  We found this awesome Conservatory Garden with the most beautiful flowers, and fountains, and the largest wisteria growing over an walking archway.

 It made me long for my wisteria to get growing already.  Then we discovered Belvedere Castle.

 Did you know Central Park had a castle?

Then, I rewarded myself with another round of Levain's cookies and Derek with shake shack.  I'm not sure shake shack was anything to write home about even though the burger was pretty good and also very greasy.  Maybe it's just because burgers are not my thing- you may get a different story out of D.  Then, sadly it was time to head home.  On the flight home I enjoyed reading a book for 5 hours straight without interruption!

Then, Monday morning we were awakened bright an early by our kids whom we did miss a bit so we weren't too annoyed to have to get up on their timetable once again.