Team Umizoomi party!

On Saturday August 24th we had our big Team Umizoomi party!  It was a huge success.   The boys had so much fun and so did all of their little friends.   We included family as well and everyone made it and had a great time.  We also got super lucky with the weather.  Here are some pics:

This was the invitation!

This was the main cake

This was Lucy's smash cake

This was the sign welcoming our friends

We had a musician come and entertain the kids

Here is Lucy in her outfit

Here are the birthday boys

Ice Cream Sundae Bar

The favors were pencil boxes with each child's name and a box of crayons

Finally a family pic

It was truly a wonderful day!

One is 1 and two are 3!

Well, it's official I no longer have 3 under 3!  It's very bittersweet as I love watching the kids grow, but  also can't believe how fast the time is going by.  We were on vacation in Wildwood Crest, NJ for Lucy's 1st birthday and she decided to take her first steps while we were there.  We had a wonderful vacation and Lucy just loved the pool and the ocean.  She also loved playing in the sand with her brothers.   We got cupcakes while we were there to sing to her and she really enjoyed her first cupcake!

Aside from walking she now has quite a few words and can string words together.   She says Mommy, Daddy, Rory, cat, beep-beep, uh oh and her new favorite is WHOA!   Here are some pictures of her on her special day.

We we came back from vacation the boys turned 3!   They are so excited for their Team Umizoomi party which will be this upcoming weekend.  I did let the wear their Team Umizoomi shirts to school and I made Toy Story cupcakes to bring in so they could celebrate at school.   That night my parents came over and we had a nice dinner and sang happy birthday!

The boys are doing so excellent developmentally.  They know their numbers, ABC's and all their colors.  They also know their shapes including hard ones like hexagon and pentagon.  It's really impressive to listen to them.  We are still working on potty training and plan to do a little 3 day boot camp over Labor Day weekend.   Here are some pictures of their big day!

It's been a long time!

I still really suck at blogging.  So much for a chronicle of my daughter's first year, she's 11 months old now!

I had suspected she would be walking by 11 months, but she's not quite ready yet.  She is getting around great by crawling and walking the perimeter of the walls.  She will let go and stand on her own and she will walk with me holding her hands, but she's not quite ready to take off on her own.  She has 6 teeth now (4 on top and 2 on the bottom).    She does have a few words (bye, dada, cat, mama).  It's so cute to hear her little voice.  She loves her big brothers and is a total Mama's girl.

Speaking of her big brothers they are getting so big and so mature!  They speak really well now and they love to talk on the phone.  When I call from work to check on them I can actually talk to them now.  They still love Team Umizoomi and we are planning a big Team Umizoomi birthday bash for all 3 kids!

This year for the 4th of July we took the kids to see fireworks.  I was a little nervous that Rory would be scared because of the loud noises since he has sensory issues, but he loved it.  As a matter of fact he cried when the show ended.  Charlie loved it too.  Each time a firework would go off he would turn to Ron and say "more fireworks Daddy" which usually lead to him missing the next one.  Here are some pictures!

Oh, and I should probably share a funny little story.  We went to a Build-a-Bear party for our friends a beautiful set of triplet girls.  The boys loved the animals they made.  Charlie's is a dog called Brownie and Rory's is a cat named "Tom".  Lucy also made a bunny named Trix.  The animals have not left the kids side since.

Back to my story.....I purchased the boys glow sticks to play with at the fireworks.  When we got home we couldn't find one of them and Rory kept telling us it was inside.  Well, here is where we found it:

Yup, inside Tom's belly!  We thought that was hilarious.

I suck at blogging!

I started this blog to capture the little details of the kids lives and also the milestones of my daughters first year and I've barely posted.  I spend so much time over-thinking what I should write that I psych myself up and never write anything.  I've decided to change that and write at least something once a week.  Let's see if that lasts.

Yesterday Lucy was 9 months old and today was her well visit.  She remembered being at the doctor 2 months ago for her flu shot and ear piercing and went nuts as soon as she realized where she was.  She cried while I was undressing her, screamed when the nurse tried to weight and measure her and was off the wall when the nurse had to prick her finger for a lead test.  I finally got her all calm and relaxed when the doctor walked in and boy was she upset right away.   The doctor said she has an "excellent memory".  All that aside, she did great and is very healthy!  She is now crawling all over the place.  She claps hands and says "gaga, goo goo, mama, baa baa and dada.  She can get herself into a sitting position and she can stand to play with her toys.  She loves her walker and her little doll.  She also has 2 teeth.

The twins have adjusted very well to daycare and love it.  When Ron drops them off in the morning they run right in without any tears or issues.  Today I will be headed to the center for a Mother's Day tea which I am really looking forward to.  The boys talk up a storm and fight up a storm too, but mostly they are sweet, precious and funny little boys.

I guess I need to come clean about my weight loss (or lack thereof).  I have been a complete slacker these past 3 months since returning to work.  I managed to gain back 6 of the 24 pounds I'd worked so hard to lose.  I've been having tons of pity parties for myself about working, my commute, work travel, etc.  I've made lots of excuses, but I'm back on track now.  I convinced Ron to join forces with me and get healthy.  I did lose 2.2 last week and hope for a little more this week.  I also got on the treadmill twice this week and was able to jog for 15 minutes (about 1 mile) both days.  I'm pretty proud of that.  I feel pretty sore from it, but it's a good sore.  I'm carrying the pain like a badge of honor.

I will close with a recent picture taken from a trip to Connecticut to see Thomas the Tank Engine.  We had such a blast!

I should probably include a recent one of the birthday girl too:

I'll stir fry you in my wok

Since I've started Weight Watchers the Easy Fried Rice Recipe from their website has been by far our favorite.   I stir in either sauteed shrimp or chicken to make it a complete meal and we just love it!

Here is the recipe:

Cooking Spray
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup scallions sliced and divided
3 cups of cooked white rice (I used Minute Rive to make things easy)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 lb of chicken or shrimp if you wish to add that

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; warm pan over medium-high heat.   Add chicken or shrimp until cooked, remove and set them aside.

Recoat the pan with cooking spray.  Add eggs; tilt pan so that eggs cover bottom.

When eggs start to set, break them up into pieces with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon. Cook until eggs are cooked through, about 1 minute more; remove eggs from skillet and set aside.

Recoat same skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat. Add carrots and all but 2 tablespoons scallions; sauté until carrots are crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in cooked rice, peas and soy sauce and meat; cook until heated through, stirring once or twice, about 1 minute. Gently stir in cooked egg and remaining scallions; heat through. Yields about 3/4 cups per serving.

The rice itself is 4 ppv if you add chicken or shrimp it will add an additional 4 ppv per serving.

We survived the first 6 months!

Having 3 under 3 is not easy, but we did manage to survive the first 6 months.  Lucy had her well visit last week and now weighs 16 lbs 5 ozs.  She is eating 3 meals a day now and drinking about 4-4 ounce bottles a day.  Unfortunately, she is not consistently sleeping through the night.  Sometimes she does and other nights she wakes once to feed.  Luckily, I can quickly nurse her and get her back to sleep in about 10 or 15 minutes.   She takes 2 long naps in her crib and goes to bed in her crib at about 8:30pm and sleeps until about 8am. She rolls over now from back to belly and back again.  She is trying really hard to sit up and it looks like she is doing crunches.  She can sit up supported and can stand and hold onto the couch unsupported for a few minutes at a time.

The twins are talking up a storm now and we can almost have conversations with them.  They understand commands and understand that there are consequences for their actions.  They have finally started to say "I love you" which I just love to hear!  Charlie love it when we sit on the couch together.  He says "cuddle me Mommy".  How can I say not to that?

In other news, Weight Watchers is going well.    I am down 20.4 lbs.  It's not the 25 I'd hoped to be down by 2/15, but it will do!

Mo's Meat Sauce

I started the new year off by finally getting back on track with Weight Watchers.  Somehow I miraculously manged to maintain my 15 lb weight loss over the holiday season, but fell short of my goal of losing 10 additional pounds by Christmas.  But, this is a new year and a new start and new my goal is to lose 10 lbs by February 15th which is my return to work date.  I'll set a new goal after that.   So, I was great all day Sunday and when I asked Ron what he wanted for dinner he asked me to make my meat sauce.  I was skeptical at first as I didn't want it to derail my diet, but I decided to make it and figure out the points and I was pleasantly surprised.   It's also a great way to get extra veggie's into your loved ones.  Keep in mind that I did not create this recipe.  I actually found it on the back of a box on Ronzoni, but it's delicious and only 11 ppv!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup EACH finely chopped carrot, celery and onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 lb. extra lean ground beef
3-1/2 cups (28-oz. can) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 box of pasta ( used Cavatappi), uncooked
Grated Parmesan cheese * will add extra points

Directions

In large skillet over medium heat, heat oil; add carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Cook 5 minutes or until tender; add ground beef. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Add tomato, oregano and salt; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Toss hot pasta and sauce; sprinkle with cheese. 6 servings (11 ppv each)