Our end of the week update

My goal for this week was to post what we did each day... each day! But I haven't posted since Tuesdays so I'm a few days behind! I think it's so fun to see what we are up to! Maybe next week I will be able to do it every day...

Wednesday is our big library day (although we had already gone 2 more times this week!) Wednesday is story time. The kids love story time and they get to make a craft at the end. FUN FUN!

Here is Ryan showing off his name tag:


Here is one of our favorite librarians, Norma, leading story time:


Listening to the story:


Craft time:


We had a great time... and picked out a slew of books to bring home. The kids love reading and we've read most of the ones we picked out. We came home for lunch... and Kevin and Ryan took a nap. After they woke up, we went to the gym and went swimming. At 4:30, Eddie went to Junior Jump (a fun gym class) with his friend Sam. Kevin, Ryan and I stayed in the pool. Then we all had a very quick dinner at the gym and we headed to the high school. I have been taking a class called 2nd Step. Ed came with us this week. They provided babysitting for the kids. They had a great time! That was pretty much it - after the class was over, we came home and put the kids to bed.

Thursday morning we got up and went to the "BIG CITY" (Quincy Center) to get haircuts for Eddie and Ryan. We go to a great barber shop on Hancock St. It's always a big adventure. Kevin didn't need a haircut but one of these times, all 3 will be getting their haircut and the same time and I think that would be a really neat picture!

Eddie getting his haircut by Bruno...


Eddie after his haircut:


Ryan getting his haircut by Kathy...


After haircuts, we came home for Kevin's speech therapy session. This time we did it outside and it was really fun. Kevin is doing great and coming a long way! Way to go Kevin! They all got so dirty, I had to give them a quick bath before Eddie could get on the bus for school. Then we had lunch, naps and played outside til dinner...

The other night after Kevin got his pajamas on.. he insisted on wearing Eddie's spider slippers. Then he found a party hat from a birthday party we went to... and since he was wearing a party hat, he figured he could have cake! So he went around with his funny outfit on saying "Cake, cake, cake!" It was so funny!


We have been so fortunate to be able to receive lots of hand-me-down clothes from great family and friends. We just got a couple bags full and the kids were so excited to see what there was. I put a couple sweaters on Kevin and Ryan (as seen in the picture) and Kevin kept looking for something in the bucket of clothes. At first I thought he was saying "horse" because there were a couple horse shirts... but he kept looking and looking for the hat that matched his sweater. He's a funny kid. Here are Kevin and Ryan modeling their new sweaters... and Eddie pre-haircut! Thanks to Kelly and her Mom for the AWESOME clothes!


That brings us up to today ... Friday! I took the kids to a great little place called the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell. I spent a lot of time there as a kid. They have some animal exhibits inside and lots of trails outside. I know the kids will love it there and I think it may even become our new favorite place! They have some great programs and camps I am going to send Eddie to. He's so excited. Today we signed up for a membership and took a peek around. We couldn't stay long because Eddie had to get to school but it was great to get outside in the awesome weather we are having today! I don't know why but Ryan was very scared! I'm sure he'll come around.. maybe just because it was a new place. I said to him "Are you scared?" and he said "Yes". Silly me because the whole rest of the time we were there, I had to hold Ryan while he said "I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared"... that was the first time he ever said scared and I'm not too sure he knows what it means! It was fun anyway but I couldn't get too many pictures because I was holding Ryan. I did manage to get one while they were having a juice break on the trail. Poor Ryan was crying but when I pulled out the camera, he managed to say "cheese" and then went back to his crying. I didn't tell him to say "cheese", I guess it's just automatic when he sees the camera... can you tell I take too many pictures??? Poor little guy!


Then we stopped by Daddy's work and rushed off to get Eddie to school! Another fun day. I'm not sure what we will do this afternoon... maybe the playground!

We have a big weekend coming up but I think I'll save that for next time... Kevin and Ryan are sleeping, Eddie's at school, it's a gorgeous day and I'm on the computer! I'm going outside! Til next time....

Mom - there's a COW!!!!

This was our big joke today. I took the kids to Peaceful Meadows... a lovely little farm ice cream store... supposedly with cows. We didn't see any. So I told the kids, they cows must be giving milk. The kids ate their ice cream while sitting on a grassy patch by a fence overlooking where the cows should be... or you'd think they'd be... and then about every 5 seconds one of them would say "COW!!!" and I'd say "WHERE???" and then if it was Eddie, he'd say "Giving milk" and if it was Kevin or Ryan they'd say "MILK"... and so it went... "COW!!!"... "WHERE???"... "MILK!" They thought it was the funniest thing EVER! It was a beautiful day and I was determined to get outside. My plan was to go to the zoo but by the time Kevin and Ryan woke up, it was too late and I had already promised them some animals so I figured cows would do - if there were any! Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Kevin enjoying his ice cream!


Ryan enjoying his ice cream!


Eddie enjoying his HUGE ice cream cone!


Kevin saying "CHEESE"


This picture of Ryan reminds me of a high school senior photograph with the way he is leaning against the fence...


Eddie posing for the camera!

Another Tough Run

It's 1:30 PM and I just finished my 45 minute run on the back porch! It was tough again... but I think I'm just getting used to doing 45 minutes. It was great being outdoors... I had the radio on and could feel the breeze through the open windows. It felt good though and even better was being done! What a feel of accomplishment! Next goal is to do a few 5k's this summer!

So far, so good!

Today is Tuesday, March 28th and so far, we are having a great day! We were all dressed and ready to go nice and early this morning. First stop was Eddie's preschool... I had a flyer to drop off for an upcoming event we are hosting at the library. Next stop was the library! The kids love the library. We picked out some books, DVD's, computer games and music for the car... then we did a puppet show, cozied up in the reading corner, and read for a while before we headed out. Two books we ordered from other libraries were in so we will look forward to reading those at home. After the library, we went to the Holbrook playground (Eddie's favorite) for about 1/2 an hour. We came home for our usual 10:45 am lunch. Eddie is in school during lunch but they only have time for a snack (10 minutes) so we have a full fledged lunch at 10:45. It works out nicely for Kevin and Ryan too because they are napping during usual lunch times... Eddie played one of his new computer games while I made lunch. We all had lunch... I had a turkey and cheese on an oat bran wrap (the wrap is actually really yummy and only 1 point)... and my designated lunch time Coke Zero... now I will read with Kevin and Ryan for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes as we usually do before they go off to their nap. While they are napping, I will tidy up the dishes and then hop on the treadmill for my 45 minute run... take a shower and then try to get some organizing done in the bedroom! After Eddie comes home and Kevin and Ryan wake up... we will most likely play outside for a while and then come in to get dinner ready. On Tuesdays, Ed comes home a bit early (just a few minutes) so I can head to my Body Pump class... after that is my weigh in at Weight Watchers (wish me luck) and then I go grocery shopping! It's so much easier and faster when you can go alone! So that's it for our busy Tuesday. I'll post some pictures from this morning! Thanks for reading!

Eddie picking out his computer games


Ryan putting on a puppet show


Kevin playing with the roller coaster toy


The tire swing


Peek-a-boo!


Kevin doing the dishes


Ryan too!

Points Worthy?

One of the great things about Weight Watcher is you can have anything you want to eat, you just have to count the points. One of my favorite foods is ramen noodles. You've probably seen them in the grocery store. You can get like 12 for a dollar. Well, I love them! I usually make 2 packages, throw out the broth and just eat the noodles. Well, I finally got around to calculating the points and for 2 packages, it's over 40 points (the calculater only goes SO high).... It's not out of the question, I COULD have it if I wanted to use all my weekly bonus points on it... so we'll see.

And by the way... I consumed 8 points worth of coffee today... worth it? Oh, you betcha!

Monday Morning Ramblings

Good morning! Today is Monday, March 27th and I'm feeling pretty chipper. Why you might ask? Well, because I got 13 hours of sleep last night. How great is that? I went to bed at 4:30 PM intending to take a nap and I woke up at 5:15 this morning. Can you believe I *still* did not want to wake up even after the massive amount of sleep I had? So I went back to sleep and got up at 5:45. I got dressed quickly and was going to run on our treadmill on the backporch until I saw how cold it was. So I hopped in the car and went to the gym. I did my usual 45 minute "run" (I put quotes around it because I'm pretty slow but I still call it running)... and it was *really* hard. It was one of those days where I was counting the minutes. Miraculously, I remembered to bring my MP3 player but I'm finding out that I am not technically skilled enough to use it. So that was pretty frustrating. I watched the news by reading the words going across the bottom of the screen (the name of which escapes me at the moment). It's funny because the "words" are a few seconds behind the actual person speaking, so don't try to lip sync or you'll be very confused. I've decided I'm going to listen to book on tape while I run... any suggestions? Now I just need to find a tape player walkman and I'll be all set. I'm sure I'll figure out the MP3 player someday but for now, I will get caught up on "reading" all the books I've been meaning to read. And just for some comic relief, I'll tell you that while I was wiping down the treadmill after I was done, I was still on the treadmill, leaning over to get my jacket on the the floor when I accidentally turned the treadmill ON and couldn't stop it. Sure, it was going slow but I was kneeled down on it and almost couldn't find something to grab onto. Did anyone notice? Well if they did, they kept their laughter to themselves. I was able to find the stop button and recover nicely but that could have been really embarrassing!

We don't have much on the schedule for today. Eddie will be getting on the bus at 11:05. His class has been doing "The Letter of the Week" this year and today they start the letter Y. Each Monday, he brings home the new letter and we have been putting them up in his room. I will post a picture of his letters.... also pictured are Eddie's fish... Eddie is on the left and Steven is on the right. Kevin and Ryan will nap while Eddie is at school and I'm going to attempt to get some cleaning done. We don't have anything planned for the afternoon yet but hopefully it will be warm and we can either play in the yard or go to the playground.

We are getting a fence! I'm so excited. We are going to move our swing set to the other side of the house. That will give the kids more room to play around the swing set and hopefully they will make use of the picnic table under the slide. That would be nice. In the new location, I will be able to see the kids out the kitchen window and since they will be safely contained by the fence, I will be able to be inside and see them out the window! Yippee!!!

What else is new? I'm trying to write about "regular" stuff because when looking back on this in years to come, those are the things I'll want to remember.

I'm sure you remember my friend, Norma, the TV star... well, she has been an inspiration to me. I'll share 3 reasons.

1) She is very good with her money. We have just started cutting back on spending. Not that we were crazy before... but careless you could say. Not anything extravagant but those iced coffees add up. And going to all those home parties and buying the obligatory one or two items that you totally don't need but wanting to help out, sure add up. And then there's my scrapbooking spending. So we are keeping a spreadsheet of all spending. I have it broken down into categories so we can see where we are spending money the most. And can I say that if you have to write it down, it makes you think about what you are spending and it makes you say "Do I really need that?"... Norma is very good about not spending money and I need to take some more tips from her! (Norma, maybe you can do a blog post on saving money and budget tips!)

2) Her handiwork! Norma is quite crafty as I am finding out. She can crochet a SWEATER! I think that's pretty amazing. She is now doing thread work which I find pretty neat... looking at her needlework has reminded me of all the cross stitch I have done (mostly for gifts) and Saturday night I pulled out a project that is not completed yet. I have a few of those... sigh... Anyway, it's a really nice sampler of a lighthouse and it will look perfect in my bathroom. Look for a picture of the completed version hopefully SOON!

3) Her awesome cooking. I can only hope of being as good as a cook as Norma! Her recent post about her tuna steak lunch (www.notnormajean.blogspot.com) made my mouth water! I have a feeling that Ed will appreciate my new efforts too!

So thanks for the inspiration Normie!

And speaking of cooking, we are trying out a weekly menu. That way instead of not knowing what is for dinner, I will know ahead of time and can plan. Want to hear our schedule?

Sunday - Big roast chicken dinner after church...
Monday - Crock pot... less cooking after the big Sunday dinner...
Tuesday - Casserole... Eddie claims he does not like casseroles but I don't think he knows what he is talking about... I'll let you know how the casseroles go over.
Wednesday - Pasta... the kids love spaghetti and meatballs.
Thursday - This is Ed's night out at the lodge so he doesn't even come home after work. I have designated this chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese night. While not the best things in the world for the kids, I have found a really good brand of nuggets that are delicious and taste like you made them yourself... and I always say, everything in moderation... so they can look forward to it once a week.
Friday - Every Friday night Ed picks up some dough at Bertucci's and the kids make pizza with Dad. They love it... and it's delicious too.
Saturday - Cookout

That's the plan anyway.... What do you think?

I suppose I shall wrap it up for now. I am going to print off some "Y" coloring sheets for the kids.. and get the day started.

Enjoy your day!!!

The toddler lifestyle

There is a lot to be said about the lifestyle of a toddler. It's all about the schedule, right? They wake up, have breakfast, some activity, a snack, maybe play some more, lunch, then a nap... wake up have a snack, play or go out, dinner and bed. Sounds good, doesn't it? Most toddlers thrive on a schedule. I think most adults would too. I have been changing my schedule and it's working out great.

Well, I said I wasn't going to diet this year and I made it all of 3 months before going back to Weight Watchers. I started a couple weeks ago and I'm doing pretty good. I am calling my eating plan the "toddler diet" because like a toddler, I'll have breakfast, then a snack, lunch, then a snack and then dinner. Keeps everything nice and even... never getting TOO hungry. I have been making good food choices and my exercise really is a big help too. I have 53 lbs left to lose. I started out with 80 lbs to lose earlier this year so I am down 27 and have 53 to go. My goal is to lose 40 by Christmas and hopefully the remaining 13 lbs next year.

Day 2 of my new plan and I'm sooooo....

tired! Tonight I will go to bed even earlier (at 9) and hope it all works out. Tomorrow I will head to the gym early - probably leave here at 5:15 that way I can run for an hour or so and still take a shower before I head home. I think the sleep will level off soon.

My crazy little climber

Kevin has become quite the climber as of late...

The kids love this cute little grocery cart... how did he get in there?

Time to grow up?

I have come to figure out that I can't do it all. I can't get up early with the kids, be tired all day and then stay up to the wee hours of the morning playing on the computer and scrapbooking. Sad, but true. For the last two weeks, I have been tired and admittedly, pretty cranky. I've been worn out and chasing two year old twin boys has not helped. In the past week, we have taken lots of safety measures as our little boys turn into little climbers. So, in an effort to keep things on an even keel (meaning that the dishes are done when hubby gets home and we actually have food in the house, not to even mention, dinner once in a while, I am going to make a few changes. First of all, I will be going to bed between the hours of 9 and 10!!! Yikes, did I just say that? No 11, 12 or 1am? It's actually kind of sad to go to bed that early, because I like to stay up and goof off but the trade off is worth it. Today I got up at 5:30 and went to the gym. I ran for 45 minutes. That was a record for me. I felt fantastic and had lots of energy and even did a lot of housework... and I think I'll be good and tired by the time 9:00 rolls around......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Crib Tents

We recently put Kevin and Ryan into toddler beds. The really cute little race car ones. The reason we made the switch? We were visiting friends and I put them in for naps in their Pack n Plays. They are such great sleepers, I didn't anticipate any problems. They were laughing & talking to each other but I figured that was fine, they do that at home in their cribs. However, when we checked on them, they had climbed out of the PnP's and were in another room playing... Back at home, Ryan could get one leg entirely over the crib so we figured it was time to get the toddler beds. Kevin and Ryan have always been fantastic sleeers so we figured no problem, right? Soon after we made the switch, I heard the usual silliness but figured it was fine. I went in to check on them and this is what I found:

Evidently, they had climbed the air filter to the bookcase and the dresser. After that, we decided to clear all equipment/furniture out of the room except for the dresser which is attached to the wall.. so at least we knew they couldn't hurt themselves... did that solve the problem? No! Even though they couldn't hurt themselves with furniture falling on them (the dresser was going to end up in the closet), they could hurt EACH OTHER. I think if they were in separate rooms, they would have been fine but with the two of them together, they would climb into each others cribs and fight! So, we opted for the crib tents.


2 crib tents: $150
Peace of mind while precious children sleep: Priceless

Looking for a way to wear out your kid?

Eddie loves the treadmill. He wants to do it "just like Mom"... I am going to put him in track this summer! Braintree offers a great track program. Eddie's very excited about signing up!

Norma was on the Today show today!

She's famous, she's really really famous!

For those who missed it, you can see the clip in its entirety on the Today show website. Here's the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11762904/

The piece is about a book called "Mommy Wars" and Norma is the stay at home mom featured in the segment.

My friend Norma, the TV Star

Set your TIVO's, get your VCR's ready... my wonderful friend and frequent COMMENT POSTER on my blog is going to be on TV next week. Not just any TV but NATIONAL TV. That's right folks, Norma is going to be on the TODAY show! Friday the 10th... I'm going to TIVO the whole 3 hours. It's going to be a segment on parenting and Norma will be doing the piece about the SAHM (Stay at Home Mom)... the TV crew was at her house in Plymouth yesterday and followed her and her two little girls on a typical day. It sounds like all went well and Norma made some excellent points she wanted to get across... so check it out if you can! In the meantime, you can read more about Norma and her fabulous family on her blog! In fact, Norma is the one who inspired ME to get my blog going... so pay a visit to her site, have a few laughs, LEAVE A COMMENT and tell her Dawn sent you....
http://www.notnormajean.blogspot.com/

It's a jungle IN here

Ok, as I sit here in the kitchen, there are wild animals in my living room. Ok, not really but it sounds like it. The boys are having a grand time making loud animal noises and chasing after each other. Does it bother me? Not today! Why you ask? Because today is March 3rd... and today I am going away for the weekend to scrapbook. This is the weekend I have been waiting for! 30 hours of scrapbooking bliss. No diapers to change, no fights to break up, no meals to make, no cleaning to do. So, no, the noises don't bother me quite as much as usual today. Would I normally be saying something like "Someone's going to get hurt"... sure!

I figured I'd fill you in on some of the latest events going on here and then I'll post some pictures on Monday... I hope to take some pictures this weekend but that would involve charging my camera and that would involve finding the cord so we'll see about that.

I guess the biggest thing going on around here is that Ryan is in a big boy bed. Sigh... they are growing up too fast for me! Over the weekend while Mom was here, we went to Reading to visit Carol, Debra, Chris & Hannah. I knew I'd be there for a while so I brought the Pack & Plays for naptime. I got the beds all set up with Kevin and Ryan's blankets, stuffed animals, etc... after I put Kevin and Ryan in, they chatted for a while and I told Debb that was normal, that's what they do at home. Well, Debb snuck up to peek in on them and they weren't in the room I had left them in, they were in Hannah's room playing. That means they climbed out of the PNPs. Granted, the PNPs are much easier to scale than a crib, but we figured it was only a matter of time before they were hopping out of the cribs and Ryan was getting pretty good at getting his leg completely over the rail... sooooo after much debate, we decided to skip the crib tents and go for the toddler beds. We had one already - a cute race car bed so Ryan is all set up in that one. We just need another. I saw one on Craigslist so hopefully Ed can scoop that up on Saturday.

Oh, another sign of my babies growing up in front of my eyes is now when we go swimming, I not only don't have to get in the pool with them but I don't even need to wear my suit. What a difference a few months makes. A few months ago, I really need to be in there to keep them safe and now they are just fine on their own.

What does Ferris Bueller say? Something like life goes fast... if you blink, you might miss it? Believe it, it's true! I can't believe Kevin and Ryan are almost 2 and a 1/2 and will be heading into preschool in January. Eddie's going to be FIVE and will be enterting KINDERGARTEN in the fall. Did you hear that??? I said KINDERGARTEN... my baby! I tell ya, it's too fast, too fast!

I can't think of anything else exciting going on. Eddie has a mystery fever. He was sound asleep on the bus yesterday and willingly took a nap and then didn't complain about going to bed last night. Yesterday morning he woke up AFTER Kevin and Ryan. You definitely know something is up when THAT happens. His fever was 102.8 all day and all night. Of course it comes down with meds. This morning it was 101.9. So we are following the "24 hour rule" and staying home from art class and school today... I'm packing and getting ready and cleaning up the house... Good thing there is a Little Einstein marathon on today. They are loving the leisurely life today. Have you ever seen that show? It's the cutest thing ever! Check it out sometime.

Well, that's all for now. I am going to finish getting ready. I am going to make up some sandwiches and snacks and pack some drinks so we'll have plenty of food... don't want to get us scrappers hungry.

I'll post more on Monday and hopefully have some pictures too.