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!

Saturday at the Roger Williams Zoo

Today we had a family outing to the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. The boys have been really into dinosaurs lately so we decided to check out the dinosaur exhibit. The "twist" on the exhibit this year is that features dinosaurs "Hollywood Style". It was really cute. We had only intended to stay and see the dinosaurs but ended up seeing just about everything the zoo has to offer. It was good time. It had been so long since I had been there and this was Ed's first visit so we didn't know (or I should say I didn't remember) all that was there. It's a really nice zoo. The kids loved it. We went through the dinosaur exhibit two times. It was all good.

Here's all 3 checking out some animals...


Sitting on a dinosaur outside the exhibit...


Dinosaur!


Mom posing with Kevin for a picture. (No one else wanted to join in... Eddie and Ryan weren't as adventurous with the dinosaurs as Kevin was)...


In keeping with the "Hollywood" theme, this is ET for "Extra-Tyrannosaurus" not "Extra-Terrestrial"...


The Guys


Dino!


A lovely Brachiosaurus nibbling a leaf on a tree...


Dino!


Dino!


It's a wrap!


The kids loved this bird.. they would put their fingers on the window and the bird (I forget what it was) would act like it was biting them.


Elephant! The kids were psyched to see the elephant as our "home" zoo does not have one!


One of the giraffes eating a yummy snack...

Fun-filled Friday

We had a great day today! We dropped Eddie off at camp and then headed to the zoo! This time we went to the Franklin Park Zoo. Kevin and Ryan were very excited to see the animals. Kevin loves the "rass" which is his word for giraffe. Ryan was very excited to see the zebras. There has been a group of baby animals over the last couple years and they are so fun to visit and watch grow. There is a baby mandrill named "Woody" who must be about 3 by now... a baby gorilla named Kimani who is 1.5 years old... and a brand new baby giraffe and a brand new baby zebra. I am not sure of the baby zebra's name but the baby giraffe is named Autumn. There is a heartwarming story that goes along with her name. One of the adult giraffes is sick and a young teenage girl has raised several thousands of dollars to help take care of him. The zoo named the baby giraffe after her (Autumn). I thought that was a great story. We also have newly acquired tigers. One is white and one is orange. I am not exactly sure of the story but the tigers were rescued from somewhere, I think someone was raising them as pets. They make a wonderful addition to the Franklin Park Zoo. This zoo is one of my favorites if not my #1 zoo. It's not too big, is usually not that crowded, has great animals and you can see it all in 2-3 hours. They have a carousel there and Kevin and Ryan had a blast going on it. They have all different animals you can ride not just horses... Kevin asked to ride the dog and Ryan asked to ride the giraffe. It was quite hot today but we made it through all the exhibits in just under 3 hours with a stop for ice cream! When we got back to the car, the thermometer said 99 degrees! Yikes...

We picked up Eddie a bit early from camp and came home so Kevin and Ryan could nap. After they woke up, we headed to the pool for a cool dip! Ed joined us after work and we swam for a while and had dinner at the pool... a combination of food from home and a few things from the cafe. Now we are home, the kids are in bed, Ed went out for the night and I am off to bed as well.

Today I was extremely tired so after a full week of work, I must make a mental note that going to bed early after work next week is essential!

Thursday

Today was a fun day! We dropped Eddie off at camp and then went swimming. After swimming, lunch and naps, we picked up Eddie at camp. It was too hot to do anything outside so we went to the library to pick out some books and videos. Now the kids are watching a video about animals and I have to get ready for work!

The Magic School Bus

If you are looking for a great show to watch, I have to say that I really enjoy The Magic School Bus. It's currently one of Eddie's favorite shows... right up there with Zoom and Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman. Today Eddie explained to me that it's OK if he doesn't chew his food all the way up because the acids in his stomach will break it down. Then he proceeded to tell me that food goes down the esophagus after you swallow, and then into the small intestine, then the large intestine and then into the toilet. I know the kid is always thinking but you just never know WHAT he's thinking about...