Easter 2010

Oops. The Parakeet never filled you in on her favorite Holiday this year.
What an oversight.
Basically – it was great.
Uncle J and his girlfriend, E drove down from the booming metropolis of Port Huron, Michigan where they are doing the good Lord’s work.  Now all of the Keet’s siblings have spent Easter with her. She is so so happy about that.  She told the Huz that if it became her ‘duty’ to host Family Easter dinner she would be thrilled. He reminded her that there were two pastors in the family and that was unlikely. Oh well. She’ll be sure to make it a big deal for her own kid.
All five of them just hung out for like 2 and a half days.  They played games (mostly Parcheesi and the ever-popular Ticket to Ride) and dyed Easter Eggs.  They cooked a lot and ate a lot – an entire bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms in one sitting, but that isn’t important.
They went to a lovely church service, ate a lovely meal, and when O woke up from his nap they hid Easter eggs in the backyard.  He sort of got it.  He at least walked around saying “egg….eeeegggg.. eeeeeeggg….” and then he ate it. For reals.
Happy Easter – two months ago. Woops. Lots of pictures to make up for the delay

Florida Trip: Part A

One of the Parakeet’s oldest and dearest friends got married on May 1st. Woohoo! Congratulations, Jo and Brian!

The family had planned on going to Florida for the wedding – no questions asked.  When the Parakeet’s parents also suggested they take home a lot of furniture – they made a week of it.
The wedding was in beautiful Clearwater.  The Huz, Keet, and Little O flew into Sanford on Thursday before the wedding.  In order to fly into Sanford, they have to fly out of Rockford- nearly a two hour drive from Chicago.
Holy Moly – was that ever worth it!
The drive went uneventfully and the Keet and Huz didn’t even hear from Little O until over an hour and half into the drive. What? Yes. Can you believe it?  Now that it’s in print it will probably never happen again, but Little O was mesmerized by the highway sights and mostly just stared out the window and processed all the NPR stories with his parents in silence. 
They parked at the airport (for free) and a nice man in  Hawaiian shirt helped the Keet manage Little O and the bags into the check-in line.  There was no problem going through security – all retired people and families – and then there was a waiting room playing Disney’s Peter Pan complete with a kid-sized table.  The Keet and Huz drank a beer while Little O pushed his  cars around.  Seriously? This is an airport.  So much better than the business hussle bussle of O’Hare.  They boarded, and Little O knew he was getting on an airplane. He was so excited he was running into the people ahead of them.  The Huz had to pick him up and chill him out.  He did OK on that flight.  Luckily, they family had a two-seater row and his climbing all over the place and moving tray tables up and down was restricted to his parents.
He slept Easy Peasy that night happy to be at GB & Poppy’s house.
They all drove to Clearwater the next day. The Parents had hoped that two hour drive owuld be O’s nap, but alas the curse of sleep-training – sleeping is not for cars and strollers. duh.  So, they wrestled Little O down for a 3PM nap – which worked out nicely because he partied it up at the rehearsal dinner and stayed up until almost 10PM.
It was so fun to go to a wedding in a hotel like that.  The Parakeet and Huz had never done that before.  It was like taking a vacation with friends and family.  We got to play at the beach with Luke and Kristina and Ben.  The Parakeet also convinced her pregnant sister and her husband to come up and stay in their room to watch O during the wedding and reception.  Nice one.
Also, Poppy was performing the ceremony so he and GB were in an adjoining room. It was seriously one big party. 
LOTS of FUN!!

To Slumber

Part of the recent Russell trip to Florida involved picking up some furniture.  The Parakeet’s parents had a lot of furniture they were passing on to their children.  The Huz and Parakeet planned to return to Chicago with a new bedroom set, a new dining room set, and a chair for the living room.  They came back with even more, but this story is about the bed.
The Huz drove all of this stuff back from Florida in a Penske rental truck.  Little O LOVED that truck.  He kept saying “Daddy Big Truck Daddy Big White Truck Biiiiig Truuuuck”.  Little O and the Parakeet flew home.
Everybody made it back safely and the Huz enlisted a friend to do some of the furniture rearranging. The Huz grunted and groaned putting the new bed-frame together.  He was quite frustrated with the design. He called the Parakeet’s Dad.  He finally wiggled it all into place – but was convinced it was going to fall apart.
Well…about 1AM on Friday night – kaboom, the Parakeet and Huz collapsed with the bed.  They woke up, confused.   The Huz was all, “I knew it”.  He was determined to fix the situation.  Immediately.  He wiggled under the bed and moved some stuff – kaboom. More collapsing.  The Parakeet laid down on the couch and listened to the clanging of metal pieces. 
Then, through bleary eyes, she saw the Huz walk into the living room fully dressed with a tape measure clipped to his pants. 
“Where are you going?”
“To get some things to fix this bed.”
“Now? We can pull out the sofa.”
“I dont have time to mess with this tomorrow. I’m going to the shop to get some tools.”
“Hmmm….” The Parakeet rolled over and closed her eyes.
The Huz returned shortly with a drill. Yes. Seriously.
He began drilling at 2AM. It was squeaky and loud and there were some inappropriate words.  The Parakeet drifted in and out of sleep on the couch and tried to stay a safe distance from the bedroom. Then, the drill bit broke.  Yes. Seriously.  Was the Huz deterred? Nope.  He drove back to the shop and got another bit.
He drilled again at 3AM. 
For those of you curious – Little O is out like a light the entire time. Not sure about the neighbors.
The Huz decides this must be some sort of A+ amazing grade of steel through which he can not drill a hole.  He continues to try.  He probably gets one out of the four holes made and bolted. 
The Parakeet cringes on the couch.   She hears a lot of clang-clang-clanging.
The Huz is storming out of the bedroom carrying all the pieces into the alley.  It is 4AM.  Yes. Seriously.
The Parakeet stands up and crosses her arms across her chest.  She is guarding the headboard and footboard. She does not want them to go to the alley as part of the rage.
They put the box spring and mattresses on the floor.  Little O manages to wake up 3 times before 7AM just to give the Parakeet a few more interruptions.  When it seems he is just playing in his crib, she drives to Einstein to arm themselves for a Saturday where she didn’t sleep more than an hour at a time.
The Huz wakes up remarkably calm and eats his bagel. He then drives to Home Depot and buys some basic pine to start on a new bed. In the Afternoon, Little O feels everyone’s exhaustion and takes a four hour nap.  The Huz and Keet sleep 3 themselves.  That evening they  install a simple bed frame in their room and attach their headboard and footboard.  Everyone is sleeping well so far. 
Could it all have been avoided? Maybe. Would it be as good of a story? Definitely Not.
All is Right again at the Russell House.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Little O is quite officially a toddler.  All the things that go with that term – he does; toddle, scream, run away, babble, lay on the floor in defiance. He is twenty months old and his parents see all of those developmental marker stones.
The joy of a toddler, however, is incomparable.  It does make one pause to watch a child discover the world.
Below is a list of thing that make Little O very very excited.  They are reminders to the bird of all through-out her day that might deserve a bit more attention.  The Parakeet could certainly use a little squeal of delight or clap in anticipation during her day-to-day existence – why not insert those herself?

– Peeling a banana
– Pushing the button to open the Garage Door
– Hearing the Trash Truck come down the street
– Seeing a Baby in a Stroller
– Putting a Big Spoon into an even bigger Pot
– Daddy coming home from work
– Eating a Nutri-Grain Bar
– Standing on a Chair to watch the mixer go round and round
– Playdoh!  Bluuuuuuueeee Playdoh!
– Going down the Stairs all by himself 
– Hearing the Door Buzzer which might mean he gets a “BOX!!!!!!!”

The Little O is growing up (sigh), but he is sure having fun doing it.

Just a little Something…

The sort-of Summer schedule is starting at the Russell House. The Huz worked Celtic Fest this past weekend which means his shifst are usually over at midnight.  Little O and the Parakeet were home for dinner together on Sunday night.  They were just sitting at the brand new exciting dining room table (more on that later) eating and babbling when Little O paused.  He tilted a bit to the left and let out some very audible farts.  He tooted once more, sat his tiny booty back down in his seat, and said, “all better”. 

The Parakeet looked around the room for someone to crack up with her.  Little O already had his spoon back to the applesauce.  She giggled to herself and then decided to share with the internet.  What a guy.