Should I be worried?

Here I am, downstairs at the computer, and both boys are upstairs... and oddly enough, I trust them. Should I be worried? I will have to periodically check on them, but they love playing with each other, running in circles, chasing each other. Then they will go up to their bedroom and Jack will climb in and out of the cribs, throwing out blankets, stuffed animals, etc., while Dex throws them back into the cribs, and they'll jump up and down on the spare mattress that we keep on the floor.

It's Tuesday and it's snowing - AGAIN. After last week's snowstorm (at least two feet of snow) I've seen more than enough snow to last me this winter. We're semi-housebound for the day, but it isn't too bad being at home because we had a playdate this morning with Rachel and her boys, Edward and Alex. I talked to her about life and raising a family in the UK, and how she's adjusting to life in the States. Interesting.

So we had a nice long weekend together... it started rough because last Thursday Javier got a flat tire on 78W Express on his way home from work, and I was concerned about his safety. Fortunately the first tow company I called gave me the number for the Rte 78 State Police, so there was at least a police officer making sure he was safe. Extra scary because there's no real shoulder on the road with all the snow we've had and people drive like maniacs on that road.

Friday, while Javier's car was getting repaired, we went to Liberty Science Center - after the hoopla to get in (waiting in line behind a field trip for the security screening, buying tickets from a woefully understaffed ticket counter...) - we had lunch first. Cafeteria was surprisingly good, and for some reason I still get a kick out of the boys eating independently - Jack had a turkey burger and Declan a grilled cheese. Then we went to a kiddie section (up to age 5) and the boys could have stayed there all day. Declan was OBSESSED with the music mallets and refused to put them down for anything. It was amusing, but scary, because neither Javier nor I was looking forward to having to take them away from him. Fortunately, probably after close to an hour playing with these mallets, Declan was lured to a rice table, where there was gallons of rice to pour and scoop and play with. Jack liked the rice too, but he was also very into the ball-contraption thingys. The ball goes up due to some force of energy instigated by the child, and then goes down a series of slides back to the ball pit. Good stuff.

The rest of the museum had activities and learning centers geared toward older kids, but it was a wonderful open space for the boys to run around and push lots of buttons. The highlight was a giant nose that gave an enormous sneeze as you walked by and shot out a puff of air - but it was sudden and forceful, so very surprising. It scared the heck out of Jack - so much that he started crying and wouldn't go near it, even if Javier was carrying him. And for days afterwards, Jack keeps telling me that big sneezes are scary. We were worried about nightmares, but alas, we seem to be OK. (Jack is in the habit of waking up once a night, calling for me, and then being reassured and goes back to sleep. He usually goes right back to sleep. I, however, am up for awhile. Sigh.)

Saturday I had to look at rugs at Home Depot. While Declan slept in the car, Jack and I went into the store. Pretty uneventful except when Jack spilled his water all over the floor. Then since Declan was still sleeping we decided to go to a new mall - we went to Bridgewater Commons for the first time - and we went for a very nice lunch at McCormick and Schmick's seafood restaurant. We let the boys run around for awhile after that, but they were both running in different directions and not listening so well (who could blame them, I guess...) so we probably only lasted another hour after lunch. Then we took them to Border's Bookstore, where they again ran around like maniacs. It was very hard to convince them that they could not open the toys on the shelves.

Sunday morning, I took Jack to Nate's birthday party, with another stop at Home Depot on the way there to return the rug samples. The party was at My Gym, and it was a great chance for Jack to run around and get some exercise with his friends, while I got to chat with my own friends. It's so funny that these kids, who have known each other since they were 7 months old, are now so independent. Jack participated in all of the instructor-led activities with little guidance from me, and when it was time for lunch, Jack found his own spot at the lunch table and dug into his pizza and juice box without much help from me. Good stuff!! Sunday afternoon I was zonked so while Javier went to the gym and to church, Jack went outside to play in the snow with Sophie MacMillan and Declan and I hung out inside. Declan is not a big fan of the snow just yet - maybe next year!

Monday (yesterday) was Presidents' Day and our 3rd anniversary. We spent the morning organizing the house and Javier was pulling together all the necessary documentation for refinancing the house and for our tax appointment this Friday. Then we brought the boys down to Mom and Dad's and the best part of my weekend - Javier and I took the rest of the day for ourselves. We went to The Frog and The Peach for lunch - we had a fantastic lunch of beet salad, oysters, fried calamari, striped bass, scallops, and for dessert, pistachio cake and chocolate cake with hot melted chocolate in the middle. Yummm! It was a relaxing two hour lunch - such a wonderful treat! Then we did a few errands, walked around Princeton, and didn't go back to pick up the boys until 7 or so.

Such a good weekend!!