Laugh with me please

It is a rainy Monday morning, and I think this week is going to be pretty low key.  Rachel is getting over a cold and super clingy right now, and it is nice to have a day of bumming around the house.  I am working on de-cluttering my house, we have things we haven't used since we got married, and I am finding just posting them on free cycle has really helped me get rid of a lot of excess.  My goal weekly is to throw out, give away, or re-organize something to make it easier in the long run.

We scheduled pictures for this past weekend, mostly for Daniel's third birthday, and can I say just how stressful pictures are for me?  I probably go in with too many expectations, and I feel like just ran a race afterward.  We have a family photo that was taken of the four of us last year, and I thought maybe we could squeeze one in this time, yeah right.  One and a half is a difficult age to keep still or calm, how quickly I forget.  Here are some of the pictures of the kids, yes Rachel does have a lollipop in her mouth, and the last one you can just laugh at with me.  I am glad in one way we have a copy of it, I think it summarized this time of our life.  

Nice...

Nice...
Alright...
Well, at least Kevin is smiling.....

Yes, there are nice people out there

I have a little story to share.  Last week I went to the local Market Basket to pick up some groceries for the upcoming weekend.  It was a Thursday night and I was pretty tired.  I was trying hard to remember all the things on my list, because I seemed to forget it at home, and was just enjoying some personal time at the grocery store.

Well I got all the things I needed and got in line.  There was a lady in front of me and although it wasn't busy she had a lot of things in her basket.  She joked that she just came and ran in for a few items, and honestly I was just enjoying standing there zoning out.  I told her not to hurry, I was in no rush and she could tell I was tired, and we briefly talked about our kids.  

All my groceries were unloaded on the belt and she was finishing checking out.  I suddenly realized that I didn't have my debit card on me, and I didn't have enough money to buy everything I needed.  Those are the moments I break out into a sweat and get very embarrassed.  Kevin said I shouldn't worry about those times, they have people that will put the food back, but I was flustered.  Well the lady in front of me said that she would pay for my groceries and I could send her a check.  I almost cried on the spot, and couldn't thank her enough.  She gave me her address and that night I wrote out the check and sent her a little thank you card.  I received one back from her today and she said that she cried knowing that it meant a lot to me and gave me some words of encouragement.  So God does put you in the right grocery lines and lets you have special connections with total strangers at times.  I hope that in the future I can help whoever God puts me in contact with in the grocery store, you never know what will happen.  

Celtics Game

As previously mentioned, Kevin got a chance to attend a Celtics game this week.  I don't know if it was those years of having to attend all the home football games in college, or the late nights, I prefer just to watch on TV.  However, it did look pretty exciting during this clip, and I just think New England fans are passionate about their sports.  I also don't think you realize just how big those guys are on the TV.  

The weekend

Daniel the Engineer!
Here are the cousins eating at their own table, which worked out pretty well. 
Happy Birthday Daniel.  I made a bowling ball and pin cake, and had lots of cake and frosting left over.  
Pizza time!
Rachel got a cat and cell phone this weekend, and she loves both!  She meows and cuddles her cat, and is on the phone all the time!!  Hopefully it will help me keep my real phone safe just a little longer.  

The family is gone, the weekend is over, and thanks to everyone for the fun time.  Daniel sure had a memorable 3rd birthday, or at least I won't forget it.  Daniel and his cousin Michael were non stop all weekend, and they slept good every night.  We had some good shopping time with the kids, a bowling party on Saturday, a lot of food to eat, and a lot of cake and ice cream.  Daniel got a lot of good toys, it seemed like car, trucks, and dinosaurs were the thing this year.  

The bowling party was fun, and I thank all the parents working through nap time.  Here is a video.  Here are kids with sugar, bright lights, loud music, and no nap.  I think they had fun, and it sure tired me out!

The rest of the week will be recovering from the weekend.  We now have a small freezer in the basement, and I am going to try buying in bulk and save on food that way, any suggestions out there for someone getting into the bulk buying?  

We have Daniel's pictures scheduled for this weekend, so I hope we don't have any bruises or scrapes this week.  Kevin is blessed to be going to a Celtics game tonight, he is bringing the camera, and I hope to post pictures of that later this week.  

Happy Birthday Daniel

As you know, celebrations last all week here, and Daniel's third birthday has just begun.  We got him some balloons and brownie to sing to him today, he had a lot of time outdoors and got to talk to a lot of loving family members.  More pictures to come!

Total Toddler Makeover

With birthdays, family, and pictures coming up, I decided it was time to get Rachel's hair cut.  She really couldn't see in the mornings if I didn't pull her hair back immediately after she woke up.  I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but afterward she looked like a little girl, and she wasn't a baby to me any longer.  Not that at 17 months she is a baby, it just hit me how much older she is.  She wasn't really bothered by the hair cut itself, she just sat there and enjoyed the lollipop.  I got her picture taken and framed, with a little certificate with a lock of hair for her first haircut.  Yes they do that for parents just like me, for just $3 more!  I got go to back to the store later that day because I left my wallet there that morning, but I was thankful no one took anything out of it.  

We went to the mall afterward, because that is one of Daniel's favorite places to run around, and he is helping me keep Rachel in check.  Sometimes I think Rachel has two moms with how Daniel looks after her.  He is a big help.
There is this dog that is a display at Sears, and the kids have to give it a hug every time we walk by.  

Today Kevin and Daniel got their haircuts at a more manly barber shop, and we were able to enjoy some outdoor time.  I feel bad that I physically can't keep up with Daniel, he looks up to me and asks me if he can run and I have to ask him to walk with me, but on the weekends with his father around he can get all that excess energy out.  

On top of my daughter's first haircut, Daniel is turning three this week.  I am getting excited for my parents, sister, and nephew to come in, and we have a bowling party planned for next weekend.  Sometimes I think an outdoor thing would be nice, but  you never know with this weather.  This week will be prep time for the party and guests.  The presents are already rolling in, thanks Thorsons and Memere and Pepere, we are happy to spread out the joy.  

Snow, snow go away!

After beginning the week with a Nor'easter, we are almost up to 60 degrees today! Crazy New England weather!  Not that I am complaining, this morning the snow was up on our back porch, now we can get down to the ground and grill this afternoon.  I have so many different jackets for the kids hanging up, if it is really cold, kind of cold, and not cold at all, and they have all been used this week.  I did take it easy with the kids this week, so I don't have many pictures from the week itself, but this morning we went to the Children's Discovery Museum and the kids had a good time there.  Here are the pictures below from our outing.  

I am ready to take a nap now, we are teaching the toddler class at church tomorrow, losing an hour of sleep tonight, so even the thought of that makes me sleepy.  

May I introduce you to...

Daniel and Rachel, but as you probably don't know them.

I have the hardest time getting Daniel to eat vegetables, and although he is getting better, there is one thing that I am surprised he eats....Hummus.  I have a very simple recipe for Hummus, and he enjoys making it and eating it with pretzels.  He often licks it up with his fingers to make sure he gets everything.  

And take Rachel.  Some evenings I have a hard time getting her to eat dinner, but recently I was startled when she wanted to eat the pasta dinner I made for Kevin and me.  I thought it would be a little too much for her, it was a white cream sauce with cut up mushrooms, spinach, and chicken in it over angle hair pasta.  She loved it and had it two evenings in a row.  

I guess they don't always do the typical toddler diet, and I should often have them at least try something new or have a little of what we are having.  And they teach me something new about them every day.