Good Parents

Being a good parent means different things to different people.  No one that goes into parenthood plans to be a uninvolved parent. However, my level of involvement (and Tom's) decreases when our sports teams are on.  Luckily the World Series games are on at night and we don't have to worry about the boys because they are tucked in. It does make for slow moving morning when the games go so late though. Instead of going outside on a beautiful Sunday to run around we all go downstairs to watch/play during the game.

The view from my point of view shows how involved we are in our children.

One of the kids may have been in the fort but I wasn't really keeping track of them.

This one is proof that I at least looked over at the boys to make sure they weren't beating each other up.

These may not be our finest parenting moments but we are building the new generation of New England sports fans!

Remains of the Day

The outline reminds me of a crime scene investigation. 

It's not of course, it's just the remains of the day.  When I came out after giving the boys a bath this is what I found in the living room.  It usually makes it to the laundry basket but apparently doing as little as humanly possible was the name of the game. And if you are wondering if this is a snapshot of what Colby's laundry basket looks like the short answer is yes! With two little boys, sorting the laundry takes just as long as doing the laundry.

Damn Circle Time

Katie R.

Andrew loves school.  Wes is doing so much better and doesn't shed a tear at drop-off.  The teachers continue to be amazing and the kids love them. So this perfect pre-school world we all live is only tainted by one thing.  Circle time.

Circle time, that cute time in pre-school when all kids sit in a circle and sings songs, have show-and-tell and read books.  You would think most kids would revel in this part of school; however, it appears my children are not most kids.

For Andrew the dislike of circle time has carried over from last year. And the reason he doesn't like circle time?  Because he has to sit quietly for a whole ten minutes.  For those of you who do not know Andrew he never stops talking, never.  Every day, and yes I mean every day, I say "Did you raise your hand during circle time?"  And then he says "no my teacher said oops forgot to raise that hand again."

Then there is cute little Wes.  The teacher say he is doing so much better and getting comfortable in class.  Of course now they are getting to the real Wes and he has started to become "silly" in circle time.  Just like his brother. Awesome.

The funny thing is I have no idea where they get it from.  It's not like I like to talk a lot....

Shocking that they aren't quiet at circle time when this is what they do at home for entertainment

Fostering Creativity

I've got no problem getting down and dirty and playing with my kids.  We dance together, play board games and even play play-doh. This is not to say I don't do my fair share of sitting on my but looking at Facebook or Pinterest.  And then today both of these worlds meshed into one.

We have Colby's easel out so that he can work on his letters.  He continues to write with both hands and this was a suggestion by his teachers to help to determine his dominant hand.  So this big thing just hangs out in the living room for when he feels like using it.  Today he asked for a new piece of paper and asked for me to help him turn it away from the couch. After I helped him he told me to sit on the couch and wait until he was done drawing a picture for me.  I obeyed his command and sat on the couch with my smart phone.

He took his sweet time so I also got to check in on Instagram, E! Online and my local news.  I love it when we can "play" like this together.

When all was said and done a good chunk of time had gone by and Colby had drawn me an awesome drawing of a rocket ship. If sitting on my but helps to foster his amazing imagination and creativity I will willingly do my best!

Star Gazing

Shorter days don't always get me excited but the other night it made for a perfect evening.  Finally, yes finally, our patio is complete and the steps are stained and the furniture is out. Tom, the boys and I spent the evening around the fire relaxing and chilling.  We all sat back and watched the sky and waited until the stars came out. If you can believe it Lincoln saw the first one and that motivated Colby to sit there and wait until we could spy another one. In a matter of 30 minutes the sky was full. It was amazing to enjoy it with the boys.  After all that relaxing we had to reward the boys with a little bit of fun.

Nothing like a little sparkler action to complete the night! The had never used them before and I wasn't sure if they would hold them but they loved them!  We went through 2 boxes of them. So we enjoyed the chilly night in footie pajamas. These are the nights to remember.

Wes the Mess is 2!

Katie R.

Saturday Wes officially turned 2, although we have been celebrating for over a week and the celebration will continue in November when my parents come for a visit. 

We have had lots of visitors this fall with many more to come which makes Wesley's birthday more specially and our lives very busy.  We are so lucky to have some many friends and family come see us when we are so far away from "home." Of course our kids now need grandparent and cake detox but it is worth every tantrum. 

I will work on some more posts later, in case you're dying to know what we have been doing, but these photos pretty much explain it:

1st Birthday Cake from Nana

Raspberry Picking (aka lunch)

Wes and I picking raspberries

No idea, I wasn't there

John Deere Party

Apple Picking before the party

Orchard where we have our annual apple picking with friends

Opening presents with 15 friends helping

New tool bench

Why use a fork?

Giving us a dirty look

 

Clean and ready for bed

How Do You Spell....

H...A...R...P...spells orange juice!

Well.... sure it does on a morning when you don't have any clean cups!

Autumn

Lately my friends and I have been selling a bunch of our kids old toys online. We have all realized our houses are only so big and with the holidays fast approaching it's time to unload before we reload.

And that is when I came across the greatest toy during autumn....leaves. We have a massive maple tree in our front yard and it always falls early.  The weather this week has been perfect and nothing expends energy like some good old fashion leaf jumping. 

And this is such a great toy because we rake it up, dispose of it and we don't have to store it in the house.