NILL FAMILY news

I know I talk a lot about Ashton’s shenanigans. It is never a good idea to take your eyes off him, sometimes even for a second. If you do, you might get lucky and the result of your carelessness is fairly benign: he’ll hide his milk sippy on you (and finding that two days later is not a sweet surprise), a heavy pot will be dragged out of the cabinet and clang loudly on the floor (perhaps a small tile chip on that one), or your diaper bag is yanked off the counter in a manner so violent that even the stuff in the zippered pockets spills out.

Other times you won’t get lucky (like last week) and you’ll have a very bruised, very tearful little boy on your hands.

Most often, though, he gets caught in the act. Like, mid-disaster. I’ll leave him doing one thing, go to pick something up or put something away, turn back around and:

No real harm done, but the potential, oh the potential. He’s standing on top of the coffee table, about to dive bomb off the couch, or trying to feed his cheerios to an electrical outlet.

For whatever reason, we woke up this morning and our cable wasn’t working. Not a big deal on most days but Ashton was super cranky and I knew the only thing that would help was a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. So I did what any mom would do and improvised. I got out the laptop, found an episode on YouTube, tilted the screen just so, and set him up with his chair and a snack in the kitchen.

Oh he was into it. He sat for awhile smacking his grapes (grapes that, 15 minutes ago when he was in his highchair for breakfast, were nowhere near good enough to eat, but that’s neither here nor there). All was peaceful, so I (wrongly) assumed it was safe to turn around to do the dishes. I guess between the water running and Mickey et al making such a racket I didn’t hear him get up and do THIS:

Refer to cartoon above.

He dragged his chair about five feet, flipped it and climbed right up. I mean, $&*#@%t!  He could have thrown the computer on the floor and broken it! 😉

Anyway, just thought I’d let you know what I’m dealing with around here. Perhaps I should call the circus? What do acrobats get paid these days?

Despite the fact that I’ve lived in the Boston area for the last 10 years (?! gasp!) when I go up to Vermont I always say I am “going home”. Now that I am on my summer schedule (Fridays off, woo!), and Jason was going to be at work all weekend, Ashton and I decided to head home last Friday. As an added bonus, Kari and Ben were there visiting from Boulder and John and Patricia were up from DC so we had peeps to see.

Expected total napping minutes on the 3.5 hour car ride up: 60.
Actual total napping minutes on the 3.5 hour car ride up: 0. It was a long one.

But our first stop was Poppy and Mema in Colchester, we arrived around 5 pm and hopped right into the motorboat for a little bay cruise:

(Warning: Minorly graphic pictures of bumps and scrapes in this post. It’s really not bad but I feel like you are supposed to advise about these things.)

So as I remind everyone constantly, most of my time is spent taking care of a 31 pound picky eater with a fluctuating appetite, short attention span, ever-changing moods and a huge, monster love for climbing, jumping, and you know, any kind of physical activity really. Now that the weather has finally turned nice, we are outside a lot a lot a lot. (Sunny days + warm air) ± (shorts and Crocs) + running¹⁰ = BOO BOO SEASON. 

Since the last time I posted, there have been a few major incidences, only one of which landed us in the emergency room. About 10 days ago, Ashton was outside playing with a toy firetruck, pushing it way too fast and those damned Crocs…he tripped and fell and sliced the bottom corner of his lip open.

It doesn’t look that big, but then, Ashton’s not that big so size is all relative. That’s an authentic teardrop too. Anyway, it was really deep in person blah blah and I had one of those moments where I felt totally frozen. Jason was at work and of course it was a Sunday so the pediatrician wasn’t open. Do I take him to the ER? Do I not? Sigh. I packed up and went. Luckily it was not the 6 hour affair it was the last time. They told me that if it were any other spot, they’d stitch, but with toddlers they do not have success with sutures holding in that area. Home we went and by 2 pm Ashton was asleep in his crib. Don’t worry, we went for another walk that afternoon, Ashton fell again and got more scrapes on his face. Oh the joy.

OVERALL OUCH FACTOR: 6+
(+ stands for ERVN – emergency room visit needed)
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We are 2 for 2 with his knees. They actually look worse right now – this picture is a few days old.

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And then, last night. Ohhhh, last night. I picked Ashton up, we went to the grocery store and then took a walk around the block before dinner. There is some road construction nearby and he is obsessed with tractors, trucks, bulldozers and backhoes. So we went to take a look.

We were having a nice walk, full of adventure 😉 And then, ugh. He stood up on the curb and was walking along it. I took out my iPhone to get his picture but realized my camera roll was full (as it often is). So I flipped through and was quickly deleting to make space for new ones and that’s when he fell. 😦 Right off the curb and faceplanted into the street. He split his forehead up by his hairline, scratched the side of his nose and blood was going everywhere. I could not believe how fast it flowed! I stripped his t-shirt and used it to try to apply pressure and get the gravel out of his mouth and nose…he was screaming. It was awful. We were two streets from home and I ran back with a shirtless, bloody toddler in my arms and called Jason no less than 6 times. He ended up coming home from work for 20 minutes to help me clean out the cut (I couldn’t see how bad it was because his hair was matted and he wouldn’t let me near it). Luckily, I did not see his skull gaping through which is what I had braced myself for (I can be, as they say, a bit dramatic). I was praying not to have to go to the emergency room for stitches and aside for the monstrous egg on his forehead, he seemed to be ok. I, on the other hand, was still crying long after Ashton had stopped.

OVERALL OUCH FACTOR: 7.5
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Yes, I know kids get hurt. Yes, I know little boys especially. It still doesn’t make it any easier. Twice in the past ten days (three times actually, he fell and bit his lower lip that resulted in bleeding too), Ashton has fallen on his face and started crying. There is literally that moment of dread, like Oh my god, right before you pick them up when you wonder what you are going to find: where the cut is, how deep is it, if all his teeth will be there, etc. It’s hard

But for Ashton, nothing above compares to the worst pain of all. Not one of his injuries in the last couple of weeks can compare to the dreaded haircut. This event warranted a very public pacifier both before and after. That’s when you know it’s bad. That awful salon! And all those poor hairs, cut within an inch of their lives…I didn’t get a “during” picture, you can imagine why.

OVERALL OUCH FACTOR: 10. It’s been a tough couple of weeks.

And that was Mother’s Day part deux. What a difference a year makes…

That’s one and three quarters, for the layperson.

Usually at the nice round numbers of age, we have a pediatrician appointment and I can report all the new stats. But not this time folks – go ahead and lean back in those seats. We are on a long stretch without any well-visits and Ashton doesn’t go again until 24 months (two, for the layperson). I’m no expert, but I think this is pretty accurate:

Height: tall
Weight: heavy
Teeth: lots
Head: hard

That about sums it up. Oh, and if anyone wants to buy him anything, he’s a 2T (3T pajama) and size 7 shoe.

Here’s what else 21 months looks like around here:

Biggest challenge: It’s a tie, between being not quite counter height and staying awake during lunch.

Alias: Pigpen. This kid gets DIRTY (see cheeks above right) and has ripped two pairs of pants in the past week. He also likes to use his hair as a napkin during mealtimes.

Favorite word: TITS. He means, of course, “grapes”.

Most improved skill: teeth brushing. He used to thrash, whine and jerk his head away when I tried to do it. Now he goes and gets the stool, climbs on, and holds the toothbrush under the water before putting in his mouth and chewing on it licking it “brushing”. In another couple of weeks he will have all his teeth in except for his 2 year molars. Pearly whites!

Obsession: belly buttons. His, mine, yours. They are fascinating.

Most likely found at: the top of the slide.

Record number of “Buh byes”: 5. Now, when a little toddler tells you “Buh bye!” you can’t not echo the sentiment. You have to say it back otherwise you’re just rude. The problem is, Ashton will keep repeating it and he trapped our poor neighbor last night into saying it FIVE times. I dragged him from the sidewalk, up the front steps and then through the door and it was like this the entire way:

Ashton: “Buh bye!” (waving)
Neighbor: “Bye Ashton!” (waving back)
Ashton: “Bye!”
Neighbor: “Goodbye!”
Ashton: “mmmm bye!”
Neighbor: “Bye! Good night!”
Ashton: “Buh byyyye…”
Neighbor: “Bye bye.”
Ashton: “BYE! Buh bye!”
Neighbor: “[haha] Okay! Buh bye, yes! Buh bye.” (still waving, by the way)
Ashton: “Bye…” (ALSO still waving until I finally shut the door behind us and cut him off. Phew. He said it one more time when I put him down and then ran off to find his cars. Longest goodbye ever.

Versions of the word “No”: 8. (Most popular: “NOOOOOOoo” with a gradual descent in tone. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but things are rarely satisfactory around here.)

Biggest “When did you get so big?” moment: It’s time to get a potty. In the last month, when he goes, 75% of the time he will come find you and say “Poo-poo!” and he knows it is time for a diaper change. Earlier this week we were getting ready for his tubby and he kept tugging at his diaper and saying it. I said, “But Ashton, you haven’t gone yet – there isn’t any poo-poo in there.” He persisted, pulling his diaper and then:

“Ashton, do you have to GO poo-poo?? Right now? OMG!” So I stripped him and perched him on the toilet like as fast as I could. He smiled. I held him there for a full minute, waiting and literally composing my text to Jason in my head that Ashton had gone on the potty and then, obviously, he didn’t go. Oh well. But he looked so proud to be up there. This has happened one more time since then and you can tell he thinks sitting on the toilet is a HUGE adventure. The joke might be on me. But I still can’t believe that we are approaching such a big kid thing.

Worst meal: Dinner. Conveniently the one that Jason misses 5 nights a week. I don’t know what it is, but dinner isn’t enough. This kid wants dinner and a show. Or some kind of entertainment. Unless his food is hidden in something, presented in a new container, grouped by color or in a sauce, he won’t eat it. And his preferences change daily. Most days I throw the kitchen sink at him because I never know what will win him over.

If you asked me what Ashton ate for dinner, I’d say: “Well, some watermelon, but only after he stacked the halved grapes on top. A quarter of an avocado, but only when it was scooped directly out of the skin, and with a spoon NOT a fork. Cottage cheese, out of the original container, with a fork NOT a spoon. Some beef and cheese quesadilla – just the pieces that had salsa on them. The ones that touched the sour cream or were plain he threw on the floor. Oh, and a sharp piece of potato chip. That he used to spear the pieces of the quesadilla that only had salsa on them. No fork or spoon for that, JUST the chip. Lastly, some string cheese, that he ate as long as he had a piece in each hand. Always a piece for each hand. And water of course, in the blue sippy. Like I would consider the green one. Until tomorrow, when everything I just said will be reversed.”

Sigh: He has now joined the 3 billion other males out there that know where their penis is. I’d say I’m so proud but they are the only ones that think they deserve a medal for this.

Ad Nauseum Book: Collection of Nursery Rhymes featuring Mickey Mouse. This will become Ashton’s second book club book – stand by.

Biggest procrastination: I own this one. The great PACIFIER PHASEOUT PLAN has commenced. Pacis in cribs only, for sleepy time. But this kid can whine me to death and I have been known to break my own rules. This is going to be very tough, in all seriousness. Ashton goes to sleep and wakes up with a paci in his mouth and one in each hand. Yikes. My head keeps saying, “He’s too big for a paci!” but my heart responds, “He’s still a baby!”

So, somewhere between a baby and a big kid, this has been the 21 month report. Busy as always. xo

Honestly, I’ve stopped going on Pinterest. It makes me feel inadequate. Given the time, I’m pretty sure Pinterest could help me make everything in my life magazine-perfect, from my hair to my house, but I was spending too much time pinning and not enough time DOING. And I was developing a complex. All these great ideas, sooo many great ideas, and truthfully I have never brought even one of my pins to fruition.

[pause for dramatics] 

UNTIL NOW.

The lucky winner of my time was this pin. It promised me like-new, clean cookie sheets after years of abuse. You KNOW you have one that looks like this:

Or worse. I do, in fact, have worse but this is my favorite, half-sheet Sur la Table pan that I use every day so I decided to start here. In my case, this is night after night of cooking Ashton’s chicken fingers, tater tots, and fish sticks and never properly cleaning it because there is simply too much other stuff that ALSO needs cleaning. Including but not limited to: the floors, the walls, the counters, the sink, the dishes, the highchair and Ashton himself. But I digress.

The pin is really simple. Put about 1/4 cup baking soda into a small bowl and add just enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. I smeared it on and, maybe a little too eagerly, immediately started scrubbing.

Hmmm. Let’s just say I was afraid this post was going to be more like a before and…well, before. The pan was laughing at me. I double-checked the original website off of Pinterest- she had tested this method on a flat cookie sheet and specifically noted corners and grooves are the toughest. And of course, mine had grooves – 66 to be exact.

So I mixed more paste and let it sit for a few minutes…voila! You know those little wooden BBQ skewers? They are my all purpose cleaning tool for hard to reach spots and I scraped all 66 grooves out, plus the middle circle.

Welllll…

p.s. this post is dedicated to my mom. Now she knows how poorly I have taken care of the pan she got me

GOLF bag, that is. And by bag I mean job. Although, he does have a new golf bag too, and I guess he COULD use it at his new job, but not for awhile probably. Too confusing?

How about: As of May 7, Jason will be the new Food and Beverage Director at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton. Officially. Wow. This is such a huge opportunity and I’m so proud of him. He definitely has his work cut out for him – they are finishing up a major renovation to their clubhouse and are looking for an overall freshening up of the food and beverage program. We have some wonderful family friends that recommended him for the position, he interviewed twice and fast forward to yesterday, he was giving his notice at the Lenox. I know he was really sad about it, especially because it’s become an even more tight knit group after the bombings, but this means no more 3 am nights and a big step up career-wise. I am super excited for him, it’s going to be such a welcome lifestyle change.

If it’s any indication what a classy and thoughtful community he is entering into, I received absolutely gorgeous flowers today at work: “Dear Kristen and Ashton, on behalf of the Board of Directors, the Management Team and the Staff, welcome to the Brae Burn family!” I was so touched. Everyone knows what a big move this is and Jason has support from all sides – it was incredibly nice for BBCC to think of me too! Could not believe it.

Something tells me Jason will become a regular at Golf Town. Gotta look the part. He got new clubs last summer (he does play, and I swing the sticks at the driving range every now and then) but I have a feeling his golf game is going to be getting a lot of new attention. To the point where things might go like this at our house:

But I know he will do great – he is totally committed, a creative problem solver and he never gives up.

Boy there is no shortage of golf cartoons out there.

Honestly, it seems like there is never a dull moment around here. Two weeks ago, Ashton was in the emergency room. Last week, the Boston Marathon was bombed and the perpetrator was captured in our hometown. This week, Jason has a new job. These are like major things! I would have combined this post with the one I just did but this is so much more newsworthy that it deserves to stand on its own. Congratulations again honey! 🙂

It is spring. FINALLY! Yesterday was sunny, in the 60’s, and the warm air has never felt so good. One of the best things about spring is watching the leaves and flowers come out. We have been looking at sticks and general brownness (sp?) for so long that when all this life comes back out, it’s easy to feel renewed and refreshed.

We moved into our house at the end of January when this was the view out of our bedroom window.

I admit I do love how the only color is the red American flag, especially after last week. (Can I be honest about something here? I could have written that sentence as “I admit I do love the red in this photo for its pop of color, especially after last week.” I just hate that phrase “pop of color”. No idea why. Hate it. Phew I feel better to get that off my chest.)

Anyway, I’m in love with the tree out front. I’m in love with our entire house actually. We’ve lived here almost 3 months and the novelty has not worn off. I still can’t believe we got so lucky and am grateful every day. But back to the tree. Like the rest of our yard, we had no idea what it would do with the warm April showers. And then all of a sudden, it was yesterday and the tree had exploded. Here’s a little before (early February) and after (late April):

I just think they are so beautiful. Although, what WON’T be beautiful is when all those petals fall and smoosh into the sidewalk. Sigh.

Another thing that is not beautiful is our yard and specifically, the front right corner if you’re looking at the house straight on. If you can bear to look:

The green shoots turned out to be random clumps of daffodils. They were unfortunately yanked out and, where they used to be, we put in pretty little shrubs with pretty pink flowers. The entire bed was raked, mulched and now….

So, we’re getting there. Our backyard is the true horror story but I won’t tell that one yet.

The best part about the sun coming out, besides a new landscaping season, is baby-sized aviators from Target. It’s just so BRIGHT around here!

Awwww yeahhhhh. 🙂

Where do I begin. My last post documented what happened on Monday, April 15th, 2013 – the bombings at the Boston Marathon and my personal connection to it. What I didn’t know at the time was that things were going to get even more personal by the time the week was over.

The day after the bombings, Tuesday, was hectic for Jason. The FBI took over the Lenox Hotel – he put in a 15 hour day trying to piece together all the financials from the previous day (guests that had paid to stay but had been evacuated, all the open checks from revelers in the middle of lunch when the explosions happened, etc.) and trying to coordinate everyone coming back for their belongings that they were forced to leave so suddenly.

Perhaps most notable to Jason was how weird it was that Boylston Street was like a ghost town. All the baby carriages, balloons, banners, etc. were still sitting in the exact same spots. The cafe across the street still had beers and plates of food sitting on their tables. The FBI and pretty much every kind of law enforcement officer that you can think of had descended upon these few blocks and when the Lenox set up a buffet, expecting 100 people, over 250 came through and they were out of food in no time. They said they hadn’t eaten – in fact, they had raided the Dunkin Donuts and convenience store right across the street for drinks and snacks as the doors were wide open, the cash registers abandoned. Nothing was allowed in or out of the area (Jason himself had to get through multiple checkpoints from where he parked his car to the hotel – military police were everywhere) and Jason said he himself was back in the kitchen with the other few employees that had been able to show up that day, cooking every last scrap of food they could find.
The evidence collection process appeared to be painstakingly slow. Jason told me that they had everything on a grid in small squares no more than a yard each. They took pictures of how the debris lay, a camera took a 360 degree circular snap, and then each piece was picked up, labeled, sorted, boxed and brought inside. Next square. With a territory of several city blocks to cover, not to mention the roofs and sides and windows of buildings to scour, it was not going to be over any time soon.

He came home late Tuesday night and could not stop saying how weird it was. They had dozens of dogs – the conference and events rooms at the hotel had become a kennel. Snipers scanned the neighborhood from multiple lookout points, including the brand new suites on the top floor. And there were 2 guards at all times blocking the entrance to where the evidence was being kept. The remains of the bomb itself had been swept off to Quantico almost immediately.

Wednesday was Jason’s day off and I think the trauma of the last two days finally set in. He spent most of the evening very quiet and a bit withdrawn, clearly in a far off place mentally. He had not slept at all. He said he could not stop reliving it – how the blasts felt, how they sounded, where he was, what he did. After the explosions, he ran to the windows of the hotel and looked out at the chaos as the doors were being locked. He said, “I kept thinking, ‘I need to go out there, I need to help!’ But my feet wouldn’t move. My mind kept flashing to you and Ashton.”

Wednesday night was another sleepless night and Thursday, at work again, he felt a bit better being back down there, surrounded by the people that were working tirelessly to identify the suspects and amongst others that had been through the same horrific experience. I think it felt good to know he was not the only one feeling how he was feeling. He got home late again, although by now other restaurants in the area were taking turns bringing food in to feed the massive group of people that had been flown in from all corners of the country to work on this. The FBI released pictures of the suspected bombers and then every person in Boston was on the hunt.

Yesterday, Friday morning. I was vaguely aware of our house phone ringing around 5:15 am. My phone buzzed. And buzzed again. The house phone kept ringing. Jason’s rang. Mine buzzed again. And finally around 6:15 am we were awake enough to realize that something was going on. Our parents and some of our friends were desperately trying to get in touch with us. SECOND BOMBING SUSPECT ON THE LOOSE IN WATERTOWN – DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE!! If we were not fully awake before then, we were at that point. Pulling up the news on our phones, we laid in bed and tried to get ourselves up to speed. They were Russian brothers. There had been a robbery the night before. Then a dead security officer. Then a carjacking. Then a high speed chase and finally a shootout and explosions in Watertown and the older brother was killed. The younger one had fled on foot and was somewhere near where we lived.

The next 10 hours were, safe to say, awful. We were locked in our house, glued to the TV. Law enforcement had set up a 20 block perimeter in a neighborhood on the opposite side of town as us and were searching house by house. We waited all day, praying there would all of a sudden be a press conference saying they had caught him. Ashton was a monster – beyond bored. Jason paced. We were so stressed out. Then, our worst fears. At the 6:30 pm news conference, they announced they had completed their search and had come up empty handed. We watched it with a heavy heart. Jason started to cut some wood to reinforce our doors. I wondered how on earth we would sleep. This guy could be hiding in our garage! His last known location was a mile from our house.

I made Jason turn off the TV. I was done. We made gin and tonics, strong ones. And then gave Ashton a bath and did storytime up in his room. I read while Jason checked Facebook. He said, “Oh my god, wait…they think they have him now!”

We put Ashton to bed, bounded downstairs and turned the news BACK on. He was hiding in a boat in a backyard on Franklin Street, not too far from here at all:

During the news conference 45 minutes prior, they had said that the lockdown, shelter-in-place order had been lifted but to please remain vigilent as this was still a dangerous situation. People went outside, took their dogs for a walk, and fired up their BBQ’s. And then, not long after that, authorities received a call from a house one block outside the perimeter of the area they had spent all day searching. The caller had noticed his garage doors were open, but he had not been outside. Then he noticed blood on the side of his boat…The rest is history. Suspect #2, the younger brother, was taken into custody. Alive.

Here is a fun fact. The house next door, the one that shares the fence? Jason and I considered buying it before we bought this one last fall. We have personally seen that boat and stood in the next yard over.
Anyway, words can’t express the relief we felt. So totally consuming. We watched the ensuing news conference confirming he was in custody, listened to all the people lining the streets of Watertown clapping and cheering. And then finally went to bed and Jason slept for the first time since Monday. The closure gave us both peace.

The news teams will move on. FBI agents will leave the hotel, Boylston Street will re-open and eventually normalcy will return for most of us. But for me and especially for Jason, it’s an experience we will never forget. Reflecting on this past week and remembering the runners on Monday, where this all began, it feels like a hundred years has passed. Almost makes me want to train for the marathon next year. Almost 😉

As the world knows, bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston marathon yesterday, killing 3 people and injuring over 100 more. Everyone has their own story of the day but this is mine.

Jason was scheduled to work 9 am – 9 pm. He manages the restaurants at The Lenox Hotel, which is about 10 feet from the finish line on Boylston Street. It is their busiest day of the year – New Balance rents out Solas, the bar there, and the whole place is filled all day with runners, cheerleaders, press, etc. So Ashton and I were on our own. We briefly considered going downtown to visit him in the morning but I didn’t want to deal with parking and all that. So Chera and I decided to take the boys to over to Commonwealth Avenue in Newton (mile 18 or so) to try and see some runners there. I drove over to her house and we took Ashton and Owen for a walk around the block first. They held hands.

What a day. Jason was supposed to be off today but when they evacuated the hotel, they went floor by floor and everything was immediate. Guests still have their belongings in the hotel rooms and literally all the lights are on, the beers, food, unpaid checks are still sitting on the tables. Ghost town. So he is there now to help clean up and try to get things back to normal. I’ll be anxious to hear his stories when he gets home tonight.

I have obviously read many other accounts and we continued to watch the news all night last night, mostly in silence. A lot of close calls, people who finished 3 minutes before the first explosion, tearful reunions. This was an incredibly sad day in Boston. But I can’t help but think – this is what the streets are like every day in other parts of the world. The violence and bloodshed in these far off places are accompanied by men with guns, perpetual fear, and much, much bigger bombs. What must that be like?

Jason came home to me. Runners met up with their families and the wounded received immediate medical attention. It seems inappropriate to say “We are lucky”, but we are. Americans are strong and full of heart – we will honor the victims and our spirits will heal. This was an event that will strengthen our bond and for me, has been an important reminder to be thankful that this is not daily life for my son:

Courage and love to all the runners and everyone who was impacted by yesterday’s tragedy. Of course we all were, but some much more than others, including my husband.