Happy Anniversary to Us

It'll be 8! years on Tuesday. Tim's parents were kind enough to watch the boys so we could celebrate tonight. It was a beautiful warm summer night in the city. We ate outside at a favorite Mexican restaurant (I ordered my stand-by delish enchiladas verdes, and we got platanos with caramel sauce and mexican coffee for dessert). Later we went to one of the best independent movie theaters around (where we spent many weekends in our dating and pre-children years), and saw the funny and touching "Introducing the Dwights." Hey Jen, recognize the shirt you gave me last year?

Here's to many more wonderful years together... love you, baby.

Calling All Stay at Home Moms...

You may want to take some time to check out this interesting and intelligent site. A friend's blog led me here and I am glad it did. It describes how/why the life of the stay-at-home mom is more of a challenge today than for moms of the early 20th century. She describes a few steps we can take to make our role at home even more satifying. Pretty insightful.

http://www.suburbanceo.com/

what have we been up to?...

went to see wilco...
under this giant tent
met our new cousin dj!
boys did a few days of camp at nonnie and papa's
celebrated the 4th down there
waiting in line...
for super face painting!
noah wanted an angry squid
went to see uncle george's new RV and made s'mores

(now i must catch up on food shopping and laundry!)

Noah turns 6!

Sorry for not posting in over a week. We have been busy celebrating here! On Wednesday, Noah turned 6 years old. He is getting to be such a big boy. You all know how sentimental I am anyway, but this birthday made me even more so. I can't believe how quickly 6 years have passed. I am even getting weapy as I write. I remember holding my first born son for the first time, and falling in love on the spot. Now, my little Noah is going to be a first grader in the fall! Where has the time gone?! I still take all the cuddles I can get (and I am happy to say, he still wants them), but the cuddles now are more like strong hugs around my waist, as he's grown up to my chest already.

On Wed, we celebrated by visiting my parents for lunch and then going out with Tim in the evening. On Friday, we went all out and rented a bounce house (or moon bounce, as we call it), for the back yard for a pirate party. The kids had a blast! After the "kid party," we invited more adult friends and family over after work to celebrate too.

As I soaked in the tub after the long (and fun) day, I counted 53 people (kids, friends, family, neighbors) that had come by at some point during that day! Here's some pictures of our time celebrating on Noah's actual birthday day (Wed.) and party day (Friday).





afternoon cake at nonnie and papa's



dinner in the city after picking daddy up at work











backyard party with school friends, play friends, and cousins






pirate treasure pinata








birthday cake







birthday boy xo

Strawberry Daze

On Saturday, some friends invited us to go strawberry picking at a local farm. $5 got you a tractor hay ride to the strawberry fields and a delicious piece of strawberry shortcake at the end. After returning home with the 2 quarts we picked, minus many berries eaten out in the field, I tried to decide what I wanted to make with our delightful summer fruit. After looking through The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, I decided on "Strawberry Refrigerator Jam (pg. 780)." I love this recipe! So simple! The only ingredients are 1 quart of strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar (and I had them all on hand). You just simmer them all together on the stove before storing in the refrigerator. The jam keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge, which works out fine since the recipe makes only about 2 cups (and I am pretty sure ours will last just a few days). For a snack today, to test out our tasty treat, we ate it Nervous Nelly Style.... multigrain toast with butter, then the jam, then a slice of cheese.... de-lish!

Boston Babes

What can I say, we had an a-mazingly wonderful visit with Ann-Krestene and Ella! It felt so good to have our close friends with us for a week. We spent a day at an indoor water slide park, took a day trip into Boston and rode on the historical Swan Boats, visited my parents house in Mattapoisett (where Ella got to touch the Atlantic Ocean), and went to our town's little zoo. I think I may have even gotten Ann hooked on Dunkin Donut's coconut iced coffees, east coast pizzas, and New England style homes. One night, we managed to sneak in a "girl' s night out," while Tim watched the kiddos. The visit was filled with lots of great conversations and playtime. It was such a treat to be together. Thanks for coming out all this way, Ann and Ella! xoxo We can't wait to be together again soon! I am counting on Ann to post bunch of great pictures, so here's just a couple.

Sweet Talker

Couple cute conversations I wanted to document:

This morning, while trying to get us all dressed and ready for the day, it went like this:

Me: "I wonder what it is like out today?"

Ezra: "Oh! I feel-ed it. It's BURSTING cold!"

Me: "Oh, really?"

Ezra: "Yeah, Mom, it's STEAMING cold, colder than ICE!"

Me: Really? Did you feel that through the open bathroom window?"

Ezra: "Yeah! It's a wittle bit 'WEASLY' cold."

Me: "Weasly, hmmm?" "Okay, thanks, Ez." "We'll put on pants today."


The other day, after pre-k orientation day:

Me: "Did you just love your new class and new teacher?!"

Ezra: "No I didn't love it... I INFINITY loved it!"