Suncadia, Funcadia!

Devon and I had the opportunity to take the kids on a little getaway last week.  We spent two nights at the Suncadia Resort, which is only an hour's drive east of our home. 

Our vacations are most often spent visiting family, so it felt very different to head to a destination where we would just spend time with, well, just us!  Rantz, party of 5!  We had such a great time- the quick trip was everything that we'd hoped it would be and more- a change of scenery, relaxation, family bonding, laughter, snow, swim...  We  collectively give it ten thumbs-up. :)

Other than hanging out in our lovely one-bedroom suite, or running loudly down the long hallway between our room and the elevator (specifically Max and Lucy, and sometimes Joe too, while Devon and I followed at a rapid pace and shushed them),  we went innertubing...

and we also took full advantage of the swimming facilities, which included a steam room, a sauna, a hot tub, and water slides, but I didn't get any photos of us swimming.  By the way, wearing a swimsuit in February is, um, an unwelcome, shocking, reality check.  Yikes.  So, without pictures, just imagine me in line for the water slides among children who were no taller than my elbow.  I felt a little silly.  Strangly, Devon and I were the only "big kids" riding the slides, and we couldn't ride them together since one of us had to stay behind with Max because he was too short...  and I kept asking Joe to wait for me so that he and I could get in line together, but I'm pretty sure that he purposely ditched me, consistently. 

We went out for pizza that night, and Max fell asleep in the restaurant before 6pm.  We win- we wore him out!!

But as I carried my big, sleeping baby down the very long hall between the elevator and our hotel room, he wet his pants and peed all over me.  So, he wins.

But the other two babies stayed awake through dinner and even through cookies and milk before bed.

 Here are a few other pics I like-

He brings home the bacon and fries it up in a pan!

There is something so exciting about staying in a hotel :)

 It is worth noting that the short rides in the shuttle bus just might have been the most exciting part of the adventure for Max and Lucy.

 Someday we'll go on a romantic getaway, just the two of us!  Probably not any time soon, but someday!!

  

Misunderstood

I thought I understood boys.  I really did.  I thought that perhaps my brothers had taught me what I needed to know about superheroes and sports and rough-housing and yelling and growling and any other foreign concept that I could categorize as "boy".  But then I became a mom.

You all know Max, right?  My little, baby, Lover Boy who stole my heart the moment he was born and has tortured me with it ever since?  Yes, him. 

Homeboy is a handful.  He runs circles around me from the moment he wakes up every morning until he finally gives in to sleep every night.  Like, literally, I stand in place and he runs in circles around my legs.  I consider it a success if he takes a nap, because I get a small break from him, but it is equally a success if I can keep him awake all afternoon so that his bedtime is earlier.  And do you know how he falls asleep?  He holds handfuls of my hair.  Forget a "lovey" or a special blanket or anything else that I could easily hand to him and walk away; he soothes himself with my hair.  And once he is asleep, I have approximately 2.5 hours until he rolls over in his bed and starts reaching for hair and begins his sleepwalk to come find me.  All through the night his hands are tangled up in my hair, pulling it, brushing it into my face, drooling on it.  And finally when morning breaks and my head is free of hands, the running circles begins again. 

He is my shadow- my louder, faster, more rambunctious shadow.  He has become my assistant in the kitchen, and last week he asked if he could break the egg.  Sure, why not!  He simply dropped the egg into the bowl without cracking it and he was so proud of his efforts.  So proud, in fact, that it felt to me like a Kodak moment and Max wholeheartedly agreed. Silly boy.  I cracked the egg and let him poke his thumbs through the shell and break it apart, which he thought was the coolest thing ever.

He smells so good- just like a baby.  I wonder if he really does smell good or if I'm completely fooled by motherly love.  Whenever I get the opportunity, I bury my nose in his soft little neck and sniff the heck out of him.  Is that weird?  The opportunity doesn't present itself often- even a mama's boy doesn't sit still for mama for too long.

"Wook, mom!  We match!"

And he is so rough and aggressive.  His limbs flail, and I am often the one who catches the rogue heel in the cheekbone or the elbow to the head.  Last week he head-butted me in public, and it wasn't accidental.  That's a story for another time, but it wasn't a good day.

Oh, that boy of mine.  During a particularly difficult bedtime routine, as I was dodging flying limbs and arguing that the Spiderman pajamas and the Lightning McQueen pajamas are equally awesome so please just choose! and wrestling him through brushing his teeth, he said through tears, "I don't want to go to bed! You just don't understand, mom!"  except that it was more like "You jus' don' unda'sand, mom!"  I paused our battle to giggle a litte- so funny to hear such a dramatic statement come from Bubs- but then I assured him that I do understand (though perhaps I really don't) and that I love him so much (I certainly do) and that if he doesn't go to sleep as fast as humanly possible, I just might lose my mind (it happens often).

I enjoyed reading a web article titled "Raising Boys: A dad's parenting advice for moms" and one of the author's points is that bedtime is sacred, and I had to smile when I read  "If you don’t believe in God, you will (believe) once you have lain next to your overactive son while his body goes limp next to you, and he ever so faintly begins to snore."  Yes, when my son sleeps, it is truly an act of God.

Sweet dreams, Maxy.  :)

Playing House

When I was little, my favorite thing to play was "house".  My girlfriends and I would make up scenarios, like we were neighbors or sisters, and our husbands were in the army or on tour with a band, thus explaining why we had children but no husbands.  And I was big into dolls- Cabbage Patch, and remember My Child dolls?  One year for Christmas my cousin Sonia and I each got baby boy My Child dolls, and we named them Michael Andrew and Andrew Michael.  And as I remember it, while playing house I would want my name to be Amy Grant, or Debbie Gibson, or Tina, my mom's cool friend who drove a Cabriolet and listened to the Footloose soundtrack.  Good times.

Max and Lucy have started playing house together.  There is usually a doll involved, and their house is the tent in our living room.  Lucy is the mom and- this is the part I love- Max is Joe.  Lucy pretends to read books to "Joe", and he calls her "mom", and occasionally she bosses him around and says all-too-familiar stuff like, "You can't play until you've done your homework, Joe!" or "Now, have a good attitude, Joe!".  This morning Lucy asked Max, "Why do you always want your name to be Joe?  You should pick a cool name like-"  I wish Max would have let her finish the sentence, because I am curious about what she considers to be a cool name, but Max jumped right in and said, "No!  I am Joe!  Joe is cool!"

I know that both Lucy and Max look up to Joe, but there is something extra special about watching Max actively pretend to be Joe.  It is pretty darn cute.  And, to be fair, sometimes Max is Spiderman, but for today I'll just end this story here. :)

This week, this made me laugh:

And this made me smile:

And this made my heart happy:

Lucy loved opening the Valentines from her classmates.

And this made me a little bit sad:

My baby sister turned 21 years old last Sunday and I wasn't there to give her a big birthday hug. :(

21! 21?? Does this mean that I'm not 21 anymore?  (This explains a lot, because I certainly don't feel 21 anymore!)  Happy birthday, Molly!

And little brother Seth turned 28 last week.  28??  Does this mean that I'm not 28 anymore?...

I love you, Sethy!

Skies and Eyes

Four consecutive days of blue sky, folks!  Yes, this is blog-worthy news! It was a little preview of spring, right here in the beginning of February, and it was glorious! 

Today we have our all-too-familiar grey skies and rain, so it is a good thing that we enjoyed the sun while we had it! On a sunny Saturday in Seattle, Greenlake is the place to be.

Lucy's school hosted another Daddy & Me date night, and this time they made Valentine's Day cards.  Lucy was delighted to have some alone time with her main man, and they returned with the best Valentine I've ever received (nope, she didn't save it for next Tuesday).



Did you catch the part about my eyes?  "Swimming in the ocean"?  Love that girl!

America's Unofficial Holiday, The Super Bowl

So, is there anything exciting going on this weekend?

That is, besides my dad's birthday?

Happy Birthday, Dad!  We love you, big time!

It is Super Bowl weekend!! 

Now, football isn't my favorite sport, and to be honest, I really only care to watch the 4th quarter of any football game, because that is the most exciting part, but I can muscle up and show some enthusiasm for good ol' futbol Americano when needed.  See?

Oooooo, look at my little Lover Boy!

Years ago, back when I read magazines like Glamour and Mademoiselle rather than Parent and Good Housekeeping, I came across an article that provided a few football facts that were just interesting enough that a young lady like myself could throw one out in a conversation at, say, a Super Bowl party, and I just might turn a few heads in a she-might-actually-know-a-thing-or-two-about-sports kind of way.  So, I memorized one of the facts, and I've used it time and time again in football conversations.  Ready for it?  Here's what I've got: "It is just crazy that Dan Marino, one of the greatest quarterbacks in American football history, never won a Super Bowl."  And there you have it!

I thought it would be fun to do a little research this evening while I ignore my children as they happily turn our home into a disaster zone.  I'd like to have a bit more to work with than just my Dan Marino fact, since my husband has heard it over and over and is no longer impressed.

I'm going to share my knowledge, so get ready for.... (drumroll, please)

Mama Rantz's Super Bowl 101
(or, at least, the facts that I found interesting)

Super Bowl XLVI (46) will be hosted by the city of Indianapolis. 

The game will be played in the Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.

The New York Giants will take on the New England Patriots.

The stadium has approximately 68,000 seats, and though the face value of the tickets are $800-1,200, Ticketmaster reported the highest ticket price at $16,480, the average ticket price at $4,337, and the cheap seats up in the nosebleeds sold for $2,600.

Four years ago, the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana began preparations for their big hosting gig.  Approximately $160 million dollars was spent making the downtown area suitable for the event.  Quite an investment, right?  Well, $250 million is estimated to be brought to the city by the numerous visitors, fans and media.

There are 13,000 hotel rooms in Indianapolis, and all are booked, some for 1,700% higher than their conventional fees.

We all enjoy the commercials, right?  A 30 second commercial costs $3.5- 4 million, and the commercial slots have been sold out since November.

The Vince Lombardi trophy that is awarded to the winner of the big game is made by Tiffany & Co. and costs $25,000.

The Patriots' 3 Vince Lombardi Trophies

The winning team also receives 150 Super Bowl rings, paid for by the NFL.  Each ring costs $5,000 and they are distributed among the players and staff.

The Giants' '08 Championship ring

Madonna is performing during half time, and she is expected to sing 3 songs.  I was going to list which three songs that I hope she sings, but, nah, I just really don't care.

I remember the good old days when the Super Bowl had really great half time entertainment, like Nsync, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, and Nelly....

Ahhh, that was the best!  Walk! This! Way!

Now, lets talk about the quarterbacks.  Quarterbacks are to a football team as Justin Timberlake was to Nsync.  (And don't tell any legitimate football fan that I just said that.  I fear that it is offensive to the game on many levels.)

This year's Super Bowl teams are led by Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

Tom Brady was born August 3, 1977 in San Mateo, CA. (My dad was also born in San Mateo!)

Eli Manning was born January 3, 1981 in New Orleans.  Eli's dad, Archie Manning, was an NFL quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, and his brother, Peyton Manning is the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.

Tom Brady is married to Gisele Bundchen.  Could they get any more beautiful??  The Bradys were named by Forbe's magazine as the World's Highest Paid Celebrity couple in 2011. With combined annual earnings at $76 million even beating out the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Eli Manning is married to Abby Manning.  I don't know anything about Abby, but she looks like a very nice person.  I think we could be really great friends. :)

Tom Brady led the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in 2001, 2003, and 2004.  If the Patriots win on Sunday, Brady will join Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana in an elite club of quarterbacks with 4 Super Bowl wins.

Eli Manning led the Giants to a 17-14 Super Bowl victory in 2008 against the undefeated Patriots. 

The Patriots are favored to win this time.  Which team gets your cheers?  I always like an underdog, so I'll be eating spinach dip cheering for the Giants.  Go Manning!

Devon has requested the day off, so we will be watching the game at home, surrounded by our favorite snacks.  Where will you be, and what will you be eating??