B-Boy loses and then gains a toy

Over the weekend, Neb packed up some of the toys that B-Boy has outgrown.

Bye-Bye doorway jumper that he adored.

So long bouncer My-Little-Lamb chair that he slept in many nights.

Thanks for Playing, Farm-Themed Exersaucer that B-Boy enjoyed so much...

They were all discovered for far too short. (Hmmm that sounds better when you say far too long...) The farm had lots of toys on top, like a cow, pig, sheep, chickens, and more. I assigned voices to the animals so that I could engage him with the toy another way. The pig was a British pig, the cow was very girly sounding, and the sheep was Canadian. Oh, and the chickens were nice Southern Chickens... which they liked to tell him in a slow southern drawl.

He had not played with them in ages, but when Neb collapsed the Exersaucer and turned it on its side, B-Boy thought that it was the COOLEST.... TOY..... EVER.

So when Neb started to put it in a big bag to take to the garage, B-Boy had a meltdown.  NOOOOoooooooooo Daddyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! He can't actually say that with words, but his screams and cries let us know in no uncertain terms... he did NOT want his farm to be put in a bag, in a place that he could not play with it.

So I cuddled him and explained that sometimes we have to say goodbye to our toys... but that as we get older, we get BETTER toys. And then I told him about his new toy. It is a Fisher Price Drop & Roar Dinosaur. And it is SUPER COOL.

It is a big green plastic dinosaur with four holes that you push balls into. As the balls go in the holes, music plays and lights go off. The balls then travel through the dinosaur. One rolls down the neck, through the head and out the mouth. Another rolls down the back, which has steps and a spinning butterfly. One goes through a door that flips open, and the last one goes through the middle of the body, back and forth, swinging a pendulum until it comes out an opening at the bottom.There are also rubber dinosaurs to grab on top of the toy.

B-Boy decided that it was SUPER COOL... maybe his mom is on to something.

At first, he would just bang the plastic balls together. Then he would push the balls in the holes if I put them in most of the way. Tonight, as Neb played with him, B-Boy put the balls in the holes himself. Hopefully, he will continue to enjoy this new toy... at least until I can find the next one!

My first day away from B-Boy *gulp*

Well, I knew it would happen eventually... and I also knew it would not be easy. One day, I was going to have to leave my son. To not see him ALL day.

Today was that day. I had to go to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia to give a presentation to some business majors. Fortunately, it is only 3.5 hours away from my house, so I decided to drive up this morning to minimize my time away. I am just not ready yet for an overnight visit away from B-Boy... and Neb too, yeah, Neb too.

I woke at 5am to get ready with the intention of leaving by 7am. I was sad to think that B-Boy might not wake up before I left. (The time change has him sleeping later, YAY!) Neb was to take all the "get ready for daycare" dutites today, and it's a good thing B-Boy looks up to him. It really keeps that kid in line. ;)

Happily, he woke in a good mood, and I could hear him singing from downstairs. So before I left, I snuck into his room, snatched his cute self out of that warm crib and got me some quality B-Boy snuggles. Let me pause here and just say that he gives the BEST BEST BEST snuggles. His cute arm swings around your neck like a muppet, his head snuggles into your cheek, and his soft hair just brushes against your face. Heaven.

So, I got me some love from B-Boy before I had to scramble out of the house. Three and a half hours later, I was in Williamsburg. It really felt like a whole different world. I had never been there before, and since I was early, I decided to park in the merchant square of Colonial Williamsburg and take a look around.

I'll pause to say this, when I was a kid, my Dad used to take my sister and me to historic places. He really had a passion for the civil war, and when we would visit him, it usually involved a road trip to get us from Lousiana to where he lived in Maryland. Since this was right through some interesting historical areas, he would stop to take in the sights. It was nice because the drive can tend to be a long cramped one, and getting out was always welcome. One of my favorite places was when we visited the plantations of Natchez, MS. My dad also liked to take TONS of photos. I guess that is where I got it from... if you couldn't tell, I love taking pictures. I don't have many photos of my childhood, but I will have to see if my dad has any from that time... When we take B-Boy on road trips, it would be fun to compare!

Aside finished. Back to today.

I parked and made my way back to the merchant area. I started to cross the street when I saw the store. Yep, I didn't know it was there, but once I saw it in front of me, I knew I HAD to go in.

Just in case you can't read that, click on the photo...

and if you don't want to click, it says "Quilts Unlimited"

So I went inside, and found a 100 year old quilt from North Carolina. In the same pattern and layout as the baby quilt I made my sister's first son. It was amazing, and it was on SALE, half price. I almost bought it, seriously. But, I could not think of a way to sell that I NEEDED it to Neb... even though I did. :)

So, the quilt remained in the store. However, I did find a cute purse to replace mine, and a cute toy for B-Boy. Sadly, he can't play with it until he is two, but it was so precious, I just had to buy it.

A recycling truck that runs on KID power!!!

I then scooted over to the book store to get a cup of coffee. They had the BIGGEST chocolate chunk chip cookies I have ever seen. So, I purchased one for Neb, a CD for the drive home, and some other goodies. It was a bit overcast, and the temperature was perfect to sit outside. I found a bench (there are tons of benches in Colonial Williamsburg) and sat down to enjoy my coffee and pumpkin bread.

The view from my nifty bench

I then headed across the street to the cheese shop, which is a cheese shop AND restaurant. You can tell because there are lots of tables with umbrellas in front of the shop.

I walked in thinking I would pick up lunch for later, when I saw the CHEESE part of the shop. If you remember from other posts, I LOVE CHEESE. So I was in heaven in this store. The woman behind the cheese counter asked if I need help. And then it hit me. I should ask if they have Mizithra cheese.

I expected her to say no. No one else has it, why should this be different? But the land of Williamsburg is enchanted, and I just had to ask. "I bet you don't have it, no one does. But I will take a stab. Do you have Mizithra cheese?"

"Yes" she replied, "we have two."

Another Aside: when Neb was a kid, his mom would take him to a restaurant called the Old Spaghetti Factory. His favorite dish was Old Spaghetti Factory's Spaghetti with Burnt Butter. Sounds gross, but it is not really Burnt. More like a brown butter. And a cheese was shredded on top. The cheese makes the dish, according to Neb. The cheese is mizithra, pronounced MIZ- ITH- RA. It is really hard to find, and I have been unable to find it in my area. What is it? According to Wikipedia, Mizithra is a traditional, unpasteurized fresh greek cheese made with milk and whey from sheep and/or goats. The ratio of milk to whey usually is 7 to 3. See, you learned something today.

So, when I heard they had this hard to find cheese, I HAD TO BUY IT. But, I asked them to hold it for me to keep it refridgerated. I planned to pick it up after my presentation.


After my presentation, I had lunch with the professor. We ended up at a restaurant called the Blue Talon... cue the mystery music! I had a blackend Tilapia reuben sandwhich, which was fantastic. The funny part about the place was that when I ordered water, she brought me a very short glass and a tall bottle. The bottle was labeled, well, see for yourself.

Hmm... tough to see...

Historic Tap Water

I kid you not. 

Apparently, the pipes are REALLY old. So they call it historic water. And bottle it.

And no, I didn't notice any difference in taste.

After lunch, I headed back to the cheese shop to pick up Neb's cheese. Once it was in hand, I hopped back in the car and hightailed it back home listening to my new CD. Driving into our neighborhood, I saw my hubby pushing B-Boy in his nifty stroller. What a happy sight to see! I missed them!

When we both got home, Neb asked me if I wanted to carry B-Boy back into the house. Which I did, and was sure to get some more B-Boy snuggles along the way. Heh heh.

Neb dressed him in a sweatshirt hoodie my mom gave B-Boy for christmas, to keep off the chill. I mention this because it prevented me from noticing...

That my son was wearing someone else's clothes.

HA! I am sure it will not be the last time. He was still wearing his pants, but I had never seen the shirt he was sporting. And even though he dressed him, Neb didn't catch it. Actually, he admitted later that he saw the bag of soiled clothing and thought he didn't want to know. Smart guy.

We weren't sure why or what happened until a little later when I fed B-Boy. He was almost done with the bottle when he coughed a big cough... and then preceded to spit up at least 3 ounces of his bottle. Poor guy. So I cleaned him up, snapped a quick photo of him with his toy (which he won't see for a year and a half) and then whisked him off to bed.

Um Mommy, I can expalin why I am wearing this shirt... um..

I am just glad I got through the day ok. I have a business trip in a few weeks that will take me to Seattle for a week. Not sure I am ready for that yet.

Baby steps right?