Holiday fun

We braved the brutal cold all for Santa Claus. I emceed a local holiday parade last weekend and the boys came along for the ride.



Doug said the boys didn't complain about the frigid temperatures, likely because candy was served! Hey, whatever works!!!



Then, Doug and I went to Williamsburg, where the Christmas lights are on display. It's funny, when at home, you rarely make a point to step outside the house for leisure when it's cold outside. But in Williamsburg, that's all we did.



It was a wonderful date night. We went on many walks to take a look at the beautiful displays to see in Williamsburg.



The gifts, by the way, are already coming in. This shirt is a lovely present that Joshua adores.



Hope your night is going well!!!

Family time

We were so excited to receive a package from Grandma and Grandpa. The kids went straight for the holiday puzzle! It was such a fun diversion...made us think we need to include more family activities like this. Thank you for the presents, Grandma and Grandpa!




It took us twenty minutes to complete the 100-piece puzzle, which was surprisingly difficult. We found a couple of pieces under Joshua's chair. He was just trying to help.



Last weekend, we took the boys ice skating. The last time we did it, Michael told me it would be YEARS before he would consider lacing up the skates.

But he must have forgotten what he told me.

Michael, Jason and Doug had a great time on the ice.

Eventually, he let go of Doug's hand and skated, for a little while, on his own.






Joshua didn't skate, but let me tell you, he moved around!



We didn't spend all weekend on the ice. We actually took a trip on a ferry boat, for a little while. The kids went above deck and ran around and really had a great time!

Counting blessings

On this Thanksgiving Eve, the kids are wired, and ready for a couple of days off.

If you ask them, that's what they are thankful for.

Over the weekend, we had the chance to catch up with cousin Danica. She had just attended a Christmas parade with full-on face painting provided. Jason was fascinated, not by her make-up, but by her (parent's) iphone. Of course.



Tim also took some time out to be with us for the weekend. It was great to see him and capture the boys all together.



I know I need to take more pictures and video of this stage. Jason is a little man who is interested in origami (not sure where that came from), Michael is into Club Penguin and Joshua is...trouble.





These pictures were taken before bedtime a few days ago. But tonight, with the excitement of no school tomorrow, there's no sleeping going on!



We've all been pretty busy! Events here and there have brought us to places all across the area. Something tells me we will get even busier as we march toward Christmas.



Not to worry. Jason will keep us grounded.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Biker boy

We are so proud of our newest biker boy.

We took the training wheels off Michael's bike months ago. This past weekend, he finally learned how to ride on two wheels.




What has been so cool is watching Jason help his little brother with tips and tricks on how to get moving on a bicycle.



We have had to kick them out of the house, to work off all that CANDY. Look at the loot they dragged in from one street of trick-or-treating. I promise I did not encourage this, although I did not discourage it, but the boys wanted to wear their costumes from last year.

And they fit. So I let them.

Jason was a Clone Trooper, Michael a Storm Trooper, and well, the baby had no choice.




He was our little monkey. How fitting.
When we put the costume on him, he had NO interest in being a furry animal.

But we persevered, stuffing his arms and legs into the fabric. When he realized that a sweet "trick or treat" from him would get him plenty of candy, he was all in. Safe to say, his little arms carried in more candy than the other two!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!!

The commercial

The commercial is airing! Jason didn't see it until today. But his teachers and friends have been coming up to him, asking him if he's on TV. Check it out!

Picture time!

Note to self: When you "reward" a child for good behavior with a lollipop, make sure he does not have access to THREE at once. Kids are so literal.



We're actually not too much fun in our house when it comes to lollipops. I only allow the kids a few licks before I tell them it's time to toss them aside.

Michael got a couple of lollipops for attending the Children's Festival with me last weekend.
It was a beautiful day and Michael had a wonderful time.



School picture time is here and well, I didn't feel like pre-ordering photos I don't know will turn out, so I took my own. The background is a little, simple, shall we say, but, the smile is priceless!



Joshua couldn't be left out, either! He said, "cheese!" like a big boy.



Good thing we did picture drills because Michael and Jason got to be in their first photo shoot and commercial for a public service announcement.





I have to admit, I was worried about how they would do. But both boys enjoyed it more than I thought they would. I told Jason that some kids make quite a bit of money for their college educations this way, and Jason wasn't so interested in that. If the money were to go toward Bakugan toys, I know that would be another story!

Feet first

What smells like feet? Well, depending on where you go around our house, you could get a whiff in a couple of places. Anywhere Jason's baseball stuff is, that's for sure.

Joshua and Michael and I were playing next to the car today, with the trunk open. Jason's baseball stuff was laying inside the trunk, in a closed and zippered bag, by the way.

I sniffed and said to Michael, "What smells like feet?"

Michael looks around and said, so seriously, "I think it's supposed to smell like feet."

Good thing he's used to it, because I imagine he'll have that in his nostrils plenty in his growing up years. I, however, am worried about my sensibilities.

Speaking of smells (and hopefully something that conjures up more pleasant memories), Joshua is following in his brother's footsteps when it comes to mealtime.

Every night, the question comes from the boys, "Mommy, what's for dinner?" The minute Joshua hears them, or if he smells something, or if he hears the oven clicking, he will ask the same thing, "Mommy, what have dee-nuh?" (What are we having for dinner?)

He hears the answer, then toddles off, with his blanket in hand.

The nice thing is, no matter what it is, he's happy with what is served on his plate!!!

Have a great night!

End of summer fun

We had a couple of hours to do nothing this past weekend. Just a couple.

So we chose to spend it at the park.

I love this picture.



We are seeing the boys grow and get more mature every single day. They all have very different personalities, though.



Joshua is in the "me do it" phase, which can be charming and infuriating at the same time. Try waiting for a 2-year old to "me do" a sock and a shoe, when the bus for a brother is waiting at the end of the street!!!



The conversations I am having with Jason and Michael are so interesting. We talked about the importance of going to college the other day. They were cool with moving away from home (in the past they had issues with this). But you can tell Jason has birthday on the brain because the only thing he was concerned about was his celebration.

In fact, he asked me if I would come home from college to celebrate my birthday while I was in college. I told him, no. My birthday usually fell in line with exams. He seemed to really have a problem with that. He said, "Well, how will I have my party while I'm at college?"

Priorities. You gotta love them.



It was a working weekend of sorts for me. I was at the Moon Festival again this weekend. This time I took just Michael with me. Jason had his first baseball game.



I was worried he would not enjoy himself. But I didn't need to stress. He was a delight and he seemed to enjoy the dragon dance more than anything else.



He even wanted a souvenir of the afternoon he spent with me. He took home a beautiful red fan, which he keeps in his drawer at home. Ask him about it sometime. He will fill your ear about the sights and sounds of that day.

Hope your weekend was grand!

Water works

Yes, we live near the water. But we don't live ON it. Maybe we should.

We had the chance to visit Tommy and his family last weekend.



We had the time of our lives.



We realized how much we missed them all since their move just a few months ago.



Jason went tubing for the first time, ever! He thoroughly enjoyed it, although he had to move over so Doug could get a ride.

Michael and Joshua weren't interested in the adventure. They were looking forward to the snacks. Their loss.







Even I got on board and took a ride.



Really the most fun was watching the kids reunite. As you can see, Joshua and Lizzie enjoyed some time together.

We hope you enjoy your weekend as much as we did!!!

First day of school

Two in, one to go.

The first day of school was a big deal for our older two, although you wouldn't know if from Michael's calm demeanor.



Michael prepared for the day like a champ. No worries, no questions. He acted like he was made for school.



I'm happy to say I picked him up from the bus stop and he still had positive things to say about the whole experience. Good thing. He has 179 days left in the school year.

I have to say we were worried about Jason most of all. He, too, is going to a new school with a pretty long ride on the bus. That bus ride has worried him to no end.



I am happy to report the bus got both kids to school this morning, and more importantly, brought them back to me safely. They both said to me, "School is so easy. All we did was play games." Something tells me at least one of them (Jason) will be changing his tune shortly.

We had a celebratory day. Light homework (just reading for Michael), I allowed them some time on the Wii. We played outside and we worked on Michael's biking skills. I pulled off his training wheels over the weekend and he's psyching himself out about riding on two wheels.

But today, maybe still on the high from kindergarten, he approached the bike riding with new zeal. He went about half a foot without falling and I was appropriately pleased and I cheered. Jason was watching. He crinkled up his eyes and said, "I don't really know what the big deal is. He didn't go very far."

No, but it is all about the effort. And for that, I am appropriately pleased.

Have a great day! One down, 179 to go!

The boys of summer

What a difference a year makes!
We paid our annual summer visit to Busch Gardens, and we had the best time! No whining about the walking, no complaining about the heat--from anyone in our party.

With two boys walking on their own power (Jason and Michael) and one stroller holding just one boy (Joshua), we really felt quite free.

Once #3 is potty-trained, we won't know what to do with all that free space in back of our stroller.

Here's Joshua's attempt at doing bumper cars.



Maybe by next year, he'll enjoy it a little more. He really did enjoy everything else. The Whirly-worm, the rides that put him in a moving swing, the attractions that kept him focused on Elmo. He did plenty of smiling as we picked him up to move him from place to place.



For the first time this year, Jason and Michael, and of course, Doug, rode the big-boy rollercoasters. All of them. And I think our older two might have an appetite for the excitement of these twisty and turn-filled rides. Poor Doug.




Our summer hasn't all been about thrill-rides.
The boys really enjoyed the cooking camp at the Y this past week.

One of the things they learned how to make: dessert.




Mercifully, it tastes better than it sounds.




I've tried to keep the troops busy this summer, but there has been opportunity for some down time.

We've spent some minutes on the computer.

Jason has really shown an interest in money lately and recently, he asked for an allowance. We were hoping, of course, he would never show any interest. I guess he heard kids at camp talking about this whole allowance thing. We are giving him $5 a week, and we have told him he must place the money each week in each of four categories: spend, save, invest and donate.

He's a little impatient, because, of course, he wants to buy what he wants to buy NOW (Bakugan, anyone?) But, he's learning to research prices on the internet and he knows the exact place he'll go to buy his toy once he gets enough money.

Jason's brothers don't have a care in the world. Money does not interest them in the least.



In fact, I think we robbed these folks fishing of their peace and quiet when we took the boys to a new park the other day. Oops. We left a few minutes later.



The summer hasn't been just fun for the kids. We've managed to enjoy ourselves as well. I just went to my 20th high school reunion. Yikes! It was good to catch up and take that walk down memory lane. The best part was coming home and seeing how far we have come.

Cheers, everyone!
We love you lots!!!