Making Memories

We got all curled up in our jammies, and watched one of our favorite Halloween Flicks.  

We love Charlie Brown in this house and after the movie Lil' C kept saying, "I got a Rock!"  Halloween is in the air.

Costume Time

So what are Z and Lil' C dressing up as this year???  That has been all the talk around here lately :)  Z asked to be Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Halloween.  It is his latest obsession and though I would rather he be Franklin (a much more loveable turtle), he insisted on Raphael.  After investigating my costume options, I decided on the most difficult route....make my own.  With a broken sewing machine, I was looking at making it all by hand.  I ordered green sweatpants and sweatshirt online, gathered up my collection of felt, bought some more green and went to work.  I did not have a pattern, Z and I did this as a team (did I mention S and I are going as Donatello and Michaelangelo to an adult party??  We are teaming up with another couple to go as the fiercest reptile fighting team!).

It is not perfect, please don't look closely at the stitching but he LOVES it and that is all that matters.  When he first put it on he asked me, "Mom do I really look like a turtle because I feel like one?!?!?"  That made all the effort worth it right there!  When I had him try the costume on for one last "fitting" I asked him if he was sure he didn't want to go as Franklin instead.  He laughed and said, "No mommy, Raphael is way cooler."  Oh I miss the days when Franklin was cool!!!

As for Lil' C....well she was suppose to use the bee costume that my niece used two years ago.  Unfortunately she screams whenever we put her into it.  Following her lead, I took out our dress up buckets and let her pick her own costume.  What is she going as???  Bob the Builder!  (Okay, maybe Wendy).  Z was Bob when he was Two and so it is only appropriate that she follow in her big brother's footsteps.  I don't have any pictures of her yet (only naked pictures with her in a hard hat) but I will post them when I get some good ones :)  Here is Z when he was two.

Getting Down With the Farm

This past weekend we went with my BF and her family to a Discovery Farm.  This place was all about getting up close with the farm animals and in most cases, they encourage you to get right in the pens!  There were many species of cows, sheep, chickens, goats (oh so many goats), ponies, mules, llamas, geese, ducks, reptiles, stinky pigs and so much more.  There were playgrounds, a bouncy house, hayrides, apple picking and so much more....you name it and this place had it.  We had a really good time and it was a beautiful day. As it turns out S was the "King of the Goats"(we had one in our wagon), Lil' C loved the chickens (I think we need to get some for the yard) and Z was petrified of every farm animal there was.  He appreciated the reptile house and the non animal spaces! Thanks La for a great day :)

Here are some photos of the day.

Making Memories.....

Here are some pictures from our week.  Have a great weekend!!

One Last Fire

Last night S surprised me and brought home a little firewood.  We lit the fire, enjoyed some Harvest Moon and said "Good-bye" to our fireplace.  Today is the day that our new pellet stove insert arrives and I can't wait.  This was a big decision for us (really difficult for S....they are pricey) but we felt it was a worthy expensive purchase.  Despite my excitement for the new pellet insert, it was nice to have one more cozy moment with the old fireplace.

A Beautiful Weekend (with just a touch of crazy)

The warm sun was shining, the weather unseasonably warm (people were waterskiing and swimming in October!), the foliage got brighter every day, family and friends gathered and a beautiful life was celebrated.  It was the perfect send off....a combination of personal stories and memories, Michael Jackson, Ave Maria, a performance from my father and ended with a slide show of pictures to Stayin Alive (her request).  There were tears, laughs, trips down memory lane and just a few moments of CRAZY.  No family is perfect, mine is far from it, but we came together, put our differences aside and made the best of it.  We did it for her. 

The best part of the weekend was spending so much quality time with my great Uncle Richie and beautiful Auntie Mary.  They live in Florida now and we rarely see them.  This weekend we got to spend a lot of quality time with them, more than I have ever spent in my life.  It was wonderful to be with them and have them get to know my children and I miss them so much already!

I love you Tante, I miss you each and every day.  I hope that you were smiling down on us on Saturday and approved of the celebration of your life.  Thanks for blessing us with Florida Sunshine on a weekend that is normally frigid.  It was nice to spend three wonderful days in the weather that you most loved.  May you rest in Peace and know how much we love and miss you.

My Mom, Auntie Mary and Sister K

A Beautiful Setting for the Reception

My Cousin Pat and Uncle Richie (Tante's Brother)

Playing on the Beach

Posing with Daddy

My Beautiful Tante

Bring on the Crazy!!!

This weekend people will travel from all over this great country to celebrate the life of a very special lady.  My Tante (Aunt Nita) passed away almost a year ago but this weekend we will be able to pay tribute to her beloved soul.  I am so excited to read the reading I wrote for her (hope I can get through it without crying too much), see my Great Aunt and Uncle who are flying in from Florida, show the slideshow that I have been working on for weeks and witness the social experiment that is about to happen.

What will happen when you bring together "relatives" we have never met (who we are told don't get along with each other even though they are siblings), a Meth addict, an estranged cousin and his family, a wanted convict in two states (doesn't every family have one of those??), a police officer (who does not know about the wanted convict and we can't tell him because it kind of puts him in a weird spot), our lake family and a bunch of other friends and family we haven't seen in a LONG time??? What will happen??  I do not know but I can't wait to find out!  Bring on the CRAZY!!!!

More Z isms

While cleaning Z's room:

Z:  Mom the coolest thing happened last night.
Me:  Really, what?
Z:  I peed in the shape of Africa!
Me:  huh?
Z:  Last night, I peed my bed in the shape of Africa, isn't that sooooo cool!
Me:  Yes Z, so cool :)

Later in the kitchen:

Z:  Mom dad has adult knees inside of him
Me:  Yes Z, Daddy has adult knees
Z:  Yes he has adult knees inside his body and I have kidneys!
Me:  What?
Z:  Daddy has adultknees to help clean his pee and I have kidneys.

Where does he come up with this?!?!?!

S and J's Oktoberfest!

This past weekend S and I were not only fortunate enough to have a date night (first in months) but we also enjoyed our own version of Oktoberfest.  For the last few weeks we collected 4 seasonal beers.  It was 5 but once we found out that Pumpkinhead was a malt beverage (no wonder it always tasted like soda to me), it got booted from the competition. 

So the competitors we had were:  Sam Adam's Octoberfest, Blue Moon's Harvest Pumpkin Ale, UFO Pumpkin and Wolaver's Organic Pumpkin Ale.

Last week I covered the labels in white paper, covered the caps and peeled off the upper labels.  Before we began I removed the caps and numbered the bottles.  I was really happy that I had this week to forget my labeling....I totally forgot which was which :)

So on a rating scale of 1-5 (5 being the best), we rated the smell, initial taste and the after taste.  My winners are shown below in order.  S had Wolaver's and Blue Moon tied for first but the rest of his order was the same.   I was so bummed that my favorite of the four came in last!!!  I guess I only like the UFO for it's Jack-o-Lantern label :(  S was really bummed that Octoberfest was so blah...we thought we really loved it.

The winner had a delicious pumpkin spice smell, had a delicious initial taste and the only issue was a bit of a bitter after taste.  Over all though it was delicious, Good Job Otter Creek in VT!  Massachusetts your two beers finished last and I am very disappointed ;)  Colorado you did very well with your Harvest Moon. 

My Winner!!

This was super fun way to spend the afternoon (or at least 30 minutes of it) and we plan to do it again with winter brews.  What were the kids doing??  Well watching Curious George of course ;)

Gazillion Bubbles-A Birthday Adventure

 This weekend Mimi and Grandpa J treated the four of us, for our birthdays, to see Gazillion Bubbles at the Providence Performing Arts Center.  What a show!  The kids (and adults) were completely mesmerized as Fan Yang created the most amazing bubbles.  The finale of the show (as well as the Intermission entertainment) were the favorites of the Raising Z household but the entire show was wonderful.  It was the perfect gift for our clan, memories that will last a life time!  It was Lil C's first theater experience and she did great.  In the beginning she really wanted to go up on stage and pop Fan's bubbles but once she understood she had to just watch, she sat pretty still.  She did hop laps (which we all enjoyed) and her eyes were glued to the stage and all that went on up there.  Bubbles are an amazing thing....simple, beautiful, innocent and filled with magic.  Thanks Mimi and Grandpa for an absolutely wonderful day!


A few pictures of our adventure.  There were no cameras allowed but I did sneak a few shots of my kids inside with the flash off :)