What better to do on a Memorial Day holiday than head to the ballpark.
We rallied some friends, other moms with husbands working on a holiday, and scooped up some $6 Met's tickets. Don't worry, we managed to spend way more than the cost of a regularly priced ticket on snacks, beers, and souvenirs.
We've been to a few Met's games before, and this one was the best experience yet. The boys are at a good age for it. They're both interested in the game, the rules, the players so there was a lot more discussion about the game rather than what snack we'd be getting next.
The boys were able to get in a few bats a "Mini Field." The line was long but they occupied themselves by looking at baseball cards.
Freddie had to have a shirt, which HAD to be washed when we got home so he could wear it to school, and Hans picked a hat. Hansie kept the cheering section going pretty much the whole game.
In addition to wanting to know about outs, strikes, and players, Freddie has a huge interest in learning "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." I suppose I should be practicing to help the kid out.
The boys are finally able to get outside with the rollerblades they got for Christmas. Freddie is getting braver and moving around more although if there was a pad available for his rear end he'd definitely put it on.
When Mama's laid out with strep throat, that homemade costume just doesn't happen, sadly. Freddie's plan to be "Fly Guy," from his very favorite, just right on his reading level series, for literary character dress up day at school didn't work out this year. He was ok with Cat in the Hat being delivered the next day thanks to Amazon Prime. He told me he heard kids in the stairwell saying they liked his costume, so he got over his disappointment. I got a ten day course of penicillin and my nearly 103 degree fevers have disappeared. Whew.
Getting him a clip on reading light for his bed and giving him permission to stay up to read was pretty exciting stuff. He was so excited to get into bed after Hans had fallen asleep to click on his light and read his stack of books. He stayed up for about 45 minutes with his books before shutting off his light. He's transitioning from looking at books to really reading them to himself. Another trip to the library today to replenish his stack.
Mom, Dad, Freddie, and Me. This is a flower and this is the grass,
Hans' drawings are beginning to look like... something. I think this is the first family portrait. He's quite prolific and comes home with lots of papers from school. This is my favorite so far!
New sandals, that he picked. And of the 25 colors, he HAD to have multicolored. He was giddy when they arrived, My boy's not into the all black NYC uniform, but he is certainly fashion conscious.
One of Charlie's benefits at work is 20 days of childcare. (He also gets 20 days of elder care as well in case we ever need someone to look over aging parents.) The childcare benefit means you can have someone come to babysit for $6/hour which is about one third of the going rate in NYC or you can drop off at one of the childcare centers for $20/day with each additional child being $5!
drop off
I can't believe that in the 5 years he's had this benefit I used it for the first time last week. The babysitter reviews I got from others were hit or miss, and I couldn't imagine either of the boys napping anywhere other than their own cribs so I never really entertained the drop off center as an option either. Of course I would have used it in an emergency but we always found a way to cover things without it.
But last week one of Hans' buds was going to the back up center and I had a doctor appointment so I decided to drop him off. He bawled all morning long that he just wanted to stay with me. It was rather heartbreaking and doesn't bode well for his week of zoo camp in August. Thankfully when we got there he settled in easily and didn't cry when I left.
Getting a shake afterwards
When I picked him up, he ran over to see me and started to tell me about his day. A little girl came over and watched for a minute before commenting "so you can talk now, huh?" I suppose my poor little bub was too shy to talk the entire day. He told me his day was good but he didn't want to go back, that he just wanted to stay with me. Ah, to be loved so much!
I'm proud of this guy. Not an easy thing to ask of him, but he did it.
A picture of me and the kids, and even better that we're all looking at the camera!
My morning began with Hansie piling in the bed and me kicking Charlie out to go get the grocery delivery at 6.30 am. Freddie son came scurrying in wishing me Happy Mothers' Day with a big beaming smile. He's been anticipating it all week as though it were Christmas.
Each of the boys proudly presented me with a handmade card from school while Charlie whipped up biscuits for breakfast. Freddie was pretty disappointed in Charlie for not getting Mama any gifts of flowers. The boy loves to give gifts and surprises. He's been suggesting that I ask for a polka dot dress for weeks.
After morning soccer practice we headed to the Bronx Zo. We figured it would be busy, and it was, but thankfully the zoo is so large hat it never really feels too crowded, unless of course you wait in line for the Monorail. We decided to skip that since it was literally the longest we had ever seen the line.
We all enjoyed being outside in the HEAT (finally).
Hansie's favorite was the butterfly garden. He waited a long time to have a butterfly land on him. We also got a peek at the baby gorillas.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em
My day ended almost just like it started...everyone clean and in jammies and cuddled. Best part of every single day.
After last weeks struggle with allergies, including skipping gymnastics because he was wheezing and just not himself, we headed in to see Dr. G. NYC had a bit of rain so the pollen counts came down and his eyes seemed better so we were able to "get ahead" of the symptoms and hopefully keep them in check for the rest of the pollen season.
Dr. G prescribe Panaday eyedrops once a day and Singulair once a day for the next month or so. He also got some albuterol to help with his breathing, which sounded much better after the first two treatments. She figured he'd need just once a day for the next five or six days.
He's not a fan of the eyedrops, although he is getting better. I dread the day he'll have to learn to swallow a pill. For being such a tough guy at the doctor's office, he turns to nothing but whine when mama needs to give him some medicine.
This picture is after a dose of Claritin, a dose of Zyrtec, and a double dose of Allegra topped off with two doses of Naphcon eye drops within 24 hours. And he actually looks pretty good, believe it or not. He has some mild congestion, but the big problem is the red, itchy eyes. I'm not sure what to do next since nothing over the counter seems to be working. The weed and grass pollen levels are low and tree pollen is moderate to high right now (oak, birch, and maple). He has a similar issue in New Orleans in March, so my bet would be that it's the oak pollen that's bothering him.
Pollen levels are down today with some rain, so he'll get a little relief. Making and appointment with the pediatrician though to see if she has any other ideas on what might help.
