31
May
Ichiro and I don’t get out very often. So when Mom and Dad offered to watch the boys so we could go to Ryan’s for a few hours we jumped on the chance. While we were playing with Christmas lights and the long exposure on cameras, they were home tending to the kids…
30
May
Sunday night, after we put the kids to bed, Ichiro and I headed over to Bridge Street to hang out with Ryan and his friends. We had such a great time. Ichiro and Ryan did some geek computer stuff and the rest of us had a few cocktails on the deck. Then when it got really dark we all played around with some Christmas lights and long exposure on the camera. haha
29
May
Sunday we headed south again but this time to Matt and Sarah’s house for a cookout. What made it even more exciting was that Mo, Jeff and the kids were meeting us there! I love when we can all get together. I say it every time we we do but I am amazed at how well our kids play together! Ichiro and I can sit back, relax and watch Noby play and take turns. He just adores Breanna and Bodie! You’ll see what I mean in these pictures!
28
May
Today we headed to Bounce U in Rocky Hill to celebrate Ari’s 4th birthday!! This place was the perfect place for a birthday party. Each party had their own private time in each of the bounce rooms and the wonderful staff kept everyone moving throughout the day. Both boys had such a wonderful time and Noby talked about it for days!!
Happy Birthday Ari!
Even the adults, if they dared, could go on the bouncy courses. I convinced Ichiro he needed to help Noby!! haha
Everyone had a great time….
We tried to get a brothers shot but Koji wasn’t having it!
But Dad was a good sport about it!!
Noby loves air hockey, so he was excited when he saw the table in the second room…
Ari’s beautiful butterfly cake…
Noby sat right up there next to Avery!
Can’t believe Ari is already 4 years old!
At the end Ari was able to pick a color and paint her hand print on the wall!
16
May
Now that the keyboard has a new home on the cubes Ichiro installed, we have been using it more and more. Koji LOVES banging the keys and hearing his music. Noby loves turning on the base line music and just dancing to the beat. And Ichiro and I have hooked up the computer and started learning cores! Ok we have only done it twice but in 12 easy steps we could play the piano!!! haha
14
May
Today I scrapbooked with a couple of moms that I have become friends with! It was great to be out of the house and have a little adult conversation!! Also to get a few more pages done in my heritage book!
I couldn’t believe when I got home and Ichiro had started reorganizing the playroom. He added cubes along the long wall for the kids books and keyboard. I loved the idea and decided that maybe he could add a few more for the baby toys. From the moment I walked in the door and saw what he had done I pushed him to add more. I just wanted to finish what he started and organize the rest of the room.
Check out how it looks now…
The new cubes… Ichiro added these 12 cubes, he tied them all together with zip ties. We used 5 cubes for the books, and the rest for the baby toys. This works great because now Koji can just pull out what he wants to play with.
On this side of the room is Noby’s little table. As you can see this is where he plays on this computer. We added the letters on the wall for him to look at when we practice our writing.
The other side of the room houses the train table and kitchen.
And lastly the 4th wall has more bins for toys. Plus we added the changing table on top of the Ikea unit.
I love how the room came out and it’s so much easier to keep picked up! HUGE thank you to Ichiro for getting this all started!!!
13
May
Today we brought down all the baby toys that have been stored in the attic. Even with all the “new” toys, of course our kids rather play with the empty tote. Ichiro started joking around with Noby about spraying him with the kitchen hose. One thing led to another and before we knew it Noby was getting a bath in the tote!!
11
May
Today Noby, Koji and I headed to Acton to check out a new children’s museum with our friend Rebecca and her two kids. The Discovery Museum in Acton is a hands-on learning center. The kids had an awesome time running from room to room. Of course I forgot my camera but I was able to snap a few with my camera phone.
9
May
I love the pumpkin granola I made last week however when Brenda tried it she wasn’t a fan. Not being a huge pumpkin fan she suggested I make a different kind for her. I searched and searched the internet for a good granola recipe without pumpkin but every recipe I found called for oil. Lots of oils. It just grossed me out, I didn’t want to cook something that was suppose to be healthy with so much oil. So I kept looking and finally found a recipe that replaces the oil with apple sauce. I cooked up a batch for Brenda and before she came to pick it up, Ichiro and I sampled it. And sampled some more and some more. It was SOOO good. I think our next batch of granola might be this one. The best part of this recipe is that you can mix and match different fruits and nuts to make any type of granola you want.
Honey-Apple-Cinnamon Granola
5 cups rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup plain applesauce
1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 1 1/2 cups almond slivers
about 1 cup dried cranberries
Nut suggestions: almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc
Dried fruit suggestions: cranberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.
Preheat the oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet (or two smaller sheets) with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine oats and spices. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients along with almonds and stir to combine. Spread on prepared baking sheet(s) in an even layer.
Bake for 30 minutes, then turn over the granola carefully using a large wide spatula, and bake for additional 15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center might not be fully dried if your granola layer is thick, so if necessary remove the edges of the cooked granola to a cooling rack and let the rest cook for another 10-15 minutes until done.
Cool on pan or on a wire rack.
Break granola up as desired and stir in dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.
8
May
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mommies out there!!! Especially to my wonderful Mother!!! She’s not only an amazing mom but also one of my best friends!! She truly is the best!! I hope all my mother readers had a day full of pampering!
My Mother’s Day proved to be not only awesome but very interesting too. It started off with Ichiro letting me sleep in! That was AWESOME! When I finally got up, around 9 (Yes, that’s sleeping in for me!) I came downstairs to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and cards from Ichiro and the boys. 🙂 Just Perfect!
Noby also made me a card and gift at school, check them out…
a beautiful picture of me…
Inside it reads, “I love my Mom because… she eats ice cream. Love Noby” And YES, that’s an ice cream cone on the top. lol
And he came home with a little gift, this beautiful bracelet. My heart melted cause he was so excited to give it to me. It’s better than my Pandora!! 🙂 (YES that’s a Christmas tree bead and a blue starfish that pokes you when you have it on!)haha
Then Ichiro and the boys took me out to breakfast, YUMM!!
Next we headed back to Waltham to the Steampunk Festival that we didn’t make on Saturday cause of rain. Sunday’s weather was just beautiful and I was excited to get out and walk around. Now I’m sure many of you are asking, “What the hell is Steampunk.” Steampunk is a sub-culture that incorporates elements from both the Victorian era, where steam power was widely used and modern day technology. It’s similar to a Renaissance Fair where people dress up but this is based on a Victorian perspective. The tend to take various modern objects and modify them into a pseudo-Victorian style. Below in our pictures is a great example of a computer that has an old fashion typewriter for it’s keys. The goal is to redesign using appropriate materials such as polished brass, iron, wood and leather with craftsmanship consistent with the Victorian era. It’s soo hard to explain but maybe our pictures will help explain a little. If you are still interested in finding out more about Steampunk after you see the pictures.. well Google it! haha
These first pictures of our favorite costumes of the day…
Some of the items that have been made or modified Steampunk style…
The computer I was talking about… As you typed on the old typewriter the text would appear on the computer screen. It was awesome!
All made out of scrap metals…
