Bubbles!!

We go through bubble formula by the gallons. The kids love bubbles, and apparently Flash, the dog, does too.

Easter Weekend

It does appear that spring is coming. We're supposed to hit the 80 mark this week. The warmer weather is scattered in between cooler days and lots of rain showers. But it will do...for now.

Chloe, hiding behind her growing-out bangs, dying eggs.

Saturday we went to the P*orsche Swap in Hershey, PA. We gave the new wagon a go and it was a great success. Both kids loved riding in it and pulling each other in it as well.

At the swap.

Easter was nice and warm though clouds threatened. We did get a rain shower around dinner time. Luckily all the egg hunts and festivities were over.

Chloe, at church, with one of her best pals.

Decorating a bag before the church egg hunt.

Oliver found one egg, which he declared was a "ball" and threw on the ground busting it open. He, of course, was rather pleased to find candy inside!

Showing his egg to Daddy.



Attempting to get a Easter photo with the kids. And, just a note: This wasn't supposed to be Oliver's Easter outfit. I purchased him an adorable john-john to wear but it got vetoed when Daddy saw him in it and declared, "It's just not Oliver's style". Unfortunately, he was right.



Happy Easter!

Wagon

It seems that we have been buying giant plastic toys lately. First, we got Oliver the push & pedal truck and now this...






When we were at the zoo last week I became all too aware that we needed something both kids could ride in. Chloe is still not beyond wanting to ride in a stroller. It's not often that we go some place that we need a double stroller so I didn't want to pay several hundred dollars for one and children's resell shops aren't abundant. We do have a double jog stroller but it doesn't travel well. Instead I bought a wagon. We will be testing out it's functionality at a Porsche swap this Sarurday-- just the kind of event where kids don't want to walk and we will need some space for purchases. I hope the kids don't mind riding with brakes for a 944 turbo.

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Ready to Put Away the Coats

The tulips in the front yard are blooming...come on spring.

After Texas, I totally have spring fever. I just want to put away the coats. The weathermen forcasted 72 degrees today. At 1:00 p.m., it's 50 degrees and doesn't appear that it will come anywhere near 70. Its damp, overcast and chilly.

Expecting nice weather today, I made plans to work in the garden preparing it for planting. The weather didn't work out, but I started the garden anyway.

Chloe and I managed to start some seeds earlier in the week and make a run to the garden center to get some supplies. Last year our vegetable garden didn't do too well thanks in part to the record heat and the 105 lb. dog that trampled through it. Chloe and I have big plans for this year's vegetable garden so we are doing what we can to protect it.

The new barrier gate to prevent Flash from trampling the garden. Last year we used garden netting and it did little to deter him.

We have to protect the yellow baby doll watermelon we are growing from seed along with our tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, onions, pole beans and carrots.

I couldn't resist strawberries. I grow these in a pot.

Getting tomato plants this early means we are destined to have a freeze. Ugh!



Don't you wish you had two large dogs so your backyard could look this lovely?

Flash surveying the new fencing.

The swingset has arrived. Guess what we are doing Easter weekend?

The mess maker. It's 10:30 a.m. in this photo and I already have to change his clothes!

Texas Break

Chloe’s Spring Break was last week and the kids and I took the break from school as an opportunity to soak up some sun and it’s heat in Dallas with my parents.

We flew out on Sunday morning and I have to admit that I was a little uneasy and sick to my stomach with worry on how Oliver would act on the flight. After our trip to Hawaii in February, I knew he could be BAD, REAL BAD on a flight. It was just me and the kids, so I didn’t have Matt around to help ward off angry passengers and to help quiet and angry Oliver. As luck would have it, I saw a segment on TV with a family therapist about flying with kids earlier in the week and I took some sage advice— People are quick to judge your parenting skills and “tsk” on flights and rarely offer any useful recommendations or empathize. They only complain. Tantrums are common, don’t worry about the other passengers, take care of your child, you are his parent and you know him best. It is what it is…it’s the means to an end (i.e. getting some place).
Armed with that advice, we set off on our 3+ hour flight. Of course, I armed myself with all the tantum-avoidance materials I could---toy cars, a chew toy that he could “bite” and the portable DVD player and every Baby Ei*nstein video in our collection. We did have a “breakdown” on the plane when Oliver got tired and I refused to let him “play” in the airplane lavatory (i.e. fill the sink with water, pull out every paper towel, flush the toilet 20 times and unroll the toilet paper) but he handled himself about as well as you would expect a 21 month old to handle the situation. In the end, we all survived, had no angry passengers in my face and touched down fairly unfazed. Even Chloe exclaimed when we touched down, “Hey Mom, Oliver was pretty good on the flight!”.

We had an awesome time in Dallas. Oliver really bonded with my Dad, “PaPaw”. We went to my father’s farm in East Texas and Oliver loved chasing the chickens and scaring the cows with his shrieks of joy. We were also able to see my childhood friend, Stacie, and her two daughters. Chloe loved playing with Stacie’s oldest daughter and has since declared that they are going to be best friends just like Stacie and I. We also went to the Lego Discovery Center and the Ft. Worth Zoo. I was born and raised in Dallas and it was my first visit to the Ft. Worth Zoo. We loved it and it left me wondering why I always went to the Dallas Zoo! We ended the week by swimming and having dinner with my nieces and nephew.

Oliver did even better on the return flight home, and we came back to NJ to discover the tulips blooming in the front yard and that spring was finally here! Yippee!

Love This Ad

Matt and I saw this commercial for the first time today and we love it. It's like the ad guys at P*or*sche heard us talking. Now, why didn't we buy a yellow convertible?

The weather is bright and sunny (and kind of warm) so we are loading up the kids in the Turbo convertible to buy dog food!! It's totally a family car!

The Kiddos

As I mentioned, I took the kids to the mall to have some spring photos taken. The real purpose was to have some photos taken of me, Oliver & Chloe for Matt for Father's Day but the photos of the three of us didn't turn out very well due to a lack of cooperation on the part of a 21 month-old. The photographer did manage to get some good photos of the kids individually and together.

And to answer a question that everyone else in the photo studio asked...yes, I did have the kids outfits made to match. That's how I roll. A very nice lady that I found on E*t*sy made the matching outfits for the kids. I also have a top that matches that she made too. She was so reasonable for what she charged for the three pieces and hairbow that I hardly believe that she made a profit.

Chloe--I didn't realize that she was wearing her watch in the photo. She never takes the watch off, except for gymnastics once a week and it's filthy. I love that I captured all her teeth--baby teeth, adult teeth and halfway grown in!!



I seriously don't know how the photographer got a good photo of Oliver--he wouldn't sit still and kept trying to escape the studio.



A cute shot!! The photographer managed to snap this just as Oliver was about to get up. I love it!!

A Visit to the Easter Bunny

We went to the mall to have some spring photos taken and stopped by to see the Easter Bunny. Oliver was too thrilled at first but with a little encouragement he warmed up and took a photo.

After our Easter Bunny photo shoot, we rode the merry-go round. Oliver was mesmerized and was upset when the ride ended.

On the Merry-Go Round.