{ our little world }

Video Attempt

2009-05-03T11:58:00.003-05:00

I've been fighting with YouTube all dang morning. Lets see if I can get my video up here since I can't manage to invite anyone to see it on YouTube!
This isn't very exciting, just a first time experiment. If it works, I'll make more interesting vids!

This is a test....Bleeeeeep....This is only a test......

2009-05-02T17:25:00.005-05:00

.....to see if anyone even clicks here anymore. If you do, say "Ayyyy" or "Argggg" or simply, "Yo!" I am a very bad blogger....correction....I'm a very busy running blogger and a very bad mommy blogger! SO! While I am busy trying to find a way to combine the two into one handy dandy bloggy thing I thought I'd ask if anyone was even interested.

And to thank you for your attention, I give you photos!! They are photos from a camera phone so they are not the best but they are photos none the less!
Today we headed downtown to Nationals Stadium to see the Cardinals. A good time was had by all - it didn't rain on us which was such a great blessing - even though the Cardinals lost (despite the fact that Jason and the boys put on the rally caps!).

Thanksgiving Football

2008-12-01T09:51:00.009-05:00

Thanksgiving and football just go together. The boys loved spending Thanksgiving with their cousins, they had so much fun together. The game of tackle football may have been the highlight of the day....even the big boys got involved!

And Then There is This....

2008-11-02T17:13:00.005-05:00

...I just want to eat him up.

A Month Worth of Photos in One Post!

2008-11-02T14:58:00.015-05:00

It's been a crazy month! October flew by with tons of baseball, soccer, my second half-marathon, a trip to Austin and Halloween!
I'll let the photos speak for themselves!

My second half marathon was October 11th in Baltimore. It was a crazy hard course but I had a fantastic day! Finished in 1:49:10 - Woot!

Two weeks after Baltimore, Jason and I headed to Austin, Texas for a little kid-free getaway and took part in the LIVESTRONG Challenge. A 5k for me and a 10-mile bike ride for Jason. It was a ton of fun - very inspiring - and a much needed mini-vacation!

The boys had their final baseball and soccer games yesterday. The weather could not have been more perfect for it. There were parties after for both and it was quite the exciting day!

I have no idea why I didn't pull out my camera on Halloween. We had a few friends over for pizza and trick-or-treating so it was kind of crazy then as we were walking out the front door, I grabbed my camera for one quick shot - which is the reason for the poor quality!

Our Saturday's Will Never Be the Same

2008-09-14T18:12:00.009-05:00

Saturday was the start of what is our new crazy routine: soccer game followed by baseball game....tag team parenting....driving from one field to the next with a quick pit stop at home. It was a crazy day but a lot of fun as well!
Quinn had his first soccer game at 11:30 but had to be at the field at 11:15. Carter had his first game at 1:00 but had to be there at 12:30. Since Quinn's game was an hour, Jason and I both drove and he left early with Carter to get to the baseball field. Carter's game was 2 hours long! Which, I have to say, seems a bit long for kids his age, but what do I know. The biggest issue was that Saturday was so damn hot! 95 degrees and crazy humid. We were all totally exhausted when it was all said and done, but it was a lot of fun to watch them.
Quinn did great...he was totally in his element running non-stop. He had a huge grin on his face the entire time.

Carter did incredible as well. All the kids out there have played team baseball before except Carter so I was wondering how he would react to it. When he was up at bat, he marched right up there and swung his ass off without a concern in the world. He struck out but turned to us right after with a big smile and a wave and was having a lot of fun.

Update on the First Day of School

2008-09-04T14:51:00.001-05:00

This is how Carter and Quinn looked getting off the bus on the first day - all smiles!! The day was a total success.

First Day of School!!!!!!

2008-09-02T14:23:00.006-05:00

This is my big-time third grader (THIRD GRADE!) getting ready to head out for school bright and early this morning.

He looks so spiffy and big!! He was very excited about getting to school and is at this moment, chatting in my ear about his big day.

Then there is this....my baby...my little sweet baby off to kindergarten!!!! Quinn was so excited to get going. We had a few moments this morning (he is in afternoon kindergarten and the wait until that 11:18 bus time was never ending!) where he seemed a little anxious but once we left the house, he was 100% ready.

When the bus came, he grabbed onto my leg and squeezed like mad and I actually thought he was going to cry but when he pulled away, he was all smiles and literly ran up the bus steps!
This afternoon, he was talking 100 miles a minute. He was so happy! When I asked him what he learned today, this is the response I got: "If you have to go pee pee, you should go on the potty and if you have to throw up, you should do that on the potty too. Oh! And if you have to throw up and go pee pee, you should aways throw up first! In the potty of course." Something tells me his kindergarten teacher has been thrown up on a few times! He was quick to add "And I did an ABC worksheet too!"

Future Photographers?

2008-08-09T10:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday at the park, they boys wanted to try out my camera. The results were pretty good!
First up, Carter:

Next, Quinn's turn:
I was very impressed!

I got a cute one too although I should take a few pointers from the boys and zoom in a bit closer!

Beach!!!

2008-08-09T10:01:00.001-05:00

We spent 10 days in Avalon, NJ with Shannon, Greg and the kids. 10 days of 6 kids! It was a lot of fun - the boys had a blast - but I'm still trying to get back to "normal", that's for sure! The weather was pretty good. We only had 2 days of rain which was nice. Carter is still our 'stay clean, don't spend too much time in the water, talk to the seagulls' kid while Quinn has not changed a bit: get as sandy as possible, play in the water a ton, and dig dig dig!

Quinn at Basketball Camp

2008-08-09T09:58:00.003-05:00

Quinn had a 3 day basketball camp just before we left for the beach. He loved it! He was pretty darn good too! Took him about an hour and a half on the first day to figure out what dribbling was all about, but by the second day, he was an old pro. Also, he was the fastest kid there!

Quinn Sprints to the Finish!

2008-07-10T15:47:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I ran in a 4 mile race that offered a 1-mile "Fun Run" for the kids. Jason and the boys had a ball running it and lucky for me, the race photographer captured Quinn sprinting to the finish (and yes, that's Jason behind him...I think Carter was in front of Quinn)!!! I'm so proud! I love that the photographer got him because since the 1-mile runs always coincide with the regular race, I never get to see them run. How cute is he!?

Good Photo Day

2008-06-14T17:03:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was just a lazy afternoon for us. The boys had played a bit in the slide/pool thing in the backyard then we had some dinner on the deck. They were both willing to have a few photos snapped so I took advantage. How'd I get them to laugh so hard? Simple. Talked about poop. The things I'll do for a laugh.

The Packer

2008-06-13T08:55:00.002-05:00

In case you were ever wondering why it takes me a full day to run two errands, it's because I have to wait for Quinn to pack up everything that has to come with us.

Exhibit A (front view):

Exhibit B (side view so you can see the bulging backpack):

Pets (beloved puppy is on the steps still)? Check.
Blue Binder full of baseball, basketball and football cards? Check.
St. Louis Cardinals backpack full of....well, I don't know what it's full of! Check.
Favorite purple and red outfit with camo socks and sketchers? Check.
Legs fully decorated with purple snowflake stamp? Check, check, check, check, etc, etc....
Oh, and for the record, just after I took this photo, he said "So, can you carry some of this stuff?"

The Graduate

2008-06-06T13:40:00.009-05:00

Quinn has officially finished up with preschool! He graduated last week in a ridiculously adorable ceremony. They sang a few songs after parading in to that official graduation song (why can't I think of the name right now??) and then it was diploma time. Each kid got called up, handed a diploma, had a nice hand shake and photo op then went back to his/her seat. After, it was time to party! I held Carter out of school that morning because Quinn kept asking if he would be there. And even though Carter played it cool at first, I could tell he was really happy to be there. They kept sharing little waves at each other during the ceremony. Next stop, kindergarten!! Yay Quinn!!!

Memorial Day Weekend!

2008-05-29T11:23:00.009-05:00

We had perfect weather over the Memorial Day weekend so we spent it entirely outside! The boys ran through the sprinkler and rode scooters all day Sunday then we took in a neighborhood concert Sunday night. On Monday, we went hiking and had a picnic at Turkey Run Park (pics are out of order...). A good time was had by all! Summer is here!

Do Not Talk About Kissing.

2008-05-28T17:50:00.003-05:00

Carter is watching National Treasure, a movie with Nicolas Cage. We've almost made it through the entire thing with no contact between Nic and his leading lady when all of a sudden, a kiss. Carter, totally exasperated, says "Ugh. I knew there was going to be kissing in this movie, I just knew it!" I started laughing a bit and he says, "why is there always kissing!?" so I say, "Grown ups like to kiss each other." He shakes his head and says, "I don't get that." So of course I really start laughing now. He gives me this look like I've lost my mind and says, "No, seriously. I don't get that. I just don't get that at all."

Yay - I did it!

2008-05-21T14:25:00.004-05:00

This weekend, Jason and the boys and my mom and step-dad cheered me on in my first half marathon! We had a great time - the boys made some fun signs and I got to see them when I had about 300 yards left in the race. Perfect because that's when I needed them most! I wrote a full report over on Journey to 13.1 if your interested.

Should I Be Worried??

2008-05-15T07:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I took Quinn up to the tot-lot up the street from our house. He rode is scooter. After playing for a while, we started home. This time, he was scooting pretty far ahead, really flying. Fine. I caught up to him once we got to home and as we were going inside and he was pulling his helmet off, he said "Whew! What a rush!" So I say, "What'd you say?" and he says, "What a rush! That's what you say when you get to do something super fast without your mommy or daddy around!" Oh. My. Gosh. I refuse to let him learn how to drive.

Mr. Individual Strikes Again

2008-04-28T13:20:00.004-05:00

Quinn has a very individualistic style. He is very into expressing himself I guess. Typically, I lay out his clothes for him and he gets dressed, no questions asked. Then, about 2 or 3 hours later, I'll see him wandering by in the pants he originally had on, but a different shirt. Then, maybe 30 minutes to an hour after that, the pants get changed. I'm not sure why I continue to lay out his clothes, giranimal style, for him because he clearly has a different idea of fashion and it involves color, lots and lots of color. You go Quinn. Way to be you!

Here was today's selection, complete with a sock change too:

CARTER IS 8!!!!

2008-04-26T15:18:00.012-05:00

Carter turned 8 today. Hard to believe how big he is getting! He is thrilled to be getting so "old" and big, "I'm almost up to your neck, Mommy!" is his favorite thing to say. We had a small party at the bowling alley for him this morning. It was a lot of fun. Carter even won the first game with a score of 113 - 2 strikes (if you click on that photo of him next to the score board, you can see the scores)!! Quinn was really good too. He was king of the spares.

In cake news, I was a little anxious to get the cake out of the pan yesterday so I could get it frosted and it wasn't totally cooled off. Unfortunately, it broke in two pieces when I was trying to get it out! I searched for a little creativity in my brain and came up with a star wars cake that had a major battle going on - good guys on one side, bad on the other. Complete with bridge, water and fish! He loved it! I heard "awesome!" more times than I can count. Even people not with our party kept wandering by and checking it out! How cool is that?

Quinn at the Farm

2008-04-26T15:14:00.004-05:00

Friday was the big preschool field trip to the farm. This is the 4th time I've been on this trip between the two boys. It's always a lot of fun for them. I didn't get any photos of Quinn feeding the animals this time because there were so many kids around but he did do some feeding! The corn pit was the biggest hit for him. It was like a giant sandbox but filled with corn instead of sand! He thought it was the coolest thing ever and was playing in there for a good 25 minutes, go figure.

Star Wars Exhibit!

2008-04-26T15:06:00.007-05:00

The Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philly was a huge hit! The boys loved all the cool costumes that were on display. I loved the fountains outside once we got the hell out of there!
Excuse the sideways photos.....I'm still irritated beyond belief that I can't figure out how to rotate photos in blogger!

Mom's Get Birthday's Too!!

2008-04-10T18:58:00.004-05:00

Nancy & David had the boys and I over for dinner on my birthday, unfortunately Jason was out of town. David cooked the most incredible steak ever then I stuffed my face with cake. I must say that 38 feels pretty dang fantastic! Oh, but according to the candles on the cake, I'm only 6!

I have no idea what was going on with my face in the above photo. Shock? Surprise? Glee? Gas??

Guess What This Is....

2008-03-27T17:15:00.001-05:00

Give up? Huh, huh, huh??? Ok then, I'll tell ya!
Those, my friends (um, friend?) are all the wonderful, happy, colorful, fantastic, beauuuuutiful papers needed to register Quinn for kindergarten!!!!!! Yahooooo!
I mean, I'll miss him and all, but seriously....

Ok....really, I'm almost done!

2008-03-20T20:08:00.006-05:00

I just keep finding more I want to post!

This one just cracks me up - "Ohhhhh! Lawn Bowling!"
Someone looks a wee bit ticked off that the day isn't about him! Have I mentioned that Carter is 7 going on 15?
This one is from Build-A-Bear...well, he actually built a dog (that he named "Brown Doggie)
Both boys love these Brain Quest cards! We have done the pre-school one over and over so I decided it was time for the kindergarten set!

I forgot one!!

2008-03-20T20:01:00.002-05:00

Forgot to post the photo of him with his cake!

Quinn is 5!!! 5!!!

2008-03-20T19:38:00.011-05:00

I can't believe it, but Quinn is now a big time 5-year-old! How cool is that! We went to Build-A-Bear up in Tyson's Corner today which he loved. Carter tried to play it cool, but he thought it was fun too. The highlight of his day, of course, was present time.

Seriously...look at that face!

The toothless wonderboy watches!

This picture is my favorite simply because of those eyelashes. Oh those eyelashes!! And the freckles! Sweet, sweet face. Sigh. He is getting so old.

The last gift of the night: "THE" bike! This was his face as Jason rolled it into the living room.

Trying it out. He looks good up there!

He actually rode it through the house....as I shouted "This is the last time you'll ride that bike in here mister!"

Finally, cake time. Just what he needs after the excitement of present time: sugar.

2008-03-17T15:01:00.005-05:00

Jason and the boys helped me get my '08 race season off and running on Saturday for the Van Metre 5 mile race benefiting Children's Hospital. They participated in the 1 mile 'fun run' while I did the 5 mile race. They loved it! Got t-shirts and medals and ran a good portion of the 1 mile! It was a great family day - having them there with me was the perfect way to start out the season! I posted my time over at my running blog if your into that kind of thing.

A Shout Out to My Mamma

2008-03-11T16:55:00.002-05:00

I do realize that this is the second post, in a row, without photos of the boys, but this is all about me....ME people!
I really hope you are reading this, mom, because boy oh boy are you gonna be proud!

I was getting ready to put dinner together - a super simple idea that my mom taught me - chicken breasts coated in olive oil or egg (I used olive oil tonight because shocker of all shocks, the eggs in the fridge have a March 5th date on them...) then tossed around in a mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, or as I lovingly call it, Farmer John cheese. Anyhoo, I was pulling everything out and realized I had no breadcrumbs!! Ack!!! I was about to load the boys in the truck and head to giant when I had a total Martha moment.

Mom, please sit down.

No, I'm serious. Sit down!

Ok. Know what I did? I pulled out 4 slices of whole grain bread, did a rough chop then threw it in the food processor thingy (that thing that is collecting dust in the back of my cabinet that has a super sharp blade) and hit 'pulse' a few times and what the hell do you know!!?? Bread crumbs!!!! And they were sooooo beautiful! At this moment, I am struting around the joint like I am somebody. Back away people: Martha coming through!

All I know is, those two boys better eat my chicken!

Quotes of the Weekend

2008-03-09T19:11:00.002-05:00

This coming Thursday is "Dad's Day at Preschool" which basically means that Jason gets to go spend the entire three hours at preschool with Quinn (haha - good luck man!). Quinn is beside himself excited about this. On Friday, he said to Jason "It's almost time for Dads Day at Preschool!" and Jason said, "Oh yeah?! Whose going??" Quinn looked at him about as serious as a heart attack and said, (with a heavy sigh first) "Listen Daddy. 'D' 'D' D'...that sounds like 'Daddy'!! Not 'Ma' 'Ma' 'Ma' like Mommy! It's for Daddy's!!!"

Then on Saturday, Carter comes running up to Jason and yells "Daddy!! I just tooted so big it hurt my butt!!"

Toothless Wonderboy

2008-03-07T15:49:00.002-05:00

Carter lost more teeth! He lost one on the bottom a while ago then one on the top quickly followed. The other top one hung on for dear life. That thing was so lose, I don't know how he was able to eat! Finally, it popped out while he was brushing his teeth before bed the other night. How cute is he??!!

Nice Weather = Remote Control Car Day!

2008-03-04T13:09:00.005-05:00

On President's Day, our temperatures were in the upper 60s which was fantastic. Especially since the perfect weather coincides with a school holiday. Boy do I love being able to toss the boys outside on a school holiday! Oh, and yes, I am quite aware that President's Day was a long time ago. Excuse me for being tardy with these photos. I have zero excuse except for pure laziness. Anyway, it was a perfect day to break out the new remote control cars they got for Christmas. Oh, and as a side note, can I just tell you how frustrating it is that the stupid battery had to charge for 8 hours (kudos to me for having the sudden brain spurt that made me think to charge them the day before the nice day!) but that they only last for 15 minutes of play?? Seriously. What the hell! They were so mad when, just when they were getting used to them and getting the hang of it, the battery died!
Anyway, here are some cute photos from that day:

The Reader

2008-02-19T17:38:00.001-05:00

This makes my heart happy. He loves to read! It is truly the best to see your kid love something as much as you do.

Valentine's Day!

2008-02-15T08:34:00.006-05:00

Happy Day After Valentine's Day!
We are still a sick house. Quinn finally got through the worst of it and is now in the coughing phase which for him, typically lasts a good 2 weeks. I let him go to school yesterday because it was party day. After his party, we went straight to Carter's school for his party and I think between the two activities, he took a bit of a bad turn. I'm keeping him home with me yet again today. Talk about stir crazy!
Anyway, the day before Valentine's Day, the boys were on the computer and I could hear them talking about writing letters. I peeked around the corner and Carter was typing away for his teacher. Next, it was Quinn's turn. Carter walked him through 2 teacher letters and let me tell you, he has way more patience than I do! I could hear him patiently spelling out each word, letter by letter, very slowly, pointing out the right key when necessary. The cutest was when I heard him say "Capital 'S'. Now, when I say capital, I mean hold the shift key then press the 'S'." They worked and worked on those letters and then brought them into school.

Oh, Carter shocked me at his party. They were playing Valentine's Day Word Bingo when the word Cupid came up. Carter said, "That rhymes with a not nice word." then whispered 'stupid' to me. Then all casual he throws out, "Oh and Mommy, by the way, don't ever say the word S-H-I-T because that one is really, really bad!" Oy.

Sick Kid

2008-02-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

So Quinn has had some kind of bug since the weekend and as a result, I've been couch bound. He isn't the kind of kid that wants to lay in bed. Nope. He wants to be on the couch attached to me. No problem, I can handle a day of hanging out in front of the t.v. But that's it. One day. Not 3 going on 4! This is crazy! Fortunately, I convinced Jason to take a little bit of a long lunch so I could hit the treadmill up at the gym for an hour. With travel time, I had 45 minutes to run and run I did! Ran until I couldn't see straight. And then I was a much happier mom when I got home.
Something else that helped a ton today was Harris Teeter's online grocery shopping. I shopped online (thank goodness I have a lap top so I was able to do it while sicky was leaning on me) then set up my pick up time for between 3:00 and 3:30 and then just picked it up. How fantastic is that!? So much better than PeaPod (Giant's online shopping) because with them, although they deliver, you have a 4 hour window of waiting.
That's about it. He is still illin so I'm going to keep him home from school tomorrow but hopefully he wont miss Thursday because that's the Valentine's Day Party! He has already said a bunch of times, "Please let me go to my party!" Poor kid.

Happy Super Sunday!

2008-02-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately the Redskins are not in the Superbowl this year, but we did get lucky enough to have a perfect fall-like day! The boys played football out in the yard with Jason forever this afternoon and had a blast. Yes, Quinn is wearing a Cleveland Browns jersey....when Jason and I went to Tampa recently, we found that Dolphins shirt (Carter's favorite team) for Carter but for some reason, couldn't find a single Jacksonville Jaguars (Quinn's team) shirt so we settled for the Browns jersey because (a) he has said he likes them because "they are the doggies!", and (b) we were able to get a Brady Quinn jersey so that upped it's coolness.

Finally!

2008-02-02T10:55:00.000-05:00

Finally, 3 months before his 8th birthday, Carter lost his first tooth!
It's been loose for a few weeks now. This morning, he was eating waffles for breakfast and all was fine. Then he asked for a second and I heard Jason say, "Uh, where did your tooth go?" Sure enough, it was gone! We haven't found it so I think he probably ate it!! He is a little upset about not having it and has big plans to draw a picture of it and explain in a nice note to the tooth fairy why it is not under his pillow tonight.

Winter Sucks

2008-02-01T11:45:00.000-05:00

Today there is no school. It's raining. School is closed because it's raining. I am 100% convinced that the Loudoun County School System is trying to send me to the funny farm.

I'm down here cleaning up the kitchen and I can hear Carter and Quinn up there being very busy. So eventually I have to ask, "Hey, what are you guys doing up there?" and Carter says, "We are packing!" so of course I have to know so I say, "Oh, ok. Were are you going?" and in unison all excited they yell, "England!!!" so I say, "Oh, cool. Have a good trip. Be sure to write." Guess this means I have the rest of the day off.

The Kid Really Wants Snow

2008-01-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

Today, the minute Quinn got into the car after preschool, he asked if he could put on his pajamas. So I say "huh?" and he says, louder, "Can! I! Put! On! My! Pajamassssss!!??" so I say, "I heard you honey, but why?" (some things you really have to spell out) and he says, "I want to put on my pajamas inside out and I want to put an ice cube in the potty and I want to flush it down!!" on the last part came out as one long, loud word: 'FLUSHITDOWN!!!!" So I say, "Why do you want to do that?" and he says, "I dunno. I think that is gonna make it snow or somfin." Ah. The time has come. Other little rug rats are telling my kid stories and he is believing them. Peer influence at it's finest. If he remembers this at bedtime, I'll be sure to take a photo.

Long Live Pirates and Knights

2008-01-13T19:16:00.001-05:00

The big craze in our house these days is knights. Knights and Pirates. Well, to be more specific, it's all about pirates floating by and getting into a major battle with the knights who are so innocently hanging out on and around their castles on land. Poor fools never saw the boats coming. The thing I love so much about this new craze is the silence that it requires for the setting up process. And what a process it is. All those little itty bitty men have to be standing up just so and that, my friends, requires a steady hand. And as I'm sure you are all aware, your hand cannot be steady if your mouth is running. Ahhhhh.....I love pirates and knights!

Old Photos

2008-01-10T18:36:00.000-05:00

I know it is crazy late to be posting photos of the boys making Christmas cookies, but I really thought I had already done it! Anyway, lets just pretend they are Valentines Day cookies!

Merry Merry Merry!!!

2007-12-26T21:12:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! I cannot believe that it's the day after Christmas!! It came up on us so fast and the day flew by! We had a fantastic day....really, really fun. The kids are so into it all and it makes it so cool that I remember exactly how they were feeling bright and early on Christmas morning!

I heard the stomp-stomp of little feet above us (the boys rooms are upstairs and our room is on the main floor for my 1 reader who hasn't been here before!) and looked at the clock with one eye....6:00AM. 6:00! I was actually thinking that we'd get until 7ish because we had a busy Christmas Eve - went to the movies and stayed up kind of late. Jason mumbled "How long you think they'll give us?" so I said "Carter will wait a bit but Quinn wont give us long." Sure enough, I hear "Mommy?! I can't see anything! Can you turn on the light? Santa left a present under my tree!!!" A bit of a back track, on Christmas Eve night, we waited and waited for the boys to finally fall asleep then brought all the presents up from the super-secret hiding place (yes, a new one after the initial finding of gifts!) and put them under the tree. They each have a small tree in their rooms so I wanted to put a small gift under them as well. Jason snuck up there and when he came down, he said "It's dark in there so I don't know what it is, but Carter has something going on in his room. The blind is half up, all crooked and there is something taped to the window." Ok, so back to Christmas morning. Quinn had the gift in his hand from his tree and was about bursting with excitment. Normally, I'm no where near a morning person - please don't talk to me until I've had that first cup of coffee! But on Christmas, I'm all over getting up. I love the excitment. His eyes were so big and he was jumping up and down. It was really cute. So I told him they could come down and we'd be out in a minute. By the time Jason and I came out of our room, they were both next to the tree trying to read the lables in the dark!

From there, it was a blur of paper flying. When it was all finished and the dust settled, I looked at the clock and it was 7:18. Unreal.

Later, when I finally went upstairs, I saw what Carter had put in the window. It was a sign he wrote on notebook paper with black crayon that said "Merry Christmas Santa Claus!!" And yes, I will be keeping that note right alongside the lunch box note!

Sometimes You Need to Write a Note

2007-12-21T19:20:00.001-05:00

In the beginning of the school year, I used to put little notes in Carter's lunch box every day. Just little things like "Hugs! Love, Mommy" and "Happy Wednesday! Half way through your week!" and of course, "Happy Friday!!" Anyway, I tapered off as the year went on then wasn't doing it at all. Carter has always kept the notes in a little separate compartment in his lunch box and also mentioned the lack of notes once in October so around Halloween, I wrote another, something like "It's almost Halloween!" then on Halloween, "Happy Halloween! We are going to have so much fun tonight!" then I stopped again. Well, yesterday, I open Carter's lunch box and find this:

I get it buddy. So when I packed his lunch for today, I put in a nice long note that said "Happy Friday! It's the last day of school before Christmas and the beginning of 11 days off!! I love you!!" and drew a picture of a Christmas tree.

When he got home, he had the note in his pocket and said "I liked my note today, Mommy. I'm gonna keep this one too." Seriously. How much do you just want to hug him? Where did this kid come from??

Quinn's Preschool Christmas Party

2007-12-20T13:07:00.000-05:00

Today was Quinn's Christmas party at school. He was so excited this morning to get to school which of course I love - such a change from last year!

The party kicked off at 11:00 with a whisper-sing version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and yes, those are supposed to be reindeer ears he is wearing.

Next came a totally adorable version of This Little Light of Mine. Quinn really got into this one. The thumb up is supposed to be his light. It reminded me of holding a lighter up at a concert (not that I've ever done that) and then I got a weird flash forward feeling of Quinn as his first rock concert holding a lighter and not being completely sober. Gack! Mind back to the cute 4-year-old innocent baby! Quick!

After the songs came healthy holiday lunch time. I'm thrilled to let you know that we are now 2 hours post-party and Quinn's sugar-high is still fully in tact.

Then it was craft time. As this is my 4th year in this preschool, I have the gingerbread house built on a foundation of a milk carton craft down like no one else. There were a few rookie moms in the room - you can pick them out easily, they are the ones not spreading the frosting (glue) on the carton fast enough to get those graham crackers (siding/roof) to stick properly. Poor things.

Love that open-mouthed full concentration look he has going.

Just having a little taste.....to see what the frosting tastes like with the m&m's that just went down.

I have no idea who that little girl is, but she might want to consider backing off or Quinn may eat her too. He started getting a wee bit protective of his loot at this point then I saw her mom shove a marshmallow in the kids' mouth which solved everything.

The kids gave us a super cute candle that they made (seen below next to the finished gingerbread house). I have to say, this may be my favorite preschool gift yet - the colored tissue paper really does look nice when the tea light is lit.

And then we gathered approximately 10 trees worth of paper crafts that the kids have made this month and went home. I took 3 tylenol and Quinn is bouncing off the walls. Ahhh....Merry Christmas to all!

Quinn is a Rock Star.

2007-12-19T14:18:00.001-05:00

Quinn just sang the ABC Song and at the end, sang "Now I know my ABC's, catch the tiger by my toe!" That kid kills me.

In other news, totally stressing (as usual) about the holiday's. I'm not done and Christmas is quickly approaching. Quinn's last day of school is tomorrow but it's also the day of his party so he'll be out early. I need a nanny so I can get all my wrapping done without mr. nosy pants (I have no idea who he got that trait from...) seeing anything. I know, I know....I should do it when they are in bed but that seriously interferes with my wine drinking, tv watching, general lazy do-nothing plans I already have! When are you people going to stop expecting so much from me?? Geesh.

Oh, and I can't remember if I told this story or not (and frankly, I'm too lazy to go look) but it is part 3 or 4 to the ongoing Christmas is ruined story. The other day, I was telling Quinn that Santa was going to visit his preschool. Carter says to me, all disgusted like, "I wonder if it's going to be Tommy again." I'll be honest here and tell you I'm too scared to ask him if he thinks the Tommy thing was an isolated incident or if he no longer believes in the big man. I just don't want to know!

Update: The Real Tommy Found!

2007-12-11T18:09:00.000-05:00

To assist with my story telling, I dug up a photo of the real Tommy! Santa my ass!

See the resemblance?? Yeah, me too.

Santa is a big fat fake.

2007-12-10T17:43:00.000-05:00

What did you do this weekend? Me? Oh nothing really. Just watched my sweet first born lose his innocence.

Let me explain why Christmas is officially ruined.

The first sign was when the boys found their Christmas presents. I've been back peddling every since with lines like "Daddy and I just like to get you guys a couple of things that we think Santa might not have room for in his sleigh!". I thought it was going ok and we'd get through it without any "does Santa really exist?" questions. Not so fast my friends.

On Sunday, we took the boys to the annual Brunch with Santa at Nancy & David's club. This is the same club where Carter takes golf lessons in the summer. We are sitting there, having a grand 'ol time when I say "Well boys, I think it's time to go find the big guy and tell him what you want for Christmas!!" Quinn is still totally afraid of him but wanted to watch Carter tell Santa what he wanted so off we went. There sat this big, crooked beard wearing, surly dude who as we walked in the room, was waving a piece of paper at a girl who was acting up right in front of him while yelling to her "I'ma put ya on my list!" I hear that voice. That command. That all out surliness (yes, I feel as if I can make words up as I go along) and I think to myself "Tommy. Oh shit. Tommy is playing Santa!" Tommy just so happens to be the guy in charge of the junior golfers at the club. So I cross my fingers that Carter doesn't recognize him. Carter jumps up there, smiles and starts to tell him what he wants for Christmas, as you see here:

So at this point, I was pretty sure we were going to get away with it but Carter keeps pausing and thinking and not saying much which prompts Tommy....I mean Santa...to kind of push him along by asking him questions. I'm thinking to myself "shut up or he'll figure you out!" Then I see this face:

Look at that face! Busted! Totally freaking busted! "He knows!!!!!" I kept screaming to myself and then kind of grabbed him and said "Ok! That was fun! Lets go back to the table!!" And pull him out of there. We get back to the table and Nancy & David take the boys over to the fireplace to try and get a good photo (because I had tried, and failed and I desperately need a Christmas card photo!) so I lean in to Jason and say "Holy crap! I thought for sure he was going to recognize him and say 'Tommy?' I'm soooo glad he didn't know it was him!" So we are sitting there feeling all smug like we got away with something when David comes up to the table laughing his ass off and can hardly get out the words, "Carter....said....that Santa.....I think he was....Tommy! hahahahahahahaaha" Oh crap. So Carter comes back to the table and I say "So what did you think of that Santa, Sweetie?" and he looks at me as serious as can be and says "Well, I think that Santa was actually my golf coach, Tommy." Oy. So of course I do the mom thing and come up with some totally lame excuse about how Tommy has a really cool phone in his office that goes straight to the North Pole and Santa himself but he was just looking at me like, "Yeah, save it sister." so I just dropped it. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he spreads his new knowledge on to Quinn who probably will be totally relieved and say "I never really liked him anyway, I'm scared of him!"

Oh, and like I said, didn't exactly get a Christmas card photo either.

Quote of the Day

2007-12-08T09:31:00.000-05:00

Today's quote comes from Carter. Last night, I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a bit of an over sized zip up sweater thingy over top...oh, and my big fluffy animal print slippers. Carter walks up to me and says, "You know, a lot of the time, I can't tell if you are in your jams or if you are in your regular clothes." I'd like to think that I make an effort to pull myself together on a daily basis, heck, sometimes I even take a shower! But obviously, I need to do a better job.

And if that wasn't fun enough for you, here is another.

The other day, he was with Nancy and David in the car. I can't remember how the word Damn actually came out, but I think it involved another car or something. Anyhoo, Carter gets his lecture on and says "That isn't a bad word but if you put the word God in front of it, it's bad. And if you add the word 'it', it's really, really bad!"

Shake-n-Bake and Socks

2007-12-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

I have no new photos. I've decided that I don't have to wait to post for super cute photos, I can just post and not post a photo. Got it? Good.

Things about today that I'm jumping up and down thrilled about:

1. The kids have serious sock issues. All of Quinn's are hand-me-downs from Carter and are getting a bit nasty and Carter just simply doesn't have enough. The other day, he came home from his Mimi's house and was wearing the nicest pair of socks I've even seen on a kid. They looked brand spankin' new. They were Hanes for goodness sakes! At that moment, I said "Huh. I wonder why I haven't bought the poor little orphan babies new socks?" Well. Today, Jason went to the store and guess what he came home with?? Yes!!! Boy you are smart. He came home with socks! Millions of them! I put them all in the washer and then spent 20 minutes on the floor of the laundry room sorting happy little socks! Doesn't take much. This I know.

2. Shake-n-Bake. This being Friday, I decided to take it easy in the kitchen....insert ''but you always take it easy in the kitchen you slacker" comments here...and go with the old stand-by, never does you wrong Shake-n-Bake. A total classic. I am a happy girl.

3. It's Friday. 'Nuff said.

Cheers!

Do Not Read If You Have a Weak Stomach.

2007-12-05T16:54:00.000-05:00

So the dreaded white crap decided to make it's first appearance of Winter 2007 today. We woke up to it coming down pretty good but surprisingly enough, Loudoun County did not cancel or postpone schools! Shocking! Off the boys went and I hit the gym. By the time I got out of there, it was coming down pretty hard and was very slippery out. Schools didn't let out early though which was another big surprise. I got Quinn home around 12:15 and he immediately went down to find Jason saying "Daddy! Can you come outside so I can tackle you in the snow?!" Jason was still working of course so I sent little man out on his own. This year, a first: Quinn decided that he would have snow for lunch. Every time I looked out there, he was shoving it in like mad. I opened the door to get a couple of photos and he said "It's so good! Tastes like a white Popsicle!"

So I went back to the kitchen making his lunch when Jason came up and all of a sudden, ran to the back door. Next thing I hear is this: "Quinn, don't put that in your mouth! That is a dirty sponge that has been out there since summer so stop licking the snow off of it!" Oh. My. God. Seriously?? The anti-germ, total freak clean freak nut in me lost it. He was licking a dirty nasty sponge that had been outside since the summer when I vaguely remember giving the boys sponges to play with in the pool!!! Eewwwww!!!!!

10 deep breaths.

Ok. So. He played outside for a while and had a great time but eventually got bored so he came in. Then, when Carter got home, they went out again. This photo of Carter is so funny. He was looking up at me on the deck and since the snow is still coming down a bit, had to squint to keep it out of his eyes.

Then he decided it would be fun to throw snow balls at me. It is very hard to protect your camera while being attacked!

Now they are out there throwing snow balls at Jason and I am in here where it is warm and there is no snow. I know, I know....bah humbug.

The Things I'll Do For a Good Photo

2007-12-04T15:17:00.001-05:00

So I have been totally lame about photographing the boys lately. It is so much more work now than it used to be due to the "aw geesh!" that I hear along with a perfect eye roll every time I pick up my camera. As a result, I've gotten into big time trouble with my mother who took the time to remind me that she hadn't had a grandson fix in way too long! So, last evening, I plopped the boys down on the couch and said "I am going to get a good photo now so just deal!" I got the look but did manage to get the photos above which are cute but not all that fun so I quickly changed my tactics. "Mega mega alligators poop on the potty all day!" I said and got these:

Much better and much more 'true to life' I'd say!

Must Buy New Toys.

2007-11-29T19:18:00.000-05:00

Crap. This must be one of those 'what comes around, goes around' moments. When I was a kid, I was....um...lets say a wee bit anxious about Christmas and what gifts I may or may not receive. As a result of my....inquisitive....nature (which is a sign of intelligence, I might add), I may, (or may not - my mother might read this!) have seen a gift or 10 before said holiday. I have never seen any problem with this. I've grown up relatively normal and my parents have never looked particularly distraught or needed to practice tough love on me.

Fast forward to yesterday.

I shopped like a crazy person on Black Friday for the boys. Jason lugged the loot in and after asking me where I thought they'd never look, stashed it all in the closet in his office. Since he is out of town, they were able to play down in the basement yesterday afternoon. Carter came upstairs and said "I have to tell you about something that happened in the basement." So I figured something broke and said "What'd you guys break?" and he said "Uh, nothing. But, uh, we were looking for the balls for that pool game and, uh, well, uh, we looked in the closet in Daddy's office." So I was clearly (a) only half listening, and (b) had totally forgotten about the stash so I say "Yeah, ok. Were they in there?" and little man's eyes got all wide and he says "No but there are all these bags in there! With toys in them!!" So I freak and say "No! No no no! No bags! What did you see!?? Tell me!!! WHAT? DID? YOU? SEE???" Ok, note to self: if you want your kid to be honest with you, do not freak and act like a total idiot and make it so damn obvious that you are upset. So he totally back peddles and says "Uh, well, nothing. I saw that it was toys so I didn't look. Not at one single thing! I closed the door!" Then Quinn comes up and says "There are TOYS in the closet!!!!! TOYS!!!!!" Shit shit shit. Calm down. So I say, a bit more calm this time, "Ok guys. No big deal. Tell Mommy what you saw." So Carter says "Nothing. We closed the door." And gives Quinn a look. Quinn says "Well...uh...nothing." So I let it drop. Then about 2 or 3 hours later, Quinn says "Mommy, why are all those toys in the closet?" and I said "What toys did you see?" and he says, "Well, nothing but I'm really glad you bought that space ship because I always wanted that!" Carter groans and says "We didn't see anything! He probably just saw that through the bag!" So I say "What else did you see Quinn?" And he says "Oh, uh, well, that robot guy and that car...." Then Carter cuts him off "Quinn! he didn't see anything Mommy."
Crap.

2007-11-27T19:20:00.000-05:00

I'm still full. I have never done so much grazing in all my life. Thanksgiving was great, my Dad & Carol cooked up a good feast but between the actual day of Thanks and the 3 days following it, I may never need to eat again!

I was horrible with the camera, didn't even take it out on Thanksgiving day. I managed to get one shot of my Dad with the boys and my nephew Brandt on Friday.

He is pretty stinking cute, as you can see!

I know, I agree. He is looking at me like "get away freak with the camera!"

Quinn got super jealous of me laying around like the paparazzi taking photos of Brandt and jumped in front of the lens.

A good time was had by all and we are all now on a carb-free diet!

Happy Turkey Day!

Freeze Your Gizzard

2007-11-17T10:33:00.000-05:00

Today I ran the Freeze Your Gizzard Cross Country 5k. The boys showed up to cheer me on which was a great surprise! I think they were more excited by the giant muffins than anything else! I'm really happy they came, it was a great surprise.

You can read all the exciting details over at Journey to 13.1...One Advil at a Time.

Quinn Does Turkey Day

2007-11-16T15:42:00.000-05:00

Quinn had his Thanksgiving party at school today. As with most pre-school parties, it was totally adorable. In addition to the place mat made with his sweet little 4-year-old hand print, he wore the classic painted noodle necklace along with the brown paper bag vest while singing Thanksgiving songs that I'm pretty sure didn't exist when I was a kid.

Quinn in mid-Turkey song.

A break between songs. He makes noodles look good.

What's this, you ask? This is Carter. Well, not exactly Carter but as close as I could get. I was trying to get a good photo of him to post along with Quinn's party pics but he was being very uncooperative. He is very much in the 'give me a break with the camera already!' stage so I got 2 pictures of him glaring at me then he hid behind his castle. So here you are: Freaky Star Wars guy on top of a castle. At least this guy posed for me.

In other news, I signed up to run a 1/2 marathon in the spring so I am officially in training and yes, I have officially lost my mind. If you have any interest in that sort of thing, head over to my running blog, Journey to 13.1...One Advil at a Time.

Have a great weekend! Cheers!!

Boo!

2007-11-01T12:05:00.000-05:00

The boys all went out as Spiderman last night. I love that they were all wearing the same thing! That is our friend's son, Jordan, and no, we had no idea he was going to be Spiderman too! Jordan & Carter had a blast. Quinn somehow got skipped over at the first house (there were a ton of kids at this poor woman's door) and started crying. He never got over that first house so I ended up walking him home after about 5 houses of non-stop crying. Then today, on the way home from pre-school, he asked "Mommy, why did I want to stop trick-or-treating yesterday?" Kids.

All of October in one little post...

2007-10-30T18:08:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. Stop looking at me like that. So I missed a month. Big deal. On with the show.....
October is here...and, uh, about ready to be gone. All is well in Redickville. Same old, same old. Lets do a quick update shall we?

Quinn has some kind of cold that involves an excessive amount of phlegm. Coughing, sneezing and general snot drippings everywhere. He may look normal to you in this photo but you should have seen what I wiped off his face prior to taking the photo!

Carter is totally addicted to Yo-Go-On-The-Go. It's this yogurt drink that we buy (by the case) at Costco and the kid can't get enough. He is seriously addicted. The second he walks in the door from school, he heads straight to the fridge and grabs one. When it's gone, approximately 4.3 seconds later, he begs for a second. When I say "No, have water or you'll never poop again." the whining starts. And I'm telling you, it's like he needs a fix. Totally freaky.

Speaking of addictions, this is mine. Stacy's Cinnamon & Sugar Pita Chips. Yum-freaking-O. (Yes, this photo is sideways. I have know idea why. I have a love/hate relationship with blogger.) I am so damn addicted to these things! Crunchy and sweet and oh so perfect for an afternoon snack with coffee. They make me happy. Very happy.

You thought I was kidding? This is my pile of Stacy's chips in the garage. Just in case of a major emergency and we are put on house lock down, I want to be prepared.

I'm totally over the sideways photos. It's driving me mad but I shall plow on....

Tonight, we (that would be Jason) carved the pumpkins with the boys. Yes, I am perfectly aware that tomorrow is Halloween thankyouverymuch. So we are tardy. Kick me.

Today we (that would be me) also made some pumpkin muffins. I have a huge love of all things pumpkin and normally make a boxed version of the muffins and call it a day. No longer my friends! I am all anti-processed, weird, fat, unknown crap things now (thanks Dr. Oz) * so I make things from scratch! Which would be great except for the fact that Carter and Quinn are total boxed-food eaters. These pumpkin muffins were so good (See the sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar on top?)! above is the before shot just in case you thought my baking was lacking in serious oven time.

* with the exception of my Stacy's Pita Chips of course.

Here they are after. And if this picture were right side up, you would really see their true yummyness. So what did the kids do? Well, Quinn was quite accommodating but Carter took two bites and ran. I have to say though, I thought they were delicious. So, feeling quite proud of myself, I grabbed all the pumpkin seeds from the boys' pumpkins and decided to bake those suckers!

Check them out! Yummmm! I mixed them up with olive oil, garlic salt, spicy season salt, and Worcester sauce. Fantastic. So I guess that's about it. I know what you are thinking, where are all the photos of the kids!? Well, there are none. None. Zero. I took 3 photos of the kids this month. I'm well aware that this is totally unacceptable and will get back on my A-Game next month. Promise. Until then, I'm:

Cheers Peeps!

Cooking for Picky Kids

2007-10-16T07:52:00.001-05:00

Did any of you see Oprah the other day when she had Jessica Seinfeld on pimping her book Deceptively Delicious? I did and I ordered that book so fast my keyboard was smoking! Well, it arrived this weekend and I've been pureeing veggies like a crazy woman ever since. I'm a bit disappointed with the results but I figured it was worth a try. And I'm not giving up yet! These boys need some nutrients!
I posted a full review over at the SeeMommyRun blog if you are interested.

In other news, fall has arrived, Yay! Jason has been on the road quite a bit these last several weeks so I haven't been taking photos for updates, but I will get back into it just as soon as he returns.....which will hopefully also bring a return of my sanity!

blogMommyblog

2007-10-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

I have had a membership on this great site, seeMOMMYrun, for a while now and just got the opportunity to join their blog. I'm really excited about it because typically, I only talk to myself about fitness and running and to be honest, that gets kind of boring. So go check it out and wish me luck that I don't make a total moron out of myself! Oh, and I guess because of my blog here, it records all my postings as 'our little world'...weird...if I was even the slightest bit technical, I'd change that.
http://www.seemommyrun.com/blog/

Quote of the Day

2007-09-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

Today we had to run to the store to buy multiple birthday presents for upcoming parties. I had a huge bag and 3 rolls of paper so I said to Quinn, "Can you run ahead so you can help me with the door?" His response, "Oh, yeah, sure, no pressure." So I say "Huh? No what?" and he says "No pressure, Mommy!" so I say, "um, no pressure?" And he says "Yeah, you know, no pressure. When I say 'no pressure' it means I can help you!" So finally the light bulb goes off and I figure out what he is trying to say so I say to him, "You mean, 'my pleasure'?" and he says "Yeah! No pressure! That's what I just said!"

Dutch Freaking Wonderland

2007-09-27T17:12:00.000-05:00

Fortunately for us, we remembered our jumbo jar of Tylenol and large cooler of beer (no, no, no...we didn't actually smuggle any beer into the park, it was just a very nice thing to come back to the hotel room to!)

Did you see Shrek? Do you remember the scene when Shrek and Donkey go to that weird amusement place? That castle at the entrance, I swear, it was based on Dutch Wonderland. Incredible. DW is in Lancaster, PA and we were there last Saturday. We actually met some good friends of mine and several other couples which was great because after spending 7 hours (yes, 7) at the park on Saturday, it was great to chug Tylenol and beers with other adults.

All kidding aside, it went really well. The boys had a blast. The park was great and because it wasn't super huge, it wasn't overwhelming for me....I mean for the kids of course.

The boys were totally into it and loved the rides.

This was at the end of the giant log water hill ride thingy. I have no idea what it's called, but I'm sure you know what I mean. I went down the second time and since Jason had already been once, he knew where the wet seat was. Think he sat there? Nope. Left that one for me. I got a nice splash down that first hill. Love ya babe.

This was Quinn's favorite ride of the day. If you can really call it a ride. It was hilarious to see them flying down that slide. I can't even remember how many times they did it.

This was fun. Old fashioned cars that we took for a spin. Carter was in charge of the steering wheel and I got the gas peddle. It's kind of weird to drive without steering.

If you look really close, you can see Quinn and Jason in the last car on the roller coaster. Carter wasn't having any part of this one. He kept saying "You know, I'm just kind of tired right now." Translation: No way in hell are you getting me on that thing lady so stop askin'!

And check this out! They both went for a horse ride! It was great and to be honest, I didn't think Carter would do it. Quinn loved it and so did Carter, once he got off. Check out the look on his face! Priceless.

So that's it. In addition to those rides and more, there was a water park that we spent a good part of the day at which was great fun too. The boys were totally exhausted when we got back but had a really good time with all the other kids (we had 10 in all!) in our group running around in the courtyard at the hotel. It was a cool set up because we could sit at patio tables and have a much earned happy hour while the kids ran in a huge field and played on a cool tot lot right in front of us. Everyone was happy!

It's 1:32am...is it still our anniversary?

2007-09-21T00:33:00.000-05:00

So. Here we are. Live 'blogging'. We went out to about 5 different bars tonight. And can I just tell you how many times I had to hit the back space while typing that??

Lets do a photo! Yay! Photos!

All together now....awwwwww! Ok, maybe that's just me and Jason saying that! We had a blast tonight. Oh, and speaking of that, lets give a quick shout out to Nancy (Mimi!) and David (Grandpa!) for making tonight possible. They are taking care of Carter and Quinn while Mommy and Daddy pretend that they are still 27 (that would have been me) and 26 (yeah, yeah, yeah, Jason the younger one)!!

Ok! On with the photos (please excuse the typos....I'm jammin' to Green Day as I type).

That photo up there cracks me up. Jason is in full on Zoolander pose! SO fantastic! Ok, so you get the drift. We've been married 10 years, we still love each other and are still having a really good time. Cheers!

10 Years!!!!

2007-09-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

Where were you 10 years ago today? I was walking down the isle! I can't believe 10 years has gone by since Jason and I got married. Not much has changed except that we no longer look 12!
Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

Baseball Cards 101

2007-09-19T19:00:00.000-05:00

Carter is now into collecting baseball cards. He files them away in his binder and loves to look at them. I happened to spy him giving Quinn the finer points of baseball card collecting and had to intrude with my camera. Later, after I had put the camera away, Quinn was putting some of his own cards into two piles: "Rookies" and "Regular Guys". Totally adorable.

The Birthday Crew

2007-09-13T09:23:00.000-05:00

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to Jason (today!) and Nancy (9/11). The best husband and mother-in-law a girl could have. Love you guys!

Quinn's First Day of Preschool!!

2007-09-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

Yay for Quinn!!! What a difference a year makes! Today was the first day of 4-year old preschool. Yesterday we saw the classroom and met the teacher so between that and the fact that he isn't a rookie this year, he was more prepared and excited to start the new year. Last night he was bouncing off the walls and this morning, he kept asking "Is is time to go yet?"

We got there bright and early and were the first in line waiting for the doors to open.

I couldn't believe how anxious he was to get in there. He kept looking for the director of the preschool to come open the doors! Last year, he was clutching my leg for dear life!

We got into his room and he found some cool blocks to play with. Then all the other kids started to arrive so I figured I'd better get out of there quick before he could change his mind. He had a smile on his face the entire time, gave me a kiss and waved good-bye. I hung around outside of his classroom peeking in at him to make sure he wasn't getting upset but he was just playing away not giving all the activity around him a second thought. When he gets home, we are going to have cake to celebrate!

Yahooooo!

2007-09-04T07:05:00.000-05:00

Today is Tuesday, September 4th, 2007.....aka: First Day of Second Grade!!!
Carter was excited. Last night when I was putting him to bed, he did the thing kids are supposed to do "I don't want to go to school tomorrow!" but then had to look away to try and hide his big smile. Then when I went to get him out of bed this morning, he had a huge grin on his face and got up no problem.

The bus arrived at 7:25. He gave us a quick hug and off he went. See that woman with her hand on her kids' head? Lets just say I didn't have that expression on my face!

Unfortunately I missed the money shot. I called his name, he looked over but then looked away before I got the shot.
Oh, and I may have actually clapped as the bus drove off. Then I quickly got a hold of myself when I noticed the mom right next to me who was in complete tears. Which, by the way, I really don't get because she has 2 boys in middle school and the kid she was putting on the bus was going into the 3rd grade! If it was a kindergarten thing, I would get it (I'll be a mess when it's Quinn's turn) but seriously!
Now, do I put baileys in my coffee today or wait until next Thursday when it's Quinn's first day of preschool??

The Rest of the Best

2007-08-29T15:00:00.000-05:00

Here are the rest of the photos from our creek adventure. All my postings are backwards today!

Creek Time!

2007-08-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

The other thing we did today, actually before the cookie making, was go to a local park that has a really fun tot-lot but the boys are now at the stage where walking along the path and discovering things like this creek are way more fun than the slides and swings - Yay! That works for me. These are, obviously, discovering the bridge then walking down and trying to decide if they wanted to venture in or not. Quinn of course was all for it. Carter hung back and watched his little adventurous brother take the lead, go in and climb the rocks all the way to the other side where I was. Finally, after observing long enough, Carter ventured in. They had a blast. Blogger is only letting me post 4 at a time so I'll post more in a new entry.

Yum-Freakin-O!

2007-08-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

You see those?? What is that super awesome chocolate goodness, you ask? According to the official recipe, they are "Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies" seen above frosted and un-frosted but I like to call them "The Mommy-feels-guilty-for-being-a-total-cow-over-the-last-few-days-so-look,-I-baked-you-home-made-cookies-Cookie".
There is just something about the last few weeks/days of summer. We are all officially bored and tired of each other and I am completely out of fun, new and exciting things to do. As a result, I am a tad bit cranky, as are the small people. So last night I nearly cried myself to sleep thinking "that's it, they hate me, I'm sure of it!" so this morning I declared it a new day! Well, I actually made that declaration after a few cups of coffee, but it still counts. So I searched the books and found this recipe and decided to give it a whirl. Oh. My. Gosh. They are so damn good, I can't even tell you! The base is actually brownie mix that I added cream cheese to then that middle part is peanut butter mixed with powdered sugar then that is pure chocolate-fudge frosting on top. Hello happiness! The kids got to lick the beaters and the bowl and the multiple spoons I used and I am back to being super fun and excitingly cool mom....at least until the sugar high wears off.

Winding Down

2007-08-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

I have absolutly nothing to say today. The summer is creeping to an end...school starts in less than two weeks...we haven't seen the sun in 5 days which, I'll admit, has been nice in some ways: no ac cranking; the ability to break out the jeans; 5 days without going through the sunscreen process, but it's starting to take it's toll. We are officially at a dramatic stage of summer: me, the mom, saying 'I'm bored!!' in a rather whiny tone. At least I got a couple of cute photos.

Quote of the Day

2007-08-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying to get the short people moving because I have a million errands to run and I was running down the list of stops to them when I got to Target. Quinn jumps up and shouts "Target?! Oh yeah! I love Target!!!" That kid SO takes after me!!

Budding Photographers

2007-08-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

I was taking photos of the boys out the other night when Carter asked if he could try. I admit, passing my digital camera over to him was a wee bit nerve wrenching but he did a great job. Then Quinn - a.k.a "mr. break everything he touches" - wanted to try. Turns out, he has some talent as well! The kids are so into making goofy faces for the camera these days and I have to say it was pretty fun!

Watch Out Tiger, A New Kid is in Town!

2007-08-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

Carter has been involved in a golf camp at Army Navy this summer just like last year. He has really improved and is having such a great time out there. This year, he got to participate in the Junior Tournament. He was in the group that played 3 holes and he came in second. Ok, ok, there were only 3 kids in his group but still! He got a big silver medal just like in the Olympics! And look - he can draw a gallery just like Tiger!

2 Goofballs

2007-08-13T12:16:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you have to deal with the goofy faces to get the cute ones! Love the second photo where they are clearly plotting their next expressions!

Best. Day. EVER.

2007-08-09T13:36:00.000-05:00

The Redskins hold their training camp about 10 minutes from us. This year, we got up close and personal to the players and I was lucky enough to get some great photos and a ton of autographs.....a stalkers dream come true!!! Above is Mark Brunell looking a wee bit past his prime.

Here is Jason Campbell "The Future of the Redskins" signing my football.

There is Clinton Portis in the hat....fingers crossed he gets healthy and quick!!

But here comes the man of the hour. The one, the only Santana Moss!!!!! My favorite player since John Riggins.

And check it out! He came up to us since he recognized Jason, (we live down the street from him) was nice enough to pose for a photo with me and sign my football!!! I nearly fell over! It was the best day all summer!!!!! Go Redskins!

Summer Concerts

2007-08-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

Our neighborhood has these great free concerts every Friday evening. This one was an 80s band so you know I had to represent! It was a blast!!

The Cardinals Visit Washington

2007-08-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

We went to the Nationals/Cardinals game last weekend. Poor Jason. The Cardinals were really awful. The kids had a great time though despite the temps in the upper 90s.

Despite our 'rally cap' efforts, the Nationals won the game.

Seeing as there wasn't much action on the field, I decided to take tons of photos of the kids. As I snapped the above photo, Carter said "Seriously, I'm getting tired of all the picture stuff. I'm trying to watch this!" Apparently the game was so long that he turned into a surly 16 year old.

The Redicks try to start the wave.

Avalon Vacation!!

2007-08-09T13:22:00.000-05:00

Vacation was a success! We had a blast at the N.J. shore with Shannon & Greg and all of Carter & Quinn's cousins. We were there for a full week. The boys loved the beach. Carter was partial to digging whereas Quinn was a nut in the ocean. He LOVED riding on the boogie board and took to it right away! We got in the required mini-golf as well. A good time was had by all!

Slip Slidin' Away!

2007-06-26T18:44:00.000-05:00

Everyone.....

in the entire freaking world...

should own a slip-in-slide!!!

And for the record, yes, Jason was a tad bit sore the next day and came to the very sad realization that he is no longer 10.

Sometimes.....

2007-06-26T18:39:00.000-05:00

A cookie is just what you need to make everything OK.

2007-06-26T18:38:00.000-05:00

This is my dear friend Cathie's daughter, Anna. And by far, Quinn's very bestest friend in the entire world. How cute are they??? I'm saving this one for their rehearsal dinner in about 22 years.

2007-06-26T18:36:00.000-05:00

I looked over at Carter after hearing massive giggle fits to see what all the fuss was about. He was laughing at Quinn who had put his mr. star wars potato head darth vader hat on.

Yup. That's typical Quinn. The family clown.

Big Points for the Family, -20 for Mommy

2007-06-22T17:55:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we did a great thing, us Redick's. We participated in 'A Day at the Races' sponsored by the Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation. Basically, they provide opportunities for horseback riding and other related activities for therapeutic purposes for children with disabilities. All proceeds went to this great organization for things like purchasing more horses so they could get kids off the waiting list and into classes. It was a great experience for a very worthy cause.
So were did I go wrong? I forgot my camera. Yup. Left it on the kitchen counter at home (insert picture of me slapping my forehead here). I completed the 5k which was great and something I've always wanted to do, blah, blah, blah but what I really wanted was a photo of Carter crossing the finish line of the '1-mile family fun run' with Jason. You should have seen him! He was fantastic. They called out his name as he ran across and he had a huge grin on his face. I was so, so very proud of him! They finished the mile in 12 minutes and 30 seconds - he ran quite a bit of it! He was really excited after the race. Jason told me that at one point he said "I don't care if we win, but we can't let anyone else pass us!" Way to go Carter!!

Summer: It's Here

2007-06-21T16:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the first day of summer. Carter's last official day as a 1st grader was on Tuesday. So now they are home. Both of them. All summer. For 77 more days. They look ready. Me? Not so much.

Summer - So Far, So Good

2007-06-13T11:59:00.000-05:00

We have had a pretty uneventful summer so far. Hanging out at the pool, walking up to the town center for coffee (us) and playing in the fountains (small people) and general lazy stuff. Just the way I like it! Gearing up for more adventurous stuff though. Summer concerts, the beach in July, golf for Carter in August and tennis for both boys in July. Yay!

Brother Shot

2007-06-02T18:06:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot! I got this photo right after Carter's concert. Look at them! Adorable.

First Performance!

2007-06-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

The day before we left for Vegas, Carter had his first school performance. It was a patriotic concert featuring all of the first grade classes - all 125 kids! Talk about chaos! It was really sweet and Carter has been practicing for over a month. When it was his turn, he marched right up there with his class and sang his heart out. They sang America the Beautiful complete with sign language. It was fantastic! Then at the end, all 7 classes got up on stage and sang some more. He really enjoyed performing. Look out Broadway!!

2007-06-02T17:59:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, (ok, so I'm behind in postings.....again!) Quinn's class got to go to the petting zoo. Back when Carter was in pre-school, this outing did not make him happy. He wouldn't go anywhere near the animals, let alone feed them so I was expecting the same with Quinn. As you can see, that wasn't the case! He was so excited to feed the animals. There were lots of babies which probably made a big difference. He wandered from pen to pen with his little cup full of food and was just so delighted that they would come right up to him and eat out of his hand.

Pool Day!

2007-06-02T16:11:00.000-05:00

Hooray! The pool is finally open!! The boys got to go to Mimi & Grandpa's pool last weekend when we were meeting Brandt, but today was my first official Summer '07 Pool Day. It was a pretty good day, kind of cloudy, but the boys had a good time. I was flying solo because Jason is in a golf tournament today, but the kids went easy on me! After about 3 1/2 hours, we got kicked out because it started to thunder, bummer. Now they are almost passed out on the couch. Ahhhh....don't you just love what a little fresh air and water can do to a kid?

Baby Brandt!!

2007-06-02T16:06:00.000-05:00

Meet Brandt. He is my new nephew and by far, one of the cutest babies I've ever seen! He was so sweet too. Hardly a cry came out of that kid! I'm starting to wonder if I'm really related to him because he was so dang quiet! Big props to my brother and Madi for creating such an adorable little baby! I miss him already.

Home!

2007-05-31T18:19:00.001-05:00

It was great getting out to Vegas to see Brandt, but it sure was fantastic to get back to the boys!!

Fun at Mimi's!

2007-05-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

Jason and I are in Vegas meeting my new nephew, Brandt, so the boys are chillin' over at Mimi and Grandpa's house. They are having a great time hitting the pool, going to the park, playing in the cool new batman sprinkler, playing with sparklers and my personal favorite, making beards out of bubbles!!

I'll have photos of baby Brandt to post when I get home. He is the cutest baby EVER! And incredibly good to boot.

Happy Memorial Day!

A Look Into the Future

2007-05-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, (and my friend Cathie) or does little Prince Harry look shockingly like Quinn???

Excuse My Coolness

2007-05-17T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure it gets any cooler than this. The shades, the hat with the extra flat bill, the fact that the hat with the extra flat bill is not quite straight. All of it screams cool. Watch out Ladies, Quinn is on the rise.

Belly Laughs

2007-05-17T18:07:00.000-05:00

Apparently there is something totally hilarious about taking photos of stomachs.

Flat Stanley!!

2007-04-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

Flat Stanley is a drunk.

This is Flat Stanley. Carter's class read a book about a little boy - Stan - who got squished then goes on a big adventure all around the world. His class then made their own Flat Stanley's and had to send them on their own adventure. We chose Las Vegas to spend some time with Uncle Danny & Aunt Madi. Madi was the best tour guide ever!!! Took him all over Vegas and got the best photos. Oh, and just so you know, the one of him having drinks didn't make it to school with Carter!

As far as I know, Stan didn't win any money. If he did, Madi hasn't mailed the check yet!

Bubble Boys

2007-04-26T15:34:00.000-05:00

Bubbles are still a huge hit in my house. They will play with them for hours. I just got a new machine that sits on a table outside and blows a crazy amount. They will play with that thing for hours. Gotta love that!

Have You Figured Out That I'm Going Backwards in Time Yet?

2007-04-26T14:42:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged! I just sat down to put up Carter's birthday photo and then saw all these super cute pictures that I haven't posted!! This was St. Patrick's Day - obviously. Bet you were thinking my kids always wear green shirts and funny hats, eh?
Too cute! Quinn looks so dang Irish I can't believe it! All he needs is a mug of green beer in front of him. Those days are going to be here before you know it. Sigh. Cheers!