Seriously, just for the Grandparents

The boys talked me into filming them reading the stories they had been practicing at school this week. They are long, but we sure love these boys!

Mason's First Day of First Grade

I have never seen anyone so excited to eat lunch in the cafeteria. This boy has loved (almost) everything about first grade! Only dislike--homework.


And his first day of school interview:

Ollie's first day of Pre-School

Well, technically, it is his first day of his third year of pre-school. Or, the first day of his final year of pre-school. However you decide to look at it... just know that is was a good day all around.

Last year we decided to forgo the "picture behind the couch in front of messy bookshelf" and upgraded to "picture outside in front of nice green bush".

This is a picture of said 'nice green bush' this year:Despite our setbacks (no bush, camera battery not charged-had to use cell phone camera), here is our happy boy all ready for school!!


After school report: Great day. Built a bridge, played games, played memory, drew a picture of our family. Saw Hope on the playground. Gave her a hug and a kiss on the lips. Because she's a girl and I'm a boy.

LOVE THIS BOY!!

Summer Fun Preview

I am still compiling pictures and posts from our vacation...but here is a little preview :)

Brooke is AWESOME

We were so lucky to meet up with Brooke while we were in Las Vegas for a super fun photo shoot.





Check out her blog for more pics of the boys and other AWESOME photos! Thanks Brooke....the boys keep asking when we can do it again!

Mini Ice Cream Cone Cake Bites

Ever since Bakerella introduced me to the wonderful world of cake bites, I have made them a handful of times for several different occasions. Never have I been so happy with the outcome.


Some tiny treats for Ollie's end of the year picnic.

C'mom, really?

I have received no fewer than 6 email in the past week containing 'suggestions' for Father's Day gifts. They are all from the same company. Yep, ProFlowers. They contain phrases like "40% off father's Day Iris Bouquets" and "Get him what he REALLY wants!".

No offense, ProFlowers, but it is high time you fire your marketing department.

Cyd the snake charmer

So, there we were, playing in Cydney's backyard. The kids were having a great time and Cydney and I were visiting when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and there was a HUGE snake coiled up next to the steps leading up to the deck. I freaked. I called all the kids to run inside and then started to usher them in, with me close behind. Then I turned, Cydney was as calm as I had ever seen her. She said, "There you are!" Then turned to me and said, "I have been trying to catch that snake for a week now...he keeps getting away from me." I thought, "Wow, this from the girl who can't kill a spider...that is amazing".

Anyway, she went ahead and caught the snake in a burlap sack and became the hero of little children and their mothers everywhere....at least that is the dream I remembered when I woke up this morning. Weird.

Lets play pretend

As in, pretend I posted this 5 weeks ago when I actually filmed it.



Scroll down for more recent events :)

The Miss turns One!

The celebrating took place over two days, squeezing it in around other things like, friends having babies, friends having birthday parties, and Matt's visit to Wild Safari (will post soon!)

Happy little girl on the morning of her birthday!

On the evening of her birthday, she got a little taste of the frosting.

The next day, we had a little birthday lunch: sliders, fruit and "cheesy chips".

Followed by birthday cake...

...which she LOVED!

And presents. Which she liked, but not as much as the tissue paper, wrapping paper and tags.

Let me introduce Rody, the newest member of our family.

And her new hat, which I LOVE!

We had to lose the shirt after cake, so please excuse the naked birthday photos. A smart mother would have taken her shirt off for the cake and them replaced it for the presents. Like I said...a smart mom.

We LOVE our Miss and hope she had her best birthday EVER!!
Oh, wait...

The gift that Keeps on Giving

Melissa got her birthday present from Grandma Girl a little early. I am happy to report that ALL are LOVING this chair.



And while the Miss was enjoying her new chair, the boys were busy creating their Secret Lair out of the box.


Gift count:
1-Chair for the Miss
2-Box for the boys
3-3 hours of quiet while the boys created their lair in their bedroom.

I am the clear winner here. Thanks mom :)

Ollie turns 4!!

Our sweet little Ollie turned 4 last month and we had a rockin' good time at his Transformers party at the Little Gym. Ever since Mason's party last summer, Ollie has been talking about having his party at the Little Gym...a good time was had by all!

Our big boy! Can't believe he is four already!!

The party goers

Four things that we LOVE about Oliver...
1. He is our snuggle bunny. He is the first one to curl up to you and rarely does a day go by when he doesn't crawl into my lap and say, "Mommy, you are the warmest."
2. He has a great imagination and builds all sorts of tools, toys, weapons out of tinker toys. Each one has a specific use that he explains and remembers.
3. He loves his brother and sister, and loves to do things that make them happy.
4. He has the very best, big brown eyes!!

We love you Ollie and are so happy that you are in our family!
Happy birthday sweet boy!!

She WALKS...sort of.

The Poncho

MJ and I took a quick trip to Las Vegas for some R&R in February. We had a great time with Grandma Girl and Pops and Sam & Anya and their kiddos. It sure was hard to come back to the cold of New Jersey, but we were very happy to see our boys! Strangely, I didn't take a single picture of our trip, so here is The Miss modeling her new poncho.

She had a death grip on the blue spoon, so any attempt to get a picture without it was wishful thinking.

The camp in

Too cold for camping so we made a little camp in for the boys...Microwave s'mores (with rainbow marshmallows), tent, sleeping bags and Kung Fu Panda on the portable DVD player. They boys have been asking for it almost every night since then!

Sorry for the bad pics, the lighting was terrible. Please note the Halloween pillowcases that the boys are still using 4 months later!

Snow Day!!

We finally had enough soft fluffy snow for the boys to go out and play. It went a little like this...20 minutes to get everyone in their gear. 25 minutes to get out of gear, go to the bathroom, and get redressed. TWO HOURS playing outside in the snow (While MJ and I watched from the heated indoors). 30 minutes to get out of gear and warm up with a bath and then hot chocolate. A great day!!

You can't tell from the pictures because everything was plowed, but we actually had some nice snow!

The Miss with the messy face and I watched through
the sliding glass door.

Whatcha gonna do?

Driving around running errands this morning we saw a young (16ish) man that had been pulled over.
Mason: "mom! the police got that guy. I bet he did something REALLY bad."
Ollie: "You know what the baddest thing is?"
Mom: "No, what is the worst thing?"
Ollie: Taking someone's toy...(long pause)...in the sandbox."
Mason: "I think the worst thing is taking someone's pet...(long pause)...rock collection."

Okaaaay.

Cars are Overrated

mom: "Oliver, what did you learn about in primary today?"
ollie: "Something veeeerrrry scary. The Holy Ghost. He flies around all day helping people. Like a superhero. He doesn't even need a car."

The fitting

It is a little big,
and a little long.
But she has three months to grow into it. It could happen...


And the little lady herself gave it a thumbs up!


What more could a mother ask for?

A little project

I bought the fabric a couple of weeks ago and finally sat down today to make an Easter dress for Melissa. It came together much like I had imagined, although I think I need to make a sash to tie around the waist so our tiny daughter doesn't drown in it!

So I don't forget

Mason: Mom, what would happen if you got bit by a T-Rex? Would you die?
Mom: Yes, but it doesn't matter because there are no more T-Rex's.
Mason: I know, they all died. I think they all got bit by other T-Rex's.

And there you have it...