Fun with String

It is one of my New Year's goals to blog more this year, but with a winter intensive class starting in a few days I don't really see that happening for a while. That being said, I didn't want to delay this post so that local moms can take advantage (or anyone who wants a silly activity).

Last weekend we took Vivian to PS1 to see an art installation featuring a room full of string. I am talking about an entire room filled a foot deep with balls of string. It is like a ball pit for grown-ups. I can't tell you what the artists purpose was, you can read about it here. I can only tell you that you leave your shoes at the door and jump into a big pit of string. It was highly recommended on the Sunnymoms email group (a listserv in my neighborhood) and it did not disappoint. Totally worth the entrance fee for me and Greg (kids under 16 are free). Vivi loved it and so did we. We jumped in the string, we fell backwards into the string, we buried ourselves in the string, we dug a hole in the string, we pulled on the string. It was a hoot. We probably hung out there for an hour and Vivi did not want to go. The rest of the museum was ho-hum for an almost 2 year old but I would highly recommend going just for the string. It runs through the end of January.

And here is another cute shot of Vivian. She is adorable as usual in her ladybug raincoat my mom gave her. We are amazed at her language skills. She is starting to drop her baby pronunciations of words as she learns the real way to say things and her sentences are becoming more and more complex. So much fun!

And for those who have not seen me in a while, a photo for you. Another resolution of mine is to spend a few more minutes each morning on my hair and make-up for a more professional put together look. I have been really lazy with an unwashed ponytail and no make-up most days. That has to stop! I got a haircut today, have been studying hairstyling blogs and bought a new ceramic flat iron. Hopefully I will find a new routine that is not too labor intensive and will share it here.

Hopefully you will see and hear more from me soon! Happy New Year to you all.

This just in.....

Please excuse the shameless rip-off of Becky Higgins' baby announcement!f

Mother's Day

Almost 33 years ago Diane Virginia Howard became a mother. Here she is with a 6 week old Baby Lexie (ME!). And a few years later she became a mother again, and my poor dad was outnumbered 3 to 1. Here we are getting ready to leave for church in our shawls. In this cute photo we were all sick with a cold so mom spread out blankets in the backyard so we could lay out and watch dad work in the garden (I love this funny picture, especially baby Rachel!).

I love you mom! Thank you for being such an awesome and fun mom! Happy Mother's Day!!

15 fabulous years

Today is the 15th anniversary of Greg's and my first date. I recounted the entire story here a couple years ago. We love to celebrate this particular anniversary because it truly was the beginning of "us". Though we dated on and off for a few years during college, we have been best friends since that first date and have been a constant part of each others lives for 15 years. To commemorate our special day we.....well, went to work and tonight I have to go to class but Greg is going to meet me after for a late dinner. We are even going to try and bowl a frame or two at Bowlmore lanes just for kicks!

I dug through some old photos this morning and nearly left late because I was so caught up in old memories. I did manage to find a few gems. Here is Greg in high school over at my house with his Mazda. I just can't get over how young he looks. Here he is just 16 years old. Such a baby face and always with the silly t-shirts. This one says Wickstrom Wackers which he thought was funny because he had a math teacher named Mr. Wickstrom who he TA'd for (not the same Wickstrom as the team sponsor, hence the hilarity). This was my all time favorite photo for many years. I used to have it framed. Greg was a boy scout and avid outdoorsman when we met. He very patiently introduced me to hiking and camping and this was a taken on a day hike up to an alpine lake. So pretty and such a good memory. And lastly, a little known fact about my husband. In college Greg won a Shaggy look-a-like contest at a local mall in Bellingham! Here he is waiting for the votes to be counted. I made that scooby snack box for him to use as a prop. Not sure why that accomplishment isn't included on his resume!I love you Greg. Thanks for working up the nerve to ask me out in highschool all those years ago and for being such a fun guy! Happy Anniversary!

December 24

1 Day till Christmas and what would I like to see

A happy family under the tree

We woke up to another 5 inches of snow in the morning. Not a problem except we needed to get to Greg's parent's house which is up a big hill. After digging out the car and struggling to get chains on the tires with my dad we finally made our way over to their house. Greg's family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve so we spent the entire day over there enjoying good meals, great decorations, gifts, and fun time spent together. Greg's Aunt Lisa and Uncle John as well as little dog Molly were up from Colorado for the holiday and it was great to see them. Especially John who we had not seen since our wedding almost 8 years ago and as well as Molly who I had never met.

Greg's mom is an amazing decorator and Christmas is no exception. There were twinkling lights everywhere!
The photos don't really do it justice and I certainly didn't shoot everything.

You can see, everyone had fun opening gifts too. It was a fun day. Marry Christmas Eve!

December 15

10 Days till Christmas and what would I like to see

A husband the same age as me

Today is Greg's 32nd birthday. We had a nice quiet party at home. We ordered in Thai from his favorite place in the neighborhood and he opened some gifts from him family and from me. A call home to thank everyone for their thoughtful gifts followed by some TV watching and playing with his new stuff. I had to go back to studying. Can you believe there are just 10 days till Christmas? The time is flying by! So much to do, so little time.

October 15/16

Wow, my first missed day yesterday. Things were a little hectic around here so I guess it was understandable. Greg's dad is doing well and improving every hour. He may be moved out of the ICU today which is great though physical therapy will be necessary before he can head home. Being in the hospital has brought up a lot of other issues related to his and his wife's lifestyle (like smoking) that are going to require big changes. Greg's mom is a little overwhelmed but taking it well. It helps that Greg flew out yesterday at 4am to be with them and help support them during this time.

So I am trucking along here at home as best I can. My schedule is a little on the crazy side so not having Greg around is a bit tough. We were supposed to go to DC for the weekend to spend some time together but that trip obviously got canceled (and there goes my planned blogging topics) but I am still taking tomorrow off to do some things around the house that need to be done (like buying some food!) and to get caught up on my studies. It is amazing how fast you can fall behind.

October 14

Sad news today. Greg's dad collapsed at the pool after his twice weekly swim. After several hours of no information we finally heard tonight that it was Ventricular Fibrillation. They are not sure yet what triggered it as there is no evidence of stroke or major heart attack. He is in the ICU tonight and Greg is flying out first thing in the morning. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, comfort for the family and a full recovery. Moments like this make being 3000 miles away almost unbearable.

October 9

It is always a treat to get pictures of my little nephew Ewan and today my mom sent these gems. It is crazy how fast they grow and how their little faces change so much. He is a totally different baby!

Big Day Tomorrow

I was leaving for work this morning when I opened the front door and a box fell into the house. One of my neighbors must have accepted it yesterday and left it there for us. I decided to take a couple minutes to open it instead of saving it for tonight and this is what I found inside!

My mom, dad, and sister sent me a care package for school. My mom even included this little book with notes about how proud they are of me and how to handle the challenge and what not. This nearly drove me to tears!


(Sorry, Blogger will only upload these photos sideways for some weird reason!)
Then it was full of new school supplies. My favorite has to be the pencil pouch (I love organizational containers after all) and the new crayons. Remember how great it was to get a box of fresh and sharp crayons? I do!
I love it all, thanks family! And it is here just in time since my first day of school is tomorrow. I have a 2 day intensive orientation starting this Saturday. I am pretty nervous but happy to finally get some of my questions answered. Have a great weekend everyone. I will be heading to bed early tonight because tomorrow is going to be a big day!

Bye Bye Baby!

I enjoyed a final day with baby Ewan yesterday. Such a cutie.
I will miss him but luckily Greg and I will be back next month for more baby love.
Today I am packing up, picking up photos at Costco and having dinner with my in-laws tonight before getting on the plane.
See, Ewan is sad to see me go! He is even cute when he cries! It has been a whirlwind visit but thanks Rachel for tolerating more visitors and thanks Mom and Dad for the free room and board!

More Baby Love

We met up with Rachel and Ewan for a little shopping and visit. Here is Grandma with little Ewan. Finally some awake time!
A big kiss from Auntie Lexie. He was being such a good baby at the mall and we will take every minute we can get!

Unexpected Trip

After pictures of my adorable nephew started rolling in I knew I couldn't wait until August to see him so I hopped a plane to Seattle and arrived on Sunday. Here are a couple photos of our introduction. He is even sweeter in person! Ewan is a very content baby (at least when I was there on Monday). Unfortunately he prefers sleeping to eating so mom and dad are working on keeping him awake long enough to get a good feeding. I was lucky enough to go with him to his first visit with the pediatrician who said he was doing very well. Mommy is doing well too.

Special Delivery

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. As you know my mom was in town for week and once she was gone I had to study for my Stern math competency test (which I took last night and passed with flying colors). But the biggest news right now is that I became an Auntie on Sunday night. The Bothwell's welcomed 8 pound 3 ounce

EWAN CHRISTOPHER

into the family after only 24 hours of labor. We are all delighted and I can't wait to meet him. My sister is doing well and tonight they introduce the dog to the newest pack member. We'll see how it goes!

NYC Monuments

Greg’s dad was in town at the beginning of the month for just a day and half on his way from one work meeting in Boston to another one in DC. Unfortunately I came off of my busy work month with a terrible migraine. I ended up sleeping most of the day on the Saturday of his visit because my migraine meds just weren’t working. Greg tried to take him to Shakespeare in the park but the play got rained out. On Sunday I was feeling better so we went down to Battery Park City where Dave was staying at the Embassy Suites and looked around a little. We walked along the river and stumbled onto some interesting things. First was the Irish Hunger Memorial. It commemorates the 1.5 million Irish lost during the famines from 1845-1852 as well as brings awareness to current hunger issues in the world today. It includes a half acre of land elevated above the ground with a path that winds up and around through an authentic famine era cottage as well as wildflowers and plants native to Ireland, and stones carved with the names of all the counties in Ireland. At the top of the memorial you are 25 feet in the air and have a nice view of the river and the statue of liberty in the distance. A nice little park in the middle of the city that I never knew existed.We also found the NYPD memorial next to a small marina (with some not so small yachts parked there!). We couldn't figure out how the names worked on this one. There were names and dates in what seemed like random order. It has a nice tranquil pool next to it. Lastly we stumbled onto this mosaic plaza before turning and walking away from the water. Not a memorial but still an interesting find in the middle of the city. From there we went over to the site of the World Trade Center. It is being rebuilt so it is really just a huge construction area right now.They make it very difficult to see inside so it really wasn’t very moving or anything. I had not been down to the site before this trip. From there we stopped for lunch and then had to take Dave to the station to catch his train. It was nice having him in town for quick visit. I just wish I had been feeling better so I could have enjoy it more.