Crazy In Love

What do you say when you get home and your 4 year old son asks, "Wanna see us dance Crazy in Love?"...the only thing you should - Yes. (and grab the camera) Enjoy the moment as we did. One of the great features is how each of the boy's personality comes out as he attacks the performance. This is a good example of pretty common family dance parties. Enjoy....

If You Leave It They Will Come

Road workers - thank you for leaving some of your construction vehicles and drainage tubes at our park! Every boys dream come true! My boys and their friend were not alone in passing up the playground.

Da' Boys

More Good Times From MASS

 

Fishing in the Quban Reservoir!

 

Thankful for Chris and Jen's Pool! We spent most of our time swimming all day long. When we had those days that reached up to the 100's even the grown-ups jumped in! Pool baseball, categories, Marco polo, and of course cannon ball contests (Ian blew everyone out of the water with his!). I did not capture many pics since I joined in on all the pool fun:)

RI Ocean...met w/squeals of delight

 

The Waves! The Waves! All the kids loved the waves! The first 30 minutes was filled with high pitched shouts of joy as the kids stood in the crashing waves tossing them about the beach. They all learned to ride the wave, which was even better since you could avoid the wave breaking on top of you and throwing you to the shore. After a few face plants and one struggle to keep swim shorts out of the under toe the deeper waves became our preferred ocean space.
Of course the beach is never complete with out a few holes dug and a few sandcastles built.
A few highlights...
Taatjes riding his Orca in the waves when we first arrived. Although he was supposed to wait for the adults his "I live in my own head full of adventure" kicked in and he was off, in the surf, riding his Orca, screaming, wild eyed, overcome with joy! (No pics since the adults were rather terrified with his excursion, which caught them quite off guard.)
Trey had spent a good hour collecting sea shells in a bucket when a wave came crashing down on him emptying his bucket of every precious shell. Oh the tears that came! He felt his entire sea shell collection; of such great importance to him for future show and tell days; was lost forever. Once we were able to get him to open his tear filled eyes and see the many other shells waiting to be collected, the hunt continued.
Teague loving every bit the ocean had to offer...as long as dad was with in reach:) Didn't enjoy being thrown around a bit by himself on the shore. But, jump into dads arms to be thrown and knocked down; this is something to laugh and shriek about. Poor Justin and his knees. Holding a "solid" 3 yr old in the waves and trying to keep your balance is not possible. His knees took a beating. I think his little boys laughter helped him push through and come up laughing with him.
Greer conquering her fear of loud crushing waves! She started the day crying at the sight and sound of them. After a few swims with dad she was able to walk around by herself next to the same loud crushing waves. Back to her rough and tumble self.
Becca was wave rider extraordinaire! Her body literally morphed into a dolphin, or so it looked to me as she navigated the waves with delight and ease. She could have spent the whole day diving, jumping, and surfing out there. But we needed her digging abilities to build sand castles too:)


The Beach Crew



Ice Cream in Mystic - a fav pic
Thanks Ian and Alyssa for making my Ocean Dreams come true!

HeeHaw and The 3 T's

4 of a kind!
And, for Grandma - the 2 things most requested! Oh and Tike:)

Coming...Our Wonderful Trip Out East Filled w/Family and Friends

"Here Fishy Fishy Fishy" - Ernie

If you were raised on sesame street or babysat any kids who were, you too are reading this title with the picture of Ernie in his fishing boat with his good buddy Burt calling out for fish "here fishy fishy fishy".
The boys have been fishing a lot these days. Our current favorite spot is loaded with catfish. Every line that goes in comes out with one. A few of there great hooks. No worries we are a catch and release family:)

Just The 2 of Us (meaning Shafer and Belgiano Crews)

 

It is always great to add another mom and dad to the mix, our good friends the Shafers. Even more fun is adding 3 more adorable, fun, loving kids to the mix. And for me especially a GIRL!!!! Aviel I miss you! Well actually they added us to the their mix. Thank You Shafers for a wondeful Memorial Weekend. We felt like we blended right in with you and our kids just love yours! Will, Cal, Aviel you were so good to the boys! Thanks for sharing your Gator!!!!! Thanks for taking us to your favorite spots. The beach, ice cream, MATT'S with their amazing mouth watering Jucy Lucy, and your frisbee glof course! We all had a blast. These pictures are a few favorite moments. Drew and Jamie specials thanks to you for sharing your life with us and as always helping us feel normal (as parents) when we are together.

The Kids

"Us" This chicken was amazing!
"we can make it if we try" - thanks Will Smith for giving the us theses amazing lyrics to use as we wish every now and then:)

Crocs and Fishing Poles Together Again

You know it is almost summer when the crocs and the fishing poles are always at the front door!

Just waiting for the next Fishing Excursion!

Cousin Greer Comes For A Visit!

 

(Oh and Auntie Alyssa too of course!)

Big thanks to Alyssa for flying by herself, at the crack of dawn, with her baby (and one in her belly YEA!), my niece Greer to come all the way to WI from MA to stay the week with us!!! The boys were thrilled and had a wonderful week. Minus the part that Taatjes spent throwing up for a day and night. So glad Greer escaped all that though. All Alyssa and I could imagine was her worst nightmare coming to fruition and spending 2 flights home with a baby vomiting on her lap! Phew, only a nightmare!
The boys love their cousin Greer. At times a bit too much. The statement that I had on repeat for the week was "Space, she needs some Space"! They followed her around everywhere, kept jumping in her face making their silly faces to get laughs, and constantly interpreting Greer's every wish and desire to her mother. Alyssa handled the information overload beautifully, thanks! Greer would just look at the stairs or the fridge and sure enough the boys would yell out to Alyssa, "Greer is hungry and she wants to go up stairs to our room". They were very involved. I think Greer loved it though. She is super social. Each morning when she woke she gave everyone a huge. She was constantly waving Hi to us during our meals from across the table. It is super cute to see how strongly she desires to love others. Great example in the picture above. She fell asleep while sitting in Taatjes lap getting a little love during TV time. I have never, ever seen a baby sleep in another child's lap! It was too cute! We loved our week with them and the boys are still arguing over who Greer likes more (even though I keep reminding them she loves them each equally).

Family Night

Kung Foo



The 3 Kung Foo Masters

 

The boys got together and picked this past weeks Family Night. Of course Kung Foo was immediately agreed upon! Alright all in for Kung Foo (American style that is). We cut up old shirts to make black belts and head bands to match. The boys gave the parents an "interesting" lesson in Kung Foo moves. The old saying of give them an inch they take a mile, came into play here. Before every move we tried we were required to kneel down on one leg, bring our hands together, and say "yes Master" to them.
Some Asian food was in order. This is where the American part comes in and we picked up Chinese food. Noodles, egg roles, wantons, sweet and sour chicken, and it just wouldn't be a real American/Asian dinner without our trusty fortune cookies!
Dad pulled out some card board for the boys, that is the Kung Foo Masters, to practice their chops and kicks! They were pleased to get a proper Kung Foo work out.
We ended our evening with a viewing of Kung Foo Panda as mom slipped out the door to spend some time with a few other moms...ahhhh.

Update - Sorry = Buddies

Trey did it! He made a great robot card for his apology note. Inside he also included 2 things he likes about this child. 1) "I like that you a very good at basketball and baseball." 2) "I like that when you talk to me you are very funny." At this age (7) you take what you get:)
When Trey arrived home from school he was thrilled to tell me that this child loved the card! That they hung out during recess, played basketball of course, did an art project together, and laughed a lot during lunch! Trey's smile couldn't be bigger as he told me how his day went. He did it and he loved the results. He is happy to have one of his "buddies" back.

Getting Into the Hard Stuff

Today when I picked Trey up from school his teacher had to talk to me. Yes insert a large lump in my throat and the instant feeling of needing my gal bladder removed! When she has good things to tell you she usual writes these things to you in a beautiful email. When she takes her time at the end of her very long day to "talk" to you it only means one thing, your child has had a color change! Alright, I'm ready to listen. After all this is the biggest part of the "job" right? Right. It is the part of the "job" that is nerve wrecking and heart breaking and at the same time character building and humility seeking.
So there it was the dreaded color change and I needed and wanted to hear about it.

His teacher began to tell me 2 incidents that happened with Trey during school. The first, came about because Trey gave some answers to a few kids sitting at his table. This is not allowed and he knows this. The second, and the one that was extremely hard to hear, Trey was involved in a group of kids who "telephoned" to another child that he was "a nerd". This boy ended up crying and was of course very hurt! I almost started crying right in front of his teacher. My heart sank to hear about my son harming and hurting another in this cruel way. What, why, how could he,is all I could think. I reassured his teacher that I would be talking to Trey and taking measures to ensure that this will not happen again. Give me a moment here...I know this will happen again, and again, and again, but I have to believe that I can take Trey to a place where he chooses to not be a part of things that harm others. I want him to be a person who brings love, and fun, and words that make friends feel good about themselves. Phew, it's going to be a journey.
This is the part of life where we are "getting to the hard stuff". Trey and I did have a very long talk. We both shed tears! Trey does see that he hurt someone and made them sad. He now has to work through the consequences of a color change at school too. He will be writing two letters tonight.
One, he has to say that he is sorry to his teacher. For "cheating and not following the rules". There is no giving answers. He has to be able to communicate to her in this letter that he wants to be a student she can trust and follows the rules.
Two, he has to say sorry to his classmate. He has to write out why he is sorry and tell him that he is sad he made them sad. He also has to write out a few things he really likes about this child. And in his own child like way he asked if we could buy the child jolly ranchers because they are a favorite.
And, my own humility being put to the test. I will be walking him into his class tomorrow to watch and ensure these letters get delivered and he apologizes with his words as well.

(Deep sigh) This is rough. My heart is so very heavy thinking of the child whose heart was broken today. Who had to go to his teacher in tears. Who will be going home to his own family in tears. Tomorrow is a new day though and a chance for Trey to attempt to repair some of the hurt he did. He too has been crying knowing that he has hurt someone and understanding how hurt he would feel if he was the recipient of his own message. He also came to the conclusion that next time he would not pass along a mean message, rather, he would take a stand and say that he does not want to speak words to someone that will hurt them. Let the refining work begin.

Family Night

Bug Night

Our Family Night was loaded with all things Bugs.
We started our evening by making our own creepy crawlies. The boys were really into it and made quite a few.


Our food was of course filled with bugs as well.
Bug Juice / Chips and dip beware the spiders hiding / Worm Dogs / Ants on a Log


The Great Bug Hunt with a thrown in Magical Frog
The original idea was to head out to some near by woods and hunt for bugs. That was a huge no go due to a rainy, chilly evening. No need to worry when you have a few glow in the dark spiders and dad's fabulous idea of one magical frog. Once you found 2 spiders you could look for the magical frog. If you found the magical frog you got to hide the spiders and frog on the next turn. The boys loved it all the while screaming with joy for the "magical frog". We played for hours! It was such a hit we have been playing it daily since. ***Check out the picture with Teguae holding up the magical frog. You can see Taatjes in the back face down, pounding his fist into the couch. He was so upset he didn't find the magical frog the first 2 turns. This is a highly competitive group!***

The Grand Finale - EATING DIRT
Mix 2 scoops Mud (chocolate pudding) with 2 scoops Dirt (crushed oreos) and add a few Worms and Spiders (gummy ones)
Rule for eating dirt - tell everyone how gross it tastes while you shovel your mouth full with it.

Yum! Nothing like going to bed all bugged out and full of dirt:)
Already looking forward to our next Family Night.

*Thanks to Lisa for turning me on to a great blog with tons of Family Ideas*

Because Ninja's Love Boxes

When I walked into the garage and saw this I did not flinch or even contemplate the idea of stopping them. Instead I thought how resourceful, the moving boxes have been re-purposed. And of course I know I am not alone in the thought - this will keep them busy for a few hours, now what can I get done!
Teague has no idea just how fun his life is! Younger siblings have it made when it comes to adventure and constant activity. There is no way I would have ever let Trey do this when he was 3.
And yes my boys really do think they are Ninja's when they get to scale and jump from boxes. Because this is what the "real" ones on TV do. Thanks off the beaten path Sports Center show, Ninja Challenge, that "all" the boys in this family love. All!

That's How He Rolls

It is never a surprise to us when we find Taatjes at the end of the day looking like this. Blue mouth from a candy he picked out while shopping. A little pop corn still rolling around in his mouth. And yes, those are pen stripes you see on his arm and across his forehead. After all when you are a tiger stuck in a boys body you find it necessary to apply the stripes you were missing back on. Those stripes continued across his entire body including toes yet minus his back for "he couldn't reach". This is the real Taatjes. He can be a real challenge during times he chooses to draw on himself and I still have to take him places and deal with people saying things and asking me what happened. But, it all seems worth it when we come to the end of the day and I take in his sweet face and I see this - A boy who's imagination is alive and full of potential. A boy who loves the color changing effect of candy so much he spent the first few hours home in front of the mirror giggling and making faces with his wonderfully new and improved blue mouth. A boy who does not feel the few kernels crunching around between his teeth because, well, he is far to involved with just being a boy (insert growls and tiger hunting and apparently the fact that "tigers are really good with rope swings"). The real Taatjes is just to much fun to take the pens, the candy, and the who knows what will pop out of or off of him he's a down right mess, away. Because, that's just how he rolls.

*He's so cute with how much he loved his blue mouth pointing to it for the picture. Also I should have taken more pictures of his stripes but in the moment it did not cross my mind due to the fact that this is not a new thing for him to do. It only came to my mind when I posted this. No worries though, I know there will be another chance! Oh and this is not a daily thing or the pens would most likely be removed:(*

Greer A Girl On The Go

 

I had the privilege of getting away, by myself, to go see Ian, Alyssa, and of most importance Greer! I had so much fun with them. Greer is a ball of energy. I can see that Ian and Alyssa have many busy days in their future with Greer! She is a girl on the go! She has this great jump/clap that she likes to do when she hears music playing. She can go and go and go screeching and screaming for joy for hours on end. It is a riot. Alyssa tells me she is small for her age and when you see her in her jump/clap action it makes perfect sense. In fact she's got me thinking of adding it to may daily routine to burn as many calories as she is:) Another wonderful thing about Greer is that she loves everyone. She amazed me when she let me get right in her face, laugh with her, chase her, and snuggle with her when she really does not know me yet!!! She smiles all the time, she keeps herself entertained, and she makes her way around and into everything. A small story that truly captures Greer's personality. Alyssa, Greer, and I went out to lunch one day. We sat a a table close to the door which turned out to be the place Greer needed to be. Every person that came into the restaurant was greeted by Greer and they loved it:) She smile at them and waved and basically made every ones day. Old and young she had to meet them all and let them know, hey how are you, let me see you and let us exchange a little friendly greeting (this is what I imagine is going through her little head). On the receiving end; there is nothing quite like seeing a baby smile at you weather it is yours or not it can instantly melt your heart. I loved being apart of Greer's greetings and seeing her change a persons mood and face the moment they walked through the door. What a fun, loving, friendly little girl Greer is becoming. Such a joy to those who love her and those she will soon meet. I miss her!

The Face Plants!

 

"Alright who dares me to put my face in this cake!"

 

 

Trey turned 7 and he asked to have his Basketball friends over for a party. We told him we could have a party here of course! But on one condition - no presents from his friends. He said ok and off we went on planning the party. Trey said all he wanted to do at his party was play football/basketball, watch sports, and he had promised his friends that they could decorate cakes, NOT CUPCAKES MOM! Sure, we can pull that off! The basement was cleared out for sports, Sports Bloopers was purchased (not as funny as we thought), and 6 cakes were made with all the fixings on the side.
Let me tell you - I received a Thank You from most parents for the "no present part"! They all have multiple children and get invited to many, many Birthday parties. They were so excited to have their boys just come over and celebrate Trey! I was nervous about this decision. Now if you are reading this thinking poor little Trey:( Don't worry he was spoiled plenty by his family. He got tons from us and his grandparents, and great grandparents, aunts/uncles, and great aunts and uncles. Football card collection (binder and tons of trading cards), electronics, Patriots Jersey (Go Pats!), Toys R Us Gift Cards, and Roller Blades, and some cold hard cash! That is plenty. We really want him to learn that his friendships and the fun they bring are more important than the "stuff" they bring.
Back to the party. All 7 year old boys came to the house for a 5-8pm party! Whoo Hoo! Treasure hunt we made up - check they asked to play again! Sports played -check. Bloopers watched - check and disappointing. Sardines thrown in - check they loved it! Now onto cake decorating - check, check, check the boys absolutely loved this! The title to this post is the main reason why.
"Alright who dares me to put my face in this cake!" This is what Trey said during cake decorating. And oh boy did every boys face light up! All were in! Faces plunged into each and every cake! Tons of laughter, tons of "Look at me", and one boy even shouted, "let's make this your Birthday tradition"!!! We got the whole thing on video. Justin hooked the recorder up to the TV so they could see how they looked. Definitely the highlight of the party. They could barely contain themselves, jumping up and down laughing hysterically at how funny they were! They kept saying "watch, watch, wait for it, ahhhh, I'm awesome", as they each saw themselves dunk their face into their cake. 7 year olds are crazy! But that is why we love them!

Taatjes Runs A Muck through Chucky Cheese!

Taatjes turned 5! I have to be honest here and tell you that being new to the area and his school I did not know a single one of his classmates to throw him a party. It would have been too awkward! So we asked him if he would like to go to Chucky Cheese? That's a big yes from the 5 yr old boy! I dread Chucky Cheese!!! Extreme loud meets gross pizza meets snotty kids running around meets parents who tune out meets I can not stand this place! But I know that everything running through my mind during a Chucky Cheese visit is completely absent from a child's mind. So off we went. To my surprise if you go on a Monday evening to Chucky Cheese you may be one of the few people that go. It really did turn out to be a lot of fun. The boys were able to be crazed participants, bouncing from game to game to game. Taatjes loved it, which was all that mattered. He now loves being 5! Taatjes was also spoiled on by his family. Again Us, grandparents, aunts/uncles, great aunts and uncles, and great grandparents!
Red Wings Jersey, hockey card collection (binder and tons of hockey cards, toys r us gift cards, animals, roller blades, and cold hard cash!
A parenting highlight for us - the guy working the toy counter at Chucky Cheese, the place you turn in tickets for plastic, gave the boys extra toys (plastic) because he thought they had the best manners! (Insert one tear welling up in mom and dads eye) He told them they were very kind boys and thanked them for saying please and thank you!