March of Dimes

My friend, Sarah, is participating in the March of Dimes Jail and Bail. She's chosen to do this in honor of my boys. If you would like to participate, visit her site here. It is the season of giving, so here is one way you can do just that!

Who wouldn't want to do something in honor of the cutest kids ever!

Potty Training - Take 312

Cole has been in underwear for a while now. We ran out of candy rewards a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if that is it, but he has been having "accidents" left and right. He does fine at school. He's fine when we aren't home, but get him home and we go through a minimum of 4 pairs of underwear a day. I need to buy some more rewards and see if that makes a difference. I am at my wits end. I do not know what to do with the kid. He's obviously ready. He obviously knows when he needs to go. Is he just lazy? How do I cure laziness? Ugh! I need help!

Life With Boys

I don't remember these things happening when I grew up...

Yes, that is a real gun. It was only a pellet gun and they were shooting a pumpkin. You learn to choose your battles when guns are involved.

Tractor soup anyone?

Zucchini Cookies

Ok, before you write this post off as "yuck, I'd never make those", let me say, I am not an adventurous eater. I prefer meat and potatoes. Nothing too hot, and certainly nothing too weird. With that being said, these cookies are delicious.

Zucchini Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (I love Penzey's cinnamon)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup golden raisins (I omitted these since Pat would refuse to try them if I put them in)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet (I prefer milk chocolate) chips

Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Combine butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add egg. Gradually add flour mixture, beat until smooth. The dough will be stiff. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 13 to 15 minutes.
Voila! One more way to use up all that zucchini from the garden!

The Big Brother

"Come here! You need to brush your teeth!"

"NOOO!"

"Hey! Let me brush your teeth!"

So helpful, isn't he?

Halloween 2009

We had a pretty good Halloween this year. Our school held a treat parade the night before, so the whole family, plus Grammy and Papa, headed there for supper and some candy. There were a lot of kids there!

Tate the Turtle and Cole the Fireman

We took them trick-or-treating on Halloween too. We actually made it to quite a few houses this year. Normally we only make it to about 6 by the time we hit all the neighbors. It's a lot of driving around and strapping and unstrapping kids in car seats. The kids made out pretty well and the candy has been a great potty reward.

This Little Piggy

I picked Cole up from preschool today. I always get the same rundown of his day. "I played, had snack and water." Today the answer was slightly different. Today he "played, had snack and I was a pig!" At first I was wondering who told him he was a pig, then I asked if he was a pig because he had a lot of snack or if he pretended to be a pig. Turns out they did the 3 Little Pigs today and he even brought home piggy ears.

Wordless Wednesday

A Day Without Rain

We've finally had some beautiful fall weather. I took the boys outside to play the other day to enjoy it while it lasts. I raked some leaves while the boys played. Tate wasn't too interested in the leaves, but finally got a shot at the cozy coupe without his brother interfering.
Tate is walking pretty good now. He loves to climb. He was in and out of that car for a good hour without a peep. Cole would have sat and cried every time he wanted in and out because he wanted someone to help. I just can't get over how completely different they are.

Cole had a blast in the leaves. He made a little course. He would count to five, run from the swing set and jump in the leaves. I have some video that maybe I will post later.

My Car Seat Lecture

Cole's new car seat came today. We were in the market for a second car seat as he is almost at the height limit for the standard convertible seat. If we had been smart when we purchased our convertibles, we would have bought the Britax marathon instead of the Roundabout. However, Tate is using both our Roundabouts, still rear-facing, so we would have needed a new seat for Cole anyhow. Anywho, the new seat came today after 3 weeks of waiting for Target to do free shipping on baby gear. We purchased a Sunshine Kids Radian 80. I was very hesitant to stray from the Britax brand. I love our Roundabouts. They install easy. The straps tighten easy, and they have a fun cow print! What's not to love? I purchased a Britax Frontier earlier this year. The thing is a monster. It's huge. Installation wasn't quick, but it wasn't horrible. However, the problem with the seat was Honda's. Most vehicles have the belt latch located where the seat back and the seat bottom meet. Honda puts there's in the seat bottom. Not a problem, except when installing a car seat. The Frontier is so huge that installing it with latch isn't easy so I tried the belt, only because of our belt latch location, that too didn't get the seat as tight as I would like it to be. I chose the Radian 80 because it's a much narrower profile. I wasn't impressed when I pulled it out of the box. It's not nearly as padded and comfy looking as the frontier. However, after I installed it, I decided it's staying. It installs about the same as the Frontier, only since it is narrower I can install it with the belt or with latch and both ways keep the seat snug.

In short, if I didn't drive a Honda, I'd stick with the Britax, purely for comfort reasons. I know there are other car seats on the market that are a whole lot cheaper, but both Britax and Sunshine Kids are the highest rated and keep kids in a 5 point harness longer. If it keeps my kids safer longer, it's worth every penny.