The Zoe and Silas Show

2/28/14: I have recently fallen in love with Athleta . What started as the quest for a new swimsuit turned into ordering some workout clothes that actually fit (I've been wearing XL and am now down to a M). I recently did a bunch of shopping online and needed to return a few things, so Zoe & I went to an Athleta store at Legacy Place while Derek and Silas made our weekly BJ's run. Zoe loved Athleta as much as I do. For about 2 minutes.

2/27/14: On Thursday Julia heard on the news that Chuck E Cheese was offering free pizza for kids all day. S&Z had a blast with her at dinner!

2/26/14: During the week there will likely be a lot more pictures of S&Z getting ready for bed and/or wearing their pj's, now that bedtime has officially been moved up to 7:00pm due to no more naps ...

2/25/14: Bedtime bum dance!

they are so darn CUTE!

2/23/14: Another 50+ degree day called for another afternoon outing. Derek was off work so instead of napping we headed to Castle Island. There were lots of airplanes to watch, And a couple of selfies to take. It was a gorgeous afternoon. We stopped at the beach after a 2-mile long walk. Just a perfect day .

2/22/14: On Saturday morning Silas needed "to do some work" before breakfast. This weekend I decided to pull Zoe's nap. Silas hasn't been napping for months, and he doesn't really "do" quiet time. It's been nice that he and I spend some quality time cooking while Zoe sleeps, but bedtime is all over the place because one of them is napping and one isn't. It was 55 degrees on Saturday and I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible, so I explained to Zoe that she is going to be all done with naps and we headed to the Arboretum. It's the end of an era - I am now the parent of children who no longer take naps! We are officially free to do whatever we want in the afternoon.  Explore the properties of snow... Listen to the rush of melting snow... Or just walk and take it all in. Bye bye, naps. We're not looking back!

2/21/14: Silas has been obsessed with our old flip phones and anything related to electronics lately. When the kids woke up this morning they "played games" on their phones before breakfast. The lab had a going away party for Vanessa, who is moving to Chicago, over the noon hour today. I'm lucky to have amazing co-workers. Here is a picture of Juliana playing "lions" with the kids after lunch. 

2/20/14: S&Z were very happy to see Grandma & Papa for the first time since New Year's Day. Zoe was excited to show me her new Valentine bear when I got home from work.

2/19/14: Pretending to open a bottle of wine. #proudparentingmoment #sarcasm

2/18/14: After a good night's sleep everyone was ready for a hotel breakfast. S&Z insisted on heading down to breakfast in their footed pajamas. After breakfast we got in one last swim. We had a little extra time before checkout, so we played a game of Uno before getting some lunch. Two friends had recommended a restaurant called Duckfat , so we knew we couldn't go wrong. Milkshakes for the kids, And poutine and local cider for the adults! AMAZING. Unfortunately we drove home in a snowstorm, and the 2-hour drive to Portland turned into a 4-hour drive back to Boston. Thanks to 4-wheel drive and Derek at the wheel we made it home safely around 5:00. A weary traveler, I happily finished this bottle of wine left from the hotel after Derek went to the space and the kids went to bed :) Such a fun time, I think we'll go for 2 nights next year!

2/17/14:  It is is School Vacation Week here in MA so we decided to head up to Portland, Maine on President's Day. This winter has been rough and I've got the doldrums so I wanted us to do something fun as a family. Portland is just over 2 hours away so it also sounded like the perfect road trip. Shortly after we checked in to the hotel on Monday afternoon we headed to the pool. We have never stayed in a traditional hotel with the kids. They LOVED running down the long hallways to our room! After swimming we showered and got dressed up to enjoy a nice dinner out.  We ate at a cute neighborhood restaurant called The Front Room . The kids were exhausted from swimming and not napping. We took advantage of a shuttle service offered by the hotel, and enjoyed door-to-door service to and from the restaurant. Our room was a suite with a pull-out sleeper bed for the kids. They crashed as soon as we got back from dinner...