Camryn turns 2 at the zoo

They say it flys by but you never believe them until you blink and your baby is already two!

Even though it might just seem like another day to them, I always feel like we need to do something special to celebrate their birthdays. So yesterday we spent the day as a family and headed to the zoo.

Camryn was super excited to see all the animals. I was a little concerned that she was going to be disappointed when she found out she couldn't pet them all.

The whole car ride there all she kept talking about were zebras. So they were our first stop of the day!The elephants were too far away to pet!

But my two cuties couldn't resist riding on this one

PINK duckies!!! Camryn's dream come true.

Dylan was sad that one of them only had one leg....but he laughed when we showed him that's just how flamingo's stand.

Camryn almost got a birthday kiss from a giraffe

Dylan found a friend that would follow his every move

Carmyn gave it a try: "Birdie bite my finger!"

We ended our trip with pink birthday cake

(yes it was left over from her real cake that will be revealed at her party, no there was no frosting on it and yes it was in a plastic bag) But it was PINK so she loved it!!!

O is for Ocean

I must complain to my husband on every cold day how much I hate living here. It's even rubbing off on my kids, who hate to wear coats and much prefer the outdoors. But I take for granted that we have the luxury of living on the ocean.


I remember being in college and meeting people who had never even seen the ocean and at that moment feeling so lucky that I grew up in a shoreline town. It's hard to appreciate it in the winter when it's cold and windy and the only thoughts of a beach are lying on one in the Caribbean.

Tonight, I reclaimed my admiration for the quaint New England beaches that are within minutes of my house. We picked Dylan up from school and headed for shore. I was walking Callie, Dylan was riding his bike and Camryn was perched high on John's shoulders. When Dylan stopped to rest, we all headed towards the sand. Callie took off in a sprint after a stick I tossed into the ocean. Camryn stopped to pick up every pink shell she could find and Dylan was playing tag with the waves.

John and I took a seat and watched our family just enjoy! Enjoy being outside, enjoy the beach and the ocean and enjoy each other. I watched Camryn hide her treasure of shells in a cracked piece of driftwood. I laughed as Dylan's lost his game of tag and his shoes got soaked. I smiled at Callie rolling around in the sand, trying to dry her face off.

I implemented #5 on my happiness list and just soaked it all in. I didn't worry about what time it was and how Dylan was probably going to be too tired to ride his bike all the way back to the car. There were no thoughts of dinner looming or sheet rock that needs to be put up after the kids go to bed. I was simply in the present, living the moment and soaking it up!

Run, Brooke, Run

I haven't run a race since Thanksgiving so when my sister-in-law asked me to run one I jumped at the chance. It was an MS walk/run and her friend created a team to raise money for her dad. So it was for a good cause and since I've been running, I was curious to see how much faster my time would be.

The morning of the race came and I was ready to run! But when I got there it was so different from the previous race. There was no distinction between runners or walkers, no starting line and no time clock. But in my head, it was still a race, so I ran!

I tried to get out in front early just to break away from the pack. I didn't want to be stuck behind the walkers and in the other race, there was constantly a herd so I just wanted my own space. And my own space is what I got. As I approached the half way mark, no one had caught up to me.

My husband and kids were waiting for me and I could see the confusion in their eyes. Dylan yelled to me: "Mom, did all the other runners already go by?" Words I'll never say again; "No, I think Mommy's winning!"

As I ran passed all the walkers on the way to the end, I started to feel a little silly. Should I be running at full tilt when clearly most people are walking? Is it rude to be so driven about my race time when raising money is the ultimate goal?

And the moment I crossed the "finish line" or lack there of, my concerns were confirmed. Everyone had come out for the cause, no one cared who ran or walked or how fast for that matter.

But I still did! I made a monetary contribution to the cause, so I think it's ok that I declare myself, the winner!!!

You know

you blog too much when your telling your husband about your day and all the funny or cute things the kids did or said and your 4 year old pipes up and says: "Hey mom, that would be a good blog!"

Oops!

The addition continues...at a very slow pace. Part of the reason the progress is moving so slow is because my husband is doing most of the work himself, in his spare time, which he never has! But realistically it's the only way we could even afford to do the addition because he is saving us so much money.

However, Tim the Tool Man Taylor strikes again. This morning while taking out our downstairs bathroom window, he cracked our toilet with the sledge hammer!

All the money we are saving in labor, is going to be spent on replacing all the things he breaks in the process!

Strike a pose

Once the warm weather hits, our driveway becomes a canvas for my children's artwork. We love sidewalk chalk and luckily we have a long driveway with plenty of room to use. The kids usually make their own masterpieces and then tell me specific things to draw. Hopscotch, their names, flowers and shapes are frequent requests.

I recently started to scatter the letters of the alphabet in the driveway and then call out a letter and whoever gets to it first is the winner! It's a fun and physical way for Dylan to practice his letters without him even knowing he is learning!!

But when the sun is just right in the sky, we love to trace out shadows!! Dylan strikes a pose and I trace it so he can see what it looks like. The harder the pose is to hold, the better!

The thing I don't like about sidewalk chalk is that it stays on your driveway until the next rain. So when a friend stopped by on her bike and spotted our shadows she said:

"With a last name that sounds like you're in the mob, I wouldn't be outlining bodies in the cement!"

I guess I need to get in the habit of hosing down our artwork!!!

Caught a big one

Dylan was so excited to use his new tackle box that he got for Easter, so after school yesterday we headed to my in-laws lake house for some fishing and dinner.

Dylan's excitement lead him to choose the biggest lure equipped with 2 hooks out of his box. My husband explained that it wasn't necessary for the small fish we catch at the lake but he happily attached it to the line to appease my son.

After only a few casts, Dylan exclaimed: "Dad, I think I got a big one here!"

John figured he had snagged some weeds but kept encouraging Dylan to reel in his catch. Much to our surprise, there actually was a fish at the end of the line. It was a small northern pike and Dylan was jumping up and down with pride.

But the big fancy lure, proved to be a problem. With the fish flopping on the dock and 2 hooks attached to him, my husband called for pliers. By the time I ran in the house to grab them, the situation took a turn for the worse.

One hook had been successfully removed from the fish, but was know stuck in my husband! It was embedded so deep there was no way he could get it out himself. Dylan started to get upset and luckily our neighbor came over to see what all the commotion was about. He took John to the emergency room to get the lure cut out and I stayed back with the kids.

To reassure Dylan that his dad was fine, I told him he would be right back and that the doctor just had to cut the lure off and put a band-aid on his finger. Well a half-hour turned into an hour which turned into 2. I could see Dylan was anxiously awaiting his dad's return.

"Mom, dad will be brave right?"
"Of course!"
"The important thing is that he is ok."
"Right"

A long pause.

"Do you think he'll bring me back my lure?"

And so he reveals the real reason for his concern! A true fishermen already!

A Kitchen Utensil

After all the years of trying to catch the egg with a spoon or balancing it on that flimsy gold egg holder that comes with the coloring packet, I finally found an ingenious idea. A whisk!!!

You put the egg inside the whisk and let the kids dunk it with no mess. They don't need to touch the egg or the dye and the whisk also protects the eggs from being broken.

Camryn was surprised at how quickly her white egg turned pink!

While the eggs get nice and bright, the kids perfect their silly faces!

And leave it to Camryn to figure out how to get an instant manicure!