Twilight Movie

For the second twilight movie premier, some girlfriends and I decided to dress up like vampires in the sun, dripping with sparkly diamonds and pale white. Talk about a fun night!

Pudd-n-Face

I don't really know how this sort of thing happens. I give him a pudding and 20 seconds later this is what he looks like. Oh Finn, my delicious little chocolate covered child, how do you do it?

Happy Halloween!

End of Summer Volcano

Towards the end of summer when the days start to drag the boys and I can up with a plan. We were going to build a volcano. It was the perfect end of summer activity. The project was spread out for maximum fun and maximum easiness for me. First a day spent building the structure, then paper mache, painting, adorning with life like volcano paraphernalia (thanks Ana for your help), of course we had to bake a chocolate volcano cake with red raspberry lava, and then there was arranging the tropical “lava” flowers and so forth. With this one project I was able to fill two weeks with non stop activities and fun. Then it was time for the McDonald volcano party or as the Deans dubbed it “Mount McDonavus!” It was so much fun to see all the kids faces as we set it off. I bought several boxes of baking soda and a gallon or two of vinegar so multiple children could set it off too. It was such a great time; we just might do it next year.

LDS MBA Bar B Q

Isn't that tittle funny. It was great seeing some of our old friends and meeting up with the new MBA's. We can't wait to teach them all about highly expensive educations, overflowing social calendars, "networking" like it's nobodies business and the overall party an MBA can be.







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Dane's First Day of School (last month)

It happened a few times a day all summer long. I would be playing with the boys and suddenly realize that this was the last summer with Dane before school. I have such a hard time with the thought of just handing him over to the assigned teacher and hoping for the best. I described the experience to my sister like this. "Sending your child to school is like dressing them up in new clothes, putting them in a row boat and pushing them into the middle of a lake....on a foggy day. You don't know what's going on, what people are saying to them, if they are being well received and in turn kindly receiving other children. It’s the great unknown.” This looming deadline forced me to revel in every moment this summer. Instead of letting it make me weeping it made me press forward and savor our time together. I try not to question myself too much. Did I teach him enough, is he on par with reading, will he come home with swear words and will his view of the world change? I'm sure it will be easier with the second, and right now since it is more than a month behind me it is easier. So far so good, Dane loves school and can't wait to go every morning. I will admit that on the first day I cried like a baby, but thank heavens Dane did not see me. I guess this means I'm a big girl now, with a PTA membership and everything. I used to say that you really grew up when you had to take care of your own taxes and health insurance. But now I think it's when you send one of your own into the world.

Liam's First Day of School...(last month)

Liam is going to Grace Lutheran this year, as Dane did the two previous years before him. He is overjoyed about the prospect of being "a big boy like Dane". We have been so happy with our experience at Grace. They have a "gentle Christian influence" as they call it. This includes blessing the food, talking about forgiveness, a real Easter celebration and the best Nativity Christmas play in town. I'm so excited for all the growing Liam will do this year. And for all the aspects of his personality that will come out without his big brothers Shadow. Liam is a totally different child than Dane. He has this quiet sense of self that just draws you in. He will play by himself for hours but loves to have playmates. Liam my Darling I love you.

Tour My House!

Tour of my house on Artsy Annie

Harry Potter

Rory and I have never read the Harry Potter books. Instead we like to go to the movie premieres and act like we are supper fans. There is just something so exciting about seeing a midnight showing with people that have counted down the days to be there. It first started when we went to the "first" star wars movie. Everyone was so excited and dressed up. There were news crews there and a feeling of electricity in the air. After that experience we have had fun dressing up and going to similar events. We try not to talk to people because we usually have no idea about whatever we are seeing that night. I hope to one day take it up a notch and attend Star Trek conventions in full klingons attire with a few authentic lines of language rehearsed. During the summer we attending the opening of the Harry Potter movie. We succeeded in not only convincing our normal Friends Katianne and Lex to come but to have a costume competition with us. The winner with the best costume was supposed to bring the other couple dinner the following Sunday. So now I ask where is my dinner?

The Perfect Breakfast

I'm the kind of person who generally likes to eat the same thing every morning. I know this may surprise some of you who know how overly elaborate my meals can become. But those are saved for lunch and dinner. My mother once told me that when you get stressed out or really busy to eat the same think everyday. It makes life simple, sets a pattern and keeps one from letting their crazy life turn into crazy meals. Crazy meals being something like a rushed lunch of 3 slightly old cheese sticks in the bottom of your purse. Never a good idea. So with that in mind I have started eating what I think is the perfect breakfast. The salty warm eggs that give you that bit of protein you need. The warm and filling Cinnamon oatmeal that stay with you until lunch and the cool bright red strawberries to leave your mouth with a fresh sweet taste. Happy eating

My Rory

A Christmas Project

Every Year at Christmas break they men in my family enjoy a project...... of sorts. One year they built a trebuchet and proceeded to launch everything from bricks to watermelons. One of my favorite projects was this little video. It was from a few year ago but still makes me laugh. Our Business school friends will especially appreciate this.

Purple eye lids

Ever since Liam was a baby he has the most beautiful eye lids. They have this purple tinge to them that give him a gorgeous unearthly coloring. I always want to kiss his little eye lids when he's sleeping, But alas I stop myself for fear of breaking the spell.

Mess & Mayhem

A while back we had this crazy week with our boys. Specifically Liam. The week involved a lot of cleaning up and a lot of costco size mayhem. I must say that my favorite is the fear in both their eyes in the last photo.

A Night in the South of France

A Night in the South of France

Mint Syrop Splash
A tradition French drink often sipped in cafes as an alternative to coffee, made with a simple syrup, fresh mint leaves and sparkling water.

Croissants
(said only with the thickest accent)
Nothing says French like warm croissants

Escargot
Snails of the epicurean variety, simmered in an herbed butter sauce.

A Pâté and Caviar Tasting
Let the rich meaty flavor melt in your mouth as you enjoy this mushroom in Marsala wine pâté, smoked salmon pâté and the very decadent & very rich foie gras pâté. The Black Whitefish Romanoff Caviar is a salty tasty and texture delight. Both are accompanied by cream cheese, boursin, brioche, cracker, red currents and toasted squares.

French Onion Soup
The classic French soup made of caramelized onions, a dry sherry, beef stock, stale baguette & gruyere cheese.

Plats Principaux
(The main course)
Cassoulet is the most popular dish in the south of France; it is simmered with duck meat, white wine, thyme, white beans and stock. The duck confit (cooked in its own fat) is atop a chilled cucumber slice, topping with a crispy pastry hat and drizzled with an apricot simmer sauce. As a lighter touch and cool note; the sweet orange and fennel and watercrest salad with dill and sherry dressing. Served along side are lion's mane mushrooms sautéed in clarified butter and garlic.

Fromage ou Dessert
For dessert we have a tour of France plate served amore style to couples. This includes a lemon crepe with butter lemon and sugar. A chocolate Nutella Crepe, a fruit tart and a topless crème brulee nestled in a chocolate cup.

As all great French meals end we will be adjourning with a cheese plate, grapes and baguette.

My hot dog moment with Liam

My darling little Liam is said to be the best eater in my family of picky eaters. One particularly cute moment with him happened just the other night. He requested a hot dog for dinner but he wanted to eat the hot dog and bun separately. He first asked for a “hot dog with out the stick” and then a “hot dog with out the handle”. Don’t you just love him

Porter's photo shoot

Baby Field is Here!!!

After 24 Plus hours of hard labor and over 3 hours of pushing, I am more than pleased to announce the birth of Matthew Frederick Field. Born 9 pounds 4 oz and 21 inches long. Mary and Mike could not be more thrilled and are currently attempting to get a little rest.

Please Vote!

As many of you know I'm into photography. I love taking pictures of families, babies and prego ladies. I've been doing it for so long and so often lately that it seems like half my free time is spent doing photo shoots. About a year ago I started to take it a little more seriously and got some training, took some classes and bought better equipment. I'm working on my portfolio and all the details. The question at hand is my name. I am inspired by these names of companies I love...

Tiger Lilly photography
Shabby Apple
Blush Photography
and the ever favorite Pronk clothing

Here is a list of the names I'm thinking of, please let me know your pick
(They could end in photography, portraits, images or studios)

Royal Poppy
Frozen Posies
Silver Tree
Violet bell

I would love any input you're willing to give, strangers and friends alike.

Thanks,
Anne

Rowan is such a doll

Mary's Baby Shower

Mary you are going to be the best mom!

Matt & Julie's wedding

We are all so happy for Matt and Julie. I can honestly say I have never seen my brother happier. The wedding was such a wonderful affair. It had the perfect combination of fun family time, a very relaxed and easy to please bride, beautiful surroundings, a fantastic new family to meet and call our own and the most important part, an emotional temple sealing for time and all eternity. Congrats Matt and Julie we love you guys

Bored on a Friday Night

Rory had to spend another late night at the office, so to entertain myself I switched all the faces around on our Christmas card photo. I think the most creepy part is just how real Rory's face looks on me. hahahaha

old photos

I was clearing off my aol account today and ran across some old photos. SOooo fun

Ladies Who Lunch

There is something so magical and girly about a tea party.

Pronk!!!

My dear friend is coming in to town and offering a screaming deal on her amazing clothes! Come one come all.

Baby Jane Esther

I had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot with the darling Jane Esther. Here are a few of my favorites.

Happy Mothers Day!

To all our mothers, we love you very much.

We tried to get the boys to do a cute photo holding a sign and roses, but they acted a little too natural. The video is really low quality but you get the idea.

To express Rory’s and I love for our mothers we wanted to share this talk with you that Rory gave in Sacrament Meeting today. Happy Mother’s Day!

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters,

We have been told to turn to the scriptures often and to try to apply them to our lives. In preparing for today, I turned to the book of Mormon to see which stories might generate some insights about mothers.

The first scripture story I remembered was Lehi and his family’s departure from Jerusalem and journey in the wilderness. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that I thought of that one first – like many of you I’ve read 1^st Nephi at least 1,000 times.

Lehi, being a visionary man, had left everything behind and taken his family and departed into the wilderness and though it must have been difficult, his wife Sariah supported him. After we were married, I took Anne away from her comfortable home in Florida and moved all the way out here for school. Doing a PhD is a long process and certainly a visionary one (in the negative sense), and Anne has stuck with me.

But then I remembered that Sariah complained against Lehi – and those of you who know my wife know that she rarely complains. Also, comparing my sons to Nephi and Sam was one thing, comparing them to Laman and Lemuel was quite another…

Then I thought of the 2,000 stripling warriors in Alma. They were so courageous and powerful in battle and this was largely attributed to the teachings of their mothers. Their mothers taught them to never doubt and trust in God and obey. But the deal-breaker was that they performed every word of command with exactness – not a great description of my rowdy boys.

So brothers and sisters, having failed to apply the scriptures to my life, I turn to the words of the modern day prophets and some of my favorite stories about the mothers in my life.

I have the feeling that the world doesn’t appreciate mothers enough. They are the quiet, unsung heroes, which gets revealed in their daily actions.

Brigham Young said,

“Can you tell the amount of good that the mothers and daughters of Israel are capable of doing? No, it is impossible. And the good they do will follow them to all eternity.”

When one of the mothers in my life was a young mother of 3 small children,

She had an extremely valuable watch that had belonged to her father and was a family heirloom. She took the watch to get it fixed at a very upscale jewelry store. When she called a few days later to find out if the watch was ready, the people at the store told her that it was not yet ready. The same thing happened several more times – each time she would call, she would get a similar answer about the watch not being ready yet. Finally, she went into the jewelry store, explained to them how important the watch was and demanded to have it back, fixed or not. The clerk finally admitted to her that they had lost the watch.

Being the crafty and creative person that she was, she left the store and returned later that day with her 3 children. Right before entering the store, she handed each of them a large chocolate ice cream cone and turned them loose on the store. Upon seeing all the sparkling jewelry, her kids rushed to the shiny glass cases – sticky hands stretched out.

With a sly smile, she said to the clerk,

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll just wait here until you find the watch.”

It took the employees 20 minutes of scrambling in the back while the kids held the store hostage, but she finally got the watch back.

Afterwards, she got on the elevator to leave the store. In it were two beautiful, professionally-dressed women. Her quiet confidence faded and she felt deflated as she looked down at her plain attire and her chocolate-covered children. But to her surprise, one of them turned and said, “I know what you’re thinking, but I would give anything to have 3 darling children like yours.”

This story illustrates 2 things:

1. The ups and downs of being a mom
2. Under-appreciated and largely uncelebrated actions that define motherhood.

In 1979 Elder Maxwell said,

“Greatness is not measured by coverage in column inches, either in newspapers or in scriptures. The story of the women of God, therefore, is, for now, an untold drama within a drama…when the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies?”

I was somewhat of a chubby kid in elementary school. One day at school we had a “health day.” They put every kid into a single file line, and each stepped up to stand on a scale and get weighed and measured. After they wrote down your measurements, the health people sent most of the students to sit together and watch on movie on being healthy. A select few of the children – myself included – got sent to the “Fat Table.” It was myself and 3 other fat kids. We had to talk about why we were fat, we had to make a list of everything we had for breakfast that morning, and how we could make healthier choices in the future. It was not a very fun experience, and I came home from school pretty upset. Unbeknownst to me, my mom called up the school and laid into them – after apologizing to her profusely the administrators got rid of the program.

Despite my early difficulties in applying the scriptures to my life, they are replete with instances of how wives and mothers have taught us to live the gospel.

I quote again from Maxwell,

“A widow with her mite taught us how to tithe. An impoverished and starving widow with her hungry son taught us how to share, as she gave her meal and oil to Elijah. The divine maternal instincts of an Egyptian woman retrieved Moses from the bulrushes, thereby shaping history and demonstrating how a baby is a blessing – not a burden.”

Speaking to young mothers in 2008, Elder Ballard said,

“There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives.”

It is not just that mothers are underappreciated and their jobs so hard, it’s also that the stakes are so high:

Ballard:

In last year’s general conference, Elder Ballard shared a story about his young family. During a period of 10 years he had served as a counselor and then a bishop – and this was also when 6 of his 7 children were born. Often exhausted on Sundays, his wife tried to explain to him what it was like sitting on the back row in a sacrament meeting with a young family.

Then the day came when he was released. That Sunday, the mothers’ chorus was singing and Elder Ballard was alone with his 6 children. He shared, “I have never been so busy in my whole life. I had the hand puppets going on both hands, and that wasn’t working too well. The Cheerios got away from me, and that was embarrassing. The coloring books didn’t seem to entertain as well as they should.

As I struggled with the children through the meeting, I looked up at Barbara, and she was watching me and smiling. I learned for myself to more fully appreciate what all of you dear mothers do so well and so faithfully!”

Elder Ballard went on to advise us to give our wives a “day away” now and then in which we give them a break from daily responsibilities.

In trying to follow this counsel, I had a similar moment of realization and appreciation for my wife a few months back. She had gone for a 5-day trip to New York to visit a friend, and it was her first real time away from the kids. The trip was ostensibly to relax and have a bit of a break (of course she was unable to really take this break and instead ended up serving her friend and throwing her a baby shower).

I was officially flying solo. I was so geared up to spend all day, every day with my boys for 5 days! My first full day with them, I bolted out of bed, cleaned the house, fixed breakfast, made a fort in our living room, had a squirt gun fight, make brownies, read stories, went on a bike ride, and assembled a train set. Exhausted after all our activities, I glanced at the clock – it was only 1 in the afternoon – 7 more hours until bedtime!

We made it through 5 days and actually had a blast, but the house looked like some sort of explosion had gone off. Now, when my wife had previously had the boys for 4 days while I took my PhD exams, she had kept the house immaculate, had dinner on the table, and had completely made over our bedroom. The experience made it very apparent just how hard my wife (and other mothers) work on a daily basis.

President Hinckley also reminded us how high the stakes of motherhood are, and it is something that my own mother has always lived by:

“You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?

Brothers and sisters, I have a testimony of the eternal importance of mothers. They are the quiet, unsung heroes of the world – they are always spiritually in-tuned – and they do a hard job that has unbelievably high stakes.

I am very grateful for my wife. She is an excellent advertisement for 3 kids

My wife is responsible for every good thing that has come into my life since we’ve been married

-she encouraged me to apply to graduate school and helped me with my applications

-she taught me how to be a good father

-she has made me many new friends by befriending their wives first

-she helps our family focus on Christ and try to live a gospel-centered life

At home and in my office, I have this amazing picture of her with our boys – she’s grinning, they’re grinning and they are both cuddled up into her with their arms draped around her. I often think that that is what being a mother is all about.

In closing, I want to echo Elder Maxwell (1979)’s comment to women in general, but also to wives and mothers,

“We are deeply grateful for your enduring us as men when we are not at our best because – like God – you love us not only for what we are, but for what we have the power to become.”

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

I love this man

While moving we came across some old photos and this little gem was one of them. Looking at Rory's expression melts me. The pure joy showing on his face makes me feel so loved by him. I hung it in our living room as a reminder of how happy and lucky we are to have found each other.

Dane's 5th Birthday

Dane’s Fifth Birthday was as exciting as he is. Breakfast being the only meal he really eats we decided to have a big Saturday morning breakfast bar. It had every sugared cereal a child could possibly want. Dane’s eyes just lit up when he saw the brightly colored cereal boxes all in a row. (Highly recommended, you fulfill all their breakfast fantasies for $10 at Wal-Mart). We followed up the cereal with a green alligator cake and singing. The green icing stained all of our mouths and made us look festive slash like we had rabies. Next we opened presents and all watched the king of enthusiasm make us each feel like we picked the best gift. Then we went outside for a few rounds of duck duck goose (Dane’s favorite game), some silly string, water balloon fights and a few more games. Now at this point I had the bright idea of making the whole family (extended included) go to see Coralline. This was a mistake and way to scary for children…..or even me. Sorry about that family (I’m still living it down). Dane my little boy I can’t believe how old you are. You have grown up to be so smart, sensitive, intense and creative. I know your strong will will bless you throughout your life with determination and focus. I love how protective you are of your brothers and how much hugs and kisses mean to you. You are such a wonderful son.

Liam's 3rd Birthday

Liam’s third Birthday was perfectly tailored to him. Liam lit up when we brought the tray of breakfast goodies into him. Being quite a wonderful eater, he cleared off every plate. For his party he only wanted Rowan, Aunt Mary and Emily to come. The activities he chose were silly string, swinging in a blanket, making a train track with all the pieces (we have 300 thank you Emily) chasing us with a stick (while he was called Key-Ni) eating Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple and eating cake. The day was absolutely delightful! Liam my darling you are the quiet joy of my life, you never give me any trouble and always make me smile. Having you in our family has made us pay more attention. You are so loving and loyal at such a little age. I love you forever!

Finn's 1st Birthday

Finn’s first Birthday was a blast. We were lucky enough to be in Florida with family at the time. We started the day off with our traditional breakfast in bed. This stunned Finn and he did not know what to do with all the food in such an unusual location. We then spent the afternoon playing with him and slowing giving him gifts. His aunt Catherine was there to shower him with a stuffed rein dear and some much loved suckers. That night we gathered round for the wonderful cake mulling. There is just something so fantastic about those chubby little fingers covered in icing. To my dear Finn, you have been a sweet soft giggly joy from the moment you were born. You have the sense of humor of a 40 year old man and some how seemed to get sarcasm at 6 months. We can’t wait to get to know you more and more.

New approach to Birthdays

I have a new approach to Birthdays. In the past I have thrown large scale themed birthday parties with extensive decorations, games, goody bags, food, cake, presents and so on. Although those that know me know I love to through an event, this just seemed to be missing the mark. I found myself worrying about refilling drinks and the timing of the birthday song more than the birthday boy. Then my little sister Laura taught me a lesson. For Rowan’s 2^nd birthday Laura threw a princess party. She invited 3 or 4 of Rowan’s closest friends and had them wear princess dresses. Laura organized it in a play date style where the girls were dropped off. The guests were greeted by Laura; wearing a fairy God mother costume and told to come in. The party consisted of story time, a scaventure hunt for crowns and wands, tea party cake and presents. The whole thing wrapped up in two hours, took minimal planning and was exactly what Rowan wanted. So for this round of birthdays I plan doing things differently. I will only invite a few of their closest friends or just family, and we will spend the entire time doing exactly what they love. To be continued

Cute little Rory

Wanna see some cute pictures of my hubby is as a baby?

The holiday of love brought some good times to the McDonald home. Pink heart pancakes, flowers, valentines, lots of kisses, dear friends and confessions of undying love from professor McDonald. I Love this holiday!

Let the good times roll

Another happy Christmas with the family!

Addresses

Oldest Mass-Produced Christmas Card
Part of Bridwell Library Collection

Want a Christmas card?
Then send your address to
amac1275@aol.com

Twilght Movie

A week or so ago I got together with a couple of my favorite twilight heads to see the movie. We knew two things; we had to go to the very first showing and we had to go in costume. I knew everyone would be dressed as vampires, so a few of us thought of something a little more creative. Blood types. Twilight events are a little hilarious, due to the fact that 90 percent of the attendees are 15 years old. My little group of obsessed moms adds a bit of a contrast. In many ways I think it makes it more fun. As for the movie, it was pretty good. It’s hard not to enjoy something with a theater full of excited fans. Most of the characters were pretty spot on, with the exception being Rosalie. She’s describes as the most beautiful girl in the world and the actress fell short to say the least. I mean how hard is it to find a hot blond in Hollywood with a little acting talent? The awkwardness between Bella and her father was perfect and Edward was pretty hot too. I was surprised how funny so many of the lines were. I think when you read them is sounds so romantic but when say them out loud it just sounds silly. The budget for this movie was really low…I mean really low…like WB special low. So with what they had, I think they did a pretty good job. Thanks to all you fun ladies that made the night an event to remember.

Dream Camera!!

It finally happened, after years of having my face pressed up against the glass at Keeble and Shuckets (photography store)just dreaming and wishing, I finally got my dream camera!....scratch that I got two steps above my dream camera, and lenses, and filters, and the tripod, and the perfect carrying case and back drops and so much more. I am in heaven! Over the last few years I have been doing photo shoots for people and loving every minute of it. Mostly Christmas card photos, maternity and baby shoots. But last year my camera just could not keep up. The only "real" cameras I had were all film, and who really uses those anymore? Now for the fist time I have all the equipment to live my dream. So thank you Dad, Mom, Rory and my whole family. This is the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten.

Halloween 2008

I'm famous

I was in the paper! It's just a tiny quote on pg 17 but it's fun to have my 15 minutes.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morguepdf/2008/2008_10_17.paw.section1.pdf

Artsy Annie

I have started another blog. It's called Artsy Annie at http://artsyannie.blogspot.com/
I felt a little silly posted too much artsy fartsy stuff on our families blog/journal. I wanted to be able to post as much as my heart desires. So there you have it, I hope you enjoy.

Artsy Fartsy
Anne

Dane's stream of consciousness

Dane is of that fantastic, curious age that includes ten thousand questions a minute. The questions seem to be at their peak in quantity while we are in the car. This is probably due to the fact that he finally has my full attention. I'm always amazed at the rapid succession of which he comes up with these bizarre questions and statements. So the other day I decided to pull the car over several times and write it all down.

This conversation took place from the time period of 11:06 am through 11:07 am yesterday

Dane - "Uncle Kaka’s (Kyle) car is blue right?"
Mom - "yes"

Dane - "His other car got wrecked in a crash right?"
Mom - "Not a crash, an accident he hit an animal"

Dane - "A giraffe?"
Mom - "no a deer"

Dane - "One of Santa's deer’s?"
Mom - "no"

Dane – “Well then tomorrow let’s go see the giraffe at the zoo”

Mom – “We’ll see”

Dane – “How do deer’s fly?””

Mom – “Magic”

Dane – “Why does the car make sounds when you drive?”

Mom – “That’s the sound of its parts working”

Dane – “What does s.t.o.p spell again?”

Mom – “Stop”

Dane – “Monkey’s get their teeth cleaned at the dentist right?”

Mom – “Yes”

Dane – “Are monkeys nice to beavers?”

Mom – “Ummmm I think so”

Dane – “Only animals eat trees right?”

Mom – “Well actually we eat trees too; lots of fruits come from trees.”

Dane – “Just like fruit snacks grow on trees?”

Mom – “Not really”

Dane – “We never eat cars right?”

Mom – “Right”

Dane – “What’s that stuff inside the metal parts of cars?”

Mom – “I don’t know”

Dane – “how do I do a web site?”

Mom – ………………………………….

a litle tip

Want to extend the life of your mascara?

You can add a month or more by following these easy steps.

1. remove wand and wash with hot soap water (this removes gunk and helps kill bacteria)
2. add a few drops of water to the tube (you may need to tap the bottom of tube on the counter to make the water go in) For water proof mascara add some facial lotion (because it's not water based, water will just separate from the mascara)
3. Return brush and rub all around the tube of mascara incorporating the water/lotion

This may be something everyone already does, but the one or two girls I have showed this to had never heard of it.

Combining two of my favorites

My dear children and my love of cooking. This last Christmas I bought the boys these fabulous little aprons. It was quite difficult finding fun, children’s sized, embellished and boy themed aprons. I’m sure all of my genius seamstress friends are thinking of how easy it would be to just whip one up. But alas I am not a genius seamstress (I kind of like the way that rolls off the tough genius seamstress). So when my Internet glued eyes grazed across these beauties I had to buy them. Now that the they are in my possession, I look for any opportunity to pull them out. I have many fond memories of the aprons my genius seamstress mother made for my brother and I, and my magic created in the kitchen while wearing them. On occasion my father would cook with me also, usually a big Saturday breakfast for everyone. Before we would start cooking it was our tradition, to put flour on our noses. I know he had some funny reason for this but I don’t remember it now. I just remember liking the idea of dusting my little nose with the white puffy powder. So as I carry all these precious memories into my own little family I try to recreate the magic in the kitchen. The boys get so excited when I include them in the creative process of cooking. I never include them in the “we need a meal out NOW” process of cooking. I only cook with them when I have a little extra time and we are looking for an activity. We usually don’t make anything complicated, just a few of our favorites. One of the best tricks is to take a box mix like muffins and go crazy with the add ins. I few of our most enjoyed are…

Bananas (they love using a potato mashed to mash these to almost liquid form, its helps release some pent up toddler rage)

Yogurt

Graded carrots

The squeeze of half a orange

Cinnamon

Vanilla

Applesauce

Pudding mix

Protein powder

Fibber sure

Frozen or fresh blueberries (any fruit for that matter)

Extra eggs

Oatmeal

And of course chocolate chips

I’ve learned that as long as you add a handful of chocolate chips you can get away with adding anything else. The only trick to remember is to make sure you keep the consistency about the same. I always just add oatmeal to make up the difference for the wet ingredients. In the end you have created quite an exciting cooking experience, cleaned out your fridge and some how the muffins magically always turn out to taste really good, not to mention have some redeeming healthy qualities.

Tape gone Wrong

Mom + Baby + Tape = Fantastic!

A visit from Grandma and Papa J.P

Grandma and Papa J.P came for a visit last week and we had a wonderful time. Some of the highlights of the trip where…

A trip to golden gate park to see the buffalo, ride the marry go round and go down the huge slide.
Tons of good movies, our favorite restaurants and take out.

A ferry boat ride across the bay with a bike ride and picnic lunch.

Rory and I went on 20 or so dates in the space of 7 days.
Days by the pool, at gymnastics, at music class and in the courtyard.

A special day for just Dane with the Grandparents

Liam’s Special day too












































Grandma making a huge Sunday dinner of her famous pot roast, carrots, potatoes, sugar snap pear, creamed and baked corn, bread, fabulous gravy and chocolate éclairs. She also invited all of my family in the area to the dinner and kindly fed the whole crowd.



Thanks for such a great time. We love you

" wow you've got your hands full"

I know I am not the only mother that constantly gets comments like "wow you've got your hands full". My friend Rebecca A. gave me this great little comeback that I use every time "better full than empty" and I love this one. It works perfectly whether they meant it in a nice way or a mean way. Those that meant it in a nice way always get a smile on their face of yester year when their children were young and say something like "so true, so true". Those that meant it in a not so friendly way tend to look away and stop staring. All those insults, jabs and downright bazaar comments have been a regular topic of girl’s nights. So hears what I want from you. I want to know the things people say to you when you are out with your kids. I also want to know your comebacks if you have them. I want to have some nice little saying tucked away in my brain for the next time I'm grocery shopping in my pj's with screaming kids. So please share, even if I don't know you and you are just a friend of a friend. I want all the details.

Date with Finn

While Dane and Liam were occupied with their new independent academic lifestyles Finn and I had a rare few hours to ourselves. We went to this wonderful local garden (http://www.gamblegarden.org/)
and explored the grounds.
I took Finn out of his stroller to dip his hands in this charming little fountain. After letting him do this I noticed this older couple watching us with delighted expressions on their faces. You could tell that they were dreaming of their long ago little ones.










The garden had this cute bunny bush and some incredible flowers. Finn particularly enjoyed the roses. He grabbed a handful and began shoving the petals in his mouth. Having made candied rose petals (the favor at my sister Laura’s wedding) and made rose petal tea I did not mind the snack choice. I really do love this little babe.

First Day of School

Well it happens every fall and the blogs are riddled with post about it; the first day of school. Luckily the first “real” day of school is still a year away, so I’ll save my embarrassing amount of tears until then. This year I have Dane is three day a week preschool and Liam in a great one day a week program run by my friend Kara. We spent the Saturday before doing back to school prep. Shopping, hair cuts, an afternoon lunch together and picking out new back packs and lunch boxes. We found the perfect outfits for Dane and Liam’s first day and it just seemed like a waste not to get one for Finn. I never pass up a chance to have them in supper preppy matching ensembles. I know my days are numbered that they will let me, so why not indulge. So here are my little darlings all ready to go.



Dane and Liam's first class of the year



This is Liam telling me all about his day.












This is how it ended for Dane


Love these little guys