Just Another Week in February

Here’s a pictorial review of the past week with the kids:

Carter on Saturday playing outside with Ella in the freezing cold, while Jeff, Reagan and I watched  and laughed from inside the house. He went all the way down the ice skating rink that is our backyard and climbed up the playhouse swing set, with an incredible sense of balance. 

Carter in the fridge. He loves to stand in the fridge or sit in it. It’s a battle to get him out.

Lobster claws:

It’s no wonder I can’t find my pot holders when I need them.

Reagan swimming in Regionals in Vermont last Sunday. She’s in the yellow swim cap:

Her name in lights. Her relay team came in 3rd place and they won a real metal, which she is extremely proud of and had to wear to school today.

Lobster boy sprouts feathers:

Reagan came home from school on Monday and insisted that both her and Carter wear their pajamas inside out so we would get 15 inches of snow on Tuesday and have a snow day off from school. Well, we had a snow day, even though it didn’t start snowing until after school would’ve been out. Here are they are Tuesday morning:

That’s all for now folks.

Reagan’s 7th Birthday

Reagan turned 7 (!) last Saturday.  I meant to blog about her birthday and party last Sunday, but her party just wore me out. The night before her birthday, Jeff and I decorated the dining area in the kitchen. Reagan was surprised and loved the decorations.

 

Jeff made her blueberry pancakes in the shape of a 7.

He made a 1 for Carter too.

Reagan invited 18 girls to her party; 17 came, so we ended up with 18 girls at the party. 

Thank goodness it was at Chunky’s (a movie theater) and not at my house.  We also hired a babysitter to watch Carter, so Jeff and I could enjoy the party too.

Here’s Reagan with her party favors before the guests arrived:

The girls had popcorn, pizza and cake. We opened presents and then watched Tooth Fairy. It was a cute movie that the adults even enjoyed watching.

We had 2 tables of girls:

Me trying to get the silly girls turned around so they can all watch Reagan open presents:

Opening presents:

The cake:

Watching the movie:

 

Lauren, Reagan’s best friend since she was a baby, spent the night.

We went out to dinner for sushi, Reagan’s favorite, with Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Kevin.

We ordered so much sushi that they brought us 2 sushi boats!

We came back home to open the family presents and eat more cake and ice cream.

Nana and Grandpa gave her a shopping spree day and lunch with them.

 

Lauren brought matching pjs for them to wear. 

The girls stayed up way too late, even later than me!

Crazy Weekday Mornings

Weekday mornings are pretty crazy here. Reagan and Carter have a lot of energy and they like to get up early (Carter has been in the habit of getting up at 5am lately) and sometimes their craziness is infectious.

Here they are getting bowls down out of the cupboard one day last week:

Another morning they thought it would be fun to run around the house with sunglasses on:

(I do brush and style Reagan’s hair before she goes to school, but it is always one of the last things I do before she leaves.)

Carter tries to get me to make him muffins a lot so he can lick the spoon or the beaters. If we have time, I usually indulge him.

Here’s one of our favorite muffin recipes:

Banana Crumb Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and oil. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. sSpoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.