Sugar Infusion: The Protein Solution

EXHIBIT A

Ah, the glory of Easter. Ah, the horror of too much candy and the little monsters that result. Chris and I implemented our solution to sugar overdose a few times on Sunday. Solution = infusion of protein. With a little bit of protein the calm in the house of two sweet (in nature that is) little boys resumed.



Recipe for Disaster:
6:45 A.M. Awaken to the excitement of Easter baskets full of treats (mind you candy was very limited in their baskets)

7:00 Brothers proceed to eat that limited amount of candy in their baskets (while parents stand by and think... why not? It is the celebration of Jesus after all.

8:00 A small, but healthy pre-Mass breakfast is offered to two small boys (Eat? Who wants to eat with all of the Easter egg-citement?

8:45 Off to celebrate Easter Mass (with candy in my pocket's... what can I say? Burney has a very small Catholic Church with no crying room, no nursery, no Sunday School, nada)

10:00 At the close of Mass, Father Garcia passes out candy-filled plastic Easter eggs to all of the Children, much to his and their delight.

10:05 The once a month post-Mass hospitality hour happens to fall on Easter Sunday. In the church hall the boys make a selection of marshmallow peeps, chocolate donuts, and candy from their plastic eggs. Oh, lest I forget... the "nice" lady at hospitality hour who thought the boys were so cute and thus each deserved another candy-filled plastic Easter egg. Thanks.

10:30 We arrive back at home. Oh my goodness... "look boys... the Easter bunny visited our house while we were at Mass. An Easter egg hunt commences in the backyard. (candy-filled eggs of course).

10:45 Mom presents a lovely Easter brunch: quiche, toast, and fruit. Two boys' sugar rush climaxes to an all-time high and they both completely and totally succumb to the sugar infusion. Quick... implement the "protein solution."

11:00 Ah... the house returns to a joyful and mostly peaceful nature.



I could continue with our Easter Sunday sugar schedule, blow by blow... but somehow I think you get the picture. Let's just say that Chris and I implemented our "protein solution" several more times on Sunday. But wait... what is Easter without the cake? Our Easter ham dinner was followed by a bunny cake or as Chris called it, "a delivery system for candy" a.k.a., more sugar. Please refer to Exhibit A.

I hope that your Easter was as fun-filled and as sugar rich as ours was.

Spring is in the air, kind of

It must be spring when we have near sixty degree weather and snow in the same week. Love it. On the same note, it is hard to believe we have to set back our clocks already- wow!

You also know it is spring when the Piroskos throw a St. Patrick's party and discussions about Lent and the Easter Bunny surface. Jacob's latest question (brace yourselves for the too cute factor): "Do Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny work together?" It was a bit of a dilemma when Chris responded to this inquiry with a "yes, of course they do" and my reply was "definitely not, completely separate operations." We are still trying to dig out on that one.

Big news on the Jacob Karate front... he got his first stripe, Ta! He (and we) were so proud. James' latest is the love of books and his vocabulary is increasing daily... hummm a correlation?

Jacob's imagination continues to soar. His "new house" still has not arrived, but will soon (in the back yard). His house has slides and candy galore, as well as a special bedroom for him, Kenny, Vanya and brother James. His latest though is his "cobra shop." Watch out, any slip-up can deem one unworthy of buying anything at his cobra shop. Mommy makes this short list multiple times a day. It goes without saying that Jacob's fascination with snakes is thriving. He can not get enough of Animal Planet and Planet Earth.

Lastly, it is official... the Piroskos are Australia Bound! We have been dreaming of this trip for years and we just booked our tickets. We have a lot of planning to do between now and our departure next fall, but what fun it will be. We can't wait to show the boys the cool Aussie landscapes, wildlife, and marine life. But more than anything, we are looking forward to hanging with the Aussie people. Hands down Aussies are the most friendly, fun, and outrageous people... and we love them.

January Almost Gone

I can not believe that January has nearly come and gone. The Pirosko gang has been busy, busy for sure. Jacob continues with pre-school two mornings a week and karate, Ta! James is playing more and more with big brother... and fighting, but we won't talk about that here :)

Two BIG happenings since Christmas. (1) Chris hit the 4-0 mark! We celebrated with friends cabin-style at Soda Springs, Tahoe. The cabin was so great- fun was certainly had by all. (2) Our dear friends, the Howes House, finally welcomed Venor and Eveylne home. It all happened so quickly (after a 2 plus year wait) as the children were granted Visas as a result of the devastating earthquake (and a huge lobbying effort that followed by the adoption community). We are thrilled beyond words for the Howes Family.

I will keep this entry short, as work is calling, but I must share a funny story from this morning. Jacob and I were working on his letter "O" homework pages. He was on the page where he "free-hand" writes capital and lower case letter "O's". Two of the "O's" were really close together, nearly touching. Here is the dialog that transpired:

Jacob: "mommy do you know what these two "O's" look like?"

Carri: "a number eight?"

Jacob: "No mommy, that would mean it was sideways."

Carri: "a snowman?"
Jacob: "No."
(after a few more guesses on my part...)

Carri: "I give up, I've given it my best guesses, tell me."

Jacob: "I will give you a clue."

Carri: "O.k., great."
Jacob: "Mommies have these to nurse babies."

I nearly died. He then proceeded to turn the two side-by-side letter "O's" into donuts, the sprinkle/candy kind.

Jacob has really started to turn-up the all important life questions. "Where do babies come from?" And my typical answer of "mommies and daddies who love each other" doesn't cut it anymore, he is all about body parts. He has also asked "how does somebody who dies get to heaven?" Discussions about one's soul, God, and heaven stepped it up a notch. This is a tough concept for adults to comprehend, let alone explain to a four year old.