A Nice Steaming Pile of........Spaghetti?

I wanted to make a super simple dinner tonight so that I could get out of the house with Mia to trick or treat and let Shelby put Lennon to bed and get some work done.  I bought some store pasta sauce and made spaghetti.  As we were sitting down to eat - Lennon had already started - Mia said "something smells like animal poo."  "Well Angel's been inside all day it's probably just his litter box."  I said.  Then I sat down and took a bite of my salad and noticed that I too smelled this animal smell.  It smelled exactly like zoo poo.  Then Shelby, having already taken a bite of his food smelled his plate and agreed with us.  After a few minutes of looking awkwardly at each other and inspecting the jar of sauce we decided it must just be the basil in the sauce that was making it smell like that.  "It's weird, it smells just like poop, but it still tastes good."  Said Mia.  I took a few bites and it really didn't taste bad, but I couldn't move beyond the thought.  It seriously smelled like I was eating a petting zoo.  So gross.  Now I have a giant pot of zoo poo pasta sitting in the fridge that will most likely go to waste.  So, word to the wise - Do not buy Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil pasta sauce.  It smells like petting zoo poo.

Update

Lennon just LOVES his Auntie Jess.  When she is around it is as if I am not here.  It's such an awesome change from the usual 'clinging to the knee' routine.  He is doing SO much better these days.  He's even been letting me go to the gym and voluntarily left my arms to go to three different friends this week.  He is playing so much more independently and really enjoys dinosaur books and anything about dogs.  He was quacking up a storm tonight in the bath and moos every time he sees a cow.

"What could this creature be?" you ask

It's a wittle baby Lennon in a puppy dog towel and Mia's bath robe that he insisted on wearing after his bath.

The kids newest game to play together is hide n go seek and it is the cutest thing ever to watch them playing together.  Lennon always squats down really low to check if Mia is under his bed and laughs hysterically whenever he finds her and then runs the other direction.  She adores him.  

We were using the rest of our apples we picked with Papa and Nana to make some delicious cinnamon apples and Mia got to use a knife for the first time to help me chop them.  She was so proud and did an awesome job.  The apples were delicious and we dubbed them 'Momma Mia apples.'

A few nights ago I went to turn down Mia's bed and found this big spider under her covers right where her legs would have been.  Shelby and I captured it and in the process accidentally cut off two of her legs.  We put her in a cleaned out baby food jar and stuck her on the counter because I was going to try to figure out what kind of spider it was so that if there were more and Mia ended up with a spider bite we would know if we should worry or not.  I know, I'm crazy.  Anyway, for about three days the spider did not move at all and we assumed it was dead.  And then suddenly yesterday the spider started scampering about inside the jar.  After a while it was clear that this was a female spider.  She had laid an obvious egg sack and spun some kind of protective stuff all around it and anytime I would pick up the jar to inspect it she would rush to the sack and cover it up like she was protecting them.  It was so sad.  This morning I sent Shelby out with the jar to open it up outside so that when they hatched they could go free and maybe that poor momma spider could survive with only six legs.  Who knows.  I didn't really find out what kind of spider it was, but we did find out that poisonous spiders are highly uncommon in Massachusetts.  That made me feel better.  For a couple nights after I found it I was terrified to put my legs down into the bed without a thorough inspection!

Just Some Crazy Lennon Hair

Mia's Halloween Party

Last Friday we had a Halloween party for a few of Mia's friends.  Making the invite list was a bit of a problem because her social circle is so broad now that I knew I didn't want to handle all those kids in one night.  I decided that she could either have only school friends or only non school friends.  She chose school friends, but then I ended up inviting Nicole from Plymouth and Chloe from gymnastics too.  The party was super fun.  The craft that Mia chose out of this fun Halloween book Granmommy got us a few years ago ended up being a little too involved for the kids, so we skipped past it after a while and moved on to other fun.  It was a shame though because Shelby had spent literally hours working on the prep work for it the night before.  I was lazy and just ordered pizza for everyone which was awesome to the kids.  Then we decorated cupcakes, played pin the tail on the cat, charades and bobbing for apples.  The next disappointment was when we went to put the kids temporary pumpkin tattoos on and realized they were just regular body stickers.  Kids like stickers, but they LOVE temporary tattoos.  Then as they girls were jumping around like crazy people dancing with their glow in the dark bracelets, Angelina's busted open and spurted green glowing goo all over her costume and her face.  Some of it got into her eyes and she was pretty upset.  We put her over the sink and flushed her eyes really well with water and Shelby read on the packaging that the stuff would  most likely stain and may cause discomfort, but would not cause damage to the eyes.  After this though, the girls were all a little shaken up and decided to sit down and watch a Barbie movie for the last half hour or so of the party.  I think they all had fun though.  Overall the party was a big success!  

Mia got her apple pretty fast.

Bella going in for a bite.  One of the kids said these apples looked like poisonous apples and Shelby said "They are...Well, one of them is poisonous.  You kids just have to figure out which one."  He is such a goof!  

Mia didn't quite win this game, but she was close and had a lot of fun!

Bella, Mia, Angelina and Lila around the table decorating cupcakes.

Nicole and Mia.  The cupcakes were out of Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious and they were a big hit.  

Shelby working diligently on preparation for the craft.

The Finished Product

Mommy's Birthday Weekend

Shelby started things off early.  He went out wednesday night to "buy a usb drive."  Thursday morning he woke me up to a fresh cup of coffee in my brand new coffee maker.  The old one was about 6 years old and didn't grind coffee any longer and also just generally sucked off and on.  Needless to say I was pretty stoked!  My next surprise came friday night.  Shelby told me he had arranged for Jessica to come over and babysit so we could go see a movie.  I spent all day friday trying to choose a movie time that worked and was so excited that he had planned a night out and found a babysitter all on his own.  Then friday night Jess called to say she was going to be a little late.  Then about 30 minutes later when we had missed the second movie time I had chosen I got frustrated and tired and called her to say "don't bother coming, I'm just going to go to bed."  Then as I was heading off to bed at 10 30 Shelby opened up the front door and walking up the steps were my Dad and Laura!  I couldn't believe it!  I was completely surprised and it was so awesome.  So I got to stop feeling frustrated with Jess and just enjoy the weekend with my family!

We went to Smolak Farms to pick apples, drink fresh apple cider and eat some yummy apple cider donuts.  Sorry, Lennon, you're still too young for that kind of treat.  :)

Just one of the gorgeous views of the farm.

Lennon likes to make himself beautiful just like Sissy.  Any chance he gets to use her brush or try on her headbands he takes.  Here he is using Nana's blush brush to "brush" his hair.  

Nana bought Mia two beautiful new dresses and this one had a matching dress for her Samanthat doll.

Lennon taking his breathing treatment.

We had such an awesome time.  My birthday weekend was so special.  I love surprises and this was a good one.  Also, my Uncle Lew came through town and stayed with all of us sunday night.  It was great to see him and have some extra company.  Saturday morning Lennon woke up with a "wicked" as they would say up here - cough.  It sounded bad, just like last winter when he had to go to the emergency room in Texas and got a bronchialitis diagnosis.  We gave him a treatment of some albuterol and silver and by the next morning he was almost fully recovered.  It was crazy.  Sunday we went to Boo at the Zoo and met up with Claire and the kids who were wearing the most incredible home made costumes!  Afterwards we went to the mall for lunch and shopping for my new coat.  Thanks Papa and Nana!  It's awesome by the way.  Monday we did the farm thing when we got home Papa and Nana got ready and headed out for the airport.  It was so much fun and just about everyone I know called me on my actual birthday which was cool.  Thanks to everyone who made it a special day/weekend!  

Check the photos on the sidebar for even more fun pics.

Better Late Than Never

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMOMMY MARY BETH!!!

Okay, so the video of Mia is sideways because I am slightly retarded, but nevertheless, she is cute and sweet as always.  Sorry for the extreme belatedness of this message.  We recorded it long ago and I just haven't gotten around to posting it until now.  I hope you had a great birthday!  We love you!

Daddy's Little Girl

Shelby was leaving to go up to the office tonight and Mia asked why he was going.  He said he had to get his portfolio done because if it was good he could win $1500.  To which Mia replied "Daddy, you are soo amazing!"  And she buried her face in him and gave him a giant bear hug.

TAGGED!!!

Well, I just found out today that I had been "tagged" by Adrienne. I guess this is a new blog thing to help everyone to know WAY more about their friends than they ever wanted to. Sounds fun to me!
Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random thoughts about yourself
4. Tag six or so people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

Click on Adrienne's name above for her interesting facts!

Okay, so here we go.  Brace yourselves, cause I've got problems.  I'll just sort of run through my day and give you my dirty little secrets as I go along.

1.  Let's say I'm making eggs for breakfast and it's a brand new carton.  I will take out the eggs in such an order that they are evenly dispersed.  There can't be too many on either end or the carton would be off balanced and when I go to pull the container out of the fridge it might tip one way or the other and some eggs might fall out and break and then I would have salmonella all over the floor and have to clean up all the sticky eggy goup.  Now, if Shelby had made eggs the day before me he would not have left them in such an orderly manner so then I would have to reorganize the eggs before I start taking eggs out to make breakfast.  I don't actually think this is strange at all.  It makes total sense to me, but my friends saw me do it once and made tons of fun of me so I thought it was worth mentioning.

2.  Breakfast is over and everyone gets up and takes their plates over and leaves the room to get ready for the day.  Only one problem.  NO ONE PUSHES THEIR CHAIRS BACK INTO THE TABLE!  Why does this bother me so much?  I don't know, but it drives me crazy and it seems that it doesn't occur to a single other human to push their chair back into the table when they get up.  I even fix other peoples chairs at their homes if I'm in the room near the table.  I can't stand it.  Also cabinet doors and drawers.  They MUST be closed all the way.  I won't name names, but some people in my home will "sort of" close these things leaving them slightly open.   Why?  Why?  Why would you do that?  If you've gone to the trouble of pushing it some, why not just go the extra mile and actually CLOSE it?  To go a bit further, if I'm putting away dishes and I put away a few plates and then I move on to the cups knowing that I will have other items to put in the same cabinet as the plates I still close the plate cabinet while I'm putting the cups away.  I just can't stand cabinet doors being open.  Or if you close a drawer and just a little peek of a sock or something is poking through.  Agh!  It kills me.  Moving on.

3.  After I put Lennon down for his morning nap I often take a shower in peace.  I have a standard order that I do things in during a shower.  If I accidentally do something out of order I will start all over.  For instance my most common error is putting body soap into my hands before washing my face.  I just can't wash my body before my face.  It's gross.  Face, body, hair.  That's the only logical order to me.  

4.  Speaking of logic.  Let's talk about numbers.  If it's Thursday and something cool is happening on Saturday how many days are there until you get to do that cool thing?  Well if you ask me there is only 1 day of waiting for the cool Saturday activity.  You are currently in Thursday and it'll be over before you know it and of course you wouldn't count Saturday cause that whole day will be consumed with getting ready for the cool thing, then doing the cool thing, then thinking back to the cool thing.  So, you're left with Friday.  Friday you have to wait.  Most people however, will say that from thursday until saturday is 2 days.  Well, other people.  You are wrong!

5.  I'll have to stray a little now from my usual day, but let's imagine I am out at night after dark doing grocery shopping or picking up a gift from the mall or something.  Even just out at a friends house and on my way home.  As I walk to my car I imagine there might be some creepy dude/thing under it waiting to pull me under by the ankles as I approach my car.  So, I always get to the door and clumsily unlock the door and jump in as fast as I can do avoid this creepy person.  Then I lock the doors right away so said person cannot enter my car forcibly and take me hostage.  You might think the danger is over now, but it's only just beginning.  Then I think,  "well, with all that worry about the guy under the car I didn't even think to look in the back seat before jumping in.  There could be an even creepier dude back there waiting to attack me."  So, quickly I look back, but I can't spend too much time cause I really need to get this car moving and out of the parking lot in case some maniac is about to attack me.  I am after all a poor, helpless girl.  Periodically, as I'm driving down the road I will glance back to make sure no one has come out of their awesome hiding place in the back of my car and is sitting behind me waiting to strike.  Once home I am usually fine.  Although if I'm ever outside, alone after dark at a home that is not my home...I am almost always terrified of the unknown.  What could be lurking out here?  A big mean scary animal?  A dangerous man?  Some kind of creature I didn't even know existed?  Probably a really mean dog is about to jump out of the bushes and just tare me to shreds.  I literally (and yes, Adrienne I do mean literally)  run as fast as I can to get inside the home to safety.  

6.  A little more of the same.  As you all know, Shelby is often out late because of school and I go to bed alone on those nights.  When I go back to my room I usually do not feel completely safe.  I think "maybe there's some kind of thing under the bed waiting for me."  I don't really know what I think, but I'm scared.  In fact, truth be told, I usually ask Shelby to come back and say goodnight to me even if he is here cause if I'm not alone when I go to bed I'm not scared of what lies under the bed.  If, however I am alone  it goes something like this.  I enter the bedroom - I sort of gauge how fast I have to go and how far I have to jump to get to my bed after turning the lights out - then as soon as I flick the switch I zip up to my bed and get under the covers, touching the ground as little as possible so the thing can't get me.  After lying under the covers for a few seconds I usually feel safe.  I don't know by what rationale I think my down comforter is going to protect me from some creature from beneath, but it comforts me and so I'm not going to question it too much.  Once in bed, I sometimes hear a noise or something that sort of scares me, but as long as my back isn't turned to the noise I consider myself safe.  Then I will visualize how I would attack my attacker and save my children and jump out of the window and run to the neighbors house to safety if such an event occurred.  Sometimes I fall asleep planning my escapes.  

7.  I just have to add this to go along with Adrienne's "dog voice" quirk.  Shelby and I both actually talk for our children before they are old enough to talk.  It doesn't seem strange to us cause we just do it all the time.  For example:  Me as Lennon "Dada!  Dada's home.  Dada, I pooped in my diaper today."  Shelby "Did you Tugboat?  I hope Mommy cleaned you up."  Me as Lennon "Don't tell me stuff Dada."  Me as Me "Lennon, don't be rude to Daddy, he just got home from work."  Me as Lennon "Don't you tell me stuff Dada."   Or Shelby might say as Lennon "Mommy will you put some clothes on me so we can all get to church on time?"  And then I'll say to Lennon "Well Lennon why couldn't Daddy put your clothes on?"  Then Shelby as Lennon might say "Daddy was afraid he would put me in the wrong outfit Momma."  We basically use Lennon, and Mia before she could speak to just communicate random thoughts as well as to communicate together in general sometimes.   We also say really strange things to out kids such as "Mia, you are made of cheese and I just love you so much that I could eat your whole face right now!"  Or, "Mia, did you know that your brain floats in pickle juice?"  Or "Lennon, you are such a little duck!  Just a tiny wittle baby duck that smells like turkey and cheese."    This I'll give you, is a little strange.  

Hmmm.  Now I have to tag people, but I don't really know anyone who blogs except my sister in laws, so I'll just tag both of you.

1.  LeNan

2. Bethany

3.  Anyone else who just wants to divulge craziness on the comments section here please, feel free.  You might help make me feel a little less crazy.

More Awesome Nicole Quotes

We just finished up Mia's totally awesome - if I do say so myself - Halloween party.  Nicole, the friend she made in Plymouth this summer got to come and she as usual said some of the funniest stuff.  

The girls were all playing with Mia's microphone when Nicole got on and said  "Hello, kindergardeners, first graders, attention...we know that we support the earth, we support the planet and all of that."

Lennon got out of the bath and ran as fast as he could totally naked from me.  As I was grabbing his pj's Nicole stopped and looked at him for a minute and you could definitely see the cranks turning in her head.  Then she said  "Is he a boy?"  I said "Gee Nicole, how did you guess??"  

On her way out the door she called up the stairs to Mia  "Goodbye Nicole!"  Hmm...I'm pretty sure you ARE Nicole.  She is too funny!  

I'll post more about the party including pictures tomorrow.  Right now I'm off to bed!

Our Sweet Little Sweetie

This weekend I was lamenting the new hole in the knee of my favorite jeans.  The reason I always get holes in the knee of my jeans is that I am always down on the ground picking up toys and playing with the kiddos.  Then I mentioned that I was sure in about 10 years I would realize that I had been wearing the same jeans for two years and they still didn't have a hole in the knee, and that I would probably be really sad.  Mia asked why I would be sad so I explained that no hole would mean that I didn't have small kids at home anymore.  Mia then firmly and sweetly said "I will always play with you Mommy!"  How did we get so lucky?

Lennon Feeding One of Mia's Babies

Expert Advice

Mia was having a guitar lesson with Shelby last night and commented that maybe when Lennon was 6 he could get a guitar like hers, only blue.  She then asked how old she would be when he was 6 and when Shelby told her 11 her remark was a very confidant "I'll be an expert by then!"

On another note, I have had a small but significant success with Lennon this week.  Twice this week he has made the transfer from sleeping in the car to sleeping in his bed for nap.  It may not seem like a big deal, but it is totally awesome!  Keep it up baby!

Sad Times/Welcome to Malden

One of the kids in Mia's class just told everyone that her dad "worked at a place that he cleaned after it was closed."  The coolest part of his job according to this little girl was that sometimes when no one else was there he would steal her the newest Barbie books.  Awesome!  So either her father was dumb enough to tell his daughter that he was stealing and think she wouldn't share that information or he didn't think there was a problem with what he was doing.  Second - another girl in Mia's class recently tried to convince her to STEAL a bracelet from the book fair.  Mia said she told her more than once "just take it.  take the bracelet."  Super awesome.  What are we subjecting her to here?

Mommy's Little Helper

This afternoon I was folding laundry in the living room while Lennon played.  As I sorted some of his socks out he grabbed a couple and dutifully shuffled back to his bedroom.  When I followed him back there he had opened up his dresser and was putting the socks in a drawer!  He was off by a couple drawers, but I still thought it was pretty cool that he knew where they went.  Now if only I can train him to clean the toilet.  :)

Some Fun Pics

Making a bird feeder at the Harvest Festival at Breakheart

Painting a "Piratey" Pumpkin at Breakheart

Proudly holding the wreath we made with fall leaves collected just outside of Mia's school

Dusty and Claire gettin' crazy at the festival

It's really impossible to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time anymore, this was the only shot we got of the four of us

We had a little Halloweenish Fall type get together at Claire's house tuesday.  At one point the kids all decorated cookies.  When I took this picture all the other kids had gotten up and started playing, leaving most of their cookies still sitting on their plates.  Mia finished all her cookies and then licked her plate clean.  It was clear which child was allowed the least amount of sugar on a regular basis.  Oh Mia!  

What a Weekend

Friday night Dusty got into town to stay with us for the weekend.  He made in just in time to tell Mia goodnight as she was drifting off to sleep in our bed.  He always sleeps in her room when he's here and she comes in with us.  When he came out he remarked that she sounded different.  Older.  He said her whole voice, the way she was speaking sounded different.  She really does need to stop growing up.  

Saturday morning Dusty and I took Mia to gymnastics while Shelby and Lennon napped.  Afterwards we all went over to meet Claire, Mateus and Bianca at Breakheart for a fall harvest festival they were having.  We watched as they pressed fresh apple cider, then we got to drink it along with fresh apple cider donuts from Brooksby Farm, a nearby farm.  The kids decorated pumpkins, painted pictures of fall leaves and made bird feeders out of peanut butter and birdseed.  It was lots of fun and everything is just soo pretty up here in the fall.  We try to be outdoors as much as possible.  

Sunday we went to church and then Lennon and I took a nap and Dusty played with Mia out in the living room while I'm pretty sure Shelby napped on the couch.  Later in the evening Mia and I went out to the Science Museum and watched The Greatest Places at the Omni theatre.  The movie was awesome.  Mia was amazed that there were actually places like that in the world.  She kept saying "you mean there are actually places like that TODAY?  Not just way back long ago?"  I guess we need to get that little girl out to see the world.  I guess she's only 6, but someday.  She really loved the movie.  Some of the places in the movie were The Amazon, The Namibi Desert, Iguazu Falls, Tibet and Greenland.  After the movie we shared a bowl of dippin dots.  They had a Halloween flavor called Spookies and Cream so we got that.  The guys stayed at home to watch the Cowboy game and put Lennon to bed for me.  

Monday Mia went to a day camp at her gymnastics from 9-1 then we hung out with Mateus for a while before heading over to karate at 3.  Mia, Lennon and I went for a "leaf walk" inspired by a book she picked out at the library called Leaves, Leaves, Leaves.  We picked several of our favorite leaves, brought them home and did little crafts with them.  She's such a sweetie.  Lennon loved the walk.  He's sort of down to one nap a day.  There are some days he takes two naps, but he can totally deal with just one nap now which is nice for getting errands done and taking Mia around to her various activities.  I'll post some pics from the weekend later.

Brocc On!

Good news.  Tonight at dinner, not only did Lennon sit with us and eat the chicken parm that I made with whole wheat pasta, but he also voluntarily put several pieces of broccoli into his mouth and chewed them up and swallowed.  I know this may sound like something I wouldn't be so excited about unless you are aware of the fact that Lennon pretty much refuses all vegetables unless they are in puree form and even then he has to be in just the right mood for them and prefers orange vegetables over green.  So, this is a big step and I couldn't be happier.  Hopefully this is a sign of good eating habits to come.

I Can't Believe I've Forgotten to Mention...

Last Friday sweet, little, wonderful Mia - spent recess with the assistant principle!  She threw a sugar snap pea at the girl across from her at lunch after that girl had thrown something at her.  The episode was dubbed a "food fight."  She was, according to her, yelled at before being tried, found guilty and sentenced to a missed recess.  Her teacher sent a note home that said something like  "Mia spent recess with the assistant principle today because of a food fight...I know, I was shocked too.  She seemed really upset about it so I decided not to change her color for the day."  In her class they all start out with a green sticker and if there are problems it can go to blue, then yellow and if they are really out of control it can be red.  So far Mia has had one blue and it was due to excessive talking on the second day of school.  She is pretty upset about the whole situation and suggested that she be grounded from tv for two weeks as a consequence.  We agreed, but I will probably let her out of it early because she is just so sweet and wonderful.  

Spike

Poor little baby Lennon's fever registered at around 104 sometime this morning as we were getting ready for church.  Instead of running out the door for church we headed over to our family doc's after hours clinic.  We were hoping that our ear thermometer had registered wrong, but when they checked his temp rectally an hour or so after we had first checked it, it still came in somewhere in the upper 103's.  He was still putting up a good fight though, which the doc said was a good sign.  She said she didn't usually see kids with such high fevers that still had so much fire.  I was not surprised.  That's Lennon for ya!  They couldn't find any sign of illness other than the fever.  Ears, throat, lungs, everything looked and sounded great.  She said to just try to make him comfortable and if anything else develops to give Dr Coffey a call during the week.  He seems to be doing better now.  We've got him dosed on Tylenol and Ibuprofen and he's sleeping away.  What's to come in the morning I have no idea.  

Sibling Love is Good Medicine

Lennon is sick.  So far the only symptom is a fever and general discomfort.  After sitting for a while with me and snuggling he started to feel a little less hot.  Mia was walking around playing and cleaning up her toys.  When she walked out of sight he started "uh uh" ing and pointing to the direction she had gone in.  I asked if she would come over so he could see her.  When she got over to us he got down from my lap, took her hand and led her over to the blocks in the play area of the living room.  He sat down with her and they have now been over there playing with the blocks for a few minutes.  It's so cute when they play together.

Getting older

After school when Mia had finished her homework I asked if she would like to go to a park for a while.  It was really too late in the day to have any of our friends meet us there and she was pretty disappointed about that.  Then she put on flip flops and I don't allow her to wear flip flops to playgrounds for safety reasons.  So there were two strikes against her good mood.  It seemed like it had been a good amount of time for her to have gotten shoes and socks on in her bedroom so I went back there to check and see if she needed any help.  She was sitting on the floor looking very defeated.  "What's taking so long?"  I ask.  "We're losing valuable play time at the park."  

"I can't get my socks on right!"  She whines.  "I never learned.  No one EVER taught me how to put my socks on right and now I don't know!  I AM A SIX YEAR OLD WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO PUT HER SOCKS ON!!"  She is now wailing.  I cradle her in my lap and pet her sweet little head.  "It's okay."  I tell her.  "I'll teach you how to put your socks on."  It had never occurred to me that she didn't know how to do this.  She had put her own socks and shoes on lots of times.  I showed her how to line up the line across her toes and the different color that goes around your heel.  She seemed to feel better now that she finally knew how to put her socks on properly.  She calmed down and we went on to the park.  Which I might add, was a supreme success.  We have found a new park that has fun/safe stuff for both big kids and little dudes like Lennon.  I do think Mia has inherited my flare for the dramatic though.  Hmm...I think she got a fair share more brains though, so it should be okay.  :)