Leave Me

Reilly and Shad hung out and did yard work while Kate and I went shopping (good chick thing to do) - this is a sampling of their yard work .

Why do I think

that when I hide the Halloween candy from myself I won't just go and find it when I want it?

Boo!

I am an owner of a very scary spider and a happy buff Power Ranger. It was a perfect night to go out and walk the neighborhood, it was about 65 out - there were so many kids and parents out as well. Although, not too many people to greet the kids and admire their costumes, but a lot of unmanned bowls to take treats from. Reilly never did understand the "Just One".

Snap ... Crackle ... I Suck

How the heck can one screw up Rice Krispie treats, who knew that was even possible? I had no idea it could be done, but I did.

I made two batches for Reilly's Halloween Party tomorrow and they are both awful!!! One dish is like... well... the best parallel I can draw is ... rocks. Yes rocks, not as in boulders or pet rocks but as in the kind you might use to accent your landscaping. The kind that are brittle enough to split when impacted by a blunt force trauma (I think I picked that one up from CSI). Anyway, my blunt force trauma was a knife. When the krispies were met by the stainless steel they just cracked and fell to the side. I could blame the marshmallow, because clearly it was not doing it's job. Perhaps buying the store brand was my issue there, I really should have gone for the Campfire ones. Needless to say, I could just take the dish and dump all those standalone krispies back into the box - someone could unknowing of the Krispies history - have a nice bowl of cereal. It might seem stale, but it could pass if they added milk.

Moving on to attempt #2. I spent the next 17 minutes making cookies for Kate's class and thinking about my crappy Krispies... As I reflected on my production of those treats I came to the conclusion that I should use less Krispies and the same amount of marshmallows and butter. I used 5 1/2 cups of Krispies versus 6. Spreading these little guys out in the dish was a bit more challenging given this ingredient change, but I prevailed. (in spreading but not in the final product) After letting them sit for a while I attempted to make my 24 squares (which was guaranteed on the box). I think I got to seven squares and called it a night. The knife is still stuck between row 2 and row 3, I've had it. I would bring the cookies in but Reilly's school is peanut free. I guess I'll just bring the rocks and make krispie balls out of the other dish - then again, I could just make some popcorn (microwave of course) and send that. Better yet, I'll someone elses party donation, like juice, and I'll swap names. I should have brought juice.

Snap, Crackle, Pop.... I do suck. I must leave the kitchen and stay at this computer. It better suits me.

"Mom... she looks like a bull"

Gee Reilly, why would you say that?

We took this photo during the 50 in 50 in 50 - I'm sure it was his reference point! :-)

Corn Mazes

In light of the season we took Reilly and Kate on their first trip through a corn maze. My friend Chris from college was in town so we dragged him as well. Oddly (or not so oddly at all) it was our first corn maze as well. We all got our flashlights and headed to the maze... we let Reilly lead the way. He's pretty excited he found his way out - and if you ask him that was his favorite part.

It's A Stand Up Job

Reilly: Dad will you come play with me?
Shad: Yes, let me go the bathroom first, then I will.
Reilly: sprinting down the hall I have to go first!
Shad: Okay.
Reilly: Dad, do you have to go pee or poop? Is it pee?
Shad: Yes.
Reilly: Okay, come on over, we can go together. Since we both have to pee, it's a stand up job.
Shad: Ahhhh, ok.

50 in 50 in 50

We all took a vacation day today to head up to Stowe Vermont. Reilly was so excited he said yesterday morning "Since we're going to a hotel today, I don't need to go to school". Although his rational was weak, he was very cute in his tactics. We headed to Stowe to support Shad on the Stowe Marathon course. He ran as part of a fundraising effort headed by Dean Karnazes - Karno Kids - "No Child Left Inside". It's his charter to get America healthy and living a healthy lifestyle. We rallied Sarah (our niece) to join us on this endeavor. She was great to have along and even ran 1.5 miles with Shad. You can read more about the program at: Endurance 50

I also put together some photos to make a video, if you want to see, it's on YouTube Run Shad and Sarah Run .

Under the carpet

Reilly goes to a preschool that looks like, or actually probably used to be, a split level home. The 3 year olds are downstairs on the front side of the house, the 4 year olds are upstairs and the 5 year olds are downstairs on the back side of the house. When Reilly has friends that are not in his area he says they "are under the carpet" aka downstairs.

Unnnn...

Ooooo.... Feee... FIVE! Yaaaaayyyyyy...

The phonetics (sort of) of Kate's counting from one to five.

Four....

Four is a great year - the start of school (preschool) with structure, maturity in a big boy way (physically and emotionally), the desire to dress in a particular way, clothes needing to feel a certain way, showering instead of bathing, riding a bike everywhere, understanding how to play Mom vs Dad game, understanding that part of the meal called "dessert", yet still the whining and having tantrums enough that remind you four is still so young.

I think the past six months have been so significant in Reilly's growth. He no longer looks like a toddler or even a preschooler he looks like a boy. A big boy. It's sad in a way to understand that the things they need you for are wants and not so much needs. No diapers, or feedings, or carrying or pushing in a toy. They want you to play airport, and firetrucks and buy them toys and get them their favorites foods. The needs are so much more subtle - not less important, actually maybe more important - reinforcement, encouragement, direction, a friend, a power ranger and someone to hand a washcloth when you get soap in your eyes, someone to make your lunch (with direction of course), someone to drop you at school and help hang your coat on the hook. It's just different... so different.

Now Class...

Today we are going to learn about Pumpkins. Who can tell me what a Pumpkin looks like? Ahhh, Reilly, I see you have your hands up...

Just Once...

Here is Kate trying to go down the slide on her stomach - she only did it once! :-)

Question of the Day

How do you speak English in Spanish?

Multimedia Children

Okay... so now I've posted my children on YouTube... (prior to it being part of Google!) check them out...

• Making a Movie


• Jump High

Fun fun stuff - and makes it easy to share with the fam. :-)

Too much Laundry

We went out to dinner for our anniversary and Nicole and her Mom watched Kate and Reilly while we were out. Prior to leaving we gave Kate a quick bath - and put her in a t-shirt and sweatpants. I neglected to tell "Gramma Salvas" where her pj's were and this morning I noticed she was still in the t-shirt and sweatpants. Hmmmm, I thought she could just wear this today, it looks clean enough. (Since we were running late, as we do most mornings, the idea was even more appealing to me.) My justification came when I realized the pants that went with the shirt were clean, so she would only be wearing half of the outfit she slept in.

Gosh, she's already turning into her mother!

7 Years

Well, today is the anniversary of our wedding day. It's my Mom and Dads, my Dad's Mom and Dad, Amber and Chris's, Jen and Dave's, Kim and Careys, the day after Ali and Chris's and I'm sure lots of other people - but likely ones I don't know. It's been the best 7 years of my life. A dog, 5 addresses, 2 children, 5 nieces and nephews, thousands of airline miles, a coastal relocation, weight gain, weight loss, hair gain and hair loss (that doesn't need explanation), two mortgages, no more car payments, very small raises, three cameras, kayaks, bikes, lots of soccer, sunshine, races, hiking, and so much fun. Shadrach is the BEST friend ever and I am so excited that we are sharing our lives with one another. I can't wait for the next 7 years and the 7 after that and the 7 after that and so on and so on. Smooches and ilyilyily to you.

Tan Leisure Suit

Yup... this is it. A little bit like Uncle Eddie's, but Kate's is corduroy and his was polyester.

Lots of Air

Kate fluffs... says "scuse me". Reilly fluffs says "Excuse Me." Kate fluffs again, Reilly says "We are full of a lot of air today."

Do we get to...

eat at home for breakfast today?

This is why I'm Mother of the Year. Our mornings, after discussing wardrobes for 30 minutes inevitably make us dine in the car!