Chocolate Fudge Oatmeal, Oscar's 8th Birthday, ER Visit, and Playing-a-Plenty!

On the plate:  Chocolate fudge oatmeal

Soundtrack to cook to:  Spice Girls Spice album.  I can still sing every lyric to every song and wanted to be Posh Spice SO badly back in the day.  A great throwback, indeed.  :)

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Oscar, happy birthday to you!!!!  Our dog Oscar, whom we lovingly refer to as our first born, turned 8 years old on March 16.  Traditionally, we give Oscar a cheeseburger on his birthday. 
Joseph and his parents were home to celebrate it with Oscar the following day after they picked him up from the trainer's home.  He had half of his cheeseburger that evening and Joseph saved the remainder of it for when the boys and I got back from our trip to Vegas.
This little guy is still as feisty and quirky as ever.  He's starting to turn a little bit frosty, but other than that, he hasn't changed.  Happy birthday, big guy!  (Or at least HE thinks he's a big dog.)

Oscar waiting patiently to eat his cheeseburger while we were singing
happy birthday to him.  :)

He gobbled it up in seconds flat!

The boys, putting on a show for me and Joseph's parents.

Alex was getting pretty tired of the same ol', same ol' breakfast this winter.  So, I decided to whip up a chocolate fudge oatmeal recipe that I had seen on The Chew.  It's simple to make and is pretty delicious.  I was really excited to make it because when Michael Symon had eaten it on the show, he had said that if one added a little more sugar, that one could serve it as dessert.  He also said that it reminded him of rice pudding.  Ummm....he had me at the words "dessert" and "rice pudding."  I'm a huge fan of both and couldn't wait to make this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup lowfat milk
• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 10 almonds (chopped) - I had some cocoa dusted almonds that were an extra delicious addition.

Over high heat, take a pot and bring the milk to a boil.  Once it is boiling,
add in the oats and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Stir in the oats, cocoa powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Allow
the oatmeal to cook until it is to your desired consistency.  (I prefer mine
slightly runny.)

Adjust seasonings to your liking, top with almonds, and serve!

Isn't it beautiful??  Don't you just want to dig in??
I will say, this was a nice change of pace for breakfast.  Normally,
I believe everything that Michael Symon says when it comes to culinary taste.
However, I disagree with him when he said that one could serve this as a
dessert.  I'm sorry, but if someone gave me a bowl of oatmeal and called
it "dessert," then I would call said person a liar and ask when the real dessert was going to be served.

While we were on a walk, we went to a nearby park to play.  Alex was running around and having fun, so of course, William wanted to do so as well.  He was fussing in his stroller, so I took him out of it, he took two steps and fell straight to the ground.  He was visibly upset, but then I noticed that he had a cut above his right eye.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that I would have to take him to the hospital because it looked like it would need some stitches.
Thank goodness Joseph's parents were here during that time, because they were able to watch Alex while I took William to the emergency room.  Thanks for holding down the fort and watching Alex, Elias and Linda!!

On the way to the hospital, William fell asleep.
The sleep was so good that the little guy even started
drooling.  :)

Since it was around lunch time, I just grabbed
some fruit, cheese, and pretzels for the little
guy to munch on while we were waiting
in the ER's waiting room.
I didn't dare try to clean up any of the blood,
because I didn't want to accidentally slip and
bump his eye.  (Because toddlers do NOT sit
still long enough to allow anyone to wipe their faces.)
Our little guy was happy and smiley the whole time.

This is him saying, "Eeeee!"  (Cheese!)
The pediatric office took a look at him and
said that it would need to be irrigated and
then they would see if he needed stitches.

Thankfully there were only two people ahead of us in the waiting room, so we didn't have to wait too long to get a room.  There was an amazing woman who was a "Child Life Specialist" that was there to assure that William was happy and comfortable in the ER.  I thought that was amazing!  This child was happy and giggling during his entire stay!  The staff at Newton Wellesley was amazing with William.

They brought William tons of toys!
This child was not suffering one bit.

One happy little boy with his apple sauce
and toys. :)

He started to tire of the toys, so the Child-
Life Specialist brought William a portable
DVD player which played Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
As you can see, this child was very happy.  :)

Then it was time to swaddle him, clean the wound,
and seal it with some glue.  (Thank GOODNESS,
the cut didn't require stitches.  Boo yah!)
The only time he fussed was when he was restrained.
However, his fussing soon calmed down when
the amazing Child Life Specialist started
blowing bubbles above him.  You can never go
wrong with bubbles!

Little man even got a popsicle at the end of all of this!!
He's one lucky boy!
William's first ER visit was successful and
not stressful at all.  Big thanks to the
staff at Newton Wellesley for that!!
Let's just hope that we don't have to be
back here again any time soon.  :)

Even though it was a very quick visit, we had a lovely time with Joseph's parents, Elias and Linda.  The boys and I always enjoy the time that we have together with them.  I unfortunately do not have any pictures of them with the boys from this visit because we were all so tired from the jet lag and were either sleeping or tip-toeing around the house so we wouldn't wake Joseph. 

Here's the boys, playing around once more:

The boys are still trying to get the hang of playing "Hide and go seek."
Alex is very much like an ostrich and will hide only his head.  He
ducked underneath the table and was "hiding" by covering his head, but
still had his legs dangling out.  William was gleefully sitting up and
giggling when I found them.  :)

William, twirling and dancing!  :)

One afternoon, Alex decided to dole out
some heart stickers that he had received for
Valentine's Day.  He was so nice to share some
with Oscar as well.  HA!  Here's Oscar,
taking a nap, and was blissfully unaware that
he had been decorated by Alex.

Another view of Oscar and his heart decorations.  :)

William decided one day that my chest
looked like it would make a really good chair.
So, he made himself comfortable, started
"reading" a book, and then wanted to practice
identifying body parts.  He really likes to say,
"Noooo" (and grab my nose at the same time).

He thought he was being pretty funny.

He's pointing at his "Noooo" now.  :)

Ever since we took the boys to see Disney on Ice, Alex has been obsessed with Lumiere the candle from Beauty and the Beast.  Lumiere was the first character to come out in the ice show and talk to the audience. 
Whenever we're playing Disney music in the house and the song "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast comes on, Alex takes off his slippers, puts them on his hands, and pretends he's Lumiere.  This evening, William decided that he wanted to take my shoes, put them on his hands, and do the same as Alex.  It was quite comical!

Our little candelabras. 

On one Tuesday morning in March, since William started phasing out of his morning nap, I decided to go bright and early to the Museum of Science.  They have a really great, hands-on kids area that I've never been able to take the boys to because it's always been filled to capacity.  Luckily, since we got there so early, we almost had the place completely to ourselves!  The boys had a lot of fun exploring.

William and Alex, exploring a cave.

William and Alex loved running up and down
a ramp that led to a large-scale nest.

Alex enjoyed dressing up like a robin.

And a beekeeper :)

William's favorite thing to do was climbing up and
down the stairs.  He did this for about 20 minutes.

Alex playing with a gigantic Lite Brite!
I thought this was pretty cool.

The boys examining different rocks and minerals.

This exhibit was their favorite, by far!
They placed ping pongs in the suction
tubes and watched them shoot through
the tube mazes.  This held their attention
for a loooooonnnnng time.

These boys love to splash and they seriously think it's the funniest thing in the world.  :)

Personally, I think they like it because it's slightly naughty.  :)

More dancing from our boys!

Gorgeous tulips that my wonderful friend
of 14 years, Erin Long, sent to me "Just Because."
You're amazing, mama!  This was the best
long distance hug that a girl could ever ask for!

At the end of March, one of Alex's teachers (who started at his school when he had started, so she had known him since he was 4 months old) left to pursue another career.  We were absolutely heart-broken, but were at least comforted to know that we could still use her as a babysitter, so the boys could still see her every once in a while. 
On her last day, Alex wanted to wear his "fancy clothes," and insisted that he wear his bow tie.  So, I picked out a nice outfit for him and helped him put on his bow tie.  He was so proud of himself and said, "Mommy.  I am sooooooo handsome!"  I love that our boy is so humble.  :)

Alex was very proud of himself for
wearing a bow tie, "Just like Daddy!"
He even asked me to take a picture of him
so that he could see himself.  :)

At the park later that day, William found a set of stairs and was entertained
by going up and down them repeatedly for
about 20 minutes.  :)

There he goes!  Up the stairs...

...and down the stairs.  :)

Alex has a music teacher that visits his school on Mondays.  One weekend, his music teacher's band had a concert at a nearby theater.  I joked with my parents and Joseph's parents that this was the first concert I had ever attended that was at 10:30 in the morning!  HA!  Too funny.
Thankfully, a lot of other kids from Alex and William's school were at the concert as well.  So, we had our own little corner and the music teacher had a cute set of groupies, bouncing up and down to his songs at the edge of the stage.  :)

Alex and his friends jumping around to the music.

The kids, dancing to the music.

There they go!

After the concert, a few of the children and parents met up at the local Panera to have lunch.  The kids enjoyed dining together at the table while the adults hovered from above, eating while standing, and policing the children at the same time.  You've got to be able to multi-task.  :)

William enjoyed lunch with his friends.

So did Alex!  It's interesting to hear what
kids this age talk about while eating lunch.  :)

This is how William decided to watch TV
one day.  Standing on his fireman's hat
seemed to be the most comfortable for him.

Silly guy!

Alex decided to take all of his Jake and the Neverland Piratesfigurines (along with Hello Kitty) and form
them around the "Tick Tock Crocodile"
to give him a hug.  He was quite proud of himself.

SKY ZONE!!!!  One Tuesday morning, I decided to take the boys to Sky Zone, which is an indoor trampoline park.  They have Toddler Time, where only kids under the age of 5 can go on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 - 11 a.m.  I LOVE this idea because if I were to take the kids to this place when it was open to the general public, then the boys would be completely run over by the big kids.  This place is absolutely amazing because even if the kids fall, they can't get hurt!  (I also loved it because they have a parent's section, so I enjoyed a little bit of jumping myself!)  What can I say?  I'm a kid at heart.

The boys LOVED jumping around!

The boys exploring the trampolines.

William loved running around on the trampolines.

Here's Alex, running the length of this place.

The boys, jumping and playing together.

Yay!!  We've finally been having consistently nice weather!  So, every time I pick the boys up from school, I take them to a new park to play around until nap time. 

William found his latest diaper shipment
and was delighted with himself for being
able to climb up and sit on it.

Yay for play dates and frinners (friend dinners)!  Recently, we went over to our friend's home, the Hearnes, for a play date and to catch up.  Then, my dear friend Kate made the kids brinner (breakfast for dinner) which consisted of pancakes, strawberries, and bacon.  The thought of breakfast for dinner completely rocked Alex's world and he thought it was the coolest thing ever.
The kids loved having that time together and there's always plenty of laughs and words of wisdom when I'm with Kate.  :)

James, Lucy, and Alex, getting ready to have dinner.

William, Sanders, Kate, and James at the table.

The kiddos having their Frinner Brinner :)

Proud Mommy moment!!  I had to meet with a physiatrist to look at a leg pain that I had been having.  Unfortunately, she only had a Thursday morning available (that's when the boys are home).  So, I packed the kids some lunch and fed it to them while they were in the room during my exam.  (Exclusively finger foods, of course!)  The doctor was incredibly impressed with how well the boys sat in their chairs the whole time, and were snacking on sugar snap peas and fruit so nicely.  I was very proud of them as well.  This went much better than the air plane flight to Vegas, that's for sure!  :) 

Alex and William, eating their grilled cheese
flat bread sandwiches while we waited for the
doctor to come in the exam room.  They were so good!

So well-behaved that I took them to Toys 'R Us
afterwards and let them pick out a toy!
Alex chose a Ninja Turtle costume (Raphael).

He LOVES dressing up as different characters.

William insisted on carrying the lunch bags to the car one day.

William also likes to dress up in costumes.
Recently, he has liked being a chef and enjoys
"cooking" in their play kitchen.

William, playing with the measuring spoons.

Our little chef, cooking in the kitchen, and our Ninja Turtle
overseeing the operation.  :)

He loved pretending to stir something
in the pot that makes a bubbling noise
when it's on the burner.

One morning while Joseph was away, Alex asked me to make pancakes and bacon.  While I was preparing the food, William brought a book up to Alex and said, "Eeeease?" (Please).  So, Alex started "reading" the book to William!  It was so sweet!

Alex "reading" Happy Dog, Sad Dog to William.

Alex "reading" a book to William while I prepared breakfast.

As I was putting the dishes away, Alex
was playing on the floor with some toys.
Then, William stood up by Alex, backed up,
and sat himself in Alex's lap!!  Ha!  Too cute!

Our sweet boys :)

Oy!!  Thank goodness winter is over!!  I'm so thankful that we can finally start getting out of the house without being snowed on or turned into a human icicle.  I was starting to go a little batty with cabin fever.  I'm so happy that spring is here so that we can go outside and have more adventures!!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki