I have two escape artists-the new car.

Riley is now a kid. Yes she has been for a while now...but officially the "I do it myself" is her only mantra. She now can open the garage door. She says "I can reach mom" with a HUGE smile on her face. Now I fear that I cannot even take a shower anymore since she has the ability to exit the house through the one door without a dead bolt. I think we may need to add one in or at least a hook lock to the top so she cannot access the garage door buttons. She has to stand on her tippee toes on the top step and hang onto the doorway in order to do it, but yes indeed she can reach.  This morning she got an English muffin out of the pantry, got a stool from the playroom, opened the toaster and pushed the buttons. She then proceeded to butter it when it was all done (I got it out.) My baby girlie is a lil lady!

We have a lil hook lock on the porch screen door that I lock to keep her inside (Dev can reach it) but low and behold she has figured out that if she takes a little table over to the door she can reach on her tippee toes once again. I mean seriously! That was my other safety I had. Go out to the porch and do your craft etc but no  longer since they are both escape artists. How am I going to leave them downstairs so I can get things done upstairs? UGH. It never ends.

We got a new car. My car was on its last legs-correction...it could have lasted longer but it needed something done so since it was 6.5 years old and a sedan we thought it would be better to start fresh. Frank and I dropped the kids off to his mom and dads last Saturday and we went to the auto mall for a few hours. 8 dealerships later and looking at new and certified preowned....I chose a Toyota Sienna LE. I know I know a mini van? Well to be honest it awesome. Besides the plain fact it is huge, it really does have a lot of awesome features. All the crossovers we looked at are dwarfed once you put two big convertible carseats in them and the full size SUVs eat gas so the obvious choice in my mind-the mini van. We did look at the Honda Odyssey as well. Chrysler was not on the lot, but from what I read and people I have talked to-the two top vans were the Honda and the Toyota. I slid the kids seats back all the way so they cannot kick my seat-amazing and they cannot reach each other to piss each other off! HEAVEN just for those two factors.  My friend Jeff sent me a super funny video about it being a "Swagger Wagon" and that just reiterates the fact its awesome. HAHA it's totally fine-I am over the fact that I found my first grey hair (now 2), bought a mini van and turned 30 all in one year... I love the color and its space, not to mention the new car smell! and NO I will never have a soccer ball sticker on the back or the little family silhouettes along the back window.

As I was sitting here spell checking this-a woodpecker landed in front of me! What a cool bird and how pretty is he? He pecked the oak and then helped himself to the bird feeder. So neat. He requents our back yard, but rarely do I have the camera sitting on the table. I so need a bigger lens!

LBI....Thank goodness the ocean is local!

I have been and will always be a beach girl. I LOVE the beach and everything about it. I love that when you drive over the causeway you can smell the bay. We opened the windows and drove with them down from the causeway until we parked. From the moment I put my feet back in the sand until when we walked up the dunes and to the top when the ocean came into view-complete awesomeness! The sound of the waves, the warm sand, the cool ocean breeze and warm sun...absolutely perfect day to go and build sand castles. The beach was not empty but definitely not what it is like in the later spring/early summer.

It took us only 40 min from my house to parking the car in Surf City. LBI is so close! The ride home was even faster since I actually made a few lights in Manahawkin on 72 and only took 37 minutes. Heaven having the beach be so close. I really really really missed that while we lived in NV. Frank used to make fun of me with the fact that every vacation we took was a beach vacation. Umm, well is there anything better? He was not at the beach all summer like I was growing up so he does not have the same admiration for it. He gets bored-within like 10 minutes. Like most men he likes activities...now that the kids are getting older he can play with them to stay entertained. Me, I could sit on my ass from breakfast until dinner and just stare at the ocean. The beach is really one of the only places where I can just "be" and actually relax with no stress. This past week sucked with a big fat capitol S and all that stress and frustration went away when I put my feet in the sand. Salt air therapy I guess.

Kids had a ball. They built their own castles and then I built a big one with a track to roll their ball down and around in a ramp like form. Dev loves when I do this. He was a bit bummed that it was too cold to get water to build drippy castles, so we collected shells instead and decorated the castles with shells and seaweed. It only took Riley 6 minutes from arrival to tell me she had to pee. Awesome. By two and half hours Riley had to poo and Devin had to pee so we packed up and headed out. We had to stop by Ron Jon so Dev could get a shirt and sticker. He puts surf shop stickers on his Jeep powerwheel which is totally rad. He has a bunch of Hurley, Hobie and now Ron Jon Las Vegas and Ron Jon The original on there.

Side note-what happened to "honk if you love Tikis?" I know it was not there when we drove down when Dev was a year old...but I was hoping it would show back up again. Anyone know?

 Its chilly this week and now I am itching to get back to the beach. Hopefully by Easter we can get warmer weather to stick. Only one week left until LAX season. I only have 16 girls and only 4 of them are eighth graders. When I played we definitely had enough for a full field scrimmage against one another with subs. Boo to decreased interest!

Three year well check-still a peanut---how to fix a four year old PITA?

Not like it wasn't already known...but Riley is a peanut. She actually is the highest she has EVER been on the growth chart. She is 27 lbs (dressed) and 37 inches tall. Her weight is 10th percentile and height is 42nd percentile. I cannot believe she is almost average for a measurement. Still peanut-y but growing well. This time last year she was only 22.8 lbs (2%) and 33 inches (15%.) I asked if we could weigh her with just panties on but the doctor said it really was not that important now that she is a toddler.

She went to the pediatricians office where I went as a child. My pediatrician has since retired, but her doctor was great. My only beef with the office is that they do not have a sick room and well room for waiting. We had to sit with sick kids and their parents were not making them sit with them on a chair. They allowed their sick germy kids to walk around and touch all the books and such with their germ infested kid hands. One kid sneezed and a wad of snot blew out and hit the floor. You should have seen the look on Devin's face. He was in awe, disgust and (I think) a little envious of this kid's skills to expel snot. Riley just said "ewe." Sanitizer was our best friend today.

Riley has baby fine hair. I have to keep it in a bob or else it looks all nappy and scraggly. It still looks like she has bed head now since her hair has her natural wave coming out because of all the humidity in the air. She has humidity induced frizz like my sisters and I all had as a kid. I do blow her hair out, but within a few hours it looks like it does today in this picture from the doctors office. Partially straight, partial wave and total toddler hot mess. At least her super cute smile distracts you from her disheveled hair. I envy those mothers wtih kids who have super thick hair or our friend who is half Chinese and has poker straight hair which always looks adorable because it just lays so nicely. We will get there someday. :)

The weather is absolutely perfect here right now. I know its going to be cold and wet this weekend but for now I will keep the windows open and bring the kids outside as much as possible. I think we may drive down to the shore tomorrow to play on the beach and grab lunch. It will not be warm enough for the ocean but definitely warm enough to play and make sand castles. I am very thankful to be back within a short drive from the beach. I really did miss the ocean.  Hopefully I will remember the camera so I can take some pics of the kids. This will be Riley's first time at a NJ beach!

Devin has had a really rough day today. He was a total pita at the doctors office...and even was misbehaved in front/to the doctor. He was snotty and rude to my girlfriend Kelly at lunch and down right mean to his sister. Then he acted out again while trying to fax some stuff at my mother's work. I asked him to go and lay down but he is just screwing around upstairs. I can hear him in his room moving around. The kid needs to nap now and then and won't most of the time. He is cranky and has not figured out how to control his emotions. He gets frustrated and instead of trying to talk to figure things out politely he acts out. It's strange because he can be so well mannered at other times. He is not usually "out of control" or batty like I have seen some boys his age. It is more like he is jealous? of Riley and does things to gain attention regardless that it is negative attention. He is mean to her for no reason. She does fight back now and then, but most of the time he just hurts her feelings since she looks up to him so much. He gets his special one on one time so it is not like he is ignored. I don't know what to do to fix this but it drives me nuts.

Busy busy-Birthdays and first zoo visit!



using a hockey stick to hit the pinata...it worked :)



Miss Riley is officially three. Sigh. That went fast. She was SUPER excited about her birthday and for it finally to have arrived she was beside herself. She requested a bagel for breakfast and wanted to dine in. I can't say I ever dined in at Medford Bagel Shop?  We then ran a few errands before she requested a picnic out back of Cars chicken nuggets, strawberries and green grapes. I love how it is the little things. She wanted pizza for dinner and of course her Tinker Bell cupcakes she picked out at the supermarket. We celebrated her with a lil party this past Saturday at the house. Being as it was St Patricks Day as well...we served Irish beers and had green beads to hand out.

She is starting to fight me on napping. Not every day-not even every week...just now and then but on the random day she does not nap she is so sad and miserable by dinner time. The kids play hard all day especially since spring has sprung and we have been out back or at the park daily. As I type she is walking around in her room and coming mid stair before looking at me and walking back up. She needs this nap! Devin does lay down now and then, but if he does not he knows he needs to go to his room and play quietly for at least a half hour. He will sit and read books, or play with his Legos. Gives us all a break.

We finally had wild turkeys in our back yard on Saturday. Riley was upstairs taking a nap and a friend and his 4 kids were over still after the party. I looked out back and saw a half full of them walking around in the woods...we bribed the kids to go and run after them to see if they could catch them. HILARIOUS! I have heard them and the deer are daily visitors in our yard...cant wait. Loving that we have nature right here. I do not mind the bugs, spiders and such since it means we get the cool things like a family of deer walk through the back yard.

I did invest in a fancy squirrel proof bird feeder. Love to watch lil birds come and visit. They eat from the feeder and take a little dip in the bath next to it. The old owner of this house loved birds because she had a few houses, bath and a statue of St Christopher? holding birds in the back yard.

We went to the Philadelphia Zoo on Friday. Kids LOVED it. We went with an old friend's wife, her two kids and her nephew (also baby of an old friend.) I have not been to the Philly zoo since 2nd? grade and I remember it being so awesome. I can't believe how tiny it is. Maybe I am just spoiled by San Diego? Kids did not seem to notice so that is all that matters. They had a ball with their buddies and enjoyed running from animal to animal. The zoo is under serious construction so hopefully by summer it will be completed with more to see. We did buy a family pass so we can go often. Its just a hop, skip and jump over the bridge and the kids are used to those rides so they were not fazed by it. The beginning of last week was beautiful and of course it was freezy that morning, but none of the kids seemed to care.

We may also join the Camden Aquarium so we have lots of activitites to do this spring/summer. Besides swimming and playing at the beach it would be nice to have a few other options for a change of scenery. I have yet to see Mother Ocean but she is calling my name. Maybe Thursday-going to be 80 and I bet the kids would love to go build some castles!



Devin (4), Brayson (4), Brock (1), Sadie (almost 2) and Riley (3)



Come on Spring!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in South Jersey and today will be even better! All the kids clothes are finally listed on eBay and I have piles to give away as well. I don't know about you, but I am so over looking at this years winter clothes. Spring colors are so much prettier and the patterns are that much cuter. I cannot wait for Spring weather to stay. I forget that with seasons you actually have a transition here in South Jersey where you need layers as opposed to Las Vegas where you could jump right into short sleeve everything.

Birds are loving the seeds the kids leave out if the squirrels do not get them first. Kids and the dogs both love to watch them from the window eating and visiting the back yard. I keep waiting for the deer to come through and these wild turkeys that I saw down the street. We missed the deer last week come directly through the back yard. My neighbor said a family of them went straight through the yard to the front of my house. Boo wish we were awake (5am) when that happened. As the spring weather stays they apparently love our yard since its right across the street from a stream they drink from. I am anxious to see them though as are the kids.

Frank and I started to clear the back yard over the weekend and man alive is that hard work. The previous owners had done nothing, I mean nothing with the yard/woods so it is years of natural composting and break down. That stuff is HEAVY! Good workout, but exhausting when doing it for a few hours. It is interesting to see what flowers are starting to pop through along the house and small area in the back yard that she actually did have cleared. I LOVE spring and flowers yay!

Kids are digging getting to explore the back yard and have new things to play with and touch. They dig in the dirt and trample through the leaves and sticks. Funny to hear, but in the Valley we had either pools or grassy playgrounds. No dirt. Seriously....Vegas does not have dirt. They have sand if anything but its all dusty. No brown moist dirt to play in and let me tell you...they LOVE having dirt to dig in and look for worms and bugs and what ever else they can find.

Our across the street neighbor has horses and are SUPER nice. They let the kids come over and meet them and they also have a koi pond. A frog was sitting on the edge and their daughter caught it for us and let Dev hold it. I love that he was not skeeved out and just walked around gripping the froggie. Reminded me of playing with my buddies Jason and Michael growing up when we went to a lil pond called duck pond where the boys would catch bull frogs. This area really is such a great place to raise kids. Awesome memories for them to make...more than just going to an over crowded playground. Riley would touch the froggie but not hold it. YAY! I cannot wait to take them fishing once the 60s-70s stick. I am thinking the Easter Bunny will be bringing them some rods of their own :)

My baby girl will be three next week! Cannot believe it. Pics to come of them playing outside. Frank has another 8 days in Vegas/SoCal and hopefully he will bring the 70s home with him...as for now, I've had way too much caffeine and need to go and eat something.  Have a great day!

they really do grow up fast.....

Everyone kept saying-cherish the little moments because they grow up so fast. It really is true. Just as people used to say to enjoy your college years because it will be over before you know it. True true true.

Devin is now officially registered for kindergarten. We went in yesterday and all the paper work is complete and being filed. I cannot believe he is old enough for real school. Sigh. Shamong is only half days and in the am which works out great for us. Riley still naps daily and I am glad that we can be home for her naps (if she is still taking them this fall.) He goes in for a screening in another 4 weeks which I am assuming will be seeing where he stands academically and socially. There were so many questions about what he knows and can do and thankfully the only thing that I had to answer no to was the ability to tie his own shoes. That is something we will be working on before he goes. He gets the first step and the bunny ear part but he cant seem to get the actual "swoop and pull" part if we go by Big Daddy words. We tried the two bunny ears to a few times but his fingers tend to let them go when trying to loop through. In due time he will get it.

He has figured out how to roll his tongue and thinks it is really funny. I kept trying to show him what it looks like and he would stand in front of the mirror and try to mimic it and finally one day that part of his brain decided to communicate and roll. He is so proud. Love it!

He started putting big boy Lego's together this past summer with a bit of assistance from an adult. He now can do them all by himself. (ages 5-8 yrs) I love that he can sit at the kitchen table and put his Cars characters together or the Knight line. So cool. I loathe these baby Legos because they are so small, but since I keep them all separated by set it is not as bad.

Riley will be three in just a few short days and it is crazy how much of a little girl she is now. She wants an Ariel cake, Barbie plates and a My Little pony pinata for her party. I will not get all that, but it is fun to see exactly what she picks out. I already have some Abby Cadabby that I bought in the summer on clearance at Party City so we will some how coordinate that with Ariel. Barbie and My little Pony will just have to wait until next year. She has requested chocolate cake and cookies for dessert and that is definitely feasible. We bought her this dollhouse for her birthday. When my friend was trying to decide on a dollhouse for her 3 year old last year we both agreed that they should have a way to close them up and hide all the crap. She got the London version and we are getting Riley the Paris edition. I am not sure where we are going to put it since our toy room is busting at the seams and I am anti toys in bedrooms. I guess we will just have to make room. The walk in kitchen, market and wrap around sofa take up so much room in their play room. I keep asking Frank if we can eliminate the one portion of the couch to give the kids more space but he is right that its a great couch for lounging and watching TV.

I wanted to have a tradition that the kids get their gift from Mom and Dad on their actual birthday after dinner and their gifts from anyone else at their party....but this year Frank will be in Las Vegas/Cali for work on her actual birthday so we will wait until he gets home so she can open it with him home. He flies in at 11:30 the night before her party so maybe we will celebrate her birthday that Sunday. She is going to be so excited to see it. Her Barbies will fit in it as well as her Strawberry Shortcake dollies. Three really is a great age.

I have to start getting the kids clothes ready to sell on Ebay. I am going to start listing next week so this weekend I will have to lay it all out and iron my life away. Both kids need spring/summer clothes and transition stuff now that we are somewhere with a chilly spring. Riley is very difficult to shop for since she is 3 and only weighs 26 lbs and is 37ish inches. This fall she ranged from 12-18 to 3t for bottoms depending on store/brand. I hope that for summer she can be a little more main stream but I doubt she will be. Dresses will be my best friend since it doesn't matter how skinny she is for most summer dresses as long as they are not super wide at the top since she has narrow shoulders. Who knew having a skinny kid would be this difficult? Dev is a lot easier since most boys clothes are simple-gym shorts and tees and madras shorts and polos...He is going to be 5 in June and only weights 36 lbs and is 41-42 inches. Petite kids I have here. Here's to hoping I have excellent buyers again!