3 If By Train

Our trip to the Science Museum was a hit! We took the train because it's 1/2 the fun... however, part of the red line was down so it took a bit longer than we thought... we had to take a bus to our stop... on the way home we took a trolley... next time, we will drive! Other than that, though, we had a blast! We didn't get to see it all... so there will have to be a next time! Although we are not ready for a pass yet... I do see one in our future at some point when everyone is older. Enjoy the pics!

Snacks on the train! (Thanks Darlene!)


Is that Moose A. Moose?


The beach! The beach! I wish I was at the beach!


Deer







Is this a space shuttle or one of those fancy nap pods?




Take a picture of me, Mom!


Night Night!


Cool contraption!


I know, I do too many pictures... sorry! Thanks for peeking.

The Childrens Museum Revisted

I just found some pictures that I must not have uploaded the other day... I thought they were too cute not to share. Enjoy! By the way, that's paint on Kevin's face, not a big scratch!

It's all about 4's

(Please sing to the tune of Raffi's classic hit "Going to the Zoo"... I love Raffi!)

"I'm going on a CRUISE, CRUISE, CRUISE... How about YOU, YOU, YOU..
You can come TOO, TOO, TOO, going on a CRUISE, CRUISE, CRUISE..."

I'm so excited! I'm going on a cruise on March 4th with my Mom to some wonderful, exotic and WARM locations. We will be cruising out of Fort Lauderdale and staying in a hotel the night before. The group we are traveling with is a health oriented group. There will be vegetarian cuisine prepapred for us, lots of presentations to learn from and all kinds of exercise classes, etc. It should be an enlightening trip. Lots of experts from many different fields will be there, and you can even have a consult with them (for a fee of course!)...

What does this have to do with 4's? Well, since I am all about numbers and things working out "EVEN"... this makes TOTAL sense to me. Today is the FOURTH, my cruise leaves on the FOURTH, and that gives me FOUR months to lose weight and get in shape before the cruise. Strange coincidence? I think not! So as of today, I'm going ALL RAW (yes, again!) for at least 4 months. I can do anything for 4 months, right? I feel 1000 times better when I do it, and I'm looking forward to it. I have been SO tired lately and I know I will have much more energy once I get into it... now if I could find time to exercise, that would help too. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

Random Funny Things

We were re-arranging Eddie's room and we needed some tape to hang up a few things... Eddie says "Mom, do you have any goose tape?"... after a few seconds I figured out he meant DUCT tape! How cute!

The other day we were walking somewhere and Ryan was on top of my shoulders and he wasn't liking it too much. I think he was nervous about being up so high but I was tired of holding him and we were in a hurry... Ed told Ryan to tell him (Ed) what was wrong and Ryan said (very slowly) "Dad.... I.... can't.... speak...." It was hilarious!

Kevin has decided diapers are not for him anymore... well, no - he's not ready to potty train, his dislike of diapers is only SOMETIMES... the other night in his crib, he decided to remove his pajamas AND his diaper. When Ed went to check on him and put a blanket over him (another thing he doesn't like is blankets), Kevin was sleeping on his back, totally comfortable... with NOTHING on! Luckily he's a great sleeper, I took him out of the crib while Ed changed the sheets (of course they were wet)... I put him back in a diaper and PJ's, back in the bed, put a blanket over him and he never even knew!

Our plan for the day

Today is Saturday! Yippee! I have from today and tomorrow and I'm glad for the break and to be able to have some fun family time! Ed took Eddie to his LAST soccer game this morning. It was an 8:00 am start. It's pretty cold out there today! The season has been great so far! Eddie seemed excited to play. Today they will all receive soccer trophies... and their soccer pictures should be in too. I think Eddie really enjoyed it! His coach was great and Ed was assistant coach so that was really fun! After the game, the team is going to Dunkin' Donuts for a treat!

After they arrive home, we are going to hit the library and pick up our passes for the Science Museum in Boston. I actually have a ton of books to donate as well so I have to make sure to bring them while I have a couple extra hands to help me. The boys are SO excited to go to the museum... and for another chance at riding the T!!! I can't remember the last time I've been there. With any luck, I'll remember my camera AND my memory card... that always comes in handy! The time we went to the Children's Museum with Ed, I had my CAMERA but no MEMORY CARD so therefore, no pictures.

After the museum trip, if it's not too cold out, we need to clean up the yard. It's a mess. We are taking down the garden too so that needs to get done. We should probably take down all the Halloween decorations... I'm so looking forward to getting set up for Christmas... Last year on the day after Christmas, I went to Walmart and got LOTS of bargains. We got our singing & dancing Santa for inside the house which the kids LOVE (and, heck, I do too!)... and for the outside, I got one of those inflatible things... it's a chimney and Santa pops up and down inside of it. I think it's gonna be so cute... and we got some light up candy canes to go up our walkway and a boatload of new lights. I just can't wait to get it all set up. With any luck (and organization), maybe we can do it the day after Thanksgiving... that's the day I "officially" start taking over the house with Christmas music... may as well do the decorations too! Maybe if I do it that way, I can hold off a bit on the tree so it doesn't dry out COMPLETELY by Christmas.... and I do have to work the Friday after Thanksgiving so I'll have my work cut out for me!

I think I got sidetracked there! Have a good day!

Our Big Day in the City

A few weeks ago we took the kids to the Children's Museum in Boston. We have a pass so it was free and it was cheap enough to take the T (Kevin and Ryan are still free)... and the T was one of the highlights of the day for them! They loved it... and they seem to love going into the city which is great because I am a city girl and maybe they get that from me! Surely anyone who knows Ed knows that he is the opposite of anyone who enjoys city life! LOL! I guess they say opposites attract! At any rate... we went two Saturdays ago and it was great... and this week Eddie had a day off from school so I took the kids back in town to the museum. It was my first time taking the three of them on the train by myself and they were very, very good. I was so happy! We had such a good time! We've already reserved the library passes for the Science Museum and we'll be heading there tomorrow. Eddie is all about science these days so I think he'll really enjoy it!

Ryan climbing through the light up tunnel:


Eddie's turn:


Kevin showing that his shirt glows under the black lights:


Eddie - the latest member of the Blue Man Group!


Go Eddie Go!


Eddie getting up close and personal with the band:


Look at me, Ma!


Finger painting... isn't it fun to make a mess somewhere other than your house? LOL!


I think washing hands was almost as fun as the finger paints!

Happy Halloween!

The kids had a great time on Halloween. Eddie dressed up as Spiderman, Kevin was a dog and Ryan was a monkey. However, Kevin and Ryan wouldn't wear the hats/hoods that came with their outfits so it was pretty hard to tell exactly what they were. I had to work but was able to Trick or Treat for about 20 minutes before I had to leave. The kids had a great time. Ed took them around the neighborhood after I went to work... we left a giant bowl of candy out for Trick or Treaters who came to our house.

What is going on at Seattle Grace?

(Don't read if you haven't see the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy)...

What did you think of last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy? Let me just say that if anything transpires between Meredith and Mark, I will *scream* and then NEVER watch the show again! OK, you know that won't happen (well, the screaming will but not the NEVER watching again)... but I will be sorely disappointed in the show! I'm hoping that when they showed us a glimpse of Mark telling Meredith to "start fresh"... they were just leading us to believe he was coming on to her but he really wasn't. Just like they made us think Derek was with some other woman but it was really his sister. They sure are sneaky over there...

So let's break it down and let me know what you think!

George & Callie: Will they get back together? Is Callie feeling guilty about her adventures with Mark or is she just fed up with playing second fiddle to George's lady friends? And what was the thing with the ham & eggs? Don't you just love that when there is an issue on the show, conveniently a patient has a similar situation and chats about it?

Alex: I've been saying for a while that I think Alex is gonna be a full fledged OB/GYN before we know it... I think he needs to ditch Mark (which I think already happened)... although if he was REALLY interested in plastics, it would only behoove him to kiss up to Mark but who wants to do that? Make calls to the DMV? Puh-leez... but maybe that's the way it really is?

Izzie: What's the take on Izzie? Ed says in the real world she would have been arrested a long time ago. What's your take on that? What do you think about her role in this weeks episode about the girl burning herself? Should Meredith have picked up on that?

Burke & Yang: What's gonna happen here? Is someone gonna die on Burke's watch? Is Christina gonna save the day and make him look like a fool? When will it come out that he has a tremur? During surgery?

Mer & Der: What is the deal here? They are FINALLY in the situation we have all been waiting for (or at least me)... they are both unattached (the whole Finn thing was just to mix things up, I don't know how she could have been confused over her decision)... Especially in this episode when they were on the stairs and in perfect position for him to say he wants to get together and then lean over and plant a big smooch on her, he says he wants time to himself???? What is up with that? I suppose it make sense and all... I guess they just like to keep us in suspense!

Bailey: Poor Bailey! I feel so sad for her. You could tell she was so devastated when she was taken off Burke's surgery... like everyone feels like have questions about her judgement... I'm glad she caught Yang changing up the boards. Something's gonna happen between those two... we'll have to wait and see.

Who did I miss? Addison... I think she'll be status quo for a while. Anyone else?

OK, let me know what you think! Until next week...

Awesome Chicken Recipe

I made this delicious chicken in the crock pot but would recommend that it be cooked in the oven instead... Use this recipe to prepare the chicken and then just cook for as long as you would normally cook chicken (depending upon the size of the bird)...

Yummy Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:
One whole chicken
One lemon
1/2 cup OJ
1/2 cup honey

Poke a bunch of holes in the lemon. Put lemon inside the chicken cavity.
Pour OJ and honey over chicken.
Cook as usual.
Enjoy!

It was so yummy, my kids gobbled it up!
And if you make it, let me know how you like it!

Kevin's IEP Meeting

Kevin has been receiving services through Early Intervention for a couple years now... he was first diagnosed with low muscle tone at 5 months and started receiving PT services. Actually, the doctor picked up on it at 4 months but we didn't contact EI until 5 months. At first there wasn't a therapist available to come out for home visits so we started going to an outpatient facility two times a week... after that, we started having weekly sessions with a fabulous therapist... that ended after about a year or so. At that point, Kevin was tested for speech and starting doing therapy at home with another fabulous therapist. Well, Early Intervention only provides services until the child turns 3... then we go to the school system. Eddie was in the integrated program at the public preschool and I couldn't say more wonderful things about it. They are great... so I know Kevin will be in good hands. We had his evaluation a few weeks ago... he was tested in 3 areas, PT (physical therapy), OT (occupational therapy) and speech. Yesterday I met with the school to find out if he qualifies for services and as it turns out, he does. He qualifies in all 3 areas. They want to see him 4 times a week. They recommended "discreet" services which means I will take him to the school just for the services... it's not part of a preschool environment. I'm so glad they didn't recommend school. I don't think he's ready for that yet. First of all, the program is 4 days a week... and secondly, I don't think he has the endurance or attention span to go that many days or to pay attention/sit still/follow directions for 2.5 hours that many days... Anywho... the last day of "group" is next Thursday and Kevin will begin his therapy on the 15th. Luckily, they were able to book the PT/OT back to back on Wednesdays so he will get PT from 9:00 - 9:30 and OT from 9:30 - 10:00... speech will be 2 times a week and I'm not sure when those days will be yet. I am really hoping for morning sessions, though, because Kevin still naps at least 3 hours a day (if not 4) and I really think he won't be very productive if he's a tired little guy.

Wicked Windy Weekend

I had a fun weekend! The weather was quite windy but not too cold! We had a fun time hanging out and playing with the kids! Both nights Deb and I fed the baby so Diane could sleep... it was great to help out!! Yesterday I dropped Deb off at the airport and headed home... was a pretty good ride but a little slow (maybe because of the high wind warnings?) all the way til I was *almost* home and got stuck in traffic for a good while because of an accident... was good to be home though! Now we are starting a new week... Eddie's school has a Halloween parade tomorrow, should be fun! I have to work tomorrow night but maybe can go out with the kids a little bit before I have to leave... Eddie's last soccer game is this week (last week's was canceled due to rain)... I'll write more later! Have a good day!

How do you "Un-Beta" your Blogger Blog?

Anyone? I said I would try the beta version and now my friends who usually leave comments are not able to and I really like to get comments... any ideas?

Going Away For The Weekend

It's been a busy day today... I'm off to work and then tomorrow morning I'll be driving to PA to visit Diane and her new baby, Lani Katherine. Deb will be there from Colorado... should be a fun visit! I'll be driving back on Sunday... see you then!

Kevin got his flu shot today...

I called the pedi to see what the rules were this year on flu shots... to see if the kids could get them now that Kevin and Ryan are over 23 months... so I asked the receptionist and she says she'll connect me with a nurse... so I give my name and say I was wondering if Kevin was eligible and before I can even get out my spiel about how he's had pnemonia twice, etc... she says "Yep, Kevin's eligible..." and goes on to say since he's been hospitalized and stuff, that qualifies him. Wow, guess they know us at the doctor's office! We went and had it today. He wasn't very excited about it but he's fine. I was so excited my girlfriend picked up Eddie from school today so I didn't have to wake Kevin and Ryan up from their nap to do the pickup... I knew Kevin would be especially worn out from the shot... 3.5 hours later and he's still sleeping! Hope we'll have an easy winter!

Don't call me on the morning of November 13th...

the phone is sure to be busy! Why you ask? Well, that's the day that Diego LIVE tickets go on sale!!! From my experience with other kid's shows (The Wiggles to be exact)... these shows sell out faster than Rolling Stones or Bruce Springstein tickets! When we took Eddie to the Wiggles, I was a very fast order-er (if that's a word)... and we had nose-bleed seats... we were literally the next to last row in the place. Didn't seem to bother Eddie any.... Wish us luck getting good seats... I know they will LOVE it!!!

I'm a White Chocolate Mocha Frappaccino

Hey, anyone who knows me knows that I don't like chocolate... here are the results... Hey, I could go for a frappaccino right now! What kind of coffee are you?

White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino

One of a kind and forward looking, you're the first to introduce a wacky new trend to your friends. And even if your ideas seem weird, they get adopted pretty quickly.

What Flavor Frappuccino Are You?

That's more like it...

Was curious how this would turn out since I don't like cold weather... looks like it was right on the money.

You Are Sunshine

Soothing and calm You are often held up by others as the ideal But too much of you, and they'll get burned You are best known for: your warmth Your dominant state: connecting

What Type of Weather Are You?

Me.... Cookie Monster???

Not so sure this is accurate... but the results say I am cookie monster, who are you?

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

My Favorite Pumpkin Recipe

The fall weather is making me feel like baking! And Norma (www.notnormajean.blogspot.com) just posted a fabulous pumpkin recipe on her blog which prompted me to share MY favorite pumpkin recipe. It's for pumpkin cookies. I got this recipe from a great friend! Thanks K!!! These cookies are delish with the frosting or without. Enjoy! If you try them, let me know what you think! MMMMMM!! I wish I could have some right now... of course, today is DAY ONE of Weight Watchers. I wonder how many points one cookie would be...

PUMPKIN COOKIES:

2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, soft
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin
Brown Sugar frosting (recipe below)...

*Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon (set aside)
*Beat butter, add sugar, then egg
*Stir in pumpkin
*Stir in flour mixture
*Bake @ 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes...

BROWN SUGAR FROSTING:
3T butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In pan, heat butter and brown sugar until the butter melts. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add 2-3 tablespoons of hot water until smooth. Frost cookies immediately.

ENJOY!

Eddie's first day of Kindergarten!

Hi everyone,

Today was Eddie's first day of school. He did great! Yesterday we had Story Time at the school. We met the teacher and his classmates. Then we rode the bus and checked out the route. It was fun. Eddie already knows 3 of the kids. There are 15 kids... 11 boys and 4 girls. Seems like a good group.

Today Eddie had swimming lessons at 9:00 am. We haven't taken then since last year's school ended. There are 3 kids in his class, and he did great!

Eddie's in afternoons and he'll be getting on the bus around 12:15. I took some pictures... got him on the bus and he didn't look back! I hope he has a great day!

In front of our "new tree"... I take a picture here each year to see how he's growing (and how the tree is growing!)


Showing off his backpack:


Cheese!


Getting on the bus...


In his seat...

A perfect day!

It was the perfect day! We loaded up the car and headed to Nantasket Beach. The tide was just going out... so we didn't have to worry about high tide. Lucky for us since I forgot to check the tide schedule before we headed out. We arrived nice and early and scored a good parking space right near our favorite beach spot. We brought along the frisbee which is a huge hit! Turns out the kids love it and are pretty a good at throwing it too.

Kevin's perfect throw to Dad:


More frisbee fun:



We recently purchased an orange "bucket" to carry our beach toys in and after many attempts to dig a hole and fill it with water, we figured out that if we bury our beach bucket... we can fill it with water and it makes a perfect place for floating our boat!

The famous orange beach toy bucket:


We wanted to bring our kite but it needs a few repairs right now... we did see some others flying kites at the beach though and the kids loved that... especially the Sponge Bob kite! The family next to us had a really cool rainbow kite and they rigged it up so that their kids could fly it too. At one point, however, one of their kids let go of their kite and it took off... In a stroke of genius, Ed hopped up and chased the kite and caught it in record time before it took off over the ocean. Everyone cheered! Ed saved the day! (Too bad we didn't have the camcorder at the ready!) It was pretty cool and the family was very grateful to have their kite back. Saving kites works up a pretty big appetite so we headed up to the picnic benches to have lunch.

After lunch, we went on the carousel ride courtesy of Eddie who paid for everyone with his own money since Mom and Dad were out of cash. The kids had a great time on the "horsie ride"... after that, we had a little more beach time before we headed home.

We made many sand castles which Ryan enjoyed kicking down... so while everyone was playing frisbee, Mom made a giant fish in the sand... and then we took a picture of it before the kids knocked it down.

Sand Castles:


Mom's Cool Fish:


You couldn't ask for a better day! Kevin and Ryan fell asleep in the car at 4:15 on the way home and didn't wake up til 6:30 this morning... going to the beach sure is tiring work! That was probably our last family beach since fall is practically here! It sure was fun though!

A perfect end to a perfect day:

I've been Tagged!

"Tag! You're It!"

My friend and blog inspiration, Norma (http://notnormajean.blogspot.com) has "virtually tagged" me with the following questionnaire:

1) The one household chore I don't mind doing is.... folding laundry but I don't like to put it away.

2.) The last person to make a surprise visit to my home... Kara who is in town visiting her Mom.

3.) I cannot comprehend...questions like this... really, after saving this a few times and trying to think of something genius, I have given up and settled on my lame answer.

4.) At this moment I wish... although Norma's answer was pretty good about the kids not ever fighting again, I'd sadly have to go with being forever thin as shallow as that is.

5.) The last serious discussion I had was.... something more serious than SpongeBob and crabby patties? I'm not really sure...

6.) The thing that made me laugh the hardest today was... let's see... Kevin saying "Mom, come on!" wanting to dance to Raffi, Ryan asking for a "reindeer pop" (ring pop) and Eddie putting on his johnny at the doctor's office today! Silly kids!

Okay...now I have to tag some blogging friends: if your name appears below, copy my questions and answers above, then paste them into your blog and change the responses to your own.

Paige, Debby, Shannon and all my other blog friends!

Point Sebago Days

We just got back from camping at Point Sebago today... we had such a good time, we already booked our stay next year! Point Sebago is an awesome family campground in Casco, Maine on Lake Sebago. They have tons of activities for the kids including camps, games, playgrounds, a splash park, paddle boats (and canoes and kayaks), mini golf, an arcade and..... oh yeah, the BEACH! The kids had SO much fun. We stayed in a "Travel Trailer". We thought it was just right. We had fun cooking out and having S'mores for dessert. We can't wait til next year. Our days were pretty busy but we had a lot of fun. Some of our favorite things were playing at the beach, going mini golfing, going fishing, going out on paddle boats, playing at the arcade, the playgrounds and just hanging out.

We're back!

Did you miss us? Did you know we were gone? Last Tuesday we left for what we thought was a day trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa but we ended up driving to PA to visit. Here are some pictures of the fun things we did.... On the way down, we stopped at the Stepping Stones Museum (of course) for a break. The kids had a great time. Eddie built some cars to race. Kevin enjoyed that as well. Everyone always loves the Waterway... I think that is their favorite thing!
Well, I thought I had a new way of posting pics but it doesn't seem to be working... so enjoy these and I'll post some more tomorrow. These are from the museum and then a fun playground near Auntie Diane's house. The kids enjoyed playing together.

Another Day at the Zoo!

Today we dropped Eddie off at camp and headed to the Franklin Park Zoo to "wake up the animals". It had rained very lightly at home and looked as though it had JUST finished raining when we got to the zoo... I noticed some big black clouds ahead and as we were making our way through the zebra area, it started downpouring. I put the raincovers down on the stroller and made a beeline for the tropical forest. We were able to stay in there and visit the animals til the rain passed and then we headed back to the car. Kevin fell asleep in the car on the way home... Ryan and I played a quick game of Zingo and now Ryan is in bed too. I'll wake them up at 2:30 and we'll be off to pick up Eddie from his last day of camp and then we're off to the pool for the night. Happy Friday everyone!

An update of sorts

We've been keeping ourselves busy here and attempting to keep cool with the heat wave we've been having. Monday we dropped Eddie off at camp and went to the Franklin Park Zoo. It was really fun. I had offered Kevin and Ryan to go to the pool and they said "NO pool... ZOOOOOOOOO!" It was so cute... so to keep them busy til we got there, I told them to keep looking for the zoo signs. So then every time they saw a sign on the highway, they yelled out "ANOTHER ONE" in unison. It was great. They loved seeing all the other kids, making new friends and asking everyone "What's happening?" and "What's up?"... too cute! Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't send Eddie to camp because of the heat... thinking he'd be so hot and then come to find out today they have air conditioning! D'oh! Oh well, Tuesday we spent ALL DAY at the pool... everyone was fine, and it didn't FEEL hot but I was not so good about doing my own sublock so I ended up with a big sunburn. Shame on me, I certainly know better than that by now. Wednesday we had planned on going back to the pool after going to playgroup... but at playgroup, I had to keep running to the bathroom to get sick! The sun does a number on me and I must have got a case of sun poisoning or something like that. So we postponed the pool, headed home for lunch and naps. I was able to lay down for a while which was good. Today was Thursday, I dropped Eddie off at camp, and took Kevin and Ryan to school. We have been working on "separation" and today was a success! Yippee! That means in the future, I'll be able to run out to Walmart and get a couple things done while they are in class. I've been watching the class from behind a two-way mirror and I must admit, it's pretty fun and interesting to watch... after school we went to the pool. We stayed in the inside pool since I was still pretty sore from the burn. When we got to the van after swimming, the thermometer in the car said the car's temperature was 107 degrees. So I started to think Eddie might be ready to leave early and I went to ask him if he wanted to go home. At first he said no, and then he said yes... and then he told me they had air conditioning and were watching a movie! Oh, well! Live and learn. Tomorrow he'll be there for the full day. It's supposed to be cooler anyway. I think Kevin and Ryan and I will be going to the Franklin Park Zoo. Then home for lunch and naps... then get Eddie and then we are meeting up with friends at the pool. Sounds like a good day to me!