Santa Time

We had a very nice day yesterday.  I got to sleep in after staying up late wrapping gifts ( 2nd night in a row).  We went to the mall to see Santa and have a chat with him.  I asked Adam and Zach what they were going to ask Santa for and they told me "max steel turbo sword" and Zach said "bay warriors".  Which I find funny since they were really into a different set of toys a few weeks ago.  Awww, the fleeting desires of a child.  Anyway after seeing Santa, we ran around the little mall riding rids and ducking into stores for a quick look.  The boys really enjoyed getting pretzel sticks and .25 balls at old navy.  It is fun as a parent to see you kids get a kick out of something so simple

We stayed home the rest of the day and made Santa sandwiches with a snow storm outside and Christmas music inside.  It was one of those moments that I just wanted to bottle up and remember forever.  As Andrew snoozed upstairs Adam and Zach helped me put peanut butter on the crackers and dip them in the chocolate.  I thought that their help would last a few minuets at best but they really got into the activity.  I let them take over the dipping.  It was SO nice to be together in the kitchen enjoying each other's company.  As they were dipping into the chocolate they made up a game where all of the cracker sandwiches had come to life and were begging to not be drowned in the chocolate.  At least I think that is what they came up with.  I didn't want to interrupt their game.  Andrew got up and the snow had piled up that they all wanted to go outside with dad and have a snowball fight which is what they did.  I got to hear all about the epic battle with dad.  I poked my head out to take a few pictures and saw Andrew laying down in the snow pushing a boat through the snow and analyzing the tracks that it made.  Also they boys running around trying the best to get dad.  I just loved today.

Dec the halls

Decorations for every holiday are I think a important part.  They really help set the mood and get everyone excited about the upcoming events.  Well Christmas to me is the biggest of all holidays and so I do my best to decorate all over the house.  We make a day of it by getting the kids involved, putting on our favorite Christmas time music or movies to be playing in the background.  This year I had on "White Christmas" a favorite of mine.  Growing up my family would watch this movie and Kathryn, Heather and I would often sing the song "Sisters" or "Snow, snow, SNOW!" while getting ready in the morning together.  I have memories of watching the dance scenes with my dad and him point out the difficulty of what they were doing. I found myself doing the same thing with Zach this year.  The little cutie watched some of the movie with me and seemed genuinely interested and impressed with the movie.  It was fun for me to share that with him.

Finally what the boys had been wanting to do all day; we decorated the Christmas tree together.  I love our decorations and ornaments for our tree.  Most of them are home made and or pictures of the boys.  To me there isn't anything better than looking at my tree with my three boys looking back at me.

Pie Time!

I got to go to Zachary's Thanksgiving feast at school.  I was glad that i got to go there and help out and let Zach know that I love and he is important to me.  I just love Schonely School.  They really made this day a celebration by dressing up and organizing craft centers for t each class to rotate through.  I was a fun day for all invovled.
I spent most of my day on Wednesday preparing the turkey feast and baking pies.  Josh was great!  He took care of the kids, running the bacuum and staying on top of the dishes.  He was my hero.  So when he said that he would really like a apple pie I extended myself and made my first ever apple pie.  When my parents got in the first thing that they saw were the pies that I had set out.  Dad saw those and he exclaimed "Ooooo, you know they are better when you eat them fresh.  Do we really have to wait?"  It didn't take much to push me over the edge.  I got out the plates right away.  We stayed up way too late talking and eating chocolate cream pie.  I have to say they were my best pies I have ever made.  I love this time of year.

Nov. 28th 2013 THANKSGIVING DAY

It was a nice day.  We had the McIntyre family and the Koomson family over for our feast.  It was a little crazy but very nice.  I thought everything was delicious.  Josh was on top of the dishes which made everything else run smooth.  I really ennoyed having the Koomson family over they are from Ghana and I got to visit with them a little bet and get to know them more.  We really had a very typical American holiday except the football (bc we don't have sport channels).  We were together with family and friends with lots of food and pie and ate too much.

Nov. 29th 2013 BLACK FRIDAY

I kind of pride myself for never have gone out on black friday and spent any money.  But this year i broke my tradition of not going out and went.  I'm glad I did.

  

Halloween 2013

It was a fun but a little crazy day and I'm so glad that I had a baby sitter lined up and Andrew and that Josh could take a half day at work so that everyone's needs could be met.  Zach and Adam got to walk in their school parade but since I was at Adam's school doing his party Josh got to go to Zach's parade.  I got to walk with Adam in his parade.  I love that the kids get to dress up in their costumes at school and parade around and see everyone all dressed up.
After the school party we rested up a bit and then went Trick-or-Treating around our block.  Adam was a vampire this year and at every door would say with his best vampire voice "trick-or-treat Ha-Ha-Haaaaaa".  He cracked me up.  Zachary was a very cute bat.  I was very impressed with myself that I made is costume this year.  I had one of the other first grade teachers tell me that she didn't get to see it but she had heard that it was very cute.  I really enjoyed watching Zach bound from one house to the other in his cute happy way.  Andrew enjoyed getting candy and really liked seeing people's dogs.  We came up to one house with some cut logs in off to one side and Andrew recognized those as "jobie wood" from a Thomas and Friends' episode that he watches.  He saw the logs and exclaimed over and over "jobie!  jobie!  jobie!"  He made a very cute Clark Kent.  He was a less interested in costumes this year and so it was hard to figure out what he  would let me put on him.  I tried several different costumes and even bought him one but he either wasn't interested or really protested to wearing it.  So I took his superman costume from his first Halloween cut off the legs and arms and put it under a collard shirt with slacks boom Clark Kent.

After pizza Josh took the older boys out for a little more Halloween fun at the high school trunk-or-treat event which emptied out the neighborhoods.  I think that the boys had a very happy Halloween.

Petting Zoo

I got to take Andrew to Green Meadow Farm petting zoo in Hazlet NJ.  I thought that it was the best petting zoo experience that I've ever had.  We got there before the school groups showed up and so we were the first to go through and had our own host.  We started with puppies.  We could have stopped at the puppies and Andrew would have been very happy with that.  We moved onto the other baby animals: chicks, ducklings, rabbits, piglets, calves, lamas etc.  Which we got to hold and pet. We got to feed the sheep.  Andrew tried to feed them like he does our hamster one grain at a time.  We saw a mother pig feeding her 9 piglets and got to pet them.  Andrew wasn't interested in milking the cow and he got a little freaked out when the mule bit down on my purse handle and wouldn't let go.  Other than that he had a great time.

Carve it up!

Our annual pumpkin carving FHE.  Our lesson was explaining what jack-o-lanterns were originally used for (to keep bad spirit away) and we talked about what is it we do every day to protect ourselves from evil influences.  Then we got to it.  I prepped the pumpkin for surgery as the boys came up with their designs for our 2013 Jack-O-Lantern.  Adam and Zach collaborated on what portions of their individual designs they wanted to include into our family masterpiece.  I drew the face out and the carving began.  Adam was most excited about the mouth (it had a vampire flare) and he carved that with a little help from Andrew.  Zach really wanted to do the eyes and I got to do the rest.  We lit our Jack up that night.  I think he turned out pretty good.  I just really enjoyed that everyone got to carve this year and everyone had a good time.

Pumpkin Patch

Something that I like to do every year is go pick some apples and pumpkins with the kiddos.  We met up with the Guriguess Family at Geamarisse farm in East Brunswick.  We headed out first for the apples.  We found the long poles to pick a few apples.  Adam and Zach really love doing that.  It took us a while to find our picking pole so the three of us fell behind the rest of the group but we met back up in the pumpkin patch.  The kids had fun looking at the different pumpkins and horsing around.  Zach found a cool green pumpkin that he thought was super cool.  I refuse to pay $50 for a pumpkin that is just going to wrought on my front porch.  So we look at the big pumpkins, buy the small sugar pumpkins and then I go buy one at the local grocery store for $5.  Some people might call that being cheap but I prefer to call that smart.

Andrew got to have a pony ride.  He got on it and I could tell he had visions of woody on bulls-eye in his head so I said "ride like the wind bulls-eye."  And he said "Yee-Haa."  He is such a cutie!

Belting Up

Since the beginning of the school Adam has been taking Karate and from what I could tell has enjoyed doing it.  I got to see him start in his first class and little glimpses here and there but I haven't really seen him perform.  This ceremony let me see Adam in a different light.  He was so focused and serious.  All of this punches were sharp and powerful.  I was really shocked.  He moved from a white belt to a yellow belt.  It was one of those proud parent moments.

Birthday Girl

My birthday was very enjoyable I got woken up to my boys singing to me, presents and a card that made me cry.  Josh got me what I wanted which was a bike rack for the car.  Jenn Guirguess took me out to lunch at an Indian buffet.  Josh brought dinner home for me; my favorite coconut shrimp form Bone fish grill.  We celebrated that night with cookie cake.   Super bonus was all of the birthday wishes from facebook friends and family phone calls.  It was a great day.

As an extension of the celebrating we went on a family bike ride on the Delaware raretiane canal.  It was a perfect day for a bike ride flowers were out turtles sunning, everything green and new.  I absolutely loved being able to be there with my boys.  Josh gets the best husband award for that day because as he was getting out our bikes from the shed he saw that my bike's rear tire was punked.  So to make this bike ride happen for me he told me to ride his bike and he would ride mine pulling Andrew.  What a guy!  We did the bike trade and I had a great time and Josh got a good work out.  Adam loved being the fastest and Zach rode with me.  We stopped to look a the turtles and flowers and enjoyed our selves.  That was my real present.  I really want to have authentic experiences with my children.  I don't want something that is manufactured and prefabricated.  I want to go out and explore all the different things that this earth has to offer and I want to do it with my children.

That evening we had a gumbo party.  I made a huge pot of gumbo and fed about 25 people and still had tons left over.  It was really nice to have the kitchen done and people over to enjoy a meal together.  Kevin and Morgan got to come too.

Kitchen Remodel

We have been wanting to gut the kitchen since we moved into this house and the stars alined just right for us to pull the trigger on this project.  So for the last few months I have been searching, shoping, interviewing/getting bids, thinking, stressing etc about this kitchen.  We hired a couple of men and they started work on March 11th.  Like most projects when you tear things out or open up walls you find unexpected things especially in New Jersey.  So needless to say things have been moving a little slower than expected but I'm pleased to say that we are in good hands.  A two week project turned into a 7 week project and 7 weeks with out a sink down stairs was a little ruff.

Before and Afters to come :)

Easter 2013

Lots of fun this Easter and a little different than previous years just because we didn't have a kitchen to make some of the traditional meals and I was limited to what I could do for the boys. 

The boys celebrations started in school with their class parties on Thursday.  Friday was their first day of Spring Break.  I had to take them to a granite place and for their good behavior I took them to get a new toy and get happy meals.  We had a picnic in our backyard and played outside for the rest of the day.  It was beautiful!  I wanted to soak up my cute kids and thier sweet excitement for life and the renewed earth around them. 

We had the coolest egg hunt with our friends the McIntyres in the wood accross the street from where they live.  We hid the eggs in a clearing in the middle of the woods.  We had them all over in the grasses, downed logs, bushes etc...  it was great.  Adam and Zach had a good time finding eggs but it got a little competive with the other kids.  Andrew really didn't get that he needed to gather eggs and then eat the contents.  He just picked up an eggs, opened it, threw the wrapers into this basket and enjoyed.  It was cute.

I learned somthing about Zachary during the egg hunt event.  I learned that he really is a peacemaker.  Even if it means that he loses out on getting candy/ ahead, he will sacrifice his personal gain for his friend.  During the hunt there were some giant camoo eggs that were very desireable and he found them.  Jacob his friend expressed his desire for this eggs and even though Zachary was really excited about it and wanted it too he traded it for a lesser egg.  He did it and was happy to do so because he knew it would make his friend happy.  He does tihs same kind of thing at dinner time.  He will profess his graditude and love for the food all the while choaking it down just to make me happy.  He puts others before himself.  May I learn from his Christ like example.  Truly if we could become like a little child.....

Finding baskets was fun this morning.  The bunny went for more toys this year and so there some fun surprises. I had a lot of fun dressing everyone in coordinating outfits for Easter.  I tried my best to take pictures after church and Andrew was tired and had  had enough.

Andrew

It won't be long until my little baby is an official Toddler.  He is going to be turning two March 21st.  He is such a joy.  Andrew likes: to play with his brothers, friends, loves anything with a wheel, to read books, and climb.  He is talking a lot.  I can't understand him yet but if you ask him a question he will give you an answer which is more than I can say for my 7 & 5 year olds.  His favorite toys are his Thomas train set.  He plays with those every morning and evening.  His most recent train game is he sets up a very long train and pushes it to the top of the mountain and pushes it off and exclaims "Oh No!" Andrew enjoys watching Thomas, Cars, Cars 2, Toy Story 1, 2, & 3.  When he is put on a swing he looks as if he will explode with excitement.  Shoveling sand, sliding down the slide, jumping on the trampoline are some of his favorite things to do but it has been so cold lately that we dont' get to do it as often as we want. 

Still loves the passy and his favorite friend big dog, watching cars in Mommy's room.

Climbing onto Adam's bunk.  I've watched him drop down from it just like his big brothers do.

climbing

This was a hard nap day and he feel asweel in my arms.  I loved the snuggles.

Best friend Steel and Andrew watching Cars 2 on a tablet.

Wearing his favorite thomas shirt.  It is a good day when he is wearing this.

Taking the time to read.

One of his favorite spots to be.

Did I mention that he likes to climb.

I often find him in his chair reading to himself.  I want to squeel he is so cute.

Holley is his favorite Cars character.

I forget to mention that if there is a puddle of water/mud he will find it and explore.

He is a boy through and through and I am so grateful that the Lord has loaned him to me for this life.  Every moment is special.