100th Day of School

Aiden just recently started going to Preschool at the beginning of February.  He is loving his time there. Today his class celebrated their 100th Day of School.  He was so proud of his 100th Day crown.  He is so cute!

My oldest son, Ehric, is in 1st grade and his class also recently had a 100th Day Celebration.  Each student brought in 100 things.  Ehric brought in 100 Calorie Snacks (his idea) and even shared them with kids in the class who forgot snacks (he has such a generous heart)!   All the Kindergarten-3rd graders had a 100th today parade through the school as well.  He had a lot of fun that day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

I don't know what it is about Tuesdays and Wednesdays being the "official" snow days but that is the reality the past few storms. Since we didn't have to worry about our school routine this morning we all slept in a little later than usual. Well I at least layed down in bed later than usual. I am hopeful that we won't have too many more storms in our future since Punxsatawney Phil didn't see his shadow today. Supposedly we will have an early spring!

Lately, I have been running across a lot of Raw recipes and Gluten Free recipes. I've bookmarked a few that I want to try and have purchased a few pantry items so I can try my hand at them. This morning was the perfect opportunity to try Gluten Free Pancakes. I found a recipe and then tweaked it a bit to use what I had on hand. They tasted just like regular buttermilk pancakes to me, and the boys were oblivious to the fact they were not our usual mix and ate up a bunch. Here is the recipe I made:

Gluten Free Pancakes

Makes 20 4" Pancakes

1 1/3 + 3 tblsp Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Powder

4 tblsp Dry Buttermilk Powder

1 tblsp Organic Sucanat and Cinnamon Mixed

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum

2 eggs

3 tblsp Canola Oil

2 Cups of Water

Combine Dry Ingredients, then add Wet Ingredients. Stir to get rid of lumps. Cook on a hot griddle on medium heat. Flip when the first side bubbles.

Note: This recipe makes a lot of batter. It is also a thick batter. Next time I am going to halve the recipe.

Ehric and Aiden happily enjoying Gluten Free Pancakes!

Father's Day Memories

Our Saturday

Hubby had to work early this morning, so when he got back home he took a long nap. The boys played with their dinosaurs and I bit the bullet and started to work on our taxes. So far I am pleased by the estimated return, we could really use the money right now. During my frustation a friend called and asked about getting together. She really brought me out of my computer/tax daze. Once we made plans I looked around the house and was mortified by what I saw....a disaster zone! I quickly showered, enlisted the help of the kids and hubby to get this place ship shape since we only had an hour to do so. We did pretty good...it usually takes company for us to do so. We are usually in CHAOS mode (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome), someday when the kids are long gone the house will be spotless (yeah right)!

The boys were excited to see my friend's daughter. They treat her like she is a little doll to be spoiled. When she comes over I quickly remember how much toddler's like to climb. It also makes me realize what a transition our living room has gone through since Ehric was a baby. There have been times when the living room had a padded floor, a swing set and climbing structure for the kids. The room has gradually lost a lost of its baby proofing as the boys have matured. Not to say they don't still climb though.

Its nice to have people over our house. We don't have guests very often since we live out in the boondocks. If we had guests over more often I think the house would stay a lot cleaner. Maybe.
We all enjoyed some bbq and chatted for a while. I think we all needed a change of pace on this Winter Saturday. It is hard when we are cooped up all winter.

We spent most of the afternoon and evening catching up on our shows that we tape. The boys were sent to play with their train set when there was adult content much to their dismay. But at one point Aiden fell asleep next to me and took a good long nap, until I felt my leg was wet. Into the bath he went as I changed. Luckily the couch was dry.

I was really tired last night so I went to bed around 10pm. This is early considering for about a month now I have been going to bed around midnight/1am, because I usally can't fall asleep. On the flip side, Daddy and Ehric stayed up a watched a Harry Potter movie. We thought that was funny because hubby usally goes to bed by 7pm because of his early shift.

For the most part our Saturday was pretty low key.

Thankful Thursday-Random

What am I thankful for this week so far?









Monday: The boys and I baked a spice cake with caramel frosting and a lemon-meringue pie for hubby's birthday. It was a lot of fun.
Tuesday: Despite a really jam packed day, things worked out so that we could go out to celebrate hubby's birthday. It was nice because we went early enough and had the whole place to ourselves.
Wednesday: Ehric had a fun playdate with a friend. Ehric told his friend..."You know who I really like as a friend? You." I am thankful Ehric has such a big heart.

A fun day out with the boys yesterday.








Ehric having a fun playdate with a friend. Can you not picture them getting Senior portraits that way. Too cute!

The Rest of the Week: This week is super busy...but I am thankful that we are going to be doing a lot of fun things; learning a lot; and that there are people in my life who are willing to support me in my endeavors.

Thankful Thursday is at Spiritually Unequal Marriage for the month of March.

Celebrating Hubby's Birthday

Celebrating Hubby's Birthday!

Maine Maritime Museum

On Saturday Ehric and I had a special day out together. We went to the Maine Maritime Museum for their free event called, Crossing the Line. They had crafts for the kids, a little parade with King Neptune (the god of the sea) and various displays. On their grounds they have a really neat play ship for the kids that includes a slide and other fun things. The sky was so blue that day and we even saw two bald eagles flying in the sky! The ice on the water was floating down in big chunks. It was really a pretty sight, and a beautiful day despite the cold weather.

Ehric and I discovered this game amongst the displays. You are a ship trying to sail across the blue ocean. On your route you run into all kinds of mishaps like pirates, fire and other maladies. It was a really fun game and we must have played the game atleast five times while we were at the museum.

They had a captain's room were the kids could pretend to be in charge. Ehric loved it when we blew the horns to warn the ships in the harbor. Here he is in his dark-blue shirt holding his ears. He had a lot of fun in this small room and even got a few adults into his fun.

Ehric (in his blue coat) was so imaginative on this kid's play ship. He had so much fun steering the wheel, climbing up and down the stairs, going down the slide or making up stories about pirates. I really wish we had one of these at home. He burned a lot of energy there. Isn't the sky so blue?

Here are those chunks of ice. The sky was so beautiful. Too bad I wasn't able to get a picture of the bald eagles who were circling above in the blue sky.

Blue Monday is hosted by Smiling Sally.

Worthley Pond

I am really excited about a new meme I stumbled upon, Outdoor Wednesday. On Wednesday people all over the blog world are posting photos of the outdoors. The photos can be of anything outdoors: your yard, a forest, field, beach, etc. I can't wait to see what other people share!

I thought Outdoor Wednesday would be the perfect time to share some photos from our trip to Worthley Pond this weekend. It was so beautiful out (in the mid 50s) that we didn't wear a coat most of the time we were there.

The kids had fun cross country skiing, sledding, running through the slush, and Ehric even got to go on his first snowmobile ride!

Ehric talked the man on the snowmobile into letting him take control of the steering wheel. Or should I say he probably pushed the man's hands off.

A friend of ours caught this fish. When we checked it out up close you could really examine its gills. It was pretty neat. Apparently out of all the icefishing traps set this was the only one caught that day!

Poundcake

The boys and I celebrated National Poundcake Day by making a poundcake. After dinner we ate poundcake with strawberries and whipped cream. It was very delicious and made me wish it was summer!

Sharing with Friends

Read Across America Day/Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Since today is Dr. Seuss' Birthday I made us green eggs & ham for breakfast. Aiden asked for pancakes so of course we dyed those green as well.

After breakfast Ehric and I watched a few Seuss related videos on the Internet. We just got DSL recently and are loving our new ability to watch videos on the Internet!

Classic Green Eggs & Ham Video


The following video on Dr. Seuss cakes is really cool! Just a word to the wise if you are going to watch this one with your children: the chef says, "Damn" atleast twice.


Here is a really awesome science video on experimenting with Oobleck

Oobleck: A Non-Newtonian Fluid - The best free videos are right here

Besides videos, we also found this website dedicated to Read Across America Day and all things Seuss. http://www.seussville.com/

This afternoon we are going to make Oobleck and read some Dr. Seuss books. It should be fun!

Ehric's Day Out With Daddy

Yesterday Ehric and Daddy went on an adventure together. It was special because Ehric got Daddy all to himself without little brother tagging along. Which meant that Momma and Aiden got to spend the day alone together as well. It was good to seperate the boys for a while. They have been fighting a lot lately. Too cooped up together.

Eating BBQ at Buck's (Daddy's favorite food).

Ehric and Daddy went out for lunch and then off to LL Bean for their Kid's Week activities. They tried to watch a magic/juggling show but the room was jam packed. So Daddy let Ehric be the leader and they had a big adventure around the store.

Inside the see through fish tank at LL Bean.

Ehric and the other child in the picture remind me of little pixies in a garden.

Daddy and Ehric getting a picture with LL Bear

Outside of the store Ehric got to pet some sled dogs, and drink hot chocolate. They had a really fun time together. I think Ehric really needed that special attention. I can tell by the pictures that hubby took that Ehric had such a great time!

Lego Day 2/20

Yesterday we attended our Lego Day at the local library. I was so nervous the night before. The mom that had arranged for the room and that was helping put this day together, had emailed a few nights before with news that her children were sick. Since I do not have any Legos and she has about 60 lbs worth, I was freaking out. I knew we had about 32 kids signed up and I didn't want to show up empty handed if she couldn't make it to the event. So I stayed up cleaning Thursday night and gathered up several different plan Bs: Lincoln Logs, a Lego Board Game, Mega Blocks and Duplo Blocks.

My stress went away when I got to the room. The mom (I mentioned above) was there with all her Legos. Another mom had brought a bin with her as well. We had more than enough building toys for everyone to play with. Apparently she was so nervous as well that she got up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep.

My real frustration for the day was Aiden. I was constantly having to chase after him; and apologize to the older children when Aiden decided to knock down their houses or other creations. He also loved to run out of the room. Despite my frustrations, Aiden was having a really great time. While he was knocking down buildings or running around he was flying a Lego creation he made and dramatically saying, "Blast off!" He was apparently flying a rocket and making destruction in his path. Even when I am stressed I can still read between the lines, and catch little glimpses into his imaginary world. He is all boy!!

Aiden's Rocket!

Ehric always loves to play with older girls (above 6 years old). When he wants to play with them though they are usually not willing to play with a four year old boy. So as he is trying to play with them, they are trying to run off with another girl friend. To get their attention he has this horrible habit of roaring at them and putting his hands in their face like a lion (must be a cave-man thing). Which of course they definitely don't want to have anything to do with him then. Since I know that he has this tendency I try to keep an eye on his whereabouts and try to give him some lessons in how to be a better friend. After awhile my message gets through.

I found one thing that really focused Ehric in a positive way was allowing him to use my camera and take pictures. He looked like a little photographer going around the room taking picture of all that he saw. After that he seemed more relaxed. I think that he just gets so excited when he is around other children and people (because he is so social) that he wants everyone to share his excitement; and wants them to be his instant friend. Hopefully, in time he will understand that some kids need to warm up to other kids before they play.

The Photographer's Self-Potrait

Overall, I think that our first Lego Day was a success. But I am thankful that it is going to be another month before another one. I was so exhausted after yesterday's event that I ended up lounging the rest of the day!

Aiden was exhausted too!

Bradbury Mountain

Today was unseasonably warm in Maine...we were blessed with 50 degree weather in February! I wont hold my breath though, because I am sure the weather will change soon. But for today we got to enjoy the sun. My neighbor and her son invited us to go hiking at Bradbury Mountain State Park. We took her up on the offer and went for a winter hike.

When we first got there we had all the boys in just their snow pants (because it was 50 degrees after all--didn't want the boys to roast), but once we got into the shade of the trees Ehric decided that he had to wear a coat. I am glad that I went back for the coats, because it got chilly on the way up.

The boys all had fun climbing up the mountain. Momma realized how out of shape I am! When we got to the top the boys ran around playing tag with one another. Ehric started a snowball fight, but the boys realized quickly that the snow was cold without their gloves on. Guess we should have brought their gloves with us too!

A woman and her adult son joined us at the top. My neighbor and I spoke with the woman while Ehric decided that he was going to play tag with the adult son. He was a good sport about it and played tag right along with him. Ehric got a little rambunctious and Aiden was antsy so we decided to head back down the mountain.

We decided to take another way down...we thought it would be shorter to the ground but we were wrong. Aiden got tired after a while so my neighbor and I took turns carrying him down. Her son got a little jealous of Aiden so of course he had to be carried too. We were all relieved when we finally got back to the bottom.

The kids played on the playground while I got snacks and drinks. We all chowed down on teddy grahams before heading out. I know that we all left there feeling both tired and rejuvenated. I hoped that the boys would nap after all the excitement but no luck! Regardless we had a great time!

C's 7th Birthday Party

We just got back from my neice C's 7th birthday party. It is kind of funny because her theme this year was 'Michael Jackson' of all people. Apparently, she has been listening to his music with my mom and told my sister that he looks a little like Barbie (maybe, because he is going for the white plastic look?). She had his music playing throughout the party and the kids danced to a Michael Jackson Dvd. The kids even watched the 'Thriller' video (I joked that all the kids were going to end up with nightmares).

Despite it being really cold out today we went sledding at her Nana and Papa's house (Aiden's godparents). My sister and I even sledded together (we are just big kids really). Aiden didn't want anything to do with sledding today. I think he is feeling under the weather. Ehric lasted quite a bit longer. Daddy on the other hand was giving rides to all the little ones. I think he was having the most fun out of everyone!

Aiden was sweet to C's baby sister. They sat at a table together and Aiden fed her cake and icecream. It was really cute. He would make a great big brother. Just not right away!

Toy Library

We got out of the house today and went and played at the Toy Library. I went specifically today because there was Sesame Street sing-along at 10 a.m. I think everybody and his brother went there today! Usually I am able to find parking either in their parking lot or out front on the street, but today I had to park on a side street a little bit aways. I felt bad for Aiden because I couldn't find one of his gloves this morning. So he had to walk without gloves on and it was pretty cold today.

When we got inside I was surprised by how many people were there. We were the first ones who went inside the sing-along room, so the boys decided to claim two chairs as their own. The man and his wife leading the sing-along are from Quebec. So when they pronounced Sesame Street it was a little hard to make out and they sound a little different. When the man started singing both my boys put their hands over their ears. After that Ehric decided he had enough and both boys decided that they were going to just go play. So we never ended up doing the sing-along.

Another mom from co-op showed up with her girls. So while the mom and I chatted Ehric became chummy with some other boys there. He likes to do flips on the tumbling mats. Aiden likes to play with either the cars of trains. So I felt like I was constanly turning my head to keep an eye on them both.

When I heard a roar coming from Ehric I knew it was time to check in on him. He was just about to bite a little boy when I picked him up. Usually when Ehric starts roaring he is on overload. So I made him stay in a time out for a bit.

Once Ehric cooled down we decided to go upstairs to ride bikes. I was really impressed by Ehric when he waited patiently for the one motorcycle they have (his favorite). Usually he is quick to try to take claim of that bike. He even said 'thank you' after. Much improvement over his behavior down stairs.

For the most part we had a pretty good time despite how warm it was and how many people were there. I even got to have some adult conversation!