And then we were four

My missing post!

2009-02-02T06:49:00.003-05:00

Poor neglected blog! Looks like I abandoned a post that I didn't finish writing. I can't remember what interrupted me but perhaps it was a young little dude? I'll put money on it. ;)

I can't figure out what to do with this blog - keeping two blogs has proven difficult. I'll post this one and for now will direct you to my other blog at Dwell Wool Knits. I promise to share more often besides businessy stuff. I hope you don't mind!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been a very bad blogger lately, haven't I? Sorry!!! We are indeed still here and alive. We've been living with Justin's parents since November 1st - and here it is the beginning of February. The time has flown past! We had a number of milestones while living here.

Jackson turned 4!

For his birthday we had his aunties and uncles over for a big meatballs with spaghetti dinner. He had a blast with his cousin Ava and opened up his gifts so fast I don't think he noticed what he got until the next day when he was asking where everything came from. ;) Mimi and I took he and Liam to the Doylestown Firehouse on his actual birthday. He had a private tour of the entire station!

Check out the fire dude!

Liam enjoyed eating Jackson's birthday cake. We all went to the other room for gift opening and didn't realize Liam was still eating. Apparently he liked it this way without any interruptions.

For a gift from Uncle Jon and Aunt Emily, Jackson got this really cool Light Brite cube. He and Ava were trying it out that night.

Four is a fun age! Jackson is in to all things Star Wars. Big time. And it's cool he's mostly into the classic Star Wars though it's becoming apparent he is aware of the newer animated series of The Cone Wars Star Wars. Target and all their action figures prompts questions of who particular "guys" are. His other favorite activities are playing with his Playmobil Pirates and Knights. While staying here Jackson's toy selection expanded to include various toys that used to belong to his daddy and uncles. PIcture 1,231 GI Joe guys and their vehicles and approximately 45,030 tiny Lego pieces. !!! Jackson has been into the Legos created ships for his Star Wars guys. ;)

a good cause

2008-10-28T14:59:00.005-04:00

A woman named Colleen passed away on October 17 from a rapidly speading liver cancer. She left behind a beloved husband, Jens, and 2 precious children, Anneke(5 years old) and Fritz (2 years old). You probably don't know this woman. I don't really know her either. But she is one out of a small group of women who sell their hand made wares on Hyena Cart where I have my store, Dwell Wool Knits.

Many ladies have pulled together to create an amazing fundraiser. All the proceeds will go to her children's college fund, per her last requests. The "Celebrating Colleen" fundraiser begins today, October 28, 2pm EST and runs through Tuesday, November 4th.

Like I mentioned, I didn't know Colleen - but when something like this happens to such a small little "online" community, it sends ripples throughout it.

Colleen hand-dyed amazing yarn. I am so glad to have had the pleasure to knit a couple things with her it. I am quite sure that the recipients will treasure their items.

Here are a couple of them:

I am collaborating with Kim of Western Sky Knits and Suzanne of Goodmama to bring together a fun set for cloth diaper users. I'll knit the yarn Kim dyed to match this adorable cowboy print goodmama diaper. You can view my auction here.

So even if you don't cloth diaper, there is something for everyone. It's all for a good cause. Please stop in to the Tiny Lady Cooperative throughout the week!

hyenacart.com/tinyladycooperative/

Pumpkin Time again!

2008-10-20T07:33:00.002-04:00

We set off for our annual hay-ride pumpkin picking trip this year but were almost very disappointed! We pulled in to an empty parking lot and no sign of rides or pumpkins or hay or gourds. Unfortunately our old spot was closed! So off we drove hoping to fine something else, which luckily we did. The kids couldn't tell the difference between an actually get your feet muddy kind of pumpkin patch and a grassy field with ready-priced pumpkins scattered through them and we weren't about to point that out. Look how much fun they were having! They even pulled us out to the little spot on a tractor hayride.

Ok, well then... You're stuck with us!

2008-10-05T23:36:00.003-04:00

Looks like you're going to be stuck with us in PA for a little while longer after all!!!!

I haven't gotten to tell everyone personally yet - the news is trickling. So please feel free to call if we haven't talked to you yet.

Justin and I had to make a very important decision. After having the move to Montana full swing in the works, a door shut. We really feel God in this and that this is meant to be for us right now. I'm very thankful that we felt the door closing before we moved!

The economy is really the biggest factor right now. Homes don't sell like they normally do in the winter and people are not buying right now. We are very blessed that Justin has a great employer right now, and feel led to keep it that way. To branch off on his own and to sub-contract for them at this point in time may not provide us with security we would need to get by. Now is not the time to chance things.

So where does that leave us? Well... we sold our home already! Rather than trying to buy something or rent right away, we are blessed to have the option to move in with Justin's parents for a time while we sort things out. It will be an adventure and we're thankful that they so readily opened their arms to us.

After the winter we will reevaluate and go from there. Ultimately we'd love to still make it out to Montana. So let's just say it's on hold for the time being. :)

Big Announcement

2008-09-24T07:32:00.003-04:00

No no, I'm not pregnant! We are MOVING! To Montana!

Yes, it seems so out there and crazy and I know those who are close to us know the news, but I just haven't had time to announce here. So this will make it official.

Justin, for some time, has just felt something lacking in his job, never being truly happy or content. He wants to have the ability to do more. Never finishing his degree is something that has weighed on him. So after lots of prayer and consideration, it has been decided to pursue going back to school... at Montana State University.

Why there and not here?
1. Excellent program that has certifications in Sustainable Design (something Justin has been passionate about before it became popular)
2. Lower cost of living.
3. Walkability/Bicycle distance from school.
4. Safer than Philly.
5. Cleaner than Philly.

We considered Temple and Drexel, but it came down to not wanting to move our family into the city. Staying here and commuting is not reasonable. It would take 2 hours out of the day.

So the process began... He applied and was accepted. That was step one. The second much larger step was approaching his employer. Justin wrote a very extensive proposal to work for his company as a sub-contractor. Being self-employed he can better manage his hours and enables us to afford to have him go to school full-time while working at the minimum 25 hours a week while in school.

The hardest part about this transition is leaving our family and friends. It's heart-wrenching really, as close as we are to our them. We do plan to come back east for about a month each summer while we are there. Oh - and that will be three years approximately.

So... That's where I've been pretty much while not blogging! We listed and sold our home and have been searching for a rental to live in in Bozeman. We just found it yesterday and have been approved! So it's nice to have an address - one less stress...

I think this will be an adventure. A hard one. No doubt. Justin will be working 70 hours a week and myself.. well, I will be starting over I guess. I plan to get plugged in right away at a church and join a mom's group to meet people. I plan to blog often about our "adventure." I don''t want to lose touch with my friends here, so I hope by blogging that will at least give a means to keep other's a little plugged in to our lives, as that's how I feel reading other blogs. Of course there always is the telephone too!

Our move-in date is scheduled for November 6th. We are hiring a moving service - one of those 'you pack, they drive' services. So that takes about 7-10 days to actually get out there. We will be staying with Justin's family until Justin has to leave to drive out, and I will fly out with the boys on the 6th or 7th. Eeek! Wish us luck! It's coming upon us quickly.

I'll have to do an additional post later to update you on the boys and share some photos! I don't want to overload. ;)

me again

2008-08-08T07:41:00.003-04:00

OK, so we're going to ignore the big white elephant in the room. Yes, that thing I say all the time when I take forever to update the blog. I'm not saying it. :)

The summer has been flying. And we've been enjoying it thoroughly. I've been really busy with my new stay at home knitting business. Often I have late nights and early mornings, but overall my plan is that it doesn't get in the way of family. It's a slippery slope.

Here are some highlights from summer fun we've had.

Gone fishin'
We took Jackson down to the reservoir which is just down the street. He had a blast catching little fish there. Justin did the casting, but he was happy as a clam waiting for his bobber to get pulled under so he could reel it in.

Liam was a good sport searching out rocks and sticks to throw in the lake. I love the cute moment they had on the log. (Yes, I made them sit together!) But miracle upon miracle, they stays and acted all brotherly together. They were looking at the worms if you're curious. ;)

The Beach
We only made it once to Long Beach Island this year. I want to go again. Oh heck, I want to live there to be honest! We went with the entire Isabell clan. I love making those memories with family. Liam lived up to his initials (He's LBI, didntcha' know?) and couldn't get enough of the sand, the waves and the "airmanes" flying the banners overhead. Jackson loves it too but can't seem to pick if he's a mountain boy or beach boy better. He had a blast too. It was hard to capture photos of the dude, as he didn't sit still most of the time.

OK, there's more to post, but I have to get moving here. Erin, I hope you're happy! LOL!

Fresh Idea Friday

2008-08-08T07:19:00.002-04:00

OK, I know, I'm a week behind on Fresh Idea Friday. I have a valid excuse. ;) I'll get to that later.

My good friend Lisa blogs at Out of the Blue and each month on the first Friday comes up with a Fresh Idea. This month is share your favorite recipe source and Lisa asked for us to share a favorite recipe from it. Okey-dokey! You asked for it!

Well I'm a cook and a foody. I love both! My poor family is subject to my tinkering in the kitchen and it's not often we eat the same thing repetitively. I know a few times I shared my meal plan on here, African Peanut Soup anyone? Remember that? It was actually really good! They were peanuts, just plain ole peanuts, not special African ones. I know someone was wondering.

My favorite source for recipes is Real Simple. I subscribe to the magazine but their online directly is free to anyone. They have fancy to every day recipes. It's hard to pick a favorite. If I had to the Rosemary Garlic Chicken is up there. My whole family enjoys it.

My second source is an actual cookbook. With pages ya know? Who uses them anymore? Ha! I have one called the New England Cookbook. I bought it when I lived in Boston and I reach for it when I'm missing New England. There's lots of yummyness in there. I frequently make their 5-Alarm Chili recipe that is in there. Someday I'll type it out. I would now but I'm savoring this moment before the kids are screaming fohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifr me.

I have a new source I'd love to share that is going to probably rapidly climb to favorite. It's The Pioneer Woman. What a cool website. There's some amazing looking food in there and I just love the conversational tone of the recipes and the photography is amazing. I want to bite the computer screen. These things here are apparently worth their weight in gold. I haven't tried them but it's on my to do list.

So there you have it!

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-04T12:34:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying picnics and fireworks this weekend! How nice to have a three-day weekend with the family. We'll be going to a couple picnics to celebrate with our nation's independence this weekend.

I just got back from CA where I went to my brother, Bill's, wedding. Got to meet his wife, Melissa, for the first time in her wedding dress! She's gorgeous! And sweet, and most importantly, loves my brother to the end of the earth. It was a really beautiful wedding. Took place in an ocean-side garden in Half Moon Bay, CA.

I wish I had gotten more photos with my camera. I dutifully photographed the rest of the wedding with my brother's camera. ;)

Dad got this one of the sibs minus Trisha. We missed you Trish!

It was sad leaving all the boys behind. I missed them immensely. Sharing a room with Nan was wonderful though, and something I wouldn't trade. It was really special being able to spend that time with her. She is 90 after all!

We visited San Francisco on Friday and took in some sights. What we could see anyhow. It was pretty foggy, but also smokey from all the forest fires they were having out there. My favorite was having clam chowder at this place called Lou's. The. best. It rivaled any chowder I've ever had, and I've had a lot ~ living in New England for many years and all!

One of the souvenirs I not so luckily brought home was vertigo. :( Apparently from the flight I got it. We had a layover going there and back and the doctor thinks that all the changes in altitude/pressure, etc, messed with my equilibrium. Justin thinks I just don't travel well. Either way, I've been feeling like I'm walking sideways since returned home. Not fun! Hopefully it'll wear off soon.

Well I'm really glad to be home! Here are a few photos from the trip!

Fresh Idea Friday

2008-07-04T12:28:00.002-04:00

My friend Lisa started a neat idea on her blog "Out of the Blue" called Fresh Idea Friday. On the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month she's going to post a "Fresh Idea" on her blog and the idea is for all of us to share and then we'll all have no excuses to be out of fresh ideas! :) Love it!

This week's theme is appropriate: " a recipe that we love taking to a picnic"

Here's a recipe I love to bring to picnics. A little different, but everyone always seems to love it! Unless they're just being nice?

Pasta with Spinach, Ricotta, and Golden Raisins
12 ounces Rotini (or another fusilli-type pasta) (4 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 ounce package baby spinach
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup whole or part-skim ricotta
Kosher salt and pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Add the olive oil, vinegar, and spinach and toss to wilt. Stir in the scallions, raisins, ricotta, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the basil.

Divide among individual bowls and top with the Parmesan and pine nuts, if using.

Knitty Gritty!

2008-06-10T20:37:00.002-04:00

Where has Andrea been? Certainly not posting. OK, you're not surprised or wondering where I've been. I'll tell you anyway.

Here: Dwell Wool Knits blog and here: Dwell Wool Knits store

I made the leap and now am considered a WAHM (work at home mom). It's very part-time and not too well paying considering how long it takes me to knit. But I'm having fun with it. I really have been enjoying knitting and knitting for others and hope I do well. So far so good! I had a friend design my website and logo and am getting ready to "stock" my store with customs and little knit toys. Wish me luck!

Since I have to go and knit now, I will at least upload a few pics, since pics are always fun. I'll have time to chat more later. Hope everyone's summer is going well! (Wait, it's not summer yet, is it? Sorry, the 98 degree weather certainly has me feeling like summer is here...)

The happiest I've ever seen Jackson.

The boys and their mama on Mother's Day.

Do not, I repeat, do not try to take treats away from Liam. He gets mad.

Rest in peace, Mr. Fuzzy.

2008-05-15T07:42:00.005-04:00

It all began on a warm spring day. A young boy spent his time running and climbing and sliding at a park. Then he was spotted. Inching along a branch. Big eyes in wonder moved closer. A careful grab. Behold, Mr. Fuzzy! It was a fast friendship with a strong bond. He stayed with his friend the entire day. Shared nap time in a jeweled glass dwelling while his pale-skinned friend rested nearby. Reunion upon waking! The fun began again. Inching along the grass with his friend watching close by. Then, tragedy. A bicycle wheel astray. Mr. Fuzzy, no longer. Rest in peace dear friend.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T07:46:00.004-04:00

I hope all the special mom's in my life had a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day! I was touched when chatting with Justin and he presumed it was a "holiday" and stores would be closed. Well that would be nice to be honored that way!

Saturday evening was spent at my sister's where we celebrated my dad's birthday and Mother's Day together with Nan, Mom and Dad Stevenson. Unfortunately neither of the husbands were in attendance. Justin was feeling under the weather and my sister's husband had to work. :( But it was nice being with the Stevenson's! Trisha fed us well and did an awesome job playing hostess with one child in her arms and serving with the other. ;)

Jackson and Ava were looking forward to seeing each other for some cousin's time. It's so fun to see them as they're getting older. Actually playing *together* ya know? (And giving us some adult time too! *wink!*) Jackson declared Aunt Trisha to be his favorite aunt because she has Ava. Hear that Aunt Bethany, Aunt Emily and Aunt Grace? Once you've got some kids you might have a chance too! ;) And Aunt Kate - I'm certain you would be in the favorites category, especially with the little dudes - so Trisha will have some fierce competition once you guys are back in the area! ;)

Poor Liam had a rough time Saturday night though. He took a tumble and landed on his chin, causing his top teeth to bite through his bottom lip. Not all the way, no worries, but enough to cause a minor crisis. He was not quite himself this weekend after that, being very clingy and cranky. Understandable, I'm sure that little puffy lip hurts badly. Poor guy.

Sunday I received the biggest surprise Mother' Day gift from Justin *ever*! A new digital camera! And a nice digital camera at that! I'm still in shock and denial. He was too generous and I know it was a sacrifice for him to purchase it for me. I hope he knows how grateful I am. Look forward to being bombarded with photos in the future!

After spending the morning recuperating from the rough evening had by Liam, we went to Justin's family's home. Dad Isabell took good care of all the mom's with a wonderful dinner (as always!) Justin was feeling better so I was grateful to get some more help chasing kiddos around. Mimi and Poppy's house is always an adventure for the boys. Jackson loves to chase frogs in the little pond, and I know this summer we'll look forward to a couple submersions. It happened last year, with Mimi following right behind!!! The big yarn is full of trees which Jackson has more interest in climbing. Justin helps him. ;)

So all in all I felt blessed and loved this mother's day. Thanks to all around me who made it special! :)

Here are some photos from the day take with my new present!

My boys. :)

Little Liam

The climber

Mimi's kiddos

Frog hunting

Hanging with Mimi

This has got to stop!

2008-05-06T09:01:00.003-04:00

OK. I did it again. I am not too gifted with starting new habits. Blogging being one of them. Things build up and I get intimidated about thinking what to blog about. I don't want to overload, yet I fall behind all the while. Well, I've got to start somewhere! I could back date the posts individually (haha, did that one time!) but I'll just share snippets.

Hmmm, so where did we leave off? Ah yes! Justin's brother, Jon, and Emily got married and Jackson was the ring bearer! On 4/12 (almost a month already!?!) It was a beautiful day - I was so happy for the two of them. We're all super excited to have Emily join the family and the boy gained a new aunt. Yay!

Jackson did a great job making his way up the isle. The only hesitation was after taking about five steps, he turned around (I was in the back helping him) and very loudly whispered, "Mommmm! There are no rings on the pillow!!!" He was pretty distraught. He new his job was "ring bearer," not simply, "pillow bearer." Hahaha, but he still got the pillow up and looked adorable.

Our MVP of the day was Aunt Bethany. What a blessing she was to me this day. Justin was in the wedding so I technically was on my own with two boys, one boy who was in the wedding. Oi. She really blessed me by watching Liam while I helped Jackson in the back before he walked up the isle. Throughout the day she was there to give a hand and I'm so grateful for that. Thanks Bethany! Love ya!

Of course we can't leave Frog behind, now can we?

Next up we had cousin Ava's birthday party. It was a "Princess Party." And Jack was the only boy. Ha. ;) They had a dance lesson and it was the first time I saw the divide between boy and girl. Jackson sat in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest. Daddy would have been proud. Only reason Justin wasn't there was because he stayed home with Liam for his nap. Oh, and didn't you know that if you're a boy, the only appropriate attire to wear is a pirate costume? This is our "happy?" pirate.

Here's the birthday princess in her glory!

The day after the pirate/princess party was my own birthday. Eeek! I'm 30! We celebrated by going to the circus. I know, I know, I'm a big kid. Maybe I wanted to do that to feel younger? ;) We had a wonderful time as a family and I couldn't have asked for more. It was gift to see the boys faces in wonder as they watched all of the circus performances. I probably had that look on my face a number of times as well.

Well that oughta catch you up for now. Don't want to overload you.

Wanna cheap haircut?

2008-04-11T08:27:00.003-04:00

Then come on over! Jackson, our in house stylist will be glad to help you. ;)

I was on the phone last night sitting at our computer desk and Jackson climbed up behind me. I totally was not paying attention when he fished scissors out of the pencil cup holder. Next thing I knew, or felt I should say, was the snip of the scissors against my head!!! Don't worry, it's subtle... To give him credit, he was sick, so he obviously wasn't thinking clearly... Also, during his bath last night I grabbed our hair cutting scissors and cleaned up around his ears since Jon and Emily's wedding is Saturday... So it was fresh in his mind that scissors are for cutting hair. I'm pretty proud of myself for not freaking out too much. Could have been that I was on the phone though. When I ran my hand through my hair a small clump came out, but I can't locate where it came from, so that's good! Jackson was pretty mortified and extremely apologetic for cutting my hair and I'm sure he won't ever attempt it again!

More woolie pants

2008-04-08T15:23:00.002-04:00

I completed my third pair of woolie shorts for Liam! Yay! Stay tuned... I've decided to *open* a little online store of sorts to sell knit items. It mostly will be wool diaper covers but I also plan to make little organic knit toys. :) I'm having fun with this!

Quiet Time

2008-04-08T15:14:00.002-04:00

What do you do when your little one wakes up from their nap before nap time is "over"?

With Liam I can't control how long he sleeps per say. When he's up, he's up. Sometimes he'll stay in his crib and play quietly, and other times he'll cry/yell that he wants out, and like, NOW.

Jackson, on the other hand, I can have go back in his room to have Quite Time. He used to sleep by the clock each day from 1-4, but as he's getting older, I'm seeing that diminish. *cry*

He went down for his nap today at 1 and at 2:45 I heard a loud "thud" overhead. Did he fall out of bed I wondered?! He came down a few minutes afterward with every.stuffed.animal.he.owns inside his little sleeping bag that he's insisted on sleeping in lately... I looked at the clock and immediately thought, nope, naptime is not over yet! For me anyway... So I had him go back up to have some quiet time in his room looking at books and just being generally quiet... I feel somewhat guilty having him do this sometimes, but it passes quickly... ;) It's not every day that he does wake "early" from his naps. For the past week he's slept for 3 hours in the afternoon, when suddenly, like today, he'll wake early. Can't figure it out...

The Menu

2008-04-08T14:57:00.003-04:00

OK, I thought I'd try to do a menu each week, but was uninspired the past two weeks since posting my last menu. Yes, we did manage to eat, but just thrown together last minute (and not so healthy) things.

This week we will be eating:

Monday - Bruschetta Chicken Bake
Tuesday - Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach
Wednesday - Pork chops and mashed potatoes
Thursday - Parmesan Pasta with Chicken and Rosemary
Friday - Jon and Emily's Rehearsal Dinner! Oh wait, the boys will eat beforehand... so umm... leftovers...
Saturday - Jon and Emily's Wedding!
Sunday - Orange Chicken with Potatoes
I linked each recipe if you think it's something you'd like to try. The only one this week I'm cooking that we've actually had before is the Chicken Bake (easy and yum!) and the Gnocchi with sausage. Can you tell I like to try new things? :) I'm actually TRYING to stick to more of a meal plan. Unless you count surfing online for things and making a list from that meal planning! LOL!

The Drive Thru

2008-04-06T20:04:00.002-04:00

The other day I took the boys to PlayZONE at Mr. B's Coffeehouse - a really fun indoor playground that awesome when we just can't get outside. Anyway, lots of fun was had and on the way home we stopped through Wendy's for a quick lunch since in no way was there going to be time for lunch before naps once getting home. As we pulled up this conversation transpired:

Jackson: Mommy, can you roll down my window? I want to order for myself.
Me: OK, here you go, make sure you talk loud.
Wendy's: Hello! How may I help you? (or whatever they say...)
Jackson: Do you have any orange juice?
Wendy's: Yes we do!
Jackson: In a box?
Wendy's: Yes, it comes in a box.
Jackson: OK, I will have that, and a booger (burger) with cheese and bacon.
Wendy's: So that will be a junior bacon cheeseburger and an orange juice?
Jackson: Yes.

On our way home as he began eating, I encouraged Jackson to say thank you to me for getting him lunch and he said, "I don't need to say thank you because I ordered it myself!" !!!!! Where does this child get it?!

Resurrection

2008-03-23T07:27:00.003-04:00

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.Romans 6:8-11

From our family to yours, may you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T13:52:00.003-04:00

Happy Easter! Today we went to our church Easter Egg Hunt. Jackson had a blast! The weather was too poor to have it outdoors. It was actually snowing a little this morning... So a hallway was dedicated to the 2-4 year olds and numerous eggs were strewn on the floor from one end to the other. There wasn't much hunting per say that needed to be done! Jackson filled his basket quickly and quit before getting to the end, proclaiming he had enough eggs. He has quite the stash of candy now. Hmmm, now where to hide it?

Last night was dedicated to Easter Egg dying at our own home. Jackson really gets into it. Thing is, so do I. I confess I've dyed them all by myself before having kids. Having kids just kind of justified it a little more. Heehee! So I have some competition now Jackson is a speed dyer. Eggs quickly get plopped into cups all at once, while I'm more of the one-at-at-time-type. In the end all the eggs are colorful and fun was had. I always feel tempted to boil some more eggs up to do once he's gone to bed. But what would we ever do with 2 dozen eggs?! Oh, and note, Jackson is not turning into the Incredible Hulk... He just put his entire hand in the green egg dye.

Some knitting projects...

2008-03-20T14:12:00.004-04:00

My knitting classes have finally paid off! I'm really enjoying knitting and have FINALLY finished the "longies" for Liam. They're wool and I kid you not, they are the squishiest, softest pants you'd ever feel. OK, I know, most of you who read this are like, OK, those are weird. Well... They're awesome for using with cloth diapers. Wool is magic, don'tcha' know? I can put them on Liam for pants and they act as a diaper cover AND pants.

You might think wool is scratchy and uncomfy. Well not this wool. It's sheered from the body of the sheep. Scratchy wool comes from the legs. Liam's skin is so sensitive I trust him to complain if he was uncomfortable in the slightest.

He looks comfy and happy to me!

Here's the benefits of wool, just in case you ever need to know for Trivial Pursuit. Heehee!
-Wool provides comfort in both hot and cold weather since it is so breathable.
-Wool can absorb up to 30 percent of its own weight in moisture before it becomes really damp. While wool can absorb moisture, it repels liquids.
-Wool is so comfortable to wear because its elasticity means garments fit so well and yield to body movement.
-Wool does not need to be washed very often. When the lanolin in the wool reacts with the urea (basic pH) in urine, a chemical reaction occurs. Acids + Bases react to create the end products of water and salt. So the urine is no longer urine - it has been neutralized thanks to this wonderful chemical reaction! Wool really is “self-cleaning,” with no residual smell of urine, until all the lanolin is exhausted. Then you just need to wash and re-lanolize your wool- a very easy process.

So basically, yeah, wool is magic!

I don't want to leave out Jackson... I made him a Rocker Wrist Band from some left over yarn. He'd been asking for me to make him something. He specifically asked for red pants... Those would take me for.ever. I'll consider it! But for now, this was quick and easy!

What's cookin'?

2008-03-02T13:48:00.002-05:00

I thought it would be fun to post what we're having for dinner for the week, and hopefully some of my blogging friends can do the same so we can get some new ideas for meals! (hint hint!) I get so bored with the same things and just spent 30min's going through my recipes I've collected from various places to come up with some new things this week. Most recipes I get from Real Simple or The Food Network, both are online...

We're having:
African Peanut Soup
Chicken with Balsamic Peaches
Meatballs and pasta - if you're lucky I'll share my own recipe with you. ;)
Ginger Aled Ham
Pizza Night - homemade

So what are you cooking up?

Jekyl and Hyde week!

2008-02-22T21:57:00.006-05:00

OK. So on Monday we were out with no jackets and the boys were playing in the water table, splashing and laughing like it was a warm spring day. Today we were wearing hats, snowpants and shoveling, throwing snow balls and sledding. What gives?! Hello Global Warming?! I was happy to have one last hurrah in the snow. Of course we can't really say the last since we have all of unpredictable March to make it through, but I was thankful for this gift of snow today. Jackson loved playing in it and I loved watching him.

Jackson was excited to go out and took it upon himself to get ready without my assistance. *snicker!*

We snuck out while Liam was taking his morning nap and played until I was hearing, "My chin is cold, can we go in!?" Jackson was happy to warm up with a nice mug of hot cocoa and marshmallows and took a very restful nap. Justin came home a little earlier from work to avoid the crazies on the road who can't drive in snow, so it was nice to all go out together for a little while.

Jackson must have been feeling in the mood for comfort food tonight because after dinner he asked if we could make blueberry muffins. I was happy to oblige! Jackson is a great cooking helper (most of the time!) Though, he wants to rush the whole process and asked about 63 times if he could add the blueberries yet. He also wants to "snitch" every ingredient as we go along. He tasted the batter and thought it was the best thing ever. (ick!) How fun - strike that - how funny would it be to do a cooking show with Jackson?! Justin and I were talking about it and played along with Jackson prompting him to tell his "viewers" what we were doing each step of the way. I asked him what was important to remember to stay safe while cooking and he told us, "You always have to stay in bed!" Well... We will work on that... He must have been thinking about our latest *issue* of his getting out of bed after we put him down... That's another story... Until then. Enjoy some muffins!

Liam knew something good was cookin'!

Feeling nostalgic

2008-02-21T16:16:00.004-05:00

Why does time have to go by so fast? When I was pregnant with Jackson, the time couldn't go by fast enough. Now that Liam has joined our family, slowly but surely, time has gone to hyper-drive mode. I wish it would slow down sometimes! While I'm in a the moment, the days feel long, but the weeks are short. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway look back at the past three February's. Four years ago right about this time I got pregnant with Jackson!

February 2005 Jackson was 3 months old...

February 2006 Jackson was 15 months...

February 2007 Liam is 1 month and Jackson is 2 and 3 months...

February 2008 Liam is 13 months and Jackson 3 years and 3 months...

Cloth is cool!

2008-02-17T16:56:00.006-05:00

I just came across this really great article about the benefits and how-to's of cloth diapering. Check it out! You all know we cloth diaper Liam and we did for Jackson for a couple months before he potty-trained. I really think he trained so quick because of the switch to cloth for him. It's been wonderful for Liam because he has very sensitive skin, and I feel good about having fewer chemicals in contact with his baby bits and pieces. And I promise, it's not hard work! Maybe I'm odd, but I enjoy seeing his cute little bum covered in cloth.

Oh, and if you didn't know, some Hollywood stars use cloth for their babies, which is extremely cool. Come one, if the stars are doing it! Of the ones I read about, Dave Matthews does and says, "diapers are the number 3 peice of garbage," in landfills. Brad Paisely, Madonna, Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order) and Maggie Gyllenhaal also use cloth.

So here's my little guy wearing various cloth diapers. When we're at home, sometimes I just put him in these. These types of diapers, called "fitteds" do require a cover to protect clothing from getting wet, but since we're just home, I can see as soon as he's wet so I change him then. That allows for the most breathability for his sensitive skin.

When we go out, or if he's wearing more clothes (lol!) I'll put him in a "pocket diaper." Those allow for an absorbent insert to be placed in the pocket and the layer that touches the baby is either fleece or suede cloth, and that gives him a "stay dry" feeling, while the wetness passes right through to the insert. The outer layer is lined in PUL (polyurathane laminate) and keeps everything wet inside. Here's a techy picture of the kind we use, called BumGenius.

We think highly of this!

2008-02-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm laughing because I wouldn't have picked myself to be most like this Jane Austen character... I answered honestly as I could! Which Jane girl are you?

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

Making Friends

2008-01-30T16:14:00.001-05:00

Today I brought the boys to Mrs. B's Coffee House at Cavalry Church. They have a 2-story playland for the kids and a coffee shop for the mom's. What a beautiful marriage! I've only gone once before and Jackson enjoyed himself playing there. We've been cooped up recently so we decided to give it another go today. A few mom's from our church were planning to go too, so I was looking forward to some fellowship and time out!

Jackson ran right on in and began climbing around like a monkey. I was holding Liam and stepped back out to the coffee shop to grab a snack for Liam. When I came back I saw Jackson had apparently made a little buddy. He and another boy were tailing each other back and forth. There were probably 15 other kids in there, but these two just took to one another. It was cute! So I let Liam down to toddle around for a few minutes and when I looked up to spot Jack again I couldn't. I peeked out to the table where we set our things and sure enough, there he was - with his new friend! I went over to discover Jackson had invited his new bud to join him in having a snack. I packed lunch for the boys and some extra snacks, and it was all displayed on the table for the choosing. Too funny! I asked Jack who his friend was, and in typical 3-year-old-ese, he was, "I don't know!" I asked the little boy his name and all I got was, "E." Then shortly after he said, "F." OK, so we've got Jackson and E-F and I don't know if I have enough food to entertain our new guest with so I'm looking around for his mom. I spotted another mom looking around, we made eye contact and she came over. It was indeed E-F's mom! She apologized and we introduced ourselves. She asked her son what his new friend's name was just like Jackson said, he said, "I don't know!" How funny! We did learn that E-F's name was in fact Elias. ;) I sorted out what food could be shared with Elias and from that point on they were inseparable! Before Elias left, I was sure to exchange info with his mom and I couldn't believe it, they live a town away from us. I'll be sure to make a future playdate with Jackson's new friend. He does have a handful of little buddies, but no boys that are just his age. I think he could use a friend like Elias. :) His mom seemed really nice too. Heehee! Isn't it funny how stay-at-home-mom's make friends!

Oh, and I just had to add this... Right before we were leaving, I was talking with a friend and Jackson ran over to me, upset, because he hurt his arm. I asked what happened and he said a boy did it. I told him it was probably an accident, it's hard for me to judge since I didn't see what happened... So we left and the boys napped once home. When Jackson woke up I wanted to further prod him about what happened. I asked him to show me what the boy did, so Jack came over and he pushed me. I told him that's not something we ever want to do because it can hurt people and their feelings and it isn't nice. Here I'm assuming this boy was bullying my son, then it occurred to me to ask what was going on BEFORE Jackson got pushed, so I asked him. Are you ready for this??? I asked Jack, "So what happened right before the boy pushed you?" He replied, "I was pushing him!" Ummmm... I was not expecting that! I know it's wrong, but I kind giggled in my head, but then reminded Jackson that we are to be kind to others and love our neighbors.

Surprise Justin! Happy Birthday!

2008-01-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

Well it's no surprise now! Justin is 30! And shhhh! (He has his first gray hair!) ;)

Justin's family and I worked hard the past month planning a surprise party for him. He is tough to surprise! Not like me, I point blank ask question repeatedly, trying to pry out information... But Justin? He's just plain difficult. It started with asking him where he wanted to celebrate. Justin's family always goes out to dinner, usually somewhere in Montgomeryville because there are many places to chose from and it's an easy meeting location for all of us. Where does Justin say he wants to go? Allentown. Not anywhere NEAR Montgomeryville. Humph... Sooo Justin's dad worked out an idea and told him he had a job at the catering hall that he had to check back on after dinner. Not at all out of the ordinary, so Justin obliged that he'd *deal* with something around there. Macaroni Grill it is. We tried to work things out to have him go to the catering hall (where the party was!) but he was being too difficult. It was decided a kidnapping was in order. Very fitting for him.

So his brothers, Josh and John, sister Grace and friend Brian pulled what seemed to have been a professional Justin-knapping. Justin drove our family to Macaroni Grill and we parked. As soon as Justin got out of the car, they parked us in, Brian jumped out, punched Justin in the stomach (that was not in the plan, but it worked), blind-folded him, and threw him in the car, then took off. It happened so fast, luckily Justin didn't have time to get Jackson out of his carseat, nor did the boys see what happened. Jackson just asked, "What happened to Daddy?!" Then I finally got to break it to him that we were having a big party after all for Daddy at Poppy's work. Jackson is not good at keeping secrets, so there was no way I was going to trust him with that one! So off we went to the party!

It was wonderful to see all of Justin's friends and some family there to celebrate! We had fun! It was busy with all the children, but nice and laid back. Very Justin-esque. I even got the nerve to go up in front of everyone to share what I loved about my husband. I'm not sure if he heard me, or everything I even said, so I'll share it again. Happy Birthday Justin, I love you Babe!

Justin is a wonderful and husband. We've been married 4 years now and there has never been a dull moment. I think we can attribute some of that to our two boys, but them aside, Justin's youthful personality always keeps life fun. He is always very supportive of me and encouraging in how I care for our boys and how I keep our home, even when it's a mess! He doesn't laugh at some of my ideas that I think others would...

He is a wonderful father. Justin is the perfect balance of fun and authority. I love how our boys look up to him and love him. The know when it's time for Justin to come home and begin to get restless and are ready to tackle him when he comes in the door. He is so infectious that even the neighborhood kids come to our door asking if he can come out to play.

Justin is a faithful son and brother. He calls often to share his political views, eduction views, and of course sports talk. I often mistake him for a football or hockey manager during some of the overheard conversations.

He is a hard worker. Justin wakes up well before the sun has risen to go into work so he can make it home to spend time with his family. He does his best to assure his work doesn't get in the way of family time, and makes sure he's home in time in the evening to have a family dinner and spend time with the boys before bed. He and Jackson spend lots of time doing their bedtime routine of telling funny made of stories and praying that no Sasquatches or Zurg from Toy Story come.

He is a good friend. He is so loyal. Looking out at everyone today reminds me how Justin stays true to his friendships. No matter what season of life he is in, he still keeps in contact with all of his friends who have crossed his path through his 30 years.

I feel so blessed that God chose Justin for my husband. I love you, Just. Happy Birthday.

Of course I never take enough photos... I have a few, so enjoy... The last one would be our son Jackson after he snuck off to the bar and took out a couple dozen glasses, filled them with water and sodas from the fountain. Can we say bartender in the future?

Happy First Birthday to Liam!!!

2008-01-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby boy Liam! How on earth are you one already?!

We had a great time celebrating in Stowe! Sadly it was a rainy day, but that didn't stop us from having fun. We celebrated by going to the Vermont Teddy Bear Store and letting Liam pick out his very own teddy (thank you Mimi and Poppy!) and Jackson got to do one of their Build a Bear style teddy's. Of course he chose a dinosaur. ;)

It was so cute lining up all the bears and watching Liam pick out the one he wanted. He knew right away, pointing to the black and white "cow" bear with the cow bell. He walked over to pick him up. So classic! Jackson also had to be in on the fun and enjoyed making his own stuffed animal. He picked out a dinosaur and got to put in a heart and watch him get stuffed. He named him on his own and see the concentration on his face as he works hard to chose the right name!

We all had a special family dinner that night, ravioli and meatballs made by me. I figured it'd be a fun dinner for Liam to eat, and he did love it! He also loved his chocolate cake... all over his face! :)

The Stats:
Weight: 19lb 8oz
Length: 29 1/2 in.
Head: 18 3/4 in.

The Hobbies:
Whacking any object against any other object to make loud noises.
Taking laps around the kitchen island while holding two of Jackson's smaller toys.
Climbing any chance he can get, up on Jack's step stool, up the stairs, on top of baskets, on top of toys... you get the idea.
Putting small things inside bigger things. Liam especially enjoys dropping things like puzzle pieces in the slots of Jackson's new Melissa and Doug wooden mailbox. Jackson's always finding interesting "mail." Also included I should add his mouth... We found a small tinker toy part he was "holding" in his mouth for who knows how long. I'm grateful he didn't swallow it or choke on it. How he handled it like a piece of gum is beyond me. It's nerve wracking keeping Jack's smaller, multiple piece toys away from Liam.
Pulling his diapers off the shelf.
Pushing his Radio Flyer walker
Eating - Liam is a garbage disposal. In one sitting he will typically out eat Jackson.
Following Jackson around like a shadow.

Overall, Liam's personality is SO sweet. He's the huggiest, smoochiest baby ever. He loves to give Jackson goodnight (and goodnap) kisses and kisses his daddy when he gets home from work. He's just so sweet! He has a more quiet temperament in comparison to Jackson. He will sit and try to figure out his toys, and will quietly sit and eat his meals, or sit and look at books on your lap. It's always fascinating to see how different the boys are. They are going to have a fun relationship with one another as they get older! I'm sure they will continually challenge one another.

So the other day Jackson dictated to me his birthday wishes for Liam. Enjoy!
From Jackson:
"I love you Liam. And I want you to be nice to me, Liam. And everything... Boys be's nice sometimes, and some boys go to jail." Me, "Why do the boys have to go to jail?"
Jackson: "Because they got shots right on their knee."
So what else do you have to say to Liam?"
"I want you to be very nice. I love you dear Liam," he finished.

So what do I make of this? I thiiiink that Jackson recalls Liam crying after getting his shots on his thigh at the pediatrician and he is not fond of watching his baby brother in pain. He doesn't initially show concern over Liam while these things happen, his action is to hang on the door and continue to try to escape while the shot is being given. So I think he wants the doctor to go to jail for hurting his brother? Maybe? No? ;)

Some photos from Birthday Boy's morning, opening his gift from Jackson, with lots of help from Big Bro!

We love Stowe, VT!

2008-01-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

Well we've been home for a week, but in my usual fashion, I've fallen behind on my blogging (don't mind my post-dating!). Not upholding well to that resolution so far! We were fortunate to join all of the Isabell family for a week vacation in Stowe, VT. We stayed in Dad I's cousin's, Steve and Mary's, rental home. It was so gorgeous! The last time Justin and I could join them was when Jackson was 6 weeks old. (That was an eye opening *vacation*!) We had to sit out last year because of how close I was to Liam's birth...

So this year... It worked out better than I anticipated. Vacationing with 2 children 3 and under is, well, not a ton like vacation... What can I say? It was great to have Josh and Bethany, Grace, Jon and Emily, and of course Mimi (who Jackson renamed "Mimsa" while there) and Poppy to help share watching the tots. It was busy! In between nap times, we ventured out often for various fun things. We all went cross country skiing one day at the Trappe Family Lodge. I was anxious about that. We brought up a wooden LL Bean sled Mimi had given Jackson for Christmas when he was one. We planned to strap that to Justin and he'd pull the boys along. We didn't think about what could happen going downhill, though! Fortunately for Justin, the lodge rented out these really neat ski sleds. I looked them up to see what they're called and the technical term used is a "pulk." It was really neat. It safely harnessed around Justin's waist and the attachment to the sled was rigid so it wouldn't come crashing into Justin once going downhill. It all worked out great. So great in fact that the boys both fell asleep while we were skiing! For like and HOUR! I was floored. Poor Justin couldn't stop though because once he did Liam would stir and we wanted them to rest since we were out during naptime. It was hilarious while they were awake though. Jackson would shout, "Mush, mush Daddy!" Justin wasn't laughing once we had to go uphill though. That was work... for him... I felt a little bit bad for him. ;)

We got out just the two of us for a ski day on the mountain another day. Justin skis and I snowboard, so we look like an interesting pair out together. I feel like I should learn to ski. It seems more "grown up" or something. But then I decide to embrace my youthfulness (or what's left of it!) and go for it again. It had been 5 years since I'd last gone snowboarding. I used to do it a ton when I was a teen and when I lived in Maine and Boston. But now that I have kids and am on the verge of the big 3-0, I'm afraid I'm going to severely injure myself doing this. And that wouldn't be good! Justin, of course, is like an expert skier. Having lived in Utah, semi-professionally skiing for some time, it's like walking to him. I was so nervous getting off the lift, but apparently it's akin to riding a bike, and I picked it right back up. Of course Justin could ski backwards faster than I was comfortable going forward, but I somewhat kept up with him. It was fun to feel youthful again, until that night and the next day with my muscles got very mad at me for making them do things they haven't done in 5 years.

So I'd have to say those were a couple of the highlights from our trip! Our little boy turned one while we were there, too, and that is entitled to it's own posting, so on to that... Oh, but first some photos! (and while Justin is crazy enough to wear a t-shirt in freezing cold weather, this is not one of those instances here, it was actually around 60 degrees!)

Oh, and Mary, (Jusitn's dad's cousin) had these kid size cross country skis from her kids that she so kindly gave us for Jackson. Check out the little man trying them out!

Our special boy

2008-01-02T14:35:00.000-05:00

Jackson is so much fun. I just had to say it! I don't know what life would be like without him!

I also had to share a picture of his newest painting, all done himself minus the blue heart which I had salvaged a blob of paint into. He took it from there! If anyone is interested in this fine work of art please contact his agent to discuss payment options.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T08:24:00.000-05:00

Wow! Hello 2008! Last year flew by for us... I *think* I can contribute that to having an addition in the family? We were richly blessed in the past year. I think the theme of 2007 was Family for us. We are very grateful for our family and love them very much! In this next year to come we have a couple resolutions we'd like to stick to. Justin has a some personal ones and I'll do my best to encourage him along... For me, personally, I'd like to have more of a routine. With two young ones that can be hard, but lately I've really felt like I'm missing out on something. My prayer time has been suffering as I get going in the morning taking care of the boys and the day just swallows me from that point on. I want to be more intentional this year with getting together with other moms and growing friendships with them. Also, as a family, I want for us to be more green. Ya know, more environmentally conscious...

So how does one start living differently?! I guess I just jump right in and begin by going to bed earlier and waking up earlier to get a jump start on my day. If I were to wake at 6am and have a shower, breakfast and prayer time, that gives me until 7-7:30 when the boys wake up. I've already had a huge headstart. Secondly, I want to begin going to a Mops group (Moms of Preschoolers). My friend Lisa goes to one and has invited me on many occasions. It's time to get it together and go! There are a few mamas that I go to church with who have been on my heart often and I plan to get my act together and make some phone calls!

My last resolution is to live more green. We've already made some changes in our home by changing most lights over to CFL's. As the regular ones dye out we replace them with the more energy efficient lights. We cloth diaper Liam to reduce the impact a) non-decomposing diapers in landfills and b) no chemicals against his skin. We're trying to "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" more as Jack Johnson's song says. And when I grocery shop, I use totes rather than getting plastic bags, but I'm not very good at that... Half the time I forget them in the car, and then during check out I remember them, but there's no way I can run out to the car with 2 kidlets to grab them real quick. I love using them when I remember them and it's awesome that I get 5 cents off for each bag I use at some stores! I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, 5 Minutes for Moms, and low behold there's a contest for really cool and stylish shopping totes from minusbags. I hope I win these! You should try to enter to win too, and if you don't, get some totes anyway to reduce your affect on the environment! According to the EPA, more than 380 billion plastic bags are used in the U.S. annually — and an estimated 100 billion are thrown away each year. Most clog landfills, but many end up snagged on trees and fences as an ugly reminder of our disposable society. And most plastic grocery bags are not biodegradable. They actually break down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that pollute our oceans, rivers, lakes and soil. Every year, thousands of animals, particularly marine mammals, choke to death after mistaking discarded plastic bags for food. You can enter to win a chance for 3 totes. I think if I had more stylish totes I'd remember them! The other thing of it is the green totes I bought from my local shopping market are made in China. I'd much prefer to support US Made products from here on out...

Speaking of US Made versus China made makes me remember how I wanted to note that we are also trying to support non-China made toys in our home. My dad sent me a clip with a smart warning against lead in children's toys. Though it's a little late for Christmas, there's still a good message to be taken from this! Thanks, Dad, for caring for your grandkidlets the way you! :)

In all seriousness, ever since the recalls from this past summer, I've really begun to rethink the toys in our home for our boys. Liam is a bit of a mouthy one, and has me more concerned. Jackson was never the mouthy type, but I still want "healthy" toys in our home. So we gathered up the plastic-y made in China baby toys that Liam typically goes to, boxed them up and stuck them down the basement. For Christmas we asked for more wooden toys (made in US or Germany) and tried to avoid anything from China. I think it's hard to avoid it in some circumstances, though. For instance, Jackson is 3 and has more preferences, so to speak, than Liam does. He also doesn't "eat" his toys, so we kept some things in his room that are off-limits to Liam. I think we are in a good place now with our toy selection being more safe now. So in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I want to more carefully select what toys come in to our home and assure they are not toxic. ;)

Christmas Recoup

2007-12-27T20:31:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been interesting! Time flew leading up to Christmas. Our days were filled with baking, cleaning, last minute shopping, attending holiday parties, and throughout all that, leading up to Christmas Day, Jackson picked up a nasty virus. :( How could Jackson be sick for half of the Christmas Days he has been alive for??!?! He's managed... His first year he was only one month, so that year didn't count, the next year we spent Christmas watching carefully over him until we ended up bringing him to the ER to spend the rest of the day, last year was good, and I really had some high hopes for this year... But alas... The Virus. Poor guy didn't wake up until late, and here I was thinking he'd be running down the steps at 6am! I woke up early to make some Monkey Bread (mmm, so good!) and was all ready to go with the camera. Instead, he trudged out of his room with flushed cheeks, fever already apparent. I gave him a cup of OJ, and not 5 minutes after having that, he got sick to his stomach. Ugh, not a good start. He didn't even want to open gifts. Liam was more spirited and enjoyed his gifts, and after some Motrin Jackson came back around and we managed some presents. It was a subdued Christmas Day to say the least. We enjoyed our quiet time together and were thankful in remembering the birth of our Savior. We did make it out to the Isabell's for a few hours to have brunch and exchange gifts. There was even a special appearance by Buddy the Elf! Thanks Aunt Bethany!!! :)

Christmas Eve was a better experience for the boys. We went to the Medieros Family to celebrate with the Stevenson side of the fam. It was awesome to have Christmas Eve with Nan - and everyone was super impressed with Trisha's prowess in the kitchen. Mmmm! Beef Wellington. (wink-wink, I won't give away your secret, Trish! :cough-cough, the butcher made it, cough-cough: Ooops! We had a wonderful time and the boys had a blast opening gifts and playing. Jackson and Ava have so much fun together and it's neat that they actually go off together to play alone. So far no trouble!

The day after Christmas, uneasy about how the kids were, we ventured to the William Penn Inn with Justin's family to have a day-after-Christmas dinner together. Jackson got sick to his stomach while there, but insisted he was ok and wanted to stay, so we ate fast and enjoyed time with family before scurrying out.

Next year I will be attempting to quarantine the family two weeks prior to Christmas! Hopefully everyone will be healthy! In about a week we're all heading to Stowe, VT for a family vacation. Should be... interesting! No, we are really looking forward to some time away. Jackson might try his hand at skiing! Stay tuned...

Iced in!

2007-12-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

A snow/ice storm was forecast for Saturday night into today. We were soooo wishing it would be a big snowstorm. Last night Justin and I kept checking weather blogs hoping for it to change toward more snow. At one point a snow calculation was predicting us to be in 6-12 inches. Woot! We went to bed excited that *possibly* we would wake to a winter wonderland and envisioned building snowmen and having snow ball fights with Jackson. I think I woke up twice to look out the window. (Am I a child or what?!) No such luck. This morning revealed a half of an inch of ice coating everything. Can't do much with that except stay inside and keep cozy!

Phew! That was a LOT of cookies!

2007-12-15T23:27:00.001-05:00

My friend Lisa invited me to a cookie exchange today. It was a fun domestic-y girly morning for me! Yesterday my little 3 year old helper and I worked hard rolling dough into little balls and covering them in powdered sugar. Ta da! Chocolate Crinkles! They came out soooo good! We had a munch a few of them before packaging them up to be enjoyed by some other families. The fun part was bringing home some new goodies to enjoy, which I have been throughout the day. The newness of the cookies are so tempting. My new favorites: Chocolate covered cherry cookies. Jackson's favorite: the sugar cookies cut out like Christmas shapes. Justin is sticking with the chocolate crinkles and even Liam got to enjoy his first fresh from the oven last night.

If you want to try these yummy cookies, here's the recipe.

Chocolate Crinkles (a la Martha Stewart)
8oz Bittersweet Chocolate
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted softened butter
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup confectioners sugar

1. melt chocolate, set aside
2. sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl
3. mix butter, brown sugar, eggs vanilla, and melted chocolate
4. add dry ingredients, alternating with milk until thoroughly mixed
5. divide dough in 4 batches and wrap, chill 2 hours
6. Heat oven to 350 degrees
7. Roll into 1 inch balls, coat with granulated sugar, then roll in confectioners sugar.
8. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper
9. Bake until cracked appearance on top, about 14 min's.

First Snow and First Tree

2007-12-15T23:10:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had our first laying snow of the season. It certainly wasn't Jackson's first snow, nor Liam's, but it was worthy noting around here as we are a family who looks forward to the white stuff! Justin began prepping Jackson for snow the night before we were expected to have it. Jackson woke bright and early ready to go out. Sadly we got merely a coating, but it was enough to put on boots for according to Jackson.

We set up our tree (a couple weeks ago actually!) and I just had to get a few pics of Liam "meeting" it for the first time. He's now 11 months and it's been fun seeing his little personality really come out. He's such a sweet baby. One of my favorite things about Liam right now is how excited he is when you come to get him when he wakes up. When I go in his room he pulls up (if he hasn't already) on the crib and bounces up and down and rocks the crip too. He gets so excited! Liam has been enjoying eating new foods too. His favorite is pastina (tiny star shaped pasta). He's embracing his Italian heritage there. He loves it with some parm cheese and butter. He's not a fan of anything green. If you leave him hanging during a meal, he'll let you know he's unhappy. Too funny! Between Jackson and Liam, there aren't too many quiet meals in our home. Anyway, here he is meeting the Christmas Tree!

"Sooo big!"

2007-12-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Our littlest boy is now one unsteady step closer to growing up. Well, maybe one step closer to walking... One thing at at time! On 12/3 Liam took his first few purposeful steps. He was just out of the bath, and, well, nekkid, and took about 5 steps. It was so cute! He's taken one or two, but has been quick to drop to his knees to crawl before. But now he's finding motivation all the sudden! So here he is, doing his, "How big is Liam?!" "Soooo big!"

Happy Birthday Turkey Weekend!

2007-11-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

Phew! What a weekend we've had! Having Thanksgiving and Jackson's birthday so close together is a lot of work! But I was happy to have two special things to celebrate. We had the Stevenson family side to our home for our Thanksgiving celebration. It was a blessing to have Nan join us, too. I wish we could be with both sides of the family to celebrate, but I guess that's life... We have to take turns. ;) Next year we'll be with the Isabell's.

I made my Italian great grandmother's recipe for pound cake for Jackson's birthday cake for the first time, which was an adventure! The bar had been set high by my mom and I was a little nervous I'd mess it up! I was thankful for my Kitchen Aid mixer since the recipe requires 20 minutes of beating. I think I watched the oven half the time it was cooking, trying to make sure it didn't cook over. It turned out great! We sang happy birthday to Jackson the first of 3 times total this weekend. It was the beginning of the never ending party for him!

Saturday the 24th was Jackson's actual birthday. We'd been pumping him up for his party at Tumbleweeds Gym all week, and of course in the morning he exerted his 3 years in the making of willfulness and told us he didn't want to go. Huh?! We eventually convinced him it would be fun and he should attend his own party. He did have blast with his cousins Ava and Lila and friends Gabriela, Megan, Aaron and Caden after all. .. Here are a few pics of the fun had...

When we got home I had to run Liam right up to bed for his nap, and Justin was busy bringing things in from the car. Jackson took this opportunity to celebrate all alone in his present opening! Luckily we were able to pair up what went to what so we know who to thank rather then sending everyone a generic, "Thank you so much for the *toy.* Jackson loves *it!* Later after Jackson took a nap, we discussed what he would like for his birthday dinner. PB & J was decided on for the menu, as per our birthday boy's special request. (I got off easy!) We relaxed together the rest of the evening and gave Jackson our gifts for him. He was excited to open up his kid sized guitar (what were we thinking?!) and his Playmobil Pirate Ship. That was a big hit. Such a hit it was that he woke at 6 a.m. the following morning to play with it!

Sunday was the finale of birthday celebrations taking place at the Isabell's home. We also did our annual Christmas Tree hunting at Holiday Farm where we chop down our own. When we told Jack that was what we were doing as part of his birthday, he said, "But I can't play with *that*!" What a funny boy! So after church we went straight to Mimi and Poppy's home, skipped naps and went right out to the field. It was a little chaotic but doable to get everyone together, including Josh and Bethany and Jon and Emily, along with Grace, Mom and Dad. After much hunting about, we finally found our tree and under Jackson's direction, Justin cut it down.

It has been a bit of a tradition for us to take a photo of "Jackson among the Christmas Trees" when we're getting our tree and this year it was like pulling teeth to get a photo. This one sums up Jackson's sentiments. I think it's hilarious! Sad, but hilarious! The poor kiddo is so tired from not napping and hiking across the field to the tree farm. I'm debating going to a tree farm just to do another photo shoot. We still need a wreath, so it wouldn't be an empty handed trip!

Well it's been a long weekend and I need to get to bed. Ya know when you swallow and keep feeling it in your throat, like the beginnings of getting sick? And you continue swallowing to check if it still hurts? *Swallow* ouch. *swallow* still ouch. *swallow* OK, you get the idea. I've felt like that all weekend, so I better get some needed rest. G'night!

Turkey Art and other fun things...

2007-11-17T20:39:00.000-05:00

This morning we were doing some good 'ole classic turkey-hand art. First, I painted Jackson's hand and had him press it to the paper, then he wanted to paint my hand, and then he had to do his daddy's too... Wellll, Jackson wasn't quite expecting Daddy to press his hand to his face afterward! He was shocked and then proud of the artwork. :)

I can't believe Jackson will be 3 in one week! We went to his 3 year well check yesterday. He passed! ;) While his body is on the small side, his brain apparently is on the larger side. His doctor asked him all sorts of questions about colors, shapes and letters and after he answered all her questions, she joked that he didn't have to come back for his 4 year check up! Jackson is a sponge, what can we say? He may find school more challenging when confronted with circle time. Sitting still is not Jackson's strong-suit! He's excited for his "Cars" birthday party next weekend. Should be a blast!

It's been a busy weekend already... Friday night we all went to Peddlers Village for the Grand Illumination. Sounds fancy... doesn't it? We got there in time for the tree lighting. It was pretty spectacular. Everyone was clapping and hollering when all the lights finally went on and our sensitive boy, Liam, began balling his eyes out! It was pretty chilly out, so we didn't stay out long. Jackson enjoyed a warm up time in the store having all of us take turns following him around. Tonight (being Saturday) we had a low-key morning around the house. We're preparing to have Thanksgiving here. That should be exciting! Justin has all sorts of projects to accomplish and I'm working on organizing and cleaning... the never ending battle! To take a break we all went to the Saucon Valley Promanade to do a little Christmas shopping. It was a nice night and we have some snow in the forecast! We'll see what happens...

Christmas Giveaways!

2007-11-16T09:14:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited! One of my favorite blogs, 5 Minutes for Moms, is doing a huge Christmas Give-away with really cool prizes. Enter there to win a really cool diaper bag, a Joovy stroller, a pedal car, and lots of other prizes! Here's where to go: Christmas Giveaway 2007

E.T. no phone?!

2007-11-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Late breaking news: We've cancelled our home phone line and will be using just our cell phones from here on out. So if you don't have our cell, drop me an email and I'll hook you up! We cancelled it for a couple reasons, one being to save some money. We were paying for a cell phone line in addition to the home line and just found it excessive. The cell plan we have is great and we have over 4,000 rollover minutes that have accrued from non-use. So now I have lots of talk time to burn, so call me! :)

Hmm, what else? Oh, we went to a bonfire party at Isabell's that past weekend. Grace and Mom had been hard at work baking and Dad provided some yummy chili. Jackson was thrilled to have this special treat made just for him!

This photo is the result of blue-raspberry lollipop. Or as we call it, blue tongue disease!

Also, enjoy some photos from Liam's little photo shoot I did the other day. He's going to be 10 months old on 11/11! Eek!

Pumpkin Picking and Caramel Apples

2007-11-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

We were fortunate to go pumpkin picking twice this year! Our first outing was to Bobwhite Acres in Quakertown. We originally set out for apple picking there, but once Jackson saw there was a tractor drawn hayride to a pumpkin patch, apples were a thing of the past. It was a cute little local farm and had some great pumpkins. Must say it was strange pumpkin picking in warm weather!

Our next trip a couple weeks later was to Nonesuch Farms, where we typically go as a family. They go all out there with pony rides, music, food, games, etc.. We went on a horse drawn hayride for some variety this time. We picked out the best pumpkins we could find... again... Jackson is too funny when searching out pumpkins. He puts a lot of thought into it and also have a lot of concern over the squashed and battered pumpkins. It's like he wants to give them a good home. Sadly I didn't get many good pickures because the camera battery died out before we even got out to the patch. This is all I got...

A couple weeks ago I was out at the store and found a nifty pack of microwave caramel for making caramel apples. So we cheated! I thought it would be the easiest way to have Jackson involved. He had a blast making them. They were de-lish too!

My monthly update

2007-11-01T22:51:00.000-04:00

OK, I stink at this! I don't know what it is about it, but I just am having commitment struggles to blogging. I'd love to blog ever day or so, but just get distracted with... life... I'll keep trying though!

So yesterday was Halloween! Jackson was more into it this year. Last year it was cool to have him knock on doors and collect candy (for me!) but this year he was in it for himself. He wanted to be Buzz Lighter (when given the selection at Target.) Liam was a monkey. We went around our development with our friends Julianne, Travis, Gabriela and their new baby Claire. It was fun! Some of the houses were a little spooky for the kids - Jackson went up to one in particular that had Halloween music coming from a garage that was only partially opened. The lights were out except for a few leading up the path, and there a scary jester clown dude was giving out candy. Jackson grabbed and ran exlaiming, "Let's get out of here guys!" I love the things he says anymore! Liam was along for the ride and did a great job being held the whole time. :)

Buzz Lightyear inspects a Kit Kat

Gabriela the Bee and Jackson

Our little monkey

SHAAARK!

2007-10-01T14:32:00.000-04:00

Last week the boys and I met with Mimi and Aunt Grace for a trip to the New Jersey State Aquarium. The first most exciting thing to Jackson was that Aunt Grace was coming! The next most exciting thing for him was seeing the sharks. I love the aquarium, and love to take my time seeing everything, but Jackson had one thing on his mind: Sharks. And now. So at a dreaded snail pace for Jackson we managed to get somewhat of a glimpse of the exhibits before reaching the shark tunnel. Jackson went through it and decided it wasn't that exciting. Or maybe it was a little too exciting. Either way, he didn't want to look at the sharks too much. Liam was great through the entire adventure ~ his favorite was the jelly fish. The lighting was amazing on them. They were lit with just a black light - very cool. It was too difficult to capture a picture of. Well thanks for the outing Mimi! We had a blast!

Just some cute photos

2007-10-01T14:30:00.001-04:00

I think they boys are going to have similar hair styles judging from the little swirl Liam is already working on. Check out the last picture!

Liam's Mood Swing

2007-10-01T14:26:00.000-04:00

I thought it was so cute that Jackson was *sharing* his old Wiggles car with Liam. It's more age appropriate to Liam now and I was explaining that it was going to be his from now on, but that they could certainly share it together. Well Jack wanted to take Liam for a ride while singing loudly. Not sure what Liam didn't like, the ride, or the song? I'm guessing the song. Have you heard Jack sing! (hehee)

Check out this contest!

2007-09-27T20:04:00.000-04:00

I'd love a new vacuum, but funds are tight. If you are in the same boat, or just need a new vacuum, check out this contest at 5 Minutes for Mom to win a pink Dyson.

A Day at the Park

2007-09-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Justin worked with his dad to help out, so that left the boys and I with one beautiful day to ourselves. As much as we missed spending Saturday with Dad, we mustered up some fun at the township park in the morning. I am amazed at how Jackson climbs up and down the little rock wall they have there. Looks like we are going to have an extreme sports kid on our hands! It must have really left an impression on Jackson! We got Chinese food for dinner and on the ride home Jackson wanted to see what his "fortune" was. I gave him one to open, and asked him what it said. He told me, "You will go to the park." Hah! Funny little guy.

Today we're going to spend the day at Mimi's and Poppy's to celebrate Justin's grandfather's birthday. The whole gang will be there, so that will be fun. We're looking forward to seeing everyone!

Win this!

2007-09-15T10:33:00.000-04:00

Thought this little set of books by TyBook is really cool ~ hopefully I'll win!

Jackson at Tumbleweeds

2007-09-13T22:50:00.000-04:00

For a special activity for Jackson this fall, Justin and I decided to sign him up for a class at Tumbleweeds. We did this last season and even had his 2nd birthday party here, but now he's old enough to go it alone following instructions from the teacher. It was nice so I could sit back with Liam and watch Jackson. He loves his class! As you can see, there's LOTS to do. He is learning to follow instructions, wait (somewhat) patiently for his turn, and how to get along with other little buds. They set up 3 different obstacles in his class and follow a theme. This particular week was "bugs." He's having lots of fun! Enjoy some pictures...

Funny parenting joke

2007-09-13T14:15:00.001-04:00

I found this on one my my favorite blogs, GirlTalk, and just had to share it!

Preparation for parenthood...

It's not just a matter of reading books and decorating the nursery. Here are 12 simple tests for expectant parents to take to prepare themselves for the real-life experience of being a mother or father.

1. Women: To prepare for maternity, put on a dressing gown and stick a pillowcase filled with beans down the front. Leave it there for 9 months. After 9 months, take out 10% of the beans.
Men: To prepare for paternity, go to the local drug store, tip the contents of your wallet on the counter, and tell the pharmacist to help himself. Then go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office. Go home. Pick up the paper. Read it for the last time.

2. Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels, and how they have allowed their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior. Enjoy it -- it'll be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.

3. To discover how the nights will feel, walk around the living room from 5 pm to 10 pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious noise) playing loudly. At 10 pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1 am. Put the alarm on for 3 am. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2 am and make a drink. Go to bed at 2:45 am. Get up again at 3 am when the alarm goes off. Sing songs in the dark until 4 am. Put the alarm on for 5 am. Get up. Make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

4. Can you stand the mess children make? To find out, first smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer. Stick your fingers in the flower beds, then rub them on the clean walls. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

5. Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems: first buy an octopus and a bag made out of loose mesh. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this: all morning.

6. Take an egg carton, using a pair of scissors and a pot of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take the tube from a roll of toilet paper. Using only Scotch tape and a piece of foil, turn it into an attractive Christmas candle. Last, take a milk carton, a ping pong ball, and an empty packet of Cocoa Pops and make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower. Congratulations! You have just qualified for a place on the play group committee.

7. Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime. Stick it in the cd player. Take a family-size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seats. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car. There. Perfect.

8. Get ready to go out. Wait outside the bathroom for half an hour. Go out the front door. Come in again. Go out. Come back in. Go out again. Walk down the front path. Walk back up it. Walk down it again. Walk very slowly down the road for 5 minutes. Stop to inspect minutely every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way. Retrace your steps. Scream that you've had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you. Give up and go back into the house. You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

9. Always repeat everything you say at least five times.

10. Go to your local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a preschool child -- a fully-grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goats eat or destroy. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

11. Hollow out a melon. Make a small hole in the side. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure a lot of it falls on the floor. You are now ready to feed a 12-month-old baby.

12. Learn the names of every character from Thomas the Train, Dora the Explorer, and the Wiggles.

When you find yourself singing "I’m the Map, I’m the Map, I’m the Map" at work, you finally qualify as a parent.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-09-12T09:50:00.000-04:00

Happy 8 months Liam! Yesterday marked 8 months for him. He's crawling now, and pulling up, and teething big time!

Tackle it Tuesday ~ but on Wed. ;)

2007-09-12T09:47:00.000-04:00

I found this website called 5 Minutes for Mom. Really cute ideas, themes, contests, etc... It's on my favorite links on the side bar if ya want to check it out.

Well they have themes through the week and I decided to go along with it now and then. Tuesdays are the day to pick a project and, well, tackle it. I didn't read this until today, being Wed., so my Tackle it Tuesday will be done on Wed. I'm going to share before and after pictures of my biggest mess in the house right now. My walk in closet in my bedroom. I hope I'm not the only one with skeletons this big in my closet! But I wouldn't be terribly surprised if I was! It's going to take me all day working, off and on. Liam is teething and it's hard to get much done at one shot. So bear with me!

OK, 6 hours later and I'm done! Well, done enough. I have a cold and this just isn't making me feel better. ;) Still have a mass of other things to reorganize that I took out of the closet that didn't belong there, like feather bed and blanket, other blankets, pictures, office supplies, film, check book registers. Oi! . Well enjoy some before and after pictures. ***Warning, these photos are graphic!*** VERY MESSY! :)

Edited to add:
No, Jackson was not lost in the messy closet, though it appears he may have been in there when I opened the door! He went in to observe the mess and did agree it needed cleaning. I'm wiping tears away from laughing so hard when it struck me that he could have been lost in the mix there!

First fun yarn to attempt!

2007-09-11T18:51:00.001-04:00

I found yarn for my first project I will attempt! Wool soaker pants for Liam. I think these colors are really vibrant and beautiful. Hopefully I can do this! I've been playing around and have figured out casting on and the knit stitch. I'm going to keep practicing and hopefully by the time this arrives I'll be ready to dig in!

Festival Weekend

2007-09-09T20:44:00.000-04:00

A friend asked Justin if we love festivals the other day. Justin thought it odd, and then we realized, duh! We DO go to a lot of festivals! This weekend we started off with the Scottish Irish Festival at Green Lane Park. It was our third year going in a row. This year's visit was a little different in that we were outnumbered by wee ones. To help our very pregnant friend, Julianne, whose husband was away for the weekend, we brought her daughter Gabriela to the festival with us. Jackson and she love each other and enjoyed dancing, but when they wanted to go in different directions, we found things difficult with Liam along for the ride too. When everyone could stay in one spot, we loved listening to the band Barleyjuice on stage. They are described as "Pan-Celtic Rock." Whatever that is, it is the equivalent to rockin' fun music! Jackson and Gabriela had fun dancing to that and provided for quite the show.

On Sunday we headed downtown to South Street for Green Fest Philly. It's goal was to teach people how to live a little more green, or environmentally conscious. I am amazed at how ignorant I used to be about how wasteful I was, and still am in a lot of ways. With a few minor changes, we can all live a little more green and be better stewards here on Earth! It was a lot of fun, though boiling hot! Jackson had fun making musical instruments out of empty plastic containers and got to decorate them with construction paper, markers and stickers. He filled them with rice and was shaking away making music. He also got to make a neat bracelet from a soda bottle (with some help.) I was walking along and found the Maternal Wellness Center's booth and asked about their cloth diapering workshop I read they were having. They told me sorry that it was canceled because the girl never showed up. We got talking about cloth diapers and they asked me if I could start doing their workshops. (EEK!) I gave them my email - we'll see. I used to work in PR, so I technically am capable of speaking in front of crowds, but I'm always so paranoid that I'd come off sounding like an idiot. I should work on getting over that because it would be really cool to help people make informed decisions about the benefits of using cloth. Anyway, on we walked and saw the coolest modern mosaic garden made by artist Isaiah Zagar. It's all made from recycled materials. Words and photos can not do it justice. You must see it in person. It.is.amazing!http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

While walking back I spotted some neat yarn and knitted items. I must admit that I've been searching for a hobby and have thought, "Hmmm, maybe I can knit?!" It is in my blood, ya know. My mom crochets and her grandmother did also, and Nan (my dad's mom) knits up a storm. So - I popped in the shop, totally clueless and in awe at the same time. I felt like a kid. So I got my first needles, an instruction book, and some yarn. I am afraid of it all now too! I must just dig in I suppose. So if anyone gets socks or scarves for Christmas - know now that my blood (well maybe not blood), sweat and tears may be in them!

Oh, one last thing. We had a minor celebrity siting! We spotted Lisa Millard from HGTV's Design Star. We randomly came across the show while flicking through channels one lazy Sunday afternoon. She's a local Philly design artist and if you follow the link you'll see why she's easy to spot. I've never seen anyone with that hairstyle - and it stands out!

Well with all the adventures this weekend everyone was well tuckered tonight. Justin sadly watched the Eagles lose their opening game against the Packers. The boys went to bed early. It was certainly strange having a quiet house by before 8pm! Hopefully everyone sleeps well because I really need my rest. I think a cold is sneaking up on me! :( Well enjoy some more pictures ~ I never take enough. I must work on that!

Labor Day at the beach

2007-09-07T10:38:00.001-04:00

We had to squeeze one more day at the beach before the season was over. All of the Isabell's went to Long Beach Island to spend the day on the sand and have dinner at The Boat House. We had a good few hours on the beach before the wind picked up and hurled the sand so hard at us that it stung. Liam started crying and it was just no good.

I have so many good memories going to LBI as a kid and teen, and I'm super excited to bring my kids there now to begin their relationship with the beach! So far they love it. Jackson could dig in the sand all day, and Liam must think the ocean is one big calming sound machine. The lull of the waves must have made it possible for him to crash out on a blanket under an umbrella. Not that there was a ton of other noise like kids screaming, gulls calling, and umbrellas flapping going on, too. Well enjoy the last beach pictures of this year!

Happy Anniversary to us! (well, yesterday)

2007-09-07T10:32:00.001-04:00

Justin and I have been married 4 years now. September 6, 2003 we got married. Looking back, it seems like we have come a far way from the day we first got married! Having 2 (or three depending on how you look at it!) kids I think makes it seem like we should be married longer. That and I feel older than I am! I have a lot more gray hair now too! Well I love being married to Justin. He is my best friend, and constantly challenges me for the better. He leads and cares for our family wonderfully. I love you Justin! Happy 4 years!

We were blessed by Justin's mom and dad, who came to watch the boys so we could enjoy an evening out together. Mimi showed up at the door with her "suitcase" of Dunkin Donuts, much to Jackson's delight! He was very concerned when he came downstairs this morning to discover Mimi had forgotten her "suitcase." I had to explain how she brought it for him to enjoy. Funny boy!

milestones August 30th

2007-09-05T23:47:00.000-04:00

Well here we go. At better lit video of Liam doing his baby thang. Check him out toward the middle where he bumped his tummy on the blocks. He's a fast recovering child! This was taken right around the same time his first tooth popped through, but you can't see it since it's just a sharp little pointy thing on his gums line.

To the zoo

2007-09-05T23:31:00.000-04:00

It was a special and very rare occasion to have Justin join us for an adventure to the zoo. We just went to Lehigh Valley Zoo, rather than Philly. It was great. First off, it was the first morning that you needed long sleeves on in the morning. You know fall is around the corner when that happens! (Yay!) We saw some creatures, including river otter, swans, ducks, owls, falcons, arctic wolves, camels, emus, kangaroos and lorikeets. The lorikeets would be the special birds perched on my head! I had two there, and one on my shoulder. That was neat to say the least. I was just praying they wouldn't poo on my head! Jackson got a kick out of it and even had his first pony ride. That was a fun milestone!

A/gXKEZurdpTg/s1600-h/DSCF0021.JPG">

Liam looking out

2007-09-05T23:25:00.000-04:00

I need to try to get more videos from my camera. I just figured out how to upload videos to the blog - so enjoy! I'm sorry, I know it's dark, but I'm testing this out. I'll take another video with better light next time. At lease you can get the idea of how Liam army crawls!

Liam is 7 months: August 11th

2007-09-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

Didn't I just hold Liam for the first time in my arms? What happened to his tiny 8lb baby frame that was so helpless? Now he's getting into a sitting position on his own, and crawling, and pulling up and trying to cruise. It amazes me how fast this happened, and he is slower than Jackson. Quick, go and hug your babies before they are leaving for college tomorrow!

Crayola Factory August 10th

2007-09-05T23:01:00.000-04:00

We had a fun day at the Crayola Factory with Mimi one day this summer! I will never forgot the Mr. Rogers episode I saw when I was little and he visit there and showed us at home how crayons were made. I was mesmerized how the perfect little red wax crayons looked all piled together, brand new. I just wanted to smell them! Well I got my chance to live vicariously through my son! We took the boys up and had a blast. There was more to do than we had time for. We must go again. Anything and everthing Crayola was at your fingertips to play with. Jackson will have much more fun going next year. He wasn't quite ready for scissors or more advanced projects. But he managed to make a little clay airplane and Mimi helped him make a turtle. We colored lots and enjoyed the "How Crayons are Made" show. (Finally got to see it person after 14 years of waiting!)

Long Beach Island, NJ

2007-09-05T16:34:00.000-04:00

We were fortunate to make it to Liam's namesake, LBI, a few times this summer. Jackson loooooves the beach. Can't get enough! The first officiall visit was with Mimi, Poppy and Aunt Grace. I've been so spoiled by growing up living 45 min's or less from the beach, so the 2-2 1/2 hour drive is astounding to me. Takes some planning anyway, that's for sure!

We went down again a week later for an overnight at my sister, Trisha's, house. Jackson and cousin Ava had a blast together. It's awesome knowing they'll always have a fun and special relationship growing up together.

It's official!

2007-09-05T16:31:00.000-04:00

This groovy Diego scooter was Jackson's reward for learning to use the potty. No more diapers for this dude! It was mid-July when we declared him officially potty trained. We began training in May by just putting him in underwear and not turning back! (It wasn't easy, but it was well worth it!)

Our house

2007-09-05T16:28:00.000-04:00

Well, from the front anyway. Someday when the house is clean and we're done painting I'll give you a tour. (Don't hold your breath!)

The boys

2007-09-05T16:22:00.000-04:00

It was a nice sunny day (back in July!) to go out and try to get some new pictures of the boys. It's borderline impossible to get a good smiling picture of Jackson nowadays. He's much to busy to stop for a photo or give a nice smile. So this was a pleasant change! This is what we do when we're in the backyard. Play in the turtle sandbox. I realized I don't think I had a photo of one of Jackson's favorite places!

Resolutions...

2007-09-04T22:05:00.001-04:00

I must work on being a better blogger! Sorry for the hiatus! Sheesh!

I was just following links to other blogs and got lost in a myriad of total strangers blogs. Ended up finding this really cool one called 5 Minutes for Mom. You must check it out and enter to win fun things like an HP Photosmart Printer or a Little Einsteins DVD. All you have to do is comment. No subscribing! Promise!

Well I promise tomorrow to spend a little more time on my own blog to update ya'll! And some photo sharing time must be done too!

I'll play

2007-07-12T20:27:00.000-04:00

I got tagged by my friend Lisa to share 8 random facts about myself. I've heard of this *game* and wasn't sure it would ever come my way. In fact, I was hoping it wouldn't! I've put considerable thought into this for your reading pleasure. So here goes!

1. I was in the Coast Guard for 5 years. Yes. Me. I went to Boot Camp (which was modeled after the Marines Boot Camp) and graduated in the top of my company. I even got a "Super Boot" ribbon for it. (blush!) Boy was I motivated! I spent my first year in Rockland, Maine learning to be a boat crewman and basic seamanship, then went to Defense Information School in Ft. Meade, MD for training to be a public affairs specialist. Then I was stationed in Boston for the remaining four years. I did lots of stuff! Mostly being a liaison between the media and the Coast Guard for everyday rescues to major plane crashes and oil spills. Remember JFK Jr.'s plane crash? I was there. Egypt Air 990? I was there. 911 Ground Zero. I was there. Literally. in it. smelling the acrid twisted metal of the WTC towers after they fell to the ground. That was an experience that will stay with me forever. Anyway, if you want to see what Google pulled up on me, check this out. It's just some stuff - most newspaper archives must not go back that many years. I was amazed to find anything!

2. My celebrity list: George Clooney, Mark Wahlburg, Sebastion Junger, Wolfgang Peterson, President Clinton, President George H. Bush, President George W. Bush. These are all famous folk I have had the opportunity to meet when I was in the Coast Guard. A slew of them are from The Perfect Storm's press junket that took place in Gloucester, Mass. George Senior and I had the pleasure to shake hands aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle during OpSail Maine. I met President Clinton on Martha's Vineyard when he signed a bill into legislation and it took place at a lighthouse. I met GWB in Maine after 911 when he spoke words of appreciation to the Coast Guard for their work during 911.

3. All the places I have lived:
Willingboro, NJ until I was 10
Medford Lakes, NJ until I was 19
Cape May, NJ Coast Guard Boot Camp
Rockland, Maine
Boston, Mass. Waterfront Base
Allston, Mass. My First Apartment
The North End, Boston
Ft. Meade, Maryland
Revere, Mass.
Everett, Mass.
Medford, Mass.
Perkasie, PA
Schwenksville, PA
Red Hill, PA - still here so far!

4. I took a driving course with the Massachusetts State Police for evasive driving. This is the same course they put the State Troopers through. When I was training in the Coast Guard I had to driving the Admiral around to events and they sent me to this to be able to *cope* with city driving in Boston. It was fun!

5. I hate Lima beans.

6. I haven't been out of the Eastern Time Zone. Well, maybe I was a little bit when I went to Indianapolis for my niece, Madeline's baptism. But we don't know for sure.

7. When I lived in Willingboro, my family's home was burglarized twice.

8. I used to smoke.

OK, the only other people I know who keep blogs who haven't been tagged are Bill - yes you, my brother. And Hayley. So you're it!

Just Jackson

2007-07-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

I felt I was shorting Jackson on photos, so here's some.

You are 6 months old Liam!

2007-07-11T21:46:00.001-04:00

Liam is 6 months old everybody! Where oh where did 6 months go? He's gone from a wee 8 pound baby to this big guy who has more than doubled his weight and is beginning to army crawl. Oi!! Look out! To celebrate his 6 months of life today, we stayed home because mom is sick. I have a summer cold. Must be that we've been indoors a lot with the air going since it's been nearly 100. Too hot!! So Jackson has been doing lots of art and tinker toying and train playing and movie watching with me on the couch. Tomorrow I may be adventurous and bring the boys to story time at Barnes and Noble. It's been a while since we've gone. Last time I lost Jackson there, as he wandered away to the Starbucks kiosk for a Latte without informing me. Uuugh, the worse 2 minutes of my life! Anyway, I must be brave and conquer my fear! Wish me luck!

Real food?

2007-07-08T21:05:00.001-04:00

Liam has taken the big step up to eating *real* food. Well, it looks gross to me and I wouldn't really consider it real, but he's got to start with something. The first couple times I gave him the rice cereal, he gobbled it down. Then he did a 180 and gagged and grimaced when I brought to the spoon to his mouth. After trying some bananas in with the rice cereal he decided he likes it MUCH better. So enjoy some photos of Liam and his milestone.

We've been a busy family running about to various birthday parties and family gatherings. The 4th of July was spent at the Isabell's home. It wasn't a warm enough day for the pool, but that didn't stop us from thoroughly enjoying a relaxing afternoon. Now that we have little ones, we don't get to see fireworks since those happen WAAAAY past bedtime. It would have been traumatizing to Liam, anyway, who gets upset when he hears an applause at church. The only photo I got from the 4th was him sleeping on our friend Christine Friedrich's shoulder. She has a way with my children, putting them into deep states of relaxation whenever she holds them.

On Friday night we went to Olive Garden for Grace's 17th birthday. Happy Birthday Grace, now go get your driver's license so you can drive up here to babysit!

I only got a couple photos while there, and none with the celebrated Grace. Sorry! I'll get them at your party! Well these are the only photos that came out. Uncle Jon with Jackson and me with Liam.

Saturday was a long day for us. After a two-hour, napless drive down to south Jersey, we went to cousin Sarah's baby girl Lila's first birthday party. It was awesome to see the Zarrello side of the family there. Jackson loved playing with his cousin Ava. And AACK, I got not one photo. Bad mommy! Well I had to keep a sharp eye on Liam's great aunts, as one in particular, eh hem, Aunt Betty, wanted badly to give him cake since he was staring at it. Just because he likes to look at food doesn't mean he needs to eat it! He's only 6 months old! :)

Tomorrow will not be a fun day. Liam has his 6 month well check up. Four shots. Ouch.

German Folk Festival

2007-07-03T20:29:00.000-04:00

Today was an adventurous day! We got an early start, went through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru (2 times - duh, forgot to get Jack's sprinkle donut! Can't forget that!) and headed to Kutztown for the Folk Festival. Adventures like these aren't what they used to be a year ago. Now we can't really bribe Jackson into seeing what *we* want to see. It's all about him now apparently! We spent most of the time playing the guitar and various bongos around the fair grounds. A nice Amish man repairs discarded guitars and lets kids just go to town on them. After quite some time playing, he asked for Jackson's autograph, just in case he got famous some day! We saw loads of old tractors, crafts and handiworks of the Amish, some farm animals and enjoyed Sassparilla and Birch Beer. A grand time was had by all!

Oh, and just to add, if you noticed Jackson's blue and orange - err, leggings - they're his latest must have accessory. I got them for Liam since they look cute with his cloth diapers and function as pants pretty much, but Jackson has taken a liking to them. He'll probably be mad at us when he's older... But in actuality, if you attempt to take them off him, he gets quite upset. So leg warmers it is!

Bye June

2007-06-30T21:13:00.000-04:00

I can't believe June is heading out the door. Where did this month go? It was a busy one to say the least! Let's see if I can try to sum it up! We're slowly but surely getting better with getting to go outside on a more regular basis. It's difficult to get sleeping schedules syncronized so we can do anything! Some days are better than others, but it's not so fun for Jack to stay indoors and close to home all the time because Liam is napping. Liam is generous though and doesn't put up too much of a fit if we miss his regular nap or make it shorter so we can do something special, or heck, just grocery shop! One day this week we went to the local pool. For some reason Jackson was the only one in the toddler pool! Where was everyone?! Quiet day I guess. We found out the Quakertown pool has a little slide and mushroom fountain thing, so we'll have to try there next.

Father's Day was a beautiful day! We started the day by piling in the Outback and driving to Pop and Gramma's in Medford Lakes, NJ to visit for a while and to pick up the Explorer for Justin to drive. (Thanks Dad!) My brother Bill was *done* with it since he didn't need in San Fran. My wonderful dad was generous enough to let us have it since Justin's car was kaput. Jackson thought the Explorer ('93 sport edition - old and I took my driver's test in it!) was the coolest thing ever. He calls it the truck or the Hummer. (??!) So he and Justin drove that while Liam and I followed him to Doylestown to spend the remaining day with his family. We went to Dilly's Corner, a roadside stand on the Delaware River (and has the best cheeseburger I've ever had!) to have a laidback dinner and then to Tohickon Park to fish along the creek. Justin's mom got Jackson his first fishing rod, so of course we had to try it out.

Liam is nearly 6 months old now. We've dabbled with his first try at rice cereal and after having a great go at it at first, he's now decided he must gag and act like he wants nothing to do with it. So we're backing off for a bit. He's doing so great. He's now started sleeping through the night. I'm amazed because with Jackson it seemed like it was something we had to work hard to achieve with him. We were always going in to plunk his Nuk back in, or it seemed he'd be hungry all night. Liam just decided to plain old sleep. Awesome! He's working on sitting up now, too. I don't trust him on a hard floor, but he can hold his own sitting up on the carpet for a few minutes before forgetting he is verticle and then he topples over. Jackson is amazed that he is doing *things* now. Well, annoyed too, actually now that I think of it! Like when Jackson was playing with his cars nearby Liam, and Liam squirmed forward and *touched* a car. Jackson was a bit dismayed and moved his entire fleet of vehicles further away. I must looking at these moments as teaching opportunities! Haha!

I just had to share that one little bear hiney picture for his uncles and Pop's and Poppy's. Liam is still wearing cloth diapers and it's fun to have a little more "style" with them along with helping the environment and keeping his butt rash-free!

We celebrated Mom (Isabell's) birthday the past Sunday at Cascade Lodge. It's is so beautiful there! The restaurant itself is dated, but charming in a way. It's probably the same as it was in the 50's! It's situated between rolling hills and horse farms. There's a stocked trout pound with montrous trout that Jackson LOVED checking out. They cook tableside, depending on what you order, and flambe, making quite the spectacle. Jackson enjoyed watching that, too. We had the longest dinner of our lives. Four hours! But it was relaxing and so enjoyable spending time with everyone. Jackson got to pick out Josh's dinner by going down to the cellar where the trout swim through this little stream that runs under the building. He got a kick out of that!

OK, a couple last pictures and I've got to wrap this post up!

Justin was just looking through the pictures from the day with me and said that this photo shows who Jackson is more than any of them. He is Mr. Perpetual Motion. Feet moving, arms moving, mouth moving and looking for the next thing to do. You can just see it in his eyes.

Justin, Jackson, Liam and I met with Julianne, Travis and Gabriela today at Green Lane Park to BBQ. What a relaxing evening we had! No toys to squabble over or kitchens and messes to clean up. I think we must hang out like this all the time now. It was fairly deserted in this picnic area which had lots of nice shady trees and big rocks to climb, and little rocks to throw in the lake. Next time I don't care what Justin says, we're bringing Jacksons fishing rod. Anyway, we ate hot dogs and sausage and made smores and just enjoyed our time. Thanks guys for a fun day!

Twins?!

2007-06-09T21:51:00.001-04:00

I took this first "I found my feet" picture of Liam recently and had de ja vou when I uploaded it to the computer. I scrolled through Jackson's baby pictures and found a very simliar one! Kinda neat.

Time for a picture update!

2007-06-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

Sleeping on the toilet

2007-06-09T21:32:00.000-04:00

When I was in Coast Guard Bootcamp, catching a minute of shut eye while taking a toilet break was a popular thing to do. Basic training was so mentally and physically exhausting, and naptime wasn't in the schedule, so a minute or two of shut eye was a covetted thing! Jackson seems to have adopted this philosophy now... We had a big day today at Lenape Swim Club in Chalfont. THP (Justin's employer) had a picnic and much of Jack's time was spent in the kiddie pool. He was bleary eyed when we pulled in the driveway tonight, but insisted his tummy hurt and he was hungry. Well we can't send the little man to bed half starved. He's skinny to begin with, so any opporunity to add a couple extra calories to his diet is taken advantage of. Before bed he declared he had to *poop.* So we can't deny him of this privilege either. He said he needed some privacy so Justin was waiting outside the door. After a few minutes of Jackson saying, "I'm still trying, I'm still trying," and then some silence, Justin called me over to peek through the crack in door. There was our little boy, falling asleep on the toilet! But unlike my potty naps in bootcamp, Jackson realized he was falling asleep and began trying to hold his eyelids open. That's when we called an end to his potty time and got him to bed. Guess he didn't have to poop afterall?

Where did May go?

2007-06-07T13:53:00.000-04:00

OK, so keeping a blog is hard work. I must add it to my list of chores. It's something that I'd like to get done on a regular basis. That just doesn't happen, though, does it?

So what happened with us the past month? Let's see... Hmmm, I'm coming up with nothing. There are fun things going on in the lives of those around us though! Our latest news is that my sister, Trisha, is having a boy. What a wonderful addition a baby boy will be to their family. Ava is going to love having a brother! Liam will have fun with another little boy close to his age as he grows up, too. In other news, Jon, Justin's brother, got engaged. We all love Emily already. It's so fun to watch the family grow and gain another sister. Also, Bill, my brother, has moved to San Fransisco to work for Apple Computers. He has worked for them from PA for the past year and has held internship positions with them each summer. Well now it's permanent and he's up and left us for the Left Coast. I'd venture to guess he'll never leave. We'll come visit Uncle Bill! Lastly, Mimi (Justin's mom) and Grace (his sister) just got back from England safe and sound. They enjoyed a two-week visit touring around London and Wales. I'm glad the trip was just what they were needing! Can't wait to see pictures!

OK, I thought of what we've been up to. Keeping cool as of late. We've had some hot weather and that has been tricky to manage. Jackson loves to be outdoors, but Liam is too little yet for sunscreen. So it's been a balance to keep each of them happy. Justin took Jackson for a little motor boat ride this past weekend. Apparently the boat was much too slow for him (electric motor?) He told Justin to go faster, and when he told Jackson it didn't go any faster, Jackson said, "This isn't fun, Dad. I want to go home. I think I hear Mom calling me!" Now mind you, they were many miles from home! This boy has good ears! We've been working on potty training with Jackson, as well. Hopefully by the end of the month he'll be official. I know he can do it, but I think Jackson struggles with a little bit of laziness. If he has on a pull up or diaper, he'll take advantage of not having to stop what he's doing and just do his business. But if I leave him nude (just at home, don't worry!) he'll run to the potty to go. Amazing! So I think we just need to take a few days of not going anywhere, and keep him in underwear until he learns that they are not so absorbant. Hopefully that will do the trick!

Liam is growing by leaps and bounds and doing some fun baby stuff now. He's not so much of a lump anymore. He's begun to roll from his back to his tummy, and back again. He's working on sitting up. He can reach for things now and we're testing the waters of solids now. He seems to be more interested in what we're eating and reaching for our plates and silverware. So I figured it must be time! He's a sweet baby, so gentle and content. A wonderful compliment to busy Jackson. Well he's awake now, speaking of, so I must end now! I'll add pictures soon!

Brothers

2007-04-11T14:26:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter

2007-04-11T14:18:00.000-04:00

We all had a nice Easter this year, as Jackson is getting old enough to take part in some of the little events surrounding the day. Our church had a big Easter Egg Hunt for all the children on Saturday. Jackson was so excited to go out and gather eggs he could barely contain himself during the music portion. Three times we had to walk to the back with him to try to talk him through being patient. Well eventually the kids were released to find eggs. It was cute and Jackson even found some. Fnding out that there was candy in the eggs was even more fun for him!

The night before we all dyed the Easter eggs at home. Jackson was really into it! I'm glad I finally have a partner to dye eggs with since Justin isn't at all into it. Though he did take interest in Jackson's excitement over.

Easter Day was spent with the Stevenson's. It was wonderful to have everyone together. (Except for John - we missed you!) Ava and Jackson were just two peas in a pod, riling one another up. We had a mini egg hunt for them which I think the adults were more into. All the candy and excitement had the kids (and parents) to their whits end by the end of the day.

Ring Bearer

2007-04-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

Phew! He made it! Jackson was the ring bearer for Josh and Bethany's wedding on March 31st. This boy, I think, was under the impression everyone was there for him. He dutifully carried the pillow up the isle (in somewhat of a zig-zagged walk, but that's ok) got the front, and then chucked it at his Uncle Josh. Touchdown! He was pleased with himself, and it made for a cute moment. He WAS supposed to hand it to his Uncle Jon, but at least he made it up the isle, right?!

The behind the scenes were somewhat hectic. Five days post-wedding and we're all still recouperating. No one ever said it was going to be easy to care for a newborn and chase a 2 year old around! I think sharing the bed at the hotel was our pitfall. Well, mine, to say the least. I just didn't sleep. Jackson didn't sleep so much either. At least Liam and Justin did! Well it was a beautiful ceremony and reception and we're very happy for Josh and Bethany. Welcome to the family, Beth!

Wet cat!

2007-03-19T13:34:00.000-04:00

Jackson and I were sharing lunch together this afternoon when we heard this terrible noise upstairs. We just looked at oneanother wide-eyed! I told Jackson I'd be right back so I could go see what on earth happened upstairs. Liam wasn't up there, so I knew nothing happened with him. I ran up, and there was our cat, soaking wet! If you've ever seen a soaked cat, it's quite the sight to behold. I had forgotten to drain the bathtub after giving Jackson a little bath, and clearly the kitty wanted to investigate! Whoops!!! As bad as I felt for our cat, I couldn't help but crack up about it. I wish I had a video or picture of it!

The Leprechauns got me!

2007-03-17T10:14:00.000-04:00

In keeping with a tradition created by Justin's mom, we snuck into Jackson's room once he was sound asleep and sprinkled his face with green (washable!) dots. When he woke in the morning we acted very shocked and told him Leprechauns snuck into his room and danced on his face. He got quite the kick out of it. It will be even more fun to do with Liam next year!

Liam is 2 months

2007-03-13T13:59:00.000-04:00

Liam had his two month appointment on Monday. I can't stand well check ups! Four shots... The poor little baby. It was not fun! But I know it's for his health, so we brave through it! Liam weighs 12lb 2oz now. That puts him in the 75 percentile. I know those percentiles mean nothing. Each child will grow at their own pace, maybe starting out chunky and ending up twiggish. Look at Jackson! Anyway, he checked out well. Jackson was a bit concerned over the shots Liam had to get. He was hanging by the door ready to escape if he were to be next I think. When we got home he kept saying, "Kristen (the nurse) hurt Liam. He got shots!" What a good, concerned big brother he is!

The cloth diapering is going well. It's strange, but I have this odd sense of satisfaction when I do a load of diaper laundry and they come out smelling clean and fresh and not having any stains on them. I've lost it! Haven't I? It just feels good to know each diaper I take out of the wash to fold is one less diaper in a landfill. The boys are comfy in them, too. We did have our first leak episode with Jackson last night. I had just fed Liam and when I put him down to go back to sleep, I heard Jackson start to cry for me. He was soaked, poor child! I guess we need to add some more absorancy to his diaper before bedtime. He had drank more than normal with dinner, so that makes sense that he'd wet more. It's all kind of trial and error with this!

It's great it's finally getting warmer out! We got out this past weekend and went to the park yesterday. Last time we were at the park, I had to chase around with him to make sure he didn't get hurt. He's grown so much now he can do the slide himself now! It's nice to watch him play like that now. He's getting so big! Jackson's enjoying riding his trike around, too. We're working on him learning to ride his tricycle. Peddling takes some practice. We'll get there!

Mmmmm! Wonderful!

2007-03-07T14:44:00.000-05:00

This was just so cute I had to share!

Recently Jackson has been sick with a fever and cough, and his appetite has taken a dive. Now that he is on the mends, we're trying to fatten him back up a bit. (Those of you who see him often know how *lean* he is!) In order to have something stick to his ribs, I made cheeseburgers for our lunch. He took a bite and said, "Mmmmmm! This is wonderful!" I just thought that was so cute of him to say. It's so amazing to see how his speech is developing. Fun stuff!

Cloth Diapers

2007-03-06T14:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read correctly! We are making the switch to cloth for the boys. I couldn't believe it when I began researching pro's and con's of cloth vs. disposable and how dangerous those Pampers are for our sweet little boys bums. We're trying to be more health, environmental, and also more cost conscious, and that has led us to cloth diapering Jackson and Liam. The savings is incredible. Typically one will spend about $1600 in dispoble dipes and wipes before potty training. Put that against $300-400 for a permanent stash of cloth dipes. It was an easy decision for us. I'm sure our energy bills will go up some for the cost of washing, but we will still save. If we ever have another child, the savings will be even more. It's exciting to me. Yeah, dealing with the poo is gross, but it's relatively easy. I feel good knowing that it's healthier for the boys and the feel of these diapers makes me want them for my own undies. So soft!!! There are so many different options. It's not what it was when our parents and grandparents cloth diapered us. I was in cloth and my mom was astounded at how cool and easy the new stuff was. They now have cloth diapers that are just like a dispoable, with velcro closures that go on the same way! How cool! And fun colors and patterns too. And they're fleece lined on the inside. The wet stuff goes right through to the absorbant pad that is inserted and the solid stuff (yuck) stays on the outside and doesn't stick to it so it falls off right in the toilet. So see, it's not "that" bad. Sure it's grosser than a dispoble, but it's worth it to us to deal with the poop. The first pic is Liam in what they call a prefold diaper with a Snappi. No sharp pins to deal with any longer! There's covers that would go over that diaper, but we haven't gotten the shipment of them yet. The next one is called a Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper. It has an insert in there that is absorbant and they're fleece lined, so as you can see from his face, he's comfy!

Some more pics and mishaps

2007-03-06T14:19:00.000-05:00

Note the powdery picture of Jackson. Yes. That is what happens when you "think" your toddler is sleeping in bed, but he's not. He's gotten to the powder you left (stupidly) within reach of curious hands. It was getting late and I "thought" he was still sleeping, so I went to wake Jackson up. I opened the door and immediately smelled a stong odor and Jackson looked down at his bed where he made the mess and said to me, "Momma, what's this stuff?!" Like he didn't know where it came from. Hah! At least I was humored enough to take a photo!

Liam is one month

2007-03-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

Well here's our boy at one month. He's grown to 10lbs 8oz's and 22 inches. Can't believe how fast they grow!

Here are some photos!

2007-03-06T13:59:00.000-05:00

Catching up

2007-03-06T13:34:00.001-05:00

Well here we are, a family a four now. It's busy, clearly showing by the amount of time that has lapsed before updating this blog!

My last month of preggo-ness was difficult. I walked around the entire last month dilated, and it increased each time I'd have a check up, going all the way to 3 cm and just hanging there for 2 straight weeks. I'd have contractions all night long, getting no sleep, only to have them go away in the morning. That was *not* fun!

Finally on January 11th, I had my 39wk check and the OB said I was 4cm. He monitored me for a bit and then sent me off to Labor and Delivery. Yay! Finally we reached the day! What a difference between my first and second labors. Liam was easy in comparison. I could almost do it again already (not really!) So at 11:10pm on 1/11, Liam Bennett arrived. All 8lbs and 21 inches of him. He's a wonderful baby! So he's 7ish weeks now and his quiet temperment seems to be permanent. It's quite different from Jackson, but we are thankful to God for giving us a quiet "easy" baby. Don't get me wrong, he cries when he needs something or now and then when he's not comfy, but overall, he's just a joy.

Jackson is a wonderful big brother. He is always concerned over Liam's well-being. "Mommy, he's a little bit fussy!" "Mommy, Liam pooped again!" "Mommy, Liam spit out his nukkie!" "Mommy, Liam's awake," are all things you'll hear Jack say. Sure, he has his jealous moments. "Daddy, Mommy can hold him," "Mommy, but him in the bassinet," and, "Mommy, Liam's done eating." But overall he transitioned very well into Big Brotherhood.

Jack is two

2006-12-02T11:39:00.000-05:00

On 11/24, Jackson turned 2. Exciting times! Some days are "Terrific Two's," and some are "Terrible Two's." I'd love to get him this t-shirt, "Warning.... I'm 2," but Justin thinks we shouldn't use that as an excuse for bad behavior, or the fact that one should expect bad behavior upon seeing it. He's right, but I still think it's cute though:

We celebrated Jack's birthday with the Isabell side of the family and picked up our Christmas Tree from Holiday Farm - the farm Justin's family has been getting their tree from for nearly 20 years. A reporter actually tagged along with the family to get photos! Hopefully Jackson's black eye didn't show up too much! The Wed. before his bday he had a little accident with the window ledge. Poor kid can't stay bruise free for one day!

Introducing us

2006-12-02T11:13:00.000-05:00

The countdown has begun. We have under 50 days, 48 to be precise, until our family will suddenly become four! For those who are counting, that will be two boys, well, three depending on how you view Justin! Me vs. Them. I'll totally outnumbered. It's a shame we're short, I could start a family basketball team! Anyway, I've decided to scrap the individual little websites for this for the entire family. I hope you check back often for photos and updates and little on-goings of our lives. Enjoy!