Happy Halloween from Spiderman and Pikachu!

Spiderman!

Pikachu!

Trunk or Treat at Theo's preschool

cookie decorating!



donuts on a string



Carter's Halloween school celebration



Grandma Susie came to the celebration too!



Carter & her buddy Erik

my "photogenic" children!

Theo's field trip

walking to the barn

helping fix the goats pen

more pumpkins!

Theo and I went with his preschool class to Kelsey Creek farm today.  Theo moved up to a different class only 3 weeks after school started and I haven't had much of a chance to meet the whole new set of parents and kids and this gave me a great opportunity to finally do so.  We had a great time!

look who has a new book...

I was flipping chanels last night and saw Jessica Seinfeld on late night Oprah and she has a new book!  I am very excited about this book as I don't love to cook and I am always looking for new/easy recipe's.  I might just have to buy this one full price!

caught in the act!

I don't like wine and I usually don't care for beer either but now and then you just need one. Jeremy caught me having a Stella Artois at 4:45 this evening!  He predicted that I would not drink it all, and he was right but those first cold sips were really yummy, especially since I was helping the kids make cookies (see cookie recipe below) AND making homemade mac & cheese. 

sister in law cookies

I know have posted this recipe in the past but it's so easy and yummy that I can't resist posting again, plus I finally have a name for them!  Presenting...sister in law cookies since my SIL Melonee was the one who told me about them in the first place.

The recipe:

1 box cake mix (we like funfetti)

2 eggs

1/2 vegetable oil

drop round little balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, bake at 350 until very slightly brown, ENJOY!

This must be the place

Do you ever have the feeling that you just know you are meant to be where you are in life right at that moment?  me too...just not here in Seattle!  Okay, okay I know I complain and moan about living here but it's my blog so...THERE.  There are many things I love about the Seattle area, mainly that we have family here and my awesome church (eastlakecc.com) but the fact is we miss New York.  I did, however,  have one of those life is great moments, yesterday, while out to a mid-day movie (no kids!) with Jeremy to see Wall Street 2 (c'mon what do you expect? he is getting his MBA).  When the credits roll in the original Wall Street they play one of our favorite songs Talking Heads "this must be the place" so it came as no surprise when they played the same song during the credits in the long awaited sequel.  It was at that moment, as the credits rolled and they were showing beautiful scenes of New York that I looked at Jeremy and he looked at me and we just knew.  We knew, even though we have talked about it since moving back here, that as soon as he graduates we want to get ourselves (kids included) back to our beloved New York City.  Home it's where we want to be, feet on the ground and head in the sky.

Deceptively Delicious

I don't usually like to be deceptive but now and again (especially as a mom) life needs a little deception...especially if it's yummy!  I found this little book at a thrift store today for only $1.99 so how could I resist?  My kids are actually fairly good eaters.  They eat a ton of fruits and vegetables and by that I mean they eat at least one piece of fruit a day and at least one veggie a day, so needless to say I could do a little better.  My kids are borderline picky, they do eat well but I am more interested in expanding their repertoire.  Jessica has some great ideas and some amazingly delicious looking recipes.  I am particularly excited about the chocolate doughnut recipe with pumpkin and sweet potato hidden inside!

I love boys!

Pumpkin picking at Craven farm!



heading to the patch!
(I still think Jer and I make a cute couple)



Theo!

beautiful pumpkin

I love this sweet girl!

squashed

So this past week I had my heart squashed in a pretty big way...I'll save the long details but a fairly close friend of mine thought she would take the liberty to tell me that my kids have very disappointing personalities (introverts/shy etc.) and questioned my parenting skills, needless to say it hurt BIG TIME. So of course I did what came naturally, I got angry, I cried, I vented, and then I told her to mind her own business and decided with friends like that who need enemies? The point of my post (and there is a point) is that this is not the first time "stuff" like this has happened, not about my children but something similar. It seems that people love to tell me what I do wrong or give me unsolicited advice, this is often frustrating and hurtful. I can, however, say that in a weird way this "friend" taught me something about myself...
1. I can run 5 miles when angry and listening to Pink's "So What"
2. I need to find better quality friends and pay attention to the red flags in new friendships
3. People in Washington are not nicer than New Yorkers (sorry)
4. and the most important...I need to get some self confidence!
I think people are so willing to tell me how they feel because I come across as insecure and do often question my way of parenting or ask my friends a lot of questions about how they do things. I do this because I am always looking for new ideas, tips, and sometimes advice. Everyone knows I have an extensive library of parenting books! That, however, does not mean I am a bad parent, wife or friend. It means I am aware of my weaknesses and want to work them out. I cherish a friend who can point these weaknesses out in a loving way but to be honest the buck stops at criticizing my children and the choices Jeremy and I make for them.
In life there are introverts and extroverts and personally I have no problem with my kids if they happen to be introverts. It does not mean they are behind or lack socially. I am aware of my children's strength's and weaknesses and I am thankful that God made them the way they are. So, in an effort to work on my insecurities I have decided to run a 5K, ditch some "not so nice" friends, focus on the things I am good at and just love on my amazing family...because in the end what family thinks and needs is what matters most.

need a good inspiring blog read? click on Enjoying the Small Things button on the right, Kelle is AMAZING and her joy is contagious.

sometimes life needs...

orange Cheeto fingers!

Central Love

Today for some unexplained reason Central Park was on my mind and I all of a sudden I had tears in my eyes. I want so badly to be walking through the park with a pumpkin spice latte and fall leaves crunching under foot. I miss New York and all it's wonderful architecture, colors, my beloved friends, the amazing diverse people but most of all I miss Central Park. It's so beautiful and magical there. I gave birth to both my kids at Mount Sinai that over looks that park, we walked hundreds of times through that park, Jeremy and I were married in that park, we rode our bikes, pushed our kids, blew bubbles, rode the carousel, enjoyed the Central park zoo, had many picnic's in that park, watch opera, movies, symphonies in that park, went to the many playgrounds in that park, we've feed ducks, watched plays and kissed in that park. I often feel like I left my heart in that very park.

(The Hernshead in Central Park where Jeremy and I were married)

I am woman hear me roar!

A few months ago I asked Jeremy how I can help with his stress level...something about going to grad school full-time, working full-time, having 2 kids and a wife begging for a 3rd makes his life stressful (I wouldn't know I just run a household, work part-time and raise 2 healthy/happy kids while helping a hubby get through school) needless to say we have a lot going on and we both often feel a little stressed. He mentioned that if I could help mow our mini Central Park lawn it would help him out a ton. I had never mowed a lawn in my life and after doing it the first time which took about 2 hours I realized that I definitely got the better deal growing up as far a chores go and my brothers got the bad ones! After the 2nd or 3rd time of mowing I actually started to like mowing the lawn (gasp!). It might be the smell of fresh cut grass or the fact that Theo usually mows next to me w/ his toy mower or watching my daughter run all over the yard looking for bugs, but somehow something happened and mowing actually became peaceful and enjoyable. I can mow the front and the back in less than 45 minutes and afterwards I can admire my crooked lines and smile thinking I am woman hear me roar, I rock!

(my proof!)

the shoe fits

I love Manolo Blahnik shoes just as the ladies of Sex and the City do...I however have only one pair of Manolo's and a life far from those ladies of Sex and the City (thankfully). Mr. Blahnik however loved my husband and as a thankyou he gave Jeremy a signed hand drawn picture. We have had it for at least 3 years and it sat nice and comfy in a big envelope waiting to be framed. We finally framed it and it looks lovely!

(as a side note can I just lament that my husband no longer works in fashion and my wardrobe has suffered greatly)

ahhhh...

can you smell that? I love meatball and spaghetti night!

life lesson learned

Theo hanging out after his fillings, surrounded by protective pillows just in case he tips over!

Nobody ever told me that watching your three year old get not one but two cavities filled would be so emotional. Poor Theo had two cavities that have been bothering him a great deal and needed to get fixed as soon as possible, turns out as soon as possible was more than a month after his original diagnosis. Jeremy is usually the one to do "these" sort of things with the kids and by "these" things I mean anything involving a needle and discomfort to my children, I just can't handle it. I often wonder how I gave birth to these kids in the first place and two c-sections nonetheless! I however, felt that I should go with Theo since he is after all quite the mommas boy. They gave Theo some silly juice to get him calm and relaxed. It is very funny seeing little ones little out of it but Theo fought hard and just would not fall asleep (huge exasperated sigh). So they proceeded with him awake wearing groovy sunglasses and watching Tom & Jerry. I hate to admit that I had to leave the room while they gave him his shot, but I did and I left the room again when they had to give him a second shot since the first did not numb him enough. This appointment was getting more and more stressful (for me) by the minute and I soon regretted not letting Jeremy handle this one. It took FOREVER to get Theo to keep his mouth open and insert all the gadgets and gear need to fill his fillings but after what seemed like an eternity the were ready to fill. This is when Theo got a bit scared and started to whimper. I tried to hold his little hands and reassure him but the truth was I was starting to melt down and cry myself, this was tough to watch. I am however happy to say that both of us survived. Theo was very loopy after everything and was pretty funny he kept asking what was wrong with his mouth and went from crying to laughing back to crying then back to laughing. We were finally off after wrangling Theo into his car seat off to the comfort of our now juice free, candy free, cookie free, anything that causes cavity free home. I am not going through that experience again and I am pretty sure Theo doesn't want to either.

Soccer and Spokane

This past weekend the kids and I went to Spokane to visit my brother and his family. We had the opportunity to see my niece Saphyre play soccer, she is really good! Saphyre blocked 4 goals and was the most energetic girl on the team despite going to bed way too late the night before, it's hard to sleep when cousin's are in town!


coach Tharp

Saphy and I