Falling

I do not like being cold. Thus, I always greet the fall season with a cringe and multiple layers of clothing. I get a little depressed knowing that winter is next- the seemingly unending season of cold. I have often wondered to myself why I don't live somewhere in the south where winter is fifty degrees. But then, we get days like today that you just wouldn't get in places without four distinct seasons. Today was beautiful. Everything was green from our recent autumn rains, but some of the trees and plants were already starting to turn those glorious shades of yellow, orange and red. It was sunny and in the mid-sixties all day long. The boys and I just couldn't stay inside. We drove to Chagrin Reservation for a picnic, feeding the geese at the pond and a walk in the woods. As we were driving back home after our excursion Gabe said from the backseat, "Mom?" "Yes, Gabe?" "That was fun!"
Today I am in love with fall. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our outing. I may have had a little too much fun with some of the color settings on my camera but it's not often that my boys are well-behaved enough for me to play around so just indulge me.

P.S. Is there anything that says "fall" more than little boys in overalls? I know I'm biased, but I think my little boys in overalls are the cutest things ever. Just one more reason to love the season.

Fly Boys

A note about flies, then onto the boys: I am happy to report that we have resolved our fly problem with the use of good old-fashioned flypaper. I realize it is not the most humane way, but I imagine being hit with a flyswatter is not the most pleasant experience either. In looking for solutions to our fly problem, we searched for a bug zapper that we could plug in at night in our kitchen. However, the only zapper we were able to find was- get this- a hand held one. It looked like a badminton racket with a button and electricity. Really? How is this better than a flyswatter? You still have to aim and hit the fly, but now with the possible dangerous side effect of zapping someone you love. What are Walmart patrons really using this device for? I am sure columnist Gregg Easterbrook would agree with me that the existence of this item is further proof of the decline of western civilization.

Now the boys: As many of you know, I grew up in the Dayton area- home to the Wright brothers, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the National Air Force Museum and Aviation Hall of Fame. Earlier this month, my brothers Joe and Sam helped me take the little boys for the first time. They were in complete awe of all the airplanes. Elijah's favorite was the little plane nicknamed "Bug" just like him.
Here is Gabe pointing to his favorite plane, although I couldn't get him to articulate what exactly he liked about it.
Both the boys loved climbing in the cockpits and playing copilots.


This is my favorite plane, the B-2 Bomber. I think it looks awesome, and my Dad helped design its radar systems as a top-secret project for the Air Force. I remember feeling a real sense of pride every time I saw one fly over from the Air Force Base. I also had a toy B-2 when I was younger.
David John wasn't too thrilled about the planes, but LOVED the space section of the museum. Here are some of the rockets we saw:
And here is David John looking like, as the boys said, "Buzz Lightyear to Finity and Yond!"

At the end of the trip, everyone was tired- but David John actually fell asleep in the stroller on the way to the car.

I'm glad we live close enough that I can share the history of where I grew up with my little fly boys.

Back in B-more

Last weekend, I made a pilgrimage back to Baltimore in order to attend my brother's graduation from MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art). My parents graciously agreed to drive me and my three rowdy boys there in their van. I think they may have regretted that decision during the two hours of screaming that occurred on the six hour drive.
The trip was very nostalgic for me- a part of me missed the sights and sounds of Baltimore but another part of me was very grateful not to be living in such an "exciting" place. It had been far too long since I had seen my friends, been able to use sign-language and enjoyed the unique architecture of Baltimore but not long enough since I smelled weed, had to parallel park, or worried about the possibility of being attacked by cat-sized rats at night.
Anyway, I really did enjoy my time there despite the stress of traveling with children (see other post). I got to see the commencement exhibition at MICA which features artwork of the 2010 graduates. The show was wonderful. One of my brother's paintings can be seen here. Gabe and Elijah were very interested in some of the statues in the gallery of the classical style. Gabe was convinced that most of the statues depicted Angel Moroni while Elijah would exclaim in worried tones about the statues being "broken".
Commencement itself was a lengthy ordeal, but far more entertaining than Medical School graduation. I am pleased to say that Matt graduated magna cum laude. He chose not to wear a cap and gown- but hey, this is art school, people do what they want. At first I was concerned that he would stick out in jeans and a button down shirt, but that was before I spotted the graduate in star-spangled spandex with a light-up cape or the one wearing a full Native American headdress. Some graduates had written interesting middle names on their name cards so that they were announced as Mary "boogie-down" Smith or Joe "is awesome" Doe. A few people did dance steps across the stage complete with jazz hands and one guy performed an admirable robot.
I was so happy that I could be there to cheer my brother on. We miss having him around and the boys certainly miss Uncle Matt's hi-jinks. We ended the trip by going to the best low-cost Chinese buffet I have ever been to. If you are ever in the Baltimore area and want to eat a lot of tasty food check out the Hibachi Grill.
Our trip was short- but I think I'd like to go back again sometime. I guess there will always be some part of me that sings "I Love You Baltimore".

Pediatric Party

Last Saturday we hosted a dinner and game night for several of the residents Marc works with and their significant others. Forgive me for the mushy moment but I have to say that I am truly grateful for the fabulous people in the pediatric residency program. Despite being very busy and being vastly more educated than I, these people take a sincere interest in me and my family. They attend alcohol-free parties at our house, babysit our kids and many of them even read this blog. We love you guys! Thanks for being our extended family here in Cleveland.
Anyway- we had great food (I still want all of the recipes please) and great fun. Here are some things I learned before during and after the party:
1. Teriyaki sauce, when cooked at too high of a temperature, becomes a delightful black sticky substance stronger than tar. I am pretty sure this is what the City of Cleveland uses to pave the roads. It's tough, but it is also water soluble which explains the post-winter condition of the streets around here.
2. There are no such things as potato rolls in Cleveland. What's up with that? Even the ghetto stores in Baltimore carried potato rolls.
3. Gabe is not carrying any communicable diseases. We know this because we're pretty sure he took a sip out of every single person's cup at some point in the evening and no one got sick. Right? Our guests were calling him "swiper."
4. Sophia is, apparently, one of the guys.
5. I like tabbouleh. Who knew?
6. Anas' impression of Elton John looks like a "sexy secretary".
7. Marc's Spanish is no bueno. We learned this when Kevin left his cell phone here and Marc tried to communicate that this was Kevin's phone, but he was not Kevin.
8. My Boggle game needs some serious work. I was repeatedly beaten by a team of six residents. I'll have to start practicing for a rematch.
9. Stefanie's religious beliefs dictate that she can only drink caffeinated soda.
10. It takes four pediatric residents to use the automatic timer on a camera. One to set it, two to move the card table and one to adjust the stack of books the camera is sitting on. Thanks to Sophia for all the great pictures. Here are a couple of my favorites:


This is the group shot using the automatic timer. I'm pretty sure this is take number 78. A few people aren't pictured here. They had to go to work or something ridiculous like that.



See the relieved smiles on our faces? That's because at this point in the evening the twins were finally asleep and David John stopped crying.

Intern babies David John and Ava. They were definitely interested in each other.

The Zoo

My best friend from high school, Jennifer, came to visit me a few weeks ago. She was an amazing help and took on the challenge of going to the Cleveland Zoo with me and the boys. Here are a few shots of our day.
We all loved the monkeys, especially Gabe. This baboon was quite the poser. I think those moon-eyes were for Jennifer.











We stopped at this little playground for lunch. Elijah threw a huge tantrum right before this. Somehow, Jennifer is still smiling. :)










Here is Gabe looking very serious about riding this elephant. This picture was taken after his very nutritious lunch of eating other people's leftovers and our dropped food off of the ground in the picnic area while refusing to eat his own cleaner food at the table. He and the birds were quite literally fighting over pieces of bread and soggy cheetos.












Jennifer and I loved watching the butterflies and moths in the butterfly house. Elijah and Gabe, however, spent most of their time trying to dig rocks out of the cobbled pathways. I guess butterflies are more of a girl thing.













I thought this koala was just amazing. My boys, however, were not impressed. They did exclaim "whoa!" about the waterfall in the koala's exhibit, however.











Here is the highlight of our trip. This little wallaby decided to hop right out of his exhibit and come say "hi". He nuzzled, sniffed and even let us pet him. The other zoo guests were pretty jealous. I guess he could tell we were nice people.