It's Nice to Be Us

Class Valentines...

2012-02-09T21:58:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Pinterest I got lots of ideas for the boys' classes this year! I was even inspired to come up with a few for the teachers on my own.

Between Joshua's love for cars and his cute speech impediment there was no question about making these "I WHEELIE like you" valentines. He loves M and M's too so we threw in a mini pack for fun. $1 for a 6 pack at Walmart. The Hotwheels were only $1.07 also at Walmart.

For Jacob I let him choose from a bunch of ideas I had pinned. He really likes Pop Rocks so the "You Rock" valentine was a nice choice. I even found cotton candy flavored Pop Rocks at 5 and Below for 89 cents. Cotton Candy happens to be one of his favorite flavors!

How cute is this little bow and arrow?

For the teachers I used skinny cow candies that I had a few buy one get one free coupons for. They came to $3.84 for twelve individually wrapped candies. I made up two sayings, one for teachers and one for before and after school caretakers. A tad cheesy but hey it's Valentines Day!

Oh how I love Pinterest for the holiday ideas!

Halloween!

2011-11-21T20:10:00.001-05:00

We have literally been on the go since Halloween. Between birthdays, cub scouts, and the rest of day to day life. Here are some of the pictures from our snowy but fabulous trick or treat 2011!

The first three were from Jacob's school dance "fright night"!

Jacob & Lily!

We also had a Halloween party at "the club" with Grandma and Grandpa...

This was an interactive witch someone was hiding somewhere and spooking the kids...

They had some really cool carved pumpkins...

Spongebob and Gary...

Superman checking out the ghost napkins...

Sammi the bee...

They had these cool castles in the closed in patio...

Love the gargoyles!

The grand finale magic show!

The real dove...

Yikes!

The teeth had different screws, very creative!

Spooky smores for Joshua's Pre-K party...

The pre-trick or treat pose...

The snow did not stop this neighborhood!

I still can't get over the black hair on Jacob!

A very tall and skinny Angry bird...

Big and little super men...

Full size candy bar score!

The spooky house!

Pinterest found pumpkin roll recipe!

2011-11-21T20:02:00.001-05:00

I got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs that I follow on pinterest

"how does she"

Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Roll

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. soda
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup pumpkin (canned- not pie filling, pure pumpkin)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts (optional- I exclude them cuz I’m not a fan of walnuts)

Mix everything except nuts.
Grease & wax cookie sheet.
Pour into pan & sprinkle nuts.
Bake 15 min. at 375 degrees.
Roll into T-towel for about 10 minutes.
Unroll & spread in filling.

Filling

8 oz. cream cheese (250g)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. soft butter

Mix well.

You can go to How does she for great step by step pics!

This one was for my dad's birthday and it disappeared pretty quickly!

Wordless Wednesday Cousins...

2011-10-26T09:12:00.000-04:00

Jacob and Joshua adore their littlest cousin Connor James who was born on 8-8-11. Jacob was delighted to get to hold him on his lap...

Tea Town Fall Festival

2011-10-16T20:53:00.004-04:00

Saturday was such a nice cool autumn day for the Tea Town Fall Festival. The boys were happy to be in the woods.

Joshua chose a simple ghost face painting...

Jacob picked an elaborate but very cool ninja warrior...

Lord of the flies?

A retired teacher named Peter, that Brett happened to know from his White Plains days, was doing a pond life study with microscopes...

Poppy was really happy that his really cool wheel chair enabled him to get a good ways down the trail.

Jacob discovered this octopus root...

There were some tables set up with animal pelts and skulls for the kids to learn about animals you might find in the woods.

There were also some little fossil digs that the boys were fascinated by.

Jacob went nuts over the archery. Yes they were real arrows!

Josh enjoyed it too and eventually even popped one of the balloons with minimal assistance.

They LOVED the zip line and went on it a number of times. Jacob paved the way by being the brave big brother.

Joshua entertained everyone in the near vicinity with his howls of joy.

Gigi enjoyed spending time with her grandsons...

We made nature pumpkins with rock eyes, red cabbage hair, and other natural accoutrements...

Gigi helped make some feathered walking sticks...

Joshua thought this wing measurement display was for measuring the walking sticks...

Jacob took his time making some other eco art with beans and wood slices...

There was some good live music near the food area and everyone that volunteered for the festival was very friendly! We would definitely like to go back next year

Easy Fun Halloween Shirts!

2011-10-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a great offer on Mamapedia I got a one year subscription to Disney Family Fun Magazine for $5! As I thumbed through my second issue, I came across these super cute Iron-ons from sei crafts .

I let the boys pick which "my own" kit they wanted.

Jacob choose the monster and Joshua wanted lil'jack.

I ordered these tagless black long sleeve shirts from Hanes.com for buy one get one 50% off.

Joshua kept wanting to know when his shirt was going to come in the mail. Needless to day he was very happy to get them!

Here is what each pack contained:

We had to be VERY careful pulling the transfers off of the backing. One we had peeled them we laid them onto the shirts

We had to Iron them with a very hot iron for about

20 seconds = (me 15 seconds + the boys 5 seconds)

They really felt such a sense of ownership in the process!

The results were really cool!

Jacob's monster has three eyes and two mouths!

We even took some extra eyes and a mouth and added a super cute back on Joshua's shirt.

The results were two very happy customers!

Wordless Wednesday Fireman's Fair Sept...

2011-10-05T08:12:00.000-04:00

The infamous dragon coaster at our first night time fair...

Wordless Wednesday... Family Day at preschool

2011-09-14T15:45:00.000-04:00

Spongebob face...

The singing "Grapes(4K)"...

It's a grand ole flag...

Bat face (with reduced black for easy cleanup)...

Kathleen's Tea Room with Janet

2011-09-13T09:18:00.001-04:00

On Saturday Janet and I finally met up after not having gotten together for over a year! We set the date two months in advance because we have both been so busy. I have been dying to check out Kathleen's Tea Room in Peekskill and this girls luncheon seemed like a perfect reason to check it out.

The outside of the building is so cute it is covered in creeping vines. It didn't hurt that the weather on Saturday was awesome.

Janet insisted that we both hold up our pinky's as we drank our Scottish Breakfast Tea.

The china is all mismatched which makes it so charming. I loved our sea themed teapot.

We ordered the High Tea assortment which is a three tiered serving tower. On the bottom there were assorted tea sandwiches, sliced veggies, and a few pickles. In the center there were delicious warm scones and a crumpet. We were so excited that we immediately grabbed a scone with some butter and raspberry jam, the waitress told us to start with them while they were still warm.

Here are the bottom two tiers sans scones.

On the top tier were little tart-lets, a truffle, lemon shortbread finger cookies, sliced kiwi, banana slivers, watermelon bits, strawberries, orange wedges, grapes, and apple slices. How cute!

Janet and I both concurred that it is very important to make the time to have fun with friends that we don't get to see too often and to just relax and catch up. Next time Janet is going to pick the place!

Wordless Wednesday...

2011-08-17T08:57:00.000-04:00

Jacob at Soccer Camp

Joshua and the "beautiful" Snowball bush

Happy Summer!

Egg gathering at the Stone Barns Center...

2011-08-14T21:10:00.002-04:00

There are so many awesome farms in Westchester and Stone Barns is definitely on the upper echelon when it comes to these farms.

You almost feel like you are going back in time or to an English farm when you view the barns from the entrance...

Complete with the rocky hillsides that were also misty from the rains we experienced on our visit...

Everywhere you look there was something that was very pleasing to look at...

As far as we were concerned the rain just added to the charm and an added bonus was that the other family that had reserved a spot cancelled so we had a private tour!

Here is the entrance to the visitor center and restaurants. You need to make reservations a few months in advance to eat at the Blue Hill restaurant. It is on my list of things I want to do!

Even the grounds maps are gorgeous...

There is a pretty herb garden at the entrance to the visitor center...

Inside the old silos are cozy nooks for sitting...

Of course Jacob thought this was too cool...

This cute rooster fence was on our walk towards the egg-mobiles...

Here were some happy sheep (happy to be rained on because they get hot in the sun!)...

And finally we got to the egg-mobiles for our egg gathering adventure...

I want the boys to learn where the food we eat comes from. We get so detached living the modern life that I think it's important to teach the kids how things really work. At first Joshua was a little freaked out by the curious chickens that run around your feet.

The fronts of the coops open up to allow for really easy egg picking!

Jacob was so intrigued and dove right in to gathering up some eggs...

The chickens were so sweet and just stood up to let you pick the eggs right out from under them...

Our guide Carrie was very impressed with Jacob's lack of fear and gentle touch for placing the eggs in the basket...

We did a great job!

Even Joshua came around and got into it...

He was not quite as gentle as Jacob but he really enjoyed it...

Some of the chickens even shared a little cubby LOL...

Once they started they didn't want to stop!

Any cracked eggs get mixed in with the slop for the cute little black pigs that live in the pen near the chicken coops. And here is the bounty of eggs that we gathered which will either go to be sold at the farm market or will be used in one of the restaurants.

We can't wait to go back!

The boys first baseball game "The Hudson Valley Renegades"...

2011-08-14T20:11:00.003-04:00

We have heard many good things about going to see the Hudson Valley Renegades from various friends. We finally got a golden opportunity to take the boys to their first ball game when our neighbor offered us a choice of a few unused nights from a friend's season tickets. We choose August 10th and along with the tickets we were lucky to get a special parking pass too!

The stadium nicknamed "The Dutch" is really nice. They have lots of food vendors, games, and even a bounce house for the kids. It was really nice out when we got there and the boys were hungry for some stadium hot dogs!

Our seats were awesome second row right behind the catcher... Here is the pitcher getting ready to pitch the opening pitch...

I was explaining the basic rules of the game to Jacob as he intently took it all in.

Joshua was a little wild and really wanted all of the snacks that the vendors came around offering...

Somewhere in the second inning we were hit with a pretty torrential rain that forced us out of our seats for a while. We got some soft ice cream to kill some time...

I loved the rural setting of the stadium, with all the trees in the background, and I also loved the big stadium lights. The whole experience felt very Americana to me and I was glad to share it with the boys. This was despite the fact that we did not stay for the post rain field clean up or the rest of the game. We got to see one home run and the boys got a taste for the game. I would definitely do it all over again in a heartbeat!

Tea Town Hike July 9th

2011-07-29T14:11:00.001-04:00

The last time we were at Tea Town was back in April and there were no leaves on the trees yet. This time we were leaving for Cape May on Monday and wanted to get in a local hike before we left. I chose Tea Town because on a hot day the breeze from the lake trail is very refreshing, and it's close.

The first thing we stumbled upon was this little frog sunning on a rock...

There are plenty of little area's to sit and enjoy the beauty, rest, and have a snack...

I love all of the bright green Lily pad's with colorful dragon flies landing on them...

The boys wanted a hug picture taken...

Joshua loves standing on things to get his picture taken...

The walk is not too intense for the kids this little hill was the steepest it gets around the lake...

The boys LOVE these little wooden walkways over marshy areas...

Jacob was really dragging so we stopped at another conveniently placed benches for a rest... (Later in the day he had a 101.7 fever which turned out to be a bad case of Strep poor guy!)

My favorite part of the walk is this floating walkway over the lake...

My little trooper...

This rocky stairway was pretty neat too. Our April hike had brought us on the ledge above this...

And on the way down...

We stopped to take in this view and Joshua took the opportunity to talk to two resting women. He told them "This is a nice place to sit" (so cute) and then they got to pet their friendly yellow lab that put me in mind of my mom's old dog Bowie.

At Tea Town they have a special attraction called Wild Flower Island and to keep out some flower eating deer they have fenced off a section of the reserve. They recently provided these attractive gates for hikers to pass through this section. I have yet to see the flowers, it seems to be closed when we go.

More Lily pads...

Next year I want to enroll the boys in the short summer camp sessions offered at the preserve. One of the guys I work with had his son's birthday here and the same son also attended the camp and loved it! Until then I hope we get in one more hike at Tea Town later this year. Maybe we will catch the fall colors from a different higher trail.

Indepence Day!

2011-07-29T12:17:00.000-04:00

This year we had no advance plans for Independence Day. Many towns had fireworks over the weekend and not on Monday the 4th. We decided to check out the scene for fireworks at Peekskill's Riverfront Green. The riverfront is only a ten minute car trip. We drove over in the morning to check out the parking and find out some more details. The boys are always up for a playground visit. They like the playground at the Riverfront and call it the groundmaker. The name originated from a tunnel slide that quickly delivers them to the squishy rubber ground.

After we checked out the site and got tired of the heat we decided to check out the Peekskill Brewery for Lunch. They offer a nice beer selection but we did not partake since it was pretty early in the day. The food was very good but a wee bit pricey. Josh did not like the delicious mac and cheese that he got with his hot dog. Brett loved his salad and I liked my burger.

Josh was pretty flushed from the playground...

Jacob went away to planet Jacob as he played with the bamboo placemat...

Here is the cute menu board...

After lunch we went home to let the boys cool off in their new pool with a built in slide. It may not look like much to you or I but they pick up some serious speed going down the wet slide and they don't tire of it!

When we arrived at the Riverfront in the evening we were pleasantly surprised to hear a band playing on a transportable stage. There was a very diverse and laid back crowd and plenty of space for us to get comfortable while we waited for sundown.

The boys we psyched for fireworks and loved hearing the live music.

Joshua had to share one of his silly faces...

I love this shot of my three guys chilaxin!

There is something that is so intrinsically patriotic about a fireworks event on the fourth of July. This big billowing flag in the background with classic American rock playing live definitely played a role.

As the sun began to set, with the lovely Hudson River in the forefront, the anticipation rose to a climax...

After a wait on a pretty big line we had some ice cream from Mr. Softee to keep the boys busy, they were just one of the many food vendors set up along the town side of the park.

Vanilla with cherry hard dip, yummo....

Chocolate with sprinkles...

We whipped out the glowing patriotic toys...

Jacob was swinging so wildly that his flag quickly popped off of his glow stick...

Joshua's glow stick was a dud so Brett scored this sword for a pretty penny from a walking salesperson...

And finally the fireworks finally began! The show was really phenomenal...

These were like glitter...

Here is a video clip of the intense finale...

Wordless Wednessday Summer Drivin!

2011-06-29T16:24:00.000-04:00

Summertime Fun!

Joshua's wait for Cars 2 finally ended!

2011-06-25T22:08:00.002-04:00

Anyone that knows Joshua knows that he is over the top obsessed with Lightning McQueen. Well today Joshua finally got to see Lightning McQueen on the big screen! He was not born yet when Cars 1 was out but by his second birthday he was already a big fan. With all of the marketing out for the big release of #2, including the decorations from his 4th birthday party 2 weeks ago, he was out of his mind excited to see it.

We pre-purchaed tickets on Fandango and Uncle Jim took the train up from the city to join us. We got a Jumbo popcorn and had some candy treats for the boys too.

Here are Jacob and Joshua, decked out in their Cars 2 shirts, in front of the promo poster...

They had this awesome billboard in the lobby...

Here they are with Uncle Jim all ready to eat popcorn and watch the movie...

Jacob was excited to see Mater and Finn McMissile. We've been reading lots of Cars 2 books so they have a good idea about the characters and story line.

I love the 3D glasses. Brett never changed out of his dress shirt from baby Noah's baptism that we were at just before we went to the theater.

Joshua LOVED the movie, and really it was not nearly as bad as the reviews are saying. I have seen Cars 1 many, many, times and the characters are endearing enough to want to follow in this new movie. I loved going with them to Tokyo, Italy, and London. The Real 3D was really fun during the race scenes and the flying scenes too.

The glasses tend to hurt the bridge of your nose after a while so Jacob kept taking his off...

When we got home the boys discovered the new Cars 2 pajamas that I had set up on the sofa along with Mater and Lightning pillow pals. The boys really loved them.

Jacob pretended that Mater was in flying spy mode from the movie...

Here is Jacob in the Mater Jammies...

Joshua was pooped and trying to avoid the camera...

I had fun watching them enjoy it all so much!

Joshua thinks we will get the movie in the mail now (from Netflix).

We know it will be out just in time for Christmas!

The Children's Center Year End Disney Performance

2011-06-24T22:34:00.003-04:00

For the last two months Jacob has been rehearsing for the play put on by The Children's Center. This is where the children of many working parents can go before and or after school. Lakeland Schools have a great Children's center with tons of activities including the performance of this play.

Jacob's first role was as Le Fou, Gaston's little friend, in a segment of Beauty and the Beast. One of his lines was "but, but, but Gaston..."

Jacob failed to tell me that he was supposed to wear plain dark shorts and just told me that he needed plain shorts. ( I heard about this later when he joined me in the audience).

Gotta love this vest!

Here is a shot with Belle, with the blue kerchief, and more of the towns folk...

His next number was his favorite. He played a dwarf in the Hi Ho song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or "Dorfs" as Jacob says it.

It turns out that one of the dwarfs injured his foot and was unable to perform so there were only six. Here is a shot of five of the six...

He stayed very late two nights a week to practice for this particular dance that was so much more fun with the shovel props and hats!

Here are two VIP members of the audience...

Here was Snow White!

As a finale they all sang "Can you feel the love tonight."

The kids did a great job!

Joshua only covered his ears and asked if it was time to go a couple of times...

Good job Jacob!

Last day of Kindergarten!

2011-06-24T10:42:00.002-04:00

Wow has this year been so busy! I can not believe the incredible growth that Jacob went through this year. It definitely was not all easy. He had some socialization issues that likely come from being the youngest kid in his class and also from being an incredibly curious kid. By the end of the year he is right along with the rest of his classmates. He is reading so beautifully almost without hesitation. He does not love coloring but even that has come a long way. He tells me math is his favorite subject! (just like his mama) And his writing is really great. I love getting cards from him now that he writes all by his self!

Here he is today before school in the same pose that I captured in September...

Below is him back in September on his first day...

I am so proud of him!

My baby is four!

2011-06-16T23:15:00.001-04:00

Between being so busy at work and the work I did getting our house and yard ready for Joshua's 4th birthday party I have not had a second to post! I did not even get to take my own pictures of the big party. Luckily my lovely sister in law took my camera and captured some of the excitement of the day.

We invited Joshua's whole pre-school class and with a few other friends and family the total count was 20 kids!

Although I could not avoid infusing the Cars 2 theme into the party. I came up with an idea to have a back yard bug adventure.

Each kid was given a bug kit complete with a net, tweezers, built in magnifier, and to top them off (literally) they each got an adorable adventure hat. Once they were geared up the kids had to visit the different stations that I had set up to collect bugs along the way for their kits.

Here is my birthday boy with his adventure hat!

Our Mater ball pit became a Mater "snake pit" I mixed plastic snakes in with the balls and they had to dive in and grab one!

Behind the snake pit I had a bucket of bugs. The kids had to dig in peat moss (wipes off easier than dirt) for some really adorable plastic bugs. Here is my good friend Gina's son Matthew getting ready to dig in! Check out her cute post on the party at The Ish Blog!

Here is my niece Eden with her grasshopper find...

The next stop was a butterfly tent which I seriously wanted to live in. I used white mosquito netting that I clipped on some pretty felt butterflies from Michael's, hung few streamers from the dollar tree, and then hooked up Elefun and Freddy the musical fish for the kids to catch butterflies. (Luckily the parents all helped re-load the games for their kids!)

Jacob loved this too! His best friend Lily was also trying to catch her share.

Even Aunt Trisha liked the butterflies... The prize for catching a butterfly was a little fancy butterfly.

The last tent was set up with a frog pond, fishing hole, and bumble bee toss!

I really loved my frog pond. I found amazing floating lilies at Michael's for $1.49 each! I made Lily pads with two different colors of green foam and green marker. Then loaded the pond with a combo of hard plastic frogs and squishy gushy little frogs. The kids LOVED this pond too!

I loved seeing the kids with their little nets trying to scoop up the frogs!

Here is little Matthew again from The Ish Blog... (look at the cool Lilys!)

Brett cooked hot dogs for the kids on the new grill and we served them up in these cute holders from the Christmas Tree Store.

We loaded up two trays with the holders and buns and it made the whole process super smooth!

Of course we had to have cars macaroni and cheese on the side which my awesome mom helped serve up!

And Juicy Juice Cars juice boxes too!

Twenty plus kiddies ready to eat! I had one table pass around a big squishy frog and the other a squishy turtle, just to keep them busy while we got them their food.

There were wedges, cold salads, and chips and dip for the grown ups...

Ok some adults like Aunt Marie and Uncle Bob like the hot dogs too!

Even baby Noah got some food!

While we got the tables cleared, dealt with a minor injury (bloody nose for the b-day boy), and got the cake ready I had the kids play pin the spot on the lady bug for a prize of lady bug erasers. I did not blind fold them. Here is Aunt Trisha in front of the Lady bug with no spots...

And Poppy (grandpa) in front of the finished bug....

And finally there was cake (and cookies) Look at the look on Joshua's face!...

Thanks Stop and Shop!

I can't believe my little baby is now four years old!

Thank you to my helpful (and tolerant) family, Bernadine!, and my new and old friends. The best part of the day was seeing everyone have fun and watching the kids be kids!

I love you Joshua you are sweet and caring and you brighten everyone's day.

Bread Making Class at Hilltop Hanover Farm with Ruth...

2011-05-20T23:24:00.002-04:00

I somewhat recently started reading the Yorktown Patch for local news and lo and behold I noticed that Hilltop Hanover Farms is now offering different classes to the public to try to raise money to restore the farm and make it a community hub.

I came across a bread making class that sounded like a nice girls day out so I asked my good friend Ruth to join me. The crowd was a nice mix of other women, a couple of dad's with their kids, an a few couples.

Our Instructor was the lovely Margaret von der Meden. Margaret first gave us a little history about her journey in bread making as a hobby. She explained about how you can make your own flour with an attachment to the Kitchen Aid

The attachment serves as a miniature flour mill...

Some of the children at the class demonstrated how to make whole wheat flour from wheat berries...

Margaret shared some of the books that she found inspirational....

For the sake of proper rising Margaret had pre-made a few of the dough's in advance of the class.

The class helped to make this wheat dough. We put it to the side to rise and then went on to practice kneading sweet bread.

Here are some of the kids kneading the dough...

Here is a picture of Margaret...

We all braided the sweet bread into little wreaths that you can also add an egg to the center of.

Here is Ruth enjoying the fruits of our labor...

Margaret has her own line of hand made goods that she makes with honey from her bees. The goods can be seen at beehive goods. She had a sampling of her lip balms, salves, creams, and a beautiful candle.

The salves are so pretty ...

The lip balms were so beautifully and simply wrapped...

And the candle was gorgeous...

While the bread baked Ruth and I checked out some pots that were being decorated to make mothers day herb pots that would be sold the following weekend. The planters were made by volunteers from Another Step, a group of developmentally disabled adults who help on the farm.

Letting the Bread rise in the basket helps it to keep a nice shape. To the side you can see some of the honey butter that we made with Margaret's own honey!

Margaret dusting the dough with flour...

The rye dough does not rise very much because of the density of the whole grains...

We knocked on the bottoms of the loaves to check for readiness. This rye loaf was one of my favorites despite the fact that I don't normally love rye bread. This rye had a nice natural taste to it.

Here is the honey wheat loaf that we also ate with the honey butter. Cutting the loaf before baking allows for it to easily expand in the oven.

Here I am helping to slice the rye loaf.

Here are the recipes that Margaret e-mailed us.:

1. SWEET BREAD/Braided

5 cups bread flour

5tbsp+2tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1package yeast (Red Star)yeast

3 tbsp butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)

* Dissolve yeast with 5 tbsp warm milk, 1 tblsp sugar in flour

* wait until yeast bubbles and then work all flour in, either by hand or

machine. (when using machine, not not over knead.

* let rise for about one hour

* quickly knead again and form into braids as demonstrated in class

* let rise again for 30 min

* glaze with eggyolk/milk and bake at 375 for about 30 min (check as we

discussed)

2. RYE BREAD with Caraway Seeds

2 cups milk, scalded

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

4 cups rye flour

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)

proceed as above.

3. HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

3 cups warm water

2 packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup honey

5 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon salt

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

proceed as above

TIPS: what we covered in class

1. Heat oven to 500F and place a water bowl into the oven while bread is

baking.

2. turn down heat after 10 min to 375 or 350 (depending on oven)

3. Bread bakes between 30 min and an hour, depending on type.

best way to check is to turn it over and do drum-test.

(do not peek into oven as often as we did ...:)

4. POOLISH: start with about 4 TBSP Flour, Yeast, warm water at ANY time

you wish. this is your starter. add all ingredients and let it rise.

if you do not get around to baking, place dough into fridge and do it later.

Now I just need to find some time to bake at home!

April Hike at Hilltop Hanover Farm

2011-05-20T21:33:00.000-04:00

Despite the cool spring we have been having we have to get the boys out hiking. Since I was scheduled to take a bread class at the Farm that same weekend we decided to check out the trails across the street from Hilltop Hanover Farm in Yorktown. With the wind blowing I was almost tempted to jump back in the car but once we got into the woods the wind was broken by the trees and it was not too bad!

They have this cute little farm stand...

We to a look around the farm before the hike...

The farm is made even more charming by the free range chickens running all over...

Joshua had to get his rock picture in the fray...

There were bunches of native daffodils blooming in the woods...

I couldn't help but wonder how these picnic tables got here! Thank you for a quiet spot to snack...

The splashes of green coming up were so pretty...

Brett loves the old rock walls...

They boys love climbing on fallen trees with the help of their walking sticks...

Jacob brought his backyard safari walking stick...

We even climbed over some streams on stepping stones...

Cattails...

Some wildlife...

Land locked driftwood...

My three adventurers...

The Easter Bunny...

2011-04-11T08:20:00.000-04:00

Something tells me we only have another year, maybe two, with Jacob believing in mystical characters like the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy. Times seems to fly by even faster as they are becoming little men. Today we had our first argument over what shirt he should wear to school. I let him win and wear the sleeveless shirt that may be a tad too chilly for a spring day. I know all children grow up but for now I am trying to enjoy them as my little boys.

A Sunday hike...

2011-04-06T09:17:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday we were determined to get the boys out for the first hike of the year. I wanted to go to Teatown Lake Reservation because they have so many different trails and it's only about a 15 minute drive from our house.

The trails are all different. Some are grassy, some woodsy, and some are wooden walkways. We decided to go on a new trail that leads to a small waterfall in the woods. You can get maps at the nature center. Brett has a hiking book for our area with maps included. The boys were pshyched!

We found this HUGE tree that must have fallen this winter. Jacob was amazed by the size of it's roots.

This was a little bridge over a rambling brook. The boys love to stomp over the bridges.

The brook...

I thought the roots on this tree were so cool...

We were pretty far into the woods at this point. You can see the trail marker on the tree behind Brett.

Here is the secret waterfall in the woods. It's not huge but it was pretty none the less.

The stream carved out the earth under this tree and the roots were just hovering over the water...

We snacked on the bridge in front of the waterfall. Jacob was on planet Jacob...

I found some mica rock near the stream and showed the boys how cool it is. Mica is shiny and breaks off into flakes. Thanks to my Dad I have a decent science background to share with the boys.

Joshua loves to get his picture taken sitting on big rocks and he is so silly about it.

We wrapped our hike back around towards the lake to head towards the nature center and our car. Some fellow hikers took our picture.

Along this stretch we found some pretty granite.

Josh found a little rock in front of the lake that he needed a photograph of.

It's hard to see here but Jacob was pointing to a trail marker on this tree with his walking stick. He is obsessed with finding the markers even on the very tame parts of the trails.

This swan was protecting it's mate that was nesting on wildflower island in the background. It was swimming around the perimeter of the island and when Jacob started getting excited and telling us to look at it, the swan fluffed up it's feathers to make itself seem fierce.

This tree grew over some rocks and looked like an elephants foot!

I love all of the wooden walkways and bridges through the wetland areas. The little house is a gateway to wildflower island and although it is closed right now there are some interactive activities there.

I let Jacob take a different loop from us so he could feel independent. Look how little he looks!

Jacob was really into it at the end even though he was tired from hiking around a mile and a half on his skinny 5 year old legs.

I can't wait for more hikes in the warmer weather!

Wordless Wednesday... spring will come!

2011-03-30T08:19:00.001-04:00

Since the 3-11 earthquake in Japan I have been a bit overwhelmed at work and too tired to make any posts at night but I really want to keep the blog rolling. We have been having a rough start to spring here in the east. But lo and behold our Magnolia tree has buds!

And the tough little crocus have graced us with their presence...

Rumor has it that we are expecting some snow on Friday, please tell me it's an April fools day joke!

Our 7 Year Anniversary and dinner at the 12 Grapes restaurant....

2011-03-21T09:46:00.123-04:00

Brett took some slack for this little note that we sent out to announce our engagement. It was August and pretty hot, he lived in a top floor apartment of an old house, so he had no shirt on, but really the point of it was how excited we were and how cute the little paper ring was that he made me with a heart on it that said marry me? My real ring was not ready at the crazy jewelers.

We had a wonderful wedding at The Fountainhead in New Rochelle NY on March 21, 2004.

This year to celebrate our 7th anniversary we decided to try out 12 Grapes, one of the local restaurants in Peekskill NY, that we have heard rave reviews on.

It was almost a washout because when I came home from getting my nails done Joshua did not appear to feel good. After a lengthy thermometer fight I found out that he was running a 100.2 temp. Luckily Brett's dad offered to drop of Brett's mom and then he would go to the movies. Brett's dad can not be exposed to sick kids because he had a kidney transplant last year.

So we finally made our way into Peekskill to Division Street and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people walking around to the various restaurants. It was pretty hopping! 12 Grapes had a big group of people already dining 6:00 when we got there and as we were seated the restaurant really started to fill up. Later in the evening the 12 Grapes offers live music.

We started out with some nice bread in a really tasty basil infused dipping oil.

There was a really nice selection of wines by the glass, they offer 12 reds and 12 whites, hence the name of the restaurant 12 grapes.

I chose a nice Italian red.

My handsome date!

I like the fact that Brett is not embarrased to order a martini with the name " French kiss"

We decided to share the mixed field greens salad and it was plenty for both of us. It was really good and pretty too.

The aged cheese and meat appetizer was a selection of four cheeses and charcuterie. It was way too large a portion for the two of us and I did not love the meats. Despite the potent meats I did really enjoy the cheese and pickled vegetables.

My main dish was a rather large portion of chicken with a truffle sauce over spinach and sweet potato slices. It had an earthy taste, I really liked how they cooked the sweet potatoes. I don't like to waste food but I did not finish this portion to save room for dessert.

Brett choose the steak with a blue cheese sauce and side of nicely cooked asparagus and crispy potato wedges. Once again the portion was quite large but the food was very good. These items were restaurant week specials but similar dishes can be found on their dinner menu.

I wrapped up the big night out with this really yummy decaf cappuccino that brought back memories of Fuji lunches at a place we called the "white house" which is really called Il Sorriso in Irvington. They even served it with the rock sugar that makes it the best!

And the piece de resistance was this really delicious molten lava cake that we shared. It was really terrific!

Going out to dinner in Peekskill was a really nice night out, the little city has some big potential! It's nice to know that there are some really nice places to go out right in our backyard. For our next date night Brett and I want to try the Birdsall House where they have a big reputation for their large selection of beers. A friend just mentioned to me that they have a killer beet burger that I am curious to try out.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Mom's Irish Soda Bread Recipe.

2011-03-17T10:12:00.000-04:00

I like to try to teach the boys about their varied heritage and being that I am half Scottish/Irish (grandparents from Ireland mom from Scotland) I wanted to teach the boys how to make Irish Soda Bread. I finally got a copy of my mom's recipe and I willed us to bake after dinner tonight.

The boys are always up for baking even if it's after dinner on a school night!

Mix together:

4 Cups Flour (sifted)

2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

We split the recipe as we go so each boy gets to add half the ingredients.

Jacob asked me if it was starting to look "Irishy", LOL.

Add 1/2 cup corn oil and mix with a fork (or pastry blender).

We use a fork (or two).

Mix in 1 cup raisins (by hand). For those who like caraway seeds this is when you would add one tablespoon of those. I have a strong aversion for them!

This is when Jacob decided that he probably won't eat this bread because it has raisins in it...

Slowly stir in 1 cup buttermilk and one egg that have been pre-mixed in a separate bowl.

This is what it looks like when you've finished mixing. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead around ten times or until smooth.

Shape it into a ball.

Flatten it slightly. Place it on a pre-greased heavy pan (we use a heavy cookie sheet). Then cut an X across the top of the loaf. Brush with corn oil then bake at 350 for about 45-50 minutes or until brown.

Here is the finished yummy bread! I sprinkle a touch of granulated sugar on the top since they ate not very sweet. We made one for work and one for home.

Joshua was so excited to try it this morning but he did not love it. I think it's something you grow to love! I know I loved it and so did Brett.

Enjoy!

The new couch and ottoman...Before and after

2011-03-13T21:44:00.000-04:00

From this view the old couch did not look so bad but when you sat on it the cushions were so squished down that you could actually start to feel the wood. Needless to say it was getting uncomfortable. It served us well, it moved with us from our first rental house in White Plains, and put up with the abuse of the boys first years. It cam from Jennifer convertible for a steal and the actually still sell the same one! The couch jutted out a little to far blocking the entry into the living room a bit, since it was not bought for this room. The ottoman was also loosing its softness and from the multiple jumps that the boys made from it one of the buttons had been long missing. (Thats where I would put the basket of remotes!)

I had to trim to edges every once in a while to keep the fray from getting out of hand LOL...

The cusions had thier share of stains and were rippling from years of use.

So we went for an upgrade at Raymour and Flanigans. I special ordered this couch for this particular color. What I really liked was that you could mix and match different pieces of sectional to get the right shape for your room. I choose a U shape with two chaise lounges on either side.

The couch took us a few days to get used to when we first got it it was so cushiony! We were overwhelmed at first! We really love it now. The ottoman just arrived on Saturday and I absolutely LOVE it. It has storage!

Here is a different view where you can see how it opened up the entry to the room. I can even use both of the brown stools that we got recovered they were once Brett's Nanny's. It's hard to see the pattern on the ottoman but it has all the colors of the room in the design.

Now I am working on finalizing plans for the fireplace renovation! Stay tuned!

Mostly Great Wolf Lodge...

2011-02-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

For the boys February break from school I joined them and took the week off to get some things taken care of around the house and also to give the boys some mid winter fun. We booked one night at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Pocono's. The lodge boasts a large indoor water park. The drive was not bad it was only a little over two hours. The Pocono's is quite a rustic location. We were excited to see this sign at the end of the drive!

You can see some of the slides from the water park extending outside of the building. The boys were so excited by this sight (including Brett).

The Hotel itself is quite impressive looking from the outside.

They really go all out with both the lodge theme and the wolf theme. Here you can see howling wolves on the impressive entry to the Hotel...

There was a huge line for the check in so the boys and scoped out the lay of the land while Brett checked us in...

One flight up from the lobby had these windows that gave us a glimpse of the indoor water park area.

At this point the boys were reaching fever pitch to get in there.

Down in the lobby Brett waited on the check in line...

We stopped in the gift shop to pass some time and Joshua had to get this cute little wolf pup. Of course I indulged him!

Jacob almost instantly became obsessed with the Magic Quest scene in the hotel and took his time picking out a wand to get in on the action.

Here he is later at dinner adoring his wand...

Here is a shot of the boys finally entering the water park...

(The life vests are provided by GWL)

As you can see it did not take them long to get into it. They loved these cute little geysers.

There was a great little kiddie slide area that ended up in water only 2 feet deep. We spent alot of time there. Here is Jacob going down...

Here is Joshua landing in the water..

Jacob and Joshua even did some of the bigger slides and Joshua LOVED it!

Here Brett and the boys were getting "dumped" on by a giant bucket that would fill up and overflow every few minutes...

This picture was in front of the ginormous fireplace in the lobby on the way to dinner...

Here is Jacob on a Magic Quest with Joshua as a protector with his stuffed sword.

At 8:00 the kiddies got a special show, in their pjs, of a mechanical forest at the lobby clocktower. All the critters and trees came to life.

(I thought it was creepy LOL)

The boys were both mesmerized and exhausted...

Afterwards this sweet wolfette read the kids a bedtime story in front of the fireplace.

The next day was packed full of water park fun, and one minor cat fight incident that threatened to dampen the fun but I was the adult in the situation and walked away.

The boys had so much fun which always makes the trip worth it. They both passed out before we got to the highway.

Check back in for the unveiling of our new couch!

The new bed... Ahhh...

2011-02-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

After months of complaining about the uncomfortable pillow top mattress that we've had for the last 7 years we finally went to IKEA and got a new mattress and this awesome bed frame. It's called the Hopen bed frame and I think you could make some jokes with a name like that!

I found the Michael Kors Phuket bedding for a steal on Overstock.com. And the cool shaggy wool rug I found at Home Goods for a great price. They really have great prices on rugs.

It took a bit out of us putting it together but I love the final results!

Well I am off to go test out the overnight comfort level! LOL! Tomorrow we are off to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. The boys were out of their minds with excitement today!

Jacob's first after school visit with his best friend

2011-02-18T22:36:00.000-05:00

Jacob is growing up so fast! He had his first after school play date with his best friend Lily.

Lily's mom was very sweet for having Jacob over. She even baked them chocolate chip cookies. Jacob even played with Lily's younger and older brothers. They played hide and seek and they also played in the fort that the kids have in their back yard.

Jacob had chocolate teeth here and Lily thought it was pretty gross.

Jacob is such a big kid that he is getting ready to loose his first tooth and in his honor I will be having my very first giveaway to go along with this big event!

Stay tuned!

Happy Valentines Day...

2011-02-14T09:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day! I love Valentines Day! I am determined to make my sons little romantics. What can be wrong with any holiday in which you express your love for others? Some people might say it's commercialized, well you can take it as far as you like it. We have enough angst in life and I truly believe that you should make a little effort to go overboard with love sometimes. Yea its important everyday but isn't it important to really celebrate it sometimes?

Brett sent me this cute little mini tulips mug from Pro flowers. It was delivered to my office on Friday. The early delivery was due to a mix-up on their side, so he was told that they would be sending me another one today to apologize for their mistake LOL!

We delivered these flowers to Grandma on Saturday...

We gave this one to Gigi on Friday, she likes dragonflies so we picked a little pot with them on it...

We bought our valentine cards this year so I wanted the boys to make cookies to bring to school so they could feel like they made something sweet for all of the important people in their lives.

Josh was excited to cut the package open.

Jacob opened the heart cookie box...

...then he cut his open too.

Anyone can make these cookies they are foolproof or child ready!

See how easy! Yes Josh is still cutting in the background...

He knows its a silly thing ...

We put frosting in the middle, Josh tried to frost but it got a little messy...

So easy that you don't even need to color your own frosting!

And the frosting comes with these cute sprinkles that we rolled the cookies in!

This is one of the finished smiley hearts...

We used Wilson lollipop bags for the finished cookie and hten attached them to the Valentine pencils that we put on the cards.

Yes of course the cards were Disney Cars! Except for the ones Jacob gave to the girls in his class.

They always get a little silly at the end, it could be from having some samples!

Josh can't seem to smile for the camera without squishing up his face!

This morning Brett gave me this pretty necklace from Red Envelope:

The boys were decked out in their Valentines shirts and professed their love for each other...

Joshua wouldn't stop kissing Jacob's hand...

And then it was off to school & preschool to have a Valentine party day! Joshua couldn't wait to give his teachers their gifts he even carried one in...

Once he got inside he gave his teachers BIG hugs, so I guess my romance training is working LOL!

Happy express your love day!

Feeding Joshua's Car Obsession

2011-02-11T08:43:00.000-05:00

Anyone that knows Joshua knows that he is obsessed with cars, specifically Lightning McQueen from Disney Cars but that obsession has progressed to loving all red cars.

So, I found this magazine in the desk of a former fellow employee and decided to bring it home for Joshua, who also happens to have a minor obsession with cutting things up with scissors.

You see in Josh's Pre-K 3 cutting up old scholastic catalogs to get the kids used to cutting is almost a daily thing. Well it is for those kids that really enjoy it.

So armed with our own lion kiddie sissors and a giant glue stick we set out to make a car collage with all of the red cars that we could find from this old magazine.

Joshua did most of the cutting but his little hands got tired so I started cutting them and he just glued and stuck them on to the page.

Who could imagine that there would be so many red cars in one magazine!

He really, really loved making this collage and even brought it over to Gigi and Poppies house later to show them.

He later told me that he is willing to make another one with all of the other colored cars that were in the magazine.

This morning before I left for work Joshua was cutting up bubble wrap with those little scissors, LOL!

Wordless Wednesday... Icy bird shelter

2011-02-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

We gave this little woolen bird shelter to my mom for Christmas, she loves feeding and sheltering birds. I figured that Joshua could watch to see if any birds move into it when he is there on Fridays. I don't think the little birdies would find this too welcoming with all the ice hanging from it? It is pretty though!

Instant pudding = instant love

2011-02-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

This last snow day was full of doing random things to keep us all from getting crazy with cabin fever. One of our activities was for Joshua to make Jell-O instant chocolate pudding with just a very little help from me.

Here he is all ready to go...

He very carefully poured the, not too full, milk into the measuring cup...

He dumped the pudding mix into the bowl...

His favorite part is mixing it all up...

I even let him carefully ladle it into the ramekins (you can see his deep concentration here)..

Voila!

Then we jazzed them up with some made to order toppings...

Shredded coconut for daddy...

Reduced fat cool whip and mini M & M's for Joshua...

Cool whip and mini marshmallows for mama...

It was definitely some quick fun and yummy! Afterwards Joshua came over to me and said "thank you mama I want to give you a hug because I love you, but I can't kiss you because my mouth is a little messy."

Jacob, who had been moping around about not being aloud to play Wii when he wanted to, snapped right out of his mood with his topping of choice - a little coconut on the side...

Later we went on to a few other activities such as playing with Joshua's build a road (he likes to put it inside a hoola hoop)...

A mega block tower inside the build a road...

Which inspired some dancing around it...

The best part is always the knock down!

And yes Jacob was even allowed to play a little Super Mario Galaxy (while Joshua napped)...

I managed to finish up some of my paperwork organizing during this break!

Thanks Mario!

We had fun, but please, NO more snow!

Wordless Wednesday... Future Lifeguards?

2011-02-02T16:24:00.000-05:00

On one of the many snow days that we had the boys started playing a game where they took one of thier Pottery Barn chairs and put it on top of our square ottoman. They pretend that they are in a lifeguard chair and the rug is the ocean where they rescue people, or cars, in danger. I made the game a little more safe by moving the chairs to the couch.

They decided that the lifeguards need footrests too...

I like to encourage thier active imaginations!

Date night...

2011-01-31T16:02:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Brett's 38th Birthday last week.

The boys choose this Pepperidge Farm cake with sprinkles and we jazzed it up a bit...

On Saturday night we continued the celebration with our semiannual date night at our favorite date night restaurant, The Melting Pot...

We went with the package deal called The Big Night Out which is a four course themed dinner, and I love themes! This particular theme was a "Traditional French inspired four course creation".

It starts out with a DELICIOUS cheese fondue and for dippers you are given three different breads, bite sized green apples, and some veggies.

I love the pewter plates and the cozy booth! The cooker is right on your table. Brett developed this technique to catch the dripping cheese LOL!

I quickly drank up my first French Martini, before I remembered to snap a pic, it was flavored with hints of raspberry and pineapple juice.

The Nicoise salad course was simple but delicious, of course it looked pretty too!

Who could not love this! The melted Brie, Fontina, Gruyere and Raclette Cheese was flavored with white truffle cream, Nueske's bacon, onions, and fresh chives.

Our second and final round of cocktails...

We were really enjoying ourselves!

Our Coq au vin fondue flavored with burgundy wine and mushrooms...

Here's what you get to cook (we left off the duck and asked for more chicken) Starting from the back there's Chicken Provencal, Filet Mingon, Peppercorn-Crusted NY Strip, Roasted-Garlic Shrimp, and two Ratatouille & Goat Cheese Ravioli...

Who wouldn't love this!

Oh Yeah, they also give you some broccoli, potatoe, and mushrooms along with the slotted "search and rescue" spoon...

Aren't these fondue forks so pretty! You can see some of the dipping sauces in the background. I loved the blue cheese for the Filet Mignon!

A little shrimp with spicy sauce, these cooked in a minute and a half...

Brett was even enjoying some rescued broccoli, which was hot from floating around in the fondue for a while!

We were so excited for the final course that we ate some before I snapped a picture but you can see how delicious it was. Our theme chocolate fondue was white chocolate creme brulee, it was so Yummy.

The dessert dippers included: strawberries, bananas, brownie bites, pound cake bites, chocolate drench cheese cake, bite sized rice crispy treats, chocolate rolled marshmallows, and coconut rolled marshmallows.

Steamy melted chocolate heaven! Oh and they caramelize the sugar right in front of you!

The brownie bite was my favorite hands down...

Brett was ready to explode at this point...

While we were out the boys enjoyed McDonald's with Grandma and Grandpa and they were so good that Grandma said that we should go out more often so that they can babysit. We probably will since our seven year anniversary is just a little over a month away.

I highly recommend a date night at The Melting Pot it is so tasty but its also a very romantic setting in your private booth with fake stars twinkling above.

Wordless Wednesday... Jacob's soul

2011-01-26T09:12:00.000-05:00

Jacob goes to an after school program, Kid's Express, that helps him learn about his self and how to positively interact with others to form lasting friendships.

One day they were given some materials and asked to create what they think their souls would look like. I guess he envisioned an angelic snowman. It's soft and squishy, I think it's beautiful.

The Black Cat Cafe gig...

2011-01-24T09:11:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night we had a big first for the boys. They got to go see their daddy perform the Eddy and Brett Show in Irvington at The Black Cat Cafe. Ever since Atomsmasher took their show acoustic they have had a big resurgence and they have been playing more frequent small shows. This one in particular was right near Uncle Michael's neighborhood and was the earliest show ever starting at 6:00PM! I seized the opportunity to have the boys see their daddy play his music.

First we met up with Uncle Michael, Aunt Crystal, and Eden for dinner at the Eldorado Diner. Eden idolizes her big cousin Jacob.

In turn Jacob adores her!

The Black Cat Cafe was really cute, this was Brett's first gig with his new keyboard.

Joshua was singing and clapping along, he kept saying "this is my best day ever".

He even did some slow dancing to Eden's delight...

I bought her this hip little outfit for her 2nd birthday this month...

Aunt Pam and Cousin Sammi; Sammi is going to be 6 this week! She just lost 2 teeth!

Jacob already looks like a little rocker, he kept telling Ron "Cool drum sticks!". He want's to play percussion...

Our love...

I love this shot of the boys doing their own thing...

This slow dance was so darn cute, Joshua and Sammi were so shy with each other LOL...

Sammi was great with Eden too...

Here is a little taste of some of the moshing craziness that went on...

There was a huge turn out but I failed to take pictures of some of the adults.

Some of the guests were: Chau & Mark (with a friend) , Marie & Greg, a guy we grew up with George & his cute little son Wyatt (with neighbors), Paul Silano & Lordes (with another Valhalla teacher & her husband that I can't remember), Jill & Kate, Michael, Crystal, & Eden,and finally Pam & Sammi. I didn't know the others that were there.

A little later in the show a few other kiddies showed up and it was a riot. Those pics did not come out for some reason!

The boys were great and I would do it again in a heartbeat! We were home by 8:30ish and straight to bed!

Getting organized...

2011-01-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

I am in the midst of getting my house organized. I'm not just talking tidy I mean lets pull out the things from all the overstuffed drawers, corners, or where ever they might be hiding. Since I have spent the last two years getting my masters degree, working full time, and raising my two boys, I have kept my house tidy and pretty clean but entropy has taken over and now I am setting some new rules and regaining order.

I have already made huge strides with our piled up paperwork yet one last thing I need to tackle is all of the adorable piles of crafts or mementos that come home from preschool and kindergarten. So getting to the point, I have had this adorable little book on Jacob's wishlist for about a year now but last night I broke down and ordered two, one for Joshua and one for Jacob. They are not only really cute they help solve the nagging question "What is really important to keep?".

The books have pages for preschool through high school! I want to get started right away since Joshua will be in Pre-K4 at the end of June and Jacob is already more than half way through Kindergarten.

The following is an awesome review on Amazon that really tells how it is designed:

"This is a great place to collect important memories and keepsakes in a compact way.

One thing that is cool is that it's set up for kids and parents to do together. There are about 3 pages and an envelope within the spiral bound book for each school year.

The first page is a snapshot of the year. There's a place to put the child's photo, and stats including school name, teachers, and a few lines for parents' notes about the year. There's a place at the bottom for "My Signature" which is a fun feature. I know that whenever I see my 11-year-old scrawl inside a book, or my 15-year-old signature on a paper it brings back major memories.

The second page is written from the child's point of view. For the elementary years, it includes a scorecard for 4 different subjects, my friends, best thing about this year, what I'm good at, and when I grow up. The secondary years get a little more "real" adding hobbies and activities, this was a big bummer, and summer plans (instead of what I want to be when I grow up).

The third page is a pocket, with suggestions of unique items to include which will show their their growth: sample artwork, awards, note to my future self, a piece of string as long as I am tall, tracing of my hand, a school nametag, a newspaper headline or story, and of course a report card. The secondary years add a note or email from a good friend and replace nametag with school ID.

The back of the pocket is lined, adding another spot for some journaling. The pocket flaps and closes to keep everything secure."

The review was written by Jennifer Donovan from 5minutesforbooks.

Another thing I purchased to keep school pictures in order is this awesome frame from Exposures:

I already have Jacob's Kindergarten picture in there. I plan to switch out the big picture each year.

Time is flying by so I am really excited that I am going to try to capture some of these things in an organized way for the boys to treasure for years to come!

Happy organizing! (The process is tough but the results are so worth it!)

Wordless Wednesday... a long time ago

2011-01-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

In 7th Grade Home Economics Class I sewed these, Holly Hobbie like, letter pillows that made up my name.

In an effort to organize her house my mom asked us to take some of our old things to our own houses. Since I really don't have room for things like this I opted to throw these out and took this picture to immortalize them.

Snow day #3...

2011-01-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

We definitely got dumped on again and I was not too psyched to start shoveling us out, the problem being that Fuji had not officially closed yet. Once I get started I find it rewarding to see my progress.

The view of our driveway and path before the shoveling...

Luckily the driveway is not too big and it's very flat...

Yay! Not only did we have a clear path to the house I got the word that Fuji finally closed for the day!

Once I did my 2/3 portion of shoveling I had Brett go finish up and started making cookies with the boys.

We made them from scratch from the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips package. The boys LOVE cooking! I even let them hold the electric mixer for a few seconds, they were very impressed with it.

Jacob asked why do we mix it up, so I explained that we want every cookie to have a bunch of chips so that no one gets sad that their cookie has none.

They needed two immediately but you can see that they all came out perfectly!

They really loved eating up the warm cookies with some milk :)

Joshua is attempting to show his degree of happiness via his facial expression, LOL! I told him to show me how much he loved the cookies.

Jacob demonstrates the proper way to hold the cookie at 8 and 4 o'clock...

Getting sillier and sillier...

Jacob asked me to take a picture of him "chomping" his cookie...

Brett joined in the cookie chomp when he walked in from shoveling and smelled the baking cookies. He decided that they were darn good.

I am already tired of the snow but I sure do love staying home from work!

Wordless Wednesday.. Things that grow...

2011-01-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

The boys have been growing these cool things since Christmas. Santa left them in their stockings.

The Santa Grass Head...

Joshua's Santa in an egg before...

After...

Jacob's snowman in an egg before...

After...

Snow day fun 1-17-11...

2011-01-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

Last Friday we had a snow day (vacation day for me). I made Jacob some corn muffins to satisfy his craving and then decided to clean out the food cabinet. I stumbled upon some Jell-o and thought that might be some easy fun. Jacob is the only one into Jell-o in the house and he was game!

He had to taste the powder...

I added the boiling water but Jacob got to add the cold water.

Dessert is always snazzier in the martini glasses...

Starting to look like icy fun!

The finished product...

You gotta love the Judaica sprinkles I scored at Home Goods.

Yummers!

Later on Brett took Jacob outside to play in the snow while Joshua was napping...

Jacob handled the snow much better than he did for the last storm thanks to the snow pants our neighbor Eileen gave me.

He had to visit his favorite tree...

What a happy little guy...

Snow angels, these gloves make his arms look huge they are a tiny bit big on him LOL...

The angel...

You can see the cold on Brett's face here, time to come in!

Wordless Wednesday... Toys

2011-01-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

The BIG car carrier...

Gears, gears, gears, "the caterpillar"