20 years

20 yrs of missing you...


20 yrs of thinking of you...


20 yrs of remembering you...


20 yrs of thanking you... for watching over us and guiding us all these years.



Love you Nani!

Holding on...

...to the last bit of winter. Looking around the neighborhood, you can find what's left of three tiny little mounds of snow. One on our lawn, one on our neighbor Sara's lawn, and one on Joe's lawn... the boys refer to this one as "Joe's Hill". So they were out there with their shovels, dump trucks and matchbox cars.

I think they will be sad when there is no more snow but I have faith that they will get over it rather quickly, see today was a warm, sunny 47 degrees which made the snow/ice mound soften and the surronding area all wet... which was just preparing them for their next favorite season... MUD season!!! Oh Yes! It has begun! They just love to play in it and bury their cars in it and shovel and transport it from one house to another. Beautiful, dirty, squishy MUD! They even found, in the back yard, a bucket that was once filled with snow that is now water which made the dirt all nice and muddy today and more fun to bury the cars in. Oh the joys of the first thaw!

Weather

The boys love when the morning weather comes on. They make me pause the TV (how did we ever live without this wonderful feature?) they run up to it and take turns saying the 5 day forecast according to the pictures:

"Sunny, Sunny, Cloudy, Raining, Sunny yea! It going to be sunny this week!!!"

It happens every morning. Do I see a future Al Rocker or better yet a Chris Cimino in our midst? I'm hoping for the latter if I had to choose. Boy do I miss the New York newscast!

So we made our own weather chart yesterday.









Today was suppose to be sunny and 50... but that didn't happen. The boys were so excited to move the arrow to the correct picture! So this morning it was set to "sunny"... then this afternoon it was moved to "windy". Tomorrow's suppose to be 55... let's see if they get it right tomorrow!

How was the weather by u today?

The boys say "Hi" daddy see ya tomorrow! xoxo

Let's Pretend

It was "Let's Pretend it's Night" at Connor's school today. So at snack time they had toast with butter and he had to wear his P.J.s to school. They even made a mobile of the moon and stars which is now hanging in his room.

Gavin was having a "I miss my big brother" kind of day today. Plus, he was not happy when I needed a mini break from playing 2hrs of trains (yes... I did say 2 HOURS!). Hey, no judging! I was Molly the train and Molly wasn't allowed to go to work with the other trains. All she was allowed to do was stay put... which means I had to stay put, on the floor, and not move. Did I mention the 2hr thing. Hello!?!? So he was mad when I got up to get some tea. That wasn't allowed, however my butt was falling asleep so I really needed to get up. Come on... Molly apparently is a really boring train anyway.

So we both were happy when Connor came home. After Gavin's nap the two of them played for "HOURS" with a water jug filled with pennies. Who knew it would be that much fun to play with? They poured them out all over the floor... and then their trucks picked them up from one location and brought them to another. Hey, when that gets tiring... why not take the water jug for a ride? Amazing how something so out of the oridinary can entertain them for so long. I mean HOURS... yippee! And NO fighting! Truly amazing! (Thank you Waterjug!)

A rainy Sunday

3 valuable lessons learned today:

1. Even though in your head you think your all set to have a playdate thats really not enough.


2. Calling last minute because you forgot to call when you were supposed to, means ya' probably not going to have one.


3. Your kids WILL get upset when told they are going to have one but don't... so you really shouldn't mention it until its confirmed (and not just in your head).

Peter did take the boys over to the Y for the open gym anyway... in case they did get the message and by some chance headed over there anyway. Daddy Rocks!

Oh but I did get a call from a very nice lady telling us that we left a message on her voice mail... not the person who the playdate was supposed to be with. She wanted to let us know that we called the wrong number and didn't want us thinking that the person we meant to call was ignoring us! To bad the call came in the last 15 mins of the open gym... didnt really help our chances of a playdate!

Play date or not it was kind of a success. It would have been better if their friends were there of course! But hey its 7pm and the below picture ALWAYS makes me smile!

Nite, Nite, Sleep Tight!

ALERT, ALERT, ALERT

Long post ahead. You may want to get a beverage or a snack or something. Hey its been a while cut me some slack!

After a week of sickness in the house we were not ready to venture out in the cold. so I set up a obstacle course in the house. This way the boys could run around and get the sillies out and I could straighten up a bit. Have to say the house was in pretty good shape considering I was out of commission for a week- thank you Petei. Isnt it amazing how much paper etc. one accumutates during a week. Well I was to lazy to go thru it all so I was basically moving it from one location to another to make things look clean (Hey no judging!) So in the middle of my "reorg" I hear Connor walking around asking for tape. You would be amazed at what they can do with a roll of tape! I figured he was going to tell me he needed to tape up his cars or trains but nope... he tells me he needs to "decorate his office". How silly of me, Of course! Because every 5yr old has an office and of course it needs to be decorated right. Oh I can see my brother Brian smiling now! Well it seems some how Connor came across a picture that was printed on piece a paper and wanted to hang it on his office wall. Now the mystery here is how a photo that was printed out about a year ago, down the basement wound up in my dining room and how did Connor find it? Truth be told we havent a clue and quite honest too tired to even try and figure it out. So you must be wondering, hmm what picture??? I'm sure you wonder if it's of Broghie right, or is it of his mommy... awww how sweet, perhaps it is of his daddy, or maybe his baby brother. Yep, that would NO (I now right shocked, gasp), and oh yea NO, NO and a NO. It was a picture of......

Yep his Aunt Kerri and Uncle Brian! He says his Uncle Brian is so funny! Wow they actually trumped the Broghs impressive. lol.

Oh and just to let you know there is so much tape hanging that picture up it may never come down!

Oh and a side note. Connor is now giving out autographs. Awesome right! Yes he went up to his dad this morning at oh 6am with his guitar around his neck, paper and pen in his hand and asked him how you spell your "Favorite Band". So after Peter helps him he hands the paper to him, gives him a big thumps up and a wink of the eye and says " Hey,this is for you, it's my autograph." Pretty lucky daddy, I haven't been able to get mine yet but maybe soon. Maybe when he is helping out Bruce Springsteen's band I can say I remember when. (ok no one bust my bubble by doing the "age"math! a mom can dream to right!)

Hey I warned ya it was a long post!

To Outer Space and beyond

Connor and Daddy had a special playdate together today. Our town library had a "Go for the Stars" presentation. Connor had a such a good time! He learned about all about living in space and got to meet "Robo" The Friendly Robot. There was alot of audience participation and some of the young volunteers got to dress in astronaut flight suits. Connor was a little shy at the beginning (Shocking... I know) and didnt want to volunteer. By the end he was wondering when it was going to be his turn to put on the space suit... Daddy hd to tell him it was a litle late but maybe he could next time. He was a little disappointed... but using the remote for Robo The Friendly Robot seemed to make him forget all about it.

Mr. Mom.

Sorry for no post yesterday, the three of us are still feeling pretty yucky here. Gav was starting to loose his voice yesterday which freaked him out when he tried to talk. Oh the look on his face was priceless the poor thing. (Missed photo op) He's better today. We have been lucky though because Daddy's been taking good care of us all.


Before our soup...





After our soup...





This afternoon the mail came with Valentine's day presents. How fun! Guess what came....







Yep Ties for the boys. Oh Gavin was so excited he has a tie like Connor now and Connor was thrilled he has 4 Ties now. He begged Daddy to take a picture with him holding all his ties. They were so funny. Thanks Nani


Well I hope you all had a nice Wednesday- half way thru the week.

My how tall we are!

Since only one family member is feeling healthy (Daddy) we kind of kept things low key today. The boys pretty much spent the day coloring, watching movies and playing with their cars. So after their nap they were itching to go out. As they were getting ready I noticed that Connor seemed alot taller than Gavin, which surprised me. He must have had a growth spurt over night. We had them go back to back to check it out. Connor was so, over the top, thrilled at the thought that he had grown so much!





With what seems to be Connor's recent growth spurt we now have a pretty good idea as to why they have been so hungry lately. I joke with Peter that I'm really just a waitress because all I hear all day long is...

The Boys: "I want something to eat."

Mommy: "But you just ate."

The Boys: "But I'm so hungry!"

This goes on pretty much from the time they wake up until the time they fall asleep. I can't even think about how much they will eat when they get older if this keeps up... Ahhhhhh!

I did manage to make some marshmallow oat bars this afternoon, figured that was better than me sitting here eating the Marshmallows out of the bag. This way I get some healty oats with my Marshmallow. Did you catch how I said "I" ? Yep, my boys don't even like these WONDERFUL bars... oh well... more for me!

Well I am off to go get a cup of tea, one of my treats and go read some Harry Potter!

Happy Presidents day to all!

Policemen by Day...

Did YOU steal mommy's Jewels?!?!

SUPER HEROES BY NIGHT!!!

This just in... All Super Heroes are to report to their training camp ASAP!!!

Today's training session... the art of Flying!!!

Cabin Fever = 0 Mommy & Daddy = 1

Not bad for a sunday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweets for my Sweets... We have had a very yummy Valentine's day morning so far!

A very "Valentine" day table

How better to say "I Heart U!" than with heart shaped eggs and english muffins for Mommy & Daddy!

And Heart Shaped Toast with Eggs for the Boys!

And what better to wash it all down than with "Hot Cocoa"! And you can't have "Hot Cocoa" on Valentines Day without a "strawberry" Marshmallow to top it off... OK maybe two!

No matter how you plan to spend this day, we hope you enjoy your "Valentine's Day"

Here's Some SUPER "Big" Kisses ...



and {{{HUGS}}} from all of us!

Fast Forward to the Future....

Imagine you're transported in time... to 2 years in the future... The Nelson Brothers ruling the Elementary School Hallways...





Connor... Hard at work in the classroom...






And don't forget Gavin.... concentrating intensly!





Now imgaine it's 20 years in the future... and Connor hard at work... multi-tasking (Phone, E-Mails, and Paperwork) in his "Office"!






And Gavin... a race car driver! (Not if his Mommy has anything to say about that!) How about He OWNS a racing team. I can deal with that!







Okay Crystal Ball send me back to the present day please! I'm done looking into the future... I'll stick with being in today. Baby steps for me!




Now I am off to set up for Valentines day...while I am still their only Valentine :-)

One Sharped Dressed Man!

Today was Connor's Valentine day party at school. He was so excited to go! And for some reason he was fixated on wanting to be early. Well, I guess recently Connor and Daddy had a discussion on what "being late" meant. So after Daddy's explanation... he decided he doesn't want to be late for anything... especially not his Valentine Day Party! With that settled, on to what to wear?

When I was getting Gavin dressed yesterday for his Valentine Day Party at Mrs. Dewey's I put him in his red shirt. Connor asked if he could wear his. So I told him he could wear his red sweater for his party if he wanted. Then the light bulb went on... and I said what about his red.......



Tie! Doesnt he looks so cute dressed up in his tie and shirt! Thanks Nani! He had a great day! Who wouldn't when you are early to school, get to wear a tie, have cupcakes in the morning, get some Valentines cards and candy at school. Oh to be 5!

On a side note... When I was throwing around titles for this blog and decided on the above, Peter started to sing "Sharped Dress Man". He told Connor it was a song from ZZ Top... who was a Rock group from when he was young. Connor then asked "Are they in heavin now?" Whaaaat? Really? Seriously? Are we THAT old????

Love is in the Air...

okay so now I can't get that song out of my head... arghh!


The kids and I had a very busy but fun day filled with lots of crafts. I can not show you everything in case some of you are actually reading this blog. You must wait and see. Yippee! We had alot to accomplish this morning before Gavin headed to his 1st Valentine's day party at school. When asked if he had fun his response was "there people there". Which in a way is not surprising... whenever we tell him we're going somewhere, school, park, gym, etc. he ALWAYS asks "People gonna be there?". Connor's party is tomorrow and Valentine's stuff is almost done. This, my friends, is a big accomplishment! Had a bit of "crafter's block" these past few days. Which lead to a anxiety attack followed shortly thereafter by a full on panic attack! Hence the reason behind no blog yesterday. But, after a pep talk from Peter (thank you) this morning we rifled through mommy's little "Bag O' Tricks" and all was right in my crafting world!







Gavin concentrating intensely!

The Boys at work!

Connor writng out his Valentines Day Cards for school party.






Gavin's present to Mrs. Dewey.

So I better run and finish the rest of the teachers gift before I start to panic again and need a paper bag. lol

'Night