what happens when you try

we, elliot and i, decided that to make sure this day was gonna be a good day we would make cupcakes and decorate them with the icing left over from the last mutual activity. it was a lot of fun and it felt good to really be making an effort to have fun with my kids in a new way. elliot was so excited! we didn't have time in the morning, but we said we would make the cupcakes right after preschool. well, on the way home from preschool elliot said he wanted to play computer games and play in the leaves. i asked him if he would rather play computers games, play in the leaves, or make cupcakes. "cupcakes! cupcakes! then computer games, then play in the leaves. is that ok mommy?" so that is what we did. we had a great time. it's great how even when you have a terrible emotional day, you can wake up the next morning and say, ok, so what can i do today to make the day different. basically it was an up day. i know my Heavenly Father heard me in my prayers the night before and was with me. He has such power to bring patience and peace that sometimes i cannot find within myself. to Him i am grateful.

here are the pictures
this is elliot's cute book that he found the idea in.

he filled all the muffins tins by himself! way to go elliot!!

juice box. perfect activity for waiting for cupcakes to cook. well, for 3 minutes maybe. we ran out to play in the leaves. then elliot got to play on the computer until daddy came home.


after dinner we got the icing out (notice how short the cupcakes are, they were perfect for little hands) . . .

loaded it on with sprinkles and other cute stuff . . .

sammy kept sneakin little bites. . .


took our "done" picture (click on the picture to see detail) . . .


then, yum . . .

jeffrey . . .


thanks for anyone who gave me encouraging advice. i have so many great friends. thanks!

uhgg!

i just need to put this out there.

i love my kids and at the same time i get so tired of getting mad at them all the time. why can't i just let go? why am i so uptight? why can't i be more patient? why is it so frustrating? sometimes i don't think i am cut out for this. then i remind myself, this is just a down day. everyone has down days. maybe tomorrow will be an up day. so that's what i'm hoping for, an up day where i remember to take 2 maybe 3 deep breaths before reacting to my kids. i just gotta keep on making it through each day.

family!!

we were so lucky to have jeffrey's family come visit us this past weekend. it was great! here brynn, fuzz, elliot, and sam pose on top of the rock (rockefeller center) with nyc in the backgound.

elliot liked sticking his hand out. crazy how the people below look like ants!

i love this shot of sam and grandpa. here's lookin at you!

we took the free ride on the staten island ferry. we stood on the back to get a good view of nyc and the statue of liberty. it was so great to have grandma, grandpa, brynn, and fuzz all come to visit.

here is sam stuck in the stoller on the ferry. he wasn't too happy.

the day before it was overcast and gloomy, but just look at the sky this day! we got lucky! land of the free!

we finally made a trip to madison square garden. we've been wanting to hit that spot since last summer, but we just hadn't made it to that spot of nyc yet. jeffrey took a picture of one of his favorite buildings, the flatiron building located on the intersecting streets of fifth ave. and broadway.

we also stopped by the shake shack. wow were those burgers awesome! if you're ever in the area, you gotta stop and grab a bite to eat here. seriously, and i usually don't like burgers. i would even say it could compete with our beloved bartley's burgers in cambridge.

we were lucky to visit storm king, near west point, ny. it is amazing. the art there is huge! i guess it closes the first week of november and doesn't open again until the end of april, so we were happy we didn't miss it.

they had two seats made of welded coins!

we got to see the wall by andy goldsworthy. it was amazing. it curved down, winding between trees . . .
. . . down into the pond and out the other side, and then continued on up the hill. amazing the things that people can create.

my super cute husband pushing our phil and ted up the hill.

fuzz/christian/garrett had his birthday while they were out here. we went to a great mexican restaurant in west point and they brought him tres leche cake, sang him happy birthday and took a picture with this awesome sombrero.

elliot was rocking the sombrero too.

we were sure sad to see them go. it was so nice to be with family. there is nothing like it. brynn, last night elliot said he wished you were here. he misses you all already. we'll see you in december! the bomberman competition between elliot, brynn, and fuzz will have to be on hold until then. love you all!

bomberman!

elliot's favorite game! bomberman! we had a great weekend with the allen's visiting. anytime we were at our apartment you would find elliot playing the wii with brynn and fuzz! he loved every minute of it!

welcoming 2 little ones

i am happy to announce that my brother and his wife had their twins! not identical boys like they thought, but a boy and a girl! we are so happy for them! what a wonderful day it is to have them here safe and sound. i borrowed a couple of pictures from them. i can't wait to see them in person!



we love you already willard and lily!

announcing

so jeffrey has finally joined the blog world. you are gonna love it! the way his mind works is so beautiful and crazy and fun. he says it's his photography blog, but i hope that he puts in all sorts of things. he's always sharing new ideas with me and new interests and i hope that as you view his blog you will get to see into his mind a little too. enjoy.

www.upsidedownbackwards.blogspot.com/

so excited!

while we were in boston a couple of weeks ago we got to see eric and sarah! they are doing well and seem so excited and happy for their due date that is coming up. here is their awesome view of the charles river. i'll never get sick of their view! so beautiful.

here jeffrey is showing off his polaroid land 101 camera. just wait till you see his photography blog!

eric is so excited. he painted this room himself. it is so beautiful. i kind of got emotional seeing him smiling so big in their nursery room next to the car seats that will be filled soon. it is cool seeing my older brother entering this new stage of life. he'll be a dad forever now! pretty exciting.

they're pretty prepared. it really is a beautiful nursery. they've put a lot of work into getting this room ready. elliot and sam were so excited that they have toys there now!!! they don't know how excited they are going to be once their cousins are around and can play with them.

i was glad i didn't forget to get to take this picture. too bad jeffrey couldn't be in it. he was looking so handsome! we had a great visit. it was kind of weird to think that the next time we see them they'll be parents. we can't wait!!! love you guys.

another trip to one of our favorite places!!!!

we got to go to boston again! i wonder how many times we'll do that trip this year. at least a few more times with eric and sarah's twins coming!

this time we stayed with ashley and mike! they were fabulous hosts! they had this awesome blow-up mattress that was almost as high as a bed! i wish i would have gotten a picture of it. our kids had a great time there. mike played with them nonstop, and for those of you who know elliot that is how he would have it always! all play and no stopping.

we went to the higgons armory museum on saturday. there was all kinds of knight's armor, weapons of all sorts on the walls, a fun play area for the kids, and a man dressed in knights armor. elliot especially loved seeing the swords and other weapons. the chainmale was amazing up close!

cute elliot peeking through!

they had a station where you could try on all sorts of war helmets.
elliot
ashley
maryirene


we also had the chance that night to head into cambridge and meet up diana and john for dinner. diana was my old roomate and was actually ashley's roomate before that. small world. eric joined us too. we were sad sarah couldn't come, but she is on bedrest, so she's gotta take it easy. we tried to hit bartley's burgers again, but they were closed due to a "small fire", or so the note said on the door. we headed over to another resaturant, the name of which i can't recall right now. it was a fun place! look at all the colors and decor. jeffrey got this picture while i was unaware.



on sunday after church and a quick visit to eric and sarah, we headed up to the old north bridge in concord, ma. i went up there last year while my sister was in town, but jeffrey didn't get to join us so i wanted him to see it for himself. he agreed that it is worth the trip. it is so beautiful! the river, the bridge, the trees, and the history make for a wonderful stop!

here they are again. best friends. mike and elliot. : )

we had such a great time!!! thanks for letting us crash and play at your place! come down soon!!