O'Rourke Offspring

2011 in a Nutshell

2011-11-26T01:28:00.000-08:00

I wasn't much of a blogger this year, but the movie about sums up everything we did. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Super Fast Running Sneakers

2011-06-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Wow... many months since I've posted any pictures or anecdotes about the family/boys. I know my six followers have been going through some major withdrawal symptoms over not reading about my observations as a mother. Nowadays, I only seem to get back to updating the blog when we are recruiting new au pairs. Oh well, time flies...

A couple of weeks ago I ran my second Mystic River Valley Sprint Triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run). In preparation I ran and biked a few times, occasionally with Seamus who loves to run. Gone are the days when I can push him in the jogger stroller while he snoozes contently for an hour or so. Now he wants to get out and run with me. I'm all for it as it a) inspires him to run and be active and b) gives me a bit of a break (at least for the time being...he's getting really fast).

The day before the event I took the boys to Target and bought them some new sneakers which Seamus refers to as his "Super Fast Running Sneakers" each time he puts them on. So despite the lousy weather, Seamus, Thomas and Steve were out cheering me on which was awesome. As we did last year Steve passed the boys to me to help me run in the last 30-40 yards. It was a great day... Since Seamus seems to be into running we plan to enter him into his first race (The Battle of Stonington) this August. Can't wait!

Halloween Cupcakes

2010-10-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

I should be in be nursing my cold and getting a good night's sleep, but instead I am trying to catch up with some blog posts and finishing up the "snack time" project I volunteered for at Seamus' nursery school.

So we decided to make pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing in honor of Halloween.

Seamus has been my little helper in the kitchen for quite a while. Thomas is just starting out...here's a play by play of the night...

We read the ingredients and realize we have no buttermilk (argh! the infamous buttermilk ingredient which one never seems to have... if I only had some milk and a lemon but argh! no milk)
We run to the store for buttermilk and end up with 50 other things, mostly candy for decoration

The boys are happy as clams as they get to ride in the half carriage/half truck (I'm getting smiles from passersby and I'm proud)
I try to scoot past the seafood counter to avoid the discussion of whether the lobsters are happy in the tank - no such luck...the boys are out and gawking at the tank...ten minutes later
We pass through the deli aisle and I see Seamus eating something...turns out he had helped himself to a roll (we went back and bought a few to ensure I captured the one picked at)
We get to the counter and they are running circles around the Halloween candy display (fortunately nothing comes toppling down)
Back home...back into the kitchen

I had them put the paper cups in the tins - success!
Next I had them sift some flour on the floor - sort of successful, but flour is finding its way out of the bowl
Next I had them mix some spices into the flour and take turns whisking - not so successful. The boys were splashing flour all over each other, Thomas was grabbing fistfuls of flour and putting it in his mouth (and realizing quickly that flour is not really palatable). Seamus was banging my foot with the whisk while getting flour all over my legs/shoes. Then they decide to chase after each other with whisks in hand, running around the island in the kitchen until they crash into each other and end up crying...

I put them the boys to bed so I can finish icing and decorating. Of course, it wasn't until I had ten bags of candy opened that I realized half of them had been made in a factory "where peanuts, treenuts, eggs, wheat and barley" were processed. So my creative options were downsized, but I think they were successful (though I have yet to try one). Something tells me that cream cheese icing and black licorice don't really pair up nicely, but whatever...

Mommmeee!!!

2010-10-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post that after months of hearing "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" and encouraging Thomas to say "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" he finally obliged. (This excludes the indiscriminating mamamamamamamama which he has been saying for months.)

Pumpkins and Hay Mazes

2010-10-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Back in September the boys and I stopped by at Bishop's Orchards in Guilford, CT on the way home from Vovo Helen's house. Not realizing that they had a seasonal pumpkin patch and hay maze, our quick detour ended up lasting several hours.

First stop - pumpkin patch (one of my favorite photo settings)...Seamus tried to test his strength by picking up (and dropping) several pumpkins. Thankfully, none of them cracked open which would have forced us to buy more than one. Thomas was happy following right behind his big bro although he wasn't quite able to lift too many.

Next stop - hay throwing. The boys had a field day in this little precursor to the maze. They were awed by the big kids jumping off the hay stacks into a big pile of hay. Seamus and Thomas then relished in chasing each other and throwing hay in each others faces until Mom stepped in and mandated that hay be targeted from the neck down or else they faced eviction from the hay corral.

Final stop (before actually buying produce in the store) - hay maze. Well this topped everything. Within seconds Seamus was off. It was tough keeping up with him while chasing after Thomas who was also squealing with delight. The first occasion where Seamus got ahead of me and "lost" within the maze I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I'm calling his name and he's not answering and I'm running into dead ends. I had visions of Seamus getting snatched by some pedophile through the walls of the maze or getting bullied by some teenager. Fortunately we ran into each other, literally. Vowing to not lose sight of him again I raced after him with Thomas in my arms, but to no avail. He was off again only to squeal with delight when we happened upon each other again. By the third time he was off I was less frantic, but still continued my search. About 45 minutes later I had to snatch him up and remove him kicking and screaming so that we could get on our way home.

It was a ton of fun.

Halloween

2010-10-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Halloween is the best. Not only does it coincide with my favorite season, but I love scary movies, pumpkin carving, dressing up and the like. When I was young, I would create of list of objects or people I wanted to be. We spent several weeks shortening down that list and then finalizing a selection based on what was most feasible to create. We proudly paraded around town in our costumes, and raced around on said night to get as much candy as possible like chipmunks hoarding nuts for the winter. We snubbed our noses at costumes that weren’t homemade and felt bad for those who had to don a plastic store-bought frock that came with the most fragile of masks that somehow always got squashed into several pieces rendering it useless.

I’ve been very impressed by how far Halloween costumes have come since then and no longer look down on store bought costumes (plus the fact that I have little time to carve a pumpkin let alone pull out a needle and thread and start sewing something for my two little lads).

About a month or so ago, the boys and I went into Old Navy where they had this year’s costumes on display. Seamus saw the tiger outfit and decided that was what he wanted to be and began roaring around the store saying, “I’m a tiger…(roar)!…I looked at the monkey outfit and figured that that would be fitting for Thomas as he is into everything at the moment. This year we are again going to my brother Pete’s house to celebrate and see the Park Slope parade. The families in attendance tend to stick to a family-style theme so I decided to be a zoo keeper which is not far from reality. (I’m not sure what Steve has decided to be.)

Unfortunately, that plan was short-lived. Seamus recently decided that he wants to be a bat. I’m not sure why. Figuring he might change his mind again I asked a week or so later…no such luck. He’s still intent on being a bat. I try again with added emphasis on how cool tigers are.

Mom: “Are you going to be a tiger? They’re so fast and scary with big sharp teeth. [Roar!]”

Seamus: “No, I’m going to be a bat!” He says as if pondering the tiger option for a moment.

Mom: “How about the rare bat/tiger?” (Thinking I can improvise and throw a black cape over the costume that no longer has tags.

Seamus: “No, I’m going to be a bat!” He says enthusiastically as if he’s just telling me for the first time.

Think I might give it one more try. If it doesn’t work, we may be pirates and use the costume Aunt Christine gave him (also a favorite character of the moment and theme of his recent 3-year-old birthday party.) If not, I’ll have to find a bat costume and fast.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

2010-03-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

So Seamus is about 2 ½ now and is super funny and entertaining. His vocabulary seems to explode, but not only that he's extremely dramatic, like he's trying out for a movie. He'll pretend to sulk or mope and seconds later he'll laugh at himself or break into a rendition of the "Imagination Movers" theme song complete with air guitar and genuflection as seen in the skit.

He also comes up with the craziest reasons for anything he needs to explain. He hasn't gone through the "why" stage yet. Instead it is the "because..." like a big run-on sentence. (I don't know where he could have gotten that from.)
Lately, he has resorted to using the following rationale for almost every response to any question:

"...Because the wolves are coming to bite [or get] you"

At first we were a little concerned that he may be plagued by traumatic nightmares where he’s being chased by wolves, but I can assure you that he is not in the slightest bit scared or fearful. This is more of a matter of fact. I've provided a paraphrased example conversation below:
• "Seamus, do you want to try to put your socks on this morning?”
• “No… I no put my socks on!”
• “Why not?”
• “Because the wolves are coming to bite you.”
• “Aha”
• “Yeah, and I’m going to punch the wolf on the nose.”
• “Okay, why is the wolf going to bite me.”
• “Because he’s sad.”
• “I see.”

Or something like that. And then we move onto the typical back and forth conflict about trying to get him to brush his teeth.

Conversations with a 2 year old are priceless.

Frankenthomas

2010-03-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

Thomas is starting to walk. He just turned ten months this past Sunday, and he's been walking for at least two if not three weeks already, albeit not very well. He has beaten Seamus to the punch by at least a week or two. This is a picture of Thomas walking --->

No, just kidding. I'm amazed though at how overly confident he is. He will literally pull himself up turn himself around, let go and start walking (very much like Frankenstein...wobbling around with arms flailing for about 5-10 steps before he starts falling over like a felled tree) in less than ten seconds. Thankfully, he hasn't fallen flat on his face yet which will likely happen soon.

I remember Seamus being much more cautious, but since my mind is about as sharp as a mallet these days that doesn't say much.

Temporary Sabbatical

2010-03-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's been more than 5 months since I posted something to the blog. I'm a bad, bad blogger. My sincerest apologies to all of my loyal followers...all three of you. I'm going to dust off the spiderwebs that have grown on this site and try and bring you all up to speed. Let's see since the end of September the following events have occurred (but not limited to):

Seamus' 2nd birthday
Thomas' first teeth / first abilities at clapping
Halloween - the boys were Dinosaurs
My ~22nd birthday :)
Thanksgiving
Transition from Au Pair #1 (Mint) to Au Pair #2 (Nancy)
Christmas
New Year's trip to the Borgerson's house in Annisquam, MA
My strides in learning Chinese (my New Year's resolultion - ni hao!) are as robust as Chinese water torture
First swim class for Thomas ... turns into a weekly family outing
Seamus enters his first days at Nursery School
Thomas starts walking (no, you didn't miss a line where he started crawling...he bypassed that stage)
Valentine's Day
Steve's 40th birthday (with a surprise visit from big sister Christine)

It's possible I've missed many important milestones in this list, but like my mind it is a smattering of recollections at this point in time. Perhaps I'll fill in the blanks five months from now when my next post appears...

The (Wo)man Behind the Curtain

2009-09-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

It’s official. Seamus can open doors. Not just the lever ones (which he mastered about as soon as he could reach them), but the round twisty knob ones. Two of these have “safety knobs” (the door to the basement and the door to the garage). Unfortuantely, the rest don’t.

Each morning I begin my daily commute from the bedroom to the kitchen to the dining room to the home office, which assuming there’s no traffic, can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 45 minutes. Sometimes I go unnoticed and other times I need to conduct what seems like a rendition of “So Long, Farewell” from the Sound of Music so that Seamus is happy and satisfied. Sometimes he says, “Bye bye mommy;” other time he cries his eyes out.

This morning there were several road blocks as Seamus shook his Diego yogurt drink all over the floor just as I was planning my (no longer) swift exit. I quickly cleaned it up, redirected him to a cheese stick and then made my escape. No sooner was I seated comfortably in my chair scanning my email did I hear, “Open the door, please, mommy.” (Actual words – yes he’s speaking complete sentences with manners to boot.) Figuring if I just keep silent as I usually do, Mimi (= Mint = au pair), will redirect him to another activity. No such luck…a quick twist of the knob was followed by a squinty eyed grin and a “Hiiiiiii.” A request “Spiderman Song, please?” ensued. This is the latest fave (the retro 1960s version) which we play on You Tube and then have to repeat on the iPod in the car for about 30 times before we can move onto “Puff the Magic Dragon.” If anyone needs to know the Spiderman lyrics, please feel free to give me a call.

Death of a Flatscreen

2009-09-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

The death of our flatscreen TV in the living room has been a Godsend. Each night prior to its final days I would reprimand myself for turning it on knowing that it sucks me in for hours. "Turn it off!" I tell myself over and over only to wake up at 3am to some random late night infomercial which I end up watching and actually considering.

Anyway, Seamus and I have now returned to normal eating habits instead of "TV" dinners while Thomas plays in the "ring of independence" (the activity ring/exersaucer that some people dub the "ring of neglect"). We sat down to a civilized meal of nothing special that mom whipped up at the end of a long workday and we chatted about nothing and everything. It was then that I got my first unprompted "I love you, mommy." My heart melted as I beamed from ear to ear. I, of course, returned the adoration...I love my boys!

Mmmm Delicious!

2009-09-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

Thomas succeeded after his third attempt at eating "real" food (if you want to call rehydrated rice flakes food). I know... I am a bit eager in this department; in fact I'm not really sure if I just want to see their reaction (like the amusement one has while watching their dog eat peanut butter) or are keen to get a pic of them smothered in food. Anyhoo, we attempted his first introduction to table food two weeks ago a couple of days after his four month birthday. He promptly "thrusted" the food out of his mouth, which according to the user manual ("What to Expect the First Year") is a sign that they're not ready for food.

The next weekend I decided to give it another whirl. Exit rice mush, insert baby foot (much more appetizing). This past Friday we gave it another whirl and voila ... he swallowed it down (third time's a charm). He's quickly getting the hang of it ... and seems to enjoy it.

DAS MINE!

2009-09-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

It is pretty interesting from a sociological/evolutionary perspective that a child not even two years old can most emphatically claim ownership of any and everything. Seamus has recently and increasingly learned to stake his claim on all things in the house, exhibiting his survival of the fittest or hoarding for himself caveman like behavior. Even things that are clearly not his fall prey to his proclamations...like the eyeglasses that are perched upon my nose or the shirt I am presently wearing or the pacifier that Thomas is currently sucking that is not even big enough to appease Seamus' two year old mouth.

[Slight digression/tangent - Seamus now walks around with three different pacifiers, which he affectionately calls "binkas," from which he chooses at any particular moment to replace with the next one in line. He hands you the "binka" and says, "no binka!" (my enthusiasm increases momentarily as I think this may be the moment he graduates from binkydom), and is then quickly followed by "more binka?" Also, because he is so attached to them, he now possesses a gap where his front teeth should have decended, but that is for another post. I vow that on his 2nd birthday he will quit his oral fixation cold turkey.]

He screams out: "Das MINE!" which is followed by a minor struggle back and forth between mom and son with whatever he's grabbed onto like a pit bull. I, of course, am holding back my laughter and Thomas is quietly observing (or taking note for later usage).

Most of the time these are short-lived exclamations as I am now very adept at redirecting him to another "thing" that I or Thomas no longer need/want.

Thankfully, Thomas has not received any blows or bops to the head nor yanks to the arms from Seamus' snatching so it seems under control...for the time being.

Smoothie!

2009-09-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

In an effort to not waste any food, I've taken to freezing bags of fruit that are on the brink of succumbing to fruit fly infestation (okay not quite that far but you get the point). As the frozen bags begin to pile up, I initiate a week of eating nothing but frozen fruit smoothies for breakfast. They are not as enticing as the cold mornings loom closer...another reason for the liquid breakfast movement.

Seamus enjoys them too and having mastered the art of drinking from a cup (albeit not too cleanly) he gets to partake in a sort of morning "ice cream" delight. He finishes the drink with an "Mmmm. Delicious!" which just makes your heart skip a beat. :)

All Aboard!

2009-09-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend marks the first time that Seamus and Thomas rode a real "choo choo train" (okay, the NYC subway doesn't count in this case). The antique steam engine travels 30 minutes to, well, pretty much nowhere and 30 minutes back, but it is nonetheless a thrilling experience for Seamus and thus a lot of fun for his parents.

I thought for sure that Thomas would start freaking out by the loud and increasingly annoying whistle that seemed to toot every five feet, but he sat there and enjoyed the ride, happy as a clam.

I feel bad for the people that live in the houses that line the tracks considering they have to bear witness to that annoyance/tourist trap. No beautiful view of the Connecticut River is worth that constant sound pollution. I'd most definitely join the NRA (that's National Rifle Association for you foreigners) if I lived there.

Despite my cynicism it was a very cool experience for the kids assuming they remember it. My mom later reminded me that she took us on the same ride years before (which I had not remembered).

Thomas' Christening!

2009-09-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, August 23, Thomas became a full-fledged Catholic! Despite the oppressive heat and humidity, family and friends braved the Sunday I-95 traffic to travel multiple hours (each way) to celebrate the occasion. The ceremony was at St. Patrick Church in Mystic, CT followed by a lunch at chez O'Rourke. Not a peep was made out of Thomas during the entire ceremony. What a good boy even in his long dress (okay, I admit this is the only day I get to pretend I have daughters and can put them in a beautiful smocked dress.)

Thank you everyone for coming and making it a special day! Especially those that traveled several hours to and from our house for the day. Thank you to Godfather Sean and Godmother Missy, who did everything in her power to not getting sick on Thomas despite the migraine she dealt with all morning on her birthday no less. Not only did she trek up to the house for the event, but she made it down in record time to catch a flight the same day to London for a day-long meeting. Rock star!

A most special thank you to Vovo (FYI - that's Portuguese for "grandmother") Helen for helping me prepare the food, table, arranging beautiful bouquets and a lot of the preparation in the weeks beforehand -- planting flowers, trees, weeding, (doing an assortment of other things I didn't know needed done) and generally getting the house in tip-top condition.

Dinosaur Roar!

2009-09-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

As Halloween is just around the corner, I tried to ensure that I am not leaving things, like buying costumes, until the last minute. I ordered a T-Rex costume for Seamus in keeping with his current interests (this is not to say that his costume last year - a skunk - was in keeping with anything except maybe smelly diapers).

Despite the sour mug he was thrilled to get into the costume, throw his hands in the air (think attack pose) and stomp around the living room roaring like a dinosaur akin to Where the Wild Things Are. In addition, we've been reading (almost nightly) a book given to us by Noella Lansen (Ella's Grandmother) called Dinosaur Roar. It goes something like this: "Dinosaur roar, dinosaur squeak...dinosaur fierce, dinosaur meek... (you get the picture)" As I read it, I inflect my voice to bring to life the verb/adjective... So Seamus has taken to mimicking my voice as well. I wish I could include an audio of this, but you'll just have to use your imagination. So he romps around roaring "Dinosaur roar!" followed by him squeaking "Dinosaur squeak!" There's really nothing more entertaining than hearing your children learn new words...

Thomas on the other hand has reached another important milestone -- grabbing his toes -- which is a ton of fun (for him). If you aren't aware...this is a big one, proving that he is gaining control of his digits (both hands and toes)! He is a pure delight of a child. He silently admires and observes every move his older brother makes and squeals with delight most of the time. We thought Seamus was a good baby, but Thomas is even more contented. He's even been sleeping for at least six hours a night (now if I could capitalize on this and get to bed at a reasonable hour all would be well).

Initial Post

2009-09-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the O'Rourke Offspring blog...my first attempt at blogging. While I'd like to be able to have started this way back before Seamus was born to properly chronicle their lives from the start, I didn't. Oh well. No time like the present.

As the blog description notes, I will attempt to provide frequent and entertaining stories about Seamus and Thomas so that you can get a glimpse into their daily lives that are so enjoyable to watch as a parent. Again, I think they are worthy of mention and I am the closest thing we have to a family historian. (If I am not funny, witty or entertaining, then I apologize in advance.)