The fun continues!

Once the babies woke up we hit the road.

First stop... Lovell's Nursery to get some veggie plants and netting. More about that in the next post!


Lexi looking pretty by the flowers.


Chase and daddy... I love these boys!


Next stop... Mountain Valley Orchard! Adam and I particularly like their selection of fruit and veggies... plus the workers are always so nice. We picked up some yummy fresh blueberries and strawberries.

Next was a stop to Grandma and Grandpa's house.


Lexi spotting the moon while it was still light out!


Getting him started early!

Then back home for dinner and bed.


Seriously, does it get much cuter than this? I could pass out from all the adorability.. what? it's a word. Look it up.

Please don't.

The next morning we got up and had a very yummy breakfast... eggs, bacon, waffles, oh my!

Then it was time to play on the deck while daddy worked in the garden. Again, more on that in the next post!

The babies played with the water table a good bit of the time.


Just look at those fat little baby feet. Oh how I love them.


So intent on getting it just right!


The boy loves a good splash!

All in all 2 toddlers weren't that difficult. It helps that both kids are fairly well behaved and easy going. No real meltdowns and they don't fight over toys a whole lot yet. When we were out in the world, Adam and I had our assigned kid... no passing 1 between the 2 of us so that was a little harder but definitely not impossible. Also they napped together, ate together, played together and went to bed together (well in separate cribs... climb off the ledge Dave!) so it didn't really add much confusion to our routine.

That being said, we are both still exhausted and are currently lazing on the couch. I foresee an early night ;~)

Houseguest!

We have a houseguest!!! Lexi is staying with us today and tomorrow while her parents get a well deserved night away at a bed and breakfast.


These pop up tents = best investment EVER.


Water break!


Daddy 'supervising' play time while mommy makes lunch!

While Lexi was playing her bow came off and this is where it ended up...

He looks pretty with a bow!

Yeah...

this probably won't help with being called a girl.

BTW... Lexi's good habits are rubbing off on Chase... those are carrots he is eating!!! And he ate at least 9 of them! Woot!

Here is the most excellent veggie eater!

Seriously, you have to hide the veggies until she eats her other food!

Currently Adam and I are playing on our computers while the babies are napping... quiet is good ;~)

Once they are up and ready to go we are going to scope out some of the local fresh fruit stands and see what we can find. Maybe hit a park on the way home!

For Em

This is mainly for Em who asked me for the recipe so long ago I am actually embarrassed... sorry! However, to all my other devoted followers... feel free to steal it as well... after all, I stole it from Prevention magazine. Hardly a steal if they publish it though...

Anyway, here goes the new favorite at our house:

Pesto Chicken Bake

• package of chicken - they said bone in but I prefer chicken breast
• container of grape/cherry tomatoes
• 2-3 red potatoes (about the size of your fist)
• 2 tsp. olive oil (I use EVOO... is there any other kind?)
• 2 Tbsp. water
• they call for salt and pepper but I used neither and was perfectly happy
• 1/2 cup of pesto sauce (I use Classico)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in baking dish along with tomatoes and potatoes. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Spread half the jar of pesto sauce over the top of the meat and veggies. *Beginners mistake... do NOT spoon out the sauce and then rub it in to the raw meat... then decide to get just a little more out of the jar. I quickly realized I had contaminated the jar so I used as much as I thought I could and had to call the rest a loss. Normally I would use half and store/ freeze the other half for next time.* Then add the water. Place in the oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes. Scrumptious!

If you are feeling extremely adventurous, you could make your own pesto... ahem, Ali.

Also, bonus recipe (who am I and when did recipes become a topic of conversation... *sigh*)

Tuna Casserole

• 5 oz. can of tuna
• can of cream of mushroom
• 8.5 oz. can of peas
  
• 7 oz. can of sliced button mushrooms
• Kraft macaroni and cheese (yes, the box)
• 1/4 cup milk
  
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and get the noodles from the Kraft box cooking. While that is happening, mix the tuna (drained) with the cream of mushroom soup in the backing dish you plan to cook in. I have the Corningware one with the glass lid... love them! Once the noodles are cooked, drain and add to the cream of mushroom/tuna mixture. Add the milk, butter and Kraft cheese packet and stir together. Once that is thoroughly mixed, fold in the peas (drained) and mushrooms (drained), as not to mash them. Once mixed, even out the top and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Put 3-4 thin pads of butter on the top (I have no idea what this does but I cannot make this without doing it ;~). Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Love it!

Hope you enjoyed and if not... it's Prevention and my mom's fault.

Project

I have a love/hate relationship with hardwood floors.

Yes they are easier to clean and don't stain the same way carpet does... I love that.

What I don't like is walking on hardwood floors... specifically in bare feet. It hurts my heels and I feel like it does damage to my feet. So, I wear socks.

Enter my son... I could just put socks on him but as someone who does NOT fully comprehend his limitations nor does he have a firm grasp on the evils of gravity... socks can be more of a hindrance then help.

Somewhere along the way I heard a tip that involved puff painting your childs socks and...


that is just what I did. Here are a good portion of Chase's socks with his very own 'mamah' creations. Artistically amazing, I know.

Hopefully this will help with my quest to have socked feet without fear of slipping/falling.

TidBits

Sometimes bullet points are just easier.

• As of May 15 Adam and I have been married for 5 years! We had dinner (a week early) at LJ's and the Kat Lounge which was fantastic! It was nice to enjoy a meal at my own pace and have a glass of wine with dinner... 2 things that don't happen when you dine with a toddler. Where was Chase you ask... being babysat by Grandma! While we have had other babysitters in the past (only 2 but whatever), Grandma holds the distinction of being the first person, other than Adam and I, to put Chase to sleep! Although Grandma did find out the hard way that "Hush little baby" is not a great song to sing to Chase while mommy and daddy are out. As soon as she said "mama's gonna buy you..." Chase freaked out saying "mama?, daddeee?, mama?, daddeee?" A little Grandma magic and he calmed down and eventually fell asleep. I could get used to a willing babysitter!

• Think he likes ice cream?
  

• My MIL and I have a date to see the2009 Tour. I am not the biggest AI fan (to date I have not watched a single episode) but my MIL LOVES AI... specifically Adam Lambert. I think it's going to be a great time (I do like watching music performances live)!
  

• Adam should (hopefully) be signing a lease on an office here in town soon. That means he will be spending at least 3 days a week working from Hagerstown. Cutting down on the commuting... the gas... and the general paranoia I have from him being on 70 for 3+ hours a day. WOOT!

• Chase has been sick (cold) since Saturday morning so we didn't do much this weekend. Grilled out with friends and family, shopped a little (spent my Mother's Day gift from my dad!), dug out the garden (Adam did that) and basically chilled out around the house. No matter what it was, it was good to have daddy doing it with us!
  

• Adam and I watched the movie 7 pounds on Sunday night... whoa. Intense movie. Very interesting... very thought provoking. I am not a huge Will Smith fan but he did a great job in his role. The movie centers on death as it's theme, something we are somewhat familiar with. At one point during the movie my mind wandered to the thought of what I would do if Adam died. I thought about having to explain it to Chase. Then I thought about him wandering around the house calling for daddy and Adam not being there to answer. I literally had a breakdown... tears streaming down my face. I had to pause the movie and put Adam's hand in mine. I had to know right then that he was ok. I don't know if I can explain the paranoia that comes with my life but that should give you some indication. I am happy to report Adam is just fine and promises not to die before me.
  

That's all I have right now. Sorry if the last bullet point brought down the room.

Play Date at our house!

This past Friday almost all the moms were able to come and have a water day at the G house.

Anna brought her new crazy sprinkler...

... and of course Chase felt the need to help Anna's mommy set it up.

We had a few pools set up for splashing around in...

Playing around in the pool


After lots of play outside, everyone came in to have lunch. At some point, Chase came around the corner swinging 2 pieces of fabric... Anna's bathing suit. Then he proceed to try to put it on his head like a hat. I see frat boy antics in his future.


Like a good host, Chase accepts hugs from all his guests...


Seriously... how cute is it to see 2 tiny babies embracing. I think I might melt from the cuteness.

I really missed being able to have people over... I enjoy playing hostess. I see many more play dates in our future!

Yet Another Party!

This time it was Adam who turned 2!

I would say meet Adam but as you can see...

he's a little busy. That would be one of the 'balloons' from his cake... which was SO adorable and I totally did not get a picture of it... check out HERE to see a full run down ;~)


The big attraction for Chase was the stairs. Neither Adam and I or the grandparents have stairs so he has quite the fascination with them. Lucky for me he wasn't extremely brave... just curious.


Chase sharing his cheerios with Adam... what a sweet boy!

Happy Birthday Adam! And congrats on the new baby brother!

So I had a hard time writing anything this weekend because any story or speech would involve the fact that Adam was away... and I am not into broadcasting when my hubby is not home protecting the fort ;~) He spent 4 days at an AA retreat and Chase and I partied it up here in Hagerstown.

From the moment we dropped Adam off, all I heard was "Daddeee", "dadadadadad", Dadddeee?" and about a million other ways to say that word. The kid definitely likes his dad.

Suffice it to say he was very happy when Daddeee came home... and he even got a t-shirt out of the deal! Score!


I will leave you with a video I made a couple weeks ago... hope you enjoy!

A really fun day

Let me start by saying I know I have been picture heavy lately. It's summer and there are more events to attend... not only that but many of them are outdoors which lends itself to better pictures (at least for me!).

Not that anyone minds... Chase is a subject meant to be looked at often. Seriously... he is ridiculously cute.

Ok... onto today's events!

Meet Sadie...

Is she not adorable? And the pigtails... I mean come on!

Sadie celebrated her second birthday today! The theme was farm animals... Sadie's current fave... can you tell by the dress?

Her mommy and daddy rented a bounce house which I promptly suggested we all pitch in and buy it out right! What a BLAST!

Chase tended to spend a good bit of time like this:


...but usually popped up looking like this.


As you might have noticed, our group is obsessed with the group shot... a difficult task with children in general, let alone 1 and 2 year olds!

These aren't all the kids in attendance... just the ones in the bounce house at the time.


This photograph sums up my life now... running after/trying to catch Chase and he is getting faster! Dave kindly pointed out that I should have named him Sedentary. A rose by any other name...

One of the biggest hits of the party was Olive.

All of the kids just loved her. They took turns petting her, walking her, squealing at her.... it was so adorable. Olive's mommy, Abby, was a great sport about it! Click HERE to read more about Olive!

Chase made sure to give Sadie a hug at the end of the party!

Warning to my son... those legs in the upper right picture are Sadie's daddy... be a gentleman Chase!

After a fantastic nap Chase woke up ready to go... but we didn't have anywhere to be. So I called Kari and invited myself over... hemmed and hawed until she invited me over... bribed her with dinner so I could come over.

I brought the ingredients with me and made my new favorite Chicken pesto recipe. It did not disappoint! My biggest joy is that Chase eats it... without fuss... even the chicken. This is no small feat people! Applause please.

After dinner I quickly realized that Chase had once again soaked through his diaper. I say that like it's his fault... I am the mom here... I think I should take responsibility. Nah... Chase did it.

Well of course I had no spare clothes (although I did have a diaper this time... call it a wash?).... so we raided Lexi's wardrobe yet again.

Not too shabby!

The bright aqua makes you think twice about it being girls clothing on a little boy but whatever... it's dry and that's all that counts! Thanks again Lexi... Chase will be through your entire wardrobe in no time.

And because I haven't posted them yet, here are Chase's pictures from our carnival diaper debacle.

I think he totally rocks the black leggings... hot stuff... check out that tushy!

Some of you may remember THIS post... cross dressing is not new to Chase.

I figure he can print these posts and hand them directly to the therapist... it will save us time and money.

I digress...

Chase and Lexi are so amazing these days. They are really interacting with each other and for long periods of time... it's pretty fun to watch them discover the world around.

Here is Lexi tickling Chase...

I would say she did a good job... Chase looks sufficiently tickled ;~)

Tomorrow promises to be good too! Adam's second birthday party is tomorrow afternoon! Party hardy!

Riddle me this...

I had a rough day. I won't say it was horrible but it was rough. One thing after another after another. I am so spent... so tired... so blah.

So why, oh why, am I watching Grey's Anatomy? The show that caused THIS last week.

Don't tell me to stop... I won't listen.

National Zoo

Today we (and by we I mean all 'the moms') decided to venture down to DC and visit the national zoo. All told we had 8 adults and 10 kids... what an adventure.

At the entrance (a zoo in and of itself!)

Katy and Anna, Kari and Lexi, Dannette and Jenna, Laura, Bella and Adam, Jessica and Adrianna, Chase and I and Danielle, Abby and Ethan (who unfortunately got cut off on my pic!)

We met up with Laura, Aiden and Laura's sister Jessica (if anyone is counting, that is 3 Jessica's in one trip... welcome to every class I was ever in!)

Chase pointing at the elephants.

He was enamored by them... kept finding other ones to point to.

While the animals were cool... this is what captivated Chase...

He was jumping up and down saying "tacktore, tacktore". I think this might have been his favorite exhibit.


Such a sense of amazement in their eyes.


My boy and I.


For 15 glorious minutes I had sleeping stroller baby.

He woke up for the Metro ride home but ended up like this for the car ride home...

I guess I should mention that we carpooled down to the Metro stop (it's about an hour away) and Danielle, Abby and Ethan rode with us!

Just plum tuckered out. Right after the season finale of LOST... it's my turn... for now where's my ice cream??

Perfect Mother's Day

My Mother's Day started early this year... Saturday my dad sent me a gift card with the following provision...

No fair buying anything for Chase or Adam or the house with this. It's all you.

My dad knows me well... without that direct order, I would have spent it on anything other than me ;~) Thanks Dad!

On Sunday morning I woke up at 7:30.... my first present from Chase as he as been waking at 6:45 these days. The extra 45 minutes were wonderful! And yes, 7:30 is totally sleeping in!

After some cuddle time in bed we got up to get breakfast. When I walked out to the kitchen, this is what I was greeted with:


Pre-sliced grapefruit (my mom used to do that), fresh squeezed orange juice (13 oranges and 40 minutes of hard labor), fresh fruit and coffee brewed and ready to consume. Behind all of that is my Mother's Day letter from Chase. Enlarge the picture below to read.


Seriously, am I not the luckiest person ever?

#4 on my list was a gourmet breakfast of Eggs Chesapeake which was absolutely divine!

Adam is such a great cook... and willing to try anything! He poached eggs for the first time that morning!

After a deliciously filling breakfast we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and hit the park. Truly this is one of my favorite things to do. Here are just a few of the many pictures we took:


Adam and Chase on the big slide!


Mama and Chase's turn!


I love this kid.


Love this picture... it's going up in the house somewhere!


My boys. The 2 reasons I am a mother. Adam trusted me enough to marry me and make me the mother of his child and God blessed us with Chase.

After the park Adam whipped up some crab cakes with the leftover crab meat. Seriously, it wasn't in the plan... he just looked around and put together crab cakes... oh, and homemade tartar sauce. I am seriously a lucky woman.


After lunch Chase took a 3 hour nap... yet another gift!


While Chase slept, I relaxed on the couch watching sitcoms (sue me, I love them!). Adam worked on #2 on the list... a complete car detail! I didn't get a picture but the wheels shine, the car sparkles and the floor mats are clean (there was an unfortunate root beer mishap a few weeks back that desperately needed to be cleaned up ;~)

Chase slept so long that we actually had to go in and wake him so we could get to my MIL's house at a decent time.


Chase stayed busy by digging and dumping dirt...


cuddling with grandma on the swing...


and having a snack on his new bench!


Dinner on the patio!

#5 on my list was Lovely, Lush, Lava dessert... which Adam has perfected making. When you cut into the cake the insides just flow out and it's just about the best cake out there!


It really was a perfect Mother's Day. Chase had so many great gifts for me that Adam executed perfectly.