Big Fish In A Small Pond

Last week we bought bunk beds off of Craigslist. It's turned out to be the greatest purchase ever...in addition to saving space they've also turned into a fort, a trampoline, a diving board, and now - a fishing boat.

The boys were running around in circles tonight looking for something to do. For some reason I thought, "Let's stretch wire hangers and make fishing rods so they can fish off the top bunk." Check.

Once that was complete, we needed something for them to catch. So I thought, "What's soft and flexible that we have in large quantities?" Eureka! Underoos.

Best. Idea. Ever.

Yes, I Realize These Videos Are Proof That I Have The Maturity Level Of A 6 & 4 Year Old...

...because I think these are pretty darn funny.

Come On Irene

Hurricane Irene...seems like a lifetime ago but she definitely gave us a run for our money.

Phil stopped at the grocery store the night before the storm hit. We just wanted a few necessities...unfortunately so did the rest of the Tri-State area.


We lost power overnight...luckily red wine doesn't need to be refrigerated and we drank our troubles away.

When the dust (and my headache) settled, we went down to our favorite place to throw rocks into the Brandywine River. Unfortunately we discovered it was completely flooded out and we couldn't even walk down the steps to get into the park.



Poor Charlie got nailed in the forehead with a muddy river rock. Turns out defending yourself against 3 brothers can be almost as dangerous as battling a Category 1 hurricane.

Warming Up

It's not easy to survive the Northeast winters. Forget the snow and ice - the worst of it is being trapped inside with 4 energetic boys.

Now that the sun is shining and the weather is warming up, we get out and about whenever we can.

Thankfully there's a park just a few blocks from our house. Around this time the trees are all in bloom and it's absolutely beautiful. Just like Phil and me.

Here's a pic from Ry when he was one and also from a few weeks ago. As you can see, not much has changed.

Another advantage of getting outside - so many interesting options for Time Out. Here Charlie takes it like a man (even with his thumb in his mouth). Ah, sweet springtime.

Down By The River

One of our favorite things to do is going to the Brandywine River to throw rocks into the water. It keeps the boys entertained for hours at a time, plus it's free. Score.

We're Living Here In Allentown

Today was Shaye's First Holy Communion. Seeing her in her princess dress and hairsprayed curls made me realize how quickly time flies by...it literally feels like yesterday that she was toddling around and snuggling in my lap.

My crazy kids have a way of snapping me right out of my sentimental mood. Almost two hours in the car makes for four very antsy boys, and poor Aunt Lori's house took a hit from their energy.

Not only was the stuffed monkey a hit (I'm still not sure why that was hanging from the ceiling...), so was the gigantic yard. All I had to do was kick a ball as far as I could, and they chased after it time and time again. Score.

The day was going so well until Ryan called stomachache. I tried to tell him that eating approximately 75,000 pieces of chocolate wouldn't be a good idea in the long run, but he chose to take his own path.

Ry eventually rebounded (when the cake was served) and we tried for another feeble attempt at a family picture. At least Shaye looks cute...congrats to my girl. Love you loads.

They're. Stir. Crazy. Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.

Is it Spring yet?

These boys have officially lost their minds. They're itching to run around - fortunately (or unfortunately, I'm not sure) our house is a big circle, so sometimes they just end up chasing each other around and around. And around.

Part of Stir Craziness 2011 involves Ry handing me the camera every night and asking me to take pictures of him. He could use some help as Art Director, but right now I'm just letting him do his thing.

So tonight they were playing Sheriff Woody and poor Charlie got caught in the crossfires. I didn't know whether to laugh (Ry and Cole) or cry (Cha) so I just kept snapping.

The countdown to Spring is on.

Stir Crazy

I came home today to find Cole wearing this in his hair. Between screams of "heeee-yaaaah" he told me that this was part of his costume and that he was (clearly) a ninja.

Then I noticed that his pants were on backwards.

As I was trying to figure out how Cole went all day with his jeans zippered up the back, I heard Ryan screaming, "Mommy you have to come upstairs IMMEDIATELY! I forgot to do something before I got in the shower!"

Welcome to my life.