Like a Fine Wine..

Hopefully I am getting better with age.

Saturday was my birthday and I had a wonderful day full of surprises. Saturday morning I heard a knock on the door and found my parents standing on the other side and offering their free babysitting services. That night Raif took me out to a hip new restaurant in East Nashville called Alium, then out to Sambuca for drinks with friends. Finally he surprised me by renting a room in this new trendy downtown hotel, Hotel Indigo. We got an adult night to ourselves and got to sleep in together - something that hasn't happened in forever. He is a pretty good husband so I suppose I will keep him - at least for another year. Thanks Raif - I love you!!

Old People are Funny

The whole family went out to lunch today and as we were leaving there was this big Cadillac with this ancient man at the wheel driving across the parking lot about to hit us. Raif slammed on the brakes and hit the horn. The man stopped and turned to look at us and first put up his pointer finger, then two fingers and finally three fingers and kept looking increasingly annoyed as he went. It took me a moment to figure out that he was trying to flick us off but either couldn't remember which finger or couldn't get his middle finger up. Silly old people.

Greatest Show on Earth

Sunday we took Greyson and Quinn to their first circus. I was a bit nervous about it and so we bought cheap tickets. Considering the kids' reactions to Santa Claus and pretty much anyone in a costume I was worried the clowns might freak them out.

When we got there I was beginning to think my fears were going to be realized. The pre-show was going on where kids could walk around the circus floor. There were clowns and performers mingling around. Greyson was terrified and wanted to leave. Quinn didn't cry but was clinging to my neck for dear life. We managed to get them to put on some of the costumes but that was about it then it was back to the seats.

I think it was a good idea to get the cheap tickets because they were far away. Our seats were far enough back that they weren't scared of the clowns and they actually really enjoyed the show. When the clowns came out Greyson would say that he didn't like the clowns but wasn't scared and didn't cry. Both of them sat on the edge of their seats the whole time and loved the elephants, lions and the motorcycles. Greyson even cried when the circus was over so I think the outing was a success. Here are some pictures from the day. You can see the rest of them on Raif's smug-mug site:

http://sailrace.smugmug.com/gallery/7197677_HBEjR#P-1-16

Busy Day...

This conversation happened after Quinn's nap today..

Me: Quinn how as your nap?
Quinn: Busy.
Me: What made your nap so busy today?
Quinn: I pooped.

Give me an "O"

OK, so anyone who knows me knows that I was 'slightly' excited at Obama's election. So on Tuesday I suspended my TV watching rule and Quinn and I spent the morning watching the inauguration. OK, in reality I watched the TV and Quinn pestered me to play with her, but we are splitting hairs here!! She does know who Barack Obama is and told me every time he came on TV. She wanted to know what he was going to buy at the mall (as the announcers were talking about how crowded it was). She also clapped at his swearing in - though that may have been slightly prompted by me. The highlight of the morning though, was as I made her sit and listen to Yo-Yo-Ma's musical interlude she turned to me and said that she liked Jingle Bells better. (sigh). But here is a picture of Quinn watching history in the making....

All In The Family

We had a busy week last week. Raif's parents were in town for the week and then Raif's sister and her family came in for MLK weekend. Erims Galore!! Greyson and Quinn had a wonderful time with their Nini and Dede and their aunt, uncle and cousins. Here are some pics from their stay.

Goose or Maverick???