Update on Boys

As of tomorrow, July 1, I am officially off for the summer and the boys' daycare schedule shifts to their summer hours.  They will be going Mondays and Wednesdays just half day, from 6:30am to 11:45am.  This way, they will eat 2 meals and a snack there, take advantage of the "school" curriculum, and then come home with full bellies just in time for a 2 hour nap!  I was really eager to leave them in daycare at least a little over the summer so that they don't lose the routine completely.  Otherwise, it would just be harder on all of us when they go back full-time on August 26th.  It will also give me some time during the week to do errands, have some time to myself, and do work too (I'm supposed to do the equivalent of 2 weeks' work over the summer, on my own time, however I want to manage it.).  I am really looking forward to my time with the boys, though!  It won't be easy because Sebastian has quite the temper lately.  But I'm actually hoping that having more time with him over the summer will help me work on it.  He's just so incredibly fussy lately--and never for any apparent reason!  Yesterday, for example, he just decided he didn't want to go inside anywhere.  No Home Depot (which he normally loves), no stores at the Wrentham Outlets, nothing.  He'd scream any time we tried to bring him inside.  Today, though, he was fine at Market Basket and at the mall with Carlos.  Who knows what goes on in that boy's mind?

Poor Adrian has a double ear infection!!  This is now his second ear infection since tubes April 5 and his second in less than a month.  He made it to the middle of June without one, but now two in rapid succession...it has me a bit worried.  There are no guarantees with tubes that they will stop the infections; they only lessen the pain and side effects.  I suspect the poor boy has allergies.  He has a lot of clear snot these days (a tell-tale sign of allergies), and if we don't test him and/or treat his allergies, it's possible he'll have a lot more ear infections.  It's also possible that if we don't find an allergy or are unable to treat it for whatever reason, he may need his adenoids out.  I want to avoid another surgery, so I will call the pediatrician this week (and maybe the ENT doctor) and see what they say about allergy testing and infections after tubes.  I want that poor boy feeling good and without fluid in his ears!!  Right now, he's avoided having to take more oral antibiotics because with tubes we can treat the infections with ear drops, but sometimes it's not enough.  I want his infection gone asap, but hope not to subject his system to rough antibiotics yet again.  I'm so frustrated, and feel so sad for that sweet little boy.  Nothing really phases him, but I think mostly because he's so good natured, not because it doesn't bother him!

As for developmental updates, Adrian is now not as vocal as Sebastian.  It's almost like now that Sebastian is talking more, Adrian lets him do the talking for them both.  It's usually a case of monkey see, monkey do with both of them, so if Sebastian asks for something or says something, Adrian can kind of get a free ride.  I don't like it, but I'm not worried yet.  I think it's more a personality thing than a delay at this point.

Adrian is attached to his puppy, which he calls "pa-poo."  He gives me pa-poo to kiss in the morning when I come in to wake them up.  Sometimes I have to sneak Puppy away to wash him, and when Adrian notices he's missing, he starts looking all over the play area for him.  It makes me sad!

Adrian is generally so much more mellow than Sebastian, but he has a stubborn streak, especially when he wants a toy Sebastian has.  He will just take it away and walk off--and he'll shriek if Sebastian tries to take it back.  He is also generally pretty gentle, but he will just take a whack at Sebastian from time to time.  This video is hysterical...check it out.  But it makes me feel like a bad parent for thinking it's so funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtnaKQKj5Bo&feature=youtu.be

Adrian has finally caught on to head nodding--he'll very deliberately nod yes and no, although half the time I don't think he knows what he's saying yes or no to!  Adrian will also do some animal sounds--today he gave me a good cat "meow."  But generally, he'll say something and then not say it again for a while, and then it will come out of him again at a much later time when we've forgotten he can say it!  He's always very understated!

Sebastian all of a sudden is exploding with vocabulary.  He says, "more" (Adrian prefers to sign it with his hands), "book," and "mine."  He calls everything his.  He actually said, "mine mom" the other day! Those were the first two words he's put together.  He still constantly asks for "crackers" after every meal (so does Adrian.  Goldfish are their FAVORITE!), and today he said, "mmmmmm banana!"  I couldn't believe it, but he actually said the whole word banana.  I still am not sure I actually heard it, but Carlos says he heard him say it before when I was away.  My favorite is how Sebastian says the word, "Nana."  We went to see her last Sunday, and he said "Nana" over and over and over again.  That boy has a sweet spot for his Nana, and has from the beginning.  (Who can blame him?)  Two visits ago, he hugged Nana goodbye when it was time to go, and he didn't want to leave her arms.  This time he gave her a hug and I think even a kiss--he doesn't do that very often to ANYONE.

Despite his firecracker personality, Sebastian can be incredibly sweet.  He will bring Adrian his Puppy when he notices that it's not near him.  If he's in the right mood, he'll snuggle on your shoulder and pat you gently on the back or the arm.  Once, he actually gave me a hug when I asked for one, and that same time, I asked for a kiss, and he actually gave me a legit kiss--right on the lips!  Ewww!  Gross!  ;) Sebastian's favorite thing to do is run down the hall like a mad man and flop himself on Lexi's gross bed.  And when she'll let him, she's his favorite pillow--he loves to rest on her!

The boys' latest thing is playing Peekaboo Barn on my iPhone.  I was in search of apps to keep them occupied when we are on the plane to Mexico, and I found this one.  They ADORE it.  It's so simple, but it is cute.  It's basically a barn that you tap.  The doors open and you see and hear a farm animal.  Anyway, it keeps them entertained!  We also bought a portable DVD to take with us on the plane and the DVD Cars.  We thought they would like it....I'm not sure they are convinced yet.  They weren't interested in the movie this morning, but they were surrounded by toys.  Perhaps on the plane when there's nothing else, they will like it more.  Or maybe we need to start with a simpler video.  In any event, we will be prepared...

Sebastian testing out the portable DVD player

We have been trying to get the boys to like their helmets a bit more so that it won't be as traumatic when I try to take them in the bike trailer (which Sebastian hates).  I wear mine around a little, and Sebastian tries to take it off my head because it makes him cry (?!!).  Now they are slowly warming to the idea.  Adrian loves his and wears his backwards and over his eyes if we leave him to do it himself.

Sebastian is getting there...

Adrian put his helmet to good use this morning to inspect the vacuum cleaner.  It was so cute!

Finally, a summary of this weekend.  We didn't do anything too exciting.  Saturday we went to Home Depot and Honey Dew in the morning.  The boys had chocolate donut holes--their new favorite food.  I wish they'd never had them before because we've created donut hole monsters!  This bench at the Bridgewater Honey Dew is just the right size for them to size on it like "real" people.  No need for a high chair there!!

The boys are finally old enough to color.  It will help when we take them out to eat at places that offer crayons and a placemat!  They made wonderful works of art to add to the Gattas Gallery, and they only bit the tip off the crayons once!

Thumper was cheering Sebastian on from the sidelines.

Saturday afternoon we went to the Wrentham outlets to buy the boys some new shoes.  They are growing so fast and they wear out shoes at daycare playing so hard!  I thought I had pictures of them in their new shoes, but I don't.

Sunday we went grocery shopping in the morning and then hung out.  Adrian built this tower basically by himself, with Papi holding it for support.

I had drinks and lunch with some old friends from the Harvard Admissions/Financial Aid office, and it was so nice to hang out with them for a few hours.  Carlos took the boys to the mall while I was gone.  I felt bad about leaving them at first, given I was away for 4 days last week, but I got over it--I'll be with them the whole summer!!!  

Old Pictures of Thanksgiving and First Birthday

My dad gave me these last month and I forgot to put them on the blog.  I was going to update the Thanksgiving post, but figured I'd just keep it simple for myself and put them here.  What a difference 7 months makes!!  They still look like babies to me here!  Those sweaters were size 12 months (they are now wearing 2T) and those were the first shoes they ever wore!!  (size 3, maybe?  Now they are 6, going on 7!!)

National Lampoon's Empire College Tour of NYC Schools

Man, am I glad to be home!!!  I just came back from my first College Counselor tour ever, the brand-new Empire Tour of NYC schools.  If I had known this was the first time they were running the tour, I wonder if I still would have gone?

I left home at 9:30am on Sunday morning to make it to St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens, NY, by 3pm. Thankfully, the drive down was uneventful and easy, actually.  I have never liked Connecticut--it seems so ugly from I-95, and this trip only confirmed it.  I'm sure there are nice areas, but certainly along 95 you don't see any.  To make matters worse, it felt like all of 95 in Connecticut is 2-lanes and both lanes always appeared to be under construction.  Anyway, even with traffic around New Haven and Stamford, I still make it there in about 3.5 hours.

When I arrived, the campus was empty.  There was no one around.  I begged my way into the library--which was closed--to use the bathroom.  Then I sat in an Adirondack chair to read.  It was over 90 degrees out, but there was a nice breeze on campus.  After a little while, a girl strolled by with her suitcase and asked me if I was also there for the Empire Tour.  Her name was Nicole, and we ended up hanging out together for most of the tour.  People started to trickle in, but there were no organizers or people from St. John!  The security guard that let me into the bathroom started bringing people and their luggage from the main gate to the Admissions Welcome Center in his SUV.  He gave us water.  Finally, our fearless leader Dave showed up.  He was way younger than I expected and was the coordinator of the tour and Director of Admissions at St. John's.  They opened the welcome center and gave us only a fuzzy idea of what time check in would start.  They had iced tea (but no water?!), fruit, and veggies and dip.  I was starving because I'd missed lunch.  We were all a little tired and hungry when we arrived, and the lack of a clear plan was a bit strange--an indication of what was to come.

Finally we checked in and walked over to the dorms.  We were in freshman dorms, and four of us had to share a suite.  The suite had 4 single bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but neither toilet flushed normally.  After a while, we figured out how to flush the one that was farthest away from my room.  You had to yank the handle like you were starting a lawn mower.  The one close to my bedroom flushed sometimes...We asked the front desk people to call facilities so they could fix the toilets while we were having our tour of campus and dinner, but they were student workers and didn't seem to understand the nature of the problem!!!  After a full day of travel, you don't want to mess around with a bathroom that doesn't flush!  The dorms were also extremely gross--dirty and just gross.  It looked like a freshman boys dorm.  I wish I'd taken photos, but I was too taken aback to think of it!

The tour was ok, dinner--meh.  The info session was supposed to last a half hour and dragged on over an hour.  By then it was after 8:30 and we were all beat.  Some of the people had been up since 3AM.  Finally we went back to the dorms.  I managed to take a shower, but was nervous about the toilets!  The facilities guys finally came but they said they'd send someone in the morning--after we would already be gone!  Thanks for your help, dude!

Carlos sent me pictures of the boys via text message, and he told me that they were asking for me at bedtime and when they woke in the morning.  It made me so sad!!

The next day we met at 6:30am and had warm NY bagels before boarding the bus.  That was nice.  Then we went off to Marist College in Poughkeepsie and Iona College in New Rochelle.  Neither school was a NYC school, but whatever--they made it onto the tour!  Marist was a pleasant surprise!  I didn't really know what to expect, but it was an amazingly nice campus, and Poughkeepsie looks pretty nice, too.  After our info session and tour we had lunch at their boathouse with a view of the Hudson.  The campus is up high, overlooking one of the longest straight stretches of the Hudson there is.  It was really quite nice...

That's one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world

The view from the porch on the top of the boathouse

After Marist, we took off for Iona College, which I'd never heard of except for driving by it the previous day on I-95.  On the way there, the driver pulled over on the interstate and got out...the engine door had popped open on the highway!  Cars whizzed by us...we thought the driver said that it was the luggage door that had opened, and we were all imagining our luggage strewn across the Bronx, but thank God it wasn't.  Also on the way to Iona, the AC on the bus broke.  We arrived hot and tired, but had a nice tour and an even nicer meal:  great appetizers, plenty of booze, and a delicious selection of dinner food.  They were also generous with the free stuff: t-shirts, coffee mug, etc.  Iona was a really pleasant surprise, although I don't think New Rochelle is anything to write home about!

While we were at Iona, the bus company sent us a new bus.  However, it STANK like sewage when we got on the bus!!!!  And, it didn't seem the AC was working all that well, either.  The new driver put two cups of water down the toilet to flush it out and then sprayed air freshener all over.  It was so gross...It was actually so funny because I was sitting at the front of the bus with some others.  Everyone was getting on the bus so happy that we supposedly were going to have AC...but it only took about 10 seconds for each person's face to twist into a scowl as they smelled the sewage!!  Too funny to watch everyone's reaction.  But it wasn't so funny to have to ride the bus back to the NYU campus in Manhattan where we were staying that night!

You can almost see the air freshener haze...

When we arrived to NYU like an hour and a half later, we checked into another freshman dorm.  It was in a high rise, but seemed fairly nice.  (However, our suites had no soap or tissues, and the cheap sheets kept coming off the bed.) Then we found out that we would have to walk 10 blocks--2 blocks west and 8 blocks south--to Washington Square and their Welcome Center at 7:30am for breakfast.  No big deal except we had to do that WITH all our luggage.  No fun for a lot of people.  I packed light, but some of the others were sticking around or doing other things after the tour and had heavy suitcases.  Our fearless leader Dave walked the 10 blocks pushing this down the street!

As we walked down the streets of Manhattan-30 people with suitcases--we got dirty looks and some guy said, "Oh look!  It's like NYU for old people!"  Who YOU calling old, buddy??!

NYU was a disappointment to me.  There is NO campus except buildings.  I know you go to NYU for the city, but basically that's their sell.  The city.  There doesn't seem to be much to NYU except an almost $70,000 price tag/year.  Yikes.

After NYU we went to City College which is part of the CUNY system.  We got off in some sketchy part of Harlem and toured a residence first.  Then they marched us in 95 degree weather through a really huge construction site to get to the rest of the campus.  It was an unpleasant walk, but once through the battle zone, we discovered a perfectly lovely urban campus with stone buildings and a lot of charm.  It was a nice surprise!  We had lunch and then took off for Fordham in the Bronx.  Some of the areas of the Bronx we went through were sketchy to say the least, and I was sure I wasn't going to like Fordham.  But when we pulled up to the campus, it was leafy, green, and absolutely gorgeous.  Wow.  They were the classiest school of the bunch.  We all got a $10 gift card and time to shop in the bookstore.  They had a great dinner prepared.

After dinner we all took off in the bus for SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island.  It was an over 1.5 hour ride.  Our bus driver Thomas was CRAZY and proceeded to honk at people to get out of our way.  He had us there in record time.  We were all so excited because it was the first night of staying in a hotel, and our last night of the tour.  I paid extra to have a single room so I wouldn't have to share with some other person on the tour.  The hotel was brand new--as in it opened about a month ago--and it was AWESOME.  I took a shower and put on my PJs...and then the fire alarm went off.  I stuck my head out into the hall...so did a few other people...then we all just went back inside.  (We found out at breakfast the next day that someone had burned popcorn in the microwave!)

We all slept better than the previous 2 nights, had a not very good breakfast at the hotel, and then endured a presentation and a tour of Stony Brook.  It was fine but not great.  We had a tight schedule for the day because we had to finish with everything by 2pm so that people could catch trains and planes.  We actually had to tell our tour guides (undergrads) to take us back because they were showing us every little thing and taking forever.

On the way from Stony Brook to Hofstra (also Long Island, near the airports, back west), the AC on the bus broke again.  This time it was so freaking hot that we all thought we might pass out.  The worst, though, wasn't the heat but the lack of air.  I felt like I couldn't breathe!  I think there was literally almost no oxygen on the bus.  It was seriously dangerous because we had older and heavier people on the tour.  If I was feeling like crap, I can only imagine what they were experiencing!  Also, as we are driving to Hofstra, Thomas our driver missed the exit for 495.  So he pulled over on the side of the highway, backed up the bus, and then drove over the median to take the exit.  It was crazy!

Hofstra met us with cold waters and gave us time to cool off before giving us another very long (too long) tour.  By that point we were all DONE.  Some of our group left directly for the airports from Hofstra and most of us went back to St. John's to get our cars or take transportation from there.  They had switched the bus AGAIN so at least we had AC on the way back.  I would have taken a taxi from Hofstra to St. John's if the AC had still been broken!!!  We jumped off the bus, yelled thanks and goodbye, and sped off in our cars at 3:15 to try to get out of NYC before the rush hour traffic was too bad.

I made it out of NYC no problem, but hit traffic from Greenwich all the way up to New Haven, essentially.  It was long and boring and frustrating.  Then I made it all the way to Mass fine...I was so close to home...and the traffic stopped near Mansfield on 95.  AGH!!  There was a show at the Comcast Center last night (not sure what, but something for teens).  NO ONE was moving.  So I got off the highway and took back roads until I could get back on 495 without all the 14 year old girls being driven by their dads.

I left Queens at 3:16 and got home at 7:57.  No too bad all considered.

Boy am I glad to be home.  Despite all the adventures and hiccoughs, the people on the tour were amazing.  No one really complained too much (beyond making fun of our situation and laughing about it and whining a LITTLE).  Everyone was really good natured and fun to be around.  It was a really nice mix of people from all over the country, and I made 2 new friends that I hope to stay in touch with (and others that I hope I see again on other tours--if I dare go on a tour again!).

 I survived The Empire Tour 2013.  Don't anyone ever question my dedication to college counseling!

Inspirational Pictures

I've been looking at Houzz, Pinterest, and RetroRenovation.com...Lots of good ideas for the house, but living room and the basement bar.  

I love the back wall detail, side table, and the coffee table in this photo!

retrorenovation.com

I like this because it's just simple cabinets and a nice counter.  It got me thinking that putting in the bar may not have to be that difficult.

This would work great in our space...we could do almost this exact same thing.  We even have the door in the same spot as the door here.  And with some simple changes, this could look a lot like a Mexican cantina...

Traditional Basement by Chanhassen Design-build Firms Knight Construction Design | Chanhassen, Minnesota

This is also a very similar set up to what I had in mind.  Love all the cabinet space and the stone work.

Traditional Basement by Northvale Design-build Firms Creative Design Construction, Inc.

Another super simple design that made me think we could actually do this ourselves, with the help of an electrician and plumber, of course.  But it's basicaly stock cabinets with a raised back piece.

Contemporary Basement by Columbus Design-build Firms Griffey Remodeling

Love this bathroom!
retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com

I love this stenciled hallway.  Would work nicely in our hall! retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com

Beer Brewing Supplies

I'm so excited!  I've been saving my birthday and Christmas money for the past two years (no kidding) for something I really want.  It took me a while to figure out what it was!  I'm going to do two things:

1. Replace the strings on my old guitar and have it tuned so I can try my hand at some online lessons I found here:  http://www.justinguitar.com/index.php

2. Buy used beer brewing gear on Craigslist so I can make my own beer in the basement.

Last night I finally bought some stuff on Craigslist and unless the dudes flake on me, all the stuff will be in my possession by tonight.  Then, I'll visit a beer brewing store to fill in any gaps in things I need.

Here's what I'm purchasing:

I am buying only the carboy on the right, with the handle.

Hopefully it all works and I'm not being taken for a ride, but I've done my research and the price is right--even if I have to buy some of the stuff again, it will still be cheaper than buying everything new.

Can't wait to get started!  I'm not sure what kind of beer I'll brew first.  I do know that eventually I want to brew a jalapeño beer...I've seen kits for it available online!

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-kits/jalapeno-saison

The Gattas Gallery of Art

I've been meaning to do this for a while: showcase the boys' art work on the blog.  I finally dug it out today, photographed it, edited/cropped the photos, and now I'm posting.  I wish I had been smart enough to date the artwork as I was bringing it home...

Here we go...the photos suck (as usual), but the art is spectacular.  ;)

In this first photo, we see a dazzling array of snowflakes, each with glitter handprints.  So simple, and yet so elegant and classy.  Both boys' snowflakes are present in this photo, intermingling peacefully.

Here we see Adrian's mosaic mittens.  Note the the careful placement of the purple "tiles" on the left mitten.  Genius.

Sebastian's mittens, placed thumbs facing outwards on the paper, feature a more random placement of colored "tiles."  It's interesting that the boys placed their mittens in different positions (Adrian thumbs in, Sebastian thumbs out).  Clearly, they are making a statement about their own individuality.

 What's not to love about Adrian's orange and yellow Christmas present?  The finger strokes behind the ribbon are feathery, light, and portray a real passion for letting loose on the medium.

Sebastian's present is more traditional in color, but the finger strokes are not--look at the anger, the passion, and the flow of the paint on the paper.  He was a man on fire when he made this masterpiece.

Adrian was exploring shapes that can be made with a handprint when he made this Christmas wreath.  Simply brilliant use of random red splotches to represent the holly berries.  It's obvious that with this modern take on a wreath he is expressing the chaos of the holiday season.  So deep for a 13-month old.

This deconstructed snowman, by Sebastian, represents what happens when you have a blizzard and the wind bowls the snowman over backwards.

Adrian's deconstructed snowman is a memorial to all of the faceless, nameless snowmen who have perished under the relentless forces of sun and rain.

In comparison, this snowman by Adrian is colorful and dressed for a night on the town.

This is Sebastian's penguin foot.  Aren't his toes cute?

The boys went all out on Valentine's Day, creating 2 pieces of art EACH.  Wow.  How prolific they are!  The smudges were Adrian's way of representing kissing the page.

Sebastian represented a broken heart--paint splattering out from the inner depths of his heart.  Who left him broken hearted?  Brooke?  Leyla?  Alivia?  Maybe one day he'll tell us.

The turmoil is visible in Sebastian's second piece as well...

Adrian chose to paint with whispy strokes instead of Sebastian's heavy hand.  He painted like a man in love...perhaps his contentment is the reason for Sebastian's broken heart?

This piece by Adrian is entitled "Galaxy."  

The title of Sebastian's piece is "Under the Sea."

Here's a collage of Sebastian hard at work on some of his art.  Look at those chubby cheeks (and amazing concentration).

This piece by Sebastian is called "Rain on a Bonfire."  Beautiful.

This magnificent piece by Adrian is called, "Dragon."  Look at the multi-colored scales, and the ferocious face of the dragon.  His use of gradient color is clever.  Very clever.

Here the boys were experimenting with sand, tissue paper, and paint.  Adrian depicted the sandbox in his.

Sebastian depicted fire in his piece.

 Below, Adrian captured the feeling of barbed wire and what it feels like to be behind the bars of a crib trapped when you just really want to get out.  You can feel the tension and raw emotion in the paint strokes.

Adrian at work...

Sebastian at work...He often likes to try the paint on himself, just to make sure that the technique he's exploring will work on paper.

Here, Adrian's spring flowers are bright, fun, and mostly horizontal, representing the sprawl of wild flowers.  What a fun piece!

Sebastian opted for a more vertical orientation of his flowers, like clematis on a trellis.

Stained glass reproduced with tissue paper.  By Adrian.

Finally, a foray into the world of modern art and Jackson Pollock (but with markers and crayons).

By Adrian, a work titled, "Ode to Purple and Yellow, but not the Lakers."

By Sebastian, titled, "Ode to Orange Cars."

By Sebastian.  Title" "If fireworks went off downward."

By Adrian.  Title: "Fireworks over the Boston Skyline."

By Adrian.  Title: "Falling leaves."

By Sebastian.  Title: "A Caterpillar with Bad Gas Just Blew Over a House."

Wow.  By Sebastian 5/29/13.  What a work of understated excellence.

By Adrian 5/29/13.  Title: "Rocket Ship"

Don't know who drew this one!

Or this one...

I feel like I've just gotten a lifetime worth of culture--like I just spent 4 hours at the MOMA.  With their incredible talent, surely these boys will rescue me and Carlos from a life of living paycheck to paycheck and help us retire early.