the telschow family

So, I'm a Vegetarian...finally!

2010-08-12T17:08:00.004-04:00

Ok, so for years I've wanted to become a vegetarian. I tried many times, but when I was younger, I really didn't like vegetables. You can't really be a vegetarian and not like vegetables. So, I've used the past few years to really train myself to like vegetables. I've been working at coming up with ways to cook vegetables so they actually taste good. Another part of making this happen was just getting over myself, sucking it up and just trying new things. I am very proud of myself. I am eating things that I never would have even taken a bite of back in the day. I am doing it and I am doing it the right way.

Vegetables don't have to be gross. When cooked the right way, they can actually taste pretty yummy. There are also a lot more meat replacements that they didn't have back when I was in high school or at least I didn't know about them at the time. Kristian is actually doing pretty good with it. For those of you who know Kristian, you would be impressed at his willingness to try things. He'll still eat meat, but is open to trying new things, which is HUGE for him. The kids are also benefiting from this too.

I've been doing this for almost a month now and feel great!

3 and 4 Year Old Update

2010-08-06T12:32:00.005-04:00

I have been such a slacker! I really wanted to keep this blog as a way to document everything about my boys. I still would like to have a place to keep all my memories and then will hopefully be able to have some time to put those memories into a book. I was reviewing some of my previous posts and noticed that I wanted to try to post an update about the boys and what they could do, every six months. Since I was very impressed with my boys this morning, I really wanted to get this written down somewhere, so here goes...

Ryan is 4 and Devin is 3...I am going to talk about them at the same time because surprisingly they can both do a lot of the same things. This morning for example, they both really impressed me with what they were able to read. I read them a book this morning and the end of the book had flashcards. The boys noticed them and wanted me to cut them out. I did and figured I would just see if they could read some of the words.

Ryan has known pretty much all of the consonant letter sounds and some vowel sounds for a while now and he's been trying to sound out words, so I thought this would be a good way to see what he can do. These words were in isolation, with no pictures or any clues to what the words were. Ryan is getting really good at sounding things out and was able to figure out some of the words. A few of the words Ryan was able to read were: cat, apple, star, fish, truck, cake, bed, and bus.

Devin knows most of the consonant letter sounds and some vowel sounds. He was able to read the words: dog, book, sun, and monkey.

For a few months now, the boys have also been interested in addition. They can add numbers with sums up to 10. Just the other day Ryan even said, "what's 100+0?" He answered, "100!" He understands that any number plus 0 is that number. Ryan is now able to count up to 30 without help and with some help, or reminders about that it's not 30 ten, it's 40, he can count even higher.

Devin can count up to 20 on his own. He is also able to add too which just absolutely amazes me. He really surprised me the other day that he is able to recognize double digit numbers...I don't think I've ever even taught him double-digit numbers, but sure enough, he pointed out 66, 45, etc... and was able to say what they were.

Oh and Ryan knows most of the states...Devin knows about half. I took a video a few months back. I'll see if I can locate it.

Found it! It's not that great, but he tends to get silly when the camera is on. :0)

It's strange, most people think since I am a teacher that I must teach these kids all the time, but the fact of the matter is, I don't. Of course, as we go about our day I point out things, ask questions, or whatever, but it's not like I sit there and we practice math or reading. I am just impressed with all that they know without me doing that with them.

I am really going to try to keep up with this. I really enjoyed looking back at my previous posts and reading about all the cute, funny things the boys were doing at the time. I tend to forget things easily and so that is why it is really important to keep up on this.

Easter

2010-04-04T21:07:00.005-04:00

Just love my little cuties!

Back to Work!

2010-01-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

I started working at a private school for gifted children, Scholars' Academy. I am really enjoying it so far. The kids and parents are really great to work with. There are only four students right now, but it works out well since it might take me a little while to figure out a way to individualize a curriculum for each of them. Hopefully next school year we'll have better enrollment. The concept of this school is awesome, now we just need more kids!

The Boys' Birthdays

2010-01-16T20:48:00.000-05:00

My boys are now 3 and 4...I can't believe it! They're not babies anymore! Still very sweet and cute though. We had a little get together with some friends at our house and then we went to NY to celebrate with family. Here are some pics:

My big 4 year old!

My attempt at a SpongeBob cake

The boyz 3, 4, and 6

Baby Schroob!

2009 Christmas Card

2009-12-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Merry Christmas to Us!

2009-12-19T22:30:00.007-05:00

We celebrated our Christmas today! We do this a week or so earlier than normal Christmas because for actual Christmas, we travel to NY. It's actually nice to wake up and be able to spend the whole day at home, enjoying each other and our gifts and not have to go anywhere. This may sound dramatic, but this so far has been the best Christmas ever! I say this because, this is really the first Christmas that both boys could really appreciate what it's all about. This is the first year we talked about Santa. I mean, we probably talked about it last year a little, but with Ryan being 3 (almost 4), he really has a sense of how magical it all is.

Kristian and I sprinkled candy canes all over their room, into the hallway, and down the stairs. We heard them wake up at 6:18 AM! and over-heard Ryan in awe about the candy canes, he woke Devin up to show him and hearing the excitement was just so cool, even if it was so freakin' early! So the boys came and got us to show us all the candy canes and we went downstairs to see what else Santa had left for us. The look on their faces was worth every single thought, minute, dollar, whatever we put into it. They made this Christmas the best for me. They opened presents and just loved everything. They shared their toys with each other. We opened something and then played with it and so on.

It was really the most perfect Christmas for me. It made me so happy just seeing how happy it made them. That is really what it is all about.

Here are some, ok a lot of pics:

T'was the night before Christmas...

Candy canes!

Let's see what Santa brought

Stockings!

Whoppee Cushions!

JJ (My Grandmother)

2009-12-06T22:08:00.002-05:00

My grandmother died. The wife of the grandfather that died....they say that happens, I wonder if she somehow sensed that he had died. Nobody told her because she was in advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease. To tell her would probably cause more trouble that it was worth, for her. Luckily enough, I was able to see her before she died. We had actually come out to KS to visit her, my grandfather, and Aunt Ginny. We did not make it in time to see my grandfather. We did get a chance to visit her in the nursing home. She didn't remember who we were, but we showed her pictures and read her letters my dad had written from her mother and sisters...they have already passed, but that is where her mind was at and so my dad thought it would be nice to give her some comfort and read her some letters. It was a very sweet thought.

I had left to go back to NH a little earlier so that way I could get back in time to then drive to NY for my grandfather's funeral, but that next day, JJ seemed to recognize my sister and father when they went to visit her the next day. Shortly after, a week or so, she developed pneumonia. At first it wasn't looking good and then she made a miraculous turn-around. When my father told me that she was doing well and was actually talking clearly and seemed more aware of things when my aunts went to visit, I couldn't help but think that it was a moment of clarity before the end. And it was.

Since I had visited KS not too long before she passed, I was able to see her in a light I had never before. Her as a young girl and developed into a young lady. Then married and a young mother...It was really nice to know her in that way, a way I just never knew. I did know that she was a wonderful mother to my uncle, who required a lot of care. When I was going through my college career, I learned about Willowbrook and just know what doctors recommended at the time. Also at that time, people just did what doctors said, but even in that time, my grandparents just knew that was not right and did what they thought was right to give Robbie the life he deserved. Both she and my grandfather gave their lives to him and while I might have been confused growing up, I now realize how special they were and how difficult that might have been. It is definitely something worthy of respect. They will both be remembered.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T22:23:00.000-05:00

We had a very nice, quiet Thanksgiving. It has been a crazy couple of weeks with my grandfather's death, but to spend Thanksgiving at home with just us, was just what I needed. We did the typical, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, etc...We had a nice fire and just had a relaxing day and night.

Grandpa

2009-11-23T21:48:00.001-05:00

My grandfather died. My father, sister, and I planned a trip out to KS to visit him when we learned that his shoulder was bothering him. Dan and I had been wanting to go out there for a visit for a long time, but unfortunately just were not able to. A few days before we planned to arrive, he had died. Even though he was older, we were really shocked that he died. He had only gone to the hospital because he had pain in his shoulder. It turned out that his kindeys were failing and they pretty much believe that the pain in his shoulder was due to cancer. It was very sad that we did not get to see him and really hadn't for a couple of years.

He was my favorite grandfather. I probably get a lot of my brassiness or whatever you call it from him. He was your typical hardcore republican, who loved to debate and would at any chance he got, try to engage people in a political discussion, which usually turned into some sort of disagreement...he was so right-minded! I personally hate talking about politics, but whenever he would talk the way he talked, I actually understood what he was really trying to say. Not that I agreed with his beliefs, but I always knew that although he phrased things in certain ways, he was either just making an over-generalization or was just trying to get the goat of whoever he was debating at the time. We actually learned later that he would concoct ways to get at my uncle Kevin every time he came to visit. That's pretty funny, well, to me, maybe not to Kevin.

Anyway, he was definitely a character and although I was not able to see him before he died. I had the opportunity to look at pictures of him and his life and appreciate how special he really was. That is the way I grieve or have closure, is to look at pictures and remember the good times...that's what I want to remember.

Cute Things

2009-11-16T21:35:00.002-05:00

Here are just some cute things I want to remember:

-"Jelly donut?"-"No, thanks!"

-Ryan telling Kristian something about his day..."...and then mommy cried out, '

-A typical fight:
Ryan (as he's sitting at the table eating breakfast): I'm having a great day!
Devin: I'm having a great day!
Ryan: No! I'm having a great day!
Devin: No! I'm having a great day!
Ryan: No! I'm having a great day!
Devin: No! I'm having a great day!
(and things tend to escalate into screaming matches...how does one deal with that!?)

This is a fight they have pretty much every morning:

(Devin waves to Ryan-while eating breakfast)
Ryan:Don't wave bye to me! Bye! (as he waves bye to Devin)
Devin:NO!
Ryan: Don't wave bye to me! NO!
(as he waves to Devin)
bye
Devin:NO!
(both are crying and screaming at this point)

My mommy!
No, my mommy!
My mommy!
My mommy!

I have a wocket in my pocket.
No, I have a wocket in my pocket.
No, I have a wocket in my pocket.
No, I have a wocket in my pocket.

Ryan-Moop Moop Duray (hip hip hooray)

"I'm flying in the mic wave" (Insane in the membrane-we listen to that Cypress Hill song one time in the car. Now, he keeps asking me to put on I'm flying in the mic wave and it took me a little while to figure out what he was talking about. He was totally in tune, so that helped.

"I wonder I had a bean"-have no clue what this means, but they say it all the time

"I can't sleep, my eyes are too sharp"-Ryan

Ryan says to me, "I like you...you're a big girl."

"I'm not a grouch!"-Devin

"I don't like girls, I only like boys at night"-Ryan

"A pee pee, a pear"-they think these are the lyrics for a song on Wall-E...not sure what the real lyrics are, but I know these are not them

"hiney delivery!"

"ha, ha, ha, hiney!"

more to come, I'm sure....

November Beach Day

2009-11-06T13:47:00.005-05:00

Some cute shots of the boys at the beach. It was an unseasonably warm day in November. We decided to take the boys (including Fred) to the beach.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:16:00.006-04:00

Nana and Pa were up visiting. Actually, they're thinking of getting a vacation home up here. We spent the past couple of days condo hunting and they found a really cute, New England colonial style detached condo that is 4 minutes from our house! It is perfect! Very cute outside and inside is pretty much completely updated! The area is great and they've actually talked to a few of the neighbors already and everyone seemed very friendly.

We started our Halloween morning at Goss Farm. We've never been to this farm before, but we really wanted to take the boys through a corn maze. We let the boys lead the way, with a little bit of encouragement of course, and we actually made pretty decent time. The boys were in the wagon, which we chose to use just in case they got tired, but it ended up being a good thing that we did, the trail was pretty muddy. After that, the boys and I went on the cow train they have, which took us around the corn maze. The boys loved that! Then, the boys played in the corn box, which is just like a sand box, but with corn kernels instead...it was pretty cool. We decided to get some kettle corn and watched them make it fresh for us...it was delicious!

They had some animals...not many

Pretty much this whole month, Devin has been sporting the witch hat. Here's a shot of him checkin' out the scary skeleton

The boys in the wagon

Entering the maze

The Cow Train

Ryan decided that he was going to be SpongeBob this year. He was actually the hit of the neighborhood. A whole group of teens gave him a standing ovation and said he was the best costume they'd seen. Devin chose to be Wall-E...he looked really cute!

Halloween Eve jammies

Cute ghost decorations

SpongeBob

Wall-E

Halloween night jammies...ooh scary!

JoAnna Telschow, M.Ed

2009-10-19T21:39:00.002-04:00

It's official! I finally finished up my Masters! Only took me 7 years! Today I had my oral comprehensive examination. I met with a panel of three people that basically asked me questions about my field and experiences. I was a little nervous in the days leading up to it, but actually that morning and when I was in the room with them, I felt totally comfortable. Everything went smoothly and I passed! Yay me!!!

Scary Snack

2009-10-08T09:33:00.002-04:00

We decorated our house and made some scary snacks today. Halloween is our favorite, well at least my favorite holiday. Last year my mom got us this cool recipe book full of Halloween themed foods. Today we decided to make marshmallow and popcorn ghosts.

Here are some pics:

Anheiser-Busch Clydesdales

2009-10-01T09:15:00.000-04:00

We met up with Jamie and her parents at the brewery to look at the horsies. The kids love running around on the grounds and seeing these beautiful beasts. It was a very nice morning.

Here are a couple of pics:

Free Fun Day!

2009-09-26T00:27:00.001-04:00

Keys to Learning (in Nashua) was having a day of fun, that was free! And, since we never say "no" to anything that is free...we went! Clifford was there, and although, that was something that was originally something that made the kids excited to go there, they were not-so-impressed with him in real-life. Anyhow, they enjoyed the bouncy house, stamps, cookie decorating and of course, eating the cookies...here are some pics:

Devin wants....

an umbrella! Yeah?! an umbrella...

oh, balloons...

Ry wants...

a bee! A white bee? Never heard of 'em...

and cookies...

oh yeah, cookies!

and Clifford! Yay!

Although, we really only like you in books. In real-life, you're kinda creepy...

(and want nothing to do with you...sorry)

Brookdale Farm

2009-09-19T21:52:00.002-04:00

First we took the kids to Parlee Farms to run around the hay maze and to get some of their apple donuts, of course! We were going to go to the Lull Farm hay maze, but we didn't realize you had to pay. Last year, I guess we just went in without paying and didn't even realize it...oops! Anyway, we didn't have the 20 bucks (!) to do it. We were shocked at how much it would have cost us! We've since looked around and holy crap, $5 per person is actually cheap! Other farms charge even more! The mazes are much bigger though and most of them allow kids 3 and under free, so I guess we'll have to buck up and pay since it's a must-do fall activity.

Anyway, since totally talked up the corn maze and didn't end up doing it, the kids were super disappointed. So, we drove up the road to Brookdale Farm and let the kids each get a pumpkin, which we were thinking would be cheaper but these small piece of crap pumpkins were $3.50 each. I never realized how money hungry farms were...geez! Who knows, maybe if we were made out of money, we wouldn't care...

Here are a couple of pics we took while there:

Jump On In

2009-09-16T21:43:00.000-04:00

I took the boys to Jump On In today...it was their first time ever being there, which basically meant that I had to do everything with them. Let me tell you, it was quite a workout, but definitely fun. They had huge inflatable slides, bounce houses, and obstacle courses. The kids absolutely loved it!

Most of the pics I took came out blurry because of all the jumping:

Parlee Farms

2009-09-10T20:49:00.001-04:00

We took an impromptu trip to Parlee Farms. We met Jamie, Dawn H., and JoAnn there with their kids. Parlee had just put up their hay maze and the kids were able to run in, around, and on top of the maze. It took a little bit for the boys to feel comfortable jumping from bale to bale over a walkway, some of them were pretty far, but JoAnn's kids were a huge help. They're all so sweet! Anyway, it was a very nice day and the kids had a blast!

Here are some pics I stole from Jamie:

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-06T22:37:00.005-04:00

Jane and Alex invited us over for dinner. Before we ate, we went to a great park and Jessica showed us around. She's gone to camp there many times and was an awesome tour guide. Jess was really good with the kids, she pretty much hung out with and watched them the whole time we were there and they loved her. Jane made the best ribs I've ever tasted, seriously, they were delicious! We stayed pretty late, well late for the kids, but they were awesome and had a great time.

Here are some pics:

Canobie Lake Park

2009-09-04T09:22:00.003-04:00

Kristian took off work today because the forecast was for perfect weather and it was! We had been here last year, but for some reason we missed all these rides. We had hours and hours of fun, mostly on the kiddie rides, but there were some cool ones like mini bumper cars, a mini-roller coaster, and the flume, that the kids tried this time around. SO much fun! They even had a water park there, but there was a lot of older kids running around, I think the kids were a little hesitant to jump right in there and have fun. BUT there were lots of other great rides.

Thanks Pamela for hooking us up with free tickets again!

Here are some pics:

Candlepin Bowling

2009-08-29T21:40:00.000-04:00

Aunt Dani and Alex came up for a visit. We were supposed to go to Canobie, but the weather just didn't cooperate. Instead, we took the kids to go candlepin bowling. It was they boys' first time ever doing it. They were excited at first, but then they were really just interested in the ball return machine. Oh well, we did have fun anyway. We went to McD's after so the kids could play in the Play Place. A side note, on the way, our car started shaking and the wheel started smoking. Turns out we need new brake cables...about a $400/$500 repair. In the car we just got a new engine in! Does it ever end for us!? Anyway, we enjoyed their visit. If Danielle has any pictures, I'll post them.

Squam Lakes

2009-08-28T21:38:00.000-04:00

Jamie and I are members at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, yet we'd never been there. It's about and hour and a half north of us, near the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. We took the kids and the weather was absolutely beautiful, a little chilly, but it felt like fall and I LOVE the fall!

The place was amazing! I was very surprised at how much was there. Everything was hands-on for the kids and almost each exhibit ended with some sort of slide or tunnel, they were all related to the exhibit. The kids had so much fun and there was so much there that I even learned a thing or two.

On the way home, I got pulled over and was given a $155 ticket for speeding. The whole thing is very suspicious. Oddly enough Jamie also got a ticket. We weren't even in sight of each other, but the cop pulled out to pull me over and then proceeded to pull over at least two other cars between she and I. I didn't even know she got pulled over! It was just weird. We compared tickets later and although he dealt with her at least a half an hour after me, the ticket was written for the same time. The amount of the fine is incorrect, at least according to the fee schedule that the cop handed me. We were also supposedly both traveling at the same exact speed and he somehow got 4 people clocked on his radar going the same speed. It just seems a little fishy, so we're going to fight it.

Despite the ticket, we had a really nice day at a really nice place. I'd highly recommend this place...it is definitely worth the drive!

Hampton Beach

2009-08-20T21:29:00.001-04:00

The boys and I met Jamie and her kids and JoAnne and her family at Hampton Beach. It was the most perfect weather for it! The boys are definitely getting more brave when it comes to the water. This time, Ry was up to his knees and Devin up to his shins. I was right there of course!

It was a pretty exciting day at the beach as the kids found a crab and a starfish. I kinda felt bad for the sea creatures, but it was a learning experience for the kids. I just hope they both survived the excitement. Anyway, we stayed there 'til about dinner time then Jamie and I took the kids to McDonalds, a rare treat for my little guys, they were psyched!

Here are some pics:

(pictures to come)

Vacation For All From All!

2009-08-18T21:30:00.000-04:00

From Normandy Farms, we brought the kids, including Fred, to the ferry. Nana and Pa met us there and took them back to NY with them...for 6 days!!! Kristian and I had a few Phish (Darien, Hartford, and Saratoga) shows that we were going to see and so Nana and Pa helped us out!

The boys had a great time on their vacation. They went to the aquarium, ecology center, a playground, and Fun for All...a fun-filled week! Mommy and Daddy had a great week too! Although we missed our little boys, it was nice to have a clean house that stayed clean for more than a day. It was also nice to sleep in and go out to a nice meal without having to rush through it.

Here are some of the boys in New York:

Normandy Farms

2009-08-09T09:59:00.006-04:00

We went to Normandy Farms in Foxboro, MA with Jamie and her fam. Kristian and I have actually stayed there before in 2000 when we went on Phish tour for our honeymoon. It was just a regular old campground back then, but now it's like a resort! Not only did they have activities for kids AND adults, but the place was beautiful. It had 4 pools,a soccer field, a softball field, disc golf, fishing pond, pony rides, hay rides, and the even had yoga classes! Everyone had a great time and we will definitely go there again someday soon. I would have to say that this is the best campground that I have ever stayed at, and I've stayed at A LOT of campgrounds.

We stayed there for 4 days and 3 nights, which was nice to stay for a longer time especially since there was so much to do. Our site was huge and the kids also had their own little play cabin, which they called the "story house" who knows why. It was just a really nice, relaxing trip. Although there was so many activities, we chose to only do a few and just enjoy the beautiful surroundings...we spent most of the time pool hopping. It was awesome!

Here are some pics compliments of Jamie, of course! :

Normandy Farms Campground

Our set up

Ry in the "Story House"

Fire!

MMMM....S'mores

The pond

Fun at the pool

Dev on his first ever pony ride

Breakfast

Bye Story House!

Sayville Summerfest

2009-08-01T22:27:00.002-04:00

Today was the Sayville Summerfest and The Summa Sleep Company was there selling their organic buckwheat pillows. Sayville is such a great town, I am proud to have been raised there. I love going back now and just appreciating how awesome it is. I miss being so close to the beaches and downtown is just so wonderful. I was glad to spend the day there and most of all sharing that time with by bestest friend in the whole-wide world, Dawn. Sue, my other Summa Sleep Company partner was there of course, she is one of the sweetest and most fun people I've ever known. I love doing this stuff with these two ladies.

I am always impressed that even though we don't do any advertising, we have year-round sales all residual from basically this Summerfest and some from Bradstock last year. We had a lot of past customers stop by our booth saying how much they love their pillow and how it has truly changed their sleep. We always get great interest in our pillows because not only are they good for you, but they are made with organic buckwheat and covered in hemp, which is one of the most environmentally friendly materials on Earth. It's something that a lot of people care about and we do to, so we're pretty proud that we came up with something so unique and to hear positive feedback gives us the confidence to keep going.

We did pretty well, we sold a lot of pillows and I am sure we will get more customers from this festival. We are going to try to get in to the Apple Festival, again in Sayville, which is in October. We'll see.

Lowell Splash Park

2009-07-29T20:39:00.004-04:00

It was SO humid out today! We went to the free splash park in Lowell for the first time. It was just what we needed! The boys had a blast splashing around and the best part of all, it was free! They played there for about an hour or so before it started raining, but we didn't care, we were wet already anyway! We decided to go to the playground they had right next to it, it was one of the coolest playgrounds they've ever been on! I am really glad we went today and I totally plan on going again real soon!

Friendly Farm

2009-07-27T21:16:00.000-04:00

The kids and I drove with Jamie and the kids up to Friendly Farm in Dublin, NH. We met up with Misty, Dawn, and Misty's friend Jamie, and all their kids. It was your typical petting zoo with lots of farm animals running around. It was very interactive. The kids were able to hold baby chicks, pet bunnies, and feed sheep, chickens, and goats. The goats and sheep were very aggressive, we ended up losing both of our bags of food; one to the pushy goats and the other to a pushy sheep. It was definitely a cute little place and the price was decent since we got a group rate. I'm not sure if the kids enjoyed it, they were kinda in rare form, well, not-so-rare form lately ;0) It was just really hot and humid and I think they might have been tired from camping the weekend before and with the heat...anyway, because it was so hot, Jamie invited us over to her house to go swimming. The water was perfect and just what we needed after a hot, hot, hot day. Thanks Jamie!

Camping at KOA

2009-07-26T21:03:00.001-04:00

The boys hangin' out on the porch swing.

This weekend our fam met up with Dan's fam and we went camping at the Boston/Cape Cod KOA. We got rustic cabins right next to each other and where they were was perfect (K4 and K5-for future reference). It was like we had our own yard. We brought Fred with us because it was a very dog-friendly place. They even had a doggie playground with obstacles and stuff, not that he could do anything, but it was really cute. Fred had the run of our yard and was actually really well-behaved.

The campground was very family-friendly too. There were two playgrounds, a free train, a jumping pillow, a pool and they had lots of activities for the kids to do. We never end up doing any of those when we camp, but it's nice to know that there are things to do just in case. The kids had a great time and the weather actually co-operated with us. It did rain each night, but that was after we were in bed and then it was nice during the day, so it worked out well.

I would definitely recommend this place it's clean and the people were really friendly. I can only recommend the two cabins we stayed in because where the others were located, I don't think we would have been as happy. Ours were more private than the others throughout the campground. Ours were close to everything, which at first I thought would be a problem, but it worked out nicely that everything was a short walk. The downfalls of the place I would say would be that there was no lake or anything like that with boat rentals or anything. There also was not much in the way of trails. Good family campground, but maybe not for seasoned campers.

Salisbury Beach

2009-07-15T20:54:00.001-04:00

Today was a beautiful day! We went to Salisbury Beach with Jamie and the kids. She also had Joshua her Fresh Air Fund child. It was the most perfect day of the summer. There was barely a cloud in the sky and it was hot, but not too hot. Ryan and Devin were PMSing a little bit and I say this because I have a theory that children pick up on menstrual hormones. Much like feremones that are released by people in the air, there are these other hormones that pre-menstruating woman release and children, at least mine get their own version of PMS. I swear sometimes this happens with my boys. It's not every month, but a lot of times right before I get my period, the boys will be overly sensitive, cranky, dramatic, and Kristian and I will look at each other and be like, "what the heck is going on?" "why are they being like this?" Then I realize, it's usually right before I get my period. I'd say it was just ME being over-sensitive and maybe my nerves are on edge at the time, but 9 times out of 10, it's them, ask Kristian! I think I am going to do a study on it. We'll see. Anyway, back to the beach, Ryan was PMSing for the front part of our time there and Devin's turn was at the end when we were leaving, so that was really annoying, but there was a good 3-4 hour block in there where they were fine. In that frame, we had a really fun time.

I'll post pics soon. =0)

New York City

2009-07-01T00:25:00.000-04:00

The boys and I went down to NY with my mother and Alex (my brother) aka Uncle Bert. They had come up for a race, never to just visit me ;0), and we traveled down with them. We were going to NY to help out my sister and watch my nephew Alex, so we stayed at Aunt Dani's house for the week. On Wednesday of that week, my father and I took Alex (my nephew) and Ryan to New York City. Originally, my father and my Aunt Susan were going to take the two boys, but being that it was Ryan's first time in the city and that he's only 3, I wanted to go with him. Turns out my aunt got sick and she ended up not going. It's a bummer that we didn't get to see her, we really enjoy spending time with her, but we had a nice trip anyway.

We took the train in and went to Central Park. The kids played on the playground/splash park area for a little bit and then we headed to the zoo. On our way to the zoo, the kids climbed these enormous rocks, that look like they are very dangerous, and they can be, but they actually weren't as bad as they looked. The kids spotted the amusement park and wanted to go there instead of the zoo. We figured, why not and decided to go there. The kids really had a great time riding the rides. The weather was perfect and all in all, it was a really nice day even though, "we have bigger fish to fry."

While we went to the city, Devin stayed with Nana and Pa. They took him to Friendly's where he had his first clown sundae. They also took him to the Holtsville Ecology center. It ws nice for him to get some individual attention and he loved every minute of it.

...Pictures coming soon...

Fun in the Rain!

2009-06-24T10:18:00.002-04:00

When you can't beat 'em...It has been raining for like a million days! Well, that's what it feels like. It certainly does not feel like summer AT ALL!! It has seriously been raining for the entire month of June, at least! We've maybe had a day or two here and there where it is nice for a bit, but it never lasts. Anyway, we decided to play in the rain today. I got some shots of the boys in their rain gear...anything to wear those boots!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T09:58:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all you dads! Kristian really enjoyed his Father's Day. I let him sleep in and got him McDonald's breakfast...he loves sausage biscuits! Then he opened his gifts. At school, the boys had made him a foam handprint to hang on the rear view mirror of his car(s). He also got an Eddie Bauer Bocce Ball Set. He's been wanting it for years. Although it was rainy, we were able to play an indoor version with the boys...I think the boys enjoyed it more than he did ;0) We all went to Chunky's Cinema Pub and saw Pixar's new movie "Up". We had a little lunch while we watched the movie. The boys loved it! I thought the movie was pretty good, but it was actually kinda sad...I mean really, is there ever an appropriate place for a miscarriage in a children's movie!? Luckily it was over the kids' heads, but come on! Anyway, we came home and just lounged around. We actually all fell asleep on the couch...Kristian's dream every weekend...just to have a family nap time. I can never fall asleep and Ryan never does. We didn't even plan it, it just happened. Anyway, we had a great day and Kristian is a great father, so he really deserved it.

Camping at the Beach

2009-06-14T09:48:00.002-04:00

Jamie and I took the kids to Salisbury Beach for the weekend. It was the first time just she and I took the trailer. We did great! Well, I should say, she did great...I just stood there and watched while she did the poop pump. The weather forecasted rain and thunderstorms and we were prepared for the worst. I packed rain gear figuring the kids would just play in the rain all day especially since the sky was dark and cloudy. As soon as we hit the campground, the sun broke through the clouds and the entire weekend was perfect! Thanks to Preston's magical song...he sang, "Mr. Sun" and it worked because the sun shone down on us the entire time!

Our kids love the beach and we pretty much spent the whole day there. The kids found a crab who was actually pregnant. I kinda felt bad for it, but it was really cool for them to get to see a real live crab! When we got back to camp, we had dinner and some s'mores. We just had a really great time and are trying to think of the next time and place we can go now that we know we can hack it on our own.

Here are some pics:

Phish

2009-06-07T01:08:00.003-04:00

Well, we went to our first set of shows since Coventry. We started at Fenway in Boston. It was rainy and the weather just was not looking good. Phish came out and I am not even kidding you, as soon as they started playing, the rain stopped and a rainbow (actually there were two rainbows-one on each side of the stadium...when does that happen!?). I knew then that it was going to be a great tour. I know it sounds cheezy, but it was so symbolic for me and Phish has been and always will be a huge part of my life. For my first show back to start out like that, was just beautiful. So from there, we hit 4 other shows ending back in MA.

See, I was telling the truth! ;0)

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T20:17:00.001-04:00

Happy Memorial Day! We got up and out early and headed to Salisbury Beach in MA...man, was it beautiful out! The perfect beach day. We only stayed there for around 3 hours before the cheap sunblock we got bled into our eyes burning them. Ry said he wanted to go home. We were like, "Do you not feel good?" And he said, "Yeah. The sun doesn't feel good right now. My eyes hurt." I didn't really realize what he was talking about until I started to drive home...my eyes were killing me! It was really hard to drive because my eyes were so sensitive. Anyway, we were fine to leave anyway, the beach was actually not too crowded, but around 1:30 ish, when we decided to leave, it started filling up.

When we got home, we worked on some projects that we've been meaning to finish up. Mom, you'll be happy to know, we replaced the wood on the side of the house. ;0) We decided to have a BBQ and just hung around and played with the kids. It was an all-around nice day!

Coco Key's

2009-05-23T21:03:00.001-04:00

Today we went to Coco Key's Water Resort! We had four free passes from when we stayed there for the boys' birthdays in January. We had planned to meet Jamie and the gang there...they were staying the night. Of course, the day before I realized that there was a restriction on the coupon that said we couldn't go on Saturdays! I called and nothing, they wouldn't do anything for me. Then wonderful Jamie called and talked to a manager and they got us in! Thanks Jamie! So, we met them there and spent the day. The kids love this place!

Here are some pics:

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-05-21T08:45:00.003-04:00

So, I am thirty-three years old today! Well, actually, since I am so brain dead, this entire year I thought I was thirty-three, so basically, I lost a whole year last year, but gained an extra this year. I wrote down how old I am, so hopefully I will remember this year. So dumb!

I just wanted to use today's post to reflect on my thirty-three years of life. I have to say in all the experiences that I have had, I have absolutely no regrets. Every experience I have had has made me the person I am today and I couldn't be happier with myself and my life. Life always has ups and downs and I have definitely had some, but overall, I wouldn't change one thing about the way things are and who I share my life with.

I'll start with my family. My mother and sister are the best. Even though we are so far away, we are all very close. We talk nearly every day and I know they'd do anything for me as I would for them. We know every single thing about each other and love each other for who we are. We always have such fun together. I am so grateful for them.

I married a man who treats me awesome. He's a great father and would do anything for me. We are best friends and can just be so silly together. I also married into a family that I love. My in-laws are really great. They treat me just like I am their real daughter and I am so lucky to have such kind, thoughtful, and helpful people in my life.

We have two of the cutest kids I've ever known. They're sweet, smart, funny, and did I say, so freakin' cute! I love 'em, love 'em, love 'em! My other babies, Fred and our newest addition, Tallulah, are also some of the cutest I've seen and their personalities are the bomb! So cute, funny, and just plain crazy sometimes.

Last but not least, my friends, I have some of the greatest friends around. I have to throw a shout out there to Jamie and Dawn. Dawn I've known since forever and even though we don't talk as often as we'd like because of our busy schedules, we still have a super closer relationship that is just difficult to describe. And Jamie, I don't know what I'd do without Jamie. We haven't know each other all that long, relatively speaking, but it seems like we've known each other forever. I love all my friends!

I've surrounded myself with great people and love my life. In the past thirty-three years, I've done pretty good for myself. Thank you to everyone for shaping who I am and most of all, thank you for making every day of my life what it is.

Sorry, corny I know, but just had to do it. =0)

Davis' Farmland

2009-05-15T21:36:00.001-04:00

Kyla's class was taking a field trip to Davis' Farmland and Jamie invited us to join them. This place was awesome! They had tons of endangered farm animals. Some were behind cages and others were just running around. There were even tiny baby animals running around...so cute! We were able to pet them, feed them, and brush them. You were even able to milk a goat, we didn't, but we watched. We took a tractor ride through the grounds and were able to see all the interesting animals. The place was huge! There were multiple playgrounds and some other cool things like riding cars on a track and a water area. Davis' also has a splash park area, which wasn't opened yet, but I was just so impressed with all the stuff that was there! It would have been kind of expensive if we didn't go with a group ($14 each), but we only had to pay $18 all together. We also got Devin in for free, which it should have been under 2 free, but we didn't realize this when we signed up for the trip, we thought 2 and under free. Anyway, we realized the morning of and no one questioned us so...

We painted our faces!

Fun at the playground!

Aww...baby goat!

We got to brush Angora bunnies!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T09:58:00.003-04:00

I had a great Mother's Day. Kristian made me breakfast in bed and the boys snuggled in and shared it with me. Crispy bacon and a yummy omelet. Kristian makes the best omelets! Then we cuddled for a long time...loved it! The boys got me some jammies because I've really needed new ones. Then we went for a family bike ride. It was so beautiful outside. Kristian did have a game at 3, so he left for a bit. When he came back, I went to a free Bikram yoga class. Although at some point I wished that someone would kill me, I did really enjoy it. I always pick a spot near the heater and thermostat...it's supposed to be 105 degrees in there and it was 110! Anyway, I definitely felt refreshed when I left. Then I came home and had some dinner and then me and some NAM ladies went to Chunky's Cinema Pub for a free movie and popcorn! I did get some beers, of course! It was a lot of fun!

Touch-A-Truck

2009-05-09T14:39:00.005-04:00

The Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, NH put on a Touch-A-Truck event today. The kids love, LoVeD, LOVED, it! They had a fire truck, bull dozer, ambulance, limo (which was Ry's favorite-we went in 3 times!), and much more! They even had a helicopter, or lolidoctor as Ry would say. We were a little concerned about the weather, but for the most part, the rain held off...there were a few drizzles here and there, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Here are some pics:

Helicopter

Partying in the Limo

Ry in the Big Rig

Fire Truck

Kitty Update

2009-05-08T20:50:00.000-04:00

So after about two weeks of having her, we finally settled on a name...her name is Tallulah. She and Fred are getting along very well. No cuddling yet, but hopefully they will down the road. I am just happy Fred is not scared to death of her as he is other cats. Oh Freddie!

She actually got spayed today. When we got her, she still had a lot of milk, so the vet recommended waiting until her milk dried up. It would mean quicker recovery and less pain, so of course, we waited. Well, starting last week, it may have been earlier, but it was most obvious last week, she went into heat. I've never heard a cat make those kinds of sounds. It was funny and cute, except for when she would groan at 3 am! She's been very lovey since we got her and I just hope that she'll still be as cuddly after she's had the surgery. We'll see!

Anyway, we took her to a place in Pepperell, MA. We actually had been there with Fred before. The people there are very nice and they offer this spay and neuter clinic for a reduced rate. The total cost was $97. We had called two other places in the area and they said it would cost $400! Isn't that crazy!? So glad we found this place! Plus they were able to fit us in right away, so it was perfect!

Overall kitty is doing well. Kids absolutely love her and she is surprisingly comfortable around them. She lets them pick her up and pet her, she's cuddly with us, and Fred likes her, so she's a perfect match for our family. We couldn't ask for a better kitty. So once she's all healed, we'll move on to toilet training her. It'll be so nice to not have to clean out a litter box!

Soccer Part Deux

2009-05-06T20:23:00.000-04:00

Ryan didn't do so well the last session of soccer. He was really anxious and since Devin and I always played on the other field while he was supposed to be playing, it was really difficult for him to want to be there. Kyla, Ryan's best friend, wanted to start playing soccer, so Jamie and I decided to sign both of them up together hoping that Kyla would make Ryan feel more comfortable. She always seems to bring him out of his shell. He was a little weary at first, but after a while, he joined in and was having fun. He still needed reassurance here and there, but overall it went much better than last time. Devin was also allowed to run around on the field with them and the parents were able to sit on the field, so I think that helped a lot too.

Jamie got some great action shots. Here they are:

Graduate Thesis

2009-05-03T16:34:00.003-04:00

This semester I had to write my graduate thesis. I chose to research social competence in homeschooled children. I chose this topic because as everyone knows, we are planning on homeschooling the boys. One of the first things I researched when Kristian brought up the idea, was the social aspect. Pretty much everyone I've talked to about us homeschooling, questioned me about socialization. From everything I read, if it is done right, homeschooled children are just as, if not more in some cases, socially competent.

I was a little hesitant in choosing this for my topic because everyone that I would need to present it to were advocates of public schooling and just thought it might be kind of controversial, but Kristian reminded me that, that is kind of what theses are supposed to be, so I went with it. It was obviously an interesting topic for me and when asked in the future about whether homeschooled kids have issues with socialization, I can respond not only with opinions, but statistical facts.

I don't normally post stuff just about me on here, but I wanted an opportunity to talk about some of the things I experienced while doing my research. Stuff that I couldn't really write in my report. One of the things that was interesting to me was the responses I got, particularly from the homeschool group. For my research, I had developed two social competence surveys. One that parents would fill out and another for the children. There were around 43 public school respondents and over 200 participants from the homeschool group. What was most interesting to me was the emails that I got from the homeschool group-rather rude to be honest. In my cover letter I mentioned that I was a graduate student and was researching a topic for my thesis. I didn't include what it was that I was researching because I didn't want their responses to be impacated by trying to prove my hypothesis one way or another. I think a lot of people must have assumed that I was out to debunk homeschooling or something because I got a lot of nasty emails.

I responded very nicely to everyone further explaining the intention of my research and after that, a lot of them apologized and I actually learned a lot from them. One of the things that I realized was that these people (homeschoolers) are so sick of people asking them about the socialization of their kids-to the point that they get defensive about it. It kind of scared me a little, which may sound weird, but I don't want to have to go through all these years having to defend our choice to homeschool. I've mentioned it to people here and there and have already gotten not so nice responses. For example, in my yoga class I talk to this older woman, she's a teacher and she knows I was a teacher. She asked me when I was going back to work and I mentioned the idea of homeschooling. Well, she made this weird face like I was crazy and then she began to tell me of this one experience she had working with a homeschooled kid. First of all, why the hell do people, pretty much complete strangers, feel they have the right to judge my decisions and second of all, just because you had one experience with one person, doesn't mean everyone is like that. I'm sure all of us know at least ONE person who is a little strange (homeschooled or publicly schooled). Anyway, I think a lot of people have an antiquated view about what homeschooling is. I just don't want to feel like I will always have to explain our decision to others for them to unjustly judge me for it. I hope at least my family and friends have enough confidence in my abilities as a teacher and a mother to know that I know what children need and that I will provide that for my children.

Anyway, the results of the social competence surveys showed that homeschooled students performed just as well and in some areas higher than publicly schooled kids. I am not against public schooling, heck, I was a teacher myself. However, I can see that homeschooling can provide a lot of great social opportunities as well. This morning I received my grade, which was 290/300 (equivalent to around 97) and since I handed it in by a certain date, I also received an extra 50 points, so my total score was 340/300. It was a lot of hard work, but I am glad it is done and I am proud of what I accomplished. I am also happy that I chose a topic that was meaningful to me. Now I only have one more class to go and I will have my Master's in Education (M.Ed). Well, I still have to put together a portfolio and do an oral exam in the fall, but as far as classes, I will be done at the end of the summer! Yay!

The Story of Dode

2009-05-03T10:52:00.004-04:00

Ryan and Dode

This is Do Do. He is Ryan's baby. "He's a good baby." It started way back when Ryan was around 1 maybe 1 and a half. We went to Parker's Maple Barn with Nana and Pa. They have a country store there and Ryan saw a penguin and he knew he wanted it. Nana tried to show him some of the cuter stuffed animals, but he kept grabbing for the penguin. On the way home, he named him Vin. He loved this penguin and took him everywhere.

Ryan sleeping with Vin

When we went to NY one time, we brought Vin, of course, but when we had to leave, we couldn't find him. For weeks he was gone, no where to be found. Parker's was closed for the season, so we couldn't get a new one. We called the company that made the penguin to see if they had another one like it...nothing! Months later when Parker's re-opened. The first day, we went there to get another Vin. They had one! So, we bought it and gave it to Ry thinking there would be this loving reunion. He took the penguin and threw it on the ground and said, "Fred". He somehow knew that it wasn't the original. Fred was happy to take it! Not long after, Nana went to FL and picked up another penguin. She gave it to Ryan and love at first sight! He named him Do Do and Do Do has never left his side since.

A few weeks later we were in NY again and guess who turned up...the orignial Vin! When Ryan saw him, he called him Do Do and gave him to Devin, so now it's "Devin's Do Do". Now, Ryan, Devin, and Fred have their very own Do Do. Do Do's nickname is Dode...Ry came up with it. Anyway, I never knew how much penguins would mean to this family. I've personally never really cared for penguins...didn't really think they were that cute out of all the animals, but I've warmed up. I really had no choice. All Ry talks about all day is penguins. He really wants to touch a penguin...not sure if there is a place we can do that...maybe Seaworld? I don't know, but it's just so funny how Do Do is actually like a family member. Ry pretends Do Do's talking and puts on this cute squeaky voice. He sometimes says to Do Do, "Do Do, you're so special. I'm so proud of you." Too cute!

My Little Geniuses

2009-05-01T20:05:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I never brag, ever! BUT, a mother is entitled to it once and a while, right? I am kidding when I say they are geniuses, but there are somethings they do that just impress me. They are such sponges at this age! I've been meaning to get a video of this for a couple of months now and finally did it. It's not the best version I've seen of them doing it, but it's what I had the time to get. Sometimes when they see me with the video camera, they start doing all their tricks, singing, counting, and dancing, so I had to get what I could in the time I had.

Here's Devin identifying the planets:

Here's Ryan identifying the planets:

While we're on the subject...I figured I'd take a moment to talk about all the things that impress me about my kids. Let's see...Devin can count to 20 and backwards from 10 (so can Ry, but I am impressed that Devin can do this at 2). He also knows all of his shapes. The way he throws a football, man, he's good. We'll he's actually been doing this as long as I can remember...maybe even before 18 months. His grip on the football is like a pro and he throws a spiral. Mark my words, he is going to be a great quarterback! He can throw regular balls to, and catch them.

Ryan's always loved cars. His newest thing is wanting to know about the type of car. He knows his car, the '84 westie, is a Volkswagen and is able to point out every Volkswagen on the road. I think this also has to do with good product placement on the Curious George movie where the man in the yellow hat drives a VW onto a boat. Anyway, he can spot them out anywhere. It takes me a while sometimes to find where it is, but it is always there. He can do this with Toyotas too. It's just a funny little talent.

They both sing and hold a tune really well. They also have a pretty good musical sense. They play the drums and guitar, on a toddler level, but they keep a pretty consistent beat. I think they'll be musical like their mommy. They also both absorb information. For example, we'd be watching a Baby Einstein and they'll ask me what something is..."whirlygig." Well, we'd be driving down the road and they'll see one and point it out, "Mommy look, a whirlygig" (or their way of saying that word). It just blows my mind how easily they remember things. So much so, I don't even remember teaching them some of these things.

I am just always in amazement about what my kids know. It's hard for me to think of or write down every little thing they can do, but it's things like this just get me really excited about homeschooling. Kids naturally want to learn and when they are allowed to explore what they want to learn, they really do learn it and remember it. Most of the things my kids know, they know because they were interested in learning about it. I was definitely there taking advantage of teachable moments, but their desire to want to know about these things came from inside them.

Beach Weekend

2009-04-26T20:38:00.000-04:00

We decided to check out some local beaches this weekend...it was so beautiful out! Around here, there are lots of lake beaches. I miss being 5 minutes away from ocean beaches...I guess having grown up on an island, I didn't really appreciate being so close to the beach. Now that we have to drive 45min. to an hour to get to a beach, I really miss what I used to have. Anyway, we really wanted to go the beach, but didn't want to take the hike, so we starting looking into what was around here. There are actually a lot of lake beaches around here. Not as good as ocean beaches, but it does the job.

On Saturday, we went to a state park in Andover, MA. We were going to go to Berry Pond, but there was an "incident" when we got there, so weren't allowed in. Luckily there was a campground nearby and since it was closed for the season, we were able to go in and go to its beach area. Fred was with us. Fred loves to run around in the woods and wade in the water. The boys had a great time too! The water was well, lake water, something we just have to get used to I guess. I mean, we've been camping tons of times and know that is what that type of water is like, we've just never swam in it and maybe never will. Are there always leeches in fresh water?

On Sunday we went to Wasserman Park in Merrimack, NH. It is a beach for Merrimack residents, but since it was off-season, no one questioned us being there. We really liked this place. There was a lot more area for us to lay a blanket down. Still, there were more rocks and dirt than sand, but that's what you get. There were fish surrounding the dock, so we decided to feed them bread. The boys got a kick out of it. It is really cool to look down and see fish wolfing down chunks of bread. They also had a really nice playground there which we hit on the way out. All in all we had a great time, but Devin was running a low grade fever in the morning and by time the afternoon hit, it had gotten to 103, so we went home.

I'm a Mom Again!

2009-04-21T21:49:00.003-04:00

We got a kitty! We've both always loved kitties, but when I think what pushed me over the edge was...I was at my friend Jen's house and her cat, basically tried to make out with me (I'm not pressing charges Jen ;0). Anyway, it reminded me that I love cats and I mentioned it to Kristian. He is such an animal lover, so the mere mention about maybe possibly wanting a cat was all he needed. So, we started to look on Craigslist...our only criteria was that it was free and had long hair, we're partial to long-haireds (have you seen Fred, luxurious). Anyway, miraculously, there was a listing about a mommy cat that just had kittens. There was no pic on the listing, so we asked to see a pic and fell in love! It was so tempting to take the kitties too, but considering Fred is afraid of cats, yes, our DOG is afraid of cats, we figured we'd start with just one.

To our surprise, the introduction went very well. There were no screachy yelps of fear from Fred. I think we handled the intro pretty well. The kitty appears not to be afraid of kids or dogs, just like the woman who took her in had told us. We are watching two other dogs, Boo and CJ, this week, so I think maybe that is a little too much for her to take in. We decided to have her start upstairs and settle in up there. So far so good! The kids are super excited, but are being very careful and such good listeners!

As for the history of our little girl...as far as we know, she was found in Concord, NH. The people that found her gave her to the woman we spoke to, Wendy. Wendy is a sucker for cats, so she took her in not knowing she was pregnant. These people were so nice, not only were they giving her for free, but they also offered to give money to pay for her to get spayed. We met them at Macy's and brought her home! We haven't figured out a name, obviously or I'd have mentioned it ;0)

Franklin Park Zoo

2009-04-19T21:18:00.005-04:00

Did I ever say how great having a museum membership pays off!? Well, once again, we got to have an awesome day, for free! The Franklin Park Zoo is in Boston. It is smaller than say, the Bronx Zoo, but it still had a lot of animals and what I liked best about it, was that there were many view points of the animals, so if there was an animal that was far away, you could see them better from another location. There were so many cool animals! Some of the animals were also pretty, freaking disgusting! I won't go into detail, but there were a few animals that showed us their dark side. Thank goodness the kids had no idea of what was going on. Anyway, the day was beautiful and we had loads of fun! Here are just a few pics of the day:

my boys!

One of the most interesting things at the zoo was a tractor...huh? That and Mack from the movie Cars, and a pick up truck. yeah, uh, kids, we're at the ZOO!

Can you buy a prarie dog at a pet store? I want one! So cute!

Peacock

Neither of the kids were a huge fan, maybe because I told them "Aunt Dani almost got bit by one of those."

Ring-tailed lemur

More Cute Sayings

2009-04-15T22:50:00.004-04:00

"Onions are stinky. They help people cry." -Ryan
"The moon is cold like a taco. I want a bite." -Ryan
Ryan was holding my lip gloss, "This is a burp mommy? No, not a burp. What is this mommy?"
"I wanna stay on the Earth."-Ryan
"Uh-Oh milk!"-Devin
"That's not a donut, that's a Volkswagen."-Ryan
"I wanna go on an airplane with you and hold hands."-Ryan
"Have some."-Devin (as he pulls up his shirt for us to eat his tummy)
"pico truck"-Devin
"Up truck"-Ryan
"When I grow up, I want to go to work like daddy. Daddy carry me in the parking lot?"-Ryan

Movie quotes that funnily come up at appropriate times:
"This is not over!" -Ryan (Bee Movie)
"Where's the baby? There he is!"-Ryan and Devin (Ice Age)
"A parking lot? I need a place where kids' brains can grow." -Ryan (Curious George)
"Why am I the poop checker?"-Ryan (Ice Age)
"They make the honey, we make the money." -Ryan (Bee Movie)

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T11:02:00.006-04:00

As always, we went to NY to see the fam. On Saturday we went to Danielle's house and decorated Easter eggs. This was Ryan's first time coloring eggs. He actually did really well although they were done after three eggs! Then all the boys did an egg hunt. Devin did awesome! He was spotting them left and right. Ry was doing good at first, then was distracted by the toy box. Alex was a seasoned pro!

On Sunday, we went to Dad and Pat's house. They always have an Easter egg hunt. It was a little chilly, but beautiful out and the boys had a great time! Once they filled up their buckets, they cashed them in for a special prize. Of course, Grandma Pat made some delicious food and very yummy homemade cookies. Unfortunately we were only able to stay for a couple of hours because we were meeting Kristian's family at East Wind for Easter brunch. The place was beautiful and they had every type of food you could imagine. I basically got a plate full of bacon and a few other things. It was awesome!

Here are some stolen pics (thanks Dani):

First Sleepover

2009-03-31T16:11:00.000-04:00

The boys had their first official sleep over. Their friend Kyla came over and stayed the night! They were SO excited! It took them a little while to fall asleep, but they really had a great time! Kyla was such a good little helper. She was dressed before we even got out of bed and was trying to get Ryan dressed when we came in. So cute!

Stone Zoo

2009-03-29T20:26:00.001-04:00

Ryan and I went to the Stone Zoo in Boston. We went with Jamie and the gang. The zoo was on the small side, but it was perfect for an afternoon trip. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time!

(I stole these pics from Jamie's blog, so they are really big...click on them if you want the full pic)

Monsters vs. Aliens

2009-03-21T09:05:00.000-04:00

Did I ever mention that Jamie is awesome? Well, she is! She always hooks us up! Her husband Jarod works at RedHat and they do some stuff with Dreamworks, so we all went to the movie theater to see Monsters vs. Aliens for free! Thanks Jarod! It was a 3D movie and I was really surprised that the kids kept the glasses on the whole time! They were all so good during the movie. There were definitely some scary parts, but they made it through. It was really only at the end that Ryan wanted to go home. I'd say though, that they did really great being this was their first time in a movie theater. The movie was cute and I would highly recommend it!

Rye Beach and Museum

2009-03-15T20:28:00.001-04:00

It was so beautiful out today! We took Fred to Rye Beach so he could just play and run around. He loved it! I love this time of the season when Fred can just run free. He gets along so well with other dogs too. We're going to try to do this as often as possible since Fred has a lot of energy to burn. We also brought Ryan's kite. There wasn't too much wind, but we did get it up a few times. The boys loved it! After the beach, we went to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire. The kids had a great time. The place was cute...a little on the smaller side. I love having the membership...all these places are free!

mmmmmaple syrup

2009-03-08T21:02:00.000-04:00

Jamie and I went to a class at the Beaver Brook Association where they taught us how to tap trees and and make syrup. It was so interesting! We are going to tap a few of her trees and hopefully we can get some syrup out of it. Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup!? No wonder it's so expensive!

Happy B-Day Daddy!

2009-02-14T21:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, Kristian was a Valentine's baby! He hates it! Even though he is now 34, he still hasn't gotten over the fact that he was born on Valentine's Day. 34 years to come to terms with it...no. It's a "gay" holiday. Well anyway, his parents came up to visit. We had a really nice time and went out to Kristian's favorite restaurant, Margaritas.

First Time on the Train

2009-02-08T22:11:00.002-05:00

This morning, we took the boys to the Museum of Science by train. This was their first time on the train. They were SO excited! Ryan especially, considering his obsession with all modes of transportation. Here are some pics of our day:

Ry on the train

Dev on the train

Devin is a firefly

Ry is an astronaut

Ryan and Mommy were a raindrop, traveling through the water cycle

Baby chicks born that day

"Dinosaur poop rock"

My Two Rockstars

2009-02-07T16:11:00.004-05:00

I knew that they'd be musical like their mom! We were jammin' out on the guitars yesterday. Today, were the drums...

Devin started the set...

Ryan closed out the show...

First Day of Homeschool

2009-02-05T21:13:00.004-05:00

Today we started our first official day of homeschool. We've done baby school here before, but that was with our friends. The other day I rearranged some furniture and made a school room for us. The boys were so excited about using this new area. We had a schedule similar to what we normally do in our baby school, but we used different songs and some additional activities. Basically, each month I will pick a theme and all the activities we will do will relate to that theme. There are still some materials we need to get, but soon I will add a calendar and weather piece to our schedule. I think we'll do this once or twice a week. We didn't have baby school today because the boys were a little under the weather. Normally though, we will have baby school on Thursday mornings and we will do our school on Tuesdays and maybe one other day depending on our schedule.

The boys

Our Schedule

Ryan Starts Soccer!

2009-02-03T17:40:00.006-05:00

Today was Ryan's first day of soccer! He's a "Striker" now! He was so excited to go, but when we got there, he got a little nervous. We were a little early, so I stayed with him until the class started. This was really his first experience having to do something on his own without me, Kristian, or Devin. Whenever he is scared, I find it's better if I leave since he'd probably warm up more quickly, so I left the field and decided to go out of sight and see if he would warm up...

Well, they weren't having much luck. I could hear him say, "Ryan's scared" to one of the guys there. After about 10 minutes, I decided I would go down and help him out. I came back and gave him a choice: if he wanted me there, he'd have to play. If he wasn't going to play, I was going to leave. It took a few reminders, but after a little while, he started to play. He looked over at me a few times for reassurance. We'd wave to each other and he'd run off and start playing. I am so glad that it worked out. He really needs to have some experiences so that he can feel comfortable being on his own. Next time, Devin and I will go watch and we may work up to a point that we just drop him off, but for now, I am happy that he will be able to play and have fun. Plus I am happy that I was able to watch him. So cute!

Anyway, his coach's name is Adam and there were two girls in his class, Page and Morgan. Everyone was so nice there. They said they are used to kids being shy at first. With this age (3-4.5), it happens a lot. I took some pictures, but the lighting is weird in there on any normal setting, they came out dark. So, I had to take pics in night mode, but then they were a little blurry, so I did the best I could.

Ry in front of the Tyngsboro Sports Center

They had really cool soccer balls there!

From the left: Morgan, Adam, Page, and Ryan

Favorites

2009-02-02T16:01:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the boys' favorites:

Favorite Books:
Goodnight Moon
The Very Lonely Firefly
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore
Going to the Zoo

Favorite Songs:
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Wheels on the Bus
Banana Phone
Rondo a Capricchio in G (from Baby Einstein)

Favorite Toys:
Ryan loves all motor vehicles (sunshine truck, nana's car, ambulance)
Devin loves throwing balls. His favorite is the football

Favorite Movies:
Ice Age
Wall-E
Curious George

Favorite Shows:
Curious George

Favorite Foods:
Pizza (pepperoni)
Cheese
Cheez-Its

Favorite Color:
Greeeeen

Favorite Sport:
Football

Best Friend:
Kyla

Homeschooling

2009-02-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

Kristian and I have officially decided that we are going to homeschool the boys. We've actually been considering it since Devin was born and we've had a lot of time to think about all the benefits and challenges that we will experience. Kristian actually came up with the idea. It was something that had never occurred to me. At the time he brought it up, I really didn't know much about it. Since then, I've read numerous books and have talked to many people and learned a lot. In fact I am even doing my graduate thesis on it. There were a lot of things we considered before making our decision and one important one was that we will take things year by year. Just because we decide to homeschool now, doesn't mean that we will do it forever. Our plans would be to homeschool until the boys are in high school, but if they decide earlier that they want to go to public school, they will be able to make that choice themselves, when they are able.

There are many different models of homeschooling and ours will definitely be eclectic. I would love to teach by their interests, but will either develop a curriculum or use our district's as a guide as well. The thought of combining my two of my favorite loves, my boys and teaching, is such an exciting thought. As of now, the boys are in baby school with a few friends from my mom's group. We get together once a week and basically have pre-school. The kids love it and I love watching them learn. At some point, I am going to start a homeschool cooperative in my area. Similar to the group I am in now, but it would be for homeschooling families. We could have fun/social activities, but also some academic type stuff, like maybe one meetup could be doing a science experiment or something like that. As far as I know, there is not another group like that in the area, so it will definitely be a big undertaking, but I think it would be extremely beneficial for the kids to have variety. We plan for the kids to attend the specials at the public school down the road, so each day they will go there and have art, gym, library, or music. I think it is important for the kids to have social experiences without me. That's also why I signed Ryan up for soccer. I want him to feel confident being on his own. He's a little on the shy side and although that's ok, I'd like to create as many opportunities as I can that he will be able to feel confident in himself.

There is still a whole lot to figure out, but with my background as a teacher and in special ed, I think I have a great understanding of what a child needs both academically and emotionally and we hope to balance everything nicely. We are very committed to this idea and I know that many people have different views of what homeschooling looks like or even experiences of other people who have done it. All I'd like to mention, without sounding too conceited is, I really think I am a great teacher and a great mom. I would only agree to homeschool if it was something I think I could do without my children having to sacrifice anything. Although it will be a huge amount of work on my part, I am willing to put that in for my children.

There are some other factors Kristian and I needed to consider. We are not in the best financial state, but we really didn't like the idea of money being the driving factor for our choice, but we do agree that we do need another source of income. And although being a music archivist ;0) helps pay the bills, we still really need to have some other money coming in to cover the materials we would need. We've been tossing around the idea of doing foster care. The initial reason for considering this was of course money, we could really use it BUT, there are really so many other benefits of doing foster care. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for little children who are in bad family situations. In the past, I've had some foster kids in my classroom and they really need someone that will care about them and give them the love they need. I think we are a great family and would really have a lot to offer someone. I do know along with bad family life comes challenging behaviors, sometimes. One of my strengths as a teacher I feel was classroom management and behavior modification and I really think I can handle it. This is the main aspect that Kristian is still reluctant to completely agree. He doesn't feel like he can handle other people's children and I totally understand where he is coming from, but I will be there to help guide him, but really, this would be my job and mainly my responsibility. Jamie is doing foster care and she put it best, "I am actually getting paid to be a mom!" It's so true and the pay is actually really good...about as much as I would make if I went back to work part-time, but it's not taxed, so even better!

Wow, this is a really long post and I normally don't go on and on, but I felt it was important to document our thoughts about this important decision that Kristian and I have made. I am really excited about our future and am up for the challenge!

This is from when the boys started baby school. I'll have get an updated one.

From left to right: Devin, Ryan, Aly, Aidan, and Jack

Devin's 2 Year Update

2009-01-27T11:54:00.008-05:00

Every six months or so, I am going to document what the kids are able to do.

Here's Dev!

Cognitive Skills-
-Devin can recognize some letters inconsistently and a few numbers
-He can say some of the alphabet and can count to 10 forwards and backwards
-He knows some of his shapes (oval, triangle, star, circle) and many of his colors
-He understands some prepositions (on/off)
-He is able to match like items
-He can complete puzzles that have a separate place for each piece
-He explores cause and effect

Social/Emotional Skills-
-Devin is very open to meeting new people. He is sometimes shy, but could be copying his brother
-He is usually cooperative, but sometimes gets frustrated when he doesn't get what he wants
-He will follow directions and is a great helper, loves to help cook, clean, etc...
-He is an awesome sharer
-He uses his manners some of the time
-He engages in pretend play

Speech and Language Skills-
-Devin can speak in full sentences
-His receptive and expressive language is growing everyday
-He can link two sentences together to form a thought
-understands and can follow one step
-He is able to answer simple questions

Gross/Fine Motor Skills-
-He can draw a line and a circle and color
-He can run, jump, do a somersault, break dance, and climb
-He throws a ball with pretty good accuracy
-He can catch a large ball when thrown really slow

Self-Help Skills-
-He initiates using the potty for number one only. He is successful about 60% of the time.
-He washes his hands, but still needs help since he can't reach
-He can take off his jacket when it is unzipped
-He is able to feed himself and uses a fork and spoon really well

Also, Devin weighs 30 lbs and is 36 1/2 inches tall, which places him at the 50th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height.

Ryan's 3 Year Update

2009-01-26T10:54:00.005-05:00

Every six months or so, I will document the things that the kids are able to do.

Here's Ry!

Cognitive Skills-
-Ryan can recognize most of the letters and numbers up to 10
-He can recite the entire alphabet and numbers up to 20 and from 10 backwards
-He knows most of his shapes and all of his colors
-He understands some attributes (big/little) and prepositions (in/out, on/off, under, behind, next to)
-He is able to match like items
-He can complete puzzles with up to 6 pieces
-He can identify familiar signs and labels (Hannaford's, Welcome, McD's)
-He explores cause and effect
-He has some problem solving skills
-He is starting to understand the concept of time, (yesterday, today, tomorrow, in a few days, later)
-He is aware of his own body space

Social/Emotional Skills-
-Although Ryan is still shy with some people, he warms up more quickly than before
-He is cooperative and listens to directions
-He is working on sharing, he does really well with it, sometimes
-He uses his manners most of the time
-He engages in pretend play

Speech and Language Skills-
-Ryan speaks very clearly-he's a chatter box
-He has a large receptive and expressive vocabulary-he's like a sponge, hears something once and knows it
-He can link multiple sentences together with six or more words
-He can tell a simple story in sequence, with prompting
-He asks, where and what
-He is able to answer some general knowledge questions (name and age)
-understands and can follow one-two step directions

Gross/Fine Motor Skills-
-He can draw a line and a circle and color
-He can run, jump, do a summersault, and climb
-He throws a ball with pretty good accuracy
-He can catch a large ball when thrown really slow
-He can stand on one foot (and sometimes hop on it)

Self-Help Skills-
-He is potty trained (1 and 2). Stays dry overnight 75% of the time.
-He washes his hands, but still needs help since he can't reach
-He can pull down his pants and take off his jacket and is also able to unzip

Also, Ryan weighs 34 lbs. and is 37 1/4 inches in height, which puts him at the 75th percentile for weight and 50the percentile for height.

Devin's update will be posted tomorrow. =0)

Never-ending Birthdays

2009-01-24T21:41:00.002-05:00

We headed to New York to celebrate the boys' birthdays with family. A quick side note, on our way down, the Mazda was making a really loud noise and driving a little sluggish, we decided to go back home and get the other car. Well after all was said and done, the entire trip took us 8 hours and we had to drive around! Anyway, we did try to get one party going with all family involved, but that was just way too difficult! So, we split ourselves in a million pieces, something we are used to doing anyway when we come down. The boys had three birthday celebrations in one day, cake, cake and more cake! It was a very hectic day, but we were able to see everyone and the boys got a lot of nice gifts.

Ry's cake

Ry enjoying his cake

Dev's cake

And Dev enjoying his cake

Happy Birthday Fred!

2009-01-21T21:08:00.001-05:00

My gorgeous little boy is growing up so fast! Fred turned 5 years old today! He's my forever baby though, no matter how old he gets, he'll still be a baby and will cuddle with me forever! I've been meaning to create a post all about Fred. Most of the posts are about my human babies mostly because, well, they just do a lot more. But, Fred is just as important in our lives. Many people, once they have children, kind of consider their dogs or any other animal they have as less important than before they had children. This could not be more wrong for how we feel about Fred.

He is the best cuddler that I have ever known. Every single night, he slips under the covers with us and we just love it. He snuggles on the couch with us and loves to be loved. We've always felt that he had a hard puppyhood. We found him at a pet store and know that he came from Chanute, Kansas son of Ruth and Merle. Because of his neediness, we feel he was starved for attention and we give him the extra love that he needs. The day we walked into the store, we knew right away he was the one. He was running around the outside of the other dogs barking. The guy had a hard time getting him. We fell in love right away and have had 5 wonderful years with him and hope to have 20 more!

For his birthday, we got him a filet minion cesar's wet dog food. We put a candle in it and sang happy birthday. Whenever Fred eats food off the table, which unfortunately he does way too often, he knows it's something he's not supposed to do. Even though we were all there, he figured he'd better get the food while the getting was good. He almost choked trying to eat the entire thing at once. We were able to get it out and break it up for him. Ryan gave him a bone and he enjoyed that for the rest of the night.

Fred almost choking on the food

Much better!

Loves bones!

Happy Birthday Devin!

2009-01-16T20:19:00.000-05:00

Devin is now two! TWO! My little baby is two! To celebrate, we had school at our house. We made birthday crowns with our school friends and had some cupcakes. Kristian was able to come home a little early and we took the kids out to Margaritas and then only to be fair, we took the kids to Toys R Us to get some presents. We got a drum set! The boys have always loved Alex's drums, so we figured they would really enjoy having a set of their own.

Birthday Crowns!

Drums Set, oh wait

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2009-01-15T20:08:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Ryan is three!!! He is definitely more of a kid than a baby now. The things he does and says just amaze me! Anyway, we had a Birthday Playgroup today and some of the boys' friends came over to celebrate. When Kristian came home, we went out to eat at the Outback Steakhouse. We decided to take the boys to Toys R Us to pick out a toy with their birthday money. Ryan picked out a very large pick-up truck with a trailer and Devin picked out Wall-E. After that we came home and had some cupcakes! It was a fun day!

Birthday Playgroup

At the Outback

Birthday at Coco Key's

2009-01-14T22:23:00.006-05:00

To kick off the boys' birthday week, we decided to go to the Coco Key Water Resort. It is an indoor water park that is attached to a Sheraton Hotel. It was actually a really great deal, not only did we get to stay at the hotel, which was really nice, but we got two days at the water park, two $10 passes to the arcade, and free passes to a future visit, not to mention the Starbucks welcome basket! All for under $200 bucks! No, I don't own stock in the joint. Not in this market. ;0)

Anyway, when we headed out, there was a pretty big snow storm going on. We had to dig out to leave. We only had to travel under an hour, but it was really weird to think that we were going to a place where we'd be wearing our bathing suits! When we got there, it was too early to check in, so we went straight to the water park. We had a lot of fun, but it was really cold! Well, it was ok when we were in the water, but walking from one section to the other, it was chilly!

Here are some pics:

chilly!

here's 731!

mackin' in our room

best buds

sportin' new shirts; these should keep us warm

the arcade, we won some prizes
totally wiped out!

Guess Who's a Big Boy!?

2009-01-03T21:46:00.004-05:00

Ryan! He got a big boy bed! He picked out a car themed bed set (of course) and we set it all up for him. As you will see in the pictures, his mattress is on the floor. His box spring and frame will be delivered sometime next week. It's good that he'll start on the floor seeing as how this is is first time in a big boy bed! We'll probably end up getting a bed rail for him, but we'll see how it goes. Ok, so after we set up the bed, we read a few books before bed time. Ryan was really excited, Devin too...Devin was almost more excited than Ry. I kind of felt bad for him, because I think he thought the bed was his. After we finished reading their books, we said, "OK, snuggle in" and then Devin got under the covers of Ryan's bed. He totally thought it was his too. It was really cute, but sad. Anyway, we tucked them both in their own beds. There were a few stall tactics, but that is the norm. Ry requested some water and then said he had to poop, which he did. After that, they were both in and quiet. It's 10:00 and it's STILL quiet! What a good boy! I snuck in and got some pics of him sleeping. So cute! We'll see how the morning goes, but so far so good!

Here's His Bed Set

The Boys Enjoying the Bed

He's Sleeping!

New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T00:00:00.001-05:00

Our New Year's Eve was SO much fun! Dawn came up with the kids and stayed with us for a few days. We told the kids that there were only two rules...they were not allowed to go to bed that night and they were not allowed to eat dinner, snacks only! They were so excited! We had different rounds of hors devourers staring with chicken quesadillas, mozzarella sticks, then pigs in a blanket, potatoes skins...oh my gosh we had so much food and then came the cookies! We were all so surprised that the kids actually made it! Shortly after midnight they all went to bed, but we had such a great night full of food and fun games. Dawn and I promised each other that we would go to bed early since she had to leave at 9 to be home for work by 5...then came Sing Star. Um yeah, can't really remember when we went to bed; sometime around 3? Kristian was even in bed before us. Well, that's New Year's Eve for ya! Anyway, here are some pics...I wish I had more of the kids. We were too busy having fun!

Me and My Dawny Marie

Me and My Little Baby

Let the Poor Man Retire Already!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas Week

2008-12-25T20:40:00.006-05:00

We had a very busy Christmas week. Kristian was able to take off, so we spent the whole week down in NY. Since Danielle, Billy, and Alex were going to spend their Christmas in FL this year, we hung out with them and celebrated on Monday night.

Here are some pics from that night:

Me, My Mom, and Sis

The Boys

The Other Boys

Tuesday night Kristian and I took the kids to see my father and Pat.

Yummy Taco Dip!

So Many Great Presents!

Kristian and Dad

Grandma Pat Always Gets the Best Cupcakes!

On Wednesday, we went to the Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead. The place was really cool and the kids LOVED it! Thanks Nana and Pa! After the aquarium, we went out to eat at TGIF. It was really nice to have a relaxing Christmas Eve. The kids really needed the break since their schedules had been off all week!

On Christmas day, we woke up at Nana and Pa's house. After we opened presents, Merideth and Chris, Grandma and Jim, and Aunt Cathy, Derek and Shayla came over. It was nice to spend time with them. Around 4ish, we went to my mother's house in Blue Point. It was a really nice night! I actually met my brother's girlfriend, Molly, for the first time. She was really nice and if she can put up with my brother...just kidding. He's awesome and I am glad he found someone so nice.

Here are some pics:

T'was the Night Before Christmas

Christmas Morning

Handsome Boys

Gamma's House

Christmas at Home

2008-12-20T21:45:00.009-05:00

(A shot of the tree the night before-not sure why the time stamp says 18th)

The Saturday before Christmas, we celebrated at home. Ryan was so excited when he saw all the presents under the tree. This is the first year that he really understood what presents are. As he opened his presents he said, "oh wow! this is great!" Even when Ryan opened a present that wasn't as exciting as the others, like the Curious George book, Ry said, "oooh, Curious George! Let's open another one...". Too funny! We decided to take our time, let them open each present and play with it. Then move on to the next. Ryan's favorite had to be the Geo-Trax train set. He's played it at Kyla's house and has always loved it. He also really liked the Shake and Go Speedway Crash-up thingy we got them; except it didn't go together as it was supposed to. We'll need to return it, but it will definitely be another one of his favorites. Devin's favorite I would say, was the basketball hoop. He loves balls! Easy now, we're talking about a cute little almost two year old, get your mind out of the gutter! Anyway, he had so much fun throwing the basketball in the hoop. And as he is with the football and any other variety of ball, he was really good and accurate!

Here are some pics from our morning:

(First, I just want to say "thank you!" to Jamie for lending us her camera, so we can capture the cute moments of this day...love ya girl!)

waking up

coming down the stairs

oooh! presents!

what'd you get ry?

trains, of course

love to draw!

Santa didn't forget Fred! Who could?

More Cute Sayings

2008-12-15T14:11:00.004-05:00

"Too spicy!" -One day, we let Ryan have sip of soda and that was his response, he didn't like it because it was "too spicy!"

"That tastes better."-Ryan always says this when he first tries something. It's cute because he's not really comparing what he just ate to something else.

"I want to pee on the street" -Ryan will just come up with these random requests. We don't let him, of course!

"I want to sleep in Pa's car."-Another random request, sometimes it's Pa's car, Nana's car, or even ours sometimes, but he's usually obsessed with Nana or Pa's car...he has a car/truck fetish if you couldn't already tell.

"Bunny milk!"- Actually this is something that both the boys say, I believe Devin started it, but we give them chocolate milk sometimes and use Nesquik, yep, the one with the bunny. They realized this and started to call chocolate milk, bunny milk.

"I want some drank."-I don't know where Ryan gets his accent.

"I want milk"-Devin thinks every type of drink is milk. He sometimes gets things confused, like "no" for "yes". Heck, he even calls Ryan, Devin sometimes. LOL!

"A-bool"-That's the way Devin says marble, which he'll say a million times a day since he's addicted to marbles (the marble race game is his favorite). He is a funny little boy and he knows it...sometimes he'll laugh at something in his adorable laugh and then say, "funny."

"Are you excited!?!" or "You ready to have some fun!?!"-I love when Ry says things like this. He'll ask me, Kristian, or Dev, if we're ready for some fun. It just sounds so funny coming from a 2 year old!

Ice Storm

2008-12-14T13:51:00.005-05:00

A huge ice storm hit us on Friday night. As Kristian and I were laying in bed, we heard trees cracking and limbs falling. We saw a few flashes of light followed by something that sounded like an explosion...then the power went out. After that at least four other transformers blew out and we were just left there thinking, ok, when is one of the huge trees in our backyard, going to come down on the house. Luckily, nothing too serious happened. The power was out for most of the weekend and thank goodness, Jamie had a generator. Although her power was out too, the generator kept some lights on and her house warm. The great friend that she is, invited the whole family to stay with them. Thank you Wilson family! I always love adventures like this and although it caused us some inconveniences, it was fun! There were five children, four adults, three dogs, two cats, and a partridge in a pear tree. The kids were so excited! Here's a picture of all the kids at their first sleep over:

We stayed with them until Saturday after dinner, when our power was finally turned back on. We did not have cable or internet until late Sunday night. It's so weird how dependent you get on technology. All in all, we were extremely lucky that nothing happened to our house and compared to some of our other friends, we got our back on relatively quickly.

Nicknames

2008-12-02T16:04:00.008-05:00

I'd like to always remember the cute little nicknames that we have for the kids. Someday, they'll just want to be called by their names, so I am making note of all of them...even Fred's too!

Ryan

Ry
Ry Bread
Ryboflavin
Ryola
Ry Guy
French fRy

Devin

Dev
Roo
Roon
Devinroon
Devaroon
Schroon
Schroo
Schruben
Schrubie
Ruben
Ruby
Devinstein

Fred

Fredrick
Froo
Rick
Frooschnickins
Freddie
Scraps
Froop
Noodle
Froodle

I'm sure there are more...and as always, will add them if I think of any.

Boston Children's Museum

2008-11-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

We decided to go to the Boston Children's Museum in Boston. We were able to get everyone in on our membership, so the only thing we all had to pay for was parking! Not bad! The place was packed! The kids still had fun. I guess I was expecting a little more from it. I am used to the Long Island Children's Museum, which has lots of cool and unique things for the kids to do. This had some too, but just not as much. The kids enjoyed the bubbles and the ball room. I would give it a 7 out of 10 as far as coolness. It was a nice thing to do with the kids though.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T22:00:00.002-05:00

We had a really nice, relaxing Thanksgiving. Aunt Dani, Uncle Bewb, Uncle Bert, and Alex came up on Wednesday night and stayed until Saturday morning. Kristian decided that he was going to have a turkey themed day. He woke up early and made us all breakfast with turkey bacon. Then he made soup with turkey in it...kinda like a chicken noodle soup, but with turkey instead, and of course, turkey for dinner. Bewb helped out with an app and Alex (Uncle Bert) made the mashed potatoes and an asparagus side dish. Everything was absolutely delicious! Thanks boys! Danielle and I got to spend time with the little ones. We took a hike through the woods in the back and rolled down the hill. When we got back all the men took Ryan and Alex to the playground. The weather was perfect and so was the food and the company!

Goodbye Bunky

2008-11-25T15:56:00.005-05:00

Bunky, Kristian's first cat ever, passed away today. He was so adorable and actually my favorite of all their six cats. We had a special bond. Back in the day when I would come over, he'd come right up to me and cuddle up on my chest. He'd purr and since he was bottle fed as a little kitty, he'd make a nursing sound, which he did when he was completely relaxed and comfortable. It was so cute until he'd shake his head and his drool would splatter around. It wasn't too bad...worth having that little cutie snuggle up. He was such a sweet cat, who really lived a long life. Ryan loved him of course...he'd always look for Bunky when we'd get to Nana's house. Good old crunchy Bunky as Nana would say. He will be missed.

SEE Science Center

2008-11-23T18:24:00.002-05:00

Today we decided to take the kids to the SEE Science Center in Manchester, NH. We've been there before, but the kids were really little; actually, I'm not sure if Devin was even born yet! The kids had a lot of fun...there was a lot of stuff that was broken and above their heads, but there was still some stuff that they were able to do. They especially enjoyed the freeze shadows, where with a flash of a light, their shadows stayed on the wall...I thought that was pretty cool too! They also had lots of fun with the bubble table. Daddy made HUGE bubbles! There were also some turtles there and other cool things. We used the membership that we got and so we got in free! We're really getting a lot of use out of it...it's paid off already!

Our Silly Songs

2008-11-21T11:58:00.005-05:00

Our day is filled with songs. Some that we make up and others that we just sing or dance to in silly ways. I wanted to document these because time passes so quickly and these are the things that get forgotten over the years.

This is the song I sing when I clean their ears. They love getting their ears cleaned...hmmm, maybe this is why!

Mommy cleans the baby's ears, the baby's ears, the baby's ears
Mommy cleans the baby's ears, she makes them nice and squeaky

Another made up song that they love to dance to, or I guess I should say spin to. There are many versions that we've come up with from time to time, but this is the main one.

Spin around, round, spin around
Spin around, round, spin around
Spin around, round, round, round, round, spin around, round, spin around
Spin around, round, spin around
Spin around, round, spin around
Spin up, up and spin down, down, spin around, round, spin around

This one is one that we sing when they get their fluoride drops.

Drop, drop, drop, drop-a-roons
Drop, drop, drop, drop-a-roons
Drop, drop, drop, drop-a-roons
Drop, drop, a drop-a-roon

This next song we sing when we are going to get them dressed, change Devin's diaper, brush teeth, etc...they love to be chased!

I'm gonna, goin', goin', goin', goin' , gonna get you
I'm gonna, goin', goin', goin', goin' , gonna get you
I'm gonna, goin', goin', goin', goin' , gonna get you
I'm gonna, goin', goin' ge-et you

Museum of Science

2008-11-19T20:33:00.001-05:00

Jamie, Jen and I took the kids the Museum of Science in Boston. The boys were a little off in the beginning. They both just wanted me to hold them the whole time all while pushing the double stroller! I think since the museum was HUGE it was a little overwhelming, but they seemed to feel more comfortable after an hour or so. I love this museum...I love science, so this place is great! A lot of the stuff was way over the kids' heads, but there were definitely a lot of cool things to look at and do. We watched the Electricity presentation in which they actually made lighting! I thought for sure the kids would be scared, but they loved it! I was surprised to see all of the animals that they had there and of course the kids loved that too. Jamie and I stayed until the museum closed, then we stopped at McD's on the way home...we forgot about rush hour! Us SAHMs don't have to deal with that stuff anymore! The kids were exhausted when we got home and went right to sleep. Fun times!

(Jamie took some pictures, so once she sends them to me, I will post them)

EcoTarium

2008-11-15T20:40:00.002-05:00

Kristian and I took the boys to the EcoTarium in Worcester. This place is perfect for the kids. It has some animals and pretty much everything there is targeted for their level. The loved that they could touch everything and just had a great time. It was a little rainy, so we couldn't do somethings, like the train, but it worked out really well that it rained because we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We bought a membership, which was much cheaper than a lot of other memberships I've seen. Plus, we split it with Jamie and so, we'll all be able to get into a lot of different museums for free! When you look at the price of admissions, splitting a $90 membership is totally worth it!

Cute Quotes

2008-11-12T09:52:00.009-05:00

Here are some cute things the kids have said, that we always want to remember:

Ryan-

"Body Butter" (He said this in a sing songy voice for months before we figured out it was Bob The Builder.)

"Piece of Ebby" (Another one he said for months before we figured it out...Poison Ivy"

"The cheese is wet" (He said this when we were pretending we were a sandwich, we were the bread and he was the cheese...he wet himself. It took us a while to get it.)

"Devin I put you in time out for hitting Ryan's hair" (Ryan thinks it is his job to talk to Devin about why he was put in time out...he tries to beat me to it. This time he was talking to Devin about pulling his hair.)

"Good Bye poop, have fun!" (As we were flushing it down.)

"poop noise" (need I say more?)

Devin-

"More, more, more!", says Devin. I say, "You want more juice?" Devin says, "no!" (His no means yes...watch out ladies!)

"mom-my! mommy."(his way of saying thank you sometimes.)

Sometimes it's not what you say. It's the way you say it.

"here it is!"

"are you ok?"

"goish mommy!" (cheers)

I am sure there are tons more...I'll add more as I think of them.

Welcome Boo!

2008-11-10T16:44:00.008-05:00

This is Boo!

He'll be staying with us a few weeks at a time. He's having a hard time adjusting to his new sister, who is on a sleep apnea monitor. The beeps scare him! So, he'll be vacationing with us from time to time so he can get a break. We love Boo and are happy to have him here!

We had school here today and it was awesome! The kids have grown so much and are actively participating in all the songs and other activities! They even are getting to know the schedule and always remember when the best part of school is next, snack time! We've decided that we are going to video a school day...that'll be really cute to have to look back on! Stay tuned!

I cut the boys' hair today. I think I am getting better at it each time. Still learning, but I get riskier each time I try. I really do my best to try to make then have different hair cuts, but it is hard since I really only know one way to do it. Since Devin is the baby, I try to keep his a little on the longer side whereas for Ryan, each time I go a little shorter. Anyway, I figure since my camera can't take pictures, I can still take like a one second video, so you can still see the boys.

Here's a quick vid of Ry's hair:

Here's one of Dev's hair:

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:00:00.005-04:00

Wow...can't believe how quick Halloween came and went this year! Our day started at 1:25 AM as Devin woke up with a really high fever. Although it went away, it came back and just wouldn't go away, at some points it was as high as 104.8 even on medication!!! At that point, I took him to the doctor and we found out that he had an ear infection in both ears! Poor little guy! We were planning on going to Jamie's house for a Halloween photo shoot, but we decided that it would be best to keep Devin home.

In the evening, Jamie and Kyla, Ryan's best friend, came over to go trick or treating. Even though Devin was ill, we brought him to two houses just for the photo-op. He went home right after and Ryan and Kyla made their way through the neighborhood. Ryan was so excited, you could see it all over his body, he just couldn't keep in the excitement! He pretty much ran up to every door. After a while, Ry said he wanted to go home and get some water, so we did.

All in all, it was a pretty good Halloween. Ryan's costume didn't end up being so bad. We had bought it from someone on Craigslist and the tag said it was 2T, but it was definitely infant size, so I cut off the legs and reused the feet. Pretty crafty, I thought. Devin looked adorable as well, but he just didn't really get a chance to wear it for that long. We're going to have a costume parade at baby school on Monday, so hopefully I'll be able to get some more pics of him in it.

Ryan and Kyla SO excited!

My poor little monkey:

Off we go!

So cute!

Update

2008-10-26T09:27:00.011-04:00

The main purpose of starting this blog was really to have a place where I can document what the kids are doing at different ages and also the special, cute things that they do that we want to always remember. Right now Ryan is 2.9 years old and Devin is 1.9 years old. Everyday I am amazed at what they can do and I think it is important to keep track of everything. Unfortunately our camera is broken, but I was able to take off the last of the pictures that were on there, so those are the most recent I have. The video still works though, so I am going to upload a video of some of the things they can do.

Ryan

Ryan is such a big boy now! He is pretty much potty trained (we're still working on the poop part of it all) and he is a little chatter box! It's so cute, sometimes he has this southern accent. He'll say, "I wanna ice pack (pay-yak)" or "I wananana this one (wo-won)". Some other cute things he says are: lolidoctor for helicopter; he used to say yaw for yes and now he says uh huh or uh uh for no...it's pretty cute! He knows his ABCs and can count at least up to 10...he knows some teen numbers too. He's actually known how to do both of these for a while. We've gotten a lot of practice counting to ten since he loves to touch cars or trucks he sees and so he can touch them for ten seconds and we count it out...we love his obsession with modes of transportation. He loves to sing and does it pretty well by staying in tune and getting most of the words. He uses his manners pretty regularly, but does need to be reminded to say please now and again...he consistently says, thank you, excuse me, and bless you. He also tells Mommy, Daddy, Devin, and Do-Do (his penguin) that he loves us and sometimes that we are funny...especially Fred except when Fred is misbehaving, he'll tell Fred, "get down!". He's definitely starting to get a sense of humor now. He is very helpful and loving with his little brother and encourages him too! We'll be watching a Baby Einstein DVD and Devin will repeat one of the words they say, like hay. Ryan will say, "that's right Devin, hay!" Too cute! They get along so well, except when Devin has a toy that Ryan wants. He does take care of Devin and will make sure that Devin has his blanket or whatever else he thinks Devin needs. Ryan is also a great helper and an awesome listener. He loves to help me cook and helps clean up too! He is really good at following directions for his age, even if it is for something he really doesn't want to do. We do use Time Out for the times when he isn't such a good listener, but he does great with it and sits there the whole 2 and 1/2 minutes. He's really been getting into dramatic play, where he pretends he is cooking, or that the cars are going pee pee on the potty. It's so fun to watch how much he can do and how really, each week, I notice something different that he does.

Ryan knows his ABCs and 123s:

Ryan sings a song!

Devin

Devin is my little ham. He can be so silly sometimes! He'll make raspberries on my belly and he has this smile that is so cheesy, but very adorable. He also knows his ABCs, but does skip a few letter in there. He can count to ten pretty well too! He is speaking in full sentences some of the things he says a lot are: "are you ok?", "there it is!", "i get it", "cut it", "a kiss". He's also gotten his yes and no confused. He'll say, "I want more." I'll say, "You want more?". He'll say "no"...the way he says no too just makes me melt. He also calls for Ryan and I just love hearing that. One day, Devin called out, "Ry-an" and Ryan said, "I'm com-ing!" I love that they are now talking to each other and really playing with each other. Devin really loves his big brother and loves to share with Ry. He'll just randomly go up to him and give him a hug...so adorable! He is definitely a lover, but you have to watch out though, because there is a dark side to this little cutie...a hug can quickly turn into a bite. We call him a face muncher because he'll open his mouth, put it on your face and make a funny noise. He'll do this to be funny, he sure gets a kick out of it, but sometimes these cute little devilish behaviors aren't so funny. When he gets frustrated, he'll try to hit or bite. He'll get put in Time Out for this and oh my god, he is just too cute sitting there. He does sit, which is pretty good for his age. (Ryan always races to beat me to talk to Devin about why he was put in time out. He'll say, "Devin, I put you in time out because you hit Ryan's hair".) It's so hard not to laugh when Devin acts out like this because he is just so darn cute!!! He has also started to use the potty. He's very inconsistent with it, but he is still so young. He always initiates it and nine times out of ten he'll go! He does have an obsession with shoes and must have them on at all times. It's so funny the things these kids say and do.

Here's Devin trying to say his ABCs and count, but is just being silly instead:

Trey Tour

2008-10-24T11:12:00.005-04:00

We saw Trey at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut, and the Orpheum Theatre is Boston. Trey is amazing as usual and it was so nice to see our friends that we haven't seen in a while. We haven't seen Trey in over two years! Phish is going to be playing some shows next year. Of course tickets are impossible to get and so far, we haven't been able to score any. Hopefully something will happen so that we can see them in Hampton.

A Busy Day

2008-10-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

Today was a busy day for us. First, I went to yoga in the morning and then we headed to the Pig and Apple Festival in Tyngsboro. They had some games for the kids and we ate some lunch there. We allowed the kids to pick out a special treat and of course, they both wanted a giant, colorful lollipop. That'll take a year for them to finish! After we left there, Kristian had to work from home and so he and Devin went home, so Devin could nap. Ryan and I went to Jen's house for Oktoberfest. So many of our friends were there, we had an awesome time! Kai makes great beer!

Devin's Appt and Day 2

2008-09-30T20:22:00.003-04:00

Devin went to a follow up appointment with his pediatric ophthalmologist. Great news! She doesn't believe that there is anything to be concerned about. A couple months back, his left eye would roll up and to the left while his right eye would stay straight. As the months went on, we no longer observed this happening. Thank goodness! He is so young that at this point, his eye is still growing and becoming stronger, so since he passed all his tests with flying colors for the third time in a row and the eye rolling seems to have stopped completely, we are in the clear! We will have another appointment next summer just to make sure everything is still OK!

Ok, so I have to admit, I am a failure once again. I fasted for 43.5 hours, not too bad, but what happened was...I was cooking dinner for the rest of the fam and I accidentally tasted the rice to check to see if it was done. Creature of habit, I guess. Anyway, once I tasted the rice, I just had an overwhelming need to eat dinner. Same as the last fast, this breakdown was not at all due to hunger, but to the craving I had. In my defense, it is really hard to not crave food when you have to cook three meals a day! I guess I have no will power, or I shouldn't totally beat myself up about it, I did fast for almost two whole days. It sure would make it much easier if I could do it with someone. Oh well, I'll try again in a few months and hopefully I won't surrender to the craving (although this time it was more of an accident). Before the accident, I had no hunger and really, do desire for any one food in particular. Even though I prepared three meals a day, plus snacks, I wasn't as tempted as I though I would be. It is hard though when the kids don't finish their meals to not eat their leftovers...such a waste! The birds ate great these past two days! I am not too disappointed in myself. I did learn that each time I do fast, the easier it is to get past the first day and this second day wasn't even that bad. I probably could have done it this time around...maybe next time.

Water Fast- Day One

2008-09-29T22:17:00.001-04:00

Today I started the first day of my four/five day water fast. For those of you that don't know, a water fast is where you drink water all day long and do not consume any solid foods or other types of beverages. A lot of people think that it is an unhealthy or dangerous thing to do, but they couldn't be more wrong. This is actually the natural way of detoxing your body...has been done for years and often medical professionals recommend fasting as a means of healing certain ailments. The water will flush out the toxins that have built up in my body.

Today was actually a lot easier than the other first days of my past fasts. I barely had any hunger pains and no food cravings at all! The last few times that I have fasted, the first day was the hardest, but I guess since I've done this quite a few times at this point, those little things don't phase me. One thing I learned about myself the last fast I did, which was a 48 hour fast, was that hunger is mental. Of course part of it is physical, but when you are doing a water fast, you drink water all day long, so the hunger pains are subsided by water. The thing was, that I ended my last fast not because I was hungry, but because I knew we had Cheetos in the pantry and I just can't say no to Cheetos! Pretty quickly after I caved, I was disappointed in my reason to end the fast. Had I ended it because I did not feel well physically, emotionally, etc...or had reached my goal, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. I've learned from that experience and my goal this time around is to complete a 5 day fast, but will not be disappointed if I end it at 4...I always set high expectations for myself, but will give myself a break, if I need it. Anyway, for the next few days, I will use this blog to document how I am doing. Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Kyla!

2008-09-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

We spent the whole day at Coco Key Water Resort with the Wilson family! Jamie had some left over passes that she got free from last year. So, we celebrated Kyla's 3rd birthday and the kids loved splashing, sliding and floating all day long! Thank you so much for letting us share this special day with you and your family. Happy Birthday Kyla!

Poor Little Sidney

2008-09-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

My family dog, Sidney, died this morning. She was the first dog I've ever had and was the inspiration for my love of dogs. She was beautiful and very special to me and my family. Thankfully I had the chance to spend some time with her at the beginning of this month when we went to New York. She was old and I knew that it could have been my last time seeing her. She had a long life and brought much happiness to everyone that knew her. She will truly be missed, but she leaves behind years and years of happy memories. Sidney, we love you and will always remember you.

This day is also Kristian and my 8th wedding anniversary! Hooray for us that we've made it this far. We've had our ups and downs, but are here together still as strong as this day 8 years ago. We've grown so much since then and will continue to grow together.

Trip to NY

2008-09-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

We went to NY for the weekend. Keith (Dawn's brother) and Marissa got married. Everything was beautiful! The kids stayed with Nana and Pa and went to the Aquarium. They had an awesome time!

Ecotarium

2008-09-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

Jamie, Lisa, and I took the kids to the Ecotarium in Worcester, MA. The weather was perfect and so were the kids. They were so excited to see all the animals and loved being able to touch and play with everything. We can't wait to go back!

We went on the train!

We saw a polar bear!

And a snake!

There was even a giant dinosaur!!

And a playground too!

Ryan and Kyla:

Devin in the sandbox:

Lots of fun stuff!

Murder Mystery Party

2008-09-13T04:00:00.000-04:00

Lisa hosted a murder mystery party-chinese take-out. We had chinese food, drank some mai-tais, and got into character. I was Anita Mumm who was a 20 something chinese girl that was trying to scam the wealthy Mrs. Boggs into believing I was her daughter. Mrs. Boggs was murdered and we were all suspects. In the end, we learned the cook was the murderer! It was so much fun! Thanks Lisa for such a great time!

Here is a picture of all of us in character:

When it Rains...

2008-09-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

It sure has been pouring on us lately! Kristian got into a car accident...he's ok, but of course the car he hit isn't. The Rav4 has somethings wrong with it too, but the biggest problem of all is that we don't have car insurance! I know, I know, how stupid! We haven't really been able to afford it lately. Yes, it's ironic that now we have probably have to pay 10 times as much than if we had insurance. Anyway, since we opted to follow the New Hampshire motto Live Free or Die (or I like to say Live Free and Die)and not have insurance, we will now probably owe thousands and thousands of dollars to fix the other person's car. It was a Kia, so I guess that's better than a Beamer, but it will still cost us. I bet if it were a Beamer it wouldn't have crumpled so easily though. Oh well, what's done is done and now we wait for the bill...I am preparing my suicide letter now. ;0)