Breakfast (aka Reese's Peanut Butter BIG CUP Review)

I made some dip for the chili luncheon that we were having at work.

I forgot to get the chips.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way to work to get the chips.

At the checkout counter... a Reese's Big Cup was calling my name.

Being a sucker for Reese's cups, I decided to try it. 

Review:  Reese's Big Cup = heaven on Earth.  Enough said. 

I love Reese's Cups.  I have tried several other Reese's products... and all I can say is that each time I try a new product... I can't help but think to myself... I want more peanut butter.  I'm not even a peanut butter fan... but I really dig the peanut butter that they put in the Reese's cup.  If you love the Reese's cup peanut butter too then definitely pick up the Big Cup if you ever run into one.  You can check out other Reese's pruduct pictures and reviews at the candy blog.  {{But, just know that she didn't give this bar rave reviews because she just didn't appreciate the peanut butter as much as she should.}}

Ahem... after I ate the cup... I took my chips and dip to work... only to realize that today is donut Friday.  So I helped myself to a donut... and then another.  ;-)

What did you eat for breakfast?

Lulu... through someone else's eyes.

Moms and dads are... different... and clearly Lulu's dad is able to capture pics of the more whimsical side of my little Lu, which I am not able to capture. 

For example...

Recently, Lulu went to...  {{Disney World}}

... with... {{her dad}}.

They enjoyed... {{breakfast on their balcony}}

a... {{walk on the resort boardwalk}}...

... and... {{some moments on the resort beach}}.

They also went to Epcot for the very first time... and said that it was fabulously fun!

While they were in Epcot, Lulu... chatted on the phone to mommy... 

... took a ride on a magic carpet...

... played a banjo...

... practiced her yoga impersonated a religious person...

... and was stabbed by a Norwegian soldier.

Clearly, these pictures really capture her silly side and are not the kind of pictures that I normally see.  She is such a hoot.  I just love her to pieces.  I hope to capture and share more pictures like this in the future... no matter how silly they seem at the time.

Do you have trouble capturing the silly side of your photo subjects?  Seriously, for example, in the last photo, I can hear myself saying, "Lulu.  Stop that.  Act NORMAL."  {{snap - boring posed photo}}

Toddlers - don't trust 'em

If your toddler is taking a bath and you hear him say “Toots Mommy,” while he is squatting in the tub… and you ask, “Bro, do you have to go potty” and he says, “no.” Don’t believe him.

And if he says, “Toots Mommy,” again… and you ask “Bro, do you wanna go sit on the potty?” and he says, “No.” Don’t believe him.

Because… if you do believe him… then you are sure to soon hear a very excited, “Poops Mommy! Look! Poops!”

Take my word for it.

I took the liberty of not taking a pic of this event. You can thank me later!

Toddlers – don’t trust ‘em.

Lucy Van Pelt

Did you update your facebook profile pic for retro week?  I did.

According to one facebook update... "Retro week is over! Starting now, post a picture of someone fictional that you think best represents your personality. Be creative. It will be interesting to see what/whom you choose...Copy and paste this so we can all play along!"

Here is my current facebook profile pic. 

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!  I selected the above quote for my pic (obviously) ... but I almost chose this one:

Auugh! I've been kissed by a dog! I have dog germs! Get some hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine! -Lucy Van Pelt

Which fictional character best represents YOU?

The day after...

I had such a good time celebrating Bro's birthday last night.  It was nice to celebrate with a small family gathering, rather than a large-ish party (which had become the NORM for Lulu).

First, Fairy Grandmother arrived with some balloons...

... and her homemade Cars cake.

Bro was being his same-old-wonderful self... here his is enjoying ignoring his soft taco...

"But Bro... it has cheese on it... and sour cream"

and lovingly posing for in a family photo.

Never mind - we took the pic without him.

He loves his "baby turtle" (Twilight Constellation Night Light) that he got from Fairy Grandmother and Luvs2Boat.  We already knew that he would love it because Lulu has a similar night light that he loves.  If you are looking for a unique, budget-friendly gift for the toddler who has everything... or if you just want to give a cool gift... this is your ticket.  Very cool!  You can read all of the reviews on Amazon... or just take my word for it.

Apparently Dear Husband knows a thing-or-two about toys for little boys.  The "fas cars" {{not a typo}} (as Bro likes to call them) were a big hit.... probably WAY cooler than the Magna Doodle that Napmom would have come home with.

Finally, we lit the birthday candles...

Happy Birthday Dear Bro ♪ ...

Happy Birthday to You ♫

Here is a pic of Lulu forcing a smile as she waits for a piece of cake the happy family.

The End.

Time flies... really.. it does

Dear Napmom...

It has been another year.  Your baby Bro is offically 2 years old! 

As you look forward to all of the great fun you have ahead of you... I don't want you to forget...

that back in January (just one extremely short year ago) he started daycare... and he was still a crawler.

In February he was still being held every morning while he drank his bottle.  He was not yet screaming "I WANT JUICE MOM!" like he does now.

In March he was a wobbly little fella who was just figuring out the joys of pushing his mail cart.

In April his sister invited him into her room to play dress-up.

In May he discovered all the joys of a strawberry patch.

In June he took a ride in a "boat" and now every single time he wedges himself into any small space he says, "I'm in a boat mom."

In July he played at the beach for the first time ever.  He can't wait to go back.  How do I know?  Because he very excitedly says, "Beach... beach mom" whenever he sees sand.

In August he demonstrated his signature "Brody do it" attitude while eating crepes in Annapolis.

In September he enjoyed the lemonade that his sister left behind when she went to play with her friends.

In October he helped mommy carry the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch... always mommy's helper.

In November Napmom didn't blog very much because we were moving... but Bro rode on his first real steam-engine train and here are the pictures to prove it.

We traveled quite awhile to get to the train and he was filled with glee... 

but he started to get a bit worried when he actually saw the huge, steaming train coming down the track.

See the worried look on his face?

I asked him, "Bro, do you want to ride the train?"  His immediate response was, "No."  

We boarded the train anyways... and a good time was had by all.

In December Bro snuck into Lulu's room to relax in her chair while chatting on the phone.  Shhhhh... don't tell on him.

Yes Napmom... it was truly a marvelous and spectacular year, wasn't it?  I know what you are doing right now.  You are crying... again... and thinking "I can't send him to college."  {{sniffle, sniffle}}  Rest assured he will be a teenager one day... and those years will give you all of the strength that you need to let this little birdie fly from your nest.  For now, keep taking pictures and video of these moments because they will fly by like a rocket ship.

Sincerely,
Yourself

Treasure Hunting... again

I first went letterboxing on August 27, 2008.  Then, I went letterboxing with my N.C. family last summer.

Dorky?  Probably.  Yes, I know.

Letterboxing: Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art, and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes usually contain a notebook and a rubber stamp. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp, either on their personal notebook or on a postcard, and leave an impression of their personal stamp on the letterbox's "visitors' book" or "logbook" — as proof of having found the box and letting subsequent letterboxers see who have visited. Many letterboxers keep careful track of their "find count".   - Wikipedia

My husband's family gathered to celebrate his mom's birthday this past weekend.  My totally awesome sister-in-law brought along a clue to a local letterbox.  While the men prepared dinner... which is often served HOURS later than expected... the women and kids went to look for the letterbox.

Unbeknownst to us, this letterbox was super-amazing... because it had a hitchhiker.

Hitchhiker:  A letterbox with no permanent home. A hitchhiker is carried by a letterboxer from one box to another, where it is left for the next visitor to find. Hitchhikers are recorded as finds in a letterboxer's PFX count. Hitchhikers sometimes have their own plastic boxes and are hidden on top of or next to an existing letterbox, while others travel in a plastic zip lock bag and are meant to be stowed inside the host letterbox.  - www.letterboxing.info

Since my sister-in-law recently found and rehid a hitchhiker, she let me take this one with me.  Gracias!

Here is the picture of the hitchhiker.  I blurred out the stamp... because that ruins the fun.

So, now I have this little hitchhiker in my posession and I need to find a home for it.

Winter Project

The best time to look for letterboxes is in the warm weather.  Take time this winter to get your stamps and logbooks together so that you are ready for letterboxing this Spring.

The best letterboxing sites are:

Atlas Quest -  this is the best site actually.  This is a great letterboxing community... you can get clues... log finds... and so much more...

Letterboxing.org - you can find letterboxing info here too... along with a tutorial on making your own stamp.

Letterboxing.info - this site is new to me.  I recently ran across it when I was trying to find an easy definition for hitchhiker. 

I located a nearby park that has 3 letterboxes.  I hope to visit soon.

Finally!

Lulu's winter chorus concert was snowed out... and snowed out... and snowed out again.

Just the other night we FINALLY got to see her concert. 

This was Bro's face when he saw Lulu step onto the stage.

This was my view of the choir.

Here are the two siblings after the fact...

Middle school choir is much easier to listen to than elementary school choir... in my opinion... I'm just sayin'.

Planning a Birthday

Observation:  Some traditions are great... when you only have one child.  They become harder to keep up with when you add more children to the mix.

"Let them eat cake."

It is a permanent tradition that I make Lulu's birthday cakes... and they always relate to a theme.  She is adament that I continue to make her cake every-single-year.  I have promised her that it would NOT hurt my feelings if she wanted a store-bought cake.  She failed to take me up on that offer. 

This year, we will celebrate Bro's birthday with just us... mom, dad, sister... and probably our Fairy Grandparents.  That's it!  And I am running out of steam for making the cake.  I still need to buy the pan, make the cake, and decorate the cake... before Thur at 5:00 p.m.

On the other hand, I don't want it to seem like I would do something for one child that I wouldn't do for the other.  {{sigh}}

Monday night I asked Dear Husband, "How important is it that I make Bro's cake?"

"Not important at all!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"You know... because I don't want it to seem like I do for one child and then not for the other."

"Honey - really - it's fine!"

 I mean, I could just make him a regular cake... but that's not near as fun as a Cars cake or a train cake. 

So, today I ordered a store-bought cake... and updated my facebook status with...

Napmom... ... um... after 11 years and countless hours of making birthday cakes for child #1... child #2 will get a store-bought cake this year. I am sure that I will cry myself to sleep with guilt later tonight.

Somebody responded with, "God help child #3."  {{Thanks for the words of encouragement.}}

Two seconds later Fairy Grandmother called to insist that she make Bro's cake.  How sweet!  How wonderful!  He's gonna be sooooooooo happy!  And... I feel so much less stressed now.  Can't wait to see what it is!


Toys Glorious Toys!

I researched the perfect toys for a toddler (for Bro's birthday).  Since he goes to daycare, we don't really need/use that many toys, but it is nice to add fun stuff to the arsenal.  However, having a birthday that immediately follows Christmas is... kinda... like... the pits... as I am discovering. 

I had decided to create a special busy box for Bro, full of toys to play with while mommy is making dinner.  You can read all about busy boxes online - I didn't come up with this idea - I stole it from others.

My list for his busy box included:  a magna doodle, stickers, paper, crayons, and find & seek books. 

However, Dear Husband and I returned from ToysRUs with: Hot Wheels cars, a Hot Wheels track kit, and Army men.

Um......... what happened to my busy box?

Have your traditions changed as you have added more children to your family?  Be honest... but please only respond if your answer is "yes"!  Thanks!