Happy Halloween

Wow, so I think the boys are finally in bed. Talk about Sugar Rush!!!! We had a great night. Our night started when our friends Matt and Diane came over with their boys to go Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood. It was good and the boys had a fun time. We saw lots of other of our neighbors dressed up and Trick-or-Treating.

Joel was our "Bob the Builder". We didn't get the 'real'
costume so Nama and Pa helped us get Joel this tool belt
and overalls. He was so proud of himself and his tools-
not so fond of the hard hat.


Vance was our Little Monkey. Nama saw this
costume when we were at the store and we
decided Vance NEEDED it. Perfect costume for Vance.
He had such a fun time and loved saying,
"Twick a trwee". He is such a talker!!!

Then we went and saw Nama and Pa. Of course the boys were SO excited to see Pa since he had been gone all week. Nama and Pa then went with us as we went Trick-or-Treating to some of their neighbors. Of course all the neighbors thought the boys were super cute. It was such a fun night as a family. After the Trick-or-Treating festivities we came back to the house and had soup with Nama and Pa.

The boys with Pa.

The loot. Joel and Vance enjoying their candy.

I worked a half day today. We all got dressed up and our department had a lunch. While I am a bit stressed trying to wind down some of my projects before my final day next week- it was a fun day. It's not very often that I make an appearance on this blog but here's my friend Ingry and I dressed up at work.

Hubby Tag.

Where did you meet your husband?
I met Tj at church. He worked with my roommate. She asked me to feed him and his roommates. I agreed. After several random encounters we started dating.

2. How long did you date before you got married?
Well we met in May and got married in December so we call it about seven months.

3. How long have you been married? December will be 7 years.

4. What does he do that surprises you?
He constantly surprises me. Sometimes I'll come home and he'll have cleaned the house and have dinner ready. He surprises me a lot with his choice in gifts (for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, etc) but in a good way.

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
I'd say his eyes.

6. What is his best quality?
Wow, I don't think I could pick one. Really. He's really smart, he's able to keep his cool in stressful situations, he is unbelievably logical, he can make me laugh even when I don't want to, I could go on and on.

7. Does he have a nickname for you?
He doesn't really have one beyond the generic.

8. What is his favorite food?
Steak and Potatoes or beef stroganoff.

9. What is his favorite sport?
Uh, just about anything on ESPN.

10. When and where did you first kiss?
Summer 2001 in his roommate Rob's car.


11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Ummmm. : ) Just kidding. We like to go on road trips, date nights, camping and window shopping.

12. Do you have any children?
Two boys.

13. Does he have any hidden talents?
He really does. He's a really good artist (although he will deny this). He's really funny. He's really intelligent in that he will come up with a really good solution to a seemingly impossible situation. He is a good singer and also played the cello for awhile.


14. How old is he?
29

15. Who said 'I love you' first? He did, only because I knew better than to rush him. So while I knew I was in love first I waited for him to say it first.

16. What is his favorite music?
He likes a lot of different types of music. I think one of his favorite groups is Collective Soul. But he also like to "rock out" too.

17. What do you admire most about him?
Really?! There's way to many things I admire about him to choose one. I admire his intelligence, his humor, and the way that he makes me feel so safe.

18. What is his favorite color?
Dark blue.

19. Will he read this?
Probably.


20. Who do you tag?
I tag anyone who reads this.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, so I just have to share. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a baker. But I found this recipe for Chocolate chip cookies. These are seriously THE BEST cookies- and SO easy. They're crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. So I'm sharing the recipe. Try it out and let me know if they're not delicious. (Plus they're so easy Joel LOVES to help make them with me.)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Cook Time
  15 min

• Level
  Easy

• Yield
  30 cookies

Close

Times:

Prep

20 min

Inactive Prep

30 min

Cook

15 min

Total:

1 hr 5 min

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. (on convection setting if you have it.) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets. (If you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.)

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

Photo Tagged

So this tag is that you have to post the 5th folder, 5th picture on your computer and then blog about it. This picture was taken December 2006. In Florida we go camping in December because that's the only time it's bearable. Joel was about 6 1/2 months old. It was actually pretty cold that night. We had just gotten done having foil dinners- the best meal that I had eaten in weeks I remember thinking. (Only a few weeks later when the pregnancy test showed positive did I realize why the foil dinners and oatmeal the next morning tasted SO good. Am I the only one who thinks food never tastes as good or as bad as when you're pregnant?!) Anyhow, this was Joel's first camping trip. We had a great time!

I tag: Tj, Kimberlee N., Diane, Rachel, Ashley.

ETA: My Aunt Linda had already done it. Oops! So Ashley I'm tagging you!

Joel!!!!

So Joel is going through quite a phase lately. Mostly it's this whole switch thing. I swear it's going to drive me batty. He's obsessed with switching switches "on". Of course he's not tall enough to turn them off. So I'm constantly walking into empty rooms with lights, fans, and random switches (the ones that who knows what they actually "go" to but are there just the same) turned on. So I'm getting ready to go to bed and I go into check on the boys (sorry for the messy room shot) and the light is on bright as day and both boys are completely out! I don't know why I found this so funny (maybe I'm overtired?). But it was humorous to me just the same.

The other part of Joel's latest stage isn't so funny. Well I guess not to me- right now. He is SO freakin' bossy! The worst is that he's a back seat driver---- at TWO!!! Seriously, I'm driving around with him and Vance in their car seats and he starts telling me, "Mommy, no. Not this way. Stop mommy, not this way!" Who is this child?! I'm reminded of a magnet that my mom had for years on her fridge (it may still be there) that said something to the effect of, "Kids, are you tired of being harassed by your parents? Hurry move out now while you still know all the answers." I think I have a long parenting road ahead of me. lol

October?!

So while much of our family is celebrating fall with sweaters, mittens, changing fall leaves and even snow we have been celebrating much differently. More specifically the boys enjoyed a nice day at the beach---- in October! The boys went to play over at Nama and Pa's house on Wednesday while I was at work. Of course they had a blast! Here are a few pictures from their trip to the beach.

Joel loves the beach! He is going to be our little cliff jumper. He loves having the run of the beach. Nama and Pa love taking the boys to the beach (the beach bum is genetic from Nama and Daddy). Can you tell that Joel is having the time of his life?! Nothings better than a day at the beach for Joel- especially with Nama and Pa spoiling him the whole day. : )

Vance enjoys the beach too. He likes the beach but could live with or without it. I was told that he had fun, although you couldn't tell from this picture. lol

The boys continue to grow and do funny silly things all the time.

Vance is 14 months old. (It's crazy to think that when Joel was this age I was about ready to have Vance. Crazy what a year will do.) He is quite the talker. He has always wanted to communicate with us. His vocabulary seems to grow everyday. It includes: Dadda (of course), momma, up, down, more, please, hot dog, milk, drink, banana, cracker, and cookie. He is such a mischievous kid. When we feed him in his high chair if he likes it, he'll chow down. If he doesn't he hides it behind him in his seat- or throw it off his tray. Punk! lol He loves hotdogs, crackers, bananas and milk. That is all he would eat if we'd let him. He doesn't like cheese very well though. Anything else depends on his mood. He's now loving to climb right along side Joel. He loves to do whatever Joel is doing and loves his brother. He's getting so big- the other day he even tackled Joel to the floor. I guess turn about is fair game.

Speaking of Joel. He is such a character. He's loves to sing, his current favorite song is "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?" He is a little chatterbox. Anytime we're driving it's a non-stop commentary. He chatters and talks and asks questions. He is such a great boy. He is constantly saying thank you (even if we haven't done anything) and I love you. It's such a great feeling. I always tell him that he's a sweet boy. So now he says "Joel's a sweet boy and Mommy's a lady." Sometimes daddy is a shirt and sometimes he's a lady and sometimes (rarely!!!) he says, "Daddy's a man!" Joel is also quite mischievous. One afternoon Joel decided he wanted to take a nap with Vance in his crib. Silly mommy gave him the chance. Ever since Joel tries (and often succeeds) to climb across the dresser and jumps into Vance's crib. Unfortunately this means that Joel often keeps Vance awake and/or wakes him up. We've started moving Vance's crib away from the edge of the dresser. Needless to say we'll have a different furniture placement in the new house.

Shout Out.

Okay so this post has nothing to do with the boys. Sorry!
When I first got this blog up I think I had about 3 people reading it and 1 of them was Tj and 1 was his mom. Then a lot of my family and friends got blogs or I found out about their blogs and so that was fun. Now I just wanted to acknowledge all the new readers. I'd love to take credit for this but since Tj's gotten his blog up and running and found the blogs of some of his friends we've seen a lot of you coming to visit lil ol' me (okay I know that realistically most of you just want to see what cute/funny things the boys are saying or doing but let me have my delusions okay?! It is my blog after all- humor me lol). So I just wanted to say hi. Please leave a comment or two. And if you prefer to stalk that's okay too. (I'm a habitual blog stalker in my free time too!)
Oh, and don't forget to check out Tj's blog (just click on the "My hot hubby" link on the sidebar). He's a lot funnier than I am and more entertaining.

It's Official.

So I guess we've hit the point of no return. This last weekend we went to Naples with the boys and Tj's parents. We visited the area and found places for us to live. (Yes, Tj's *parents are moving to Naples "with" us.) It was a fun trip. The boys are really good travelers and of course it's always fun for them to spend so much time with Nama and Pa who spoil them rotten. : )

Here are pictures from our trip.

The trip down


Joel slept, Vance played.


Dinner at PF Changs.

The boys are big fans of Won Ton soup!


Friday Night Out

Tj's parents watched the boys and we went out with an old classmate of Tj's. It was nice night and a nice break (and of course the boys had a blast eating KFC and watching Wall-E with Nama and Pa).

At the Pier

Joel posing at the pier. The boys looking at the ocean.


Sharing ice cream with Nama.

Vance playing at the play area at the mall.

*My perfectionist husband thought that I should add the word parent to this sentence. I told him that I thought the intelligent readers of my blog would be able to assume that he would be going with us as would his parents. He insisted and so the post was edited. Just to clarify- both Tj AND his parents will be moving down to Naples with me and the boys in November.

Funnies.

So yet another reason we need to visit out West ASAP. Joel continues to crack us up with his words and sentences. This is the conversation we have on a regular basis:

As we're driving over an overpass-

Joel: Mommy, mountain!
Me: Where?
Joel: There
Me: The overpass?
Joel: Yes, mommy- mountain.

I don't even know where he got that. I really want him to see a REAL mountain- I want to see a real mountain!


The Three Pigs-

I was telling Joel the story of the three pigs before his nap. I got to the part where the wolf was at the last piggie's house.

Mommy: Little pig, little pig let me in. Joel, what do you think the piggies said?
Joel: oink oink oink.

I laughed so hard! Of course that's what they said.