Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Lesser of 2 Evils

Okay, let me explain the title of this post. I am completely torn between taking the kids with me to the Easter Vigil service which is Saturday night at 8pm or getting them up and braving the 8-bajillion people that will be at Easter Sunday mass the following morning. The upside of the vigil is that it's at 8pm, so the odds of one or both kids falling asleep are greatly in my favor. Also, it's really visually interesting what with the Easter fire, getting candles to hold, etc. so they'd be entertained a bit more than usual. The downside is it's at 8pm, so if the little punks don't sleep they'll be total...well...punks. Plus, having gone to the vigil solo the past couple of years, I don't remember seeing many kids there, so if they do make noise, it will be REALLY amplified. The downside of the Easter Sunday mass is the 8-bajillion people, half of whom will be under the age of 10 and all hopped-up on jelly beans! Ugh! Ah, well...I think I'll play it by ear and see how they're acting on Saturday to let that be the deciding factor.
Our trip to Baltimore was good. We got up before God on Saturday morning and enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee before waking up the kids and getting them dressed and in the car. When Mapquesting directions to Ken's house, I did a search for Waffle Houses between PA and Baltimore and, TA-DA, I found one on the way!!! So, I had the best hash browns I've had since I moved north of the Mason Dixon Line, and we hit the road again. All in all the trip took about 2 hours, so we were in Baltimore around 7:30 or 8am. We hung out at Ken and Beth's for a little bit and Ooooh'd and Aaaaah'd over little Zoe (totally adorable...and SO quiet!). Then, we grabbed the strollers and hit the park. We did a lap around a great park near their house (which brought to my attention how ridiculously out of shape I am as I was panting by the time we finished), and headed back to their house so Paige and Zoe could take a nap. Then, we hit a nice area by the water and just strolled around (again, more walking, more aching!). We hit the road to head back home around 6:00pm hoping the kids would sleep the whole way home, then we could just toss them into bed and hit the hay ourselves...silly us. Would you believe those little monsters (neither of whom took a decent nap that day and both got up about an hour earlier than usual) stayed awake until we were 10 minutes from home?!?! By that time I was like, "Hell, no! Stay awake! Stay awake! You're going to change into jammies, go potty, then go to sleep." Ugh. It was a fun, exhausting day.

Monday, March 22, 2010

March Madness---and I'm not talkin' about basketball!
















WHEW! I cannot believe that it's already the last week of March! It's been a total whirlwind with the Rudegeairs this month.
We started off with Carl IV's 3rd birthday which was a lot of fun. We just had people over to our house for pizza and cake. It was a good time. The kid gets more presents in one birthday than I think I did over my entire childhood! It's obscene! But, he also plays with EVERYTHING so at least none of it's going to waste.

Things have been picking up for me at work (Thank God!). Carl III's still unemployed and being Mr.Mom, but we have a few irons in the fire, so hopefully something comes up soon.
Last week we decided to trash all of Paige's pacifiers, which is a total non-issue to her...until bedtime. I had no idea she would become so dependent on a stupid piece of silicone to help soothe herself to sleep or I never would've given her one! Ah, well...better to take it away now than to go through what my sister is currently. Her daughter is almost 2, and they just took hers away and are having a hard time because she can ask for it! At least Paige can't scream the word "BINKY" to me. :)

This past Saturday Carl IV's nursery school hosted an Easter Egg hunt which we took the kids to. It was really cute, but I think they were a little overwhelmed by the number of kids that came. It seemed like it was 30 kids and 29 eggs, if you know what I mean. They didn't have the ages broken up very well, either (3 & under in one hunt...so I've got my 1-year-old going up against her 3-year-old brother for candy?! She's going to get the shaft...whatever). All in all they handled everything well, though.
We're heading to Baltimore to visit one of Carl III's best friends and his wife and new baby next weekend. Hopefully the weather cooperates so we can see some of the city! Fingers crossed!