my mess maker

a blog you should know about

especially if you have a crockpot! Chris (yes the man who is my husband) found this blog about crockpotting and its perfect, i just wish he had found it 9 months ago. this blog is by a woman who is using her crockpot EVERYDAY for a year and commenting on each dish that she whips up. genious! why didn't i think of this?!

A Year of Crockpotting

a super sized Saturday

we left the house at 9am and returned at 8pm.... and in between we had a blast! our first stop was Sesame Place. our neighbors and good friends the Bryans have season passes to SP and Saturday was bring your friends (for free!!) day! soooooooo we went and it was great. the weather was questionable but turned out to be a real blessing as the chance of rain seemed to keep many people away. it was also nice not to have to worry about sun block. the kids had so much fun and Mayden even went on her first roller coaster (which in hine site was probably a bad idea... it went fast and she wasn't thrilled about it) hopefully we'll be able to go back next summer on a warmer day to try out the water rides. i made a slideshow of the pictures because there are so many of them.

Sesame Place was only the first half of the day. after SP we headed straight to Mullica Hill for a Speer family reunion. Chris's aunt Sharon was up from Florida so much of the north east family gathered in NJ to say hello! thankfully we were able to beat the rain (until the very end) and commune at a park where the kids could play. it was so fun putting faces with names and matching kids to parents. so many Speers!!! (although none of them have the last name a Speer except us)

Katarina, Mayden & Erin
(Chris's cousin's kids, fron Long Island NY)

Erin & Cameron

did i really just see that?!?!

okay so i just saw a commercial advocating for High Frutose Corn Syrup (HFCS). my jaw is on the floor! i guess they must be hurting since most people seem to be trying to stay away from the toxic stuff.

the lie:



the truth:

when daddy is in charge...

...these are the kinds of pictures that end up on my digital camera. no lie.



















this one is from 2 years ago when Mayden was 14 months old... it's a wonder they are alive when i return!!

spaghetti night

yes that's some on his shoulder... thankfully i had the foresight to take his clothes off beforehand


she is actually much neater then she used to be

all clean!

meeting more (great) grandparents

my mom's parents came down this weekend so Cameron got to meet his final set of grandparents! Camo still has one great great grandmother (yes you read that correctly) to meet yet but hopefully we will remedy that this coming November.

these grandparents are right up my ally as they are very much into a lot of things i am into. growing up i have fond fond memories of their sheep, chickens, cats & dog. each year they (mostly my pop-pop) plants and tends a garden probably 10 times the size of mine. 100% organic (he doesn't even water it... "nothing beats the rain" he says) the use and preserve (freeze & can - mostly my grandmom) all of it. my grandparents are very chemical conscious when it comes to food & body product (soap, shampoo etc.) and not to mention die-hard democrats :o) this last year my pop-pop fought & concurred Colon Cancer... YEA! i wish i had found myself earlier to learn more from them. i wish i had paid more attention to their lifestyle when i was growing up. i suppose it's not too late!!

pictures of course...

the 4 Rae's (Adia Rae, Sandra Rae, Mayden Rae & Linda Rae)

P is for Preschool

this week May-May started preschool! you'll remember me back in February trying to find a school for her and for a time i wasn't sure i'd be able to get everything on my wish list but i do believe may have found the perfect school (for us). by pure luck i came across this preschool's website and next thing i know we're touring and falling in love. Stepping Stones Preschool Coop (better known as SSPC) is a small preschool run by mostly parents. the Coop part is great. each member is required to be part of a committe to help make the school run. i'm on the cleaning committe so every other weekend i spend a few hours in the buliding cleaning up. they offer 3 core classes, one for 2.5 year olds, one for 3 year olds and one for 4 year old going into kindergarden the following year. then they have optional extra classes like Chef & Ooey Gooey which are pretty self explanitory. each class is 2 days a week for 2.5 hours a day. exactly what i was looking for. Mayden is a Minnow (3 year old class) and this winter when you can't go outside as much we might add her to one of the extra classes.

May's first day:
it was great. no tears (not from her anyway... i was a different story!) when i dropped her off she walked right in and sat in her spot on the carpet and waited for further instruction. ahhh she is such a good girl! i waited in the hallway with a few other moms just to be sure she was okay. i thought maybe some of the other kids who were crying might start her crying... but that wasn't the case. she's so stable and well adjusted it's crazy. i think she's more mature then i am. she should probably be the parent in this family. anyway she had a great time of painting, eating a snack, playing, singing etc. the only complanit was that they didn't play outside as it was raining. i had a feeling she was cut out for school... she is so not my child!

new job

i started a new job last week babysitting for my friend Julie (who is a teacher)'s 2 kids. yes 2+2 = 4 let's just say i arrive each morning at 6:30am and depart around 3:30pm ... in between is filled with diapers, crying, potty, bottles, breakfast, lunch, naps, love, juice, laughter, time-outs, walks, outside fun, Elmo, boogers and if i'm lucky a 5 minute break!

my kids aren't always with me while i'm at work but most days they are there at least part of the day. i learned today (having all 4 with me all day) that the more kids doesn't equal harder... in fact it seems that they entertain each other really well when they are all together. it's definitely a lot messier with 4 vs. 2 but in the end i'd venture to say minus a few chaotic moments the "4-all day" days are actually easier... go figure! we'll see if this trend continues.

if anyone is interest i've started a blog strictly for this adventure w/ these 4 kids. it's a documentation of how my life as a mother to two small children and my job as a "substitute mom" to my friend Julie's two smaller children collide. i hope to post both our planned activities and ones that sneak up on us.... art projects along with trials and victories, stories and pictures.

let me know if you want "in" on the blog. it's private so i'll have to add you to my safe list.

The gang!

Mayden (3), Cole (2), Cameron (14mo), Elle (5mo)

it happens

Camo knows all to well the pitfalls of a little boy with an older sister. i wish i could say this was the first time it's happened but alas from time to time he's subjected to purple & pink colored apparel. in fact i seem to remember rushing out the door last fall and only being able to find a lavender jacket for the poor guy. it's also true he's dawned his older sisters pink & flower print cloth diapers... although i do try to save them for last. he'll get over it. right?

labor day

we spent our labor day at a parade in the town where my mom & dad live. it wasn't a labor day parade it was a Carli Lloyd Gold Medal parade! Carli Lloyd scored the winning goal in the woman's soccer game at the Olympics! she's from Delran so she gets a parade... good deal. anyway here's a few pics and a little video of May-May enjoying the marching band (the band leader was all set to sign her up right then and there!) of course i didn't get a good shot of the golden girl... but i tried.

waiting

he loved those fire trucks!

(funny thing labor day is... it's "a day off for the working citizen" yet i believe most low man on the totem pole working citizens [like Chris] had to work... interesting)