Sabotage!! {#31days}

Please tell me that y'all have seen Cutthroat Kitchen?! Seriously my new favorite Foot Network Show. It is awesome. (Go ahead - watch here and come back)

See??

I just love the sabotages!! And guess who else does?

The boys. Andrew and Alex love it so much that they PLAY Cutthroat Kitchen! Hilarious!!

Now, if you didn't take the time to watch even a glimpse of the show here's the rundown:

Basically, it's like the everyday kitchen cook-off show. Three awesome chefs, three dishes to make, and one is cut each round - leaving, of course, the winner. Only Alton Brown, the best host ever, throw in some CRAZY sabotages that the chefs can bid on to mess up the other ones. The fist time I ever watched this, one of the chef's bid on chopsticks. No biggie, right? WRONG! He gave those chopsticks to his opponent to use as their ONLY cooking utensil for that round!! Mmmmwuhahaha!

Hilarious! I love it. Go, Alton!

Anyway, back to the boys.

I shall set the scene....

Andrew is Alton (because he is the oldest and that's apparently the rule)
Alex is the Chef Guy (I'm assuming he meant Guy Fieri because that's his favorite..ahem, guy!)
Mama is Chef Mommy (wait!? why am I playing?! Andrew says, I mean Alton, says that I'm already making dinner so I should just play)

No one has any money. There is just a bunch of yelling about "dollars!" and Alton going around telling me how much time I have. No matter that the kitchen timer says that it's ready when it's ready. Alton says I have 10 minutes. Alex Chef Guy starts to go nuts.

Because he has be...SABOTAGED!

He must bake all of his food together and put his pots away for 5 minutes.But I didn't do it.

Alton did it. 

Alex said it was ok because he didn't know what he was making. Yep, that looks quite questionable to me, too...

But, don't you worry. I got sabotaged, too. Ouch.

I had to throw always of my "shake spices" and use the toy spices instead.

Those stuffed bell peppers are going to be quite bland, eh?

Oh, goodness! What a fiasco making dinner turned out to be...

Kidding...the dinner-making hour is ALWAYS a fiasco. But at least this time it was entertaining. Maybe we should play Cutthroat Kitchen all the time!

But with no sabotages (of any kind!) to mama! I need as few of those as possible!

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Thanksgiving for Five

What a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving we had this year! I must say we really enjoyed our holiday just the five of us. It was perfect!

Tiny turkey's first Thanksgiving!

Our 3 turkeys!

Delicious food!

Football!

Christmas decorations!

It was so great to celebrate this holiday together. We had a few "firsts" this Thanksgiving, too!

This was my first time EVER to cook a turkey. I always talked with mom while she was preparing everything or we were playing games at Jason's family's home. Well, with her awesome turkey tips, I did it! Thanks, mom!!

Hello delicious!

But, before we get to the feasting, here's what the men took care of while I was in the kitchen and catching bits of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which was so weird, by the way...what was with the...ahem...red boots? Not exactly family friendly these days...) and snapping pics of the living room progress. 

Top half: Unpacking and setting up the tree and Christmas toys

Bottom half: The sun rising on the Holy Family - love it! Austin's first Christmas ornament!! The two in the back are Andrew and Alex's. I put their baby hats from the hospital and their bracelet in an ornament. So sweet :)

 Now, you saw earlier in this post that they were wearing their Thanksgiving shirts... Well, the Packers were getting ready to play, so they needed to be fan ready. Those are their game faces... LOL Austin was informed that he needed to be wearing his Packer gear, too. There are some funny men in my house. 

Game over and it is now time to feast!! Mmm. Mmm. Delicious!

And, yes!! I carved my first turkey for the first time! LOL AND!! I even got the wishbone out for later! 

Though...later meant the NEXT night. It wasn't ready just yet. The boys had a ton of fun with this. Mom even sent a picture of my 2 younger brothers breaking their wishbone. Andrew and Alex thought that they were cool stuff to be just like Sean and William. Oh, and Alex won! He got he bigger half. Cuties! 

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We hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, too! 

Next up: Austin will be ONE MONTH OLD this week!!! And, the boys went to a special school event that featured The Singing Santa. Very cool! More posts to come soon :)

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I feel like I just wrote about June coming to an end...and now we are a bit over half way through with July! We had a few outings this week (and last). We have also made a few changes around the house as the summer moved along.

They boys have been enjoying their bunks so much! But, as we have had them sharing a room once before, we knew what we were we getting ourselves into. We were hoping that they were big enough to know a bit better, but...well, being almost 4 and a bit over 2 is tough work. Luckily, I remembered this clock I saw a good while ago at Barnes & Noble. And, a few friends have been using similar types of clocks for their little ones. Have you heard of the OK to Wake Clock?? It is GREAT!

Source - Amazon

While I was looking for the clock, Andrew and Alex played with the legos. Afterwards, we headed over to the Starbucks and got a goodie. Funny story... I told that that B&N is really a grown-up store and the people like to read their new books and have coffee QUIETLY. I told them we could sit in the cafe, too, but they had to be really quiet. It was amazing... They whispered how good their M&M blondie was and how other mommies that were there had hair like me or a stroller like Alex's. It was so funny. We may need to go there again when this mama needs the peace restored.

Anyway, back to the clock...

That thing is awesome. It glows green when it is time to get up. It glows a soft yellow to be a night light. It even has a nap time setting for Alex! They were getting up way to early...like, 5am too early. Um, no... I do NOT think so, little people. So, now they have this clock that "tells" them at 7am they are allowed to come out/wake up/etc. They still are up early, but they now know to stay in bed and NOT wake up mommy or daddy. That was getting old...

And speaking of getting up early, call me crazy, but I'm getting back into it. I know, I know. Pregnant and all getting up early. But, you know...I need that morning quiet time to myself before I have to get on with the dad. I am back to enjoying that glorious cup of coffee without microwaving it 40 times. I actually HEAR the news instead of catching bits and pieces here and there. I love it.

Can you tell I love it?! The morning sunshine ALL to myself in the backyard. I hear the birds singing and the "babbling brook" in our neighbor's backyard. I love that they have that water feature... 

And while we are talking about birds...that sweet cardinal couple had some babies!! Here is one of their little boys who still has his fuzzy head, but that wonderful red coloring. He comes around all the time and his parents are usually sitting on the fence just watching him close by. Sweetest thing ever. 

I have a few more bird stories...

Gotta love a good macaw picture! Yep, we headed to the zoo - again! 

While we were there, look what we found!! A mama Guinea hen with her eggs. A LOT of eggs!! When we were back earlier this week, she and the eggs were gone and placed safely somewhere else. We are hoping to see some sweet little chicks in the future! 

Last weekend...

I read a post somewhere from a mom who took here little guys to Lowe's for the Build and Grow Clinics. Her kids were about Andrew and Alex's ages. The website says "recommended for 5 years or older." She was talking about how hers love building and such just like mine do. I read on to see that her kids loved it and said that really any age can do it. So, I signed up Andrew for last weekend's project - the Pizza Planet Truck from Toy Story! Perfect! I begged Jason to take some pictures for me and just look at my little builder man!

He loved it!! Jason said that there were other kids there that were even younger and thinks that Alex will definitely be able to do it, too! So, Alex is signed up for the next project - RC from Toy Story! YAY! 

SUCH a cutie in his Lowe's apron - complete with his Toy Story badge for completing his project!

Look how cool that is!! Thanks, Lowe's!

Are you wondering where Alex was during all of this?

He and I ran a few errands and squeezed in a goodie...

At Dunkin Donuts!! He, of course, chose to sit at the donut table that matched his donut! Love it :)

A lot of fun went on last weekend. We made s'mores!!! YUM! 

This summer we have been working on their workbooks in between the fun and games. Alex is working on his cutting skills and tracing/easy mazes. Andrew is doing the same, just the next level up. Kumon workbooks are the best!!

We have been going on our morning/evening walks, too.At the beginning of the summer they only wanted to do our street plus a few more steps down another. Now, we do the our street, the next one, and a few more steps. 

Puzzles are great, too! This is a gift from one of our friends who got to visit us while on a trip up here! Thanks, Jessi!!

We have had so much fun these past two weeks, can you tell? After parking in the garage and getting things out, they were STILL sleeping. And this isn't just one day...this has been happening for much more than that. Cracks. Me. Up. Especially, when I get closer to having two "Mr. I'm Not Tireds" in the House. 

I hope your summer is going great, too!

Easter 2013

My gosh! I'm exhausted! Ok, not really. I went to bed early last night. But, still looking back at everything makes me sleepy again. Must be a pregnant thing, huh? Anyway, here is a look at our Easter extravaganza! Hope yours was fabulous, too!

{Saturday}

Cooking day!

 I had two little helpers in the kitchen for some of the easier things. They are helping me mix up the deviled eggs here. We also got the ham ready for the oven, the asparagus blanched, the potatoes ready, and a timeline made for tomorrow's yummy eats! Glad I had some helpers!

Unfortunately, it was a stinky, rainy day so this was the highlight of the day. 

After everyone was in bed, I got the Easter baskets together for tomorrow. I went simple this year. Do you remember the baskets from last year? They are so great! And they go right back in the closet after the festivities are done so they can be used again. I, personally, can't stand those obnoxious store bought Easter baskets filled with that nasty plastic grass stuff. YUCK! Plus, the candy is always gross. Anyway, here are their baskets!!

Andrew is blue; Alex is green. They each got a Thomas Easter book and Easter story book (which the one in Andy's basket is much better - The Easter Story by Patricia Pingry. It's the story without the fluffy junk...you know what I mean). They also got sidewalk chalk and some new digging tools. Peter Rabbit Jelly Bellies!! And 3 eggs filled with those mini Lightning McQueen micro race cars. They love those little cars. Oh, and, of course, a super hero - Wolverine and Captain America. Why not? They also got two more books to share - The Tale of Three Trees (you must read this book - even if you don't have kids. SO SWEET!) and Jesus Calling Bible Storybook by Sarah Young. A few of the ladies in my guild at church really like the Sarah Young devotionals, so I have high hopes for this one. I read though some of it while at Books-A-Million and it was pretty good. There will always a few places for further explanation on different wording for general Christian books, but it is a great little book if you are looking for one. A story and then something to think about. Also, the illustrations are great for the little ones.

  All done and ready for Easter Sunday!

{Sunday}

Happy Easter!!!

 Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake for breakfast!!

We headed out to Jim 'n Nick's for lunch. Our Easter dinner will be at actual dinner time. For forever we had always done Easter dinner after coming home from church - both in my family and in Jason's. But, wow! I LOVE that we did not have to rush out of Mass to rush home and get everything done for "starving" people. This just make SO much better sense. Who would have thought?!

 Anyway, after we came home and the boys took a bit of a break from the festivities. They found their Easter baskets. I know, I know... what?! Not at the crack of dawn?! Nope. I don't think we have ever given them their baskets until AFTER church. Why more parents don't do this, I don't know... This is genius. 1) I don't have sticky children that I have to get ready for church. 2) They actually eat a 1/2 decent breakfast. 3) We get to church ON TIME - especially on Easter Sunday. Hello?! Less stress for Easter?? Yes, please!

Ok, bringing it back...

 How cute are these Jelly Belly boxes?! I always find them at Books-A-Million this time of year for 99 cents!

 Time for DINNER!!! SO yummy!!

 Everything set! And, yes, those are canning jars we used for our drinks. Awesome.

Hmm...wondering where the fabulous feast pics are? We were too busy having such a great time with our friends, Kristi and Brandon, that we totally forgot to get pics! Crazy! The boys were having a blast, too. But, at least you'll get to see that. 

 Egg hunt time!!! We held ours inside...it rained this morning so our backyard was mushy. Boo. Oh, well. They still loved it! 39 eggs...guess who found 23 of them? The big kid, Mr. Andrew! After a bit though, he started helping Alex and Braxton find eggs. Ok, actually he found them and put them in their baskets. Too funny. They are such great friends!!

This is the best picture I got of these 3 buddies. Kristi may have gotten a few that are better. But, they are cute, so ya know! Love these kids!

Well, that was our Easter! We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend with their family and friends, too! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives! Now, next year...Rachel, you and your family should head back over to Alabama for Easter!! (Oh, some background real quick since that may not have made sense why I said that...Rachel and Kristi were BFF growing up and while both lived here. After Rachel and I became good friends, I was so, so SAD :( that she was leaving me to go back home closer to family. Luckily, she intro'd Kristi and I before leaving the both us. We both miss you, girl!!! Big hugs!!)


Happy Easter!!!

Merry Thanksmas in Augusta

Did that title confuse you? Or have you been following long enough to know my mom and I? ;)

After Jason's family moved out-of-state from where my parents are, we had to split up the holidays. One year it's there, another year it's somewhere else. This year, we had Thanksgiving in Augusta - but also celebrated Christmas since we won't be seeing his family next month. My mom came up with that term "Thanksmas" last year. Isn't she hilarious!? I love it. So it's sticking.

Anyway, I did manage to grab a few pictures here and there. We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too! Or, if you're like us - a very Merry Thanksmas!

 Alex and Andrew loved these Snowmen matryoshkas - they are pretty cute!!

Also, sadly, this is the ONLY picture I got of them on Thanksgiving Day with their turkey shirts...grr... I thought with mom brain that was a given that I would make them sit and smile together in matching shirts...ugh...I guess next year, right? These shirts were made by the fabulous, Chi, from our church! So cute, right?!

 Opening up some Christmas gifts! Thanks, Nana and Papa, for all the fabulous things!

 Andrew cooking us a feast with his cookware (this is going with a certain item from Mommy and Daddy they will both find on Christmas morning! YAY!)

 Speaking of feasts...yum :) I'd like to point out to all my brothers...haha! I got a leg this year, boys! They - meaning whichever two steal them first - never let me get one. Stinkers. Love you, guys!

 Being with family is great. Many of my mornings looked like this. Sip, sip, ahhhhh. 

 And many of our evenings looked like this - CATAN!!! 

If you have never played this game - 1st, what is the matter with you? And 2nd, put this game on your Christmas list. It is awesome. It is the ONLY strategy game I LOVE. 

This was my Thanksgiving card to my hubby. He cracked up with this one :) 

I don't usually do Thanksgiving cards, but this was PERFECT for him. He LOVES my mom's Candied Yams - that I have tweaked, which makes him ask for them all the time during this season. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their families! Time to get those decorations up now!!

Halloween Fun!

Finally, right? Hey, at least I did I shared these pictures before Thanksgiving. LOL

First, we started off the day but running out to get some last-minute hats. It was COLD this year. Don't you laugh, yankees! I was freezing... I'm freezing as I type this   ::shiver::

After we finally found the right one - chosen my Andrew and approved by Alex. Seriously. We had lunch at Zoe's. YUM! He is such a big kid, right?!

 Aren't these the cutest hats? I got them from The Children's Place. Andrew said it looked like a spooky ghost eye. The tag said monster hat... Fine with me for $6 a hat and had my super awesome coupon. Score. 

After the boys played and played until nap time, we had a cool Halloween snack. How fun are these chips I got at Target?! Andrew cracks me up though. He wouldn't eat the black ones. Silly boy.

 Time for Trick or Treating!!

How cute - er, I mean spooky, of course, are these little ghosts?!

So much fun!!

 Back with their stash! Let me tell you...this was awesome. I love our neighborhood. The bucket, you can see, are different from the buckets in the pics above. That is because we have an awesome older couple who had special buckets for their favorite kids! How cool are they?! And the pumpkin guy and Dracula? Those are from another neighbor who says this is her favorite holiday and loves making it special for each trick-or-treater. SO COOL! Thank, neighbors! You rock! 

Now you are probably wondering by now, why Jason and I are not anywhere to be found in these pictures. Well, I had to take them all because my hubby was working hard on a business trip all that week :( We missed him so much!! But, he didn't miss Halloween because we had a special treat for him when he got home!!

 All of Daddy's favorite goodies! Kit-Kats, Reece's, Smarties, and Twix are in the container. Jalapeno Cheetos. And, of course, Dr. Pepper Ten.

And, hello, he needs a trick-or-treat bag, right? ;) 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Now it is time for the holiday planning to begin!

Have you started playing Christmas music? I think I'm going to start it next week :)