My Overdue Update

It's been a while since I posted but here I am! I just uploaded tons of pics so sit back, grab a latte and enjoy!

The kids love hamming it up for the camera! (Gee, I wonder WHY!) Here's Ryan in his "Cool Dude" (as he would call it) pose:


Kevin showing us his puppy:


And Eddie being silly!


The first day of school went really well. Kevin and Ryan really enjoyed themselves and did not seem to notice that Eddie and I were leaving. They had a great time and can't wait til next week.

I tried to get separate pictures of them on the first day of school (for their scrapbooks of course) but they didn't like that idea so I got a couple of them together:

Can't you just hear them saying "CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE"?



The obligatory pictures on the bench:


Don't forget big brother, Eddie!


Ryan's Backpack


Kevin's Backpack


At the school entrance:


Ryan playing in the ball pit:


Kevin playing in the ball pit:


Yeehah!


We started working on our garden today. It was a big hit with all the kids! We planted grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Big Boy tomatoes, cayenne peppers, jalapeno peppers and sweet peppers. We still have to get cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, corn and whatever else strikes our fancy. We have some plants on the back porch that we started as seeds. We have a few varieties of sunflowers... some for the sunflower house, some for a planter Ed made last year and more that I am not sure where they will go yet. We also have Morning Glories to go in the planter too. I planted some hydrangeas along the back walkway... we need to get bushes for the front of the house, and lots and lots of mulch. We still have a bunch of fruit to plant too... raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Last year we planted blueberries and grapes so hopefully we'll see a good crop this year! Enjoy the pictures of the kids hard at work in the garden! Hopefully they will enjoy the harvest too! (As well as eating it!)









(And PS In case you were wondering... Yes, Ryan does wear his Thomas shirt every day! Gotta get a short sleeved shirt for him!)

My Babies Have Backpacks

Ok, so I *know* they are not babies anymore. They are 2.5! How did that happen? Time has gone by too fast. My babies are starting SCHOOL! Next week! They are starting a "group" at Early Intervention. Eddie did this too. It's a 1.5 hour drop off and they meet once a week on Thursdays. They do songs, circle time, crafts, snack, goodbye song. It's an awesome group, the teachers are great, and I know Kevin and Ryan will love it. It's a great segway into preschool. PRESCHOOL??? Did I say PRESCHOOL? Yep, in November, when they turn 3, I'm sending them to preschool. 4-day-a-week preschool. Sigh... I was going to send them, then I wasn't going to send them but now I am going to send them. I didn't think they would be ready since they won't be 3 til November but... they ARE ready, much to my chagrin. They watch Eddie get on the bus and off the bus every day and they are SO ready to go to school. We have gone to a few things at the school where the school has provided babysitting and they LOVE it. They ask for school all the time. We even bought them backpacks. Teeny tiny preschool Thomas the Tank Engine backpacks. Red for Ryan and Blue for Kevin. (I will post pics next week). They love them... and they look adorable with them on... So, next week, I will take them to "group". You have to stay with them for the first few weeks to make sure they are OK with separation. After that, Eddie and I will be doing "something special" during that time. Not sure what is open at 9:00 am.... but we'll figure it out. Eddie wants to go bowling but I don't think that will work at 9:00 am. We'll find something fun. It's going to be a role reversal... when Eddie was going to group, Kevin and Ryan were born and I'd drop off Eddie and take Kevin and Ryan to Walmart. And just think, in the fall, if everything is aligned properly and everyone is in school in the morning (which I am thinking will be the plan), I'll have 4 mornings to myself. What in the world will I do with myself?

Another Changaroo

I've changed the blog design again... any comments? I think this is a cool design. How long will I make it bfore I change again?

Good Friday Morning!

Good morning everyone! Our day started out with planting sunflowers. We are going to do a lot of planting this year! We rearranged the yard and have lots more room for a garden. One of the things we are planting is a Sunflower House. We got the idea from Family Fun magazine. They call it "Sunflower Digs". Basically you plant sunflowers in a six foot square (just along the perimeter) and when the sunflowers get tall enough, you tie them together to create a roof. It looks totally cool. We started our seeds this morning. We are also planting a massive vegetable garden. We planted 3 blueberry bushes and a grape "bush" last year. This year we are adding raspberries and strawberries.... I'll post pictures as we get more stuff done. Last night I planted 3 hydrangea bushes along the side of the house. Looks like Spring has sprung! Enjoy the pics, I am going away with Kelly for the weekend! Ciao!

Eddie planting some seeds:


Kevin and Ryan joining in on the fun:


This is what the finished product should look like (from Family Fun's website):


A bonus picture from the other day of Eddie and Ryan watching "The Magic School Bus". I think Magic School Bus may have replaced Zoom as Eddie's favorite show. If not, they are definitely TIED for favorite. He loves science!

I did the 5 mile "I could never do that" run today!

It was great... I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!

A quick update!

Hello! I haven't had time to post lately so I'm going to make this a quick one. We've had a busy week so far. Saturday we went to the Street Performer Auditions at Fanueil Hall and it was SO much fun! Oh, and yes, I had the lobster bisque... and yes, it was SO worth it! I didn't eat to get all of it though because Kevin and Ryan were gobbling it up too! The auditions were so fun. It was really COLD though. Almost winter like! But we had so much fun. I would like to go back many more times this summer. The kids are LOVING the train rides. Last time we took the commuter rail and this time we took the T. I have to say that I think Boston is a wee bit behind the times and not all station are handicapped (aka stroller) accessible so at one point we had to back track a few stops to find an elevator. Didn't bother the kids though! I ran into a co-worker from a few years ago and we chatted on the train. It was a good day!










Today was a very busy day (Wednesday). We left the house at 8:30... all 3 boys got their haircut at the same time (see photo)... it was so neat. We were the only ones there and all you could hear was buzzers and clippers.



After the haircuts, we had story time and then we went to an awesome birthday party! Needless to say, I was beat when I got home. Oh, yeah, and the kids too. I put Kevin and Ryan in really late for their nap... I don't think they fell asleep til 3:15 but it's all good because when they wake up (around 5:30-6:00 is my guess), we'll have dinner and head out to Awanas which is a late night anyway. Oh.. I forgot to mention that after Story Time, when it was Kevin's turn to "push the button" on the elevator, he accidentally pressed the emergency call button which I think dials 911. Talk about embarrassing. I had to give my name and location and convince them they I really didn't need any help.. really. I know they need to check it out and all but really, we were OK.

I'll update more soon! Thanks for peeking!

Our Week In Review

It's hard to believe it's been an entire week since I've posted but it has! Time sure has gone by fast this week. This week has been school vacation for Eddie and it's been so nice not to be tied down to a schedule. We still have to be home for Kevin and Ryan's naps but we can be fairly flexible with that... so let's see if I can remember anything we did this week! I have a feeling it will be a long update so grab a latte and enjoy!

Sunday was Easter. The Easter Bunny left a plastic egg on the table with a clue in it. That clue led to another egg with ANOTHER clue in it. There were actually 4 clues in all leading to the baskets filled with goodies. Here are the clues:

Are we ready to start?

Let’s take a vote!

Look in the basket

Where you find the remotes!

_

No basket here,

Not even a jelly bean…

Let’s go to where we go

When we need to get clean!

_

The bunnies like carrots,

Can you hear them crunch?

Let's go to the place

Where we make Mommy's lunch!

_

What's that noise?

Is that an alarm?

Quick!

Go look, below the farm.

The kids loved searching for the eggs containing the clues. That Easter Bunny sure is tricky, isn't he? He sends out a special thank you to Paige for the last minute help with the clue wording! The baskets were really cute... they are in the shapes of animals. Eddie got a ladybug since he is a bug hunter (just like cousin Evan) and Kevin & Ryan got frog baskets. Inside each basket was a cute stuffed bunny, a chocolate bunny and a funny chocolate eggs. The kids were over the moon with excitement. After breakfast, we headed outside for the egg hunt. Kevin and Ryan were really into this year.. way more than last year! Eddie was a pro but was careful to share with his brothers. After the egg hunt, Nana came over and we all headed out to church. After church, we came home and Ed cooked up a fabulous ham dinnner while I took a nap. You see, Eddie woke up at 11:30 pm on Saturday night and thought it was time to get up... so he asked me quite frequently if it was time yet.... Needless to say, I was quite tired and Ed was kind enough to let me nap while he cooked... and after dinner, I napped again! I was tired! All in all, it was a nice day! Hey, any day that involves a nap is a nice day in my book!









Monday... Ed had off from work! Yay! Any day Dad is home is a great day! We decided to do something fun and I being the city girl will jump at any opportunity to go into Boston. Recently Eddie's friend from school went to South Station with his brother and his Dad to check out the trains. They went on the commuter rail and the kids loved it. I thought that was such a great idea, I knew these guys would have a blast... and that they did! For starters, we went on the commuter rail. That was a first for all of us. AND we went on a double decker and got to sit upstairs. That's the BIG time for kids. It was a great ride.. nice and fast... 30 minutes to South Station. After checking out the trains for a while, we walked over to Fanueil Hall. Another favorite destination of mine. It was so nice just walking around and checking out all the sites. We were able to catch two street performer shows. One was a juggler and one was an escape artist. Eddie was mesmerized! Kevin and Ryan enjoyed it too. We had lunch there. I had a bread bowl of clam chowder and it was absolutely delightful! After I ordered it and paid for it, I noticed they had lobster bisque and wished I got that!!! Next time, next time! We came home and played in the yard til bedtime. I got some yard work done. We rearranged the yard a bit and it's coming out really nicely! I'll post pictures when we are done.

Tuesday... turned out to be a long day. On Monday afternoon, Eddie jumped off the slide of ours swing set (which is getting way more use in our new space). I guess he didn't jump from the TOP of the slide but about 1/2 way up... He hurt his foot but we didn't think it was broken or fractured. We called the pediatrician and the nurse said to elevate his foot, put some ice on it and give him some Motrin... and if it was not better or was worse in the morning, to come in. Well, he wouldn't walk on it when he woke up... so I took him to the office just to make sure... the doctor looked at it and sent us to the hospital for x-rays. The whole process took about 3 hours. The x-rays looked fine... but he still couldn't walk on it. We went home and hung out for the afternoon (translation: lots of TV).

Wednesday... was a really good day. In the morning, we met up with the gals and kids from the twins club at the Milton fire station. The kids got to climb on the trucks, see a truck get called out on an emergency, look at the inside of the station... and the best part.... they got to SQUIRT the hose. Was that totally cool or what? It was a good time.












On the way home, I got the bright idea to stop off at the Trailside Mueseum at Blue Hills to see the otters we have lovingly nick-named "Pip and Pop". Kevin and Ryan have never seen them and I know they'd get a kick out of it. It was a bit early to go home and I thought this would be perfect. HOWEVER, much to my surprise, we found out that our little otter friends have passed on. We did see some other animals and the kids loved that. They saw the hiking trail and we decided to explore a bit. I haven't hiked there in a while but in my mind, I pictured it as being a very easy hike. There were two trails, the rocky one and the longer, loop that goes around the "harder" trail. I figured we were just fine... remembering how short it was. Well, I found out it wasn't as short or easy as I thought. At least not for 2 year olds. I think if I had Ed with me, it would have been easier but we made it to the top! Woo hoo! Kevin and Eddie made it all the way without help but Ryan wanted me to carry him... so we made it to the top, climbed the observation tower and had fun. Next time, I will bring lunch but this was a last minute idea so we headed down... and since I hadn't planned on a long outing, we were in prime nap time and I had two tired toddlers who both wanted to be held so what's a mother to do? I carried them of course! 65 lbs of kids! That made it a long hike back. I did manage to convince them to take turns here and there, one walking and one being held... but let me tell you, I was never so happy to see my car. I had promised them all kind of treats and anything they wanted from McDonald's which is a super-big treat and ice cream... anything they wanted! But they were sound asleep before I could make good on the deal. Ooops! We got home and K & R took a really good nap. Of course Eddie woke up as soon as I place him on his bed and assured me that he REALLY was not tired. Uh-huh.... Yep... sure.. anyway, he relaxed on the recliner and watched TV and I did some yard work.

That night I was at the library for a child safety presentation. Alyssa from Wander Wear (www.wanderwear.com) was there speaking about how to keep kids safe in public. It was great. The PTO had asked her to come speak and I think it went really well. Afterwards, I hung out in the children's department with my friend and we picked out a small mountain of books to take home for our kids. It was so nice to be able to leisurely select books... rather than try and look while keeping an eye on the kids.

Thursday... Ah, Thursdays are a great day! My friend and I have started swapping babysitting on Thursdays. It's great because we can plan our doctor appointments and other errands that are easier done solo on that day. It's working out great! I dropped off Eddie and Ryan. Kevin and I went to WW (down two lbs - woo hoo!) and then we came home for Kevin's speech therapy. He's doing really well. And it was SO nice to be able to just focus on Kevin without having to help Eddie and Ryan. We sat outside with therapist and Kevin did great. He was being super silly and it was really cute. The therapist said she is going to have a speech therapist come out and do an eval and see if Kevin might need a bit more help. He's really coming along but with his low muscle tone, he might need extra help to be able to grasp certain letters.

Nana, Uncle Mike, Auntie Kelly and the kids came over for lunch. Nana bought Papa Gino's for everyone and we had fun sitting outside and watching the kids play. After that, it was my turn to babysit so my friend dropped off her kids and then did her errands. My kids had a great time, they love having friends over!

After Ed got home, I went out running and went a little bit further making it just about 3.1 miles which is the equivalent of a 5k. Yippee! At least I know I will be able to FINISH the 5k in June. Now I can work on my speed... which evidently needs work. As I was jogging yesterday, an older gentleman told me I needed to "pick it up". Jeepers! I'm a beginner here!

Friday... well, that brings us up to today. We had plans to go to the beach. It was in the mid 70's yesterday and I guess we were hoping it would be nice today. It ended up being COLD - mid-40's so the beach was out. We did end up going to the beach anyway and just checking it out. The waves were WILD... after we watched the waves, we stopped at Old Navy and picked up a few things for the boys (and Dad too)... then we met up with our twins club friends for playgroup. We usually can't go because of Eddie's school schedule so it was nice to not have to get home for the bus. It was fun... Poor Kevin and Ryan got a couple scratches but they are OK. We came home for naps and I got some more yard work done. After Ed got home, I went out and measured out some different running routes in the car. I came home and went out running. This time I did 3.5 miles. This will be my route until the 5k on June 4th. It felt good. I felt like I could keep going and going.

Well, I suppose this is long enough... tomorrow we are going back to Fanueil Hall to see the street performers audition for the upcoming season! It should be fun. I know Eddie will love it even though he says he doesn't want to go. Lately he's been a real stick in the mud about leaving the house. Jenny the Juggler will be auditioning at 10:30 and I definitely want to see that. I want to try and be there by 9:30 so the kids can get their faces painted. Should be a fun day! In the afternoon, I plan to do some yard work and get a nice long run in. Yippee! Saturday night I am going out with some friends and Sunday Ed will be gone allllllll day and alllllll night at the State Cribbage Tournament. Not as a spectator but as a competitior! Yep, he won the locals or whatever you call it so he's off to the finals. I will take the kids to church and then home for lunch and naps. We'll have to think up something good for the afternoon. Any ideas?

Nighty Night!

I did it! I did it! I did it! Hooray!

I just got in from a nice run! I could barely contain myself and had to share with my dear readers that I ran the 3 mile route outside! The route I've been talking about doing for TEN YEARS. Sad but true. It was hard for the last 1/2 mile but I did it. Now I just need to work up to 3.3 or 3.5 (whatever the 5k translates to) and do it so I'm not hurting at the end. 5k is early June. Wish me luck!

A nice surprise

I had Weight Watchers tonight... and as you know, I was anticipating a gain. I lost .2 lbs. Yep, 2/10s of a pound. But it was a LOSS! I was floored. I was so excited. Now I'm .6 away from my 10 pound sticker. I hope to get it next week. I'll say it again for the record, running rocks! I know that has been a huge contributing factor to my weight loss success. I hope to get more runs in this week than last week. Thanks for tuning in!

Running ROCKS

I just finished a 2 mile run on the treadmill. While not outside, I was on the back porch with the windows open so I had the "feeling" of being outside while actually being inside. I upped my speed a little bit and it felt so good to finish. I have to say running is the most effective way for me to burn calories. I feel so good after... tired but in a good way. You can feel your legs getting stronger each time you run.. the stronger you get, the easier it is, the easier it is... the more you want to challenge yourself. It's all about goals, no matter how mini, and meeting them. I am going to do a 5k this year at Sunset Lake sponsored by the Hollis School PTO. I'm looking forward to it! It's so exciting to say that I'm "in training" for my "big event".

I'm doing pretty good on Weight Watchers although I was pretty lax with my points this week. I am anticipating a gain or at very very best staying the same. It's all good though. I didn't go totally overboard with my eating and I still did my running so I might come out even. We'll see. I am expecting a gain though. It would have been a good week to have a loss because I'm only .8 pounds away from my 10 pound loss sticker and you KNOW how important those stickers are. I have a little collection on my weigh in book and I'm determine to cover the front! So, we'll see how I do tonight. I had a high points morning. I had an energy bar which was 4 points, bagel and cream chese (4 points), apple (1 point) and a yummy delicious Starbucks Frappaccino (from my fridge not a Starbucks store - that's for Mom who says I spend too much on coffee... and I even bought them at BJ's to save more money!) (4 points) so that brings me up to 13 points before lunch. So I'll take my shower now and have a HUGE salad with lowfat dressing (4 points) and a very yummy Lean Cuisine... for about 6 points and I'll be sitting pretty... tonight I'll have a light dinner and a low fat ice cream treat and call it a day. Wish me luck on the scale tonight!

An Updated Photo

A friend of mine corrected the lighting in this picture from the playground. I plan to take it again when everyone has t-shirts on so the jackets won't cover their faces. This is one of my favorite pictures. Yes, I'm the crazy Mom laying on the ground in the mulch under the swing hoping not to get kicked in the face or even more importantly, having foreign objects fall into my precious camera!