The Ish Blog

Some video fun

2012-01-27T09:50:00.003-05:00

Matt's birthday was this past Tuesday. We don't really do gifts for each other, but I still like to make the day special (especially since Matthew is REALLY into birthdays - parties and presents of course). So, when the boys got up on Tuesday (long after Matt had already left for work), I made this video. I think it's too cute not to share:

Wordless Wednesday: Buddies

2012-01-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

Winter Blues

2012-01-23T08:42:00.004-05:00

According to the news, by January 21st last year we had already had 31 inches of snow in NY. The average for the young month is 9 inches. Saturday, we got about 5-6. So all in all, not so bad. But still unwelcome! I was enjoying our seasonably warm winter until this hit.
But we tried to make the best of it. Since it was Saturday, we didn't have to be anywhere. So Matt started a fire.
And at about 8AM our house already looked like this. Notice Noah, standing at the train table, surveying the damage. We were lazy for a bit. Watched some movies.
Played with some "new" toys that we brought out from storage.
And just basically hung out (and for some reason, we hang out in the kitchen a lot).
Every 10 seconds, Matthew asked if we could go outside and go sledding. I told him no 50 million times. Then I finally told him yes. Think he was happy about that?
We bundled up a-la Randy in A Christmas Story.
Matthew was happy just to walk in the fluffy stuff.
I took him to the school for a little sledding. And we stayed out until our noses were runny and we couldn't feel our hands.
Then we warmed up inside and Matthew busted my chops to play my iPad.
Today we're scheduled to get close to 50 degrees. That's more my winter style! The snow was a nice change for the day, but I'm over it!

9 Months Old

2012-01-20T08:02:00.003-05:00

9 months old as of yesterday. Such a big boy now.
Stands like a pro. Cruises along furniture and people.
Cute little gummy smile.
And active isn't strong enough a word to describe him. Most of the pictures I take look like this. 1st birthday party planning is under way! I'll give you 3 guesses on it's theme (and the first two don't count!).

Wordless Wednesday: Matthew's 1st Dentist Appt

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Brothers

2012-01-16T08:17:00.005-05:00

Matthew and Noah played nicely together this weekend. Nicely in that Matthew tolerated a little more than usual from his little brother.
Until of course Noah started with his Godzilla impressions.
Then I had to intervene and distract Noah with shiny things like the cabinet handles.
Which gave Matthew all of two minutes to play in peace before El Destructo returned to the village (notice the little hand in the lower right hand corner).
But for the most part there was peace in the house.
And a little bit of harmony.
We made our weekly trip to Target (okay, we don't go EVERY week, but sometimes it sure feels like we do!). The clearance section was insane. We couldn't pass up this Chuggington racing railway for $5.98. This thing was $40 a few weeks ago!
We also saw these awesome Angry Bird pillows - but I couldn't bring myself to spend $20 on a pillow. We'll stalk these until they go in sale.
We had a lazy Sunday.
Matthew took advantage of Noah's naptimes.
And Noah took advantage of everything.
Now we're back to Monday. Matt is off, so he's entertaining the boys today. This is how I left Matthew this morning. Can you see how broken up he is that I was leaving??
1st trip to the dentist today for young Matthew. Then it's back to a busy week for all of us. Happy Monday!

More Favorite Apps

2012-01-12T09:00:00.007-05:00

As Matthew grows, so does our app collection! Here are a few more that have captured his attention in the past few weeks:

Harold and the Purple Crayon:

This app is $6.99, but well worth it. It's an interactive story that's pretty unique, requires Matthew to listen and follow directions for images to appear, has puzzles inter-weaved in the story and some coloring that's basic and easy, but very engaging. He loves this app so much that I decided to stick a crowbar in my wallet and buy him the holiday version.

Harold at the North Pole:
This one is also $6.99. Matthew gets just as much out of this one as he does the original. Worth it for sure!

My Coloring Book:
I was looking through the top free apps when I came across this coloring book. A lot of the free books are rather cheesy, but this one is pretty neat. It has a nice range of pictures and a nice color palette. It's tap to fill which is nice - otherwise Matthew just scribbles!

Tozzle:
I like these puzzles for Matthew because it has little "cheats" - if he doesn't make the connection between the letters, the app helps him out (as you can see from the picture). There are a range of pictures from animal scenes to words, numbers, etc. Worth the $1.99 price. There's also a LITE version that you can download for free to try it out.

There's a new educational children's app coming out from a new company called Mitchlehan Media that looks pretty cool. Here are a few of the animals they've created to be part of the app:
One of my favorite blogs - Life Of A Sippy Cup Mom - is hosting a giveaway of an 8GB iPod Touch for the launch of this new app (the winner will also be able to download the app for free). You can check out the giveaway here.

I'm always on the lookout for new apps -educational and fun - so, as always, if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Wordless Wednesday: Matthew's 1st Art Project

2012-01-11T08:16:00.001-05:00

Weekend Wrapup

2012-01-09T08:14:00.002-05:00

Nothing too exciting to report for this weekend. Pretty low-key. Which was nice. The weather has been pretty nice here for January (knock on wood!) and that's made it possible to get out more. No cabin fever here!

Saturday night my friend Julie came over for dinner before we headed out to the movies. Matthew forced her to read him every super hero book he owns.
Sunday started with an early morning Angry Birds tutorial.
The boys played nice for the most part.
I only had to intervene when Noah did his Godzilla impression on Gotham City. Noah did in fact play with his baby toys again. For a few minutes anyway.
He just can't resist the big boy toys.
And when he thinks no one is looking he savors those few minutes of freedom with a stolen toy.
One day he'll be right there in the mix with Matthew. But for now, he'll take his few minutes with the Batmobile before it's snatched out of his slimy little hands.

Random Phone Pics

2012-01-06T11:17:00.003-05:00

Proof that Noah does play with "baby toys" sometimes.
You know, like when AND ONLY when HE wants to.
Noah's cousin Sam took a liking to him at my aunt's little birthday get-together. They were too cute together.
Noah going after one of his favorite non-baby toys - the remote.
Just chillin' at home.
Playing peek-a-boo through the gates.
And finally, just some random cuteness.
Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday: Matthew's 1st Day of School

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

Back To Work

2012-01-02T08:33:00.002-05:00

Well, I am anyway. All of corporate America is off today but me. Don't ask me why.

Our holiday vacation is officially over. It's a new year. A new start. We're in the midst of doing some cleaning and organizing and I've officially started my diet. Pretty boring stuff. But tomorrow Matthew starts school and Noah is thisclose to standing on his own and taking steps. So there will be more interesting pictures to come. In the meantime, here's what we did on our low-key New Year's weekend.

We went to Chili's. Matthew was able to order for himself. The waitress couldn't contain her smile when he told her he wanted a cheese quesadilla in his little 3-year-old lispy voice. He must have said it a dozen times - he really wanted to make sure she got his order right.
Matthew and Matt had fun with the Phineas & Ferb Rollercoaster my sister bought him for Christmas. And yes, they are playing with it on the stairs. It was the only safe haven from a certain maniac named Noah.
We went to Home Depot to look at shelving. Noah kept looking back to make sure me and Matthew were still there.
Matthew of course was in his own world and ignored his brother's loving attention.
And that's that.

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

New Year's Eve - amateur night. I've been up all hours of the night for the past 8 months. If I can sleep right through midnight tonight, I'll be happy.

2011 was pretty good to us. It's brought us right to this point.
2012 holds a lot of firsts. Among them, first birthdays and first school days.

We're spending the weekend de-Christmasing the house and finding new homes for all the new toys that Santa brought. Tonight will pass without a party, without any countdowns. I'll give Noah and Matthew a new year's kiss somewhere around 7PM after bath time. I'll head up to bed around 9, Matt will fall asleep in the living room, then stumble into bed somewhere after midnight. A typical crazy Saturday night at the Ish house. Sunday morning will come like any other. And that's okay by me.

Whatever you have planned for tonight, stay safe. We'll see you next year!

Happy 2012

Wordless Wednesday: 2011 In Pictures

2011-12-28T08:24:00.004-05:00

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Christmas Vacation

2011-12-27T08:47:00.004-05:00

Our short Christmas vacation started with a visit to good old Uncle Dickey. Matthew's face courtesy of being taken away from my iPhone and forced into taking a nice family picture.
After the blur that was Christmas Eve, Christmas morning started out bright and early. Matthew went right for his humongous stocking.
Noah wanted only to escape the confines of the baby gate.
And even though he had his own piles of gifts to open...
...he insisted on getting all up in his brother's business. Once we were able to distract Noah, Matthew was able to open some of his gifts in peace.
And when everything was unwrapped, everyone seemed happy with their haul.
After taking showers and getting dressed, there was time for a quick game of Hungry Hungry Hippo.
Then it was off to grandma's house, where apparently Santa also made a stop.
Matthew made out quite well.
As did Noah Bear.
Of course there was still time for some iPhone fun (Matt is quite the multi-tasker).
And we end this post with yet another forced family picture.
Now it's back to work, back to our "normal" routine. Bah humbug!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T05:00:00.001-05:00

Today is our last day with Snickers (our Elf on the Shelf). Tonight he heads back to the North Pole and makes way for Santa to visit our house. If we remember, we'll set out cookies for the big guy. Maybe a carrot for Rudolph.

I'll be back next week with many many many pictures, you can bet on that.

In the meantime, have a happy holiday - whatever you celebrate!

Sharing is Caring

2011-12-22T08:20:00.002-05:00

Oh, hi mom. I'll be right over.
Hey, what's Matthew doing?
Interesting...so this is the famous iPad I've been hearing about.
Hey bro, can I try it out?
No, well I'll just bust through and do what I want anyway.
That's where the pictures end. The rest of the story goes something like this...

And then Matthew started to yell at Noah for touching the iPad, Noah threw a fit because I took him away from the iPad, and I decided that it was bath time and then I put them in bed and used the iPad myself.

The iEnd.

Wordless Wednesday: Carousel Fun

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

A Christmas Story

2011-12-19T08:22:00.007-05:00

In a few days Matt and I will get a break from the rat race for four glorious days. No extended Christmas vacation this year (we took our time off in April when a certain 8-month-old was born). So, we're going to cram all the holiday fun we can into those four days! Of course, that's not to say we haven't had a lot of holiday fun already.

Our house has been decorated since Thanksgiving weekend. Santa took his rightful spot at the front door as usual. Ticking down the calendar to the big day.
I cluttered my kitchen window with a bunch of little nick-knacks.
Even our Toy Story calendar is looking festive this month.
I love our new advent calendar (and I'm so glad I got a hanging organizer for the kitchen - it's the perfect hanging spot!).
Of course I have all my random wreaths out.
And our holiday card collector is filling up nicely.
Stockings are hung. Some new additions to the mantle this year - a lighted white tree landscape from Ikea and Snickers (our Elf).
Our snowmen are guarding our stairs (as Noah has now taken interest in stairs, their job is harder this year).
And our railings give off the nicest glow at night.
Not too shabby during the day either.
Our tree is toddler decorated with a dash of mommy-moved-a-bunch-of-stuff.
And to complete our decorating, this weekend we embarked on another tradition (well, year 2 anyways) - making a Gingerbread House. Noah took his seat as supervisor.
Matthew got in the spirit by donning his latest hat.
Matt tried to explain the process to Matthew. Matthew could not have cared less.
He just wanted to get started.
And decorate with all the little candies. And eat a bunch of all the little candies.
As the bowls of candy were emptied I noticed the house wasn't exactly full.
But he had fun, so I can't complain.
And if our house is a little light on candy, so what! It still looks darn good.
If you want to check out some other holiday decorating posts, I've linked up with The Inspired Room's Christmas Home Tour this year.

Matthew's Favorite Apps

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

As you all know by now, Matthew is big into the latest technology. In fact, the "family iPad" is really "Matthew's - that mommy gets to occasionally use and daddy never gets to use and forget about Noah, because he's just a baby who would only try to chew it - iPad"

True story.

While I try to limit his time on it, the iPad does come in handy. It keeps him calm and quiet at times when I need him calm and quiet (like when I'm trying to get Noah to sleep or need to make an important call). And bonus, he's learning. He's learning letters, how to put together puzzles, songs, etc. So, after I put him to bed for the night and actually get to use the iPad in peace, I wind up in the App Store for hours on end finding new and exciting apps for him.

Currently, these are favorites:

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox:

Yes, it's a funny name, but it's a great learning tool for Matthew. It's only .99 cents and WELL worth more. It teaches letters, shapes and matching. As rewards, Matthew gets "stickers" that he gets a kick out of.

Jellytoons:

This one is great for shape recognition, counting and even fine motor skills (which we're working on with young Matthew!). This app is $1.99, but again, very much worth it.

Thomas The Train apps:

All of the Thomas book apps are great - there are puzzles, matching games, painting pages, songs and a read-aloud book with each one. Matthew's current favorite is Misty Island Rescue. These are a bit pricier at $4.99 each.

Hallmark apps:

The Hallmark apps for their read-along books are great - and FREE! Each one has a read-along story and a few games (the Jingle app has puzzles, a tree decorating activity and a Jingle-voiced xylophone). You can even record your own voice telling the story if you want to.

The puzzles in these apps are a little advanced for Matthew, but as he gets older, he'll get better - so it's great that he can "grow" with these apps.

There are a lot of puzzle books out there too that are great for toddlers (these were all .99 cents):

His #1, All Time Most Favorite app - a little something called A Monster At The End Of This Book.

If you have an iPad or iPhone this is a MUST have for toddlers. Funny, interactive and great for early readers. Best $3.99 I ever spent!

If you have any favorites, let me know - I'm always looking to build our app library!

Wordless Wednesday: Bouncy Fun

2011-12-14T08:39:00.001-05:00

Sick Days

2011-12-12T08:57:00.003-05:00

Both boys came down with a cold late last week, so I took some time off of work and kept them home for a few days. We spent most of Friday in our pajamas and just sort of hung out all day.
By Saturday morning the boys were feeling a little better and were playing nicely together.
And by together I mean Matthew was playing with his toy, Noah was playing with his toy, separately, but peacefully.
Then Noah attacked. Playfully of course, but still, he saw what he wanted and went for it.
So I pulled him aside and introduced him to the train table. Problem solved.
And I went back to watching Elf.
The End.

Something to look forward to...

2011-12-08T15:11:00.002-05:00

Next summer - Madagascar 3 comes out. Matthew will lose his mind!

Wordless Wednesday: Noah's New Haircut

2011-12-07T08:47:00.001-05:00

Weekend Fun

2011-12-05T09:22:00.003-05:00

We had a busy but fun weekend. Saturday was Maryann's 2nd birthday party. Matthew got to play with a whole lot of girlie toys at his best pal's house. And these reindeer antlers.
He also got a cool cowboy hat (that went along with the Toy Story theme).
Sunday we went to visit my good friend Julie in Brooklyn. We took a walk to the botanical gardens - on the way, Matthew told her his whole life story.
The first order of business at the gardens was lunch. Because Noah's tummy waits for no one.
Noah also made sure to give Julie his life story too. His was a bit shorter than Matthew's.
And while Julie and Noah chatted, Matthew relaxed.

Then he took us on a tour of the gardens.
He pointed out important plants.
And posed for cheesy pictures.
Noah was bored out of his mind the entire time.
And that about sums it up. :-)

Deck the Halls

2011-12-02T11:01:00.005-05:00

Our decorating has begun. We have about 99% of the outside lights up.
We still need to make a few finishing touches, but things are looking good.
Our tree is up. Matthew was quite excited to put up the ornaments this year.
And while "gentle" isn't a word usually used to describe Matthew, he made sure to be VERY careful putting the ornaments on. So much so that I had to follow his every move and push the ornaments on each branch so that they didn't fall off.
While he pondered the exact places to put up his favorites...Noah came sniffing around.
He here is giving me the "Hey mom, I was so NOT going to touch anything" look.
Noah was quite nosy.
And he directed Matthew as to the best places to put the ornaments - you know, within arm's reach.
So when Matthew turned his back, I moved all the ornaments up a branch or two.
We have a few new ones this year.
And while there are a million pins on Pinterest on how to take a good picture of your tree, I obviously did not get the memo. But, good enough for now.
More to come!

Wordless Wednesday: While Matthew sleeps...

2011-11-30T05:00:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T08:16:00.005-05:00

We made the long trip to DC for Thanksgiving this year. In typical Ish fashion, he fell asleep in the last half hour of our 5 hour trip.
Traveling makes Ish tired. He slept quite soundly at night on his Ning Ning couch bed.
Mornings were lazy. Reading Phineas & Ferb magazines.
Watching Chicken Little.
When Ish got restless (lack of toys will do that to a 3 year old), we went for a walk in search of open spaces.
The weather was cooperating for a leisurely stroll.
We stopped at a school field down the street from the house and let Ish run free for a bit.
Then we enlisted the help of Siri to find a REAL park (you know, swings and monkey bars and things like that). I know Matt's face looks all wonky in this pic, but I love the look on Noah's face as he's watching his brother run like a maniac.
Siri did her job. We found an awesome playground just a short car ride away.
Matthew spent most of his time in this spinning seat. That boy loves being dizzy. He mastered the weird little contraptions that only a 3-year-old could.
Meanwhile, Noah and I tried to master the reverse camera angle on my phone.
Then we ended the day with some rock climbing.
Noah's a pro.
And now, we return to regularly scheduled programming.

Wordless Wednesday: A Noah Funny

2011-11-23T08:48:00.002-05:00

Photo source: http://tinyurl.com/6qqksh5

Role Reversal

2011-11-22T08:15:00.004-05:00

Ok Noah Bear, listen carefully and I'll show you how to play with your baby toys.
This is the toy. It comes with lots of balls.
Mom, please make him give me ALL the balls please.
Ok, great. Now we can continue the lesson.
Watch closely as I put the balls on the slide.
Hey, this is kinda fun. I forgot how much I like this toy.
Hey mom - can you tell Matthew I want to play too.
Hey Matthew - mom said let me play too.
Nope, asking nicely didn't work.
Okay, I'll settle for being picked up and maybe a snack.
♫♫Lalalalalalalalala, I love playing with baby toys.♫♫

Friday Phone Pic Download

2011-11-18T08:17:00.002-05:00

My friend Joanne and I hosted a Shutterfly Holiday House Party last Saturday afternoon - I made cupcakes.
Matthew was pretty darn excited at the idea of cupcakes.
Matt sent me this on Saturday night. I was out to dinner with a friend and he put the boys to bed for the night.
I used my Huggies Rewards points to get Matthew this neat Spiderman Thermos sippy cup. It came yesterday - it's a nice size to put in Matthew's stocking.
Noah is sitting up on his own (no more falling over!), he's able to get himself propped up in about .2 seconds from when I plop him on the floor.
Happy Weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday: Matthew's Shadow

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas Shopping

2011-11-14T10:32:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty much done with my Christmas shopping for the boys (Matthew has so much already, and Noah is inheriting A LOT of toys we have stored away from Matthew's baby days). A few things I picked up this weekend:

The Toy Story Tri-County Landfill playset. Matthew is great at imaginative play, and he loves playsets like this one.
Matthew asked Santa for Hungry Hungry Hippos (he sees the commercial on TV all the time). I wasn't going to buy it because all I could see were those little balls all over the house (and in Noah's mouth!). I said to Matt, if I could find a self-contained HHH, I would buy it. And I did - the travel version. So I bought it! Matthew is master of the iPad and is getting very good at a lot of the toddler games I've downloaded for him. One of the apps incorporates these AppMATes, which I think he'll get a kick out of.
I also got him this Crayola pen for the coloring/painting apps. As for Noah, like I said, he'll inherit a lot of Matthew's toys. Of course I'll get him a few things of his own to even things out a bit. One toy I picked up at Target was this little phone. Lots of buttons to press and lots of noises - perfect for his age.
I also picked up a little set of "wobbly" toys that I think he'll get a kick out of chasing around (I can't find the stinkin' picture on Target's website). So far that's it for poor Noah-Bear, although I'm sure I'll find more things for him between now and December 25th!

Friday Phone Pic Download

2011-11-11T14:39:00.003-05:00

Starbucks is using their holiday cups. That makes me happy.
Matthew is a bed hog.
A few transformers blew up outside of my office and started a small fire (very small, put out very quickly).
Matthew is getting this for Christmas. He asked Santa for "Batman toys"
Could my children look any more bored with their life? It's tough being pushed around the mall. Matt, my dad and Matthew went to Applebee's today for the free Veteran's Day lunch.
And with that - we start the weekend! Happy Friday!!!

Wordless Wednesday: The Santa Pic

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

Digging Out

2011-11-07T09:21:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday started out innocent enough. The forecast called for a snowstorm to hit us, so we battened down the hatches and planned for a lazy day inside.

Matthew - the master of multi-tasking that he is - enjoyed an early morning snack, while perusing the latest toy circulars and watching Phineas & Ferb on the iPad.
Noah played innocently on the floor. And by innocently, I mean crawling as fast as he could away from his toys into the piles of the forbidden heaven that are Matthew's toys.
It started to snow pretty early.
And it kept getting heavier and steadier.
Matthew decided to relax with a movie.
Lunch was a snow-day staple - nice warm pizza bagels.
We decided to make some cookies. Matthew does not understand the whole "watched pot" thing.
As the day went on, the snow kept falling. Everyone seemed fascinated.
Noah decided to try out his new ninja toy-stealing moves.
But his ninja-like moves are no match for Matthew's ability to snatch away a toy at lightening speed.
While we we having fun - trees started to come down. This one took out our electricity and cable.
So, with no power at our house, we made the trek to grandma's house for warmth. Noah tried his Ninja skills on Sasha. Sasha was not impressed.
My brother's family lost power too. Which made Matthew so happy - he could not contain his excitement for seeing his best friend.
So for 5 days we camped out. Noah played on the floor.
The kids kept busy with various projects.
And we watched a lot of movies.
We finally got power back on Wednesday night (no thanks to ConEd - we paid a private electrician to connect us). And since then, we have been playing catch-up. We lost a weekend of our To Do list, so everything has doubled.

But, we did manage to squeeze in a bit of fun this past weekend. In between our chores, we went to see Santa. More on that later. :-)

Christmas Toy Catalogs

2011-11-05T19:40:00.002-04:00

They've been steadily rolling in for about a week now. Even Noah is getting in on the action.
Tomorrow - we see Santa. Matthew has a list ready.

Let the season begin!

Wordless Wednesday: Me & My Little Buddy

2011-11-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

Boo! A Halloween Recap

2011-11-01T08:16:00.004-04:00

ARGHHHHH!!!!! I be a pirate!! Although Jake would never be so grammatically incorrect.
We hit up a few houses in my mom's neighborhood early afternoon.
Matthew perfected his "Trick or treat"
After the few houses on the block, we headed to the mall for ToT. Matthew insisted on some chocolate for the 30-second ride over.
Matt is in the middle of saying "ARGHHHH" in this picture. Matthew was wise and said nothing. Makes for a good picture, no?
Matthew certainly knows his way around the mall.
This is his barber Danny.
Even though most of the stores gave out some weak candy (like old-lady-hard-candy weak), Matthew still had fun collecting loot.
Even pirates get tired and need a lift sometimes.
Before heading home we checked out the Christmas displays at Sears.
Then had another piece of chocolate on the ride home.
As for Noah - he wasn't really interested in being a bee.
This is the best picture I could get before we tore the costume off of him.
When all was said and done, Matthew was happy with his haul, and we ended the night with some art on the iPad.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:38:00.003-04:00

We lost power over the weekend with a freak October snowstorm, but Halloween must go on!!

Matthew is uber-excited to be Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates) and we have a cute little bee costume for Noah. Pics to come! In the meantime, enjoy some Fozzie goodness:

Wordless Wednesday: Ish loves technology

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-04:00

Shutterfly Winners!

2011-10-24T14:52:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Ash, Heather and Brooke on each winning 25 holiday cards from Shutterfly!

And thanks to everyone for entering!

To check out Shutterfly's latest promos - click here.

Birthday Fun

2011-10-23T19:00:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow my Alex turns 9 years old. Today, we partied.

Matthew LOVES going over to my brother's house because all his girls are there.
Noah is becoming a fan of the girls too.
Matthew was so excited to see his bestest friend ever in the whole wide world.
We managed to wrangle all the shorties for some cute pictures outside.
And Noah got to partake in his first swing experience. He approves.
Matthew is an old pro at swinging. He showed Noah how it's done.
Noah couldn't hang for too long.
I had to post this picture because I don't think I have one single picture of either of my boys sleeping on pink sheets.
There was cake.
And then there was a wardrobe change - part 2 of the party. Matthew was Batman.
I don't know why he thinks Batman goes around scaring people, but he does.
And Alex played along.
Can you see the love in Ish's eyes?!
Later in the day we all caravaned to a local park to continue the Halloween-themed fun at a fall fair.
Matthew had a blast on the bounce houses.
Super Ish.
Even though he was so focused on hanging out with the girls and having fun, he did let me get a few cute posed photos.
Can you tell this was Matthew's first time getting his face painted? He was happy with the results though.
Newsflash: Matthew is getting better at eating lollipops. MUCH less drool.
And just because you'll never see this headline: Batman Plays Plinko.

HAPPY NINTH BIRTHDAY ALEXANDRA!!! We love you very much!

Best.Find.EVER.

2011-10-22T18:57:00.005-04:00

One of the local nursery schools had a rummage sale today. Since we had no other plans for the day outside the house, we piled in the car this morning and went to check it out just for the sake of getting out for a bit. And I'm glad we did. If we didn't - I would never have found this masterpiece:

AL'S TOY BARN!!!
Complete with a handful of Toy Story toys.
Matthew played with this thing all day.
Even conning Matt into playing along.
I have never seen this little playset before and I was almost as stoked as Matthew when I saw it (and for only $3!). Noah was not impressed.
We also picked up this Monsters Inc. View Master (why my picture won't rotate, I can't tell you).
And our other steal of the day - the Cars train carrying case.It's the perfect little case for all Matthew's little cars.
Also made for hours of fun.
Noah and Matthew are both tucked away in bed now. It was a fun day at home. Tomorrow, the insanity of Alex's birthday party (Matthew self-proclaimed bestest friend ever) starts at 11:30!

Wordless Wednesday: Flashback to Halloween 2008

2011-10-19T06:13:00.000-04:00

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Giveaway)

2011-10-17T12:00:00.005-04:00

Yes, I know it's not even Halloween yet - but I'm already picking out my Christmas cards. You can NEVER be too early in this process! Plus, with 2 boys now, the picture-picking-process takes me a little more time.

I used Shutterfly last year for my Christmas cards and will be returning to them again. I was impressed with the quality of the cards I ordered, the speed of their service, and how easy it was to upload and create my design. Here are a few of my (many many many) front-runners from their 2011 Christmas Cards collection:

This one is playful and if I can narrow myself down to one shot, it's a contender!
I like that this card gives 4 picture options. And this one, it's just plain cute! I love the little trees.
I'm also going to do a few calendars this year too - something for our offices, something for the 'fridge. I like that you can personalize the dates with text and pictures. I think Matthew would get a kick out of seeing himself on a calendar.
I'm also thinking about doing a few photo collages from Shutterfly's photo gifts selection. We're creating a photo wall in our main stairway and we're looking to have a few different framed looks on the wall. I like the idea of a photo collage for a few of the frames.
I certainly have lots of uploading and designing to do - and lots of decisions to make (especially now that I have our pro pics in the mix to choose from!).

And now for the fun stuff - the giveaway! Shutterfly is giving me the opportunity to give something to you. Three lucky readers who leave a comment on this post will get 25 free cards from Shutterfly! So take a look around their site, let me know what cards catch your eye. I'll pick winners next Monday, the 24th (don't forget to leave an email address if you don't have one in your profile!).

Good luck!

Disclaimer: The opinions in this post are 100% mine. In exchange for this post, we will receive free holiday cards from Shutterfly. If you're a blogger and would like a chance at receiving 25 free holiday cards from Shutterfly this year, register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

Pumpkin Picking

2011-10-16T19:43:00.004-04:00

We took a trip up to Muscoot Farm early this morning to pick out our 2011 pumpkins. Matthew has a little cold, but that didn't dampen his spirits for the trip.
Noah, as usual, was just along for the ride.
Matt tried to calmly explain the pumpkin picking process to Matthew.
Matthew wasn't interested! He just wanted to run from pumpkin to pumpkin to pumpkin.
We were able to corral him enough to take some cute pictures.
I tried to recreate our cuteness from last year.
Matthew did a good job picking out 3 pumpkins to take home.
Noah was happy to be out of his carseat for a bit.
I love this photo because I think it's funny - doesn't it look like Matt's doing shadow puppets on my jacket??!!
We loaded up our wagon with our pumpkin and farmer's market goodies.
And we headed home.
When we got home Matthew was beyond excited to decorate our new pumpkins.
He worked with Matt to get the pieces just right.
And now, Woody and Buzz stand guard at our front door.

Mommy's new phone

2011-10-15T19:45:00.003-04:00

I got a new phone yesterday. The Apple iPhone 4s. I was due for an upgrade and when I upgrade, I upgrade! The best feature of my new phone - the camera. I think it's better than my actual camera!

To test the waters, I took all my pictures today with my phone. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

We drove out to Paramus today to pick up a few things at Ikea. Matthew insisted on wearing his shades today.
We hit up the Christmas Tree Store as we waited for Ikea to open. Matthew is obsessed with witches lately and just had to have this hat.
When Ikea did open, we had to take a quick break to feed Noah. So we indulged Matthew and let him have a frozen yogurt cone at 10 in the morning (I didn't feel too bad about it because we sat next to a dad who was feeding his kid the same thing!).
Ikea already has their holiday displays up. Matthew thought the ornaments were edible. I stopped him just as he was going to take a bite.
I managed to get Matthew to agree to a quick pic in front of the tree with Noah. Not exactly Christmas-card-worthy, but cute nonetheless!
Tomorrow we are headed out to Muscoot to pick up our pumpkins. It'll be nice to carry just my nice new lightweight phone and know that I'll get such great pictures!

Wordless Wednesday: Matthew's partial list for Santa

2011-10-12T08:23:00.004-04:00

Pics from the pros

2011-10-10T19:20:00.002-04:00

We went to the mall today to attempt pro pics of the boys. And my fears for utter and total chaos were put to rest! Both boys actually cooperated.

We got some adorable pics of Noah.
Some unbelievably cute shots of Matthew.
And some "couldn't you just die from all the cuteness in the photo" pics of the two of them.
Even the bad pics were good pics!

Not Exactly Fall in NY

2011-10-09T19:16:00.004-04:00

It was hot today in NY. It's been hot for the past few days - but today was August hot. And it was also the day of the town festival. We love this little fair in town. Although you would never know that my boys had any excitement for it. Could they look any more bored?
I did manage to get a good pic of Noah.
And a cute pic of Matthew too.
But for most of the afternoon, they looked like this.
Matthew got a free book from the local library. It was about robots - Matthew's latest obsession.
We did squeeze in a few vendor games.
Collected a few little goodies along the way.
And we discovered that instead of kissing babies, politicians now just sticker them.
It was a short day out. Too hot for too much fun. Tomorrow it's going to be hot too - but we'll be in the air-conditioned mall attempting to get pro pics of the boys done.

If anyone sees Mother Nature, can you tell her to send fall to NY!

Wordless Wednesday: Casual Dining

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-04:00

The Weekend According To My Phone

2011-10-03T08:46:00.002-04:00

Matthew awash in a sea of toys.
Noah's big boy toy stalking continues.
As does his thievery.
Reading is fundamental.
Silly hats at Target.
Mmmmm...Pez.
Sack of potatoes.

And last, but certainly not least - Agent P.

Big Boy Toys

2011-09-29T19:39:00.003-04:00

Hey, these toys look way cooler than those baby toys they give me.
Hmmmmm....maybe Matthew will share some with me.
I'll just scooch my way over there.
Almost...there...wait, what's he doing - is he getting up??!!
No problem, I'll just turn myself around and come this way now.
Oh - this isn't a good view.
ARGHHHHHH - stinky!!!
Sigh...he's moved again. Oh well, guess I'll settle for my baby toys!

Wordless Wednesday: Rub A Dub Dub

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

Wedding Day

2011-09-24T19:36:00.005-04:00

Matt's good friend got married today. Matt was a groomsman, so our day started out pretty early. First stop, grandma's house to pick up Matthew (Matthew and Noah spent the night there since Matt and I were out late at the rehearsal dinner last night).
Both the kids were invited, but we decided to only take Matthew since Noah is so young still. Matthew was quite excited to go to another party.
We sat outside the church for a bit and waited for the others to arrive. I let Matthew sit in my lap and we attempted another self portrait. We still stink.
Matthew promised he would be good in church. But I know better than to trust this face.
So we sat way in the back. Near the doors. In case we needed to make an emergency exit.
Matthew seemed to think I wanted all the missalettes. So he handed the entire row of them to me one by one.
He played with his toys for a bit. Then just sort of hung out until mass was over.
Then the fun began. First stop: bubbles.
Matthew doesn't know the difference between blow and spit yet. So he didn't have much success. And he refused all offers of help. So he basically just spit a lot outside of the church.
Then it was off to the reception where the fun continued. Second stop: bouncy house.
Matthew wasn't interested in anything else.
It really didn't matter to him that there was this pesky thing called a wedding reception going on.
All that mattered was that he could slide.
And slide some more.
We eventually dragged him into the tent for some appetizers. See how happy he was to take a break??!!
I like this picture because it almost looks like Matthew's holding a cigar and telling me to get away in a little gangsta sort of way. His eyes are saying "I know people mommy. I can make things happen"
So in the interest of my personal safety, we allowed Matthew to return to the mayhem (after forcing all of 2 pieces of cheese and some apple juice into his mouth).
Then it was one forced spin on the dance floor and we were on our way.
And all of 2 minutes into the ride home, Matthew fell asleep. Because that's how he rolls.

Farm Hands

2011-09-22T19:56:00.004-04:00

Part of the birthday fun we had with the boys last weekend included a trip to one of our favorite local spots - Muscoot Farm.
It was our first taste of fall activities. The farmer's market didn't disappoint.
We checked out the goats.
And stopped by the horse barn to see how many hands we've grown this past year.
Matthew was game to go into the dairy barn this trip.
But he wasn't interested in walking by Bessie. We waved to her and promptly turned around.
We took a little break in the shade.
Matthew enjoyed a little snack.
Then it was time for a quick walk through the old barn before piling into the car and heading home.
Next month we'll return for our pumpkin. And many trips in between I'm sure. :-)

Wordless Wednesday: Favorite birthday gift

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

A Bronx Birthday

2011-09-19T21:02:00.006-04:00

Matt and I both took the day off today to take the boys to the doc (Matthew for his 3 year appointment, Noah for his 5-month). We decided to make the rest of the day a special one for the birthday boy and took Matthew to his first trip to the zoo.
One of the great things about the Bronx Zoo is their Children's Zoo. Matthew kept asking me "What's this?" as I was trying to take his picture at the entrance. That would be his catch phrase for the day.
"I want to be a bird" - yes, my child said that. All because he got to sit in this little nest at the very first exhibit he saw at his very first trip to the zoo.
Matt played tour guide.
And he was also the official "picker-upper" for the day as well.
Matthew had no interest in being a spider. I have taught him well.
He was intrigued with Franklin's shell.
Matt was too.
Matthew was not as amused by this as Matt and I were.
He was amused by King Julian in the Madagascar exhibit.
I can't remember what this exhibit was about - but it's a cute picture, so I couldn't not put in on the blog.
The sea lions weren't very active, but we hung out and waited for them to swim by.
There were neat Lego exhibits throughout the park. Matthew tried to dismantle this one. Thankfully no guards were on duty today.
After lunch we had a little birthday treat - cookies and cream ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. And two spoons.
I forgot Matthew's hat at home and with the sun beating down and Matthew being the sensitive-skinned kid he is, I had to buy him a new one. And if you can believe it, that's the ONLY thing I bought at the zoo today.
Matthew tried to pull off some pieces of this lion too - I don't know when the Lego obsession started!
We took a few rides on the Bug Carousal.
Yes, that's right, The Bug Carousel. Creeped me out, but Matthew enjoyed it.
Then it was a quick stop at the giraffe exhibit (real and fake).
Afterwards, we hit up the Dora & Diego 4D show. We had to hold the glasses on Matthew's tiny head.
Our last exhibit of the day was the monorail through Asia, where we got to see red pandas, tigers and a whole bunch of other species that I can't even remember.
Then we jumped on the shuttle to the parking lot. Matthew made sure we knew where we were going.
Then it was adios Bronx Zoo - see you next time!
Now, Matthew is tucked up in his bed. His first full day as a three-year-old complete. And a good day it was.

Happy birthday my sweet boy! And many more. :-)

Party Central

2011-09-18T18:41:00.007-04:00

The party madness began early on Saturday morning. Starting with making cupcakes for the shindig. Matthew wanted to help (I think he just wanted a reason to wear his new super awesome doggie apron).
Matthew's idea of help was squeezing the icing tubes. Fun, but not very productive.
Noah supervised.
Matthew was good at icing the cupcakes. I let him eat his work even though it was 8 o'clock in the morning (because if you can't eat cupcakes on your party day, when can you??!!).
Before the guests arrived I gave Matthew his very own car tattoo. Then I told him to show me his hand. Which I guess, technically, he did.
Once the guests started to arrive, the insanity began. The swingset got quite a workout on Saturday.
There was lots to eat - including the kid-friendly mac&cheese and chicken nuggets.
We had a built-in babysitter for Noah for the day.
We also had a built-in pinata holder. The tallest person at the party is always my brother. Therefore he is always the pinata holder.
And as usual, there was madness when the right string was finally pulled.
Matthew's birthday present got quite a workout too.
We had cupcakes for dessert.
And of course, CAKE!!!
Matthew used to hate the birthday song when he was younger, but now gets that the song = cake. So all is good.
We were happy to see a lot of our family and friends.
And the kids were happy to run around like maniacs for a few hours.
After the guests left Matthew opened up his present from grandma and grandpa.
His very own boom box - with a load of CDs to go with it.
And at the end of the day, we were all exhausted. And we all pretty much did this:
And tomorrow, when we wake up, Matthew will OFFICIALLY be 3.

Preparations are under way...

2011-09-16T08:28:00.005-04:00

T-Minus a little over 24 hours until party time. There is A LOT to do...

Tonight - after lights out - I'll make cupcakes.
Accessories on standby.
Tomorrow morning I'll rip open the packages of the decorations.
And I'll fill the pinata.
The party bags will be transferred from the office (with the awful lighting), to the kitchen.
At 10AM, I'll head over to Party City to get a few huge obnoxious balloons.

Then I'll pick up the food at BJs. I'll return home to help put out the tables, set up the outdoor toys and get the 2 beasts - I mean, the 2 angels, of course - dressed for the day.

Party time is 12 sharp.

We'll be ready!

Oh, and the weather - yeah, I think we'll be okay!

Wordless Wednesday: Random Phone Pics

2011-09-14T08:16:00.001-04:00

The Grange Fair

2011-09-12T08:16:00.006-04:00

One of the last fairs of the season was the past weekend. And it happened to fit into our schedule for Sunday morning.

The Grange Fair is a combo of 4H type exhibits, produce and animal competitions and of course, rides, games and food. We started out by checking out the animals. Matthew insisted that we go immediately to the rides and games, but we convinced him to take a quick spin around the exhibit tents first.
Quite an interesting array of exhibits this year - including pastel chickens. First I've ever seen.
Whenever any of the animals dared make any noise, Matthew was quick to tell them to "Calm down now, just calm down" (I guess I say this to him too often!).
Of course his insistence comes with the appropriate hand gesture. These geese were not impressed.
So we went along, waving to the animals as we went by.
Checked out some pretty neat produce contests.
And even took in a bit of history.
Then it was game time. Matthew is probably the only 3-year-old who knows what Plinko is - and he insisted this be his first game of the day. As it was sponsored by a local dentist, Matthew was unimpressed with his t-shirt and toothbrush prize.
But we soldiered on. Stopping for a quick photo op.
Oh, Noah was there too, of course.
Our first ride of the day was a tractor hayride. Ish's first ever.
Noah's too.
Then we met up with cousin Mare Mare.
The two of them were pros at the pick-a-duck game.
And they had fun together on the carousel.
While Matt and Matthew were on the Dunbo ride, I tried my luck at a water game.
And I let Matthew pick out a prize when I won. He opted for a big Eeyore.
Break time. Dance time.
Mare Mare was not a fan of this ride. Matthew insisted on going on 3x.We stopped for a quick lunch.
Eeyore was in charge of keeping Matthew's hat safe.

Matt has his hands full.
After lunch it was back to the mania of games.
And more rides.
And when we left (even though Matthew didn't want to), we took the long way home after we looked back and saw this in the back seat.

So about last week...

2011-09-08T14:30:00.004-04:00

While Matt was away for a few days I was in charge of entertaining the two maniacs. First order - dinner at the mall with grandma and grandpa on Friday night. And of course, no trip to the mall would be complete with Matthew scamming for quarters for rides.

Mornings were lazy - consisting of lounging on the couch watching cartoons.
Afternoons were same old same old - because watching a movie in a bucket isn't exactly out of the norm here.
Noah entertained himself for the most part. Lots to see and do when you can roll over by yourself.
Lunches and dinners were pretty easy. You want a mini cheeseburger and a bowl of grapes? You got it.
Noah seemed to be taking notes as he watched his brother act like a lunatic all weekend.
We watched Phineas & Ferb The 2nd Dimension about 40 bazillion times.
Taking a break only to start a new project - this is the beginning of a Christmas plant that I hope will come to life in a few months.
Oh, and we went to Target too. There's a Starbucks there. Good for me. Good for Ish.
When Matt came home we busted out the bouncer as a new toy for Noah. He loves it! He really gets himself bouncing.
With a little help from Matt's college yearbook of course.
Matthew continued his mania by insisting on using our whisk and a wooden spoon to cook up his little toys.
So all in all, a good long weekend was had by all! If only they could all be long weekends...

Wordless Wednesday: Train Town

2011-09-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

A Busy Weekend

2011-09-04T20:08:00.003-04:00

Matt just got home from 4 days away. While I was alone with the boys I took a bunch of photos of our adventures together with both my camera and phone. I have some downloading to do. But I'm tired. And the main air conditioner in the house went kaput yesterday, so I'm also hot. So, until we get our act together, here are a few pics from last week.

Matt assembled Ish's birthday gift. We wanted it up for his party on the 17th. Of course we couldn't exactly hide it until then!

And now, we return you to regularly scheduled programming.

:-)

Ahhh, September

2011-09-01T09:49:00.002-04:00

I love September. The gateway to fall. Usually it brings cooler temps to NY. The days get "crisp" - and we trade shorts for long pants, sandals for shoes. One day it will mean getting ready for school with two maniacs. Buying new pencil cases and probably Cars themed notebooks and backpacks.

September starts out with our wedding anniversary (today marks 4 years).
It also marks the anniversary of our first major debt commitment. We're 4 years into a 30 year mortgage come the 11th.
It also marks the birthday of maniac #1. Three years old on the 19th.
This particular September calendar is pretty jammed packed for us. Starting with Matt going out of town for the holiday weekend. Then it's Matthew's party at the house, a baptism of the daughter of a good friend then Matt's best friend's wedding.

Then, before we know it, we'll flip the calendar again. October brings Matt's 20th college reunion, my niece's birthday and then Halloween.

I'm ready!

Wordless Wednesday: Me & My Boys

2011-08-31T05:00:00.001-04:00

Self-Portraits: We're Doing It Right!

2011-08-30T06:19:00.003-04:00

Me and Matt can't seem to get it right. Me and Matthew can't either. And me, Matt and Matthew are a disaster together. But me and my Noah Bear - we got this thing down!

A Short Long Weekend.

2011-08-28T18:15:00.014-04:00

On Friday we drove up to our trusty little vacation spot - Lake George.
We stayed at our favorite hotel - The Quality Inn. Nice rooms, a heated pool, and most importantly...
...free breakfast!
We hit the ground running - got out of the car and immediately got ourselves ready for a walk through town and a little lunch.
Noah was born to wear this hat.
Ish scammed his first souvenir of the trip at the first local store we passed by on the way to lunch. A frog stuffed with frogs. His favorite.
The baby frogs made an appearance at the lunch table.
Noah hung out with grandpa while we waited for our food.
Ish entertained grandma with his froggie silliness.
After lunch we stopped at a little arcade for some gaming fun.
Ish seemed eager to learn how to earn his tickets.
After our walk it was back to the hotel for some pool time!
Ish insisted on jumping the whole time.
Noah watched the mania from the sidelines, safe and dry with grandma.
The next morning we hit up the hotel's continental breakfast.
Then we killed some time before the amusement park opened by playing with new toys.
Noah got a little manicure while we waited.
On the way to the park we hit up a few souvenir shops in town - Noah was psyched!
Then it was time for rides and games at The Great Escape.
One of the first rides Ish insisted on was driving the antique cars. He's in there, I promise.
See, there's his little head!
Ish is the master at beating grandpa at park games.
One of his many winnings of the day.
Ish didn't want to stop riding and playing so we had to trick him into a little lunch that we told him was merely a "snack" break.
While we ate, Noah enjoyed the fuzziness of Ish's winnings.
After lunch I made Matt and grandpa play this game.
Because first prize was a walkable Scooby Doo that was just too cute.
And even better in Ish's eyes was meeting the real thing.
Matt didn't mind playing the games for Ish - he enjoys the competition. And he's good at them - which is good for Ish's stuffed animal collecting habit.
Noah is under there somewhere, 10 bucks if you can actually see him.
Thankfully there were cooling spots throughout the park. I think Matt and I enjoyed these more than Ish.
Even in the blazing sun, Ish had a blast on the rides.
His favorites were the driving rides.
He even brought along his newest backseat driver for a few of them.
Another park thrill for Ish - meeting "Franklin" (a pretty good copy if you ask me!)
Ish found him quite huggable.
After the park we went back to the hotel for a bit to cool down before hitting the town again. We made sure to hit up some nice photo spots. Like this store-front moose.
We had to stop for ice cream along the way - I mean, we HAD to. It's Lake George people!!!
Best soft serve on the east coast.
Our last stop was this little fountain for a few photos.
Noah was asleep for this one - it's such a nice picture, I'm going to have to make sure to wake up any sleeping children next year so that we can get a full family shot.Then it was time to hit the road (a day earlier than planned) so that we could greet Irene when she came through our town the next day.

And she did. Though thankfully she didn't do a whole lot of damage to us.

So even though it was a short weekend, it was a great one - we certainly made the most of our time there. And we can't wait to get back there next year!

Wordless Wednesday: Nemo Butt

2011-08-24T05:00:00.000-04:00

Weekend Wrapup

2011-08-21T20:22:00.004-04:00

Matt took Matthew to his first movie in the theater on Saturday. They saw Winnie the Pooh. Matthew told me all about how Eeyore lost his tail - but it was ok, they found it. (And yes, Matthew does look unhappy in this picture - Matt took it when he told him they had to leave the theater. Matthew didn't want to go - he insisted they stay and watch it again.)
While they were at the movies, Noah and I hung around the house. I did some chores while he played with his Baby Einstein toy we unearthed from the under-house storage earlier this week.
Saturday night we discovered that Matthew can still fit his skinny butt into the Bumbo. Meanwhile, Noah almost gets stuck in it.
And one of the reasons why is because unlike his brother, Noah likes to eat. He started solids this week. Rice cereal and bananas. Yum.
Sunday morning started out with a trip to the diner - we requested our usual table.
Noah was a champ. Eventually falling asleep as we ate.
In between yelling "Come here fishies!!" Matthew chowed down on a Belgian waffle.
And Matt was quite happy with his eggs and coffee.
Then it was off to Walmart to pick up a few odds and ends. We happened to find this in the $5 DVD bin:

So we let Matthew spend the rest of this rainy Sunday watching movies while he played with every.single.toy.he.owns. Which allowed me and Matt to tackle some projects around the house.

All in all, a pretty good way to spend 2 whole days together. Too bad the weekends always get interrupted by those pesky workdays. :-P

Big Belly Banks Winner

2011-08-19T13:52:00.003-04:00

The winner of the Big Belly Banks Giveaway is commenter #7 - Laura:

Laura said...: Oh my goodness--I can't believe I've never seen these before. They are adorable!
I'd be thrilled to get the 23" Blue DINO for my almost 3-year old. It would match his room perfectly and help us to continue to teach him the importance of saving money.

Thanks!
Laura
Laura - check your email!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Wordless Wednesday: Staring Contest

2011-08-17T05:00:00.000-04:00

Big Belly Banks: Review & Giveaway CLOSED

2011-08-14T20:56:00.003-04:00

Have you heard of Big Belly Banks? No? Well, let me introduce you.

This is a Big Belly Bank.
This is my child with a Big Belly Bank.
This is my child asking me for money to put in his Big Belly Bank.
And this is my child putting said money into his Big Belly Bank.
Big Belly Banks are hand-crafted, American-made wooden banks. They are quite sturdy (very important for those toddler years!) and loads of fun. We have decided to incorporate Matthew's Big Belly Bank into our potty training/good behavior efforts and so far, it's working! The promise of a penny, nickle or quarter excites him to no end - he loves to "feed" his dinosaur bank!

Big Belly Banks come in 20" and 23" sizes and they will personalize your bank for free. I think they would make a nice gift for the upcoming holidays! They really have a great selection for all interests.

Big Belly Banks is generously offering one of my readers the chance to win one of these great banks. All you have to do is head over to their site HERE and check out their selection of 20" and 23" banks. Then come back here and tell me what bank you would choose and who you would give it to. That's it! Please make sure your email address is visible in your profile, or leave your address in your comment.

I'll choose a winner on Friday.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: While I was given the product to review by Big Belly Banks, the opinions in this post are 100% mine (and Ish's!). We were not compensated in any way for our review.

Wordless Wednesday: Weekend Chiro Visit*

2011-08-10T05:00:00.000-04:00

*Or, as Matthew calls it, "getting fixed"

Random Friday

2011-08-05T08:54:00.004-04:00

Matthew is very anxious for Noah to grow up so they can play together.
Noah thinks his brother is ridiculous. He pats him on the head as if to say "Silly boy"
We attempted self-portraits the other morning.
We still stink at them.
And Noah's newest hobby is sucking his fingers and being a drooly mess.
Exciting stuff, no??!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Brotherly Quality Time

2011-08-03T05:06:00.000-04:00

Weekend Water Fun

2011-08-01T10:19:00.005-04:00

Since it was hot but bearable this weekend, we busted out the water toys for Matthew to play with.

Matt put them together and Matthew waited patiently for him to hook up the hose to put in the water.
Noah also waited quite patiently.
Matthew waited...
...and waited...
Then after what seemed like an eternity (but in reality was only about 5 minutes), it was game time!
Matthew is really into pirates lately and he LOVED this water table.
He kept saying "We're going to Pirate Island" - which I think is from Jake and The Neverland Pirates.
He had a blast with all the little toys the table came with.
Noah was excited to see Matthew having so much fun. He looked like he wanted to join in!
We also set up this little play sink for Matthew as well. He kept asking to wash his hands.
And to complete the trilogy of water tables, Matt rigged up this water-park-slide-rapids-thingie that we picked up at Once Upon A Child a few weeks ago.
Noah watched intently as Matthew bounced around.
From water toy...
...to water toy...
...to water toy.
Then he got bored, sat back and chewed on his hands until we went back inside.
And that about sums up our weekend!

$11.50

2011-07-30T20:59:00.004-04:00

That was our total today. We scored some pretty neat vintage toys this trip.

The first one is a Sesame Street Farm set. We paid $5. It's listed on a few collectible sites for $25 and up.
We're missing a few pieces (from what I can tell on the collectible sites) but we have just enough to make Ish happy.
At that same sale, we paid $2 for a pack of trucks (which included a Mater) and $2 for a bag of magnetic Dora cars. Not vintage by any means, but Ish loves anything with wheels.
The real vintage score of the weekend is this Fisher Price Children's Hospital (circa 1976). It's listed online for $40 and up depending on the condition. We paid $2.50.
It's in great condition considering it's from 76 and has been played with.
We're missing a few pieces, but what we have is pretty neat.
And it looks like we have all the original people that came with the set.
Nothing for mommy or daddy on this outing, but I'm really enjoying watching Matthew play with these "old" toys like they're brand new!

Wordless Wednesday: One Tired Baby

2011-07-27T05:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday's Score

2011-07-23T20:33:00.002-04:00

In case you don't know - it's hot out. And I mean H-O-T. Not really a day to gallivant outdoors. But at least one day every weekend we like to get out of the house for getting-out-of-the-house sake, so we left early and hit up a few tag sales before the temp went above 90 (mind you, it was 84 when we left the house at 9AM!).

The big score of the day is this Thomas racing track. In a word - A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
It's small, it's self-propelled (and dare I say, a little "old school") and it's Ish's new favorite.
He has spent hours today already releasing the trains and rooting for Thomas to win.
Best $5 we ever spent.
Our second score was this wooden fire house.
It opens up to become a "doll house" of sorts (the masculine kind!). Only $3. Quite a steal.
We picked up this Thomas matching game for $2. It's brand new. Matthew loves matching games lately.
We also picked up this huge exercise ball. Matthew doesn't know it's an exercise ball - he just knows it's lightweight and easy to pick up and throw. For 75 cents, we couldn't say no. He'll have fun with this once it's cool enough to play outside again.
Matt scored a deal today too - a tall wooden ladder for only $10. Apparently those things go for about $100 at Home Depot - so he couldn't pass it up.

Funny, there's never anything for mommy! ;-)

Wordless Wednesday: Rock Stars

2011-07-20T06:01:00.001-04:00

Catch & Release

2011-07-18T11:53:00.004-04:00

It was 88 in the shade yesterday. Hot. And humid.
So we started our day at the mall so that Matt could get his haircut.
Everyday I'm thankful for the dollar store for these little distractions.
Noah doesn't really need any more distraction than the constant movement of the Sit & Stand.
When we got home I promised Ish we could play "the fishy game" outside.
It's just an old school rod and magnet with little magnetic fishes to catch that I found on E-Bay.
Ish thinks it's the best invention in the world. Oh, and that's a visitor's badge on his shirt from the veteran's home where we visited Uncle Dickie earlier. They have a HUGE fish tank there - which really put Ish in the mood for some backyard fishing.
It was so hot (even in the shade) that at one point Ish sat next to me on the storage bench to continue his fun.
Ish is not one to sit down willingly - that should tell you just how hot it was.
And even though the skies were clear and the air was hot and the forecast calls for a scorching week ahead...
...we know winter will be here before we know it! And we're prepared. Well, our fireplace is prepared anyway.

Wordless Wednesday: Goodbye Maternity Leave

2011-07-13T05:00:00.001-04:00

Tummy Time Troubles

2011-07-11T21:41:00.002-04:00

Hey mom, look at me! I'm a Tummy Time pro!!
I can look this way...
...and that way!
Oh, I'm feeling a little unsteady...uh oh!
OUCH!
Oh no, you did NOT just take a picture of that - did you??!! I'm calling grandma!

Saturday's Score

2011-07-09T16:02:00.005-04:00

We hit up a few sales today after a family trip to the chiropractor. It's hot out and I guess a lot of people are on vacation because there weren't many tag sales today - but we were still able to score some good deals!

Score one for Ish is this little Playmobile Pirate set. Matthew is very into pirates right now (due to Jake and his pals on Disney). This retails for about $12 - we got it for $1! I think it'll be a nice take and go piece.
This was our biggest score of the day - a brand new, in the box Little Einsteins Transform and Go Rocket. This is pretty neat - you program the rocket to go in any which way you want (forward, backward, in a circle, figure 8, etc). Very cool - Matthew loves it. We paid $8 - I could not find this any cheaper than $49 on the net.
We picked up these Matchbox tracks for $5 - the starter sets of these tracks are in the $20-30 range, so this bag full was a good deal. Matthew loves to build tracks lately for his trains and cars, so he'll have fun with these.
Matthew is also very into Veggie Tales lately. Not sure how that started, but they're bible-based stories so I'm glad he likes them. These puzzles were $1 a piece.
That same tag sale also had Veggie Tale dvds for $2 a piece - we picked up 4 (Matthew took one with him to watch before I snapped my pictures!).
Matthew saw these and had to have them - he has no idea how to play the game, he just thinks they're blocks to play with. For $1, we humored him.
Matt also scored at the sales today - he got a bunch of tool stuff. I have no idea what all this is, but Matt knows his prices and he was quite happy with his haul too!