The Zoe and Silas Show

4/30/13: They were pumped to have both Mommy and Daddy home tonight.

4/29/13: A pair of scissors and some paper can keep them busy for a long time these days!

4/27/13: What a gorgeous day for Lucas' birthday party! We headed down to Attleboro for a fun-filled afternoon outside. There was a bounce house, with a big slide. And an awesome "roller coaster". Papa got Silas going, And then Lucas' Grandpa took over. Of course the best part for S&Z was hanging out with their cousin Kaylan. Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucas!!!

S&Z spent some quality time with Grandma and Papa this weekend. Joanne had chemo at Dana Farber yesterday afternoon so we had them over for dinner before they headed home. We grilled pork tenderloin, roasted asparagus, and made a delicious wheatberry salad . We got Papa to eat wheatberries, hooray!! Then the kids clobbered him after dinner. Today was the birthday party for the grandson of Joanne and Denny's best friends, so we had more QT today! Posting pictures momentarily...

4/26/13: The weather forecast looked great and Derek had a couple of appointments today so I wanted to do something fun outside with S&Z. Sun, nature and quiet sounded really great after the craziness of the last 2 weeks, and the only place that I know of to get that around here is Hale Reservation . We hiked into the woods (meaning I strolled and the kids picked up rocks).   Noanet Pond is my favorite spot. We literally saw 3 people and 2 dogs the entire time we were there. I relaxed while the kids gathered rocks to throw into the pond. Over and over and over. This kept them busy for a long time!! Then it was time for lunch. We couldn't have found a better picnic spot. It was also Arbor Day today - what a perfect place to commune with some trees :) What a beautiful day with my babies. I can think of no better therapy for a heavy heart.

4/25/13: When I went in to get S&Z this morning they were laying next to each other in Silas' bed, laughing and talking. I asked Silas what they were doing and he said "watching the news".  We only had the news on for about 45 minutes last week (on Friday morning ), and that is really the only televised news they have seen in over two years. Obviously it made an impact, although thankfully they didn't seem bothered about it when they were pretend playing this morning. Zoe did wake up crying on Monday night and we had to go in to her three times. When I asked her what was wrong she said she was "sad for all of the people". Me too, Zoe; me too.

4/24/13: One of my new favorite pictures of Silas, taken with Ta-ta's new phone.

4/23/13: Tuesday was a wet and cold night on Yawkey Way, but we didn't let that dampen our spirits. We dressed warmly and arrived at 5:00 for a 6:30 game so that we would have time to check out the ballpark. Of course we had hot dogs for dinner. And then we made our way to our seats.   Thank goodness the seats were covered! We also had an entire row to ourselves, so the kids had fun dancing and bopping around. When I asked them the next day what their favorite part of going to the game was, they both replied "watching the game!".  We made it until the 4th inning, and Zoe cried and cried when we left. And that is how fans are born. We will definitely get tickets again next year!

4/22/13: There is something about these particular pajamas that make them instantly start doing ring around the rosie ...

4/21/13: We watched Food TV for a little while this morning before heading out to run errands. As usual, Silas was completely engrossed. We watched Paula Deen's son make " Guiltless Cheesy Mac ". I think we'll be trying that one out later this week. Someone donated a bunch of Red Sox tickets to the families of first responders, so we're taking S&Z to a game on Tuesday night! 3/4 of us are lacking in gear, so this morning we went on a shopping mission so that we can appropriately represent at the game. We ended up buying 3 t-shirts at 3 different stores. All that shopping left us hungry so we hit up Five Guys for burgers and fries. It was mine and the kids' first time there - that food is crack. Zoe double fisted her bun and kosher dog. And Silas ate his first-ever burger. Zoe was being her usual goofy self providing entertainment for the rest of us. Derek worked again tonight and the kids and I made Vegetarian Enchilada Cas