4-Ricks

Carter’s Construction Party

2010-05-02T22:32:00.001-04:00

Carter turned 2 on Saturday! Two! He’s getting so big. We threw him a construction birthday party at our house. The weather was perfect, sunny, warm and just beautiful.

The big pile of dirt for the kids to play in:

Some of the food:

Some decorations:

The cake:

Bubbles:

Worm pit:

Carter’s new ride:

Please put it together faster:

Reagan’s mean face:

Hard at work:

Piñata fun:

Carter’s fit when he realized he couldn’t just pull candy out of the top of the piñata:

Jeff finally broke it open after all the kids got a couple turns:

Cake time:

Carter likes pushing his new truck better than driving it:

New tricycle:

Bubble bath party favors:

The end.

Dirt!

2010-04-25T22:21:00.001-04:00

Over the past couple of years, we’ve had some sink holes develop on our driveway and down the side of the hill near the driveway. Last fall, we had that section of the driveway repaved, but still needed to fix the side of the hill.

On Friday, Jeff ordered 25 tons of dirt! It sounded like a lot of dirt, but I had no idea how much dirt 25 tons really is until it was all piled up in the driveway, waiting for us to shovel it down the hill.

Here’s Carter watching the truck dump it out:

That is A LOT of dirt! The pile was taller than me!!

At least we have 2 good helpers to move some of it.

The Good News: Jeff and I were able to get almost all of the pile spread out and the holes filled.

The Bad News: Jeff ordered 6 yards of loam to put on top of the dirt fill to spread this week.

April Foolery

2010-04-10T11:44:00.001-04:00

I love pulling April Fool’s Day jokes on the kids.

This year, I did several jokes. I put some food dye in Reagan’s cereal bowl under her mini-wheats. When she poured in her milk, it turned blue. I made the kids “eggs” outs of marshmallows and apricot halves.

Reagan can read now, so my tricks can get a little more advanced. She has a morning snack at school and she normally eats a Baby Bell cheese round and goldfish. I sent in “chips” instead of goldfish:

O Lolly, Lolly, Lollipop

2010-04-08T21:37:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the kitchen busy getting stuff done to get Reagan off to school. I kept hearing Carter run in the room, open as drawer, slam it close and run away. I wasn’t really paying attention to what he was doing until I realized I could hear him unwrapping something in front entryway.

I went to see what he was up to and discovered this:

Well, ok, this was taken after I ran back to grab my camera and take a picture.

Crock Pot Refried Beans

2010-03-29T14:50:00.001-04:00

This recipe makes a lot of yummy refried beans without any added fat and hardly any effort. They smell delicious cooking in the crock pot all day. My entire family loves them. Use them as a side for Mexican, for burritos or as the base for 7-layer dip.

Crock Pot Refried Beans

1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths

3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

1 small can diced green chilies*

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 teaspoons kosher salt

1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

9 cups chicken broth or water

*I add less chilies when I’m making it for the kids. If you want the beans spicier, add more.

Place the onion, rinsed beans, chilies, garlic, salt, and pepper into a slow cooker. Pour in the chicken broth or water and stir to combine.

Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.

Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Puree the beans with a hand blender or mash them with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Ice, Ice Baby

2010-03-28T20:29:00.002-04:00

Carter was on ice skates today for the first time. Here is a pictorial description of his debut on the frozen tundra:

His first attempt to stand on his skates:

I think he may have realized he is wearing figure skates…

and not hockey skates….(next time buddy you can have boy skates!)

Before we hit the ice, he’s not quite sure what’s going on;

He’s up,

but not too crazy about it! Please help me Grandpa!

I take over and we manage to get all the way around the rink once. He even managed to move his feet and skate a little.

Once around was good for now. The boys took and break and Reagan and I skated for a while longer. She is getting to be a really good skater. She can do all of these fancy turns and spins that Jeff can tell you the names of thanks to his sister Rebecca and her years of figure skating.

The thing that Carter liked the most? Yep, you guessed it, the Zamboni resurfacing the ice at the end.

Microwave Caramel Corn

2010-03-22T12:50:00.003-04:00

My mother made the best caramel corn when I was a kid. It was labor intensive to make and the caramel burned easily.

I found a recipe that is so easy and so yummy, that it is dangerous for me to have brown paper grocery bags in my house. I could possibly eat the entire batch in one sitting.

Microwave Caramel Corn

4 quarts popped popcorn, (which is ½ cup popcorn kernels)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Unused brown paper grocery bag

Non-stick spray

Spray the brown paper grocery bag with non-stick spray. Place the popped popcorn (make sure to remove any unpopped kernels) into a large brown paper bag. Set aside.

In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 1-1/2 minutes in the microwave, and then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave, and cook for 1-1/2 minutes. Take it out and stir it and put it back in the microwave for another 1-1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, and stir in the baking soda.

Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for 45 seconds on half power. Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 45 second on half power. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.

***After I posted this recipe, the kids and I made some this afternoon:

Reagan popped the corn and sorted out the kernels:

Of course, there would be some bowl licking. Yummy caramel!

Tortilla and Butternut Squash Soup

2010-03-15T14:47:00.001-04:00

We had perfect soup weather this weekend. On Saturday, I asked Jeff what he wanted for dinner and he replied, “the yummy squash soup.” I never expected him to use yummy and squash in the same sentence. This is a man who HATES orange vegetables. You should see the faces he makes at cooked carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. He claims there is something addicting about this soup. I’m just happy that I finally found something with squash in it he happily eats.

Tortilla and Butternut Squash Soup

1-1/2 Tabl. butter

1-1/2 Tabl. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 carrots, sliced

3 ribs celery, sliced

1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and diced

12 cups chicken stock

1 cup sherry

8 oz. salted tortilla chips, plus more for garnish

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 bunch scallions, sliced

2 Tabl. freshly squeezed limed juice

8 dashes green Tabasco sauce

Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt, to taste

In a large stockpot, melt the butter in oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and squash and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add the stock and sherry and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the squash is soft and tender, about 40 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the tortilla chips until softened. Add the cheese it melt into the soup. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or in a regular blender until smooth. Add the scallions and stir to combine. Season with lime juice, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper. Serve hot with garnished with crushed tortilla chips. Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Florida 2010: Beach Day

2010-03-13T19:27:00.001-05:00

The day after we arrived in Florida, we went to the beach. We knew that it was forecasted to be the warmest day of our trip, so we wanted to make sure the kids had a chance to play in the sand.

At the beach, it was breezy, misty and chilly.

Carter didn’t care. He couldn’t wait to get in the water.

He was soaked before I managed to get his swimsuit on him.

Reagan wanted to play in the sand and test out the sand sprayers.

We tried using a block mold, but the sand was too dry and the ocean too cold, so the sand kept crumbling.

So, we decided to build a giant turtle instead of a giant castle. Everyone pitched in and got sandy. We even sprayed him with colored water:

Carter mostly sprayed himself in the face and chest instead of the sand, so he ended up looking like a crime-scene splatter pattern.

The result: one psychedelic giant turtle.

He had so much fun chasing the pesky seagulls all over the beach,

taking Grandpa for a walk,

and venturing in the frigid waters:

Junk in the Trunk

2010-03-07T21:35:00.001-05:00

We spent the last week of February in Florida at Jeff’s parent’s winter home in Sun City Center. While we didn’t have the usual Florida warm weather, we did have sun and lots of fun. We also missed a 4+ day power outage and lots of fallen trees, which meant that we came home to the usual busy schedule and lots to clean up.

And, of course, I always can’t resist a new project, so I signed up for a weekly blog recipe challenge, where once a week (Sunday evenings) I’ll post one of my family’s favorite recipes. This week, I actually have a story to go with a recipe:

One evening when we were in Florida, Nana (Judy my MIL) made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Carter was cranky after many long busy days at the beach, Busch Gardens, a car museum, a train ride and the aquarium, and did not want to eat dinner. To pacify him, we let him play with the new truck Grandpa bought him at the car museum.

I kept trying to get him to eat some meatloaf, which he normally devours. Eventually, he took a piece, put it in the back of his truck and drove it away. No way was he eating it.

The next day, I staged a reenactment:

Here’s my family’s favorite Meatloaf recipe:

Upside-down Meatloaf:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1-1/4 lbs. ground beef'
1-3/4 cups cooking oats
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 Tabl. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray. Press the brown sugar on the bottom of the pan, and then spread the ketchup over the sugar.

Combine the remaining ingredients. Shape into a loaf and place it carefully on top of the ketchup in the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the juices run clear. To serve, flip the meatloaf out onto a plate, and cut into slices. Serves 6.

Just Another Week in February

2010-02-19T08:44:00.001-05:00

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

2010-02-13T19:12:00.001-05:00

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

2010-02-03T14:21:00.002-05:00

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.

Yummy Pretzels

2010-01-31T21:23:00.001-05:00

I love to bake and cook for my family. The kids love licking beater or wooden spoons with batter or dough. Carter loves it so much that he brings me the hand mixer to make him something and I constantly find him taking clean beaters out of the dishwasher and licking them just to see if there’s something there.

This afternoon Reagan and I made Homemade Pretzels. Well, I made the dough in my bread maker and she helped me roll them into pretzels.

Here’s the recipe if you want to try it out. The directions are for mixing and kneading the dough by hand. But I just dump all of the dough ingredients into my bread maker and in 1-1/2 hours I have perfectly risen dough ready to be baked. Easy and delicious.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Fancy Friday

2010-01-26T08:10:00.001-05:00

Last Friday night, Reagan was gone to spend the night at Nana’s and Grandpa’s, I decided to attempt to make a more fancy restaurant-type meal for Jeff and myself.

I went to epicurious for some ideas and decided on Lobster Crisps in Champagne Dill Sauce, Beef Medallions with Cognac Sauce and Carrot Puree.

I also bought some yummy breads at the grocery store. I started by making the Lobster Crisps, while labor-intensive, were not difficult to make, only time-consuming. Friday night we got as far as the Lobster Crisps and bread because the crisps were out-of-this-world delicious and filling. Jeff made sure I took pictures of them before ate them.

Aren’t they pretty?

Here’s the recipe. I changed it a bit by using the frozen puff pastry shells instead of making the crisps out of wonton wrappers. Here’s my version. Make it if you want to really impress someone:

Lobster Crisps in Champagne-Dill Sauce

Accompanied by Champagne, this beautiful and delicious appetizer starts the meal on a sophisticated note.

Yield: Serves 2

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 puff pastry shells
1 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound live lobster
2 cups extra-dry Champagne
2 cups water
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup thin strips fresh fennel bulb
3/4 cup thin strips peeled carrots
3/4 cup thinly sliced leek (white and pale green parts only)
4 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

Bake puff pastry shells according to package directions. Let cool.

Cook lobster in large pot of boiling salted water until just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer lobster to large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes. Working over bowl to catch juices, twist lobster tails and claws from body. Crack shells and carefully remove lobster meat. Cover and refrigerate lobster meat.

Place all lobster shells and juices in large saucepan. Add Champagne, 2 cups water, shallots and tomato paste. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 1 hour. Strain liquid; return to same pan. Add cream; simmer until sauce is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 6 minutes. (Crisps, lobster and sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store crisps at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate sauce.)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add fennel and carrots; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek and sauté until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Cut lobster tail crosswise into 8 medallions. Add all lobster to skillet. Cover; cook just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Mix in 2 teaspoons dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Rewarm sauce over low heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoons butter and 2 teaspoons dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Take the middle out of the pastry shells. Arrange the pastry shells on 2 plates. Put lobster and vegetable mix into the shell and around the base of the shell. Spoon sauce over.

The boy who loves his dog

2010-01-24T07:50:00.001-05:00

Carter loves Ella. He loves to feed her her food and his food, lay down with her, ride her and play games with her.

The pictures tell the story better than I could:

It’s no wonder that he is ALWAYS covered in Ella fur.

January 12 x 12

2010-01-14T15:01:00.001-05:00

This year, I’ve joined in a scrapbooking challenge to take 12 pictures on the 12th of each month and scrap them. I’m trying to take pictures of what my life is like on that day. Not what I wish my life was like on that day.

While I might not get the pictures scrapped right away, I figure I could manage to share them on my blog each month.

This month, the 12th is on a Tuesday:

Off to my tap class & Carter’s Tumble time, then home to mop,

sort through my old clothes and deal with a tantrum.

Then off to pick up Reagan from school, so I can drive her down to dance.

Brr, it’s cold, and it feels closer to 0 degrees. The kids outside Wal-Mart after a quick shopping trip before dance.

Off to ballet (then tap and jazz) she goes.

Carter’s spread at dance. He spends 3 hours there on Tuesdays between all the dance classes, but (lucky for me) he has his good friend, Zack, to play with the whole time.

Me as I’m on my way to my monthly American Inns of Court meeting, which is normally on a Wed, and then off to a chick lit book club to discuss Twilight.

The current book I’m reading.

Snow Play

2010-01-03T19:41:00.001-05:00

Starting on New Year’s Eve, we have had a steady snowfall, with an accumulation somewhere around 15-18 inches. Yesterday, we decided to go out as a family and enjoy it. As we were getting on our snow gear I realized that I do not have any snow clothes that fit me. They are all way too big, which I guess is a good thing, but it means I need to hit LL Bean this week before we go skiing or I may lose my pants going down the hill.

It was a light, fluffy snow, great for skiing, but not for snowman or snowball making.

Jeff pulling Carter up the little hill in our front yard:

His first ride down the hill:

Wee…

Splat!

The snow angel:

Sledding down the hill in our side yard, yes right into the woods.

Rosy cheeked cutie:

Me pulling the kids up and down the driveway:

Which was much more fun when I ran along pulling them behind me:

Even Ella enjoyed playing in the snow:

Our house all snowed in:

Carter had so much fun playing in the snow. Last year he hated being outside in it and we never really we able to enjoy it with him. Yesterday, I asked him a couple times if he wanted to go inside, but he kept shaking his head no and saying “snow.”

Conversation with Reagan

2010-01-02T11:23:00.001-05:00

One of my goals for 2010 is to blog more.

This is Reagan this morning. Her front 2 teeth are still growing in, a little on the crooked side, and she’s still missing 2 teeth on top.

This morning I asked Reagan (who will be 7 in Feb.) the following questions to get a snapshot of her at the beginning of the year:

What are your favorite subjects in school? Art

What is your favorite food? Sushi

What is your favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner? Breakfast: Honey Nut Cheerios or Frosted Mini Wheats; Lunch: PB&J; Dinner: Mac ‘n Cheese, mashed potatoes

Who are your best friends? Lauren & Kathryn Why do you like to spend time with them? Because I just really like them

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time? Play my DSi

If you could wear what you wanted to school every day, what would you wear? If it was winter, jeans and a shirt; not winter, dress or skirt

Do you like to play any sports? Yes, swimming

What do you like about those sports? I like getting in the water and doing all these strokes. Backstroke is my favorite stroke.

What have you done that you're the proudest of? Winning swim meets

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? California Why? Because I like to visit my family there and to go to Disneyland

What do you want to do when you grow up? Scientist or a vet Why? Because I like making experiments and I like working with animals

What did you like best about Christmas vacation? Spending time with my family

What are you looking forward to doing next year? Spending time with my family

Crazy Science Day

2009-12-29T22:23:00.001-05:00

Day 2 of “Winter Camp Rick” was “Crazy Science Day.” We got a much slower start this morning as the kids were happy to play at home together for a while before we started in on the experiments.

Our first project was making rock candy. First Reagan and Alex had to measure and cut kitchen twine and then tie it onto a pencil to suspend in the liquid.

Next, they measured out sugar and water and dissolved all of the sugar into the water.

Then we poured the water into the glass jars and let them sit all afternoon.

By the end of “Crazy Science Day” we had made rock candy.

Pretty cool and yummy.

Our next experiment was to see if you really could cook salmon in the dishwasher.

The kids each seasoned their fillets, topped them with lemons and wrapped them tightly in foil.

We then put them in the top rack of the dishwasher and ran it on a normal wash cycle with heated drying.

Rumor had it that you can cook the salmon and wash your dishes at the same time, but we weren’t quite that daring. Alex thought the salmon would come out all watery; Reagan was worried it might be a little soapy, but they both thought that it would be cooked.

The end result: the salmon was cooked perfectly, all flaky and delicious.

We ate every morsel.

While the salmon cooked, we read Dr. Seuss's book Bartholomew and the Ooblek.

Then we made our own ooblek, which was just as green and sticky as it was in the book.

Next up: blowing up balloons with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda. The kids weren’t quite sure how mixing these two together could blow up the balloon, but were delighted to see if it could be done.

Our balloons didn’t blow up that big and we decided that next time we tried it, we would need to use more of each of the ingredients to get the balloons to blow up bigger.

After that we made our own lava lamps using oil, water, food coloring and alka seltzer tablets.

Alex declared it the coolest thing ever.

Carter made his own fun with a pot holder.

Then we moved on to making our own slime and it was quite slimy and delightful.

I think Gracie could’ve played with it all day.

Our last project was making trees that magically grew out of newspaper.

We taped sheets of newspaper together, rolled it up tight, cut it down halfway and like magicians, the kids pulled out trees taller than themselves.

To top off the “best day ever” according to all the kids, was dinner at the Rainforest Cafe where we sadly met Greg and Linda to return Gracie and Alex and end “Winter Camp Rick.” Chances are, there will be another “Crazy Science Day” in our future.

Museum Day

2009-12-28T20:58:00.001-05:00

This week is Winter Break for Reagan. Last summer, I took Alex (Reagan’s 3rd cousin) for a couple days for “Camp Rick.” I had so much fun with the kids that I wanted to do it again, but this time I wanted to have both Alex and his sister Gracie come to stay for “Winter Camp Rick.”

Last night, it took a while to settle the kids down for bed because they were so excited for “Museum Day” today. So excited in fact, that they all woke up at 5:30 am and Gracie was screaming “It’s museum day. It’s museum day!” Life is sometimes just so much better with a theme day.

As I was barely awake and Ella still was sleeping I got the kids all cereal and had them eat on the couch watching TV.

A little while later, a couple of cups of coffee later for me, we made some Banana Crumb Muffins.

Gracie did a great job of mashing the bananas for the batter and Carter couldn’t wait to lick the spoon.

After the second breakfast we were off to the Children’s Museum in Boston and Gracie and Carter both got a cat nap in on the drive down.

We had to wait in line outside of the museum for about 5 minutes because we got there right when it opened.

It was a busy day at the museum and all of the kids were very busy too:

Climbing:

Bouncing:

Playing with sand:

Watching the show:

Gracie and Carter cracked me up in these 3 pictures.

Took a break for lunch:

Played with trains:

Dressed up:

Took a rest:

Smiled for the camera:

And had a super fantastic “Museum Day.”

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T21:58:00.001-05:00

Yes, it has been a long time since I’ve updated my blog, but I wanted to share what Christmas was like for us this year.

Reagan is 6-1/2 (7 in Feb!) and Carter is 19 months, which is really the perfect age to discover the wonders of Christmas.

Our Christmas Tree, which is missing almost all of our ornaments, as Carter like taking them off the tree and throwing them on the kitchen floor to watch them break.

On Christmas Eve, we went to the 4pm Pageant service at my in-law’s church in Exeter. It was really well done and the whole family enjoyed the service, although I think everyone enjoyed watching Carter the most of all. During the service, he only wanted Nana (“Ninny”) or Grampa (“Bampa”) and kept jumping between the pews to get to one of them. He loved the camel, which he called “doggie",” as every animal is either “Ella” or “doggie.” He discovered that the giant black bow (she wore her Alice-in-Wonderland head band to church) in Reagan’s hair was a lot of fun to play with and it entertained Grampa at the same time.

He finally let me hold him at the end of the service, just as we were starting the candlelight portion. Carter, of course, thought it was fun to try and blow my candle out (which he did) and then he thought he would touch it and discovered what “hot” actually meant.

Grampa and Nana came back to our house to spend the night and play the role of helper elves to Jeff and I.

The kids put on their new Christmas PJs,

Nana tried to read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to the kids,

but Carter kept trying to get her to read the “Choo choo” book, about Thomas the Train, because there was nothing with any sort of wheels or tires or engines in the book Nana wanted to read…

Reagan put out the milk, cookies, and carrots for the reindeer,

which Carter thought looked good enough for him to eat too,

and off they went to dream of the toys that would magically appear the next morning, after 4 hours of wrapping by Santa’s elves.

Santa was a little smarter and trickier this year and he decided to wrap the doorway into the family room this year, which foiled Reagan’s plans of sneaking down early to unwrap her gifts without us.

But at least she got to break through a lot of wrapping paper.

Next we opened our stocking and the gifts from Santa,

Reagan wanted a gift from Santa this year, but she couldn’t tell any adults about it, which had me panicking, but he must’ve known what she wanted because she found this in her stocking:

then we ate breakfast (Crème Brulee French Toast, Sausage Egg Casserole, Fruit, Milk, OJ and lots of coffee for me),

opened some gifts,

I got to talk to my brother Matt for 40 minutes! (He’s in Honduras until June 2011) while Carter napped,

opened more gifts,

and more gifts,

put together some Geo Trax as fast as we could,

ate Christmas dinner (Beef Wellingtons, Baked Stuffed Shrimp, Mashed Potatoes, Raspberry Jell-O Salad, and a garden salad),

and had Carter finish opening his gifts around 5pm.

It was a long, fun day.

Halloween 09

2009-11-07T11:09:00.001-05:00

October was not a good month for us this year. Carter was diagnosed with Lyme disease, I was sick for 2 weeks with a parasite and the swine flu, and Reagan has been sick for 2 weeks with swine flu, a paraflu, and now has an ear infection and croup. Jeff, thankfully, has been the only healthy one.

They managed to get the pumpkins carved Halloween Day with the help of Grandpa.

Both kids were well enough to Trick-or-Treat, but I was not up for anything other than sleeping.

Luckily, I had purchased their costumes at the beginning of the month instead of making them, so we didn’t have to worry about running out on Halloween day to buy something last minute.

Carter was the Pokey Little Puppy (one of our favorite books),

and Reagan was a witch.

Little Reader

2009-10-27T20:46:00.001-04:00

Surprise! It’s not Reagan, it’s Carter!

I was upstairs getting ready and Jeff told me to come quick. Carter had climbed almost half-way up our first flight of stairs, and was sitting down happily “reading” his truck book. It was just too cute to see that he drug his book up there and decided it was a good place for a little quite time.

I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed my camera while telling him to stay there because I wanted to take his picture.

Carter loves to read books. He’ll come right up to me (or anyone else), hand me a book, sit down in my lap and read a book over-and-over-and-over again. Books about cars and trucks are his favorite, but he also likes touchy-feely books or books with flaps.

He sure is a ham!

A month in review

2009-10-04T21:08:00.001-04:00

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I last posted. I tried posting many times earlier, but kept having problems uploading pictures via BlogSpot. Thank goodness someone reminded me about live writer (Thanks Joy!) and now blogging is easy again.

September just flew by with school and after-school activities starting, visiting Jeff’s grandparents in Michigan for Labor Day weekend, and me trying to get a daily routine implemented. The kids have gotten bigger, I’ve now got red hair and fall is in the air. Reagan is loving school, her teacher and all her various after school activities. I enjoy being involved in many of Reagan’s activities and Carter enjoys spending a couple days a week with Nana and Grandpa.

Here’s the month in review in pictures:

Labor Day weekend in Hillsdale, MI:

Visiting a farm:

At Hillsdale College, with the tree planted in Great-Grandma’s honor (Carter liked shaking it back-and-forth, so we hope it survives the winter):

Reagan getting a painting lesson:

Carter going through the beautiful gate into the backyard and playing with the neighbor’s dog. He spent most of his time outdoors when we were at their home:

They played on the swing set, just like Grandpa and Jeff used to do:

Digging for worms with Uncle Doug to go fishing:

Taking time to smell the flowers:

We had some beautiful late summer/early fall days at home and we tried to spend a lot of time outside. Reagan poses on a rock in our side yard:

Big Sis helping out with the little ATV:

Vroom, vroom:

Carter had his first experience with markers. Yes, he ate them and yes they were washable.

Reagan cheering for the Jr. Bulldogs:

Carter likes to hide in small spaces,:

play in trees:

throw fits,:

And eat bread!

One last chance to help me buy plant until spring:

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

2009-09-02T07:20:00.002-04:00

I got this recipe from my friend Sarah. It makes the BEST cinnamon rolls. They are Reagan's favorite meal.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls for the Breadmaker

Rolls
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons vanilla instant pudding mix (about 1/2 package of pudding)
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons milk
Remaining vanilla pudding mix

Roll: Place ingredients in the machine following manufacturer's instructions (usually dry ingredients first, followed by wet ingredients) and set for dough cycle. After completion of cycle, remove from machine and roll out to 17x10-inch rectangle.

Filling: Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread softened butter over dough and sprinkle brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the top. Roll tightly from long end, pinching edges closed when finished. Slice into sizes of your choice (I usually get 12-15 rolls from this).
Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled.
Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until golden-DO NOT OVERBAKE!

Frosting: Mix together and spread over hot rolls.

First Day of 1st Grade

2009-08-26T19:09:00.009-04:00

Today was Reagan's 1st day of 1st grade. She was very, very excited to go back to school. To make the day a little more fun and special, and because life's too short not to have fun and decorate, I surprised her this morning by decorating the dining area in our kitchen.

I found these cute backpacks at Dollar Tree, along with the cursive letters border.

I actually found a table cloth in the basement, painted pieces of cardboard with chalkboard paint to use as placemats and basically went nuts at Dollar Tree, finding all sorts of stuff to use to decorate.

The "Back-to-School" gift we gave her teacher. I put #2 pencils around the outside of an empty formula can (I knew I was saving these for a reason), and filled it with Bath & Body Works Soap, hand sanitizer, Advil, Tylenol, lip balm, Kleenex & Tic Tacs.

Last night I made homemade cinnamon rolls (using my friend Sarah's recipe that is better than cinnabon) and baked and frosted them this morning.

Carter was helping me taste-test the frosting this morning. He approved.

We took our customary pictures out front, although Carter was not too happy about getting his picture taken.

I drove her to school, where she let me take 1 more picture of her in front of the school and then she ran off on the new playground to play with her friends.

Reagan rode the bus home from school. Here's Carter waiting for the bus to come around the corner.

After bubbling over with smiles and joy about the day, we set off to Barnes & Noble to get a few new books to read at night.

Then it was on to Friendly's.

We all scream for ice cream!

Home to debrief Daddy about the day.

Reagan's favorites:

1. Recess

2. Library

3. Numbers

4. Lunch

Then dinner, which was Alphabet Meatball Soup & Garlic Bread.

Crayons for dessert.

4-Alarm Fun

2009-08-23T19:27:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday morning we went on a fire station tour. Carter was in absolute heaven. He has loved firetrucks since he first noticed them.

He loves to walk around-and-around them and touch all their parts.

Tires, for some reason, especially fascinate him. He went from truck-to-truck-to-truck touching the tires, almost like he was comparing them.

The kids were able to get inside the trucks and sit in the seats.

They even turned on the flashing lights for the kids; Carter is pointing out the lights to Reagan.

Carter and his friend checking out the inside of the ladder truck.

Reagan was not that interested in the firetrucks, but she was a good sport.

At the very end of our tour, the firefighters got a call. We rushed outside to let them get dressed and get out of their way.

Carter waved good-bye to the trucks as they were leaving with their lights and sirens on. When they left the driveway, he tried to run after them.

Blueberry Picking in Maine

2009-08-16T08:25:00.006-04:00

While we were up in Maine last week, we went blueberry picking in Aurora at a commercial farm owned by a distant relative of Jeff's. Jeff's grandmother Margaret's cousins children own the farm today and allow us to go picking every year.

Reagan has gone picking with us before, but this was Carter's first trip. Reagan and Carter are the 7th generation of Jeff's family to go picking at this farm.

At first Carter did not want anything to do with the blueberries. I tried to feed him one and he refused to try it. Which is strange because he has frozen blueberries from this farm every morning.

Grandpa was able to get him to try one and he has in heaven.

Carter sat himself right down in the patch and started eating them off the bushes.

Sitting in the patch of blueberries.

Then he figured out that Grandpa had a rake full of blueberries and started eating them right out of it.

He tried to take some out of his sister's bucket, but she's a smart girl and moved away from him.

He finally figured out the easiest way was to pick them out of the flats and followed Jeff's Uncle David up to the car when he took the flat away.

We ended up with A LOT of blueberries. Reagan and I picked 9 quarts, Nana picked 12, Jone raked a little more than 12 flats and Uncle David raked 5 flats.

Back at camp we picked over and froze berries for days.

Don't touch his berries!

Yummy!!

Homemade American Girl Doll Accessories

2009-08-02T18:13:00.004-04:00

Reagan has been talking about wanting a bed for her AG doll. She found the catalogue before I could recycle it and went through circling everything she wanted her her doll, Lily for Christmas. The bed she wants is $110!

I convinced her that it might be fun if we tried to make a bed for Lily. Reagan was hesitant because she really, really, wants the AG doll bed, but her love of creating and inventing won out. Plus, she likes the closet we made for Lily a couple of months ago. Reagan also thought that Lily needed a shower, so we set out to make one too.

We had a few moments of rainy weather this week and last Friday it poured all day. While Carter napped, Reagan and I went to work.

For about $8 out-of-pocket, we made Lily her own unique canopy bed and shower:

Canopy Bed:

We used the box that Lily came in as the base of the bed. We went to Michaels and bought wooden dowels, which I cut in half and Reagan painted white.

Reagan's favorite color is now yellow, so we used yellow fabric I had to cover a foam pad that we used as a mattress and some extra to make Lily a pillow. Reagan stuffed the pillow using some batting I had in my craft closet.

I also had some craft wire, yellow tulle and ribbon, which we used to make the canopy.

Shower:

For the shower, we used a box I got at Costco, covered it with the vinyl peel-and-stick tiles we bought at Lowes, and cut a wooden dowel to size for the shower bar. At Dollar Tree we found a hose spray attachment, which we used for the shower head, and a shower curtain, we cut down to size for the box.

Reagan even made Lily a body puff using a bit from a big one and a rubber band.

I had a lot of fun making these projects with Reagan.

Cousins in Maine

2009-07-30T08:17:00.005-04:00

My sister, Laurel, niece, Bella (9), and nephew, Lucas, (5-1/2), came out for a visit earlier this month. We took them up to the center of Maine to Jeff's family's cabins on the lake. It's rural; the nearest grocery store is 30 minutes away and the start of the 100 miles of wilderness of the Appalachian Trail is on the mountain on the other side of the lake.

The kids had a blast swimming, tubing, boating, hiking and just playing in the woods and being together.

All of the kids had fun driving the boat:

On the really rainy day, we went into town and went shopping and had lunch. The kids collected rocks,

and Carter found another mud puddle to play in.

We went on some hikes:

Up to the "bluff" where we could see the whole lake,

And out to the trestle, which is 150 high over a small dam, a bit rickety and thankfully, no trains came by while we were on it.

It was a great visit, too short and we can't wait for them to come back next summer.

Santa's Village

2009-07-25T07:44:00.008-04:00

Up in the White Moutains of New Hampshire is Santa's Village, which is where my Mom & I took the kids when she was out visiting. We set out really early one Sunday morning, as Jefferson is a 2-hour drive from my house. We arrived just before the park opened.

Santa's Village was beautiful. The scenery was gorgeous and the park was very well maintained. Christmas music played throughout the park, but I never heard the same song twice. It was a busy, but not at all crowded day. The weather was perfect; not too hot, or cold or windy or cloudy. A perfect 10.

I took over 200 pictures that day, but have selected a few, okay a little more than a few...

We went on rides:

Carter did not enjoy his first ride of the day:

Met Santa Claus:

Played reindeer games:

Found out how tall the kids were:

Posed for pictures:

Carter of course, managed to find some water to play in:

Played the Elfabet game and graduated from Elfabet University:

They had 26 Elves, one for each letter of the "Elfabet" hidden all over the park. Each person was given a card, which they punched when they found each elf with a letter. Once you found all the elves, you turned your card in for a certificate and a hackey sack. Another brillant idea. Kids and adults had fun finding the elves and punching their cards.

Even the trash cans were cute. You lifted the penguins' top hat to throw trash away. All the kids loved using them, so the park was spotless. Brilliant idea. I wanted to take one home with me.

Swim

2009-07-23T07:38:00.004-04:00

I didn't realize it had been 2 weeks since I last posted. My parents, sister Laurel and her 2 kids, Bella and Lucas have been out visiting us and I just ran out of time to blog about our days. We had a great time showing them New Hampshire and Maine.

Reagan is on the swim team here in town and while my parents were out, she had a swim meet. It was only her second meet, but she did really well and improved from her first meet.

Reagan swam in the 25m freestyle and the 25m backstroke. She came in 3rd in the freestyle and 2nd in the backstroke.

Freestyle:

Backstroke:

The cheering section:

Carter kept trying to get into the pool and I finally was able to distract him with a puddle of water he could splash in. In a few years, I think he'll be swimming with the team too.

We did a lot of fun things over the past 2 weeks and I'll try to blog about all our fun over the next few days.

Snakes, Mud and a Lost Tooth

2009-07-07T20:29:00.006-04:00

After the big 4th of July bash, I was too tired to blog about it and there were too many great pictures from the day that I wouldn't be able to pick a few to post. So, if you want to check out the party, go to my Father-In-Law's website at http://gallery.jonrickphoto.com/p385732303 .

Yesterday it was absolutely gorgeous here. Perfect summer weather: hot, a few puffy clouds in the sky and a slight breeze. After Reagan's swim practice, we went to a reptile program at our public library. It was packed, but they had plenty of reptiles to go around. Carter was not too excited to sit still for the presentation, so I took him outside the room to run. What he ended up doing was throwing a fit after he ate all of his banana and I ran out. So, there we were in the library with Carter rolling around on the floor screaming "BANANA" over and over at the top of his lungs. Luckily, I had some apple slices, which pacified him, but I digress.

Carter and I made it back inside just in time for my favorite reptiles, snakes.

Unfortunately, my children do not share my phobia of snakes, so they were more than interested in looking, touching and holding the snakes. I wasn't happy to be in the same room with them (the snakes, not the kids).

After a quick lunch at home, we set off to a park which not only has a playground, but also has a separate "spray and play" water area. It looks really cool, is really cool, but did not hold Reagan's interest for long or Carter's at all. So we went over to the playground.

Reagan wanted to take her brother down the slide, which they've done together many times before without incident. Yesterday, however, it was the slide of doom.

This is how they looked at the top.

In the middle, something went horribly wrong and they ended up rolling over one another, with Carter bumping his head and getting a bruise and Reagan losing her front tooth! Out it popped. We had no idea it was even loose. She only shed a little blood and was fine.

So to cheer up the troops, I took them down to the stream and mud at the bottom of the park.

This was a MUCH bigger hit than the failed spray and play. They were the only kids down there and they had a blast. For once, the only thing Carter tried to eat was the clover.

Curious George Day

2009-07-01T20:59:00.004-04:00

Day 3 at Camp Rick was Curious George Day. Reagan and Alex had a great time at Nana and Grandpa's last night and got back here after lunch today.

We had just enough time to get their monkey hats made, their tails put on and off we were to Boston for the afternoon.

The 3 little monkeys provided a lot of entertainment downtown. Carter was especially entertaining; he was just too cute in his monkey ears and tail. Everyone who saw him smiled at him and he, of course, smiled and jabbered back.

We hung out and played while Alex had his doctor's appointment and then we set off for the Curious George Store in Harvard Square.

Luckily, I haven't lost my Boston-driving abilities and I was able to snag a metered parking spot without too much difficulty and close to the store.

I particularly got a kick out of the business above the store.

The kids loved the store. They had so much fun looking at all of the Curious George stuff and all of the other great books and educational toys at the store. Carter loved taking apart the store, because in today's drama, he was Curious Carter.

Everyone got a souvenir, Reagan and Alex picked out activity books to do in the car on the way home and Carter got a touchy-feely book.

I even managed to find the 7-11 in Harvard Square, so the kids (well not Carter) got slurpees and I got a Big Gulp, so all was well on the ride home.

This morning I put paper on the wall in the conservatory (while Curious Carter tried to rip it down), so the kids could all safely draw on the wall like Curious George. We got back so late from our trip that everyone feel asleep on the ride home and we weren't able to get to the rest of the Curious George day activities that I had planned (monkey puppets, monkey dancing, baked banana boats and puppy rescue). But, it looks like rain again for tomorrow, so I think we'll have plenty of time to do everything and more.

Backwards Day

2009-06-30T20:44:00.003-04:00

The kids woke up super excited to find out the "theme" for the day. When I saw them, I told them "Good Night, go brush your teeth and I'll be up to read you a bedtime story." They thought it might be pajama day, but it was:

Backwards Day!

First up: Dinner for breakfast. Luckily I had some leftover pizza, so this was easy. All 3 kids thought it was good. Reagan and Alex tried walking around backwards. I was a bit backwards today too--I only took 4 pictures and no crafts!

Next: We took a brief break in the day to take Reagan down to the doctor's because I thought she has swimmer's ear. I was right. With all the swimming she's doing now, I wanted to get her feeling better.

Back to the Backwards Day: The kids put their clothes backwards and so did I, which was not so comfortable because the back of my pants are a little roomier than the front.

Reagan and Alex played Candyland backwards. They started at the end of the game, drew the cards from the bottom of the pile and the winner was the person who came in last. Carter wanted to play too, but his game was stealing all of the pieces and running away as fast as he could run.

Lunch was a backwards lunch--all junk and nothing healthy. We had the pretzels and cookies the kids made yesterday and boy were they good!

A friend of mine came over to play with her two young boys, so we took a time-out from backwards day to show them around town and play at the park.

Dinner was breakfast of course! Cinnabon Muffins, eggs, cantaloupe, and blueberry maple sausage. Reagan and Alex had fun asking for things backwards like, "sausage the pass please."

Tonight they're spending the night with Reagan's grandparents, so Grandpa is going to read them a story backwards, from the end to the beginning.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day

2009-06-29T21:32:00.005-04:00

This week is "Camp Rick" at our house. We have Reagan's 3rd cousin and oldest friend Alex with us for the week. With 2 6-year olds, a 13-month old, an energetic lab, and the continuation of the Biblical no-end-in-sight rain, I wanted to be prepared for a week indoors.

Today was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Day based on the children's storybook by Eric Carle. I scoured the Internet for ideas and ended up with too many to fit in one day.

First the kids made their caterpillar hats.

Then they made clothespin caterpillars and colored the butterfly wings. The kids used washable markers to color on a paper towel, which they then got a tad bit wet and scrunched up to blend the colors. When it was dry, we clipped it to the caterpillar body to turn it into a beautiful butterfly.

Reagan and Alex worked on a crossword puzzle while I made lunch. I found a site on the web where you can make your own crossword puzzles for free!

Lunch was everything the very hungry caterpillar ate, all served in a muffin tin.

Next up was the word scramble. Last night, I very carefully wrote out the words to about 1/2 of the story on school-ruled post-it notes, cut them up, and put them on the wall for the kids to put in the right order.

Carter found the post-its first thing this morning and tried to tear them all off the wall.

Fortunately he was foiled and the kids spend an hour putting the words in the correct order. They did a great job working together and sounding out the words.

Later on, the sun came out for a few minutes, so we went outside with big nets to see if we could find any caterpillars or butterfly. All they managed to find were some rocks in the wheelbarrow.

So, we came back inside and the kids shaped pretzel dough into caterpillars, cocoons and butterflies.

The last project was frosting butterfly sugar cookies.

They wrapped the day up watching "A Bug's Life" on the air mattress in the playroom, snug in their cocoons.

On the 20th Day of Rain...

2009-06-25T23:05:00.003-04:00

We went for a walk. No really, June has been the rainiest month in decades, maybe centuries. We've had 5 days without rain.

The sun left and we thought it would never return. So on Monday, the kids and I put on our rain gear and found a few puddles to splash in.

Ironically, as I write this, thunder is rumbling.

Class of 2021

2009-06-23T22:12:00.004-04:00

Reagan "graduated" from kindergarten on Monday. Her school put together a very nice program and each class sang a song and a few kids had speaking parts.

Reagan was one of those kids. Her line was "I am excited about going to first grade." She practiced her line for a month ahead of the ceremony and her hard work paid off. Her delivery was perfect.

Here she is getting her certificate from the Principal, Mr. Williams (who is THE BEST principal) and the vice-principal.

Reagan and her teacher, Mrs. Natale. I can't believe she'll graduate from high school in 2021. It sounds like a long way off, but I know the next 12 years are going to fly by.

Big sister with a proud little brother. Man do those two love each other.

Dancing Queen

2009-06-21T11:58:00.004-04:00

Reagan's dance recital was yesterday afternoon. She danced in 3 dances, ballet, tap and jazz. The music for her ballet routine was "The Best of Friends."

Tap was "Good ship Lollipop."

Jazz was "Dancing Queen."

She did a great job, Carter managed to sit through her 3 routines, with breaks out in the hall in between and Jeff and I really enjoyed watching her dance. She's getting pretty good.

Here's a picture of her at her 1st dance recital, 4 years ago!

Boy at Work

2009-06-18T07:30:00.002-04:00

Carter's favorite past time is to take everything he can reach out of the cupboards. Yesterday, he hit the jackpot, a drawer in the kitchen desk with pixie sticks!

He also took all of the trash bags out of the box and all the Tupperware out of the drawer.

Shh....Sleeping Beauty

2009-06-16T20:08:00.003-04:00

On Saturday night we had Reagan's Daisy troop over for a sleepover; 7 6-year old giggly girls. Yes, I am crazy, but the girls sure had a blast. They decorated pillow cases, wrapped each other in toilet paper, had a toilet paper fight, played more games, ate lots of junk food and stayed up until 2 am! And they were up at 6 the next morning.

Reagan was so worn out that fell asleep on Sunday afternoon at 4pm and I had to wake her up for school on Monday at 7am.

Balloon Hats and Monkey Pudding

2009-06-11T21:40:00.004-04:00

The kids have both been sick this week; Reagan has strep throat and a double-ear infection and Carter has an ear infection, a viral infection and is getting at least 4 molars. Oh yeah, the weather's also been gloomy, dark and rainy.

So I decided we should try out some fun stuff today. I have a limited knowledge of balloon animals and hats, but enough to keep the kids entertained and busy. Reagan had fun trying to make a dog and even made Carter's hat.

This afternoon, we forged outside and Reagan helped me plant and re-pot of bunch of stuff. Carter helped by tasting the dirt and taking it out of the pots. Reagan planted snapdragons out front. I showed her how to "snap" them open. Carter just tried to sit on them.

After we got Carter cleaned up and down for a nap, Reagan made Monkey Pudding. I just supervised.

She did a great job and is becoming a real pro in the kitchen. She used her lettuce "knife" to slice the bananas.

We had it for dessert tonight and it was delicious.

Strawberry Festival

2009-06-08T20:14:00.004-04:00

On Saturday we went to the Strawberry Festival because Reagan was tap dancing there with her dance studio.

It was a really nice festival with all sorts of bounce houses and bouncy slides, games, a few firetrucks, police vehicles and lots of food.

Carter loved checking out the firetrucks and police vehicles. He walked around and around them, checking out all of their parts and tires.

Reagan tapped to "Good Ship Lollipop." She had a lot of fun dancing, but was too busy concentrating on her steps to smile. But she still was cute.

Carter and the Purple Ink

2009-06-05T09:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday evening, it was a bit too quite and I found Carter in the Maproom covered in purple ink. Apparently, he found a jar of pennies and pens that I thought was out of his reach and a purple marker or pen had leaked ink all over the bottom of the jar.

Fortunately, he didn't fingerpaint on the wall, just the carpet and himself. I gave him a quick bath in the sink and the purple almost all came out.

The pictures are a bit blurry because I took them with my phone. I wanted to get a few quick pictures, but didn't want purple ink everywhere.

Sunny Southern CA

2009-06-03T22:13:00.004-04:00

Uncle Matt and Carter enjoying skate boarding at the beach.

I haven't updated my blog in a while because we went out to California for my sister and mother's college graduations and to visit my family. I'm still trying to get back into my routine here at home.

We had a great time in California, ate a lot of In-Out-Burgers and all got a lot of sun. I took over 600 pictures during the trip! Here's a short synopsis (and only 10 pictures) of our trip:

Jeff and I went dirt bike riding for the first time with my mother, father and brother. We both wiped out a few times, but had a lot of fun. I like going really fast.

Me

Jeff

Both my mother and sister graduated from the University of La Verne (ULV).
We went to my sister Laurel's graduation on Friday night...

And to my mother's graduation on Saturday morning.

Cute pic of Reagan and my niece Bella after they cheered on Grammy.

On Memorial Day, we went "camping at the beach" at South Carlsbad State Beach. My family has been camping here for 20 years!

Yes, we had to climb up and down those stairs to get to the beach. We camped at the top of the cliff and went to sleep hearing the ocean crash on the beach below. Bliss.

The kids spent most of the day in the water or playing in the sand.

Reagan and Bella boogie boarding.

We painted rocks we found on the beach to remember our trip. I made some with Reagan's and Carter's hand prints to bring home.

My nephew Lucas painting rocks.

Carter brought his own pool to the beach, but still managed to eat a lot of sand.

Z is for Zebra

2009-05-19T23:40:00.003-04:00

Reagan's kindergarten class has a special letter each week and all of their homework activities focus on that specific letter.

This week the letter is Z. Reagan's homework for today was to dress in all black and white like a zebra.

I even did her hair fancy.

Front view:

Back view:

Little Boy Heaven

2009-05-17T21:09:00.004-04:00

Today, Reagan, Carter and I went to the town's pre-Memorial Day parade.

We stood at the very end of the parade route and the firefighters parked a classic firetruck right behind us.

Carter was in little boy heaven.

We circled the truck at least 5 times. He had to check out everything on it. Each tire was inspected twice.

Reagan wasn't nearly as interested in the truck and this is her just barely tolerating me taking her picture.

All-American Girl

2009-05-12T22:11:00.003-04:00

We spent this past weekend in NYC with Jeff’s sister, Rebecca and her husband, Kevin, and Jeff’s parents. It was gorgeous in NYC all weekend. With weather that perfect, we spent most of the time at Central Park.

However, the girls took a little detour to the American Girl Store in Times Square and Reagan picked out her first real American Girl doll!

Reagan has never had an attachment for anything except the color pink until now. She named her doll “Lily” and had slept with her every night.

On Saturday evening, we went to Rebecca’s graduation party at a restaurant/bar (which was a lot of fun) and Reagan spent the whole evening drawing me pictures and writing me notes describing the closet she wants me to build for Lily.

She wants it to be 4 feet tall with drawers along the bottom and a space for a curling iron, blow dyer and all other sorts of hair accessories.

My 2 projects this week are: 1. trying to get Reagan to scale back on the closet; and 2. attempting to build said closet. Wish me luck!

Play Ball!

2009-05-07T21:32:00.004-04:00

Carter loves to play ball. He plays fetch with Ella and has gotten really good at throwing, well, really good for a boy who just turned 1 a week ago.

Tonight Carter was playing ball with all of us and I managed to remember to record a bit of it.

It's not the best quality, and my editing abilities are very limited, so it's basically the quality of one of those bad home movies you were forced to watch as a kid. But, the star actor is rather cute and, I forgot to mention, he's walking in it, with the ball that's almost as big as him. So pop some popcorn and enjoy the show!

May the 4th be with you

2009-05-04T21:38:00.003-04:00

Apparently, today is Star Wars Day. I was browsing the web on one of my daily haunts and came across this fact:

"May 4 is called Star Wars Day because of a pun or play on words based on the similarity between 'May the 4th be with you' and 'May the force be with you,' a phrase often spoken in the Star Wars movies."

I took these picture of Carter today after he woke up from a nap because 1. I didn't know he had that much hair; 2. that it was capable of standing up, and 3. it made me laugh.

He must still be tired from his birthday party yesterday (recap coming soon, but I'm still tired from the prep work and the party).

So, Happy Star Wars Day and May the 4th be with you.

Carter turns 1 today!

2009-05-01T09:50:00.004-04:00

Carter's 1st day home, May 4, 2008.

I can't believe that Carter is 1 years old today. This year has flown by so fast and he has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year. These are the pictures I took of him this morning, right after he got his bath, so he's the cleanest he'll be all day.

He's walking more and more everyday. He has such a lovable personality and loves to laugh and play games. He is constantly exploring the world around him and testing my patience and reflexes to keep him out of trouble.

His favorite things right now:

Cars, trucks, basically anything with wheels

Water--he loves to swim and splash in water, especially Ella's dog bowl

Balls--he plays "catch" with us and "fetch" with Ella

He's talking more each day. His current words are:

Mama

Dada

Ella

Sit

Ball

Sissy (What he calls Reagan)

"No Ella"--when she's licking him

Happy Birthday MOM!!!

2009-04-29T14:30:00.004-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

Today is my mother's birthday. I won't say which big milestone birthday it is because she doesn't want me to, but just know that she is old enough to have a 31-year old daughter and 4 grandchildren. Although, she doesn't even look close to her real age yet and looks more like my sister than mother. Hopefully, I inherit those great genes.

Reagan made Grammy a sign to wish her a Happy Birthday and I took pictures of the kids outside on this beautiful spring day.

Love you Mom! Wish we could all be there today to give you a big hug. We can't wait to see you in 3 weeks!

Reagan's lunch

2009-04-21T20:33:00.003-04:00

Reagan's attends morning Kindergarten, so most days she's home before lunch. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she goes to a Kindergarten Enrichment program right after school until 3pm.

She has to bring lunch with her on these days. Yesterday, out of the blue, Reagan gave me this:

She I guess I needed a check-list for making her lunch! She told me to check off the boxes as I was making her lunch to make sure I got everything she wanted.

She wanted a Tuna Fish Sandwich, Pringles Potato Chips (she how she drew the guy on the can?), Pretzels, Apples, Babybell Cheese, Goldfish and a Pear.

This was the end result:

Our pears aren't ripe yet, so she'll get it on Thursday.

Grammy's Kids

2009-04-20T18:33:00.002-04:00

Today at the end of Reagan's tap class, her teacher, Miss Debbie, asked to talk to me real quick. She said she heard we were going to California soon for her Grammy's graduation and she had the following conversation with Reagan:

Reagan: My Grammy couldn't graduate from college because she had 4 kids and couldn't go.

Miss Debbie: Those rotten awful kids.

Reagan: No, they weren't rotten or awful.
(She starts counting on her fingers).

There's my mom. She's not awful or rotten. Then there's Uncle Matt.
(Reagan pauses.)

Well, I guess he was a little rotten and awful.

Easter Pictures

2009-04-13T18:03:00.005-04:00

It was sunny and beautiful, but really cold and windy on Easter.

I thought Carter looked so cute in his hat and was surprised he kept it on so long.

Poor Reagan was freezing outside, but still managed to look beautiful. She wanted me to do her hair fancy for Easter, so I put it in hot rollers.

My two handsome men.

The Easter bunny came and left eggs and baskets full of goodies, we went to church and came home to get Easter dinner ready. Our friends, the Gilroy's came over with their kids and we ate and then the kids dyed eggs.

Friday Night Swim

2009-04-08T20:51:00.005-04:00

The kids both have swim class on Friday nights. Carter and Jeff have the first swim class and Reagan sits on the edge of the pool the whole time watching and wanting to participate too.

Here she is just waiting for an excuse to jump in and join the fun in the baby class.

Carter loves floating on his back and even has the proper form.

He's a water baby just like Reagan was at his age.

Reagan is a very good swimmer for her age. Her favorite stroke is the backstroke and she is FAST on her back. She has been working really hard at the front crawl and almost has the rotary breathing down.

Reagan has been working on her dives too. She can do nice sit and kneel dives, but her standing dive resembles a belly flop.

Here he is all snug in his jammies watching his sister swim. He usually falls asleep before her lesson is over.

Swimming is Reagan's favorite activity and if Carter could tell us, I think he'd agree with her.

Child of the Week

2009-04-02T20:01:00.002-04:00

Reagan was picked (by random draw) to be "child of the week" in her Kindergarten class. Last Sunday we put together a poster for her to bring to school and be displayed on the bulletin board outside her classroom. She did all of the writing describing the pictures.

On Tuesday she brought home Malcolm the Moose, her class mascot, for a sleepover. Malcolm visited us just for the night, so we made sure he did a lot of fun stuff with Reagan.

She took him for a bike ride, to her cheerleading party, (yes, next year my life will revolve around cheer. She will be cheerleading for the Bedford Jr. Bulldogs) and the library. Reagan drew pictures and wrote all about his visit in Malcolm's journal.

Yesterday, Reagan decided to get in the spirit of April Fool's Day and take everything out of my shower she could reach. She also tried to "short sheet" our bed. I tricked her by making Angel Food Cake toast.

Today was "wear a cap to school day." I'm sure she wasn't the only one with a Red Sox cap on, but I know she was the cutest!

Spring Has Sprung!

2009-03-29T19:55:00.004-04:00

Spring has finally arrived to NH. These crocuses bloomed on Thursday morning. It's so nice to see color in the yard.

On Friday, Reagan spent the day with her Nana, Jeff worked from home, and Carter and I did some yard work together.

This year I want to have a really good vegetable garden. Last year, I tried, but failed to really grow anything, which was a huge disappointment after having such a great garden at our last home. I'm trying to get a head start this year, so I put Carter in the back pack and went to work. He didn't mind me shoveling and pulling of major weeds and trees and lasted about 45 minutes before he got really bored.

Saturday was another beautiful day. We cleaned out the garage, I again tackled the weeds in the garden and some of Ella's mess.

Carter tried out his cozy coupe for the first time and went for a wagon ride.

Reagan enjoyed bike riding and smelling the flowers. It was a nice, fun, productive day.

And of course, today it rained all day.

What's Blue and White and Cute All Over?

2009-03-26T08:31:00.003-04:00

CARTER!

Yesterday I hear toys being thrown against the wall, followed by laughter. I looked into the family room and saw Carter standing up, taking little toys out of his drum, and laughing as he's throwing them against the wall.

He was entertaining Reagan who has been sick since Saturday night. She finally went back to school today.

Park Day

2009-03-22T19:06:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday we hit a high of 60 degrees! To celebrate I decided to take the kids to the park to play, completely forgetting that it might still be covered in snow. We had to go back home and get boots.

Carter had a lot of fun playing for the first time at the playground.

Reagan was a great big sister and played with Carter on the tire swing and slide.

I got a good shot of all of Carter's new teeth. His front top tooth finally broke through yesterday.

We're going to have a lot of fun this summer at the park.

Little Leprechauns

2009-03-17T16:12:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It is a beautiful day here in Southern New Hampshire. The sun is shining, birds are chirping and it's right around 50 degrees.

Carter didn't mind wearing the shamrock headband at all. He even wore it on our walk this afternoon in the neighborhood.

Curly Q's

2009-03-16T08:30:00.004-04:00

Carter's hair is starting to get curly and lighter. When it's wet, it gets really curly. I gave him a bath yesterday morning and took some pictures of his curly hair.

Then I couldn't resist taking a few of him in his cute overalls, which are 18-24 months and only an inch too long!

My parents called yesterday evening and Carter "talked" to them for a few minutes.

He loves sticking that tongue out.

Got Cookies?

2009-03-15T21:12:00.004-04:00

Reagan's Daisy troop had their cookie booth sale on Saturday at the Mall in Manchester. Actually, it wasn't the troop, just Reagan and me because everyone else was busy.

Here's the van loaded down in the parking before we started.

This is the booth we had at the mall. Reagan stacked all the boxes into pyramids.

Reagan was a trooper and did a great job. One lady bought 3 cases of Thin Mints (that's 36 boxes)! Jeff was sad that we sold completely out of Thin Mints. We came home with some of Reagan's favorite, the Lemon Creams.

We had a lot of fun, but learned that Reagan takes after her parents and really doesn't enjoy the hard sell.

The End is Officially Here

2009-03-12T19:39:00.003-04:00

My carefree days are over. This afternoon Carter was happily playing with his toys in the family room. I left the room for 1 minute to get something and when I came back, this is what I found:

Reagan was at school or she would've stopped him mid-climb from reaching her stuff.

He was not happy when I took him down. He still has a tear in his eye in this picture.

Snowman

2009-03-12T16:04:00.003-04:00

On Monday we got dumped with snow from yet another storm. Tuesday afternoon Reagan went out to play on the swing set, fetch with Ella and build a snowman.

Jeff got home from work in time to help her finish it.

Happy 50th Papa!

2009-03-11T19:13:00.003-04:00

My Dad's birthday is today. Unfortunately, we cannot be there to celebrate this milestone with him because my parents live in sunny Southern California and we live in what feels like the North Pole.

The grandkids wanted to wish their Papa a Happy Birthday. Reagan made the sign all by herself.

Hope you have a great birthday Dad! We love you and miss you.

Wrinkly Nose

2009-03-09T15:58:00.003-04:00

I went away this weekend to a scrapbooking retreat in Pennsylvania. It was a really nice, fun break away from real life.

While I was gone, Carter started making a new face. He scrunches up his nose. It is too cute.

See all those teeth? No wonder he was so miserable a few weeks ago. When those front two finally come all the way in, they are going to be big and sharp!

Reagan wanted to scrunch her nose too.

I wanted to get a cute shot of them together, but Carter wanted to play with the camera, which is why he is crying.

We're stuck inside again today because of another Monday snowstorm that's dumping almost another foot of snow on us. Spring can't come fast enough this year.

Just because they're cute and it's Wednesday

2009-03-04T17:51:00.004-05:00

Last night, Reagan picked out her clothes for school today, from tights to hair clip. I thought she looked too cute to send her off to school without a couple pictures.

Carter had his My Gym class this afternoon. Again, I forgot my camera, but luckily my phone does a pretty good job.

Can you tell he loves standing and pulling himself up?

No Snow Baby

2009-03-02T17:24:00.005-05:00

Carter has only been outside a few times in the snow. We got a ton of snow last night, about 18 inches. School was canceled today and we were on February vacation last week, so we are really in the winter blahs.

Plus, Carter is back to full destroyer mode. He can climb up stairs (I found him on the 4th stair up today) and likes to stand behind his walker and push it around the house. He also can clap and plays peek-a-boo.

So when Reagan went outside to go sledding with the neighbor kids, I thought I'd take Carter out too.

Well, as you can see, it was a very short-lived excursion.

That's one snow-packed pacifier.

Yes, this mean Mom still managed to snap some pictures before taking him inside.

The Newest Super Hero: Spatula Girl

2009-02-25T19:49:00.003-05:00

Watch out! The latest super hero has arrived:

SPATULA GIRL!

Reagan was trying to cheer Carter up when he was sick last weekend and starting doing karate moves with spatulas.

Giving the evil eye. All those who try to feed her chocolate are warned--she's armed and dangerous. She knows how to use those spatulas.

Yes, you can be fierce in pigtails with bows.

This one's for Aunt Rebecca.

Root Beer Float

2009-02-23T11:11:00.003-05:00

I realized last week that I have deprived Reagan of a classic American treat. She had never even heard of a Root Beer float!

Well, after I picked her up from school last Friday and to kick off February vacation (and to make of for the fact that we couldn't leave the house because Carter had Roseola) I made her a Root Beer float.

She thought it was good, but told me that Butter Pecan ice cream was better than the float. Oh well, at least she's had one now.

Boy Loves Dirt Take 2

2009-02-19T19:34:00.005-05:00

Now that Carter is fully mobile and is fast, I really have to make sure he's not out of eyesight or reach. Well, I turned my back for a few minutes, and he made his way lickity-split from the middle of the family room over to the pot of dirt which used to be a nice plant.

Does that look say he knows the fun is done or what? I put the coke box there to prevent him from digging in the dirt when he was in his scooter, but he always finds a way around the obstacle to get what he wants.

Now try and stop me!

I really need to move that pot.

This will probably be one of the last pictures of him with just 2 teeth.

Carter has been battling a double-ear infection, what I thought was the stomach flu and getting 6, yes 6 new teeth! The poor thing has been miserable for the past 2 weeks and Jeff and I are really tired too. On day when he was feeling good, I coincidentally made homemade cinnamon rolls. Boy were they a hit with everyone including Carter. He could not get enough of them and cried when we finally took away the spatula. Grandpa Jon is going to have competition on who gets dibs on the spatula!

Reagan is doing well as is busy with school and her activities and is doing well. She was proud today to blow up a balloon all by herself at Daisys.

100th Day of School

2009-02-11T08:31:00.004-05:00

Reagan's 100th day of school is today, Wednesday February 11th. Her homework for today was to wear 100 of something. At first Reagan wanted to wear 100 feathers. But I found 100 flowers in my craft stuff, which she was happy to wear instead. Last night while watching TV, I hot-glued 100 flowers to some craft felt I made into a smock.

I also put flowers in her hair this morning.

Firetruck

2009-02-10T20:27:00.003-05:00

Carter is sick. He has his first ear infection, poor boy. When I was at Target yesterday waiting for his prescription to be filled, I bought him a firetruck. He LOVES firetrucks. They fascinate him. It doesn't have a siren or any fancy sounds, but he's been playing with it non-stop. It's really cute to see him have his first real preference for something in life.

While I was snapping pictures of Carter and his firetruck, I had to take one of Reagan too. She looked she cute with her hair in buns yesterday.

Birthdays Past

2009-02-09T21:04:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how much Reagan has grown-up, yet still looks so much like she did the day she was born.

Here are some birthday pictures of her from years past:

Her first birthday party was at our house. Here she is sitting in the swing of the little swingset we got her, but couldn't put together fast enough to her liking.

I took Reagan to Chuck-E-Cheese's for lunch. She had a ball. I thought she was so big and no longer a baby. Boy, was I wrong.

Reagan's 2nd birthday party was at My Gym. She loved Elmo and Sesame Street, so we had an Elmo-themed party for her.

Reagan's 3rd birthday party was also held at My Gym. They do such a good job with parties. We did a Cinderella theme for it.

Reagan's 4th birthday party was held at My Gym.

Reagan's 5th birthday party was held at our house. It was a princess party. Reagan dressed up as Alice-in-Wonderland.

Happy Birthday Reagan

2009-02-09T20:35:00.003-05:00

Reagan's 6th birthday was on Friday, the 6th, which made it her "golden" birthday.

As a surprise, I decorated the kitchen with gold decorations and glittery, gold 6's. Nana spent the night and as the biggest surprise, Granpa flew up from Florida and surpised Reagan the morning of her birthday.

We went out for sushi that night, and of course, had the sushi boat. Carter even had his first California roll. He wasn't too impressed.

Reagan's party was on Sunday afternoon at the bowling alley for a Hannah Montanta glow bowling birthday party. By Jon's count, there were 28 kids there! It was a huge crowd, but a lot of fun. I'm really glad it wasn't at my house.

Reagan had a fantastic time and "the best birthday ever," in her words.

Carter stayed home with Nana, because he was/is sick. The poor baby has his first ear infections and is not feeling well at all.

Fashionista

2009-02-05T09:19:00.002-05:00

Reagan's grandparents, Jon and Judy, gave her a bunch of zebra-print clothes for Christmas. Reagan loves them and wears the jacket and rainboots everyday.

I still don't have my camera, so I took the picture with my cell phone, which is why it is a bit fuzzy.

Eyes

2009-02-04T08:32:00.003-05:00

I couldn't resist taking this picture of Carter yesterday as we were walking into the library. He has such beautiful eyes.

9 month check-up

2009-02-04T08:27:00.003-05:00

Carter had his 9-month check-up yesterday.

He is 30.25 inches long and 21 lbs, 10 oz.

He's a BIG boy, well really a tall boy.

He's in the 95% for height, between the 50-75% for weight, but for his height he's in the 50%, so he's on the skinny side for his height.

He just started really crawling and is able to get into even more trouble now. Carter is finding all sorts of things I need to kep out of his reach.

Love those chunky rolls.

Queen of the Losers

2009-02-02T14:26:00.003-05:00

On Saturday Reagan was watching me while I played with the Wii Fit. I was trying to play the tightrope game, where you have to carefully balance while walking on a tightrope. Well, I was having some difficulty in getting across the rope without falling. At once point, when I had fallen off Reagan told me, "Mom, your Queen of the Losers."

Kids--you gotta love them.

Reagan, the Author

2009-01-30T16:38:00.007-05:00

Reagan loves to draw pictures and write stories. She started making these pictures and stories into books.

Here is the book she has written about Carter titled, "Little Brother on the Go."

My Pretty Daisy

2009-01-30T16:27:00.003-05:00

Reagan is a Daisy Girl Scout and last night was the investiture ceremony where she "officially" became a Daisy. There are 7 girls in her troop and I volunteered to be the troop leader.

Reagan helped make the Daisy wreaths the girls wore on their heads.

We did a presentation using felt Daisy petals to explain to the parents what the girls will be learning about in Daisies.

I made cupcakes topped with "daisies" for dessert. It was a lot of fun. Reagan loves going to Daisies and asks me all the time if today is a Daisy meeting day.

Carter is doing well and getting big. His crawling has improved greatly and he is able to get up on his hands and knees and move himself around the house.

Same old, same old

2009-01-28T15:14:00.003-05:00

Updated to add 2 photos:

Reagan is a great skier!

See that fuzzy guy in the background carrying something? That something is Carter in his carseat!

I know I haven't blogged in a while, but we haven't really done anything blog-worthy. Reagan still has tinges of pink in her hair and Carter is still trying to get his top teeth and trying to crawl.

We did spend this past weekend up in Laconia, NH with Jeff's parents at their condo. The condo, is Reagan's favorite place in the whole world. I figure it's because they have an indoor pool with waterslides and a waterfall. It is a lot of fun and nice to be able to swim when it's negative degrees outside.

On Saturday, we went skiing at Gunstock. Carter stayed behind with Nana, who doesn't ski. Reagan had a half-day of lessons and then we skiied with her in the afternoon. She did really, really well. We even went up on the quad chair-lift, not on a bunny slope and she did great and had fun. In the end, she did get really cold, it was 8 degrees outside and took 2 bad spills that were caused by people who should've known better. But she got up and kept going.

I hadn't been skiing in 7 years, but managed to do ok. The only major wipeout I had was in line for the ski lift. Reagan's boot came out of her ski, causing her to fall, which caused me to fall and Jeff to fall. There we were all splayed out, right in front and blocking the lift. Can you say yardsale?

I didn't take my camera with me, so I need to get photos from Jon of Reagan. Carter did manage to take a quasi-ski trip. Judy and Carter met us for lunch. To get back to the car, Jeff strapped Carter in his carseat, strapped on his skiis and skiied him down to the parking lot.

Dirty Birdie Boy

2009-01-20T22:09:00.005-05:00

Yep, The Boy managed to find dirt in the frozen tundra of New Hampshire. Ok, well it was inside our house in a pot with a dead plant, but he still managed to eat dirt. I turned my back for 2 seconds on him and he was happily digging in the pot and was so not happy that he was taken away from the fun. I think I'll have a very helpful little gardener come spring.

Day 5 and Reagan still has noticeably pink hair. Yesterday, she spent the morning sledding with Jeff and they took a long walk in the snowy woods. She loves playing in the snow.

Tonight, I was watching some of the inauguration recap with Reagan. They showed a picture of the Empire State Building lit up in red, white and blue lights. Reagan was convinced it was called the "Vampire State Building."

More Snow and Equality

2009-01-18T16:30:00.004-05:00

We got a lot more snow last night. The forecasters were saying somewhere in the 6-inch range, but I think we got more. I took some pictures of Ella in playing in the snow on our deck. Looks like more than 6 inches right?

Reagan came up to me this afternoon and told me she needed "tape, heavy string, cans and a paper towel roll." I found the required items and she set to work building her project.

Apparently, she was discussing Martin Luther King, Jr. with Jeff. They were talking how he wanted everyone to be treated equally. Reagan then had an idea for a project she could make that related to him and equality.

She build a weighing scale to measure things. When we asked her how she got the idea to build it she said from "Martin Luther King and that he wanted equality." Then she said, "Oh, I guess we were talking about a different kind of equal."

It's so cute to see an almost 6-year old mind at work.

Oh yeah, her hair is still pink in front. Hopefully it will go away before school on Tuesday.

Carter is teething; he's getting 4 teeth on top and maybe 2 on bottom. He has been in a lot of pain and his nose is running. The cold weather isn't helping and he now has a big sore on his nose. We're trying to keep him happy and his nose medicated, but it may take a while to heal. Those darn teeth just need to pop through.

My Gym Boy

2009-01-17T20:13:00.004-05:00

On Friday morning I took Carter to his first My Gym class. He loved every minute of it. At first he was somewhat overwhelmed with all the colors and activity. We were also at the wrong class. All of the other kids were at least 14 months old, so they were all walking. (I forgot my camera, so the pictures were taken with my iphone.)

To start off, I put him in the ball pit and he just looked around, taking everything in. After about 10 minutes, it was circle time. Carter started bouncing and laughing and just couldn't get enough of the class. His favorite part was moving his arms back-and-forth while singing "see and saw". It still makes him laugh at home.

He also enjoyed swinging and was pretty worn out by the end of the hour.

I know he'll love going to My Gym as much as Reagan.

Speaking of Reagan, she went to school yesterday with pink hair. Her swimming lesson also had no real effect on the pinkness of her hair. I hope it goes away soon, but right now, she looks like a little punk rocker or as someone with hippie parents.