Don't Flush Daddy

Just a quick post about a couple of random funny moments...I'm trying to laugh after a rough day of regression. I think the boys are understanding that major changes are afoot. We've told them we're moving soon, but they haven't seen the new place yet. We're taking them tomorrow afternoon. They also know that we are going to the U.S. in two weeks, and of course they notice my growing belly. We've had more than the usual share of bad behavior from these two - tantrums, sassy back-talk, fighting, spitting, not listening. You know, three-year-old acting up stuff, just more of it. Liam has also had a few pee accidents. So, in an effort to forget all that, here are the funnies:

The boys play hide-and-seek with Sean upstairs before bath time. Sean is pretty creative with his limited hiding place options in our room, the boys' room, and the guest room. G and L, on the other hand, will tell you where they are going to hide on their way, and/or come out giggling just as Sean finishes counting. They did figure out a good hiding place in the sink cabinet in their bathroom. Liam calls this the "bathroom box" and loves to sit in there now. Unfortunately, he peed inside there this morning. Not funny. What is hilarious, though, is that while looking for Sean one night, Liam actually lifted the guest bathroom toilet seat to see if he was hiding in the toilet. I laughed for quite some time, and Sean joined in after the boys found him in the shower.

Liam and Graeme were playing with their Mega blocks a few weeks ago, and Liam pulled out one of the two eyeballs in the set. The eyeballs are included so kids can make animals, monsters, etc. out of the blocks. Liam stuck the eyeball on top of a tall tower and said, "I'm the eyeball master, and Graeme is a pair of pale green pants". Now that is an interesting statement. We've been reading a collection of Dr. Seuss stories which includes a story called "What Was I Scared Of?", in which a pair of pale green pants is a character. I had never heard of this story until we were given the story collection, but I can say it's definitely different and one of my favorites now. Obviously it made an impression on Liam. Liam has continued his use of "master" also. G and L received a game called Pop-Up Pirate for their birthday, in which each player sticks plastic swords into a barrel containing a pirate. One sword will trigger the pirate to pop out of the barrel, and the sword slot changes with every game. The first day we played the game (many, many times), Liam won the vast majority of the games. After noting that he was the one winning almost all the time, Liam correctly named himself the "pirate master".

Birthday post coming in a few days - I'm busy going through my house to organize and see what I can give away before the move, planning what I'm packing for our long trip, and filing insurance claims. Yay! Random aside: I'm feeling the baby move now. Non-sarcastic yay!

Hong Kong Phooey

No, we didn't see HK Phooey on our trip (especially since he's a Hanna-Barbera character), but we did see Goofy and Chip 'n' Dale in the Hong Kong Disney Hollywood Hotel lobby. Liam grabbed my leg tightly and held on while I walked as fast as I could past them. He continues his fear of adults wearing costumes with masks which cover their heads. Therefore, we didn't seek out Mickey or any other characters when we went to the actual theme park the next day.

More on Disney later. I'll start from the beginning of our trip. We arrived in Hong Kong around lunchtime on a Thursday after the three and a half hour plane trip (the boys were mostly good), and the first thing I noticed was the fog. Then Sean corrected me - it was smog, not fog. He had warned me about the pollution, but I really had no concept until I saw it for myself. Sean also said that it has been much worse than it was the day we landed, so I am so relieved that we didn't move there. I think the boys would have asthma by now, especially since Sean has a history of exercise-induced asthma. I appreciate the cleanliness and greenery of Singapore even more after this trip.

We didn't make it to the hotel in the Causeway Bay area until almost 2 pm, and the boys were over-tired, so they wouldn't nap. While checking in, we discovered than the "adjoining rooms" did not have a shared door between them. They were just next to each other instead. One room had a double bed, and the other had two twin beds and a love seat-sized futon which folded out flat on the floor. Sean took one for the team and said he would stay in the twin room with the boys, so I got the other room to myself. We hung out in the boys' room for an hour, then walked across the street to a mall with tons of high-end stores, and maybe two stores for kids. I've been spoiled by the malls in Singapore - many have a floor devoted to kids' stores and several coin-operated rides. We ended up going up and down the elevator and escalators for a few minutes, then decided to go to Pizza Hut in our hotel for an early dinner since we were all wiped out. Sean had warned me that most pizza in HK is made with thousand island dressing (!!!) instead of tomato sauce, so we made sure to order a tomato sauce base on our pizza.

Despite being exhausted, Graeme and Liam ate fairly well - it was pizza, after all - and we returned to the room for bathtime. After reading to the boys, I went back to "my" room and took a long, warm shower. I really enjoyed this because it's something I can't do in Singapore. The water heaters here are tiny and for each individual bathroom, so we're always doing Navy showers where you turn on the water to get wet, turn it off to shampoo, turn it on to rinse, off to soap the body, on to rinse, etc. I must say that even though I make an effort to lessen my impact on the environment, I will be taking some long showers when we visit the U.S. in three weeks.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, choosing the "western" option. We then took a taxi to Sean's office. Several ladies on his team have been wanting to meet the boys (and maybe me too) , so we hung out in Sean's office and let everyone come to us. The boys had fun playing with Daddy's phone by pretending to make calls to their grandparents, trying to erase notes on the dry-erase board, going through files, typing on Daddy's laptop, and playing with the toys Sean's generous coworkers gave them for Easter. See the cute pics below of the boys on those phone calls. It was nice to see where Sean works and put faces with the names of his great HK team. One of his coworkers said Graeme was like Sean because G talks a lot. She is very perceptive. I must admit, though, that I think Graeme's loquaciousness is due to both Rometo genes and DeCastro genes, so his mouth is not just from Sean. He did get that red hair from my Dad's sister Melinda, after all - love you Aunt M!

Nana, are you there?

Hi Grandma, I'm working!

After the office visit, we took another taxi down to the harborfront area of Kowloon. We decided to ride the ferry across to HK island once we saw that the ride was only seven minutes long. The ferry terminal was next to the cruise ship terminal, and the boys enjoyed checking out the huge white ship docked there. Graeme and Liam loved the ferry ride. Once we reached the other side, we watched boats in the busy harbor from the ferry terminal viewing deck. We also discovered that HK has at least one Subway sandwich place, located in the ferry terminal building of all places, so we bought sandwiches to take back to the hotel to eat since we were all getting tired. The boys napped, but not for as long I hoped. Despite some initial grumpiness, we decided to continue with our plan to visit Ocean Park on the south side of HK island.

Posing with the tallest building in HK being built in the background

Ocean Park was a bit strange to me. I'm used to the amusement parks and theme parks of the U.S. (huge and generally well-run, with usually exciting rides and lots to do), and the world-class zoo and bird park of Singapore. From Ocean Park's website, it appeared to be an amusement park with animal exhibits, including pandas on loan from mainland China and several marine exhibits. Well, the rides were kind of like those of Six Flags in the late '70s/early '80s when all it had was the Scream Machine, the mine train, and a bunch of carnival games. There was construction going on for new exhibits, but all in all, the overall impression to me was kind of shabby except for the nice panda area. Luckily, since the boys were only almost three, they really didn't need anything fancier than the panda exhibit, the kids' playground, the carousel, the aquarium, and some fun carnival games. There were other rides, but they weren't age-appropriate. L and G especially enjoyed the remote control boats, the remote control cars, and the water gun games in which they shot pirates or put out fires. I think they could have played these games all afternoon if we let them. We finished up our visit with a McDonald's dinner and a unique cable car ride over a mountain to get back to the entrance. There was a thankfully brief moment when the ride stopped because of wind while we were dangling high above the rocks next to the water. Sean and I weren't too pleased until the ride started again, but the boys were unfazed. Ah, to be young and unafraid, except of pictures of toothy sharks in your new pop-up book.

Hosing down the pirates

Graeme and Daddy on the cable car

Liam gives us a big smile

We took a taxi back to our original hotel to get our bags, and then took another taxi to the Disney Hollywood Hotel. I welcomed the whole Disney experience after staying in the crowded, huge, city of skyscrapers on the main island - what can I say, I'm a child of the 'burbs. Two bellhops practiced tripped over themselves to help us get all of our stuff out of the tiny taxi. There is certainly something to be said for Disney service. You pay for it, but sometimes it's worth it.

We checked out our room, had our luggage delivered, and set out for the hotel parking lot. The front desk person said the fireworks from the theme park are visible from the parking lot, so we decided to check out the show since the boys were already awake. At 8 pm on the dot, the fireworks started. G and L were initially afraid of the loud noise, but then they got used to it and simply loved watching the fireworks. The boys were clapping, laughing, and smiling huge smiles. It was a true pleasure to watch them. They had never seen fireworks before since they usually go to bed around 7 or 7:30 pm. Liam talked about fireworks for several days after our return to Singapore.

Our room had two double beds, so Sean and I each took one and slept with one child. We alternated kids the next night so both boys could sleep with each of us once. Liam slept with me first. No one fell asleep until after 9 pm. Perhaps he was still keyed up because of the fireworks, but Liam tossed and turned all night, though he usually sleeps heavily. We both woke up needing a lot more rest than we got, but we survived. The park didn't open until 10:30 that morning, and knowing the boys would need an early nap, we decided to eat breakfast, and then just hang out at the hotel until after the nap. We explored the grounds, played on a playground, chased butterflies, posed for pictures with a cool vintage car, and walked along the waterfront to the other Disney hotel. There we had fun running through the courtyard maze and looking at a cool garden-themed mural with several Disney characters. Lunch was next, and then the nap.

Though they had been behind in sleep for a couple of days, the boys only napped for an hour. We took a shuttle bus to the theme park hoping for good behavior despite tired eyes. After walking through the entrance, we saw a vintage UPS package car (UPS is a park sponsor) and Sean took a couple of pictures of the boys driving it. It was snack time, so we bought Mickey Mouse-shaped ice cream bars for everyone, and we gobbled them up. We decided to head to Tomorrowland first, and there we got in line for the Orbitron. This a ride like Dumbo but with space ships instead of elephants. We rode in one car with Graeme at the controls in the front seat with Sean, and me and Liam in the back seat. The boys loved this ride. Graeme left us up high in the air instead of moving the ship up and down. Neither Sean nor I were surprised. Next we decided to get in line for the Buzz Lightyear ride. On this ride, each person gets their own hand-held gun to shoot at targets while moving along the track in a "space ship" car. G and L loved this one too, and Mommy and Daddy had some old-fashioned video game fun. There was a drive-your-own car ride in Tomorrowland also, but the line was 45 minutes long, so we decided to skip that as well as Space Mountain.

Mickey surfs in a fountain outside the park entrance

The boys drive Mommy in the UPS package car

Next we headed to Fantasyland. The boys were getting slightly grumpy by this point. Sean wanted to take them on the teacups, so I told him I would take some pictures and video while they rode. Sean says G & L were quite put-out at having to wait (though no line we waited in was longer than 20 minutes), but then they had a great time on the ride. They were screaming and laughing the whole time. We checked out Small World next, and waited less than ten minutes to board our boat. The boys stared at the singing, dancing animated children and seemed to enjoy it, though not as much as the teacups. I think they were excited to ride in a boat and didn't really care what they were seeing. After a quick carousel ride, we walked over to check out the Jungle Cruise line, but found it to be too long to wait in with two hungry kids. We decided to go back to Fantasyland, grab a bite to eat, and ride the Winnie-the-Pooh ride before heading home. At this point, G & L were very grumpy, so we took the shuttle back to the hotel, gave them a quick shower, and hit the sheets. Liam asked to see the fireworks again before falling asleep, but mean Mommy said that he needed to sleep since we had to wake up early Sunday to catch our flight back to Singapore. He actually accepted the "no" fairly well, and we fell asleep shortly thereafter.

Teacups!

Two tired boys posing with Mickey's statue before we left the hotel on Sunday

The next morning we woke up just after six am, ate a small breakfast, and took a taxi to the airport. The boys played in a children's play area in the terminal before we boarded the flight. The flight was not as pleasant as the flight up to HK, and there were a couple of tantrums, but that was to be expected since the boys (and we) were worn out. It was good practice for the loooonnng flight to the U.S. that we'll be taking on May 15th. We arrived at the house, ate a small lunch, played a bit, ate a small dinner, and went to bed early.

So there you have it - our trip to HK was definitely exciting and fun, though quite tiring for pregnant me, usually tired Sean, and two small boys off their schedule. We're glad we went, as this is the last trip we'll take by ourselves as a family of four.

Next I'll write about L & G's birthday party, and then I'll be taking another break until we arrive in the U.S. on May 16th. We're moving locally about a mile down the street, and the movers come to pack us on May 11th. The physical move won't take place until May 26th after Sean has returned to Singapore, while the boys and I are in Texas. I'll be spending the next two weeks getting rid of stuff before the move and packing for our trip. We'll send out new Singapore address information soon.

Eye of Newt

So, the main reason I haven't blogged in forever is because I'm pregnant. I know, I know, not much of an excuse, so I'll explain. Essentially, when the boys nap , I try to nap or at least lie down. I also try to go to sleep early at night, because every night since I've gotten pregnant, I've woken up at least twice during the night or early morning. I'm either needing to use the bathroom, drink, or eat. It's similar to my twin pregnancy, but the symptoms are not quite as severe. I've been nauseous since the sixth week, and this unfortunately continues now in my 17th week. Luckily I haven't actually vomited like with the twins, but I've come close a few times. Between the exhaustion from not sleeping well and feeling gross pretty much all the time, I haven't been up to writing. Plus, my writing time was usually during nap time in the past.

Anyway, I'm back for a few entries. We had an active March and April (so far), and May promises to be very exciting as we prepare for our first trip back to the U.S. in 18 months. We leave Singapore on May 15, and the boys and I will be in the states for 7 weeks. Sean will have to return to Singapore and Hong Kong for a few weeks, but then he'll come back to the U.S. June 20 and stay until we leave on July 10. Family, friends, Target, Chick-fil-a, just about any half-way decent Tex-mex or Mexican restaurant (even Taco Bell, dare I say), and malls with reasonably-priced shoes and clothing, here we come!!! I can't wait to actually hug family members, park in huge parking lots with tons of room between the spaces, use a drive-through ATM, and watch the boys run and play in large backyards. We're going to have a blast once we get over the jet lag.

Back to the pregnancy: I'm due October 5, and I've had a few ultrasounds so far. The OB/GYNs here in Singapore do ultrasounds themselves at almost every appointment. We know that there's only one baby, the baby's growth is fine, and the baby is probably a boy based on the ultrasound I had Monday. We should know more at the next visit on May 13, which is a high-powered ultrasound to look at the baby's development.

Why the title? A good friend of ours suggested (in jest, at least I hope) that the name Newt would work for a boy or a girl. I told him that we would call the baby Newt until birth since we were looking for an in-utero nickname. After birth, forget it.

Entries on our trip to Hong Kong and the boys' third birthday party to follow, I promise.

Crazy, But That's How it Goes

Yesterday Liam displayed his lovable strangeness. All day long, he called everyone honey, except he pronounced it "hun-ee" in his little sweet voice. "No, hun-ee, we're going to draw now, not read", he said to Graeme at one point. "Please get the markers for me, hun-ee", he said to me.

After his shower in the morning, Liam was wearing his hooded towel when Graeme spotted a piece of lint on Liam's face. Liam did not know it was there, because when Graeme pointed to his face and asked him, "What's that?", Liam removed the towel, touched the top of his head, and said in a serious voice, "It's a head, Graeme, a head". Not "my head"; "a head". I couldn't keep myself from laughing out loud.

That incident was nothing compared to his pre-nap time shenanigans. While trying not to fall asleep, Liam got up on all fours with his butt facing me, and slapped his butt like a rap video vixen while looking at me with a smile. He then sat on his usually beloved stuffed dog Snug and said, "Poot, poot!" which needs no explanation regarding his meaning. Immediately thereafter, Liam laid on top of Snug, said "Bagel, bagel!", and then grabbed Snug's paw and made Snug tap out. He then laughed, laid back on his pillow while hugging Snug, and decided to calm down. I closed my wide-open mouth and left the room before cracking up.

As if that wasn't enough, the incident that made me really laugh occurred after nap time. We were downstairs in the basement, and I forgot to bring the toddler potty seat down with us. When Liam had to go to the bathroom, I put the stool in front of the potty and told him to climb on. He has been climbing onto the regular toilet seat by himself for a few weeks if the toddler potty seat is not around, so I expected no problems this time. Even though he looked directly at the toilet before climbing up, he got up on the stool, turned around, and sat down as though the toddler seat was on. Meaning, he fell in. His lower legs, arms, and head were sticking out, and he started flailing around and crying. I picked him up and hugged him, noticed that his butt was wet from toilet water, and then burst out laughing, loudly. I just couldn't control myself. Liam finally recovered and began laughing too. After he peed without falling in, he returned to the playroom and had a tea party with his rubber dinosaurs and stuffed pink elephant.

The final funny of the day was actually said by Graeme, but he was responding to my scolding of Liam, so it counts as a goofy moment involving Liam. After the tea party, Liam decided to throw plastic food across the playroom, and I told him to shape up or he'd get a long time-out. Graeme poked his head out of the cool egg chair from Ikea where he was hiding, and said, "Hey, my brother's being bad!", as though I hadn't noticed. I think he was trying to point out that the offender was Liam without any involvement from Graeme at all.

I was waiting for something else to happen at dinner or thereafter, but I guess the craziness died down after 5 pm. I'm glad I made notes of these incidents so I could remember everything. I think I'll start carrying around a tiny notebook or Post-its, just in case. I'm sure the boys will enjoy reading about themselves when they're older - ha! In the meantime, the rest of us can have a few laughs.

Breakfast food

Years ago a coworker with a 2 year-old boy warned me about the comedy that is life with toddlers. She mentioned that her son could be difficult, but that mostly he was funny. She said she just couldn't believe the hilarious stuff that came out of his mouth sometimes. My favorite story was about how he once stood at the top of the stairs, looked down at his father over his shoulder, mooned him, and said, "Daddy! Look at my hiney!". I laughed for quite some time at that one, and thought about how some day I would have a comedienne of my own. Little did I know that I'd get two...

Graeme and Liam have been tackling and wrestling each other a lot lately. They're definitely all boy, and I'm not even talking about their enormous appetites (almost-three growth spurt?). A couple of weeks ago one of them was lying on top of the other one, both facing the floor, when Graeme yelled, "Bagel!". Liam promptly responded with "Bagel!". I figured it was just an isolated bizarre moment, but I was wrong. Ever since then, whenever one of them ends up on top of the other, they say bagel while grinning. And when Graeme is hopping on pop, he yells bagel too. Sometimes the bageling is unwanted, so we taught them to tap out when one has had enough. They say, "tap, tap", and hit whatever surface they're on like little wrestlers. Unbelievably, the other brother acknowledges the taps and gets up.

I've asked them several times, "Why bagel?", but they don't understand the meaning of "why", so it's a pointless question. The only thing I can come up with to explain this is maybe they have observed me remove a frozen bagel from the package, and saw that the pre-sliced bagels we buy have a top and a bottom. They usually see only halves of bagels on their plates. Who knows the true reason for bagel - not me. Maybe they can explain as they get older.

The funniest use of bagel was while were watching the Super Bowl, and Graeme used bageling to mean tackling. Too bad I only heard about it later from Sean instead of hearing it first-hand. They even recognize the bagel technique when they see it. I showed them the picture below of themselves, and they immediately said, "Bagel!".




We do a good bit of webcamming with the grandparents, and Graeme decided to show his Micrograeme colors with Grandma Arlene. He needed to go use the bathroom, and on his way out, he told her to pause until he returned. He literally meant for her to stop talking and freeze, just like pausing a video, which we sometimes do if one of them needs to leave the room. Arlene played along and froze, then resumed talking once Graeme was out of earshot. I warned her as he was returning, and she froze patiently until Graeme told her she could talk again. Definitely a micro moment.

About a year ago, we tried out a new indoor play place called Fidgets. Liam and Graeme weren't two yet, and they were too small and uncoordinated for the large "big kids" play area, but too big for the toddler area. We decided to try again when it rained recently, and the G & L had a great time. They are able to do everything in the huge big kids area. They loved the super slide, which is a side-by-side steep slide that gets them going really fast. They also enjoyed climbing inside a bubble-shaped area with a steering wheel which Graeme deemed the helicopter. Here's a few pics of the fun:

Graeme inside the helicopter

Liam loves the super slide

Finally, both Liam and Graeme are pushing my limits and almost constantly testing, testing, testing. These incidents result in several time outs during some days. On the way to the time out area recently, Graeme mumbled, "I'm terrific", as though he was trying to convince himself it was true. The children yell this at the end of My Gym class, and I'd never heard him say it outside of class. It was amusing but a little heartbreaking too. My little guy is funny, and he is terrific, even when he's being a bad leprechaun.

For Uncle J

A few weeks ago, friend remarked to Sean about the conspicuous lack of posting here at Twins, Lah? I believe his words were something along the lines of, "It's not a blog unless you actually write". Well, he's correct, so here goes.

What is my excuse for not writing for over two months? First I had to complete my continuing education required for my pharmacist license renewal. This took longer than I anticipated, and by the time I was done in the beginning of December, my mom was about to arrive for a two and a half week visit. Just before my mom got here, my maid did something stupid while we were out of the house and lied three times about it, causing me to no longer trust her. I let her go, and then my mom got here, followed shortly thereafter by my stepdad. We stayed very busy running around Singapore and doing the Christmas thing, while I was looking for a new maid. I found one, but she couldn't start until the 31st, one day before our guests left. A few days before that, I started injecting powerful hormonal medicines for IVF which made me feel like I had PMS times 10 (yes, we're trying for a third, and last, child). Alas, I was not a very nice person when provoked, but I did try to be decent.

By the end of December, I had super-PMS, several blood draws and ultrasound appointments, a new maid to train, and two crazy toddlers who had not been sleeping well due to the excitement of grandparents visiting as well as all of the fun and spoils of Christmas. I had egg retrieval on January 9th, which is minor outpatient surgery, followed by embryo transfer on the 12th (one transferred, three frozen - I've already got one set of twins, thanks). I'm now on different hormonal meds, and I don't feel quite as bad as before, though still not great. We then had friends visit from January 13th through the 16th.

Oh yeah, in the midst of all of this, I became a Twilight fan. The movie was opening here the middle of December, so I decided I wanted to start reading to see what all the fuss was about. It turns out the books are not great literature by any means, and are targeted toward teenage girls, but I became hooked on the story. I had to know what happened, so I read all four books, plus the author's excerpt of the first book written from the vampire's point of view, and then saw the movie. So yes, I have to admit, I could have blogged instead of reading/watching/lurking on fan websites and IMDB, but I do think that my strange Twilight "distraction" has helped me with the stress of the past month.

Okay, enough about me. I know you're really here for news about the boys. Graeme and Liam continue to be an amazing mixture of hilarity, energy, strength, impatience, whininess (okay, that's not amazing nor wonderful), intelligence, and cuteness. Most of time they're great, but when they're tired, they will whine and occasionally pitch fits that will make me think they'll sprout horns any second. Sounds like 2 & 3/4-year-old kids, right? Yes, they will be three in three months! It's hard for me to believe.

I'll finish for now with a few anecdotes and mispronunciations:

I read a Batman story to the boys a few weeks ago, and soon thereafter, Liam would spontaneously say, "I'm Datman!". Sean and I found this particularly hilarious because the moving company we used in Singapore, KC Dat, has a handyman division called Datman. We've used a Datman handyman twice to hang artwork because the concrete walls in our home are a bit resistant to nails and screws. Whenever Liam says that he's Datman, we both think that he needs to pull out his huge drill-powerful-enough-for-concrete and start hangin'.

The boys are sometimes allowed to watch a video when they have been behaving well. Liam calls the DVDs "dideos", which always brings a smile to my face. His cute little voice just gets to me - "I get to watch the space shuttle dideo!", or "I want to watch the Huckle and Lowly dideo today!" They are big Richard Scarry fans now, just like I was when I was little. They have many of his books, and I somehow managed to find six videos of his material here at the local Toys R Us, and for a reasonable price for once. These are among their favorite Christmas gifts.

And now, the best. A couple of nights ago during bath time, Graeme looked at me and said, "I'm big, and you're fat!". Now, I was feeling bloated from the medicines I've been on, but I really didn't think I was that big. Somehow I kept a straight face and told him that it wasn't nice to call people fat, even if they were. I figured it's never too early to try to prevent the embarrassing comments that my kids will likely yell when we're trapped in the grocery store checkout line in the future ("Look at that huge fat lady, mommy!", or some such). Sean was present for the comment, and he managed to not laugh too, though he did crack a smile which Graeme could not see. Is there an explanation for the comment, you ask? I have been telling the boys that they are becoming big boys, so I know where the first part came from. As for the second part, I'm hoping that Graeme overheard me telling Sean that I feel fat from all the meds. Otherwise, he would be a bad little leprechaun, wouldn't he?

Happy Birthday to Mommy

For those that know, today is Tiffany's XX birthday. I won't tell what the XX is for, but it is a milestone less than 40... We love her more every year any way. We have to because we get harder to put up with.

The boys and I composed this musical tribute to what a wonderful wife and mommy we have. Take a listen and then I will share the caveats.

Okay this was harder than it looks and I know it looks rough. One thing is for certain. The boys could use a better vocal coach and video editor. Note the following:

1. Catching them right after a nap may not have been ideal.

2. There was some coercion involving watching videos afterward involved.

3. Yes, I should have combed their hair. And changed their shirts.

4. Less than three-year-olds are not the most cooperative vocalists.

5. Did you hear Graeme wander off and start singing to the "air con"? That's what they call air conditioning over here.

6. The "pfffff" at the end is the boys attempting to blow out candles. They don't quite get it yet. They are convinced we have friends coming over for cake tonight.

7. I am not a professional video editor and I had exactly the length of "The Big Plane Trip" DVD run time to complete this project.