Category Archives: Family

Long Weekend

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I hope you all had wonderful Memorial Day holiday weekends (applicable only to those in the U.S., though). Ours was really nice and I’m trying so hard to get back into the swing of things today. Yesterday we went to the parade over in Rhinebeck, like we do every year. It was a lot of fun because Rhinebeck Little League and a local karate school marched so Jake saw a few of his friends. (Little League assigns teams by zip code, not school district, so he got put in a different league with a few other kids from this side of town.) I feel like everyone was throwing even more candy than ever before. Seriously — it was like Halloween, only you didn’t have to go door-to-door! The weather was just gorgeous — an absolutely perfect day for a parade. After it was over we had lunch at Del’s (a local drive-in type of restaurant). We thought it was going to be packed, but we were one of the first people there. We then realized that the way the roads were closed off, it didn’t make it easy to get over there, so most of the weekenders probably lunched right in town. Meanwhile, we enjoyed some yummy hot dogs, cheese fries and soft-serv ice cream cones. So good!

After lunch we went to Home Depot for more pavers. Drew is making a small patio up by the kids’ swingset. We have a small bistro set up there and the patio blocks will look so pretty. We came home and set up the pool for the boys and they splashed around while we enjoyed gin & tonics. For dinner I make ribs, grilled pineapple, and cole slaw. It was just a fun, relaxing day.

Now I’m trying to tackle my to-do list. I’ve got one item crossed off (using one of my trusty personalized pens, of course). Does that count for anything? I really need to rally though and get some of this stuff done. I will probably order a pizza for dinner tonight because today is our first CSA pickup!!! The farm is just down the road from where we usually get pizza, so that will work out great. I’ll update later with a photo of the delicious veggies in our first distribution. I can’t wait!

Mother’s Day Recap

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I was a real slacker with the camera yesterday, but only because I was having too nice of a day to be bothered with it, really! I slept in (because, for me, 6:45 AM is late!) and was barraged with hugs and kisses! I was then directed to head into the kitchen where many cards and presents waited for me. Jake made me three presents: first, a book from school. There were three fill-ins “My mommy likes to…” to which Jake completed the sentence and drew a picture to go along with it. I, apparently, like to make pizza, make grilled cheese sandwiches, and play with Jake 🙂 All very true! Then he made me a lovely feather “treasure” and he founds some “shells” that he gave me. (He likes to pretend that Play-Dough that has dried up in interesting pieces are shells.). Very sweet.

Drew had picked out a super cute Hello Kitty card and everyone signed it and then he cleverly presented me with the “Mother’s Day Trifecta” — jewelry (a gorgeous smokey quartz necklace that matches earrings he gave me for Christmas), perfume (ha – the movie Perfume), and flowers (two azalea bushes for the front). I also got to pick out flowers at Home Depot so we came home with a pussy willow and a sand cherry. Drew planted everything for me and I made a yummy and incredibly easy dinner of filet mignon and dilled potato salad. We pulled a bottle of Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Zinfandel out of the wine refrigerator to go with it. For dessert, we’d picked up tiramisu at the grocery store for a treat. We enjoyed that after the boys were in bed while watching Flight of the Conchords on DVD.

It was a lovely, relaxing day. And now I have to get my ideas going for Father’s Day! 🙂

Craziness

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Do you realize that tomorrow is May? Yes! It is! This year is flying by. Sunday is Jake’s last CCD class (until the fall). I wish I’d realized it sooner — I would have made each of his teachers a little gift basket with a couple handknit dishcloths and some yummy soaps just as a little “thank you.” He had a great time with them and they are such great women. Drew and I were discussing whether kindergarten contitutes the “first year” of CCD (because second year students make their First Communion). I don’t think it does. There were only 4 kids in his class. I would think that most people don’t send their children until first grade. I am guessing that “second year” = “second grade.” I made mine in either second or third grade so that seems right. I think first grade is still a bit young. But I’m sure we’ll find out. Also in May, Drew and I will celebrate 10 years of putting up with each other being together! June is our seventh wedding anniversary. The traditional gifts are wool and copper. Hmm… I will have to get creative with his gift this year, I think! Sure beats the modern gift though — a desk set. Yeah. That’s not boring at all. At least I have a month or so to sort it all out!

Playing Catch-Up

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Well, we had such a great weekend here! Saturday was Jake’s first officiall tee-ball game (as you might have already read). It was a gorgeous day and I got myself a nice farmer’s tan — oops! (Note to self: next Saturday wear a tank top.) But the real highlight of the weekend was Drew’s birthday on Sunday. All week I’d been planning a small party (just family), and I somehow managed to keep it under wraps. I did tell him Sunday morning, though. Because I had to work on Saturday afternoon I didn’t really make anything. Luckily, Stop & Shop came through, as always. I ordered a tray of wraps (chicken ceasar and buffalo tenders) and a very yummy cake (chocolate with strawberry filling and real whipped cream frosting). I also picked up a bunch of other random goodies to serve. I think everyone had a good time.

My brother and his wife very generously gave Drew a gift card to Sears, and as soon as everyone left, he was ready to head over there to get a new battery for the lawn tractor, LOL, so we did that. My parents gave him a gift card to Home Depot, which will certainly come in handy (no, not for Blanco sinks, lovely as they are, but more likely for railing for the deck or a screen door for the front). The boys gave him a very cute garden frog (I read that frogs bring good luck, and Drew loves frogs so that was easy!). And I gave him a gift certficate to American Musical Supply. Though next time I think I’ll stick to Musician’s Friend. I have to say that I was not really impressed with AMS’s service. I’ve ordered from Musician’s Friend several times and I’ve always been happy, but AMS wasn’t quite up to snuff. Oh well, I did eventually get the gift code and that was really what mattered.

Jake is back in school this week, so I am getting caught up on all of my projects. I guess that is about it! Hope your week is off to a good start.

Easter Sunday

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tulips We had such a nice, relaxing Easter this year! The Easter bunny visited our house, of course, and brought the boys a few Easter goodies. I think I probably did the opposite of most moms and went heavy on the candy and light on the toys. We have enough junky toys in the house. The candy is easy to hide and ration out, and it will be enjoyed by everyone. I just didn’t want to buy a bunch of plastic junk just to use for filler. But don’t worry, there were a few things to play with. To share, there was a Superman action figure, a “grow a dino” science kit, and some paints. Plus, the boys each got two books. Jake is really blowing us away with his reading skills, so I thought a couple chapter books featuring Super Fly Guy were in order. They look really cute and should be good “easy reader” books for him. The kids suprised us by not totally pigging out on Easter candy in the morning! They each took a few pieces and that was it.

I made French toast with some cinnamon raisin bread that was going stale, and everyone enjoyed that for breakfast. I felt bad because there were so many things I wanted to make this year (pretzels, Hot Cross Buns…) and it just didn’t happen. So at least we had a special breakfast. Then we were off to Drew’s mom for lunch. She made leg of lamb, eggplant parmesan, salad, roasted vegetables, asparagus, and there were delicious cookies for dessert. I think we all could have benefited from walking on the treadmill after our feast 🙂 Drew and I brought a bottle of 2004 GraEagle RedWing, which went really well with the lamb.

After lunch, the boys had an egg hunt in grandma’s basement. Jake is getting a little too good at these. Poor Noah was left in the dust! They had a blast, though. All in all it was just a fun, relaxing Sunday. Not a bad way to spend a holiday if I do say so myself!

Home Again

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What a weekend (and it isn’t over yet!) As I mentioned in my last post, I’d been in Massachusetts. We had a fun day yesterday. My parents set up an egg hunt for the boys, and they had a blast collecting their Easter eggs. After that they flied kites (even though it was FRIGID out!). We got to visit with my cousin Angie and her little boy, who is around Noah’s age. And of course we saw Mike & Kathy. Kathy & I went on a top secret vodka mission for Drew after the boys were in bed, LOL… I also picked up a couple things for myself: from the 2/$10 bin, a Spanish Grenache and a Spanish Tempranillo, and I also treated myself to a bottle of Clayhouse Vineyard Adobe Red, which is a delicious-sounding blend (Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Syrah, and Cabernet). I’ve seen mixed reviews of it (like, really, really mixed), so it’ll be good to try it for ourselves. After that I dropper her off at home, went home myself, took a relaxing bath, and promptly fell asleep around 9 while watching “Best Week Ever.” Ahh, these exciting Friday nights!

Today of course, was a little more somber. Isn’t is so odd how sad events really do bring people together and, in a way, end up happy ones? Today was my grandmother’s burial and it was the first time that side of the family had all been together in… who knows how long? Fifteen years? Possibly more. I know that it has been at least that long since I’ve seen my cousins. Of course, thanks to the wonder of the Internets I’ve maintained some kind of contact with a few of them, but nothing “real” you know? It was a little awkward at first, but after a while we founds ourselves chatting pretty easily. It was really nice seeing them (as well as my aunts and uncles) and it would be nice if we all would be better about staying in touch. I know that I am guilty of it.

My parents also gave me some vintage linens that were my Babci’s. (In case you didn’t know, I collect them). Many were embroidered by my grandmother herself, so they really are a treasure. She loved needlecrafts, so these are very special to me. I’ll try to take some photos of my favorites next week. They’re a wonderful rememberance, that’s for sure.

So, we got back home around 4. I’m excited to put together the boys’ Easter baskets after they are in bed and steal a few Cadbury Mini-Eggs for myself 😉 I might also put together a dish of French toast to bake tomorrow morning. I’m super tired after a whirlwind weekend, so we’ll see. If you celebrate Easter, I hope you have a wonderful holiday tomorrow. It is one of my favorites, so I am looking forward to it!

Pass the Poutine

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So last Saturday we finally got passports for the boys. We don’t have anything planned, but there was a local “passport event” and since both parents need to be present for a minor’s passport, it worked out well for us and we decided to just get them and not worry about it for a while. So, since we’ll have them in six weeks or so, we’re contemplating going up to Quebec this summer. Maybe. Lord knows how much gas will cost at that point, and it might not be feasible, but we’re throwing the idea around. I’ve never been to Quebec, and Drew hasn’t been in years (that’s where his grandmother was from). If we do go, I will need to look around for some extra luggage because when we went on vacation in February I discovered that what we have is not enough for the four of us. I’m not sure I’m up for the drive, but… I’ll keep my eye on the prize, as they say. And that prize, of course, would be a big old bowl of poutine, made the correct way!

A Sweet Valentine’s Day

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I hope you all had lovely Valentine’s Days! I had an *amazing* day! When we woke up, I gave the boys their cards and chocolate (Drew had also gotten a little knight set, so Noah got the horse and Jake got the knight — they play with everything together anyway). Then I gave Drew his present. He was pretty impressed that I actually wrapped it and put a bow on top! I am the gift bag queen, you see. A few months ago we had been talking about fondue and I thought that would be a good gift. (Hey, my guy likes cooking!) After researching various fondue pots I decided on the Rival electric model. I really wanted to stay away from anything that required Sterno, and the Cuisinart I was looking at was just a little too spendy for me. I also included three big chocolate bars. He really liked it!

But, he totally blew me away with my gift: a gorgeous bouquet of flower and a date night in NYC and tickets to “Rent!” Oh my goodness, I could not believe it. I was just blown away. I had mentioned to him that I really wanted to see it before it closes this spring. The sneaky guy took note. He arranged to have his mom babysit and everything so we can have a nice overnight in the city and then do something down there on Monday as well.

Nikon D40 But that’s not all. When I got home from work last night, this is what was waiting for me!!! After going back and forth and back and forth and reading reviews and visiting the camera area at Target (man, that guy must have thought I was weird, coming back every other day, LOL!) I had pretty much decided on buying the Nikon D40, but needed to save up a little more of my blogging money. Drew came across and amazing offer on Amazon (after reading a tip on SlickDeals), and purchased the whole shebang for me, making up the difference between what I had saved and the purchase price. I’m so lucky to have a husband that is supportive and encouraging of my hobbies! I have a lot to learn, but I’ve really enjoyed the time I had to shoot today. I am now even more anxious for spring — the ice and the lifeless trees outside aren’t all that inspiring, LOL!

We both were pretty tired so we just popped open a bottle of Rosa Regale and shared a cream cheese brownie. My parents have very generously offered to take the boys this weekend, so we’ll be enjoying dinner out tomorrow night. It’s such a treat when we get to go out by ourselves. It doesn’t happen a lot, so we always enjoy it.

Aside from that, we don’t have any exciting weekend plans. I did all my cleaning this afternoon so I can relax and play, guilt-free. I do hope to finish up my cloth for the dishcloth exchange and pick up some goodies for my partner. My parents are going to take the boys to their local children’s museum and science museum (which is having a dinosaur exhibit — my guys love dinos), so they will enjoy their mini vacation as well!

Yawn…

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Why is that when I’m up at the crack of dawn, I never see anything amusing like my husband does? All I find on the boob tube is Girls Gone Wild infomercials. I’ve also learned that while sure, Noggin is now on 24/7, at 4 AM they are showing their “B” material. Gullah Gullah Island tends to frighten Noah. He is really not into big puppets.

Anyway. Today is extra-long because school cancelled. At first it was just a two-hour delay, which thrilled me because that meant a leisurely morning, but then the cancellation was announced and it’s been non-stop bickering, screaming, and whining. And let’s not talk about the mess in the den. It really is so nasty outside, though. Everything is flooding and it’s just a gross, slushy mess. At least it’s not a blizzard like last year, I guess.

Sorry. Guess I’m just full of complaints today. On a more positive note, I got Drew a fun present for Valentine’s Day – I hope he likes it! It’s all wrapped up and ready to go. I also got the boys each a small Russell Stover heart with some chocolates inside. My dad used to always get one for me and my brother, so it’s now something that I plan on doing every Valentine’s for my little guys. What about you? Anything fun planned? I didn’t do anything really in the way of decorating, and I’ll be working all day tomorrow so I won’t be home to make a fun dinner. Hopefully next year!